I got hooked up with this team through a good friend of mine, Robb Esperat. Robb is an accomplished musician, an amazing singer/songwriter and an inspiring speaker. He's also our team leader for this trip. Robb is one of the pastors at Virginia Beach Community Chapel and the Chapel has been supporting the work of Kerus Global for some time.
The Greek word 'Kerus' means 'of the heart' or 'with passion' and provides a fitting name for the organization founded by Dr. Marcia Ball and Dr. Jennie Cerullo. I've had the opportunity to meet and talk with Marcia and Jennie and there is no doubt that they go about their work with great passion. You can read more about them here.
Kerus is, primarily, an education ministry. In the community of Soshanguve, where we'll be going, they seek to break the cycle of poverty for as many young people as they can by bringing a curriculum called It Takes Courage, a faith-based absitenance and life-skills training program, to the schools, churches and families there. The ITC program has been embraced by the community and over the past couple of years, local leaders have held several rallies to raise awareness about the program. The attendance at these rallies has grown substantially with each one and, this time, they expect as many as three thousand to attend.
Our team will meet with local musicians there to rehearse and then lead worship for the rally on July 28th.
Our home base will be the Kerus House of Encouragement, a place the locals have taken to simply calling "The Place of Kerus", which is cool because that sort of folds out to mean "The Place of the Heart".
While we're there, we'll also spend time at Kerus' orphan care facility, which provides shelter and services to orphaned children from Block Y, a district of extreme poverty.
I love the fact that "heart" and "passion" are central themes for what we're doing. Particularly in America, there seems to be a numbness that has fallen over the Christian Church. We believe with our minds but not so much with our hearts. More on that later. But for now, i'd like to encourage all of you to pray that the reality of the suffering faced each day by people in places like Block Y would get past your mind and into your heart. In Christ, these are our children, our brothers and sisters, and our mothers and fathers. And they need help.
The Greek word 'Kerus' means 'of the heart' or 'with passion' and provides a fitting name for the organization founded by Dr. Marcia Ball and Dr. Jennie Cerullo. I've had the opportunity to meet and talk with Marcia and Jennie and there is no doubt that they go about their work with great passion. You can read more about them here.
Kerus is, primarily, an education ministry. In the community of Soshanguve, where we'll be going, they seek to break the cycle of poverty for as many young people as they can by bringing a curriculum called It Takes Courage, a faith-based absitenance and life-skills training program, to the schools, churches and families there. The ITC program has been embraced by the community and over the past couple of years, local leaders have held several rallies to raise awareness about the program. The attendance at these rallies has grown substantially with each one and, this time, they expect as many as three thousand to attend.Our team will meet with local musicians there to rehearse and then lead worship for the rally on July 28th.
While we're there, we'll also spend time at Kerus' orphan care facility, which provides shelter and services to orphaned children from Block Y, a district of extreme poverty.
I love the fact that "heart" and "passion" are central themes for what we're doing. Particularly in America, there seems to be a numbness that has fallen over the Christian Church. We believe with our minds but not so much with our hearts. More on that later. But for now, i'd like to encourage all of you to pray that the reality of the suffering faced each day by people in places like Block Y would get past your mind and into your heart. In Christ, these are our children, our brothers and sisters, and our mothers and fathers. And they need help.
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