A.M. SUMMER

APPALACHIANVOICE

EMPOWERING STUDENTS AND CAMPUS MINISTRIES TO IMPACT COMMUNITIES

IN THIS ISSUE

A.M. SUMMER

MISSION FUND 1

3

ROLE MODELS 4

"MY HOMETOWN" 5 FALL 2022

M.O. HOME BUILD 8

Donor funding provided equipment for A.M.'s summer activities, like Water Day.

DONORS EMPOWER A.M. SUMMER TEAM TO SERVE 100+ CHILDREN

How important is the heart of a child? How sensitive is it to outside influences, both bad and good? How many “truths” about ourselves and the world do we learn as children and cling to into adulthood, unwittingly shaping our lives to fit that self-concept?

Big questions, but important ones. Now more than ever, children need Godly influences in their lives to help shape their ideas about God, themselves, and the world – as aligned with the truth of Scripture.

Thanks to donor support, the Appalachian Ministries (AM) summer team served as mentors and friends to more than 100 Appalachian children, most of whom live in unstable homes and need positive, stable influences as much as possible.

At the beginning of the summer, the AM team spent 10 days in Georgia receiving leadership training at a partner church and ministering to the church’s children. The team then spent four weeks serving children near University of the Cumberlands’ campus. They rotated between the four AM sites – at Corbin Manor, Brush Arbor apartments, Mackey Avenue, and in

Teaching God's word through song and dance

Donors provided equipment for a funfilled Water Day in Canadatown. Jellico – so that they could spend one afternoon at each site each week from Tuesday through Friday, then review and regroup on Mondays.

This was the first year that Caitlyn Howell, director of AM, has led the summer AM team and had the chance to repeat the summer’s schedule (instead of revising it due to COVID precautions or other reasons). She said being able to follow a set plan instead of reinventing the wheel was a relief. And it helped her focus on her goals for the summer.

Goal #1: Teach children the Gospel and help them understand it. The summer curriculum’s theme was “Jesus’ Journey,” and each week focused on a different aspect of Jesus Christ’s life on Earth – His birth, His miracles, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. Cumberlands students on the AM team spent time each week reviewing the prior week’s lesson before teaching the kids the next lesson. They used skits, arts and crafts, and music to help the kids grasp the lesson.

Goal #2: Be Godly examples for the children to follow. You’d be surprised what children learn during simply play time or snack time. Kids are the best observers, so the AM students did their best to behave like Jesus would in every moment of their interaction with the children. Prayer and preparation helped.

Goal #3: Find out ways the Lord was already working in the children’s lives and brainstorm ways to step into that current and help the Holy Spirit’s work along. In Howell’s words, she didn’t want the AM team to just “make things happen,” she wanted them to keep their ears and eyes open to what God might already by doing in the children’s lives and figure out ways to step into that. After all, the Lord is alive and active – He doesn’t just wake up when summer camp starts.

The AM team came together this summer and pushed through hot days, new team dynamics, and unexpected circumstances to embody Matthew 19:14, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” Thanks to donor support, Lord willing, more children know the Lord personally now than at the beginning of summer. After all, that's the real point.

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

matthew 19:14 (NIV)