For Him and Them by Dean Cowles, YPN President

A monthly message from YouthPartnersNET President Dean Cowles.

For Him and Them by Dean Cowles

February 2006

How many Bibles do you have around the house? Like my family, probably a bunch. I know it's hard to imagine folks living in America without Bibles but that's especially true of our urban children and youth. A few years back, we did a survey of our urban kids and only 3 out of 10 had a Bible of their own. So YouthPartnersNET went out and with the help of donors like you, printed 15,000 special edition copies of "My City, My God" urban youth New Testaments. This unique edition has color testimonies and stories of other inner city kids who have been saved from drugs, gangs, and a lifestyle that was destroying their life. Each time we give them out, the kids turn right to the testimonies and follow on from there. It's a great hook to get them to read God's word. We've given out nearly all of those Bibles and our partners are asking for more. We also received a generous grant from a foundation to print and distribute 4,200 more Bibles. Below are some stories from our ministry partners who have received these Bibles. Please keep them in your prayers and if you'd like to help us purchase more at $2.00 each, just let us know. His word will never come back void, Amen!

We give a Bible to each child as a way to transition them from camp back to home. Their counselor writes an affirmation to the child inside the front cover about a positive character trait they observed the child had during camp. Not only does this affirmation encourage the child to continue building their character in that direction, but they tend to keep the Bible close to them for years to come. This has been a 15 year tradition and we have heard many stories from young adults coming back saying they still have their Bibles and notes of affirmation.

Camp Deerpark, NY

The My City, My God Bibles were given to the youth in our tutoring and mentoring programs this Christmas. Currently 65 kids attend this program and many had never heard the gospel message before they joined. Now they are very excited about having their own Bibles. They especially like the stories about how the Bible applies to urban youth just like them. Many of the students opened the Bibles and started reading them before they even got home.

East Central Ministries, NM

The Bibles arrived just in time to include in our holiday baskets. Not only were we able to provide food and toys for the children in our ministry, but we were able to add the spiritual side with each one receiving a Bible this year. We will continue to encourage the parents to read God's word with their kids.

Nehemiah Ministries, CO

Vanessa said "It's perfect, there's no confusing words in it and I can understand everything!" and Conrad expressed "My girlfriend has never really read the Bible before and I always thought it was so confusing. Now we are reading the same passages and discussing them.

Lighthouse Ministries, OH

We are going to use the Bibles in our camping programs in February and July. We take our youth from our urban church and after-school program to a camp in Southern Michigan. This summer our theme is focusing on God's Word and its power. With the Bibles donated by YPN, we will have enough for each of the kids in need of one.

Sunshine Gospel Ministries, IL

We will be using them at our neighborhood outreach in downtown Trenton.

Cup of Living Water Ministries, NJ

One of the teenagers in our ministry started a Bible study at his school last year. They meet every morning before school. He asked if he could use some of these Bibles to pass out to those who attend but don't own a Bible. They are being used to help a young urban leader and give him the necessary tools to impact his campus for Christ. We are also using them in our High School ministry where we are training about 20 teen leaders how to share their faith and witness at school. They will be offering the Bibles to other teens that are not currently attending church in the hopes that they would begin to read the Scriptures and find out how wonderful Christ is. So, in a way, they are having a double impact! The Bibles will be a blessing to the teens that receive them, but also to those who are passing them out because they have a tangible way to share their faith.

Agape Community Center / Here's Life Inner City, Chicago, IL

We used the Bibles in our Christmas baskets for the families of the children we serve. We have also given a Bible to the young people who attend our tutoring program that do not currently have copies of God's word.

Third Avenue Ministries, MI

For Him and Them,

Dean Cowles

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