For Him and Them by Dean Cowles, YPN President

A monthly message from YouthPartnersNET President Dean Cowles.

For Him and Them by Dean Cowles

May 2008

Funding and Fries

When you think of the Salvation Army, what first pops into your mind? Christmas bell ringers? Disaster relief? Homeless shelters? How about places to grow urban churches? Most people don't realize that the Salvation Army is a church.

Now when you think about McDonalds, what first pops into your mind? Big Macs? Ronald McDonald? The Golden Arches? How about funding and fries to build urban churches? Ok, you're confused right? So was I until I met some wonderful Salvation Army officers in Grand Rapids, Michigan last month.

And you're probably wondering what does McDonalds and the Salvation Army have to do with YouthPartnersNET. Well, thanks to your gift this past month you are helping us build a national partnership with the Army that has the potential to be the Biggest Mac Attack yet!!

When you think about McDonalds, what first pops into your mind? How about funding and fries to build urban churches?

A little history first. When William Booth founded the Salvation Army in the mid 1850's in London, his goal was to serve the poor and pray for their salvation and redemption. He never wanted to start a church. He tried to bring these newly saved converts into established churches. But guess what! The wealthy churches of his day didn't want the dirty uneducated poor messing up their services or sanctuaries. So he was kind of forced to start churches wherever the Army set up shelters and feeding programs. And it exploded across the Atlantic to America.

Fast-forward 100 years. In the mid 1950's Ray Kroc stumbled upon a small well-run hamburger joint in Southern California called McDonalds (my mom and dad used to have dates under those original golden arches). Mr. Kroc knew a good idea when he saw it so he bought out this family business and turned it into the largest fast food chain in the world. Well, where do you think a big chunk of those profits went? Right into Ray and Joan Kroc's pockets (my folks still regret not buying McDonalds stock early on).

Now shift your attention to this past decade. Mr. Kroc had already passed away. Mrs. Kroc's health was fading and she was thinking about how best to invest and put to good use the $1.7 billion McDonalds fortune. She went to local Salvation Army centers and had a vision to build a safe place for urban children and youth to come and play and feel the kind of gentle compassionate outreach she had experienced at the Salvation Army. That dream became a reality as she funded the first Kroc Center (100,000 SF, $50 million). She lived long enough to see this first center built and left the majority of her estate to the Salvation Army to plant these Kroc Centers all across the nation.

That leads us to the Grand Rapids Salvation Army Corps. When the Army graciously accepted Mrs. Kroc's substantial gift there was one stipulation, each Kroc Center would also be the home of an urban church to meet the spiritual as well as the physical and educational needs of urban families. That's where YouthPartnersNET comes in.

As part of my national networking contacts and relationships, I'm also connected to an organization that has a passion and heart for starting suburban and urban churches. So when the Army called them to help them recruit, train, and equip urban pastors to plant these new Kroc Center Churches, they asked me to serve as their Senior Consultant for this project. I was glad to help out.

Over these past months I have been recruiting, meeting, and training a wonderful couple - Larry and Tracey Stevenson to serve as the church planters in the Grand Rapids Kroc Center. They will move and start May 15th. This is truly an amazing and groundbreaking development both for the Army and the Kroc Centers that are under construction all across the country. (Larry is on the far right in photo)

Please pray for us, especially the Stevenson's as they pioneer this new exciting urban church plant model. Can you imagine thousands of urban kids and their families coming in each week to learn, play, grow and find spiritual counsel and maturity? What a mission field and right at their front doors. When finished, this 80,000 SF recreation center will sit on about 20 acres in the heart of a blighted and neglected community. It will also have outdoor softball and soccer fields, a ropes course, zip line, picnic areas, and basketball courts. Major Ross gave us a tour of the property that is still in the final planning stages. It sits next to a river that runs right through town so they also envision a kayak course. I commented, "When you're done it will feel like a summer camp in the center of the city".

So next time you're at McDonalds go ahead and "Supersize it". You'll probably be contributing a few cents to these wonderful new Kroc Centers that will serve at risk children and youth for the next 100 years should Jesus tarry.

Until then, let us all keep our hands to the plow as we plant seeds that will grow into a beautiful Kingdom "here on earth as it is in heaven".

For Him and Them,

Dean Cowles
YouthPartnersNET President

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