An Answered Prayer That Just Might Change Things

Okay, so the Assistant for Student Ministries at CBC, Steve-O has been pushing my thinking on student ministries lately and he has a vision to open our student area as a coffee shop where teens can hang out after school...maybe get some free tutoring, maybe have an "open-mike" kind of night, maybe show movies...nothing all that innovative, really. But definitely in tune with the youth culture in that he wants to give teens a place to unwind, hang-out and NOT have to pay $4 to do it at the local Starbucks.

The unfortunate reality is that it would cost about $10,000 to get the full-blown stuff we'd need to open it. We could do it on the cheap, with a few breaks, for about $3,000.

The even more unfortunate reality is that church's generally don't have that kind of "extra" change laying around to make that happen...even our church, which tends to be very generous.

So, we started praying for some sort of guidance.

So, we get an e-mail from a coffee shop going out of business in Enid, Oklahoma, who'd just as soon donate their stuff to us and take the tax break since they couldn't sell it and ship it for what they'd like to get out of it.

So, we said we'd be more than happy to come up there and get it.

And, oh, by the way, the total taxable value on all the stuff they're donating to us is in the $30,000 range.

And, oh, by the way, it's the same machines Steve-O was praying for, as was the glass-door refrigerator for other types of drinks. A team of dudes, led by Steve-O, is driving to Enid today with trailers and all sorts of stuff to assist in the bringing of the machine and accoutrements to bring it all to us.

So, don't mind me.

I'll be spending today wondering what God is doing in the midst of our student ministry at present.

And thanking God for His provision.

And smiling.