common ground montgomery news and updates

if we just believe

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BY CHAQUANA TOWNSEND

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live. And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. (Matthew 9:18-25)

As I read this passage of scripture two things are strikingly evident and refreshing in my mind: God can do the impossible if only we believe. The woman and man in this passage had two things in common: trust and belief in the only true God that can do what man says is impossible! They knew Jesus could heal the sick and raise the dead because he had done it many times before! Healing of any kind wasn't too hard for God since they deeply believed and trusted in his mighty power!

Their faith blew me away because more times than I can count, I doubt the power of Jesus to save and open blinded eyes. I pray for something and then doubt that God will come through. My faith has been so weak in the past, and I want to see more of his power at work in my life, and in the lives of others. I want to witness miracles, and tell others about the God who performed those miracles. As I read the Gospels, one thing sticks out: God does indeed answer prayer when we have the faith to believe. He does hear our cries, our petitions, or requests, and he has not forgotten us. Does God answer every request we have? No, absolutely not! However, there are prayers that God will answer because of our faith in Him.

I am trusting God to raise up many of the children we work with to be warriors for Jesus. I am trusting God to break generational patterns and curses in their lives and many others. I am trusting God to use our parents and children in such a way that people bow down and worship the one true King! He is already doing some of the very things I am asking Him to do, and I will keep trusting Him until he says otherwise. I pray that God will continue to increase the faith of his children.

Nothing, absolutely nothing is too hard for our God! Will you believe with me?

cacf awards cgm $50,000 grant

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MONTGOMERY—On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Common Ground Montgomery (CGM) was presented a $50,000 check from the Central Alabama Community Foundation (CACF) at their campus in the Greater Washington Park neighborhood (1516 Mobile Road in Montgomery). This CACF “Curbing the Violence” Focus Grant supports the program’s effort to help reduce violence in the area by identifying the root causes and tackling risk factors such truancy, lack of a high school completion, and positive role models for at-risk youth.

CACF’s distribution committee chose CGM as a recipient for their already successful mentoring work. The funding will allow CGM to hire a Mentor Coordinator for their Mentor Program. The coordinator will recruit mentors, provide intensive training, track the overall well-being (educational and behavioral) of the matched youth, and evaluate the success of the program. This funding will also support the marketing efforts needed to recruit mentors.

Pike Road resident Jeff Welch sums up his experience with the Mentor Program: “My wife and I made  the decision to become a mentor a few years ago with hopes of walking with and supporting a young  man through the challenges of his neighborhood and the lack of a father figure in his home. We had no idea what to expect but decided that we would fully share our home, our family and our faith with him by including him in all of our family activities such as sporting events, church, vacations, holiday meals, etc. He is now like a son to my wife and I and a big brother to our children. We feel so blessed to include him as part of our family.”

In addition to supporting the mentoring program, this grant money will also support CGM’s After School Program with support from other community partners and grants. CGM will construct new  classrooms on their campus in order to serve more youth in the neighborhood.

“By expanding our program, we are not only promoting academic success and providing a safe haven of love and grace, but we are also developing meaningful relationships with the children and parents in the neighborhood,” said Bryan Kelly, CGM Founder and Executive Director.

Kiwanis Club of Montgomery has also awarded CGM a grant of $25,000 for the expansion of classrooms. Plans are to build 4-6 new classrooms, finish out a “theater” space, and help supply some of the technology and furniture for the classrooms. House to House at Washington Park and Hands on River Region will recruit volunteer labor to save on costs of construction and other vendors will donate air-conditioning, flooring, sheetrock, paint, and electrical supplies and labor.

Finally, a portion of the $50,000 will support CGM’s Middle and High School initiative to train 
students for after-school and summer training opportunities, offset travel, and program expenses.

“The CACF grant allows us to implement and deepen a strategy that will help change the trajectory of the lives of at-risk youth in our community. We can now provide the leadership to recruit, train, and nurture long-term mentors for kids in our community and help build the classroom and learning space that we will use to develop the kids in our after school program. We will further provide a daily safe-haven for kids to come off the streets and be invested in, but also the relationships necessary to drastically change the odds for good for many urban kids.” - Bryan Kelly, CGM Founder and Executive Director

 

fall semester is underway

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We are into our second week of the new Fall Semester. So here are a few pictures from the past few days!

fall 2014 after school program volunteer needs

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We are VERY excited to announce that we will be partnering with Sylvan Learning Center. Sylvan will help us to assess our students and from there they create learning plans that are specific to every child's learning needs. We are so excited about this and are confident that Sylvan can help our students to academically successful.

With this being said, we are going to ask for some very specific volunteer needs that will help comply with our schedule and help the kids gain all that they can from the program.

• Monday 5 P.M. - 6:15 P.M. — We are looking for volunteers to help us create an atmosphere of learning while they help the kids with homework, reading books, and learning games on the computer.

• Tuesday and/ or Thursday 5 P.M. - 6:15 P.M. — There are “alternative” electives that we have set up for the kids, but this would be a great time for anyone who is able to teach an elective class on one or both days with the kids.

• Wednesday 5 P.M. - 6:15 P.M. — We are looking for individuals who can commit for the semester to lead a bible study.

• Friday 4 P.M. - 6:15 P.M. — We are using Friday's as a fun time to hang out and fellowship with the kids. We are asking groups (larger than at least 6) to help us plan our Fun Friday activities! If you or your organization would like to sign up for a Fun Friday it can look many different ways. We have a large school bus and a driver so you can plan an off campus field trip or a fun day at Common Ground. The options are limitless.

If you would like to help us out in any of these areas, please contact Ava Conley by using the CONTACT FORM or call our main office at 334.593.5803.