serving with cgm affects me, too

BY LESLIE COWELL

Five years ago, I heard about a ministry called Common Ground Montgomery.

I was sitting in a Sunday school class at my church discussing mission work in the inner city, specifically about moving into neighborhoods to serve alongside the existing community. A guy next to me raised his hand and said, “You know there is a ministry doing this kind of work in Montgomery.”  I immediately went home, found the website, and emailed CGM founder Bryan Kelly. We made plans to meet, and my life has never been the same. 

One of the biggest ways that CGM has impacted me is that it has made me more relational, and this change in me has been on my mind the past few days. Relational is a scary word for me. I’m a very focused and driven person. I don’t have time to chat; there’s work to be done!

...I’d always been this way.

In the past, I filled my schedule with stuff to do, and stopping to spend time with people - well that just wasn’t on my radar at all. I'm a very private person and, perhaps, guarded by distance in that privacy. One does not show weakness, or talk about how messed up you are, or speak about when you are mad or upset; people might think less of you. You smile and go on as if everything is fine. That was me.

Looking back, now five years down the road, I think about how I’ve changed. My involvement at CGM is the reason. The Lord is working there. He is present and He is moving. He used CGM to mold me in a way that I never expected. He used the staff at CGM and the families we work with to take the old, private, never-sharing version of me and change me.

Now I yearn for relationship. I want to get to know people, share with them, and listen to them. I want to hug people (which for me is a big deal, because I’m not the hugging type!). I want to learn from others. I want to hear stories from other people. 

Relationship means: "the relation binding participants, a kinship.” This binding is the Lord. I may not look exactly like our neighbors in the Washington Park community where CGM serves, we may not have all the same life experiences, we may not always think or do things exactly the same way, but y’all, we are all messed up the same through and through. We all have weakness. We all get mad and upset. And it’s in this binding, in this kinship, that the Lord thrives in. He develops and molds us more in His image by relationship. This is what it’s all about.

Isn’t it amazing what God uses to mold us?

For me, my CGM journey, and a journey into relating with and loving people more, started with one small comment in a Sunday school class.     

meet mr. ben!

BY AVA CONLEY

It’s that time again! Can I just say I LOVE our volunteers! The Lord has brought so many different kinds of people to Common Ground Montgomery from different backgrounds who truly impact our students in so many different ways. It has really been a blessing to me to see God’s kingdom on earth in the way the volunteers love our kids. We are so lucky to have the greatest volunteers in the world! I would love to take the moment to highlight another one of the fabulous people that the Lord has brought to us! 

I wanted to take a moment and have Mr. Ben answer a few questions about his experiences at CGM.

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Q: How long have you been volunteering with CGM?                                       

I've been volunteering for about a year.

Q: Why do you love coming to CGM?  

I love coming here because the kiddos are awesome and the programs are well organized.

Q: What is your favorite area to volunteer in?

Currently my favorite area is teaching.

Q: Who is your favorite staff person?                                                                        

My two favorite staffers are B.K. and Ava!

Q: How has volunteering at CGM impacted you?                                          

I’m more grounded and connected to the Lord’s work.

Q: What is one of the most impactful moments / conversations / interactions you’ve had while volunteering?                                                    

One of the kids in our class thanked me for being there and not losing my cool when they got crazy.

Q: Describe a funny story or interaction you’ve had with one of the kids.                             

A question in one of our studies was, "What would you do if you found out that you just inherited $1 million?'. One of the boys immediately jumped up and said, "$50’s and pizza night for all y’all!!!"

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Thank you for all you do Mr. Ben! I know I can speak for all the staff and kids at CGM- We love you!

If you would like more information about becoming a volunteer, please contact Ava Conley using the CONTACT form.

become a monthly donor in march!

Monthly giving is an extremely convenient and meaningful way to support CGM. Your monthly gift provides a reliable stream of income to our organization and allows us to provide much needed programs to the Washington Park neighborhood. Plus, this is an easy way to give as well as budget your annual giving. Sign-up once and don’t think about it for the rest of the year!

By March 31, 2015, become either a $25 donor monthly donor and receive a CGM t-shirt, or a $50 (or more) monthly donor and receive a CGM t-shirt and CGM tumbler!

Because of your generous contribution, CGM will be able to:
-Provide room in the After School Program for over 100 children at no cost to their families
-Send all enrolled children to summer camp for 8 weeks
-Support their spiritual and emotional development through bible studies and the Purity Study
-Match youth with loving and positive mentors
-Offer a safe haven for youth to be removed from the destructive influences of the streets.

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*When donating online, please specify your preferred size in the comments box. T-shirt colors are white or gray; please note which color you would like. Ensure that your entered address can receive packages. Items will not be mailed outside of the continental US. Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. For additional questions, please contact Summer Williams at the main office by calling 334.593.5803, or by using the contact form.

when you can't change anyone

BY JUSTIN HAMPTON

It may sound simple, but one of the toughest lessons to learn as an agent of change is that you literally can’t change anyone. As we've had the privilege to watch many of the youth in our program grow up from lovable elementary school students, to high school students being enticed by every temptation imaginable, a funny thing begins to set in. Some of them, if not most of them “get it.”

Many of the boys that were once knuckle heads, weed smoking, gang-sign throwing, rabble-rousers are now leading the charge for a life devoted to Christ. We have some high school young men that are literally traveling around the southeast United States performing their recorded gospel rap music before audiences of seeking youth. These young men that were once on generational paths of destruction are now snatching others out of those same patterns and leading hearts to commit to the Lord Jesus! 

Seeing them gives me hope. Hope that the ten or so middle school boys currently in my program will “get it” too. That the current batch of young men, hardened by life circumstances and unfathomable conditions, will be receptive to the gospel as well. It's a long road however.

My boys are just entering adolescence and are experiencing the same negative draw that the previous generations of youth have experienced. They are relating to girls differently, visualizing their futures differently, and believing different things about themselves. The innocence of wanting to be a fireman, policeman, cartoonist, or astronaut has long subsided and is now replaced by mixed aspirations .

Often I’ve felt that its my responsibility to revive their dreams; to rekindle that innocent heart that lives behind the tough facade used to mask their hurts. But, as the temporary nature of both my assignment at Common Ground Montgomery, and in fact on this Earth, are made more evident with each passing year, I’ve begun to understand that the responsibility to change lives rests not with me or my efforts, but with the power of God.

Sometimes it's two steps forward and three steps back. One of our most troubled young men got elected as the middle school class president, helped bring order to a disruptive classroom through his leadership, and then got suspended the following week for his own participation in a fight. The silver lining in the clouds is always a source of encouragement, but if we are not careful that same source of hope can serve to drag our morale down if it goes unrecognized, uncelebrated, or is simply non-existent.

We work hard, and sometimes the fruit of our labor shows and sometimes it doesn’t. If we seek to gain our satisfaction and sense of accomplishment from the visible strides made in character, or morality, of one of our youth, we stand on unstable ground. No matter how many trips they take, classes they attend, talks they receive, or bible studies they endure, there is no guarantee of transformation. I’ve learned that my responsibility is to simply stand in prayerful hope that our efforts will plant seeds of change and water existing ones. My measure of success is not in the number of souls saved, students graduated, or families moved into new housing. It can only be in my willingness to yield to the empowering grace of God.

march-april 2015 newsletter is out

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UPDATE: In editing, an incorrect scripture reference was cited in the emailed newsletter and PDF. The current PDF available for viewing and download has been corrected.