Wanted: Basketball Players Who Love the Lord.

Why is it so hard for some people to come into North Tulsa to help the children?  

I've had many people tell me they were AFRAID to come into our area because of all the crime they hear about in the news.  Others have said they didn't know HOW to help.

These two reasons have kept many people home in other parts of town who could have made a great difference in a child's life.

Second Timothy 1:7 tells us not to be afraid "for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  

The fear stuff does not come from God.  Another force is bringing in the fear.   

When we are allowing God to work through us, everything changes.  We have a spirit of power.  We have a spirit of love.  We have a spirit of a sound mind.

With a spirit of power, we know that God gives us the ability to overcome the things we would be afraid of that we see on the news.

With a spirit of love, our fears vanish and we see others through God's eyes.  Love empowers us to get over ourselves and go into all the world where we need to go.  

With a spirit of a sound mind, we can identify HOW to help!

For instance, I found that my favorite way to show love in my North Tulsa neighborhood is to play my favorite sport: basketball.  I love playing basketball, I love the kids up here, and I love sharing the wholeness that God offers to all of us.

So, I play basketball with the children and youths wherever I can.  I encourage them on every shot they take, every steal they make, every spin move.  Then I talk to them about their passions in life, their school, and their dreams.  

Before long, we are talking about the hope that God brings them in fulfilling their life dreams, about how He created them with unique gifts/skills/talents to carry out those dreams, and how He is with them every step away to encourage them in their toughest times.  

I have found that all of God's creation has one thing in common: everyone wants love.  Love comes in the forms of quality time, words of affirmation, service, thoughtful gifts, and appropriate touch.

Have you thought of how you could help a child in North Tulsa?  

The Tulsa Cornerstone Assistance Network's "YOUTH WORKS" initiative provides ways for people, companies, churches, foundations, civic groups, schools, etc. to bless the children of North Tulsa in many ways.  

If you would like to help, whether it is through basketball, reading, arts & crafts, cooking, teaching, field trips, or sponsoring the initiatives, email me today and I'll give you a personal tour of our sites and share with you many ways you can help in our community.

Now, back to the courts!

Chris Beach

President

Tulsa Cornerstone Assistance Network

cbeach@tulsacan.org

918-734-0471