September Update

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…” – Ephesians 3:20

As we move into September, we wanted to bring you our second monthly update on the Compassion First projects. Thank you for your faithful engagement and commitment to our local and global partners. Here are just a few more things that you have helped set into MOTION.

Compassion

F.I.R.S.T.

Project Updates

F – FIGHT

Fight Sex Trafficking and Poverty

Spotlight on Project #6: Living Water International

Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water and to experience “living water”—the gospel of Jesus Christ—which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.

Since 1997 Living Water has been providing training and well development projects throughout the world, as well as adult short-term mission opportunities throughout Central America, Haiti, and some African locations.

In June, a team of 12 representatives from Bayside Church (representing Granite Bay, Adventure, and Midtown campuses), joined together to travel to Guatemala to serve with Living Water International. The team worked side by side with community members that had been praying for 18 months for the needed well.

The team drilled a well 200 feet deep and installed a hand pump capable of producing 5 gallons per minute. While drilling progressed, other members of the team taught in the school: providing health and hygiene lessons, distributing toothbrushes and toothpaste, sharing the Gospel message through skits and drama, and reinforcing our message with crafts. In the afternoon, the women of the community were invited to experience the same lessons the kids received, further deepening the relationships developed throughout the week.

 

 

The primary objective of Living Water International is to serve the “Bottom Billion” (which refers to the nearly 663 million people who do not have access to clean water), share the Gospel, and draw those that serve into a closer relationship with Jesus.

Learn more about Living Water International here.

 

I – INVEST

Invest in High-Impact Ministries

Spotlight on Project #17: World Relief Sacramento

The city of Sacramento is the United States’ leader in refugee resettlement. World Relief Sacramento’s core mission is that while in community with the local Church, the most vulnerable people are transformed economically, socially, and spiritually. Since 1989, they have provided holistic programming in resettlement, English classes, employment services, and immigration legal services.

Bayside Church has been a partner church with World Relief for several years, most notably with the Motion Campaign, the Serve Day Refugee Carnival, and World Refugee Day soccer tournament. Bayside is also sending a team, led by Roy Franz and Bayside Adventure Sports, to ride in World Relief’s “Peddle to Resettle” fundraising event. Roy is the son of a refugee himself and has already organized practice rides for participants for this event. All money raised for this event will go towards Refugee Women’s Initiatives and holistic programming that will transform not only the refugee community but the church community as well.

Learn more about World Relief Sacramento here.

 

R – REACH

Reach At-Risk Kids

Spotlight on Project #28: CURE

Bayside Church and CURE International are partnering up to deliver life-changing surgeries and the hope of Christ to children in the Philippines. CURE International is passionate about two things: healing kids and sharing Jesus with patients and their families.

Why the Philippines? We estimate that there are roughly 2.1 million children with correctable disabilities in the Philippines. These children are outcasts in their communities making treatment for their conditions truly transformative. Ranked 116th out of 188 countries on the 2015 United Nations Human Development Index, the Philippines lacks the health care infrastructure to provide sufficient surgical care to these precious children. Fortunately, CURE serves in places like the Philippines because that’s where care is most needed and often least available.

Here are just a few highlights from the Tebow CURE Hospital in partnership with Bayside Church:

The third-floor expansion is complete! Praise God for the arrival of a shipping container in early-June that provided all the necessary equipment and inventory to outfit the new space. In mid-June, the Spiritual Ministry team members moved into the new office space, which is closer to the patient ward and makes it easier to encourage and pray with patients and families.

We’re also pleased to announce that the hospital has acquired a new C-arm machine that will produce excellent diagnostic imaging for our operations! Additionally, a new brace workshop has opened up to provide patients with the support devices they need to maximize their healing.

The Tebow CURE Hospital has had so many successful mobile clinics over the last few months that they’ve been able to build a two-month backlog of patients scheduled for surgery. Please pray for the upcoming surgeries and affected families.

Every day, children are given the opportunity to walk out of the Tebow CURE Hospital free from a lifetime of disability and into a future of hope. Since opening in 2015, the Tebow CURE Hospital has performed more than 2,300 procedures, reached more than 7,600 people with the gospel, and witnessed more than 3,400 expressions of faith in Jesus Christ!

If you want to get involved and encourage a child today, you can send a get well message to a patient receiving care. Why not start now? Simply drop letters off at your campus’ Welcome Center addressed to Bayside Global Outreach.

Learn more about CURE here.

 

S – SERVE

Serve Our Community

Spotlight on Project #35: Leataata Floyd Elementary School

Bayside goes out of the church walls to meet the needs of the community at Leataata Floyd Elementary, a K-6 school (Title 1) that serves two of Sacramento’s largest housing communities. We are honored to provide two summer camps on campus every summer: Breakaway Nights and Breakaway Academy. Breakaway Nights is a high-energy summer camp where the campers enjoy art, music, dance, and sports.

Breakaway Academy is a 6-week summer school privileged to teach important math and reading skills to 70 students this year. Academy staff are credentialed teachers at LFE year-round.

Breakaway Academy: Changing student’s lives one student at a time.

Back at the beginning of the summer, one of the moms pressed our Breakaway Academy staff, asking for her 9th-grade student to be admitted into the summer school program. Unfortunately, Breakaway Academy usually only serves students in grades K-6. She desperately wanted her son’s reading skills to improve because he was just reading at a 2nd-grade reading level. She, being an illiterate adult herself, was adamant that her son improve himself so that he would have a more successful future. Thankfully, Breakaway Academy has the benefit of flexibility because it’s an independent summer school program. It was decided that this 9th grader could join the program, and not only did this child’s reading improve dramatically, but his confidence grew as he, in turn, helped the other students. He became a mentor and had a great summer being a leader who is now better prepared for high school.

This is just one story of hope of countless others. Each year Breakaway Academy grows and has an increasing wait list due to the excellent reputation of the program.

 

T – TRAIN

Train the Next Generation of Christian Leaders

Spotlight on Project #54: APEX

If you were around Bayside this summer, you might have seen a huge group of high school students running around. Whether it was setting up hay out in the rec field (#HAYDAY), twisting paper to make vines for storytelling, or making the bags for hundreds of totes for tent time, the APEX students worked hard and had fun serving at the Breakaway Kids Camps across all seven of our campuses. APEX is Bayside’s discipleship-based summer internship program for high school students, where they get to serve, work hard, and be poured into spiritually. This summer APEX had 98 high school students, 15 college leads, and 6 APEX staff members.

At the APEX retreat, Ethan Vanse, Bayside Adventure’s Campus pastor, set the tone for the summer with the phrase “Pour more!”, where the students were encouraged and challenged to “pour more” when it gets hard. When someone is frustrating to be around, “pour more” kindness; when their little fourth and fifth grade Breakaway kids still won’t listen, “pour more” patience; when it’s over 100 degrees outside and you’re moving hay bales around for the sixth time, “pour more” perseverance. What a beautiful lesson for these young leaders.

APEX: Where the leaders of tomorrow find their “why”.

Abbie, APEX college lead and student at Jessup University had this to say about her time working with APEX, “…I didn’t realize what I was getting into, but APEX was the best surprise God put in my lap. Serving as the hands and feet of Jesus is the way to find the why to your relationship with God. And when you find the why, that’s when you experience God on a new level of depth and intimacy. Beyond the serving, being in a community filled with individuals who eat, sleep, and breathe Jesus allowed me to find confidence in my relationship with God. We all push on another to get deeper with Jesus and becoming the best version of ourselves to glorify Him. All these children of God coming together to build and serve a summer kids camp truly equips the next generation to be lights on their school campus’ all over the Sacramento area.”

Young people are the Church of Today! Thank you for investing in these students’ futures by helping them expand the Kingdom of God here on earth while making memories that last a lifetime!

 

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Thank you for reading this update! As you can see, God is already using the first fruits of your giving to help churches, save lives, and spread the hope of Jesus Christ around the world! And we’re just getting started!

If you want to learn more or get involved in the Motion Campaign, check out motion.baysideonline.com