Mike King

Alumni Celebration

Our Youthfront/KCYFC Alumni Celebration was (proclaimed by a group of alumni as) EPIC. More than 500 alumni gathered at Youthfront Camp South. From the time the first guests arrived on Saturday afternoon until the last one left at 11:30 PM, it was non-stop hugging, story telling and celebration. Our co-founder Vidy Metsker was a real encouragement to all. Our staff was amazing as always in their radical service. I was exhausted, after the adrenaline from the celebration subsided. Blessed and fulfilled is the best way to describe how I feel about this event. I can only imagine how this will build to the next gathering two years from now. If you are connected to the story of Youthfront/KCYFC you will want to check out the Alumni site and check out some of the pictures here and here and stories here.
 

Packaging Meals

VIDEO OF PACKAGING MEALS

Media Coverage

We are getting significant media coverage for Feed the Hunger...

 

Alumni Celebration

One more shout out for those of you who read this blog and are a Youthfront Alumni.  We are expecting to party with 700 plus alumni this weekend.  It's not too late to participate.  No cost.  Register here.

Jeremy Affeldt and Feed the Hunger

Jeremy Affeldt, Pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and an outspoken follower of Jesus Christ, understands the importance of connecting good works with the proclamation of the Gospel.  Jeremy was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper for his work and support of rescuing children from the sex-trade and bonded-slave labor industry.  The Affeldt’s have kicked off the Feed the Hunger initiative with a gift of $15,000.

Jeremy writes, “Mike and I have been good friends for over 5 years now and his willingness to disciple me in the love of Jesus especially through humanitarian efforts have been eye opening to Larisa and I.  He was huge in turning me in the direction of Not For Sale in San Francisco to help in the fight against sex slavery.  My love for “the least of these” has increased more and more over the five years I have spent with Mike so when he gave me a call explaining the Youthfront Feed the Hunger initiative Larisa and I talked about it for no more than 30 seconds and knew it was a must for us to help out with. 

God has given us so much over the years and we truly feel that He directs us to areas where He would want us to give back.  What an exciting time this is to see young adults striving to be like Christ and I truly believe that the hand of God will show mightily in this time.  Feed the Hunger initiative is Jesus walking among us!”

A Big Announcement

Every day, more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes.

Every 3 seconds, someone, somewhere, dies of hunger.

One-third of the world’s population is starving.

More than 10 million people will die of starvation this year and more than half of this number will be children.

“The LORD blesses everyone who freely gives food to the poor.” Proverbs 22:9

Youthfront is excited to launch a new initiative called Feed the Hunger.  The Feed the Hunger initiative will provide nutritious food for people (primarily children) who are suffering starvation.  Feed the Hunger will also engage young people in Christian Formation that embraces the importance of faith embodied through action on behalf of the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed.

There are two types of hunger Youthfront is addressing:
 
•    First - the hunger for food.  This is a basic human need that when not met will lead to starvation and ultimately death.  This is a tragedy. 
•    Second - the hunger for God and being in relationship with Jesus.  Satisfying this hunger is essential for spiritual health.  This appetite should grow as we pursue God but it will never be fully satisfied until we see Jesus Christ face to face.

“If a brother or sister lacks food and one of you says, ‘go in peace,’ and yet do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?  Faith if it has no works is dead.” James 2:15-17.

Youthfront is partnering with Outreach, Inc. in this collaborative initiative. The mission of Outreach, Inc. is “to provide safe water, food, medical care and education to children in need, focusing on developing countries to make a life-changing impact for current and future generations.” 

 “It was important for Youthfront to find a partner for this project that engages in a comprehensive and sustainable approach with those whom they serve.  We are not interested in providing a ‘token’ meal. The quality nutritious meal consists of a mixture of rice, soy, vegetables, and a full daily supplement of vitamins.  Outreach, Inc. is an organization doing an amazing job of feeding hungry people (predominately children) around the world.” Mike King, Youthfront President.

The Feed the Hunger initiative will provide a way for youth to become aware of the problem of world hunger and get involved in doing something about it.  Special attention will be made to helping young people understand the importance of proclaiming the Gospel along with embodying the Gospel, not only “over there” but also where they live, here and now. Churches and youth groups throughout the Midwest will be participating in raising money for the meals.  We will also actually package the meals for distribution to those in need.  The cost of this initiative is approximately $.40 cents per/meal. 

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth…” 1 John 3:17-18.

Feed the Hunger facts:

o    Feed the Hunger was launched at Youthfront Camps - June 2009.
o    Feed the Hunger is a project for the church in Kansas City, the bread-basket of the world, to embrace as a blessing to those who are hungry.
o    Outreach, Inc. provides food supplies, packaging materials, shipping and distribution while Youthfront provides fund raising, labor, storage, education, facilitation of the packaging process, the training and discipleship of young people involved with Feed the Hunger.
o    Most of the meals are being delivered to the established mission of Outreach, Inc. in Central Africa while a portion of meals will be sent to Youthfront’s mission in Croc, Mexico, and other places of desperate need.
o    The quality nutritious meal consists of a mixture of rice, soy, vegetables, and a full daily supplement of vitamins. 
o    The cost of the Feed the Hunger initiative is approximately $.40 cents per/meal. Only .40 cents per meal covers the up-front costs of purchasing the raw food ingredients for the meals, packaging materials, transportation, shipping and distribution of meals to those in need.  This price also covers the cost of mobilizing individuals, organizations and churches to provide education, spiritual formation, food and a plan to provide hope to people who routinely go without food.
o    Feed the Hunger also addresses the Christian Formation of those involved in order to shape young people in what it means to faithfully live and serve in the way of Jesus Christ.
o    You can participate through your financial contributions and by organizing groups to prepare and package meals. 

Feed the Hunger website

Amazing post from Seth Godin

Very interesting post here by Seth Godin.

What?????????????

I wish this were a joke.  Sigh.........

Merton Quote

'What do I fear most? To forget who I am, to be lost in what I am not.'

Thomas Merton, Journal 1966

Torture

One of the more profound texts I studied at Nazarene Theological Seminary was Cavanaugh's Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ.  William T. Cavanaugh is a professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN.

I've often reflected on this work in the context of the current debate concerning torture.  My people (Evangelicals) hold some very troubling opinions about the role of torture in our world. 

"A survey of 742 U.S. adults released April 29 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants said torture of a suspected terrorist could be often or sometimes justified to obtain important information.

By contrast, 51 percent of white non-Hispanic Catholics, 46 percent of white mainline Protestants and 40 percent of the religiously unaffiliated held that position.

Those who attend religious services at least once a week were more likely than those who rarely or never attend to say torture is sometimes or often justified in that scenario -- 54 percent to 42 percent." Sun Sentinel.

I was happy to find Cavanaugh weighing in on this issue in this article.

Cavanaugh believes that the Eucharist is the heart of Christian resistance to torture and terror.  Cavanaugh believes that Jesus Christ calls us to truly love and identify with the enemy, the victim.  This teaching of radical orientation to the Kingdom of God life versus a life orientation to a Christianity submitted to nationalistic ideals is something I wish I could say I have truly embraced but I'm ashamed more often than not that I embrace an American agenda instead of God's Way.

Cavanaugh writes, "Torture is both a product of—and helps reinforce—a certain story about who “we” are and who “our” enemies are. Torture helps imagine the world as divided between friends and enemies. To live the Eucharist, on the other hand, is to live inside God’s imagination. The Eucharist is the ritual enactment of the redemptive power of God, rooted in the torture, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ."

I pray for and desire to engage in Christian Formational Practices which will shape me to live inside God's Way for our world.