Commissioning Service
The photo above shows the kids involved in King's Kids this year. This includes the 9-12 year old Junior Team and the 13-18 year old Senior Team. On October 30 we invited their families to King's Kids for our annual commissioning service, in which we pray for the kids to grow in their walk with the Lord and have successful ministry outreaches this year.
This year we also had the official change of leadership in which Bob and Karen Pofahl, who have directed King's Kids since 1989, passed this title and responsibility to Vinnie and Jodie Carafano. The Carafanos have been the assistant directors for many years and have led the teenage teams and ministries. New responsibilities for them will include overseeing the functions and pastoral needs of the staff, ministry fund raising and communication, representing the base to both YWAM and King's Kids International, developing new staff workers, and planning the course of the overall ministry. Karen will continue to serve King's Kids with her administrative skills, and Bob is a support and encouragement in all we do. Both are on the board of directors, and Bob will continue to serve as its chairman.
Spring Break Outreaches
March and April 2005 will be packed with new experiences as hundreds of youth, their leaders and families meet in Juarez, Mexico to share Jesus' love with children, work on construction projects for ministries and reach out to the poor. During the last 12 years, thousands of kids from over 30 states have participated in 39 camps with us in Juarez. There are two weeks of camp open to youth groups next spring. They will fill up quickly, so contact us immediately for more information.
March 13-19
March 20-26
New Building for King's Kids
A new meeting room on Bob and Karen Pofahl's property is approaching completion, and the kids and staff are excited about having such a great place to meet for King's Kids' activities. This 1200 square foot old mission style building will have a game table area, an area for worship times and small group Bible studies, plus a bathroom. The building has been constructed at no cost to King's Kids, but we need to furnish it. Families with kids on the teams have been so generous to help us, and our wish list is nearly paid for!
Wish List for new meeting room
75 stacking chairs @ $22.00 each $1650.00 paid in full
4 matching couches @ $361.00 each $1444.00 so far $1000 donated
white board- 6 foot $110.00
6 white folding tables- 8 foot @ $70.00 each $420.00 so far $350 donated
2 area rugs @ $150.00 each $300.00 so far $150 donated
4 ceiling fans @$50.00 each $200.00 so far $100 donated
ping-pong table $370.00 paid in full
$4494.00
Local Team Outreaches
Joel 1:14 Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord,
Over 100 youth and leaders met at Cielo Vista Church for a day of fasting, prayer, short teachings and worship. The day went well and the kids really sought God. This is the second time we've done this in 2004, and we believe it's crucial to call youth to seek the Lord together. King's Kids originated and organized the “Selah” citywide call to prayer. Both teams will join together in December for an outreach to the poor in Anapra, Mexico, with the Vineyard church there. The day will include winterizing six houses and a Christmas program with both ministry and fun for the kids in the colonia.
The 9-12 year old team went to the Dame la Mano home for women in crisis and shared the Gospel with the women and about 30 of their children who live there. Several responded to the altar call and all the kids had fun together.
King's Kids Support and Staff Support
King's Kids El Paso is a non-profit organization supported financially by two major sources: offerings from individuals and congregations who believe in our ministry, and funds raised through camps and summer outreaches. These finances cover the general expenses of running the organization such as office expenses, purchase and maintenance of vehicles, insurance, office rent/utility, and program resources. On many occasions we have taken young people into the local teams or camps and not charged them any fees due to financial situations in their families that would have otherwise kept them from participating. Salaries are not included in the need list above since each full time staff member is responsible for raising their own financial support through charitable donations. This is the policy for all Youth With a Mission/King's Kids ministries around the world.
Please pray about whether you should become part of the financial support team of a particular staff member or for general ministry expenses. For more information on this area, please call our office. God has been faithful through the years to supply our needs and we trust Him to continue to do so. Since His means of supplying our needs is through people, we are simply making the needs known. Thank you for praying about helping King's Kids continue to minister to countless young people on the border and around the world.
India Outreaches
For years Vinnie and Jodie Carafano's friends in Central India have been inviting them to return, and at the end of January Vinnie is planning to go to India alone for 2 1/2 weeks to do pastors' training conferences in three cities. This is in the area where their family preached to villages that had never heard the Gospel in 1998. Please pray for safety and a successful trip!