Extra Goodness

What IS Truth?!

By Ramon Smith

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us…the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. I believe there is scarcely an error in doctrine or a failure in applying Christian ethics that cannot be traced finally to imperfect and ignoble thoughts about God.” A.W.Tozer Knowledge of the Holy 

I believe that in young people’s efforts to discover the good life, many times often tied to the contemporary confusion regarding what is truth, and how do we discover it.

Recently, the Middle School Team was able to partner with mentors to challenge some of the unspoken assumptions that many teens may have about what is Truth.  We were able to do this at our Future Story Event, the “Mixed-Up Dinner Theater”!

About 100 adults and students met on the Mercy Street campus to share good food, good entertainment, and were told tons of good conversation about “the good life”.  In the various nights’ drama presentations, the students saw decisions being made and behavior patterns being set that often have long term consequences. Our prayer is that they would begin to wrestle with significant questions like, “how do my current actions impact my future outcomes” or “what is the ‘good life’ life really?!” 

As the above quote by AW Tozer reminds us, the most important thought a person has is what they think of God and, by extension His Word. Continue to pray with us that the students of West Dallas would see God, education, chastity, and wisdom as truly what’s good, beautiful and desirable.  

Man Up

by Garrett Smith

In past summers it has been hard to watch West Dallas youth spend day after day in front of the TV or walking around somewhat depressed by their boredom.

This summer for our middle school boys we decided to try and change that.  We themed our weekly Bible Study (which meets every Sunday at 6pm for all mentors of middle school students) along the lines of a Christian rap song called Man Up.  

Our desire was to challenge boys to take initiative, commit to learning responsibility, follow God's word, and step outside their comfort zones.  The Bible Study has taken the shape of an urban gospel-driven boy scouts. The boys attend Bible study each Sunday and are charged with memorizing scripture and reading thought-provoking books (like Ben Carson's Gifted Hands, or Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love or Donovan Campbell's Joker One).

Then, throughout the summer the boys can participate in huddles that teach them a particular skill or expose them to something entirely different.  Huddles have included rock climbing, photography, videography, cooking, nutrition, the anatomy of a business, canoeing and much more.  

The boys have seemed to come alive.  Many have expressed joy of how different this summer has been from summer's past.  Several have given up the video games and taken to memorizing God's word and getting out of the house.  Praise God for the work He is doing in challenging these young men to "man up" and begin to think about the kind of men God wants them to be.