In addition to a new building, we launched a new vision for Graffiti 2 Church. This vision originates from 3 principles found in the Great Commission. 1. Go, not come: We are to go to unbelievers, not have them come to church. 2. Everyone, not some: We are to share with everyone, not just pick and choose who we think. 3. Make disciples, not church members: Disciples will make more disciples which will make more disciples.

We are trusting God for miracles in and through us as Graffiti 2 Church steps faithfully towards this new vision.

We had an abundance of preschool shoeboxes, so we were able to deliver 72 boxes to a Head Start program nearby.

Every year, Graffiti 2 holds a Christmas Celebration that is just for children and teens enrolled in our programs or families from church. This year we had 100 kids and teenagers that received a gift, from 2 years old to 18 years old. Participants in this event were treated to a puppet showed, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and attentively listened to the Gospel as it was presented.

Even after all these kids and teenagers received boxes, we still had over 100 extra! We embraced this challenge and with the help of a Graffiti 2 Board Member, we distributed over 100 boxes to kids and teens in various shelters in the area.

We are exciting about growing this ministry in the years to come.

My brother-in-law was on the other end. Best I can recall he said, “Andrew, something happened.”

“OK.”

“Your dad passed away.”

“What did you say?”

Fighting back tears (as I am doing right now), “Something happened and your dad passed away.”

“OK. I will see you guys soon.”

I turned my phone off and shortly after the plane took off.

Previously while I was calling all the different phones, my mom, sister and brother-in-law were with the paramedics and coroner. My mom had only found my father about 30 minutes prior. They didn’t know whether to answer the phone and tell me before my flight took off or wait until after I landed.

My father passed away, best we can know, from a seizure at about 2 or 3 in the morning. My mom had slept in a different bed as she went to bed later than him and didn’t want to disturb him. She woke up and got ready to come to St. Louis to pick me up. She noticed my dad wasn’t in bed, but that is not abnormal as he often heads outside early and feeds the horses and accomplishes chores. By 10 am she was getting concerned as that was the time they had discussed leaving. She started looking around. She found him laying between the bed and wall. He had fallen out of the bed during the seizure. She knew he was dead and called 911. She then called my sister. I can’t imagine those first 30 minutes as she sat there with him by herself. She later said God was taking care of her because as hard as that was, she thinks it would have been a forever haunting image if she found him face up.

Meanwhile on the plane, I sat navigating a roller coaster of emotions. Three hours of silence and little interaction, wondering what had happened. At one point I opened my iPad and played a new Monopoly game app. It provided a needed distraction. Arriving in St. Louis, I had about a three hour wait at the airport. My mom, sister and brother-in-law were on their way.

A parade of thoughts as well as a parade of phone calls came (it is amazing how fast news travels!). I always say (and believe) that God works through difficult circumstances. In Lambert International Airport I made a choice that my goal through this life-event was to glorify God. After making that choice, God made it clear how I should respond: not as people who are hopeless.

My father was a believer. The Word of God gives us the promise of heaven. If I really take God for His word, then this honestly is not that big of a deal. My dad is in heaven. The time that I will have to wait to see him again is minuscule when compared to eternity.

On a rainy evening in St. Louis, my family pulled up to the passenger pick-up. I loaded my things in the back of the Trailblazer and sat next to my mom in the back seat. There was little to say besides what could be communicated by a tearful hug between my mom and I. They told me how the morning had unfolded which at this point was still a mystery to me.

Two days later my brother, his wife and two daughters arrived from Indiana. On Thursday a visitation service was held at our church followed by a funeral and burial in a veteran’s cemetery the next day. We were honored to have a dear friend, pastor and show-organist, Charles Ritchie, bring his organ and perform music that would have had my dad tapping his foot. It wasn’t sad. The Gospel was shared by two pastors. God was glorified.

The days following were occupied first with celebrating Christmas. Having four kids under the age of five around the house certainly provided an appropriate distraction. They each (except maybe the three month old) had a sense of what had happened. After being informed that Papa was gone, my nephew later asked, “Who is going to charge the gator (a little vehicle him and my nieces drive around on the farm)?” That had always been my dad’s job. On Christmas eve we sent them to bed. The adults stayed up busily wrapping and accomplishing in one evening what normally took place in a week. This is and will likely remain one of my fondest memories of Christmas.

In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus tells Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” For the two weeks that followed the funeral, I developed a whole new understanding for my father. I lived his life. Got up in the morning and fed the horses. Fed them later at night. Tried to get a grip on all of the loose strings from his business as well as his personal life that needed to be tied up. I walked in his shoes, literally. I wore his rubber boots to do his chores around the farm.

In this busyness I developed a different (not new) respect, love and compassion for my dad. In my experience perspective always leads to compassion. Seeing life from another’s view certainy brings new understanding. For example, at one time in my life I saw felons and criminals. Walking through the court house today, I now see sons, brothers, sisters, mothers, and daughters. I see possible friends and neighbors. I see people that are missing the hope found in Jesus. Perspective brings compassion. I now understand my father better than I ever have before.

One of my tasks in the past two weeks was to destroy the confidential appraisal work of my father. In the city they use shredders. In Fairdealing, MO, we burn it! As I tended the fire and added more papers to it, several thoughts crossed my mind. First, nearly 20 years of my dad’s work went up in flames in about 3 hours. A sobering reminder to re-examine what is truly valuable. Second, as I stared at the flames, thinking through some of the potential problems that stood before me, God reminded of words I had read that morning in a devotional by Eugene Peterson. “God is free above and beyond what we observe of His ways. He is free to do whatever He wills, whether it conforms to what we have observed as the laws he established in creation or not.” God is a God of miracles. God clearly told me, “Andrew, you have already seen miracles. There are still miracles left to come.”

I am praying these miracles, looking to glorify God and celebrating the life of a truly good man. A man that worked hard (until the day he died), loved his family, helped others, and lived a life in reverence to God.

Andrew Mann
Director

*Monday, November 21–Graffiti 2 held an evangelism training. About 20 people learned how to share their faith.

*Tuesday, November 22–Over 200 people attended our community-wide Thanksgiving dinner. This year’s dinner was held at the Betances Community Center in cooperation with BronxWorks.

*Wednesday, November 23–With the help of volunteers, 70 boxes of food containing everything a family needed to make a Thanksgiving dinner were distributed to the families in our programs as well as other families in need.

*Wednesday, November 23–Over 20 teens and adults from Graffiti 2 Church traveled down to Graffiti in Manhattan to lead the service at their community Thanksgiving meal. These teens and adults truly exemplified Christ by how they served.

*During this whole week, our ministry was assisted and enabled by our friends from West Virginia, led by Norm and Debbie Cannada. Visit their ministry website at www.westcharlestonbaptist.org

*In the past three weeks I have seen God miraculously provide for a homeless family that appealed to Graffiti 2 for help on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. When all doors seemed closed, God opened doors to provide housing to this family. The story is not complete, but we are confident in God’s provision.

*Two days ago, a man was shot down the block from our new location on Beekman Avenue. Four of our teenagers witnessed the shooting and were very shaken up. One of those students posted on facebook, “It just got real. It just hit me. We live in the ghetto.” I am a deep believer that God works through difficult circumstances. The seed of any revolution is discontent. One has to be unsettled with the status quo of the world they live. A changed mind is proof of God at work. Pray for the man that was shot, the individual who shot him and each of their families. Pray for our church to be light in the darkness.

*This Sunday, Graffiti 2 will be holding a baptism service for seven recent believers. We believe that these believers as well as existing believers are going to bring revolution to their households and ultimately to this community.

God bless.
Andrew Mann
Pastor/Executive Director

Every month Graffiti 2 hosts an Agape Feast. This month’s Agape Feast had an unexpected but delightful outcome. At the end of the feast, Graffiti 2 shared in the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. As the bread and juice were being passed, one of our 3rd grade students, Michael, did not understand why he didn’t receive the “bread and wine” while Noah, another 3rd grader, sitting across from him did. In fact he got quite upset and began to cry, saying, “I hate Graffiti 2 and don’t want to come back.” His mom called me over to explain to him why he could not participate. With him in tears, he really did not have any care for what I was saying at the time.

Wednesday when he arrived at after school program, he was still upset. He even wrote a note explaining his frustration. The note read, “I can’t go to church because I get bored and can’t stay quiet, but I love God.” Ashley asked Noah to sit with him and explain why he was allowed to participate and Michael was not.

Noah shared two testimonies with Michael. First, he shared his testimony of how he accepted Christ in his life. Second, he shared his testimony on how God called his family to be missionaries here in the Bronx. Noah told Michael to read his Bible and when he felt he was ready to ask his parents or somebody at Graffiti 2 to share with him how to accept Christ in his life.

Michael did just that! He hurried to get a Bible and while everybody else was playing games, he read his Bible. A kid that struggles to focus on anything for more than 2 minutes, sat intently reading the Word.

Later, Michael sat with me and I shared with him the plan of salvation. Over the past 2 years in after school he has developed a deep knowledge of the Bible. He fully understood Christ’s sacrifice for him and the free gift of salvation offered to him. He prayed to God, “God I know I am a sinner. I know my sin separates me from you. I believe that Jesus lived, died and came back to life. He took my punishment for my sins. I want to make you the boss of my life. I want to do things your way, not my way. Amen.”

A few moments later, Michael exclaimed to Noah, “I am a Christ follower now.”

People Affecting People. Kids Affecting Kids. Revolutionized Revolutionaries.

As ministers (meaning all believers) the temptation is to try to understand, when in reality we serve a God that accomplishes the unimaginable. This is in reality what it means to walk by faith—not seeking to understand, but instead trust that God is accomplishing the unimaginable even in the midst of battles, struggles and adversity.

There is the adage, “Fight the battles you can win.” Instead, I say, “Fight the battles that come before you. If you fight long enough, you will see your defeats become victories.”

While in Missouri, I invited a young man I’ve known for 10 years (since he was 10 years old) to spend some time with me at my parents farm. This young man has been one of the greatest joys of my life, but he is a constant battle as well. He is literally dodging bullets in Chicago, he should have been dead probably 100 times by now. Nevertheless, he is a fellow believer that is seeking how to follow God in his life. Keep on fighting.
Yesterday, through unexpected connections, I regained contact with a young man from my past ministry at Graffiti in Manhattan. Through some different circumstances, he had disappeared from my radar screen as well as Graffiti’s. I had released him to God, never expecting to see him again. We became Facebook friends yesterday and are hoping to connect soon. Keep on fighting.

At Graffiti 2, we have numerous stories of victories—check out the video section of our website and you can see them. Yet for every one of those stories, after the camera is turned off, life moves forward. Life that brings complications, temptations, and more difficult circumstances. Many might look at some of these events as defeats. Keep on fighting.

At an early point in my ministry, I had a humorous fantasy. As I walked down the street, I imagined my life being part of a movie with Coolio’s “Gangsta Paradise” as the soundtrack! Honestly since then, I have developed a distaste for such movies—movies that do more to provide a “feel-good” moment for the audience than to display the reality of life. I no longer imagine myself in a movie. That would be too simple—those stories have an ending. Instead, I keep on fighting, never knowing the unimaginable that God will bring tomorrow.

Graffiti 2 is entering into its 7th year of this battle.

See pictures below:
Graffiti 2 held our school supply sale in a new facility.

Parent’s shopping for their kids.

*Making 2,000 contacts with children this summer through Sports Camps, Fine Arts Camp, Summer Tots (Preschool) and G.S.A.L.T. (Graffiti Serving and Leading Teens)

*Graffiti 2 hosting its first ever soccer camp—thankful for our new friends at FBC Cary, NC and United Dayspring in Ohio

*True friends in ministry that have served with G2 for many summers–Football/Cheerleading: Calvary Baptist Church (Dothan, AL), Tennis: Forest Baptist Church (Forest, MS), and Basketball/Cheerleading: First Baptist Church Moss Bluff (Moss Bluff, LA). We praise God that not only have these partners served here at G2, they have also taken their experiences here and began new ministries in their own communities.

*Expanding G2’s preschool program called Summer Tots from 2 days a week to 4 days a week.

*Graffiti Serving and Leading Teens (G.S.A.L.T.) taking a first hand role in the revitalization, revival and revolution of the Mott Haven community

*Partners in ministry, World Vision and Upward Sports, who so generously provide materials for our sports camps.

*The growth of G2 church—brothers and sisters in Christ are joining together as a worshipping body of believers right here in Mott Haven

*The potential for expansion into a new ministry space (more info soon to come)

*Five permanent staff members and two temporary interns this summer

*16 Gospel Decisions made over the course of Graffiti 2′s Summer Programs

Celebrate with us by commenting on this post or sending us your stories of how God has touched your life here at Graffiti 2.

CentriKid was an incredible experience for me as the group leader. I know the girls had fun and loved their time at camp (because they kept asking to come back as 6th graders instead of going on the youth trip)! But I was so impressed with how well done the camp was and how all of the staff executed the camp. I want to know what their process is for recruiting and training their staff because I was blown away with each and every one of them. They weren’t there to build relationships with each other, even though you could tell that they were all close. They focused on the kids 100% of the time and incorporated Bible study and life application in everything. And I mean EVERYTHING! CentriKid is famous for OMC (Organized Mass Chaos). It is a huge messy game and even that had a purpose! I think my favorite part was how I didn’t have to plan anything, but I wasn’t hands off the whole time. We had church group time every night after worship to discuss any questions they had from Bible study that day or from worship. We also had meals with them and free time to hang out together. I left encouraged and ready to take another group next year!

Our summer theme is Not Afraid. Based on Joshua 1:9, the kids learn every day to “Be Strong. Be Brave. Be Hopeful. God is with You.”