{"id":2365,"date":"2016-05-12T14:45:50","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T14:45:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=2365"},"modified":"2016-06-28T21:51:36","modified_gmt":"2016-06-28T21:51:36","slug":"beautiful-feet-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2016\/05\/12\/beautiful-feet-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Beautiful Feet"},"content":{"rendered":"

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, \u201cYour God reigns!\u201d \u2013 Isaiah 52:7<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGet ready! Here they come!\u201d<\/p>\n

The children came streaming out of the van with giant smiles on their faces, feet pounding the pavement as they made their way toward the tarps covering the ground. The adults, clad in blue t-shirts,\u00a0were just as excited to greet each child by name and freely give out hugs.<\/p>\n

Landmark P.H. Church in Kershaw, S.C., has an incredible Sidewalk Sunday School ministry. Some weeks they draw in as many as 100 children, coming from some of the most underprivileged neighborhoods in town.<\/p>\n

\"KidstreetWeek4g\"<\/p>\n

We came as observers, as learners. Our church, Emmanuel P.H. Church in Lake City, S.C., is\u00a0preparing to launch our own Sidewalk Sunday School. We visited\u00a0Landmark to see the logistics of running this type of ministry.<\/p>\n

As the music blared through the speakers,\u00a0volunteers directed the children:\u00a0Boys on the blue tarp; Girls on the silver tarp. The children began dancing and jumping, getting their wiggles out during Praise & Worship. The program was fast paced to keep the kids\u2019 attention: Worship, Pledge, Rules Review, Fun & Games, More Worship, Lesson, Lunch.<\/p>\n

When I first saw him, he was\u00a0holding a volunteer\u2019s hand, smiling with joy as he danced. I couldn\u2019t\u00a0determine his age, but he had a big smile, made bigger by the two\u00a0top teeth that were missing. He seemed small and thin, but happy.<\/p>\n

Then, I saw\u00a0his shoes.<\/p>\n

They were black high-tops. Ragged and falling apart, they should have been thrown away long before that day. The left shoe had no laces and\u00a0the toes were threadbare. They may not have even been the right size for his feet.<\/p>\n

I later learned that he came from a home with a history of domestic violence. When he\u2019d first started coming to Sidewalk Sunday School, he had burns\u00a0on his arms\u00a0\u2013 when\u00a0he was \u201cbad,\u201d his parents punished him by holding a hot curling iron to his bare skin, searing in an unforgettable lesson.<\/p>\n

Over time, as he attended Sidewalk Sunday School, his home life improved. The punishments\u00a0stopped and the skin healed \u2013 but the scars were still visible.<\/p>\n

As the children laughed and danced on the tarps, he found our pastor. Cory had been a lay leader at the Landmark church when God called him to our small congregation two hours away. \u201cThis guy is my buddy,\u201d Cory told me. I watched as he grabbed Cory\u2019s hands, holding tight and smiling his big, toothless smile.<\/p>\n

I looked down at his feet again. They were planted in the same posture as Cory\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Little feet, imitating the big feet firmly planted behind them.<\/p>\n

Little hands, holding the big hands that showed gentleness when all he understood was anger.<\/p>\n

Little eyes, watching the lesson intently as he learned about Saul\u2019s conversion.<\/p>\n

A little stomach, full of sandwiches and the Gospel thanks to churches that provide more than just a free meal to children.<\/p>\n

A little life, forever changed because someone brought\u00a0Jesus to him \u2013 instead of waiting for him to \u201ccome to Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

In every community,\u00a0there are little feet waiting\u00a0to follow in the footsteps of Christ. But, they\u2019ll never hear the Gospel unless\u00a0you<\/strong>\u00a0share\u00a0it. Are you willing to take the step of faith to see that beautiful feet encounter the Father?<\/p>\n

\"KidstreetWeek3g\"<\/p>\n

UPDATE:<\/strong><\/p>\n

EPHC launched Kidstreet Sunday School April 16. In the first four weeks, they have averaged 60 in attendance. In addition, several donors have stepped forward to provide a meal for the children each week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response from the community has been incredible,\u201d said Pastor Cory Jones. \u201cWe\u2019re meeting on public school property. Churches and businesses are asking how they can get involved. It\u2019s humbling to see what an impact this ministry\u00a0has already made in this town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said the church plans to continue Kidstreet at various locations throughout the year. If you\u2019d like to help with Kidstreet Sunday School, or if you\u2019d like to learn how to launch your own Sidewalk Sunday School, contact Cory & Janna Jones at (704) 506-8238.<\/p>\n

*Photo Credit: Megan Alba<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Megan Alba is a lifelong member of the IPHC. She is an adjunct professor of English at Southwestern Christian University and a freelance communications professional. She and her husband, Angel, attend Emmanuel PHC in Lake City, S.C. They have two children.<\/strong><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","slim_seo":{"title":"Beautiful Feet - IPHC Discipleship Ministries","description":"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, \u201c"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25,20,4,1,27,171,446,305,3],"tags":[464,459,463,365,489,488,465],"class_list":["post-2365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boys-ministries","category-childrens-ministries","category-discipleship-ministries","category-general","category-girls-ministries-childrens-ministries","category-leadership-2","category-phpp","category-student-ministires","category-youth-ministries","tag-alba","tag-beautiful-feet","tag-feet","tag-mentoring","tag-people-of-promise","tag-place-of-hope","tag-sidewalk-sunday","entry"],"title_es":"","content_es":"","author_name":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-C9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8216,"url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2021\/05\/18\/hearing-the-cries-of-hurting-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":2365,"position":0},"title":"Hearing The Cries of Hurting Children","author":"jbland","date":"May 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The desperate sound of a child crying is the same in every language. 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