What Exactly is Going On Friday Nights at Oneonta’s Muller Plaza*?

*Update 3-29-16: We've since moved the Kindness Station to 80 Water Street.

The Redemption Movement finally has a prime downtown location to call its own! It’s not so much a permanent location, or even a place that’s indoors, but we’ll take it all the same. What makes me so excited is the fact that, so far, in the 4 times we’ve utilized this new space, we’ve seen it expand on all the work we’ve done for the community--and in big ways!

What I’m referring to is RM’s new “Kindness Station,” located at Muller Plaza on Fridays from 10pm-3am (and Saturdays too if we can swing it). What's a Kindness Station you ask? Think of it like an outpost of sorts, designed to serve the community in a variety of ways, and have the ability to expand by meeting new needs and opportunities as they're presented. At first glance, it may look like a rather humble operation (a tent, tables and chairs, and some signs), but looks can be deceiving. There’s actually a lot going on at this little station.

HUGE night 4 #OneontaRides! 68 #SafeRides given & the #Kindness Station was a hit. People 💟 the heater on a ❄ night. pic.twitter.com/LxoG2SXN60

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) November 21, 2015

Giving Away Lots of Goodies

Front and center is a hospitality table that we keep stocked full of goodies meant to bless Oneonta’s downtown patrons. A passerbyer is welcome to grab/use any of these items, ALL FREE!:

• A cup of coffee
• Candy
• Granola bars
• Bottled water
• Capri Sun juice packets
• Breath freshening gum
• Hand sanitizer
• Kleenexes
• Phone charger

This laundry list of goodies is an absolute hit. In fact, we’ve already reached a point where most of this stuff is cleared out by the end of the night. This means a major trip to the grocery store is required before we can do it all again the next week. It also means that we end up reaching well over a hundred people per night in giveaways alone.

Restocking AoK Supplies

I find it interesting how there’s enough variety of stuff offered here to literally have something for everyone. For example, I put out a bottle of hand sanitizer one night as an afterthought. To my surprise, many folks would stop just to sanitize their hands, then thank us and move on. It's a major effort on our part to offer so much free stuff (and it drains our budget), but the upside to offering all of these goodies is that it allows us to connect with many more people than if we just offered one item, like candy.

How this expands what we do: Since RM's inception, we’ve performed dozens of different acts of kindness on hundreds of occasions, giving away dozens of different goodies to thousands of local residents. Now, for one night each week, it’s like all of our previous AoK giveaways are concentrated into one table. Past outreach efforts like our Sunday Act of Kindness would take up half a day and allow us to meet 10-25+ people per outing. With the downtown Kindness Station, we're able to bless around 10x that amount of people (or more), every week!

Safe Rides Home

You can now easily find us at the plaza for a safe ride home. If available, we’ll have one of our vehicles parked on Main Street for easy access. It kind of feels like we’ve got our very own bus stop (unofficially). And we still take calls if you need us to come to you (607.434.2564).

So far, we’re seeing the number of rides we give to be about the same as before we had the station (25-40+ riders taken home per car, per night). What I’ve discovered is that, whether we use the station or not, there’s just a limit to how many trips one vehicle can make in a 5-hour time span (the max being about 50 riders per 5-6 passenger car).

However, despite the limitations of how many trips we can make, we’ve discovered that, at the station, there’s no shortage of rides to give. Demand far outweighs supply. Here's a recent example of this:

I was responding to a call to pick up a group of 8 at Sal’s Pizza. As I was trying to call car #2 (which was out giving rides) in order to coordinate taking home this large group (I can only fit 4 people in my Kia), another large group at Sal’s asked me to pick them up after I was done taking the group in front of them home. That’s when I got a text message from Will at the station, letting me know that there were 10 people at Muller Plaza waiting for a ride… Clearly we need to trade in our cars for some vans.

Operating the Kindness Station gives us a much clearer picture of just how many people are looking for safe rides home. Now that we have a better understanding of this, we’ve added another feature to our safe ride operation; “Have us call you a cab.” At the station, we have a clipboard listing all the local cab companies, and we offer to call a cab for people who prefer this option. Taxi cab drivers can also park in front of our station if they’d like, we don’t mind. In fact, the way we see it, as long as we can play some part in getting a person home safe, whether it be by us, by cab, or by bus, we feel like we’ve accomplished what we set out to do.

It’s our hope that by using the station to; call cabs for people, welcome cabs to park nearby, as well as using the station as a hub for our vehicles (instead of parking in front of the bars where cab drivers prefer to park and wait for fares), all of these actions will help our church improve relations with the local cab companies.

How this expands what we do: Previously, finding one of our cars for a ride was a bit of a crapshoot. As we would park in front of different bars/restaurants throughout the night, we would try our best to live Tweet our location using #OneontaRides, or people would call us, or one could flag us down if they spotted us. Yet, despite these efforts, we were still difficult to find as we drove people home. This actually led to one rider recently telling me, “You’re like a mythical creature! I’ve heard of you, but I wasn’t sure you existed.” Now, people will know exactly where they can go to find us for a ride home, and if our cars are busy, then it won’t be long before we return to our designated spot. In the meantime, there will be plenty of goodies to enjoy while you wait.  

Breathalyzer Tests

Another hit of the Kindness Station has been the breathalyzer. It has it’s own table along with a sign meant to educate people on what the different levels of intoxication and DUI penalties are. The purposes of offering these tests are twofold:

1. To help someone determine whether or not they’re too drunk to drive.
2. To educate people on what their BAC is so they can associate it with however much they’ve had to drink (we’ve actually seen people commit to stop drinking for the night after finding out that their BAC is higher than what they thought it would be).

When the Kindness Station is up and running, it’s common to have a line of people waiting to get tested, and we’re currently out of breathalyzer tips from doing so many tests.

How this expands what we do: In the past, we would lean the breathalyzer sign against the car and offer tests while waiting outside. This way meant that a lot of people who wanted to get tested didn’t, due to someone approaching us for a ride in the middle of testing a group. Or, at the request of bar management, we simply couldn’t test people while parked in front of some bars, due to strict laws about bars getting penalized for knowingly serving intoxicated people. Now with the station, we can test people’s BAC levels all night long without experiencing any of these limitations.

Heat/Conversation

Near the tent sits an outdoor propane heater. On cold nights people will circle around it and chat with one another, as if they were sitting around a campfire. The heater pumps out plenty of heat, especially for those who aren’t wearing adequate clothing. Plus, we’ve discovered that the warmth of the heater actually creates a safe place where people feel comfortable engaging one another in great conversations.

In fact, many times I would find myself approaching the station/heater after giving a ride, only to feel like I’m walking into a philosophy lecture. Somehow, plopping a heater in the middle of the plaza turns it into a regular Areopagus. One recent example of this came from a young woman who was waiting for a ride at the heater.

While waiting, she talked with everybody, which included members of the Kindness Team and others who were waiting for a ride. Upon approaching, I found myself walking into the middle of a group discussion on abortion, led by this outspoken young woman. People were having passionate conversation, yet nobody seemed visibly upset, which is odd given the divisive nature of such a topic.
Someone then pointed me out as the pastor, to which the girl seemed excited about because now she has someone to grill about my church’s position on abortion. I offered to talk with her about this on the ride home and her and I ended up having a good-long chat about it after dropping off the other riders. At the end of the conversation, I felt like I could call her a friend, which isn’t typical for how these conversations usually turn out.

It’s weird to say, but I feel like the warmth of the heater, along with the loving/open-minded conversations already going at the station before I took home the outspoken young lady, attributed greatly to the success of that conversation.

How this expands what we do: In the past, we would have to cut short great conversations we were having in front of the bars, due to someone asking us to take them home. Now, we have knowledgeable/loving people stationed at one place all night long who are happy to chat with anybody about everything and anything.

The Future of the Kindness Station

42 #SafeRides given tonight. But it's about so much more than the rides. #ActOfKindness #OneontaRides #Compassion pic.twitter.com/9l8C7xYLp8

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) December 5, 2015

All of this paints a picture of the 4 Kindness Station outings we’ve done in 2015, but what about 2016? The beauty of this little station is that it has the potential to serve the community in even bigger ways. Here are just some goals we would like to implement for the Kindness Station in 2016. 

First Aid

Having a first aid kit at the station along with someone trained for emergencies would be a major asset to the downtown nightlife, as well as a help for Oneonta’s often-overwhelmed first responders. Just a few weeks ago, we drove a young man to the ER who busted his lip open on the sidewalk, and on that very same night we took a girl home who was assaulted with a beer bottle. Plus, multiple times this semester we’ve encountered and helped people who were bleeding all over the place from various injuries caused by intoxication. If the kindness station doubled as a first aid station, and if it was equipped to care for the overly intoxicated, then we could take care of many of these problems right then and there, instead of taking them to the ER for something simple like an ice pack. 

6 rides given so far, and we helped this guy that cut himself on a beer can. Lots of blood. We @ Jug #OneontaRides pic.twitter.com/csqSNQIX1r

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) October 24, 2015

Transporting Addicts to Treatment
More details are forthcoming regarding The Redemption Movement's volunteers participating in OPD’s PAARI program as “angels.” This means being with and transporting someone who wishes to have the local police department make arrangements for them to be placed into recovery. If our Kindness Station team doubles as PAARI angels, we can then inform drug addicts who we meet (and we meet several of them when we go out) about this treatment program, and even offer to give them a ride to the police station and wait with them until treatment has been arranged. Also, it would be nice to include substance abuse literature/tools at the Kindness Station.

More Fun Stuff

Here are just a few fun ideas that I’d like to implement at the Kindness Station:

• Games: A great way to bring people together.
• Picture Taking: I’ve noticed that people love snapping photos and selfies of each other while hanging out downtown. It would be cool to set up a spot at the station that has backdrop similar to what you see at movie premieres.
• Live Music: Hey, why not?  

Preventing Fights and Crime

• Fight Prevention: On big bar nights, Muller Plaza has a reputation for fights and drug deals. I’m happy to report that, in the 4 nights we’ve done the Kindness Station, not one fight has taken place at the plaza. Although, one drunk guy did attempt to climb the city Christmas tree, but I digress.
• Crime Prevention: If we ever happen to have plenty of cars and volunteers to satisfy the amount of rides requested of the Kindness Station, then I’d like to have any extra cars patrol Center City to help make the neighborhood a safer place, as well as find anybody wandering the streets who may be in need.
  

Click here to read this poor guy's story.

 
Change Downtown For the Better

While spending so much time serving the downtown scene, we want to keep an eye out for additional ways that we can improve the Oneonta nightlife. In fact, we’ve already got two big ideas that we want to see happen. 

• Unlock the Muller Plaza Gate: As we hang out at the station, we see people all night long hopping the gate separating Main St. from Water St. Eventually, someone is going to hurt themselves doing this. We've already sent out emails and talked to key personnel about changing this gate locking policy. Plus, if the gate was unlocked, then Water Street's bar-goers could more easily access the plaza for a safe ride home.

• Bring In Porta-Potties: Downtown bathrooms are very limited, especially when the bars close. For downtown Oneonta at night, public urination is a common sight. In fact, people will brazenly pee on the actual storefronts of Main Street. This is why the stairwells of the parking garage always reek of urine--even after our church takes the time to clean them. Having the Kindness Station include some kind of porta potty trailer (that’s nicer than a regular ol’ porta potty) would really help alleviate this all-too-common problem.  

An Opportunity For More Volunteers

In the 4 Kindness Station outings we’ve done, we’ve been able to pull this off with as little as 3 volunteers, and we’ve had as many as 6; all people organized using the “Oneonta Kindness Team” Facebook Group. As you can see from these big plans, this little kindness operation can accommodate a much larger team of volunteers, and the more help we have = the more good we can do. It’s my hope that local organizations will catch this vision and get their people involved, and that, as more people become more experienced in running the station, we would be able to do it both Fridays and Saturdays, and maybe more.

This All Sounds Awesome! How Can I Help?

I’m glad you asked. The Kindness Station is still a new thing. As you can imagine, it’s aggressive approach to serving the community requires a good amount of supplies, volunteers, and funds in order to pull off. Here are just a few of the ways you can help.

• Join the Facebook Group “Oneonta Kindness Team” to stay on top of the latest news, and to find out when the next outing will be when you can help. Other needs and kindness opportunities besides volunteering at the station are brought up in this group as well.
• Sharing what we do with others. Whether it be word of mouth or social media, only good things will come as a result of more people hearing about what’s going on at Muller Plaza.
• Donate to the free ride service. It costs money to pay for gas, car insurance, and repairs, and it would be amazing if we could upgrade to vans so we can take more people home.
• Donate to the Kindness Station. All the goodies we give away, propane we burn, and breathalyzer tips we use, it all cost money. These expenses can really add up. In fact, insurance alone for the station is $137/month. Currently, we need more money to pull this off than what our little church can provide.

The kicker to all of our money needs is that we can’t accept tips while giving rides, and we’re not allowed to collect money at the Kindness Station. Therefore, online crowdfunding and outside fundraising are the lifelines to keeping this good thing going. This operation runs entirely off of donations, so a gift of any amount will go a long way.

For more information on how you can help, or to share any ideas that you have on ways we can use this Kindness Station to meet more needs in the community, contact Pastor Kaler. Or, feel free to stop by Muller Plaza on a Friday night and see for yourself what the Kindness Station is all about!

3rd Annual Thanksgiving Retail Worker Outreach [VIDEO]

On Thanksgiving 2015, our church once again visited Oneonta's retail stores and passed out $2 bills and candy as an act of kindness to retail workers having to work the Black Friday sales--giving away $100 and many bags of candy to 50 workers. 

This is the 3rd straight year we've done this AoK and it's become a fun holiday tradition for us. In the past, we've blogged extensively about how the outing went, and even received some nice press for it from the Daily Star.  This year, we tried something new by making a video of the outing and capturing the reactions of all 50 workers. The results of them smiling are sure to make you smile.

The stores we visited this year were Dick's Sporting Goods, Sears, Bath and Body Works, and JC Penny. The gifts went quickly and were all gone within an hour. Even though we weren't able to give out as many care packages as last year, we're pleased to have had the ability to do it. Also, we're happy to report that, between all 3 years, we've given away a total of $500 and blessed 250 workers. 

This is one of our church's favorite annual outreaches and we look forward to doing this again for Thanksgiving 2016 and blessing even more workers. Want to help? Join the Oneonta Kindness Team Facebook Group to stay connected with all of RM's latest acts of kindness, and make a tax-deductible gift to our donation page that will go to fund more community outreaches like this.

Town & Gown Gala 2: 11-14 @ Foothills Performing Arts Center

This year’s Gala lineup has something for everyone. Featuring local favorites Whiskey Honey Pie (Folk/Bluegrass) and SUCO Jazz Octet, 2 rock bands;The Holy Thunderheads and Kardia (a favorite of TGG1), and Long Island ska legends, The Scofflaws (who will also be headlining an after-party @ B-Side Ballroom & Supper Club).

The purpose of TGG2 is to bring together the Oneonta community. This will be achieved with live music, hearing from local leaders (like Mayor Herzig and more), and games for the kids.

This year’s TGG fundraising efforts will go to the ‪#‎OneontaRides‬ Designated Driving Service--a free ride program of The Redemption Movement, dedicated to making Oneonta a safer place for everyone: http://ow.ly/RsWCy

Bigger/better than last year?: http://ow.ly/TEx3h

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1617328565196949/ 
‪

Bearded Dragon Presents: Magic the Gathering Halloween Fundraiser Tournament to Benefit The Redemption Movement

Attention all gamers, if you love Magic the Gathering, or even if you're new to Magic but you enjoy a good gaming challenge, then you’re invited to participate in the Bearded Dragon’s Magic the Gathering Mini Masters Halloween fundraising tournament on Saturday, October 31st.

The tournament starts at 1pm and last all day. Each tournament is $10 to enter and runs approximately 2 hours. The way this Magic the Gathering tournament works is by providing you with a new set of cards for your first match (from the battle for Zendikar), and as you advance in the tournament you’ll be given additional cards to build your deck (that you can keep). This setup is ideal for beginners because you’re not required to bring any cards and everybody starts with a new deck.

Plus, newcomers to the game will be shown how to play--so don’t let your lack of knowledge about Magic the Gathering prevent you from participating in this worthy fundraiser! Go to Bearded Dragon’s Facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/bdcomics
Or call 607.432.5722.

All proceeds from the tournament will go to benefit The Redemption Movement’s designated driving service. This is a local service that provides free rides home from Oneonta’s bars on the weekends. The Redemption Movement is trying to expand the service in order to make our community a safer place and the proceeds from this tournament will go toward their crowdfunding goal.

To learn more about RM’s free ride fundraising goals, check out the video:

And go to: http://donate.theredemptionmovement.org/free-ride-oneonta 

What Oneonta is Like After Last Call

A "Stories From the Road" Special Report 

Oneonta, NY has a vibrant nightlife with more than 10 downtown bars serving two colleges. When the bars close, people have to find a way home. That’s where we come in, standing outside the bars with our car and a “free ride” sign. Our church does this every weekend during the school year, and let me tell you, the need for what we do is especially evident after closing time--as was clearly seen on September 25th when we got 43 people home safe.

I want to write a special article about what happened that night because I think these events epitomize everything that we’re trying to do. Additionally, I want to shine a light on just how much need there is at this time of night, primarily because I feel like it’s at a time when most community members who are equipped to meet such needs are, well, sleeping, and therefore, uninformed about what Oneonta is really like after last call.

It's closing time for the bars. Find us at Sal's for a free / safe ride home.
18 rides given so far.#OneontaRides

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) September 26, 2015

You’ll Find People Passed Out

We spotted a young man passed out in front of Oneonta Hots, abandoned by his friends. Luckily, there was another couple (making out in the ally) who saw the man at the same time we did, and one of them just happened to be an EMT. The four of us approached the man and the EMT took control of the situation by waking him up and helping him to his feet. She then kept asking him a series of direct questions, attempting to ascertain who he was and where he lived.

From the get go, it was clear that he didn’t want any help, much less a ride home. Yet, he clearly needed it because he completely lacked the ability to give a straight answer. The four of us stuck with him and even tried calling his friends using his cell phone, which seemed like the right thing to do. Although, at times, our presence only seemed to aggravate him.

As we worked with him, it became clear that he was a danger to others as well as himself. He mistook a group inside the restaurant for being people that he knew, and proceeded to pound on the windows and yell at them. The group had to sneak out the side entrance. When the young man saw this he followed the group to their car. They sped off and he gave chase, catching up to them at a stoplight. He then harassed the group while in their car by yelling at them and hitting the vehicle. They then drove off and he gave chase for a block before giving up.

We caught up to him and tried to calm him down. His emotions kept fluctuating wildly. One minute he would get in our faces and act like he wanted to harm us, and the next minute he was wanting to sit down and have a heart-to-heart conversation. After 20 long minutes of dealing with him, a car pulled up with someone that appeared to know him. Thinking that they would take responsibility of this inebriated young man, I then headed back to my car in order to pick up a person that just called me for a ride home.

And Emotionally Distraught Walkers

On my way to the car I passed two college girls who both looked sad and hurt, especially one girl who was crying. I introduced myself and offered them a ride. They accepted and seemed appreciative. As I gave them a ride the crying girl continued to cry even more while her friend comforted her.

Before I got to their apartment, I told them that I was a pastor and that I could pray for them if they would like. They were touched by the offer and gladly took me up on it. This unexpected act of kindness caused the girl to cry even more, only this time, there were tears of joy mixed in. Although, for me, praying for the crying girl proved to be a challenge, due in part because I'm not versed in Catholicism.

After she said I could pray for her, she immediately asked me, “What prayer should I say?” and “Give me guidance” (to a situation of which I knew nothing about). I was able to work through this by asking her about her predicament and then clarifying that I was actually going to pray for her (not give her something to pray). I also told her that I would give her guidance in my prayer. I then got to pray for her and her friend. She sobbed the whole time. At the end of it, she told me that it was “a beautiful prayer.”

And Even Fires

With the two friends dropped off safe and sound, I then went to Oneonta’s Center City neighborhood to pick up the gentleman who originally called me for a ride. That’s when I spotted something dangerous: a couch set on fire in the middle of Center Street. It was a strange sight to see and it made me feel like I was in the middle of an urban riot. My new passenger called the fire department and we stuck around long enough to make sure that someone was actually attending to it.

You’ll Find Opportunities to Educate the Intoxicated

We then went back downtown and pulled up to Sal’s. As we were exiting the car, a young man with his girlfriend couldn’t believe his luck because he was JUST telling her about us and how we offer people breathalyzer tests (she didn’t believe him). After telling me this, I replied how I believe that God likes to work out situations like this. The young man then asked me if I could test his girlfriend’s BAC level, I agreed to. Before taking the test, the girl told me that she felt good enough to drive (she might have been planning to do so). To her surprise, she blew a .10 (a DWI is .08). They thanked us for the service and left with every intention not to drive home drunk.

And Encounter the Same Passed Out People

And that’s when we spotted the young man from earlier in the night who had passed out at Oneonta Hots. This time he was alone and walking clumsily down the sidewalk. I pulled up next to him and asked if he was ok and needed a ride. He didn’t seem to recognize me and brushed away my offer.

I knew from trying to help him earlier that convincing him that he needed help was a lost cause because he couldn’t understand what was going on (yet his pride was intact). Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to just follow him home in order to keep an eye on him. Sure enough, two blocks later and the guy passes out on the street corner.

I knew that this young man needed somebody to shut down his stubborn refusal for help and to just put him in the car and take him home. Therefore, for this time around I called the police. They came, woke him up, and began asking him basic questions like my EMT friend did earlier. They were getting the same results. The guy was simply too drunk to recall his home address, and it didn’t help that he didn’t have any current ID on him. The officer kept telling the young man that “If he couldn’t simply tell him where he lived then he’d have to arrest him and take him to the hospital.” Yet, despite this clear ultimatum, he still couldn’t produce an address.

I don’t know how that situation turned out. It was about this time when we left, knowing that the police were plenty capable of dealing with him.

You’ll Find People With Car Problems

Garland and I then got back in the car and pointed it home, thinking we’d call it a night. But our night wasn’t over. We spotted a man looking lost in front of the parking garage. We asked if he needed any help and he directed me to his friends who needed assistance; three college girls stranded in a car with a dead battery.

We pulled up to their car, popped the hood, and hooked up our jumper cables. As we waited for the battery to charge I passed out bottled water to the girls who clearly looked exasperated. They appreciated the gift and we talked with them. It turned out that one of the girls knew us because we had given her a ride once before. Eventually, the car started. They were ecstatic and thanked us like a thousand times.

After all of that, we finally went home. I ended up hitting my pillow at 5am. It was later than I would have liked, but I fell asleep feeling good, knowing that we made such a wonderful impact.

And People Urinating in Full View of the Public

Of course, these stories only represent a portion of the rides we gave that night and the needs we encountered. In addition to the needs for rides, I want to inform my community about a need for bathrooms once the bars close at 2am. I saw a man pee on the retaining wall of the Methodist Church. I saw two girls slip behind a bush on a residential property off Center Street in order to relieve themselves. And Garland told me that he witnessed a girl who was so brazen that she actually stripped down and relieved herself right in front of Tino’s Pizza (directly on Tino’s to be technical about it). These scenarios are par for the course when all 10 bars close and only 2 bathrooms are left open to serve the entire downtown.

In the past, our church addressed this need by cleaning the urine out of the parking garage stairwells. Although, we may have found a better way to meet this need that coincides with our plan to expand the free ride service. Stay connected with us to find out more details about this.

As you can see, the needs we run into every weekend as we serve Oneonta’s nightlife are many, and they’re far more than what we can meet on our own. Therefore, we want to expand what we do and we need your help to do it: http://donate.theredemptionmovement.org/free-ride-oneonta

This is just one of the more than 40 times that we’ve gone out to give rides. We post a report of each night on our blog. Click Here to Read More >> 

The last hour we were firefighters, counselors, roadside assistance, & paramedics.
43 safe rides given. #OneontaRides pic.twitter.com/415eEsKppZ

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) September 26, 2015

Let's Take Even More People Home!

Free Ride Fundraiser Launched

It’s taken an entire summer to set up a fundraiser to expand our free ride service. Here it is!

But wait, there’s more! We gathered up 11 volunteers who've helped give free rides and made a second video of them sharing their favorite “stories from the road.” Check it out.

Both of these videos point to our new fundraising website. This page is live, ready to receive tax-deductible donations, and contains additional details about the fundraiser. Visit RM’s free ride fundraising page at: donate.theredemptionmovement.org/free-ride-oneonta 

And that’s not all. To get the giving train started, we’ve received an anonymous matching gift of $750. So whatever is given right out of the gate will be doubled!

Our starting goal for this fundraiser is $9,000. This will enable us to get 2 of our cars on the road AND give us access to rent cars from Enterprise Rent-a-Car. Anything beyond that will go towards purchasing a van, renting additional vehicles, and improving the free ride service even more--so we can take more people home. Ever since we started giving rides, people have asked, “How can I help?” This is your chance.

Article taken from our June newsletter.

Mobile Church is a Hit!

Having Fun Taking Church to the People

Article taken from our June newsletter. Updated 6-18.

After 4 months of prayer, study, and planning, we launched our new Mobile Church model on April 26th at Huntington Park. Click here for a detailed report on our first Mobile Church outing >> 

To date, we've done 8 Mobile Church outings. After each one, I am left feeling optimistic about the future of this church plant. People are responding well to it, new people are attending our worship and teaching gatherings, and every Sunday we meet dozens of people that we wouldn't have otherwise met if we tried making our River Street building work.

We've given away hundreds of fried cakes since 2012 http://t.co/qKDYQDaEhD Want one? Find us Sunday for #MobileChurch pic.twitter.com/qmeOqTtQhC

— Redemption Movement  (@RedemptionNY) May 23, 2015

The beauty of Mobile Church is that it's not dependent upon inviting people to a religious service. Instead, we simply pitch a tent in a public place of our choosing, and then get to naturally meet and interact with new people. Couple this idea with our regular Sunday Act of Kindness (which so far has consisted of giving away items like, funnel cake, hot dogs, bottled water, flowers, and ice cream), and we end up with a dynamic model of ministry that lovingly draws people to our tent, equipped with grill and yard games. And if the park happens to be empty, we just walk a few blocks or even to the nearest bar and directly approach people with an AoK.

Providing lunch to a LARPing group.

We've discovered that it's immensely easier to invite a person to our tent for a giveaway, as well as to ask them to join us at the same location for next Sunday's Mobile Church, than it is to invite people to our out-of-the-way River Street location for an event taking place 5 days after the Sunday AoK. We're stoked about the future, we're meeting a variety of people, and we're having a lot of fun with this new model of ministry.

One of the advantages of Mobile Church is that we're no longer limited to one physical location. In fact, it's our goal to be in a different spot every month. Therefore, if you would like to participate in an upcoming Mobile Church event, check our blog or social media pages or call us to learn about where we'll be at for the upcoming Sunday. Everyone is welcome to attend, and as we like to say, "If you can find us, you can worship with us!"

Scenes from Mobile Church