Oneonta’s River Street Baptist Church Elects The Redemption Movement’s Kaler Carpenter as New Pastor

After the morning worship service on January 27th at River Street Baptist Church, a special meeting was held where I was elected by the members to be the church’s new pastor, “for a continuous term consistent with the roles and responsibilities outlined in the current church constitution.”

This concludes a two-month pastoral search process initiated by RSBC’s former Interim Pastor Garrett Mercier, who assisted the pastor search committee by reaching out to local ministers he felt would be a good fit.

For the past two months, I have been impressed with how much this small congregation loves and cares for one another, and I am honored to be entrusted to lead a church that has such a rich history in the very neighborhood I’ve called my own over the past 10 years--Oneonta’s 6th Ward. The irony is not lost on me that ever since my wife and I moved to Oneonta in 2009, I’ve actively been searching for an organization or established church to partner with. It turns out that the right group was literally in front of me the entire time. In fact, RSBC at 133 River Street is just one block down from my own home/storefront church at 148 River Street--I can even see the church from my own front yard!

Immediate plans for the church include keeping with the job description laid out by the pastor search committee: conduct pastoral duties, oversee Sunday School and worship services, create ministries to reach the community, and oversee committees. All of this pastoral work is to be done “to grow the church, particularly with the youth.” Additionally, the position is bi-vocational, so I will keep my job as Youth Services Coordinator at Friends of Recovery of Delaware and Otsego Counties.

Pastors Mel Farmer, Frank Westcott, Garrett Mercier, & Kaler Carpenter.  

What’s this Mean for The Redemption Movement?

This move is good news for The Redemption Movement, a church plant founded by my wife in I in 2010 and publicly launched in 2013. You see, despite all of the time, energy, and resources invested into keeping the new church open, it became obvious to myself and church members that the work, due to its small size and how much money was committed to outreach, was unable to sustain itself, and thus requires a partnership with an established church or organization in order to continue. For the past two years, members of The Redemption Movement have been praying about this possibility. Pastor Garrett of RSBC was unaware of this when he called me about the open position last month.

Much to my delight, the members of River Street Baptist Church like, and even wish to support, The Redemption Movement’s outreach ministries, which includes the Kindness Station and the designated driving service, #OneontaRides.

The proposal currently being discussed is to have The Redemption Movement and its outreach activities become a ministry of River Street Baptist Church, as well as have RSBC’s Sunday morning worship services and Sunday School take the place of RM’s Thursday evening gatherings. This would effectively be a merge between the two congregations. Moving forward, the specifics of what such a merge would look like will be discussed and reviewed by members of both congregations--in the spirit of doing what it takes to come together as one congregation, River Street Baptist Church.

Therefore, the Kindness Station and #OneontaRides will continue on Friday nights for the Spring 2019 semester as planned, with the Kindness Team serving the community from its outdoor station on Water Street. Only now, the outreach effort will benefit by having more stability that comes from being connected to an established, self-sustaining church. At this juncture, I don’t know what exactly this support amounts to and I don’t wish to burden RSBC with the demands of this ministry if the small congregation is unable to fund all of its needs. However, even if a lack of funds proves to be the case, then just having an established church take on the outreach ministry as their own will allow for support in more ways than what it currently receives, making such a move worth celebrating for anybody that’s ever supported the Kindness Team in one capacity or another.

On a Personal Note…

The past 10 years has been quite the journey for me and Laura, moving to New York with aspirations of starting a new church and trying outside-the-box ideas in order to reach the community, and now ending up as Pastor of a traditional Baptist church. Twelve years ago, I left the traditional church world behind and gravitated toward church planting, a decision that was perhaps driven much by my youthful ideals and energy. Today, after going through the crucible of planting a church from scratch, I now have a greater appreciation for traditional churches and I find myself just as excited about the challenges of growing an established church as I was about starting a new church, all those years ago. If anything, I feel my church planting experience in the 6th Ward will somehow assist River Street Baptist Church in its mission in a unique way, and I’m anxious to apply the many lessons I’ve learned.

Admittedly, there was a time when I thought that traditional church buildings, wooden pews, and pulpits all hindered church growth. Now, I’ve come to realize that this isn’t the case. Ultimately, if a person feels a strong connection with the Lord and love from the people that belong to a church, then they will consider such a church as their home, no matter if its culture is traditional or modern. And, if letting go of my personal preferences and stepping back into the traditional church world is what the Lord is calling me to, and if that’s what it takes to reach the community, then I am more than happy to obey and embrace once again the same traditional church world that nourished my soul as a teenager and taught me how to love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

In fact, for the first time in my life I am officially a Baptist. This is a distinction that I’ve grown comfortable with, thanks to all of the wonderful Baptist brothers and sisters in Christ that I’ve met along the way who have shown kindness to me and my family. And while I stand today amazed and pleasantly surprised at my journey from traditional church ministry to church planting and back to traditional ministry, from Pentecostal to nondenominational to Baptist, from Missouri to New York, from a storefront to a chapel, and from 148 to 133 River Street, I also remain excited and hopeful about where the Lord is taking me in the next 10 years, especially in regards to who all I will meet and the kind of servant I will become. So I encourage you to trust in the Lord with me for you past, present, and future. He will set straight your paths in ways that, though may be unexpected, you sure won’t regret!

I’d love for us to journey together on this new chapter of ministry by joining me and my family at River Street Baptist Church on Sunday morning, Sunday School 9:30am, Worship Service 10:30am.

There and Back Again: A Redemption Movement Tale

It was a good run. The dynamic ministry that took place out of a downtown storefront was a dream come true. Beginning with the Good Friday/5-year anniversary celebration on March 30th and lasting until the last week of June, for three months we called 80 Water Street our home.

This special time was made possible by all those who generously donated 3-months’ worth of rent money and then some, almost $5,000 in all. Despite this fundraising success, we were unable to secure the steady finances needed in order to sign a multi-year lease at the end of June. Therefore, The Redemption Movement board opted to pass on the property, and now we’re back to where everything started--at “The Ol’ Storefront,” our original home on River Street.

Instead of mourning the loss of a great space, we’re choosing to celebrate what a cool opportunity we had to expand the ministry in so many ways for three memorable months. What’s this move back to our past mean for our church’s future? I think highly enough of our many supporters that I’d like to provide you with a comprehensive update. Read More >>

Updates From the First Month in Our New, Downtown Home

Update #1:We're Moved in for the Month of April!

On March 30th, 2018 we were given the chance to use 80 Water Street as a space to both celebrate Good Friday and The Redemption Movement’s 5-year anniversary. This service also served as a way for our supporters to preview the space we’d like to move into. It was a special time, celebrated by more than 25 friends that represented as many as five local churches... Read More >>

Update #2: 3 Stories of Hope from the First 3 Weeks in Our New Home

This April, we’ve opened the doors to our new building on Water Street (made possible by the generosity of our friends) on five separate occasions and invited Oneonta’s nightlife inside in order to serve the community’s needs. What follows are three of the most memorable stories from the first three weeks in our new home... Read More >>

Click to see a tour of the new pad.

The Case for Moving The Redemption Movement Downtown

It’s been five years since The Redemption Movement officially introduced ourselves to Oneonta by launching a weekly, Friday evening ministry out of a renovated storefront on River Street. Today, we’re presented with a cool opportunity to move operations from River Street to downtown.

It’s a move that makes sense in a lot of ways. It’s a move that will stretch us by requiring way more resources than what our little church has. But, it’s also a move that’s been marinating in vision and evolving since long before The Redemption Movement was ever, well, The Redemption Movement.

A Move 14 Years in the Making

The vision for ministering to a college nightlife scene out of a downtown location originated from my own college experience in Springfield, Missouri (2001-04). This is when I first became exposed to the vibrant nightlife with its hordes of young people walking the streets, hanging out, and just going from bar-to-bar looking for something (seemingly anything) to do.

As I talked with people from these crowds, I was taken aback by how hungry they were for friendship, how open they were to having honest conversations about God, and I was dismayed at how many people were putting themselves at unnecessary risk by being intoxicated (drunk driving, sexual assault, etc.). I also observed how this was a time when churches had their doors closed, and how few Christians were represented in the mix--primarily because they were resting up for the big show on Sunday morning.  

Emboldened by what I saw, I approached the church I was interning at and proposed the start of a storefront ministry to be operated downtown during these nightlife hours. The catchy name for this ministry endeavor: Night Church. Even though the church leadership all agreed that it was a good idea, for this particular suburban church, such a venture didn’t fit their target market.

Side Note: As I came to later find out, much of the ideas God put on my heart lie outside the box of traditional church activity, which is ultimately why I am a church planter today.           

Soon afterwards, I graduated and moved from Springfield (with its active nightlife) to my hometown where I ministered at a small, rural church. Even though I was making plans to settle down and enjoy married life in a small farming community, I couldn’t shake the vision of Night Church. It wasn’t but a couple of years later when this vision resurfaced in the form of church planting, and it took a couple more years for this vision to develop further and lead me to a location that would be suited for such a ministry--Oneonta, New York.

Pastor Kaler. Minute #3 in Oneonta: "I would love to start a church in one of these downtown storefronts." -July, 2009.

Like my experience in college, I had a difficult time convincing traditional church planting organizations that an idea like starting a new church in Oneonta was worth investing in (much less starting a night church). Therefore, upon arriving to Oneonta in 2009, Laura and I could only afford a building located a couple of miles from downtown. But no matter. We viewed our River Street headquarters as nice starter building, believing that it would only be a matter of time before the church plant would outgrow the space and support would one day allow for a move downtown.

In the meantime, we poured our hearts into Oneonta’s downtown scene, serving the crowds with thousands of free rides home and giving away thousands of dollar’s worth of snacks at the Kindness Station. All the while, we were building trust, networking, forming relationships with like-minded individuals, and connecting with other organizations that cared about Oneonta. Granted, I originally anticipated that such a move from River Street to downtown would take place sooner than this. But, as I’ve come to learn, God’s timing is perfect. 

The Amazing Opportunity Before Us Today

Fast forward to 2018 and the very building that we’ve been running the Kindness Station directly in front of for more than two years, 80 Water Street where our friends at LEAF used to call home, becomes available.

When this opportunity first opened up, myself, the Kindness Team volunteers, and our church members started dreaming:

• What if, instead of showing Kindness outside of this location every weekend, we also showed kindness INSIDE?
• What if the Kindness Station had a home--a home that wouldn’t require lugging two carloads of gear back and forth every single outing?
• And, to make this home happen, what if we didn’t have to move from the very spot that we’re known for--a spot that people KNOW they can go to and find us if they’ve had too much to drink and need a free ride home?
• And what if, instead of just giving out free snacks and rides, we’re able to take advantage of a building that would allow us to do much more for the community? Like, what if “Mission Oneonta” was more than a catchy title for a blog and it became the name of an actual downtown mission that served the community’s needs in a variety of helpful ways; such as, being a space for additional community groups, churches, and nonprofits looking to better Oneonta?
• What if the Night Church vision God put on my heart back in 2004, actually became a thing?

Oh yeah, and what if all of this coincided with the 5-year anniversary of the public launch of our church?

So, What’s the Plan?

It’s important to keep in mind that making the move downtown is just the first step toward making this vision a reality. It’s going to take a couple more steps to get such a downtown space where it’s a thriving mission that’s making a positive impact on the community.

Step 1: The Kindness Station, Indoors

Upon taking over a downtown space, the first thing we would do is to use the indoor space in conjunction with the already thriving Kindness Station outreach ministry. We’ll still pitch the tent outside and keep a hospitality table stocked with a few goodies and have a heater going, but we’ll also move much of what we do inside. Being indoors will allow us to serve the public with a warmer space, a closet full of clothes instead of just a single rack, public bathrooms that we’ll keep clean (so people will hopefully stop urinating in the parking garage or on the public sidewalks), and a safe and comfortable place to sit, to socialize, to give time for the alcohol to wear off, and to wait for a safe ride home. Plus, having a home indoors will allow us to create and leave up interactive displays designed to educate the public about alcohol consumption. Best of all, NO MORE SHUTTLING GEAR BACK AND FORTH EVERY WEEK!       

Step 2: Opening Up the Space to Other Community Groups
With our small church’s current operations in mind, we’ll likely start off only using the space a few times each week. That makes for a lot of times throughout the rest of the week that other groups can use the space. In addition to a move like this allowing for the building to be used to its maximum potential, it will help us pay the rent if we sublet these rooms to enough groups that may want a regular downtown presence, but not be able to afford renting an entire building. A step like this would be a win for the group subletting the space, a win for us to have help with the rent, and a win for Oneonta to have another community-minded group with a presence downtown.

Step 3: Night Church
Night Church is the third step because it’s a concept that’s going to take more people to pull off than what our small church currently has available. Therefore, it’s our hope that moving downtown will allow for our church to grow into this and other ministries. At the very least, moving downtown to a place that’s more visible and more accessible will make it easier for visitors to check us out--something that’s historically been a struggle for our church with its out-of-the-way/easy-to-miss location on River Street.   

In a nutshell, Night Church involves taking several elements of a church worship service, like music, prayer, and teaching, and it stretches these out over the course of a few hours; all within a casual, conversational, coffeehouse-style environment. For example, this could look like taking a typical 3-point sermon and breaking down each point into a short lesson, followed by a time of questions and answers from small groups. It’s actually a model of ministry that we experimented with successfully when we first opened our doors in 2013. We were even able to incorporate additional ideas such as board games, food, and group art projects. However, as much fun as we had doing this night-church style of ministry, it quickly became apparent that such a model is truly designed for a downtown location that lends itself to foot traffic.

Keeping with the community-mindedness purpose of the downtown space, it would even be cool if we could have other pastors and other ministries participate in Night Church.      

What’s All of This Going to Take?                

Truth be told. Taking advantage of this opportunity will only be possible if our friends, church members, other churches, community groups, student groups, etc., all catch this vision too. At the time of this writing, The Redemption Movement has saved up, at most, perhaps enough to cover one month’s rent. This is primarily due to the fact that our church’s approach to finances has always been to give back and bless others with as much as we take in, as exemplified in the free ride service and the Kindness Station.

We are now asking for the community’s help to make this move possible. To make this happen, we’ll need to have enough monthly commitments to total at least $1,700 per month. Considering all of the friends we’ve made over the years, this goal actually seems obtainable.

To give, visit: donate.theredemptionmovement.org/movedowntown

In all of our time here in Oneonta, it’s been rare for our church to ever directly ask people or groups in the community for donations. It’s just not been our style. But now, we’ve got an opportunity before us that I feel is compelling enough to play this fundraising card. If you agree that this is a good thing for Oneonta and that it needs to happen, then a gift of any amount will go a long way. We first and foremost are asking for monthly donations so we can plan our rent expenses accordingly, but one-time gifts will certainly help too and will either go toward moving expenses or be budgeted to help pay the rent. 

You can give to this cause online, or mail a check to 148 River Street. You can also contact Pastor Kaler at 607-434-2564 to learn about additional ways to give, or to schedule Kaler to come and speak to your church or community group about this need.           

Thank you friends for dreaming with me, and to see for yourself what such a move could look like, stop by 80 Water Street on Good Friday and join us as we celebrate 5-years of serving Oneonta!

2018 Marks 5 Years of The Redemption Movement and #OneontaRides

This upcoming Spring, The Redemption Movement will celebrate our 5-year anniversary of the public launch of our church, as well as the #OneontaRides ministry. The growth of these two ministries actually parallel each other in such a unique way that it’s impossible to tell the story of one without telling the story of the other. In fact, when I’m out giving rides on Friday nights and I’m asked, “How did this free ride service get started?” This is what I tell people:

When my wife Laura and I started the church in 2013, we were looking for a way that our new church could serve the community. In particular, we wanted to meet a need that wasn’t already being met, as well as have it be something that our small church with its limited resources could actually do. During this time, we took an assessment of the community’s needs and prayed about ways we could help.

We came up with a list of 30 different outreach activities we could do. Giving free rides home from the bar was one of them. We then organized the different activities into a community service campaign called “30 Days of Kindness.” 

For the campaign, a night of designated driving was scheduled for Saint Patrick’s Day, and the public launch of the church was to be held on Day #30, Good Friday, 2013.

Out of all 30 service projects performed, the night of designated driving was the biggest hit. Giving the public free rides home made the biggest impact as far making a difference and connecting with people. Therefore, a few months later we scheduled a second designated driving outing, and then a few more outings a month or so after that. It didn’t take long before we found ourselves downtown offering free rides every weekend, thus making it a full-blown service.

#OneontaRides continued to grow in some exciting ways, like the addition of multiple vehicles, and adding a Kindness Station in 2015. Today, it’s a ministry that’s credited with providing more than 6,000 safe rides home to the local community, and it’s super exciting to see new people volunteer and more community groups get involved.

It all makes for an exciting story that we’ve documented extensively with our Ride Reports blog articles.

All the while, The Redemption Movement continues to host weekly worship gatherings. It’s here where a community of servants gather and where the vision, co-mission, and passion for the free ride outreach comes from.

Five years in and #OneontaRides is such a big part of The Redemption Movement that it’s what our little church is known for. Subsequently, it’s grown into such a major activity that it literally takes more resources to operate than what our little church can come up with, requiring us to regularly seek out help and funding from outside of our congregation. But no worries, the impact of this exciting outreach continues to be worth the work, and we’ll continue to expand it in ways that the Lord allows for. 

As we think about the next five years of The Redemption Movement, the continuation of #OneontaRides is a given. That said, the vision for the future is for us to be a church that does much, much more than just take people home from the bars, especially when it comes to discipleship. What other ministries and services will come out of The Redemption Movement in the next 5 years? Why, that depends on the gifts and talents of the people that grace our doors!

If you’re looking to grow in the Lord and have your passion for helping people get plugged into a movement that’s changing lives and giving people hope, then volunteer with Kindness Team and check out the next Thursday evening gathering at 148 River Street. It’s never too late to get plugged into our “loving community, that loves the community.” 

55 Retail Workers Shown Kindness During Thanksgiving Sales

For families across the country, Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate traditions. For The Redemption Movement, our Thanksgiving tradition takes us to Oneonta’s Southside Mall for a special act of kindness: blessing retail workers with care packages that includes a $2 bill and a bag of candy. 

For 2017’s Thanksgiving AoK, the Carpenter family and Kindness Team member Pat Raczkowski visited JCPenney, Southside Cinema, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Within an hour, 55 care packages were delivered, bringing cheer and thankfulness to many workers unable to spend the holiday with their families.

Over the past five Thanksgivings, this makes a total of 330 care packages that our little church has given away. Each care package includes a thank-you card and a $2 bill, meaning that we’ve passed out $660 in cash to retail workers since 2013 (along with a whole lotta chocolate)!

Read more about previous Thanksgivings: 2013, 2014, 2015, & 2016.

This year, we assembled the care packages right after the family Thanksgiving meal, an enjoyable task thanks to the help of a friend. We then piled in the car with the kiddos and headed to the mall. But, unlike most at the store, we weren’t on a mission to shop.

Highlights from the outing include:

• The first young lady we encountered literally cried after I gave her the care package. She was overwhelmed with emotion and told us how happy the simple AoK made her.
• One woman from JCPenney remembered us from previous years and commented on how much our kids have grown (our youngest son was in a baby in a stroller during last year’s Thanksgiving outing).
• We gave a care package to a mother who was sad because she didn’t get to spend Thanksgiving with her kids. I suggested that she give the candy to her kids. She replied with a laugh and said, “Yeah, we’ll see how the night goes.” 
• One young man was so excited about receiving a care package that he had a difficult time gathering his words to say thank you. I was able to leave him with five cards to pass out to busy cashiers nearby and he vowed to “carry on the message.” 
• Many workers told us how much they were in need of an act of kindness like this, and many more asked about our church.
• We even encountered workers that we already knew and are friends with through the ministries of our church. It was so cool to be there to support our friends in such a special way. 

Giving away all 55 care packages went by really fast. The stores we visited were super busy and things were, unfortunately, too hectic to allow for deep conversations with the people we ministered to. But, each worker now has our contact information and the seeds of relationships have been sown. At the end of the day, spending this much money is way more fun/meaningful than dropping $100+ on discounted merchandise, and I look forward to doing it all again next year!

Bonus Act of Kindness: Helping Out My Cashier With a Free Ride Home 

While shopping the day before for supplies pertaining to this Thanksgiving outreach, I overheard a cashier complain about the OPT buses not operating their late bus like usual. She didn’t find this out until it was too late, meaning that she would have to walk home in the cold weather. During checkout, I introduced myself and gave her my #OneontaRides Kindness Card so she could call me after her shift was over for a ride home. Thankfully, the woman took up my offer and called me an hour later for a ride. It was an enjoyable ride and we got to talk about church most of the way.

Typically, we only offer free rides home like this on the weekends, but every once in awhile I’ll encounter a need like this that’s too compelling to ignore. It’s all about being open to the needs around you when you’re going through your routine. Often times, we may only view cashiers, clerks, customer service specialist, merchandise stockers, etc., as there to serve our needs (and not really “see” them at all). But, whenever we take a moment to slow down and view the world through God’s eyes, it’s my belief that purchasing stuff will take a back seat to the needs of others--and, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?   

Check Out the New #OnentaRides Kindness Fleet!

It’s been a quiet summer for RM, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been idle!

We’ve been working behind the scenes to expand our #OneontaRides community outreach effort. This time last year, we were down to only one small car. When we resume operations this Friday, 8-25, we’ll have a “kindness fleet” and be able to help even more people in our community make it home safe on the weekends.

This includes the addition of an 8-person “Kindness Wagon,” the original Kindness Car is repaired and ready to, Pastor Kaler's Kia is still insured for giving free rides and standing by as a backup car (should we encounter a big night), and gaining access to vans from other local organizations is shaping up nicely (more details on that to follow).

Expanding a community service comes at a cost—we’ve spent roughly $2,500 just this summer alone on car repairs, licensing fees, and an extra in-car security camera. Plus, we paid for a year’s worth of insurance on our cars, AND we paid extra to increase the amount of coverage for all of our passengers.

All of this has been a major expense for our little church, but it’s all possible thanks to the generosity of others. This act of kindness outreach continues to operate solely from the kindness and gifts of others.

We’ve got a big school year of outreach planned and we’ll need help from the community with funds and volunteers in order to pull it off and keep the crazy momentum that we experienced from our last Kindness Team outing in May. You can join the Oneonta Kindness Team Facebook Group to volunteer, monetary donations can be made online, and we’re always accepting donations of Kindness Station supplies.

The 10th semester of #OneontaRides kicks off this Fall!

Get a First Look at the New Kindness Car!

Big news for #OneontaRides: a car has been donated to the cause! And not just any car, but a 2004 Ford Taurus station wagon. It’s a vehicle that suits our needs much better than the old Mercury Grand Marquis that we’ve used since day one. Consider the following advantages:

Newer and Less Miles
Overall, the station wagon is in much better shape. Sure, it needs some repairs, but it has a lot more life left in her than the 22-year old Mercury. Continue reading blog on donate.theredemptionmovement.org >>

What’s Next for #OneontaRides? Setting Goals for the 2017-18 School Year

The 2016-17 school year has come to a close, which means a summer of rest, reflection, and fundraising for the Kindness Team volunteers that make #OneontaRides possible. 

Before I go into the goals for next year, I want to briefly go over a few highlights of last year: Continue reading blog on donate.theredemptionmovement.org >>

Vietnam Memorial Replica Hits My Hometown, and Then Hits Home

On Memorial Day Weekend 2017, Oneonta had the privilege of hosting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Replica and Mobile Education Center, AKA, The Wall That Heals.

Vietnam Wall replica comes to Oneonta, by @DS_MarkBhttps://t.co/3xs7ExK0cc pic.twitter.com/NJmVlnYgDQ

— The Daily Star (@thedailystar) May 27, 2017

I got to see the wall with my family, and even though my young boys proved too much of a handful for me to have the full experience, the wall nevertheless left an impact on me.

My feelings were that of gratitude, followed by sorrow. Although, my strongest feelings of thankfulness didn't come so much from the names on the wall, but rather, one name that wasn't on the wall. Namely, my own father, a Vietnam War veteran.

My dad saw combat in Vietnam, and he was fortunate to survive the experience and return home. Had he not survived, then I wouldn't be here today, along with my younger sister, and by extension, neither would my two sons, ages 3 and 1.

This thought stuck with me for the rest of the day, and it made me grateful to spend the day with my family, enjoying a Saturday at Gilbert Lake State Park.

What also hit me that day was another, much more grim reality: every name on that wall translates to not just one life being snuffed out by war, but it also means the world was denied that young man living a full life that includes having children. These children would have then gone on to have children of their own, and on and on for generations to come. Herein lies the often-forgotten tragedy that accompanies the loss of every life: when one life is cut short, the consequences of such a loss reach far beyond a headline or a name memorialized on a monument. Indeed, one battlefield casualty also means a casualty for any chance of future children and future generations from the fallen solider, or 57,939 to be exact.

And that's just on the American side of the war.

If every human is made in the image of God, then the lives of the Viet Cong soldiers matter to God too, and the life of every fallen Vietnamese had the same potential to multiply generations of people--all of whom would have been loved by God, as much as God loves Americans. When one takes into account the number of these lives lost, it quickly becomes apparent that a much, much larger wall is needed. From Britannica:

Not until 1995 did Vietnam release its official estimate of war dead: as many as 2 million civilians on both sides and some 1.1 million North Vietnamese and Viet Cong fighters. The U.S. military has estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers died in the war.

After seeing the wall, I was fortunate enough to enjoy spending time at the beach with my family and watch my children play in the sand. The weather was cool so there wasn't a big crowd that day... but would there have been if not for the Vietnam War? How many empty picnic tables would have been occupied that day by families had America not fought that unpopular war half a century ago? In fact, would upstate New York even have a population loss problem if America's history didn't include one major war for each of its generations? It would seem not.

War then, shouldn't be something that's celebrated or glamorized. Violence on any level is detested by God, and war is the ultimate, systematic expression of violence and murder. Instead, God's plan for humanity is that we "be fruitful, and multiply." A planet that is filled with people is a world that is filled with God's glory. If one truly believes this, they will honor human life in all of its forms; whether it be your countryman, your enemy, life in the womb, or those in nursing homes. On the opposite side of the same coin, belief in the image of God and the goodness of His plan for multiplication will cause deep sorrow at the loss of human life in any form, including the loss of an enemy.

This Memorial Day, be thankful for the country we have and remember the fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price. But more so, be thankful for each and every person that is alive to enjoy this nation. Because ultimately, a country wouldn't be a country, if not for its people.

Visited The Wall that Heals tonight in Oneonta. Powerful, especially at night. #twth #MemorialDayWeekend #travelingwall @VVMF pic.twitter.com/Qtr7zPWnRK

— P.J. (@softball29) May 29, 2017

Kindness Team Wraps Up School Year With 12-Hour Kindness Extravaganza!

It was borderline reckless everything we gave away to downtown Oneonta at the last Kindness Station of the 2016-17 school year. The list includes:

• 190 bottles of water
• 83 Capri Sun juice packs
• Almost 7 gallons of pickles
• 70+ bananas
• 5 pizzas donated by Domino’s
• 73 packs of sandwich crackers
• 100 packs of Pop Tarts
• 100+ granola bars
• 2 pots of coffee
• 10 pounds of chocolate candy
• 150+ sticks of breath freshening gum
• 115 breathalyzer tests administered

And most importantly, 74 safe rides home!

#OneontaRides Kindness Station special #seniorcrawl edition! Find us in front of @LEAFcouncil. #SafeRides all night long 📞 6074342564 🚕 pic.twitter.com/4iSYpiNXXZ

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) May 11, 2017

Ending the School Year With a Big Party

The event that called for such a ridiculous display of kindness was the Senior Bar Crawl. Each year, our church gets in a rhythm of serving the community with the Kindness Station and #OneontaRides, a rhythm that keeps up with the weekend parties and special drinking events celebrated primarily (but not exclusively) by the city’s student population. The Senior Bar Crawl is special because it represents the last downtown outreach effort by the Kindness Team--sort of like a finish line for a big kindness marathon. When the crawl is over, we pack up for the summer and begin to recharge by actually getting sleep on Friday nights.

• 2015 Crawl: "Milestone: Giving Our 1,000th Free Ride"
• 2016 Crawl: "2,771 Safe Rides Given Caps Off 3-Year Volunteer Effort for #OneontaRides"

This year’s crawl began early, around 3pm. We wanted to serve the seniors from the time the crawl started to when the bars closed. To pull this off, more than 20 volunteers from the Kindness Team worked in shifts and kept operations going for nearly 12 straight hours.

Round 2 of #seniorcrawl with the Kindness Team night crew. The station is fully stocked and #SafeRides all night. #OneontaRides 📞 6074342564 pic.twitter.com/LHVojAXlEx

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) May 12, 2017

There were times during the crawl when the tent was so packed that it became difficult to maneuver. It was super chaotic, yet a ton of fun!

Kindness Was in High Demand

To give you an idea of just how big of a hit the Kindness Station was, consider the fact that the day prior I looked at the report from last year’s crawl to see just how much supplies I needed to purchase--it turned out to total three times more than what we pass out on a typical Friday night. Well, only 2 hours into this year’s crawl and we needed to make a grocery store run because we were running short. By the end of the night, we made 3 additional trips to the grocery store.

I knew we were in for a busy day, but I totally underestimated the popularity of some of the items on the hospitality table, like pickles! There was a constant line of people wanting pickles, so much so that we had to designate a volunteer to pass them out. Seriously, by the time the sun went down, we had gone through 6 one-gallon jars of pickles. At one point it was rather comical because it seemed like everybody on Water Street either had a giant pickle in their hand or were asking where to get one. One female student even told me that “standing outside the bar on a nice day while eating a pickle was like a dream come true.”

Another constant line that we experienced was for breathalyzer testing. In fact, we had so many people use the breathalyzer that the poor device ceased working after more than 100 uses. Russell Pergola, who was in charge of administering the BAC tests, observed how, “Almost everyone tested blew at least a 0.10.” Keep in mind that intoxication technically occurs at 0.08. Given the fact that the whole idea of a bar crawl is to have at least one alcoholic beverage at each Oneonta bar, these results certainly aren’t surprising.

Story From the Road #1: Helping a Girl Who Could No Longer Crawl

Overall the mood downtown was jovial, yet we did assist a few students that were severely intoxicated. The worst case we saw was actually the first ride of the day.

We got a call from a group of females that we previously interacted with at the station. While there, one girl in the group couldn’t stand on her own, so we directed her to a cot that we had set up for such a purpose. We were able to breathalyze her (which proved a difficult task due to how incoherent she was) and she registered at 0.17. We did our best to convince her friends that it would be best for her to call it a day and to go home. Unfortunately, nobody in the group was ready to call it just yet so they left the station to continue their crawl, taking the inebriated friend with them--but not before I could put a card in their hands with our phone number on it.

Not too long after, I got a call from the group of girls requesting a ride home. They were outside of Tino’s and their friend had experienced some major vomiting, both inside and outside of the restaurant. I was able to have a female volunteer to come with me to assist and within minutes we were there, helping the girl to her feet and guiding her to the car. Before we placed her in the car I was able to clean her off with paper towels, which meant thoroughly wiping down her front, back, arms, and hands. Thankfully, she had nothing left to spew by the time she got in the car, yet we were ready with barf bags.

The ride to campus went smoothly. We tried to convince the group that their friend needed medical attention and we’d be happy to take her to the ER, but the offer was turned down. Although, it was apparent that the girls were planning on cleaning up their friend, changing her clothes, and putting her to bed. So at least I could feel good that she was being taken care of.

Story From the Road #2: Sharing the Gospel With a Curious Friend

Later that night, we gave a meaningful ride to a young man who was eager to learn more about what we are about. He approached us at the Kindness Station because he really wanted to meet us and say thank you. It turns out that we’ve provided several safe rides home to his girlfriend all throughout the school year (many times when she was by herself).

We then gave him a ride home and that’s when he asked us about the purpose of our group. I replied by reciting the mission statement of The Redemption Movement, and one part in particular peaked his interest--where it mentions redeeming lost and hurting people. Earlier, he and I talked religion and he identified as Jewish, yet he didn’t know what I meant when I used the word “lost.” That opened the door to clearly explain the Gospel: how “lost” relates to sin and separation from God, how Jesus died to atone for sin, and how the word lost implies that whatever is lost is worth searching for and worth saving. He left the car and I felt a strong connection with the young man. It turns out that he’s a junior so we committed to continuing the conversation in the Fall when he comes back to Oneonta.

Additional Highlights

Additional highlights of the day include: dozens of seniors we gave rides to over the years stopping by the station to say thank you and goodbye (often punctuated by hugs), some great conversations about faith, and a Domino’s pizza party at closing time. Given the fact that we served hundreds of people over the course of 12 hours, we actually ended up with many more great stories than I have time to tell.

The Kindness Station is a Huge Success But a Huge Expense: Is it Worth It?

Looking back at the immense effort and expense it was for our small church to serve the community in such a big way (both for the crawl and throughout the school year), we have to stop and ask ourselves, “Is it all worth it?” After all, we've sacrificed a lot in order to make the Kindness Station happen every week, like not being able to afford amenities enjoyed by typical churches such as; an impressive building, a vibrant stage ministry, going to conferences, etc.

Indeed, when I look at The Redemption Movement’s use of funds, I do begin to feel like it’s rather irresponsible to spend so much on outreach. Although, soon after thinking these thoughts I’m often reminded of the sacrificial love shown by Jesus Christ, and how it was a joy for Him to serve others in reckless ways that were often scoffed at by the establishment of his day. After looking at the example and teachings of Jesus, I then consider how we use our time and resources to try and be the hands and feet of Christ and I say, yes, it’s all worth it.

What’s Next for #OneontaRides?

With the end of the school year, another chapter closes for #OnoentaRides, having provided 2,006 rides during the past year alone, and 4,777 safe rides total. 

That's a wrap for #OneontaRides 2016-17! 74 rides for #seniorcrawl = 2,006 rides for the year and 4,777 rides since 2013.#Oneonta #outreach pic.twitter.com/00A3ZugG50

— Redemption Movement (@RedemptionNY) May 12, 2017

We now go into a season of rest and fundraising. During the school year, it's extremely difficult to adequately fundraise while doing the work of providing rides on the weekends. So this is the window we have to hopefully raise the money we need to continue to show reckless kindness to our community.

If you would like to partner with us and make this upcoming year of providing safe rides and running the downtown Kindness Station bigger and better than the last four, then you're welcome to volunteer with the Kindness Team and donate to the cause!      

• Join the Kindness Team on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/941400949209700/
• Donate and help fund the 2017-18 school year: http://donate.theredemptionmovement.org/free-ride-oneonta