Have Your Group Sponsor a Night at the Kindness Station

If you’ve ever visited the downtown Kindness Station or received a free ride home in one of the “Kindness Cars,” you may have noticed something unique about the Kindness Team volunteers serving you. That being, the makeup of the Kindness Team itself. Why, the team is a hodgepodge of people representing different groups from the community, and many volunteer for a variety of reasons.

While this weekly outreach effort is organized and overseen by a single local church, The Redemption Movement, its support in recent years has come from a coalition of community groups that are all united by one thing, showing kindness. These organizations include; multiple local churches, student groups, local businesses, local nonprofits, and more. In fact, this message of community unity is communicated to every person we serve by having each group displayed on the back of the “Kindness Cards” that we pass out to the public. 

Also, another demographic at the Kindness Station are individuals that don’t necessarily represent any group. They just like showing up and serving up some kindness. And that’s cool too!

The best part about making this a community activity instead of just a Redemption Movement ministry is that it’s allowed us to accomplish so much more. And it’s in this spirit of "doing the most good" that we open up the Kindness Station to the community in new way: Have your group sponsor a night of the Kindness Station!

An Example of How Sponsoring the Station Allows Us to Do More

This is an idea that we tried for the first time last November after SUNY Oneonta sorority Pi Delta Chi reached out to us about volunteering at the Kindness Station. After realizing the size of the group that we had to work with, I proposed the idea of having the sorority sisters volunteer on a Saturday night--a night when our current group of volunteers aren’t typically able to serve. Pi Delta Chi was able to commit to a Saturday, which made it possible to do the Kindness Station for two nights in the row for the first time since starting the station in 2015!

The outing went so well that we’d like to extend the invitation to other community groups to come and sponsor a night of the Kindness Station. It’s a great way to gain exposure for your group, get credit for community service hours, and of course, make a difference in your community.

Click here to learn about more benefits to volunteering.

What’s it Look Like to Have Your Group Sponsor the Kindness Station?

Officially sponsoring the station as a group is a little different than having an individual volunteer on their own, inasmuch as the arrangements will have to be made with Pastor Kaler beforehand. This way, we can make sure that there’s enough volunteers to pull it off. Planning ahead like this will also ensure that every volunteer will know what the Kindness Station is all about and end up with a job to do.

As a minimum, a group sponsoring the Kindness Station will want to provide coverage of five volunteers throughout the night. A typical night of service lasts from 10pm-3am. This can be broken down in a few ways: a team of five from your organization can commit to serving all night long, or arrangements can be made so that a larger group can take individual shifts at the station, or a group larger than five can serve all night long at the station and additional volunteer responsibilities will be added accordingly.  

Some of the ways you or your group can volunteer:

• Running/restocking the hospitality table.
• Welcoming people to the Kindness Station.
• Providing breathalyzer testing.
• Distributing free winter clothes.
• Canvassing downtown with “Kindness Baskets.” 
• Riding along in the cars and assisting with the rides.
• Driving people home (for trained volunteers only).
• Setup and teardown.
• And more jobs/acts of kindness can be created for larger groups. 

Currently, Friday or Saturday nights during the school year are available for having a group sponsor the Kindness Station, as well as nights when there’s a special occasion that calls for the service, like Saint Patrick’s Day, OH-Fest, etc.

To make arrangements for your community group, student group, church group, business, or any other group to sponsor a night at the Kindness Station, call Kaler at (607) 434-2564, or email rm.gigs@gmail.com. 

Pizza Fundraiser & Free Rides Home at Domino's After OH-Fest 2017!

After OH-fest, stop by Domino's and buy pizza by the slice! Only $2.50 per slice and for every slice sold $1 will go to help fund #OneontaRides. Plus, the Kindness Team will be at Domino's with cars and vans to provide the community with free rides home.

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1954803661415794/ 

Since 2013, The Redemption Movement has served the community by providing free rides home after the OH-fest concerts, and weekends in general. This year, we'll continue to serve OH-fest concert goers with safe rides home, and we'll be headquartered at Domino's Pizza, 19 Clinton Plaza--this in addition to being on call for rides, 607-434-2564.

Historically, OH-fest has been one of the busiest nights for #OneontaRides, due to the concert at Neawha Park attracting thousands of people. This year promises to be another big night of giving rides and we're excited about partnering with Domino's to use this opportunity to raise some funds for the safe ride program.

For the past year, Domino's Pizza has been sponsoring The Redemption Movement by providing free pizza on Friday nights to feed the Kindness Team volunteers, as well the downtown bar crowd at closing time. We appreciate Domino's so much and a big thanks to #RamonWow for making this happen!

The Kindness Team with #RamonWow @ Domino's!

 

A Call for Unity Among Churches

On Sunday, August 14, Pastor Ryan Alsheimer of Community Gospel Church invited me to share with his congregation, Anchor Oneonta, and continue their teaching series "This I Believe," by going over church unity, as expressed in the line of the Apostles' Creed "I believe in the holy catholic church and the communion of the saints." What follows is the sermon preached that night to the good folks of CGC. Enjoy!  

Here’s the deal, when you become a Christian by giving your life to Christ, you’re uniting yourself to the body of Christ, i.e., the church, and you automatically become a part of something much bigger than yourself: “the holy catholic church, the communion of saints.”

Now, don’t get confused by the word “catholic,” in this creed, it actually means “universal,” so you're saying, “I believe in the universal church.” Therefore, when you confess this creed, you’re affirming the scope and size of the church that you’re a part of (or you're in communion with), which essentially includes every Christian from around the world.

This large fellowship is what is meant by “communion of the saints."

Again, don’t get confused by the word “saints.” This is not referring exclusively to the official saints of the Roman Catholic Church, instead, this is referring to every follower of Christ. Meaning that, if your identity lies in the righteousness of Jesus Christ instead of your own merits, then, going by the Bible’s definition of a saint, you are one. I am a saint. Those who are confessing Christians are all saints, and when the saints come together, there’s union with each other and with God--which is a great picture of what "communion" is.

Now, this communion extends to all the saints from all around the world. And it gets bigger and better: the communion of the saints extends to the “church universal," which is a church that includes all of the saints who have gone before us.

The application here is profound. Did you know that the Bible paints a picture of Christians in Heaven as cheering on the saints here on earth as they push forward with the mission of the church and do God’s will “on earth as it is in heaven?” For your part, viewing Heaven as a continual communion with the body of Christ on Earth has incredible ramifications as to how you live out your faith today.

Therefore, Heaven isn’t some place of harps, clouds, mansions, family pets, and soft lighting. No, in Heaven you see clearly the eternal ramifications of the mission of the church on present day earth. Consequently, now that you finally get it and see the big picture (or have the blinders removed), you watch intently from Heaven the mission of the church on earth and cheer on the saints and missionaries from around the world in a display of passion that far surpasses the excitement, unity, and diversity of even the Rio Olympics.

Let that eternal reality sink in for a moment and think of the ramifications this means for your finite actions that equate to only a sliver of your existence, yet these actions will help determine the eternal destinies of so many souls.

How is this connection to such a massive church even possible?

The creed alludes to this answer in line number 1; “I believe in God the Father, almighty.”

You see, the church universal isn’t some organization that’s determined by participants having a membership card issued by a single denomination. Instead, the church universal is one giant spiritual family where the saints are brothers and sisters who have God as a Father. A saint is grafted into this family tree that dates back to Abraham, allowing for adoption by God himself, all thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit (the previous line in the creed). This happens upon one’s confession of faith in Jesus Christ--who is our brother in this family, the true and only son of God. And, because of Jesus’ victory on the cross, we can be adopted sons and daughters of God with full family rights and privileges, including communion with this awesomely-large and loving family.

Practically speaking, this means that you, me, and every believer in this community and planet, are connected in a deeper way than each of us probably realize. Herein lies a major obstacle to the mission of the church that the enemy loves to use against us: for us to be sooo distracted with our own affairs (like our day-to-day routines, and even the agenda of our own local church or denomination), that we totally lose sight of this spiritual reality. Or worse, we understand the concept that we’re all one big family of God, but we don’t really think anything of it other than, “Oh, that’s a nice thought.”

Guys, communion with the saints of the church universal, means that you’re completely overjoyed when meeting someone new and finding out that they too are a Christian! It’s like finding out that you have a long lost brother (only it’s not because of some weird adulterous affair your parents had back in the day). Or, better example, it’s like when you travel out of state and you meet someone from your hometown. You instantly hit it off and you're excited to run into each other and you spend time chatting about what you have in common. Yet, while living in your hometown, you may see this person routinely and take them for granted.

God, forgive us for not viewing our brothers and sisters in this light, as one body. Forgive us for taking for granted being surrounded by so many Christians, and not celebrating this reality or doing enough to unite for the sake of the mission of the church and to work together in the ripe harvest fields.

Ask yourself, if every Christian is united by the Holy Spirit and made into one big spiritual family with God as the Father, then what is God’s will for how different Christians from different churches treat each other? It's that we be united, that we get along, that we love each other, and that we work together.

For an example of this I can look to my own family. I am a new dad and the experience has changed me immensely in how I relate to God the Father, by giving me a father’s perspective with my two sons. Currently, my boys are 2.5 and 7 months, and do you know what brings my heart more joy than most anything? It's seeing my two sons interact with each other. To see them laugh and play and enjoy each other’s company--and, I’m sure I have years ahead of being saddened to see the two brothers fight and not get along. 

Similarly, this is God the Father’s perspective as he watches all of his beloved children interacting with one another. He’s smiling big when Christians (from all different backgrounds and churches) get along and fellowship together and work together to advance the Kingdom of God, and he’s saddened and disappointed when churches avoid each other and fight with each other.

How do we know that this kind of unity is what God longs for?

It’s because these were the very words that Jesus prayed to God the Father before he gave himself up to the authorities to be crucified in John 17. Which, you’d think the final recorded prayer of Jesus before his arrest would be about himself and his unthinkable sacrifice, but instead, he was praying for the unity of the future church--the very thing he was willfully about to die for!

I do not pray for these alone (the apostles), but also for those who will believe in Me through their word: that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us.  -Jesus, John 17:20-21a, NKJV

Truly, an incredible prayer that also serves as a challenge for every person who considers themselves to be part of the body of Christ.

Sadly, from the very moment this prayer left Jesus’ lips, the challenge to live in the reality of unity has only grown harder over time.

• As Jesus prayed, with his divine perspective, he could have had in mind 2,000 year’s worth of Christians and you and me when he said, “but for all those who will believe in Me.” But I think that when he said, “through their word,” he was praying primarily for the 1st generation of Christians that will grow out of the apostles’ testimony. Because, if this first generation can’t get along, then the Jesus movement dissipates and the impending sacrifice is all for naught.
• Fast forward a year or so: If the Apostles really did get together to pen this creed before they all went on seperate missionary journeys (as the tradition goes), then the “holy catholic church universal” at this time is nothing more than themselves and their homies. Unity is an easy task for such a small group. 
• If the 4th Century church authored and finalized this creed, then they did so to try and unite the various churches scattered throughout different cities full of house churches being overseen by one bishop in each city. Again, not a terribly difficult situation to bring unity to.
• No, today is the most difficult time in church history to unite with the Christian church splintered off into thousands of denominations (many because of hostile or petty reasons). This, is an incredibly sad reality because the world stands to gain a powerful witness that would change civilization as we know it for the better if all the Christians united under one purpose and one mission.

Kaler and Ryan are serious about church unity.

This is why unity is so important to Jesus. It’s not for the sake of unity that Jesus wants God's children to unify. No, this mission, this harvest of souls for an eternal Kingdom and an eternal family is the primary reason why Jesus prayed that his brothers and sisters would "be one." Jesus himself gives this as the very reason for unity in John 17:21b when he says that the church should be one, “that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

Do you realize how much the world mocks religion and the claims of Christ when they see thousands of different denominations and nobody seems to be getting along? However, there’s hope. Whereas hundreds of churches fighting with each other draws mocking from the world, all it takes is few churches to unite to create a powerful witness and change a community. This unity then spreads to more churches in more communities, and, before you know it, it steamrolls into a powerful movement and a revival that the world clearly sees--and believes!

#OneontaRides @Anchor!

As the pastor of a different church here in town, I want you to know that this is my heart. I planted The Redemption Movement not to divide other churches or to show that we got it right and others got it wrong. No, RM is on a mission to reach this community for Christ. My wife and I moved to New York from Missouri as missionaries because God laid the vast needs of this area on our hearts--particularly in regards to the huge opportunity to reach the town’s “active” nightlife. 

Now, as missionaries and as ambassadors for Christ, uniting God’s people and the universal church is a major part of this mission, which is why I stand before you today. Brothers, sisters, we share the same calling, to reach these same people (your neighbors). Oneonta’s mission field is ripe with so many people who have nothing to hope for and do not believe that Jesus is the risen Lord. If the local churches united in a clear way and shared in the missionary work of spreading the Good News of the Gospel, the community would take notice of our witness and more lives would be changed than we could ever dream of seeing if one church was doing it on their own.

• Related: "Local Churches Unite Outreach Efforts for Saint Patrick's Day 2015." 

How Our Church Connects With Pokemon Go Players

From the July-August Newsletter

Okay, before you judge our church for trying to capitalize on the Pokemon Go craze, or even for being fans of a game invented for kids, first listen to how we caught Pokemon fever.
 

In July, we were doing Mobile Church on Sunday morning at Neawha Park, like we normally do. While at the park, it became apparent that something was different. Namely, swarms of young people seemingly-milling around while on their phones. It turns out that they were playing Pokemon Go, a mobile game that utilizes real-life landmarks in conjunction with the device's map and GPS so that players can find and catch digital Pokemon characters. You've likely heard about this game, seeing as it's garnered more than 75 million downloads in just one month.

Well, as it turned out, the spot where we pitched our Mobile Church tent (Neawha Park's statue of liberty), just happened to be a "Pokestop," i.e., a location in the game where a player must physically go to in order to obtain in-game items. So, as we were meeting for Mobile Church, many Pokemon Go players would come close enough to the tent that we could say hi.

Now, keep in mind that one of the major reasons we do Mobile Church is so we can meet new people by showing them God's love with an act of kindness. Therefore, we first tried to take advantage of this new opportunity by offering Pokemon Go players cold lemonade and bottled water. You would think that the hot summer weather would cause players to flock to this offer, but we quickly discovered that many of these gamers weren't in the mood to be social. No, they were at the park for one reason; to catch Pokemon. We were just a stop along the way, nothing more; grabbing a cold lemonade would just slow them down. However, one special Pokemon Go player did stop and say hi, our friend JP Lambiase, a filmmaker with Hellthy Junkfood--someone we've met in the past through giving away funnel cakes and the free ride service.

We met JP and Julia in 2014

Later that week, I was brainstorming outreach ideas on how we can better interact with these Pokemon players, and that's when JP contacted me about turning our Mobile Church act of kindness into a Pokemon Go party, and he wanted to film the event for his YouTube channel. I jumped at the chance. Plus, seeing as literally everyone attending our church is hardcore into the game, I knew our church people would be on board.

JP and I met and came up with an activity that was to become the centerpiece of the party; a real-life Pokestop, to be meticulously modeled after the game. JP had a friend create a spinning Pokestop logo, and I bought prizes that resembled in-game items. I'm pretty proud of what we came up with:

Click here for video.

Suffice to say, the Pokemon Go party was a huge hit. We had no problem connecting with the gaming hoard in the park, and HellthyJunk Food made the party fun for everyone--and tasty, thanks to JP's signature, Rochester-style chili dogs.

The video turned out awesome, and 40k views ain't too shabby either: 

A big thanks to JP and Julia and the rest of the Hellthy Junkfood crew. One way you can show your appreciation for their kindness is to visit and subscribe to their YouTube channel. It just goes to show that you never know who you'll meet and what kind of an adventure you'll go on when you step out and show kindness to your community!

How to Take a Church For All Its Worth! (Hint: It's Easy)

I've got two very different money-related experiences from last Sunday on my mind, and they're related in a powerful way.

"I'm Sorry, Did You Say Cash Voucher?"

I want to share the second experience first. A random guy called me, wanting to know if our church takes cash vouchers? I didn't know what he meant by this question, but after prying a bit, I discovered that he was looking for a cash handout.

He told me that he's called all the other churches in town and they all have policies about not giving out cash.

I told him that we're a new church with a small number of members and not a lot of resources, and that we don't have policies about giving or not giving cash, but we also don't have any funds designated specifically for people who call asking for help.

I then asked him, "Is there any other way that we can be of service?" I was thinking that he would then ask for gas for his car, shelter for the night, a meal, a ride, or help with moving furniture (all ways in which our church has helped strangers who have called looking for help). Unfortunately, he declined any other form of assistance besides cash and that was that. Phone call over.

Help That Goes Beyond Cash

I get desperate phone calls like this fairly often, but what makes this experience memorable isn't the call itself, but rather, it's how the stranger's request corresponds to something our church did less than an hour before he called. You see, I just got done collecting cash to give to a family in need.  
    
What gives? What made one family worthy of a cash gift from my church, and why did I feel uneasy and even irresponsible about just giving money to a random stranger calling for assistance?

Answer: The family goes to our church, while the stranger does not.

"But Kaler, isn't that showing favoritism? Aren't you supposed to help everybody that asks for help?"

Yes to both questions. You see, for people who make up our church community, their needs take priority and we have no qualms about providing them with cash if they need it. And in regards to the second question, I did offer to assist the man in a way that would practically meet his needs, but he was only interested in getting cash.

Another important aspect to these two stories is that the family from our church didn't even ask for money. Instead, my wife heard about their need by way of hanging out with them. When our church gathered on the following Sunday, she presented the need before the group, which lead to an offering being taken up for them.

When You're Here, You're Family

Herein lies the power of community; when relationships within a community reach a certain depth, a person won't have to even ask for help because the community will already know about it and its people will respond accordingly. 

You know what other social group offers this kind of support for unspoken needs? That's right, a family, and for people who make up the congregation of a church, they're supposed to see each other as a family. Spiritually speaking, this is a reality that's at the core of what we believe a church is--one big family.

With this in mind, I began to think about the stranger who called me for cash and I had a sobering thought, "What if, instead of looking for assistance by calling every single church in town (and it was obvious that our poorly financed church was at the bottom of his list), what if he actually visited these churches?"

And I'm talking more than a one-time Sunday morning visit, "What if this man would become a regular at a church? What if this man were to become known on a first-name basis with the congregation, join a committee, become an usher, help serve the city's poor, or even just show up regularly at the weekly gatherings?" 

I know exactly what would happen if this stranger-in-need attempted this approach. He would be welcomed into the life of the church community, he would cease being a stranger, and in a very short time, he would be treated like family.

This would be the best thing that could happen to a man in need, because once you've genuinely joined a Christian community, it's like you've gained a whole new family that has your back along with your best interests in mind. And as part of such a family, the church will stop at nothing and move mountains to take care of you and meet your needs, even if it means asking other members of the church family to give sacrificially in order to make it happen. 

Why? Because this is what any family who loves one another does for each other. In fact, if the church is doing what it's supposed to, and deep friendships and relationships are being fostered, then the man in need wouldn't even have to ask for assistance because the church body would be quick to respond to the need and meet it as soon as it's found out by another church member (like with the family we took up an offering for). 

Concluding Thoughts

A stranger looking for assistance from a church will often find it, but it will usually be in a small way that's limited by budgets and policies. However, for someone the church considers to be family, why, that person will essentially be able to "take the church for all its worth;" thanks to every resource of the church being made available to meet the needs of one of their own.

And how does one become a part of such a loving, supportive family? For starters, it's as easy as physically visiting a church and spending time with its people. If they show you love and accept you for "coming just as you are," then you've found the right church and it's just a matter of time until its people work tirelessly and give sacrificially in order to meet your needs. 

Granted, due to the disregard for the financial future of the church organization, this approach makes for an absolutely lousy business model, and it's a poor way to provide a social service. But a church is not a business, a church is not a social service; instead, a church is a family--a family that prioritizes in taking care of one another.                       

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/ 
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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