1 Year of Serving Oneonta and Honoring God!

Our little church has been open to the public for 1 year!

To honor this big achievement, we're kicking off a new teaching series to correspond with this season of Lent. On Good Friday (4-18), The Redemption Movement will have an actual one year celebration because we officially opened our doors last Good Friday. 

The one year celebration will be on 4-18 and will include an ice cream social, an act of kindness scavenger hunt, along with a Good Friday message. Here's the order of the evening's events:

6:00-7:00: Ice Cream Social
7:00-7:30: 1 Year: A Look Back
7:30-9:30: Act of Kindness Scavenger Hunt
9:30-10:30: Worship and Good Friday Message

What is an Act of Kindness Scavenger Hunt? Combining fun and service, we will divide up into teams, go out into the community, and spend 2 hours showing our city kindness and God's love, going off of a scavenger hunt list of small AoK projects!

At the end of the AoK Scavenger Hunt, prizes and gifts will be awarded, followed by a Good Friday message. Click here to RSVP on with the Facebook event page.

You're welcome to join us in celebrating one year and remembering the sacrifice of Jesus!

Breaking the Cycle of Defeat with 501(c)(3) Approval!

By Kaler Carpenter

We are pleased to inform you that upon review of your application for tax exempt status we have determined that you are exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

This if from a letter that The Redemption Movement received on Feb. 28, 2014 from the IRS confirming our status as a 501(3)(c) tax-exempt public charity! Concerning the needs of our church, this is a huge break, and in regards to us first submitting the application to the IRS in the Fall of 2012, this is a long time coming!

For our church, what makes this achievement extra momentous is the fact it's a major step in breaking what I call "The Church Planting Cycle of Defeat." Because we essentially started this church without the support of a national organization, church planting has been extra challenging. As we labored to get the church off the ground, I noticed a "Cycle of Defeat" that we were facing. It goes like this:

No Organizational Support = No 501(c)(3) Status
No 501(c)(3) Status = No Money

One advantage of being a part of a religious denomination or national organization is that a new church automatically has founding paperwork and tax-exempt status given to them from their supporting group. Because we lacked this support, we had to procure this paperwork on our own. We moved to Oneonta in July of 2009 to start The Redemption Movement, and in May of 2011 we had our church chartered with Otsego County, NY as a nonprofit organization.

Despite this accomplishment, we were still not tax-exempt in the eyes of the IRS. Therefore, one of the first actions of our newly installed board of officers was to pursue this status, which entailed a mountain of paperwork and a $450 fee.

What makes having 501(c)(3) status for a church so important is that people and other organizations are much more likely to donate to you if you have it. This is how we operated in the past concerning giving: We told donors that, as a church and a nonprofit organization, they can legally write off a donation to us on their income taxes. However, if a giver were to be audited, the burden to prove to the IRS that we are indeed a church would be on them, and we have information handy that we promise to provide donors if they were to be audited.

For many, the prospect of having to jump through an extra hoop with the IRS to prove that their donation is tax exempt is enough to deter giving. This is understandable, especially when a person is also being hit up for donations from various 501(c)(3) certified organizations that pose less risk of an audit.

Because we lacked 501(c)(3) status, we targeted our past fundraising efforts towards friends and family--people with whom we had personal relationships with and knew our hearts. In the Spring of 2013, we fundraised over $2,000 via social media to launch the church. This was a wonderful financial boost that allowed for the church to open our doors to the public, but virtually all of these donations were one-time gifts, which meant that our new church had no consistent funding to operate on (the majority of our current church attendees are new to church and tithing is a new concept). And let's face it; nobody wants to go through a second round of directly fundraising to family and friends, especially within the same year.

The solution to this fundraising problem is to have 501(c)(3) status. The IRS was taking their sweet time getting back to us about this, so we looked to the support of a church planting organizations and denominations for help. Only, the problem with this is:

No People = No Organizational Support
No Organizational Support = No 501(c)(3) Status

Laura and I resigned our ministry credentials with our previous denomination in order to church plant in Oneonta. It was a difficult choice for us, but we thought finding another group to partner with would be easy. We were wrong. Over the years, we have looked into at least 6 different groups to partner with, primarily so that we can have help us with obtaining founding paperwork, which includes getting 501(c)(3) status. So far, none of the groups have worked out. Some didn't work because we weren't compatible with their doctrines, which included disagreements on doctrines like women in ministry and spiritual gifts (we are for both of these hot topics).

But the most common disqualification that we ran into with established religious organizations is that they required 20-50 consistent people attending our church before they would even consider processing our application. This is a huge roadblock for us because we essentially "struck out on our own" with just the two of us, instead of being given a team of volunteers from a mother church (as is the most common way to church plant).

I totally understand where these groups are coming from, after all, there has to be policies like this in place to ensure that your organization is backing a church planter that's serious about the work and won't flake out after getting approval. However, for a small church like The Redemption Movement planting in a small town like Oneonta NY, 20-50 people = a successful and solid church in our eyes.

RM Launch 3-29-2013

Most church planting groups think bigger than us. They tend to target bigger and growing communities, and they mobilize dozens or even hundreds of people to see church launch events where hundreds, if not thousands, of new people show up. I have personal reservations about the sustainability and priorities of this model of church planting that I won't go into here. But I will say that our approach to church planting is different, as evidenced by how we launched The Redemption Movement. Instead of spending our launch money on advertising, we spent it on community outreach and we had 20 people attend our launch (a number that I am proud of).        

The need to spend money on advertising brings us to the next leg of our "Church Planting Cycle of Defeat."

No Money = No/Poor Marketing
No/Poor Marketing = No People

My heart is to give every dollar donated to the church to community outreach, but the reality of our situation dictates that we need to use some of our resources for marketing in order to tell people about the church. Our church marketing efforts so far have been pretty miniscule. We've used newspaper advertisements, Facebook, flyers, and a banner, but without a significant amount of money set aside for marketing, that's about all we can do. To properly market the church and gain the attention of more people, we need more money. Scroll up to the first part of the cycle to see how fundraising has gone for us, and now you can fully appreciate what it's like to church plant in this "Cycle of Defeat."

For years, I've referenced this cycle and been optimistic that if just one leg of it broke than the other parts will be sure to crumble. This is why our church finally gaining 501(c)(3) status is such a big deal for us!

What about The Redemption Movement Proudly Paying Taxes?     

This is a fair question because our church makes it a point to proudly pay property taxes as a way to show our local community love and support. In fact, twice a year when the property tax and school tax bill hit the mailboxes, we put out a sign in front of the church building that says "This Church and Property Pays Taxes. We Love Oneonta." We also regularly post a blog article about our stance on taxes to our church Facebook page.

At the heart of our reason for choosing to pay property taxes is to be a witness of Christ' love to our local community that's overburdened with high property taxes. This high tax burden has led to hostility toward local churches by people who don't think that this tax arrangement is fair. Rest assured; we're still committed to paying local property taxes as a way to bring  healing to this situation. It's our hope that an unbeliever who's skeptical or even angry at the church for not having to pay taxes will see our actions, be moved by them, and ultimately consider our message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I think that our church gaining 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status through the Federal government for fundraising purposes is an entirely different situation than our church choosing to pay local property taxes for the purpose of being a good witness. For over three years now, our church has been trying to operate as a tax-paying organization. For reasons noted above in the defeat cycle, you can see how futile it is to operate a church in America without 501(c)(3) status.

Essentially, people and businesses are hesitant to donate to an organization without this tax-exempt status. In my personal observation, I find it interesting that the same people screaming, "Churches and charities should pay taxes," aren't donating their money to for-profit groups. Why? Because they can't write it off on their taxes. This is a different cycle of defeat that I think boils down to what's going on in a person's heart; because, when it comes to money, how someone spends or doesn't spend their money shows where their heart is at.

At The Redemption Movement, we're focused on ministering to the heart, and we're figuring out this money stuff along the way.

To Donate to The Redemption Movement   

If you want to contribute to the ministry of The Redemption Movement, checks are payable to "The Redemption Movement." You can mail them to:

148 River St.
Oneonta, NY, 13820

EIN: 45-3027565
DLN: 17053271349002

*Digital payment method coming soon.

3 Run-Ins Our Church Had with the Law

By Kaler Carpenter

Doing church outreach doesn't have to be boring. Faith is an adventure, and sometimes living out your faith means getting questioned by the police at 1AM with a car full of intoxicated bar patrons. This was what happened to me on a cold night in January when doing an act of kindness in Oneonta, NY, and this wasn't the first time my ministry efforts have been stopped by the Five-O. Being questioned by the police really isn't a big deal to me, from my perspective, it's a blessing because I have a very captive audience to share God's love with--which is exactly what I pray for.

When being questioned by the authorities, I think the testing of one's faith isn't in the questions from the police, but the test is in how we respond to the questioning. Doing the work of church planting, I've had three run-ins with the law and they have each turned out well. I attribute this to my faith, which instructs me to be cooperative with the enforcers of the law, and to even to show them honor (1Peter 2:13-14). In each situation, if I had gone with my gut and argued about fairness and fought the law, I am pretty sure that the law would have won.  

For Taking People Home Without a Taxi License

Back to that eventful and cold January night. The outreach was a free designated driving service. This is one of my favorite acts of kindnesses to do because we get to meet so many people, and at the end of the night I feel good knowing that I helped keep the roads safe. It's always a positive experience, even though it might sound a little dangerous (the God of the Bible is good, but not safe).

The way we do this AoK is to have two people go out during a busy bar night, usually it is myself and another volunteer from the church, and we use my personal car. We'll go out to downtown around sometime before midnight, and we'll park the car along Main Street, typically in front of a busy bar or pizza joint. We'll then hang out in front of the car with a chalkboard sign that reads "The Redemption Movement, Act of Kindness, FREE RIDE, Don't Drink & Drive." People will then approach us for a ride and we'll take them where they need to go for free. And when we're not driving people home, we're hanging out and meeting new people on the sidewalk.

Partnering with BASIC

This is an overwhelmingly positive ministry to do. Each time we go out, we get 10-to-30+ people home safe, and we get to meet more people just from hanging out. Many people will walk by and give us high fives. Sometimes strangers will give us money or pizza, and we have even gotten to pray with several hurting people. We do this ministry sporadically, and we have done it for almost one year without incident, with our first time being last St. Patrick's Day. On one occasion, we even partnered with another local church group and used their 16-passenger van, and we have aspirations of partnering with more local churches for this ministry in the future.

So what's the problem? On the night in question, we stepped up our efforts and added a new magnetic sign to the car that read "FREE TAXI." Which worked out spectacularly, as evidenced by people flagging us down for rides. However, it turns out that the City of Oneonta has ordinances in place about Taxi services, so the police pulled us over that night.

We were only one block away from our passenger's home, so they were allowed to exit the car and walk the rest of the way. We explained to the officer who we were and what we were doing. He informed us that he pulled us over because we didn't have a taxi license to do what we were doing. I explained to him that I didn't know I needed a taxi license to perform a free service, and instead of arguing with him about it, I trusted the teachings of scripture and I made efforts to be extra cooperative.

The officer told us to not continue the designated driving outreach until we made arrangements first with City Hall. He let us finish out the night, but his verdict meant that I had to cancel my plans to go out and do it again the next night.

The following week I contacted City Hall about the issue. Instead of making things difficult for us by having us apply for a taxi license, or instead of turning the issue into a city council public debate, the city quickly got an attorney involved who determined that the taxi ordinance only applied to services that charge money. City Hall then notified the police department about this, and the OPD informed their night officers about the law and even offered their protection and support to us for whenever we go out and do it again. We couldn't have asked for a better outcome, all because we were cooperative and honored the authorities God placed in our lives.          

For a Noise Complaint

The taxi license incident wasn't our first run-in with the police, nor was it our first dealings with city hall due to the police. In October, our church hosted a rock show that drew a noise complaint.

Hosting rock shows isn't something that a traditional church does, but it's an activity that a new church has the freedom to. We host rock shows as a way to connect with our community and to make a positive impact with our culture (RM value #6). Plus, they're just plain fun! Doing events like rock shows is also a great way to communicate that the church is people, not a building, and therefore, we have no qualms using our space for community events like shows. And it turns out that there's a need for an all-ages DIY venue in Oneonta that will give up-and-coming local bands a chance to play.

The rock shows were never part of our original church plan. In the Spring of 2012 we did our first show as part of a community block party, and by the time October 2013 rolled around, we had 12 shows under our belt. In DIY punk rock fashion, I didn't feel the need to check with the city about hosting shows. We have a newly remodeled building that's up to code, and we had the space approved for church use. I just assumed that playing music would fall under "church use."  And out of respect for our neighbors, we make it a point to stop playing loud music by 9PM.

In October, we hosted our first hardcore show, which is a louder kind of music than what we have had in the past. And out of the twelve shows we've previously done, this show happened to be our best attended and drew a rough looking crowd that wore black and had tattoos and piercings--a new cultural dynamic for our quiet neighborhood (with the exception of the Beer Barrel Inn just a few blocks away). I was not surprised when the cops were called on us that night, I'll be the first to admit that it was loud.

The reaction of the two officers responding to the noise complaint was priceless. They stood outside of the building and observed everything through our big glass windows and they seemed thrilled that the crowd was under control and no one was drinking. The police were cool enough to let the band finish their set, and I took talked to them about how we could do shows in the future so that we can avoid noise complaints.    

They told me that we needed to run these shows by city hall by obtaining an amplified noise permit. The next week, I visited the office of the City Clerk and asked about the required permit. It turns out that the permits cost $50 each, and would need to be submitted for each show that we do. This information was disheartening because it would mean an end to the shows. But I've got the stubborn faith of a church planter and a cooperative attitude, and I knew that this combination would bring about a reasonable resolution.

For the next few months, I worked with the city clerk and submitted a permit for each show and I even found a loophole that waived the $50 fee for nonprofit events. In the end, the city lawyer was consulted and it turned out that we didn't need an amplified noise permit for an indoor event. Plus, the city seemed impressed that, in response to the noise complaint, I took sound-cancellation precautions by temporarily boarding up the windows for each show with 5/8 sheetrock layered with foam mattresses--a homemade solution that cost me $100.

Since adding the soundproofing window covers, we've not had another noise complaint, and the city is totally okay with our church using the space to host rock music. This is another perfect solution brought to you by working with the authorities instead of trying to fight them, which makes me think that the Bible is on to something ;)      

For Being Just Plain Suspicious 

The first run-in I had with the law was actually fairly comical and didn't turn into a big deal that required the services of the city attorney. Back in March, I was in the middle of our 30 Days of Kindness campaign, and one of the acts of kindnesses had me go door-to-door offering homeowners free batteries as a way to show them God's love. I've already blogged about this outreach, you can read about it here.

Here's an excerpt from the battery blog telling of my run-in that I had with police while giving away free batteries:

I had a police officer stop me because of a complaint. Seriously. Knowing the ridiculousness of the situation, I answered every one of the officer’s questions with a big smile on my face, I even offered him some batteries. I was more than happy to tell him about everything that I was doing and how much God cares for him, at least someone was willing to listen to me.
After the officer processed my identification and everything checked out, he then reported to the dispatcher in his walkie-talkie, “It’s just a guy spreading happiness and kindness, over.” He let me go and I went on my way.

Living out your faith can be adventurous and even fun, and when you do outreach to your community in ways that nobody has done before, you're going to encounter people that won't initially understand what you're doing and their reaction will be to call the police. But if you're doing the right thing and serving the community with the best intentions, then the police and the authorities will be on your side and will want to work with you. There's no need to fight with the police, complain about them being unfair, and turning a complaint into a crusade against authority. Because when it comes down to it, both the church and the police share the same mission of serving and helping their local community, and I believe a big impact for good can be made when the two groups work together.

The faith the Bible presents is one of submission to our authorities. The presumption to this civic command is that a believer has already fully submitted themselves to God, and therefore, trusting and cooperating with the authorities is a faith exercise in trusting God, who is ultimately responsible for placing the authorities in our lives. From the experiences that I have just shared, I can say that trusting God by cooperating with the authorities instead of fighting with them produces much better results.

At The Redemption Movement, we will continue to pray for the safety of the brave men and women of the Oneonta Police Department and we appreciate their service to our community.

3 Successes and 3 Objections to Public Displays of Kindness

By Kaler Carpenter

It's rare when someone objects to an act of kindness, but we experience this from time to time as our church goes out and performs regular AoKs for our community in Oneonta, New York. At The Redemption Movement, we're not deterred by criticism. On the contrary, we welcome it because it gives us an opportunity to tell people why we do what we do.

Our favorite response that we like to give our critics is "kindness is contagious." What we mean by this, is that kindness is such a powerful force for good that it inspires those who experience it to do good themselves. This is why people that do random acts of kindness will tell recipients to "pay it forward." It's the givers hope that their single act of kindness will spread and the world will become a better place.

Free Sack Lunches for the Staff of a Local Hotel

When we do our act of kindness projects at The Redemption Movement, we hope for the same thing, but we're a little more specific with our acts. First off, our AoKs are not entirely random. We put a lot of thought and prayer into meeting specific needs with our actions. And secondly, instead of telling people to "pay it forward," we tell them, "We're doing this to show God's love." Either way you go about doing an act of kindness, the world becomes a better place and people are inspired to share kindness with others.

The criticisms we've faced with our AoKs isn't from spreading goodwill, or even serving in God's name, but the biggest objections we've heard are from people that are annoyed with how we show kindness in such a public manner. I will address this objection along with others at the end of the article, but first I want to highlight how one of our recent AoKs spread beyond the people that directly experienced it and impacted the world for good in a big way--because kindness is contagious!

The AoK that made such a positive impact was our outreach to retail workers having to work on Thanksgiving. We made 50 handmade "Thank You" cards that included an encouraging message and a $2 bill, and on Thanksgiving we went to various stores and passed the cards out to workers with a smile and message of God's love. In addition to the cheer that was spread, we have seen three more ways that this one AoK has successfully impacted the world.

Success 1: Our Local Community Took Notice

As soon as we got home from passing out the thank you cards, I wrote a blog article about the experience and posted it. I also submitted it to Oneonta's newspaper "The Daily Star," because I thought, "Hey, you never know." To my surprise, I received a call from a reporter the next day. She interviewed me about the AoK, asked me questions about other service projects that we have done, and she even inquired about what our goals are for these AoKs. Sure enough, the story was printed in the newspaper the very next day, on the front page!

Here is an excerpt from the story. You can read the full article on The Daily Star's website.

“As Christians, we are to show others the unconditional love of God, instead of displaying a holier-than-thou attitude and being insensitive with our religious practices,” Carpenter explained. “Ultimately, it is not about religion, it is about a personal relationship with God, lived out in a community of people known as the church.”

As a new church trying to get the word out to our city about who we are and what we are all about, we couldn't have asked for a better story. For years we have struggled to communicate to our community who we are, and with one AoK and a nice write up, this was achieved in a grand way. In fact, the article was better publicized and more attractive than if we had spent money on any form of marketing.

Success 2: A Long-Distance Friend was Inspired to Show Kindness

While we were making the cards for this Thanksgiving outreach, I  posted our plans and our progress on our Facebook page. One of my friends living over 2,000 miles away in New Mexico saw the post and felt inspired to perform an act of kindness in her local community for people having to work on Thanksgiving. She lives on an Air Force base and decided to bake cookies for the servicemen and servicewomen on duty during the holiday. There is no doubt that many people were cheered up upon receiving the kind gift, and I am amazed to think that those cookies in New Mexico wouldn't have been baked if we kept our kindness a private matter.

Success 3: Holiday Shoppers Were Reminded of God's Love

With the AoK receiving front page treatment in the local newspaper, the story was fresh on people's minds for the holiday shopping season. Speaking of shopping, one consequence of the Thanksgiving AoK is that we injected the local economy with fifty two-dollar bills. We chose two-dollar bills because you don't see them very often, which makes you pause and look at it when you come across one, and even think twice about spending it. With all of these bills being passed around during the holiday shopping season, you can bet that many shoppers came across a two-dollar bill and thought about the AoK our church did to show God's love. I got confirmation of this a few days after the outreach when a coworker approached me with a two-dollar bill he got back as change.

Kindness is contagious. We make extra efforts to tell of the world of our kindness in order to spread God's love and make the world a better place. I think that the objections we see with our public displays of kindness come from a misunderstanding of our motives. To clear things up, I want to address three specific objections that we have come across.

Objection 1: Public Acts of Kindness are Selfish

Some of our critics think that public acts of kindness are a selfish grab for attention, and that only kindness shown in private is acceptable. One woman posted this comment on our church Facebook page in response to our designated driving outreach. "Instill daily living participation in society is what's needed. Why does the generation born in the 1980s think they rule the f***in world?" And there was another young man (intoxicated) that scoffed at us when we gave him a free ride and handed him a kindness card with our contact information. He said, "I give people rides all the time but don't give out cards."

Giving Free Rides to Oneonta College Students

The point that these critics are making is that doing something nice for a person on a personal level is superior to doing it publicly. My response to them is this, of course doing quiet and regular acts of kindness is a good thing. At our church, we teach that kindness is a lifestyle and we encourage our people to show kindness every chance they get, in both big and small situations. And we're not trying to do public AoKs in an attempt to "rule the world;" on the contrary, we're trying to help bring healing to the world by making as big of an impact as possible with our service.  

Objection 2: The Bible Says that Good Works Should be Done in Secret

There are some Christians that will frown on public displays of kindness because of Jesus' teachings in Matthew 6 that says, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." To put this verse into context, Jesus is talking about being discreet when giving money as a worship offering to a religious institution, not about doing good deeds in God's name.

Money complicates things and people are sensitive about it. This is why all of our AoKs are free (not fundraisers). We serve others for free so the message of God's love will come through clearly. Plus, Jesus is highlighting how Heaven's spiritual economy works by teaching that God rewards giving done in secret. This is in direct opposition to making a big public announcement about how much money one gave, which was the religious practice of the day. Also, Ephesians says that "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." This truth, paired with Jesus' teachings to "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven," makes it very clear that churches are to be loud and proud with their public displays of kindness.

Objection 3: Acts of Kindness do not Grow the Church or Get People Saved So they're Not Worth Doing

I have talked with some church leaders that will not consider doing AoK outreaches because they don't believe it will lead to people coming on Sunday morning. To be fair, these pastors are correct. It's a rare occurrence when we do an AoK for a person and then see them at our next church service (even though they often say they will come). But at our church, AoKs aren't a marketing gimmick to bring people into the fold. Instead, we do AoKs out of obedience to God's command to love the world, and we feel this command was given primarily to the church body, which is why we prefer to go out as a group representing the church instead of lone wolfing it.

The RM Kindness Team Moving Students into Dorms

I've also had conservative church leaders express disapproval to how we show God's love with our AoKs. Because we're not carrying Gospel tracts or trying to get the person saved right then and there, to them, this ministry is not valid, and to show love without an invitation to salvation is "liberalism" (btw, God liberally loves everybody, "for God so loved the world"). To be clear, we care about salvation and feel the need to evangelize the lost, but we don't feel the need to push salvation in every situation. We believe that salvation is a process, and for many of the strangers that we meet while doing AoKs, we understand that showing them God's love and proving to them that not all Christians are pushy and judgmental may be the first healing step needed for them to eventually come to faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the preacher with a Gospel tract.

We've been doing AoKs for a few years now, and yes, we still have the smallest church in town, but that's not what it's about. For us, doing AoKs is about showing God's love in a practical way. While we can't boast of record-breaking attendance, we can tell you story after story of all the good that we've seen happen from showing kindness. And in the end, isn't that what kindness is all about?

To hear more act of kindness stories, you are welcome to visit The Redemption Movement's Friday Evening Gatherings. Doors open at 6pm at 148 River St., all are welcome. Or you can join us on Sunday to volunteer for the week's AoK project.

How $100 Cheered Up 50 Black Friday Workers

By Kaler Carpenter

"Working on Thanksgiving is no fun. We appreciate your hard work. Here is $2, we hope this act of kindness brightens your holiday. God bless, from your friends at The Redemption Movement."

This was written on the inside of 50 handmade Thank You cards given to Black Friday workers in Oneonta NY, along with a $2 bill and another card about God's love. With Black Friday sales pushed back to Thanksgiving, we saw an opportunity to do an act of kindness for workers that had to spend the holiday away from their families.

This AoK was near and dear to mine and Laura's hearts because we have both worked a combined 11 years in retail, including our share of Black Fridays. In preparation for this outreach, our new church spent the two previous months doing weekly acts of kindnesses that didn't take money from the outreach budget (like leaf raking and giving free rides to downtown bar patrons). We also raised additional funds from social media. Come Thanksgiving we had saved up $100 for this act of kindness!

We broke the $100 down to 50 two-dollar bills, and with the help of volunteers, we handmade fifty Thank You cards. When Thanksgiving rolled around, we put the cards together and went out to brave the crowds.

Our first stop was Stewarts' Shop at the end of River Street. We gave a card to the cashier, who admitted that he was bummed out today and this really made him feel better.

Our next stop was the epicenter of Black Friday shopping, Walmart.

Thanksgiving 2013 at Walmart, Oneonta, NY

It was 7pm on Thanksgiving and the parking lot was so full that the customers were parking on the grass. We right away begin giving Thank You cards to the workers pushing carts and directing traffic in the 20 degree weather. They were appreciative and I enjoyed reconnecting with some of my former coworkers.

Sharing God's love in the dairy aisle.

We then entered the store and began approaching Walmart workers; who were easy to spot due to the bright yellow vests they were wearing for the occasion. Most of the workers were very appreciative, yet there were a few that turned us down because it's Walmart's policy to not accept tips. To avoid future turn downs, we folded the money so that it wasn't sticking out of the card. This strategy worked and we ended up passing out cards to 35 Walmart workers in one hour.

The best experience I had at Walmart was with an old coworker and friend who had been following the activity of our church on Facebook. Upon seeing us, he got excited and began telling his coworker about our church and all the different outreaches we do for the community. It was really encouraging to talk with someone that's excited about the ministry I do week-in and and week-out. The encourager received encouragement!  

Laura showing the staff at McDonalds God's love.

Before leaving Walmart, we payed the McDonalds inside of Walmart a visit. Laura gave four cards away to workers that looked busy due to the Black Friday rush.

It was now 8pm and the Southside Mall across the parking lot was beginning their Black Friday sales. Laura and I took our 10 remaining cards and gave them out to workers in JC Penney, The Shoe Dept., Olympia Sports, and Subway.

For the most, all the workers we gave cards to were appreciative as evidenced by the smiles on their faces. But the best reaction we got was from the worker we gave our 50th card to (a sign to me that God was guiding our steps). When I gave this young lady the card, her countenance instantly changed from "retail-friendly" to "awww, holding back tears."

She then put out her arms, gave me a big hug, and told me about how hard today was because she was unable to spend it with her family. She then asked me lots of questions about the church and exclaimed how much better this made her feel!

The most difficult part of the night was having to stop because we ran out of cards and money. This act of kindness was a fun and powerful way to share God's love with 50 people, and we really look forward to doing it again next year with more funds and more volunteers so we can reach even more people.

The Redemption Movement does a different act of kindness every Sunday. If you want to help, be sure to check out Friday's post on our Facebook page in order to find out what AoK we're doing next. Or you can hear about our outreach plans firsthand by attending our weekly Friday Evening Gathering, as well as hear a testimony about how the previous week's AoK went. Serving others with kindness is a wonderful way to share God's love. You are welcome to join us. Feel free to contact us for more details.               

The Carpenter Family Builds a Community

Dan from Dirtpope performs solo. Photo credit Craig Jay Photo

By Brian Doran

It was a Saturday afternoon in September, and Laura Carpenter was putting the finishing touches on two chalkboard signs reading, “Redemption Movement Act of Kindness: Free Show & KYLE!” Inside, her husband, Kaler, was setting up the PA system, clearing the floor space, and rigging a drum kit.

Frank from Bray performs with Kyle (not pictured)

Only a few hours prior, the headlining band was forced to cancel the show, but for the couple that moved all the way from Missouri and renovated a whole venue by hand, this was no huge obstacle.

Chelsea reads poetry. 

The city of Oneonta has a rich history of music venues, from the Oneonta Theater, open since 1897, to the College’s music output, hosting such acts as F.U.N. and Childish Gambino. However, the town was in serious need of a middle ground, “I saw a need for a venue that was for the community and the students – a place that wasn’t a bar,” said Kaler.

Jesse from Baked Potatoes and KYLE!

Kaler remodeling in 2010

The Carpenters did exactly that, they purchased a vacant storefront and for three years they taught themselves and went to work on constructing their hybrid church, community center, and venue. In 2012, the Redemption Movement was able to have its first show, which became a block party for the whole neighborhood, even including a bounce castle for kids.

6th Ward Block Party May 2012

Far from the pay-to-play ethos of some other venues, Kaler said that the shows are entirely non-profit. The storefront runs on donations and the helping hands of volunteers, with every cent going to touring bands or renovations.

What the Carpenters want most of all, is for their church to serve the community, and they don’t just mean religious services. Aside from the shows and services, The Redemption Movement hosts 30 Days of Kindness, wherein volunteers do what they can to help the city, from cleaning up the street to giving free taxi rides on the weekends.

Lou from Deadwood

Though it may seem like a lot, Kaler certainly doesn’t mind the work, ”I don’t watch football, I don’t watch sports, this is my hobby. It’s exciting because I don’t know exactly what to expect!”

With the help of students and residents alike, Saturday was punctuated with a colorful night of music. From acoustic sing-alongs, to live poetry, to the melting blues-rock of the band Deadwood. The Redemption Movement had another successful show, made all the sweeter by the grassroots that grew it.

Elio from The Longest Monday. Craig Jay Photo

Brian Doran is a student at SUNY Oneonta and wrote this article for a Photo Journalism class. 

2 Radical Acts of Kindness to Show God's Love

By Kaler Carpenter

How can a small church make a big impact? By serving their community with the passion and love of Jesus Christ. It's a simple idea that yields powerful results. On a Friday evening in August, a small group of Christians meeting in an old storefront in Oneonta's lower deck neighborhood, showed their upstate New York town just how much God cares for them with two radical acts of kindness.

A Typical Friday Evening Church Gathering

The evening started off like a typical Friday Gathering at The Redemption Movement. People trickled in as a free spaghetti and meatball dinner was served, and the weather was nice so people ate and fellowshiped outside. The group even had some fun as one member shared a custom cake made to look like the Pastor's old pickup truck used to accomplish service projects (The Big Blue Ministry Machine), which made for a fun photo op.

After the meal was cleaned up, people found their way into the meeting room and shared stories from the week's previous service projects. The last week of August is a big week for Oneonta and The Redemption Movement as SUNY Oneonta students return for the Fall Semester. The group shared their experiences of helping students move into the dorms on the previous Sunday, and providing free rides in downtown Oneonta the night before to help keep the roads safe. The church was in the middle of Welcome Week 2013, which calls for 6 service projects in 1 week to help make the returning students feel welcomed.

But with a Not-so-Typical Church Message

After sharing stories, an acoustic worship set was played and then the Pastor taught from the Bible. The lesson looked at Jesus' Great Commission to the church in Matthew 28:18-20, and related it back to The Redemption Movement's own commission of Connect --> Discover --> Impact. For this lesson, attention was given to the Impact portion. The kind of impact The Redemption Movement tries to make in their community is: "Moving people out of a self-centered lifestyle and into a new self-sacrificial life in order to impact a broken world with the Gospel."

The Gospel declares that, when a person believes and follows Jesus, they are made new and called to live like Jesus did. There is a verse in Matthew that clearly explains Jesus' motivation,  "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mt. 20:26-28)." Just like Jesus made a big impact on the world by being a servant, so too are Christians called to make a great impact on their community through service.

How then Are Christians to Serve?

What does this service look like? Christian service is sacrificial, as seen ultimately with Jesus giving his life on the cross. Even day-to-day Christian service is supposed to be sacrificial and practical, as seen in John 13 when Jesus (who is exalted over all creation) humbled himself by stripping down to his undergarments and washing the feet of his disciples. Jesus explained this act of service, "I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you (Jn. 13:14-15)."

The thing about feet washing in the first century, is that people wore sandals on dirty roads filled with animal feces. It's fair to assume that the disciples' feet were dirty, sweaty, smelly, and in need of a good wash. At the Redemption Movement, we want to impact the world for God by serving our community, and nobody amongst us had stinky feet; but, if our city had feet, then the stairwells of the Oneonta downtown parking garage would be the modern equivalent of a well-traveled foot from first century Palestine.

Radical Service Project #1: Cleaning the Parking Garage

With the 3 day weekend ahead, this pile of sawdust and urine would have sat for 3 days before a city employee could take care of it.

Motivated by Jesus' example, we wanted to serve Oneonta in a practical and humble way. So we ended our church gathering early, loaded up some cleaning supplies in the ministry machine, and headed downtown on a Friday night to deodorize the stairwells. It was the Friday before a busy Labor Day weekend, and the stairwells were in dire need of a good scrubbing just as they were when we cleaned them last July as part of a Sunday Act of Kindness.

Locals using the stairwells understand the need to hold your breath as you pass through them, primarily because some individuals often confuse stairwells for urinals. While much of the town was partying only a block away, a team of five motivated Christians quietly pulled up and scrubbed the stairwells with bleach and lavender-fragranced cleaner. Within an hour, the stairwells smelt pleasant, which means the visiting Labor Day tourist would be spared a smelly surprise.

Radical Service Project #2: Offering Free Rides

By the time the cleaning team was done it was late, around 10pm, but the night of service was not over. Everybody went back to church, only to clean up for a second service project. You see, this Friday was the first Friday night the college students were back, which means the downtown, with it's ten or so bars, was the hot spot for well over a thousand people. As part of Welcome Week 2013, The Redemption Movement committed to be right in the middle of the party zone to help keep students safe and show them God's love by offering free rides.

It's an act of kindness we have done a few times before; in fact, we did it as recently as the previous night. Only tonight was different because we were teaming up with a student Christian group from SUNY Oneonta called BASIC (Brothers and Sisters In Christ). This is the second time The Redemption Movement and BASIC teamed up for Welcome Week as both groups helped move students into their dorms on the previous Sunday.

For this act of kindness, BASIC brought their 16 passenger van and we parked it directly in front of one of the most popular bars on Main Street, The Red Jug Pub--which coincidentally, uses the image of the devil as its logo. As students took us up on our offer for free rides, we got to explain that we were doing this as an act of kindness to show God's love and answer their questions about faith. It was also a great time of sharing God's grace and meeting new people as we stood outside the van with a sign that said "FREE RIDES."

One student from BASIC was able to relate to several of the students we gave rides to because she already knew them from class, and she would explain to them her passion for the Bible during the ride home. Several students tried to offer money for tips, and they where amazed when we told them, "Keep your money, this is free because God's love is freely given."

The most dramatic impact we made that night was with a young man who was so intoxicated that he could barely walk and talk. We convinced him to get into the car (the van broke down and we had to swap vehicles), and after driving a few blocks, it became obvious that he didn't know where he was or how to get home. After incoherently giving us his address he passed out. We called the Oneonta city police to assist us in getting him home, and they were able to wake him up and determine where he lived. The police then helped us find his apartment and we walked him to his door. The young man got home safe and he was left with information about our church and God's love for him.

Welcome Week 2013 was a success. We were too exhausted to go out for a third night of designated driving as planned, but all-in-all, we feel like we made quite the impact by completing 5/6 service projects in welcoming back the students and serving the community.

You are welcome to make an impact for God with us and participate in an act of kindness every Sunday at The Redemption Movement. See Friday's Facebook post for the upcoming AoK project. You are also welcome to come on Fridays and hear about the previous Sunday's AoK, along with teachings from the Bible geared towards anybody seeking truth, starting at 6pm at 148 River St., Oneonta, NY. Contact us if you want to know more, and if you do visit our church, be sure not to wear nice clothes because you never know what radical service project we might end up doing!