Those of you who are more familiar with City Light, know that our vision is to have an outreach center in four sections of the city; North, South, East, and the West. As you know, we are firmly established on the North and South sides of the city and we really weren’t giving much thought, at this time, to center #3. Then we received a call from the good people at Feet on the Street Ministry asking us if we would be interested in starting an After-school Program in their building. Knowing the needs of that section of town (west/northwest) and that we were already drawing kids from that section, we jumped at the opportunity.
Feet on the Street is a wonderful ministry. They are a para-church urban outreach, similar in many ways to City Light. Lead by Marvin and Beverly Zimmerman and their son Daryl and his wife Rebecca, Feet on the Street were looking to expand their already booming ministry. However, running their family business and Daryl & Rebecca just having had their first child, gave them little time to do more then they were already doing in the ministry. With their deep burden for the lost in their neighborhood, especially children and youth, they knew an After-school Program would be a great fit for their area. They were right! Under the direction of Pastor Verlinda , they are already getting 25-30 kids at the ASP and they are just getting started! Wait until it gets cold, that’s when they really come!
We look forward to working with Feet on the Street. Their strength is working with Teens and we look forward to learning all we can from them. But, it’s not about their ministry or ours, but rather a shared vision for God’s Kingdom here in Reading! You will remember we used this same model to start Southside, a shared space in the basement of First Century Worship Center. Later God blessed us with our own building and the ministry grew dramatically . We are believing the very same to happen on the Westside. We believe this after-school program will develop into a third center, perhaps in the northwest or further west towards Glenside. But that is all in the Lord’s hands. For now, we are going to be faithful to serve those precious children after school and just see what God’s going to do. Please remember us when you pray.
-Pastor Joe
