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Laundromat ministry reaches children and homeless
By John Gordon

Some laundromat customers in Arlington, Texas, are a bit wary when approached by a stranger who offers toys for children and free food. But they warm up quickly when they learn that Ron McLeroy is part of a street ministry that takes Bible lessons to unusual places.

"They pretty much open up to you quickly," says McLeroy, who drops in at coin laundries on their busiest days, Saturdays and Sundays. "It's good for the church to reach out past its doors into the community," he says. "Basically, it's taking Sunday school to the streets."

McLeroy is part of the United Methodist Church's Arlington Urban Ministries program. The laundromat ministry began in 1997. McLeroy took over the visits two years ago.

"We were trying to figure out how to build better relationships with the kids on the poorer side of town," he says. "We came up with some different ideas of how to meet children.

"You run into a lot of homeless people around the laundromats, too," he adds.

Arlington is a melting pot of cultures, serving as home to Hispanics, Vietnamese, Iraqis, and Africans, to name just a few. Located midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, Arlington also has the distinction of being the largest city in the country without a public transit system. As a result, many of the city's economically disadvantaged residents do not have transportation to church.

They do, however, walk by the hundreds to the city's laundromats, often with children in tow.

McLeroy, also known as Mr. Mac-it's easier for kids to pronounce-supports his ministry by working at a convenience store. He is a probationary deacon in the United Methodist Church and got the call to help children while working as a substitute school teacher.

"Those are the ones that Christ talks about that the church is to reach, the poor and the needy," he says. "And I truly believe that we have to go outside the church to do that."

During his laundromat visits, McLeroy gives away fruit, candy, and cookies, as well as grab bags with toys for children. During recent trips, he passed out detergent and Easter baskets. He also hands out Bibles written in both English and Spanish. Area churches donate the gifts.

After he offers the food and toys, he gathers the children in the laundromat for a quick Sunday school lesson. He carries a felt board with figures to illustrate the story of Jonah and the whale. Using other teaching aids, he offers a 60-second Bible lesson to adults.

"These are the people that I think are called 'marginals,' that's the big term for them," he says. "But I look at them as the disenfranchised, the ones that are separated from our communities, that are pretty much left out. They're like aliens in a foreign land.

"I feel really blessed to be able to help them, to let them know they are a decent human being, and their lives are as important to God as my life is," he says.

Arlington Urban Ministries was started by First United Methodist Church and became an independent, non-profit corporation three years ago. Besides the laundromat ministry, Arlington Urban Ministries offers financial help to families having trouble paying their rent and utility bills or buying groceries. It also offers pastoral counseling and crisis intervention for families.

Success can be seen on the smiling faces of children as they receive toys and treats from McLeroy, and as they take in a Sunday school lesson outside the doors of the nearest church.

"I think it's important that we make people feel wanted," McLeroy says. "People on the street sometimes, I think, feel like they're not included in the rest of the community. And (the program) makes them feel as important as everybody else."

John Gordon is a freelance producer residing in Marshall, Texas. Adapted from United Methodist News Service.

Ministries reach youth by creating space
By Drew A. Dyson

Driving through Franklin, Tennessee, in 1994, singer Michael W. Smith had a vision. Alarmed by the number of teens hanging out on the town square of this Nashville suburb, the Christian music artist wanted to give them a place to settle.

Rocketown, an alcohol- and drug-free dance club, opened within a year in a leased 11,000-square-foot warehouse remodeled by Smith and a few friends. More than 75,000 young people visited the club within its first three years.

Ten years later, Rocketown has moved to a 42,000-square-foot building in downtown Nashville. The venue now features an indoor skate park, cyber café, art gallery, and nightclub featuring a 5,000-square-foot dance floor. "When we built the new Rocketown, we wanted kids to know that this was a place where they could move the furniture. This was their home, and they should make it comfortable for them," says Matt Grace, Rocketown's assistant director.

A growing number of congregations and community organizations are developing ministry centers for young people.

In rural New Jersey, a small United Methodist congregation was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction among its community's young people. Working with the county government and local YMCA, leaders of Round Valley UM Church in Lebanon began to investigate community-driven solutions. A grant from the county, support from church members, and additional donations helped outfit a youth center with video games, computers, and stereo equipment.

Young people and adults joined together to develop plans for the county-wide center that is open on Friday and Saturday nights. Adults volunteer their time to provide a safe environment for young people. "If I weren't here," a 16-year-old confesses, "I'd have a lot of places to be where I probably would get into trouble."

In suburban Indianapolis, a plan for Luke's Lodge was born in 2002. Brian Durand, youth director at St. Luke's UM Church, envisioned a youth facility that brought together architecture and ministry. Inspired by a typical retreat center lodge, the log-sided building is anchored by a worship chapel that features open views of the wooded outskirts of the church property. "Young people continually related how the most significant spiritual development for them happened on a retreat," Durand says.

At Luke's Lodge, more than 150 youth pass through the doors each week. Each one leaves having encountered the love of Christ. In New Jersey, young people gather on Friday nights and play Trivial Pursuit with two adult volunteers. When they walk out the doors, they pass the familiar United Methodist cross and flame and know this church cared enough to open its doors. In Nashville, skaters flock to Rocketown to break in the equipment, and music lovers gather for live concerts. But for Matt Grace, the greatest joy is when a young man who doesn't skate comes into his office to spend an hour talking about the pains and joys of life. "That one conversation makes every square foot of this building worth it," he says.

Drew A. Dyson is the associate pastor of Clinton UM Church in Clinton, New Jersey. He is the former executive director of the Shared Mission Focus on Young People of the UM Church. (UMC.org.)



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