From www.batesline.com regarding City Counsel Candidate Blake Ewing’s decision to accept a contribution from the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, and then pass it along to a local non profit making a real difference (he chose CQ Missional..which is way cool….):
“I was pleased with his decision to give the $1,000 to a non-profit, an organization called CQ Missional, a Christian organization that “helps people discover their role in making the world a better place.”

In an email, Blake wrote of the group:  ”Their aim to grow leaders out of young adults in Tulsa is something I’m also passionate about and I’m eager to see what these future leaders do for our community.  It’s one thing to serve at the point of need. It’s a whole different thing to train and empower young adults to be outwardly focused and intentional about serving their community. I believe in this organization and am proud to share the $1000 with them. The long term impact they could have on the city of Tulsa and the world around it is too amazing not to support.I love the idea that they are training people to impact their community. They are helping to form a new generation of leaders and servants, dedicated to changing the world. I wish them safety in the journey and pray that their nets be full and their compass true.”

GPS has had a great couple of sessions this semester.  However- we were supposed to have met 4 times so far and be into our service project- a great afterschool art program at Cooper Elementary.  But, because of snow-smockolypse (which I have honestly loved, even without four wheel drive), we’ve had to adjust.  Adjusting, flexibility…. its all good!  Since the kids wouldn’t be at school today- Counselor Rita gave us printouts of the students’ goals and aspirations which we read and got to “know” them at bit.  Some of the highlights included the fact that this elementary school will be producing an incredibly high per-capita rate of future veterinarians, many of whom will be holding down jobs as teachers and doctors as well.  One student who we are sure to love stated that his goals were to learn to read weird symbols, and (sort of a footnote…) he wanted to live forever.  Cool.

After our “one way get to know you session”- we went over to Cooper and shoveled off their bus waiting area which was full of old snow/ice and there wasn’t anyone available to clear it .  It went fast, and the 0 degree windchill was almost fun.  Here are some pictures below.  Our theme for February is “Made to Create” and that will fit in quite nicely with the 21 excellent elementary students we get to walk beside for the next several weeks.

A big thanks to the Nathan Weber family for their support in monthly meals, and to our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings on West 71st St for their support of the work of GPS.

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I stayed up late last night writing little notes on our year-end letter we are sending out to contributors to CQ Missional.  And, while we are  really a little operation, there were at least 35 contributors to this ministry last year, not including the support different people provided with their prayer, counsel, volunteering, and joining us as clients.

That is a humbling thought, and I looked out the window at my back yard on this cold day and said Thank You to God, who is the creator and giver of all good things.  We working at CQM say thank you also, to all of you who join us in this desire to help young adults discover their unique purpose, and to all our partners who believe that engaging service to our neighbor is something we were all made to do.

Our open house is coming up Tuesday, and I also got great news this week that we can pursue becoming the urban ministry site for John Brown University’s Link Year Program.  We are growing.

Below is a copy of our year end letter to contributors and to those interested in this work.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if we can be of any service or support to you.

Dear Friends:

With 2010 coming to a close, I wanted to thank everyone who has helped CQ Missional invest in many lives this year. In our first year alone, we were involved in coaching and counseling relationships with around 10 young ministry leaders on a regular basis, and saw the successful completion of our first session of the Certificate in Missional Leadership (our 10-month internship program) & GPS Tulsa (for recent high school grads).  I have included some thoughts and comments I’ve received recently from GPS students at the end of this letter.  Please pray for them, and the new students who will join us this spring.

New things for 2011 include:

• • Starting our own 501c3 non profit, making us grant-worthy for our community service work, and creating better communication avenues between supporters and our team. This will mean  contributors can give directly to CQ Missional, and we will connect with folks directly from our office here in Tulsa.
  • More GPS groups, a new CML internship program at Camp Loughridge that we run, and being an urban ministry site for The John Brown University Link Year Program  starting this coming fall.
  • Official partnerships with Camp Loughridge and Garnett Church of Christ, opening the door to new opportunities to invest in the lives of young people.
  • Adding more team members who offer vocational coaching and pastoral counseling for young adults-increasing our capacity to offer more of those services.
  • Continuing to enjoy the work we do!

All that is to say, as our year ends:

• Thank you for your support and friendship!
• Please pray for our work- that we might hear God’s voice and join Him in blessing people.
• Please consider making a year-end tax deductible contribution as much of our regular contributions are also being used to pay insurance, legal, and other costs of doing business.  Our goal this year is to get full funding for the Director Position, and provide funds for administrative assistant work.  We are at 50% at this time.
• Lastly- consider paying it forward by sharing what we do to other potential clients and contributors who may join us in this work..

We are doing our part to invest in lives, and help young people invest in more lives…
Some words about investment from 2 Corinthians:

He throws caution to the winds,giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out.

This, I believe, is supposed to be a defining characteristic of our story. We were created to contribute.  Thanks to all of you for working with us to contribute and see how God’s giving doesn’t run out.

You can send your year end tax deductible contributions directly to:
CQ Missional
1212 W Albuquerque Pl
Broken Arrow, OK 74011

God bless each of you.

Chris King
Director, CQ Missional

GPS Tulsa has proven to be a valuable experience for everyone involved-students, leaders, and their parents as well. GPS is about helping people discover the purpose they were made to live. Here’s some short  reflections from  our first students:

“Sometimes we might feel useless and unpurposeful but we are making a difference in peoples live whether we see it or not…sometimes we don’t see it though. All we think about is ourselves, we walk through our day thinking about the next thing we have to get done, the next place we have to go to, the next meal we are going to have…or how we are going to finance the next meal. We don’t realize the homeless people sitting on the side of the road-They have a life too. we are not the only ones on earth…

God put us all together to compliment and help each other.  to fit together as puzzle pieces, to help create one big beautiful masterpiece.  when we all come to this point of asking ourselves “is our existence necessary?” we should all ask ourselves “can one mosquito make a difference in a tent of sleeping people?”

“I graduated from a small highschool (TSAS), and alot of my friends moved away. Even the friends that stayed and went to TCC became more distant because we didn’t choose similar classes. College is so unstructured that it’s hard to make new friends in your classes (especially lecture based classes). Making new friends is something I’m not skilled at anyway. I feel like I have friendship (or at least something incredibly similar, perhaps community) through GPS.”

One seemingly “directionless” 17 year old closes our last one on one with this question:  “Am I doing OK?  How can I get better?  Do you think my path is a good one?”

“I don’t think we could make the impact, learn as much, or become the group we have become without the time that GPS gives us. GPS has helped me see God loves all people, and maybe I can try to do that too.”

“I love all of it.  Especially the people.  I would have never figured that this group of people would become good friends and trust each other.  I guess thats possible in other places as well.”

I get a one line email last night.  It asks me:  “What do you mean by “two years of not being challenged?”  I have not met the author (to my knowledge.)

Oh boy.  You know when someone asks you a simple question,  and you automatically realize that you may have messed up something up?  Is it just me?  I figured as much…

I go to re-read my email sent out a couple of days ago for contributors, partners, friends, which is aimed to thank folks and inform them about the new stuff going on at CQ Missional.  I’m getting the feeling that something I wrote could be taken the wrong way, and I’m thinking, “man, when you write up something quickly and shoot it out there- people who don’t know you read it, and you’ve got to do a better job of communicating your heart.”  I’m also reminded that when you shoot from the hip- you usually hit your foot first.  In the email,  I started some communication about a new “gap year” program we’re starting next year for community college students, and other high school grads.

Here’s what I read that I had written just one day before:  “Students are not usually thrilled about it, parents however, like the great value of it. “It” is going to Tulsa Community College for your entry into college life. The Tulsa Achieves program is free for qualifying students and a great choice financially. However, many students who stay in Tulsa for community college have 2 years of not being challenged, wishing they were somewhere else, and playing it safe and not engaging the promise of this time of life. Instead of really exploring a life calling and preparing to enter vocational training with confidence, they do a lot of hanging out.”

Hum…  Its that true?  Well, I am sure it is for some people.  In fact,  I know it is for some people.  However, my statement can be read as a judgment on the quality of what TCC offers.  That was not what I was after, especially because the Achieves program is exactly the kind of thing that excites us about living in Tulsa.  Its great.  It provides choice for those who haven’t had it before.  It gives opportunity.  Its city wide.

The notion that students don’t grow or develop during community college really says more about the student than about the college.  Our growth is always our own responsibility.  You know, like we were taught in grad school, that our outcomes are always a marriage of an experience plus our belief about the experience.  Attitude is everything, and people mine beauty from any place every day, and folks also blow it and fail to capitalize on something beautiful right in front of them, every day.

TCC has done a beautiful thing in the Achieves program and as I have commented on numerous occasions, what is a good thing will just keep getting better and better because of this injection of life into the community.  Here is the “to the point” explanation and purpose for the TCC Achieves program from their website:

What Is Tulsa Achieves?
TCC helps eliminate the financial burden of attending college by providing additional funding to fill the “gap” between financial aid and the cost of attending college.

For eligible students, Tulsa Achieves pays up to 100% of tuition and fees for a maximum of 63 college credit hours. As a gap-funding program, Tulsa Achieves pays any remaining balance after all state, federal and private aid and grant funding have been applied. There is no cost to the student!

Why did TCC start the Tulsa Achieves Program?
The answer is simple – Students in Tulsa County should have the opportunity to attend college based on an ability to achieve, not an ability to pay.

It’s all about giving back to, and improving, our community. By increasing the number of Tulsa County residents with higher education degrees, we can increase the number of skilled professionals available in the Tulsa job market. We hope to encourage students to graduate high school and engage their community through service learning/volunteer service. With Tulsa Achieves, TCC is helping to ensure that Tulsa continues to grow, just as Tulsa has ensured the growth of TCC.

This deal is SO what we want to promote in Tulsa, and any words that imply that they aren’t doing a great thing here- are just misplaced, and not what we want to communicate.

Can community college be the best possible choice for people trying to move towards their life calling?  Absolutely.  Even without “us?”  Um….yep.

Is it possible that students who stay in Tulsa to engage an education at a place like TCC might need what we offer to help them move forward in life, to pursue their unique role in making the world a better place?  I am convinced the answer to that one is yes also. We help people take responsibility for their potential on a personal level, and engage the adventure of what is right in front of their face- such as their potential contribution to this community.  Many people just need a personal challenge and relationship that helps them go to this place.

So, maybe a better way to have written that paragraph would have been:

“Some students may not be thrilled about it, parents however, like the great value of it. “It” is going to Tulsa Community College for your entry into college life. The Tulsa Achieves program is free for qualifying students and a great choice, giving tons of students the opportunity for free tuition to TCC’s growing academic  programs. The TCC experience also can offer a seamless academic transition to 4 year state Universities.  While having TCC and the Achieves program here is such a great resource to our city, many students who stay in Tulsa do not use their time to develop their unique role in the world.  Many don’t seek out the challenge that leads to growth during these years and play it safe instead- living in a holding pattern until they go on to a 4 year university, choose a major, and live on “their own.”   Instead of really exploring a life calling and preparing to enter vocational training with confidence, many students hang out, do their work, and wait.  We believe we can come along side of  students during this time, and help them engage the foundational questions of who they will be.  The result will be a student ready to engage more specific vocational and life training with courage and confidence- knowing who they are, and ready to dive into that adventure.”

The lesson for me?  James tells us: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…”  I’m reminded that my perspective is limited, and I quickly forget that others have the ability to broaden my little window.   My quick words don’t give the whole story, and as I have experienced more times than I would like to admit, the crow doesn’t taste like chicken. I’ll eat it though (salsa  might help).

We look forward to serving people as they discover their unique role in making the world a better place.  Thanks to folks like TCC and the Achieves program who are doing that same work.  Our program to help students with their unique role in this world, called “GPS” will take off this August.

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