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Hello Ted,
King's Home & Witness Breakthrough
Our daughter, Trinda has worked at King’s Home outside of Birmingham, AL for 9 years. King's Home (KH) is a nonprofit dedicated to providing homes and services for abused youth, women, and children in Chelsea, AL. The KH program has served thousands of residents for 50 years, since 1973.
Trinda has also worked part time for WB for 9 years, editing and laying out our weekly emails.
In 2024, I've asked her to produce the WB newsletter solo, once a month. Our WB newsletter reaches 1400 throughout the USA every week. For the past 17 years WB has sent out the newsletter with the goal of helping believers become more effective witnesses of their faith in Jesus Christ.
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A REFRESHING WITNESS
This week we are featuring Jonathan Mack, King's Home Garden Program Director as a refreshing example of a growing, effective witness of Jesus Christ in the lives of KH teenagers.
Sometimes God calls us out of our everyday lives to get involved in a ministry we may or may not be familiar with. We, like Jonathan, may question, "You want me to do what?!"
May we also, like Jonathan trust Him to have control and follow Him!
- Ted
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Jonathan's call to King's Garden- YOU WILL BE REFRESHED!!! | |
"My name is Jonathan Mack, and I work at the King’s Home (KH) Garden Program in Wilsonville, AL.The goal of King's Garden is to help abused teenage boys and girls living at King's Home develop life skills and character through the vehicle of therapeutic gardening. Traits like accountability, responsibility, self-confidence, problem-solving skills, a strong work-ethic and healthy eating habits.
If you would ve told me a few years ago that God would place me in a ministry like KH to work with troubled youth, I don't think I would have believed you- I would've felt incapable of taking on such a huge responsibility and need!
How it began
My journey with Christ is ongoing. In 1998, fresh out of high school, I gave my life to Christ. Before that I was your typical rebellious teenager, thinking I had everything under control. I didn't think I needed a Savior. As time went on though, I began to feel incomplete, lost, empty, and just confused. In my late teen years I began to dive into scripture and attend church regularly. I finally realized the truth- I was broken, and I needed a relationship with Jesus. When I realized I was broken and accepted Jesus, my life took a new and different turn. My life had meaning. It gave me HOPE.
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Fast forward
My family (my wife, daughter & son and I are pictured) had a farm, and everything that goes with it on a beautiful piece of land. After seeking the Lord about our next steps I heard the Spirit speak clearly His plan for us. I heard what He said, but I questioned Him- "You want me to do WHAT?!" (ha ha!) We soon sold our farm. God led us in a direction we never saw coming.
These events led me to accept a position at King’s Home as the therapeutic Garden Program Director. I use the Garden Program sessions I teach to share my knowledge about gardens and animals, but I depend on God daily to show me how He wants to use each session to help hurting, abused and abandoned youth living at KH.
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My family & I can't even imagine experiencing the terrible things these kids have had to face. But we know healing starts with Hope. Hope in Jesus, hope in knowing you can walk in new life, hope in knowing your sins are forgiven and finding comfort in scripture.
Matthew 19:26 says, 'Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”'
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It's not really about the Garden at all-
At King's Garden, it's not really about the farm or garden- it's about what's most important: the youth we work with.
The farm is the tool we use to reach them!!!
God’s creation is all around us. It's fascinating to get your hands in the dirt for the first time, pick a blueberry from a bush, collect fresh eggs, or hold up a slat of 1000 honey bees from the bee hive! (I take plenty of pictures of our teens because they love to prove it to their friends!)
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How do we offer Hope to youth at King's Garden?
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.,” A verse we hang above our door post. Teenagers in foster care who've never known a stable home can be quite a challenge.
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Early on, I realized our teens needed activities that are fun and engaging. Something as simple as holding a chicken or planting a plant can impact their lives spiritually and mentally. I have an opportunity to share about Christ both in words and through His creation all around us on a farm. | |
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Not just gardening-
We split our weeks- two days per week we teach life skills; the other two days we teach gardening/farming. Our life skills sessions teach youth the how to's of auto care, tools, equipment, and machinery. We incorporate skills they are taught to create different woodworking projects.
As we create, we often talk and pray about our Creator- He created us to also be creative! Youth begin to feel they have a purpose and begin to develop self-confidence, and ultimately begin to have a sense of Hope. They learn how to use tools to complete projects and understand their potential to create. They have the confidence to use those same tools again later in life.
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Special Projects
Several of our projects are centered around prayer, the cross, and scripture. For example- we talk about prayer, share versus like Philippians 4:6, then build personal prayer walls for youth to take home and hang on their wall. We also created a prayer wall where we meet, and youth hang their requests on the wall. Many of these requests are heart breaking, but we're thankful to be able to pray daily for them.
At Easter, each youth gets a chance to build their own personal cross and personalize it with our laser engraving machine to take to their group home. We always make a time at the end of each session to talk about what we have just created or mastered, share a scripture verse, and end in prayer. Occasionally youth will pray also, which we truly love to hear.
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Gardening / Farming Sessions:
Planting seeds, transferring plants into soil, harvesting produce, tasting new veggies and fruits, picking flowers, fishing, caring for chickens, beekeeping and harvesting honey. Nature offers arguably the best therapy for trauma at any stage in life. When we come alive to experience God and His creation all around us, verses like Isaiah 40:8, John 1:3, and even Psalm 23 start to come to life! Put a group of teenagers outside with their hands in dirt, and almost every single time you see joy and hope on their faces. Questions like, “How do you stay close to God?” make me jump for joy as opportunities arise to share about Him.
Most recently, we have shared with youth Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” We discussed how our words and actions can share His light.
Our teenagers are very complex- they have been through unimaginable trauma- by God's grace we will continue sharing Jesus with them using a farm, trusting God to work in the midst of their trauma, restore them to Himself, provide peace, and ultimately give HOPE.
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In conclusion, were all called to walk with Christ daily in obedience, sharing with and helping those hurting and in need. As I write this, me and my family are just weeks away from opening our own home to youth in need through foster care. We've also had opportunities to mentor and help youth aging out of the foster system (see picture), and may have other opportunities to do this in the future with more youth who have aged out of the system with the odds stacked against them.
All of us at times struggle to listen to God and step out in faith. I remind myself of Matthew 24:16 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” I am thankful for what God has done through me and my family. I am thankful for the opportunity to help serve youth in need. I am thankful to be able to walk alongside volunteers and staff who want to make an impact in His kingdom. Most importantly, I am thankful for the HOPE he gives to our youth (and others) who have no hope."
Jonathan
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TED'S RESPONSE-
I've been blessed by Jonathan’s testimony. He is excited about God’s calling on His and his famiiy's life
Giving their whole being to the Lord- Thank you Lord for Jonathan’s testimony!
My thoughts about this wonderful testimony:
- REFRESHING WITNESS
- DEDICATION
- A ZEST FOR REAL LIVING IN CHRIST
- MIND SET ON THINGS ABOVE
- DEEPLY LOVES HURTING CHILDREN
- PASS IT ON- PASS JESUS ON TO YOUNG & OLD
IS IT TIME FOR EACH OF US TO "UNIQUELY " GET EXCITED ABOUT OUR OWN FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST & PASS IT ON TO ALL AGES?!
God bless Jonathan and his family for their witness and positive impact on each of our lives!
Ted
Acts 17:28 ”in Him we live, move and have our being”
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