The War on Christmas and St. Nicolas of Myra

I'm trying to make sure I get a post up here every about every two weeks. I remember the words of the wise Dr. Siburt at the beginning of my class this semester, he said "Ministers don't last very long when they spend more time on their blogs than with their people." Now I have two to keep up with, one that only ACU students can see, sorry non-ACU students! Nevertheless here's another Christmas observation.

Every year around this time of year, I begin to hear all of the cries about what has been dubbed as the "War on Christmas." I've always been puzzled by this idea. I've heard the stories about nativity scenes not being allowed on government property, and not being able to say Merry Christmas. I don't particularly care for nativity scenes, but if they should be anywhere it's in front of churches. I'm all for separation of church and state, and looking at history confirms that for me. To my knowledge it's not illegal to say Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays is fine with me. In some ways, it is more Christian in its inclusion and respect of others and their beliefs. Also, when the first Pilgrims came here they banned Christmas, it wasn't till later we got it back (Pesky Puritans).

I do want to point out something that is unsettling to I've noticed this holiday season. And it's in this commercial.

When we were younger Santa was the one who gave good things to the kids who were good, and bad things to the kids who were bad. He was always watching so you had that pressure on you the whole year (who am I kidding, no kid really thought about that until late November). Plus he stuck down your chimney at night, which was a little weird. But in essence, Santa is comparison to God. And the statement I see in this commercial is "We don't need you Santa, we're advanced consumers who can take care of and bless ourselves, how bout the dog?"

This unsettles me. I see it all the time in this society that is becoming increasingly consumeristic. We don't need help, we can solve our problems with money or our own ingenuity. In essence, there is becoming less room for God. I thought about this when I was teaching my 4th grade boys about the rich young ruler and how it is hard for the rich to get into heaven. They don't need God when they can take care of things themselves.

I'll end with the story of the original St. Nicolas. He was born in Turkey and committed his life to the church at an early age and was the Bishop of Myra. He sold all of his family's wealth and gave it to the poor. When good Old St. Nicholas heard about three girls that were to be sold into slavery by their father he went and threw three bags of gold from the church's treasury into their house. Supposedly, they land in stockings by the fire, which is how we get stockings by the fire on Christmas. And that's the St. Nick I want. That's the St. Nick that everyone should want. And that's the God I want. The God who pays people's ransoms from slavery no matter the cost. The God who empties out His storehouses for His people. And is so committed to paying their ransom that He sends His Son and is willing to put Him on a cross to buy our freedom. Because we need His gifts, most of all the gift of Jesus. That's what we remember on Christmas.

An Advent Post

In light of the holiday season, I thought I would make a holiday post or two. I found this interesting and funny video depicting the Christmas Story. Now don't get me wrong, dressing kids up as the characters of the biblical story is weird to me, but this one had cool accents and a creative touch.

In recent years, I've begun to observe the season of Advent. I like Advent for two reasons. First, Advent is the season of a world pregnant with hope, and that hope we call Christ will soon arrive. Second of all, Advent focuses not on gift giving, but God's giving of His greatest gift, Jesus.

Something I have been doing in the past few years is not asking for hardly any presents, but instead asking that people give money to charities I like, this year it will be to a couple of different places like my beloved Impact. It's a part of an effort to restore the meaning back into Christmas by a group called the Advent Conspiracy. They seek to focus more on the celebrating the coming of Christ into the world with family and friends, and finding the joy in giving rather than receiving. Maybe you'd like to join in on the conspiracy. Here's their promo video for the year.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

My First Oath

A couple weeks ago, I made my way to the Mickey Leland Federal Building here in Houston to get my first passport. As some of you may know my girlfriend Michael is in Honduras for the next two years as a part of the Helpers in Missions program. There she is working with a homeless ministry called Breaking Chains, and Shine Honduras which seeks to provide education for underprivileged kids. I am going to be able to go visit her around Christmas, thanks to a wonderful couple who bought me a ticket.

So I show up to present my application and birth certificate at Mickey's building (I really like the name Mickey, but could not tell you a single fact about Mickey Leland). Everything is going well, there's no line, I turn my phone, then forget my birth certificate in my car. I go retrieve it, then begin the process again. After getting every piece of identification photocopied, the lady behind the counter asked me to put my left hand on the application, and to raise my right hand. I'm sure she got a kick out of the look of confusion on my face as she told me to repeat after her. 

So I, John Carson, swore that I completed the application to the best of my knowledge and that the picture was a good likeness of me. There was a brief moment where I thought "They're going to figure out I've been in Texas longer than I should have without a Texas Drivers License and revoked this thing." Luckily this didn't happen and I now have my passport. 

All of this got me thinking about oaths in the Bible, specifically God's oath with Abraham. In Genesis 24, Abraham is speaking about how God swore on oath that He would give Abraham's offspring land and make them into a great nation. All through the Bible this oath is referenced, and seems to carry a lot of meaning. One of the things that came along with an oath was a seal, which acted as a symbol of that promise. For a weird example of this, read Genesis 38.

When I think about seals it makes me think about one of my favorite songs "Come Thou Fount." We sang it at Impact Sunday and it was amazing. The song ends with these words "Here's my heart, Lord, Take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above." When I sing these words it's like I'm making my oath with God and saying I'm His. Also, here's my heart as a symbol of that oath. For me, when I hear the whole congregation singing this song, it's like hearing a bride say to her husband, "I'm yours."

Grace & Peace,
John

3 Days with a Labyrinth

Lately, I find myself having a lot more time without my girlfriend here in Houston, which gives me time to think about interesting things to do with my time. While most people where off to Halloween parties on Saturday night; I was off to draw a labyrinth in Impact's back parking lot, which can be seen below. Now I'm sure the few people that saw me doing this thought I was insane, and drawing something akin to a crop circle or something of the occult.

Many of you may be wondering what exactly a labyrinth is. It is an old term used for mazes and places the Greeks and other cultures used in their mythology. Labyrinth slowly became the term used for any sort of maze or meditation circle. Eventually, it was hijacked by the Christians as a replacement for a pilgrimage. It began to appear on cathedral floors around 1000 AD for people to use as a tool for prayer. There has been a revival of sorts for labyrinths lately, they've been popping up at churches and chapels all over the country.

Chartres Cathedral, France



I was building my labyrinth for an experiment for my Spiritual Formations class, and because I thought it would be something cool my kids could try. A labyrinth walk is a time where the person walking it can think about all the things they need to give up in order to abide with God more fully. Once in the center of the labyrinth the person prays and mediates what is on their heart, and meets with Christ in the center. Now while the person sits, they wait until a word is put on their heart. All the way out of the labyrinth, they meditate on that word and how they can put that into practice into their lives.

I like labyrinths. They make me slow down and contemplate what I need to give up to be with Christ, and forces me to make sure my heart is right and I'm ready before I step the middle of the circle and meet God. They also wind and twist all the way to the center, which I think is a nice metaphor for life. I don't have to think about all the twists and turns that God has me on, I just have to keep stepping towards Him.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that a few of the middle school kids really enjoyed doing it in our class Sunday morning. Our youth team also walked the labyrinth on Monday as per my prayer project for class. It was new to many of them and they felt soothed after the chance to have an intentional time of prayer and meditation. Last night, I took my High School students on a labyrinth walk as a chance to remind us that we have chased desires that will not fulfill us, and that we need to give up these desires and be fulfilled by Christ.

Afterwards many of them spoke of how it gave them the chance to think deeper about their lives and their relationship with God. Some even cried afterwards, which really surprised me. Many people would say that you can't do quiet, contemplative things with inner-city kids. I would agree a lot of the time. Lots of our kids are ADHD, immature, neglected and needing so much attention, that lots of times it's hard to get them quiet during any activity. But it was different with the labyrinth. They stopped. They thought. They walked. They followed the path. And they met with Christ and prayed.

I think there is something fascinating about ancient practices. Many times I think a lot of people would find them boring. On the surface, they really can be boring, but they are deep with rich spiritual meaning. Lectio Divina or Divine Reading, the Book of Common Prayer, and now Labyrinths are all things I would have never guessed my kids would love. My kids strive for God, they do experience Him in these ancient practices. I think I will be incorporating them into our worship times and classes more. Maybe you faithful reader can seek out some of these practices and experience God in a deeper way.

Grace & Peace,
John

M&M's bad day

I sit in my chair tonight, fairly sad. I got home a little while ago from a very rough route ride home. It was a full route tonight, and everyone seemed to be wild tonight. One in particular was one of my middle schoolers I jokingly call M&M and she calls me JJ. The night began with me seeing her get yelled at by her mother and grandmother. She was then loud and obviously unhappy to see me tonight, which could be since I wouldn't let her come last week because she acted so badly the week before that.

All of the time at church, M&M would not stop talking or listen to any of the adults. After class tonight when M&M was finished in middle school, she began to yell at me about different things and give me attitude. All the way home nothing changed, she still would yell and be just outright defiant towards me. I had already decided that she would not be coming back next week and knew I'd have to talk to her grandmother. Once we arrived at her house, she knew what was coming, and begged me not to tell. But I had to.

I knew what would happen, I knew she would probably be beaten tonight; She knew that too. That fact gave me little comfort. I know about some of the abuse that M&M has experienced. I know some of the evil things that have happened to her. Because I know these things, it doesn't surprise me when she acts out, or when she hates men.

I wish there was a nice happy ending to this post, but there's not. I will be sad tonight. I will pray tonight. And I will hope for a better day for both M&M and JJ tomorrow.

Grace. Peace.
John

A Night to Celebrate!

This past Sunday Impact hosted its annual Night of Celebration. At the Night of Celebration there is usually an awesome speaker like Mitch Wilburn or Brian Mashburn to come and talk about all the good things that we work to accomplish here at Impact. But this year was different, instead of a speaker, we decided to let all our ministries speak for themselves. Each ministry had its own little booth set up in the auditorium and around 2 minutes to descride how they change lives in our community. 

In our youth section we had 3 sections to work with so we chose to make them all fit together by showing what the average kid experiences as they grow up in Impact's Youth programs. Our average kid was named Zachary and was played by Impact children at each age level. We showed how Zachary learns how to read and that Jesus loves him in Elementary School. How he learns life skills like shaving and the importance of serving others in this world in Middle School. Everyone got to see how Zachary has grown and matured into a High School student who teaches and loves kids who came from the exact same situation he has, and how he is able to go on trips to serve all over the country. 

And at the end of it all, we showed our Zachary graduating from High School surrounded by all the people who loved him every step of the way, and that he is stepping into the world to succeed as a Christian adult.

There is no way for me to describe how well this night went and how much God was glorified in it!

The highlight of my evening (shown above) was when I met one of my supporters here in Houston who has never met me. Clara Beaman is an amazing woman with great faith, and is such an encouragement to me. Without knowing a thing about me other than what Suzannah Gabriel and Steven Wells said, she supports me. She encouraged me when we talked like we had known each other all my life, and she knew me all because of this blog and Facebook. So I know she'll read this and I want to say Thank You! Thank you for believing in the call I have heard to come and love the kids of Impact. Thank you for being an encouragement that renews my soul. Thank you for giving from your heart and stepping out on faith to support what God is doing here.

And the same goes to all those who support me and Impact as a whole.

Grace and Peace and Blessings to you all.

John Carson

Traders?

I like these two videos and I thought I would share. They reality is most of the time this doesn't happen because of fear.

Food for thought. 

Grace and Peace,

John

My Mija Vicky

        Since I've been in town around 10 days out of the last 40 or so I've not had a lot of time to make any posts. So I will reflect a little bit on those past 40 days. They began with me finding out that one of my more ornery high schoolers had commited armed robbery and was sittting in jail. Yay.

         After a fun time of calling county jails and police officers I know, and getting the run around by the kid's mom, I realized that I was not going to be able to go visit him in jail. Which was frustrating. Even more frustrating was finding out later that he was literally sitting in jail for stealing $20 from someone.

         The next week as my interns and I began to get our high schoolers together to prepare for our mission trip to Tulsa; I heard more bad news. One of our favorite people at Impact, Ashley Cooks, had suddenly died at age 25. Ashley was the sweetest and most kindest person you'd ever meet, she was an intern when many of my kids were in our VBS program, and adored by them all. I remembered being at her graduation party just the year before where we celebrated her getting her criminal justice degree and her new job at the jail. Needless to say, times were not happy around Impact.

         But a surprise came out of nowhere for me! My sweet Vicky who I have had since my first summer as a middle school intern came up to me and asked if I could get a hold of Wes, our old middle school minister, to baptize her! I was excited to her my mija say this. I call her my mija, because she's like my little daughter sometimes, but apparently we're brother and sister now since Wes is like our adopted Houston dad, but it's a Spanish word I don't know.

          Nevertheless, I got Wes and he came and baptized Vicky the Sunday before we left for Mission Trip. Which was perfect timing because almost right out of the water, we're taking her to a place where she can serve others and live out her faith. It's moments like these that keep me going in this job.

      There may be times when things are just heart-wrenching and sad, but there's nothing better than seeing one of my kids put on Christ. It makes it even better to get a hug and to be told that you made a difference in someone's life. 

Grace and Peace,

John

Watching Beauty Unfold...

Once the summer is over and done with I most certainly intend to blog more frequently. My days are filled with planning trips and small group activities. One such activity got me thinking. Earlier this week we picked up our high schoolers, and loaded them up in a van with waters. Now these waters were not for them. These waters were for anyone we saw on the street as we drove around the city.

It was a such a great opportunity to talk about how Jesus told us to feed the hungry, and give water to the thirsty. While watching my kids go and take water to the outdoorsmen they encountered and pray with them. Something dawned on me. My kids are just a few bad decisions away from being one of these outdoorsmen. I certain hope they don't become one, but many of these outdoorsmen come from situations like my kids.

Now I don't know what to do with that thought. But it was beautiful to watch some of my kids who don't get enough food to eat, going and handing a bottle of water and crackers to someone who needed it just as much as they do. I don't have enough words to describe the Presence of God in that moment.

Grace and Peace.

John

I Like Free Things

Later this week I and 14 students and interns will take off to the beautiful land of Colorado. There we will begin an adventure up a mountain with Wilderness Trek Expeditions, which is a Christian outfitting group that leads youth groups and such on trips like these. Before we can go on this trip we all must have physicals.

It's a tedious and trying time to get physicals set up for 15 people, but we make it work. The simplest solution I've found recently is to pick up who I need and head on over to the Walgreens Take Care Clinic. There is a lot of paperwork there, but they are usually quick. So I walk in last week to get mine out of the way, and something cool happens.

The conversation went about like this.

Me: Hi!

NP: Hi! Oh you're wearing an Impact shirt...

Me: Yeah. I'm a youth minister there.

NP: Oh cool, I used to go there and house interns in the summer until I moved away.

Me: Sweet! Well I've got some kids lined up out here for physicals. We're going on this trip to Colorado and we're required to have physicals.

Physical begins, blood pressure is being taken and then...

NP: You know I hate to make Impact pay for these. How bout I come up to Impact on Monday and do them for free?

Me: Really? Sweet!

So we got our physicals today, for free, saving us hundreds of dollars. I learned/remembered two things from this experience. 1. Always wear an Impact shirt when going places in Houston. 2. God is funny. This lady hasn't had a church home in a while, hasn't been connected to a Christian community since being laid off. Yet for some strange reason, I stroll through her door, and she offers to do something inconvenient for her, but nice for Impact on her day off, all because of my shirt.

Now as much as I tried today, I don't know if I convinced her to return to Impact. But I think a door has been opened and opportunity has presented itself and I have no doubt that God with work through this.

Please pray for us as we trave l8 hours to Colorado this weekend!

Grace and Peace,

John

I Never Want to Speak at a Graduation

Today, I went to a graduation, many of which I hate. They are boring, lame, and nobody really remembers what the speaker says. This one was different, I found myself at the graduation of one of my kids I had just gotten on to, and told couldn't come with us on Monday. I had every reason not to go, I certainly knew I wasn't going to enjoy it all that much. I was sure that it would be an awkward encounter seeing her and her family afterwards.

So I went. It was boring. It was different from what I'm used to. It was awkward seeing her afterwards. But something happened. It may have been my girlfriend whispering to her to tell her to say something to me. But I got a hug.

Sometimes, I feel like it's just easier to just write the difficult kids of mine, or to just avoid them and not do things with them. What would that teach them though? That when things get tough at all between us I'm just going to ditch them? NO! That would be the opposite of what I want to do. I wanna teach them all about forgiveness. That even though we screw up all the time Jesus does not ditch us. And as a person who seeks to pick up his cross and follow Jesus everyday, I must stick with my kids when they treat me terribly. Maybe, just maybe I can teach them a little more about forgiveness through the awkwardness I experience.

The Beaten Path

Over the past month or so, I've spent a lot of time and effort into getting my car fixed, and now it has finally meant its demise. So now I get to search for a new car which is not quite in my budget. While my car was in the shop, I used the bus as my transportation method. My first attempt at riding the bus was a complete fail resulting in my somewhere in south Houston, quite a distance from where I live west of the 610 loop. Two weeks ago, I made my second attempt after my car went back shop, it was much more successful. I got home and back to Impact safely, but I noticed something interesting in my walking from the bus stop.

I walk a few blocks to and from my bus stops and transfers. I walk past a few different blocks on my way to the church. When I got to the block where I turn to go towards Impact, I noticed something. There is a beaten path where people had cut off of the sidewalk to save a few steps to get to the church, I looked to the other side of the street and saw the same thing.

It reminded me of the text in Isaiah where he says "A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." This is text is commonly interpreted to be speaking of John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus. John is a guy who is speaking to a thirsty and hungry people looking for a hope and a Messiah.

We try to do similar things here, there is a beaten path to Impact because we are a group who seek to reach the hungry and thirsty people of Houston, and I'm proud to be a part of it. The hopeless seek us out, and we bring light and love and food and clothes into their lives. We are preparing the way for them to meet Jesus, and trying to make paths straight for the day he returns.

Charging into Hell

      This past week I went to play basketball in a park across the street from where some of our kids at Impact live.  It was not an ideal place for me to be ever as a white person, much less playing basketball, especially when my kids tell me that they do bad stuff at this park.  There I played some ball with a couple of our boys, and a middle schooler from the neighborhood started to play with us.  Which is exactly what I wanted, I wanted to run into a kid from the neighborhood I didn't know.  This kid was named Donnie, and he seemed like a nice kid, and I remembered our middle school boys were hanging out that night.  So I asked Donnie, and he hopped in the van, and we took off to the church.

         It would be nice if things like that always went that smoothly.  I like taking the kids to church and getting them out of their hellish neighborhoods.  My whole job is centered around telling these kids about Jesus, and to hopefully get them out of the chaos and hell that is in their life.  The next day, I realized just how much I hated dropping my elementary kids off at the same place after Children's Night.  I knew what would happen when they went through the door.  They would be ignored, slapped in the head, yelled at, and hungry.

       The positive is that they were coming from church where they were loved, hugged, fed a hot meal, and taught about Jesus.  It saddens me to drop them off into the chaos and mess surrounding their life.  I don't like doing this because it feels like everything we just did at church is contradicted and reversed at home.

       All of this reminded me of a quote by Charles Thomas Studd, a Scotsmen after my own heart.  He says "Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue mission within a yard of hell."    I only wish I could keep them out of hell longer.  I'm glad that I can charge into their hell and bring a little glimpse of heaven into their lives, I just wish it could be more.  So until then I'll keep going to play basketball, and driving my van in that neighborhood bringing kids to church.  I also encourage any of you who read this blog to do the same.  Find the hells in your lives and charge into them, and bring a little glimpse of how the world should be and how heaven is going to be.

My Friend Shane.

I want to brag about my friend Shane Hughes.  Shane was my campus minister all through my time in Arkansas, even the times when I wasn’t attending his school.  He’s one of the people who pushed me to come intern at Impact, and is part of the reason we have so many interns from Arkansas.  He was also one of the people who encouraged me to pursue ministry after I finished school.  Last week, he brought his campus ministry group for the second time to come work with us at Impact.  

            While they were here, I witnessed something cool that was happening while they worked.  They were hard at work painting Claudia Aleman’s house.  I realized quickly that Shane was going to get a lot out of this experience.  You see thirteen years ago or so, Shane came to intern with middle school group at Impact, and in that middle school group was a young girl named Claudia Aleman.  I can’t tell you a lot about what happened that summer.  Today though, I see him scraping and painting her house, and being a servant.  I think it’s awesome that Shane has had such a wonderful commitment to the work that we do here at Impact.  Someday, I hope that almost fifteen years I can still be involved in my kids’ lives, whether I’m here still at Impact or elsewhere.  Whether I’m seeing them and their kids every Sunday morning at church or whether I’m bringing a group once a year, I pray that I am still making a difference in their lives.  

Grace and Peace,

John

13 Letters: Doin God Dirty.

    Last week, I began a new type of curriculum for Tuesday night bible study with the high schoolers.  In it, we will explore the 13 letters written by Paul, but in a cool new way.  The curriculum is produced by a group of Christian rappers who decided to make a song about each one of these Pauline letters.

    I think these songs are great and they connect with my kids very well, and there is also a video showing people from neighborhoods like theirs talking about real issues in their lives.  I like this a lot, because instead of this white guy from Arkansas trying to teach them and mentor them, it's who have been in their shoes, on their streets. 

        Over the years we've come up with different phrases to describe what happens when we sin.  We have the general "sinning against God," or "wronging God,"  or "going against God."  There's also the poetic sounding ones "going our own way,"  or "taking our own path instead of God's."  If I sit here long enough I'm sure I could come up with my own that could be quite humorous/sacrireligious like "slapping God in the face." 

      This past week, we studied the letter of Philemon and his experience with Onesimus stealing from him and running away.  I begin to show this video and it gets to the part where they are talking about the comparison to Philemon and Onesimus, and our own interaction with God.  Paul tells Philemon to forgive Onesimus and make treat him as a brother.  In the same way we are allowed to return to God after we sin.  One very cool and urban guy described it as this "Philemon must know how God feels when we find ourselves doin Him dirty."  "Doin Him dirty," I like that, in my non urban upbringing I would have never described it like that, but it works really well. 

        So I you my readers, I encourage you to read Philemon, it takes three minutes, and remember the forgiveness we receive daily for when we do God dirty.

Don't Just Pray.

  So tonight I found myself heading up to Impact to get some work accomplished since I've missed a lot of the week being sick.  I went in a different than I usually do in the main building and I was surprised to see someone standing right in front of the door at the welcome booth.  Which was weird since no one usually there except for Sundays. 

  Tonight, I stumbled upon one of our outdoorsmen (they aren't homeless, they just live outdoors) reading Psalms 5.  Which was awesome to walk in on and made me smile.  And it reminded me in James 2 where it talks about not just wishing someone well who is in need or just praying for them, but actually doing something for them.  It's cold in Houston, and I'm glad I'm at a place that seeks to keep people warm through the night and faith is never dead.


  What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:14-17

Grace and Peace.

God is Love

Hello my faithful readers.  I've made it to Houston finally, thanks to a lot of you!  So here's a video I enjoy.

Fundraising Letter

Over the past three summers I have been blessed to intern with the Impact Houston Church of Christ in Houston, TX.   Last summer (2010) I served Impact Houston as the High School Director and the leaders of Impact have asked me to return as the permanent High School Minister starting in January.  This was a nice surprise and an answer to many of my prayers.  Impact’s youth programs have grown over the past few years, and there is a real need for another person on our youth team focusing on high school students.    

As High School Director, my responsibilities will include transporting the kids to and from church, organizing different service projects and mission trips, coordinating and leading bible studies, and giving the kids opportunities to enjoy positive experiences that they would not otherwise have.

  As High School Director, I will not only be focused on kids in the youth group, but also on reaching out to kids not in our youth group.  Our Youth Director, Dennis, and I have been praying and making plans to grow the high school group and to help our kids succeed in their faith after they have graduated and moved on from our group. 

Since Impact is a mission church, it is supported by other congregations throughout the United States.  Impact’s budget is devoted to running the programs that reach out to the communities surrounding the church.  Nearly all the ministers that work at Impact are supported by other congregations as domestic missionaries.  As High School Director, I will be one of these domestic missionaries, thus I need to build a network of financial and spiritual support.  On the attached page, I have listed my estimate of monthly expenses while living in Houston.  For the year, I estimate that I will need $35,000. 

I would like you to be a part of this ministry with me.  I am hoping that you might financially and prayerfully support me in this effort.  I encourage you to come see the good work that is being done in Houston.  I also encourage you to keep up with the things that I am doing there by reading my blog:  followinghiscalltohouston.blogspot.com.  With God’s grace and strength, I hope to shine like the noonday in a dark world, just as it says in Isaiah 58:10.

If you would like to contribute in any way to my mission effort, you can contact me directly at 479-670-2363, or by email jcarso1.61803@gmail.com.  If you wish to send a check, you can make it out to either West-Ark Church of Christ or Impact Church of Christ, and put my name in the memo line to designate it for me, and send it to the respective address below.

Grace and Peace,

John Carson


Westark Church of Christ                         Impact Church of Christ
900 N. Waldron                                       1704 Weber St.
Fort Smith, AR 72903                              Houston, TX 77007