LINC North Texas World Premiere Gala

LINC North Texas held its inaugural fundraising gala on May 14, 2010. The World Premiere event was held at the Palace Arts Center in Grapevine, Texas. One hundred and forty-four attendees from all over the Metroplex and the state of Texas joined the LINC NT staff for an evening of good food and wine, fabulous entertainment, and a passionate presentation of LINC’s new vision for the future.

Amidst the rain, attendees representing seventeen area Lutheran churches came together to hear from Master of Ceremonies, Richard Ray, Fox-4 anchor/reporter, and a number of the LINC NT staff. The festivities kicked off with a musical presentation from the San Antonio based Drum Café, giving everyone the opportunity to join in the music and even allowed for a few helpers from the crowd. The crowd was electrified by the energy of the Drum Café.

LINC NT Church Planters, Francis Angwenyi and Ramiro Gutierrez, led the attendees in prayer. New Hope Director, Mark Couser, enlightened the room with the latest happenings in East Dallas. Allison Schlack introduced a new program, Student Advancement Leadership Initiative (SALI), which puts LINC staff into public middle schools to teach leadership skills and character development, in hopes to build relationships outside the classroom where the love of Christ can be shared. Executive Director, Rev. Oscar Benavides shared a heart-felt message about the SALI program and the impact it is already making in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. He focused on LINC NT’s new vision for the future that includes extending the SALI program to four new schools.

The message and vision of LINC NT’s future was wonderfully received. The commitment to prayer and financial support were a huge testament to the folks that believe in the ministry of LINC North Texas.

Over $19,000 was raised through ticket sales, table sponsorship and individual gifts the night of the gala. What a huge blessing to know and see the support from local churches and individuals! The funds raised will be used to launch new SALI programs in Ft. Worth ISD, Birdville ISD and Dallas ISD in the fall.

A Little Help After School

We have learned a lot about the kids in our neighborhood over the years. Many of them do well in school, but some need a little bit of extra help. It's amazing what some one-on-one time can do for a student's grades, reading skills and overall self-esteem. We've been blessed by a few women (and their kids) from Bethel Lutheran Church, who have volunteered their time to help with our tutoring program.

Students from the New Hope Neighborhood come by a few afternoons a week. They have quiet reading time, computer time, group reading, and workbook time, which is a specified program set up for each individual to help with the areas of school that they are struggling in. Every once in awhile, the students get to do a group science experiment or hone their money or time-telling skills.
Grades are already improving from the beginning of the semester and the kids were able to pass or improve on their TAKS scores from the previous year!

Family Night

Family Night kicked off on January 6th. In just two months we have connected with many new families and have seen God minister to each of them in a powerful way. Each Wednesday at Family Night we spend time in fellowship, worship, and prayer. The children and youth have their own special time of interactive learning with a relevant message just for them. It is amazing to see the excitement in them each week as they are eager to learn more about Jesus.

The adults who attend are experiencing real Christian community through worship, prayer, and genuine conversations about life. It is so apparent that God is moving and His hand is working mightily through this new ministry launch. One of the many new people that have joined us on Wednesday night is Irma. Irma came to our facility looking for English classes. In meeting with Pastor Ramiro, she also expressed an interest in wanting to learn more about the Bible. God has been faithful in revealing Himself to Irma. She had been struggling with severe back pain and shared this with the group her first night with us. We prayed for God to heal her back and she has expressed feeling less pain these last few weeks. God heard our prayers!