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'Maxed Out Evangelism' Reaches Out to Children
By Craig Pinley
HOUSTON, TX (May 16, 2002) - Jeff Golden of Faith Community Evangelical
Covenant Church is passionate about evangelism, having come to faith later
in life.
Last year he took that passion to a new level and has enlisted the help of
many at his church to grow a ministry called Maxed Out Evangelism. Golden
got the idea following a youth group trip to San Jose, Mexico, in June
2001.
The Maxed Out Evangelism group meets bi-monthly with children from Sister
Gay's, an orphanage located five miles from the church. The group's members
lead small group Bible studies, crafts and games, among other things.
Usually 8-10 adults and more than a dozen youth are ministering to the kids
at the orphanage. Golden estimates that 75 students and adults have aided
the ministry in at least one event.
"There was a tremendous bond from that (2001 mission) trip. But the
opportunity to serve is equally as prevalent in your home city," said
Golden, a worship team member at Faith Community Covenant who previously
served as its youth pastor. "What was on my heart as we were experiencing
this yet again was the fact that we didn't have a ministry that didn't have
a
chance to channel that energy and spiritual giftedness into a service-based
ministry in Houston.
"These children have an attention of a 10-second commercial," Golden
continued. "We have found that a ministry is effective if we know kids on a
first-name basis and break them up into small groups around a very
short-term project . . . the kids didn't respond well to a pre-fixed menu
because there was a cultural and need disparity. We bridged that gap by
going and hanging out in their environment and let them know that we would
return. We were there for them first and not for the program first."
Golden came to Faith Community via the military, having been part of an
ROTC program while at Princeton University in New Jersey. After college, he
served as a lieutenant in the Army (field artillery) for five years in
California and Washington. He became a Christian at age 25 through a
soldier in his unit and a Promise Keepers event in Washington. Since then,
has tried to "make up for lost time" in sharing about the love of Christ.
"There is a renewed passion and energy of older Christians that we can
bring to a church," Golden said. "Ever since I've been a Christian, I've
been excited about sharing the certainty of his love. And revisiting the
discovery of his breath of grace is critical to a passionate testimony
of his love in evangelism.
"The biggest blessing for me is to see a maturity and boldness begin to
grow in members of our congregation in their willingness and competence in
sharing Jesus Christ," Golden added. "Seeing the confidence of people
overcoming their fear has been probably the most gratifying aspect for
me personally. Kids that were quiet have all of a sudden become much more
open and outgoing."
Lately, Golden has had opportunities to express his love for Christ in the
work place. As managing director for corporate development at Enron
Corporation in Houston, Golden has shared how he has handled the recent
events involving his company, which has been devastated by recent financial
troubles. He had helped start a Bible study on Friday mornings pertaining
to faith in the work place, but everyone in the group has left the company.
"There has been more than double-digit numbers who have come to my office
and asked how I could have peace while everything around them was
collapsing," he said. "And I've answered them all the same - because Christ
is at the center of my life and not Enron," said Golden, now in his sixth
year at Enron. "It's amazing to me that people who were very superficial in
conversations get ripped open to a vulnerability when something important
is taken away. I've seen that at the most senior levels. But if this
experience had happened in years one, two, or three I would've thought my
life was over. And that's because my life was tied to Enron.
"But events like the mission trips, like having a weekly lunch with a
pastor who was a mentor - events like those opened my eyes to a bigger
reason for living," he continued. "And I think that's what drives my
passion for evangelism. I was at a place where work was the center of my
life and now I know that my life revolves around Christ as the center of my
life. Knowing this . . . afforded me a hope and peace to be a testimony to
others who still had their job at the center, both Christians and
non-Christians."
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