One minute read: Selfless love

From our Women’s Chaplain Emily in Covington…

“Last week a woman named Tammy came in. It was her first time in the gym.

Right away I knew she was being oppressed by the enemy. I have discernment when it comes to people and the things the enemy is attacking them with. Even though I knew what was going on with her, another girl that has just been coming to women’s hours did not. Her name is Cortney. She has been around for many years with her husband Ricky but has never opened up to me until the last two times she has come to women’s hour.

So…..as we are all sitting there Cortney is wearing her brand-new rain jacket that John Beiry gave her. She was talking about how well it fit her and how much she liked it. Then Tammy chimes in because she has been on the street for three days without food and warm clothes. We all start talking about God and life. Tammy did not have a jacket and me and Cortney couldn’t find her one so.

Cortney leaves for a little while and comes back. She had gone to her cart and changed into a warm hoodie. Then she gave her brand new raincoat that fit her so well to Tammy. God is working all the time in the gym. People are loving and selfless.”

Football Banquet 2022

Celebrating our Football and Cheer Families…

Skills. Relationships. Faith. These were things built during Lord’s Gym Ministries Panthers football season.

“We had a great group of kids,” Family Activity Center Director Danny said. “And the mom’s this season were amazing. They were so engaged in supporting the kids. It was a great thing to see.”

Football mom Sarita said it was a pleasure coming alongside Lord’s Gym to support her children.

“My 8-year-old was super shy,” she said. “Now he has lots of friends. I appreciate what Lord’s Gym is doing with the sports programs. It means a lot to this community. It keeps the kids out of trouble and happy. It’s truly all about the kids.”

Football mom Erica appreciates the skillset her son has gained this season.

“He’s loved football,” she said. “He’s very athletic and plays basketball, baseball and this year will be doing wrestling. He’s all about sports. We want to help him develop his skillset and this was a great opportunity to do that. His dream is to be a professional athlete.”

Cheer coach Keeshia said she’s appreciated the opportunity to be involved, but more importantly the opportunity to share her faith and see the kids grow in their faith.

“The kids need Lord’s Gym,” she said. “Through the sports programs the kids have strong adult figures in their lives, are learning skills, and learning about God. We share our faith, and we do devotionals. It’s a great thing.”  

The Steps of a Good Man Are Ordered by God

From Chaplain Lynn… 

I truly believe that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23) and I’ve seen that play out in my life time and time again. After our STORM outreach has completed our work for the day I typically don’t go back to the Family Activity Center (FAC) but I did this Friday. We had a few after hours guests stop by requesting help getting in touch with their caseworker and in this particular case one young man who was trying to get to treatment.
 
This young man just met one of my former students Zach Elder from Parkside Christian Church who joined us on the STORM bus the week prior. One takeaway Zach had after meeting this young man was that although he wanted to encourage him in his current situation of homelessness battling drug addiction, he actually encouraged Zach to continue doing good works and serving those who are in need like himself.
 
Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we’ve all been created for “good works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” So at the very core of this young man’s very being, he desires to do the “good works” he’s been created to do but trauma in his life has hindered him from doing so. I’m seeing when you make yourself available and keep showing up for people in need and they experience God’s love in a practical way, transformation can happen when people know you care!

The Panthers Are Advancing!!!

From our Women’s Chaplain Emily in Covington…

“Last week a woman named Tammy came in. It was her first time in the gym.

Right away I knew she was being oppressed by the enemy. I have discernment when it comes to people and the things the enemy is attacking them with. Even though I knew what was going on with her, another girl that has just been coming to women’s hours did not. Her name is Cortney. She has been around for many years with her husband Ricky but has never opened up to me until the last two times she has come to women’s hour.

So…..as we are all sitting there Cortney is wearing her brand-new rain jacket that John Beiry gave her. She was talking about how well it fit her and how much she liked it. Then Tammy chimes in because she has been on the street for three days without food and warm clothes. We all start talking about God and life. Tammy did not have a jacket and me and Cortney couldn’t find her one so.

Cortney leaves for a little while and comes back. She had gone to her cart and changed into a warm hoodie. Then she gave her brand new raincoat that fit her so well to Tammy. God is working all the time in the gym. People are loving and selfless.”

Celebrations in Covington

A message from Chaplain James…

Last week was all about recognition, honor, and restoration for our friends.  It started out with the Welcome House honoring three of our gym members and continued on to our friendship connection event at our local church: 

Nick is a long-time gym member and Urban Outreach volunteer.  On the autism spectrum, he puts his unique talents to good use by organizing the food pantry shelves in the gym and helping John Biery with the furniture ministry.  Nick was recognized for keeping his apartment for a year.
 
Joey is a gym member and Urban Outreach contractor.  He was the second ‘patient’ we had in the medical respite shelter we staff, graduated the program, and now has his own apartment.  Joey has an LVAD device implanted in his heart that keeps it pumping.  He was recognized for graduating the program and maintaining his apartment.  He has worked the veterans shelter for us, and now is contracted to run shifts for us in the very medical shelter he graduated from.
 
Jason was homeless and addicted to alcohol and marijuana for the better part of the last two decades.  After finally surrendering his heart to the Lord in October of last year – he got an apartment shortly after.  Jason was recognized for maintaining it for almost a year and always being willing to help.  Jason volunteers in the gym approximately 60 hours/week and has recently started leading some of our devotionals. 
 
Correy has been a gym member/volunteer for years.  In spite of Down syndrome and autism, he always makes sure to wipe down our gym tables and prays for us during our Bible studies.  After 11 months of being homeless, we were able to assist him and his family with furniture for their new apartment last week.  Correy even got to ride a horse at our church friendship event!
 
Brother Kai has been coming to the gym and church with us for months now.  He truly has a heart for the Lord in spite of losing his sight as a result of diabetes three years ago.  Lady, the horse he is riding, only has one eye.  Amazingly – she crossed the field at our church specifically to get to Kai.
God is good! 

What the Lord’s Gym Means to Our Friends

A message from the Loechel family…

The Loechel family has been involved at the Lord’s Gym for several years. Their children take part in many of our programs. Here what they have to say in the video above. This vide segment was featured at our Community Awareness Event on Sept. 29. To view the entire recorded event, visit our homepage… LordsGymMinistries.org.

Witness God’s Transformative Power

Community Awareness Event…

We hosted our Community Awareness Event last Thursday. The Holy Spirit was among us as staff and our friends shared their stories. It was a blessed gathering. One highlight was hearing from Chaplain Lynn and our friend Jewell. “We serve a lot of people that others have given up on,” Lynn said. “I show up to work everyday because I think to myself if God didn’t give up on me, who am I not to show up for them.” Jewell is one of our friends that Lynn shows up for. His story is quite powerful. As a young man he watched helplessly as his father beat his mother. His father eventually killed her. This weighed heavy on Jewell and he turned to drugs and alcohol for comfort. “I didn’t want to do drugs and drink, but I did it to take the pain away,” Jewell said. One day, several months ago, he decided to end it all. He drinking outside a gas station and saw a bus coming down the road. He prepared himself to step forward, but his legs wouldn’t move. He stepped back from the curb and looked across the street and noticed the Lord’s Gym Family Activity Center. At that time the center was closed for renovations but he found Lord’s Gym staff just a few buildings down serving food. He went in. Sat a bit and then approached Lynn. “I need help,” Jewell told him. “I got you man,” Lynn replied. And today Jewell is 5 months clean. You can hear more about Jewell and other stories by visiting LordsGymMInistires.org. You can view our entire Community Awareness Event at the top of the homepage, it will play after the Fox19 segment on the Family Activity Center.

First Football Game for 2022 Panthers

From FAC Director Danny…

We had a full house at our first home games, 8 games and about 725 people in attendance! We are so thankful for our staff and volunteers, special thanks to the moms who worked at the concession stand for almost nine hours straight! Many of them were with us from 7 a.m. until almost 9 p.m. Thanks also to my family for the help and for being patient and understanding. It was truly a team effort!. Thank you all!🏈👏🏾🙌🏾