A Summer To Remember

For ten years Mercy Street has been sowing seeds in the soils of West Dallas.  Over a thousand young people have been matched with a mentor or coach through the years, making an impact that is very challenging to measure.  My favorite way to measure impact is through life transformation.  There is nothing as thrilling as watching a person change.  With my front row seats to the action (our family moved in to the neighborhood 8 years ago), I have witnessed seeds growing tender shoots and most recently beginning to strengthen into fruit bearing plants.  To be more explicit, I am referring to the celebrated leaders emerging from within West Dallas everyday.

This summer we have handcrafted an internship for 26 such leaders.  These are the most elite students we've seen.  They have each participated in a year long small group, walked closely with a group leader, begun to express a hunger for Jesus and a commitment to avoid the entangling web of poverty.  These students have enrolled in what we now call around the halls of Mercy Street the LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE.  

These students will be coming to Mercy Street from 9-5 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the summer.  During that time we are praying God would instill two ever so critical impressions upon them.  We hope they acquire

a red-hot love for Jesus their Messiah

and

a prudent awareness of the marketplace and the skills demanded to participate in it.  

These students will be visiting several local businesses for a behind-the-scenes discovery tour.  Several business owners will come and teach on the elements of the marketplace most critical for students to grasp.  Students with shadow an employee for 3 weeks at a local business. And lastly, what we are most thrilled about is that students will participate in starting a small business at Mercy Street over the summer.  

We will start a shaved ice stand, a t-shirt printing company, an art collaborative and a small cafe for staff families/alumni.  They will come up with a business plan including a budget, an advertising scheme, bookkeeping processes, customer service creeds and then pocket the profits.

A few other extraordinary elements of the summer include: the arrival of 7 passionate college students who will mentor these high school leaders all summer long, a 7 day backpacking trip in Colorado (midsummer), and a 5 day trip to Pine Cove Summer Camp.

We are overjoyed as we watch these leaders emerge and find ourselves both humbled and thrilled at the opportunity to nurture them this summer.  We simply can't imagine the great things God might have them do to massively impact the streets of West Dallas.

We wholeheartedly invite you to join with us in praying for these students.  If you are interested in meeting them we invite and encourage you to come down.  Contact Garrett via email at garrett@mercystreetdallas.org to come up with a time that would work well for you to come get some autographs from these superstars.  Have a magnificent summer!