On weekends when I am available, I work at my church’s Adopt-A-Block ministry. We reach out by providing free food in the form of a grill-out, some fun and games for the kids, and offering school supplies and bikes for children. While meeting some basic practical needs, we hope to also have the opportunity to share God’s love and grace to the wonderful people we meet each week.

During most of the event, I make balloon sculptures. (And you thought I just did magic!) At the end I do a brief magic presentation with a message.

We’re receiving a great response from the people in the neighborhood. We have had great support from local schools and community organizations. Other schools in the surrounding area have invited us in to do the program in their area as well. It is great to be able to take part in this ministry. 

I just came across a blog entry listing all sorts of free ministry resources, mostly graphics and video related. It looks like there are some great sites listed there. I knew about a few, but most were new to me. If you’re in ministry and like free stuff, you should check it out.

Do you know of more free stuff out there? Leave a comment to let us know.

April 25 is World Malaria Day. My overseas trips have often taken me to areas impacted by malaria. Malaria is a disease we don’t think about much in the United States. However, it claims over one million lives each year. 750,000 of those are children in Africa. For each one that dies, there are hundreds more who are sick.

Much of this suffering and death is preventable. Nine out of ten of these cases could be prevented with mosquito netting. 

I am writing this to encourage you to join with me in making a difference. So, what an you do? First, you can learn more about the problem. Second, you can provide support through Compassion International. Compassion is a solid Christian child development organization that works in many areas where malaria is a huge problem. I wasn’t able to do much, but if we all give a little, together we can make a big difference.

I just completed my fist seminary course, a New Testament survey. I am pursuing a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Liberty University. I was a little nervous going in, because I haven’t been in school in quite a while, but I did well. I learned a lot and enjoyed the experience.

I am doing this to improve my ministry. I want to do programs of substance, that do more than just entertain.

I have to take a break from classes for the summer. There’s no way for me to keep up with coursework during my busy summer camp season, but I’ll pick it up again in the fall.  

The season for Upward Basketball Award Night events was shorter than usual this year, due to the early Easter holiday. I was still able to do quite a few of them.

I’ve said it before, but I really love Upward. It’s an amazing and effective ministry to kids and families. If you aren’t familiar with it, you owe it to yourself to learn more about it. 

Here’s some feedback I received from one of them:

 I have been asked by numerous people in attendance that night, “Where did you find this guy, he was great!” 

Brad did an amazing job both in his performance and relating to the kids.  There are a lot of really talented performers out there but it takes a special talent to be able to entertain kids and keep their attention for an hour.  Brad Brown is that kind of talented performer!