In 1998 my good friend Jerry Barnaby invited me to come to KIDS Inc for a Tuesday Boys Night just to see what it was all about.  God had other ideas.....I was hooked!  I started out playing basketball with some of the guys week after week, then something happened that I never expected.  Some of the guys actually started talking to me about their problems and situations at home.  This opened up an awesome opportunity to present Biblical principals and why Jesus came to this earth.

In today’s business world you account for every dollar spent and try to do everything that you can to squeeze every penny out of that dollar.  This is obviously done to maximize the profit margin and if done right can contribute to a successful “business plan.”  As a member of the board of directors at KIDS Inc, we have a different business plan.  Are we continuing to lead kids to Christ?  Is Jesus being lifted up in every program that we have throughout the week?  Are we being good stewards of every penny that comes into God’s ministry?  He has entrusted us with His children.  He has a plan for His children.  We must continue to teach, preach, guide, pray with, and listen to his children.  This is God’s “business plan” for KIDS Inc!

The following is a copy of a letter from a young man named Nick that I received from the staff of KIDS Inc a few years ago.

“Before God came into my life this is what it was like:  My parents got divorced when I was nine and I didn’t have a father figure in the house so I didn’t respect authority.  My mom got a boyfriend that was a main thing that messed me up.  He yelled at my mom and he came home drunk.  That made me not have respect for women because I thought that was what being a man was about.  My friends- they were Goth and didn’t believe in God.  I tried to be cool and not believe in God.  This lead to me quitting school because I didn’t see the point in going.  When I skipped school, we would run around and vandalize stuff and do drugs.  I ended up in juvenile for a month and on house arrest.  I was diagnosed with depression and felt that I had no reason to live.  My lowest and scariest point was when I thought I was going to fail my drug screen and get sent to Boy’s School for 6 months.  Nothing made me feel valuable then, but I tried to make myself feel valuable by getting girls.  I now feel ashamed for how I was using them to make myself feel better.
After I got off house arrest, I started going to KIDS Inc. every chance I had and I don’t know why.  I just felt the need to be there. Even though I had gone to KIDS Inc. before and gotten kicked out, when I went back this time I kept thinking about God and how He had to be real.  I knew if I didn’t change my life, I would be like my dad and be lazy and smoke pot all day and have no reason for life except getting high and getting money to get high.  I had to change if I wanted to get closer to God... so I changed.  But I still knew I wasn’t exactly where I needed to be.
Then one day, Shalin, my friend that works at KIDS Inc., called and told me that In Pursuit had an opening in an Alpha trip.  I was reluctant to go because I didn’t want to leave my mom alone dealing with my troubled brother.  Everybody at KIDS Inc. kept bugging me about going because it was an amazing opportunity.  I finally gave in and said yes.  I am glad I went on the Alpha trip because everybody was kind to me and I felt free to be a Christian.  My counselor, Chad, was cool and I looked up to him.  The day that we were leaving In Pursuit, I asked Shalin if there was any way I could come back.  She begged Rich to let me come back and he found a scholarship to put me in a 3 week TST.  I love TST!  Being in TST meant I had responsibility which made me feel relieved to be doing something important.  Working didn’t just have to be for money, it could be for God.  TST helped me to respect other peoples’ feelings and helped my relationship with God.  My relationship with Jesus started during TST.  I felt loved by Jesus and by the people around me.  I finally felt valuable and loved, and felt like I had a reason for living.  My favorite part was learning more about Christ and making Christian friends.  I could share a lot of my feelings with my new friends because they believed in God.  My counselor, Bill, was great because he understood me.  At the end of 3 weeks, I didn’t want to leave.
Now I am in a better understanding of God and Jesus.  I pray for my family, my friends, and for my relationship with God.  I seek Him by reading the Bible daily and praying.  In the future, I want to work at In Pursuit so I can help people to see that God is real by showing them the same Christ-like love that I received.  I feel that God also wants me to work for Him in my neighborhood by showing them that I was the same way and that if Jesus can save me, He can save them too.”

I could’ve written an entire article on how God has blessed my life since He brought me to KIDS Inc ten years ago, but nothing says it better that this testimony.  If you would like to volunteer or support KIDS Inc in any way please call or email Paul Velazquez at (317) 917-0451.  This is what it’s all about.  THIS IS MY MOTIVATION!