[if you want to hear the audio version of this story - head over here - http://www.seasidechurch.is/PreachingAboutTheSecondLetterofPeter.html
and click on The Great Giver
sermon from our series in 2nd Peter]
At Seaside, we desire as a body and individuals to respond to who Christ says we are in Him - and we call that response Worship. During Advent, we typically have looked at the economic and social impacts of our homes by the
money we spend on at Christmas (the giving of gifts to one another versus the giving to the
poor) and we have tried to shift some of that spending to those in need. Although a good cause, it can
unfortunately lead us to reacting rather than responding.
In the Advent season this year, we will celebrate the Christmas season, the giving of gifts, the telling the story of the 3 wise men, and the
coming of the Savior. What would it look like, if we were able to see this season as
an Advent Celebration: a season of declaring the mighty deeds of God with our families and the
community around us? What if we were able to give gifts, in light of the story of the 3 wise men and the
Son, Jesus Christ, sent as a ransom for many? What if we looked beyond our community walls as well,
possibly to another community in need of this hope - one that He most likely would have spent a lot of
time in if He lived today? What would it look like to respond to the great Love we have been shown by showing the same to others who may or may not be like us?
A lot of people dream about different cities within the US and the potential of “success” if they moved
there, started a new life with new friends, and breaking out of a mold to become an ‘individual’. Las
Vegas is one of those cities; especially with women that desire to make a new life for themselves. When they arrive from North Carolina, New York and North Dakota (among other
places) many have high hopes of making money and establishing themselves in Vegas by being a stripper. Sometimes they
do, but often times they find that the money is not there. So a seemingly nice
man/woman comes
along and says, "Hey, I know you are struggling, there are some other opportunities that you might be
interested in to make ends meet." Often that involves getting them hooked on drugs or alcohol and
then moving them into voluntary or involuntary prostitution or worse.
Within the city of Las Vegas there are 78 strip clubs and 28 brothels. The strip clubs in Vegas are widely considered a “gateway”
to the sex trade industry. Many of the girls/women who move to Vegas to work at these clubs have
been inundated by social and media cultures that tell them that their identity is only valued by their
bodies. Essentially saying that their body is a commodity to be bought, sold and/or displayed This
horrible cycle is not something to just react to in an organized protest or to economically embargo it by
refusing to acknowledge its existence. Instead, it is (not should be, but is) an opportunity to respond - a great opportunity for some incredible
women to engage with these women, who often are suffering and through relationship, and offer them hope,
telling them, You know what - you are more than what you do - you are a created, creative, unique person. You matter because of who you are!
So what does that mean to Seaside? This year we are partnering with a ministry work in Las Vegas called The Cupcake Girls. (www.thecupcakegirls.org) The Cupcake Girls have planted themselves in the midst of this world, seeking be in relationship with the bouncers, general managers, strippers, and anyone else associated with these businesses. They are seeking, through relationship, to tell them about the Gospel by showing them the love of Christ. The means, by which they are doing this, is of all things, cupcakes. You can learn more about their story at the link above [if you have not clicked it already - which you should]
The Cupcake Girls have invested themselves there for relationships. They are there to shine some light in a dark place. Pretty amazing stuff huh?
So how can we be involved in partnering with The Cupcake Girls?
There are a few ways:
FIRST:
Supporting The Cupcake Girls Holiday Party
The first goal of this Advent Celebration fundraiser is to give these women an opportunity to further their relationship with The Cupcake Girls, through their annual Holiday Party. In an industry that takes and takes of these women and often only values what they do; this Holiday Party is a place where the women can be loved on and cared for in who they are. Joy Hoover, the director of The Cupcake Girls sent us this info on this year's party:
"We are planning a Cupcake Girls holiday event on Sunday, December 18th from 3-6pm at Verve! We are
going to transform Verve into a spa atmosphere; do a Tiffany's themed Spa Day for the girls for
Christmas! We want to totally do this event up; make it the most incredible day ever for our girls, and
to do that we need your help! We want to offer all kinds of spa services to the girls, a gourmet catered
meal served 5 star by men in suits/ties, a photo booth with Tiffany themed accessories to dress up with,
live music, amazing raffles, and a Christmas gift & flower for each girl to bring home!
Our goal is to make it an event every girl in the clubs are talking
about & an event where Gods love is shown in an incredible way through The Cupcake Girls! :) "
What is our part? How do we respond? We are asking each family unit, whether you are single or married, to give $25 between the months of November/December. That's $12.50 a month - a very doable amount. All of that money will go to The Cupcake Girls to support this holiday party. This is to share in the celebration of Advent, the coming of our King. This is to say that not only can we rejoice in what He has done for us in His great Love for us, but we can also to rejoice in what He is doing in and through the lives of others, for His name's sake.
We'll be wrapping up this initial fundraising stage/push on December 12th - which why we have started so early (not because we are trying to keep up with Costco where Christmas starts in October :D ) - because the Holiday Party is scheduled for December 18th.
SECOND:
Helping them by supporting the work monthly in coming year:
The ongoing cost of this ministry is surprisingly low. The Cupcake Girls give around 15 Cupcakes a month to strip clubs and brothels. Each box costs them $10, for a total around $150 per month. At the start of the New Year, they will be adding more strip club and brothel visits per month, so that number will eventually increase! They hope in the next 10 years to be visiting all 78 strip clubs and 28 brothels on a monthly basis which would bring their monthly costs to $1060. It's hard to think of a more efficient, dollar for dollar way to reach those in need.
What does that mean to us? Where we can enter this story? Where we can be involved in this work, even in a broader sense as well? Well, much as we see the Christmas/Advent as the beginning of the story of the life of Jesus, we don’t want to just end our partnership at the end of December. What do you think would it look like to spend the next 2 months to prayerfully consider, continuing the support for The Cupcake Girls as a family unit? The cost of entry is low - even just $10 a month supplies the entry point for relationship with a 1 strip club/brothel for that entire month.If we had 43 family units giving $25 a month we could supply the means of support to potentially reach every strip club/brothel in Vegas. Even if we were to raise half that it would be a significant shift in the lives of many folks who need to hear and know the about the life-changing work of Jesus. The real question is - what is He calling you to? For that answer, we ask you to pray and seek Him.
[We'll be revisiting/following-up on this stage of our Partnering push, for those who call Seaside home, at the end of December as we head into the new year]
THIRD:
By reaching those in the Community around us:
It would be foolish to think that this sort of ministry isn't needed in our own backyards. The sex trafficking industry is growing exponentially, even in the State of Washington. The statistics are overwhelming. And that overwhelming feeling can paralyze us or empower us through Him. After all, where we are weak; He is strong, right? Where in this community could we start?
One potential area in Kitsap County is the Topless/Bikini
coffee stands that use women's bodies to attract customers.
Unfortunately, how we typically deal with these stands is to protest them through economic embargo (in
other words, not buying any coffee there). We figure by keeping our money out of their hands we will
run them out of business. In some cases, maybe that works, but in other cases, we see that they have
not only planted themselves, they have a decent amount or regular clientele that keeps them in business. After all,
they didn't start these stand with us in mind, right? Not only is economically & social embargoing these places wrong, it is just foolish. Instead, through Loving people,
Building relationships, and Walking through sin with people (even strippers or topless/bikini coffee stand workers) not only follows the path of what Jesus did, it testifies to the work He has done in us.
He called us to be in the world but not of the world. He called us
to be in relationship with the lost, to be an ambassador for Him, declaring His mighty deeds, telling of the work He did on our behalf. He called us to lay our lives and
reputations down for others. He called us to follow in His footsteps, and He spent a lot of time hanging
out with folks just like this to provide us an example of how we too should live in a broken world. Again, how will/can we respond?
What if a part of our story, following Christ, called a group of women to start buying their coffee at these shops? What would it mean to pull in and get to know the workers, to find out who they are and why they work there? Maybe it would mean something to them to be in relationship, using the buying of a coffee as the means by which you might become the exit strategy, or teller of these women's worth to their Father in Heaven and declaring of who He is in our lives. Maybe it would be to just be there, when they want to get out - knowing that these are not often the choices people want to make, but choices that they were forced into.
This is just one example, but our hope is to change our perspective of what it means to engage in the community around us, to respond to who He says we are, to love others more than ourselves. Our desire is have these women find life, through the possibilities of relationship and community. Instead of economically and morally changing the world we want our Savior to change the world. This is the season in which He has come to do just that.
Want to join us? Shoot us an email [info@seasidechurch.com] or get more info @ our Sunday gatherings.