The Good Newsletter - Building a Foundation
The Good Newsletter - Building a Foundation
The Foundations workshop is less than a week away! Click the link here or below to register now!
Good News at Noon would like to invite you to participate in the Foundations Workshop. Please see details below and click here to RSVP. If you have any questions about the details of this event, please contact kgossage@goodnewsatnoon.org.
Whether you’re a nonprofit or church leader, business, civic leader, or volunteer—if you’re involved in poverty alleviation in the Hall County area, this is for you!
Date: Thursday, September 7, 2023
Time: 8:30 AM Check-In, 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Location: FBC Gainesville
Address: 751 Green Street, Gainesville, GA 30501
Cost: $20, includes lunch and workshop materials
Hosted by First Baptist Church of Gainesville, this collaboration between Good News at Noon and True Charity is a refreshing opportunity to gain valuable insights into the root causes of poverty.
You will walk away with practical tools to help you set achievable goals for your organization and lead those you serve into flourishing, independent lives!
Based on the “7 Marks of Effective Compassion” from Dr. Marvin Olasky’s The Tragedy of American Compassion, the day-long interactive training will cover:
- What human flourishing truly looks like for those in poverty
- Program models and practices that lead to success stories
- How to incorporate what you learn into the work you are already doing.
We hope to see you there!
Before you dive in to the insights and lessons below, we would like to highlight a few needs for our shelter. If you are considering donating to Good News at Noon we would greatly appreciate any items included on the list below as well as any other contributions you might make through our website linked at the bottom of the page.
Shelter Needs...
- Laundry Pods
- Cleaning Supplies
- Toilet Paper
- Paper Towels
Shelter needs can also be found on our amazon wish list, here.
Thank you,
Nick Price
PR Coordinator
Good News at Noon
Directors Thoughts
I Cor. 3: 11-15 Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.
This is my year of reading The Message & so far I am thoroughly enjoying it as well as finding it straightforward & accurate. The verse above is an excellent example & can be applied to our transitional program, ourselves & the GN@N ministry. The majority of our residents recognize the indisputable value of building their lives upon The Rock. But the constant barrage of Satan, the world & their own flesh have caused them to grasp at inferior & even inappropriate materials in an effort to protect or deflect from the consequences or realities of life (sound familiar?). Our program is designed to confirm what it means to build on The Rock as well as teach them to recognize & choose the finest of materials - truth, love, faith, healthy relationships & hard work are a few. They have suffered much in the past; we try to equip their souls to thrive, stormproof in this life right into eternity.
Gene & Marjorie Beckstein were wise builders who also built GN@N on The Rock. Their compassion left an indelible mark on individuals & the whole community. That is the legacy they left for us to follow. Compassion is love in action, but as we are now learning, can be so misdirected. The proverbial “hand up” vs “hand out” sounds simple, but over & over again basic relief is being “handed out” to those who are chronically homeless. What the chronically poor & homeless need is RESTORATION. Register to join us in learning more about true, restorative compassion that is authentic, accurate, & actualized on September 7 at the 1st Baptist banquet hall - you won’t regret it!
Sincerely,
Ken Gossage
Executive Director
Good News at Noon
Stories From the Shelter: "Who Is You?"
Before you correct my grammar, the title is a well-known question asked by a well-known man every day. To whom does he ask the question? He asks his reflection each morning in the mirror. To whom is he well-known? He is not only well-known by God, but also created and loved by Him. Who is this man? He is a current resident of our transformational program.
CJ shared with the other program members that he doesn’t know who he is now. He knows who he was: a boy fidgeting in church under his mother’s preaching anticipating her abuse when they returned home. A drug dealer and moonshiner trained by his grandmother. A thug respected by others living under the bridge for his bravado. A father of four children with four different mothers. He is meeting his new self for the very first time.
God’s admonition to build a strong foundation to prevent certain
collapse otherwise is familiar to many. In my childhood Sunday school classes, I understood that there were two options: a firm foundation or one sculpted in sand. There are still only two types, I’m learning to recognize, however, some people grew on cracked, broken, uneven, and tilted foundations through no choice of their own; additionally, all the neighborhood foundations looked similar.
They haven’t experienced the reality of strong foundations or a healthy model to follow. Scripture uses a strong building’s foundation to teach about a strong life’s foundation - a foundation built on God’s Word, a dependence on Him, and a like-minded community for support.
God is leading GN@N to assist men and women who are ready for
change. They are ready to leave the weak and false foundations they have experienced for so long. They are taking the brave step of not looking backward, but instead trusting a new community for new tools for a new life. They are beginning to meet the person God created them to be and to answer the question, “Who is you?”.