Proclamation of Truth

One of the activities that gives me the most joy is watching the Andy Griffith Show with my daughter, Morgan. It could be because she cuddles right up to me and her head fits on my shoulder just right. It also could be because I can drift off to sleep and not have to worry about inappropriate content being shown which I would have to explain to an 11 year-old. Maybe it’s because Don Knotts, who was a Marine drill instructor, is anything but a drill instructor as Barney Fife.  (He does have nice pant creases!) It could also be that Opie reminds me of my son, Samuel. (Godzilla reminds me of my baby, Caleb.) But more than not, it is probably because Andy Taylor doesn’t wear a gun and uses his wits to catch criminals, swat the mayor’s decisions, or just ruffle some old bird’s feathers.

For a retired brawler like me, there is great admiration for a man who can do that. For the Christ-like example I want to be, that’s a great challenge for which only His strength can lead me. If you watch closely, Andy doesn’t use admonition to square off with Opie, Otis or any of the rebellious bad guys that wander into town. He doesn’t use accommodation with the politically correct mayor, the liberal women activists, or the groovy band that pulls down main street. Instead, he uses proclamation of truth to change perspectives, give insight, and keep his town safe. What a novel idea! Officers of the law, justices of peace, using truth to protect and serve. The general who picks the battlefield usually wins the war.

Speaking of proclaiming truth, we had a great opportunity to proclaim truth on the streets of Beaver Falls with our 3rd annual Rumble in the Jungle event. It was a wonderful day beginning with a prayer walk around the Beaver Falls schools and Steffin Hill Presbyterian Church camped out offering “Prayer on the Corner.” We continued with wholesome and enjoyable enterainment by Noa Jordan leading up to our Splash Pad dedication. After years of work, Seth’s Showers Splash Pad fountain park was dedicated to the Lord in honor of Dr. Jack White and in memory of William R. Duffy with prayer. We look forward to how this special park can be a blessing to our area.

Our proclamations of truth continued with our featured event—the Rumble in the Jungle Extreme Obstacle Challenge. Participants conquered difficult obstacles—each marked with a scripture reference and exhortation. We are thankful for all who attended, participated, and volunteered. We are especially thankful for the opportunity to glorify God and all He does with Tiger Pause and in our community. Let the proclamations continue!

Semper Fi,

Matt Nance

Hope and a Future

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT). In this passage, Jeremiah is writing a letter from Jerusalem to the elders who were in captivity in Babylon. He was reminding them that, despite their current circumstances, the Lord says that they have hope and a future. He was also encouraging them to thrive in the present circumstances despite their adversity. In other words, there was work to be done in the present even though the Lord had promised to change their situation in the future.

So many times we too can look at our current situations and become discouraged because it may not be our desired destination. However, in our present situation, there is work to be done and in our adverse situations, the Lord may be preparing us for what He ultimately has for us. If we look at the text, the Lord says that His plans are “to give a future and a hope,” meaning what He has for us has yet to come to fruition. An example of this perspective can be seen in the life of David. While he was anointed to be king around the age of 17 years old, he did not become king until after he was 30. What does this mean in view of Jeremiah 29:11? While God’s plan was to make him king, David was probably not ready to be king at the time of his anointing. In the same way, many times we are not ready in the present to operate and prosper in what the Lord will ultimately call us to do. Instead, we enter into a process of growth and maturity toward that calling.

Additionally, even though our current situations may be challenging, we must remember that the Lord’s plans for us are “for good and not for disaster.” Romans 8:28 (NLT) reads, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” So, through our trials, we are being perfected for the plans God has for us.

In Jeremiah 29, not only did God tell the elders through the prophet Jeremiah that He had good plans for them, but He also gave them an idea of what to look for when it was time for His plans to come to pass. “For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 30:3 NLT) In other words, when the Lord speaks to our situation, He will determine when He wants us to possess the plans He has for us. In the meantime, we need to grab on to His promises and His purpose for us and be faithful where we are right now. It may not be the place of our ultimate calling. However, if we embrace the fact that where we are right now is part of a growth process toward His calling, we can remain faithful, knowing that in Christ we have “a hope and a future!”

Rev. Bryan Crawl
Director of Ministry

Morado Center Update

Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Can you believe another year has come and gone! I am sure we have all had our share of trials and tribulations, but through them all, God has continued to show his love and is ever present in our lives .

The God we serve truly is a keeper and despite all of our flaws, failures, and shortcomings, He remains faithful, just, and kind. The scriptures state that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and that God is fair and just and will forgive us our sins. Despite what some of us believe, we are all capable of having a bad day and being out of the will of God. All of us need God’s forgiveness.

In the same way, our children have bad days. Here at the Morado After-school Site, as well as at the other Tiger Pause sites, we try to convey the love of God and instruct each student in the knowledge of His infinite love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. We relate that God, their families, and the Tiger Pause staff love them even if they are not at their best. We also let them know that they must take responsibility in making sure that their “bad day” does not continue by encouraging them to take their mind off of themselves, the event, or the situation that may have led to the terrible day by concentrating on God.

The word of God says, “I will give you perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Me.” Teaching them to keep their mind on God while they are young is beneficial in helping them to succeed in in every aspect of their life. When disappointments and adversity raise their ugly heads, our children have a solid foundation to stand on and that is the Word and Love of Jesus Christ!  Bad day? Piece of Cake!

Love and Blessings,

Sabrina Tench, Morado Site Center Supervisor

Mission: Honduras, A Blessing Unlike Any Other

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:18-20)
The Great Commission, given to His disciples by our Lord Jesus Christ, was the command He gave before he ascended to Heaven.  Tiger Pause Youth Ministry has been all over the world, preaching and proclaiming the gospel, from the frozen tundra of Russia, to the hot lands of Africa. On January 19-30 we took a group of guys down to Honduras to be part of a team of missionaries (lead by Church of the Living Christ) to build a church. While this is not the first time Tiger Pause has sent people to Honduras, this was the first mission trip out of the country for many of us on this trip.

The Mission was simple: Build a church and proclaim the Gospel. Sounds easy right? Not quite. It took a lot of hard work from everyone involved. We had to build the roof, doors, and windows as well as their frames, paint the church, plus build, sand, and varnish 32 pews!  With a team of only 20+ people, they needed a lot of muscle to get the job done. That’s where Tiger Pause came in with Big Matt Gandy, Seth “the goose” Gosseck, Misters Tom and Walter Karczewski, (The Super Karczewski Brothers), and my brother Micah and me. We all had different skills and came from different backgrounds, but we were there for the same reason: We were called by God to do His work.

Everyone in the village of El Jute, where we built the church, was nice, loving, and respectful. While we Americans, might say these people were poor, I would strongly disagree. They are wealthy in love and faith in Christ. When I spoke to the daughter of the pastor of the church we were building, I asked her if the people were only showing love toward us because we were building a church for them. She replied “No, we are always like this here, we are all a family and look out for each other and love one another.” Her words rang true in the way other Hondurans treated each other and us.

It is true when they say actions speak louder than words. To show love toward another person exemplifies God’s character more than speaking and shouting the Gospel without action. John 13:34-35 reads that people will know they are His disciples by the way they love one another, as it is the greatest command Jesus gives his disciples – “To love others, just as I have loved you.”  The Hondurans who came to work alongside us when they didn’t have to, who brought us Coca-Colas paid with their own money, and who spoke to us and sang alongside us blessed me just as we blessed them with a church they have been praying for 16 years!

Chez Anderson
Boys’ Center Supervisor

A Look Back On 2014

“Make a Difference” or, in Clint Hurdle-ese, “Go Getcha Some” seems to sum up 2014 at Tiger Pause. During the last quarter of the year, we came as close to experiencing a world series-like “win” as we ever have as a ministry thus far. A few notables include:

• Our After-school Programs were named the 2014 recipient of the PSEA’s Books, Toys, & More program. Several children attended the event with Mr. Matt and Miss Erica where they received an abundance of books and toys for our programs.
• Partnered with C.S.A. to expand our community garden ministry
• Removed yet another blighted property from the Beaver Falls community
• Felt the love of Christmas at another successful B.E. Taylor Concert
• Vision cast for a remodel of our fourth main street property
• Hosted a Chili Cook-off with the man who brought baseball back to Pittsburgh – Clint Hurdle

With these experiences, it seemed like we went from one mountain top to the next. Not to sound cliché, but it’s the valleys that we navigate in between our mountain top experiences that truly define us. Fortunately, with the staff and volunteers we have, even our valleys have seemed more like racing and winning the Tour de France – hard work by a dedicated team and taking home the prize.

As the Bible reads, “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). What a blessing it is to watch God’s word take form in the natural and it is your youth who are doing it! They are yours because you have been there all along, supporting, praying, and even sometimes participating with them. It is amazing what God has allowed us to accomplish through Christ in places that nobody wanted with youth whom some have written off.

In last month’s newsletter, I wrote about the free gift of salvation and at Tiger Pause, we reiterate every day that God’s grace is free but we work for everything else. That’s why the youth in our programs earned a total of $117,940 by going out and learning to work with their hands, eat their own “bread”, and to enjoy it by living a quiet life. That’s how we make a difference.

Our goal at Tiger Pause is very simple and was given to us by one of our original founders, Roy McDonald: Stay focused on kids and minister by word and deed. Following is an overview of this past year’s accomplishments. While we may not experience the roar of a packed ball park with 50,000+ screaming fans, for us, every small step forward with our kids and community seems like we are raising the Jolly Roger!

Semper Fi,

Matthew Nance
Executive Director

Downtown Center Update

What an amazing Fall semester! All of our sites are filled to capacity with students! Four of our sites have gone on field trips to either the Carnegie Science Center or Fun Fore All. Our Geneva staff has brought skills, talents, and gifts that have blessed our programs and children in countless ways. Tiger Pause continues to be blessed with different opportunities that positively impact the lives of the children we serve. This semester Tiger Pause was nominated by the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) for the Book, Toys, and More program. Two students from each site attended the event where they received gifts, were recognized by the PSEA’s House of Delegates, and were provided a wonderful lunch! The after-school program continues to grow and develop in such remarkable ways! Praise God!

Wonderful things are also happening at the Downtown site specifically. This month we are learning and exploring the story of John the Baptist and the Birth of Jesus. The kids amaze me with their hunger to learn more about the story each day, their thoughtful questions, and application of the story to their own lives. Along with learning these stories from the Bible, we are learning the skill of money management. With the holidays around the corner, the kids realize they may be getting money and it is never too early to learn to manage that money! We have been discussing the differences between wants and needs; short term and long term goals; and how managing money applies to all of this. The kids have taken these lessons seriously and have developed plans for how they will save and spend their future earnings. We have connected the idea of wants and needs to the story of John the Baptist and the simplicity of his life. God has allowed our lessons to flow seamlessly and the way the kids grasp each idea we try to teach is truly the work of the Lord. As we approach Christmas, we are getting ready to say good-bye to our kids for a few weeks until the Spring semester begins in mid January. Over the break, the staff hopes to plan, rest, and rejuvenate to come back full force for Spring semester!

Erica Duffy
After-school Program Coordinator
Downtown Site Supervisor

Prisoner of Sin

Ephesians 2: 8-9 - “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” I got to share this with the crowd at the B.E. Taylor Christmas Concert on December 6 and my daughter started us off with a quote from Haniel Long, “So much of what is best in us is bound up in our love of family, that it remains the measure of our stability because it measures our sense of loyalty. All other pacts of love or fear derive from it and are modeled upon it.”

In these unstable times, it is important to know where our stability, loyalty, and true family come from. It is also just as important to know that those who are without Christ have stability, loyalty, and family ties that help them endure. Our mission as believers is to preach the word because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17) so that those that hear may experience His grace and be forever changed.

I, Matt Nance, could have been a tragedy. I was a wicked man that had no respect for authority, stole what I wanted, and had no remorse for putting my fellow man in the hospital or even trying to take a life. As Clint Eastwood said in the movie Unforgiven, “It’s a heck of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he’s got and all he’s gonna have.” Thanks be to God that a mom prayed, a preacher preached, and godly men stood in the gap.

This Christmas, turn off the news and make your own news by giving that gift we received from our heavenly Father who set the captives free.

Matt Nance