Transform Dallas offers a 'true picture' of church life

By the late afternoon of the Transform Dallas citywide workday, Concord Church had led 30 community projects, including helping at seven nursing homes, planning a carnival for children at the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, and decorating a teacher's lounge at Barbara Jordan Elementary School.

"Overall, throughout the city, I think it was very successful, and a very impactful moment to see this true picture of our churches working together," said Pastor Mark Porter of Concord Church. "Because our community, our city, want to see us work together as a church and as Christians."

Pastor Mark Porter, top row, with Transform Dallas volunteers. at the Ronald McDonald House Dallas

"Each project had a leader that was responsible for the planning of it -- from start to finish -- and we gave them ownership of it to create that project and make it a memorable moment for the people they were serving and for the volunteers that were coming in and serving along with them," said Porter.

Volunteers gave children pony rides at the carnival.

Concord was one of five churches, along with Dallas Leadership Foundation, that formed a core planning team that launched the citywide Transform Dallas event, with the goal to pursue other collaborative projects throughout the year and annually.

This event represented the intentions of "several churches and organizations who have a heart for serving our community and a love of Jesus Christ," Porter
said.

Elmo and Sheriff Woody joined the fun at the Ronald McDonald house.

"So this day was a culmination of all of our planning and working together, and most importantly, our prayers for our city, to see our city come together to serve the people that are less fortunate."

Transform Dallas volunteers offer an early birthday present for Mill City resident

Roy J. Stephens

Roy J. Stephens was overjoyed from the moment he learned that Transform Dallas volunteers were scheduled to paint his home as part of the citywide community service workday.

Thousands of volunteers worked on hundreds of projects around Dallas on Saturday. Stephens' home was one of those that were painted.

"When I first heard they were going to paint it, that's what got me shouting then," said Stephens. The former painter who formerly remodeled homes before he was disabled eight years ago, said he knew the work that was involved, so he was appreciative of the volunteers' labor.

"I remodeled houses, and when you start, you always need this and need that, and you run into more money when you're doing these things," he said.

Stephens, who lives with his daughter, Brenda, celebrates his 80th birthday in July. Exterior paint for their Mill City home was an early birthday present.

Focusing on new beginnings during Transform Dallas

 Transform Dallas provided an opportunity to focus more on the world around her, said Lisa Gillman, who volunteered to paint homes during Saturday's citywide workday.

Lisa Gillman, left, helps other Transform Dallas volunteers paint a building.

"I just recently went through some events in my life that told me to stop focusing on myself," said Gillman, who joined fellow church members from Highland Park Presbyterian Church to paint homes at a Restoration Outreach work site in East Dallas.

"Then I ended up with two bad hands, and I couldn't play tennis anymore. So I'm just looking to do things more worthwhile with my time and looking just to be God's hands and feet."

Transform Dallas sent out a call for thousands of volunteers to paint houses, serve meals to the homeless, make improvements to elementary school buildings, assemble and deliver care packages to hospitals, host carnivals and block parties for children, and assist formerly incarcerated women. 

Highland Park Presbyterian is part of a core planning team of five churches that partnered with Dallas Leadership Foundation to launch Transform Dallas.

Lisa Gillman, left, takes a quick break with a fellow Transform Dallas volunteer.

Gillman, an avid tennis player, recently learned that she has carpal tunnel in both hands. She had used tennis as an outlet and a source of friendships since moving several years ago from Tulsa to Dallas.

What she's finding out is that a new beginning lies behind the unexpected change of life.

"About a year ago, God repositioned our lives," she said. "So I'm just looking for a bigger purpose."

Transform Dallas prepares a surprise for Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center students

Aleandra Lyons, Mill City
Community Association President

Transform Dallas volunteers on Saturday made improvements at the Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center, hoping to wow students on Monday with aesthetic updates.

Teen volunteers planted trees, laid down mulch and added shrubs and decorative rocks. They also transformed the school library into their own colorful designs.

Aleandra Lyons, the Mill City Community Association president, said she was thrilled to see youth volunteering at the elementary school. She said she started volunteering when she was a youngster, and now that she's in her fifties, volunteering is still a special part of her life.

Sandra Garza helps with landscaping at Paul L. Dunbar Learning Center.

Working alongside Lyons and planting trees was teen volunteer Sandra Garza, who said it was important to engage with communities.

Garza is a member of a church in Fort Worth. "We're here because my youth leader, who is my brother, told us that it's time to take a stand," said Sandra, 17. "So he told us to take a stand, so we have to move and help others before us. And that's why we're here."

Youth Pastor Henry Garza brought teens from Fort Worth to work at Transform Dallas.

Garza's 23-year-old brother Henry said that they wanted to make an impact. "I thought this would teach them a little something about the importance of community service and just sticking together as a community. We're doing it for the children... They really love kids, and we're just really excited to see their reaction Monday when they come in and see that their school has undergone some changes."

Lyons told Dallas Leadership Foundation earlier that in Mill City, “We are doing positive things to create a positive environment for the residents who are here and to encourage new people to move in.”

Well, today's volunteers came to help.

Transform Dallas kicks off in Hamilton Park

Volunteers gathered Saturday morning to kick off the first-ever Transform Dallas citywide community service workday in Hamilton Park. Dallas Council member Adam McGough joined volunteers who ate a quick breakfast and received instructions before going to their worksites.

Dallas Council member Adam McGough, left, and DLF president Wil McCall.

The Tenth District council member, whose district includes Hamilton Park, said he supported the Transform Dallas effort because it was an opportunity to collaborate. "For so long we've been doing great work in isolation, across the city, but across our neighborhoods too," he said.

Dallas Leadership Foundation, along with five churches -- Concord Church, Fellowship Bible Church, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Highland Park Presbyterian Church, and Park Cities Baptist Church formed the first-ever partnership last year that led to Transform Dallas.

By pulling together groups who have worked separately, McGough said, "we can move the needle, we're able to leverage each other, and we're tying our energy and efforts in a smarter way, and make it have a bigger impact on the community, and that's what it's all about."

McGough said the church he attends, Prestoncrest Church of Christ, has been involved in the Hamilton Park area for a long time. "I love to be in a position as the council member to be able to come alongside and help in any possible way I can."

Jicori Minor, who grew up in Hamilton Park, was also on hand to volunteer for the Transform Dallas workday as a representative of Texas Instruments.

"I'm volunteering today because I'm actually from Hamilton Park, I was born and raised in Hamilton Park," said the 34-year-old, who works in finance operations at Texas Instruments. "And going to Georgia Tech, and coming back to work for Texas Instruments, I think it's very important that we partner with our neighboring neighborhood, and put energy back into the neighborhood -- paint, and do whatever we can." 

Transform Dallas: A real chance to show real love to your city

Many are abandoning hope that what they care about will be addressed by anyone and their frustration is escalating. I believe God-adoring, people-loving, people-serving, proactive churches offer a remedy for the disillusionment people feel.

Wil McCall, Dallas Leadership Foundation President

Churches can help preempt troubled community networks in Dallas from becoming impassable schisms and prevent complicated problems from hardening into intractable issues. In other words, the work of faithful churches can affect generation after generation.

The Transform Dallas citywide community service workday on April 16, 2016 will demonstrate how local churches are willing to serve Dallas residents with humility and compassion in big and small ways. More than 5,000 volunteers are being recruited to work on over 100 day-long projects. Volunteers will serve meals to the homeless, make improvements to elementary school buildings, assemble and deliver care packages to hospitals, host carnivals and block parties for children, assist formerly incarcerated women, and paint houses for seniors and low-income families.

TransformDallas will represent the first time that Concord Church, Fellowship Bible Church, Friendship-West Baptist Church, Highland Park Presbyterian Church and Park Cities Baptist Church together with Dallas Leadership Foundation have teamed up to launch a community service event. Over 100 churches, corporations and community organizations also back this campaign. Our hope is that Transform Dallas will be the springboard to serving Dallas year-round and that it will become an annual event.

Churches are ready to tackle unyielding problems, such as the staggering murder rate in Dallas, which jumped 71 percent this year compared to 2015. This crisis provides an opportune moment for churches to serve as neighborhood partners with community leaders and law enforcement.

During Dallas Leadership Foundation’s 21-year history, we’ve learned that crime drops when committed partners work alongside neighborhood leaders. We’ve witnessed how building one-on-one relationships with love from doorstep to doorstep carry the power of transformation. For instance, in a three-year study we learned that from 2011 to 2014, the crime rate dropped by 41 percent in neighborhoods where DLF had been serving.

Transform Dallas will be an opportunity for churches to reach across racial, class and doctrinal lines with fresh diligence. When churches intentionally seek to eradicate, once and for all, false and wicked boundaries like race and class, the church operates as the solution source – the light – it’s called to be.

My hope is that the extensive workday opportunities on April 16 will encourage congregations to use their gifts creatively for the good of their neighbors. My prayer is that churches grasp the mind-blowing truth that they’re commissioned and empowered to do so.

If churches hammer away at the silos in communities, strongholds of hopelessness will shatter. Long-term, diverse community service efforts could transform our city for decades to come. With every breakthrough, the problems Dallas faces won’t appear as impossible to defeat, and churches will fulfill their sacred job description to express irresistible love from the inexhaustible heart of Jesus.

Wil McCall is the president of Dallas Leadership Foundation. To learn more about Transform Dallas, visit transformdallas.org.

WANTED: Transformed leaders who are ready to change their city

From any place in the world, we can affect the world. Funny how that works. God can use any setting on earth to display His glory through His sons and daughters.

Transformation happens when people represent the eternal compassion, wisdom, and purpose of God. For example, this week, thousands of volunteers are being recruited to help residents by doing hundreds of projects during a citywide workday on Saturday, April 16, 2016.  Our prayer is that each project will be viewed as an act of love.

Transform Dallas is the name of the workday, and it's led by Concord Church, Fellowship Bible Church, Friendship West Baptist Church, Highland Park Presbyterian Church, and Park Cities Baptist Church, along with Dallas Leadership Foundation. These churches and DLF are teaming up for the first time to demonstrate the transforming power of God to impact Dallas neighborhoods.

Bible characters can inspire anyone who wants to make a difference in their city or in the world.
Nehemiah changed a city from his position as cupbearer to the king. He stood out as a transformed leader who sought God's help in prayer:

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.  We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses..." (Nehemiah 1:1-7) 

 In the Book of Judges, Deborah led the defining battle against Sisera, an oppressive archenemy of Israel who had 900 iron chariots. She was a transformed leader because of her ability to hear the Lord's voice and her willingness to face battle. Her actions were among those God used to free Israel from Sisera's grip:

Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramahand Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. She sent for Barak son of Abinoamfrom Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor.  I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.’”

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him. (Judges 4:1-10)

If God is calling you to help us during Transform Dallas, don't hesitate. Someone needs to experience the love of Christ through your unique expression of service. And because we're talking extensively about transformation, let us know how God has used you (or someone you know) to transform your surroundings? Tell us how in the comments section below.

This is one of a series of articles Dallas Leadership Foundation will post as we prepare for Transform Dallas. To participate or donate to Transform Dallas, please visit http://www.dlftx.org/transform-dallas.

Time to shine followers of Jesus

Jesus didn't believe in hiding. He intentionally sought out devotional time to be with the Father, and He didn't let the people distract Him from God's timing, but Jesus did allow the eternal light within Him to illuminate every setting. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus urged His followers to live as lights no one could miss: 

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Transform Dallas, a citywide workday, is a perfect opportunity to display the light of Jesus. Dallas Leadership Foundation, along with Concord Church, Fellowship Bible Church, Friendship West Baptist Church, Highland  Park Presbyterian Church, and Park Cities Baptist Church have teamed up for the first time to demonstrate the light and love of heaven by providing pro bono services throughout the city on Saturday, April 16, 2016.

Volunteer teams will serve meals to the homeless, renovate elementary schools, assemble and deliver care packages to hospitals, host carnivals and block parties for children, assist formerly incarcerated women, and paint houses for seniors and low-income families.

We're recruiting more than thousands of volunteers to help us touch the city of Dallas. Our hope is that theTransform Dallas workday will be the springboard to serve Dallas year-round and become an annual event. 

Are you in? Are you ready to shine? It's time!

This is one of a series of articles Dallas Leadership Foundation will post as we prepare for Transform Dallas. To participate or donate to Transform Dallas, please visit http://www.dlftx.org/transform-dallas.