White Fields Foundation

Wednesdays – New Group Starts Sept. 14th
A new discussion group is getting started utilizing “Waking the Dead” by John Eldredge. Eldredge is a gifted author and his emphasis is on God’s passion demonstrated throughout history to pursue our hearts is his thesis. He has set our hearts free through Christ’s work in the gospel but we need God’s word and authentic community to begin walking in it! This book is richly biblical and practical. Bill Krahe, our “Eldredge” specialist, is well equipped in leading our men each week. There is a solid band of brothers in the hopper and we welcome newcomers. Don’t worry if you miss a few sessions. The books are in and the Holy Spirit’s got one with your name already on it! This group meets on Wednesdays from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Amani Café (507 Foreland St., Pgh, 15212) on the North Side.

September 7, 2011 at 1:04 pm , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

Please take a few minutes to watch this interview from Kirk Cousins. It is a powerful clip on servant-leadership that I saw a few days ago. I have been a fan of his over the past 2 years even though he is a Spartan! He also gives a strong faith proclamation!

September 7, 2011 at 11:13 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

Beginning on September 7th, we will resume the Ladies’ Bible study at Ascension Lutheran Church, from 7-9pm.  In previous years during the fall season, we’ve offered a Bible Study for women.  Several teenage girls started coming to these studies, which was wonderful, but we decided this year that these young women might enjoy a study more geared for them.  The young women’s Bible study will be held at the same place and time as the ladies’ study – Dawn Gaertner will lead the ladies’ study, and her daughter, Laurence, will facilitate the young woman’s study.  Details on each study are below:

Ladies Bible study: Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer What do we do when God interrupts our lives? Many times, like Jonah, we run! In this 7-session Bible study, Priscilla redefines interruption and shows that interruption is actually God’s invitation to do something beyond our wildest dreams. When Jonah was willing to allow God to interrupt his life, the result was revival in an entire city.  Please join us if you’ve never attended a study or if you’ve done every study under the sun.  I am sure that this will be a blessing.  We will meet EVERY OTHER Wednesday evening from 7-9pm in the fireside room at Ascension Lutheran Church (8225 Peebles Road near McIntyre Square). Please email me to let me know if I can order you a workbook ($15). dawngaertner@comcast.net

Young Women’s Bible Study:  The girls will study the Bible and discuss certain excerpts from the book, Lies Young Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  There are many lies young women face each day as the culture continually bombards them with beliefs contrary to the word of God, such as the thought that the external appearance and possessions are everything.  This will be a wonderful opportunity for young women to encourage each other, and learn how to stand confidently in the truths found in God’s Word.  No purchase is necessary.

Once again, the study will begin on September 7th, at Ascension Lutheran Church, from 7-9pm, and will be held every other Wednesday evening for the fall season.  The dates are as follows: September 7 and 21, October 5 and 19, November 2, 16, and 30.

If you would like to attend, please contact Dawn Gaertner at dawngaertner@comcast.net or 412.310.6388/412.369.7649.

September 1, 2011 at 12:17 pm , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

Tuesday  – Men’s Study at The Priory Hotel Begins Sept. 6th 6:30am to 8:30am
Is your faith experience shallow and leaving you wanting more? Are you hungry to experience the power of God in the context of locking arms with brothers in Christ? This may be the group and the teaching series for you! The letter from Paul to the Galatians has spoken timeless truth to the church for 2,000 years. Its focus, in six short chapters is the magnificent gospel of grace in Christ. Paul’s passion for this glorious gospel is demonstrated in Galatians in three main areas. These are: cherishing the gospel, proclaiming the gospel, and defending the gospel. For our application, cherishing relates to the personal treasure that the gospel must become to us.  Before we can proclaim the good news we must experience it deeply and personally (i.e. “the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are sons of God”). We cannot impart to others what we haven’t first received. In my journey with Christ over the past 30 years the gospel has become my passion as well.

Please join us every Tuesday morning at The Priory Hotel in the down stairs conference room(614 Pressley St., Pgh, 15212). Our series will run for 24 Weeks. You will grow from both this important teaching and the experience of authentic Christian community. It will bring about deep, personal renewal to you and maybe even your church. We’ll have hot coffee and Priory pastries waiting! Please download and print off the pdf of our series:

“Cherishing, Proclaiming and Defending the Gospel of Jesus” – A Study in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians Unit 1

“Cherishing, Proclaiming and Defending the Gospel of Jesus” – A Study in Paul’s Letter to the Galatians Unit 2

September 1, 2011 at 11:57 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

The Homewood Little League baseball season ended with a bang this year.  Almost thirty kids and their coaches, along with a handful of staff from White Fields, took a two day trip up to the Summer’s Best 2 Weeks camp on the Quemahoning Reservoir.  The camp is situated on a beautiful piece of property that borders the lake, and is set up to host a number of activities, including a zip line, a climbing wall, a large pool, canoes, basketball courts, and soccer fields.  As the boys stepped off the bus in the center of the camp and began to realize all that they would be doing during their stay there, the joy and excitement on their faces was a beautiful thing to see.  Leo, Brennan and John Cullen also shared several Bible lessons throughout the two days there, interspersed with the fun activities, and delicious meals.

We are very grateful to the staff at SB2W for opening their beautiful facility to us, and for spending the time to train the kids for participation in the various activities.  One of the boys told his coach before it was time to leave, “This was the best day of my life!”  We look forward to making this an annual event, and hopefully expanding it to include girls as well at some point in the future.

September 1, 2011 at 11:43 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

Nearly 60 people turned out for our Steelers Day at St. Vincent’s College! We had a few sprinkles but the real rain held off until just after practice when we headed to Dino’s for dinner. We got a good look at the 2011 Steelers from behind the ropes with our faithful Turk, Tunch Ilkin.  Young people enjoyed seeing Hines Ward back at practice and he helped make the Red Zone period vs. the defense very intense. Young people especially enjoyed the autographs with some of the Steelers following practice in the VIP area! We had a great testimony time at Dino’s while eating wings and sandwiches. Several of our men and family members: Mike McAndrews, Jeff DeSantes, Jay Simon shared stories of their conversion or reflections on our recent trip to the Dominican. Christ was celebrated in our sharing time together. We got to watch Tunch & Wolf do their radio show from Dino’s and steal some “air-time” with them. Special thanks this year to Mike McAndrews who was able to get 30 VIP passes to add to the 30 Tunch obtained for us!

August 26, 2011 at 9:42 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

White Fields recently took a group of men and their families to the Dominican Republic to work with the Meeting God in Missions ministry in Hato Mayor.  We spent the week in several different villages, painting, doing VBS with the kids, handing out food and basic necessities, talking with the villagers and sharing the Gospel message with them.  Below are several testimonies from some of the men that went on this trip:

“Before I left for the trip I prayed that the Lord would break the hearts of my children, but what really happened was the freedom that I truly experienced by experiencing the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  The Lord worked deeply in my HEART and the HEART of my family.  I am a changed follower of Christ, understanding that I am free through the adoption I have in Jesus Christ and realizing the freedom I have through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Lord used every aspect of this trip to minister to my heart and now I know that true surrender can only come when we are set free to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  We are changed people (my family and I) totally surrendering to his will and not our own.  As it states in Philippians 1:6, “Be confident in this, that he who has begun a good work in you will carry it out unto completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  I would encourage all believers to join MGM on a short-term mission trip – it changed my life and I know it will change your life too!” –Jeff DeSantes

“I went down with my 15 year old son very open-minded. While there, through Kim and Leo’s teaching, I learned there are 3 kinds of people: Non-Believers; Believers; & Disciples. I realized that I am just a babe disciple & want to grow to be a mature disciple. An immediate action step I took was volunteering to lead a small group of high school boys beginning in September at North Way Christian Community in Wexford. Praise God!” -Jay Simon

“This was my third trip to the Dominican Republic with Meeting God in Missions.  Each trip has been unique but the consistent thread has been the movement of the Holy Spirit in the group corporately and in my heart personally.  In retrospect the trip creates a beautiful environment for the Holy Spirit to work. You leave the world almost completely behind and are united in purpose with other brothers and sisters in Christ.  You share wonderful Bible teaching and worship and live “together and have everything in common” while you serve the poor.  I have found this environment creates fertile soil that the Holy Spirit can till.  This last trip not only impacted me powerfully, it also had a major impact on my wife and 13 year old son who went as well.  In Christ we are his sons and daughters, whom he loves and he is well pleased in us.”  –John Cullen

“This was my second trip to the DR and I had my grandson accompany me. When we returned, he wrote on his facebook page that the trip changed his life! I would certainly echo that thought for myself as well and would encourage anyone to consider making this trip a priority for future travels.”  -Colvin McCrady

The next White Fields Mission Trip is scheduled for January 21-28.  Stay tuned for more details.

August 15, 2011 at 9:47 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

Homewood Ministry 2011 Pictures – Farm Outing & Little League

Basketball

White Fields launched a weekly basketball program in partnership with the Homewood-Brushton YMCA on November 9^th, 2010 that ran through March 1^st 2011. The goal was to utilize basketball as a fun outlet and a relationship-building tool to earn trust with young men in the Homewood community. As we have learned this trust leads to great opportunities to share Christ and disciple men.  Every Tuesday evening WF staff and a team of 3-6 volunteers played hoops and built relationships with 40-50 young men ages 10-17. The young people were divided into 2 groups based upon age and skill level with weekly volunteers remaining constant for continuity reasons. After an opening shoot around time for 15 minutes we would open with prayer, then break down into our groups for a 20 minute drill work time working on basketball skills and team-building. Following this period we would coach and officiate 2 short-court games with the young men. At times volunteers would play to demonstrate how to “lead” as an unselfish player. Emphasizing the often ignored aspects of basketball in the hood, we stressed playing team defense, rebounding, passing and other aspects of a team first approach. After an initial period of resistance it was received well. Many life-skills like reliability, persistence, sportsmanship, and unselfishness were stressed in our basketball times together.

After our basketball time we shared pizza and a message with the boys each week. Leo and Brennan along with some of the volunteers took 15 to 20 minutes each week through personal testimony and the Word of God bringing a message. Sharing the gospel in a context that the guys could relate to was the goal of this time. The calling of the gospel to be a whole-hearted follower of Christ was stressed through some powerful messages from some of our volunteers who grew up in Homewood and overcame great adversity in their journey to walk with Christ. Messages on sexual purity, taming the power of the tongue, serving others were presented as well. At Christmas time we were able to have a special celebration and give Dick’s Sporting Goods gift cards to all of our participants. We also participated with another Homewood ministry, House of Manna, in coaching 2 teams in an 8-week YMCA travel league that ran from February 12 to April 2^nd. This was an opportunity to go deeper with 16 young men in 6^th through 8^th grade.

The outcome of our 14 weeks together was a much greater depth cultivated in relationships with the young men, the YMCA staff, our volunteers, and our LAMP partner Bryan McCabe. The YMCA and Bryan continue to be very important to our work in Homewood as they are trusted gatekeepers in the community. Seeing young people come to Christ and our men follow up in formal mentoring relationships through LAMP or informally through their own intentionality we celebrate the Spirit’s work in our midst!

Two of the boys involved with basketball, Keyshawn and Joe, with whom Leo has a good relationship, were also on the YMCA travel team.  They are both seventh grade boys who are strongly drawn towards men who can support them in a relational capacity.  Leo continues to meet with them on a weekly basis to provide mentoring during the baseball season.

Baseball

In April of 2011 White Fields kicked off its 2^nd year of partnering with Homewood Community Sports for Little League Baseball. We continue to be in a “servants role” with respect to the league providing uniforms, equipment, and volunteers to the (2) T-ball, (3) little league, and (1) Pony teams. We are building good relationships with the Homewood coaches (there are 10 coaches involved at this point, most of whom are not believers), assisting them and working with them to provide special days for the boys that include: a fishing trip, Pirates game, “Heritage Day farm experience”, baseball clinic with ex-Pirates, and a camp day. We have often coordinated with volunteers special cookouts at Stargell Field providing hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and drinks to players and family members. We view our presence with baseball to be a “salt and light” kind of presence as we are limited not having a real leadership role. Matthew 5:16 states “Let your light shine before men so that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” By serving, cooking, preparing fields, meeting practical needs for the league, praying with our teams, sharing devotional messages, and encouraging sportsmanship over an unhealthy competitive attitude we believe that we are being salt and light. A full report will be provided after the season concludes in July. We are very grateful for the support of Concordia Lutheran Ministries that allows us to administer these programs in the Homewood community. Your support allows us to have an ongoing ministry presence in the community, providing important outlets for young people to stay involved in recreational sports and get connected in life-giving relationships centered in Christ and the gospel.

Testimonies from volunteers in the baseball ministry:

“I feel so blessed that Concordia Lutheran Ministries is supporting baseball in Homewood.  As one of the assistant coaches on the Tee-ball team and a part of the White Fields Foundation, I see all the kids dressed in nice Mariners uniforms for each game provided by Concordia.  Several of the children do not have baseball gloves, and having the resources to supply gloves, bats and other equipment is so helpful.  Our cook outs that have been funded by Concordia have also blessed the kids.  To have time to eat a hamburger and hotdog and connect with the kids has been great.  I have had a chance to talk with the kids about the love of Christ regularly through this outreach and pray with the children at the games.  Without the generous financial support from Concordia and the commitment of volunteers from White Fields Foundation, the baseball program in Homewood would not be anywhere near what is today.” –John Cullen

“We at White Fields are blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy fellowship with the fun people of the Homewood community.  We held our first “Community Cookout” on May 27th in the parking lot of the Homewood-Brushton YMCA and served 180 hot dogs, chips and drinks!  None of it went to waste as we shared a beautiful evening with some pretty hungry folks that ranged in age from newborn to elderly.  We were so blessed to share the gifts of our Lord with them through our “service with a smile” and the generosity of the Concordia.  The fine people of Homewood are a blessing to us all as their gracious attitudes and welcoming actions do not go unnoticed.  We gave thanks to those that were not able to join us but made the evening possible.  Leo, Wayne, Jerry, Bryan, and other’s had a great time and look forward to sharing our Lord with all who join us at coming events.  Thanks to all and God Bless.” –Joe Goldcamp

July 8, 2011 at 10:40 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

We are to become the community of grace and love that God has purposed as his body of Christ. He has given us rich examples in his word and pointed instruction to be the means of healing, encouragement, sharpening, and forgiveness to our brothers. As we live out these commands in ever-increasing devotion, we will glorify God and the unbelieving world will be drawn to his mighty Spirit who is alive in our relationships and community.

1. Forgive one another…………….Colossians 3:13
2. Spur one another on to love and good deeds…………. Hebrews 10:24
3. Offer hospitality to one another………………………….I Peter 4:9
4. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ……..Ephesians 5:21
5. Agree with one another that there be no divisions among you…I Corinthians 1:10
6. Teach one another…Colossians 3:16, Romans 15:14
7. Admonish one another……Colossians 3:16
8. Bear one another’s burdens…Galatians 6:2
9. Confess your sins to one another…..James 5:16
10. Love one another….(the world will know we are his disciples) John 13:34-35, (with brotherly affection) Romans 12:10, 13:8, (the one who loves is born of God and knows God) I John 4:7
11. Honor one another above yourselves….Romans  12:10
12. Rejoice with one another…Romans 12:15
13. Weep with one another….Romans 12:15
14. Bear with one another in patience…Ephesians 4:2
15. Serve one another humbly in love…..Galatians 5:13
16. Encourage one another daily, build each other up…Hebrews 3:13, I Thessalonians 5:11
17. Live in harmony with one another……Romans 12:16
18. Stop passing judgment on one another….Romans 14:13
19. Accept one another, just as Christ has accepted you…Romans 15:7
20. Sharpen one another as iron sharpens iron…Proverbs 27:17

It is important to remember these commands are expected of us beyond our immediate family to extend to our intentional community-building efforts in small groups and individuals the Lord has called us to reach. The goal is quality and quantity to some respect. Some of these commands may be fearful or difficult for you: confession of sin, submission, weeping with others, admonishing a brother, or forgiveness. Review each command (look them up) prayerfully.

Consider them slowly one each day. Ask yourself, how am I fulfilling this command in my life? Is there a fear of rejection that is a block to my obedience, an unwillingness to forgive, an indifference towards others in me to be overcome? Is my pride keeping me from receiving from others? Is my need to be right more important than my need to love and serve others? Am I compassionate towards others in the way Jesus intends for me?

July 8, 2011 at 9:11 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »

Study and meditation on the scriptures with our men are continually our faithful guide. It is principally through God’s word that Christ is revealed to us. Jerome said, “Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” We are learning too that the art of disciple-making is an intensely relational process and cannot be done through programs or large groups. It is messy, costly, and powerfully rewarding all at the same time. It is how we are obedient to the Great Commission and God is glorified!  Our White Fields men are committing themselves more than ever to being whole-hearted disciples of Christ and to reproducing by discipling other men. Men have gotten to this place after a bombardment of the Spirit’s work over the past six months. These areas include: the experience of biblical community, service to young men in Homewood, short-term mission trips under the leadership of Kim Costanza to the Dominican, our retreat with B.J. Weber in February, monthly outreach events, and most importantly a deepening devotional life with Christ.

2011 has also brought significant growth to the women’s ministry under Dawn Gaertner’s leadership.

“It was incredible to walk into a room full of women I had never met before and instantly feel welcomed and loved- there was no judgment- only love, respect and sympathy.  It was such a comfort to be able to be open and not be afraid of how they would think of you, because at some point in their lives, someone in that room had gone through exactly what you were struggling with.

The study itself was on listening for God’s voice in your life.  It amazed me, once I fully opened my heart to hearing Him, how clear He was with His direction. If there is another study offered it is something I will definitely participate in again.”  -Megan

If you want to read more click the desired area for a deeper look.

July 8, 2011 at 8:02 am , by White Fields Foundation | No Comments »