Stories of LINC North Texas

Kids Are Not Tea

2012-02-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

On the Tazo tea box on my desk, there is a description on the back which reads: : "A delicately balanced blend of green tea, spearmint, lemon verbena & lemongrass." If the advertising department at Tazo can write such a eloquent description of simple tea, I wonder how LINC North Texas's work would be written about: "A superb and robust blend of teachers, students, volunteers and donors gives LINC NT a strikingly bold and reviving capacity for transforming the lives of families and their students, drawing out sweet harmonious notes of community with a nicely developed warmth . . . "

But kids are not tea, and despite all the eloquent wording that could be written about what we do here, one would be hard pressed to measure our impact in any other currency than this: action. Our aim is to change the lives of those we reach, and we can only do this because of the actions of our teachers, donors, and employees. These actions not only speak louder than words; they shout. Though words are powerful, it is the 'walk' that truly fights in the trenches.

At LINC North Texas we strive to walk the walk. We know that like farmers planting seeds, the grounds are fertile for an abundant crop - that even if we just reach one person, that person has the potential to reach many others. We thank you for your continued physical, spiritual, and financial support - your actions speak for themselves.

If you'd like to learn more about being apart of our mission, please contact Brandon at brandon@lincnt.org.

Exponential

2012-02-04T09:30:00.000-06:00

What would it look like to achieve exponential growth in an organization?

I would like to take a moment to consider what the word exponential means. It's a term that we talk about a lot, but I'm not sure that we're looking at the whole picture. This graph (source: Wikipedia, "Exponential Growth"), shows such a line. Let's consider each of the three lines as if they were a church congregation. The red line is "linear" growth. Every year, 50 new members are added. That's great growth! The blue line is "cubic" growth. Each year, the church grows at a faster and faster rate. That's even better - this would be a great goal for any church. But the green line represents what is truly exponential growth. Each year, the number of members doubles. This represents incredible growth, staggering to nearly any organization!

But what does this term, exponential, mean to us, really? It seems that most of us, when we think about exponential growth, think about that overwhelming point of growth....later on down the line. We are looking at the growth that the graph shows around year 9 and 10. But if we look back toward the beginning, the line looks stagnant! Even further down the graph, it takes 9 years to surpass the linear growth, and 10 to surpass the cubic growth! Many of us would look at the growth happening on the green line for the first five years and conclude that the project was a failure. In reality, that project is preparing to reach a tipping point where it will far surpass all of its peers.

Let's think seriously about how to start out if we want to achieve exponential growth. I believe that this graph reminds us that we need to be prepared to start slowly and be okay with staying small for quite a while. At LINC North Texas, we are blessed to be well down the line. I would place LINC NT at about the 7 point on the graph - after years of investing in the foundation, we are starting to see incredible things happen, and we as a staff are getting more and more excited about what God has in store for us on down the line!

SALI Program Starts New Semester

2012-01-26T09:30:00.000-06:00

"My mom got the letter . . . and she cried." This familiar phrase was repeated to SALI teachers all across the city as they stepped back into the classroom this month for the start of the new spring semester. The 'letter' was a part of a lesson on parental appreciation, where students were given a chance to say to their parents something they might usually not: thank you. These thank you letters were mailed out to parents at the start of the winter break, and many arrived on Christmas day. Students reported their parents were 'stunned,' 'taken off guard,' and even 'shocked'. Moms and dads were reminded just how much they were appreciated; guardians were told of how they, though not parents biologically, had always been like a father or mother to students; letters were put on the fridges, saved in desk drawers, and even placed on Christmas trees. Students saw all of this and learned something: their small actions can have a big impact.

This is just the most recent example of how the SALI program has affected the lives of its students, teaching them how they themselves can influence others and make a positive impact in the lives of their family and friends. This is the trickling down of our mission here at LINC NT. From our amazing SALI teachers who devote their time to making a difference to our partnering AVID teachers who help us engage their classes, it all boils down to a simple vision: changing lives and transforming communities. Now we're empowering young people with the tools to go out and do the same. With iron commitment, clear perspective, and caring hearts, we hope to continue to foster these meaningful relationships and work together with our partners to make our community a better place to live.

A big shout out to our SALI instructors and AVID teachers throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Perry, Creekview, Newman Smith, Gaston, Polk, Haltom, Daggett, RL Turner, Field, Blalack, JL Long, DF Long and Marsh. With our most sincere appreciation, truly, thank you.

Merry Christmas from LINC NT!

2011-12-14T13:34:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from my family and the LINC North Texas family! I hope that you are doing well and that you are experiencing Christ’s love. I love the Advent and Christmas season for many reasons, but especially for the worship focus on Christ, being a father of two little ones. Those of you who are parents know that nothing compares to the joy and wonder on your children’s faces at Christmas-time.

I am thrilled to share with you that God has opened the doors to allow LINC NT to be in relationship with thousands of families in North Texas. We have a clear vision: we are called to transform communities through church planting and outreach to families whose children attend public schools. Our God is faithful and has given us the opportunity to work with 1,400 families in our SALI (Student Advancement and Leadership Initiative) program in fourteen public middle and high schools in Dallas, Ft. Worth, Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Haltom City. In addition, we have launched six parent support groups and now have four Bible studies in Spanish. We don’t do this alone – we are partnering with six churches in planting new missions through SALI.

I want to share with you a story of a life that has been transformed this past year. We met Luis through our parent nights at Long Middle School. He is a parent who was very ill – he was losing weight and was becoming fearful of death. On top of that, his marriage was in trouble. Beto Alzate, our church planting director, began visiting him and praying with him. Through Bible studies, prayer, and counsel, Luis began to improve emotionally and his marriage started healing. The doctors also noticed remarkable improvement in his health. Luis and his wife reconciled and committed to a Bible study that Beto was leading. They are currently finding other couples to reach with the transforming Gospel and may help begin a faith community next year.

The growth has excited us but also overwhelmed us. We are planning to expand our capacity to transform more families; however, we are under budget in contributions for the year. We are praying for God’s provision yet continue to see him open more doors for us. We know that we are at a defining moment for our organization – it is time to take SALI to the next level and begin to see communities transformed, but we need your help.

I get many letters from organizations wanting a contribution this time of year and it’s difficult to only choose a few worthy organizations. Many years ago before I was called to LINC NT, I evaluated many organizations for my church to decide which ones we could financially support. Year after year I chose LINC NT as one of our premiere organizations to support because of its significant Biblical mission. Today, we are even more strategic and sustainable in our goal of transforming communities through public schools and new churches.

Our Board of Directors believes strongly in our mission and has pledged their personal support for LINC NT. They have pledged to match all gifts that we receive to the end of the year up to $28,500. That means that you can multiply the impact of your contributions. We could potentially raise over $50,000 with your help – enough to operate SALI at 4 schools for an entire school year, reaching more than 400 students and their families!

Will you partner with us and help us transform these communities? With your help, we can make up the shortfall in the budget and invest in real life-changing initiatives. A one-time gift of $120 reaches one student and their family for an entire year, or a pledge of $50 a month reaches five students and their families. We welcome your tax-deductible gifts of any size.

From the LINC NT staff, Board of Directors, and partner churches, we wish you a joy-filled Christmas. We pray for you and ask you to do the same for us!

For our King and His Kingdom,

Pastor Oscar Benavides

LINC NT is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization recognized by GuideStar Exchange as a Valued Partner for our transparency and accountability. We are audited annually by CapinCrouse LLP Certified Public Accountants and have previous audits and IRS tax returns available by request.

Parent Night at Brookhaven College

2011-10-17T16:21:00.003-05:00

College classrooms are great for intellectual lecture series, distinguished tenured professors, and ripe bananas on sale from Guatemala. Last Thursday night saw the latter of these three unmercifully scarfed by voracious students contending for relay-game glory in Brookhaven College's first ever parent night, hosted by Early College Start and LINC North Texas. With an evening of pizza, conversation, workshops and games, students and their parents were brought together in the way that only family bonding can do - by destroying the other team in a spontaneous classroom tug-of-war. Laughs were had and PhDs (Parent-Student Hilarity Demonstrations) awarded, emeritus. Interested in helping out? We're always looking for volunteers to help. Contact us at brandon@lincnt.org and thanks for reading!

Brandon
LINC North Texas

Parent Night at Perry Middle School

2011-10-10T16:24:00.002-05:00

If ever machines are able to harvest human beings for their bio energy, their capacitors would blow a fuse at Perry Middle School last Thurs night (10/6) -- the energy from the kids was that intense. After revving the engine a little with relay games that included lemons, bananas and bedsheets (don't ask) these kids and their parents put the peddle to the metal in some serious team-builder games. Excitement and fun was in the air as moms and dads got to see their kids in a new light and work together. The tug of war scene was an especially contentious battle for strength and the will to win! . . . All in good fun, of course. Thanks so much to all the parents and students that came out, and to the all the great volunteers and teachers that helped make this night truly one for the record books. Can't wait for the next one this Thurs night 10/14 for the Early College Start parent night at Brookhaven!

If you would also like to volunteer for our next event, please let us know - we lots of kids and we could use the help! Contact brandon@lincnt.org

Thanks!

Brandon
LINC North Texas

Volunteers Needed!!!

2011-10-05T14:16:00.003-05:00

We desperately need volunteers for October 13th! This is the first Parent Night ever at Early College High School in CFBISD. The school is actually located on the Brookhaven College campus. On average the time committment is from 5:00-8:00. Please e-mail me at colleen@lincnt.org if you are interested, and I can give you more details. Thank you!

Click here to see a video of previous parent nights

Long time, no blog

2011-07-25T16:34:00.001-05:00

Wow, things are heating up here at LINC North Texas! We are getting ready for the 2011-2012 school year by updating our Student Advancement and Leadership Initiative (SALI) curriculum and finalizing partnerships with the schools. It looks like we will be in 8 CFBISD schools, and there are openings in some Dallas ISD schools as well. It is an incredibly exciting and busy time! Due to our growth, we are looking for more SALI teachers. If you are interested, please send an e-mail with your resume to colleen@lincnt.org.

Beto is still meeting with his parent groups, and we are hoping to have a social event for them in September. This will be a fun time for us to hang out and get to know the families better. We expect the groups will grow as we move into the school year and vacations come to an end. Volunteers will be needed, so make sure to check back!

LINC North Texas World Premiere Gala

2010-05-18T16:16:00.000-05:00

LINC North Texas held its inaugural fundraising gala on May 14, 2010. The World Premiere event was held at the Palace Arts Center in Grapevine, Texas. One hundred and forty-four attendees from all over the Metroplex and the state of Texas joined the LINC NT staff for an evening of good food and wine, fabulous entertainment, and a passionate presentation of LINC’s new vision for the future.

Amidst the rain, attendees representing seventeen area Lutheran churches came together to hear from Master of Ceremonies, Richard Ray, Fox-4 anchor/reporter, and a number of the LINC NT staff. The festivities kicked off with a musical presentation from the San Antonio based Drum Café, giving everyone the opportunity to join in the music and even allowed for a few helpers from the crowd. The crowd was electrified by the energy of the Drum Café.

LINC NT Church Planters, Francis Angwenyi and Ramiro Gutierrez, led the attendees in prayer. New Hope Director, Mark Couser, enlightened the room with the latest happenings in East Dallas. Allison Schlack introduced a new program, Student Advancement Leadership Initiative (SALI), which puts LINC staff into public middle schools to teach leadership skills and character development, in hopes to build relationships outside the classroom where the love of Christ can be shared. Executive Director, Rev. Oscar Benavides shared a heart-felt message about the SALI program and the impact it is already making in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. He focused on LINC NT’s new vision for the future that includes extending the SALI program to four new schools.

The message and vision of LINC NT’s future was wonderfully received. The commitment to prayer and financial support were a huge testament to the folks that believe in the ministry of LINC North Texas.

Over $19,000 was raised through ticket sales, table sponsorship and individual gifts the night of the gala. What a huge blessing to know and see the support from local churches and individuals! The funds raised will be used to launch new SALI programs in Ft. Worth ISD, Birdville ISD and Dallas ISD in the fall.

A Little Help After School

2010-05-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

We have learned a lot about the kids in our neighborhood over the years. Many of them do well in school, but some need a little bit of extra help. It's amazing what some one-on-one time can do for a student's grades, reading skills and overall self-esteem. We've been blessed by a few women (and their kids) from Bethel Lutheran Church, who have volunteered their time to help with our tutoring program.

Students from the New Hope Neighborhood come by a few afternoons a week. They have quiet reading time, computer time, group reading, and workbook time, which is a specified program set up for each individual to help with the areas of school that they are struggling in. Every once in awhile, the students get to do a group science experiment or hone their money or time-telling skills.
Grades are already improving from the beginning of the semester and the kids were able to pass or improve on their TAKS scores from the previous year!

Family Night

2010-03-12T14:29:00.000-06:00

Family Night kicked off on January 6th. In just two months we have connected with many new families and have seen God minister to each of them in a powerful way. Each Wednesday at Family Night we spend time in fellowship, worship, and prayer. The children and youth have their own special time of interactive learning with a relevant message just for them. It is amazing to see the excitement in them each week as they are eager to learn more about Jesus.

The adults who attend are experiencing real Christian community through worship, prayer, and genuine conversations about life. It is so apparent that God is moving and His hand is working mightily through this new ministry launch. One of the many new people that have joined us on Wednesday night is Irma. Irma came to our facility looking for English classes. In meeting with Pastor Ramiro, she also expressed an interest in wanting to learn more about the Bible. God has been faithful in revealing Himself to Irma. She had been struggling with severe back pain and shared this with the group her first night with us. We prayed for God to heal her back and she has expressed feeling less pain these last few weeks. God heard our prayers!

A Message from the Stable

2009-12-25T14:24:00.000-06:00

From our LINC North Texas family to yours ~

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

New Hope Christmas Store

2009-12-22T14:04:00.000-06:00

The Christmas Store at New Hope Church and Community Center this past winter brought 57 families through our doors. Due to gracious donations from Zion Lutheran Dallas, Crown of Life Colleyville, and various individual donors, we had a wide assortment of gifts for parents to choose from. Families from the local elementary school were invited to come to New Hope and buy new toys at reduced prices.

We believe by letting the parents purchase the gifts themselves, it dignifies them knowing they provided for their children and allows them to see the surprise and joy on their children’s faces as they open a gift bought specifically for them. The Christmas Store also allowed us to work side by side with parents from the neighborhood as well as new families we’ve invited to join us for Family Night. A couple of families, who are now regulars at Family Night, met us for the first time at the Christmas Store.

Community Garage Sale

2009-11-09T14:29:00.000-06:00

Our Community Garage Sale and Carnival on Nov. 7th was a huge success. Here is the story:

We were blessed to have the community get involved and donate so many items.

Bethel Lutheran Church - Dallas
Buckner Terrace Homeowners Association
Crown of Life Lutheran Church - Colleyville
Ferguson Road Initiative
Hillview Terrace Neighborhood Association
Lamb of God Lutheran Church - Flower Mound
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church - Carrollton
S.S. Conner Elementary School
St. Paul Lutheran Church - Plano
Truett Crime Watch
White Rock Hills Crime Watch
White Rock Village Crime Watch
Zion Lutheran Church - Dallas
And many others...

Folks from these churches and organizations gave items and/or their time to help out. We couldn't have done it without them!

We literally had so many donations that we filled five classrooms of clothes, kitchen supplies, furniture, house decorations, and electronics. We spent most of the day Thursday and Friday organizing and pricing all the donations. It was so nice to get last minute help from the Truett Crime Watch group sorting Friday morning. We had a couple families from the neighborhood come and help quite a bit too!

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. We weren't too sure when we started at 5:30am in the cold and fog. It was great having people, not just from the fire, but also from the immediate neighborhood come by and get some really amazing deals.

We had clothes of all sizes, jackets, shoes, toys, tvs, beds, lamps, desks, plates and cups... you name it, we had it! We also had games for the kids to play and prizes to be won! Some youth from Prince of Peace came and spent their Saturday painting faces and jumping in the bounce house with our neighborhood kids. We sold hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and baked goods. We made quite a day of it.

Overall, it was an amazing day! We were able to make over $1800 for the families who lost their belongings in the Millennium Pointe Apartment fire. There will be a meeting soon to gather everyone to discuss the distribution of the collected funds. It has been such a testament of God's love to see neighbors and non-neighbors care for one another!

Day at the Zoo

2009-10-09T12:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday, October 3, our local Thrivent chapters got together for a day at the Dallas Zoo. LINC North Texas was invited to participate and be recipients of food and supplies for our emergency food pantry at New Hope Community Center.

It was a beautiful day to be at the zoo and hanging out with our friends from Thrivent. It was a great chance for us to reconnect with people and also get to know some new folks too. We got to spend some time walking around the zoo, checking out the animals, riding the tram, and eating an amazing bbq lunch! We look forward to continued partnership with Thrivent in the future.

Community Happening in Far East Dallas

2009-10-09T10:49:00.000-05:00

LINC is seeing the beauty of community in Far East Dallas.

In late July, a fire broke out in a local apartment in the community. This was the second fire to take place at this complex in the last 4 months. 24 families lost everything or nearly all. Since there have been 4 community meetings, mediated by LINC, to bring about what is needed in the apartment community, and now in the Far East Dallas community.

The last meeting was inspiring to see. Not only were the fire victims represented, but also neighborhood associations, the Ferguson Road Initiative, local churches, and individuals of the community with a heart to help their neighbors. The night concluded with a decision to hold a community wide garage sale benefiting the families of the apartment fire.

Since, things have been getting into gear for the garage sale, which will take place on November 7th. I’m so excited to be a part of this community and see it put together an event like this. The community is really coming together, but with an event like this, we will need as many people who want to be a part of something great! We will be holding our next meeting to plan the garage sale this Thursday October 15 at 6:30, at New Hope Community Center.

Here are a few pictures from our last community meeting:

First Rangers' Game

2009-09-30T10:48:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, Al got some free tickets to a Rangers game and invited a few of us to go. She also invited M to go with us. We've known M and his family for a couple of years through New Hope and the various programs that have gone on in that area.

A couple of months ago, there was a fire at M's apartment complex. To be specific, it was the third fire at the apartment complex in the past two years. But this time, most of his family's possessions were water damaged, leaving them with very little. LINC got involved, mediating some community meetings that have us all extremely hopeful. A group of neighbors from the area are in the process of planning a community garage sale that will benefit the folks that lost everything in the fire.

Back to our day at the Rangers' game. Al had mentioned doing something with M a couple of weeks ago, so when the opportunity arose, she asked him if he'd want to go with us. Come to find out, it was his first baseball game. We started way up in the nosebleed section, but we were able to move down closer... 8 rows back from the Rangers' dugout.

It was a typical day at the ballpark, full of nachos, lemon freezes, pretzels and cokes in Rangers' cups. Although it didn't help the Rangers in the end, we cheered and had a great time. M called it his "lucky day." We even waited after the game so that he could run the bases with John. It was a beautiful day for baseball and to take our friend to his first game. I think it was a lucky day for all of us.