| Urban Promise brings hope, healing By Melissa Lauber UMConnection Staff  Sean Johnson, of Calvary UMC in Annapolis, went to war this summer. His battleground was the local Woodside Gardens community The fight, he says, has just begun. Johnson, the churchs youth and discipleship coordinator, recreated the New Jersey-based Urban Promise camp program in one of Annapolis poorest neighborhoods. Fifty-six children, ages 5-14, attended the daylong camp from July 8 to Aug. 25. When you go into that community, you know thats where the battle is, Johnson said. The people there are in a battle to survive, to keep their heads above water. The kids get the raw end of the deal. Theres always something to knock them down. But Johnson believes a spiritual war was also being waged. Its God versus Satan, he said. Thats real. The students were exposed to gunfire this summer, Johnson said. One Monday there was a shooting in the neighborhood, right down the street. The children ran inside and got down. Tables were put against the windows. Some kids acted like it was an everyday event. But some were upset, Johnson said. We talked to them about how God was present with them and we talked about choices. Did they want to choose Christ or the man down the street shooting? During the second week of the camp, several of the children did choose Christ, Johnson said. It was an unplanned discussion during the Bible study portion of the day. The kids were talking with their teacher, Tiffany Lewis, about what it felt like to be in single-parent homes and why it is important to make peace with the parent that leaves. One question led to another, almost as if it were scripted, Johnson said. The students wanted to know about the end of the world, how to have eternal life, and when they could accept Jesus as their savior. Can we do it right now? they asked. We prayed with them, Johnson said, and as a group, they each gave their lives to Christ. Johnson made sure each of the children received a Bible. They were so proud of them, he said. They walked around like deacons in a church. During reading time they wanted to know good Bible verses so they could highlight them. The program at Woodside Gardens is based on the Urban Promise program in Camden, N.J. Youth from Calvary UMC attended a work camp two years ago in Camden and were impressed. The camp is coupled with a street leaders program of four high school youth from the community who are selected to serve as teachers and mentors to the younger students. Four college interns also teach, and three adult administrators from the community provide insights into the childrens needs. Woodside Gardens had, in previous summers, offered a camping program, but it had folded due to lack of funds. Parents welcomed the church and applauded its intentions, Johnson said. Urban Promise offered five learning stations each day: art, hodgepodge craft activities, Bible buddies, recreation and a computer lab. Every Friday the children took a field trip. Calvarys mission team provided $10,000 for the camp. The Calvary Center preschool also contributed $5,000 and church members gave $8,000. A partnership was also formed with Asbury-Broadneck UMC in Annapolis, which contributed a number of resources. The work this summer wasnt easy, Johnson admitted. Many of the children had built up defensive exteriors. But we showed them that we loved them. We loved them with the love of Jesus Christ, and we came back every day, he said. Johnson and the Calvary congregation are already beginning to scout new locations in Annapolis to expand the Urban Promise program. These are the front lines. This is where God is. This is where the church needs to be, Johnson said. From the very beginning, God provided momentum for this ministry. God is still pushing us along. | 
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