TO ALL WHO ATTENDED OR HAD A PART IN ROCK'S AWARENESS BANQUET in Greenville, SC...

One of the nearly 300 banquet attendees commented, “The banquet was a beautiful environment for an informative and touching experience, something I’ll always remember.”  A young man said, “I’ve been impacted for life.” And another wrote: “Nothing prepared [my wife] and me for the reality of it all. The entire evening was amazing. I'd dare say that 99% of us were taken far beyond our personal comfort zones, and there were times when what we saw and heard was heavy, and nearly overwhelming. It's so easy to be complacent and lazy living in the affluent West... If raising awareness was the purpose, consider it mightily done. God was there, evident and tangibly present.”

The program included gifted gospel singer and Bible teacher Alan Parks who brought a succinct challenge on compassion and passion, and sang three powerful songs including “Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them Until You’re Ready to Love Them Too.” Convicting. The centerpiece of the evening was Nathan’s “State of the Streets” address, which began with these words: “Good evening. For the next few minutes, I hope to transport you from an elegant banquet hall to the asphalt of the world.” And transported we were—into a dark world of human trafficking, abuse, and exploitation—poured out on children who call the street “home.” 

A few more quotes from Nathan’s speech: “I want to tell you about the prime real-estate of potential. The streets. Home to an estimated one hundred and fifty million children worldwide, with that number continuing to skyrocket due to wars, disasters, population bursts, economic strains, and diseases."

 

"It’s time to sacrifice the frills so a child can know love and be touched with the love of Christ. That is the duty of the Body of Christ and that is the character of Jesus that the world desperately needs to see in us. Why do we look to the world to solve such issues? True and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this, to take care of widows and orphans in their need and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. We are at war in this web of wickedness; a war the world has waged on these kids."

 

"Our primary concern and focus is to equip the local people with the vision, passion, knowledge, resources, and competency to do the job and carry the baton. In equipping the local church, not only are we seeking to touch lives with the love of Christ, but fulfill the equally important role of ‘making disciples.’ We seek to leave no trace of our name or legacy… only the footprints of Christ marked in sweat, blood, and love. My friends, the State of the Streets is not favorable from the perspective of time, but let us look from eternity’s eyes and see hope, opportunity, and the chance to be Jesus to little souls who are suffering. ROCK International is not the solution to the problem. Rather, God provided us this tool to use to touch lives and gain access to remote regions around the globe. … May God give us wisdom as we seek to be the lap of Jesus to His precious treasures and may He save us from a life of complacency and lethargy!”

ROCK International is a non-profit organization seeking to be the lap of Jesus in a hurting world.

Your part in providing care and hope for neglected and abused children can bless them for time and eternity.

 

And He took them up in His arms,
 laid His hands on them, and blessed them.” 

Matthew 10:13,16