BridgeBuilders KIDS
Nelson Ward
The Big Little Impact of Art

We aim to create spaces to celebrate our kids and facilitate a positive experience with creativity, which is made possible with the Dallas Museum of Art as an enrichment partner. DMA art experts came in to host a 3-week pop-up with hands-on art education and experience. They also guided the kids on a personal tour of the DMA and helped make a showcase at Bonton Farms where families, friends, and the community could view their artwork.

The Big Little Impact of Art

The Bible

How to be a GREAT volunteer!

How To Be A GREAT Volunteer

As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)

The greatest posture: “Today you, tomorrow me”

Material possessions are uncertain, and our status in life can be altered quickly. Sometimes things just happen. When the worst happens to us, we might not be comforted by what we own, but we can be comforted by those we’ve helped before. Knowing that hardship could happen to any of us changes the lens that we view others through.

I once read the story of a man who received help with a roadside tire-change, and his helper refused money for the service, reasoning: “Today you, tomorrow me.” Compassion is key, since we never know what hardship others are experiencing, and can’t guarantee we won’t be in need ourselves someday.

  • Maintain a posture of humility over entitlement and compassion over judgment, knowing that material blessings are uncertain.

If we knew we would need help tomorrow, how would we help others today?

The greatest practice: our gifts are for good works

The Bible explains that the gifts God gives are intended to be used to help others. That moral guidance, found in 1 Timothy 6:18, should guide our hearts to generosity! We should be willing to give to see others receive help they need, and to give it with a sense of joy.

  • Volunteer as a practice of goodness, representing the heart of God and the organization where you’re volunteering.

We can’t always donate money, so donating time can be a wonderful gift to local nonprofits who offer services to your community. Giving even one evening a month creates impact, and the effect it has on you personally is practice that develops goodness in our world and our hearts.

Spending time developing goodness is not the only benefit to volunteering:

The greatest payment: serving others provides rewards

1 Timothy 6:19 refers to the eternal value of doing good for others- that our treasure might be stored up in the true life, the eternal life. Doing good creates eternal impact! Serving those God loves bonds us together and forges strong relationships, which is the essence of community.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Loving God and His people by volunteering can teach you about your neighbors, your community, and yourself. Doing good for others can help us correct our harmful postures toward others, practice and develop goodness, and earn us the rewards of unified community in the love of the Lord.

  • Volunteers are paid in experience- show up ready to learn about others and yourself!

 

Comment below: when did you last receive help that you really needed?

You Give Them Something to Eat

You Give Them Something to Eat

An Oasis in South Dallas

And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”

Mark 6:35-37 (ESV)

The Bible gives us many calls to serve others, and Jesus modeled this in His life perfectly. What can a servant of God learn from Jesus’s order to the apostles to feed His followers?

 

Feed the body and the soul

For those outside of South Dallas, the primary issue a food pantry addresses seems to be food insecurity. While that’s true, the South Dallas Community Market (a partnership with Brother Bill’s Helping Hand) seeks to address much more. The Market is a haven of dignity, a welcoming atmosphere where all that matters is that you are a neighbor that God brought through our doors.

The provision we need isn’t food alone, and the problems we can solve extend beyond a free meal. Local access to free food can mean a neighbor doesn’t require a bus pass to reach a store or help a neighbor cover important bills with money they would’ve spent on groceries. Most importantly, the Market can provide a space to love and be loved by others.

God gives all people dignity. None are better than others in His eyes, and any of us could be in a worse position tomorrow than we’ve been before. With that understanding, we can feed more than just the body when we serve.

 

God is with us in the desolate place

We have all experienced that downtrodden, less-than feeling that comes from being excluded from the joy and thriving of others, and this can bring insecurities we don’t even know are there. These can become generational insecurities if someone is made to feel like they’re out of reach of the love of God and others. 

Our neighbors aren’t at fault for issues in their community where systems of prejudice create real trouble for racial and socioeconomic groups. Residents don’t cause these problems, and are, in fact, the very ones who create improvement through their undying hope.

We serve a community filled with families that love and take pride in their neighborhood. Any idea that South Dallas is home to victims who don’t strive to be active members of their community is false. Broken systems are an oppressive force and for most of our neighbors this is not a story of being the product of a bad environment.

For those that know nothing but Bonton+Ideal, the Market is a welcome addition, and seeing their neighbors fed for free is a gift. They feel the love of God and share it with their neighbors.

“This is my home. I’d rather [volunteer] for them than for anybody.”

– Bonton Resident

God provides for our neighbors in all places, and much of that provision comes through their own hard work, determination, and commitment to their community.

 

God’s provision can come from what we have

Bonton+Ideal is an enterprising neighborhood; they’ve bloomed throughout decades by way of resourcefulness. They’ve made a life while being denied the resources they deserve and in so many ways, they are overflowing with lemonade where once there were lemons.

The fact that this neighborhood is sustaining is a testament to a resilience that many other communities haven’t required. Committed to thriving in their own home, the difficulties they face don’t rise to define Bonton+Ideal– which is instead a rare culture of welcoming and joyfulness.

What should outsiders think about South Dallas? Ask those that live here, and ask what you can do to help. Be a part of the good going on here! Don’t judge from the outside, but let the insiders be your guide. This community is filled with joy, laughter, and hope. The South Dallas Community Market was built by our neighbors’ hope and can be seen as a response to their work.

Bonton+Ideal can be considered a food desert, but through the grit and commitment of our neighbors, it’s starting to feel more like a food oasis at the South Dallas Community Market.

MISSION 

BridgeBuilders restores relationships under the banner of Christ by engaging, equipping, and empowering individuals, families, and communities in South Dallas.

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