We Love New Life Centers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkOIIH9Usdg
We have many students attend New Life Centers everyday. They come for help with homework and tutoring. They come for the friendships they have built. They come because they feel safe and loved. Our teachers and volunteers are passionate about creating a climate of safety and love for each one of our students. They meet them where they are and walk alongside them, bringing them closer to Christ. This is why we have so many students return day after day to our programs. This is a huge reason that we love New Life Centers!
CrossOver: Preparing Young People for the "Next Season" of Basketball and Life
CrossOver is an apprenticeship program that teaches young men not only basketball skills but also crucial life skills through mentoring and biblical life on life discipleship. This year CrossOver celebrates 5 years! During this time we have worked with hundreds of Chicago's youth to develop their basketball skills and prepare them to compete at a higher level for their high school teams. More importantly we set out to shape their character, provide them with life and job skills and teach them what the next season off the court will entail so they can be fully ready for any adventures they encounter.
When we first started five years ago, we faced many different challenges. One of the more major challenges was creating a culture of service among our youth verses consumerism. It seemed as if our facility existed solely as a space for people to come, play ball and leave. But God had bigger plans than even we could imagine.
Many youth came and went during this time but none more memorable then Alex. He had a passionate anger and witty tongue. At one point in time, Alex was asked to leave the Center for an indefinite amount of time due to his attitude and behavior. During his time of dismissal, Alex was arrested and also stabbed in his chest, a near fatal incident that left him hospitalized for days. During both incidences we stayed closely in touch with Alex to let him know God and CrossOver had not turned their back on him.
In a strange turn of events, this summer Alex, who is now 22 years old, began to resurface more often and even stressed a strong interest in serving with CrossOver. We excitingly obliged!
To our amazement he has been an amazing testimony to our youth during his time serving in CrossOver so far. One of our current CrossOver apprentices who know Alex’s past came to our CrossOver leader recently and expressed how appreciative he was that CrossOver gives people second chances. He said, "It’s cool how that dude use to be on my block doing no good. Now he's teaching us how to hoop and helping us not go done the path he went down."
It may have taken 5 years but it was all worth it.
Learn more about CrossOver.
New Life Humboldt Park End of the Summer Family Celebration
Our End of the Summer Family Celebration at the Humboldt Park location was a beautiful time together watching the church family come alongside the community and breathe life into new relationships. God's glory was celebrated through the children's poetry, their rendition of "Let It Go" from Frozen, and some extremely talented bopping. It brought tears of joy to many faces as we prayed for our New Life Center's site director Nikki Finklea and commissioned her out on a four month sabbatical of refreshment and restoration. Numerous families made commitments to start coming to church because they were overwhelmed by the church family's care of children. One mother decided to try to start bringing her family to church because she realized that change in her family needed to begin with her. She said it beautifully when she stated, "It starts with me." So we would like to challenge you also. Will you be the change in your community? Will you let change start with you? Will you help us change our community for God's glory too?
Find out how you can partner with us!
Summer of Fun, Learning & Love
We had three amazing summer camps this summer at our Humboldt Park and two Little Village locations! Each summer New Life Centers offers fifteen weeks of summer camp between these locations for our kindergarten through 8th grade students. Our students and their communities were challenged in their faith as they learned together. Two of our students from Little Village gave us a very tangible demonstration of God's power at work transforming lives and meeting us in our broken places.
Alex & Cesar, fourth grade campers, weren't getting along very well at this year’s away camp. Actually, that’s an understatement. On day two of camp, Alex & Cesar started throwing punches at each other during breakfast. Their team leaders brought them to the directors to sort things out. As they sat at the breakfast table, each one began to tell his side of the story. "He called me ----" "He came over & started hitting me." Their emotions ranged from angry and sullen to sad and despairing. They talked and the directors listened, and then asked them what would need to happen to make things right.
The children decided they should apologize. Each told the other, “I’m sorry”. The directors suggested they might want to give each other space since it seemed that they got on each other’s nerves. After all, that’s what we tell kids, right? “Just leave each other alone & you’ll both be better off.” But, as Ms. Emily was sitting there with these two, she wasn't convinced that it was enough. These boys were on the same team at camp and even if they weren't, didn't Jesus call us to something more than avoiding those who hurt us? Didn't He call us to forgiveness and to reconciliation? So, she dared the question: “What do you guys think it would look like for you to be friends?”
To her surprise, it didn't take them long to answer: “We could tell each other jokes.” “We could play together”. The directors affirmed these ideas, but wondered if there would be any real difference in their interactions? They didn't need to worry. A small miracle unfolded before their eyes: Alex said he was thirsty. In response, Cesar picked up the water pitcher, poured a glass of water & passed it to Alex. Then they started talking. And joking. And laughing. By the time they got to Bible time, they were enjoying each other so much the directors thought they would have to separate them just to get them to pay attention. Two guys who that morning were hurting each other with their words and their fists were now relishing each other’s company & having the time of their lives.
The Cat and The Baby
This is a story written by a 3rd grader at New Life Centers about a YouTube video he watched. He also drew and added his own picture.
The Cat and the Baby love to play. I watched them on YouTube. The baby started to giggle. Then the cat rolled around with the baby. The man with the camera loved the cat and the baby. Then the baby tapped the bottle and the cat got scared and ran away. The end.
By MICHAEL
Batman
Batman is my favorite super hero. He fights Joker. He also fights Penguin. Batman fights Joker in the park and he fights Penguin in the sewer.
By Sebastian (3rd Grade) 
How Miss Anna is the Best
An interview conducted by one of our 3rd grade students
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Miss Anna she is the best partner ever and she plays basketball. Her favorite color is blue and her favorite thing at school is history. Her eye color is blue. Her favorite thing at home is ice cream.
By Diana (3rd Grade)
Superman
The following story was written by Israel, a student in New Life Center's summer program. Would you consider supporting New Life Center's and our summer programs for students like Israel today?
One day the villain was stealing 1,000,000 dollars from a bank near Superman's home. The villain then took out the King and Queen of London to his secret hideout. The villain tied them up. Then Superman comes and saves them, and put him in jail.
By Isreal (2nd Grade) 
Letters to the Alderman
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Our students visit Beilfuss Park every Wednesday as part of our summer camp program. We love this park and have had many fun memories there. However, our students have noticed that there is no water fountain and often grow thirsty after their day of play. They decided to all write letters to their alderman to try and effect change. Here are a few of their notes.
Dear Mr. Alderman,
I really love the park and my favorite thing is the tire swing, but there's one problem that there is no portable bathroom. Some people have to use the bathroom on themselves. There's this other problem that we need a water fountain because we play around for four hours so we have to bring water and it runs out. I will appreciate if you will do this stuff for us.
Sincerely,
Lizette (4th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
I would like a bathroom in the park because we go every Wednesday. We feel like using it be have to hold it. It is very uncomfortable. I want a water fountain because I play soccer and I am thirsty. I want a pool to cool off. Finally, I want a motel.
Sincerely,
Jacob (6th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
We really enjoy the park but its missing some things that are needed. There are not any bathrooms or even a water fountain. We could also make the park look more colorful by adding a variety of flowers. We need bathrooms because of have to hold it in until we get back to the church. There isn't a spot were a mom could change her baby indoors either. We need a water fountain because we get thirsty, and some people don't have water bottles. They could also keep people at the park.
Thank you,
Kayla (4th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
Every Wednesday we go to the park. We need a water fountain because we have to carry a big jug full of water to the park. It's really heavy so we get tired. We have to carry supplies like cups, ice packs, and balls. A lot of people get hurt at the park so there should be medicine packs. If you do this, thank you.
From,
Javion (4th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
Can you make a water fountain at the park? Because sometimes people forget to bring their water bottles, and get thirsty and hot. They might leave the park, go home and get water and might not come back in the park.
Thank you so much,
Bryan (4th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
Last week at Park Day, I asked Ms. Jessica if I could get another cup of water. She said that there was no more water. So, I thought that we should install a water fountain for people who don't have water bottles and are thirsty. I also thought that we should get bathrooms for people who need to use the toilet. There should also be a dog area where people can walk and play with their dogs.
From,
Gianna (4th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
I go to the park once a week and we play at the park and then we have to go to the bathroom. But there is no bathrooms at the park so we need a bathroom at the park for we don't use it on are stuff. And we need a water fountain at the park because we play at the park and we get hot so we need some water for we don't fall out.
From,
Angel (4th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
Well first of all we go to the park every week! We love the park. We need your help on getting a water fountain and a bathroom because we play at the park and we get sweaty. Some of us don't bring a water bottle, some of us forget to bring one. The little kids need to use the bathroom and it's hard for them to hold it. So it's not easy for them. I will be thankful if you would help us out.
Sincerely,
Jennifer (6th Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
We wish that we had a water fountain and a bathroom at our park. Because we go there all the time and sometimes we get really thirsty or have to go to the bathroom really bad. Then we would have to walk back to our houses or church to use the bathroom. We also have to carry water to the park with us and it can be really heavy. We would be so excited if you could build us a water fountain and bathroom! Please help us! It get so hot out when we play.
From,
Amyiah (3rd Grade)
Dear Mr. Alderman,
We were talking about things we would want in the park. We were also hoping you could put a water fountain and a bathroom in the park. We go to the park every week. Sometimes we need to go to the bathroom and have accidents. The water fountain and bathroom would be so helpful.
From,
Sebastian (3rd Grade)
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Youtube’s New Comment System
Youtubers are mad. Google+ is now taking over the Youtube comment system. Now you have to have a Google account (Gmail, Blogger, Google+, etc.) to acess new comments. Why? Because you now have to use your REAL name if you don’t have a(n) Google+ account. You also can’t reply to or like/dislike to other people who don’t have a Google+ account.
But they’re also some good sides to Google+. You can reply easier to comments because it will say +Username so, it won’t be confusing to who you’re replying to. You also will be able to use you Youtube username instead of your real name so noyone will know it.
By Gianna