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Ministry Update July - Teen Challenge Netherlands
 
Dear #naam#,

"Go to New York City and help those boys." God spoke these words to Reverend David Wilkerson in 1958. Wilkerson answered the call of God, and the ministry of Teen Challenge was born. This year Teen Challenge celebrates its 60th anniversary!

In this Ministry Update we'd love to bring you up to speed with our ministry and share some prayer requests with you. Thank you for partnering with us. We are truly blessed to know you!

  1. We Will Be in the US This July and August!
  2. Purpose of Our Trip
  3. Raising Funds
  4. How Can You Help?
  5. Praise Report!
  6. ETC Conference Next Year in The Netherlands
  7. Short Update on Buying the Life Center Building
  8. Launching The Gate Vlaardingen
  9. Join Us in Prayer
  10. Investing in Changed Lives

We Will Be in the US This July and August!
Today (8th of July) we cross the big pond to spend five weeks in the US. We’ll spend time on the East Coast (North East and South East Region). Please email or call us if you want to connect. We’d love to meet up!

We Are Coming Together

Thanks to great friends who bought Marianne her plain ticket. Now we can go together. Stephan was initially going for several meetings. We are both very thankful and excited for this opportunity to see many of you!

Purpose of Our Trip
We’re attending the annual Global TC meeting and will be present at the 60th anniversary celebration of Teen Challenge. Also, we’re fundraising for our sustainability project. More about this to follow below.

Sustainability Project: TC Thrift Store
We’d like to start a large TC Thrift Store as a sustainability project for Teen Challenge Netherlands. It also serves as a place where Life Center residents reintegrate into society and learn job skills. We're currently collecting and selling clothes in a smaller store. We feel the time is right to grow and create more income for Teen Challenge.

Raising Funds
The total project is $100,000. $25,000 is already in! Also, we have a $10,000 pledge if matched with another $10,000. Please consider giving today. Every amount helps us greatly!

How Can You Help?
Do you know someone who loves Teen Challenge? Would your church or business like to support this project? Please let us know. We would love to come and present this project to whoever is interested in giving while we are in the States!

Praise Report!
Walter, our Gate director who had been diagnosed with cancer, is now cancer free. Thank you, Jesus! The treatment has been successful. We know many of you have been praying for him. We’re very grateful for that. Walter is slowly recovering, gaining back weight and energy. Please continue to keep him and his family in your prayers.

ETC Conference Next Year in The Netherlands
Next year, both TC Netherlands and TC Europe celebrate their 50th anniversary! For this reason, we’ll host the Europe Teen Challenge conference in the Netherlands. Talk about a challenge… It’s very hard to keep costs low. We found an affordable location, but could use sponsoring for our brothers and sisters from Eastern Europe. If you’d like to sponsor the conference, please let us know. All donations are welcome.
The conference will be held from April 2nd till April 5th. (The conference is not open for registration yet. We’ll keep you updated.)

Short Update on Buying the Life Center Building
As we shared in our previous update, we’re facing major delays in the negotiation of purchasing the Life Center building. Pre-purchase property inspection showed some building defects and problems, causing the process to be delayed. We’ll continue to lease the property for now and keep you posted on the progress. Please keep this in your prayers.

 



Launching The Gate Vlaardingen
The renovation of our newest (9th) location of The Gate, in Vlaardingen, is almost complete. Starting later this month, The Gate Vlaardingen will open its doors on Fridays. In the future, opening hours will be extended. The leadership team is very excited to start. Local youth have already come by to see the place; they’re excited too!

Join Us in Prayer
If you would like to join us in prayer for Teen Challenge Netherlands, please pray for:
  • Changed lives of our residents; they struggle with low self esteem, financial issues, court cases, hopelessness etc.
  • Our trip to the US; safe travels and fruitful meetings
  • Our thrift store sustainability project; for wisdom and funds
  • Buying the Life Center building process


Investing in Changed Lives
There are two ways you can help support our mission. 1.) Support projects and Teen Challenge Netherlands in general. 2.) Personal support for Stephan & Marianne. We do not receive a salary from TCN and depend mostly on personal support. Please consider helping us in one or both areas. And remember, your gifts are tax deductible, in the US and in the Netherlands!


On behalf of Teen Challenge Netherlands thank you for partnering with us. Your continued support is very much appreciated whether through prayer, missions’ teams and or donations. We pray for God's blessings for you and your family.

For the Cause,

Stephan and Marianne Barendse


To Donate by Check
Please make out your checks to "Global Teen Challenge" and write "Teen Challenge Netherlands" or for personal support “TCN Stephan & Marianne” on the memo line. Please send in your check to: Global Teen Challenge / P.O. Box 511 / Columbus, GA, 31902 / USA. Our 501(c)3 tax ID number is: 59-3302759

To Give Safely Online by Credit Card
Please click here to donate savely online. (Make sure to designate your gift: "Teen Challenge Netherlands" or for personal support “TCN Stephan & Marianne”.)