Mez Isn’t Waiting Anymore!

You’ve had the chance to meet Mez in the chapter entitled Waiting.

Abuse, gangs, a distant father, a desperate hunger to be adopted.

Tonight, local news stations around South Florida will feature Mez’ picture. Not as victim of the foster care system but as a advocate for those teenagers who reach 18 without ever finding their forever family.

He’s pictured surrounded by city and state officials with Florida’s Governor Crist as he signs two bills into law associated with the Independent Living Program.

Mez knows that one person can make a difference. He has become the One Factor for the others who are still in foster care.

Mez isn’t waiting anymore. Are you?

How Many Hands?

Shirley* wanted to get the word out about the power of one person to change their neighborhood, their community and even the world for a child. She bought a case of The One Factor books and numbered them. Inside she put a simple request- whoever had the book had to promise to read it, sign it and pass it on.

The last line of the instructions were that whoever had it in May ’09 was to count up the number of signatures and e-mail her so that she could know where “her” books had traveled.

The first report?

Book #31 has had four people who have read the stories, savored the quotes and been changed by the people whose lives are reflected within it.

Book #31 finally landed in Mark Hanson’s hands. Funny thing is that they have been thinking of adopting. Mark e-mailed that God was obviously at work since the friend who passed the book along didn’t even know that they were considering adoption.

Way to go Book #31! Way to go God!

*For more on Shirley and the other people whose lives have been changed by the Source of The One Factor, the latest edition is hot off the presses and has a number of answers to “Where are they now?”

5K Closer to a family

Yesterday was the BIG Cardio event for 4KIDS of South Florida. What began as a dream in the heart of one of our staff members a couple years ago was fulfilled under sunny skies as over 1,000 people from health clubs, corporations, schools, churches and neighborhoods showed up for a day of fitness to benefit foster care in our community. The statistics are staggering when you look at all the preparation that goes into pulling off an event like this but it can all be summed up in the impact on a single child.

As you take a minute to acknowledge May as National Foster Care month, is there something that you can do to bring hope to a temporary orphan in foster care within your community?

The One Factor- Michigan

A recent e-mail we received…

Last March my wife and I were in South Florida for our annual winter break and as we have done for the last few years we headed to Calvary Chapel for their Saturday evening service. We have come to really look forward to attending and being fed by Pastor Bob. This particular Saturday night however Bob was not preaching and instead Doug Sander was speaking. At first I was disappointed that we would not have Pastor Bob but within the first few minutes that all changed as I listened to Doug explain how the church had gotten involved in the foster child program. I was touched and impressed by the number of children that had been helped in the past ten years all because of the ONE FACTOR. After the service I picked up a copy of the book and the next day sat at poolside reading the book. I enjoyed the book and could not help but feel that the Spirit was speaking to me at the end when I read the statement “So what are you going to do”. Over the next several weeks that statement kept coming back to me and at the sometime I was being challenged at my home church (Calvary CRC) to get out of the pew and reach out to the lost and hurting.

 

To make a long story short I have been meeting with a few people and plan on introducing CLUTCH to a few life groups on Feb. 22 and we will see where God leads us from there. One thing  I am sure of is that this needs to be more than a good idea, it needs to be a GOD Idea. He will bring the right people forward at the right time and West Michigan will keep the ONE FACTOR moving forward. Please keep us in your prayers.

Living It…Not Just Reading It

 Bryon Mondok is a gifted communicator- great blogger, gifted storyteller, passionate follower of Christ and he would make Evelyn Wood proud with the number of books he reads in a year.

That’s why his post was such an encouragement- not because he had nice things to say but because he has lived the truth of The One Factor and is too busy globe-hopping to give false praise.

When you hand Bryon a book- you know that he’s going to give you an honest opinion.

Here’s just an excerpt from his review but its worth the trip to his blog to read the whole thing- his blog posts, I mean, not just his review of The One Factor…

This is the story of One church in Broward County in South Florida that took action. A verse comes to mind: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:26 NIV). Most churches have systems and strategies for the last part - keep oneself from being polluted by the world – but not for the first - to look after orphans and widows in their distress. I wonder why that is. I wonder if God wonders.

Influence a child; change destiny.

The book is neatly divided into a series of “Ones”. One Vision, One Person, One Moment, One Idea, One investment, One Passion, One Source, and then he brings it home with You; what will you do with it.

 

 

Sauder’s stories and his final appeal are moving. You are the One that can make the difference. No matter what your view of you is, with God’s help, you’re special enough and equipped for the task.

Sauder practices what he preaches. This isn’t idealistic sermonizing, this is a life being lived. This could be your life being lived and having an impact on the world around you.

The audience this book is intended for is One reader: You. I recommend this book.

-Doug

40 Day Fast

“Can one person really make a difference in this world?”

 

Let me throw out a few names for you:

            Christopher Columbus

            Abraham Lincoln

            Thomas Edison

            Rosa Parks

 

They didn’t know!  At the moment they took their step, the one thing they were supposed to do- they had no idea it would land them in our history books. They were misunderstood, they were laughed at, they were overlooked!  A seamstress, a crazy scientist, a kook explorer, a guy who couldn’t get elected for anything and all of a sudden- with one little step they took, the world has never looked the same. 

 

So the question comes back to each of us- do we believe we could really make a difference?  It can be as simple as wondering as I drive to my polling place and think- is my one vote really going to make a difference?  I mean really, my one vote? 

 

Throughout the 40 Day Fast, www.inspiredtoaction.com, we’ve read of problems that are incredibly complex and wide-reaching. If you’re like me, you ask yourself that question, “What can I do?”  If I wrote a check right now for $100, would it even make a dent?  If I organized a trip that could bring food to 50 needy people, when there’s millions… What’s the point?

 

And then I am reminded of what the Bible says about the power of one person. How God takes one solitary person in a moment in time. Over twenty-five thousand times in the Bible you read the word, “One.”. Usually when I’m reading it’s just another word on the page. But I feel like God says – you know what I like to do?  I like to take the smallest element and bring about the greatest possible change.  Because when that happens, there is no mystery!  Who was in charge?  Who was responsible? The only answer could be God!

 

Deut. 32:30  “How could one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight- unless their rock had sold them, unless the Lord had surrendered them.” 

 

There are over 145 million orphans in the world today. That’s a pretty staggering number but maybe the reminder that I have for you is that although you are just one, God has one thing for you to do today. The Christian Alliance for Orphans www.christianalliancefororphans.org is a coalition of some of the organizations that are committed to bringing the hope of Jesus to them as we experience the real religion that James 1:27 talks about.

 

I remember when my heart burned within me as my pastor spoke of the foster kids in my community that had nowhere to go. That one moment has taken me on a ten-year journey. Providing homes for modern-day orphans has become my driving passion. Through the years I have been inspired by others who dared to stare into the face of an overwhelming problem, fight through their feelings of helplessness and then choose to act. Time after time I’ve seen “first steps” lead to unimaginable outcomes. This is the one factor—the power God unleashes when a solitary individual follows His call. I have seen the power of one tip the balance from staggering problem to attainable solution.

When I took that first step, I had no idea what I was getting into– the thousands of children who would receive shelter, the hundreds of young people who would experience a life-changing relationship with the God who made them, the dozens of children who would find a forever family … and the one who would become my son.

 

What’s the one thing you’re going to do today?

The One Factor at work

Recently my wife Suzanne and I went on a cruise- a rare break for us to spend alone. In conversation with our table mates, we talked about what we did for a living. One thing lead to another and they asked if I had a copy of The One Factor they could have. This is part of an e-mail I got back from them,

 

 I really liked the book.  I’m not a social issues/ motivational/ inspiration/ Christian Living book reader at all.  I
guess it makes the stories more real to actually have met you and your family.  I will say that it does help with my tiny knowledge of the foster care system in Wisconsin and the struggles of “In Their Best Interests” the on-profit that does so much for kids in foster care. Just my opinion:  But I’ve always thought folks who really care about children and the future society they will build and the same folks who don’t believe in abortion, should be putting their money where their mouths are and adopting children out of orphanages and foster care (when families break down.)  Your book, you and your family and your church,  have given folks a blueprint or a map on where to go for help in doing that, of how to get more information and living examples of folks adopting these kids.  That’s a great message also.  Here’s a problem.  Here’s how this community/church adopted the problem and set out to positively change children’s lives.  Don’t just wring your hands – Do something!

 

Maybe you’re not a social issues/motivational/Christian Living kind of reader- it makes it that much more interesting to hear how the One Factor is at work in your life. Share your story with us.

Which One changed your life?

Welcome to The One Factor blog! This is a place where you can record your thoughts and reaction to The One Factor. We look forward to creating a community able to encourage each other in the journey as we discover how we can be the one that changes our world.