PIN Blog

PIN's 5th Annual Golf Tournament is on Friday June 11th and we need about 50 more golfers to make our goal. So please register today or let your friends know that golf to register today. The proceeds from the tournament go to help homeless people in Virginia Beach. The tournament is Friday June 11th at Honey Bee Golf Course 1PM shotgun start. It is only $80 for an individual golfer or $300 for a 4-person team. Please consider registerint today. THE HOMELESS NEED YOU

www.pinministry.org\golfhtml

On Thursday Night PIN has a Bible study that consist of homeless people, people who have gotten shelter through our ministry, and volunteers. It is really cool and we have anywhere between 20 to 30 people who attend. Every week we pray for each other and I noticed allot of people were praying that they would lose weight. So I thought praying is great, but we also need to be proactive. So me and some of the guys decided to have a weight loss contest, like The Biggest Loser. 10 weeks and the winner gets a $50 gift certificate. When I introduced it last night and we had men and women sign up 16 people total.

My wife and I were suppose to have lunch together today, but she said she didn't want to because she was going to win this "Biggest Loser" contest. I was like GAME ON. As a man if I can turn anything into a contest I could ackomplish so much stuff. All I hope is that my wife doesn't hate the playa, just the game.

How about you do you want to be a loser.

One of the things that I have been praying for a long time is that I would be replaceable. Not at my house, but at PIN. When you start a non-profit it is really good to have a strong leader to get things started. Early in the formation of the organization too many leaders can hurt the organization. So in the beginning the founder/first leader of a non-profit usually is not easily replaced and I don't think that is unhealthy initially. As time goes by if there is not a shift of leadership to more than one person and the founder/first leader maintains that some position as early on it will become unhealthy for the leader and the organization. In the past if I was out of town it was very difficult to make everything run smoothly and I kept praying that God would provide the right people.

So this weekend I'm going out of town and PIN will be running completely with people who are core to PIN. Not only that PIN has a great board of directors who leads the organization now and into the future. This is an Awesome day for PIN that I had been praying for this day for a long time. If I were to get hit by a bus (I don't know why I use that example all the time) and were unable to run PIN, I believe it would continue on without me. Sure there might be some bumps but I think there is now a structure in place that PIN would continue without me, and that is SO AWESOME. What God is doing and will continue to do through PIN is way too important for one person to be able to stop, and it would really make me sad if I were the person that stopped PIN.

Someday I'm going to be in heaven, and I can't wait to look down and see all the lives that are still being changed by PIN.

Running a non-profit organization that helps homeless people is very rewarding, and sometimes frustrating. I think the most frustrating part is fundraising. Working with the homeless you see all the needs; however without enough money there is not much you can do. So, sometimes you can become frustrated because the money doesn't line up with the needs.

Another thing I've learned running a non-profit is most people want to make a difference. They want to be part of something that changes the world. So if people want to make a difference why is there often a disconnect between needs and money. I think the answer to that is communication. The way to communicate with people is through marketing.

Most people do help with Fundraisers, but I think they sometimes worry about is my money really making a difference. Will this organization use my money in an economical way. I like the term my wife uses "Will they be smart with my money" That's why I love marketing because you use past performance to prove future success. Then you can give someone a good ROI (return on investment). If you do a good job of marketing then people will give to your organization without you even having to ask too hard.

So over the next two months I will be Marketing.

Dr. Charles Line is an Awesome doctor who has volunteered to provide medical care to homeless people in Virginia Beach free of charge over the last 2 years. Dr. Line is also on PIN's board of directors. In The Beatitudes Jesus said, "Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness." When I think about people who are hungry for righteousness, Charles is one of the people I think about. Dr. Line is one of the most humble doctors I have ever met. Dr. Line is moving to Michigan because of some personal reasons, and will be missed greatly by all of us at PIN. We however are really excited about the adventure that God has planned for him in Michigan. Michigan will instantly be a better place to live when Charles Line arrives.

Yesterday at PIN 5 people accepted Jesus and were baptized. The streets that the homeless have to live has always been full of alcohol, drugs, violence, and prostitution. In the last 48 months we have seen 47 homeless people accept Jesus and the community that is being built is simply amazing. We are seeing homeless people who have been kicked out of their house because of various issues going back home to be the fathers and husbands their wife and kids deserve. We have seen alcoholics and drug addicts turn toward God and away from their addictions. We have seen people turn from violence to love.

This Sunday we had people from the following Churches volunteer at PIN: Grace Bible Church, Trinity Church, Forefront Church, Reality Church, Vineyard Community Church, Middle Cross Baptist, Virginia Beach Community Chapel, Galilee Church. It is amazing to see all of these Churches come together and serve the homeless. When the Church comes together to love (not screaming at people about how they are sinners) it is a beautiful thing to witness. I think Satan would rather see these people stay at their Church on Sunday and not venture to the streets.

This Sunday I was looking at a Sanctuary full of people of different races and different economic situations worship God together. It was incredible and I was thinking HOW COOL IS THIS.......then I though SATAN MUST HATE THIS.....

Dallas Stamper the Executive Director of PIN will be the main author of this Blog. From time to time other people will contribute and when they do they will introduce themselves before posting.

I was talking to my wife one day and I said why aren't people doing more to help us help the homeless, and she made a very wise comment. They don't know all the cool things going on with PIN like you know. So the purpose of this blog is to keep you in the loop with all the cool things going on with PIN. I'm hoping that you will come back and view our blog or subscribe to the feed

People often come up to me and say I just don't know what to do to help people? This kind of thinking can be dangerous! When my wife and I started PIN we had no clue what to do, we were armed with 12 sandwiches and the Holy Spirit. What I found is that is all you need. Words like "I don't know" lead to not doing anything and that's why it can be dangerous.

This Sunday 6 people who have learned about Jesus through PIN are getting baptized. That makes 47 people in the last 48 months. When Anne and I first went to to the oceanfront with those sandwiches we would have never imagined God would have used us in this way. I think it's because He wants to use us all, however He can't use us if we are paralyzed because "WE DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO"

So next time you think "I don't know what to do" Love Someone, Help Someone. God may just change someone's life through your actions.

I'm back!
I'm back in the saddle again
I'm back!
I'm back in the saddle again

Thought I would Quote Aerosmith with my first blog in the new format. I'm going to try to post to this blog daily... I'm going to feed off my fellow bloggers so give PIN some "Blog Love"

Thanks,
Dallas