UBC Miami

A song to REFRESH you!

UBC Mission — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:58:20 +0000

Recently this amazing video was shared with me because it is the heart of Agape Family Ministries for people to know that God considers them someone worth dying for. By the way, so are you! Enjoy. http://youtu.be/oF5CjtrIl_c

UBC Mission — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:19:45 +0000

Agape said “Thank You!” to its many ongoing volunteers on May 3, 2013. The night began with a meet and greet where the volunteers were able to meet with others who are also serving. The Agape Quartet provided a concert of praise and worship songs, concluding with the song “Thank You” by Ray Boltz…which the clients sang to all the volunteers. You can see the beautiful video of the evening by clicking on the provided link. Christ Journey Church, Agape says, ”Thank You!”

http://animoto.com/play/uBk75CZM1B0dM0NM4w0Q0A?target=

An Agape Success

UBC Mission — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:34:48 +0000

At Agape a part of our mission is to integrate our clients into the Body, the church, BEFORE they leave so that when they graduate they feel like they and their families have a church home to go to. This is a proactive move on our part where we don’t simply bring in the church to the clients but we take them out on a weekly basis to church. Today I received a phone call from one of our recent graduating clients, a client who before coming to Agape had never attended church and did not understand how faith in a Savior had anything to do with recovery from drugs and alcohol. Now, after spending many months at Agape, she now sees and understands. She was one of the ladies who had been going out each weekend with a staff-led group and attending a local church. Today she shared with me on the phone that this past weekend, her first weekend since graduating, she went back to the local church we’ve been taking her to! And the best part is that she didn’t go alone. She took her six year old son as well. This is the goal of all of us who love Christ…to see many followers doing exactly that, following HIM!

Agape Quarterly Ministry Report

UBC Mission — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:15:23 +0000

Rev. Jose E. Hernandez, Founder/Executive Director Ministry Report – March 2013

Dear Reader:

God’s unconditional Agape love is at the center of all we do. Each client comes to us like a caterpillar in a cocoon all entangled, but through His Agape love, they are transformed and set free as beautiful butterflies. As they receive therapy and loving encouragement, God enables them to spread their wings and fly as they re-enter society with hope, joy, and peace that comes from having restored health and a restored personal relationship with their Creator. 2 Corinthians 5:17 is God’s eternal promise, “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!”

When clients graduate from our programs, our continuum of care goals include connecting them to a place of worship where they can serve and be served, having them reside in a community that supports them with housing, mentors, and a medical home for all their health and social needs.

One of our clients, Samantha*, had knowledge of God but when troubles came, she turned to alcohol instead of God to ease the pain. The toll this addiction took on her and her family almost drove her insane, and she sought the help of Agape. She shared her testimony and boldly declared with tears of joy, “GOD is using Agape to bring spiritual healing, forgiveness and restoration to my life…oh, how I love Him now!” Please pray for the many precious lives, even entire families that are being radically transformed from generations of abuse and trauma to future ambassadors of God’s Agape love.

Together in Loving Service,

CLAUDIO M. PEREZ, Hon.D.D., President and CEO

Agape Family Ministries/South Florida Jail Ministries

www.TheAGAPEnetwork.org

Direct (305) 694-4040

Abortion Recovery Classes Begin!

UBC Mission — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:23:54 +0000

This month, Agape once again began a new long term group for women who want to overcome the pain and regret of past abortions. The group, Forgiven and Set Free, is a 13 week course that takes a woman through the biblical steps to find healing within…as found through the Gospel of Grace. In the words of one client who went through this group last time, “This has done more to set me free than just about anything I’ve ever done.” Now, THAT is Agape love in action!

Touching Miami with Love Youth at Camp Oasis!

UBC Mission — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:55:33 +0000

This week youth from Touching Miami with Love are experiencing an oasis. . .Camp Oasis that is! TML is pleased to partner with South Florida Urban Ministries as they host a unique camp experience specifically designed for urban Miami youth. Urban ministries from around Miami take their students to central Florida during spring break each year to experience nature, fun and games, great worship and teaching, in-depth study classes, and experience fun new courses from everything from hair braiding and pottery to hip-hop dance and sports. This year’s theme is CRAVE as they youth discover those earthly things our hearts desire and how to replace them with a spiritual craving for God. Please join us in lifting up the 19 students from Touching Miami with Love as well as the 3 TML staff members, Trina, Charity and Hakeen. Pray for a wonderful time and great weather, pray for good conversations in small group study, and pray for the Lord to break through lives hardened by a tough neighborhood with some mean streets. Pray that in the beautiful surroundings and sense of security, in this softened spirit our Father God can break through in new ways as He has done in the lives of our youth in years’ past. THANK YOU for your support of Touching Miami with Love!

UBC Mission — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 23:52:34 +0000

What are we doing with what God gave us?

The question above had surfaced recently in more ways I can count. A few weeks ago I took this picture as a took some personal time to prepare for the worship set I was leading at the YMCA retreat center in Estes Park, Colorado. The UTCBAND was there to encourage 130+ athletes from the area, that we as believers experience a bless life when we make life not about us but about God. ( John3:30)

These mountains say just that, I looked at them in awe of who God is as a creator, and how great they were in size, height and all the other things I could not wrap my head around compared to how small I am. My only response that morning and the last few weeks has been, God help me to know what you’ve given me and help me to use it for your glory.

It’s an every day battle but I’m grateful God has positioned me to work on a campus to help college athletes know and walk with God. He has allowed me to step into an NBA arena to lead a short chapel so the guys can know and follow Jesus. God has given me rhythm, enough to play drums and lead and encourage others to worship God through song and dance. He’s given me a wife and two kids to love and lead to know and follow Jesus.

But I am not perfect, and I need much prayer and boldness to help others I know follow Jesus. Would you pray for TeamBurris to max out our potential and do well with what God has given us?

Did you see the movie Courageous? Do you remember Javier, the latin guy? Courageous was a great movie about men learning to take responsibility and lead in the roles they’ve been given.

We had the privilege of having Robert Amaya who played Javier, share his testimony with our athletes during our weekly bible study series this month.

A little over two years ago we needed to move and God put some friends in our path that would join TeamBurris by renting a home to us that was perfect for our family and life in ministry!

That time has come to an end and we will be moving out by April 1st. Pray that we would clearly know where God wants us next and for his provision for a new place come August.

What’s next? We will be making the trek from Florida to Colorado to Texas and back to Florida this summer. We will run three one week camps, take seminary classes, attend a National Cru Conference go to a wedding, visit family and try to rest some.

We are so thankful you took the time to read our letter. Not a day goes by without us being thankful for you because God has used you, as part of TeamBurris, to provide for us to do the work we do. We continue to see God change lives and people choose to live for more, live for Gods plan and purposes.

Your prayers and financial gift fuel the opportunities to join God in redeeming the culture of sports. To give a monthly or one-time tax deductible gift click here.

Thanks again and may God be with you. Until next time,
Jason, Jenise, Zoe and Eli

Our Life through God’s Eyes, very encouraging.

UBC Mission — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 19:33:59 +0000

Enjoy this video. I’m not sure how it will make you feel or where you will connect with it but I think it’s incredible in explaining what most of us can’t explain about our lives.

Falling Plates

No matter what life is like for you, where you are or what you do, we will have to respond to this information sooner or later its what life is about.

Thanks to all those who have prayed and supported us the last 10 years. We are grateful to see lives opened and changed because of the truth of the Gospel Message.

Catching Up with TeamBurris

UBC Mission — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:09:32 +0000

Impact12

Happy New Year!

It’s been a really quick month. January flew by and we started the year before the last one ended.

It’s hard to catch you up on everything in detail so I’ve posted some pictures to help. You may remember TeamBurris went to Impact’12 in New Orleans after spending time with family for Christmas.

The picture of me playing drums and of the audience was at Impact. It was a great time to see many young African American college students & young professionals be moved to action, to be people of purpose and impact. I played drums for the worship team & Level 3:16. We also took 7 UM student athletes who are & will be great leaders one day.

Jb drumming

Cru High School 1.13

The picture with 3 other guys is Chaz Miles (lead singer of UTCBAND) & I with two high schoolers from Indianapolis. I’ve started a band and our band led worship at a CRU High school retreat in Ohio with close to 300 attendees. The guy closest to me came because his girlfriend was there but he left knowing who Jesus was and started a brand new relationship with him.

Jb & Zack Chicago 1.13

The last picture, I’m standing with a football player from Northern Illinois. The UTCBAND led worship for a college athlete retreat at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago. Zack was one of many that met God that weekend in a special way. He shared how he cried during our worship and Gods presence was so real to him. He also said he never knew how powerful it was to pray and have music in the background. So awesome to join God at work.
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Thanks for reading our update, supporting our ministry & praying for us. We always need every bit of it.

Please pray for us specifically to find a new place to live and the budget to support it.

Because of Grace
TeamBurris

Uniting the world…..prayer request

UBC Mission — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:55:55 +0000

We had the awesome privilege of hosting a missionary family from Mozambique over New Years. We didn’t know them nor did they know us but a local pastor who was here recently for a pastor’s retreat had them at his church to speak about their ministry. Upon arriving he discovered that they had no place to stay and called us to see if they family could spend two days here to relax. What a blessed time we all had together!

The Pastor is from Mozambique, his wife is Brazilian, and their two kids are American- what a wild combination! Together with our AMO team and several kids from the favela we rang in the New Year making new friends, sharing ministry stories and learning a new song in one of the Mozambique dialects. We discovered that their vision for teaching laypeople and pastors to is very similar to ours. They got very excited about the seminary materials that we have (and are distributors of) which are already published in Portuguese. Thrilled that they would be a huge asset to their ministry and the Seminary that they are founders of there they took back with them a full set of books and will want to order more when they get back. They also were very interested in partnering with us to send our dedicated student volunteers to Mozambique as interns, even encouraging them to do so. This is something that we have strived to make happen, not just with Mozambique, but through out the world!

So, we are convinced that this was a divine encounter, one of which we could have never orchestrated!

Please pray that this opportunity to bring our worlds together blossoms! We have been so blessed to be sent out by our home church-Christ Journey and have seen the vision of the founding pastor realized: “The future beckons us to build a great church…making North and South America one…Our future is as bright as the promise of God.”~William Russell Owen, Founding Pastor and “Our church was born as a dream that would unite this city and the world under the grace of a loving God.” We are so blessed to be a part of this vision!

Pete & Jodi