Men's Breakfast Report, August 2009
The Men’s Breakfast Group met Saturday, August 8 with Kris Pound, pastor of the First Assembly of God Church in Freeport.
Kris was raised in Oklahoma and first came to Freeport as Youth Pastor of the First Assembly of God church a few years ago. He then went to other churches and jobs but was called back to be Pastor of the church last year. He is a young man in his late twenties and has a wife and two children.
When he was called as pastor, the church members were primarily from Lake Jackson. The philosophy was that we get members from Lake Jackson to support the church so we can minister to the people of Freeport. Kris changed this philosophy to start ministering to the people of Freeport and has brought in many people from Freeport. Some of these people were disturbing to the long time members from Lake Jackson. The ethnic composition of the church mirrors that of Freeport. Unlike most churches, the largest age group is the 20 to 40 year olds with children. They have a large youth program including many children whose parents are not members of the church.
There is an emphasis on small groups. The Wednesday night prayer service was split into three sections. One section is a traditional prayer group. Another group is a cooking group. These people prepare food primarily for the children in the youth group. Another group is a handyman’s group. These people make minor repairs on peoples’ houses. They specialize in repairs that can be done in an hour. Kris was not familiar with The Carpenter’s Hands ministry which would complement his ministry nicely, since The Carpenter’s Hands specializes in major renovation projects that require several days work.
One of the projects that his church is working on now is the Backpack Program. Kris says that there is a high level of poverty, up to 60%, in Freeport. There are about 40-60 students in the high school and middle school who are homeless. These students do mot have a regular place to stay and have to sleep with friends and relatives, but the arrangement is not permanent. These students get free breakfast and lunch at the school but dinner is problematic. Weekends are especially troublesome. The solution is to give these students backpacks with food to last them over the weekend. The food items must be items that do not require cooking or much preparation since they do not have access to a kitchen. The students are given the food in a backpack so they will not stand out from the rest of the students.
Kris told of one of his converts who was a former major drug dealer. This person is now an enthusiastic Christian and has brought several others into the church, including his girlfriend, whose record is not much better. This man has a difficult situation since he has a criminal record and can not easily get a job. He now works for himself as a handyman and carpenter. He was sorely tempted one week when he needed $1500 to pay off his pickup and received a call offering him a duffel bag of drugs which he could sell and make $10,000 profit. He managed to turn down the offer. The next day, the person he was working for gave him a $1500 advance which he has attributed to divine intervention.
As usual, the men had an interesting discussion and an enjoyable breakfast. The next meeting will be September 12.