Two girls, St. Agnes and Dr. King

On Monday, we embarked on a new adventure in discipleship at Oaks of Righteousness. We went to the mall.

Let me back up a little bit and explain. We've been operating Oaks Cafe & Ministry Center now since March. It's become a regular hangout place, by God's grace, for dozens of children and teens. We've served hundreds of meals, hundreds of snacks. We've played roughly 80,000 games of Uno (maybe not quite that many), and we've shared the gospel with dozens of people.

But, we've gotten restless. Most of our regular volunteers -- including Hannah and myself -- have begun to wonder "What's next?" We have a hunger to disciple -- not just to evangelize. And the Cafe, while a haven compared to the street outside, is still a lively and sometimes chaotic place where it's difficult to disciple with depth.

It is terribly hard living in North Central Troy. Just last week, a few adults from the neighborhood talked about being able to feel the anger and the hopelessness in the air, like a heavy cloud. I find it tough to be at Oaks for the roughly 15 hours the building is open each week. But, I can leave. Most of the people who live there, especially the children, can't.

Enter the mall. We realized that, to disciple with depth and express love to our young people, we need to take them out of the neighborhood on field trips. So, we began weekly mentoring this week with two of our girls. Each week, we go somewhere for a couple of hours to have fun, and we talk about God.

This week, we went to the mall, ate cupcakes, ran up the down escalator and spent a good chunk of time in the pet store. And, we talked about the Christian witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., since it was his day.

As we sat in the food court -- two Euro-mutt pastors, an African American kid and a Puerto Rican kid, we talked about the fact that, not so long ago, our meeting wouldn't have been possible in public. One of the kids was shocked -- different dining spaces, different water fountains, different schools, different bathrooms? "That's just rude!" she exclaimed.

We talked about the bravery of those in the Civil Rights movement. And, we talked about the fact that, for Dr. King, his love of Jesus Christ was what compelled him to join in the fight. And, to give his life. "Greater love has no man...."

We also talked about the scandalous fact that, if he repented and asked forgiveness, even Dr. King's murderer may be singing the praises of God with us in heaven someday. Scandalous mercy and amazing grace.

Finally, we talked about St. Agnes, whose feast day was also Monday. She was a teenage girl -- perhaps a year older than our kids -- who died rather than abandon her love of Jesus.

It was "mad fun," as our kids like to say, and a good beginning. Only the Lord knows where it all will lead.

"Almighty and Everlasting God, you choose those whom the world deems powerless to put the powerful to shame: Grant us so to cherish the memory of your youthful martyr Agnes, that we may share her pure and steadfast faith in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."