Larry Brundage is one cool guy! He's been leading his church's charge to reach out to the local community. He's been doing such a great job that San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Nancy Pyle honored him at the 2011 State of the City address February 17.
"Brundage began his work in 2000 after [South Hills] church officials decided to reach out to the Almaden community. They chose the Hoffman-Via Monte neighborhood, and Brundage, who at the time was the church janitor, decided to help them out."
This simple desire to serve the community is growing into a full out thrust to see their community transformed.
On a map they drew a circle with the church at the center and the circle extending in a one mile radius around it. They call this the "one mile radius." There are 265 streets inside that one mile radius and they have committed to see each of them adopted in prayer. As of Feb. 2011, 70 are covered.
Once you adopt a street, the first step is to pray and bless that street. Not the pavement so much as the people and families, businesses and schools that are on the street. Then you fellowship with your new friends. Next you look for ways to be like Jesus and meet there needs. After you do that like Larry is finding, telling them about a God who loves them so much he gave his son for them, is as easy as anything!
Although he has moved out of the Hoffman-Via Monte area, he still works there providing an after-school extension program as well as an English as a second language class, which offers child care to allow the parents to study without interruption.
Among [Pr. Brondage's] accomplishment is the two-hour "storytime" literacy program held each July. The first hour is for police officers, with their canine companions, horses or motorcycles, who talk with the children. The second is teaching and working on reading skills.
"This had two effects," Brundage said. "It curbed gang and drug activity and helped kids read at an early age so they wouldn't have to catch up when they got to school."
As part of the church's outreach, Brundage put together a Beautiful Day program to make over Jeffrey Fontana Park. The landscape project brought out more than 350 people to honor rookie police officer Jeffrey Fontana, who was shot and killed in Almaden. [Larry engaged a Christian landscape architect who donated his time and time and expertise and together they planted more than 1,000 plants as well performed maintenance work in the park that honors Fontana.
Not bad considering they are just getting started!
Brundage says that without the church, none of this could have been accomplished. "The church has funded every project, and it has cost them more than $1 million." He feels honored and flattered by the award, but adds, "It wouldn't be right to accept it without saying that God gave us the impetus to do the projects, and my church paid for it."
Read the full article at MercuryNews.com
