We live in a town where almost 50% of kids who start high school don't graduate. Kids drop out for lots of reasons but drugs, gang violence, family instability, teen pregnancy, and inadequate academic skills are often factors. Studies indicate that kids who play varsity sports in high school dramatically improve their chances of graduating, but most of the kids in North Tulsa don't have the resources to participate in youth sports leagues, purchase sporting goods, or pay for private lessons. This means most of these children lack the confidence to try out for high school sports teams. We want to give kids the opportunity to develop a level of comfort with different sports that gives them the confidence to try out for varsity sports teams.

Another significant factor in children's chances of graduating from high school is the amount of personal tutoring they receive in elementary and junior high. We want to give these kids the homework help and personal tutoring they need to succeed.

We don't think that teaching kids how to play sports or helping them improve their reading skills alone has any eternal value. Neither does a high school diploma or a good feeling about themselves. But, we do think that knowing who God is has an enormous significance.

To put it simply, God has loved us and shown us the greatness of Who He is. And He's taught us, by His example, that really loving someone means showing them God. And He's given us real love for these kids. So we really want them to see Jesus. And that, we believe, is their only hope.

We see a lot of people in the world around us hoping in other things. They hope in education and careers and money and family. And there's nothing wrong with getting an education or finding a job or making money or loving your family. But there's no real, life-changing hope in it. We believe that there is that kind of hope in Jesus Christ.

We want kids to come to our Center and get to know Jesus. We want them to learn sports from quality coaches and get academic help from trained teachers. We want them to have a place where they can come to escape the violence in their home for an afternoon or the drugs in their community for a few weeks. But we want those things for them because we love them and because we believe that as they spend time with those of us who love them they will see what it looks like to love our God.

We think having a center would help us do what we're already doing for a few kids for a lot more. And when you have big love and a big God, it's right to dream big dreams. We know there's a lot of good things to give your money too. That's why we're just asking for one dollar. If one million people would each give one dollar, we would be able to open the One Hope Center in north Tulsa.