When you walk in the door of the gym, you see a smiling man named Karl. “Mr. Karl” is the type of guy who carefully takes down your name, grade, address and phone number and may joke with you at the same time. The best thing about him is he is consistent in your inconsistent world. Mr. Karl is there every week, rain or shine, showing that he cares for you in serving you. Matter of fact, the seniors will tell you that Mr. Karl has been there almost every night over the last four years.
As an attending student, you realize that Mr. Karl is nice, but you don’t comprehend that he has already put in a long day as a Systems Manager at a downtown company. You catch that Mr. Karl is a caring individual, but you don’t understand that he is a loving husband, an RN and Case Manager at the local hospital. You appreciate that Mr. Karl is patient, but you don’t know that he is extremely supportive to his growing family (three daughters, two sons-in-law, and four grandkids) too. You admire that he is such a servant, but you don’t grasp that he serves in many roles (usher, softball coach, men’s ministry leader, etc.) in his home church.
Yes, as a student who benefits from the outreach, you see Mr. Karl do many things. He greets the guest speaker as they come to the door, takes photos, cleans up, gives rides, and even helps break up periodic fights at the basketball outreach. Also, when you go on trips you see Mr. Karl keep score at the all-night sports event, coach a team at the basketball tournament, hand out T-shirts at the game outreach, wait in the school parking lot for students to be picked up late at night after the IX Center outreach, or teach a Bible study at a follow-up retreat. He is everywhere.
Mr. Karl would seem confident to you and not afraid of your youthful differences. Little would you know that Mr. Karl almost left the first night he volunteered and never came back. Yes, he was challenged by the different clothes (sagging pants), different language (boastful and course language), and the different problems (fighting, alcohol/drug usage, teen pregnancies, gang life, criminal behavior, etc.) of urban youth, but he pushed past his comfort zone. The Air Force veteran took seriously the call to go beyond the four walls of his church and reach out to lost youth.
