Road Rally

God's House News - Road Rally this weekend
http://www.chronicle-tribune.com/articles/2008/09/17/news/doc48d07968babd2768567192.txt
Church to turn empty property into center for kids
God’s House Pastor Ryan McCarty and his wife, Katara, describe plans to build an indoor recreation area and art studio in part of a former water plant facility building near Seventh and Race streets.

Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 1:12 AM EDT
Children in central Marion may have a new place to go after school if a local church is able to raise $300,000.God’s House Ministries, 216 W. Sixth St., acquired a 5½-acre piece of land with a building at Seventh Street and Whites Avenue in Marion. According to the pastor, the city of Marion sold it to the church for $1.Pastor Ryan McCarty has high hopes for the piece of land. He wants it to be a place children can go for tutoring, mentoring, athletics and art. It will also have a computer lab.“We do see a need for the central Marion area to have something for the kids downtown,” McCarty said.

McCarty said children most need a place to go between 3 and 6 p.m. on weekdays, when parents often aren’t around to supervise. He said he hopes the new youth center, called the Center for Success, will fill that gap for children. Kathy Jeffrey, a member of the church, is equally optimistic.“Hopefully, this is going to keep our children off the streets,” she said. Jeffrey is organizing the first fundraiser to benefit the new center, a road rally for motorcycles and small cars. Participants register at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the church with free donuts and coffee before driving throughout Marion, Jonesboro and Kokomo to collect business cards at various businesses. At the end, riders will have a chance to win cash and door prizes. Registration money will benefit the new center.

The ride is 75 to 80 miles long, Jeffrey estimates. After prizes are handed out, participants also will eat a free meal.“We want to make this an annual thing, and we want to make it bigger and better every year,” Jeffrey said.

The center coincides with the church’s mission, McCarty said. He and his wife, Katara McCarty, started the church about nine years ago.“Our vision from the beginning was to affect the next generation,” he said.But the church outgrew its current facility and didn’t have the land around it to expand. The pastor approached the city about the problem, and together they came up with the solution of taking over the property just a couple blocks from the church.“We just started praying about it, getting a plan together,” McCarty said. “ … And my wife woke up at 3 o’clock in the morning one morning with an entire plan on what we should do.”The next day the couple talked it out, looked at the facility again and decided to create the center.

The pastor hopes to have the outside finished by the time winter hits so crews can work on the inside of the building during the winter. Then, he wants the athletic fields worked on in the spring. He hopes to have it open by the beginning of next school year, if the church is able to raise $300,000.Once open, the center would run primarily with volunteers, though McCarty said a director might also be appointed.

Already, the site has been cleaned up and worked on by volunteers in the community, including those from the Marion High School girls’ soccer team, Lakeview Christian School, Indiana Wesleyan University and Taylor University.If you go:What: Road rally scavenger hunt to benefit a new youth center.When: Register at 9:30 a.m., ride until finished or until around 3 p.m.Cost: $15 for drivers, $5 for passengers.Where: Register at God’s House Ministries, 216 W. Sixth St.More information: Contact the church's Web site, http://www.visitgodshouse.com/.