What is 4Tucson?

The mission of 4Tucson is to partner with every sector and domain of society based on common love, common goals and the common good to make Tucson one of the most livable cities in the world, allowing each partner to determine what part it should play.

We see the Christian church engaged in the needs and dreams of Tucson, serving as a catalyst to bring about spiritual and societal transformation for the prosperity of the entire community.

Visit 4Tucson.com to see our statement of faith.

What are domains?

Our society illustrates change through one of three primary sectors: public, private, or social. 4Tucson has taken those three sectors and identified 12 specific areas of influence within our city. Those areas of influence we call domains.

Our city is made up of groups of people within these do-mains who have expertise and unique knowledge in a variety of subjects. Each person will tend to view a specific problem from his or her own perspec-tive. For example, if the specific problem were homelessness, a teacher in the Education Domain may believe the solution is more education. A professional in the Healthcare Domain may believe the solution revolves around dealing with mental illness, while a leader in the Business Domain may see the problem as a lack of motivation or opportunity. Individually, these views are not the solution to the problem of home-lessness—but collectively, each holds a piece of the answer to discov-ering a real and sustainable solution.

Our purpose is to identify difficult problems within the city and bring the expertise of people from a wide variety of backgrounds to focus together and discover and implement long-term solutions.

Each domain has a director who coordinates the programs and projects that help create solutions to problems encountered within that domain. Visit 4Tucson.com to see a full listing and detail on each domain director.

Seeking God’s Will for the ElectionGovernment Domain admonishes Christian to participate

Raising Up the NEXTGEN4Tucson to engage youth in city transformation

Landslide Decision, Landslide ConsequencesSame-sex marriage: Alliance Defending Freedom issues warning and admonitions to Christians and churches

Prayer Turns Failing into FruitfulTransformation at Manzo Elementary School

In this Issue...

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4Tucson Magazine Fall 2015Editor: Adam ColwellAssistant Editor: Meg VillanuevaContributing Writers: Suzette Howe, Rachel Lunsford, Kathy Watson, Lily WinchesterGraphic Design: Caryn MetcalfPrinting: Arizona LithographersProject Management and Production: Adam Colwell’s WriteWorks

4Tucson Magazine is published quarterly and distributed free of charge online at 4Tucson.com and in print. Copyright 2015, all rights reserved. No part of this mag-azine may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without consent of 4Tucson. No unsolicited material is accepted for publication. 4Tucson is located at 5151 E. Broadway Blvd., Suite 1600, Tucson, AZ 85711.

CORRECTIONSue Johnson was the photographer for the Page 3 photo of Greg Ayers in the Sum-mer 4Tucson Magazine.2 4Tucson Magazine

Justice Speaks in Biblical Perspective 4

Creative Use of God’s Resources 5

Here Am I, Send Me 6

Click-4Tucson 7

A Great Day at Good Day Café 9

Is Your Business Your Ministry? 10

God’s Ongoing Story in Tucson 12

Center Section: 4Tucson Strategy Banquet Program

Pray For Rain: The Sequel 18

Commentary: Issues That Stir the Heart 20

Commentary: South Carolina and Supreme Court 21

Strong Families Create Strong Communities 22

by Lily Winchester

Another Election Day is just around the corner – and 4Tucson Government Domain Director Paul Parisi is emphasizing how im-portant it is for Christians to make their way to the voting booth.

“In this country we have a republican form of government where we elect leaders to represent us,” Parisi said. “If left unchecked, those leaders won’t be representing us; they will be representing other interests.”

This year’s election is primarily for the election of three Tucson City Council seats. Parisi admonishes Christians to prayerfully con-sider whether or not these individuals will represent their interests at City Hall. He emphasized the needed to put these candidates through a litmus test.

“We are looking for elected officials of good moral character who recognize that they are stewards of God to represent us,” Parisi said. “We want people who seek and hear God’s voice and recognize that our rights come from God, not from man.”

These God-given rights are commonly referred to as inalienable rights that our forefathers recognized and placed in the United States Constitution. Parisi stated that if our leadership would rec-ognize this, they would understand their role in protecting those rights. He went on to say that anyone who did not protect these inalienable rights should not hold a public office.

“Up to this point, the United States has been successful because our Constitution recognizes our rights,” Parisi said. “The further we stray from that, the closer we get to tyranny and losing our liberty and eventually we will end up in bondage.”

A Pima County bond proposition is also on the ballot. Some of the programs the borrowed money will fund are road and highway improvements, economic development and workforce training. (For

a complete list, go to www.webcms.pima.gov/government/bonds/). 4Tucson cannot take a position on the resolution, but Parisi encour-ages individuals to discern whether or not borrowing the money is necessary and if it is good stewardship.

“People have to remember the more debt you get in, the more dependent you are. Debt is slavery,” Parisi said. “Everything in the bonds could be wonderful, but it’s our money. You have to have self-control over what you spend your money on.”

Parisi sees America in a cycle that is leading her back into bond-age. This cycle, attributed to Scottish history professor Alexander Tytler, starts with bondage; from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to com-placency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; and from dependence back into bondage.

“We are looking for a balance between tyranny and liberty,” Parisi said. “We can’t have total liberty where everybody does what they want to do because there is no government and anarchy takes over.”

The final issue before Tucson voters is a change to the City of Tucson charter. Parisi encouraged Christians to engage in the voting process and to prayerfully consider the issues on the ballot.

“In this country, the form of government gives us the ability to participate. We can choose leadership that represents God’s world-view,” Parisi said. “Whenever we have the opportunity to do that, we are being remiss as Christians when we don’t take the opportunity that God has given us.”

Lily Winchester is a third-generation Arizona Wildcat, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Her passion is to inform people with the truth. She is also very involved in her church and its ministries.

Seeking God’s Will for the Election

Government Domain admonishes Christians to participate

4Tucson Magazine 3

4 4Tucson Magazine

by Suzette Howe

Did you know that love and justice go hand in hand? That was the takeaway message for the 60 pastors, ministry leaders and education professionals who attended the Justice Conference at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in June.

The day-long event focused on protecting the vulnerable in five areas: racial, global oppression, women’s oppression, human traffick-ing and violent genocide. St. Andrew’s was the only site in Arizona carrying the conference, presented by World Relief and broadcast from the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

St. Andrew’s Lynn Guyot has attended the Justice Conference in other states the past four years and says she is amazed at each speaker who communicates that a core love for God translates into a love for others. Each conference brings people together from many age groups, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds. “We heard people’s stories and the depth of God’s love for their situations and lives,” Guyot said. “We are to join God in His Kingdom work – to be creative, use our gifts, and pay attention to where God was breaking our hearts, so that we would listen and love more in those areas.”

Inspired by 4Tucson and Tucson Ministry Alliance events, St. Andrew’s Pastor Jim Toole thought this Justice Conference would continue to encourage citywide conversation beyond Tucson to in-clude global issues. Toole is concerned that some pastors seem moti-vated to different causes but are also concerned about losing church members. Yet he believes they all need to keep God’s priorities of loving and serving others. For example, his church’s high school kids recognized racial reconciliation as a powerful movement. “If we

really want change, it will take all of us to stay motivated; churches can’t ‘worry about the credit,’” he said. “We’re all on limited resourc-es, but together the sky is the limit.”

St. Andrew’s Local Outreach Director RuthAnn Smithrud said the overall theme of the conference was Christ’s message to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) and seeing people and connecting with them as God does, “not as a project but the way you would want to be looked at. The Holy Spirit teaches and speaks dif-ferently to individuals, so this conference brings about opportunity through discussions,” she said. Speakers broadcast from Chicago in-cluded Lynne Hybels, Bob Goth, Gabriel Salguero and Louie Giglio.

During break at St. Andrew’s, a “fish bowl” conversation took place where everyone filled out an index card about an issue they were passionate about. Toole chose a card and announced the topic. Those who wanted to speak about it came up front and sat in chairs and took part in a dialogue session. The topic became so engaging that members of the audience also then participated. In the end, only one topic was covered because of so much interest: immigra-tion. Toole was amazed at how well some articulated their concerns, and Smithrud said he did an awesome job keeping it effective and in balance even though there were so many different perspectives.

A future Justice Conference is being planned in Tucson with two sessions, more churches and organizations, plus new versions of the break time activities.

Suzette Howe develops marketing and graphic materials, promotional campaigns, image branding and product displays. She is married, has three children and lives in Tucson, AZ.

Justice Speaks in Biblical PerspectiveRighting wrongs and writing on hearts to love more

4Tucson Magazine 5

by Suzette Howe

After three-and-a-half years meeting every Sunday at Gridley Middle School, members of Desert Hope Lutheran Church are now enjoying a new – and environmentally friendly – place to worship.

The church purchased the old Polish Club building at 7474 E. Speedway Blvd. in January, and general contractor Rob Caylor, a member of the church, was tasked with providing construction services. A host of volunteers were recruited to begin converting the decade-long abandoned building into a new church.

Pastor Jim Cords was joined by Frank Fontaine, who coordinated the volunteers, and Glenn Weber, coordinator for material salvage, to display their commitment to good stewardship to reuse, repur-pose and recycle as much building material as they could.

Usable lumber was carefully sorted, stacked and then set aside for future use, as was fiberglass insulation, electrical wire and conduit. All of the reclaimed insulation was used in the ceilings of the office and administrative areas as well as to provide noise reduction. Old commercial kitchen equipment was donated to area charitable organizations.

Most of the worship platform was constructed with recycled wood beams, and a cross was created for the sanctuary from the salvaged lumber. Hundreds of feet of the wiring and conduit was reused and the copper wiring that could not be utilized was recycled. Packaging materials and boxes were taken home by volunteers to be reused or recycled. Some scrap pieces of wood were turned into play building blocks for the nursery.

All of the demolition labor was done by volunteers ranging from a four-year-old girl making and distributing cupcakes to those who were in their mid-eighties. More than 5,000 hours of labor were utilized for various stages of demolition and construction. Mem-bers of the church brought friends, relatives and neighbors to assist, including youth and children who pulled nails from boards under adult supervision.

“It was such a blessing for me to personally witness the transfor-mation that took place between the first-time photographs in April and seeing a completed church building,” said 4Tucson Environment Domain Director Dan Porzio. “The entire 8,000-square-foot build-ing was brought up to the latest building codes for energy efficiency. The exposed exterior brick walls were furred out and insulated. All new high-efficiency insulated, double pane windows and new energy-efficient doors were installed.” Porzio also said eight separate heating, ventilating, and air conditioning zones were configured for the building to provide maximum comfort and control utilizing seven new gas pack units mounted on the roof and one heat pump unit that was recycled from the existing building.

Porzio said he was pleased the volunteer labor and recycling effort saved tens of thousands of dollars in renovation costs – but added something more meaningful. “The lasting benefit of all the members coming together focused on one goal was to create a bond that will strengthen the church long into the future,” he said. “Their team-work and dedication to recycling, reusing and repurposing demon-strates how we all benefit by doing a small part to contribute to the goal of stewarding our resources in the best way possible.”

Suzette Howe develops marketing and graphic materials, promotional campaigns, image branding and product displays. She is married, has three children and lives in Tucson, AZ.

Creative Use of God’s ResourcesEnvironmentally-aware restoration on display at the new Desert Hope Lutheran Church

Before and After: Everything was put to good use at Desert Hope Lutheran Church. Photos by Dan Porzio.

6 4Tucson Magazine

by Lily Winchester

“4Tucson is making the church relevant to people’s lives, making sure the Christian voice is heard – and not in a negative way.” So says J. Michael Davis, the news Social Services Director for 4Tucson.

Davis takes over for recently-resigned Arthur Tigney. Born and raised in Okla-homa’s Tornado Alley, Davis served in music and youth ministry in Alaska and California. It was then that Davis said he started “feeling a little insulated from the real world.” He went into sales and even-tually came to Tucson where he worked in various sales capacities and as a computer technician. When he retired, Davis sought God for His direction.

“‘God, what do you want me to do? I have no idea what you want me to do,’” Da-vis said. “Quoting Isaiah 6:8, I said, ‘Here am I, send me.’”

Davis’ prayer led to work with the Arizo-na Community Food Bank and a local hospice. He also worked one summer in one of the most prestigious universities in Beijing, China teaching English and taking advantage of opportunities to share his faith with many students. When he returned, Davis asked the leaders of his church, Pantano Christian Church, where they felt God could use him, and he learned a valuable insight. “God’s Kingdom is going to be where there are people in need,” Da-vis said. “People need shelter, people need food, people need clothing and people need security. That’s where God’s Kingdom work is done. I want to be where God’s Kingdom work is.”

Davis has established three goals to help resolve many of the diffi-culties people face in our community. First, he desires to categorize all faith-based and non-faith-based non-profits in Tucson to discover who is doing what and help them do a more efficient job. Next, he plans to start a fellowship of faith-based non-profits that would focus on praying for each other, seeking God’s voice in their ministry, and working together to be more effective. Third, he wants to develop an advisory group of leaders from the social services arena to help him direct the domain.

Lily Winchester is a third-generation Arizona Wildcat, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Her passion is to inform people with the truth. She is also very involved in her church and its ministries.

New Social Services Director ready to go about “God’s Kingdom work.”

Here Am I, Send Me

Ready to serve: New Social Services Domain Director J. Michael Davis. Photo by Sue Johnson.

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by Adam Colwell

For years, he punctuated many of his car dealership television commercials with the exclamation, “Well, Hank…that’s exactly right!” Now longtime Tucson businessman, community leader and 4Tucson benefactor Jim Click had made it possible to have an online auction that’s exactly right both for you and the city.

Through Click, 4Tucson has a one-year subscription to Bidding For Good, an Internet program that makes it easy to bid on great items from the convenience of your computer. Between October 21 and November 4, “Click-4Tucson” will allow you and friends and family from across the country to participate in an auction that’ll let participants shop for a cause, according to 4Tucson Philanthropy Domain Director Linda Goode.

“This is a great opportunity for 4Tucson to accomplish three goals,” Goode said. “We can promote the wonderful benefits of Tucson as a great place to live by showcasing its colorful culture and hospitality, art, entertainment, restaurants, artwork, and creative businesses. We can also engage a wider audience outside of our own city circles of influence to find out more about 4Tucson and our great city. Finally, it’ll give us a chance to raise up to $20,000 in missional support for 4Tucson.”

Starting October 1, Goode says you can upload auction gift items through the Click-4Tucson website. “We’re looking for donations of hotel stays, golf packages, artwork, rare books, travel or en-tertainment opportunities, dinner tickets or cooking classes; the possibilities are endless!” Goode said. “That means your Aunt Patty in Paducah, your Uncle Steve in Seattle, or Cousin Mavis in Minne-sota can view and bid on one-of-a-kind items for their next visit to Tucson: tickets to the Mariachi Festival, La Fiesta de los Vaqueros rodeo, or a University of Arizona men’s basketball game.”

Once items are approved, they can be previewed through October 20. Bidding begins October 21 and wraps up on November 4. “Help us get the word out to everyone you know, from your local friends to your distant relatives, by talking about the Click-4Tucson cam-paign,” Goode said. “Donate to it, share the link, promote the page through your email and social media sites, and, of course, bid!”

For more information, contact Linda Goode at Linda@4Tucson.com

Adam Colwell serves as Editor of the 4Tucson Magazine and is Pres-ident of Adam Colwell’s WriteWorks, a book publishing, writing, and editing business at www.adamcolwellwriteworks.com

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by Lily Winchester

Looking to the future, 4Tucson is setting its sights on raising up a generation of Tucson youth to take over the reins of city transformation through its new initiative, NEXTGEN 4Tucson.

According to Hanna Cardiel, administrative support staff for 4Tucson and NEXTGEN program developer, establishing a spiritual legacy in Tucson has always been a personal passion and one she knew 4Tucson shared. Yet it wasn’t until earlier this year that the dream to merge the two passions started to become a reality with the encouragement of 4Tucson leadership.

“We want to engage in direct conversation with Christian youth,” Cardiel said. “There have been little movements here and there throughout the city where youth have really started to say, ‘We want to be in on this conversation.’”

Still in the developmental stages, 4Tucson is hopeful NEXTGEN will launch sometime in the near future under the Church Domain. Though the plan is to start by targeting Christian high school and college age students for engagement, the initiative will reach out to anyone as old as 30 and as young as elementary school age. “The hope is to integrate inter-generational conversation and bring the youth into what 4Tucson is already doing instead of creating separate events and things for them,” Cardiel said.

In addition, the initiative is focused on encouraging youth in ideas such as biblical stewardship of resources and caring about their city with what she calls a “Kingdom vision” to see where they can serve in Tucson. She says most Christian young people focus on leaving Tucson and going to foreign countries to serve in the mis-sion field, but many of those same kinds of people can be reached right here. “It’s really bringing back the focus,” Cardiel said. “Chris-tian youth of Tucson can put their efforts into the missions that are already happening here – what God is already doing in the city.”

Another integral facet of NEXTGEN is building up and teaching

young people what the older generation is working to change. Car-diel describes this as a citywide culture of mentorship that will not allow the cultural gap to also become a spiritual one. The initiative will endeavor to connect every young person to a mentor.

NEXTGEN is working to unite all of the faith-based youth-fo-cused organizations in Tucson in a collaborative effort to have a wider reach and provide more resources for young people. There are no set projects at this time, but Cardiel believes they will form once they start getting youth on board.

“It’s really an invitation for young people to directly engage in their community,” Cardiel said. “It’s an invitation to be at the table in these conversations – and not only that they can, but that the older generation wants them.”

Lily Winchester is a third-generation Arizona Wildcat, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Her passion is to inform people with the truth. She is also very involved in her church and its ministries.

8 4Tucson Magazine

4Tucson to engage youth in city transformation

Raising Up the NEXTGEN

4Tucson Magazine 9

by Kathy Watson

When Tim Lowery opened Good Day Café at 5683 E. Speedway Blvd. in 2013, he likely couldn’t foresee the spiritual transformation that was going to take place in the lives of some of his employees. It started when regular customers Ed Harrow and his wife Carolyn reached out in love to Lowery and his staff.

“We began coming simply because we enjoyed the restaurant,” Harrow said, but then he and his wife began reaching out to the staff, asking them, “Come and tell me, what is happening in your life? Tell me your story. What is your faith?” He also began bringing men to the restaurant for prayer and Bible study, and their weekly visits began to get Tim’s attention “because they always had smiles on their faces,” Lowery said.

“There are not many restaurants in town that have a back room that can accommodate a prayer meeting where you can either sit alone in quiet or gather to pray and study the Bible together,” Harrow said. As Lowery thought more about the smiles he saw on their faces and the relationships they shared, “it began to tug on me.” Lowery accepted Harrow’s invitation to join them. After six months, Lowery made a request. “I really believe that prayer with my staff would give them peace and help their days go better. Would you guys come in and pray with whoever would be will-ing to join you at six-thirty Saturday mornings?”

“Saturday mornings at six-thirty caught me off guard at first,” Harrow said, “and yet I didn’t hesitate to take Tim up on his offer.”

“The meetings have turned around the hearts of some of my employees,” said Lowery. Through the love and com-mitment of the Harrows and friend Tom Tilton, the lives of those attending have been changed. Relationships are being built and opportunity is given for each one to ask deep questions about life and God. Some of the employees are so grateful they wouldn’t consider missing the Satur-day morning meetings.

“After the meetings, the rest of the weekend goes smoothly,” Lowery said. “All is calm and peaceful amongst the staff and within the restaurant.” He has come up with a plan to accommodate staff attendance by changing the Saturday opening time of the restaurant to 7:00 a.m. “I have learned that attending the prayer meeting helps my staff to be better prepared to face the day.”

The culture of Good Day Café was transformed when the love of God was experienced through giving relationships. Tim recog-nizes that God has impacted and created a cultural change within his restaurant and wants to encourage and keep it alive. Those who attend the meetings do so, Lowery says, because they have learned by experience that the Spirit of God moves in them bringing them peace and joy. “If I hadn’t seen the changes with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible,” Lowery said. “I look at things differently now. With God in our hearts, people are changed. They care. It’s neat to watch the transformation.”

Kathy Watson is a freelance writer who lives in Vail, Arizona.

A Great Day at Good Day CaféGod and prayer: turning around hearts at a Tucson restaurant

Heart change: Tim Lowery ready to serve at Good Day Café. Photo by Sue Johnson.

10 4Tucson Magazine

by Suzette Howe

Being a Christian business owner can be a wonderful experience and there are many different kinds of networking groups to assist you in your journey.

4Tucson is partnering with a new organization called Ministry Through Business (MTB), a for-profit Christian business networking group. “We are trusting the Lord to continue to bless our group as we minister to Tucson’s Christian business community,” said Nelly Holst, the group’s founder and president. She says it has been created to draw professionals together in a quiet setting to allow freedom to share through prayer, fellowship and unique business support focused on the Word of God.

They meet the first Tuesday of each month for a brown bag lunch at New Life Bible Fellowship Church, 4900 W. Cortaro Farms Rd. from Noon-1:30 p.m. They open in prayer, read a Bible scripture and announcements, give 30-second introductions, and then lead into an activity to get to better know one another. Spotlight presentations are given by members to showcase their business, products and services. Every third Tuesday of the month, they also meet at Coco’s Restau-rant, 7250 N. Oracle Rd. for a breakfast meeting from 8:45 a.m.-10:30 a.m. with a more casual networking focus.

Holst said that she and several other Christians were part of another networking organization, but thought it would be great to begin a group focused on God’s principles through His Word. She contacted Tony Simms, 4Tucson Chief Operating Officer, to ask about resources that may be available to start a new organization that would allow members to pray together and enjoy support in business with other Christians. 4Tucson created an official partnership with MTB and the group launched in February.

Guests are encouraged to join MTB after two visits for $50 a year. They then receive an application, fill out a statement of their own personal faith experience, and receive a copy of the group’s guide-lines. Two professionals for each business category are allowed, and the application will be reviewed by the leadership team for approval. Business leads and referrals are encouraged and developed through

one-on-one meetings as well as through creating effective business alliances with other business owners in the group.

Membership with MTB allows members to be partners with 4Tucson. Membership in 4Tucson includes signing the organization’s Code of Ethics and the opportunity to attend all FREE 4Tucson events and receive email updates from any domains they may choose to join. MTB may have some entry fees for some of their events, but most of them are free of charge.

The MTB leadership team is currently putting together an Open House Meet and Greet where business owners will be able to experi-ence the group firsthand and meet some of the current members. You may contact Nelly Holst at healthycoachingtoday@gmail.comfor more information.

Suzette Howe develops marketing and graphic materials, promotional campaigns, image branding and product displays. She is married, has three children and lives in Tucson, AZ.

Networking with a positive perspective, prayer and presentations

Is Your Business Your Ministry?

Nelly Holst leads Ministry Through Business. Photo by Chloe Carlson.

Retreat aims to rejuvenate, encourage, and spiritually strengthen teachers

“We are trusting the Lord to continue to bless our group as we minister to Tucson’s Christian business community”

– Nelly Holst, Ministry Through Business President and Founder

4Tucson Magazine 11

by Rachel Lunsford

The United States Supreme Court ruling to recognize same-sex marriage nationwide is a miscarriage of justice, according to Doug Wardlow, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom.

“It’s a very unfortunate ruling that inverts the truth about mar-riage and strips Americans of their rights to determine social issues through democratic processes,” he said. “What the Supreme Court has done here is contrary to the word and the spirit of the Constitution, and is contrary to God’s truth about marriage.” He adds that the Court has decided to “invent a brand new Constitutional right where there is none.” That, he believes, will “destabilize the foundations of our very civilization.”

Marriage, Wardlow explains, has been understood by many diverse cultures around the globe for millennia as the union between one man and one woman because only a man and a woman are able to procreate and raise a child in what he calls the “natural family, the building block of society.” Redefining marriage, he said, “destabilizes the family unit and breaks the link between marriage, the family, children and family formation.”

Wardlow asserts this ruling also threatens religious freedom. Since the Supreme Court has written into the U.S. Constitution the right to same-sex marriage, he said, it has arguably put that right on equal par with other Constitutional rights such as religious freedom. “The ques-tion then becomes, will the First Amendment right to the freedom to exercise religion trump this new right to same-sex marriage when the two come into conflict?” he said. “When people exercise their religion under the First Amendment, that should trump the invented right to same-sex marriage because the First Amendment is written in the Constitution as is our first freedom: religious liberty.”

However, Wardlow expects that same-sex marriage proponents will wage an aggressive campaign to promote the newly-minted marriage right above religious freedom. He and his associates have already seen Christian business owners persecuted for living according to their religious convictions and he believes there will be more of a push for nondiscrimination ordinances and laws on the basis of sexual orienta-tion and gender identity that restrict people of faith from living their lives out according to their religious convictions. The ruling, Wardlow adds, may embolden its supporters, inciting a move to deny churches and other religious institutions their tax-exempt status because the churches hold to a long-held truth about marriage.

Christians, Wardlow says, “have not been as good as we could have been about living out the truth about marriage in our own families. To build a strong marriage culture, you need to live a strong marriage culture and build strong families.” Wardlow also points to what he called an “evangelical tendency” to talk about marriage in terms of emotions while deemphasizing procreation and family, noting that the advocates for same-sex marriage deemphasize or ignore the interests of children altogether—including the right of every child to be raised by both their mother and father.

Still, Wardlow is hopeful that Christians can start moving the culture back in the right direction by living the truth about marriage, proclaiming it, and getting involved with local politics by lobbying city council members and state legislators to vote against sexual orientation non-discrimination ordinances and fight for legislation to protect religious liberty. “Whatever the Supreme Court says,” Ward-low concludes, “it can’t change the truth about marriage written into God’s law.”

Rachel Lunsford is a freelance writer living in Prescott, AZ.

Landslide Decision, Landslide Consequences

Same-sex marriage: Alliance Defending Freedom issues warning and admonitions to Christians and churches

12 4Tucson Magazine

by Adam Colwell with Meg Villanueva

The following is a first draft excerpt from the book “A City and a Church Arise Together – Tucson’s Christian History: God’s Ongoing Story,” written by Adam Colwell with Meg Villanueva on behalf of Brian Goodall, 4Tucson’s Prayer Domain Director. The book is set to be published by summer 2016 and to be accompanied by a film of the same name.

This excerpt shares the story of Tucson’s tuberculosis crisis of the early 1900s – and the ordinary Christians God used to make a profound difference in the city and the lives of its people. “I appeal to one and to all to give, Oh give of your means, be it two pennies, a talent of silver or gold, that the precious ointment of love and attention can be continued all the year round … God knows, Christ knows and they who are helped know it, and you would rejoice over the fact of being able to help.” – Oliver Comstock, in an editorial in the Arizona Daily Star, February 22, 1925

For most “lungers,” a cure for tuberculosis was a lost cause. But there was hope in the person of Oliver Comstock. Comstock, his wife, and his ten children came to Tucson in 1907 from Alabama look-ing for a cure for his daughter. At age fifty-three, Comstock already had two professions: he was a missionary Baptist minister and the owner of a printing company. During his first year in Tucson, tragedy happened. His son became the victim of appendicitis. Grieving his death, Comstock traveled back to Alabama to bury his son. He sold his printing business and then returned to Tucson, using his son’s life insurance to build a home on North Second Avenue. It wasn’t long be-fore he began another printing company in Tucson and also became a justice of the peace.

While Comstock chose not to preach in Tucson, that didn’t mean he neglected his faith. Instead of preaching to a congregation, he chose to minister to an entire tent city. The plague of tuberculosis had created even more tragedy in his home taking two of his daughters—one who had been brought to Tucson for the cure, and one who contracted the disease after the family arrived. But he and his family stayed put. Their conviction started after an acquaintance, a young man from Brooklyn with a wife and family, committed suicide when his inability to sup-port them grew too much for him. Comstock knew that something had to be done, and he immediately took action. He organized the Adams Street Mission, a ministry that provided a place for Tentville’s youth to hear about Jesus. He also provided hot meals, bedding and towels, and whatever else he could provide to help the people that were suffering all around him. Dick Hall remembers a party at the Adams Street Mission just before Christmas where Comstock “told the story of the birth of Jesus and the coming of the shepherds and the wise men. Then every child was given a stocking. Mine contained several oranges and a sweater.”

Comstock belonged to several fraternal and civic organizations—the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and the Knights of Honor, to name a

few—and some say his membership was as much to garner their fi-nancial help for his endeavors as it was to show civic pride. In a small building behind his home Comstock housed a library, an unusually large collection of books for Tucson, but his intellectual interests nev-er deterred from his religious convictions. He felt alcohol and dancing were works of the devil and that personal adornment was a needless vanity. Finally, one of his daughters described her father as having a magnificent bass voice who should have been in the grand opera.

Comstock bought land in 1910 and set up three tents on this land. This was the start of what would become Mercy Emergency Hos-pital, Tucson’s first charity hospital. One of the tents was equipped with four-foot wooden sides and was for the very ill. He didn’t stop at that, though. He approached fraternal and community organiza-tions, unions, and churches to beg for cots, sheets, blankets, bandages, food, and furnishings for the tents. Women began taking soup to the mission, and some even volunteered as nurses. Though he owned a car, he came into Tentville on his two-wheeled bicycle, going from tent to tent with gifts of clothing, food, and medicine. He was a

An excerpt from an upcoming book on Tucson’s Christian History

God’s Ongoing Story in Tucson

Continued on page 17

WELCOME!

4Tucson Magazine 13

2015 STRATEGY BANQUET

Answer God’s Call to Lead!PRAY SERVE GIVE

SEPTEMBER 15, 6:00PMSkyline Country Club

PRAYSERVE

GIVE

4Tucson 2015 Strategy Banquet Agenda• Registration / Doors Open – 6:00pm

• Welcome – Dave Drum

• Prayer – Pastor Angel Morfin, Peniel Church

of Jesus Christ

• Dinner – Featuring the music of City Psalms

• Introduction – Mark Harris, 4Tucson Founder and

Executive Director

• Mustard Seed Video

• Vision and 22 Issues – Mark Harris and Tony Simms

• Pray – Brian Goodall

• Serve – Bernadette Gruber

• Give – Mark Harris

• Prayer/Blessing – Pastor Warren Anderson,

Living Waters Ministries

14 4Tucson Magazine

Thank you for considering being a part of what God is doing in Tucson, Arizona. God has the wisdom to solve our city’s most difficult problems – He has chosen to reveal that wisdom to His people (Ephesians 3:10). The only question for followers of Jesus is, “Do we love the people in the city enough to get out of our comfort zone to make a positive difference?” (Luke 10:2)

“The Why” of 4Tucson • We believe that God created the world and everything in it to bring glory to Himself. (John 1:1-14 & Colossian 1:16)• We believe God gave mankind the Bible to teach godly principles that, when followed, maximize God’s blessings to people

and bring glory to Him. (Psalm 64:9)• We believe Christians collectively, as a body, bring glory to God by serving together in unity, applying biblical principles

to make a positive difference in our community. (John 17 & Psalm 145:6)• We believe Christians individually, receive the greatest blessings from God and cause others to glorify Him when they

serve others in His name. (Matthew 5:16 & I Timothy 6:18)

The Vision of 4TucsonTo serve as a catalyst to engage the Christians community in bringing about spiritual and societal transformation for the pros-perity of the entire community.

The Mission of 4TucsonTo partner with every sector and domain of society based on common love, common goals and the common good to make Tucson one of the most livable cities in the world, allowing each partner to determine the part it should play.

The Strategy of 4TucsonTo identify Christians in each of the 12 Domains, or spheres of influence within our city and train them how to use their spiritu-al gifts, talents and passions to make a positive difference in our city to the glory of God. The 12 Domains are: business, health-care, education, justice, church, prayer, social services, sports, environment, philanthropy, government and media & arts.

The Strategic Plan of 4TucsonTo develop Task Force Teams with representatives from each Domain to address the 22-citywide areas of focus that we have identified as keys to the sustainability and prosperity of our city. (See diagram on following page) The 22-citywide areas of focus were gleaned from researching the reoccurring problems that were being addressed in the city or county blueprints and com-prehensive plans developed over the last 30 years by city and county leaders.

Task Force Teams: A minimum of two Christians from each Domain will bring their unique perspective to each of the 22 Transformation Teams to pray, research the problem, identify potential solutions, develop a strategy for implementing a com-prehensive solution, continually improve the available options, and promote the solutions to the citizens of Tucson. Each team will be accountable for outcomes that are measureable and quantifiable.

The Desired Outcome: A CHANGED CITY • A community made up of thriving, healthy families where marriage is valued, parenting is cherished, and individual

potential is encouraged.• A community that operates out of abundance rather than scarcity.• A community that encourages personal responsibility rather than dependence.• A community that encourages equal opportunity rather than equal results. • A community where multi-generational, upwardly mobile prosperity is normal.

We are documenting our processes and measuring our progress to be able to encourage leaders from other cities implement positive, sustainable biblical solutions to their city’s problems. The early evidence is that our model is working.

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it pros-pers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)

4Tucson Strategy

4Tucson Strategic Plan

Recruit & Mobilize

Strategic Plan Oversight Committee

4TucsonPrograms &

4TucsonProjects

Pray, Evaluate, Budget, Recommend

Train, Equip, Engage Train, Equip, Engage

Fellowships

Moral and Cultural Heritage1. Worldview2. Meta-Narrative3. City Awareness of Positive

Christian Value4. Normative to go to Church5. Racial Reconciliation6. Pro-Family Government

Community and Family Stability1. Marriage2. Parenting3. Education4. Health and Healthcare5. Poverty Reduction6. Housing7. Family Legacy8. Quality of Life9. Fun Place to Live

City infrastructure1. Water2. Energy3. Transportation4. Access To Capital5. Economic Opportunity &

Development6. Natural Resources

Management7. Land Use

Task ForcesPray, Research, Identify, Develop, Improve, Promote

CLARIFY I

MPLEMENT

4Tucson Magazine 15

Special thanks to all who attended our special events. At this time, 4Tucson acknowledges our generous Bidding & Bowling 2015 Lane Sponsors:

Agape Hospice & Palliative CareAllura Designs

Caps & More EmbroideryCornerstone Communities

Crest Insurance GroupCricket – Go Green

Deeply Rooted MinistriesFellowship Bible Church

Good News Communications Gospel Rescue Mission

Grace Community ChurchHands of Hope

Home Instead Senior CareJim Click Automotive GroupPalo Verde Behavioral Health

Scott R. Meyer, CPASign Magic

Stertz ConstructionVail Christian Church

Special thanks to those who donated auction prizes for this summer’s Bidding & Bowling event

Moments to Remember Portrait PhotographyPeggy Rooney - Mary Kay Distributor

Force Kickboxing - Kenny Welch, TrainerDeeply Rooted Ministries

Gospel Rescue Mission - Roy TullgrenAllura Designs

The Training Zone - Martha WallaceCricket Wireless

Jim WeisertJim Click

Lani’s Luau RestaurantMama’s Hawaiian BarB-Que

Grimaldi’s PizzeriaAnna Lopez-Ciurca

Tucson Originals

THANK YOU!

16 4Tucson Magazine

welcome sight—a slight man with circular glasses and white eyebrows to go with white mutton-chop sideburns in a time when men were clean-shaven. He had an almost bald head, a reddish face, and wore a coat and tie. The sight of him cycling away, soup kettle on the han-dlebars, delighted the “lungers.” It meant that help was near, that their isolation was broken, at least for the moment. “How many he saved from despair and even suicide we shall never know,” Hall wrote, “but the tent dwellers regarded him as a saint.”

In 1916, another establishment was set up to help with Tentville. Known as St. Luke’s in the Desert, it was begun by an Episcopal bish-op, the Rev. J.W. Atwood. He heard the story of a man who had come to Tucson for treatment and was unable to find a place to live because his landlords were too afraid to allow him to stay. With no hope and no place to go, this man finally went into the desert to die. Realizing that he could be the hands of Christ to people like this man, Atwood decided to start a hospital. Located on North First Street, patients paid twelve dollars a week for room, board, nursing, medicine, and doctor’s visits. If a patient couldn’t pay, they were allowed to stay anyway. The structure became home to more than one thousand men. Many of these men, encouraged to learn crafts and pass their time produc-tively, stayed in Tucson after they recovered and became prominent citizens.

One of the most prominent individuals who came to Tucson be-cause of his tuberculosis was Harold Bell Wright. Born in Rome, New York, Wright’s father was a former Civil War officer and a lifetime alcoholic. He took his wife and children from place to place, work-ing haphazardly and becoming more and more mired in poverty. Although his father was abusive, Wright’s mother was attentive to the children and taught them from the Bible, Shakespeare, The Pilgrim’s Progress, and Hiawatha. As a child, Wright was a talented painter, a pastime that his mother helped and encouraged.

All that changed when Wright’s mother died when he was elev-en. His father abandoned the children soon after, and from then on Wright lived with family members or strangers. He often resorted to sleeping under bridges or in haystacks. During this time, he became a Christian and was involved in all sorts of church work. He decided to go into the ministry and took classes while doing odd jobs, house painting, and decorating. However, the strain of overwork and out-door living brought on a case of pneumonia so severe that it affected his eyesight and caused him major physical issues.

After he had sufficiently recovered, Wright began preaching, first in Missouri, then in Kansas. He decided to write a series of short stories for his flock, and someone prevailed on him to have them published as a book. He continued as a minister for several more years, all the while writing more and more novels. His second book, The Shepherd of the Hills, was set in Branson, Missouri and was responsible for the town becoming a popular tourist destination. He was the first Ameri-can author to sell over a million copies of a single book. The success of his books, each one driving home a moral and ethical point, con-vinced him that God was calling him to write rather than preach. He felt that he could reach many more people for Christ through writing books whose message spoke of God’s ministry in man—that man is to do whatever he can for his brother’s good, not out of greed or with an eye to personal gain, but out of love. Although Wright’s work was popular, it never won critical acclaim. He never responded to his crit-ics except to say that he never intended to create great literature, only to minister to ordinary people.

Wright’s physical condition deteriorated to tuberculosis and he, like so many others before him, looked to Tucson for help. He built a home in the area of what is now the intersection of Speedway Boulevard and Wilmot Road. He loved the desert and the cacti, and his home was landscaped in a way that showcased his love, some-

thing that had been rarely seen before him, but which became the norm after him. During his early days in the town, Wright caught such a bad cold that he had to spend Christmas at St. Mary’s Hospital. He was grateful to the Sisters of Carondelet for their excellent care and decided to repay them and make more good work possible. He staged a benefit performance of The Shepherd of the Hills in 1920, engaging mostly Tucson citizens in the roles. Four thousand programs were sent out of town with a request to help those in Tentville. The money that was made from three performances–over five thousand dollars—all went to charity. Accolades for the play came in from Tom Mix, Grantland Rice, and Charlie Chap-lin, among others.

You can request to pre-order your copy of “A City and a Church Arise Together – Tucson’s Christian History: God’s Ongoing Story.” Contact Brian Goodall at Bri-an@4Tucson.com

Harold Bell Wright extolled the healing virtues of Tucson from his home at the foot of the Santa Catalina mountains.

4Tucson Magazine 17

Continued from page 12

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151998

by Adam Colwell

Reports from the Arizona Daily Star earlier this summer confirm it: a series of storms gave a big boost to the spring-summer runoff leading into Lake Powell. Meanwhile, the latest projections from the federal government say Lake Mead’s elevation will in both January 2016 and 2017 stay above the level of 1,075 feet that would trigger declarations of shortages for the Central Arizona Project.

This news comes as no surprise to regular participants in Tucson’s Overflow prayer meetings. As reported in the Summer 4Tucson Magazine by Prayer Domain Director Brian Goodall, the gather-ing has met monthly since July 2014; in that time, Tucson weather officials have recorded rainfall eight times within a few days of the prayer gathering, and five of those times within 24 hours of the meeting.

Those meetings were already underway when 4Tucson Execu-tive Director Mark Harris directed Goodall to a city document of a Water Sketch Plan that offered a strategy for having a sufficient and sustainable water supply matching Tucson’s projected population growth beyond 2020. Within the third sentence of the document it emphasized that “prayer is not an acceptable planning tool.”

“As Christians we know there are certain responsibilities God has placed under people’s authority to manage and direct. There are also certain responsibilities only He can control. Our job is to be good stewards of the duties that are under our oversight and to trust Him with the areas out of our control,” Goodall wrote. “When it comes to a sustainable water strategy for Tucson, it’s clear that our job is to manage our resources while developing policy and providing edu-cation. And we are to take those responsibilities seriously. All of that hard work goes nowhere, though, unless God provides the rain.”

“That’s why a group of prayer leaders from across our commu-nity committed to praying specifically for our water shortage every month at The Overflow. And a funny thing happened…it started to rain.”

For more information on meetings at The Overflow, contact Brian Goodall at Brian@4Tucson.com

Adam Colwell serves as Editor of the 4Tucson Magazine and is Pres-ident of Adam Colwell’s WriteWorks, a book publishing, writing, and editing business at www.adamcolwellwriteworks.com

Good news for projected CAP shortages affirm the power of prayer

Pray for Rain: The Sequel

Transformation at Manzo Elementary School

Prayer Turns Failing into Fruitful by Rachel Lunsford

Yes, prayer is effective, believes Mark Alvarez, principal of five years at Manzo Elementary School. Prayer was instrumental to Al-varez’ 2010 move to Manzo. Susan Fehr, a teacher at the school, had been praying for a believing principal for years. She attended the same church as he did, and later said he was an answer to prayer.

After Alvarez’ arrival at Manzo, Fehr and another teacher formed a prayer group and invited staff, students and the community to pray every Monday at 3:31 p.m., “one minute after contract time,” Alvarez said, “so we didn’t get in trouble.” As principal, Alvarez could not initiate the gatherings, but he could participate in staff-led prayer sessions. The group started small but later grew, and a staff member even accepted Jesus Christ as Lord as a result of the meetings.

Then Alvarez brought a specific prayer need to the group – the school’s struggling academic status. “Assessment numbers [test scores] from the year before automatically put the school in ‘un-derperforming’ status by the Arizona Department of Education,” Alvarez said. “We were under two hundred students, so we were on the shortlist for school closures.” Two other elementary schools had already closed in the area, and Alvarez was determined to do every-thing he could to keep the doors open.

Reviving this failing school proved to be an uphill battle, Alvarez said, but all through the battle, he and staff prayed. Through Matt Merrill from GAP Ministries, the school was able to host 12-hour prayer sessions in the school’s multipurpose room in addition to the meetings each Monday. “I had never thought you could have a prayer service at a school,” said Alvarez, adding he was thankful to discover what Christians are actually allowed to do in a school set-ting. While they prayed for an academically rich school, the ecology program at Manzo continued to develop.

Two-and-a-half years later, Alvarez said the previous school board “had already semi-approved of closing because the scores still weren’t up. [The board] didn’t renew my contract; they were going to fire me. We needed 15 points to get to what they call a ‘C,’ which is a ‘performing’ level and they only thought we were going to get seven. So we were praying hard.” Manzo hosted another 12-hour prayer meeting and welcomed people from Victory Assembly Outreach and the community to gather and petition God on behalf of the school.

That summer, the results came in. Manzo reached a “performing” level. “We got 15 points?” Alvarez asked the district assistant super-intendent. “No,” she responded, “you guys got 22.”

“We had the highest percentage [improvement] in the district in that little school,” Alvarez said. “At the same time, God was blessing the ecology program. We were getting national recognition for hav-ing the best ecology program in the United States.” Enrollment also grew to over 300 students last year.

Noting the power of prayer, Alvarez mentioned that the two other schools in that area that had closed had higher numbers and better academic reports than Manzo yet “God found favor to keep our school open.” Alvarez also credited God for his later promotion to his former position as director of language acquisition for the Tucson Unified School District while he still serves as principal at Manzo. “In every aspect, God just blessed.”

Rachel Lunsford is a freelance writer living in Prescott, AZ.

Prayerful principal: Manzo Elementary School Principal Mark Alvarez. Photo by Chloe Carlson.

4Tucson Magazine 19

by Brian Goodall4Tucson Prayer Domain Director

God loves the people of Tucson. He is good and we can trust Him. He has great plans for our city and wants to lead us into an incredi-ble future – if we will seek His counsel and rely on His leadership.

The most productive and loving thing we can do for the families of Tucson is to unite in prayer for our community. This is the con-viction that motivated a small collection of local pastors to gather. The goal was to get away for a few days to spend time praying for each other and for our city.

Six years later the annual three-day Pastors’ Prayer Summit gath-ering has grown to include over 50 pastors. The goal hasn’t changed and, as a result, we have witnessed incredible growth in the unity of Christian congregations across our city. Many believe that the summits have significantly impacted Tucson.

What God stirs in the hearts of our pastors at the summit each year matters. The Lord is helping our pastors capture a picture of what’s important to Him. Some major themes rose to the surface at this year’s summit. They were specific areas prompted by the Holy Spirit – areas where we can join them in prayer. Our pastors felt compelled to pray that the following would happen:

Pastors and ministry leaders would be unified. God has been doing a great work in uniting congregations and ministries across

our city, but there’s so much more to accomplish.

Pastors and ministry leaders would work together. It’s much easier for our congregations and ministries to continue doing their own things, but it’s much more effective to find ways to do things together.

Pastors and ministry leaders would continue to pray together. They don’t want to rely on the Pastors’ Prayer Summits as their time to unite in prayer; rather, they want to create more opportunities to pray together.

Pastors and ministry leaders would honor each other. Living and working in unity means knowing individual roles, not thinking too highly or too lowly of oneself, and celebrating how we comple-ment each other instead of fighting for recognition.

Pastors and ministry leaders would not give in to a spirit of poverty. They desire to be vision-driven with eyes fixed on Jesus and His abundance.

Our pastors set the pace for the spiritual climate of our city, but the responsibility doesn’t rest on their shoulders alone. We need the Christian community in Tucson to add its collective voice to those prayers. Imagine how powerful it will be if thousands of Christ followers in Tucson agreed with our pastors in those five prayers? Tucson would never be the same.

Joining in with the prayers of our pastorsCommentary: Issues That Stir the Heart

by David Drum4Tucson Church Domain Director

Two recent events have powerfully impacted both Christian churches and the culture. The first provides a compelling example for how we can respond to the second.

On June 17, a 21-year-old white male came into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, sat through Bible study, and then murdered nine people, intentionally leaving one woman alive so she could tell the world he killed them because they were black. He later said that they were so nice to him he almost didn’t kill them. While their politeness wasn’t enough to save their lives, his racial hatred also wasn’t enough to stop their Christ-like behavior. The response of the church members and the victim’s families has been absolutely patterned after Jesus Christ. They have repeatedly made public statements of forgiveness and love to the killer.

Nine days later, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. While those who see this as a civil rights issue celebrated the decision, the ruling was grieved by those who believe the following:• The Bible limits God-intended sexual activity to marriage be-

tween one man and one woman• God’s best plan for children is to be raised with a married mom

and dad, and it is in society’s best interest to promote God’s plan• The Court decision is indicative of a significant shift in Ameri-

can culture away from the nation’s Judeo-Christian foundations

The two events are linked by the question of how Jesus would call us to respond. On July 19 in Tucson, a citywide worship service

called Love Conquers Hate was held at Victory Worship Center. As candles were lit in remembrance of each of the nine victims of the shooting, words of forgiveness and love were spoken. Alana Wil-liams, granddaughter of victim Rev. Daniel Simmons, was quoted: “We have to combat hate-filled actions with love-filled actions. And that is what we want to get out to the world.” An estimated 400 people recognized and celebrated the growing relationships among Christ followers from different ethnic backgrounds. Many elected officials attended or sent along their words of blessing. The 4Tucson Church and Prayer Domains invited pastors to gather to discuss and pray about the Supreme Court decision. It was recognized that each pastor and congregation comprise one part of the larger Christian church in Tucson, and they sought what God might be saying to them as a group and through them to others. Particularly fascinating was how the strengths of various parts of the Christian church, the body, were reflected in their comments. One pastor spoke about the need for the Holy Spirit to draw us all closer to Jesus. Another pastor focused on what the Bible teaches about Je-sus’ return and how that impacts our actions. A third spoke of how Jesus came full of grace and truth, and the great cost of separating grace and truth from one another. A fourth pastor sensed a call to do a better job of actively reaching out in love so that, like Jesus, we would be seen as “friends of sinners.”

In John 17:23, Jesus prayed for Christians to “be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Undoubtedly the unity He had in mind includes not only His followers of every race, but also those of different biblical strengths and perspectives as well. Jesus’ plan for showing the world His love is still powerfully at work in our city.

4Tucson Magazine 21

Light in the midst of darkness

Commentary: South Carolina and Supreme Court

22 4Tucson Magazine

by Rachel Lunsford

At 4Tucson, Executive Director Mark Harris and his team of Do-main Directors meet together in prayer each week to seek answers for Tucson’s most challenging problems relating to moral and cultur-al heritage, community and family stability, and city infrastructure. Out of these gatherings, 4Tucson had identified 22 goals to address the key problem areas that fall under those three categories.

In the summer issue of this magazine, we looked at the first six goals - ones regarding our moral and cultural heritage. In this issue, we will take a look at community and family stability.

“A community’s stability can be measured by the overall spiritual, psychological, emotional, and physical health of the majority of its citizens,” 4Tucson states. “Research shows that the health of a person is formed very early in life by factors such as their biological make-up, familial relationships, social interactions, and physical environ-

ment. As young people mature into adults they engage in marriage, having children, and working to achieve a quality of life that has personal satisfaction.”

4Tucson has included nine goals in this category.

1. Marriage

Definition: Marriage is the legal union of a man and a woman being recognized as husband and wife by spiritual, social and gov-ernment institutions.

Challenges/Issues: There is ample evidence to support the con-cept that committed and stable relationships have a positive effect on the married couple, their children, and on society as a whole. A healthy family is a key determinant in a stable community. The family is the smallest unit designed by God to support health and

Nine prayer-forged goals for Tucson

Strong Families Create Strong Communities

4Tucson Magazine 23

sustainability in any community.

4Tucson Goal: Making biblical marriage a valued asset for Tuc-son citizens.

2. Parenting

Definition: Parenting is the chosen style, method and technique utilized by fathers and mothers in raising (taking care of and sup-porting) their children.

Challenges/Issues: Parents are role models for their children, regardless of whether that model is good or bad. Children imitate their parents. Parents teach their children about life and relation-ships by what they “do” rather than what they “say.” Skills needed to manage life as an adult are taught at home. Bad parenting is often the root of most of the problems found in modern society.

4Tucson Goal: Every Tucson child being raised or significantly supported by a healthy father and mother.

3. Education

Definition: Education is the transference of knowledge, skills and habits from one person or group to another person, group or generation.

Challenges/Issues: Schools must equip students with skills in reading, writing, math, sciences, history and the arts. Students, upon graduation, should possess the ability to think critically and demonstrate the private disciplines and habits necessary for personal success. There are two strategies for addressing education of underprivileged or disadvantaged students. Both views have neg-ative byproducts. The first strategy is to show concern for students, their family’s circumstances and socio-economic status, offering less rigorous academics in order to help these students avoid discourage-ment; unfortunately, lowering academic standards decreases the ed-ucational process of students, depriving them of the skills needed to succeed in life. The second view is that everyone should be given the same instruction regardless of socioeconomic class or background. While this gives everyone the same opportunities and exposure, it can discourage some students to the point of dropping out of school.

4Tucson Goal: Become a community that values education, with Tucson area schools consistently ranking in the top ten percent of schools in the country, by creating a third strategy that challenges top performing students to be their very best, and at the same time comes alongside students that struggle with grade-level work to help them achieve their best.

4. Health and Healthcare

Definition: Health is the general condition of a person’s body, mind and spirit, and healthcare is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of illness.

Challenges/Issues: Health disparities are the variations that occur in a community between different groups because of individual predispositions and personal behavioral choices. Quality of life is directly proportional to one’s desire to take personal responsibility

to mitigate negative predispositions (things we are born with), and to make positive individual choices (regarding drugs, alcohol, sex outside of marriage, etc.). Access to healthcare and understanding of the healthcare system makes health itself more easily available and affordable to those in need regardless of ethnicity, age or socio-eco-nomic factors.

4Tucson Goal: Become a community where Tucson citizens take personal responsibility for their health, and where affordable health-care delivery systems are innovative, inventive, patient-centric, and the best in the world.

5. Poverty Reduction

Definition: Poverty reduction is the process utilized to identify the root causes of poverty and to promote community environments where individuals are able to lift themselves out of poverty.

Challenges/Issues: According to the official measure from the U.S. Census Bureau, Tucson’s poverty rate as of 2012 was the eighth high-est among large metropolitan statistical areas in the United States. Poverty in Tucson is highest among women, children, female-head-ed households where no husband is present, individuals living in non-family households, American Indians, Hispanics, those with less than a high school degree, the foreign-born, and persons who aren’t employed or who work less than full-time year-round. Of the census tracts that are fully or mostly within the City of Tucson, 15 had poverty rates above 40 percent between 2008 and 2012. There is a clustering with one tract at the northeastern city limits, one to the east, and three in the south; the remaining ten neighborhoods contiguously span downtown, the university area, and north of the university up Miracle Mile. One quarter of Tucson’s poor live in these neighborhoods characterized by concentrated poverty.

4Tucson Goal: Tucson residents successfully graduating high school, securing employment, and waiting to have children until after marriage.

6. Housing

Definition: Housing is the process of providing opportunities for renting or purchasing temporary or long-term shelter for individu-als or families.

Challenges/Issues: The self-sufficiency standard for affordability is defined at 45 percent or less of household income. The available supply of housing that can be purchased at the self-sufficiency stan-dard is a critical factor in maintaining neighborhood stability. Fac-tors that promote neighborhood stability are home ownership rate and investment into property by owners. Factors that undermine neighborhood stability are property abandonment, foreclosures, and concentration of poverty and area crime.

4Tucson Goal: The availability of clean, safe and affordable hous-ing for every income level of Tucson demographic groups.

7. Family Legacy

Definition: Family legacy is the process of families handing down, from one generation to the next, beliefs, morals, values, worldview,

24 4Tucson Magazine

history, culture, traditions, opportunities, money, homes, cars, heirlooms, gifts, etc.

Challenges/Issues: God designed the family unit to provide a healthy en-vironment to train the next generation. Tucson parents are intentional about passing on to their children many aspects of family culture including educa-tion, athletics, the arts, the family business, spiritual beliefs and the process of learning to serve others. Parents can further assist their children by building a foundation for their children and grandchildren to prosper in Tucson.

4Tucson Goal: Multi-generational families residing in Tucson.

8. Quality of Life

Definition: Quality of life is the outcome of a person’s or groups’ level of satisfaction with the environment in which they live; specifically, the spiritual, social, cultural, intellectual, economic, built and natural conditions.

Challenges/Issues: Quality of life must differentiate between the subjective and objective quality of life. Subjective quality of life is about feeling good about Tucson and being satisfied with things in general, and is itself immea-surable. Objective quality of life may be measured by several factors including income, quality and availability of employment and education, poverty rate, class disparity, quality and affordability of housing, hours of work required to purchase necessities, gross domestic product, inflation rate, number of paid vacation days per year, affordable access to quality healthcare, life expectancy, incidence of disease, cost of goods and services, infrastructure, economic and political stability, political and religious freedom, environmental quality, and climate and safety.

4Tucson Goal: The Tucson community being a great place to raise a family.

9. Fun Place to Live

Definition: A fun place to live is an environment that promotes informality, amusement, enjoyment, laughter, playfulness and games, especially in a social and recreational context.

Challenges/Issues: Making Tucson a fun place to live not only f osters en-joyment by residents, but also encourages tourism, which helps stimulate the city’s economy. When a location is a fun place to live, communities unite with a sense of pride, and both residents and tourists will be more likely to support local businesses. Clean, fun activities encourage families to do things together. Citywide events and festivals such as Independence Day, Christmas, Thanks-giving, Easter and the Tucson Rodeo serve to commemorate or celebrate what a community collectively values and believes is important.

4Tucson Goal: A community that promotes a wide variety of recreational and social opportunities.

These are just nine of the 22 goals created by people who, according Harris, are dedicated to bringing about “permanent, fruitful change in our commu-nity.” In prayer, and with the support of your prayers and donations, 4Tuc-son strives to be a facilitator of change, cultivating Tucson into what Harris describes as “a God-centered city people will be proud to call home!”

The Winter 4Tucson Magazine will feature goals for City Infrastructure.

Rachel Lunsford is a freelance writer living in Prescott, AZ.

enrolling now for the 2015-2016 school year!

Desert Christian Schools

Make an Appointment to Visit One of Our Eastside Locations.

Preschool - 8th Grade Campus 9415 E. Wrightstown Rd.

High School Campus 7525 E. Speedway Blvd.

Accredited by ACSI

Traditional Liberal Arts Curriculum

Biblically Integrated Program

Partnering with Christian Families

Certified Teachers

Small Class Sizes

Two Time Winner of AIA Directors’ Cup for Outstanding School

Special Education Services Available at the High School Level

Tucson’s Only Independent, Comprehensive Preschool—12th

Grade Christian School

Visit our website at www.DesertChristian.org or contact us

at (520) 901-5499

enrolling now for the 2015-2016 school year!

Desert Christian Schools

Make an Appointment to Visit One of Our Eastside Locations.

Preschool - 8th Grade Campus 9415 E. Wrightstown Rd.

High School Campus 7525 E. Speedway Blvd.

Accredited by ACSI

Traditional Liberal Arts Curriculum

Biblically Integrated Program

Partnering with Christian Families

Certified Teachers

Small Class Sizes

Two Time Winner of AIA Directors’ Cup for Outstanding School

Special Education Services Available at the High School Level

Tucson’s Only Independent, Comprehensive Preschool—12th

Grade Christian School

Visit our website at www.DesertChristian.org or contact us

at (520) 901-5499

4Tucson Magazine 25

Come alongside 4Tucson by advertising your business or ministry in this magazine. A variety of ad sizes and rates are available.

Contact:Cyndi Koch – 520-247-6913 or Francine Rienstra – 520-954-1811

No Ordinary Radio Program…

“4Tucson at 4:00 is a unique radio talk show in that we don’t just look at issues affecting our city and region, we look at them with a biblical perspective,” says Mike Shaw, veter-an award winning journalist and host of the “4Tucson at 4:00” Radio Show.

“While we might spend time on the show identifying problems, we also see what the Bible has to say and explore solutions. How can we as Christians serve our city to make it a better place to live for all of us? That is the key question that drives 4Tucson at 4:00.”

“4Tucson at 4:00” Radio Show with Mike ShawThe Voice 1030 KVOI-AMMonday-Friday 4-5pm

Corporate PartnersBusinessesAirtronics | www.airtronicsinc.comAl Vasey Agency State Farm | www.alvasey.comAllegra of Tucson | www.allegratucson.comCopperstate OB/GYN | www.copperstateobgyn.comCornerstone Communities; LLC | www.azsmartliving.comCrest Insurance Group | www.crestins.comFalcon Properties | 520.240.2615Family Life Communication Incorporated | www.myflr.orgFastsell Express LLC | 520.323.2341Garment Graphics; LLC | www.garmentgraphics.netGood News Radio Broadcasting | www.goodnewscommunications.comIntelligent Office | www.intelligentoffice.comJim Click Automotive Team | www.jimclick.comK.C. Eye Specialists | www.kceyespecialists.comLegacy Business Properties | 520.792.3113Legal Shield | www.oatmanpw43.legalshieldassociate.comLegendrePaul Charette Realty | 520.465.7708Praise Promotions | www.praisepromotions.netRobert E. Hinske CPA PC | www.hinskecpapc.comSafeguard Tucson | www.safeguardtucson.comSandbrook Benefits Group; LLC | www.sandbrookbenefits.comSports Institute of Tucson | www.sportstucson.comStone River Studio | 520.204.4044Thrivent Financial | www.thrivent.comWhole Hearted Productions | www.wholeheartedpro.comWide Marketing LLC ChurchesAbiding Savior Free Lutheran | 520.908.3316Agape Christian Church International | www.agapecci.orgBeth Sar Shalom | www.shalomtucson.orgBook of Life | www.bookoflifecc.orgCactus Community Church of the Nazarene | 520.746.0929Casa de Adoracion Tucson | www.cdatucson.orgCatalina Heights | 520.499.2337Central City Assembly of God | www.centralcityonline.orgChrist Community Church | www.ccctucson.orgChrist Lutheran Vail ChurchChurch of Jesus Christ PenielChurch on the Street, Tucson | www.cotstucson.orgDesert Hope Lutheran Church | www.deserthope.orgDesert Rose Community Church | www.drcctucson.orgDesert Son Community Church | www.desertson.orgDios Es Bueno International | 520.661.0471Eastside Covenant Church | www.ecctucson.orgEnchanted Hills Baptists Church | www.enchantedhills.orgFaith Christian Fellowship | www.fcftucson.orgFaith Community Church | www.faithtucson.orgFellowship Bible Church | www.tucsonfbc.orgFountain of Life Lutheran | www.follutheran.orgFuente de Vida | 520.628.7729Good News Community Church | www.gncctucson.orgGrace Community Church | www.gracetucson.orgGrace Temple Baptist Church | www.gracetemplembc.comGreater Faith | www.gfctucson.orgHope Community Church | www.hopetucson.comHouse of Glory | www.houseofglorytucson.orgIglesia de Dios Tiempos Profeticos

Ironwood Hills Church | www.incaz.orgJoy in the Spirit Fellowship | 520.885.6015Legacy Church | www.legacychurchtucson.comLight the Way Lutheran | www.ltwchurch.comLiving Water Ministries | www.lwmaz.orgNeighborhood Church | www.nctucson.comNew Destiny Church International | www.dci.nuNew Life Bible Fellowship | www.newlifetucson.comNew Life Community Church of the Nazarene | www.nlccnaz.orgNorthminster Presbyterian | www.npctucson.orgNorthwest Bible Church | www.northwestbible.comOpen Heavens Fellowship Church | www.openheavensfellowship.comPantano Christian Church | www.pccwired.orgPathway of Hope Foursquare Church | www.pathwayofhope.netReal Life Christian Fellowship | www.reallifetucson.comRedemption Church | www.tucson.redemptionaz.comRestoring Wholeness Ministries | www.restoringwholeness.orgRevolution Church | www.tucsonrevolution.comRising Star Baptist Church | www.risingstarbaptist.orgSaguaro Canyon Evangelical Free Church | www.saguarocanyon.orgSt. Andrews Presbyterian | www.sapctucson.orgSunshine Ministries Inc. | 520.750.0787The Gate Church | www.thegatechurch.comThe Journey | www.journeyefc.orgThe Oasis Church | www.theoasischurch.netTucson Church International | www.tucsonchurch.orgVictory Outreach Church | www.votucson.comVictory Worship Center | www.vwcaz.orgVineyard Christian Community | www.vineyardcc.net

OrganizationsAbba’s Storehouse Foundation | 800.839.1745Answers for Life Pregnancy Center | www.afltucson.comChristian Care Tucson | 602.943.1800Christian Family Care | www.cfcare.orgCommunity Renewal | www.transformingtucson.orgDeeply Rooted Ministries | 520.808.8099Desert Christian Schools | www.desertchristian.orgGAP Ministries | www.gapmin.comGod’s Vast Resources | www.gvrconnect.orgGood Neighbor Ventures | www.goodneighborventures.orgGospel Rescue Mission | www.grmtucson.comHands of Hope | www.wpctucson.comHelping Hands for Single Moms Tucson | www.helpinghandsforsinglemoms.orgHermundslie FoundationHope of Glory | www.tucsonhope.orgHuman Life International Inc. Institute for Better Education | www.ibescholarships.orgLove Everlasting Ministries | www.loveeverlastingministries.comLove Thy Neighbor Ministries | www.ltnm.orgMan Tucson Ministries | www.mantucson.orgMinistry Resources Intl. | www.ministryprep.comOCJ Kids | www.ocjkids.orgPima County ECAP | www.webcms.pima.govSouthern Arizona Home Builders Association | www.sahba.orgTeen Challenge | www.azteenchallenge.orgTucson Refugee Ministry | www.tucsonrefugeeministry.comUnited Way of Tucson & Southern Arizona | www.unitedwaytucson.orgWayland Baptist University | www.wbu.edu/tucson

26 4Tucson Magazine

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