The Core is a non-profit organization by the kids and for the kids. Our end goal is to have a place for kids to hang out that embodies Santa Cruz to its very Core - a hub that will revolve around the active surf lifestyle of the unique kids that comprise our east side community.

Kids want and need a place to hang out with their friends, and there aren’t many positive things (besides surfing) for kids to do on the east side. To address both of these issues, The Core will host/have: snow trips, surf trips, surf contests, dances, concerts, video premieres, skate ramps, a hang out zone with ping-pong, air hockey, a pool table, a snack bar, mentorships, apprenticeships, and life skills classes.

The Core will teach kids how to fish by creating a place where this generation is unconditionally welcomed and loved. In this non-judgmental and comfortable atmosphere kids will receive knowledge that fosters independence and maturity that will prepare them to be self-reliant, motivated, and competent adults. Programs will be available, but never forced, on topics ranging from cars to God. The Core is all about this generation – giving them a safe, drug-free, and desirable place to not only hang-out, but a place to play, laugh, dance, study, learn, travel, grow-up, and a place to share and realize their hopes and dreams. The Core challenges the development of youth mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually through the programs and recreational activities offered.

Please be sure to visit The Core’s website for more information on this wonderful program for our kids. 

The church doorstep is a frequent destination for people in desperate need. But most churches cannot fully meet the needs of every homeless family, single mom, or hungry child who asks them for help. Or can they?

What If?
What if churches and ministries in a community were enabled to pool their resources and outreach services so that those in need would not be turned away?

What if communities could see exciting results like these as churches showed Christ’s love to their neighbors:

• Families in need receiving immediate and long-term help.

• Church members using their gifts and talents in hands-on ministry.

• Local churches coming together, modeling the unity of the Body of Christ.

• Communities being transformed and rebuilt.

Introducing Love INC
Imagine the difference churches can make by joining with other churches in their community to help those in need. When the body of Christ works together, the results can be miraculous!

Congregations have been using Love INC (a ministry of World Vision) for 25 years. It’s one of the most effective management, mobilization, and networking tools available to the Christian community today.

Your congregation finally has a model to build a viable network of outreach centers. Love INC will enable your church to tap into a nationwide network of resources, respond effectively to legitimate calls for help, and offer support to those in crisis.

Now, every church member who wants to act on his or her love can minister to children, youth or adults in need.

Love INC Comes to Santa Cruz County!

One of the newest affiliates of the national organization Love INC is based right here in Santa Cruz County. Born in the hearts of several believers from a wide range of churches and backgrounds, this local chapter has as its mission the transformation of lives and Santa Cruz County in the Name of Christ.

So now you can be involved in helping to meet the needs of disadvantaged families. Now you can use your gifts and talents to serve others in our community. Now you can come together with other believers and demonstrate the unity of the Body of Christ to those who don’t know Jesus. Now you can participate in a ministry which has as its primary mission the transformation and rebuilding of Santa Cruz County!

If you are excited and intrigued by the idea of working together with other believers to meet the needs of those in our community who are less fortunate and in need of hope, contact Love INC of Santa Cruz County for more information:

Help Line: 831.464.7929
Office: 831.464.7921
Email: loveinc_scc@hotmail.com

We would be very happy to hear from you!

You can also visit the national Love INC website at www.worldvision.org/loveinc/. Christianity Today has also featured the ministry of Love INC in this article, and you can read an article about the Los Gatos chapter here.

SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Is Love INC?

Bill Carlsberg and Robin Schuster at The Human Race

Love In the Name of Christ is: 1) a strategy to help churches help their neighbors in need; 2) a network of churches that links volunteers to people in need; 3) a cooperative effort between churches and service agencies to provide effective help for the disadvantaged; and, 4) a vehicle that helps churches, collectively and individually, fulfill their biblical mandate to reach out to the poor and needy.

Why Do Communities Need Love INC?
These are just some of the reasons communities need Love INC: 1) existing resources are not adequate to meet growing levels of need; 2) church resources are seldom utilized collectively to maximum potential in meeting the needs of the poor; 3) often, one church alone cannot deal with all of the complex issues of poverty - it takes churches working together, across denominational lines, to meet these multifaceted needs; and, 4) Love INC shows the love of Jesus Christ and brings hope to the poor and needy of our communities.

How Does Love INC Work?
The Love INC model has three levels. Each level goes a step deeper in fulfilling Love INC’s mission to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ.

• Level One: Clearinghouse Model. Love INC receives requests for help, screens the request for extent of need and legitimacy, refers the request to a local church program or volunteer or to a community service agency, and follows up to ensure the need was met and to offer spiritual support.

• Level Two: Relational Ministry Model. Church members are trained and linked with individuals and families in need on a long-term basis to provide mentoring, goal setting, and spiritual and emotional support.

• Level Three: Comprehensive Model. Love INC goes even further to meet the needs of communities by addressing the deeper issues that contribute to poverty and hopelessness.

Why Does Love INC Work?
Love INC is effective in our communities because: 1) there are unlimited resources in the body of Christ that Love INC mobilizes on behalf of those in need; 2) Love INC gives Christians a specific, manageable opportunity to put their faith and love to work in the service of people in need; and, 3) because the Scriptures tell us that love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8).

Who Benefits from Love INC?
Three different entities benefit from the work of Love INC in a community: 1) the local church - Love INC works for the church by helping congregations organize for ministry to serve people in need and by giving congregations specific, manageable opportunities to serve; 2) people in need - Love INC mobilizes resources to transform lives; and, 3) community service agencies - Love INC mobilizes human and program resources to supplement agency efforts.

Who Are The Leaders of the Santa Cruz Chapter?
The Love INC Santa Cruz Board of Directors consists of the following people:

Paul Spurlock
Missions and Outreach Pastor
Twin Lakes Church

Tony Howard
Owner of Tony’s Drywall and Painting
Progressive Baptist Church, Associate Minister

John Haak
Pastor
Mountain Bible Church

Mark Kientzler
Care Ministries Director
Santa Cruz Bible Church

Bill Carlsberg
Ordained Assemblies of God minister
Director of Love INC of Santa Cruz County
Grace Temple

Robin Schuster
UC Santa Cruz
Twin Lakes Church

Deborah Johnson
Cabrillo College Admissions and Records Coordinator
Pacific Christian Fellowship

Andy Snyder
Social Cause Ministry Director
Twin Lakes Church ("Genesis Church")

Scott Halverson
Controller
Mount Hermon Conference Center
Santa Cruz Bible Church