"From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise..."

Fortress strives to "ignite powerful change in the lives of urban youth," but people do not often get to see that change right away, if at all. In the daily struggle to get kids to line up, sit still during assembly time or stop playing chase inside the building, we often wonder if anything we say or teach is even soaking in. Are we making a difference? Do they even hear a word we are saying about making good choices? Sometimes I find myself asking, at the end of a busy day, what did we even do today?
We received a phone call at the end of the first day from a mother who has three kids enrolled in Summer JAM. She called to thank us. She told me that her kids came home from Fortress so excited about Jesus. The three children could not contain their joy and excitement about the LORD and all they had learned. They told the mom about learning to make good choices over bad choices. Imagine the mom's surprise when, later that night, her kids corrected her (in a loving way I am sure) about the tone of her voice. "Mom, you should not get angry like that, that's a bad choice!" This opened up a good discussion about good and bad choices and about how to correct bad choices.
The title at the top is from Psalm 8 verse 2. It goes on to say, "because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." God puts praise on the lips of children to fight a spiritual battle we cannot see! I believe He wanted me to know that we are making a difference! I needed that phone call telling me that kids were excited about Jesus in order to silence Satan's nasty voice, which was making me doubt what was accomplished.
More importantly, this community can be changed when the children, the future generation, rises up and silences "the enemy" with the praise of God. "Powerful change" can truly take place not just in the lives of urban youth, but through the lives of urban youth.
Pray for the kids. Pray that they will continue to be excited about Jesus. Pray that God will use their praise to silence Satan. Pray that powerful change will come through the lives of urban youth. And thank God for using children in His plan for redemption and spiritual warfare!

-Clayre Allen, Summer College Intern 2008