KICKO's Celebration Banquet (2020)

Welcome

Bob Bell (3 min)

Intro (I’m Bob Bell…) I want to thank you for joining us for KICKO’s 25th Anniversary Celebration. This year our ‘gathering’ is a little different due to COVID-19, but the impact that KICKO continues to have in the lives of the children and their families remains the same. We want to especially thank our presenting sponsors for their support of this event: ERISA Services, Home Federal Bank, McKeehan Law Group, and RV’s for Less. You will also see many others who have come alongside this great ministry as Virtual Hosts to help see the kids in our city reached for Christ. So, sit back and relax, share this with your friends and family, and celebrate with us 25 years of faithful ministry in our city through the work at KICKO.

Prayer

Pastor Daryl Arnold (3-4 min)

Prayer for our city, our kids and their families

Snapshot & Short Ask

Michael Clark (1.5 min)

During our virtual celebration, you will see and hear what KICKO has been and continues to do in our community. We will enjoy a song with some of the kids we serve, hear testimonies of impact, and celebrate what God has been faithful to accomplish through this ministry.

I know staying dialed in may be difficult. Kids may be running around in the background; some have eaten while others need to finish getting ready for bed. In honor of your time, I want to let you know early on how much we appreciate your prayers and support. Without the giving of folks who believe in what we are doing in our city, we wouldn’t have seen the 1000’s of young people positively impacted over these past 25 years. So, if you want to give before we finish sharing our virtual celebration, please hear our gratitude and sincerest thanks. You can give online at our website at www.kicko.org/donate. There you will also find our mailing address for those who want to mail in their gift. Those links and details will be in the description of this video on our Facebook Page as well as in the details on YouTube.

On behalf of the children and families we serve, thank you for your prayers and support.

Promo Video

25 Years (3 min)

KICKO is excited to be celebrating 25 years of ministry in our city. But let’s look back to 1995 and see what was happening and who was popular.

In 1995, Disney’s would release Pocahontas while Pixar would release its first film, Toy Story. A few songs you will remember from the 1995 hit charts include: Coolio’s Gansta’s Paradise and don’t forget Montell Jordan with This is How We Do It. In the sport’s world, the 49ers became the first NFL team to win 5 Super Bowl Championships. Spring of 1995, Michael Jordan would return to the Chicago Bulls for his ‘last dance’. And here in Knoxville, a sophomore by the name of Peyton Manning was quarterback for the Vols!

But just in the shadows of Neyland Stadium was a different type of battle being done, not one like on the gridiron.

OLD VIDEO FOOTAGE (what about words/vocals?)

...

Sonday School Song

Into the Wild (2 min)

25 Years

Michael Clark (6-7 min)

It is hard to believe we are celebrating KICKO’s 25 years of ministry in our city. Having grown up with KICKO, I watched as my mom and dad stepped out in faith along with the prayers and support of churches and friends. We could talk about stages of growth, looking at the timeline of these past 25 years, and even where we continue to look for ways to reach even more of our city’s youth through positive relationships and faith development. At the end of day, though, what we are reminded of and want each of us to remember now is that lives have been touched, transformed, and set on a trajectory of hope because of the faithful work done through KICKO. God has used so many churches, businesses, and individuals to come alongside our mission of equipping and empowering Knoxville’s inner-city children to realize their full potential and discover their God given destiny. We wouldn’t be celebrating the 1,000’s of children and families that have been changed without their support. That’s why this celebration includes every one of our staff, volunteers, and supporters through these 25 years. Only heaven knows the depth and breadth of eternal impact that has occurred in the lives of the children in our communities.

I celebrate our first Christmas in 1995, where KICKO launched into building relationships in Walter P Taylor Homes and Lonsdale Homes. The following year weekly Sonday School would continue each Saturday, where volunteers loaded borrowed sound equipment and curriculum in the back of a mini-van. A group of Christian businessmen would catch the vision and purchase KICKO’s first Sidewalk truck. That purple and gold truck allowed the addition of multiple sites throughout the week, as volunteers and staff began to add weekly visitations to each one of those neighborhoods. That truck would serve its purpose until newer trucks could be added to the fleet to continue and see more of our communities reached. Today, two trucks with three teams work in 11 different neighborhoods, with our staff and volunteers building relationships with 100’s of kids. Each week they have the opportunity to attend our exciting Sidewalk program that teaches them about God’s plan for their life.

I celebrate the Back to School Block Parties, the countless years of camps, as well as the extravagant Christmas events.

I celebrate that in 2003, we realized that if we wanted to see our investment in the children reach its full potential, we had to continue to walk with them through the critical years of middle and high school. Our Junior Staff began to develop young leaders right there in their neighborhoods and continued weekly opportunities just for them to have fun, serve, and be discipled. Our urban Youth Ministry continues to reach that next generation of young leaders, helping them walk out their faith, and encourage them to see their dreams realized.

Over the past couple of years, we have continued to look for where God would have us continue to fulfill the mission and vision He gave KICKO over 25 years ago. We see more opportunities in front of us to add new teams and new locations for Sidewalk. We see more opportunities in front of us to reach more teens in our city, and to develop a program that will assist them when they get out of high school (to provide friendship and support, to help them find that right next step, and not get lost in the void so prevalent during those post-high school years until adulthood).

We see more opportunities to serve our families, to ensure that the environment where our kids live is supported and strengthened, so that our investment in the children can go further and even impact generations.

So, with everything we have to celebrate from these past 25 years, would you join me by investing in 25 more? We already have over $50,000 as a challenge gift for our virtual celebration. That means that $50,000 has already been put up as a challenge to those watching. Let’s give and see if we can’t match that which has already been pledged to see another 25 years of fruitful ministry in our city. Thank you for your faithful prayers and support.

Testimony

DeAngelo (4 min)

Celebrating 25 Years

Various (3 min)

Congratulatory Video from various people from around the city

Opportunity to Give

Tommy Horst (3 min)