filled with dimes. Kids sacrificed and ultimately collected $ 2,000 among themselves. The Los Ange les Brethren Church, of which Jack was a member, gave $900, and the rest was borrowed. In this neighborhood, 'militant Russian churches opposed the evan ge lica l group in their midst. Preachers told their congregations, “ This Jack Green is one of the un clean frogs spoken of in the Book of Revelation.” Religion-duped kids yelled. “ Let’s go kill Green! Let’s bum down the club!” They tried to lure YRCA kids away from their own club by elaborate entertain ment at another. But Jack was not frightened by that. “When you get to trying to match the world in entertainment,” he says, “ you’re fighting a losing battle because it can do it so much better.” Jack’s club stayed put and kept growing — bursting out seams. Where the new freeway ended at Ditman Avenue in its days of construction, Jack often drove off into city traffic past a large Com munity Christian Church. On its lawn was a large sign inviting sale and Jack alerted the Clubbers. “ It was just what we needed,” he says, “but we had no money and my faith was small. Neverthe less we got to work on the idea of expanding our club and decided to negotiate.” On the sidewalk of Ditman Ave nue one day, a group of 19-year-old “ trustees” of the club asked Com munity Christian’s parson, “How much for the building?” “ Forty thousand,” said the cler gyman so the kids left. Down the street they asked themselves, “Why don’t we find out what it’s really worth?” One Sunday af ternoon these teen-aged investigators with Direc tor Green and Co-director Slevcove roamed through the 18 rooms and halls of the old church. On the back porch they had a prayer meeting and decided, “ This is our building!” After further investigation and with the same empty pockets, this vanguard offered the minister $ 20 ,- 000. He called a board meeting. The Community Christians all vot ed to sell, so the signatures went down. To raise $20,000 the Russian kids divided themselves into teams of
In the floor, a secret trap door.
four members each. They pocketed names from a mailing list and col lared friends. In six weeks they had $2,000. They sold the old club house to the city for $ 8,000 which swelled the coffer to $ 10 , 000 . An enterprising orphan high schooler named Bill had managed to collect a savings of $600 but he piled it all on the YRCA desk and gave it to the Lord. Other kids (actually young married couples in some cases) drew out bank money and applied it toward the debt. The bank considered the headquarters a church building and Green could get no loan. A Monday deadline was nearing. On the Saturday be fore at 10 o’clock at night, a group stood in the shadows along Ditman Avenue about to disband and go home. Among them were two brothers, overly cautious in spend ing cash — Clubbers whom nobody would suspect of having much money. But one of them said, “Well, Jack, if you don’t get the balance in time to meet the pay ment, call us Monday.” The balance of the money didn’t come, so Jack went to the brothers. They came out of their house armed with bonds and checks. Jack drove them to the bank and watched bug-eyed as they gave him $11,000. “ You don’t have to pay any int erest , ” they insisted. “ There’s no IOU on this. Pay it back when you get it — if you do.” The pink-stuccoed old church on Ditman now became YRCA’s new home. Its members swept it down
and nailed it up and filled it with noise and activity and changed lives. It has a spacious recreation hall, a chapel that seats 150, a room in the balcony for electronics study, another for photography and textile painting, a library in an adjoining annex, and club room hideaways pigeonholed in the second story. These cells are furnished by each of the five groups: seniors, college age, high school age, junior-hi and juniors. Walls are plastered with highway signs. Ceilings and floors have secret trap doors, and pictures of athletes vie with Scripture verses on crude desks. “ It’s theirs,” says Slevcove with a gesture. The club is supported solely by its members. Future plans include paying off the building debt, pur chasing a camp site and building a gym. Jack is supported by a group of personal friends in seven families. They do it through the Missionary Foundation, organized only for Jack’s support. Last year 19,000 persons, each with a unique situation, sifted through the influence of Jack and Jim and their crusading Molokan missionaries. Fifty of the young Russians are now in Bible school training. And the club also ac cepts juvenile washouts from au thorities and helps them become es tablished citizens through faith in Jesus Christ. Most of YRCA’s work, however, is dedicated to the evan gelizing and the discipling of young Russians from “ The Flats.” END. 41
OCTOBER 1956
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