The fireworks stand that's changing the world

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

In Tulsa, on West Skelly Drive, sits the TNT Fireworks Supercenter. It is a large indoor facility with gravel parking, air conditioning, heating, and restrooms--a far more comfortable option than the roadside stands and tents that people clamor around in the sweltering July heat and December freeze. 

But it's not just the amenities that make this stand unique, because it's not just a fireworks store. The business is merely a front. In reality, TNT is a ministry. 

None of the workers at TNT get paid. Instead, all of that money goes towards missions. In fact, many of the workers pay to be there. Once the bills are paid and the franchise fees are covered, the rest is pocketed by Future Vision Ministries International.

The ministry was founded in 1999 by long-time Sandites Terry and Linda Scott. The couple had been serving as the youth pastors at Word of Life Church in Sand Springs at the time. Now, Linda is the church Administrator and Terry serves as the church's Associate Pastor.

FVMI operates year-round from their office in downtown Sand Springs, facing the Triangle. 

"Our heart is to train young people and adults to understand how ministry and missions work.  To develop them as leaders, so they can lead others and be planted in ministry and missions around the world.  Our summer program, “Nexus” is one of our primary training opportunities.  We bring in young people from around the world for the summer and train them.  Then they actually go out and do ministry."

Nexus is a paid internship that costs $1400 to join. It may sound like a lot, but that covers your food and lodging, gas, airfare, and other travel/living expenses for nine weeks. In that time, interns will be working at the fireworks store from June through July 5th, working in several churches putting on Vacation Bible School for the children, and many other ministry opportunities. Currently the organization plans on traveling to Guatemala and the Philippines this upcoming summer.

I myself have worked well over a hundred hours per summer at TNT in years' past, though I wasn't able to participate these past two summers. In 2012, the summer after I graduated high school, I was blessed to be able to travel to New Orleans with FVMI. There we were able to help in renovating a school in an impoverished area.

TNT Fireworks Supercenter does more than just sell fireworks. They change lives. They invest in people of all ages across the world and have been helping people realize their dreams of ministry for decades. Ciara Calderon, a former member of Word of Life in Carlsbad, New Mexico, has worked with Future Vision for years and is now the Children's Pastor Intern at Word of Life Sand Springs. 

When you purchase your fireworks from TNT, you're not just getting great deals with a "no dud guarantee," you're guaranteeing that your money will be making a difference in the life of more than just some corporation.

So go swing by TNT Fireworks today and buy yourself some New Year's rockets, roman candles, or sparklers. Whatever you're looking for; if it's legal, they have it. They'll be open till midnight tonight and from 10AM-5PM Friday.

TNT is located at 5401 West Skelly Drive, Tulsa, OK 74107. You can reach them by phone at (918) 445-6174.

Local churches put on back-to-school-bashes for area youth

By: Scott Emigh, Sandite Pride Editor

Church That Matters

                The Movement is the name of the youth ministry at Church That Matters on 41st street in Prattville, and they were sure moving fast last Wednesday at “The Meltdown.” The Meltdown is a back-to-school snowball fight put on at Church That Matters in conjunction with two local shaved ice stands. The Meltdown is a Harper’s Hut event that they offer to any organization, but this marks the second year that they’ve donated their service to CTM for no charge. CEO William Nozak and the owner of the Pink Shack both attend CTM so Nozak invites his business competition to join in the fun each year.

                The Movement had nearly a hundred students in attendance for an epic snowball fight that went through 780 pounds of shaved ice. It took over two hours to shave the ice that the students went through in only fifteen minutes, and they had a blast. There was free food, free drinks, a live band, and the church gave away five “Slide The City” tickets that had a $40 face value. Slide The City was an event this past weekend in Tulsa that turned three blocks of downtown street into a giant slip’n’slide. Ten students committed their lives to following Christ at The Movement that night.

                The Movement meets each Wednesday at 7PM at 3 West 41st Street under youth pastor Scott Bryan.

Word of Life

                Forward Youth is the youth ministry of Word of Life church at 1402 North 81st West Avenue. The youth, however, have their own location at 10th and Adams in an old QuikTrip building less than a block from Charles Page High School. Forward’s back-to-school bash was also a battle royale, but it was a lot less wet and a lot messier.

                Nearly a hundred students showed up to the third annual Whiteout event, which featured 200 pounds of different colored powdered paints. The students are advised ahead of time to wear all white clothing. Many students make their own t-shirts specifically for the event. The church has a professional photographer on staff who came out and set up a photo booth for before and after photos.

                When it came time for the event, the students were herded across the street to the Sandite practice field where they were divided into two groups and given their initial bags of powdered paint. Buckets of extra paint littered the grounds for those who ran out of their own supply. When the church leaders gave the signal the two lines ran at each other launching paint into each other’s faces and the whole group disappeared into a cloud of mixed colors. The battle doesn’t last long, only about fifteen or twenty minutes, but the students always have a blast. One student committed to following Christ.

Major turnout for Free Carnival despite weather

Word of Life church hosted their third annual free community carnival Saturday morning and the masses more than turned out. Over 2500 people came to enjoy free shaved ice, back-to-school haircuts, school supplies, carnival rides, and more at the thirty-year-old non-denominational church located at 1402 N 81st W Ave in Sand Springs. The event lasted from 11:00-3:00. Parking was at the old K-Mart building and the church rented several school buses from the City of Sand Springs to provide free shuttling.

 For the second year in a row, rain clouds threatened the event, but like last year, it was sunny skies within an hour of the gates opening. The sun heated things up quickly and local business Sandlot Sno-Balls was there to keep the community cool with free shaved ice treats from their mobile setup. Sandlot took over the shaved ice stand at 250 S Highway 97 in the Warehouse Market parking lot this summer, which was formerly known as JwY’s for 9 years and Livi Lee’s Summer Sno for a few months before the new owners revamped and rebranded the business.

There were also free hotdogs, lemonade, and other snacks and drinks available.

The rides were different this year as Word of Life used a new company, Lewellen Amusements, who has “bigger and better” attractions than the company used in previous years. One of Word of Life’s goals with their carnival is to provide an alternative for families who can’t or don’t want to attend the costly Tulsa State Fair which will operate during the first eleven days of October. The Fair may be a great economic stimulus for the City of Tulsa, but for many families it can be a hardship as they feel pressured to help their kids enjoy the event that they have a hard time affording.

Word of Life also wants to help make ends meet by providing free back-to-school haircuts and school supplies. Over 1000 backpacks full of school essentials were given out, and 73 haircuts were given inside the church building by five professional stylists who donated their services to the community.

The Sunday morning following the carnival marked the first Sunday of two services for Word of Life. The church is transitioning from one 10 AM service to a 9 AM and an 11 AM service. They kicked off the new services by giving away 10 checks of $500 each to first-time guests in the belief that the checks would reach the people whom God intended to receive them.

The staff at Word of Life wants the people of Sand Springs, as well as the surrounding areas, to know that they love their community and that they want to see the people of Sand Springs prosper and experience the love of Jesus Christ. Over a hundred church members volunteered to work shifts at the Carnival.

In addition to their Sunday services, Word of Life also has a Wednesday night service for 6th through 12th grade youth at an off-campus location. The Forward Youth building is located at 10th and Adams, less than a block from the high-school, and will host a free back-to-school event called “Whiteout 2015” this Wednesday at 7 PM. It will be the third year of “Whiteout,” which is a powdered-paint war on the Charles Page football practice field.