BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

AUG Read Through the Bible Old Testament / New Testament ________________________ Thu 1 Neh. 1-3 / 2 Cor. 4 Fri 2 Neh. 4-6 / 2 Cor. 5 Sat 3 Neh. 7 Sun 4 Ps. 90-92; Prov. 19:18-29 Mon 5 Neh. 8-9 / 2 Cor. 6 Tue 6 Neh. 10-11 / 2 Cor. 7 Wed 7 Neh. 12-13 / 2 Cor. 8 Thu 8 Est. 1-2 / 2 Cor. 9 Fri 9 Est. 3-5 / 2 Cor. 10 Sat 10 Est. 6-8 Sun 11 Ps. 93-96; Prov. 20:1-15 Mon 12 Est. 9-10 / 2 Cor. 11 Tue 13 Job 1-2 / 2 Cor. 12 Wed 14 Job 3-5 / 2 Cor. 13 Thu 15 Job 6-8 / Gal. 1 Fri 16 Job 9-11 / Gal. 2 Sat 17 Job 12-15 Sun 18 Ps. 97-101; Prov. 20:16-30 Mon 19 Job 16-19 / Gal. 3 Tue 20 Job 20-23 / Gal. 4 Wed 21 Job 24-29 / Gal. 5 Thu 22 Job 30-32 / Gal. 6 Fri 23 Job 33-36 / Eph. 1 Sat 24 Job 37-39 Sun 25 Ps. 102-103; Prov. 21:1-15 Mon 26 Job 40-42 / Eph. 2 Tue 27 Eccl. 1-4 / Eph. 3 Wed 28 Eccl. 5-8 / Eph. 4 Thu 29 Eccl. 9-12 / Eph. 5 Fri 30 Songs 1-4 / Eph. 6 Sat 31 Songs 5-8 *************************************** *************************************** * * * *article from p. 15 continues * * * * Who would have ever imagined that the attack on the twin towers in New York City’s World Trade Center would shake the foundation of the restaurant business? Who could have guessed that people would hunker down at home, eating out less? She and Jim had incurred massive debt trying to keep their restaurants in business. Now, in 2004, the Lord had told them to sell their home and land and move into a neighborhood in Charlotte, N.C. They had been advised to declare bankruptcy, but refused. While their situation looked hopeless, Jim and Karen knew better. Their faith in God had taught them better. In 1994, their 2-week-old daughter, Olivia, had been diagnosed with encephalitis. Her situation, doctors said, was hopeless. Karen remembers being in the hospital with Olivia when she started having seizures. Then she coded. The doctors were able to resuscitate her, but even so, Olivia wouldn’t live, they were told. It was hopeless. Then someone told them the truth about healing. A Different Kind of Restaurant Karen turned to look in the back seat and smiled at their two young daughters, Margaux and Olivia, making sure their seat belts were buckled before driving to their new life in Charlotte. Sure, they were millions of dollars in debt, but Jim and Karen no longer believed in hopelessness. Somehow, they would pay it all off. Once she got everything settled in their new house, Karen curled up on the sofa to read "Southern Living" magazine. She read about a restaurant in Louisiana that employed at-risk youth. Couldn’t they do something similar? “When Karen asked what I thought about opening a restaurant that employed at-risk people, I loved the idea,” Jim says. “The word restaurant comes from the French word restaurer, which means “to restore.” I believe that’s why Jesus enjoyed sitting around the table with His disciples. It was a form of restoration. We knew we wanted to restore the homeless—those in poverty and people with substance abuse issues. “We wanted to do something like the restaurant in Louisiana had done, but there was a major difference. They were funded by the Catholic Church. At the time, we had no support. As KCM Partners, for years when we attended the Ministers’ Conference the only other minister we met who was working outside the Church, was Nancy Alcorn. She had founded Mercy Ministries of America, providing homes for troubled girls in four different locations. We adopted her model: no government assistance and no debt. “Soon after that, the Carolina Panthers, a professional football team here in Charlotte, asked if we had a project that they could partner with us to accomplish. When we described our plan, they loved it. “The industry changed drastically after 911, and we lost a lot of money. For a couple of years, just to keep the restaurants in business, we didn’t take a salary. I had owned four restaurants, but during that transition I closed two of them. I had a fine dining restaurant in Charlotte, and in 2006, we opened Roosters Wood-Fired Kitchen.” Unlike their other businesses, Jim and Karen wanted their new King’s Kitchen to be located in uptown Charlotte. While it was the most expensive real estate, it was also where most of the homeless congregated. In the summer of 2009, Jim found a restaurant in their target area that was going out of business. They were asking $400,000 for it. In keeping with their decision not to go into debt, Jim asked Karen to pray and get a number from God about how much to offer. Taking a Stand “The Lord gave me $45,000,” Karen later told him. “That’s a low number,” Jim said. “Don’t you want to round it up to $50,000?” “The number the Lord gave me was $45,000,” Karen replied. Jim called the real estate broker. “Offer them $45,000.” “Wow, they’re going to get mad,” the broker told him. “Don’t you want to at least round it up to $50,000?” “No, that’s our offer.” As expected, the offer made the owners angry. They refused to consider it. Believing they’d heard from God, Jim and Karen held their ground and stood in faith. Four months later, in 2009, the owners dropped the price to $200,000. “Our offer is still $45,000,” was Jim and Karen’s response. * * * * article continues on p. 18 * * * * BVOV : 16

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