My name is Eliot Morgan and I am the senior pastor of Ile Des Cannes Worship Center, a church located within the community of Ile Des Cannes in Lafayette, LA. In case you are not familiar with our area, Ile Des Cannes is a community of approximately 100 four-plex apartment buildings that house low-income families of mostly Hispanic and African-American heritage. Nearly 1/3 of our community is made up of children, teenagers, and young adults.

When God put it on my heart to plant a church in this community, the area was ridden with crime and poverty and the residents were lacking hope, peace, and joy.  As the church of this community, it is our Vision is To PROCLAIM the salvation of Jesus Christ through a healthy, unified church; To BUILD a community of believers through relationships and discipleship; To TRANSFORM the culture by raising up indigenous leaders and sending them out.

We know that by influencing the minds of the young people in our community, we can change future generations to become productive citizens and future leaders. If we can help to redirect even a single child from a path of trouble, and instead focus them on setting and reaching productive goals for themselves, we can change the course of our neighborhood, our community, and our city.

This is where we are seeking your help. We are seeking financial supporters to assist us in our project of building a basketball court for the youth of our neighborhood to use for recreation. Soon after planting the church, my family decided to move into the community. We noticed shortly after moving in, that many of the neighborhood youth were coming to play basketball on our son’s goal located in our parking lot. Since this time, the neighborhood has seen a decrease in crimes such as fighting and destruction of property. This activity has been influential in teaching team building, friendly competition, and gives us an outlet to connect to the youth in the area. We are confident that building a basketball court for our community will be a great tool for influencing our youth.

We intend to break ground on this project in early May 2016 and hope to have the basketball court in use by this summer. Any amount you’re willing to donate toward expenses of concrete, labor, basketball goals, basketballs, etc. would be greatly appreciated.  By contributing to this project you are pouring into the lives of children and into the future of our nation.