The Oakwood United Methodist Church Future Makers Ministry in Lubbock, Texas

Future Makers Ministry is our newest ministry at Oakwood United Methodist Church in Lubbock Texas (Google Maps Link). Learn computer programming and robotics! Learn problem-solving skills. For children, middle school and up. We accept adult students, as well. For more information, contact Joe Reeder (our resident electronics expert that worked in the electronics industry for many years).  Contact Joe Reeder here: joe.yt1944acct@gmail.com

Joe Reeder is in charge of this exciting new ministry and is in need of your support. Please consider helping with a donation earmarked for “Future Makers Ministry”.

Here is how Joe Reeder describes his Future Makers class:

Most people have seen them on TV or the Internet:

Little boxes that you can talk to, and that suggest places to shop and eat, or control electronic devices. Autonomous vehicles: A headline says that ‘Ford Targets Fully Autonomous Vehicle for Ride Sharing in 2021’ (they are now hiring). Self-driving trucks are now delivering refrigerators. Automated refrigerators that keep track of their contents. Also, there are microwave ovens, washing machines and dishwashers that can be controlled from the Internet and/or the little box.

Amazon’s grocery store with no people. Think of walking into McDonald’s and pushing a couple of buttons so a robot can make you a hamburger. Not if, but when. Search the Internet and you will find 2,262 Autonomous Vehicle jobs or more.

Walmart is about to let a bunch of cashiers go. It will now be self check out run by automation. Work in fast food, drive a truck or work a cash register? Look over your shoulder. R2D2 is coming. And it’s not just minimum wage folks who should worry. Artificial Intelligence can do much of the work of a lawyer or doctor.

There are many times when more computers are embedded in things that don’t look like computers than in things that do. Some examples: MP3 players, mobile phones, video game consoles, digital cameras, DVD players, medical systems for radiation therapy, patient monitoring, and defibrillation and GPS, in addition to the household appliances mentioned above. They are called embedded systems, and they make our modern world work.

The old jobs are going away. People need to know how embedded systems operate so they can work. You don’t learn, you don’t work. Do learn and you could earn $72,000 per year as a new hire, still wet behind the ears, with just a little time out of college.

From the Department of Education under Obama:

“We need STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. All young people should be prepared to think deeply and to think well so that they have the chance to become the innovators, educators, researchers, and leaders who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our nation and our world, both today and tomorrow. But, right now, not enough of our youth have access to quality STEM learning opportunities and too few students see these disciplines as springboards for their careers.”

The old saying says, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Oakwood UMC’s Future Makers Ministry provides the fishing pole in the form of basic electronics and computer programming Those are the two areas of knowledge a person must have to work with embedded systems. While it’s almost certain that the people taking a basic class will not end up landing a high-paying job after completing the basics offered, but at least they will know if they would like to learn more, plus have a bit of a head start.

The Future Makers Ministry classes are open to anyone who is middle school age or older. We are now in the second session. The first was a group of Girl Scouts. There are three adults and four kids in the current session. The most important ones, of course, are the kids. This is their world even now, and it is most certainly their future world.

The most important thing any of us can have was explained by Jesus in John 3:16. Believe He is who He says He is and we will have eternal life.

And to survive in this worldly part of our life, we need to understand what we must know to live reasonably well. We must learn the things we need to know so the world won’t leave us behind.

Drop by the church and take a look at the classroom.

The class meets on Thursdays at 6:30 PM and is free. That means it survives on donations. Like to help? If you use a check, make it out to Oakwood UMC with a note in the memo space that says “Future Makers”. That makes it deductible for you.

Oakwood United Methodist Church
2215 58th St, Lubbock, TX 79412
806-792-3321
(Google Maps Link)

Have A Blessed Day,
“Grandpa” Joe Reeder
joe.yt1944acct@gmail.com