Mark Terrell Serves through Cup of Cool Water Ministries
By John Williamson

Mark Terrell, '94, does not talk like most other ministers. He has no problem walking up to street kids and sharing his two favorite words: grace and f---. God shows unmerited grace in offering forgiveness for f---ed up lives, Terrell says, and grace means little until people realize they are f---ed.

Cup of Cool Water, a nonprofit organization founded by Terrell, emphasizes the importance of grace as volunteers strive to lead kids off the streets into lives focused on following Jesus Christ.

Street kids visit Cup of Cool Water during weekly drop-in times to receive a hot meal, take a shower, do laundry, study the Bible or play games. Several rooms in the organization's building convert into sleeping shelters, and Terrell plans to start a bike-mechanic program and to host bike-racing events.

"Sharing the love and hope of Christ is everything we do," Terrell said. "We're present with the kids and present with each other and present with God."

At one time, street ministry was far from Terrell's mind. His life took a dramatic turn in September 1989, when he learned that two friends had died in a motorcycle accident. The news shook Terrell, who at the time was a Whitworth freshman soccer player struggling through injuries. He started reading his Bible and crying out to God.

"God, why did they have to die and what can I do to help?" he asked.

Terrell said he then felt Jesus' comforting presence come into his Baldwin-Jenkins Hall dorm room, telling him to study psychology and "help my children."

"God planted something in me," he said. "For the first time in my life, I knew what life, joy, and peace were – and they only come through Jesus."

While continuing his studies, Terrell stopped playing soccer and began serving with the Whitworth-based En Christo urban-ministry program – handing out lunches to homeless people downtown. One summer, he took an internship in San Francisco working with convicted teenagers. After graduating, Terrell got a job as a chaplain at a youth-correction facility.

Through his ministries, Terrell noticed the desperate need of Spokane's street kids. He felt called to start a ministry based on outreach and follow-up work, where he would invite kids into his life.

With this vision in his heart, Terrell asked God to provide credibility, accountability and finances. Soon, he met a man whose ministry was able to provide all three needs, and a board of directors was formed. Cup of Cool Water took off in 1995.

As Cup of Cool Water's director, Terrell does administrative work, interacts with kids during drop-in times, and heads out with volunteer outreach groups to talk with kids on the streets.

"It's nice to go out with Mark," said Zach Briggs, a Cup of Cool Water volunteer. "He knows where the street kids hang out and he knows a lot of the kids out there by name."

Many street kids consider Terrell a friend because he does not judge them. He helps kids find lost birth certificates and lines up job opportunities. Casual curse words never bother him, unless they are used to demean another person. However, Terrell is also not afraid to hold others accountable – challenging them with Bible verses if they degrade others or act out in violence.

"The thing that stands out is how loving and accepting he is," Briggs said. "He patterns his ministry after how Christ did his."

Cup of Cool Water focuses on building relationships. Volunteers often spend hours with street kids, waiting for them to open up and share struggles. Terrell credits his psychology background with teaching him to listen better.

"Psychology is really just a tool God created to help people," he said. "I go, 'Okay, God, how do you want me to help this kid?'"

Now married with two children, Terrell carefully devotes time to his family outside the ministry. One young man who visited Cup of Cool Water continually asked Terrell why he always went home when drop-in times ended. Eventually, the same kid said he wished his father had more spent time with him.

Words like those encourage and challenge Terrell.

"Jesus says he'll never leave us or abandon us," he said. "Usually, when I get to a place of asking God where he is, God reminds me that he is still working."

Over the last 10 years, Terrell and Cup of Cool Water's street-savvy, relation-based approach to ministry has had a positive impact on countless Spokane-area youth.

"Whoever we run into, we talk to them and help them out in any we can," Briggs said. "It's just showing love in a practical way to street kids who don't get it all the time."

[For more information on Cup of Cool Water, call 509-747-6686 or visit www.cupofcoolwater.org.