We all go through tough times from time to time in our life. We are so thankful for you - friends and family who lift our hands up, pray for us and support us. Sadly, not everyone has such a rich support system. We work with people, many of them pastors and leaders, who have very few people to turn to for support.
One of the privileges of our job is to be able to take time to walk with people through their hard times – in life or ministry or whatever. These might be emerging leaders in the church we started out of our home years ago or the new network of pastors and church leaders we are pouring into now.
After a
very hard day, we walked through an area riddled with drug dealers, prostitutes
and people without homes. We were walking to invite people to a job fair for
the formerly incarcerated. But the time walking together was more than just
ministry to those on the street – we were able to minister to one another. Soon
after leaving the church property, we ran into a colorful group of individuals
in front of a local drug home. They were initially intimidated by us, but once
they heard we were from a local church they dropped their guard and shared
their stories with us. As we continued
on our walk, we shared our stories – leader to leader, pastor to pastor, person
to person. We walked through a city full of hurt and pain and yet we were able
to share our own burdens and encourage one another in this tough journey of
serving the least of these. On a day when you may feel like you just can’t go
on any longer, having somebody walk with you and speak life can make all of the
difference. We want to see every leader flourish and accomplish the mission God
has given them.
The very
next day the setting changed completely, the smells and sights improved. I got
to meet with another leader, not on the streets this time, but in a nice café
in a different part of the city. There sipping our drinks we were able to talk
about the ups and downs of life and ministry. We strategized and put some
resources together for future church planting efforts that will reach more
people than either of us could ever do on our own. We then lifted one another
up in prayer leaving each other encouraged and ready for the next challenge to
come our way.
A couple
mornings later, as we sat around the makeshift table eating a Salvadorian
breakfast, we introduced ourselves and began to share about our ministries. In
no time we discovered our similar passion to reach the lost in our city and
empower the people in our communities. This mission coupled with an
understanding for the need for encouragement, relationship, accountability and
resourcing is really at the core of our Urban Church Associations. While we are
involved in many aspects of ministry here at World Impact pouring into future
and current leaders and helping them be more healthy and fruitful is a big and
important part.
Please keep us and these other leaders in your prayers…we all go through tough times from time to time.
Please
be in prayer for the following:
- Our family as we drive up to Oregon/Northern California for a few weeks to connect with friends and supporting churches and continue to raise funds for our mission work.
- Our Men’s & Women’s Retreats (in September and October).
