“What about my cousin? Will he be in heaven?”
The question came from Ramone, a 5th grader at a local elementary. Three days earlier, Ramone’s 18 year old cousin had been shot and killed after getting involved with the wrong crowd. We had just covered the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 and Ramone wanted to know what happens to a prodigal who doesn’t come home. Stories like these are constant reminders of why we do what we do. Our goal is to see entire schools and the communities behind those schools transformed by the hope of Jesus.
In the last two years, we’ve seen dozens of kids get saved or recommit their lives to Christ and we are excited by this. But we are on a mission to make more than converts. We want to make little disciples–rooted in love and able to weather the storms of life–who will lead others into the life of Jesus. We want to see their families changed and their streets safe.
Because of this refocused goal, we are changing some of our tactics. We are currently receiving extra training for disciple making and community engagement. We’ll share more about some specific strategies in future updates.
Our family is doing well. Gabe has learned to read and Kate is following in his footsteps. Enoch is growing stronger each day and his walking difficulties seem like a distant memory. Justin’s first words were “all done” and he uses them often! Rebecca and I went on a “day” date (7 hours long!) for the first time in two years (thanks to visiting family).
Thank you so much for your partnership. We are constantly reminded of our inability to do this alone and love the ones God has surrounded us with. We pray for you often and look forward to sharing the reward with you in heaven for what is happening here in Kansas City!
Prayer points:
Family health, wisdom, and humility.
For God to encounter our interns and elementary students in life changing ways.
Increase in partnership. We lost some financial partnership at the beginning of the year and need about $400 a month more to meet our budget.
You can also join our church community in praying through the 30 Days of Prayer for the muslim world March 17-April 17. On the last day of prayer, there will be over 100 million intercessors crying out for their salvation at the same time! See more at www.110cities.com.