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Prayer Force Update - Youth Missions Team
ThuThursdayJulJuly23rd2009
July 23 - Day 6
Our God is truly an awesome God. Long before we came to Cincinnati He was at work arranging an opportunity for us that was not in our plan. Thankfully, He's in charge and we are not. The plan for Wednesday was placing doorhangers in the afternoon and running a block party in the early evening at a local park. The Lord's plan was for our team to go to a city recreation center to provide an indoor block party.
Three months ago at Urban Hills Church's first weekly service on Easter Sunday a young man named Jake came to faith in Jesus. Three weeks ago he was baptized. On Wednesday morning we woke up to steady rain and the realization that the day was not going to go as planned. Our church planter, Pastor Ed Blackledge, decided to call Jake just to see if there was anything we could do at the city rec center where he works with kids. Pastor Ed later mentioned that most local government officials and locations are very closed to churches. In this case, the Lord used the combination of Jake's presence (and recent step of faith), the rain, the local association's block party trailer and almost 100 kids with no afternoon pool trip to give Urban Hills an usual opportunity to step in and save the day.
Our team set up several inflatables including a moonbounce, a jousting ring, and a bungee cord race. then we set up a face painting area, a sno-cone machine, and a cotton candy machine. All for free to the city of Cincinnati. We also provided dinner for the staff by ordering extra Chinese to our dinner. We did not do a lot of verbally sharing the gospel, but we're finding that in our post-Christian culture many of our best opportunities begin with showing God's love so that His truth can be told later. Pastor Ed was very excited about the relational foundation that was laid. Now they are more aware of Urban Hills Church presence and they may be drawn there. Now Jake is known as a Christian from this new local church that is different and cares about the community. Now Pastor Ed is a more familiar face with some credibility built up. We are here for a few days. He and Urban Hills will be here long after we leave. We pray they will water and harvest the seeds that have been planted.
One other thing - the team decided on Tuesday to have their time at the nearby amusement park that night instead of Friday. They did this, even though it meant less time at the park, because the local festival that Urban Hills is participating in as an outreach begins Friday night. By going Tuesday, the team freed up time Friday night to go to the Anderson Days festival wearing their Urban Hills shirts and supporting the church's booth. May we become less and may HE become more.
Please pray for:
- Thursday's plans to distribute labeled candy bags and Chic-Fil-A sandwiches to local businesses including the local school system offices plus many more doorhangers in neighborhoods surrounding Urban Hill's worship location.
- our team to give their all for the tasks they have today.
- The seeds (doorhangers, car washes, playing with kids, etc.) to take root in Anderson Township so that UHC reaps the harvest for the Lord.
- Pastor Ed and Buffie (plus their daughters), for encouragement, strength, and discernment as the seek to reach this area for Christ.
- Our safety and health as the week starts to wind down.
In His Name,
Pastor Allen
TueTuesdayJulJuly21st2009
July 21 - Day 4
I'm really not sure where to begin with this report. There is definitely more to say than I could ever expect anyone to read. The Lord is up to something this week. He is using this PowerPlant experience to bless Urban Hills Church, but He is also using it to bless LBC with a group of young people whose lives are being transformed and prepared for a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit. I believe that one day many of us will look back this week as when "it" all began.
Yesterday, we distributed at least 1,200-1,500 doorhangers throughout Anderson Township. Between that and the prayer walking we did the day before it has been exciting to watch our whole team (youth and adults) sense the Lord at work here and to feel His call to do the same in St. Mary's County.
Last night, we participated in a Concert of Prayer. It's always my favorite night of PowerPlant. It is an amazing experience that I hope to share with LBC sometime. The Lord came down and met with us in a very moving and powerful way last night.
Today we will be placing more doorhangers and providing a roving car wash to local businesses. Whereever we go (including local restaurants) we tell people about Urban Hills Church and the Lord it serves. Many seeds are being planted.
In addition to lifting up our team I would ask that you pray for one of LBC's Deacons, Roger Thomas, who lost his mother last night and for Maina & Tiffany Mwaura who lost their first child, Mason, just after birth.
In His Name,
Pastor Allen
SunSundayJulJuly19th2009
July 19 - We're Here!
Thanks for lifting us in prayer this weekend. We need it and appreciate it. In fact, prayer has been the theme today...
We arrived late yesterday afternoon, moved into our rooms and enjoyed our first meal. Apparently, the Cincinnati project is the largest this year with about 200 youth and adults from 13 churches working with 8 church plants throughout the greater Cincinnati area.
We worshipped with Urban Hills Church (our church plant) this morning and enjoyed a wonderful time in the Lord with a small, but dedicated group of people in a local government building. A large conference room served as the "sanctuary" this morning.
This afternoon we joined the church at the senior pastor's house for a cookout and then went on prayerwalks in the neighborhoods we will place doorhangers in this week.
I'm out of time for the moment. I will send updates as I can. Thanks for praying.
In His Name,
Pastor Allen
WedWednesdayJulJuly15th2009
July 15, 2009 - The Countdown Begins
Thank you for praying for the Youth Missions Team. We wanted you to have an update from us so you can stay informed as you pray. Here are some requests:
Final Prep
We have less than 63 hours to go and there's plenty to get ready. Please pray that all that needs to be done will be completed and that everyone will be rested, healthy, and spiritually prepared to be used however the Lord desires next week.
Safe Travel
Please pray for our vehicles (2 church vans) and our drivers. We will meet at 6:00 AM this Saturday to depart on a 10-11 hour trip to Mason, OH where we will stay at First Baptist Church of Mason. During the week we will have about a 30-40 minute commute to the other side of Cincinnati to the Anderson Township area that Urban Hills Church is targeting.
Focus & Flexibility
Please pray for all of the adults and youth to stay focused and flexible during the week. Pray that our focus would be on our purpose for going to Ohio (God's glory and the growth of His Kingdom) and nothing else. Pray that we would be flexible as plans and circumstances inevitably change.
Urban Hills Church
Please pray for Pastor Ed Blackledge and UHC. They are small and new, but they are determined to reach an area and a generation (young professionals) that often seem difficult to reach. They recently held what I believe were their first baptisms. Please pray that UHC will be strengthened and encouraged through our ministry with them. Pray that the seeds we plant together will yield a great harvest.
Ministry Activities
Pray for us as we visit neighborhoods to place door hangers and hand out "Invitation" CDs, visit local businesses with gift bags, provide a free car wash to evening commuters who live in the area and whatever else the Lord has for us. We expect to place door hangers on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We plan on offering the car wash on Tuesday. I'm not sure when we will try to visit the businesses.
In His Name,
Pastor Allen
TueTuesdayJunJune2nd2009
June 2, 2009 - Testing, testing...
Update for June 2, 2009
Testing, testing.... is this thing on?
Thank you for signing up to be a part of the Prayer Force group that will provide prayer support for our Youth Missions Team going to Cincinnati. This first issue is a bit of a test as we try to use our website's capabilities to send out these updates. Please do us a big favor and reply to this message to confirm that you have received it. This will let us know that you are receiving these updates and that you would like to continue receiving them.
Meet the Team!
All of the applications have been turned in and the adults have been selected so I'm very excited to introduce you to the team. For now, that's just going to be a list of names, but I do want you at least have their names so you can begin praying for them. Here they are...
Youth - Seth Benefield, Joshua Reichard, Philip Lindsay, Matt Rog, Adam Wyman, Caleb Morris, Alex Dooley, Nathan Tenney, Tim Shores, Casey Payne, Matt Dooley, Autumn Rog, Schyler Firestein, Alexa Parillo, Kaitlyn Lindsay, Sarah Orr, Jessica Gass
Adults - Allen Acker, Scott Stringer, Dave Morris, Terry Tenney, Diane Reichard, JoAnne Mankowski, Lucinda Lindsay
Meet the Church Planter!
We finally received our project assignment a couple weeks ago and I'm very pleased to say that we have been matched up with Pastor Ed Blackledge and Urban Hills Church. This is the planter I was personally hoping to work with during PowerPlant. You can learn a little more about Ed and the church he is planing at www.urbanhillschurch.com.
Prayer Requests
- Pray that the team's first meeting on June 3 goes well. We will meet with the team and parents to review the trip.
- Pray that the team's group study goes well. We will be meeting during the 10am Bible Fellowship hour. OUr study group will use a Dare2Share curriculum called the Gospel Journey.
- Pray for our team's first local missions activity on June 13. We will be going to Nicolet Park to work with John Ince's ministry by providing a Bible lesson and activities for the children who are around in the park that day.
In His Name,
Pastor Allen
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