One of World Impact’s focus areas is to Develop Missional Partnerships. This means that the outlets for community transformation already exist in leaders from those urban communities. World Impact seeks to form kingdom-minded relationships that love, serve, and engage under-resourced communities.
Over these past three years, the Dallas missionary team has been in partnership with an urban church plant, New Found Life Bible Church. During our time, we have seen the Spirit of the Lord move in tremendous ways. Two of the ways that stand out to us are in the areas of relationships and leadership.
When we first moved into the community, we knew that developing relationships must be our first mode of action. Relationships bring about a Christ-like respect, trust, understanding, and love for those the Lord has called us to minister to and be among. This was not something we were forced to do, but something we looked forward to doing. Time after time, the Lord would bless us with the opportunity of meeting individuals from this community. Some of these individuals started attending Bible study meetings and Sunday morning service with us. After a while, they started meeting at our home for meals, Bible study, and special events. And the blessing of all blessings has been when they started nurturing relationship with us. What a joy it is to receive phone calls from our local friends who are just checking on how things are going with us. We are blessed to see the growth that Christ is doing in their lives.
Another highlight for us has been seeing some of these individuals take on leadership roles in the church. For some, this has been the first time they have ever been entrusted to hold a leadership role. For a new church, putting people in leadership positions is a major accomplishment. This has also been a big responsibility and process to take the steps in the equipping, training, and raising up of these urban leaders from our community. This is not a process that happens overnight. It takes time and commitment from the individuals accepting their leadership positions as well as from the training staff leaders. World Impact is in partnership with New Found Life Bible Church, helping to empower and raise up future church leaders from our urban communities from our existing relationships.
