It is an honor to experience so many God moments as we serve with World Impact. We love giving you a glimpse into what God is doing in the city, and this letter is no different!
Every Tuesday evening at a café downtown, 15-30 guys gather for an hour and a half. These guys are not your typical mid-week Bible study. This SIAFU group is led by a bail bondsman and full of ex-inmates, ex-addicts, and ex-gang members. We have guys who have been in the joint for 37 years and past rival gang members. They gather to receive encouragement, prayer, and a message from the Word.
Each meeting starts out with prayer and then we go around the circle and each guy has 2-3 minutes to share how their week was. The week after Christmas several guys shared how this had been the best Christmas they have ever had because they got to spend it with family. For those guys who have been locked up in prison for several years, you could see the joy as they got to share about the time they spent with their families.
Next up was my friend Jerod. Jerod is a 6’4”, 250-pound guy with lots of tattoos. He is not a small guy, to say the least! Before Jerod could even say a word, he started to cry. He shared that he was just overwhelmed at how much Jesus loved him, how a Jesus would actually die for him. Jerod could not keep his gratitude to himself and his love for Christ was so genuine. I was humbled that I got to be in the same room as these guys.
The SIAFU Network is a national association of chapters anchored in local urban churches and ministries dedicated to the city. SIAFU chapters are designed to help identify, equip and release spiritually qualified servant leaders to reach and transform our neediest, unreached communities in urban America. The men who sat around that table have everything it takes to reach and transform our cities. They are the real deal!
Equipping men and women to lead in some of the roughest areas is not always the easiest thing to be a part of, but when you see someone like Jerod come along, you quickly remember why you do what you do. Please continue to pray that we will have many opportunities to work with and coach men and women like Jerod. Pray that they will be faithful disciples and that we will be able to plug them into the right churches.
Read more from Midwest Missionary Andrew Medlen.
