“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy” (Psalms 126:3).
As we look back on these last few months, we are very encouraged with how God is using our ministry programs for the glory of God. One of our objectives is to plant a healthy church in every community of poverty. We are seeing great strides toward that end!
In addition to working with our staff, Lisa and I get the privilege of helping with our Trauma Healing Program. Our goal is to come alongside church leaders and equip them in how to facilitate trauma-informed care for their congregation. We had the joy of doing that with a group of leaders from Bethesda Ministries in Evansville, Indiana along with another partnering organization.
During our training, we talk about suffering, what trauma is, the journey of grief, and how to take our pain to the cross – to Jesus. One of the activities we do is called the bottle activity. The purpose of the activity is to demonstrate that if we try to keep our pain repressed it will only spill over in harmful ways. The goal is to give our pain to Jesus and allow Him to minister to our wounded hearts. It was a joy to see church leaders experience healing in their own lives before they start helping others through their journey of healing.
Another ministry event hosted by World Impact was our first International Dean School of Church Planting. We were able to train and commission thirteen leaders from Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh to train others to plant healthy churches in their own cultural context.
This involved seminar teachings and coaching by our staff. We also provided opportunities for the church leaders to share their plans on how they are going to host their own church-planting schools in their ministry context. It was very exciting to see how God is using these efforts to reach more people for Christ all over the world.
Thank you for partnering with us to see a healthy church in every community of poverty!
Andy and Lisa Entz