I recently returned from a 3-day trip to Kansas where I was recertified as a Dean for the Evangel School of Urban Church Planting. Evangel is a World Impact initiative that leads urban church planting boot camps. Teams are trained and coached in creating a six-month detailed plan for launching their church. As certified deans, my wife Adria and I can run these schools in St. Louis or with other deans in the region.
At this Dean Certification Training, there were 13 Evangel schools represented. We even had two international teams from Bangladesh and Tanzania. I recertified with 2 other deans from the Midwest with the plan to work together to deploy Evangel schools in our ministry’s Midwest region—which spans 22 states!
It was such a joy to be around so many different teams and denominations represented. Out of the 13 Evangel teams present, there were some dynamic goals set: 40-45 Evangel schools held in the next year, with a projection of over 370 churches planted in the next three years! I don’t know about you, but this is exciting news to me! We are coming alongside and training some of the finest church planters alive.
Recently I was reminded what a crucial time it is for healthy urban churches to be engaging some of the most challenging communities. My family just attended the funeral of a 17-year-old young man, who had been in our Bible Clubs with his three siblings for several years in the past. We watched him grow up and were fortunate enough to know him and play a small part in his life. The funeral was so hard. But through it all, we were able to be a representation of God and His Kingdom here on earth. The week before the funeral his mother came to our house just to get away from all that was going on. Through many tears, we got to share good memories and encourage and pray with her. It was an honor for Adria and me to be the ones that she came to when she was hurting the most.
Continue to pray for our community as it has been a very violent and hard year in the city of St. Louis. Sometimes I wonder if it will ever get better. Yet, I am confident of the God-sized calling to see our city transformed by strong, courageous urban churches. Your partnership enables us to train pastors and leaders of urban church plants. Your prayers go before us in the challenging seasons and in the good ones. God is at work in the city, and we thank you greatly for playing such a huge part in that work!