Dear Friends and Family,
The Old Testament prophets described the end times with these words, “many nations shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…that He may teach us His ways and that we may walk in His paths’” (Isaiah 2:2-3; Micah 4:1-2). Long before the prophets, the good news was announced to Abraham, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed,” (Genesis 12:3); and later on it was explained by the Apostle Paul, “Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). Based on these and similar passages, we look for signs of the consummation of God’s plan of salvation which draws closer every day!
I glimpsed such a sign on a Sunday morning this past winter when I met up with three of my students from The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) who were preparing for outreach among the homeless on Skid Row. Pictured are Takashi from Japan, Octavio from Mexico, and Jennifer from Taiwan. Each has a unique and fascinating story of how God brought him or her to the United States. Their individual stories merged, however, when they heard and answered the call to work in the harvest (Matthew 9:36-38). It is my privilege to help equip these saints for ministry during our weeknight TUMI classes and to join them in the field from time to time. It is not unusual for these classes to have students representing four or more nationalities.
People from all over the world are still flocking to the city, and the mission of World Impact and TUMI is still to multiply laborers for the urban harvest in preparation for the Lord’s return. Pray with us as we say, maranatha, come Lord Jesus!
Bob and Chris Lay