Medlen October Prayer Letter

Hello Team, 

I hope each of you are doing great! As missionaries with World Impact, it is our privilege to empower urban leaders and partner with local churches to help reach our cities with the Gospel. As you can imagine, this gives us so many new and different opportunities. We have relationships with leaders all over the city and get to see God do some amazing things! Sometimes we help lead the efforts and sometimes we get to play a supporting role, letting leaders know their God-given calling is important and that they have people cheering them on. 

Recently, I (Andrew) partnered with a ministry at a weekend event held just north of St. Louis city in Ferguson, MO. It was the 5-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, Jr. Just a block away from the memorial site, they set up a tent to host 14 hours of worship and prayer for the community. The goal was to bring God glory and to offer healing for those affected by the events 5 years ago. 

This local pastor who organized the event works tirelessly in Ferguson. That weekend was no exception. Over the 14-hour period, we saw many people come and go in the tent, including Michael Brown, Sr. and his wife. We were able to speak words of truth and love and pray over them. It was a special time that only the Lord could have set up. 

I had planned to show up to the event to stand with them, but when I got there and realized that their sound person had cancelled, I was able to also support the outreach in that small but important way. You see, empowering local urban leaders never looks the same on an everyday basis. Often it is done behind the scenes. The true force of change for our cities is not Adria and I! It is the Holy Spirit working through urban leaders. 

It truly is a joy to walk with leaders in their context and culture, to let them know they have people in their corner and then get to see them be able to do what the Lord has called them to do. Sometimes that means praying with and encouraging them. Sometimes that means resourcing and training them. Sometimes that means running sound at their big event so they can focus on ministering. 

Your prayers and support mean that these urban leaders have even more people standing in their corner! The Lord is doing mighty works in our city through church plants, discipleship, prayer movements, and so much more. We are honored to play our small part. Thank you for playing your part and partnering with us so that we can empower urban leaders to help reach this city with the gospel! 

For His Kingdom, Andrew, Adria, Judah, Josiah, and Joanna Medlen