Prejudice...against the rich?

As God would have it I have found myself living for a short season in a VERY affluent neighborhood. I thought nothing of it at first, other than that I was grateful to be in a safe neighborhood since I'd be living alone during this time. Until today...Today I went for a run and following events and thoughts occurred: I found that if there was anyone on the street, in their garage...anywhere they could see me, I would go the opposite way. I thought back and realized I had been the same with my landlord, my neighbors and then I thought about LA...

In the inner city dozens of people walk by me on any night and I approach almost all of them, to tell them who Jesus is and what His plans are for them, just try and stop me from sharing Christ in the inner city. Why is it any different in a place where people have "everything" but lack the very thing that matters in eternity...Jesus Christ?

How did I decide in my heart that this season, however short it may be, didn't matter? God does not waste our time, this time is not "time off" or simply a season of preparation, it's a season for God's glory to be manifest in THIS place.

Lord Jesus, please forgive me and change my heart, be glorified in this place. Amen.

After Hours Ministry, June 24, 2011

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.” Hosea 2:14,15

God’s pursuit of us is relentless, His love is steadfast, He is faithfulness. Never have these truths been more apparent to me than when we meet the girls on the street. Whether they gladly receive us or quickly push away it is in response to God’s pursuit of them.

We met a lot of women this last week, gave out all of our gift bags and had to call it a night. Amongst the many there were a few that stood out which I will do my best to recall and share with you now.

The first woman we spoke with was “S”, she was beautiful and apparently pregnant though she made no mention of it. Her heart was soft and she was very receptive, something about her cut straight to my heart, it was difficult for me to guard my emotions. We did pray for her and share with her that God had so much more for her, she seemed to know but there was a sense of hopelessness at the same time. “s” told us there was a lot of girls down the street by a certain motel and sure enough there were A LOT!

We first came upon a group of 3 girls, they were VERY young and VERY receptive. In fact, they approached us and asked us for prayer.  Most of the girls we meet give us fake names and they change them all time and these girls did the same. One said her name was Special and was she ever. We began to pray over these women and it was evident that the Lord was in our midst! Special then pulled me aside and asked if she could pray. Wow, when this young woman began to pray! This was a woman who knew the Lord and knew she was not where He wanted her. She prayed with the power of the Holy Spirit over herself, the other girls, the men. She prayed with wisdom and discernment, this was God’s daughter.  In all my years of ministering on the streets I have not experienced a prayer like that. Afterwards we talked about options for getting her off the street and I gave her my number to call if she wanted help to which she tearfully answered, “can I call you if I just want to pray?”

Just minutes later we met another group of girls, there were three of them and from what I could gather two were being turned out and the other was “training” them. The new girls couldn’t have been older than 15. When we asked if we could pray for them, one of the young girls let out a gasp and covered her mouth as if in shock. It was as though she couldn’t believe God was there, in this awful place, as a witness to the awful things she was about to do. God met her there, I am sure of that.

The last woman we spoke with was older and lived in a nearby motel making money to live by prostituting herself. She had just come out for the night and we were the first people she met with. She said she knew the Lord so I felt I could really challenge her to trust Him and live the life He had for her. She knew.

These last months have not been easy, there have been so many changes and transitions, my heart has been torn in several directions, it is sometimes a struggle to find enough volunteers to go out at night but one thing keeps me pressing in and pressing on, God has given me just a glimpse of His heart for His people. There are moments when I feel the intensity of His love, the devastation of rejection, the hope of transformation…these moments draw me in and push me forward. I am in awe and overwhelmed by His great love, His unending mercy, His lavish grace that draws us near.

After Hours Ministry Outreach, June 10th 2011

Sometimes in our walk we are waiting (it feels like most of the time actually) but then eventually our waiting comes to an end and God answers. It feels as though God has opened the flood gates on After Hours Ministry. Several months ago I felt as though we were standing before a wall in the ministry and either we could stop there and let things be as they were or we could scale it and have opportunites greater than we could even imagine. Praise God, He has brought us over that wall and into an incredible season. We have seen so many prayers answered in the last several months it is overwhelming. Last night was an absolute answer to prayer. We held our first training class in the community we minister to, to local believers with a heart for their city.

Our specific prayer was for a church to connect with near the track so we would have a place to connect the women to. We met at this church last night :) At the end of the meeting the pastor offered their support and facilities to our ministry...wow!

God is planting other ministries in the same area that we are able to partner with for the gospel, like our friends with "Feeding The Spirit" a Bible study that meets on the street. They were our connection to this church and they actually arranged the meeting for our class last night!

God is growing our team and building teams in other locations. We had two other groups join us for our class last night that intend to start their own ministries in their area. Three women came who were formerly in the Game and are now serving Jesus.

After the class, 17 of us went on outreach. We split up in 4 teams and hit two different tracks. Our team met up with several women, 2 who didn't want to talk, 2 who really wanted to talk (one of them knew us) and asked for prayer for honest employment, 3 who didn't have much to say but happily took a gift bag, 1 who we have met several times who though she told me she likes what she does let me pray for God's deliverance for her, and 1 who was heartbroken because her son didn't live with her and her best friend had been stabbed and readily received prayer.

Last night was incredible, God is uniting His church for His kingdom and bringing glory to Himself. God is seeking after His own. God is greater than the evil of this world. I am so thankful to be His.

Prayer requests:

• Continued wisdom and direction as we connect with others serving in the same community. That each of us would have wisdom for the role that we have and how we can be most effective for God's kingdom.
• For unity within our ministry and the body as a whole
• For freedom for those who are held captive, that they will walk in the hope and future God has for them
• For wisdom as we seek to connect individuals to safe houses, employment rescources, churches etc. that are necessary for their restoration