Well, the time is here. The summer is half over. Wow. It's crazy, it feels like we have only been here for a week, but also for our whole lives. We have met so many people, and we are only half done. On Thursday of this week, my team and I just sat down with our supervisor and worked on strategy. With only one month left, it's time to get down to business. We placed everyone we have met in the "4 Fields", which is a tool that is used to determine where someone is in the process of salvation and evangelism. For more information on the Four fields, check out this link. http://ow.ly/bXE3z
After placing everyone in the 4 Fields, we created a detailed list of each person/family unit and how we can bring them to the next spot. Right now we are working on connecting each person/family unit to someone in the Church who can continue to build relationships and share Jesus with them after we are gone. We leave August 1st, and if we don't build that network before we are gone, our ministry this summer will mean nothing. Strategy is daunting: with over 50 people to connect to the local church, scheduling and planning is hard, but it's what God has called us to. We have to build lasting relationships with these people. We are not the end of this ministry; Project 52 is not the end goal. We are here to empower the local church to take up the mission of reaching the Lost from across the globe here in Nashville. Please pray for us as we work on strategy and connecting people this last month.
This Saturday we attended a Burmese Buddhist Water Festival. This is a festival that celebrates the New Year, and you splash people with water to symbolize spiritual refreshment and cleansing. We went to build relationships with the Burmese people... and to splash each other with water! It was a great time, especially with the kids. I couldn't help but think while I was there about what it means to be cleansed from sin. I'm glad that our cleansing doesn't come from other sinful, dirty people, but from the One who never needed cleansing. "He became sin who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." We are cleansed not with water, but with blood. It is the blood of the Lamb that makes us spotless in the sight of a just and holy God. Thanks be to God.
Well, this week is going to be exciting! We have some meetings scheduled with members of local churches with some of the people we have met, and we are seeking to build connections that will endure after we are gone. Please pray for the church to take the command of Christ and follow in obedience; we need them to carry on our work after we have gone. The Lord has done too much for us to let these people fall to the wayside. There is a lot of work left, and only 4 weeks to do it all, but the Lord is God over time, and He can do an incredible work even in the remaining 4 weeks.
Please pray with boldness this week for us in these specific ways:
- Pray for our strategic planning, that we would make the most out of our time to create a lasting impact here in Nashville that would ripple out and affect nations and people across the globe.
- Pray for the local church, that they would have hearts for the nations here in Nashville and be willing to follow us and build lasting relationships with our friends that we have made this summer.
- Pray for the interactions we will have with all of our contacts this week. Pray for salvation of families, tribes, and nations. It's not too big for God.