After the gunshot to the face, and the succession of rebuilding his face; God was preparing to rebuild his heart.
Planting churches in rural areas where the population is is about 100 people plus some cows to having a passion and desire to provide an outreach to the inner city. Holding credentials in the Assemblies of God the fire was within and the call on his life was ignited... now only to figure out where to start... where to plant?
Upon meeting another church planter and getting hired his sordid past now begins to blossom into a vibrant future! After a few months of the office he was tired and ready for the street!
With the blessing of the pastor he rented out a house and brought in the homeless and hurting. People are getting healed and lives are changing! One particular guy was dying of hepatitis...he was beat and bloody both physically and emotionally.
After caring for his physical wounds he recognized his need for a spiritual healing but he got more than that! The brothers laid hands on him and he was healed from hepatitis!!! Praise God.
By allowing guys in the 6 month program to clean churches and restaurants for funding a church was soon born. Located in a storefront with a prime location right next to a pornographic store, the church needed subtly persuade the store owner.
Being involved with broken people and broken vessels is not only time consuming but emotionally and spiritually draining. One of the hardest things is setting up boundaries.
Some successful outreaches is citireach where the church gives out pizza and gives out back-packs, and "give a gifts" through network of hope.
With crime on the rise and violence plaguing our cities there needs to be more inner city church plants to provide hope to the hurting.
In regards to counseling there tends to be a directive approach. This sounds good in theory however, at some point individuals need learn to think... for so long many people on the streets have developed a stimulus response type attitude. There are specific triggers that influence an individual to have physiological responses and there needs to be a time when the individual learns to think through these automatic responses.
Furthermore, depending upon the drugs or alcohol the detoxification process can be deathly. Prescriptions which are widely abused cannot be quit cold turkey otherwise serious injury can result; very similar to alcohol.
I do love his passion and commitment to what he feels God has called him to! Although, he does not have "higher education" he inspires me to run with what God has placed on my heart.
Not only that but this encapsulates and demonstrates the incredibly awesome power of God's grace.
I definitely appreciate the fresh approach on the dependance of the Holy Spirit. Not downplaying the supernatural but relying on it solely for the preaching and teaching of the Gospel.
His commitment to offer accountability, encouragement, and support for those who have graduated is amazing. I would express a little concern about the individuals who graduate and then lead. Especially the guy the who quit smoking crack about a year ago and is now running the home...this sounds dangerous not only to the individuals but also to the structure and safety of the ministry.
Additionally, there seems to be some legal issues with codes and bending the rules mentality that seem to be working but eventually can create problems.
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