URBAN MISSIONS IN THE MIDST OF Social RESTRICTIONS
How is it even possible to be missional in spite of the restrictions we are facing? Though the physical reach of our activity is blocked, and for good reason, our passion to share the love of Jesus with the nations hasn't diminished at all.
Our urban centers around the country have been seeking creative expressions of how to minister. We are so encouraged by their stories and are praying for more!
YWAM Tyler
Our outreaches began yesterday but not like any outreach we've ever done. After the cancellation of our yearly Inspire Worship and Missions event and the pre-week "Arise and Shine" outreaches, we weren't sure what God was up to.
After much prayer, applying all the restrictions the CDC has advised, small teams are creatively serving the campus, and reaching out via social media and the phone. This week we've created a social post asking if anyone needs prayer. People are responding and we are praying for hope, healing, and a deeper revelation of Jesus.
URBAN DTS
YWAM Houston
"Street Church looked different again tonight because of the COVID 19 issue but Jesus was still in the House! We challenged the attendees to a relationship with Jesus and prayed over them. We served nearly 200 meals on site and as we drove through downtown afterward. It’s so challenging to not be able to lay hands on and pray for these precious souls or to be able to hug them but it is quite amazing to hear THANK YOU from so many. Special thanks to Transformation Church Montgomery, Tallowood Baptist for covering the cost of the food, and the three volunteers from Hope City Church who showed up and helped serve dinner. GOD IS GOOD!"
YWAM Dallas
"As Ywammers we always know what to do when we don't know what to do. We pray and listen and do what we hear God saying. Since all of our regular groups can't meet right now we have been connecting electronically, and one-on-one on a smaller scale.
Some of the things we can do are helping school kids with the assignments that they do at home, help with some food distribution, and help with practical needs in our community. We have also been able to be much more reflective and do a lot better job of connecting with ministry partners, friends, and family. We firmly believe that there is life after this crisis and we are trusting God to make us more Christlike through it all."
YWAM West Virginia
Currently, we do not have a reported case of the virus in our county. We have been in touch with the Health Department, the Chamber of Commerce, the County Commissioner and the local hospital in order to be of help if they need us. All of us are “on call” waiting to serve when needed.
YWAM New Orleans
AN UNPRECEDENTED TIME FOR EVANGELISM. We have a neighborhood with thousands of people staying home, walking dogs and getting exercise. They are talking to each other and we can witness⎼at a distance. We've never seen a time like this in NOLA. Pray we take advantage of this opportunity.
Pray for evangelism at Gilmore Park Apartments⎼We are moving into a house in another African American neighborhood which has a large low income housing development next to it. We do evangelism with the families and children there. Pray for this. We have been doing this for the last several months.
Pray for our Pregnancy Care Center⎼We are preparing for a large increase of clients because men and women are home with nothing to do. We had a baby boom after Katrina due to similar circumstances. We need new volunteers for the center. The abortion clinics are closed and we are trying to stay open with limited hours at our PCC.
Pray for YWAM IN NOLA⎼In the years after Hurricane Katrina we were able to host around 10,000 people who came to our city to do outreach and work on homes. Pray we are able to minister to the thousands who have lost their jobs, families who can't pay their mortgage or rent, and those who live in fear and anxiety because of the circumstances they now face due to COVID 19.
Pray for the Health Crisis here⎼Lots of people here have contracted the virus in New Orleans because of Mardi Gras. NBC News and others are reporting that the virus is bad because of the 1 1/2 million people from all over the world that came here during the extended weeks of Carnival and Mardi Gras. People were in crowds and packed close together on the parade routes that are almost five miles long.
Pray for Housing⎼We are housing an elderly couple here at YWAM who left their nursing home after others in it came down with COVID 19. We also are housing another missionary couple who are self-quarantining after coming back from Jordan.
YWAM Chicago
Our building community feels more like a family than ever! We had a homestyle church gathering this past Sunday evening with several young singles who reside here. We have had ample platforms to connect with people digitally, especially ZOOM prayer rooms. There’s a citywide prayer event going on tonight, with the hope to connect people all over the map for a 24/7 prayer “room” though aprayingcity.com.
The biggest challenge is seeking God with fresh delight in that discipline of devotion—a continual posture of humble intentionality in the Spirit, to hear His heart first and foremost, so we don’t continue to fall into the trap of becoming purely reactionary along with all of the worldly hype and hysteria because of COVID 19.
Amid this time of heightened connectivity, the Lord calls us yet again, in a new season, to be intentional about the priority of hearing from the Spirit under the scrutiny of Scripture, both individually and corporately. Prayer walking, bike rides around the neighborhood, and pretty much any public showing, now has the potential to carry a weight of testimony far greater than any I've had since I’ve been in Chicago! Why? We don’t have to say much. The Gospel becomes evident in our posture, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
YWAM West Palm Beach
Like so many YWAM campuses around the nation and the world, we find ourselves at a greater level of dependency on God to lead us in creative and timely ways of ministry to our family, neighbors & communities.
We are using ZOOM to continue our young adult Bible study, and offer a simple worship service for those without a church family.
We are intentionally calling and connecting with neighbors, and initiating more local neighborhood prayer walks. We engage people at a safe distance, who are out in the local parks that are still currently open.
We know many young adults and high schoolers who are homebound, and as a result, bored, isolated, and stressed, so we are calling them. We are dropping off supplies and food items to a few high school students who are in at-risk family situations.
We are also checking on some elderly and shut-ins in our area to see if they need supplies or want to talk.
Please pray for divine appointments as we interact with our neighbors.
