Prayer for Summer

With June rapidly approaching, we at World Impact St. Louis are beginning to plan for a summer of programs! The most drastic program change will involve our youth as we create a six-week summer program full of bible lessons and fun activities and two additional weeks of camp.

In order to best serve the children in our neighborhood we have several urgent needs for this summer:

• Summer Interns
• Financial Sponsorship for each child involved in our program

Along with prayer for these physical needs, we also ask that you join us in prayer for the hearts of all those who will be involved in our programs this summer. Pray that God does a mighty work in this community and in the hearts of our youth this summer!

Spring-tastic!

Our humblest apologies for such a long break between prayer blogs. Sometimes life and ministry intrude upon our best intentions! However, prayer needs and praises have not ceased within ministry here at World Impact St. Louis!

We recently hosted college students from Denton, Texas, who helped us run a 5-day Spring Break Day camp for grades 1st-8th. We had a blast! Children from our community were taken on a "Prayer Safari" as they learned about prayer through different parts of the Lord's Prayer. It was amazing to see the children put what they learned into practice as they themselves prayed during the week. On Friday night all of the students involved and their families gathered for the Family Night Showcase and Easter Egg hunt, where the children performed a drama and dance routine they had learned during the week and served snacks that they had made for their families. It was a wonderful time of fun and fellowship where the Truth of God's Word was shared. Please pray for these children and for their families in the weeks to come. Pray that these children will continue to come to our regular programs and that they will remember the truths they learned this week in their everyday experiences. Thank you for your faithful prayers!

TUMI Praise

It is exciting to share with you the good reports from our Fall Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) classes here in St. Louis! Each week new praises have been brought to our staff team about solid attendance and engaged and learning students. Gil and Linda Carlson, full-time missionaries with World Impact who also coordinate our St. Louis TUMI ministry, are encouraged by the work and discussions of students ranging from long-time followers of Christ to new believers. It is exciting to see people hungry to know more about the Lord and to put their knowledge into practical service!

Praise God for such an encouraging start to the Fall session. Please continue to keep this ministry, and the students involved, in your prayers!

New Neighbors

Constantly meeting new people is part of life as a missionary in the inner city. Many of our families are transient and while this means that we often must sadly part with people we have come to know and love, we also are presented with many opportunities to build new relationships.

Several of our missionaries have gained new neighbors in the last few weeks. There will be opportunities to build relationships with the adults and children and to share Christ with each of them. Pray for these new neighbors and their future involvement with our missionaries. Pray for the missionaries as they strive to build new relationships and seek opportunities to serve their new neighbors.

Bible Clubs!

Bible Club for kids in 1st-5th grade will start up again on this coming Tuesday. There has not been a week that has passed, since the summer program, that we have not been asked by an eager child when Bible Clubs would be starting again! Now we can answer, "Next week!"

In a community where kids are moved around so frequently, we often only have a short window of time to share the love of Christ with them. We pray that Bible Club will give us the opportunity to present the Gospel to the children who attend, so that whether they come for two weeks or six months, each child will go away with the knowledge of Christ's love for them and His gift of salvation. We also pray that these clubs will allow us to build relationships with and minister to the children's families.

Please join us in prayer for the children and families we will meet through Bible Club!

Training Urban Leaders

The Urban Ministry Institute is about to start its Fall session! The growth these classes have seen in the past year is very exciting. With seminary level classes that require no prerequisites and are affordable and incorporate practical ministry training, The Urban Ministry Institute desires to train up strong and godly urban church leadership. World Impact St. Louis is one of many satellite locations, and is looking forward to the tremendous opportunities to strengthen and expand the church body within inner-city St. Louis through The Urban Ministry Institute.

Please pray for the this ministry. 1) Pray for the instructors, that God will prepare them to lead these classes and that God will bring more instructors to this important ministry. Often it is difficult for students who have little formal education to complete the required readings and assignments, so 2) pray that God will give the students perseverance, and that He will bless them for their desire to know Him more. 3) Pray for the future growth of this ministry, as these classes continue to connect congregations in St. Louis and seek to train future leadership within the city.

Looking Forward

On the heals of such an exciting summer our staff now has the difficult task of planning what the next year will look like here at World Impact St. Louis. There are so many needs in this community--so many opportunities to serve. And yet, we must be wise with the resources that God has entrusted to us.

Our deepest desire is to continue to share Christ's love in this community and to empower the local church to transform inner-city St. Louis for Christ's glory. Please pray for our staff as we solemnly weigh the needs of the community and the vision God has given us for our part in building His Kingdom. Pray that God will guide us as we plan programs and partnerships that will better serve North St. Louis, specifically in these areas:

• Children's Ministry
• Youth Ministry
• Young Adult Ministry
• The Urban Ministry Institute

In Proverbs chapter 16 we are told, "Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established (v.3)" and "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps (v.9)". And so, as much as we plan, ultimately we lay the future in God's hands and pray that He continues to direct our steps. Join us in that prayer.