I’m excited to share with you how God is integrating three activities for significant Kingdom impact.
First is the area of prison ministry. In 2017, Cathy helped Charles Anderson launch a TUMI satellite in Houston to train prisoners for ministry that has expanded to five prisons. Charles has been given the green light to open TUMI sites throughout Texas, but he needed a full-time administrator to support such expansion. Thanks to two generous friends, funding was secured and the administrator is starting in a few days, leading to expansion of 25 prisons next year. This will ensure a steady flow of cross-cultural evangelists released from Texas prisons for years to come.
The second development is the acceleration of unreached people groups migrating to Houston over the last years. God is moving mission fields from the ends of the earth to Houston, the most diverse city in America. Kevin Greeson (Global Gates) is populating a database developed by Ryan Allsman (EmpowerTech) that will list where the 100+ unreached people groups live and track the progress of engagement, so people can efficiently mobilize to reach them with the gospel. This is Houston’s first attempt to create a “scoreboard” that shows progress toward their part of completing Jesus’s Great Commission.
The third activity is a recent coalition of ministries caring for these foreign born “diaspora” groups. In June, we launched the houstondiasporacoaltion.net website, with 27 participating churches, parachurches, and missions agencies, administrated by Roman Khripunov (Revival Sport). This directory guides believers use their gifts for world missions without leaving Houston.
With a stream of skilled former prisoners, a scoreboard indicating where the unreached are located, and a directory to mobilize lay people to missions, what remains is a person to coordinate these activities into a church planting movement for the unreached people groups. One of our coalition members, Epiphany Life Change, has a potential candidate with experience in prison ministry, cross-cultural church planting, and Houston networking. For only $86,000, a Director of Church Planting can be hired to launch this coordinated effort bringing prison, diaspora, and mobilization together for the unreached in Houston, extending into the families in their homelands.
So on this giving Tuesday please give a one-time gift to Epiphany Life Change designated to the Director of Church Planting using this link: https://www.epiphanylifechange.org/donate/ or mail a check to 2103 N. Main St., Houston TX 77009.
