July Update
July 1, 2004
Working in Houston’s Montrose community with ex-offenders, recovering drug and alcohol addicts, and street kids is the most challenging and rewarding experience of our lives. God is stretching and blessing all of us as we seek to minister faithfully and effectively in this dark community.
From the earliest days of this work we have believed that any significant advance of the Kingdom in this community would require warfare of the most dangerous kind. We don’t mean to be melodramatic – we simply intend to tell the truth. Though Montrose has many great qualities, it is covered up with witchcraft, prostitution, drug sale and use, and sexually destructive activities of a wide variety of kinds.
After six years, we sense that we have turned a corner in our journey. We are making discernable progress in a number of areas. We have a renewed sense of commitment to staying the course – to establishing a beach head for the Kingdom.
However, we’ve come to the place that we need new partners. We are writing to ask you to review this list of needs; to consider responding to one or more of the needs; and to share this needs list with others you know – a class or small group; a prayer group; a group of Christians in your workplace.
Harbor Church Needs
Intercession: we will mobilize at least 100 individuals outside of Harbor Church to receive a regular prayer update. The battle is won first in prayer and the battle is intense in Montrose. We will provide detailed reports from the battlefront.
Laborers: we need “home missionaries” to join us on this journey. We need disciples who are willing to become involved in the lives of street kids. We need Christian teachers to consider teaching at Gregory Lincoln, our local elementary school. We need Christians in business who will employ and mentor one of the young men or women in our ministry. We need mentors for individual ex-offenders and those in recovery from drug use.
Donors: our budget is $128,500 annually. Though we teach those we reach to give, many come to us from the streets or prisons. Their tithing generates less than half of our budget, so we need partners who – above tithing in their local congregation – will make a monthly contribution to our work. We need to raise $60,000 in outside income for the next twelve months. That seems like a lot – but if you calculate it, that’s 100 people giving $50 per month. Some can give a lot more – some less – but the goal is doable.
Thanks for reading this. We believe that Montrose is one of the communities that holds a spiritual key to the city. If we can begin to win the battle here, we believe that the ripple effect will be felt throughout Houston.