September 1 Update
September 3, 2004
God continues to open doors of opportunity for us! Thank you for your encouragement and support. As He calls us to your thoughts please remember to pray for these things:
On Friday, September 3, we will sign a lease on a ministry house for unwed mothers. Our Castlecourt Community is being drawn more deeply into the street kid sub-culture in Montrose. God has given us favor with young girls who have children, and on October 1st Loren and Tanya Gardner will move into a four bedroom home where they will provide ministry to three unwed mothers and their children. We need furniture including baby beds for three of these bedrooms and we need to furnish a large den that will serve as a playroom. Pray for wisdom and protection for the Gardners and their young son, Aiden. Ask the Lord to lead us into the exact relationships that he wants us to have. Pray for all the financial provision we need. The Mustard Seed Foundation has offered us $7500 for this ministry this year if we can raise $7500 in matching funds.
Pray for a job for Jessica. Currently, Jessica and her son Christopher are living with Jim and Betty Herrington. They will be the first folks to move into the new Castle Court ministry house in October. Jessica is working two part-time minimum wage jobs. She has a great work ethic. She types 60 wpm and has a basic knowledge of the MicroSoft word products. We are praying for someone to take a risk and offer her an entry level position as a clerk or a secretary. And we are looking for appropriate clothes for her to work in an office environment.
We need to furnish a new apartment in our recovery ministry. Our recovery ministry is growing. This month we are opening another apartment that will provide transitional housing and intensive discipleship for four additional men who are in recovery. We need a couch, a couple of living room chairs, a kitchen table, a couple of double beds, some bed linens and kitchenware. Pray for God to provide these items. Pray for Josh and Aimee Wood as they provide leadership for this ministry. Pray for the men to be single-minded in the commitment to Christ. Ask God to lead us to the candidates that he has for this ministry.
Pray for open doors to women in recovery. Our recovery ministry has been exclusively to men. For more than a year we have prayed for an open door to a similar ministry to women. This summer God has brought several women in recovery to us and he has brought a couple of possible women who could lead this ministry. Pray for wisdom and for provision as we step into this opportunity.
We have a goal of enlisting 100 intercessors outside of Harbor to pray for our ministry. We believe this is a spiritual battle. We currently have 14 people interceding on a regular basis. Pray for God to burden the hearts of men and women with a calling to prayer.
We must raise $60,000 in outside support. In the first month of this fund-raising effort, we have had commitments of $28,900 for outside sources. Give thanks for this generosity and pray for the additional provision.
Pray for mentors and co-laborers. We have three current mentors and a school teacher in the Spring-Klein area of the city has moved into Montrose and is looking for a job a Gregory-Lincoln, the elementary school in our neighbor. Pray for God to continue to provide workers. The fields are white unto harvest.
Your encouragement and support make a huge difference as we seek to stay the course in this mission field. Visit our website from time to time for additional updates, and if you have questions.