World Impact, Inc.

We know God is working in the city, and as we speak, many are gathered in Detroit for an important conversation about our shared commitment to equipping urban leaders for ministry in and around Detroit.

Are you going to be there? Comment below or share a post about it and tag us!

We love you, Detroit, and are keeping your churches and communities in prayer!

Detroit, are you ready for Empowering the City? World Impact's very own, Semmeal Thomas, will be a panelist and is so excited to be with you!

"Lord, I pray that you would empower, equip, and transform these leaders for the work of your Kingdom, in Jesus' name. Amen."

Let's join Semmeal in this powerful prayer and lift up the city of Detroit and all who are attending tomorrow!

Poverty work comes with risks, as we've identified in what is "toxic" poverty work and the different mindsets that aren't redemptive in nature.

We can counter these risks through spiritual practices which allow us to overcome personal weaknesses and biases that may hinder our effectiveness.

Here is Spiritual Practice #1: Empowerment

Stay tuned for more in this 8-part series and sign up for our Spiritual Practices email challenge here: https://wilinks.org/spiritualpracticesFB

We can't wait to be with you at CCDA - Christian Community Development Association! Make sure to register for the pre-conference where Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders will be leading the session, Empowering the City!

Take a moment to pray:
Lord, help me to be faithful to proclaim your good news in the city.

I want to be quick to listen to your voice, quick to obey, and faithful to proclaim.

I praise you for the privilege of sharing about you with others.

Help me to remember that you died for every person I encounter today and that you desire a relationship with them.

In Jesus' name,
Amen

- You can trust, rely, and depend on Jesus.

✅ Yesterday
✅ Today
✅ Tomorrow
✅ Forever

Hebrews 13:8

👋 Going to CCDA National Conference this year?
Don't miss the Empowering the City Pre-Conference with Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders.

🗓️ Wednesday, October 2nd
⏰ 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

As someone who cares deeply about those experiencing poverty in your community, you are following Christ’s example of ministering to the overlooked and undervalued.

❤️ God is working in your city, and we want to join our passion for equipping Christian leaders with your unique knowledge of your community and surrounding city.

Our Shared Commitment

World Impact is hosting an important conversation, titled Empowering the City, about our shared commitment to equipping you and other urban leaders for ministry in cities and communities across the country and worldwide.

Join Rev. Dr. Alvin Sanders and other leaders for this CCDA Preconference event.

We will be discussing the following:

• The critical work church leaders are undertaking in service of the Kingdom of God
• Your role in supporting that work
• How to bring others into this work
• Come learn and network with the goal of improving the health of our communities together.

🎁 Those attending this session will receive several free resources, and three people will win a free one-hour Zoom call session with Dr. Sanders.

👉 Registration ends September 13!

Why do we need more churches?

First, God works in the church (among the people).

Another way of saying this is that the church is the "locus" (location, place, and/or context) of God's salvation, of the empowering presence of the Kingdom's life and witness.

His desire is to form a new humanity in the church.

Second, these texts (Ephesians 2:12-22 & Ephesians 3:10-21) bear out that God works through the church (through His people).

Another way to express this truth is to say that the church is the "agent" of God, a willing and available servant to God to advance kingdom purposes in the world.

Through the church, God reconciles the world to Himself.

The biblical truth is that the local church is the only hope for people caught up in the enemy's attacks, enslavement, distractions, and schemes.

Though his influence is everywhere, the church stands as God's locus and agent, offering people the opportunity to find freedom in this dark world.

Praise God that Jesus came "to destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8).

(Text pulled directly from World Impact's Church PLANT Manual, edited by Rev. Ted Smith)

Houston is a city brimming with strength and spirit, yet some of our neighbors are facing tough times. Their unmet potential is a silent call for action—a whisper of what could be.

Are you looking to bring genuine hope to Houston?

World Impact invites you into a heartfelt conversation.

Let's talk about hope, about action, and about the Gospel's power to inspire change. It's not just a discussion; it's a movement towards fellowship and empowerment.

Join us at Empowering Houston to connect with those who share a passion for empowering our local churches and fostering community growth.

Together, we'll explore how we can be the hands and feet of hope in Houston, serving those who need it the most.

🗓 Let’s gather, build relationships, and discover how each of us can contribute to a brighter tomorrow for every Houstonian.

Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Time: 9am to 1pm (lunch included)

Location:
College of Biblical Studies
7000 Regency Square Blvd,
Houston, TX 77036

Tap into the power of unity—be part of the conversation that could reshape lives.

🔗 Click to learn more and confirm your spot today!

https://vist.ly/3dwza

Let's build a future where everyone in Houston thrives.

Empowering Houston - Inside the Urban Church Launch - World Impact Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024

Are you feeling called to minister to your neighbors through planting a church?

Are you looking for a program designed for you and your church plant team?

The Evangel School of Urban Church Planting from World Impact is a principle-based strategy designed to equip church plant teams.

This includes teams who are planting a new church, preparing to re-plant (restart, revitalize, or relaunch) an existing church, seeking a process for transitioning to the next generation of pastoral leadership or seeking to catalyze a church planting movement.

Benefits for Your Church Plant Team

A twelve-month strategic plan toward planting your church.

An Evangel Field Coach that will walk with your team for one year after the school.

Your church will be part of the Evangel Network, a fellowship of like-minded church planters.

Your church will be an approved World Impact partner with the ability to host other applicable World Impact programs.

“The Evangel School was incredible for me and my team. We are set to plant our church here in Detroit this September and this is the first time any of us have been a part of a church plant.

The school gave us the structure, framework, and encouragement that will help guide us into this call the Lord has placed on our hearts.

We left not only with a plan, but with confidence in what the Lord is doing in and through our team.”

– Pastor Micah Williams, Unity Church – Detroit, MI

Learn more at https://vist.ly/3ctxe

When asked about growing relationships with partners and volunteers, Abraham Orr shared, "Volunteerism is very high in the state of Minnesota.

So, I don't think [getting people involved] is the issue that we have.

The issue that we have is finding people in the church to join a mission that they would give up their time and life to serve.

That is not the same as just volunteering.

Sometimes people are just volunteering to learn something new; they want to learn about a new people group or about an issue.

But they don't usually volunteer and give all their time to these opportunities outside that scope unless they're connected to a mission.

We believe the reason that we do everything that we do is because we're connecting people to Jesus. We're not connecting them to an issue."

The Church isn't built to huddle together on Sundays and hear a great message.

The Church exists to declare and demonstrate Christ.

One of the best ways to do this is to engage with the community around you – your neighbors.

There is nothing that will make a neighborhood impact like the love of Christ.

We have seen firsthand how transforming lives through faith can lead to tangible results on the ground—from safer streets to transformed hearts.

"When we started working with homeless people, we asked them what they needed.

And they said, 'There's not a place to worship.'

If everything you own is in a cart or a trash bag, [churches] won't let you bring that in the sanctuary.

They had no place to go.

So, we built an outdoor sanctuary, and we have outdoor worship on a weekly basis for them."

This is a quote shared in our Inside the Urban Church: How Local Congregations Engage With and Impact Their Communities, in partnership with Barna.

Actions taken by churches like these help build healthy communities in communities experiencing poverty in the US and worldwide.

They engaged with their community and listened to the needs of their neighbors.

This is just one example of the power of the local urban church.

In The Message translation of Matthew 28:18-20, it states, “Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: 'God authorized and commanded me to commission you:

Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.

I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.'"

Historically, Christians have called this declaration The Great Commission.

It is the perfect description of what it looks like to declare Christ.

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.

Let nothing move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

– 1 Corinthians 15:56-58, NIV

"Urban areas are a different context than what most church planters get trained and prepared for.

But it's not unique in that the most basic and greatest need is still the gospel.

I think that's where the misconception is:
It's almost like people are trying to find an alternative solution to just preaching the gospel and making disciples.

Leaders come in overwhelmed by the burden of the context.

The problems of the context, in some cases, seem to outweigh their hope or their trust in the simple things that Jesus called us to do:
to preach the gospel and make disciples."

– Lorenzo Elizondo, Lead Pastor of LifePoint Church in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, and Regional (Texas Triangle) Ministry Developer with World Impact.

Join a community where faith deeply intertwines with action, where urban leaders are equipped and empowered…

🌟 Bring Genuine Hope to Detroit 🌟

When?

📅 Date: Saturday, September 7, 2024
🕒 Time: 9am to 1pm (lunch included)

Where?

📍 Location:
Central Detroit Christian
1550 Taylor Street
Detroit, MI 48206

As people of faith, we're called to serve, to engage with our communities…

And to be the hands and feet of Christ in every alleyway and avenue.

This gathering is more than an event…

It's a mission to empower church leaders, to share wisdom…

And to foster a network of support that spans the Detroit area.

Whether you're already involved in ministry or seeking ways to make a difference…

This is your opportunity to join a conversation that matters.

Dive deep into the challenges and triumphs of urban ministry…

Learn from exclusive insights, and connect with others who share your passion for service…

Let's come together to light up Detroit with hope, faith, and love.

Your presence can make all the difference. Let us know you're coming…

And be a part of shaping a brighter future for our city.

RSVP here:
https://vist.ly/3emp6

Don't miss out on this chance to be inspired and to inspire others…

Let's make history together for our communities…

See you there!

When local churches equip new and immature Christians to live the Christian life in community, they ensure that they can grow up to fullness in Christ.

Dig Deeper - Read and meditate on Ephesians 4:11-15.

I am the vine,
you are the branches.

He who abides in me,
and I in him,
bears much fruit.

– JOHN 15:5

Union with Christ is the essence of our salvation our formation and our spiritual inheritance.

The growth of the church follows this same pattern: local churches win people to Christ and form them to be disciples; the disciples can win those within their own circles of relationships (i.e., families, friends, and associates).

In time, these new converts can be equipped to live as disciples as well.

Dig Deeper - Read and meditate on 1 Thessalonians 1.1-6 and Acts 16.1-31.

Jesus is Lord.
He has supremacy over everything.

When God unites us to Jesus,
He becomes our life and identity

Dig Deeper - Read and meditate on Romans 6.1-13 and Galatians. 2.20.

When the Good News of Christ comes alive within a community, the local assembly, through the Holy Spirit, becomes a powerful agent of transformation, spiritually, socially, and culturally.

Churches become witnessing centers of hope, offering practical expressions of love through justice, education, healthcare, and community development.

They address not only the spiritual vacuum of life without a true knowledge of God through Christ but also the physical and societal needs of the community.

By planting churches in areas unfamiliar with the Gospel, Christians can initiate holistic transformation, reflecting the Kingdom of God in its fullness.

When asked to speak about growing relationships with partners and volunteers for the Inside the Urban Church report, Matt Thomas of Firm Foundations Ministries shared:

"The Church is not built to huddle together on Sundays and hear a great message.

The Church is built to do exactly what Jesus said: set captives free, heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the hungry.

And I think we've gotten away from that.

The Church should be married with parachurch organizations, because we're all on the same mission.

You don't have to theologically argue about stuff.

You can just give somebody some clothes.

You can just go feed somebody."

Thoughts on Diversity & Divides from leaders in urban churches and communities from the Inside the Urban Church report.

"I think churches are in a really good position to be able to show people that we're all really on a level playing field.

Even if we look different, even if we're coming from a different stage of life or socioeconomic status or where we live looks different than where someone else lives."

Redemptive poverty work transforms by addressing root causes and empowering enduring change.

Most of us have witnessed the shortcomings of traditional approaches to addressing poverty in creating lasting change.

That’s why we wholeheartedly champion the concept of redemptive poverty work, a transformative approach that goes beyond temporary relief and dives deep into the root causes of poverty.

In fact, it addresses the poverty every one of us experiences at our deepest level.

We believe poverty is an oppressive condition people live in, not an identity they possess.

As such, redemptive poverty work acknowledges the role of God in the redemption of people and neighborhoods.

You can learn more on our website:
https://www.worldimpact.org/blog/redemptive-poverty-work-shifting-the-mindset-to-create-lasting-change/

Now all glory to God,
who is able,
through his mighty power
at work within us,
to accomplish infinitely more
than we might ask or think.

– Ephesians 3:20-21