Hope for the City 2011

Our hearts continue to rejoice for all of the wonderful things that God has done and the way His name has been lifted high on the streets. We are still receiving reports of the many ways that lives have been touched and Christians encouraged through Hope for the City: testimonies of souls saved, lives changed, people networked into agencies to reach their felt needs, ministry partnerships built and churches rising up to reach into the communities around them. Praise the Lord!

Without a doubt, just as He promised, God heard the prayers of His people on the streets of Detroit and New York City!

How God must be blessed to see His people united in praise, prayer, and outreach in a city! His people walked the streets and prayed, interceded for the needs of people at Prayer Stations, ministered at Bible Clubs, held 3-on-3 Basketball camps and street hockey clinics, conducted block parties and street festivals, led outdoor worship, reached university campuses, and other exciting forms of outreach! We thank God for all that He has done, but also for all who worked diligently to insure that Christ was exalted and that people would intersect with the love and truth of our Savior!

We have seen miracles on the streets of New York City and Detroit this summer! There was a hunger for God that is unprecedented:

• Christians in the city were in tears as they saw us reaching out into their own communities. Some said they had prayed for it for years!
• Broken people were healed by the grace and love of God, and many found Christ as their personal Savior.

• Muslim families opened their homes to us, allowed us to share openly about Christ, asked us to pray for them (in the name of Jesus!) and invited us back again!
• Parks known for gang bloodshed were invaded with the gospel of peace and lives were changed.
• People stood in lines at Prayer Stations, anxiously waiting for prayer!
• Workers wearing the Hope for the City T-shirts were stopped on the streets with people stating, "We need hope! Would you pray for us?!"
• Cars and cab drivers stopped and asked for prayer. Even city bus drivers stopped their busses in the streets, opened their doors and asked for prayer and for Bibles to leave on their busses!
• The American Bible Society donated $5,000 worth of BIbles and scriptures what were distributed!
• And Family Day in Clark Park, Detroit drew over 1,000 people! 900 people were fed, scores of children heard the gospel through Child Evangelism Fellowship, and over 100 kids and youth enjoyed street hockey with the Detroit Red Wings, hearing testimonies of faith through 3-time Stanley Cup winner Brian Rafalski, former MLB pitcher Todd Jones, and Red Wings Assistant General Manager Jim Nill!

Hope is rising in the inner city! Great opportunities are before us. Certainly these words are true:

God can change our cities; He has already begun!