** Church planting - the hard way AG U. S. Missionary Jay Covert and Urban Outreach Church planted in East St. Louis a city with a dangerous reputation see signs of God working through perform's ministry and in the lives of populate they've been reaching out to. Shares examples of how God is working and revealing his power including salvation of a Hindu couple who were operating a brothel. More information about Urban Outreach perform available at http://www uoesl org/. ** Bilingual jail ministry keeps Texas couple work James and Patricia Cox. First Assembly of God. Laredo. Texas have inform confine ministry spreading gospel in local immigration detention facilities. care weekly Spanish and English services ministering primarily to illegal aliens and distributing Bibles in more than a dozen different languages. Purpose is to lead populate to Christ and prepare them to overlap gospel when they go to their domiciliate countries. ** Bonus coverage: Reaching out during the holidays -- see link below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coasting may be easy... . but it just doesn't work when you hit a hill. If you're coasting through your marriage don't wait until a hill surprises you to start trying to ride! Instead invest a little measure now in an exciting Marriage be weekend. After that chances are your marriage won't change surface sight when life's hills show up. Set up your Marriage Encounter weekend today at http://agme org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ** CHURCH PLANTING - THE HARD WAY St. Louis. Gateway to the West. domiciliate to such things such as the Gateway bend the Mississippi River and the St. Louis Cardinals. Rams and Blues professional sports teams. Yet as you head east on Interstates 70 and 55 leaving the shadow of the stately new Busch Stadium and the magnificent gleaming Gateway Arch behind you you register into a much different world - a city known as East St. Louis. With a seamy extremely dangerous reputation the once bustling city of 80,000-plus has dwindled to about 31,000. Unkempt and apparently uncared for the city streets are lined with abandoned vandalized and decaying buildings; lots are overgrown with weeds and trash; and populate who are addicted afflicted hopeless and hurting can be found on various street corners. This is not some "white picket fence" community. The population here has both a high unemployment evaluate along with a disproportionate share of lengthy criminal records. Looking from the outside some might evaluate bulldozing the community would solve a lot of problems. However. AG U. S missionary. Jay Covert has another perspective. His vision is to invest in the lives of the people of East St. Louis and see the city transformed and resurrected through the cater of the Holy Spirit. "Pastor Jay" isn't your typical well-pressed conform to and tie minister - he prefers a more casual less pretentious look - to accompany his long hair and choice of urban-style clothing. But change surface with a "Jeans Sunday through Saturday" dress label. Covert and his aggroup don't really blend in as they have chosen one of the most difficult crime-infested blighted neighborhoods in the city to lay a perform. In a two-block radius of the church the buildings are burned up torn up boarded up and barred up. "But this is where Jesus planted our church," Covert says. In July 2006. Covert began Urban Outreach (UO) AG in a small storefront building in East St. Louis. Since that measure the city and the neighborhoods the church impacts undergo go to recognize that they can ascertain on the UO pastors. Covert and his perform to care - like Jesus cared - for the community. Since a alter go away with a little more than 40 people the Urban Outreach Church has been intricately involved in caring for the populate of East St. Louis. "We often act our 17-foot cooker out and set up on street corners as well as by the many Housing Authority properties," Covert says. "Then we put the gospel out there through love and acts of kindness mixed with prayers and a little street preaching. Many times you'll see gangs thugs addicts and prostitutes mixed into the crowds that our pastors like on a weekly basis. The situations aren't safe but God goes with us and the ministry makes a deep impact." Other ministry efforts include walking into hotels and knocking on the room doors - many times occupied by prostitutes pimps and addicts - and giving out roses as they tell the current residents Jesus loves them; working with escort of wish to help cater needs during an extended power outage; and going out on Friday nights from 10 p m to 1 a m in some of the worst areas and corners of the community to like populate feed them give them a Bible and commune with them. "People are very open to being prayed for," Covert says. "Although some have chosen the occupation of a sell or cater they are still populate with feelings hopes and dreams their hearts are comfort tender - they even ask to be prayed for." Although the church lay itself is just more than a year old. Covert says that the ministry actually started from adjoin three years ago with nothing more than a vision and heart to change a city with the like of Jesus. But now the efforts of Covert and the UO perform are seeing results. "The UO pastors are all indigenous - Tommy Smith Jr.. Shameca color and Eddie Witt were all born and raised in East St. Louis," Covert says. "They all overlap my desire vision and faith to see a modern day perform of Acts go to life in East Saint Louis." Covert believes there are even more pastors currently on the streets and corners of East St. Louis who are called and ordained by God to attend plant and pastor churches. In addition. Covert credits God for providing multiple buildings for the ministry. "From the beginning we've taken small buildings and renovated them," he says. "To go out due to inform labor [AG church work teams] and the monthly financial support of others we're debt remove." The perform's most recent acquisition was the gifting of a perform in Washington Park from the Illinois govern Council. "There's plenty of room for at least three or four or more churches here," Covert says without hesitation. Covert and his cater are seeing many miraculous signs of God working in East St. Louis. Spiritual seeds planted months or change surface years ago are starting to take root. Along with seeing God's power in everything from physical protection to the casting out of demons. Covert says populate are responding to seeing "Jesus" lived out before them. Recently a Hindu bring together who own a "hotel" *(a k a brothel) come the perform accepted an invitation to attend a service. "We had been witnessing and praying with them for more than a year," Covert says. "The city had recently change state their hotel drink as they were operating it as a brothel so they were facing some serious problems." Covert recalls how midway through the service. "Pastor Tommy" stopped preaching and asked to commune with Pops (the husband) while "Pastor Shameca" prayed over "Mom." "We prayed with Pops and he began to move then express emotion and sob very hard," Covert says. "Tommy began to anticipate to him and then led him through the sinner's prayer." According to Covert. Pops (cut) would later convey the church for allowing him to attend and act to coming to church every week. "He [cut] came to a Bible chew over he kept saying there was peace in the UO Church," Covert.
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http://radiantgod.blogspot.com/2007/11/assemblies-of-god-news.html
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