Today, we are in our home city, St. Louis, Missouri, taking part in a week-long anniversary celebration and conference in our home church. This is the place from which we were trained and groomed for 17 years in urban world ministry. Last night, we spoke to the elders, deacons and various ministry leaders. Tonight, we are speaking to the church congregation.
It is extremely humbling and an incredible honor to be asked to share from our lives and journey in ministry. On a personal level, this summer marks 40 years of ministry for Chris. The toughest part about tonight is going be the effort to try to communicate 40 years of experience and lessons in about 40 minutes. But we know that God will give us what to say to our dear church family.
For the past 11 years, we have been working and serving in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and we have entered a new season. A few weeks ago, we communicated with our Urban Life family that major changes were coming and those changes are now upon us.
Last Sunday was our final gathering in our old model, method and wine skin. Jesus said that a new wine skin must be used in order to contain the new wine. Two of the practices to try to squeeze more life out of an old wine skin were to soak it in water or massage it with oil. For a while, God will do that with us and His Church, but eventually the day comes when we are forced to completely discard the old wine skin and get a brand new one.
Urban Life has embraced the new wine skin!
When we return to Harrisburg next week, our gatherings will be focused totally on training and preparing people of faith to take their gifts and skills into the world outside of the church building.
We have a few months remaining on our lease and for the time we have left, we are going to put all of our effort into the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. The command is to love God and to love one another in the same way Christ loves us. The commission is to go and make disciples of all nations.
For the first time in 11 years, we have an open door that gets us in direct contact with lost young people in this city. We've been praying for this for so long, that we cannot possibly waste a single moment. We are going into enemy territory like undercover secret agents. We have a navy seal, special force unit type of assignment. Therefore, from now on, Urban Life's Sunday gatherings are all about training and preparation, to learn how to connect with people who are truly lost.
In fact, we have already advised everyone that we are changing the public persona of the ministry from a local church to a non-profit, faith-based community organization. We're going to be using terms like: life coaches and personal instructors, instead of pastors and ministers. We're totally focusing on the winning and the discipleship of this lost generation, so we're going to get our ministry ready for true 21st century outreach.
Yes, we will still have prayer and worship, but that will be open and available for those who want to come EARLY to seek God, BEFORE our training sessions begin at 11:00AM, every Sunday morning. Eventually these training sessions will be scheduled throughout the week during business hours.
Lately, we've had people coming to us who just wanted to prophesy or preach to us and our group, in order to display their gifts. However, we're looking for those who are willing to humble themselves, submit their gifts, and be trained for a very different type of assignment in the urban world.
At the same time, God is opening more opportunities for us to take our teachings about marriage and family to the world. Therefore, you will see us releasing more alternative websites and social media efforts that will appear to be less sacred in its language, but Biblically based in its content. All of that is just part of the strategy to fulfill the Great Commission in places where the light of God is seen dimly, right now.
We apologize that we cannot give you more details, but to do so would disclose too much and give the enemy opportunities to sabotage what is happening. Just know that we have had a tremendous breakthrough and we can finally start doing what we were sent out from St. Louis to do 11 years ago. We don't think it is a coincidence that this week, we are in St. Louis just before we launch into this new era.
So we ask you for your prayers as we minister tonight in St. Louis, as we return to Pennsylvania to launch a major undercover offensive to reach the lost in Harrisburg, and as we respond to the Macedonian calls that are coming our way from across the country and around the world.
We are overcomers, under orders,
-Chris and Carol Green
