MIDWEEK CONNECTION
Greetings Urban Life family and friends,
It’s the last day of what has been, another year of tremendous losses in the midst of incredible gains, opportunities and victories. The Lord called home some powerful generals and tremendous soldiers in the Kingdom of God in 2014.
Dr. Myles Munroe and his wife, along with his senior pastor, youth pastors, and others died in a plane crash. In our home church in St. Louis, major pillars who helped lay its foundation, passed away. We called her mom Charlene Burris. She passed away in April and her husband, Pastor (dad) John Burris, passed away in December just before Christmas. It is a profound loss for all of us.
We had a few Urban Life members to leave in order to join other churches, but they still remain our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. All of those membership separations were made on good terms and that in itself speaks of the strong relationship-centered church that we have become.
Now we’re moving into another year and the Lord has been speaking to us about the theme for the New Year for a long time. In fact, we have been telling you about it for at least three months.
God has impressed various Bible scriptures upon our hearts that reveal HIS heart about lost souls. Like never before, the Lord has been stirring our hearts to set our eyes on the fields that are ready for harvest. We believe the harvest begins in the field of our closest relationships; in our homes.
We spoke to my brother, Bishop Raphael Green a couple of weeks ago. He had tremendous words of encouragement for us. He told us that many of the leading pastors and churches in America are now saying that they have been focusing on the wrong thing the last 30 years. They are now saying that they should have been focused on the development of the families. They are now saying that they should have been teaching couples how to minister to one another. They should have been teaching parents how to minister to and teach their own kids at home. They are saying they should have working on family growth, not just church growth.
Our Bishop wanted to let us know that we are doing it the right way in Harrisburg. He said for us to not be concerned that so few people are attending right now, because eventually, even the bigger churches are going to realize that they need to be focusing on the families. He said that by the time they realize this, Urban Life will have already been doing it for so long that we will have the credibility to address these family issues when the time of exposure comes to us.
That’s what has happened to him. When God brought national media exposure to him, he had already been doing a great work in St. Louis for 28 years. Even though there are several ministries that are much bigger in St. Louis, God shined the light on our home church because they had already been working on the front lines of those issues in St. Louis, long before they became headlines in the main stream conversation.
So he encouraged us to keep moving forward with our emphasis on the family. And that’s what we’re going to do.
As we roll into the New Year, we’re going to keep moving in the NEHEMIAH STRATEGY to rebuild the walls of our cities (families). We’re going to provide you a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other hand. The tools will be the teachings to build our families and the weapons will be the prayers to guard our families.
We will alternate Sundays, with Carol leading us in prayer (our weapon) one week, and Chris will come forth with teaching (our tools) the next week. We’ll alternate back and forth, from week to week, throughout the year, with a constant and consistent pattern of fighting and building, fighting and building, week after week after week. We’re not equipping people to perform in a church building. God has led us to equip everyone for the harvest season that is now upon us.
In 2015, marriage ministry will begin in your own house. Children’s ministry will begin in your own house. Teen and youth ministry will be in your own house. Prayer ministry will begin at your bedside. Worship will begin in your living room. In 2015, we are emphasizing the truth that there’s no place like home. Every ministry in this church must begin at home.
We realize that not everyone who visits this ministry will be comfortable or in agreement with this strategy, but this is what God gave us, so we’re running with it.
If people are looking only for a church that meets their personal checklist of requirements, they probably won’t find what they're searching for at Urban Life.
But for those people who are looking for a place where people are seeking God and desiring His presence in their homes, on their jobs, at their schools, and in their neighborhoods, then we trust that they will connect with that purpose and vision in the Urban Life Family Center.
With great excitement, we invite you to 2015 because in this year, it’s all for the harvest!
Happy New Year!
Chris and Carol Green
It’s the last day of what has been, another year of tremendous losses in the midst of incredible gains, opportunities and victories. The Lord called home some powerful generals and tremendous soldiers in the Kingdom of God in 2014.
Dr. Myles Munroe and his wife, along with his senior pastor, youth pastors, and others died in a plane crash. In our home church in St. Louis, major pillars who helped lay its foundation, passed away. We called her mom Charlene Burris. She passed away in April and her husband, Pastor (dad) John Burris, passed away in December just before Christmas. It is a profound loss for all of us.
We had a few Urban Life members to leave in order to join other churches, but they still remain our brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. All of those membership separations were made on good terms and that in itself speaks of the strong relationship-centered church that we have become.
Now we’re moving into another year and the Lord has been speaking to us about the theme for the New Year for a long time. In fact, we have been telling you about it for at least three months.
God has impressed various Bible scriptures upon our hearts that reveal HIS heart about lost souls. Like never before, the Lord has been stirring our hearts to set our eyes on the fields that are ready for harvest. We believe the harvest begins in the field of our closest relationships; in our homes.
We spoke to my brother, Bishop Raphael Green a couple of weeks ago. He had tremendous words of encouragement for us. He told us that many of the leading pastors and churches in America are now saying that they have been focusing on the wrong thing the last 30 years. They are now saying that they should have been focused on the development of the families. They are now saying that they should have been teaching couples how to minister to one another. They should have been teaching parents how to minister to and teach their own kids at home. They are saying they should have working on family growth, not just church growth.
Our Bishop wanted to let us know that we are doing it the right way in Harrisburg. He said for us to not be concerned that so few people are attending right now, because eventually, even the bigger churches are going to realize that they need to be focusing on the families. He said that by the time they realize this, Urban Life will have already been doing it for so long that we will have the credibility to address these family issues when the time of exposure comes to us.
That’s what has happened to him. When God brought national media exposure to him, he had already been doing a great work in St. Louis for 28 years. Even though there are several ministries that are much bigger in St. Louis, God shined the light on our home church because they had already been working on the front lines of those issues in St. Louis, long before they became headlines in the main stream conversation.
So he encouraged us to keep moving forward with our emphasis on the family. And that’s what we’re going to do.
As we roll into the New Year, we’re going to keep moving in the NEHEMIAH STRATEGY to rebuild the walls of our cities (families). We’re going to provide you a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other hand. The tools will be the teachings to build our families and the weapons will be the prayers to guard our families.
We will alternate Sundays, with Carol leading us in prayer (our weapon) one week, and Chris will come forth with teaching (our tools) the next week. We’ll alternate back and forth, from week to week, throughout the year, with a constant and consistent pattern of fighting and building, fighting and building, week after week after week. We’re not equipping people to perform in a church building. God has led us to equip everyone for the harvest season that is now upon us.
In 2015, marriage ministry will begin in your own house. Children’s ministry will begin in your own house. Teen and youth ministry will be in your own house. Prayer ministry will begin at your bedside. Worship will begin in your living room. In 2015, we are emphasizing the truth that there’s no place like home. Every ministry in this church must begin at home.
We realize that not everyone who visits this ministry will be comfortable or in agreement with this strategy, but this is what God gave us, so we’re running with it.
If people are looking only for a church that meets their personal checklist of requirements, they probably won’t find what they're searching for at Urban Life.
But for those people who are looking for a place where people are seeking God and desiring His presence in their homes, on their jobs, at their schools, and in their neighborhoods, then we trust that they will connect with that purpose and vision in the Urban Life Family Center.
With great excitement, we invite you to 2015 because in this year, it’s all for the harvest!
Happy New Year!
Chris and Carol Green
