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Recent Posts & Updates
I’m Fine
It was late afternoon and I was happy to be heading home after work. As I road my bike through the underpass I saw an elderly woman sleeping on the curb. I heard the Lord say, “Stop. Go back and check on her.”
Loving Our Neighbors
Every school year I have a theme for my students to follow through their studies. This year my theme was “What does it look like to love my neighbor?”
A Quiet Place
Healthy churches need healthy pastors. By providing a place where a busy urban pastor can step away, the opportunity for restoration and refreshment becomes a reality.
A Step in the Right Direction
Two years ago, having just been transferred into a new prison where we are starting up a TUMI class, Jose was already heading towards earning his way into maximum security prison.
Everyday Life
When I first considered becoming a missionary with World Impact back in 2009, I remember one of my first worries was leaving my family and living approximately 2,000 miles away from them.
We Were Born For This
Efrem Smith addresses the violence and political unrest in today’s culture. How should we move forward in a climate that is plagued by police brutality, violence, and terrorism?
Denver Street Outreach
It was a cloudy, cool morning as our TUMI (The Urban Ministry Institute) students in Aurora, Colorado, began setting up for a street ministry outreach.
A New Atmosphere
We have literally seen the atmosphere shift among the trafficked women! Beginning with a nationwide trafficking bust in late April, girls we have been praying with for more than a year were given the opportunity to come off the streets.
RED Teen Missions Trip
What I experienced on our missions trip to Oakland was something I’ve never experienced before. The people I spoke with and the things I saw changed the way I perceive the world.
Contreras August Prayer Letter
Our Mercy Street Team finished praying and began walking toward Motel Drive. A consistent prayer the Lord has laid on our hearts as we walk along the 99 Freeway is that just like the lost sheep, He would lead us to one whose heart He is working on.
Dicke August Prayer Letter
Mike was sitting in a settee and two men in shorts and tank top t-shirts sat cross-legged on the bed across the dirt bedroom floor from him. They were watching a TUMI video on his laptop and following along in the curriculum mentors manual.
Liberadas: Released!
Recently, World Impact Dallas missionary, Sol Herrera coordinated the first Dallas Iglesia del Maestro Women’s Retreat. The theme of the retreat was LIBERADAS: Llenas de Poder para Vivir en Libertad (RELEASED: Empowered to Live Free).
We Belong to Each Other
Mother Teresa once said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” A couple weeks ago, the First Steps Community Cookout in Wichita, Kansas, was an important act of remembering.
Raising Up Urban Leaders in the Wilderness
I grew up in the inner city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I have been an urban dweller, urban youth pastor, urban high school basketball coach, urban church planter, and urban community foundation executive.
Leadership Is…
At The Oaks, we hire young adults to come work with us in the summer with hope that they will re-enter their communities with new skills and a passion to see the Kingdom of God expanded.
From Camper to Counselor
This summer at The Oaks, we have a new counselor who is very familiar with our summer program. Byron’s story with World Impact began almost five years ago when he was invited to attend a Kaleo meeting at the World Impact Teen Center.
Throwback Thursday – Morning Star Ranch
The summer months are here, and the Morning Star Ranch campgrounds are active and alive. The Lord is sending many young boys and girls from our surrounding towns and nearby cities.
Big John Talks TUMI
When Big John first started taking classes through The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI) he was not sure if he could handle the work. However, as he describes it, through TUMI’s focus on the least and the lost, and through God’s graciousness, it has been a life changing experience.
