Acts 16:5 “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”
In New Testament missions, we see two kinds of mission work – evangelism (sharing the gospel with non-believers) and edification (building up the body of Christ – those who already possess faith). This year’s trip to Dorchester was precisely what we see Paul, Timothy, and Silas doing in Acts 16 – building up the church – through preaching, teaching, prayer, and service. Ultimately, it is all for benefit and furthering of God’s Kingdom.
This year’s youth and parent trip to Dorchester looked a bit different than last year’s trip but was just as much of a success. Our team was made up of gifted individuals who met the current needs of Christ the King Dorchester. Our two main objectives were to capture footage and make a video that would be a resource for CTK. Church plants have a huge need for fundraising that can be greatly served with the help of a concise, professional promotional video which explains who they are as a church and what their vision is. With our tech-savvy youth, footage was captured with excellence, and the final product should be finished by Aug 15! Keep your eyes peeled for that!
The second component of our trip was headed up by the adults which was teaching and assisting in the implementation of CTK’s first worship service dedicated to healing prayer. With two workshops on Sunday and Monday nights, we trained the staff of CTK in what healing prayer is and how we incorporate it at St. Michael’s. This enabled them to have a template for a service, while giving them the freedom to make it their own in their unique context. CTK’s first healing prayer service was held Thursday night, and we as a team served them in the nursery and as additional prayer ministers. Everyone was thrilled with what God did that night – we saw physical, spiritual, and emotional bondage broken through the power of the Holy Spirit. What impacted me the most was how much CTK took ownership of healing prayer, adapted it to their context, and as a result, this was not just a one time event but as Pastor Dan said, “we need to do this every week!”
The rest of our week was spent loving on the kids in Dorchester and praying for the community in prayer walks. What a powerful thing to see as a leader a team devoted to just asking the Lord to reconcile and restore a community to Himself! I am incredibly proud to be a part of this team and to witness the Lord working in amazing ways, especially in us as a team. I encourage you to read both Al Zadig’s and William Lyles’ thoughts from this trip!
~ Justin Hare