Taking a walk
By Ruth Schenk | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The Southeast staff Christmas party looked a little different this year.
There were no gifts or parades. No programs or funny videos. This year was all about prayer.
On Dec. 8, staff from all three Southeast campuses boarded buses with eight Local Missions partners and fanned out over the city of Louisville to prayer walk through neighborhoods.
Senior Minister Dave Stone led a busload, along with local mission partners Jonathan Braden and Trent DeLoach, to Southside Ministry in Louisville’s South End where they prayed for
people from 40 different countries who live in the area.
Every year, nearly 1,000 refugees from around the world come to Louisville seeking freedom, a safe haven from persecution and a community that will become home as they settle in to
raise their families.
Outreach to refugees is a new priority in Southeast’s vision to serve the community by going to them in the name of Jesus.
The group stopped to pray at apartment buildings, schools, businesses and churches.
“This neighborhood has great needs,” Braden said. “As you walk, pray for families who are raising children, for people who are settling here. When you walk, don’t look down. Look up
and talk with the people you meet. Hear their stories and learn about their needs.”
The large group broke up into smaller groups who walked and prayed through the South End neighborhood, stopping to pray in front of Rutherford Elementary School, where children
from 40 different nations come every day, at ethnic grocery stores, where people try to make a living, and at churches, where pastors try to meet needs.Teaching Minister Kyle Idleman
and Churchill Downs Chaplain Ken Boehm led a group to the racetrack, where ministry centers on meeting the needs of grooms, hot walkers and trainers who live and work on the
backside. Boehm explained that many arrive at Churchill with just a seed sack of belongings.
Boehm took the group from Southeast on the same walk he takes every morning as he checks with workers about needs in their families.
A busload of other staff members went to the Shawnee neighborhood, where they prayed at the high school and Shawnee Christian Medical Clinic, which opened this year to meet the
needs of those who have no health care.
Another bus went to Seventh Street and Berry Boulevard, where strip clubs line city blocks. Rachelle Starr, who founded Scarlett Hope, a ministry to dancers in strip clubs, took the
group on a tour of neighborhoods where the women live and work as she explained their struggles and their needs.
Lead Team Member Rick McIntire took a group to the Portland Promise Center where Angel Gustavison told her story of being a “Portland kid” and the difference the Portland Promise
Center made in her own life. She now has a master’s degree and works with youth at the center.
Staff members from the Indiana Campus and Country Lake took gift baskets to the staff at Parkwood Elementary School in Clarksville, Ind., where they prayed for teachers and
students. Then they prayed in the parking lot near Theatair X and a nearby motel where there is evidence of child prostitution.
Camille Keller, who works at the Indiana Campus, said it is a dark area that is always on their prayer list.
The staff at the Oldham Campus went to Camden Elementary School where they prayed for the school board, students and teachers. They took a gift basket to Chase Bank near the
campus where employees told them how much they appreciated the work the congregation did to spruce up the shopping center.
When employees at the bank said, “We’re glad you’re here,” it was music to the staff’s ears.
The group that went to The Cabbage Patch Settlement in Old Louisville heard about the organization’s mission to help at-risk children through educational and recreational activities.
Cabbage Patch Recreation & Youth Development Manager William Rasinen got teary eyed as he told the story of a 10-year-old Cabbage Patch participant who witnessed a murder on
the front porch of his housing complex. Following the shooting, the boy’s family moved out of the neighborhood and moved in with a family member—putting nine people in a
two-bedroom apartment.
Next Gen Leader Matt Reagan went to the Park Hill neighborhood of Louisville with Local Mission partner Todd Keane to pray through neighborhoods where many Somali Bantus live.
They were praying and walking when a woman in one building lifted her window to ask if they were hiring.
“We’re not hiring, but we are praying,” said Reagan. “Can we pray for you?”
The woman ran downstairs with her 4-year-old son.
“It’s too cold out here,” she said. “Come on in to pray.”
The group went into her home where she was getting warm by a space heater. They prayed for her and her son and a cousin.
Cary Meyer, who leads the Communications Ministry, said the day didn’t unfold as they planned. They went to pray for Somalis, but prayed with others God put in their path.
“Prayer walking is new,” he said. “It’s different to go up to someone and ask if you can pray for them. But the truth is, we learned that we shouldn’t just be prayer walking, we should be
walking in prayer all the time, everywhere, every day.”
Debbie Ward, who leads Local Missions, said there’s never been a better Christmas party.
“This was a great day to connect the vision to be a praying church who reaches out and challenges everyone to follow Jesus completely and to the strategy of serving the community by
going to them in the name of Jesus. In the end, this isn’t about a Christmas party or a one-time event. This is a way of life.”