These Eyes

Luke 15 has three stories about finding that which has been lost: a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. And each time the lost is found, the finder calls his friends and neighbors together to rejoice and celebrate.

In another month or so, school will be out and all our ministry partners will be starting summer programs for the children in their neighborhoods. Would you please pray with me that our partners might “find” many children who may have been “lost” due to the struggles that come along with impoverished neighborhoods? As they reach out to share the Gospel with these kids, please pray that God would use their efforts to renew and restore broken hearts and broken lives.

If you’ve watched the video on our home page, you’ve heard me talk about the effect that these neighborhoods have on children. They start out bright-eyed, but by a very early age, because they are regularly affected by things like crime, drugs, and violent loss of loved ones, the hope and joy goes out of their day-to-day existence, and their gaze becomes more and more dull and lifeless. Even worse, the odds are that these kids, without intervention, will grow up to become entrapped in the same crime, drugs and violence they watched as a child.

Summer programs provide one of the most effective ways to connect with these kids. Our partners pour their time and love into neighborhood children during the summer, and God answers your prayers to heal the hurts, restore the brightness to their eyes, and give them hope for a brighter future.  And that future may include one day leading revitalization efforts in their community.

I pray that at the end of the summer we will be able to rejoice that many, many children in these impoverished neighborhoods will once again have bright eyes.