Partnership in the City and the Suburbs
Partnership means a lot of things to different people. For Mission Adelante it means finding ways to create Kingdom-win relationships with other organizations whose purposes find alignment with ours in one or more areas. As an urban ministry reaching out to people who have very few physical resources, we have recognized from the beginning that we would need a lot of help from suburban partners. Excitingly, we have something to offer them as well; an opportunity to serve in a cross-cultural mission field right here in their own city!
We have felt from very early on that the suburban church in America has scores of people who are longing to find ways to invest personally and relationally in "the least of these". Too often though, meaningful ongoing opportunities for this are limited or out of reach the average person. Through Mission Adelante we have set out to create as many hands-on, relational opportunities to serve as possible so that we can help mobilize Christians in suburban churches to fulfill the calling God has placed on their hearts in a way that becomes a part of their ongoing lifestyle, and not just a one-time or occasional experience.
As an urban ministry, partnership for us has other applications as well that we are still exploring. What does it look like for us to partner with other urban ministries? The Hope Center in KCMO, for example, has been extremely helpful in giving us ideas for our Kids Adelante programs. And, Mercy and Truth Medical Missions has provided housing in our neighborhood for our summer interns.
Last Sunday night we experienced our deepest urban partnership opportunity yet as we came together with the Servant Community Church, another small church in our neighborhood, to do a joint baptism, baby dedication service and potluck dinner. The bilingual worship event had songs in English and Spanish, included nine baptisms and two dedications, and involved Hispanic, African American, Caucasian, and South-Asian participants. The ethnic diversity was an exciting glimpse of what Revelation 5:9 says when it declares that Jesus has purchased for God with his blood, people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. We are excited to continue pressing into the idea of partnership, both with our urban and our suburban ministry partners!
In Other News
- Our Spring Party will held at Bethany Community Center on Saturday, April 18th at 5:30 p.m. We would love for you to come and bring your family!
- On April 25th Molly Merrick and Megan McDermott will be holding a silent auction to raise funds for their staff roles with Mission Adelante. Everyone is invited! Click here to download Megan's invitation. Or... Click here to download Molly's invitation.
- Buy Royal’s tickets to the May 16th game or the June 30th game and support Mission Adelante! When you purchase through the "buy tickets" link below, a portion of the proceeds will go to help us hire Megan McDermott as our Kids Adelante Director!
- Praise God for answering our prayers for the Baptism Service last Sunday!
- Please pray for a strong finish for our participants in our ESL, LIT, and Kids Adelante Programs
- Please pray that God would use the celebration of His resurrection this weekend to draw people to Himself.
- Please pray for God to raise up new volunteers for our ESL Level 1 and for the formation of a team of upper-level volunteers.
- Diapers, wipes and baby items
- Staple Food items like rice, beans, sugar and cooking oil
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