It's one thing when AARP sends you your "Senior Discount Card" for turning 50. But it's a joy when the first urban ministry we started in Indy invites you as founder to its 25th Anniversary. One has to sit back for a bit to ponder, pray and praise God for a quarter century of active ministry to those living in poverty.

Cheryl and I were honored last month to go "back home in Indiana" where God began this call on our lives to reach out to those living in our at-risk communities. We were thrilled to see old friends who started this journey with us 25 years ago and many who are still serving there. Most of all, we were humbled to see God has increased the seeds we planted and now Shepherd Community is one of the most significant faith-based urban ministries in Indiana and around the country.

Shepherd is one of YouthPartnersNET ministry partners and a place we are sending CityConnexx mission teams next summer. Thanks for your gift this month which helps support our national network and the great work they are doing especially at this time of year.

While we were there, I got to see four other sites that Shepherd is partnering with to reach hundreds of families a week. You can see the video yourself at www.youtube.com/cityconnexx (Thanksgiving Outreach). It's amazing what they're doing. We had a great 25th Banquet and helped raise a lot of money for their ministry. We enjoyed a combined bi-lingual service Sunday morning packed with two urban congregations worshipping together. It was a taste of heaven.

Then after church I was overwhelmed as the parking lot was full of cars from one suburban church who brought 1400 large tubs filled with food for Shepherd's Harvest Celebration which was the event that started this ministry 25 years ago. They were lined up bumper to bumper to pick up maps of homes where they would be delivering these Thanksgiving Baskets in this needy neighborhood. It was an organizational masterpiece. Each car had 2-4 blue tugs containing food to feed a family for several days plus a $10 gift card to the grocery store to pick up 
their own meat. (Shepherd has learned that Hispanic families don't necessarily like Turkey so they can buy what they like). All together this one church donated food and paid for gift cards worth over $80,000.

As I watched this caravan of compassion and love fan out across the community, I was in awe of what God's people can do when there is a need and a vision. Isn't that what the folks in Jesus' day were saying about the early church. Acts 2:46-47 records, "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Thanks for breaking your "bread" and sharing it with our partners (for those of us over 50 you know what kind I mean, the green kind). Our hearts too are sincerely glad and we praise God for your faithful support. And indeed because of your gifts of love, the Lord is adding daily those who are being served and saved.

Here's to the next 25 years of being blessed so we can all be a blessing.

Dean Cowles
Shepherd Community and YouthPartnersNET founder

PS: If you'd like to give a special year-end gift to help us help others, that would be an extra special blessing. Or you may want to sponsor an urban teen to go on their own CityConnexx mission trip to another city. Urban Scholarships are $300 and will make a huge impact in the life of one urban youth

LIVE COMPASSION!

Your Donations at Work:

The Agape Community Center (also known as Here's Life Inner City-Chicago) was established in 1979 with a mission to serve and mobilize the Church to live out God's heart for the poor so all can grow in Christ and spiritually multiply.  In additional to providing trainings for inner-city churches thru HLIC, Agape Community Center provides several programs for youth and teens including the S.A.Y. Yes! program.

S.A.Y. Yes! meets two days per week after school where the youth are provided with a healthy snack or meal, homework assistance, Bible lessons, tutoring in math and reading and recreational time.  Each year Agape Community Center hosts a Christmas Outreach where the families of the S.A.Y. Yes! participants are invited to dinner and the children provide the "program" and the gospel message is shared.  Though a local vendor usually provides turkeys and a local church purchases gifts for each child in the program, this year they are expecting 200 people on December 16th and this grant will cover help to provide a wonderful program to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Prayer Request:

Pray that God will heal James’ “hurt” that causes him to have outbursts of anger at S.A.Y. Yes!  He lives with his grandmother and 4 other siblings/cousins.  Pray for the grandmother’s strength as she ministers to the children in her care.  She does an amazing job getting them the help they need.

Many of you heard on the national news of Derrion who was beaten to death on the Chicago southside a few months ago.  This took place in front of the Agape Community Center and though the staff didn’t know Derrion, many of their participants did.  It was actually their staff who pulled Derrion into their building for safety before he died.  Their team is still processing the events of that day so please keep them in your prayers.