Urban Plunge Faith Journal by Christ For the City International

Faith Journal Discovering my passions, my gifts and where God is working

Urban Plunge Scripture Focus Ephesians 1:11-12; 17-19—The Message It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. I ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

Jesus touched lepers, healed on the Sabbath, defended adulterers, befriended prostitutes, washed the feet of his disciples, threw temple tantrums, talked with Samaritans, partied with tax collectors, and regularly offended the Pharisees.

Are you following in His footsteps?

Prayer This weekend we are going to practice street ministry prayer. Pray with your eyes open. Why no heads bowed, no eyes closed, no folding of the hands? Pray informally. You don’t greet your friend in the morning saying: “Howest art thou friendest of mine?” If Jesus is our friend, why would we be formal in our talking with him? After each visit we will gather in the parking lot and pray short “popcorn” bursts of prayer. A one or two simple sentence prayer regarding someone we met or even to bless the organization. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray for exactly, so we will practice the art of discerning… you just spoke to a person and he said that he hasn’t been working for a month… what do you think he needs prayer for? This will help you do what Paul told us to do; pray without stopping. Do you text? How many words do you text at a time? Do you use formal language? Do you fill in all the details or do you and your friend know a lot of the back-story? How often do you text?

Person I can pray for:

Homeless We’re going to hang out with some people that God is especially fond of this weekend. In fact, God wrote over 2,000 verses about the homeless, the poor, the orphan, the widow, the hurting and the alien. What did your momma tell you about the homeless? What are you suppose to do when you see a homeless person on the street? Can you imagine how you would feel if you showed up at school and no one wanted to talk to you? They crossed over to the others side of the hallway as they walked towards you? They whispered to their friend and then turned their back on you as you approach them? This is how the homeless are treated every day. So… our goal is to give a little dignity back to the people we meet. To greet them, to smile and listen to their story. Some of the folks that we meet at one time had a higher education and made more money than your family… so don’t make assumptions. Some of them have a mental illness and you’ll figure it out soon. Most of them are interesting people who will appreciate that you are spending time and listening to them. Here is the out of your comfort zone challenge. If you are having a good conversation with someone, towards the end, ask them if you can pray for them… if they say okay, then ask for some something specific to pray for. Practice street prayer (eyes open, informal).

The story of a person I met #1

The story of a person I met #2

BUBBLE video What does the Bubble look like where I live?

Imagine 12 years from now… what my life would look like if I left the Bubble?

RICH video Am I Rich?

What does “God blesses me so I can bless others” mean?

How can I do this?

1000 questions video Jesus broke the rules when He saw an injustice. Jesus identified Himself with an injustice larger than Himself. What do you see that makes you so angry that it stirs such emotions that it make you think… WHY??? Someone should do something about this… someone should help… I just don’t understand this and it makes me mad? In the world:

In your city:

In your school/neighborhood/at work:

Is it okay to be angry about an injustice?

How do you turn your anger into positive action?

Prayer Walk What I prayed during my walk:

Where and when could I prayer walk again?

So that you can see exactly what HE is calling you to do Ephesians 1:11-12; 17-19—The Message

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. I ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

Discover your purpose To discover your purpose we believe you need to do three things: 1. Discover YOU Discover Your passion. It can arise from:   

What do you love to do? What bothers you? Where have you hurt?

Discover Your talents – what are you good at? 2. Discover where other’s are already working…. OR... Discover a gap that you can fill! Discover where God is already working.      

Eyes and Ears - investigate your community Ask questions Prayer Walk Practice Blessings… being a good neighbor Get outside your comfort zone. Test Drive different options

3. Discover Discovering School is never out - become a learner Turn the page and will dig deeper...

Discover my passion: what I LOIVE to do What I love to do? What excites me?

My top 5 dreams?

If I could snap my finger and know that I could not fail, here is what I would do:

Discover my passion: what bothers me In the world:

In my city:

In my school/ neighborhood/ at work:

Discover my passion: where I have hurt What are the “wounds” that I identify in others?

Do I think that maybe God might be calling me to help others with these same wounds? How would I do that?

My Talents - what I am good at Here are some areas where I am considered the “go-to”person:

People seem to seek this type of advice from me:

This is what elicits the most praise and most recognition from others:

My Spiritual Gifts

Discover … where others … or … gaps You can: 1. Discover where others are already working and then join them there. 2. Discover where no one is working, a gap that you can fill. Either way it takes a lot of research. Start by ASKING QUESTIONS. Jesus cried, the Bible says… I’m going to ask Jesus to show me what breaks His heart? After you’ve prayed this for a few weeks, record what you think He is showing you: 1.

Here are some people I could ask: “What is broken, what is messed up, what needs to be fixed, where is the gap?” Superintendent of schools (or principal) Mayor (county supervisors) Chief of Police (county sheriff) Faith community leaders (your church and that other church across the street that is different than mine…) Who else knows what is going on in my community? Who else could I ask? 1. 2. 3. 4.

Discover … where others … or … gaps Research your town’s history and discover where there have been injustices in the past; sometimes distant past. Sometimes these painful parts of our community history have been covered up or ignored, but their effects are still being felt today. For example, through looking at old newspapers and talking with people in an under-resourced neighborhood, one person discovered that in the 1940’s the Dallas City Council purposefully prevented African Americans from owning their own homes. As a result of their research they are restoring neighborhoods by rehabbing houses and helping residents to become home owners. So dig into your town’s past and ask questions. Prayer walk for a month. What would happen? List out what you could do. Then list out what you should do. What is the difference? Practice Blessing for 90 days. Remember “God blesses us so we can bless others.” It is okay to experiment and try out lots of different options. Take an organization for a “test drive.” Make a short-term commitment to come alongside an organization using your passions and gifts. If it works, keep at it. If it doesn’t “fit with your wiring,” then try something else.

Discover Discovering We hope that you come back to the inner-city and pour into one of these ministries you visited; or discover a similar ministry back home. But also look at that apartment complex that is close to your church. Maybe right next door; 5 minutes away. You’ll probably find some people that are facing the same difficulties and having the same hurts as you meet this weekend. Continue to get educated! Here are a couple great books to read:    

“Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life” by Robert Lupton. “What Every Church Member Should Know About Poverty” by Ruby Payne “The Dream Giver” by Bruce Wilkinson “Radical” by David Platt

Ministry: __________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Are you seeing something you can do at home? Is a Bible verse coming to mind? Are you seeing where God is working and where you can come alongside Him? If you could sum up this experience in three words, what would they be?

Ministry: __________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ What will you remember about this ministry? What have you learned about yourself? What feelings did you experience? Is God tugging at your heartâ&#x20AC;Ś is He whispering in your ear?

MY ONE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS WEEKEND:

WHAT IS GOD CALLING ME TO DO BACK HOME? What is my #1 ACTION STEP?

IS GOD CALLING ME TO DO SOMETHING OVERSEAS? Join us on an overseas Plunge! www.cfci.org

Stay connected with us… FaceBook: Join our group… Urban Plunge AND Christ For the City International

ABOUT US: Helping people transform cities by transforming lives! Our desire is that this weekend serves as a catalyst for you. Our hope is that you discover something that you can take home and implement in your neighborhood. We’re praying that God tugs on your heart and whispers in your ear! Christ For the City International (CFCI) is an evangelical mission organization with 180 missionaries in 13 countries. Join us on an International Plunge… We organize overseas mission trips. Work in the slums of Latin America, or in an orphanage in Tijuana. Feed people in the poorest of communities. Train Panamanians in child evangelism and youth workers in Nicaragua. Prayer walk in Morocco and bring the light of the Gospel into Colombia. Take a short-term mission trip to one of our 12 countries, pick your dates and activities, and let us handle the rest. You’ll never see two trips that look exactly alike. We will work closely with your team to help you prepare for your trip, and our missionaries will be with you every step of the way Overseas Internship... Wondering if God might be calling you to overseas missions? Need to fulfill a college internship? Spend a summer overseas Or take off a semester. We can arrange a 1-12 month internship experience. A great way to learn Spanish! We also have career missionaries.

Contact…. Shawn Kliewer Dick Dudney Mission Trip Recruiter Overseas Internship shawn@cfci.org dick@cfci.org (402) 592-8332  www.cfci.org

Christ For the City International

PO Box 241927; Omaha, NE 68124 (402) 592-8332 www.cfci.org â&#x2122;Ś www.urbanplunge.com Rev 12-05-12