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INNER CITY MINISTRIES
-St.
Louis-
(Summer
2006 Newsletter)
Isaiah 58:12: “And they that shall be of
thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of
many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The
restorer of paths to dwell in.
Exciting things are happening at Inner City Ministries-St.
Louis. We are incredibly GRATEFUL for
your love, prayer and support of this vital ministry to our city.
First, let me introduce myself. My name is Joel Oliver and
my wife is Sherry Oliver. I have taken over the responsibility of the CEO for Inner City Ministries, St. Louis. Jerry Harris
will continue as the National President for Inner City Ministries, National.
My wife Sherry will be handling the finances and the administrative duties
for ICM-St. Louis. Let me tell you something about Sherry and myself:
·
We are both Ordained Assembly of God Ministers
in the Southern Missouri District
·
We planted Trinity Assembly of God Church (a General Council
Church) in 1985 in the City of St. Louis and continue
as the birthing Pastors
·
We have birthed one other St. Louis inner city
Church (it is now Joyce
Meyer’s Dream
Center) and have been
involved in the creation and birthing of five other inner city ministries that
have ministries that touch people in our city
·
I am the Assistant Presbyter of our St. Louis AOG Section
·
We love
the Lord with our whole heart and have a passion for seeing revival in St.
Louis
Scripture is clear that the spiritual health of a City has
a direct impact on the larger community around it (the suburbs). The original
City in an area serves as a spiritual historical marker. When the City is
doing well spiritually, there is a corresponding spiritual health in the
surrounding area. When the City is corrupt and in spiritual decay, it impacts
the whole area in a negative way (remember Sodom
and Gomorrah).
We must address the spiritual needs of
St. Louis City. As we do, the whole area
will benefit.
-over-
Over the last 25 years, 17 of our Assembly of God Churches
moved out of the City limits of St.
Louis City
and relocated in the suburbs. This
left St. Louis City
with a spiritual void (we currently have only 5 AOG Churches in St. Louis City). The result is that there has
not been any significant spiritual revival in the St. Louis area over the last 25 years. It is time to change this. With your help
ICM can make a difference.
St. Louis
City has 79
neighborhoods represented by 61 ethnic people groups. St. Louis City
is growing again and is poised for revival. Revival will need dynamic
Assembly of God Churches strategically planted in our City if revival is to
be sustained. ICM has the vision and passion to help these Inner City
Churches to be planted and to prosper.
ICM has done a number of very good things over the last
three months. ICM has:
·
ICM hosted two Master’s Commission
Teams. They gave presentations at
three of our Churches, helped with work projects at two of our Churches and
also did evangelistic outreaches for two of our Churches
·
Our Sidewalk Sunday School trailer was used
for a month of evangelistic Side Walk Sunday Schools on each of the
Saturday’s in May at Northside Assembly of God in North St. Louis
County
·
ICM facilitated two of our new inner city
Churches with financial support
·
ICM helped celebrate the 11th
Anniversary and new Church home for our Spanish Church
(C.C. Abundia Vida)
·
I attended the Ethnic Workers Summit in Atlanta and was placed on the steering committee to
bring this Summit to St. Louis City
in 2008 to help unite, mobilize and impact our ethnic communities
A CLEAR VISION and
EXPECTATION is necessary if ICM is to be effective. I have prioritized ICM’S
vision and have enclosed it for your review.
We need your prayers and your support. If you have any questions,
please call me on my cell phone at 314-610-8734.
Note: Please send
all future ICM correspondence to 4720
Jamieson- St. Louis, Mo. 63109.
Apprehended by the Lord (Phil 3:12-14)
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