November 25, 2019
God has been so good to us over these last several months! If you didn’t hear, Ezra began walking around 10 months old and is almost 13 months! While in Peru, over 3,000 people made decisions to follow Jesus and local churches continued to do outreach after we left. This past year we’ve seen over 70 people come to Jesus in front of the Lake County courthouse! Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands more people to reach and disciple.
Right now, God has given us new direction for TransformNation. The state of Illinois is in deep trouble. This summer our state legislators made Illinois the abortion capital of America, legalizing abortion up until just moments before a baby is born and ensuring the “right to abort” is safe if Roe v. Wade is overturned. They also raised taxes, legalized marijuana and approved more casinos to be built all over the state—including in Waukegan, near where we live. Illinois also has the worst credit in the nation and is on track to be the first state to file for bankruptcy in history.
All of these issues have a direct impact on the people I minister with on a weekly basis. On top of that, many churches are in decline and other ministries have left the state. If Christians don’t stay then who will share Jesus? In response, we are launching a new initiative called Street Chaplains.
Street Chaplains are a team of pastors and Christian leaders with counseling experiencing taking the love of Jesus to the streets by helping families and first responders. We are seeking partnerships with police departments to respond to major crisis situations where we can pray, counsel, refer helpful resources and invite people to Jesus. We also hope to do outreaches in troubled neighborhoods to help prevent and reduce crime by helping others and leading them to a relationship with Christ.
We still plan on doing international missions in the future, but Street Chaplains will be our main local ministry going forward. But to see this vision come to full fruition, we need your help.
Currently our monthly giving has been around $2,505 per month, but in order to do local ministry here in Illinois we need $6,075 per month. Would you consider partnering with us in prayer and monthly financial giving? A gift of any size truly can make a difference! Let’s team up and see God transform lives and communities together.
On mission for Jesus with you,
Matt & Shavonne Kearney
