Serving Christ by Serving the City

October 2007 Newsletter

Hi All,

In less than a month nearly 1000 volunteers from 38 churches and ministries will be taking part in Operation Serve 2007. What is Operation Serve? Glad you asked. This event is part of Serve the Cities "three-year initiative, an adventure focused on reaching the lost of this community with the gospel of Christ."

In February 2006 we launched Prayer, Care, Share at Hus Church by going to the wall to pray for people that we know that do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Since then we have been praying for that God would open these people up to here the Good News of Jesus Christ. The weekly average attendance of the churches and ministries that are part of Serve the City is just over 10,000. That means that if everyone is praying for just three people that over 30,000 people who do not know the Lord are being prayed for. That is about 1/6th of the population of Linn County.

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16 The Message)

As followers of Jesus we need to be God's light in this sometimes-dark world. Operation Serve is part of that. Through Operation Serve we are going to simply serve our community. How? By serving the schools systems in the area, by holding a blood drive, and with a food collection and distribution.

Help us as we rake leaves, clean weeds and grass from fence lines, cut down small trees, take on some landscaping projects, and other tasks as the schools need:
Cedar Rapids Community Schools: Harding, Garfield, Grant Wood, Johnson, Kingston Stadium, McKinley, Roosevelt, Washington, Wilson, and the Bus Barn
College Community Schools: Prairie High School
Linn-Mar Community Schools: Bowman Woods Elementary, Novak Elementary, Linn-Mar High School, Educational Services Center, Wilkins Elementary, and Indian Creek Elementary
Marion Independent Schools: Administrative Offices, Marion High School, Francis Marion Intermediate, Starry Elementary, Vernon Middle, and the football field.

In addition to serving the schools there will be a blood drive at St. Mark's Lutheran Church that is being done in partnership with The Mississippi Valley Blood Center (MVBC). The MVBC serves 50 hospitals in Eastern Iowa, including Mercy Cedar Rapids, Mercy Iowa City, and the VA Hospital in Iowa City. They also supplement for St. Luke's Cedar Rapids and they provide about 10,000 units of blood to the University of Iowa Hospital.

Also there will be teams of people helping package food for Kids Against Hunger at 1st Lutheran Church Cedar Rapids. The goal is to package 8,000 meals to send overseas. There will also be a canned food drive to help fill the shelves of local food pantries.

More information will be coming in the next week to 10 days so watch out for it and see how you can be a light to Cedar Rapids by volunteering some of your time.

Because of Him ~ Terry

"Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)