We need each other to reach the lost and hurting

Taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ and food to the streets of Dothan meets two
vital needs. Most importantly, the need for salvation through Jesus Christ alone.
Secondly, meeting the need for food as 1-in-6 people in Dothan are food insecure. 

It takes the Body of Christ to effectively reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and meet needs of the homeless and poor. Just one or two parts of the Body cannot accomplish this mission. It takes all of us doing our part.

Romans 12:4-5, explains that we are members of the Body of Christ, "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

We read in Ephesians 4:15-16 that when we all do our part as members of the Body of Christ, the Body will grow: "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

We are able to reach more people when we all do our part and the Gospel spreads and God's Kingdom increases in number.

For example, last week we saw six people make decisions for Jesus. Hallelujah! This is why we do what we do at Love In Action. We also served close to 1,000 hot meals last week, as well as help close to 200 people through our food and hygiene pantries and clothes. Our homeless friends took showers and we washed their laundry.

All of the work meeting needs led to those six people making decisions for Jesus. None of those could have happened without our staff, volunteers, people who donate financially, people who donate items we use, and people praying throughout the week.

Our volunteers are amazing as they give of their time to show the love of Jesus and share the Gospel with those who come to Love In Action and as we take the Gospel and food to the streets. It's not easy, but they keep coming to serve, because they know they are fulfilling the call of God on their lives.

There are many others who deserve just as much credit and those are the people who support LIA financially. While you may not physically be able to be at LIA every day sharing the Gospel and helping people, your giving makes everything we do possible. Without finances, we cannot do what we do.

We have bills to pay just like a business. We have a mortgage payment, utility bills, insurance premiums, and payroll. We need to purchase fuel for our vehicles, which are used to transport our homeless friends to and from Bible study, Samaritan Clinic, other doctor appointments, social security office, food stamp office, and more, as well as pull our mobile kitchen around town. We purchase items to help meet needs of those we serve, such as tents, restock our food and hygiene pantries, office supplies and more.

Then there are the recent unexpected bills, such as two compressors going out in A/C units, a tire blowout coming back from a food bank run, an electrical disconnect that needed replacing, and someone throwing a brick through a window on our bus. Oh, I forgot about a clogged drain we couldn't take care of ourselves.

Your giving helps in all of these areas and more, and therefore makes it possible for us to share the Gospel with others, see them come to Jesus, and meet their physical needs. Thank you.

Those who donate items for our food and hygiene pantries, clothes, and more help us have the items we need to serve people without having to purchase the items ourselves, which saves on our budget. The food you donate keeps people from going hungry here in Dothan. When 1-in-6 are food insecure what a blessing it is to be able to help people who are struggling. The hygiene items help people who have to decide between paying for medicines and food or purchasing needed hygiene items.

Here is a link to a page on our website showing our ministry needs, https://loveinactionministries.com/dothan/ministry-needs.

Those who pray are bombarding Heaven with prayers for us and those we serve. God hears your prayers and we see Him answering them. We stand in amazement every week as we see firsthand those prayers for salvation, protection, and provision being answered.

You see, it takes all of us. Please continue doing your part. If you aren't involved in any of these areas, please join us. We need you. Those we serve and are trying to reach with the Gospel need you.

We are in real need of finances. The summer months are usually tough as people get out of their normal routine, which includes giving. Summer is also a time when our needs increase. The extreme heat greatly increases our utility bills, and children being out of school pushes the need for more food and serving more food even higher.

We actually started struggling with finances during the month of April, and the annual summer months decline has made this summer even tougher. God keeps coming through, and we praise Him for it. We are currently around $5,000 below our budgeted needs. Please help us catch up and get ahead.

You can mail your tax-deductible donations to: Love In Action, P.O. Box 85, Dothan, AL 36302 or donate securely online via PayPal through our website by clicking on this link, https://loveinactionministries.com/donate, and then clicking on the "Donate" button.

Thank you for giving. Thank you for volunteering. Thank you for donating items. Thank you for praying. 

Talking with and praying with people is such an important aspect of our ministry,
and baptizing new believers is a very exciting part of what we are blessed to do.

Wired evangelism team touched hundreds of lives

The Wired evangelism team serving with Love In Action were amazing young people.

If the youth attending Wired 2019 are any indication of how the generation will carry on the Gospel message, the Body of Christ has a bright future.

The Wired evangelism team serving at Love In Action last week was amazing. They were not shy about sharing Jesus with others and praying with pretty much everyone they came in contact with. They sat down and talked with the homeless in our coffee house. They ministered one-on-one with the homeless in suite 6 at LIA, which is where we talk with people one-on-one to share the Gospel and help them with physical needs, such as food, hygiene items, and clothing.

They prayed with our friends in homeless camps and parking lots of hotels. They knocked on doors in a community with mostly elderly residents to offer prayer and bagged lunches. Wherever we went, the youth were ready to minister.

Three decisions were made for Jesus last week, and the youth were part of helping to lead people to Jesus. We saw many acts of compassion, including one teen taking a lot of time with a deaf homeless person, who was visiting Love In Action for the first time. That personal attention made him feel welcome and loved. Nobody told that young man to do that. He was moved with compassion.

Another youth asked to do a prayer walk around one of the hotels we frequent with our mobile kitchen. She led the prayer walk and stopped at certain doors as she felt the Holy Spirit led her to pray specifically over the people in those rooms.

We even experienced a Love In Action and Wired first ... an impromptu wedding in the parking lot of the Beeline hotel. One of the youth brought his guitar and three others joined him singing praises to God in the parking lot. A couple heard the music and came out. They were amazed and loved it.

After talking with them for a while, I understood they loved Jesus with all of their hearts, and they had known each other for many years. Then they asked if I could marry them, because they want to live right in the eyes of God. I said sure. They asked if I could marry them at that moment. I turned around and said, "Hey, y'all. We're about to have a wedding."

Without missing a beat, the youth joined in and began playing music and singing for the wedding. One of the youth prayed over the happy couple. After I pronounced them husband and wife, the youth started singing another song.

The woman burst into tears and said, "That's our song," as she lovingly gazed into the eyes of her husband. Only the Holy Spirit could have done that, and He could because the youth were willing to flow with Him. It was awesome and so sweet.

Thank you Wired youth and team leaders for an awesome week. Y'all come back anytime.