Missionary Monday 1

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July 2020   Thirty-three years ago, no Bible study volunteers were allowed into the 70+ juvenile facilities in New England. It was through engaging God's people in prayer that we saw God move in ways that could only be explained as miraculous as each closed door was opened.    We are in another of those seasons. God has called us to engage His people and His church to bring in the love and hope of Christ to all of the 1,200 juvenile facilities across the United States. But only 1/3 of these facilities have someone going in.    We are sensing God saying once again to engage His people in strategic prayer for each of these 1,200 facilities.    Would you prayerfully consider picking a juvenile facility near you, that you could pray for on an ongoing basis for the remainder of 2020? It's a big commitment, but from past experience, we can assure you it will have eternal and life changing impact!    Specifically, we are asking you to: 1. Go to www.everyyouth.org to choose a juvenile facility on the map to pray for. 2. Go to www.everyyouth.org/prayer and let us know which facility you chose.  3. Pray specifically for:      * the youth there to encounter God's love in powerful ways.      * volunteers to go into that facility to bring the love of Christ.      * God to raise up leaders in His Kingdom among the youth who are in this facility. God has raised up some amazing young men and women from juvenile facilities over the past three decades. We believe their voices need to be heard and that they have a message for all of us.   This month we are launching a new monthly podcast called We're Still Standing, which features the voices of youth who have been there. The first one is on girls in the juvenile justice system. Please give it a listen at www.everyyouth.org/podcast and let others who might be interested know about this as well.                                             In Christ's Service, Scott and Hanne Larson This is the most recent update email from the first missionaries I want to highlight- my dear & longtime friends in Christ, Scott& Hanne Larson.  Their lives and their ministry have had a huge impact on my life (& countless others!) over the 30+ years I’ve known them! I first met them when they started leading Biblestudies for teens & 20’s in our barn (no, not a normal barn but I’ll have to take a whole blog post to explain the Biel Barn!) when I was just a tween😊 but always got to be a part of it as a perk of living in the host home. Hanne, the daughter of missionaries who grew up in Denmark, was am amazing mentor to me in so many ways. While she & Scott ran Crossroads youth ministry together, this tall beautiful blond began visiting a local juvenile jail facility on her own to minister the transforming love of Christ & the life-changing truth of the gospel to these incarcerated youth. That was the beginning of Straight Ahead Ministries (Proverbs 4.25) Over the last 33 years, Hanne & Scott together have worked tirelessly to get the life-changing truth of the gospel to every youth in every facility around the world! Even the government has seen the undeniable, real, lasting, inside-out change their work (the Lord’s work!!) has had & has enlisted SA’s programs & training. The Larsons have written numerous books, provided housing & even created jobs to help live these former criminals out their new lives in Christ! They have truly done & continue to do amazing, eternal work!! Dave & I have prayerfully & financially supported Straight Ahead over the years and read their updates with the boys.  Every time I go back to Massachusetts (where I grew up), I always make a point to connect with my dear sister in Christ!  Dr. Scott Larson co-founded Straight Ahead with his wife, Hanne, in 1987.  In the field of juvenile justice ministry, Scott has developed Straight Ahead's engagement model for leading transformational change, authored 13 books on working effectively with high-risk youth, and provided leadership training and resources for hundreds of teachers, social workers and juvenile justice workers.   In 2008, Scott founded and currently oversees the Master's Degree program in Juvenile Justice Ministries at Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Scott has a Master of Divinity degree and a doctorate in Leadership Development.  He is also an adjunct professor at Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Center for Urban Ministerial Education.