Short List of Mission Objectives

Other potential ministry programs that will be Family Support programs.
Men's Moral Issues
Emergency Housing Support for Hospitalized Home-owners with children (income loss -related)
Counseling for Family Issues - as supported by local Counseling providers
Temporary Guardianship services through the Foster Village program for children of hospitalized parents or similar emergencies
Domestic Violence Victim assistance and local Hotline
Suicide Prevention and School Violence Hotline
Fatherhood Boot Camp
Isayah's Closet - A Clothing sharing service to lend special occasion clothing to students of low income families directed through local charities, emergency clothing for children in emergency custody, and clothing donations for children in need in the local community as directed by local charities. Also will feature school items and yearly back to school backpacks and needs. This program will run under the Foster Village's oversight and be sourced by donations from local families, the proposed Wholesale Distribution company (supplying churches and ministries with goods at wholesale costs), and a special fund for benevolence toward local youth in need. Our Social workers or trained benevolence staff will welcome children coming out of traumatic situations with a day out shopping with their new caretakers, receiving new clothing and other small gifts to give them a comforting new outlook on life. Case by case basis as needed. 
 

[This page is under construction. Items here are first draft writings and should be edited as time allows.  Initiatives are not in exact order of importance or chronology. All programs will launch as funds and staff allow.]

What is IsaYah 61 Ministries? Is61 is the corporate structure of an out of the box church plant. The members will be ministry professionals who gather together to multiply the total community impact of the individual church bodies in the state of Georgia. The Mission is to Fulfill the Great Commission by uniting churches to reach people in the communities. Is61 will launch a series of Christian Missions we'll internally call Mission Hubs. Starting in Loganville, GA, The N.E. GA Christian Mission will generally operate like any other church office during business hours. We'll have prayer, communion, and worship music in the office as daily services for staff and members. After morning prayer, we'll handle the administrative tasks and set up outreaches or work on finding resources to meet needs in the community. We'll host weekly services for the local pastors of churches either at The Mission or at participating local churches or restaurants. For outreach, we'll also hold open air and unconventional gatherings on a weekly basis or more. Our goal is to create atmospheres of worship in everyday life situations whereby the public at large could encounter one or more of our ministry arms engaging with the people daily in the course of their normal lives. We will NOT hold any traditional Sunday services, nor be in competition with other church bodies for attendance or membership. Our goal is to be a catalyst for every other church in every community to grow exponentially while we all together impact each community by meeting the needs of the populace in such ways that they can know God's Love through the acts of service or provision. We are a church made up of churches. We are an outreach force empowered by the memberships of local churches. We are a vehicle for churches to take the Gospel to the streets and relieve the burdens of the poor, the hurting, the lonely, the abandoned, the neglected, and the outcast. The NE GA Christian Mission or whatever its name ends up being called, will shine a pillar of light for a community and be a place where the public can actually come to get prayer, support, and godly counsel whenever the office is open. In all our services, we'll point the public to trustworthy Christian churches for their continued support and discipleship in Christ. 

 

       LETS GO BANANAS FOR JESUS!!!

Preachers can take any random topic to make a point!
Here is a story about my banana tree that should inspire you to let your ministry's roots GROW...

 

                 My first banana tree stayed in its pot for a couple years after someone told me that if I planted it, that it would take over the yard and be impossible to keep from creeping all around and into neighboring yards. Well, after seeing no fruit year after year, I started asking others why it wasn't bearing fruit. They called it "root lock." The trees will not bear fruit if the roots cannot spread. Years later, I moved into a house and inherited a 3ft tall banana tree with a 6inch stalk/trunk planted in its original 6in wide pot! I cut that plastic pot off and dug a hole, set it in, watered it, and in just a few months, I had a 15 foot tall banana tree which would send up continuous new stalks and yielded several batches of hundreds of bananas over the 4 years I owned that house. Additionally, I planted 4 more varieties of banana tree and enjoyed the problem of having to find people to give the excess away to. 

            How many churches are experiencing Root Lock?  Now, maybe they are still bearing fruit within the context of what happens in the container they're planted in. Just as that first banana tree still exchanged CO2 for Oxygen, provided habitat for critters, and had a certain form of beauty sitting in front of my house in the ornate pot, many churches are doing great in their church building. If critters wander in, they may find a great habitat. Life still is great there! 
Jesus said He wants FRUIT! I'll tell you that it is very hard in ministry to overcome certain walls once the "roots" are comfy where they are. Pastors and others have ideas to go reach the area but congregants are comfy. Some ministers are gifted in outreach but the budget does not allow or the eldership says no. Isayah 61 can be a great help for these folks who are stuck in the container they've been planted in! These initiatives below can give many outreach opportunities for churches and many would have no economic expense, no extra staff, and no extra stress! Many initiatives simply involve sharing needs with us, praying with our staff, or sharing outreach opportunities and job opportunities with their church where individuals can get plugged in to doing ministry in the community. Every church has its own giftings and struggles so we're setting all of this up to be a bridge to help all of them do their part and even be of help to the others that may struggle with a thing or two. That root lock will start going away as the roots find opportunity to BREAK OUT of their container and find fresh ground to take in the Name of Jesus. Those roots will also send up new chutes allowing those churches to grow beyond the original containers and basically reach more people who will find a place to call family as they start their new lives in Christ! God will get the glory.
 <--- THIS OFFSPRING OF THE 15FT TREE IN THE STORY IS WAITING TO BE RE-PLANTED!!!  
        In all these ministry arms, IsaYah 61 Ministries will fade further and further behind the scenes as local churches take the rightful place as Light Houses for Jesus in any community. Outside of ministry professionals and corporate/grant donors, most people will not know the name IsaYah 61 Ministries. They'll know Jesus Christ and Him crucified, raised, and seated at the Right Hand of The Father in Heaven. They may know the name of the ministry initiatives below in some cases but more-so, the names of the men and women who ministered to them at those locations or in those programs.  

The following initiatives are written for prospective Ministry Director and Min. Assistant applicants to gauge the scope of our goals; not all of them will be under the Is61 administration if we find the need is met elsewhere in the community. The initiatives will also be modified under the leadership of the Ministry Director and only as The Lord provides the means to enact such initiatives. These are GOALS not MANDATES!

PLANNED MINISTRY ARMS OF ISAYAH 61 AND OFFSHOOT SUB-CORPORATIONS
Only the first 2 are in order of implementation as prayer is the foundation for all subsequent initiatives
and database is integral for full implementation. 

Initiative One- Prayer Ministry.  (John 17)
Each weekday, our Ministry Assistant, the Director, or myself will contact churches near the Mission Hub to find out more about each church and their needs if any. We'll be asking questions regarding how the church ministers to the community, special programs, worship style, outreach programs, and what their strengths are and what needs some help. We'll take prayer requests and get the names of major leaders whom we will pray for. Our staff will pray with and for the church member we're speaking with and inform them of our desire to support them as opportunity arises. We'll enter the information into our database of ministries and keep up with that church from time to time to find out how things are going and if they have any needs or special events we can support them with. Our staff will gather to pray for those needs that were expressed later in the day or the next morning before the administrative tasks begin.  Additionally, our staff will keep confidences as ministers in Christ as needed. If anything of a personal nature is shared in confidence, the Is61 staff member will pray with the individual and leave the topic between that person and the Lord; not shared with other staff for more prayer since The Lord already is working on it! 

Our prayer ministry will also reach out to local ministries in the same manner.

Initiative Two- Church Networking Database. (John 17)
The database is being designed for the two-fold purpose of gathering information on prayer needs as well as all the programs and services that all ministries in the area are providing. It goes past just churches and ministries to include even benevolent charities who may at some point have a resource for the ministries we serve or who may need help from one of the ministries in the database. We desire to gather in one place, all possible help for all possible situations that may arise as it pertains to helping the people of our communities and the implementation of God using one of His resources to meet that need. Will every church want to be in the database? Maybe not, so it is definitely optional. We'll still pray and keep in contact with them to serve them down the road. 
What will the database be used for?
Isayah 61 will arrange street teams to minister to the populace once, twice, or three or more times per week in different areas in different towns as volunteers are available. When a gospel presentation is successful or a ministry need is met in an individual who does not have a church home already, we will expertly and prayerfully qualify such a person for the churches in their area which might best meet their need for a church family or continued ministry. For instance: while ministering in Dacula, we meet an older person who has never been to church before and is open to Jesus but still has questions. The street team is a compilation of 2 teenagers and 5 adults from  3 different churches in Monroe and Social Circle. It may be a stretch for such a person to trek that far unless she simply hit it off with one of the team. We'll ask them for some contact info so that we can recommend a followup church where further ministry can take place. Our office staff will then contact the most likely church fellowship where the seeker would most likely have success in meeting Jesus in a soul saving way. Our database would generally indicate if a church has a ministry for older persons, has an outreach program where that seeker could be given one on one time with a qualified leader, and maybe even has some social programs or a church bus for transportation if needed.
   In another case, our team reaches out to a recovering addict behind a Walmart. The person is sincere, seems safe and sober, but has lost hope in finding work and shelter. This person was a follower of Jesus for some time till X, Y, & Z happened and they fell away. Our team would obviously be working to connect that person to a church with an homeless outreach and a Celebrate Recovery type group. This person would need to be safely transported to church or have a church within walking distance. This person would arrive in less than traditional "Sunday Best" attire and may have an odor. They may arrive hungry and maybe a bit distressed. Lets say there are two equally likely places for the person to continue being ministered to. Our staff would pray and trust the Lord for the answer and if nothing was revealed, then we'd likely try to conference call both to see how available each one is and let them decide. It might be that both churches can offer something helpful and both provide follow up ministry. There is a homeless man who was similarly helped by a lay minister I know; a large group of Christians  raised funds to shelter him for a few weeks and then helped with administrative things to the point that he is living now comfortable at Whits Inn in Loganville, receiving his social security benefits and only needs assistance here and there with a need. As I have heard, this man would make a great volunteer for one of our planned outreach venues due to his knowledge of Walton County's complete history. 

So, the database will not just be a great way to track prayer needs, it will be used to grow individual churches as ministry teams go around the area. Additionally, as the retail outreach venues are able to open, we'll have daily interactions with dozens of un-churched residents. We'd need many churches to disperse the new seekers and new believers in to. If that retail venue is in Monroe, it's likely many would be funneled to Monroe area churches. But, these outreaches are actually going to draw customers and guests from adjacent counties since there is nothing like them in the area offering the value that we're designing in to them. So, we'll be recommending churches in a variety of areas for these people to look in to. We'll develop professional looking information media to email, text, or print that will give the potential new church member some highlights and ask if we can share their info with the church outreach teams for follow up. 

Lastly, the database will keep a list of churches IN NEED of some resource. Every week, we can send out an email blast to the other churches to let them all know the current needs in the Body of Christ and whom they can contact if they have a resource to meet that need. As shared in a blog last year here, I found a church that needed lighting repairs and also had no sound panels on their walls to keep the volume tolerable. Within just a few phone calls to local churches, a church met their need for the sound panels which were sitting in a soon to be demolished old building. The lights were sourced from another church's garbage pile (all BRAND NEW TOO). And subsequently, that church just got an additional amount of Acoustic Foam from a church who was remodeling their sanctuary. Due to a fabric color mistake, that church also donated brand new Grey fabric to the church in need which will greatly improve the aesthetic looks of the old brown foam in that church's Grey sanctuary. All of those items were no longer needed and now are being employed for God's use elsewhere! The database will sometimes also include a church's need to sell older equipment in order to upgrade. I have the idea that we'll also partition a section of this website for a Member's Zone, where we can make a portion of the database available to all members as the log in. Then we'd have a possible prayer chat space, classified postings, ministry news, needs, and events publication area. This reduces IsaYah61's need to be the go-between and lets pastors and leaders connect on their own! Additionally, the local charities will be included in these things. Three Weeks ago, a ministry was in need of a Pallet Jack. While I did send out some posts about it, and almost had one but it needed a new wheel... their need was met by a brand new donation. I saw another need recently and also in short time, the need was met by another. My hope is to take the burden off ministries and get needs met within the body of local churches. Maybe a food pantry had an accident and their supply was destroyed. A post can be made or email sent out asking for donations. If it was on the database area, maybe 3 churches offer $100, 1 offers $500, and 6 more offer $50 to replace that food. It could be handled that those churches Venmo (or whatever) it over to the ministry or maybe even that those churches who pledged send it to Is61 in whatever form they choose including snail mail. So, our ministry assistant gets to then provide those fund directly to the ministry, or goes to the supplier to slide our debit card for that ministry's needs. Then we just wait in faith for the funds to be replenished by the pledges. Whatever it takes to get the need met. 
 

Initiative Three- Foster & Adoption Programs  (James 1:27 part A)

One of the biggest rallying points in the Isayah 61 Mission is a strategic plan to impact the most vulnerable segment of our society: The orphans.
While it is uncommon to refer to people as Orphans these days, I believe that it fits better than simply referring to them as foster children or... They are children without proper custodial care. Who could better care for children than those who follow the Greatest Adopter of children ever. Christians understand being adopted into a Great Family. We didn't earn the adoption; Jesus simply chose us out of the world because of His great Love and compassion. 
The reason I share all that is that I KNOW these programs work. I know they impact children in ways the government run systems cannot by virtue of the fact they are just looking for safe places to house children and outsource the care provided to them.  

Isayah 61 will launch a similar group home system as some churches I've been involved with in the past which had great success in their communities. I have a well planned ministry outline for utilizing a 100+ acre campground which is currently for sale nearby the hot zone of the foster crisis. This is a lofty plan but God will provide! Entry level cost is $3M plus building out the land and adding group homes and staff. 
While working toward that purchase, we will set up Post Foster mentoring programs to support those 18-20s young adults who did not get adopted. There will be advocates, mentors, possibly apartment rent subsidizing (as each one is sponsored by a local church body?), and technical or vocational training as volunteers are raised up who can give of their time to teach skills that these young people can take with them, incorporating Scripture time in the process! 
While those are building, we'll meet with the local foster support agencies and organizations in the area to develop a plan to impact this need with no holes left. I know some of them already but these are the people in the fight who know the heartbreaking stories and have the "if only I could've..." stories.

This is  founded in Isaiah 61:3-4,11. This is God's vehicle to change lives of those that mourn and have seen the ashes of their birth families blowing in the wind. 

Initiative Four- Clothing and Resource Library (Isaiah 61:1-3, Galatians 6:10)

One of the reasons I'm looking for an office space with some storage capabilities is that I would like to have a "library" where our partner ministries who have a person in need of a thing for a time, can borrow one. I know some youth minister who have needed clothing for a child in a low income or neglect situation where a school project called for dress clothes but no one at their church had any to lend. I stopped at Walmart and found none there. I also have seen situations where there was a young adult wanting to go on a job interview with no dress clothes to lend. I've seen many homeless people in need of clothing for work or interviews. I've heard many testimonies of people who were lent or given some clothing for a job interview and that job changed their entire ability to survive. So with some seen money, we'll establish a men's and women's closet with basic dress clothes in s many sizes as we could source from places like Ross or TJ Maxx. We'll ask our local thrift stores to set aside nice suits and dresses for us to buy from them which will be lent to those in need, through churches and other ministries. I was at Shepherd's staff a few months ago and the director told me that another woman that day had given away her own shoes that she was wearing to a person in need that day. My hopeful location is only 2 miles from them and all that would be needed is for them to call us, let us know the need and either we'd just run over with such resource or meet the person and minister as needed. 
Additionally, Wheelchairs, Crutches, Canes, maternity, and other medical or personal care items that we could source from donations at Thrift stores or even online auctions for manufacturer liquidations. Anything that ministries are often being asked for to help with that we could store and hold for such needs... 
Lastly, as also a supplement to local ministries own donation offerings, one of the biggest needs are things for babies. We need to take the burden of unplanned or unexpected pregnancies and also unexpected babysitting of a family member's baby off of those new parents who are suddenly having to cope with many new stresses. While we would always defer them to those specialized ministries, I want to have resources ON HAND for their sudden shortfalls and for churches who want to embrace their member and provide the help. 
We'll also court donations from retailers and manufacturers to stock this closet. And of course, it's all free to the churches and ministries in Jesus Name!

Initiative Five- Church Supply Distributorship (Galatians 6:10)  ***This arm will be a "For-Profit" entity owned by Is61 as a CPA sets up 

I've owned retail businesses and quite well understand the game that is played. One of my church support ministry business initiatives is based on supplying churches with church specific items at COST! A worship leader at my church recently upgraded her guitar to... my dream guitar! Now, I actually have the same guitar but at a non-worship leader quality need, so about $3000 less. She had to wait till that guitar was about $1500 discounted to afford it. That should not be! Worship leaders are an extremely important part of a gathering. As a musician, I cringe at hearing low quality instruments even though I do ignore it during worship (they sound worse when watching a service on a phone!). I know how much that guitar shop made on the $1500 discounted instrument. If I am able to launch this pseudo-retail shop utilizing extra space in a building we're operating a ministry out of, I could get churches the really great equipment for absolute cost! That means wholesale, plus shipping, and if we had an employee handling the purchase or special ordering, we'd add $5-$15 to offset their time. How does it really work? I owned a Church Audio store called CrossFire Audio which operated out of my house after working as an apprentice for a well known church sound technician many years ago. I supplied churches with great equipment at minimal profit margins. I also sold the extra items on Craigslist and had many musicians and bands as customers. I made my profit on the people making money on the equipment and supplied the churches well as a service to God. In this new endeavor, I will utilize a similar technique but expand it to all church needs... including commercial paper towels, tp, copy paper, communion supplies, audio, computers and tech, instruments, and anything else that churches use regularly. The churches can pre-order the paper goods and we simply give them the access to acquire it a wholesale. The non-paper goods are items that the general public would love to buy for 10% off full retail. So, if a church wanted to order new computers and tablets, we'd already either have some on hand or place the order through our wholesale suppliers, then add a few extra for minimum order quantity. The church gets theirs at cost and we retail the others for profit. If another ministry needs something we've ordered for retail, we simply give them the same price as the church who placed the order. This is a one or two person operation and will save churches thousands or many thousands of dollars. As long as we keep placing orders from time to time and are set up as a retailer, there are no stipulations against us giving our wares at cost to 501c3 charities. Additionally, We'll have a program for churches that if any of their members wants to buy an item for personal use, we'll extend a great discount to that member. If the general public saved 10% off retail, we'd offer an extra 10%-15% for bonafide church members! So, the church member wants a $4000 guitar, we'd likely give it to them for $3000. If that church was going to buy it directly, they could likely buy it for $2200. (I'm not supposed to tell the public how retail works so please don't do the math!) Anyway, I may launch this on my own with an angel investor but I wanted to do it inside Isayah 61 based on the ability to have Isayah 61 staff being integrated with church needs, versus having a completely different covering and policies for that retail establishment. Non-Profits can own For-Profits and are only liable for taxes on realized profits which would surely end up as $100 per year or similar as our CPA would advise. Yearly profits from this pseudo-distributorship retail entity would be donated to Isayah 61's other external ministry arms such as the Orphanage/Group Homes or most likely, the business would instead of charging Bethel Village (wholesale) for supplies it orders for the ministry, it would simply donate enough that there ends up with zero realized profits while still paying the expenses of running the business. If I have to own it in my own name, then I believe the tax situation gets quite complicated as it would look like money laundering to the IRS... I'm not a CPA so one will be hired to advise on all these matters. 

This wholesale source of goods will apply to all churches, Christian ministries, and each Is61 ministry arm. The ability to purchase nearly everything at wholesale for our own ministries basically cuts our expenses in half. It also potentially cuts many church budget needs for those good in half if they utilize it, assuming enough churches participate in ordering products on a regular enough basis that we can qualify as distributors, wholesalers, or retailers. The more ministry arms Is61 sets up to do outreach and even retail ministry, the more important this supply chain business will be. It can be scaled up quite easily by adding warehouse space on any owned property. I received a quote from a warehouse supplier for $200k to build a very large warehouse just a few years ago in Northern GA. He indicated that for ministry, the price could be much better. 

Initiative Six- Street Ministry (Matt 28:19-20)

We will go to the highways and byways with groups of people in different areas near the Mission Hub as church groups or individuals have time and desire to go out into our world and preach the Gospel to every creature. We'll have training and workshops to teach and disciple and we'll just go and trust the Lord to bring fruit. 

Initiative Seven- Ministry Retail Outreaches (Matt 28:19-20, 1 Cor: 9:22, James 1:27 C) ***Also Set up by CPA as Separate non-501c3 entities.

Where do Christians go where they can have a great time with their family and be uplifted in the process? Not many places outside of church events. The world has plenty of recreational venues where the whole community comes in, pays lots of money, and gets pumped with worldly music and young children are exposed to adult behaviors which give ungodly influence in the minds of the young. And Christians have not yet gathered to provide for themselves an environment which does give that need for recreation and also adds a Gospel-centric atmosphere. This venture started with a simple idea to provide a date-night place that was G-rated and low enough cost to draw people in; while playing Christian music and being generally Christian themed. But, I had to start adding ways to make it lucrative. This started just as a business plan and a way to earn a living after I sold my last business in 2022. I completely altered the plan, (altered... put on the alter....) after coming to the realization that it was an amazing outreach venue for God's Kingdom. I had visited a few so called family entertainment places around Gwinnett county with my family and at each one, was praying my children would not hear the songs, see certain behaviors, and become aware of things not age appropriate. As a veteran entrepreneur, I also quickly added up their likely profit margins for the day based on my observations and the fact that I've already written fundable biz plans for such venues before the 2008 market crash. I realized that "sin" was making the owners quite wealthy. Christians have no family safe place to take their children. Adult couples would even cringe at the lyrics to very loud songs being played. These places one by one were checked OFF on my list of places to ever go again. This was where my small plans would encounter a Big God's heart and became one of the centerpieces of the plan to reach Georgia. The completed plan which is replicable in various states of upscaling and downscaling for popping up all over Georgia under a Brand name which will be recognizable and become a major place to visit in every town we place them in, is a Ministry and Outreach Family Entertainment Center. Having various amenities in each location which perfectly match the social need and income level of residents, these FECs will serve as opportunities for church people to come in contact with unchurched people. These FECs give Christians a place to party in godly ways, with godly music, and with opportunities to know Jesus more. These FECs, give youth pastors in each area a great place to connect with students outside of the church atmosphere where they're more likely to come as they are instead of with the guards up... There's so much more but we'll get to that later!
   

Other targeted retail outreach opportunities I'd love to open are U-pick Organic farms with attractions which also supply the food pantries, foster village, and other ministries. It would also have a Famer's Market where we seek to offer organic and poison free food from local farmers and our non-public farms (job creation initiative and food sources for outreaches and foster village..). I have several other planned retail outlets which are designed to raise money for ministry, provide jobs for those in need, give Christians outreach opportunities, and create a supply chain for goods that can be utilized in churches and ministries we partner with. I'll also add that the entire community will come to our retail creations because they will receive much greater value for their dollars and even when we don't get to pray with guests directly, we'll still be praying for them indirectly through our prayer workers on site. 

Initiative Eight- Unskilled Worker Jobs Program and Specialty Thrift Store (1 Thess 2:9)  ***Set up by CPA under Is61

This program will be somewhat adjacent to the retail outreaches. Our thrift store will be different from our local Christian thrift stores. We do not want to compete with those at all. Our thrift store will specialize in LARGE items which people donate because they couldn't sell it because it was too big to move for most people. Real Wood furnishings, pianos, pool tables, game tables, and antiques will be gathered by our grunt workers who needed a chance to start working again. We'll teach them responsibility, job skills, woodworking, refinishing, and other restoration skills which they could use elsewhere when long term opportunities arise. In every aspect, our staff will disciple all program participants while working. The able-bodied will do the heavy lifting, and those who need low physical activity jobs can handle sales, store help, and searching for Freebies and estate sales on the internet around the reachable areas. We'll also take donations of classic cars, boats, RVs, and other similar items which people need to get rid of and can be resold or utilized for parts to fix other donated items. We also will network to find Christian business owners who will enlist an unskilled worker and give them opportunity to learn valid workplace skills while earning a modest income in the process.  

Initiative Nine- Older Persons Assistance Programs (James 1:27 part B)

Isayah 61 will launch a program as soon as we can which provides assistance for older persons who have no viable safe care from family members to fall back on. As ministers in the area notify us of situations where an older person has a need and will be in trouble if no help comes, we will assemble local church bodies who have similar hearts to help them. Our programs will simply connect the person to ministry and if needed serve as an oversight as we have social workers employed through the Foster Care programs. It may look like connecting a person to a church with a bus to bring them to church, bingo(etc), potlucks, and even help getting groceries. It may look like gathering several churches who pay for the person's apartment and their bills for them while sending church folk to look in on them daily. Maybe they just can't navigate the internet to pay things or hold a pen to write a check, they just need to have some help. It may look like gathering a few churches to help buy a multi bedroom house and essentially create an affordable housing facility with free rides to church, stores, and doctors. Those churches could collect an appropriate housing rent from the residents from their social security payments to offset the cost of owning and repairs to an escrow fund. As long as it gets done and is managed in Christian integrity. We may help initiate it, run it, or step in for emergency help. 

Initiative Ten- Church Planting

 Many years ago, I attended a conference where a study was presented about the decline of Christianity in Europe. They showed story after story of formerly majestic church buildings which had become night clubs, "adult" entertainment venues, bars, hotels, apartments, and many other things. The projection was given that at the current rate of evangelism, the USA would come under that same fate. Here we are almost 2 decades later and it has come to our shores. As I set out to plan the Mission Hubs in GA, I was led to a few cities. In my research, I came across many opportunities to acquire whole church properties, some quite large even. While I myself have no need or desire to return to run churches on any long term basis, I have a burden to rescue lands which were dedicated to God and are now in jeopardy of falling into the hands of unscrupulous new owners. As a missionary, I am moved to take Territory for the Kingdom of God. I do not play loosely with that term. Jesus said, "Occupy until I come," or some translations say it as, "Do business until I come." Either way, it is Kingdom business and His business is spreading the Gospel. In Western culture, we primarily use churches. These are gathering places for worship, discipleship, fellowship, and care of the flocks of God. Why would we give ground back to the enemy?!?!? No. If land is taken for the Kingdom of God, it shall not be surrendered back to the secular. Closer to home, a local church sold their old church building to a pseudo-christian CULT because they needed the space to launch a school which the old property did not provide for. The towns people were quite miffed at this sale from what I've heard because now a strange group of very wealthy and well organized people are now lurking about trying to find new members as it was told to me. I looked at their website and it just looks like a pyramid scheme to me but they wear fancy robes and seem to be quite religious. It is what it is. So, for some churches who either go out of operation or others who vacate for bigger spaces, it still leaves an opportunity for the enemies of God to gain a foothold in a community and as in Europe, the seek to mock God specifically by placing profane things on the altar. At the time of this writing, a property is being rezoned for use as a temple for an eastern religion about a mile from our proposed Mission office. While there is nothing one can do to stop that, the only reason they're converting a large house is because no churches are available which would be their first target! To that end, in one block, 3 separate churches are operating out of old storefronts because no church buildings are available for use and the cost of church spaces in Walton County is beyond affordability for church plants. This is also why we are planting our Christian Mission (which is a missionary church itself) in the tiny 1950s house if all goes well. No ministry spaces are available here. But in Savannah there are a few choices and in Macon, there are a depressingly many choices to acquire large buildings for as low as $250k. In cases like Macon, if we could negotiate to purchase say 10 vacant church buildings, I would absolutely do it. They do not all have to be turned in to Church Plants up front. Use one for a Christian Mission. Use others to launch homeless outreach and services, foster and adoption services, prayer meetings, external ministry office rental space, job and vocational training and classes, Biblical counseling, after school outreaches, MOPS or Mommy groups, Homeschool groups and support, Christian daycare or school, and other ministries as local eldership and opportunity would dictate. The goal would be to one by one, rehab the space into church usable spaces and let new church plants be birthed in each one as street and retail ministries effectively spread the Gospel through the area by the multiple ministry arms of the local Christian Mission work. The collective of local participating church bodies will raise up pastors and leaders and we will also recruit missionaries and new Bible College or seminary graduates to intern as pastors with mentoring by the pastoral collective in the area so that there is a head over a new work and so that the local church bodies can pour in to the newly ordained minister and bring unity to the area as well as assimilation into the local culture for transplanted workers. Some people will choose to believe that God cannot get pastors of diverse denominations to willingly welcome new churches in an area. This is what the Lord is doing and none shall stop it. He will bring His people to the work. Others who doubt will simply doubt and watch God get all the glory anyway. The pastors in the area who raise up these new churches will share in the blessings that come from a healthy Christian community as their own churches grow and in all reality, half of us pastors don't really want ALL the new Christians invading our little family of believers. Some pastors are quite happy that the new drama filled and high maintenance believer is heading over to that new church and is going to put that new pastor through the paces... They'll be quite happy to get the call from the new pastor asking for wisdom on how to deal with problem x,y, or z! I'm not wrong and some of you pastors know it! I've been there!!! I'm actually there again as a missionary; relieved that I can minister at a church or in a situation and keep emphasizing to the people to set up meetings with the pastor of the ministry who will walk with them for the season. Another reality is that if we are reaching gang members and addicts with effective street ministry and expect the suit wearing churches to be the best fit for new converts... it would cause chaos to blend cultures on day 1. If we are reaching teens with high energy by some effective outreach, maybe at a skatepark 4 weeks in a row; does the church with 80% retirees fit what those youth need to be discipled effectively? No. I currently minister to a growing group of 18-30 year olds weekly at a church nearby. While I seem to fit perfectly with them, there are not many other seasoned men of God who have the unique ability to be on their level at around age 50. Humble brag; my energy levels outlast theirs every time! (But I just had the hard reminder that playing sports with them has painful consequences the next day!)  My main point is that many churches meet the needs of many people, but no church meets the needs of all people effectively. 

     My intent is not to actually be the church planter, but a "grounds keeper" until a new ministry can be installed in the space. I would likely seek a series of Angel Investors for these Real Estate investments. We'd secure the properties, fix the main issues, install good alarm systems, and work within a network to raise up a new church plant to be installed there. In some cases, we can use buildings for other ministry outreaches that still keep the site sacred to God. The upside allows for the profit to be had by the angel investor, jobs for workers who rehab the property, and new fruit bearing opportunities in the community. For the sake of an area like Macon where a quite alarming amount of churches are currently on the market, it shows where a great falling away has taken place and therefore a great need for new and authentic servants of God to move into that area to bring the revival.

     If these church buildings are not retained by authentic ministries for the Great Commission, those cities will go into further decline as the Gospel message is out-shouted by the increase of worldly establishments. The Isayah 61 mission will seek to raise up missionaries to begin church services and also install brand new pastors in some of the buildings who then get to experience the fun of growing a church from the ground up. I envision interns and ministry trainees from Bible colleges and seminaries being given opportunity to practice the homiletics and hermeneutics week by week, possibly being mentored by local pastors or even members of the local board of Elders for the Mission Hub. Maybe even local associate pastors who need some... confidence boosting and practice delivering their amazing dad jokes on a small assemblage of people rather than their current congregations. This is an out of the box strategy and will adapt as needed. Where the church is in decline, major denominations can easily assimilate into one of these works and see it through to completion. Each opportunity may be handled differently but these buildings will be rescued for God's Kingdom. We'll trust God that each building only remains as a Property Holding for a short time as we actively evangelize these areas and seek to win souls for Jesus. So, our church planting will not be for IS61, for a denomination, or for a movement. It will simply be keeping Territory till a trustworthy new church body can be installed for the work of the Gospel going forward. This endeavor is also a control method for limiting false church movements intrusion into an area that is being harvested for Jesus. No Cults. No pyramid schemes. No doctrine of the Nicolaitans! It won't even be my opinion that determines what is planted. Boards of Directors and Elders in that local area will give guidance and be responsible before God with whom they approve. That seems fair to me. There will be a list of known cults to avoid and maybe a probationary rental period before a sale would be entertained... I'm glad the boards of Elders will weigh in on this. We'll establish this down the road after many of the previous initiatives are running well.

 

 

Initiative Eleven- Vulnerable Persons Housing 

 Isayah 61 will seek to develop group homes and apartments for individuals who are in temporary need of low cost housing. Related to the above Older Persons Assistance Program, we will seek to obtain buildings which can be converted for use as group homes or apartment complexes for offering low cost or free housing for people in need of The Lord's help. 
Older persons who need looking in on.
Post-Foster care adults needing a safe place to launch or a place to come to between College semesters. 
Recent Evictees in need of transitional housing- with financial and other counseling.

We'll have separate men's and women's buildings for all singles. We'll look for duplexes and quadplexes or hotel/apartment buildings to utilize for the couples. We'll focus on acquiring properties near grocery stores and job opportunities as much as possible. Using our Tax Exempt charity status may help us to receive buildings for free from corporations who are needing that tax write-off in lieu of closing a failing location just to lose money on it.