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Prayers and Exercise
Walking the Talk
Even people who realize the value of exercise and the importance of prayer find it difficult to make time for both—and sometimes neither discipline fits into the schedule!
This summer, Countryside Christian Church (Wichita, Kansas) encouraged women to pray while working out. The church’s Summer Prayer Walks program challenges participants to “get in shape and help save the world,” and Leanna Rierson, director of women’s ministry, hopes the prayer walks will even lead to an ongoing prayer ministry at Countryside.
Rierson launched the program in June by giving each walker a pocket-sized booklet with prayer ideas. “The book lists our missionaries, our staff and elders, and our country’s leaders, and also leaves room for personal prayer requests,” she says.
The women pray, and walk, at their own pace. “We asked each woman to commit to praying through the booklet at least once each week,” Rierson says. “We also encouraged them to walk and pray with a partner, but it’s not required.”
This flexibility is key to the project’s success. “About 40 ladies signed up, some of whom are older and can’t walk each day,” Rierson says. “But of course they can pray anywhere, so they’re participating in their own way.”
The early summer kickoff also included a short informational meeting with hints for effective prayer times. “Some of the participants are beginners at prayer,” Rierson says. “Which is a wonderful ‘problem’ to have!”
www.countrysidechristian.com
Full Circles
In December 2006, “BUZZ” reported on Southland Christian Church’s “Circles of Influence,” an initiative of new programs, plus partnerships with existing organizations, developed to serve the needy in Lexington, Kentucky.
One major Circles of Influence project is the Refuge Medical Clinics for people without health insurance. Southland opened its first clinic, in Jessamine County, in June and plans to open another in downtown Lexington this fall.
In addition to the many doctors, dentists, nurses, office workers, translators, and other volunteers who make the project successful, the county itself helped the new clinic by offering its own health department as a location. The Refuge Clinic opens when the county offices close, and the 6:00-9:00 pm time frame allows many of Jessamine County’s poorest residents to access convenient medical and dental care.
In addition to basic primary care, the clinics provide patient education, laboratory testing, specialty referrals, and screenings for other free insurance programs.
www.refugeministriesky.org
Home Team
As part of an initiative by the Denver mayor’s office to involve area churches in helping the homeless, members of Southeast Christian Church (Parker, Colorado) participate in mentoring teams, providing hope and practical help for families in need.
“We have two teams of four to six people, and would like to add more,” says Kent Ross, a Southeast member and coordinator for its mentoring program. “The Denver Rescue Mission (DRM) connects each team with a homeless family, and the team works with that family for a six-month period.”
The mentoring program is part of DRM’s Family and Senior Homeless Initiative, and includes more than relationship building. The Rescue Mission also gives each homeless family enough money for a down payment on an apartment, and the “mentoring” relationship actually begins by helping the family move into their new home.
“The Rescue Mission screens each family before giving the money,” says Ross. “Their work in finding strong candidates, combined with the ongoing support of mentoring teams like ours, gives the program an 80 percent success rate.”
The initiative includes a handbook to guide discussion topics and goals for each meeting between mentors and the families. The groups usually meet every three to four weeks and work through finances and budgeting, health-care issues, legal questions, and more.
“We help the family with their new home and with preparations for a new life,” says Ross. “But just as importantly, we become a support system of friends invested in their success.”
www.sechristian.org
Jennifer Taylor, one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD's contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
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