So sometime today a couple of the guys from Chase Oaks Church in Plano, TX [I think it's Mike Martin, Mike Brookshire and Dennis Elenburg] should be rolling into NOLA. It is very cool to see what God is doing in them and through them. Figured I would take a moment and tell you their story.
Alf and I both interned at Chase Oaks will in seminary. The long and short of it is that we heard amazing things about this church [then called "Fellowship Bible Church North] and their pastor. We heard that it was a really healthy church. It was successful (at the time the congregation was prob about 3000) and had done it the right way. We were both very impacted by our time there.
Flash forward to Katrina. Chase Oaks becomes one of the hundreds of churches that wants to help in NOLA and desires to do so through Berean because of our personal connection. They have been down here…I think…5 times. Each time, they dive deeper and deeper into ministry here in NOLA. [Coincidentally, God has called Chase Oaks to dive deeper and deeper into their community back home in Plano. See the connection?]
During their last trip in the Spring, God allowed them the privilege to watch Him work in a humoungous way in the lives of some that we minister to from the streets.
[I will avoid using names due to the nature of the information.]
They met T who had recently come off of the streets and was beginning to integrate into our body. This man’s discipleship is marked by men and women from Chase Oaks Church. He is now living with a family from Berean and winning the battle with his past.
They met J who detoxed off of heroin right before their eyes in a ratty motel room. She did amazing for a couple of months and recently has lapsed. We have no clue where she is right now.
They met S who perhaps had the most amazing transformation of all right before their eyes. He has turned his life around and desires to be in ministry. When they met him, he was a drunk ex-con who came to the streets to die. He has also had his own struggles and now finds himself back in jail and prepared to serve an extended sentence for old charges from before he turned his life around. His prayer is that prison will provide a place for him to grow in his faith.
All three of the above individuals, by the way, have been in Plano over the past couple of months. Trips that were impactful in their lives as the people of Chase Oaks loved them and sought to bring further growth in their lives. Chase Oaks isn’t willing to leave this ministry totally in our hands thankfully. They have had these guys in their homes, they have surrounded them with prayer in their small groups, they have sacificed their time and money to see that this work continues.
So pray for my brothers from Plano this weekend as they are here in NOLA to encourage T, visit S in prison and perhaps find J on the streets. May God continue to use them in the ways that He has over the past couple of months in countless ways.
This is what it should look like to partner with us in our ministry here in NOLA. I understand that not all can do this. We covet your prayers. We can only survive with your financial support. But what we want more than anything is to lock arms with you and see God use you firsthand to minister to the people of New Orleans.
