Rejecting Poverty
From our work in the inner city areas, it has become obvious that there are no two cities alike. Cities are as unique as finger prints. Therefore there is no cookie-cutter-way to minister to the people residing in each city. But….
We have seen similarities as well. One of the most striking similarities is the poverty spirit that has attached itself to agencies, organizations and people of the inner cities. Our definition of poverty is: The state of being inferior in quality or insufficient and inadequate in amount. With this definition in mind it is easy to see that this isn’t limited to only money. This includes education, housing, roads, government, etc.
The thing that has bothered us immensely is that this same poverty spirit has affected the churches of the inner cities as well. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Those of us doing ministry in these neighborhoods very often have fallen prey to the poverty spirit affecting the entire area and we need prayer support to keep us resisting this onslaught.
What I mean is it is easy to begin to be okay with having insufficient and inadequate funding. We’re doing inner city ministry. Why should we expect to be well-funded in this area? I’ll tell you why. Our provision is the God of abundance. Often I hear leaders in these areas making decisions, not based on the direction from God, but according to what budgets can afford. I do not deny fiscal responsibility is important, but when we start making decisions based on “if we can afford it or not,” we have already been infected by the poverty spirit that rules these areas.
This is what we reject.
It isn’t easy because the spirit of poverty has ruled for so long in these regions that it has become part of every part of society. But we’ve been called to fight these kinds of giants. And not just to fight them, we’ve been called to bring victory for the glory of the Father and His Son. We have the Spirit, why are we allowing ourselves to be governed and bossed around by a far inferior spirit? Please join us in our war. The good news is…..we win 🙂
With Love
N8
a.k.a. Nate Bull