TONY'S NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 2009
Dear Fellow Kingdom Builders,
I never ceased to be amazed by what the young people who have served with our EAPE affiliates over the years are accomplishing. There are very few places I go in my travels around the world where I don’t find them doing almost everything from conventional church work to economic and community development among the poorest of the poor. Just a couple of weeks ago I spoke at the First Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where I had breakfast with Russell Grammer, who served two summers with Urban Promise in Camden, New Jersey. Afterwards, Russell studied to become an educator and last year, was named the outstanding science teacher in the entire state of Missouri.
This fall, Russell and his wife launched a tuition-free Christian school in the worst “at-risk” neighborhood in Cape Girardeau , which they specifically designed to serve children from very poor families who are struggling in the public school system.
When I spoke at First Baptist Church , I had Russell stand and tell the congregation what he was doing. Afterward, there were several church members who approached him to volunteer to help and, just as important, scores of others signed up to financially support his school. The whole experience was incredibly encouraging.
I had another affirmation of EAPE when I spoke at the 25th anniversary of the graduate program in Third World and Urban Economic Development that EAPE helped initiate at Eastern University . Graduate after graduate stood and testified about the wonderful things they were doing to build the Kingdom of God.
Hearing about the tens of thousands of people that are being reached with the gospel of Jesus Christ coupled with the practical assistance needed to escape from the despair of grinding poverty left me astounded and blessed.
Together, with God’s help, we inspired and assisted these and many more ministries like them all over the world. Truly, there must be thousands of young (and not-so-young-anymore) missionaries and ministers out there serving in faith-based programs because of EAPE supporters like you.
So please, keep up your support! We've got lots more good work left to do!
Sincerely,
ABOUT TONY + SEPTEMBER 2009