The main goal of Mission Raleigh is to reach individuals with the Good News and disciple them into Jesus Followers. We are a holistic ministry and look to aid in meeting social and physical needs as well as the forming of community. It takes a team of committed people to pull this off so please continue to pray for missional lay people to come along side of us.

I am going to write a series on each community we are in and the challenges we face in each ministry. I will focus on five communities. If you have any suggestions, ideas, encouragement please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or e-mail me at scotty@missionraleigh.org

Cedar Point– The Great Commission Community

We have been working in Cedar Point for 15 of the 16 years that Mission Raleigh has existed. We have seen so many changes there over the years. It has gone from a community that would not allow us on property to a community that supplies us with a FREE community center. We have seen God do some amazing things there over the years. It began as community that was majority English speaking to one that was a majority Spanish speaking, and is now a community that does not have a majority language and houses at least 7 different languages. I guess that God was worried that I would get bored so he gave me this challenge to reach a type of community that I have never experienced in 16 years of ministry!

One challenge for me is that I coordinate several ministries to reach the different people groups that live at Cedar Point. To say it nicely, that is way outside my comfort zone. Ask anyone who has worked with me, I am a strong willed leader who works off a vision and lays out how I expect things done. (Some will confirm that with a smile and others with a scowl.) So I am growing in this area.

One thing that I am having a hard time with is that I work with a couple agencies that only work with the refugees. (Trust me I am not talking behind anyone’s back. You may not know this about me but I am pretty good about communicating concerns clearly.) I have a hard time with having ESL only for refugees, while there is a need for Hispanics to learn ESL too. It’s not like I have people lined up at my office door willing to go teach the classes. So I am learning to work with the resources that Christ has provided. There are some Southeastern Seminary students coming to do a Bible study with the Bhutanese but I get a “we’re here to practice” vibe. That’s not my favorite vibe, but they have been faithful and hopefully there will be people to carry on the work. I have seen too many seminary students move on with zero concern about leaving a mission point. The focus must be on the people we are reaching and not on ourselves.

It is our intention to know what people group live behind what door by mid June, then start finding ways to build community from there. We would appreciate your prayers.