In the past nine years God has transplanted my life to over ten different communities all around the United States as well as parts of Asia and South America. He has allowed me to love, learn, and serve alongside other world changers in the mountains of Colorado, the beaches of Indonesia, the farms of New England, the lakes of Washington and the volcanoes of Ecuador. God has surrounded me with the beauty of His creation and people. So to be completely honest, I was a little surprised when God directed my path to Columbus, Georgia. But God’s ways are higher than my ways, and God surely has a great purpose for His people in the Chattahoochee Valley and I didn’t want to miss it.
Over the past few weeks I have heard from countless prayer warriors, God is doing something new in the city of Columbus. We are living in the days of God pouring out His Spirit to unite the churches to see our city revitalized. God is stirring in the hearts of young and old, rich and poor, to see lives transformed and people set free. These prayer warriors are seeing the answers to their prayers through a Christ-centered ministry called Take the City.
Take the City’s vision is to see hundreds of churches and organizations from across the Chattahoochee Valley coming together to love, serve, and pray for their region. Take the City is a bridge for building greater unity and collaboration among civic, corporate, and church leaders. Its heart is to establish sustainable efforts unique to each neighborhood that would revitalize entire areas for the Kingdom of God. The goal of Take the City is not to build a single church or to grow a huge ministry, but to serve the local churches and ministries that already exist. Their hope is to serve in a way that will further God’s Kingdom and for Jesus to be made famous in our community.
One way Take the City is accomplishing their mission is through their monthly outreaches. Each month dozens of churches are represented when people from all over the Valley gather to pray, worship, and serve alongside each other. Take the City offers training and then they send small groups out into target communities to serve in practical ways, share the gospel, and build lasting relationships. At the end of the outreach everybody gathers back together to share testimonies from the day. This is my favorite part because we get to celebrate what God is doing. Every outreach the Kingdom of God is advancing, bodies are being healed, hearts are being set free, and families are being transformed by the power of Jesus.
Take the City’s vision is big but what I’ve been learning is that Father God loves to partner with His children who step out of the boat and trust Him. Jesus always shows up when we say, “Yes” to Him. I love going to Take the City’s monthly outreaches because I see the power of God move not only in the neighborhoods we visit but also in every person who shows up to serve. So many of the people who come to the monthly outreaches are new to Take the City. They are usually excited but timid about the time of outreach. However when they get back from praying for people and experiencing the presence of God they are full of joy, excitement, and thanksgiving.
Even though Columbus may not be as hip as Seattle or as beautiful as Bali or breathtaking as the Rockie mountains, I am so thankful that God has brought me to Columbus for such a time as this. God is doing amazing things in and around our community. So I hope you will join me and Take the City as we say, “Yes” to Jesus and for His Kingdom to come and for His Will to be done in the Chattahoochee Valley.
Written by Ellen Baldwin in July 2015.
