In the coming weeks, we will focus on several of the female leaders of Mission Alive as we head toward our annual Mission 813 Giving Day (see below.) Some of these women, like Kelly Bolin who you hear from below, are the project leads. Others are co-laborers with their spouses in ministry. All these women have heard God’s call to serve his kingdom by starting faith communities that walk alongside the people they serve as they display Christ in new and creative ways.
Our newest RSTI (Rural & Small Town Initiative) project, located in Bertram, TX, is in the early phases of development as its leader, Kelly Bolin, begins the hard work of discerning community strengths and needs. Early next month Kelly, along with Mission Alive team members, will begin the research phase of this second RSTI project. Below she shares how the work is going:
We are developing a partnership with the Bertram Community Cupboard to connect community members to needed services such as attaining driver’s licenses, healthcare, and other personal business. We are gearing up for our Bertram Bible Blast for elementary kiddos and we will be offering parenting classes in association with our work with Academy 4 at Bertram Elementary School.
We are in the process of scheduling interviews with Bertram community leaders in order to get a better idea of the strengths and needs in the community. As we make initial contact, we have been pleasantly surprised by the outpouring of excitement members of the community have for our project.
Please pray for a space to open up where we can continue our work in this community. Due to high rental rates, we are dependent on small corners of someone else’s building in order to meet with people. This is not only challenging for us, but it is also hard to develop trusting, confidential relationships with the community we are attempting to serve.
.