Prayer Walking

The neighborhood of Lowry is four square miles and contains around 4,000 housing units.  There are 73 streets not including alleyways.  As a practice, I have divided the neighborhood into 4 major sections and I spend time once a week prayer walking one of the sections of Lowry.  It takes me about 2 hours to cover every street and pray over each house, condo, and apartment community and park that I come across.  It is my prayer that God will work in the lives of those who live, work or play on the streets where I walk and pray.

Lately, Amanda and I have taken on a new form of prayer walking.  We are prayer walking through open houses in our neighborhood.  One day we would love to own a home here and put down roots but, until then, we are asking God to move in the current homeowner’s life and the lives of the next people to call this house, “home”.  We pray for more believers to move into the neighborhood, that God would use us to communicate love and truth to them, and that if they are not Christ-followers that God would use us to bring them into the family of God.

I want to encourage you to pray for your neighbors, pray that God would use you to communicate the Gospel to them, pray that God would bless them and move in their lives.  Plan a time each week to prayer walk through your neighborhood, take time to prayer walk open houses, or spend your exercise time praying as you run or walk.  Be creative and constant in asking God to move in miraculous ways in the lives of those around you.

Frantic Pace

The last few days have been full. I had the opportunity to visit Alabama, spend time with family and friends, meet with partners and talk with potential partners. On top of that, I preached three times in different churches. I am grateful for the support provided by First Baptist Boaz, Ridgeview Baptist and Fairhaven Baptist. Without these churches and the support of many individuals our time with Frontline Church Planting Center would not have been possible.

Thank you to those who gave of their homes, time, and food during our travels. You were a blessing to our family and may Hod bless you for your generosity and hospitality.

If you are interested in supporting us through prayer, please send an email to prayerpartner@sanfordfamily.org to sign up for our monthly prayer newsletter.

If you are interested in supporting us financially, please visit the financial support page on this blog about the ways to give.

Our time in Alabama has been fruitful and full but it reminds us of the calling God has placed on us for Denver and the Lowry neighborhood and the need for laborers in His harvest. It is my prayer that many were stirred up to love and good deeds from our time in Alabama.

Happy New Year

The Sanford family wants to wish you a Happy New Year.  The next year of our life should be full of new and exciting things.  We will continue our church planting residency, host mission teams, relocate to Lowry, build and nurture relationships and begin planting.

One of our greatest needs in this season of life is prayer.  Pray for us to be open to the leading to the Holy Spirit, the people of Lowry to be open to God’s movement in their lives, and that we will minister here and now as we prepare for the future.  If you would like to sign up for our prayer newsletter, send an email to prayerpartner@sanfordfamily.org

We are thankful for you to be on this journey with us.  We are excited to see what God will do in 2013 in our lives, the lives of others, and in your lives, too.

Redeemed Technology

I am a techie.  I love computers, gadgets, smart phones, and electronics of all shapes and sizes.  But I also know the inherent danger of these devices.  Communication is available through an unlimited number of options, yet community is less present than ever. (Even as you read this, we have replaced a conversation with information on a webpage.)  Relationships need to be vital, not virtual; personal, not personless.

On Tuesday night, I saw technology redeemed.  I know computers and smart phones are not mortal beings in need of a Savior, but they can be used for God’s purposes and that is exactly what happened Tuesday.  With a target of 50 prayer partners before we move to Colorado Springs, Amanda and I worked on adding partners through text, Facebook messenger, twitter, phone calls, email and even Facebook posts.  Not only did we reach our target number, but we exceeded it by 15. Of course, we could always use as many partners as will pray for us.  If you are interested in being a prayer partner, we would love for you to join us on our journey. Please send an email to eric@sanfordfamily.org to sign up. We will send out a prayer newsletter at least once a month with praises and answered prayer, as well as up to date prayer needs.

Everything is Possible

In the days following God speaking to me, I knew that God wanted me to go to Denver, CO but I was not sure how I would get there, when we would go or what I would do when we arrived.  Everything was possible.  I am currently a youth minister and have been involved in youth ministry since I felt called to serve in that area when I was 18.  Over the next few months I contacted churches, associations, individuals who live in the area and even local seminaries.

The options were limitless.  We could move to Denver and get a job and make a living and keep our resume out for the churches there.  I could apply for the youth ministry and senior pastor positions that were available.  I could go back to school work toward a PhD in New Testament and work toward teaching at a seminary in Denver.  But none of those things seemed to pan out.

Over the coming months, we prayed for clarity and for God to open and close doors.  But all we found were closed doors.  Door after door after door was closed.  God was answering our prayer but not in the way we really wanted or thought we wanted.  After many months of closed doors, someone mentioned church planting to me.  Saying that I would make a great church planter.  All I could think was, “That is not me.”  Church planter was not me.  It had to be God.  I would not have signed up for this on my own.  I was not looking for such a task or position, but God had others plans for me.  The infinite possibilities had been whittled down to one by God over the span of about a year through many closed doors to point us to a door we did not think to be an option.