Mid-day of Prayer for Lauren

We have received email and messages from Cambodia, Ethiopia, England, Ireland, Brazil and across the USA as people have been lifting up prayers for Lauren for the past 13 hours.

It is so encouraging to hear from brothers and sisters around the world who are united in prayer for one little girl in Jackson, Tennessee.

"LORD, may you hear the prayers of your children. Although we speak in many languages we speak with one heart in one Body and pray that would would be glorified as your mercy flows from the Throne of Grace."

Day of Prayer for Lauren

Many of you know Lauren personally and you know of her struggles with CP. She is scheduled for major surgery on June 16 for double hip replacement and reformation of both femur bones.

Our brothers and sisters in Ethiopia have set aside Thursday, May 29 as a special day of prayer and fasting for Lauren.

We invite you to join us in prayer.

The Video is Finished!!!

Sanctuary Village from Patrick Beard on Vimeo.

Big thanks to Julian Williamson from Bluesland Films for all his hard work on this project!

Sanctuary Village Logo

The Logo is Finished! Next comes the video -- keep watching the website and blog for it.
Now all we need is $1.5 million, a good piece of land and seven years... LORD willing.

Sanctuary Village is our vision to raise up 300 Ethiopian ministers over seven years in an agrarian community where theology, agriculture, basic health care and vocational trades are taught and practiced through a lifestyle of prayer, mercy ministry, study and labor.

The campus of Sanctuary Village will include homes for families, elderly, disabled and singles. Plans include a minor medical clinic, pharmacy, store, primary school, meeting hall, sports field and cafe that will be located in the public areas. Micro-farming, animal husbandry, well drilling and home building will be taught and practiced on the campus in the vocational/farming area. Both short and long term residents would live in the Village.

Theological training programs would be offered in residential and commuting programs. Classes will be taught in ten terms of two intensive weeks over three years. Residential students will have schedules that vary with the growing seasons, but will include daily prayers, vocation and mercy ministry.

During their time on campus residential students will be pared into teams of five in preparation for replication of the ministry on a small scale within existing villages. Ideally each team will have a preacher, educator, administrator, medical tech and an agriculture/vocation tech. These teams would serve as a group of elders for new churches.