{"id":2667,"date":"2018-07-25T17:10:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T22:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2018-08-09T16:59:44","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T21:59:44","slug":"they-prayed-for-seven-years-now-god-is-sending-the-harvest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/2018\/07\/25\/they-prayed-for-seven-years-now-god-is-sending-the-harvest\/","title":{"rendered":"They Prayed for Seven Years. Now, God is Sending the Harvest"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0M\u00e9gan Alba<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Laurinburg, North Carolina, has the kind of statistics no town wants to share: it is the fourth most violent place in the state and has the highest unemployment and highest extreme child hunger rate in North Carolina. With no community center and few activities for children, gang activity has become rampant.<\/p>\n

But where others saw a lost cause, Pastor Michael Edds saw a divine opportunity. For seven years, Pastor Edds and members of Cross Pointe Church<\/a> prayed for God to transform their community. This year, \u201cWe decided to step into that void and reach out to the young,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A small group from the church began to reach out to children in area housing projects. In less than a month, this weekly outreach grew to include nearly 100 children.<\/p>\n

The church\u2019s new facility \u201cis the only community center in Laurinburg,\u201d said Pastor Edds. \u201cWe feed them, have great praise and worship with them, have an incredible clown who brings God\u2019s Word to them on their level, then have games.\u201d Pastor Edds said so far, 55 children have accepted Christ.<\/p>\n

The church now plans to extend a 4,000 square foot space on the second floor to better serve the community. Pastor Edds received a $10,000 grant to help finish the space, and a general contractor has offered his services free of charge. \u201cWe are going to finish [the space] to expand to tutor, mentor, counsel, help with homework, and meet these kids\u2019 needs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What started as a mission to reach children in need has turned into a rally cry to take back their community. Other churches are sending workers and funds to help with weekly services. The county parks and recreation department is providing staff and games, and local police officers are coming to play with the children. A highway work crew heard what the church was\"\"<\/a> doing and took up an offering. Five area businesses donated food and money for weekly meals, and another couple gave the church a larger bus so they could bring in more children.<\/p>\n

Pastor Edds says, \u201cWhen God decides to work, heaven and earth cannot stand in His way. \u00a0It\u2019s harvest time!\u201d<\/p>\n

CrossPointe hosts their weekly outreach service at 7 pm on Tuesdays. To learn more, contact Pastor Michael Edds at michaeledds@aol.com<\/a>, or call the church at (910) 544-9117.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2670,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,284],"tags":[510,564,125,565],"class_list":{"0":"post-2667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"category-phpp","9":"tag-510","10":"tag-cross-pointe","11":"tag-july","12":"tag-megan-alba","13":"entry"},"title_es":"Rezaron durante siete a\u00f1os. Ahora, Dios est\u00e1 enviando la cosecha","content_es":"Por M\u00e9gan Alba<\/strong> \"\"<\/a> Laurinburg, Carolina del Norte, tiene el tipo de estad\u00edsticas que ninguna ciudad quiere compartir: es el cuarto lugar m\u00e1s violento en el estado y tiene el \u00edndice m\u00e1s alto de desempleo y la tasa m\u00e1s alta de hambre extrema en Carolina del Norte. Sin un centro comunitario y pocas actividades para los ni\u00f1os, la actividad de las pandillas se ha vuelto incontrolable. Pero donde otros vieron una causa perdida, el pastor Michael Edds vio una oportunidad divina. Durante siete a\u00f1os, el pastor Edds y los miembros de la Iglesia Cross Pointe<\/a> oraron para que Dios transformara su comunidad. Este a\u00f1o, \"decidimos entrar en ese vac\u00edo y llegar a los j\u00f3venes\", dijo. Un peque\u00f1o grupo de la iglesia comenz\u00f3 a acercarse a los ni\u00f1os en proyectos de vivienda del \u00e1rea. En menos de un mes, este alcance semanal creci\u00f3 hasta incluir casi 100 ni\u00f1os. La nueva instalaci\u00f3n de la iglesia \"es el \u00fanico centro comunitario en Laurinburg\", dijo el pastor Edds. \"Los alimentamos, les alabamos y adoramos con ellos, tenemos un payaso incre\u00edble que les trae la Palabra de Dios a su nivel, luego tenemos juegos\". El pastor Edds dijo hasta ahora que 55 ni\u00f1os han aceptado a Cristo. La iglesia ahora planea extender un espacio de 4,000 pies cuadrados en el segundo piso para servir mejor a la comunidad. El pastor Edds recibi\u00f3 una subvenci\u00f3n de $ 10,000 para ayudar a terminar el espacio, y un contratista general ha ofrecido sus servicios de forma gratuita. \"Vamos a terminar [el espacio] para expandirnos como tutores, mentores, asesores, ayudar con la tarea y satisfacer las necesidades de estos ni\u00f1os\", dijo. Lo que comenz\u00f3 como una misi\u00f3n para llegar a los ni\u00f1os necesitados se ha convertido en un grito de protesta para recuperar a su comunidad. Otras iglesias est\u00e1n enviando trabajadores y fondos para ayudar con los servicios semanales. El departamento de parques y recreaci\u00f3n del condado proporciona personal y juegos, y los polic\u00edas locales vienen a jugar con los ni\u00f1os. Un equipo de trabajo de la autopista escuch\u00f3 lo que era la iglesia \"\"<\/a> haciendo y tom\u00f3 una ofrenda. Cinco empresas del \u00e1rea donaron comida y dinero para las comidas semanales, y otra pareja le dio a la iglesia un autob\u00fas m\u00e1s grande para que pudieran traer m\u00e1s ni\u00f1os. El pastor Edds dice: \"Cuando Dios decide trabajar, el cielo y la tierra no pueden permanecer en su camino\". \u00a1Es tiempo de cosecha! \"CrossPointe alberga su servicio semanal de alcance a las 7 p. M. Los martes. Para obtener m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n, comun\u00edquese con el pastor Michael Edds en michaeledds@aol.com<\/a> o llame a la iglesia al (910) 544-9117.","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2018\/07\/4-e1532529908414.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-H1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}