CORNERSTONE MILWAUKEE

Radical Christianity!

PO Box 11198

Milwaukee, WI 53211

www.cornerstonemilwaukee.com

Monthly Prayer Letter

July 2010 Jake and Jessie Stimpson

Wow, life has been exciting lately! In the midst of the roller-coaster ride of raising support for ministry in Milwaukee, weve been seeing God move in mighty ways recently. But first, before I share some of what Gods been doing, I want to thank you for joining our support team. We appreciate each of you joining with us to reach this city, and your thoughts, prayers, and financial help mean a lot to us! Thank you! Anyway, heres a sampling of what Gods done this past month through us:

Milwaukee PrideFest 2010

In the middle of the chaos to your left, we brought a team of six semi-crazed Jesus-loving Christians who wanted nothing more than to share the truth and love of God to all of creation. So we headed to Milwaukees PrideFest 2010. From June 11-13, over 15,000 gathered on the SummerFest grounds with a goal of showing support for the homosexual lifestyle. Our goal was to show the love of God. We refused to compromise on the truth that homosexuality is a dangerous and destructive sin, but we also refused to show hate or injustice to the people caught up in it. We came representing our God who loves the sinner as well as the saint and is ready to do whatever it takes to set people free, always showing his love with generosity. When we got to the entrance, we held up hand-made signs that read Free Prayer and Can I pray for you? Not too radical or in-your-face, but we figured offering prayer would open the door for God to move freely. We were right. We prayed for people for almost five hours the first night of the festival and met many who were desperate for a touch from God. I spoke with one man, Gregg, for almost an hour. God opened his heart and he saw how his lifestyle was a choice to disobey God, but Jesus could set him free. When we left, he said he was going to start reading his Bible and seeking God. Another man asked me to pray that God would bless him. As I prayed, his friends pulled at his arm and told him, We dont have time for this. Lets go! He pulled his arm out of their grasp and yelled at them, Hey, this is important. I need this. As I continued praying, God ministered to his heart and he began to open up about some hurtful things that had happened in his childhood. He wasnt ready to lay aside his lifestyle and follow Jesus, but he realized that God really loves him and wants to heal him. I dont have room to tell all the stories, but God made His presence known at PrideFest. Throughout the night, people asked, Are you pro-gay or anti-gay? My answer was, Im pro-God. And I love gays, rapists, murderers, adulterers, and everyone else made in His image. But I want to see them forgiven and set free. We walked away from PrideFest feeling great. We showed the love of God and declared the truth of sin, and people received it for the most part. We had to fend off Christians who rebuked us for not protesting homosexuality (Whats to protest? I want to see Jesus set gays free), lesbians who snarled at us, gay men who made passes at us and even kissed some of us, and liberal Christians who condemned us for holding the Bible as our standard, but if Jesus was willing to die for us, how bad is it to be made a little uncomfortable for a few hours on a Friday night?

4000 Words (4 Pictures)

1 2

From Left: 1) I spoke at the Campus Way summer retreat, and God decided to use me to bring revival in the lives of students like Sam. 2) Andrew, one of our students at Solid Rock Ministry Training School, splashing in puddles with our girls. 3) Some of the college women Jessie is training in ministry. 4) Two of the Burmese children weve been helping.

CORNERSTONE MILWAUKEE
Radical Christianity!

PO Box 11198

Milwaukee, WI 53211

www.cornerstonemilwaukee.com

On the Streets
A big part of our ministry in Milwaukee is evangelism, sharing the love of God with people on the streets. We love it. I dont have room to tell all the stories, but here are a few to get you thinking and praying for what Gods doing. In early June, we headed out to Harambee, a poorer neighborhood, to do some free lawn work. We mowed a dozen lawns and cleaned up glass and trash throughout the neighborhood. Some of the people we helped are like Miss Betty, a widowed woman who has no way to take care of her lawn on her own. Or like Sherry, a working woman with no lawnmower and a landlord who ignores his tenants. The house in the photos to the left is abandoned. The landlord doesnt take care of the lawn, so it just grows tall in the summer, dies in the winter, and repeats, year after year. People kept coming and telling us they were scared to walk past the house at night, worried someone might be hiding in the grass with a gun. They begged us to mow the lawn so they wouldnt be scared anymore. As you can see in the photos, we did. As we showed Gods love in practical ways like this, people asked us more about Jesus and why He loved them enough to send us to help. After telling one woman why we came, she gave me a big hug, grabbed a rake, and started working with us. Our goal isnt to be a lawncare charity but to show people that God cares about them a ton. A couple weeks ago, one of the college students, Jesse, and I approached a Little Caesars worker on her break. We shared the Gospel and then asked her what she thought about it. She said, Seems like a really good deal. She had to get back to work before we could finish talking, but she promised to read the tract we gave her and make a decision after work. People are hungry; we just need to go! Near the end of June, we did evangelism at SummerFest. We prayed with a number of people who wanted more of God in their lives. We also prayed with an atheist who said there was no God. He allowed us to pray for his back pain, though, and God completely healed him as we prayed! I think hes changed his religious views now. :) After our SummerFest adventures, I took a team of five to Metcalfe Park, the worst neighborhood in Milwaukee. People who live there call it the ghetto and some of our friends warned us, Its not smart for white guys to go there, but I cant deny the Gospel to murderers, thieves, drug addicts, gang members, prostitutes, or pimps any more than I could deny it to college students, yuppies, or retirees. Though only one person we talked with was ready to surrender everything and follow Jesus, God used us in some pretty powerful ways. We prayed for a mans breathing problem, and as we prayed, God opened up his lungs and healed him completely! Before we prayed, the man claimed he was an atheist, but I think that changed after our prayers. God also healed a womans chronic knee pain. She started laughing and shouting about how good God is, and then told a passerby what Jesus did for her. Awesome! Another person asked us to pray that hed get set free from his drug addictions. He was Pray for us to be able to quickly reach pretty mad at the church and our goal of $3000 / month in financial disilusioned with Christianity, support. but he said that if Jesus could set him free, he might go back. After we prayed, he Pray that our ongoing financial needs said, I feel different. I need to start coming to church now. God is so good!
would be met every day, for our family Please pray for protection as we minister on the streets. I have a heart to reach out and the ministry.

PRAYER POINTS

Pray for continued boldness and zeal in witnessing. Thankfully God used it for His glory, but I appreciate your prayers. I evangelism.

more in Metcalfe Park, but it is dangerous. Ive already been assaulted once while have a heart to reach these people living in a dark area, so pray nothing would hinder For the Glory of the King, The Stimpson Family

Pray for protection over our teams head- what God wants to do. ing out into the more dangerous parts of the city. Pray for wisdom as we teach and disciple the young men and women in our lives.