Pushing Back the Dark

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

 
Not long ago, I was taking Kasey, one of our camp boys, home. As we got to the front of his neighborhood, I noticed three police cars with their lights on. Kasey said that happens all the time because the church by his house is letting out and the police are directing traffic.
 
Kasey told me that a lot of the people in his neighborhood attend that church, along with his older brother and several friends. He was excited to share all of the good things the church does in the neighborhood.
 
Sounds encouraging, right?
 
But it broke my heart because the “church” Kasey was talking about is an Islamic Mosque. On any given day, anywhere between 500 and 1,000 people attend — including Kasey’s own family. The teachings of Islam are dangerous, and it is disheartening to see how many in the community are being influenced by a false message that goes against the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
My cousin who is the Executive Director of Bangla Ministries Worldwide faces this threat every day in Bangladesh, but now we in central Florida face a very large and active Islamic threat as well.
 
In Colossians 1:13, Paul writes, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.”
 
Leverage Ministries is working to push back against the darkness of not only the Islamic movement we continue to face, but against the daily struggles our young people face every day.  For example, recently at one our ministry sites, a young girl told our volunteer that she was raped by her father and now has nowhere to go.  Another young man told me that when he turns 18 in less than a week, he won’t be welcome home again and doesn’t know where he will live.
 
I encourage you to continue praying for and supporting ministries like Leverage Ministries, Bangla Ministries Worldwide, and many others as we stand shoulder to shoulder to bring light to a dark world and the message of salvation through Jesus Christ to those who need it.
 
In His Service,
 
Scott Hirdes
Executive Director, Leverage Ministries