Dear

Family and Friends, I am so excited to be writing this letter. God has opened up so many great opportunities in the past few years for me to grow in relationship with Him. He has also increased my love for His people and a desire to serve the poor. How gracious a God to change our stubborn hearts so that we may experience life! As you may know, I recently finished a year of mission in the south-side of Chicago. During that time the Lord confirmed a desire to serve in full-time ministry, and after finishing my commitments I moved to Louisville, KY to begin a Master of Divinity degree at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I have since become a member of Sojourn Community Church where the Lord has opened up another opportunity to join Him in mission! This opportunity is a mercy internship through a program called the Urban Experience (UE). UE is a leadership training program started by Sojourn and supported by a biblically based missions organization called Great Commission Ministries (GCM). Sojourns desire is to implement UE as a means to raise leaders in the local church and reach local communities with the Gospel. One way this will be accomplished is through the purchase and rehabilitation of abandoned homes and the occupation of those homes with interns. Interns will be living within the inner-city neighborhood of Shelby Park for 1 year, working at Sojourn and a local mens homeless shelter and participating in pastoral training. During this year I will also be expected to intentional reach the community with the good news of Christ. In order to make this possible, I need to develop a ministry team a group of people who will join with GCM to make this internship a reality. I am responsible to raise $21,000 by July 19, 2013. To reach this goal Im trusting God to provide people to invest gifts of $100, $50, or $35 per month from now until the end of the program July 2014. Singular gifts of $100-$2000 are a blessing too! It is a exciting challenge to raise this amount, but I am confident in Gods call and know He will provide through His people. Will you prayerfully consider giving to GCM to meet this need? Doing so will allow me to obey Gods call on my life and proclaim His greatness to the residents of Shelby Park. The renewal of homes serves as a parable symbolizing the renewal Christ has done in our hearts. I am elated to have you consider being a part this ministry team! Your friendship has already effected me in ways you cannot possibly imagine. Thank you so much for your prayer and support. Gifts may be given online at In love, www.gcmweb.org/joshua.long or checks can be made out to Great Commission Ministries and Joshua Long mailed to: 1060 Rogers Lane Florissant, MO 63033