Jesus and CD20

Suppose Jesus toured CA Congressional District 20 today.  He stopped at local churches long enough to preach and to heal sick people.  He traveled to the west side to Firebaugh, Mendota, and Coalinga.  He swung through S. Fresno, Sanger, Selma, and Fowler, on his way to Lemoore and Hanford.  His trip took him through Kings County on into parts of Kern.  

 Jesus was "moved with compassion."  What moved him?  As he surveyed the harvest field, he observed people.  He witnessed their brokenness firsthand.  People were physically broken . . . and spiritually broken, needing a Savior.

Every community in the USA has human need.  CA Congressional District 20 is one of four districts that intertwine through the Mid-Valley and beyond.  However, CD20 has the distinction of ranking 435th out of 435 districts in the country on the Human Development Index.  Dead last.  The HDI is a nation-wide study that combines indicators in three areas:  life expectancy, access to education, and standard of living.  Another unusual feature of CD20 is that 5.7% of its population is incarcerated in a state prison. 

The good news is that Jesus is indeed present in CD20 through his people and his churches.  He is present through the pastors of the 20 Mid-Valley congregations throughout CD20.  These pastors bring the heart of Jesus as they fulfill the God's mission in these communities. 

Jesus developed an action plan as he surveyed the brokenness of the people.  His plan is to "ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  I challenge each person in the Mid-Valley to:

• Thank God for the workers already sent and deployed in CD20.
• Pray that God will raise up more mission-focused workers to engage lost and broken communities in CD20 with the gospel. 
• Finally, engage the imprisoned 5.7% of the population through Weekend of Champions on May 3-5.  Contact Ron Climer to engage your church.

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Here are the Pastors of CD20:

• Terry Glover
• Jesus Guerrero
• Mike Duke
• James Page
• Richard Daniels
• Tra Xiong
• Moises Cabrera
• Javier Carrillo
• Mark Jackson 
• Ed Coleman
• Lawrence Chisom
• Mark Curts
• Reuben Scott
• Rod Rodriguez
• Osvaldo Reyes
• Ernie Sanchez
• Chuck Antaramian
• Isaac Chavez
• Franco Atkinson