Reaching Revere
“When he saw the
crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew
9:36
Revere is as close as it gets to being in Boston without
being in Boston. Revere is really two areas: Revere, and Revere Beach. Within those communities there are over
50,000 people, with large a Brazilian and Hispanic presence. Unfortunately there are only a couple of
evangelical churches to reach into this mostly unchurched community. It is in this community that the Allison’s
have chosen to plant a church called TrueVine.
You can check out their website at www.truevinechurch.org
Meet the Allisons
Both Miryam and Brandon hail from Texas and were high school
sweethearts. They came to to know the
Lord right before going off to college.
After college, they felt the call to go to seminary, but did not have a
clue what God had in store. While
attending a church planting seminar, the couple caught the “church planting
bug.”
Like most church planters, Brandon juggles a full-time job,
family, building a church from the ground-up and making community
connections. Brandon works at Dunkin
Doughnuts and continues to reach fellow coworkers. His passion to reach the lost is
contagious. Before this trip, I did not
realize he works every Sunday morning, before their evening service. I can’t imagine going in at 4:30 am, getting
off around 1 pm and then doing an evening gathering at 7 pm. He works tirelessly to serve the Lord and
people.
Miryam, before their daughter Charis was born, worked at a
local elementary school. She also sees
her connections and influence as a mission field. At her school, which she still substitutes
and volunteers, has over 47 different home languages. Although she misses her full-time teaching
position, it doesn’t compare to the time she gets to invest into their
daughter.
True Vine at a Glance
True Vine began with a team of 2 couples and a single
person. The team came up to Revere
almost 2 years ago. During the first
year, the team worked on building relationships through their connections at
work and eventually developed a home bible study group. The church officially launched late last
Fall. As you have noticed the bright, hot
pink walls from the pics below, the church is meeting in a dance studio. This studio is above a local pizza
joint. So during the services you can
smell the alluring aroma of homemade pizza.
Unfortunately the church faced a small setback late last year. One of the couples, as well as the single
person decided to move back home to be closer to family. Thankfully the Lord has brought other key
leaders into their circle. God has
continued to grow their church. True
Vine is reaching many young adults, who are searching spiritually. Many of these young adults come to their home
on Wednesday nights for dinner and bible study.
How to Pray
1.
For True Vine, that it will continue to grow and
reach people of Revere.
2.
For their family, as they juggle busy schedules,
that they will continue to have time to nuture their personal relationships.
3.
For Brandon, he is working on getting certified
as a teacher. He has passed 2 out of 3
of his tests and is currently studying for the 3rd one.
4.
For the Allisons, as they continue to make
connections through their realms of influence – Dunkin Doughnuts, Trivia Night,
community connections.
5.
For their house, which they are turning into
mission housing. There are still things
that need to be done at the house. These
items require financial resources, as well as some skilled labor.
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