Loving Houston invites people to join prayer

Loving Houston recently invited everyone to join their Prayer Walk for the Houston Independent School District (ISD).

Houston ISD Prayer Walk

The prayer walk will include fellowship, church school partnership leaders, and volunteers. The event will start at the parking garage next to the Gregory Lincoln Education Center.

The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Mar. 26.

Loving Houston

On their page, Loving Houston is an organization that helps churches partner and serve local schools around Houston. They “inspire and equip churches to build long-term relationships with local schools so that every child, parent, and teacher can experience Jesus’ love in a tangible way.”

According to the group, there are 1,500 schools and 3,500 churches in Greater Houston, and the partnerships that could be made has the potential of transforming the city for the better good.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

The Bible verse from the book of Proverbs sums up the ideology of the organization.

The organization started in 2013 when Union Baptist Association hosted a service blitz with over 2,500 volunteers that served six underprivileged communities in Houston.

Tom Billings, the Executive Director of the association, had a vision of expanding the service to include the body of Christ in the city.

Today, the organization created more than a hundred church-school partnerships. They also have Staff & District coordinators, advisors, as well as a Board of Directors leading their volunteers in their mission.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization had programs to support the schools. They offered academic tutoring, teacher support, appreciation, and mental health support.

Some churches that have helped Loving Houston are Lakewood Church, Wellspring Church, Greater St. Matthew Baptist Church, and the Second Baptist Lake Jackson.

Benefits of Church Partnerships

According to Loving Houston, 75 percent of the Houston ISD students are economically disadvantaged.

They added that the teachers and the schools want to provide the best service to their students, but they do not have enough resources and networks to properly support them.

The organization puts emphasis on taking care of students in Houston.

The page also said that there are thousands of immigrants and refugees arriving in the city every year, and the volunteers of the organization can help the families transition into the states. They also strive to reduce the cases of runaway teenagers victimized by trafficking.

They provide one-on-one mentoring to help children improve their school performance and attendance.

The organization provides support to the teachers and staff. These provisions include donations, incentive gifts, and disaster relief when necessary.

Union Baptist Association

The association is a network of churches strategically advancing the gospel all over the Greater Houston Area. The churches collaborate for missions, leadership developments, church planting, and evangelism.

Some of the churches included are the Queens Road Baptist Church, Iglesia Cristiana El Camino La Verdad, First Baptist Church of North Channel, and True Love Christian Church, just to name a few.