Keith Bower

PBS Program on Multi-Racial Churches Featuring City of Refuge

When God called us out of suburban ministry into multi-racial urban ministry, He had a very special place picked out for us -- a place that would serve as a "base of operations," but much more importantly as our church home and family. That very special place is the City of Refuge Church pastored by my dear friend and pastor, Rufus Smith. It has been a tremendous blessing to be part of this extraordinary church family.

City of Refuge is one of two Houston churches featured in a recent PBS Program on interracial churches -- a program that has already aired once and is scheduled to air again on (I believe) Saturday morning, December 27, at 6:30 am.

If you would like to view a 10 minute excerpt from that program online, just click here.

I'm Back!

After a week of hiking in the Colorado wilderness, a week speaking at Pine Cove, and two weeks on my new job, I've finally rediscovered my blog. I'm sorry for being out of touch.

The picture is one I took from the summit of Mt. Windom -- elevation over 14,000ft.

The big news is that I absolutely LOVE my new job as a project management consultant in the oil and gas industry. Just two weeks in, I've already participated at one level or another in projects involving a multi-state pipeline, deep water fiber optics, secondary oil recovery off of Africa, and am now looking forward to several trips overseas including to Kazakhstan. Not only is the work interesting, even exciting, but the people and especially my co-workers are wonderful. I didn't understand what God was doing when He opened this door, but it has all been an amazing blessing.

I'll be getting back in action soon on the urban ministry front. There is a lot to report, so stay tuned. Thanks for hanging with me.

A VERY Cool Partner in the Humble ISD Project

Our proposed mentoring program for Sterling Middle School has taken a big step forward!

On Friday, May 30, Pastor Bryant Lee and I met with the team at Prepared 4 Life, including Julie Eberly (Vice President of Development), Misha Lesley (Program Director), and Michael Holthouse (Founder and Board Chairperson). What amazing people! Prepared 4 Life is a unique and exciting program that empowers middle school students "to become contributing members of society through asset-based, experiential after-school programs" (quoting the "About Us" page of their website; check it out).

One of the team members at Prepared 4 Life has wonderful connections both to Humble ISD and the possible service learning partner that we've mentioned. God is answering our prayers! We are only at the beginning stages of this new project, yet it is easy to see that something exciting is developing. Thank you for being part of it!

Sterling Middle School: Our Humble ISD Partner

We can now announce that our Humble ISD Partner School is Ross Sterling Middle School.

Sterling Middle School Principal Penne Liefer (pictured) met with Pastor Bryant Lee who explained our concept of an after-school mentoring program. Ms. Liefer loved it! Highlighting the need, we learned that we would be the only outside group working with Sterling Middle School -- a wonderful opportunity!

Thank you Sterling Middle School Principal Penne Liefer for your enthusiatic welcome. We look forward to working with you.

By the way, for those of you who may not be up on local and state history, Ross Sterling was the founder of Humble Oil and Refining and later Governor of the State of Texas. (Of course, an Humble High School graduate like me would know that....)

Three Exciting Ministry Partnerships

Great things are happening! After weeks of getting to know key leaders and getting involved in some local movements, God has opened the door wide on three exciting ministry partnerships: City of Refuge Church, Higher Expectations Church, and Foolswork. Here are the details.

Emily is Engaged!

BIG NEWS: On Saturday, May 16, our daughter Emily graduated from Trinity University (BA, Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude).

BIGGER NEWS: On Saturday, May 9, Alex Petkas proposed to Emily and she said yes!

Alex is also from Houston, though they met at Trinity. Oh, and Alex graduated, too (BA Classics, magna cum laude).

You can take it from Emily's dad -- Alex is a terrific young man! We had the chance to spend some time with Alex's family during graduation weekend and they are wonderful people. We had a great time.

So...WOW! Big times at the Bower House!

Awaken 2008: A Mosaic Event

On Monday, March 31, the day after my final Sunday as Pastor of Grace Community Bible Church, Richard Hunt and I were in the Los Angeles area for the Awaken 2008 Conference. The conference was sponsored by Mosaic, an amazing multi-ethnic church, with several gatherings around LA, that sets the standard for ministry to among and through young adults in an urban envirnment. (Do you see why I was interested?) Mosaic's pastor, Erwin Raphael McManus, is among the most respected and creative Christian leaders, thinkers and authors in the country.

Richard and I attended Awaken 2008 with our new friends from City of Refuge church, Pastor Rufus Smith and Worship Leader Russell Thompson. City of Refuge is a pioneering, multi-ethnic congregation located south of the Medical Center near 288 and OST. During the conference the four of us had the opportunity to visit with Mosaic's Navigator, Eric Bryant, about the possibility of a Mosaic movement in Houston. We also spoke with Erwin McManus, as well as with other key Mosaic leaders.

When it comes to possible partnerships, Mosaic is very exciting. They know how to reach across ethnic lines to respect and empower young adults as cultural leaders and influencers. They  know how to unleash the creative spirit in the context of urban ministry. That's why, before leaving LA, I joined the Mosaic Alliance. It's not clear what the nature of our partnership might be, but Mosaic will be part of my journey.

Mission Houston: A HUGE Heart for Our City!

Great cities inspire great ministries!

One of the greatest in our city is Mission Houston. Today I had the pleasure of sharing visions with Steve Capper, Mission Houston's Executive Director. The goal of Mission Houston is simple and ambitious: "We seek nothing less than the spiritual and social transformation and revitalization of greater Houston--each person, neighborhood, and community." Mission Houston's vision includes, "Christians in every community of greater Houston united in actively addressing the needs of their neighbors." You can see why I am so excited!

Collaboration is critical to our shared task of building the Kingdom of God in our city. Sharing my vision and discovering fellow travelers like Mission Houston is a BIG part of what God has me doing right now. It's the very essence of this stage of my journey. (For details on the "4 Steps" in my journey, click here.)

I encourage you to visit Mission Houston's website (click here). Find out who they are and how God is using them in our great city. You will be inspired!

Urban Church Planting Summit 2009

Imagine hundreds of urban church planters and strategists coming together to promote the creation of communities of spiritual and social transformation across North America's global cities! That is exactly what a group of us has been doing. Our goal is an Urban Church Planting Summit 2009 right here in Houston. Next month we will be presenting our proposal to Leadership Network at their invitation for possible sponsorship.

No, this isn't "the main thing" I've been doing. My major focus is still on urban church planting in the City of Houston. But my involvement in this amazing world of urban church planting has brought me into contact with a diverse group of like-minded dreamers and strategists -- and suddenly we're working together to create a first-of-its-kind summit for fellow travelers.

Please pray for me as I do my part in imagining this event and preparing the presentation. This event could be HUGE, both in size and in strategic impact. And our presentation in May is coming up fast! By the way, I guarantee that we will be needing volunteers! If you would be interested in helping, e-mail me by clicking here. Thanks!