Honoring The Dreamers
Vito at the Honor the Dreamers Awards Ceremony
Ministry Update
Honor the Dreamers Award
On Sunday, January 19, I stood on the stage with other Philadelphia leaders who were being honored by the 2020 Philadelphia Council of Clergy, as part of the "Martin Luther King Honor the Dreamers Awards." My award for Servant Leadership was given in recognition of my work with Easter Outreach. I was truly honored and humbled to have received this award, but what was even more humbling was that I received the award alongside some of Philadelphia’s finest leaders, including former Mayor Rev. Dr. Wilson Goode, Rev. Bonnie Camarda of the Salvation Army, and Councilman David Oh. Easter Outreach started with just a few churches and now involves 80+ from throughout the city. This award certainly speaks to the work that God has been doing through the local Church with Easter Outreach!
Training for Liberti Network Leaders
This past Saturday, I led a training at the Liberti Network leadership retreat on “empowering volunteer leaders.” This training for leaders from all 10 Liberti churches helped them connect to the overall vision of the churches: “To live, speak, and serve as Christ’s presence to our neighborhood” through day-to-day ministry.
At the training, I focused on how to empower, delegate, and care for leaders. It was a very practical training that walked leaders thought my five-step process: recruiting, training, maintaining, caring, and rotating leaders. Each step is important in maintaining healthy ministries, so we can focus on living out the good news of Jesus in our communities.
If you’d like a better understanding of the Liberti Network, check out this new video and learn more of what we do together:
[vimeo 387442024 w=426 h=240]
Personal Notes
As I transition into this new role, I am doing well, but staying very busy. I really feel called to this work and I’m grateful to those supporting me!
I am still in the process of transitioning from my role in Center City while I work on raising personal support for this ministry. I am starting to connect with all Liberti churches and develop my new role. At the same time, I’m starting up Easter Outreach by securing partnerships and funding for the 10,000 meals we want to supply this year! I am also running Emmanuel, the Saturday meal for people experiencing homelessness at Liberti Center City. While this is a lot of hard work, I continue to be excited about the ways God is going to use my focused time and energy to serve the greater needs of the region. My family is feeling the strain in this season as we have a 3-month-old and a 2½-year-old. My wife, Amrah, is graciously dealing with me out extra nights in meetings- but we are both excited to see how God’s plan for our lives is unfolding!
Prayer Requests
Please pray for strong financial partnerships that benefit my partners and my ministry. I have a good start to fundraising, but still have to raise full, ongoing monthly support.
Ask God to be in the midst of the preparations for Easter Outreach’s launch for partnerships and funding.
Pray for my wife and daughters in this temporary season as I am out many evenings, trying to kick off this ministry in the right way.
In Christ,
Vito Baldini
