City Project Letter

Dear Friends and Family, 

I hope that this letter finds you well! It is hard to believe that I am so close to finishing up my sophomore year at Durham Technical Community College. This upcoming fall, I will be transferring to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill through the C-STEP program, and I will be entering in as a junior. Although it was a challenging decision to attend a community college for the first two years of this journey, God knew precisely what He was doing with me. As I have had the opportunity to stay in Durham, I have grown in my personal faith a tremendous amount, and I am so thankful for this time. I have been able to live in community with others, get plugged in with UNC Summit College, experience indescribable camaraderie with my coworkers at Chick-fil-A, and get baptized this past December. These past two years have been extremely transformative, and I can not wait to see what else God has in store for me!

I am writing to share some exciting news with you: I have been selected to consider giving one of my summers to complete a summer discipleship training project with The Summit Church. After a great amount of prayer, seeking the Lord’s will, and having a wonderful community of believers around me speak into this, I have decided to move forward with the opportunity! Summit Church calls it City Project; through the power of God, I will have the chance to grow into a more rooted disciple of Jesus. From May 26th-July 8th, I will learn how to more effectively share the Gospel, as well as serve the community in response to the Gospel. I will learn what it looks like to be surrounded by a body of believers who are encouraging and supporting one another for the global mission of God. During the last two weeks of this time, I will get the chance to travel to Nashville, TN to one of our church plants to learn about why we plant churches, as well as see how the church planters from The Summit are leveraging their careers as a means to share the Gospel with others. 

I recognize that God is more important than everything in my life, and I want to use this summer to draw nearer to him. Because of that, I have seen that this is going to be an excellent opportunity to explore the depths of what it means to be a disciple, experience Him and all that he is, better understand who God is and who He has called me to be, as well as how to use my entire life as a launching pad to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

First and foremost, I am in need of your prayers. I have never done something like this before, and I recognize that it is a big leap of faith. However, I recognize even more that God is worthy, that I have been called to be a disciple who makes disciples, and that I am a witness who has been charged with an urgent mission. Please pray that God would use this experience to shape me and help me root myself deeper in the sharing of the Gospel. Please pray for the local church, as well as the church planters, that we will be serving--pray that God would grant them fruitful ministries. Through the course of my trip, pray that I will be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and obedient to His voice, even in the days leading up to May 26th. Thank you for ultimately supporting the Lord’s work! 

With Gratitude,

Katie Parler