ScottReese.org - Providing updates on the Reese family and information for those interested in helping with a special retirement fund set up by the church Scott founded over 40 years ago.

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT RETIREMENT FUND YOU MAY BY SENDING A CHECK TO:

NEW LIFE BAPTIST CHURCH P.O. BOX 221 CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL 60412

* CHECK MADE OUT TO “NEW LIFE BAPTIST CHURCH”

* IN A NOTE OR MEMO LINE PLEASE PUT “FOUNDING PASTOR RETIREMENT”

* DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE -

* PLEASE NOTE - This fund is addressing retirement needs for work already put in DURING my earlier years of ministry at the urban church I founded. (I served there as Senior Pastor for 18 years without any retirement benefits from them). As an urban missionary, retirement benefits were scarce through the years.

Urban Ministry has been very rewarding these past 45 years - what a privilege to be a vessel of God’s Love, to proclaim the GOOD NEWS, and see the Lord transform lives. There has also been disappointments and difficulties… these years have been very intense and emotionally draining… to be in the midst of over 100 murders of friends / acquaintances as well as constant drama and crisis situations. In some ways my nerves are kind of shot, but the Lord gives daily strength and grace. Even if I semi retire someday, I would keep up some ministry endeavors and increase my availability to work on strategic projects using my vast experience, but it eventually would be nice to reduce the number of required working hours and also reduce some of the more stressful aspects.

Christ Cares has been good to me, especially since age 56 (age 62 now) when the Board was able to enact a very generous retirement policy, however basically starting in a significant way at age 56 has made future retirement possibilities challenging. The above Retirement Fund is from a different organization (NEW LIFE CHURCH) trying to address the many years I worked for them without a retirement plan in my TEENS, TWENTYS AND THIRTIES. Some people have shared that they are appreciative of my life long service to sharing Jesus with those in need and would like to help make future semi retirement (or retirement) a possibility. This fund was set up so you can help and contribute in a tax deductible way. (If tax deduction is not an issue, than please contact me for contact info: address / Zelle / or paypal to give directly)

[*** SUMMER, 2023 UPDATE: ***]

Finally some good news to share:

Lisa - we went to our neuologist concerned about Lisa regressing some with her sense of balance, worsening tremors, and some other issues - he ordered a few tests including a brain MRI. He said issues were NOT caused by new stroke activity or Parkinses Disease and probably a result of medication side effects.

I saw my Cardiologist and he thought I was doing fine although he did order an Echo Cardiogram and a coronary angiogram in early September just to confirm. Thanks for your concern, I hope to send a Newsletter out in early August to update on Christ Cares - we deeply appreciate your prayers and help with the Retirement Fund.

[*** FEB. 19, 2023 UPDATE: ***]

It’s hard to know how much to share month by month and day by day… we don’t want to sound like we are complaining, but we do desire prayer and believe it makes a difference… it’s also hard to know how much to share about mental illness… Severe anxiety, depression, OCD etc. can be devastating… there are so many views and also many who don’t believe there is such things and that all mental issues could be solved by being more spiritual… Anyway, Lisa, still daily faces many struggles… We are still in a quest to find the right medicine combination … She is currently on ten medications… we know in some ways she is over medicated (with dangerous side effects both short term and long) … yet in other ways we haven’t found the helpful combination like we had before the stroke… She experiences side effects, sometimes very scary… everyday is difficult and challenging… we are praying for a time to go back to a more normal lifestyle… we have always faced some challenges on and off through the years, but this has been about five years of non stop crisis, we are weary and praying for some relief… thank you for your concern, prayers, and help…

//// 2/22/23 UPDATE… HELLO I’M ASKING FOR SPECIAL PRAYER FOR LISA- We’ve been trying to find medicine help for some difficult mental health issues (If they were not severe, we wouldn’t be pursuing this… and yes we spent several years trying all sorts of natural remedies) The doctor has been increasing the dosage of the new medication we have been trying (currently on a total on ten medications) and yesterday Lisa had serious side effects - her whole body was shaking uncontrollably, her throat became tight, she experienced bleeding gums (increased bleeding is very bad due to this is what caused her initial bleeding stroke) etc. We are immediately drastically cutting back on this particular medication - praying for safety and that there won’t be additional withdrawal issues… Lisa is so weary and we are not sure what next steps should be… THANK YOU for your prayers…

[*** DEC. 30, 2022 UPDATE: ***]

Finally, some GOOD NEWS TO SHARE - about three weeks ago Lisa had a high blood pressure spike and I needed to cancel a preaching engagement with our dear friends at the Chinese Church BUT SINCE THEN her issues with blood pressure and heart seem to have been much improved … I also had a concern with my heart and had to get a stress test. I didn’t get the results yet BUT I HAVE BEEN FEELING GREAT the last three weeks also (Hopefully it was just an issue with too much stress and not a stressed out heart).

This week Lisa needed to do another major medicine change … please join us in prayer that this will help with the extreme anxiety and challenges she has been facing since the medical adjustments that had to be made due to the stroke… praying things will calm down as we start a new year. We deeply appreciate the concern and prayers…

[*** NOV. 10, 2022 UPDATE: ***]

Today we printed a newsletter update for CHRIST CARES - WE ARE GRATEFUL HOW THE LORD IS USING YOUR PARTNERSHIP TO TOUCH AND TRANSFORM LIVES… PLEASE SCROLL TO THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE TO READ THE MINISTRY UPDATE. On a personal level, below is our health update… we appreciate your prayers and concern… this week my blood pressure spiked dangerously high, I’m not sure why but we’d appreciate prayer, we don’t need an additional health crisis : )

[*** NOV. 4, 2022 UPDATE: ***]

In October my doctor told me my bladder cancer had returned and that we needed to operate right away. We deeply appreciate everyone’s prayers… when we got the labs back after the operation my doctor said he was mistaken (or God did a miracle) because the results came back benign / no cancer so I am once again considered cancer free and only need to be tested once a year.

This past week we tried to get an echocardiogram to check Lisa’s heart but it was canceled at the last minute by our insurance company. Please pray for us as we try to immediately get the echocardiogram approved. Both we and Lisa’s physical Therapist (& gp doctor) are very concerned and want to have the heart checked out.

This past week Lisa started Vistibular Physical Therapy again as her balance, dizziness, and tipping issues digressed… She is signed up for four weeks and prayerfully this will really help. We are grateful that there has been an improvement in the scary headaches and we had a psychologist say that Lisa’s heart issues are probably a result of the various medications and not a structural heart issue. (Although I would like further testing). Even in a Christian setting it is difficult to talk about mental health issues. (Many Christians think that there is no such thing and that people should just have more faith or just be stronger and push through). Right now is a difficult time for Lisa as since the stroke there has been multiple changes to her various medications… it’s not an exact science and there is a balancing act of considering benefits verses various sometimes serious side effects. Lisa faces extreme anxiety issues as well as other issues… we seek God’s help and guidance as we seek solutions including spiritual growth, natural and diet, as well as various medications….

*Another prayer request - Lisa has been so faithful and amazing all these years and now especially after this stroke I feel I should do all I can to reduce stress in our lives… We are praying about moving but still staying in the area - Close enough that I could still commute to do ministry but that we could also live in a less stressful area. I worry about my girls… besides all the car jackings, there has been three murders within about 20 blocks of our house recently. Since I have ministered so long in the area, we also have people knocking on our door, (sometimes high on drugs) looking for me, which especially if I’m out makes my girls nervous. In fact a couple weeks ago, Lisa saw someone looking through our blinds at 2:00 a.m. - someone trying to get money from me… for many reasons I feel we should move soon… however in order for this to happen, God would have to make it clear and miraculously provide and guide… He is able… would would appreciate your prayers…

[**** SEPTEMBER 2022 UPDATE -

THANKS FOR YOUR CONTINUED CONCERN AND PRAYER FOR LISA. We are still concerned for Lisa on several levels… she still has tachycardia often after even a short walk across the room. Most concerning, her blood pressure is spiking, yesterday it was about 160/90 - it’s really important for hemorrhagic stroke survivors to keep their blood pressure low to avoid a repeat stroke.

Cutting back drastically on the anxiety medications has caused her anxiety and other challenges to get off the charts worse - please pray for Lisa also to be stabilized, this is such a challenging time for her (us) on many levels….]

******* GOOD REPORT!!! SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 UPDATE WE HAVE CONTINUED WITH A COUPLE MORE MEDICINE CHANGES AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE SEEN SOME POSITIVE CHANGES THESE PAST FEW DAYS, In fact we had our first “Date Night” since the stroke (just the two of us at a Restaurant) tonight! She hasn’t had one of those scary headaches in a while and her tachycardia only happened once today. The medicine changes has exasperated some of her emotional changes however I believe I have seen improvement in this also the last couple days.*******************************************************************************************************************************

I know many of you are also facing difficult times - please update me so I can also pray for you… the Body of Christ is a wonderful thing - and I thank the Lord for the blessing of - YOU, my wonderful friends… I do plan on updating this page from time to time for you prayer warriors making a difference!!!

[*** SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 UPDATE - Today I found out my BLADDER CANCER has returned… we will need to operate on October 4, 2022 - Please pray that the operation will be 100% successful and that the cancer will not return… Also please continue to pray for Lisa - it’s still scary days with her recovery, occasional headaches, blood pressure spikes, and racing heart… the medicine changes has also made her anxiety and other challenges more difficult… we deeply appreciate the concern, help, and prayer… ***]

HERE IS MY FACEBOOK POST FROM JULY, 14, 2022

*** UPDATE AND PRAYER REQUEST FOR LISA REESE *** (We're asking for prayer today)

Most of you know Lisa had a massive cerebral hemorrhage stroke on March 31. We almost lost her and she spent six weeks in various hospitals. We deeply appreciate everyone praying for us and encouraging us through a difficult time. We praise God for miraculously stopping Lisa's bleeding that night and also giving us excellent medical teams. Lisa has made remarkable progress - regaining her ability to read, drive, and walk again (with some balance issues).

However we have been concerned this past month as she has been regressing instead of improving... Her balance, speech, word recall, anxiety increase, edema, blood pressure, hand trimmers, vision issues (& other issues) all getting worse...

Most concerning, the last few days have been kind of scary as she has Tachycardia in response to just getting up and walking to another room.

We think we figured out what has been going on - we just found out that she has toxic blood levels of a certain anxiety drug and that when that builds up in one's system, it can cause all of these symptoms, even the stroke... we are immediately cutting back on this medicine and are asking for prayer for healing and protection especially the next few days as she is probably at a higher risk...

Grateful we found this out, Lisa was probably on the threshold of another stroke...

Also pray that her heart problems and other symptoms will subside and that she'll be back on the path of recovery...

THANKS!

[*** JULY 12, 2022 UPDATE ON LISA AND FAMILY… ***]

What a blessing it is to know that there are so many who pray not only for our ministry (Christ Cares) but also for me and my family. Often I am asked how we are doing, or how one could best pray for us - I’ve wanted to share because we definitely need prayer and I deeply believe God uses prayer and prayer makes a difference…. however it’s been difficult to know what and how much to share. I also don’t want to come across as complaining or asking for help… but I thought having a central place where those who are praying for us and asking to be updated would be helpful.

It’s an honor to be an urban minister and very rewarding… as you can imagine, it can also be challenging at times helping people in crisis and the pressures of urban life… last year I had four of my friends murdered and it breaks my heart to see the stress so many of my friends and homeless friends face daily. I’ve had a special calling on my life these past 44 years +.

On the home front we have been facing some challenges also and I would appreciate your prayers for us. It seems like since the early days of 2018 we have been facing various crisis situations non stop… Especially my dear wife Lisa who has had a host serious of emotional and physical health issues that have had a huge impact on our lives… I don’t feel like I should go into them, but the last four or five years have been a real adventure to say the least : )

Most of you know we almost lost Lisa a few months ago to a massive cerebral hemorrhage stroke… (below is Christ Cares’ Summer Newsletter with a few more details). Lisa was unable to walk or even read… we are so grateful after six weeks she was finally released from the various hospitals to outpatient and saw great progress, being able now to read, drive, and walk (still with some balance issues).

The last several weeks we’ve been concerned as she seemingly regressed and also had new troubling symptoms begin… balance issues getting worse, heart rhythm issues, dizziness, edema, regression in anxiety/depression issues, etc. We are asking for prayer about this and of course concerned about a repeat stroke. I think this week we discovered a clue - with some blood work we found out she had toxic levels of one of her psychological drugs and that this could be causing all these issues and possibly maybe even the stroke itself, so we are making immediate medicine adjustments and also be getting more testing soon - please pray wisdom and direction so that we will get to the bottom of things, and of course for healing …

[****If you happen to be reading this Tuesday night, July 12, we definitely would appreciate special prayer - last night Lisa experienced sudden blurriness of vision and tonight her speech has been a bit slurred on and off as well as poor memory word recall - just worried and it’s been hard for us to know what to do during various situations when it’s seemingly not serious enough to go to the emergency room but also still disconcerting…]

[****Saturday night, July 30 update - tonight has been kind of scary, we deeply appreciate your prayers for healing and protection… also for wisdom - it’s hard to know at what point we should call an ambulance or just wait and see… This week we had another blood test and was surprised to find out that even after two weeks of drastically cutting back on the problem medication, Lisa is still almost double the toxic overdosing level for this dangerous drug, so we are cutting back even more but are concerned dealing with emotional withdrawal issues also… anyway TONIGHT she has had some sudden headaches accompanied with dizziness and she also almost fainted… I’m sitting here just watching and praying… we really appreciate the concern and offers to help… ]

*** THE JULY 17, 2022 PICTURE BELOW IS OF LISA AND ME SPENDING AN UNEXPECTED DAY AT THE EMERGENCY ROOM. (I’m fine now but had a little accident).

Even though it’s not the best picture of us, I love it - we lean on each other and also on God… and He is seeing us though a challenging time … All my life, He’s been faithful… so kind, gracious, and beyond merciful… we give Him praise… I’m so grateful for For Jesus being our GOOD SHEPHERD… and pray for all of us, to not only ponder our problems, but also to consider the weary multitudes facing life without a Savior or shepherd. (Matthew 9) Let’s ask God to make us mindful of them and to look for opportunities to share the GOOD NEWS …

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

* * Please read WHY this retirement fund was set up - details a few posts below - THANKS! * ALSO A HUGE AND SINCERE THANK YOU TO THE NINE FAMILIES (as of 2/12/22) who have donated!

FEB. 2022 - YEAR IN REVIEW - (update Before Lisa’s stroke) WE HAVE MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL ABOUT!

I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE A LOVING FAMILY AND SUCH CARING AND COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS… WE DEEPLY APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN, PRAYERS, HELP & SUPPORT – FOR US AND OUR MINISTRY…

In the last year and a half, I have had Bladder Cancer, a serious stroke with five days in intensive care, and Covid. My family has also struggled with several health issues – yet through it all, God has been merciful and kind …

Below is CHRIST CARES’ FALL 2021 NEWSLETTER -

PLEASE SEE PAGE 3

WHICH HAS A PICTURE OF THE EARLY DAYS OF MINISTRY 44 YEARS AGO!…

Note the picture on page 1 and the one on page 3 have BOTH ME and my friend Ellis!!!

June 27, 2021 - Update:

I (Scott) did have a occipital lobe stroke this past week - I’m very grateful and fortunate that it was not catastrophic. I did experience some vision loss in my right eye. You may have also heard that I have bladder cancer - once again I feel grateful and fortunate that it was not aggressive. It was operated on and I should be Okay.

• The post below from April 7, 2021 updates on Lisa’s and our family’s other Health Challenges of the past several years.

• The post also shares a (tax deductible) way that someone can donate towards a retirement fund for me that the church I founded set up for me. (By sending a check to New Life Baptist Church - P.O. Box 221, Chicago Heights, IL 60412 - in the memo or in a note write “Founding Pastor’s Retirement Fund”) A few people have expressed that they would like to help with this - I’ve already put in over 40 years of urban ministry which can be very intense and stressful … I do have professionally diagnosed PSTD from the 100 + murders I’ve gone through and other events, my nerves are kind of shot - I have a passion to minister all my days but I hope someday I’ll be in the position to minister part time and also possibly live in a more rural, quiet environment to allow my nerves to heal and to allow my girls to feel safe, and then commute for ministry. I would appreciate your prayers for us - for God’s direction and provision.

April 7, 2021 UPDATE: Finally some good news to share!

THREE DIFFICULT YEARS - 2018, 2019, 2020…

As many of you know our family has gone through a very difficult time. In early 2018 my wife experienced severe psychological symptoms, especially off the charts hardly able to function anxiety along with depression and mood swings. We started going to various doctors - Hormone Doctors, Functional Doctors, various types of non traditional doctors, as well as specialists and traditional doctors, and then some psychologists - all without significant help. At this time someone suggested we test our house for mold. To our surprise we found our house was filled with toxic mold from a leaky basement and also other issues. Scientific studies have shown that mold can not only cause havoc to hormones it can also cause severe psychological and physical issues… Often the association can be difficult since there is a wide range of opinions among doctors…

We felt we immediately needed to move out of our house and get the basement leaks fixed and the mold remediated. This was a massive and overwhelmingly expensive endeavor. Lisa and I did not know what to do so we sat down on the couch held hands and prayed… while praying the phone rang and a friend said they felt led to start a GoFundMe Page for this project. We deeply thank each of you who generously donated to the GOFUNDME PAGE and made such a difference in our lives! In addition the Chinese Church I’ve been ministering at for over 30 years as well as several individuals and churches rallied and gave generously to help us through this difficult time… I feel it best not to list the churches and individuals who gave so generously - one may not want that attention or I might accidentally omit someone. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - WE WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL! First Church of Lansing then let us stay in their parsonage for a half year while the repairs were made - between all the generous gifts and us cashing a Retirement IRA we were able to get the special funds needed to remediate the mold situation and move back into our house.

I wish that solved everything. My daughter saw vast improvement moving back into our house and we are very glad we got rid of the toxic mold, however Lisa continued to have problems (we’re not sure if it was mold related or not, sometimes the effects are devastating and lingering). It’s difficult to explain how difficult this has been for Lisa. Not only her list of psychological challenges, but also the side effects of the medicine have been horrible and so complicated. This has had a huge daily impact on our lives.

It was kind of weird also during this difficult time we’ve had so many things stolen - Lisa’s wedding ring, purse, and phone. I had many of my valuables stolen during the moving in and out of my house - precious metal coins, sport’s memorabilia etc. We had both our personal and ministry checking accounts hijacked (we did get ALL the money back) and we even had our van stolen. However whatever the enemy takes, the Lord has a way of blessing back many fold!

We’ve been promising everyone an update these past three years and really haven’t done much of that for two reasons:

1) We really haven’t had improvement or good news to share… we kept hoping things would get a bit better and then we’d update.

2) It’s been an overwhelming time… I’ve had my hands full between extra efforts caring for Lisa as well as the ministry and that is compounded by me moving slower these days… I think I am just mentally worn out from 40 plus years of high stress (but rewarding) urban ministry. Administrative tasks like writing Thank Yous or emails take me an embarrassing long time to do.

It’s been a difficult time, I’ve gotten farther behind on all the things I want to do and important things have slipped through the cracks… I’ve been a little overwhelmed and disorganized…I ALSO WANT TO APOLOGIZE because of the above mentioned reasons, many of you have not received a THANK YOU NOTE from us. I REALLY FEEL BAD ABOUT THIS… WE ARE AMAZED AT YOUR GENEROSITY AND GOD’S GOODNESS! WE HAVE BEEN SO ENCOURAGED BY THE COMPASSION OF FRIENDS! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! THANK YOU FOR BEING A VESSEL OF GOD’S LOVE AND PROVISION & MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR LIVES!

NOW, FINALLY IN APRIL OF 2021 WE HAVE ENCOURAGING NEWS TO SHARE! The last two months there has been definite and significant improvement in Lisa’s Health! This has been life altering for the good! We continue to face many serious challenges and sometimes extremely difficult days but we are in a much better place now and heading in the right direction instead of sinking! HALLALULAH!! Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! Please keep in touch and also let us know how we can best pray for you… (* Please read on…)

TWO BACKGROUND PARAGRAPHS TO GIVE CONTEXT TO THE FINAL THING I’D LIKE TO SHARE:

(1) Last night about 10:30 p.m. I got a phone call from a hysterical grandma and dear friend of 30 years. Her grandson had just been shot in the head and killed. This 25 year old young man used to play on my ministry basketball team as a kid. His dad is a convert of the ministry and a good friend. Please pray for this dear family. The week before I received a phone call from another close friend of 30 years. Her son was just found murdered in Chicago. This man in his younger days would attend some of our youth activities and church - sadly he was the father of five children. (Of course pray for this family also - and for Christ Cares as we plan on having a special activity for children who have had a loved one murdered - HERE #6). A few weeks before this another close friend from the ministry that we had spent untold hours together through his discipleship process. His son was murdered and then he was found dead a week later, his sister said he died of a broken heart. Two weeks before this ironically The same lady I shared had another son murdered, totally unrelated, another man I knew well in his younger years… THESE ARE JUST THE MURDERS IN THE PAST COUPLE MONTHS… multiply this by over 40 years and you can begin to understand the emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual stress I’ve been under… Over a decade ago I quit counting the murders when it far surpassed 100 and it’s become kind of a blur… each brings sadness and an emotional toll. I have been professionally diagnosed as having Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome due to some of my ministry experiences which I won’t go into and the 40 plus years of dealing with intense situations has taken a toll. Besides the murders, there is the constant trauma of other calamities, or the frustrations of good people facing financial emergencies.

(2) As many of you know, I was blessed beyond measure to have incredible Christian parents who not only proclaimed God’s Love publicly but demonstrated it quietly at home. How awesome to have your dad as a hero - He was a missionary to Japan, Taiwan, and Brazil with Youth For Christ; He was a musician (song leader & accordion) and along with my mom produced three records. My mom was also a chalk artist & spoke at hundreds of Mother Daughter Banquets. As a child we would travel across the country as he was an Evangelist. He was the pastor of two churches, and a respected Bible College professor and author - his books numbering almost a half a million copies - my what a spiritual heritage! … but it dawned on me one area I didn’t want to follow in my dad’s footsteps… There was no plan for retirement… even in his 80’s he needed to work as a college professor during the day and also for several years, throwing newspapers at 1 a.m. in the morning. The Lord provided for my dad in marvelous ways (grateful the Bible College gave him a light load to teach when he got in his 80’s etc.).

With joy it is my desire to serve the Lord all my days. However, I also hope sometime in my future to have options - options to work less hours or possibly do a different type of ministry that would better allow healing in my life and create a less stressful environment for my wife who needs peace and calm. Some years ago in my mid 50’s I realized I was heading down the same path as my dad, however I also know the same God who has amazingly provided and guided will continue to do so.

* ONE OTHER BIT OF RECENT GOOD NEWS I THOUGHT I’D SHARE:

The church I founded 40 years ago set up a retirement fund for me (anyone interested can donate) - This is exciting and encouraging news on many levels - if interested, please read on…

For almost twenty years I served as Senior Pastor of New Life Baptist Church, a small congregation founded in the poorest suburb in the entire country at the time. I needed to work side jobs and then raise support and not much was able to be put aside for retirement. Gratefully Pastor Gills and the church has set up a retirement fund to help address retirement funds, especially for my younger years when I worked through the 1980’s and 90’s.

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT RETIREMENT FUND YOU MAY BY SENDING A CHECK TO:

NEW LIFE BAPTIST CHURCH P.O. BOX 221 CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL 60412

• CHECK MADE OUT TO “NEW LIFE BAPTIST CHURCH”

• IN A NOTE OR MEMO LINE PLEASE PUT “FOUNDING PASTOR RETIREMENT”

• DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE

• PLEASE NOTE - This fund is addressing retirement needs for work already put in DURING my earlier years of ministry at the church I founded. Christ Cares has been good to me, especially since age 56 (age 62 now) when the Board enacted a generous retirement policy. The above Retirement Fund is from a different organization (NEW LIFE church) trying to address the many years worked I for them without a retirement plan in my TEENS, TWENTYS AND THIRTIES.

• This need is compounded by the fact that as a young man, while in Bible College I followed my spiritual leaders’ bad advice and signed out of Social Security for pastoral work.
  

  THANKS AGAIN, for your encouragement and help through the years.

To stay up to date on our ministry endeavors please see https://christcares.org HERE

We also post three times a week on Facebook (A weekly update- including pictures and prayer requests; a weekly video testimony- sharing how God is using Christ Cares to change lives; and a picture highlighting a moment in the past 40 plus years of urban ministry. - We are working on putting this info on our ministry website blog for those who are not on Facebook).

PLEASE VIEW AND LIKE OUR MINISTRY FACEBOOK PAGE HERE: https://www.facebook.com/christianurbanministry

Nov 15, 2020 Update: (& FUNNY STORY OF ME & LISA)

SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN UPDATING - My life has been crazy and that combined with ADD/PTSD contribute to me often being so behind on administrative tasks. This page is very important to us… Our family has gone through a lot these past three years… I know we are blessed to have many people who care about us and want to be updated. I deeply believe that prayer makes a difference! There is also a couple specific ways one could help our family if interested…

I especially want to share about the challenging crisis my wife is going through. What an amazing lady she is! I am so blessed to have her… It was unlikely how we met, I was 36, she was 33 and a new convert on fire for the Lord… She volunteered to help with a joint VBS her church (Living Springs) was having with us… We came from different backgrounds. She was a new convert and very successful in business (at a large Travel Agency, had a staff of 23 and did the the travel for the Chicago Cubs, Tribune etc.) and I an urban minister.

I remember on one of our first dates I brought her to my church on a youth night and we had a very large crowd in the gym. A FIGHT BROKE OUT, AND SOMEONE PULLED OUT A GUN! AND ALL CHAOS BROKE OUT. I IMMEDIATELY LOCKED HER IN A CLOSET FOR HER SAFETY while I went to deal with the situation… Oh my, can you imagine that first impression?, yet that did not deter our relationship… She has had to make many adjustments being married to an urban minister working long hours… I feel so blessed to have her… Anyway my heart brakes to see her now going through such a difficult time these past three years… it’s been horrible for her and I hope to go more into detail when I update this site…

The past 40+ years of urban ministry has been very rewarding but also quite challenging…

We have ministered to thousands and we give the Lord praise for the lives touched…

We are also so very blessed for those who have partnered with us to make our ministry possible… and those who have shown us so much love and care…

We are also grateful that Christ Cares has created a meaningful online presence to make it easier to communicate both prayer requests and praises with our supporters: facebook.com/christianurbanministry

Love & Blessings,

Scott Reese (christcaresorg@gmail.com)

— OH GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD AND HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER!