Today we welcome Sara Johnson to The Prepare Podcast. Sara is a long time friend and inspiration to me, personally, and she’s a leader in Salvation Army. Sara is a leader because she displays obedience to Christ, has a humble and teachable spirit and is boldly trying things many of us dream about doing.
A longtime resident of Michigan, Sara uprooted her life in an act of obedience and moved to the city of St. Louis – she is now a resident of the Benton Park West neighborhood and is the Director of the Urban Mission Center which is a ministry of The Salvation Army that prepares “urban leaders who are ready to take on the complexities of city work.” When Sara’s not nurturing and mentoring young adult leaders, and building relationships and running for office in her community, she’s gardening at the community garden she oversees and hanging out with her dog Winston.
Enjoy today’s episode and watch the video below to learn more about the Urban Mission Center.

Here are a few resources that Sara and I discuss today:
Be The Bridge from Latasha Morrison (correction: not Natasha Morrison)
Summer Mission Team (SMT) click HERE
 Here are a few resources Sara has found to be helpful:
1) Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times wrote a four part op-ed series entitled “When Whites Just Don’t Get It.”
2) I am a big fan of Sojourners Magazine (www.sojo.net). Yes, definitely more progressive than most of TSA, but I think they do a great job of covering issues surrounding reconciliation from a faith based perspective. Jim Wallis wrote “A Pastoral Letter to White America,” which is a good place to start with Sojourners.
3) Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Illuminates the injustice of our “justice” system. Really excellent read, shared from a first hand perspective. Really hard to argue with a man who is walking with men of color through the system.
4) This American Life is a seriously great resource, especially these episodes: #487/488 Harper High School, #512 House Rules, #547/548 Corps See It Differently, #550 Three Miles, #562/563 The Problem We All Live With
 
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Urban Mission Center Promo from Speak Up Productions on Vimeo.