At the beginning of Scarlet Hope, Rachelle, three friends and their husbands would fast on Tuesdays and drive through the city of Louisville praying outside of strip clubs. The heart behind the prayer drive was for the Lord to guide their way into the darkest places that God was calling them. Their prayers were also asking God to open their hearts to hearing and seeing the Holy Spirit change their perspective for the women they would encounter. God was beginning to prepare their hearts to do abundantly more than they could ask or imagine! After more than a year of prayer, Rachelle felt the Lord telling her it was time to begin going into the clubs.
This became the model for Scarlet Hope – spend an intentional time praying before going.
We believe prayer is the first step of any endeavor. Whether we are working with a specific woman or launching a new site, we seek the Lord’s guidance.
Volunteers are covered in prayer each week before they go to the clubs. Staff begin the work day praying over the day and laying their plans at the Lord’s feet.
In the course of 15 years, we have experienced God hearing our prayers and moving.
Today we are going to highlight 15 times God has answered our prayers:
- We prayed that we would be able to reach every single club in Louisville, and God has allowed us to accomplish that over the 15 years.
- We prayed for open doors to strip clubs in every city we served, and God has not only opened the doors but given us favor with the management and women in Louisville, Cincinnati, Reno, Las Vegas, Nashville, Miami, and Denver.
- We prayed for women to join our team, and God has always provided plenty of volunteers to go into the darkness and shine the light of Christ.
- We prayed for a way to reach women who were soliciting online, and God provided a software platform to partner with us and make this possible.
- We prayed for a way to teach women transitional job skills, and God opened the doors of Scarlet’s bakery in 2015 as a first step.
- We prayed for a bakery vehicle, and God led us to a grant that provided a delivery van.
- We prayed for a physical bakery location, and God provided it through our partnership with Access Ventures.
- We prayed for equipment, and God provided equipment through a restaurant equipment owner.
- We prayed for job partners, and one after another God opened doors.
- We prayed for women to receive scholarships to continue education, and God has provided many full scholarships to college.
- We prayed for counselors and case managers, and God provided amazing women who have walked alongside the healing journey of the women we serve.
- We prayed for physical provision over the years, and God has blown us away by both providing the funding to keep our programs running and giving us in-kind donations of food, gifts, vehicles, facilities and much more.
- We prayed for women to rise as leaders for the various sites, and God provided funding for paid Executive Directors in every city.
- We prayed for a space to host women outside the clubs, and God has provided beautiful, safe resource centers for Louisville, Cincinnati, Reno, Las Vegas, Nashville, and (soon) Miami.
- We’ve prayed for increasing opportunities to share the hope and love of Jesus with women in the AEI, and God has provided many opportunities for continued growth. We are so excited for fifteen more years!!
