outreach

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  how to feed the hungry [from our excess]

  activist faith, engaged in culture, ministry, outreach, poverty, SERVE 2 comments

  Picture this. Your church fellowship hall filled to capacity. There are people everywhere. And enough food to feed hundreds – maybe even thousands. People sharing conversation with others at their table. Eating as much as they possibly can. Sounds like a typical church function, right? Now imagine this – those [...]

   
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  how to ensure your efforts land you in the right place

  activist faith, for reflection, ministry, missions, outreach, SERVE 2 comments

  Trajectory. This word has buzzed around in my head all week. tra·jec·to·ry [truh-jek-tuh-ree] noun, plural -ries. 1. the curve described by a projectile, rocket, or the like  in its flight. 2. the path described by an object moving in air or space under the influence of such forces as thrust, wind resistance, and gravity, esp the curved path of a projectile I blame Pastor Steve McCoy [...]

   
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  [reasons they leave #6] the church is unfriendly to doubt

  engaged in culture, ministry, outreach 10 comments

  My Thoughts on Reason #6 of The Barna Report They threw leaves into the air on this beautiful Fall Sunday. I wish all our days could reflect such happy abandon. I stood in front of my church across from the courthouse plaza watching those kids. On my mind, like weights, [...]

   
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  [reasons they leave #5] the exclusivity of christianity

  engaged in culture, ministry, outreach 14 comments

  “I’ve got good news and bad news,” I announced to the fifteen or so members of my church’s high school youth group. “The good news is I brought cookies. The bad news is I need help with my homework. I’ve been asked to write a blog post about this reason [...]

   
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  [reasons they leave #3] church antagonism towards science

  engaged in culture, ministry, outreach 12 comments

  “God, why is the sky blue?” I was eighteen when I finally asked Him; not relying on the answers that I was taught all my life in school. His reply ended up being more deeply touching and radical than anything I’d ever heard, and, from that moment on, I felt [...]

   
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  [reasons they leave #2] shallow experience of christianity

  engaged in culture, ministry, outreach 27 comments

  Reason #2 – Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow. A second reason that young people depart church as young adults is that something is lacking in their experience of church. One-third said “church is boring” (31%). One-quarter of these young adults said that “faith is not relevant to [...]

   
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  to the ends of the earth

  ministry, missions, outreach, READ, SERVE 2 comments

  I’m standing in a remote village in Haiti on the shore of the massive Lake Azeui. I upload a picture of some of the members of our mission team to Facebook and Twitter. They’re singing and dancing with the locals. There’s a communication gap, but music always seems to bring [...]