Monday, November 5, 2012

Volunteering Tops One Million Hours at Child Evangelism Fellowship Headquarters

WARRENTON, Mo., Nov. 3, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Volunteers are essential to the success of many ministries and nowhere is that more evident than at Child Evangelism Fellowship, the largest ministry to children in the world. Volunteers have topped an impressive one million hours since 1998, at CEF headquarters in Warrenton, Missouri. "Last year alone 695 volunteers gave their time at our headquarters and their service is crucial to our mission to share the gospel with children all over the world," said Mr. Steve Johnson, director of Volunteer Services for CEF. Last year, CEF reached 12.1 million children around the world.

Anyone over the age of thirteen may serve at CEF headquarters where volunteers are referred to as "volunteer missionaries" because they are giving their time in service to the gospel mission. Some serve for a day, many serve for months but most serve for one to two weeks, the typical length of most mission trips organized in the United States. The campus of CEF headquarters is well-equipped to handle its volunteers. With a lodge, an RV park and a full service cafeteria open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, CEF offers housing and meals to its volunteer missionaries who are asked to pay ten dollars per day to offset the cost.

Many church groups organize mission trips for the purpose of volunteering at CEF headquarters and many students from around the world attending the Christian Ministries Institute at CEF headquarters will stay on for a time to serve as volunteer missionaries. However, the vast majority of volunteers are retirees. Mr. Johnson explains, "Many retirees want to perform missionary work but not every ministry has work that they can do. At CEF headquarters we have volunteer work that is ideally suited to a retiree, especially in our Discipleship Center." The Discipleship Center does much of the work for the Truth Chasers Club, the popular Bible club through the mail that CEF sponsors. Last year over 539 volunteer missionaries, almost all of them retirees, performed data entry, graded lessons, and processed mail for the club. "We could not run the club without them," said Mr. Johnson.

In addition to the Discipleship Center, volunteer missionaries serve by maintaining the buildings and grounds, preparing meals in the cafeteria, supporting literature production with CEF Press, and preparing boxes of teaching materials for shipment around the world for the Boxes of Books program. From time to time, assistance is needed for projects in the IT department and the International and USA Ministries departments. "We really appreciate the people who are willing to serve CEF and we want to match them with their particular interests," said Mr. Johnson.

While serving at CEF headquarters, volunteer missionaries also enjoy spiritual renewal, rich fellowship and some good fun. They attend chapel, weekly Bible studies and have time for personal devotions. On Monday nights there is a music program; there are game nights and an activity room in the lodge.

Volunteer missionaries are welcome to serve at CEF headquarters all year round. There is a particular need in January and February, according to Mr. Johnson. Anyone who is interested in volunteering at CEF headquarters should emailvolunteer@cefonline.com or call 1-800-300-4033 ext.1246.

Christian Newswire

'Power of the local church' on display in NYC

NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- The elderly lady was afraid to open the door. Alone in the dark in her apartment on the 23rd floor of the Fulton government housing complex in Chelsea Park days after Hurricane Sandy struck, she was not accustomed to people helping.

But Gallery Church in midtown Manhattan was in a position to help. Ministry leader Chris Mills climbed the 23 flights of stairs Nov. 1 to reach the elderly woman, one of dozens too frail to exit the building, elevators of no use because of power outages.

"She hadn't seen anybody in three days. She had been without power since Monday night and we were the first people to show up to her apartment, so she hadn't seen anybody since the hurricane," Mills said. "People get scared and don't know what's on the other side of that door. When she did open the door, she saw what we had to give her. She was very thankful and gave us a list of a few more things that she needed. We were able to go back today with that list and give her some more items that she needed."

Mills, a member of Gallery Church for three years, leads a youth ministry outreach in Chelsea Park, a community the church has adopted for ministry.

"We didn't show up until maybe two days after the hurricane and we're the first ones that they've seen. It just shows you the power of the local church. Usually in a situation like this the local church is the first one on the scene. We're kind of first responders in that," Mills said. "It's just amazing that there are so many people in the housing complex here that have not seen anybody but us. That was surprising to me and overwhelming."

Southern Baptist Gallery Church pastor Freddy T. Wyatt mobilized 20 volunteers, nearly a third of his membership of 70, to survey apartments in the Chelsea Park and Stuyvesant Town neighborhoods, looking for those in need, and extended his efforts Friday to include two other areas.

"We have found dozens of elderly people. Some had no contact with anyone before we got there since the storm hit. We found some that were running out of food, some that were running out of water and some that needed their dialysis, and we were able to make that emergency connection for them," Wyatt said. "We're a central location that has power, and we're able to distribute the people out to different places."

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Pastor: Storm connects churches with people

NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- Hurricane Sandy, which now has killed at least 96 people on the East Coast, also brought with it opportunities for churches to connect with people in their communities, a church planter on Long Island, N.Y., said.

Most of the response from Ecclesia Church of East Islip has been "friend-to-friend, neighbor-to-neighbor, like loaning your car to somebody who doesn't have gasoline," pastor Sterling Edwards told Baptist Press Nov. 2.

"People have opened up their doors to let other people take a shower if they don't have power," Edwards said, adding that people who do have electricity have provided meals for those who don't.

On one street, he saw extension cords running from one house to another as people with power helped provide it to people without. About 3 million customers in the Northeast remained without power Friday, including most of Long Island.

Edwards moved from Texas six years ago to plant a church in New York, and he remains pastor of that plant, Crossroads Church in Farmingdale, and is pastor of a newer congregation, Ecclesia, about 20 miles away. Both are on Long Island.

A missions team of four adults from Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston was in New York before the storm hit to help with fall festivals at both church plants. The team tried to get out of town Sunday but ended up having to stay.

"They were just here to help us, and they have a tremendous heart, tremendous attitude," Edwards said of the volunteers. "None of this slowed them down whatsoever. They were almost in one way glad to be a part of the action, to be able to help us."

Ecclesia, which is only a few months old, meets in a former Anglican church. That facility did not lose power during the storm.

"We set up a table outside the church Wednesday night and passed out candy to the kids," Edwards said. "We passed out coffee and chocolate chip cookies to the parents to reach out to them.

The storm coinciding with Halloween caused more people to be out on the streets, giving Edwards and other church members opportunities to talk with them and meet needs.

"God has a way of using these events to break us out of our normalcy and cause us to look to Him for help," Edwards said. "I think this has helped us be identified as a church that genuinely cares for people and loves people. I've talked to a hundred more people this week than I talked to ever before this week. God has a way of connecting us with people."

Several members of Ecclesia have had one or more feet of water in their homes, the pastor said, including a groom who was to be married at the church Nov. 2.

"They're going to be married in like three hours," he said. "Their house is one of the houses that was devastated. They had just moved her stuff into his house last week. They've got a foot of water, so the majority of their stuff is ruined."

Just stopping to recount the story of the past five days helped Edwards put things in perspective, he said.

"We've been going pretty hard, and I'm sure we're tired," Edwards said. "Even just doing this wedding today is really putting things in perspective of being a part of this community."

Ecclesia's goal, he said, is to get the message of the Gospel out to nearby residents, and as tragic as the hurricane has been, it has turned into a way to do that.

"I feel like I've been given a really unique seat to see a lot of things happen. We're really excited about it," Edwards said of the promise of seeing lives changed.

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Persecution of Christians in 10/40 Window Up by 400 Percent, Says GFA

The persecution of Christians in the 10/40 Window has increased by 400 percent over the last 10 years, which is why Gospel for Asia (GFA) is calling on Christians to spend an entire day, not just a few minutes, fasting and praying for the persecuted church.

"Americans who have not experienced persecution do not fully understand what it means to have their lives threatened, homes destroyed, rights violated and loved ones imprisoned, all because of embracing faith in Jesus Christ," said K. P. Yohannan, GFA founder and president, in a statement. "In the 14 countries we serve, persecution of this sort has become a normal way of life, especially for those directly involved in mission work."
The 10/40 Window is a section of the world – between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator – that encompasses those nations that have been least reached with the Gospel message. These nations include China, India, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Sudan and Nigeria, just to name a few.
This Sunday, Nov. 4, churches across the U.S. will take time to pray for persecuted believers around the world as a part of the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP), but GFA says a simple "nod" toward the problem isn't enough.
The organization hopes churches will do more than say a brief prayer as a part of their morning worship services on Sunday. Instead, GFA wants them to intercede for their Christian brothers and sisters for the entire length of their services. The organization is also encouraging those who are physically able to fast for the persecuted church, and, if possible, take a day off from work to spend time in prayer.
"Suffering is forced upon our brothers and sisters. To those of us not experiencing the normality of persecution, Jesus is asking that we participate willingly in their suffering and chains," said Yohannan. "Through our prayers, we can be agents of God's divine healing, hope and help."

Saturday, October 27, 2012

"Escaping the Cauldron" Author Kristine McGuire Former Witch, Medium, & Ghosthunter

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Thursday, October 25, 2012

New Bible exhibit 'innovative, family-friendly'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BP) -- At the recent opening of the Passages Bible exhibition in Charlotte, N.C., Steve Green was described as "a man of no compromise who sticks to God's Word and does everything at a level of excellence." Green is the president of Hobby Lobby and owner of the world's largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts.

Passages showcases more than 400 items of great historical and biblical significance from the Green Collection. The full collection contains more than 40,000 items. The exhibit opened in Charlotte in September and continues daily through the end of February.

The 30,000-square-foot Passages exhibition provides a captivating experience that tells the dramatic story of the most debated, most banned, most read, best-selling book of all time.

The exhibit's website describes Passages as an "innovative, interactive, family-friendly exhibit that showcases both the Old and New Testaments -- arguably the world's most significant pieces of literature -- through a non-sectarian, scholarly approach that makes the history, scholarship and impact of the Bible on virtually every facet of society accessible to everyone."

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Matt Chandler to Pastors: Entitlement Kills Churches

By Jeff Schapiro , Christian Post Reporter

October 23, 2012|5:27 pm

Matt Chandler addressed pastors during the Creature of the Word Simulcast on Tuesday and warned them that harboring a sense of entitlement can kill a church.

There are times in ministry, Chandler confessed, when he feels he is owed something. He sometimes wants to tell others, "Just do what I say ... Why are you asking me questions? Just do what I tell you to do."
Pastors can sometimes get caught up in their position, he said, and fail to obey Jesus Christ's teaching in Matthew 20:26, which says, "whoever would be great among you must be your servant." But they are supposed to model servitude for their congregations, and failing to do so could be to their church's detriment.
"You walk in entitlement, you will simply empower entitlement underneath you. You want to talk trickle-down effect? You got an entitled pastor, you'll have an entitled staff. That then leads to an entitled laity, that leads to the death of a church," he said.
Chandler shared a story of a friend who came to pray with him before he delivered a sermon several years ago. The friend, Josh, put dirt in Chandler's hands, poured water on the dirt and told him to rub his hands together. "Kingdom hands are dirty hands," he told Chandler.
"You want to serve the Lord, you're always going to have dirty hands," said Chandler. "You don't get to a place, you don't get to a size where your hands are clean, your heart is free from the heartbreak, loss, the celebration, the need for prayer, the desperation that comes from leading and walking with God's people."

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Being a missionary in Uzbekistan can get you five years in jail

In Uzbekistan, having more than one Bible can make you a missionary, and being a missionary in Uzbekistan can get you five years in jail.

Uzbeks no longer have freedom of religion, or even speech; not only is just one Bible per household mandated by law, it must also be written in Russian, a language only 20 percent of Uzbeks understand.

Located in Central Asia, Uzbekistan was formerly the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1992, Uzbekistan became a secular state after passing its first post-Soviet constitution, but that state still kept many of the centralized controls characteristic of its former Soviet Republic.

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Social worker bans religious conversation

A social worker has taken the idea of “qualifying” for federal benefits to a new level by telling a resident of a HUD-subsidized building that she no longer had the right to free speech because of the government’s contributions to the building’s operations.
The attack on religious freedom came in a Minneapolis suburb, where Ruth Sweats told WND that she was told she has “no freedom of speech.”

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Sweats told WND that she and a friend were sitting in a corner of the common area at the Osborne Apartments in Spring Lake Park, Minn., when she says the building social worker, Rachelle Henkle, “dramatically approached her with a raised voice” and said, “You can’t talk like that here!”
Since Sweats was having a private conversation with a friend and simply had read the introduction paragraph from her Bible describing the Book of Revelation, she was shocked. She said her friend had asked her about Revelation, and she opened her Bible and began reading the introduction that precedes the book.
Sweats, a member of a Messianic church congregation, said she frequently reads the Bible, studies it with friends, prays, and even hosts Bible studies in that very room, yet for some reason the social worker’s ire was triggered when she read, “These that bear the mark of the monster and are not registered in the Lambs Book of Life.”
Sweats told WND she informed Henkle that she was entitled to have a private conversation with a friend, and in fact had done so many times, saying, “I have freedom of speech, you know.”
But she says the social worker claimed that free speech doesn’t exist when it’s in a HUD-funded building, and that in order to talk about the Bible it had to be in an apartment, not the common area.
Sweats said the tenant handbook outlines fair housing regulations but she wasn’t shown where any regulation would allow someone to silence her private conversation about her religion with a friend.
Matt Sharp, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, says that his organization now represents Sweats and that he has sent a letter to the building’s management company, Ebenezer, informing them of their discriminatory actions.
“In their apparent effort not to discriminate, it’s possible they may be discriminating against Sweats,” Sharp told WND.
Sharp said the building management’s position is simply incorrect and that HUD has repeatedly made statements announcing that funding is not in jeopardy because of private religious expression.
“Simply because the government provides a benefit with public funds does not mean that all ‘mention of religion or prayer’ must be whitewashed from the use of the benefit,” Sharp wrote in the letter to Ebenezer.
ADF would like to see Ebenezer “do the right thing,” Sharp said.

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Adventures in Missions' 100,000th Volunteer is Serving Others and Changing Lives, Including Her Own

GAINESVILLE, Ga., Oct. 25, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- What began as a dream in one man's garage has morphed into a global movement, sending over 100,000 volunteers around the world. Annually, Adventures in Missions sends over 6,000 adults, students, and families on mission trips to more than 70 locations on several continents, with their trips ranging from a few days to a few years.

"It's counter-cultural, but it's not new. Our methods are Jesus' own," said Seth Barnes, Adventures' founder. "They aren't based on a curriculum or a program. We believe in impacting the world one relationship at a time."

Adventures hasn't always been the global organization it is today. This nonprofit originated in Seth Barnes' Wellington, Fla. home 23 years ago. The tiny operation quickly outgrew the kitchen, so it moved to the garage. In both places, the Barnes children were the organization's hardest workers, doing odd jobs like licking stamps and folding newsletters. As the ministry grew, so did the challenges, including enduring the skepticism of others.

"Life on the home front was difficult. We were pregnant with our fifth child, had no insurance, and nobody to pay me a salary," Barnes said. "But it was better to abandon everything and trust in God than to trust in my own competence."

Today, nearly a quarter century later, Barnes is still trusting God to guide and provide for his family, which now includes dozens of full-time staff members who train, support, and work alongside thousands of volunteers annually.

What makes Adventures different from other nonprofit organizations is the way in which its staff invites participants to purposely choose things that are eternal over temporary. Instead of striving for the American Dream, they challenge people to reach for God's dream -- for themselves, their families and their community, Barnes said, and others agree.

"I see how Adventures impacts not just the world, but is changing generations," said Selena Day of the Georgia-based Present Day Truth Ministries, an Adventures' ministry partner.

Adventures' 100,000th participant, Shelley Manning, launched her trip in July.

"Sometimes I feel very inadequate, but God is completely trustworthy and this is in my heart to do." Manning said. Although she left her job as a pediatric nurse, Manning believes she is still taking care of people, only in different ways.

She's part of the World Race, Adventures' fastest growing program taking participants to eleven countries in eleven months. This is Manning's first mission trip, and she's excited about both the adventure and the way God will develop her character along the way.

As Adventures begins a new chapter, World Race participant Lydia Shaw is the first of the next 100,000 volunteers.

"God impressed on me that now is the time. So I go," Shaw said of her decision to be a short-term missionary. "A missionary is someone who listens and follows."

In addition to Adventures' variety of trips, it also encourages and facilitates partnerships between North American churches and those in host countries. Its newest program, the Center for Global Action, provides opportunities for Adventures' alumni to dive deeper into discovering their call from God.

For more about Adventures in Missions and to watch an exclusive video, visit Adventures' 100K website.

Christian Newswire