This is Daniel

Daniel is the adorable 10-year-old that we sponsor from Mexico through World Vision. Even though we have never met him, we love him. I love hearing about him, praying for him, and receiving beatuiful art work from him like what we received today (aren’t his flowers cute!).

I know that Daniel has 3 siblings, that his favorite subject is Spanish Grammar, that his favorite sport is football, and that he enjoys spending time with family and friends. I feel privileged that he shares his life with me. If you sponsor a child, I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. Hearing from a sponsored child is the highlight of your day. I’m excited each time we are able to learn more about our little Daniel. If you share that feeling about your sponsored child and want to learn more about him or her, or if you don’t sponsor a child but have wondered what sponsorship is all about, please follow my friend Matthew Paul Turner’s blog, JesusNeedsNewPR next week.

This Thursday Matthew is traveling to Uganda with World Vision and will be blogging about his trip starting this Sunday, Janurary 17th. Even though my Daniel lives in Mexico, I will be reading all of Matthew’s posts to learn more about how World Vision is supporting children all over the world, children like my Daniel.

Matthew is a dear friend and World Vision is one of my favorite organizations. If you follow Matthew or are interested in World Vision, would you consider joining me in supporting them? Here are four simple ways you can help:

• PRAY – Please join me in praying for Matthew, his travels, the people he meets, and his family at home.
• Follow Matthew’s blog next week and share the posts you like on Twitter, FaceBook, or email.
• Add a badge to your blog like the one you see on the right. You can get yours HERE.
• Make his trip a personal experience for you and your family by sponsoring Beatrice or another Ugandan child.

Name: Beatrice
Gender: Girl
Birthdate: Dec 09, 2002
Location: Uganda
Chores: Carries Water
Favorite School Subject: Writing
Favorite Playtime Subject: Dolls
Monthly Sponsorship Amount: $35

If you’re praying for this trip leave a note in the comments for me. I love seeing people agree in prayer with me :)

As many of you know, today is Nationl Human Trafficking Awareness Day. I am very proud that our government is finally giving voice to such an alarming epidemic. Human trafficking is certainly something that we need to be aware of. That said, about a week ago my friend Charles Lee wrote a post on his blog titled “Awareness Is Not Enough.” I couldn’t agree more. In the post, he wrote:

Awareness alone does not create the tangible change we want to see in the world. It may move us emotionally and intellectually, but it will never be able to do anything on its own.

In fact, awareness alone can be dangerous. It can actually create a delusional state of being where we fool ourselves into thinking that we are actually doing something by “being aware” or making others aware. No matter how pure or noble the intent, spreading awareness is not enough. Is it important? Most definitely. Nevertheless, our goal is not just to spread awareness.

If reading all of the excellent posts and articles on the interwebs dedicated to today’s awareness of human trafficking has left you feeling as if you need to do something, something beyond awarenes, I encourage you to check out a new conference that will help you take that next exciting step into action.

The Ideation Confernce will give participants an opportunity to sit with, and learn from, amazing activists, CEOs, and human service professionals. The goal of the sessions is to rub elbows (or brain cells) with the experts in order to take your ideas about compassionate ministries (from human trafficking to global proverty) from concept to implementation. The workshop facilitator  list is AMAZING: Scott Harrison, Founder of Charity Water; Ben Keesely, CEO of Invisiable Children; and Keith Hall, Executive Corporate Fund Developer of World Vision, to name a few.

If you agree that awareness is only a first step in combating human trafficking, homelessness, global poverty, or any other of the world’s injustices please consider checking out this important conference. You can link to the Ideation Conference website here.

What things, beyond awareness, are you doing (or would you like to be doing) in your community to take action on social justice issues?

Jesus Loves You The Review

Jesus Loves You, This I Know takes as its title a phrase that should have deep, soul-changing, heart-melting significance, but which instead has often become, in the words of the authors, “a trite, overused Christian cliche… a casual exchange in passing.” This is the problem authors Craig Gross and Jason Harper set out to tackle: the “hijacking” of the gospel message, the shift from a message of hope and love to a message of judgment and division.

Their way of reclaiming the meaning of that phrase is straightforward, if sometimes uncomfortable. They provide concrete examples out of personal experience to show how we can show the love of Jesus to those around us. Harper recounts his experiences as a cable company’s bill collector, going to the doors of those who can’t pay their bills. Gross discusses his surprisingly close relationship with the self-described “King of Porn,” Ron Jeremy. In both cases, Harper and Gross carry the love of Jesus outside the four walls of the church to those who need it desperately.

Above all, Jesus Loves You is a call to action — a call to every reader to follow in the footsteps of the authors, break out of our “holy huddles,” and go out to show Christ’s love to the world. If you don’t want to be convicted or challenged, avoid this book. If you’re looking for outside-the-box ways to impact your community for Jesus, read it and take it to heart.

Keep reading to learn about a special offer when you buy the book on Amazon THIS WEEK only.

A Conversation with Jason Harper

About a month ago I had the opportunity to talk Jason about Jesus Loves You. And this week I was able to spend some time with him while he was in town for the book tour (This photo was taken while Jason was in town).

NW: Jason, I loved the book. I loved the simple message and the personal stories that you and Craig shared in each of the chapters.

JH: Thank you. It was really important to Craig and I that we wrote a book that was really personal and about our experiences. We wanted readers to connect with the concept that Jesus not only loves them but also loves their neighbor who may not be anything like them.

NW: I was able to talk with Craig about the book and why he thought that the Jesus loves you message is such a difficult pill for the Church to swallow. What are your thoughts about that?

JH: That’s a really big question. One of the biggest obstacles that we face as a church is our pride. Pride can kill us spiritually just as fast, if not faster, than anything else can. Many people – not all people – but many people in the church are dishonest about living an authentic faith. What I mean is that they show up at church and try very hard to appear as if they have everything together. We’re too proud to admit that we have sins that we struggle with. When we have that kind of pride we become judgmental of other people’s sins. It’s like we want to cast others out in order to protect ourselves. That’s a dangerous game to play. We all need to realize that we all need grace and that Jesus loves everyone no matter who they are or what they have done.

NW: One of my biggest frustration is when I see Christians assign a point scale or rating system to sin as if some sins are worse then others. Do you see that often?

JH: All the time! Somewhere along the way we decided that some sins are worse than others. But, God doesn’t think that way. I don’t know if you’ve seen this but it seems like the sexual sins are the ones that people typically put at the top of that scale. We have Divorce Care groups in the church but things like addiction to pornography or homosexuality get placed at the top of the scale. They are viewed as the ultimate sin and we need to change that perception. This really hit home for me several years ago. At that time I really struggled with my weight and would preach from the pulpit about this kind of stuff without even thinking to look at my self. In the book we have a chapter titled Jesus Loves the Glutton. At that time I didn’t even realize how serious gluttony is or that I should repent of it. I don’t think i realized it because it hadn’t been placed very high on that manufactured point scale.

NW: My favorite chapter in the book is Jesus Loves the Disconnected. I loved reading about your time as the cable guy and your experience with Willie the Wino. In that example you went out into the world to meet people who needed to experience the love of Jesus yet you remained connected to a faith community so you could care for those you met. It was the perfect balance. For me it represented exactly what the church should be doing.

JW: In the book I describe how a woman at an event told me I would never understand how difficult it was for her because I worked in a church and surrounded myself with church people. Her comment suck with me and I decided to take a part time job in the collections department of a cable television company. My job was to drive out to people’s homes and disconnect their cable if they didn’t pay. That’s when I met Willie. The relationship that I was able to develop with him is an example of the kinds of relationship building outreaches we should be doing.

NW: What is the one thing that you hope readers will take away from this book?

JH: One thing? Well, first of all, Craig and I really tried to write a book that anyone could read. We didn’t want to write a book that was exclusively for churched people. That said, we hope that readers find that this book is something that they can share with both their Christian and non-Christian friends. I would hope that those who read this book and call themselves Christians will hear that Jesus loves them and that Jesus loves others no matter who they are or what they have done. I would hope that non-Christians would get the same message: Jesus loves you…this I know.

To learn more about the book check out the site here. To learn more about Jason you can check out his website, Twitter feed, or Facebook page.

Want a great deal on the book? Buy the book on Amazon THIS WEEK and get the following special promotion:

Here is what you will receive for buying the book this week:

1. A PDF of The Gutter by Craig Gross (all hard copies have been sold out), a $10 value

2. 3 FREE Audiobooks! Craig’s last books FREE.  The Gutter, Questions You Can’t Ask Your Mama and Starving Jesus, a $35 value

3. The song Jesus Loves Me, MP3 (written to coincide with the book by Aaron Keyes and Ben Smith)

So for $12.23, you’re getting a value of over $60!

Also, if you buy Jesus Loves You at Amazon this week, you will be entered to win one of three grand prizes.

1. A free trip to Las Vegas
2. A $100 credit in the XXXchurch online store
3. A free trip to the Atlanta Pride stop on the Jesus Loves You tour

Purchase the book on Amazon here. Then get your freebies and to be entered to win one of the grand prizes by writing down the order number, and filling out the form here: http://bit.ly/188YT6

I had the pleasure of hooking up with Craig Gross and Jason Harper while they were in Detroit today for a Jesus Loves You tour stop. Today’s event was in the city at Citadel of Faith Covenant Church Pastored by Harvey Carey. It was great worshiping with the people at Citadel and seeing first hand how God is using their congregation to change the landscape of Detroit. Pastor Carey is a powerful leader and Citadel is an amazing place. God is moving there. In fact, during the service we were also blessed to see 33 people make a decision for Christ and another 55 make a decision for church membership.

But this house on Hazelwood is what really brought us to Citadel today. Craig and Jason are in the middle of a multi-city tour to promote their book Jesus Loves You. Instead of signing books at Family Bookstore or speaking at ticketed events they decided to take a gamble on the unconventional and are using their stops to demonstrate the love of Jesus rather than just talk about it. (Do you see why I love these guys!?) Tour stops include Folsom Prison, the Atlanta Gay Pride Parade, and the Las Vegas Strip. Today’s stop in Detroit was all about showing that Jesus loves the disconnected and included giving this house to a deserving family. Here is what was shared on Craig’s website about the winner:

The winner of the house was Thereatha Baker. Here is part of her story:

Due to the lose of her husband, which was the primary income of the house whole, she can not afford the rent where she is now. The landlord is selling the house and she has to move at any giving day with no money for first and last months rent. It’s been a trying time since her husband’s passing and with all the bills that due, there’s no money to live off of nor to put food in the house. If she pays her rent she has no money left to pay bills or buy food with that being all the money she has for the month to live off of. It has been by the grace of god she as made it this far.

While we were taking a tour of the house after the service we were given a little insight on the challenges that are facing the neighborhood. Lisa Johanon, Director of Central Detroit Christian Community Development Association and member of Citadel, explained that her organization is starting to see the effects that extreme desperation is having on the neighborhood as poverty increases and further disconnects the community. She shared stories of drug sales, auto theft, carjacking, and homicide – all happening in a five block radius within the span of a week. Yet, in that desperation these guys from the other side of the country were there to pray for the house, the family, and the community. And in that bleak, dark block of abandoned homes there was hope. My favorite part of the day was when an elderly neighbor excitedly yelled down the street at us, “Are you the winners, are you the winners!” A voice of hope.

So, here’s my question Detroit Church (and yes, I’m referring to the suburban church too): Why does it take two guys from the West Coast to put a woman and her children into a new home? According to Lisa there are 83 vacant homes in the neighborhood surrounding Citadel. 133 Detroiters, each with stories as heartbreaking as Mrs. Baker’s, applied for the Hazelwood home. What do we need to do to meet the need – both the housing need and the need to rid the community of the risks that come with abandoned property? What can we do to love our disconnected neighbors?

Check back tomorrow for a re-post of my Jesus Loves You book review and an interview with Jason Harper.

Here is how the people of Just One describe themselves on their website:

JustOne is a non-profit organization that was formed to stimulate greater global awareness about extreme poverty and to provoke compassionate ideas and intelligent giving in order to provide sustainable relief. We are a collective voice for the victims of social injustice––the one(s) living in geographical and situational poverty; the one(s) orphaned through death, disease and desertion; the one(s) trafficked into slavery throughout the world.

Here is how they describe Laundry Love:

Laundry Love Projects (LLPs) are regular opportunities to help people who are struggling financially by assisting them with doing their laundry. Relationships are built, and LLPs become small communities of common concern in which participants often find that they receive assistance and benefit with other areas of their lives.

Please consider starting a Laundry Love Project in your community. Find out how on the Just One site. You can also follow Laundry Love on Twitter. If you have five minutes, check out this video that demonstrates the impact that a few loads of laundry can have on your neighbors. You’ll be inspired.

As I was listening to all of the positive comments on the clip all I could think was, “Huh, and they did it all with out a mission’s committee, coordinating tee shirts, or volunteer weenie roast with a side of fellowship.” Imagine that. Maybe the lesson for us is to stop thinking about the elaborate rescue plan and just get out and love the city.

(Mini rant over. Sorry! I’ll be back to normal tomorrow *wink*)

Photo Courtesy of Peter Nash

If you weren’t aware, TIME Magazine has moved into the neighborhood, purchasing a house in Detroit to spend the next year experiencing and writing about the culture, politics, and economy of the city. As a Detroiter, I’m fascinated by this project and have enjoyed reading the blog posts written from an “insider’s” perspective. In today’s post, “Ditchin’ Religion,” blogger Darrell Dawsey responds to the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s purchase of local billboards communicating anti-religious messages. In his article, Dawsey affirms the organization’s campaign and makes a case that Detroit’s large number of churches don’t appear to be doing much good in the fight to improve the local community. Dawsey claims,

“You can’t walk two city blocks here without passing somebody’s church, most of them open just long enough for Sunday services, choir rehearsals and the occasional gospel brunch. (As as kid, I used to hear even church-goers compare the many churches in town to the many liquor stores and wonder aloud what good either really did for us.) Meanwhile, in almost every neighborhood where these churches abound and thrive, the rest of community continues to crumble.”

And, although he paints with far too broad a brush, I think that to some extent, he’s exactly right.

At this year’s Willow Creek Leadership Summit Harvey Carey, Pastor of Detroit’s Citadel of Faith Covenant Church, opened his talk describing his move to the city from Chicago to start Citadel. When he arrived he was met with open opposition from the local Pastor’s for several reasons not the least of which being his desire to create a diverse congregation that bridges the urban-suburban racial gap. Carey’s story received an audible gasp from the Willow Creek community but those of us viewing from our metro Detroit satellite location weren’t surprised. We’ve been jaded by both the powerful, politically savvy Ministerial Alliance and the eight lanes of highway that represent one of the nations most epic racial and class divides. Stories like Carey’s are all too common to us. And thus, for the most part, Dawsey’s point is proven.

As Detroit continues to fall into economic upheaval the opportunity for the Church to stand in the social service Gap is unprecedented. So where are we? While there are several ministries alive and well in the city, places like Detroit Rescue Mission or Mariner’s Inn, most are grossly under funded and lack the resources to provide the vast scope of services needed to really impact the community. And while many suburban churches have taken pity on the city most of their efforts, as well intentioned as they may be, are often more like pet projects than long term, relationship building, strategic, missional efforts. The type of projects designed go beyond the Chick tract to meet physical, relational, and spiritual needs while doing the messy work of service.

I will admit that Dawsey’s piece initially rubbed me the wrong way. At second glance however, I realize that my issue is not with him or his accusations against the Church. My real issue is that we, the Church, are neglecting an opportunity – a responsibility- to meet the needs of our city. We’ve left a mile wide opening for folks like Dawsey who are skeptical of the Church and denominational religion to call us out and many of us deserve it.

So, the real question becomes: What do we do about it? For the next week I’ll be posting about what the church can do to be present in the city. These will be posts that will hopefully challenge what we are being called to do in response to urban issues like those facing Detroit. This is a message for everyone in the church, even if you don’t live here.

Leave a comment about Dawsey’s post or about being the Church to the city. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

I once heard a story about a homeless man on Hollywood Blvd who really thought he was invisible. But one day a kid handed the man a Christian pamphlet. The homeless guy was shocked and amazed, “what! You can see me? How can you see me? I’m invisible!”

It isn’t hard to comprehend this man’s slow spiral into invisibility. Once on the street, people started to walk past him, ignoring him as if he didn’t exist… much like they do a piece of trash on the sidewalk. It’s not that people are bad, but if we make eye contact, or engage in conversation, then we have to admit they exist and that we might have a basic human need to care. But it’s so much easier to simply close our eyes and shield our hearts to their existence.

I not only feel their pain, I truly know their pain. I lived their pain. You’d never know it now but I was a homeless person. Fourteen years ago, I lived on Hollywood Blvd. But today, I find myself looking away, ignoring the faces, avoiding their eyes — and I’m ashamed when I realize I’m doing it. But I really can feel their pain, and it is almost unbearable, but it’s just under the surface of my professional exterior.

The invisible guy didn’t intend to become homeless. I didn’t plan on living on the street. Everyone on the streets has their own story, some made bad decisions, others were victims, but none of them deserve what they have been left with, and it is a reflection of our own society that we just leave them there.

Please always remember, the homeless people you’ll ignore today were much like you not so long ago.

While Mark was in Detroit this week for his Invisible People Road Trip I really wanted him to drive out to the burbs and visit two of my favorite homeless outreaches. Yesterday I wrote about Solid Ground and today I want to share about his visit to another favorite, MCREST (Macomb County Rotating Emergency Shelter Team). I have often heard Mark talk about his frustrations with churches acting as lone rangers visiting parks to offer meals. Not that feeding the homeless is bad, but if we pooled our resources we could be doing so much more. This is why I love MCREST!

MCREST is a group of 88 interfaith congregations that agree to open up their facilities and their hearts to the homeless community offering temporary emergency shelter, food, transportation, and case management services. Watch Mark’s interview with Jimetta Lewis, Executive Director, to see how this cooperative, innovative community pulls together to help the homeless in our area. As you watch remember that this is what we should ALL be doing.

]]> http://www.nicolewick.com/2009/09/mcrest-and-invisible-people/feed/ 0 http://www.nicolewick.com/2009/09/solid-ground-and-invisible-people/ http://www.nicolewick.com/2009/09/solid-ground-and-invisible-people/#comments Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:27:57 +0000 Nicole http://www.nicolewick.com/?p=942 I’m taking a break from regularly scheduled 2nd Corinthians programming to share a story about Mark Horvath and a few very visible people. It’s worth taking a break for – trust me!

Here is how my friend, Mark Horvath, describes himself on his web site:

Mark Horvath started his executive career with the worldwide distribution of Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Married with Children, 21 Jump Street, plus many other syndicated shows. He has over 30 years of leadership, management and marketing experience, with the last 14 years being in the nonprofit sector. He now uses his media and nonprofit reach to self-fund his InvisiblePeople.tv project to offer a voice to America’s homeless.

While all that is true, here is how I would describe Mark:

Social media and marketing genius using his gift to selflessly give all of himself to a cause that should wreck you as much as it wrecks him: ending homelessness.

Mark has taken his InvisiblePeople.tv project on the road and is visiting 25 cities across the country, recording the stories of the homeless friends that he meets along the way. Mark’s mission to use his film production skills to give voice to homelessness inspires me. Mark (@hardlynormal) and I met via Twitter when I learned that he would be visiting Detroit on his road trip. Today he was in town visiting a few of my favorite local outreaches. The first one that I want to share with you is a transitional shelter called Solid Ground. Our church, The Woods, has supported Solid Ground since its inception, and I am so proud that we are able to draw alongside such an amazing organization.

Solid Ground’s mission is to empower homeless and at-risk people to gain independence by providing safe transitional housing and services that address physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. Solid Ground serves families with children, the elderly and the disabled. They are an amazing organization that goes beyond feeding and warming by providing the types of services that will permanently end homelessness and poverty.

Learn more about Solid Ground and ways you can help here. See photos from Mark’s visit to Solid Ground here. Watch this video to see Mark interview the Executive Director, LaWanda Jackson, and two residents whose stories will shatter your perception of the homeless.

]]> http://www.nicolewick.com/2009/09/solid-ground-and-invisible-people/feed/ 1 http://www.nicolewick.com/2009/08/loving-your-neighbor-cross-point-community-church/ http://www.nicolewick.com/2009/08/loving-your-neighbor-cross-point-community-church/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:31:56 +0000 Nicole http://www.nicolewick.com/?p=829

There’s a chapter in the book, Jesus Loves You, that I really struggled with: Jesus Loves the Religious. I could identify. It frustrates me when I see the church being something other than what the church was designed to be. In this chapter Craig Gross writes. “it is the few examples that can spoil the great intentions of many… If the goal is to ‘reach the world’, the world should not be repelled by what they see spoken about Jesus.” So true.

After reading this I thought it would be great to find out how a church with a strong service culture goes about mobilizing a grassroots community service mission. My friend Matthew told me that his church, Cross Point Community Church in Nashville does this beautifully. I had a chance to interview Ryan Bult, Director of Ministries at Cross Point, to find out how they do it. I hope their example is both a help and an inspiration to your church or small group.

NW: Tell me a little bit about the Cross Point community.

RB: Cross Point has three campuses in the Nashville area. We’ll be opening our fourth campus next year. What we believe is different about Cross Point is that we take building a faith community very seriously. We are all about loving God and loving people. At Cross Point, we know that Jesus said that serving is something you must do and that it’s not an option.

NW: How has service become such an important part of your culture?

RB: In building that culture, that message has to come from the top down, so when Pete Wilson, our senior pastor, started Cross Point seven years ago, he said that mission would be something that will always be important to our church. At Cross Point, ten percent of everything that is given goes directly to missions. It’s funding that we don’t rely on. We just started a “one percent more” campaign where we’ll be giving one percent more each year over the next ten years. Showing this example of giving sets a tone that this is something important that we’ll always do.

NW: Can you give me some examples of the type of outreach Cross Point does?

RB: One thing that is really important to us is our Serving Saturdays, where we gather three times a year on a Saturday to serve the community. We send out flyers and walk the streets and talk to people in the neighborhoods that we’ve decided to focus on, asking them to give us a call if they need anything. Hundreds of volunteers gather and go out to paint homes, do repairs, and help local businesses. Whatever needs are brought to us, we try to get done. Our hope is that we get out in the community and show our neighbors the love of Christ. It’s not about church recruitment, it’s about unconditional love and building relationships.

Another important thing is the Preston Taylor after school program. Preston Taylor is a community organization that we’ve been able to come alongside and send volunteers to offer tutoring, snacks, Bible study, and work on reading. We’re excited that we’re going to open an after school site on campus at Cross Point, so children will be coming here after school. Again, it’s about long-term relationships. We don’t stop at the after school program. We recruit volunteers to be lunch buddies and have lunch with these kids once a week at school to create a mentoring program, which is especially important considering the number of absent fathers we see. Hopefully we’ll be able to not only help these children with their literacy skills, but still be around to celebrate with them when they graduate and go to college.

We also work with Lighthouse Mission Ministries, which is a prison aftercare program located about three blocks away from our campus. Lighthouse operates sort of like a halfway house for men who are transitioning out of the corrections system. We have them all over once a month for Sunday service. We also have them over for meals, and we go over and join them for meals as well. This is also about building relationships. It’s cool to see those relationships form. The guys like listening to Pete, and many come back for Sunday service. Several have joined our membership. Many of these men were incarcerated for alcohol and drug offenses. When you suffer from alcohol or drug abuse, the focus is often on yourself, so it’s very cool to see these men build relationships with us and in turn want to go out and serve others. In fact, some of these guys have even started to go on mission trips with us.

We want the church to be the church. Even though someone may come from a difficult circumstance, they’re not a charity case. As different as we may seem, at our core we’re all alike.

NW: With a large membership, how do you motivate people to really get involved with service?

RB: We never want Cross Point to be just a place you go to on Sunday morning. We want everybody who attends to be actively involved in serving and actively involved in a small group. If you ask Pete, he’d tell you that missions and small groups are two pillars of our church and that they go hand in hand. We rely on our small groups and our small group leadership to carry this out into the community. For example, small groups lead the cause on our serving Saturdays. When community members respond to us that they have a need, we assign that need to a small group. What we don’t want is for people to serve just three times a year. So when a small group goes to one person’s house on the serving Saturday, the hope is that the small group is going to build a relationship with that person. While they’re there on that Saturday, we want them to start building that relationship and find out what other needs that person has. That gives them an opportunity to go back and continue to help that person or that family and create bonds with them that go beyond that one, church-sponsored Saturday event. I provide service opportunities, but we rely on our small group leadership to fill in the gaps.

We also use multimedia to motivate people. Don’t underestimate the power of multimedia to do this. It plays a huge role in telling a story. Matt Singleton, our creative director, is an amazing filmmaker, and he shoots video of all the things that we’ve done. We use that video and music and those images to connect with people and show them why we’re doing what we’re doing. When people see those films and hear those stories of transformed lives, they have an emotional connection. The stories tell them the “why,” and sometimes that’s what people need to get up and do it. When you couple those multimedia pieces with what’s being talked about on the stage, it really drives the point home. We also look for opportunities to have people who have volunteered in the community share their experience and talk about what serving did for them. When you combine the emotion of the multimedia, the communication of our vision from the platform, and the excitement from those who have volunteered, it becomes contagious.

Leave a comment with ways that your church or small group love your neighbors. We’d love to learn from your examples!