Tag: church

going to church

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August 9 Going to Church. This morning we woke up to the sounds of Bukavu: roosters crowing, car horns honking, men whistling, children playing, UN soldiers marching, and motor scooters racing. I took a bath with a bucket of cold water. It was surprisingly refreshing after such long travels. We are staying with Renee, a single missionary who ministers with the deaf and runs a coffee shop next door that employes locals. We had dinner there last night and it was fabulous.

We attended Berean Church (CEEBCO) today. The singing was incredible and unforgettable. Sarah and I presented our ministry (leadership seminar and camp for youth) before the church. They sang a song to welcome us. After the service the elders of the church prayed over us and we had an opportunity to pray over them.

We had lunch with the Lindquist’s our sponsoring family. They had hamburgers covered with Goma cheese and homemade icecream. In the afternoon we headed to a missionary fellowship with people from Food for the Hungry International, Crossworld Press, braodcasting and aggriculture (headed by a Purdue grad), and others. It was an encouraging time of worship, fellowship and devotion from Daniel 7.

quit church

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Why do so many young adults quit church? 
 
Three out four young adults walk away from the church. Their is a laundry list of reasons why they walk away from the church: they want a break (27%), church is too judgmental (26%), they move away to college (25%), busy with work (23%). And I would add to this list that churches today lack a ministry that reaches out to young adults. So no wonder they wander off to find something else that will cater to their “needs”.
 
On the positive side, the 30 percent who kept attending church cited solid spiritual reasons, including: “it’s vital to my relationship with God” (65%) and church “helps guide my everyday decisions” (58%)
 
Quiting church during your college and early career years can cause a lot of problems in ones future life. The years between 18 and 25 young adults are making some of the biggest decisions of their lives: living on your own, college, marriage, family, etc. If God is not in these decisions, it is a recipe for hardship. Not to mention, the future of the church is weakened without the involvement of today’s young adults. When you remove the Solid Rock foundation it is difficult to lean on anything else.
 
I want to make a plea to all young adults: don’t be a quiter. I want to take liberty in quoting a popular rapper from the 1980’s: Church, it’s  “too legit, too legit to quit”-M.C. Hammer
 
Stats taken from USA Today newspaper August 6, 2007 

i ♥ church planting

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Church planting is in my blood because it started with His.
 
Christ spilled His blood on the cross so that the church might exist. I heard it said many times, but don’t know where it came from that “The blood of the marytr’s is the seed (growth) of the church.” And it started with the greatest martyr of all, Jesus Christ.
 
If He gave His life so that the church should exist, shouldn’t I make it the purpose of my existence to be passionate about building His church?
 
God’s plan for the world today is the living organism called His Body, the church. God is the beating heart of church, which is pumping blood through the veins of His people.  May we not bypass the opportunity to be a part of His Body. We may seek to destroy the church by clogging its arteries with perversions and sin, but Christ will continue to build His church. How it is awesome to be involved in something that the God of the universe is so passionate about.