Outreach
An Outward Focus
God calls us, as his people, to be the light of the world. In a world that is often dark, we are to shine the light of God in a way that is visible to other people. Any ministry without an outward focus is dying.
What does an outward focus look like? It looks like opening our eyes to the world around us and allowing our hearts to break over what breaks the heart of God. It looks like wading into relationships and seeing the opportunities we have to serve others. It looks like experiencing the blessings of God’s Kingdom and inviting others to experience that as well.
Light of the World? The Missional Church
The Missional Church You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine...
City Seminary: in New York City
I recently met with some Vineyard leaders at City Seminary in Harlem. It was a great time as we talked about how to reach the diverse mosaic of neighborhoods in all the boroughs of NYC… with a multitude of missional communities and neighborhood churches. During one of...
Building Communities of Care
Today’s entry is by guest blogger, Dr. Parnell Lovelace. During my time in leadership of a local church of 3,500 people, we decided to create and implement tangible outreach objectives that would impact child welfare and health in our community. Disparities in health...
The Variables of Kingdom Impact
Today’s entry is by guest blogger, Dr. Parnell Lovelace. I will be the first to admit that I have never been very proficient in mathematics. As a youth, I gravitated towards the language arts and music. Now that I have two high school-age children living under my...
The Church: The Center of Healing
Today’s entry is by guest blogger, Dr. Parnell Lovelace. Recent events in Charleston, South Carolina, have awakened us to the fact that our culture, our nation, and our communities are in need of healing and understanding. I was moved to hear that the nine shooting...
Does Easter happen outside of the church?
Today's entry is by guest blogger Randy Lovejoy. His new website-- www.EnactedPrayers.com-- will be going live in August. “He is risen!” said Steve to another man who had just gotten out of one of the teepees which surrounded the common area. “Right” the man...
Pressing reset to engage the culture
Today's blog entry is by guest blogger, Dr. Parnell Lovelace. Recently, I experienced some difficulty accessing information on my laptop. After attempting several times to use the password I had entered previously on the site, it became apparent that the only option...
A Church of the City
Today’s blog entry is by guest blogger Dr. Parnell Lovelace. Jesus’ Great Commission demands a deliberate response from those who take the call to reach the people of the city seriously. Cities across America are experiencing a great resurgence and redevelopment of...
We all need to grow in different areas
To grow toward true, holistic maturity in Christ, we need to take all areas of his commands to heart. For years and years in my walk of discipleship, I mostly ignored the area of social justice. It just didn’t fit my theological paradigm, and it didn’t register that I...
Serving God
‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:40) How do we serve God? By serving others... especially by serving 'the least of these'-- those who cannot give back to us. Our service to...