God seems to be stirring his body to impact our communities.

[Juanita]

How are you impacting your community for Christ?

A group of us are gathering to see transformation across our entire region. The church effort is called The CH.U.R.CH = Christians Uniting Regionally for Christ.
The regional Kingdom Center start date: April 13, 2009

We are expecting to see a Business Effort - the Christian Businessmen are not linked, and an effort for our Country. It just isn't true that we need to keep our faith out of politics.

[Heather]

Funny how we all seem to be avoiding this question. I know this is one area where I am completely lacking. I don't do enough in my community and I am not working hard enough to impact my community for Christ. Is there anything that anyone is doing that maybe I could start doing that would impact my community for Christ? Any suggestions where to start?

[Val]

I know what you mean Heather. I feel the same way. I don't even want to go to the Church I went to as a child because I heard the Reverand was pushing for Obama in her sermons and I don't want any part of that.

[Juanita]

One thing we need to think about doing is helping people who are out of work, especially in industries that are being hard hit by the economic downturn. Think about it, many people don't have friends and family to help.

I just added a blog on starting Christian Communities..
http://kingdominsight.ning.com/profiles/blogs/christian-community-r...

[Mo]

This is the thread I am going to pray about this next week... it should be alive with God Stories and ideas.

Community outreach is so very important to me. No matter how small the effort or how large the activity, we have all been blessed with something we can contribute.

On a personal level, ever consider something mundane like taking a shopping cart from the parking lot into the store? How about buying that homeless guy you see every weekend a value meal? Donate a bag of goods to a food pantry? Spend a few hrs every month at a hope (soup) kitchen? Mow your elderly neighbor's yard or put their newspapers by their door? Pay the difference in the bill for that person standing in line in front of you at the grociery store who is trying to decide what to put back because they don't have enough money? Buy a co-worker lunch? Babysit for a mom or dad who needs time off or time to look for work or provide a few hrs of respite for a caretaker?

How about on a group level? What things does your church or organizations in your church participate in that you [can] engage in?

Where I live, there are a lot of options available and still more services that can be developed or grown. I am currently active in four, but I wil share about one because it is on my heart this week. Feed the Bay. This is simple, one Sunday of each year, participating churches in our area do not have a message preached. Instead, the pastor invites the congregation to go to the grociery store (list of participating stores passed out) and buy food for the food pantries in the community (list of foods to buy passed out). We have trucks at the stores in the parking lots and groups of volunteers who load the trucks, the trucks go to the designated pantries, we have groups to unload and stock the pantries. www.feedthebay.org This community outreach is growing so rapidly each year that we have had to expand to include a complete group of organizational volunteers that work pretty much year-round.

Lord, please place in the hearts of those here a longing to reach out in the smallest and in the largest of ways into our neighborhoods and communities to help those in need - whether they are faces we meet, names we know well or the faceless masses that often go unnoticed. Let us burn with passion to serve you each time we see a need, so that need will be met. Help us to remember, serving others - even by the smallest deeds and gestures - serves You, mirrors You, and glorifies You and Your Kingdom. Amen.

[Juanita]

Mo! You are such a treasure! A person with a heart like mine!

Yesterday part of our team met for lunch and some strategy... We talked about
* A women's home
* Buying a theater to use as a meeting place and a video stage for local WebTV
* Creating a creed to declare a Biblical response to all types of 'pushes' against sound doctrine
* Creating a center to support Love Ministry. They ship used Bibles, CD teachings, books, etc. to very poor countries over seas
* Building awareness at our monthly KingdomBuilder meeting
And more.

God is moving in Northern Tier, PA!!!

Here is a tiny URL to this discussion for your tweets on twitter!
http://tiny.cc/Mm4dt

[Mo]

Do any of you use www.meettheneed.org?

I love this site. If you aren't sure how you can help in your community, check it out and see what you think. I know our churches and non-profits use it a lot in my area, maybe your area has a wealth of info out there too.

[Juanita]

Mo said:

Do any of you use www.meettheneed.org?

I love this site. If you aren't sure how you can help in your community, check it out and see what you think. I know our churches and non-profits use it a lot in my area, maybe your area has a wealth of info out there too.

Mo!
Thanks!