Kyria

Short-Term Memories

This is a story of God's grace. Grace that played out in a Phnom Penh conference facility, in a small Cambodian church, in my parents' guest room, and, ultimately, in my heart.

The first act of God's grace on my short-term missions trip three weeks ago was our team's safe arrival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, after 20 hours of flight. Four members of my church and I were there to work with one of our church's ...

Creative Gospel

Yasuko Fleming  loved to dance; her husband, Graham, to paint and illustrate. Following a vision to share the gospel message through art, they founded All Nations Japan. Through their creative development center, organizing workshops and concerts and producing short films, the Flemings cultivate Japanese artists' talent and faith.

Yasuko, who grew up in Tokyo but came to know the Lord while studying ...

Tackling AIDS in Africa

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In early 2004, through our missionaries Scott and Barb Harbert (with Africa Inland Mission), we formed a partnership between our suburban Chicago church and churches in Nakuru, Kenya. The Harberts formed the Nakuru AIDS Initiative (NAI), a board of Kenyan pastors, missionaries, educators, and health care workers. We have supported the nai and other efforts in Kenya through congregational fund-raising, ...

The Real Superman

For the average person, the term "comic book heroes" brings to mind names such as Spider-Man, Batman, and Superman. But for Nate Butler, it's Jesus. Yes, the Son of God is a comic book hero.

Butler is president and founder of COMIX35, which trains individuals and ministries around the world in the production and effective use of comics-style literature to share the gospel.

Throughout Asia, Latin America, ...

China's Growing Church

Jesson Tian is a graduate student in Beijing working on a master's degree in agricultural biology. After graduation, Tian hopes to discover new ways to make China's farms more fruitful. But he's already learned a thing or two about harvests and fruit—of the spiritual kind.

In China, just as elsewhere, college students are exposed to things their parents wouldn't approve of. For Tian, who was ...

Building "Fit" Families

What to do when the nest is finally empty?

Pack away all that marriage and parenting experience, never to be accessed again?

Or try something brand new? A ministry that imparts that knowledge and relates those experiences—good and bad—to the next generation of couples?

For Robb and Ruth Brandt, retiring from their medical careers certainly didn't mean retiring from active ministry. In fact, ...

Small Church, Global Reach

In this age of overflowing megachurches and high-profile Christian ministries, can a tiny congregation hidden in the middle of America make a difference?

Consider West Covington Baptist. Kalkidan Tessema, a 4-year-old Ethiopian girl, is alive and well today thanks to this northern Kentucky church with a Sunday attendance of about 25 people.

Last year, when member Grace Wilson received e-mails from Southern ...

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Praying and Purling

In the fall of 2005, Shirley Meisinger of Wilton, Iowa, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

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The shawl was fashioned by members of a knitting group at the United Methodist Church of Wilton. Unlike traditional Jewish prayer shawls—tassel-edged garments worn during synagogue prayer services—these shawls are prayed over as they're knitted and are meant to wrap the recipient in love.

Inspired ...

Related Topics: Hobbies, Outreach, Poor, Prayer, Serving, Women's Ministry

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Arloa Sutter's Aha!

Arloa Sutter still remembers the homeless man she met 15 years ago, one of thousands she's since helped. He wandered into the church-run storefront center she'd opened a few months earlier to provide hot coffee and a warm lunch for the street people in her Chicago neighborhood.

He complained that his feet hurt. So Arloa helped him remove his broken shoes and grimy, foul-smelling socks, then gently ...

Related Topics: Breakthrough Ministries, God, Trust in, Homelessness, Humility, Inner-City, Outreach, Creative, Poverty, Service

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Pampering with a Purpose

Once a month, a group of dedicated professionals ventures into their community to serve those less fortunate than themselves. They're not carrying hammers and nails to build a house, or ladles and pots to work in a soup kitchen. Rather, they're armed with blow dryers, scissors, and nail polish. Oh yes, and love.

The volunteers of HIM—Hairdressers in the Marketplace, a ministry at Willow Creek ...

Related Topics: Encouragement, God's Love, Sharing, Hairstylist Ministry, Job, Using for Ministry, Service, Social Services, Volunteering