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The Mission of Hope was featured on NBC last night! Chuck and I met both Brad and Rueben personally. Check the video out here. If you're watching what I'm watching you can see that the situation in Haiti is grave. After being on the ground in Port au Prince I can tell you that the situation was bad before the earthquake. This is a nightmare. But the Lord is moving and there are men and women of God on the ground to help. And you can help them. If you are looking for a place to give relief money to let me suggest 2 places, one holistic and one specific. 1) The Global Orphan Project. These are the C3 Missions guys that got me to Haiti in the first place. During the last catastrophe they beat the Red Cross in getting aid to the people quickly. They're smart, connected, and they love the Lord. They have also made a commitment to use 100% of any donation for relief. No overhead. They cover it. Which means every single penny you give helps the Haitians in Jesus' name. They're working in a lot of different places in Haiti so holistically this is the best way to help in this evolving crisis. Give Here to the Global Orphan Emergency Relief Fund. 2) The Mission of Hope. If you're looking for a specific place to camp out you should give here. Chuck Hooten and I saw this place firsthand last February and I can honestly say it's one of the most amazing Christian projects I've ever seen. It's legit. They were ministering to over 1500o people daily in food aid and teaching over 1300 kids daily in their school. As of now they seem to be OK but damage reports have not come in./ But we have no clue at this point about all the kids, especially the students living in Port au Prince. These people have earned the right to share the name of Christ by consistently loving the Haitians for over a decade Give here to the Mission of Hope.
This past summer I made it a point to ask how many people in the crowd had been saved for three years or longer. I then asked those people who responded if they had read the New Testament all the way through. I'm sad to say that on average only about 10-20% of those people said that they had. In a country where our literacy rate is high and we all have easy access to a Bible in multiple translations this is a staggering discovery. So I challenged that crowd to read the New Testament over the next three months. Maybe you took that challenge. Maybe you want to start. If so I wanted to provide you with some resources to help you. Click here for some help getting started or restarting your journey through the Bible.
It's time for a new kind of event. In addition to my typical preaching and teaching read about some of the new things I've been experimenting with lately.
Chuck Hooten traveled earlier this year to Haiti to see what was going on firsthand. It's an unbelievably poor place. Trash everywhere, no infrastructure, little to no resources. It's hard not to be affected by the hopelessness that pervades the whole country. But in the midst of all of this there are incredible lights of hope. We spent our time at the Mission of Hope in Titanyen, Haiti and I was blown away. This is the most holistic ministry I've ever seen up close and personal. They are ministering to the people of Haiti spiritually, physically, educationally, nutritionally, medically, the list goes on! Over 1300 students attend school every day and over 15,000 people are fed every day from their warehouse stores. It's an amazing picture of what it means to truly minister to those who are in pain and in need. Part of the Mission is orphan care and they are in the process of building the Village of Hope, a 10 structure village of houses that will ultimately house around 240 kids with 40 caregivers. Four of the structures are already built but they are in desperate need of more. I'm going to be helping to build one of these structures and I'd love for you to join me. Consider giving to help provide shelter for an orphaned child in the midst of a caring community. I'll be letting you know soon about how you can give directly to this project. You really can change someone's life. Let's make this happen! You can also see some more pictures form our time in Haiti here. Give to the Haiti Relief Fund Sign up for current updates.
The Gospel is not an intellectual exercise. It's an adventure that is meant to be lived out in the very world you live in. The challenge and needs are real. Read more.... Follow these links to get involved today! Mission of Hope Haiti (www.missionofhopehaiti.org) C3 Missions (www.c3missions.org) International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org) Compassion International (www.compassion.com)
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This is one of the most intriguing books I've read in years. It's the first systematic sociological study on the spirituality of teenagers ever conducted. And the findings are sometimes startling. It's good reminder of what works in youth ministry (strong parental involvement, strong and involved student programs, good adult relationships, etc) and what doesn't (flashy programming, watered down theology, etc.) There are scary conclusions as well. Like the fact that many of the students growing up in solid church backgrounds are nevertheless unable to articulate the gospel. Instead the authors find that most teenagers have adopted a "moralistic, therapeutic deism," though they wouldn't call it that. This book is a wake up call to anyone working with students. Don't assume you know what's going on or that it was just like when you were growing up, or like it was even 10 years ago. This book (and it's sequel, more on that at a later time) is a must read.
(c) 2005 Adam Robinson