Thirteen years ago, I … Didn’t believe AIDS was a worldwide scourge. Didn’t understand how God was moving in Africa. Didn’t know I could share the gospel with someone who didn’t speak English. Didn’t understand how much wealth I had related to the rest of the world. Didn’t have a Christian worldview. It’s amazing how quickly one short-term mission trip to the African continent changed my perspective on EVERYTHING. For those of you planning and anticipating a mission trip this summer, … [Read more...]

For the better part of the past nine years, Jeff Killebrew found himself in inner-city New Orleans-on Desire Street to be exact. "Desire Street used to be the second largest public housing development in the country," Jeff says. "By the early "90s, HUD rated the Desire Project the "worst community in the nation." Take all the stereotypical inner-city statistics, multiply them a few times over, and that was the nature of the area. Children under 18 were the majority of the population-the vast majority growing up without fathers and … [Read more...]

If you ask a church leader or member about the most important ministry of their church, you will get a variety of answers, everything from small groups, to discipleship to music, to prayer ministry. All of those are great answers, but let me give you a different response as we have just finished celebrating the birth of a baby to a family with no shelter and nowhere to go. Ministry to the homeless. Over the past 10 years, I have seen more life-change, more amazing miracles from God and more growth in followers of Christ in this … [Read more...]

I sat sandwiched between Zana and Julie for the second leg of a three-leg-flight to Cape Town. I didn't know a whole lot about Zana - sure we spent the months prior planning a mission trip and watching documentaries about HIV, but I only knew her in that context. The basics: she worked as an event coordinator at the Grand Ole Opry and this was her first mission trip-that's what I knew. "I think God wants me to share my story while we're in Africa." Those are the first words she uttered as our plane left the Chicago runway. As we flew … [Read more...]

Young adults are increasingly spending time in ways that help others and are doing it in a variety of settings. They're serving in soup kitchens, building houses for families, and caring for orphans of AIDS victims in developing nations. Suddenly, serving has become cool. And why not? It feels good to do good. But how does service become more than an occasional project pick-me-up or a disappearing fad chase in our lives? Beyond the hip-factor, servanthood is a lifestyle of allowing God to shape our character into the likeness of … [Read more...]