I really like all of these ideas.  We are having a movie night this weekend, we are watching Facing the Giants too.  My boss' church held a lock-in last month.  We watched a movie and played games and stuff.  It was a lot of fun.  I had mentioned something like that to our pastor.  He's thinking about it.  That's a very good way to reach the Youth.  There were at least 50-60 kids there all together and most of them have never even been to that church before!

It seems like he just ignores me.  I think he might be starting to come around though.  I got an e-mail from him a few minutes ago.  He's wanting to talk about church and stuff from what I gathered.  That makes me feel really good because I feel like I'm doing my job as a Christian.  It's one thing to witness to a friend or aquaintance, but when it's someone that you really know and care a lot about its a totally different story.  Its so much harder.  I hope that God will just soften the hearts of people who don't know him and that they will just listen to what we have to say.  Please pray for my friend.

mJc

The food pantry is a really good outreach idea.  I think there is a church not too far away that does that.  I had forgotten about that until now.  I think the thrift idea is good too.  I'm going to talk to our pastor when I get some more ideas!  Thanks a lot!!!  Give me all the ideas you've got!!

mJc

Like I tell my husband, there are NO athiests in hell today!!

I couldn't agree more.  I was just talking with a person who was at one time my best friend.  Now we hardly talk and I am saved and he's very far from it.  We were talking about hell and heaven.  He doesn't think he's going to hell but he doesn't really believe in God either.  That is so contradictory!  I'm trying to witness to him but he doesn't want to here it.  I'm praying that God would just open his heart and mind so he will take hold of something I am trying to tell him.  He's just one of the many people, high school students, that I know that are just as lost as the day is long and don't even realize it!  This is such a bad situation!

Tonight at church we were talking about how we need to find outreaches that our church can start to reach our community.  We are talking about starting a tutoring program on one or two nights a week for school-age children.

If you have any ideas I think it would be very helpful to me and many others as well!

mjc

I didn't grow up in the good-ole'-days, but I can tell you that I am still growing up, and in today's world its very hard to grow up and stand for Christ all at the same time.  I have shared previously on here and in my testimony that I have answered the call to be a missionary.  Well, until about last week, I had pictured myself more as a foreign missionary.  But now, after I read some of the things that I saw about these athiests and their thoughts, I realize that we need missionaries here just as bad as overseas.  It never hit me until I read some of those articles that I found.  I am scared for the people that I go to school with who don't know Jesus and are unchurched.  I know that its hard for me to stand against all of the temptations that I am faced with.  I know its got to be super hard for people who don't have the Holy Spirit within them saying "this is just satan". 

I understand what you're talking about when you say that you aren't sure if you are born again.  For several months after I finally accepted Jesus, I struggled with doubt and uncertainty.  If you just look around and observe some of the things that are happening in your life you will see God working in your life, transforming you.  It's just the devil trying to get you down!  Don't let him succeed, just keep faith in God to guide you through!!!

This is a great story.  It's so amazing to me to see the ways God reveals himself to us. 

I was always a good kid, according to most.  I had good grades, I was somewhat a teacher's pet.  Everytimes mom and dad would get letters from my teachers they'd say the same thing, "I wish all of my students were like her!"  This is from kidergarten until now.  But the fact about it is that no one really knew me after I hit about the age of 11. 

Whenever I was 11 I finally got to move on to middle school and meet new people.  I met this one boy who I really didn't like at first, but after a few weeks we got to be good friends.  We were the best of friends for several months.  At this time in my life my family didn't go to church or even discuss it.  Both of my parents had grown up in church but I still really don't know what happened there.  Anyway, the closer me and this boy got, the worse I got.  I started cursing all of the time and I just became a really bad person.  I would pop off on you in an instant without being provoked or anything.  I was just mean spirited.  When I was about half way through the 7th grade my dad went down with his back.  My whole life changed in one weekend.  Over the course of about 2 months my family had a house forclosed on and a vehicle repossed.  We had to move from Florida to Mississippi into my grandparents house.  After living in MS for a while we started going to church and everything.  I kind of liked church but I wasn't really worried about it.  I am glad that we moved when we did because I know now that if I had stayed around that boy much longer, I would have made some really bad decisions that I couldn't take back.

After about a year, I finally accepted Jesus into my heart.  I was 13 years old.  I called a 1-800 number to order a book for my dad called "Life From a Deer Stand".  The operator I talked to began to ask me questions about my faith and church attendance.  We talked for at least an hour it seems and I started crying and blubbering, but she helped me to finally accept Jesus Christ.  She led me through the prayer.  I felt this indescribable peace in my heart from that point.  I grew in my relationship with Jesus.  I was baptized on May 15th.  The very next night, at my 8th grade graduation I was asked to lead prayer with a crowd of about 200 people there to hear it.  That doesn't seem too bad, but to a 13 year old girl, who has only been saved for about a month, that was down-right horrifying!  Talk about a test of someone's faith!

I am 15 now and about a year I started sensing that God was calling me into His ministry but I was unsure.  Then finally at youth camp this past summer I laid it all down at the altar and I accepted the call to be a missionary.  I am now teaching a children's Bible classon Wednesday nights at church, and I am the pianist on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights.

I just look back on my life and I see so many different things that God has done for me.  I can see, even recently how God is preparing me to do his work.  I have gotten so much stronger in my faith than I was.   I am still just as excited as I could ever be that God has chosen me to do his work!

I know this is lengthy, but it is all truth.

mjc

I am proud to see someone in a leadership position standing up for what's right.  We need more people who are willing to sacrifice things.  We should pray for Mr. Pace and his job.  And we should also pray that more people would begin to take a stand for the moral principles that God has set.

I completely agree.  We need to pray that people would be willing to do what it takes, and to go the extra mile to do what God needs us to do.  We all need to pray for divine guidance.

I third that Amen!  More people need to realize that getting saved from enternal life in a lake of fire is not the end of salvation and accepting Christ.  It seems like after people have a "religious experience" they feel like they are done.  Then they just become pew-warmers.  As Christians, we are to go forth and preach the gospel to every creature.  The scripture didn't say to go forth to your home church and listen to the preacher spread the gospel to all who may come on Sunday.  The mission field is not going to come hunting us down.  We have to get out there and do our part.  These people (athiests) are never going to make changes until they see that they need to.  I didn't realize how many people in our country were lost without caring until I read some of these articles.  That is just hard to get across and explain without sounding so mean.  Forgive me, I don't mean to be rude but I am not very good with words.

mjc

Well thank you.  I believe that God has called me to be a missionary.  And I guess that's why this all just jumps out at me.  I see all of these things and views of different unbelievers and I see why there is such a need for missionaries.  I just didn't realize how much of a need there is in our own country, let alone the countries over seas.

You know, I have been surfing the web looking for different things for school and somehow, I have stumbled upon several different athiest websites and articles.  After reading some of the stuff that I found, I realized just how much our country needs revival.  I didn't realize how bad off our country has gotten to be.  This country was founded by people who had faith that God would take care of them and lead them, hence the phrase "In God We Trust".  Now when you look at the way people are living their lives, you have to wonder how we got so off track!  I mean, if you just read an article or two of this athiest stuff, you realize just how important home missions are.  I would really like for someone to comment on this topic.  We really need to be praying especially for the non-believers around us, and the Christians who are trying to reach them.