Essay on A Church in the Slums, A Life Changed

The theme of this novella is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

Everyone has gone through something that alters their outlook on life. Whether it is a major event or a small occurrence, they never are the same person they were before the incident. In "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie Zamperinie goes through unimaginable circumstances that a common person would never be able to endure. He ran in the Olympics, was enlisted in the army in WWII, was stranded in the middle of the ocean for more than forty days, and was a prisoner of war in a Japanese concentration camp. Most people would never begin to imagine staying strong under these circumstances. But Louie Zamperinie remained unbroken, and transformed as a man when he turned to God.

What I found disappointing about the surveys provided was that there seem to be no means to verify the information collected. The questions asked in the survey were subjective. If I were to contact a church and ask if they offer outreach, the majority will say yes. When asked what type of outreach the answers would be similar. Do you offer services to youth? Yes, most churches have youth ministries. Do you offer any form of education based programs? This would fall under Sunday school and Bible Study, both staples in most churches. Do you have prison outreach? Again, churches offer this ministry, which typically amounts to several members going to a local prison and praying with prisoners. If the questions were more in-depth the survey

Name of the person you spoke with on the pastoral staff: Pastor Dodridge and Steve Layton

The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was a popular meeting place for rights (people who use action and strong words to support or oppose something) in Birmingham, Alabama. Like many other churches during the 1960's, it gave a safe place for African Americans to crowd together and worship. That sense of safety was shattered on the morning of September 15th, 1963 when a few members of the Ku Klux Klan planted nineteen sticks of dynamite in the basement of the church, killing four innocent girls (Bracks 289). Some would argue the truly awful act directly sped up (a process) the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 because it showed the world no place was safe from the tension caused by the (the right to vote, to free speech, to fair and equal

What area has the African American Church given it highest priority and why? (Chapter 9)

Even though I studied harder than I ever had before, I still did not reach the grade I thought I deserved. He told me it was because the student who shared a desk with me earned a C and it was partially my fault. This lesson taught me that life is not just about reaching personal success but helping others reach theirs too. My schools CFX’s (Companion’s of Francis Xavier) were another way I have lived out service, spirit, and intellect. During summer vacations after my sophomore and junior year, I would spend hours in the sun hammering nails or digging the foundation where a new home would be built. At the end of every grueling day, we would discuss the reasons why this certain group of people were impoverished and the systematic ways that we could fix it. These trips helped me grow as a person and realize my place in today’s society. It also made me look at larger issues in our world such as homelessness and the border issues - I worked in solidarity building homes with people that were impacted by these matters. One of my greatest moments of service and spirit came on my senior year trip. It was Easter Mass and my group was in the

After landing in Mexico and meeting up with the people I would be working with during a three-day mission trip, we were crammed into a bus and spent the next two hours getting to know each other. We were there to build homes for a multitude of families in the town of Xochimilco, Mexico. When we arrived late in the afternoon, we were led to an empty school where we would spend our nights. Sleeping on the floor next to school lockers with bugs buzzing in my ears in a country I did not know well was an interesting experience to say the least—but that was just the beginning. At dawn, the real work began and so did a change in my thinking that had a dramatic effect on my perspectives about life.

In my lifetime, many experiences have changed my character, with the most memorable being the mission trip I took to Parmelee, South Dakota. This endeavor showed me how to be caring and love everyone, despite their circumstances. Although it took time, I learned to show kindness to everyone and not just the people I feel comfortable around. During my missions work, one child revealed to me how to be compassionate to people who may not deserve it, and to give to other unconditionally.

After Transformation and Atonement, the hero faces the final stage of his journey: The Return to everyday life. Upon the return, the hero discovers his gifts – One becomes richer and stronger – perhaps a great leader - and spiritually enlightened. The hero shares the gift/treasure of experience, knowledge, and wisdom - gained through the journey – with the broader community.

Today, Times Square Church embarks on a 3-day fasting and prayer for the teenagers and youths of this generation. And what a time it is for us to come together as a body to pray. The devil has been roaming about targeting teens and youths, and it's time to stop him in his tracks. All too often, we are busy focusing on other things that we turn a blind eye to what the devil is doing in the lives of some of our young ones.

your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the

The Chinese Christian church in the United States often has ethnic characteristics, but different Chinese churches often have special concentration in the composition of the congregation, which reflects the tide of Chinese immigrants in different stages. For example, descendants of early immigrants from southern China usually have their fixed church. International students from the mainland of China have the church which they set up together. And other "informal immigrants" also formed Christian organizations. According to Aihui Lee, she divides American Chinese Christianity into four categories.