For many Christian “church” is an optional event that comes around every Sunday. Some say, “Well church isn’t for me, I haven’t found a church where I’m comfortable, I’ve been turned off from church because of cattiness in the ministries, they’re always asking for money, our beliefs don’t line up, after a long week I […]

Lately it feels like so much of the news has been filled with reports of natural disasters. In September 2009, there were ravaging typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis that hit parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, affecting countries like Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Burma, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Then early this year, a 7.0 […]

Prayer is one of the most meaningful gifts given to us by God. Through prayer, we seek higher counsel in our time of trouble or confusion, and gather insight for a specific situation. Prayer reinforces faith and helps us to personally connect with God. As you pray, you will gradually learn more about different methods […]

It was Saturday morning and I awoke to an empty dorm room. My roommate had gone to meet her family for the big football game. Realizing that I was alone was absolutely terrifying. After completing the finishing touches on my room, I spent the rest of the day counting down the hours until my roommate […]

You don’t have to wear a lifeguard’s outfit or jump into a burning building to save someone’s life. In fact you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your armchair or part with much hard-earned cash. Here are our top ten: 1. Sponsor a LifeStraw® You’re meant to drink 8 glasses of water a […]

My arrival in Durban, South Africa was a very particular brand of disorientation. Nothing seemed familiar. Rand. Paranoia. Koombis. Xhosa. The remnants of apartheid. Humidity. Food-stealing monkeys. All of it felt foreign. I decided to study abroad for one year in college to get some field research experience in another country. But underneath the academic […]

To some extent, Christian denominations can be seen as ways to ‘do church’ differently. Usually, what sets denominations apart is their take on certain biblical subjects, beliefs, interpretations, and practices. Variations on a recipe, if you will. In some denominations, the style of the church gathering is different; others have different perspectives on topics such […]

Many people think of Ethiopia and only think of famine, war or pictures of starving children. I have to admit this was my first image of Ethiopia. I have now come to realize that it so much more than that; what we see in the media is not the whole story. For me, Ethiopia is […]

To some extent, Christian denominations can be seen as ways to ‘do church’ differently. Usually, what sets denominations apart is their take on certain biblical subjects, beliefs, interpretations, and practices. Variations on a recipe, if you will. In some denominations, the style of the church gathering is different; others have different perspectives on topics such […]

When I was almost fourteen, I became part of what started as a home church with several other families. We had two pastors who traded off preaching every week. To me, it seemed like the perfect church with near-perfect leaders. I loved the atmosphere, my new friends, the sermons—everything. Previously, church disasters seemed to haunt […]