Sunday, June 3, 2012

So much and we haven't even started

The first day down here in Tampa held so much for us, and we technically haven't even begun our "mission trip" portion of the trip.  We'll get to that Monday through Thursday with various service projects around Common Ground and it's surrounding communities.

But today first.  We woke up early, and repacked all our stuff so it would be out of the way for church services this morning (we are sleeping on the floor in classrooms there).  Then we had breakfast and were off to work helping stuff bulletins, prepare the coffee cart, greet people and whatever else needed to be done.

The services at Common Ground take place at 9:30 and 11:00.   Having split up into two groups, we split our time between a 3 mile prayer walk around the community praying for the schools, economy, and the churches here in Tampa.  By the way, Tampa has recently been labelled as the most economically distressed city in the nation, surpassing Detroit, and has an unemployment rate above 13%.  Pray for them, and especially the church to provide hope amidst a lot of despair.

The services at Common Ground are diverse ethnically, socially, and were a bit different that normal Corinth, so it was fun to meet new people, and realize diversity of God's church.

This afternoon we caught the Rays game across the Bay (they won!).  A few of the students were even still young enough to get their own souvenir bobble head!

Tonight, we took part in a worship service at Crossover Church.  They are reaching out to the hip hop culture here big time.  Their series right now is FAQ which is funny seeing how Corinth just got out of a questions series ourselves.  Although the people may be a bit different than Loganville, the questions were much the same.  In fact, the same goes for all of Tampa.  Whether economically distresses, or distracted by culture, or consumed by a life of sports, everyone is still in need of a relationship with Jesus.  That's what we hope to help with this week.  We hope that our experiences here will create chances for Common Ground to connect people closer to Jesus.  We hope that serving in this capacity will also deepen our own commitment to Christ as well.





Continue to pray for us.  Hope you enjoy the pictures. There will be more to come.  We start bright and early tomorrow morning at 7:30.

Posted by JMoore at 11:36 PM  

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Resources for Further Study

A Disclaimer: We don't necessarily believe, condone, or support everything listed in the resources below.

Personal Study/ Bible Study:
-Life of Christ, Acts of the Apostles, and other miscellaneous essays from Mark Moore--Professor of New Testament Theology, Ozark Christian College
-The Musts and Cannots of Following Jesus
-Old Testament Timeline--for those of us who have a hard time knowing when exactly everything took place.
-Answers in Genesis--answers to some of the toughest questions of the Old Testament.
-Biblegateway--Great site for Bible study. Keyword searches, multiple tranlations, bible-reading plans. It's all here.


Apologetics:
-Peter Kreeft
-Greg Boyd
-Books: A Humble Defense edited by: Moore and Scott, Mere Christianity by: C.S. Lewis, Know Why You Believe by: Paul E. Little.

Personal Issues:
-Drug Free.org
-Pornography (XXX church has resources for both parents and teens. There is software available to help stay accountable and for parents to keep a close eye on internet behavior for both Mac and PC users.)

Worldwide Issues:

Get involved personally--if you think Missions might be in your future, check out these sites and see about going on a trip.
-Casas por Cristo--Service ministry in Mexico, building houses
-Christ in Youth Missions--Try trips anywhere from week long inner city trips to summer long overseas.
-New Missions Systems
-Team Expansion


Check out what's going on in the world--don't be an average American citizen who is only concerned about what's going on here and now.
-Voice of the Martyrs--Christians all over the world suffer for their faith in Jesus. Read their stories here.
-Compassion--Sponsor a child worldwide
-BBC--read the news of what's going on around the world.

Student Information


Fill out the linked form so we can better communicate with you about trips or events, visit you at school, or send you a birthday card!

Just for Parents


Feel Out of Touch? Check out these websites!

-The Center for Parent and Youth Understanding exists to "understand culture to impact culture." They have youth trends linked as well as articles and a suggested reading list.

News from the World of Youth Culture is a page under the CPYU (linked above) and has new articles linked everyday about teens and the world in which they live.

-Focus on the Family is also a very respected resource that has many helpful hints and suggestions for raising your family.

-In addition to these, it never hurts to read what they're reading, and watch what they're watching. That way, as their parent, you can guide them as they process how to think and respond to all the messages being thrown at them.

On a personal note, thanks for all you do in the life of teenagers. Although it is difficult, stressful, and confusing at times, keep it up. God has given you a tremendous opportunity and He will get you through it!