Nearly 400 people attended Transform Ideas: Awakening the Church to Mental Health at Hope Community Church on April 19. With a diverse line-up of speakers, this public forum offered a wide variety of perspectives; from the clinical to the personal and the spiritual. A mother shared about her son’s mental illness, and how the Church can better support her son. A high school guidance counselor spoke on the increasing rates of anxiety and depression among teenagers. A clinical social worker shared a powerful list of “Dos and Don’ts” for the Church; urging Christians to stop judging people with mental illness.

Dos and Don'ts List for Churches Addressing Mental Illness. Dos and Don'ts List Created by Sarah Gross with Nystrom and Associates

In Acts, Jesus commands us to make disciples of people, including people of a different ethnicity that live within our communities. If your church is striving to be a multi-cultural church, here's a great place to start: 7 ways to reach different people groups.

On March 20, Dr. Brian Stewart and Dean Bill Tibbetts of North Central University's School of Business taught our Ministry Equip seminar on "Strategic Social Media." In our ever evolving social media landscape, this seminar taught effective social media marketing tools for faith-based non-profits, including 3 rules for social media engagement.

4 Questions to Ask Ourselves Before We Start Doing Anti-Trafficking Justice Work. This list was presented by Sgt. Grant Snyder, of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Human Trafficking task force at our Anti-Trafficking: Post-Game Plan Breakfast on March 5, 2018.

275 rural pastors attended the Grow! Conference in Willmar, MN, hailing from a span of 800 miles across the Midwest. The Grow! Conference was led by a diverse array of denominations, church leaders, and speakers which evoked a unifying spirit in Christ. With a focus on the unique rural experience and how to whole-heartedly embrace the place God has called them, participants said the content was invaluable. Through Grow! we aim to encourage rural church leaders that God is with them and He will give them what they need to share His love and message to their small town.