Monthly Archives: January 2019

Engaging Generations Through Generosity

in News. Posted January 30, 2019
In partnership with Thrivent Financial, we hosted two Engaging Generations Through Generosity seminars that took a deep dive into research Thrivent commissioned Barna Group to conduct around the generosity of self-identified Christians. The research was designed to reveal how each age-group expressed generosity within five categories studied: Monetary Giving, Service/Volunteering, Hospitality, Gifts, Emotional-Relational Support. “The goal of the training was to spur generosity to help support churches, and grow church members’ engagement with their faith,” said Leith Erickson, Thrivent Financial trainer.
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3 Starting Principles in the Dismantling Racism Process

in News. Posted January 30, 2019
Dismantling racism has to be a developmental process. It’s a journey. "If we don’t figure out a way to include this as part of the Christian discipleship walk with Jesus, it’s just not going anywhere,” started Dr. Ruben Rivera. Dr. Rivera shared that most dismantling racism efforts stall or never get off the ground; so at our first Dismantling Racism workshop, held at Mercy Vineyard Church on January 24, Dr. Rivera offered 3 principles when embarking on racial reconciliation work.
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Pastor’s Column: Purity & Pre-Decision in Relationships

Pastor Terry Parkman is the NextGen Pastor at River Valley Church. He writes about the importance of tying purity to God's will when mentoring teenagers. He writes how compromising purity, loses a bit of who God created us to be. Pastor Terry writes about the importance of pre-decision in a dating relationship; deciding beforehand what one's standards are, not in the midst of lust or emotion. He shares how guarding your heart begins with giving it to the One who crafted it in the first place.
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