As we seek to understand how Christians are called to welcome the alien in our midst, be confident in our country’s screening process, knowing that refugees are subject to the highest level of security checks of anybody who travels to the United States. But also put your confidence in God’s calling on our lives to remember our ancestors who were once foreigners (found as the Hebrew word GER in the Old Testament), and to show hospitality to the stranger (hospitality is a Greek compound word of phileo and xenia, meaning love of stranger found in the New Testament). Included are links to resources from the March 2 Standing with Refugees event.

Nik and Ruth Ripken wowed 165 attendees at Transform Minnesota’s February Insanity of God conference. The sold-out 2-day conference at Celebration Church, Lakeville equipped those in cross-cultural ministry, by emphasizing the call of suffering on the mission field, whether in a participants’ own community or overseas in a persecuted region. Through their extensive travels, the Ripkens have absorbed invaluable lessons from over 600 believers in persecuted situations. Much of what they shared at the conference was communicated from the lessons the Ripkens gleaned from their work with the persecuted church. Read what some participants said about the powerful, practical, Biblical and affirming lessons taught by the Ripkens.

Pulse Movement announced a big change in their plan to fill US Bank Stadium this May with worship and outreach events. Rather than holding the revival and evangelism events in 2017, they are moving the Pulse Twin Cities events to 2018, the same year US Bank Stadium will host the Super Bowl. "We believe God is extending this season. I use the word extend because I think it’s significant, I could use the word delay. Delay means to make wait or to be slow. I’m using the word extend because extend means to cause to cover a larger area,” said Nick Hall, Pulse Founder and Chief Communicator. The new plan for 2017 is to host an outdoor prayer gathering outside US Bank Stadium on the National Day of Prayer on May 4, 2017. This prayer event kicks off a season saturated in prayer, outreach, and training that will culminate in May 2018. Hall and the Pulse leadership team are excited by the ways God is moving and will continue to move over the next 15 months of mobilizing and equipping the Church leading up to the May 2018 event.

Inspired, Hopeful, and Looking Forward. The Inaugural Sankofa Journey to Harmony: February 2017