Last month 170 gathered in the Twin Cities for a stimulating and informative presentation on the global refugee crisis given by Matthew Soerens, author of the just-released book "Seeking Refuge on the Shores of the Refugee Crisis." Transform Minnesota and Arrive Ministries would like to help connect Christian faith communities with resources and empower the local church to serve our vulnerable refugee neighbors. Here we have included a few resources from the seminar which we know many church leaders and concerned Christians will find helpful.

Dr. Paul Eddy defines covenant as a committed, community-based, kinship-creating, agape love relationship. But he says it can be simplified down to two simple words: love formalized. Dr. Eddy believes studying covenants gives believers a better sense of God’s heart for how He shapes relationships. At his Covenantal Theology training at City Church on July 13, Dr. Eddy shared how we can improve our marriages by accurately viewing them as Kingdom-oriented covenants. Through that Kingdom-oriented lens, sex within a male-female marriage becomes the sign of the covenant. He urged church leaders to teach Kingdom Marriages, that put the Kingdom community and the imaging of the triune God at the center of it.

It was standing room only at a community prayer service on Monday July 11th, at Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, in response to a week of deadly violence in our community and nation. More than 500 people came before God as a unified Body of Christ to lament, pray for peace, and to seek hope through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Rev. Billy Russell of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church and Rev. Jason Meyer of Bethlehem Baptist Church called for a night of prayer and unity that resonated with many in our Christian community which can so often feel divided based on denomination, race, creed, age, gender or neighborhood affiliation.

We appeal to every church in Minnesota to address the deadly violence that has occurred in our nation this past week, including the tragic deaths of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, a 2-year-old child in North Minneapolis and the deaths of 5 police officers in Dallas. Romans 12 commands us to “weep with those who weep,” and many people in our own state are weeping, whether they be the family and friends of young Black men, or the family and friends of police officers. Past experience has informed us that when churches have remained silent in moments like now, those who mourn are hurt by our silence when we do not grieve with them. For those Christians and church leaders who find themselves at a loss for words, we offer suggestions on how to address these events with your congregation, how to pray and respond, and what steps to take next. Together as the Body of Christ we must lament, pray for peace, and offer hope to the world.

A coalition of African American churches launched a grand endeavor on Thursday June 16 to combat gang violence and high unemployment rates in the black community. At a press conference, dozens of faith leaders in the African American community committed $100,000 to employ youth workers to intervene at the street level, recruit job coaches, and train leaders in trauma and mental health services.