While in Washington State, Aimee & I met a woman named Ethel Price who used Craigslist as a way to reach out to those in need in her local community! She was gracious enough to tell us her story in her own words, and is our first featured guest post! Read her story after the jump.
Today marks the beginning of a new feature on our blog – Guest posts!
Although Aimee & I can write stories and edit videos on different ways people are ‘evangeliving,’ we know there are hundreds of great stories out there that are just waiting to be heard!
That’s why we’re inviting all of YOU to contribute! Tell us YOUR STORIES of how you or the people around you are changing lives. Reaching out to the community. Showing the world how great our God truly is, by living a life of example. Inspiring others to do the same.
There are tons of ways you can share your story – by video, podcast, pictures, writing… Or maybe even more that I haven’t even thought of. Either way, we’d love to hear from you.
Send us an email at sharehimideanetwork@gmail.com with your name, location, and the story you want to tell. We’ll do our best to make sure it gets featured on this blog.
God bless you all, and we can’t wait to hear from you!
Approximately 70,000+ people were in attendance at the 59th General Conference in Atlanta, GA.
Adventists mingle in the large lobby of the Georgia World Conference Center.
If you were able to attend General Conference this year, you may have dropped by ShareHim’s booth to get an update on what projects ShareHim is currently working on and to chat with some of ShareHim’s dedicated team. Here are some photos from our booth.
From Studio to Sanctuary
Every Sabbath morning a dance studio in the heart of downtown Reading, PA is transformed into a fully operational sanctuary. To get to “church”, one must first walk through the impressive halls of the Goggle Works Center of the Arts building, decked out in funky modern art, then dodge a cluster of baby ballerinas scampering to their ballet lessons just down the hall from where the worship service is taking place.
Before
After
The studio space is rented by the Grace Outlet Church and comes complete with the typical polished wood flooring, mirrored walls, and ballet bars. Chairs, microphones, speakers, a projector screen are brought out from storage as well as bold paintings of Jesus by the Jesus Painter, lamps, a couple of plants in Christmas lights, and red Chinese lanterns to set the mood. Morning sunshine streams through the blinds onto a lavish breakfast table, laden with French toast sticks, orange juice, bagels and other goodies, located near the entrance, to welcome any passers-by who may fancy a bite.
Grace Outlet Church Pastor, Kris Eckenroth and current church leader, Jeanie Hartwell were impressed to start a church who’s focus was primarily bringing young people back to church and ‘connect the disconnected’, but were having trouble finding a venue.
“We really couldn’t find anything else,” said Eckenroth. “I stopped by [Goggle Works]. I’d never been there before and found a lot of space available Sabbath mornings. It is kind of a cool, post-modern feel with the arts that really catches the interest of young adults. God is the one who really worked it out and it was neat to see how He did lead.”
It isn’t the typical church and steeple style of worship. However, the unique, non-traditional location of the church plays an evangelistic role. Being located in a public setting gives the members of the church opportunities to invite non-Adventist friends to casually visit, and minister to the dozens of people who walk by the open studio every week.
“The church is in a relevant place for mission,” said Eckenroth.
A soon-to-be member, Octavio, is the building’s security guard. He began visiting the church to help them with setting up and was invited for breakfast. It wasn’t long until he began staying for Bible studies and greeting everyone with a hearty “Happy Sabbath”. Recently he invited his fiancé who is currently taking Bible studies.
To find out more about the Grace Outlet Church: http://www.graceoutlet.net/
The Oakbrook Food Pantry is a monthly function sponsored by the Kenhorst Seventh-day Adventist Church. Here’s a few photos taken by Aimee. (Click on them to make them bigger)
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Here are a few of the photos from our visit to the Grace Outlet church in Reading, PA.
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