7am. That was the time I arrived at the parking lot of the First Presbyterian Church in Woodbridge, New Jersey. I was heading to Montreat, North Carolina with twelve other kids to attend my first Montreat Youth Conference, focused on strengthening and shaping youth’s faith. I’ve heard great stories of what a week in the black mountain area of North Carolina entailed, however, in hearing the greatness and multitude of them I wanted stories of my own. I’ve heard that this trip was supposed to be life changing, and that Montreat was a “thin place between heaven and earth,” but I wasn’t really sure what any of that meant before actually going on the trip. But after a twelve-hour drive, a week there, and another twelve-hour drive back, I surprisingly found myself in a spiritual sense, and actively strove towards creating a newfound relationship with God. Personally, I’ve never labeled myself as religious but I’ve been a part of a youth group since the fifth grade. Then again, I only joined and stayed a part of it for the simple facts of making friends and free food. While those are not the best reasons to stay a part of a religious organization, they worked for me because it’s what led …show more content…
In going to Montreat I never expected to be given such a wide range of options as to what to do with my newfound knowledge. I had always thought that the church’s views were set in stone. I mean the ten commandments were said to have literally been carved into two pieces of rock, how much more “set in stone” could that be? Yet, the way I was presented religion that week showed me otherwise. Youth is the future and the church has begun to realize that so their effort to modernize and connect with youth has been greater than ever before. And not only that but also being open to the fact that there is no one true and right religion, because there
How long will it take America’s streets to be clean? “In January 2014, there were 578,424 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States” (Snapshot of Homelessness, n.d.). The number of homeless found on the streets continues to increase and more and more are left without food and shelter. They are left to survive off whatever resources they can find, and most nights it is nothing. This epidemic is beginning to grow out of proportion and action must be made to help change the brokenness found on the streets. Covina is one of many cities that has a numerous amount of homeless. The Calvary Chapel Cornerstone Church should implement a program that reaches out to help the homeless find jobs within the community due to
Gregory’s Episcopal Church. She had said that she became overwhelmed by the realization of God and that He became very real to her. Miles also talks about how unbalanced and emotional she was, and didn’t know how to handle herself, but continually came back for more (Miles, 58-59). I love hearing Sara talk about taking communion for the first time because it seems so beautiful, how Jesus was able to move through her and come to life inside of her. There have been a couple of times when I would go on retreats and mission trips and take communion in a more meaningful way because of the people I had become close to and had gotten to know on those trips would be with me. When I am take communion at the First United Methodist Church on a regular Sunday though, it can almost become just a regular thing you do at church without really remembering its sacredness. I still feel it is important, but because I’ve been doing it all my life and I think it is easy to forget all the things tied to it. Overall I feel as though this book has made me explore different ways of being a part of a community and enabled me to see that God works through all of us whether we believe it or not. It’s also extremely refreshing to see Sara’s excitement for her newfound faith and how she deals with the problems thrown at her. In Sara’s case I think God made the impossible possible. This story is an
Plantinga’s (2002) book Engaging God’s World consists of five parts: “Longing and Hope,” “Creation,” “The Fall,” “Redemption,” and “Vocation in the Kingdom of God.” Throughout the work, Plantinga references public speakers and activists, lyricists, philosophers, saints, and authors to help his audience connect to his perspective.
The night before we left, Joe talked to us about how it was essential that we continued our walk with Christ. We couldn’t obtain the spiritual “camp high”, and then go back home and fall back into the worldly way of living that we were accustomed to. Many of the kids who go to camp are
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
This book has been my interpreter, into the mired maze of youth ministry. From a logical perspective this is a must read for every one not only involved in youth ministry, but the church as a whole. If possible I would like to revisit this book in a year as kind of a case study to see how much I have learned for this course and how my views, out look, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors towards youth ministry have changed or no
After seeing though the eyes of my pastor I’ve come to realize the importance of faith and committing to one’s beliefs. Returning to church after two massive losses has helped my mother in many ways and it has also taught me as a young man how small things that I could do would turn to have a big impact on someone’s life the same way my pastor impacted my life and the life of my siblings.
In 1966 while serving as chairman of the Ohio Board of Evangelism, I went to Ashland, Ohio to meet with Carl Richardson who was one of the board members. We were working on a book called “Let's Have Revival”. While there Carl took me to Oberlin College, where the late Charles Finney served as President. I felt was a privilege just to stand in the chapel where he preached many of his great
As my friend Jenni and I entered the hall of the big church, a feeling of apprehension overwhelmed us. Our feelings were soon comforted when we entered a sea of smiling faces and outstretched hands. A sense of belonging engulfed us. Ms. Shirley, an older colored woman was first to extend her arms. She did not know us from Adam, but it did not matter. She threw her arms around us. "You girls have the prettiest smiles", she declared. "I am so glad you came to be with us this morning." Words can not describe what the act of kindness did to our feelings of apprehension, and that was just the beginning.
Stephens, Randall J. “Assessing the Roots.” American Religious Experience at WVU. The American Religious Experience. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.
Learning about Judaism caught my interest the most, so I decided to visit a Synagogue that was in my area named Congregation Beth Tephilath Moses; where I attended a Shabbat service on a Saturday morning. Shabbat means a day of rest. On my way to this event, I was a little nervous because I was unaware of what exactly to expect because I am from the Christian religion. This was a different atmosphere for me, but everyone was very welcoming. The place was beautifully decorated with many glass murals and Hebrew writings on the walls. The set up when walking into the room where the service was held was with the podium at the front and many rows of seats reminded me of what my church looks like.
My involvement in the life of Epiphany Lutheran Church is different than most others. I started attending our church when I was a child. I attended Sunday school every week with my grandmom. I remember being excited to go every week and I always had a lot of fun. I attended church regularly up until I was around ten years old. Since my parents were getting a divorce, it made going regularly difficult. I usually went with my dad and grandmom, but until the divorce was finalized I did not see them as much as I used to. Once, I started seeing my dad weekly again, I visited him two days during the school week. By the time, the weekend and Sunday occurred, I was with my mom again. She was not as actively involved in the church as much and preferred
I sat down with Ryan Govig in order to interview him on his communication experience as the youth pastor of New Life Reformed Church. Even the beginning of Ryan’s educational background which launched him into his youth ministry career hinged upon his communication relations. Ryan was an average C-student majoring in business. In his spare time, he volunteered with the youth groups at New Life, but hadn’t intended to become a youth pastor himself. When the head youth pastor at his church decided to leave, Ryan’s peers recognized the potential he projected and encouraged him to apply for the position. Eleven years later, what started off as a simple word-of-mouth communication initiation has turned into a career intentionally focused around
The people there were all extremely nice and would try to help me understand. They understood and accepted the fact that I wasn’t religious, but was showing interest in their faith. There were not as much people there as I had expected, but that might have been because it was a smaller church. It also wasn’t as racially diverse as I had expected. I thought that because it is the world’s biggest religion, that it
There were many instances during this assignment in which my train of though was challenge and there were questions which I was seeking an answer for. Personally, I have never been a religious person. This have brought me to many conflicts with people who believe in different religions. However, not being part of a certain religion has given me the gift to tolerate and understand what other people come from, and to not just based my opinion on any personal religious believes. For this visit I decide to attend a Christian church called The Vineyard they are a huge church located in the Kendall area.