Church Economic Development Summit 2007

Announcing the

Church Economic Development Summit 2007

April 11-13, 2007, St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, Harvey, IL

Click Here to Download the Flyer

Click Here to Download the Brochure

For more info: Dr. Jonathan Jordan

Email

Cell: (708) 308-1624

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The Amazing Grace Race!!!

On February 24, you have the exciting opportunity to have a grand old time running around with a few of your friends, participating in a first-ever goofy, educational, entertaining, charity-benefiting event: the Amazing Grace Race!!!

This scavenger hunt is for teams of 3-5 people, modeled on PBS' Amazing Race, and will include fun destinations, wacky challenges, and a celebration at the end. It's a fundraiser sponsored by the junior board of SCUPE, the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education - a $100 donation gets your whole team five hours of fun. It's a great activity for a high school youth group, a church young adult group, or a small fellowship group!

The race is from noon-5, starting in downtown Chicago; teams will travel by foot and public transportation. The Amazing Grace Race benefits a 30-year-old interdenominational urban ministry education organization, which prepares students and pastors for a variety of callings in city ministry.

For more information or to register, contact Mark Walden at (312) 287-0151 or mail to: marksrwalden@yahoo.com

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Post-Super Bowl Prayer Breakfast

Six years ago The Community Church of Rolling Meadows hosted our city’s first Community Prayer Breakfast. It was such a positive and powerful experience that it has become an annual tradition. As a result, our Sixth Rolling Meadows Community Prayer Breakfast has been scheduled for Saturday, February 24th at 7:30 a.m. The purpose of this non-denominational Christian event is to gather together our elected officials and other community leaders to demonstrate our support and encouragement. The program will include breakfast, music, prayer, and a meditation.

Chief Justice Robert R. Thomas will be the keynote speaker at this year’s breakfast.

Justice Thomas graduated from Loyola University School of Law in 1981, and was a practicing attorney until 1988. At that time he was elected DuPage County Circuit Court Judge. From 1994 until 2000 he served as Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the Second District. Justice Thomas was elected to the Supreme Court of Illinois in 2000, and was elevated to Chief Justice in 2005.

Prior to his legal career, Justice Thomas graduated from the University Of Notre Dame, where, as an academic All-American, he set many Notre Dame kicking records, including the winning field goal in the 1973 National Championship Game (Sugar Bowl) vs. Alabama.

He then played in the National Football League for 12 years; 10 of which were with the Chicago Bears. He is the 3^rd leading scorer in Bear history.

Justice Thomas, who is on the Academic All-American All-Time Team, was inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame in 1996, and was the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award Winner in 1999.

The breakfast will be held at The Community Church of Rolling Meadows, 2720 Kirchoff Road. Tickets are available at Community Church, Crossroads Church, Meadows Baptist Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Colette Catholic Church, Bethel Lutheran Church;

and Cardinal Drive Church of Christ or by calling 847-255-5510. Tickets are $10 each, which will cover expenses. Because seating is limited, tickets must be purchased by Monday, February 19th. All tickets must be purchased in advance. There will be no tickets sold at the door.

The Community Church of Rolling Meadows 2720 Kirchoff Road, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 847-255-5510 Dr. Rande Wayne Smith, Pastor

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Three Chicagoland Congregations Among Nation's Most Innovative

The top 25 most innovative churches according to Outreach magazine:

1. LifeChurch.tv - Edmond, Okla.
2. Granger Community Church - Granger, Ind.
3. North Point Community Church - Alpharetta, Ga.
4. Fellowship Church - Grapevine, Tex.
5. Mosaic Church - Los Angeles, Calif.
6. Seacoast Church - Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
7. Community Christian Church - Naperville, Ill.
8. National Community Church - Washington, D.C.
9. Mars Hill Church - Seattle, Wash.
10. New Hope Christian Fellowship - O'ahu, Honolulu
11. Mars Hill Bible Church - Grandville, Mich.
12. The Potter's House - Dallas, Tex.
13. Crossover Church - Tampa, Fla.
14. Church of the Open Door - Maple Grove, Minn.
15. Redeemer Presbyterian Church - New York, N.Y.
16. Healing Place Church - Baton Rouge, La.
17. The Journey - New York, N.Y.
18. Saddleback Church - Lake Forest, Calif.
19. North Coast Church - Vista, Calif.
20. Willow Creek Community Church - South Barrington, Ill.
21. Imago Dei Community - Portland, Ore.
22. Christ the King Community Church - Mt. Vernon, Wash.
23. Radiant Church - Surprise, Ariz.
24. Living Word Christian Center - Forest Park, Ill.
25. The Sanctuary - Santa Clarita, Calif===>Click headline to access article . . .

>Inspiring resources for timely reading:
The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church in Many Locations
Evaluating the Church Growth Movement: 5 Views by Elmer Towns, Craig Van Gelder, Charles Van Engen, Gailyn Van Rheenan, & Howard Snyder; Gary McIntosh, general editor
Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found by Kevin & Sherry Harney

>Extra Points: Five Streams of the Emerging Church
(Christianity Today) Scot McKnight: "Along with unfair stereotypes of other traditions, such are the urban legends surrounding the emerging church -- one of the most controversial and misunderstood movements today. As an evangelical, I've had my concerns, but overall I think what emerging Christians bring to the table is vital for the overall health of the church. In this article, I want to undermine the urban legends and provide a more accurate description of the emerging movement....
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Moody Church: Praying for "The Event of the Century"

Happy New Year!!

The Lord laid prayer on my heart for 2007, and we have over 200 people signed up to have a special full hour of prayer every week in 2007, What is more, our prayer meetings in January are dedicated to Pops...Parents Of Prodigals ... the attendance has doubled and the Holy Spirit is leading us in an energetic spirit filled way to pray for Prodigals who have wondered from the faith or perhaps were never saved.

Never in my days at Moody Church have I ever seen such faith, such determination and such worship and prayer. In the two weeks we've done this, we have not come close to praying for all the prodigals ... I ask one person to come and pray for each prodigal and then I pray also, along with giving parents instructions about forgiveness, their part in reconciliation, etc. dozens of people have taken the names to fast for one day a week in prayer for the names of the children. We are risking everything on the promises of God!

On Sunday mornings I am preaching a series titled; When God Comes to Church, these are 5 messages one from each chapter of I Thessalonians, listing the characteristics of a living revived church from that chapter. I really sense as do others that Moody is on the verge of something wonderful....as we pray.

This fall, I had people pray for something at Moody that we\'ve not seen before; to lift our eyes beyond the usual to the unusual -- to believe God for great things. We as a staff had Dr. John Woodbrige here recently and he gave a lecture on the revival of 1858---which a secular historian called The Event of the Century!! I knew about the revival but I had to be reminded that God had done such great things in Chicago.

Blessings and love for the New Year, Pastor Erwin Lutzer

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Amazing Grace Sunday, February 18, 2007

Movie: Amazing Grace to be released - February 18, 2007


On Sunday, February 18, I invite you to join churches around the globe in singing the treasured hymn, Amazing Grace. The significance of this occasion is to commemorate the work of William Wilberforce, a courageous evangelical who two-hundred years ago faced down the powerful men of his day to facilitate the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. His mentor was John Newton, the slave-trader-turned-song-writer, whose words influenced Wilberforce, and continue to resonate today in the lyrics of Amazing Grace.

Today the fight to end slavery continues. It's estimated that 27 million people are currently in slavery around the world. From forced child labor to bonded labor and sexual servitude, millions are suffering and need evangelicals to speak out on their behalf. On February 18, Amazing Grace Sunday is a wonderful opportunity for the church to make our voice heard.

We ask that you set aside a few moments of your worship service on February 18 to sing Amazing Grace and to commit yourselves once again to speak for the oppressed. The Amazing Grace Sunday website (www.amazinggracesunday.com) offers several valuable resources including an opportunity to register your participation, lyrics to a new arrangement of the hymn by Christian artist Chris Tomlin and bulletin inserts about the hymn, which you are free to download and print for your congregation.

In addition, a major motion picture, with the same title as the hymn Amazing Grace, (www.amazinggracemovie.com) about the work of William Wilberforce will open in theaters across the country on February 23. You can also learn more about the fight to end modern day slavery at the partner campaign, Amazing Change (www.theamazingchange.com). The World Evangelical Alliance has also provided resources for churches. We encourage you to make use of these wonderful resources.

We look forward to your participation and show of solidarity on February 18 and in the days of work ahead. The NAE has been recognized by the “abolition movement” of today as one organization, through our Office of Governmental Affairs, that has been a premier leader in passing anti-trafficking legislation. We believe your involvement in this effort is a signal of NAE’s continuing commitment to the fight to end modern-day slavery

Sincerely,

Leith

Leith Anderson
President
National Association of Evangelicals
202-789-1011