rise:stl

yesterday, we got back from a week-long mission trip to inner-city st. louis. we took about 30 high-school students and 10 adult leaders from our ministry. it was a great experience! we saw so much poverty. we saw so much need.

however, the most impactful thing that i saw this week was the passion and work ethic of our students. i was so impressed at how hard our students worked to further the work of a couple of churches in the city. they exhibited unbelievably positive attitudes no matter what work was put in front of them.

i’ve been on a lot of mission trips, as a student and leader, and i have never seen such good attitudes for the entirety of a trip.

it was really a blessing to be a part of.

check this out

a dear friend and mentor of mine is the pastor of a church plant outside of richmond, va. he blogged about what happened at his church this past sunday, and i just want to share it with you. i was so challenged when i read it that i was seriously brought to tears. it is amazing to me how beautiful TRUE sacrifice is. i hope it encourages and challenges you as much as it did me!!!

check out his blog here.

new creation

i know that i’ve shared this video with a lot of you already, but i literally just woke up with this expression in my mind and my heart. so, i want to share it with the rest of you guys who haven’t seen it…

this is one of the most creative/beautiful artistic expressions i’ve ever seen within the church:

http://vimeo.com/1797430?pg=embed&sec=1797430

*it is from fellowship church in texas.