Last week the Evangelical Alliance published a report titled 'Young People Matter' suggesting that teenagers contribute around £300m each year to the economy through voluntary work. Between September and December 2008, they surveyed around 700 14-18 year olds and found that 45% of young people regularly volunteer once a month, and 80% donate money to charity.
Interestingly, there seems to be a strong link between faith and volunteering:
Almost 40% ...
It's always exciting when your friends achieve great things. Christian band Delirious? have done quite well in their humble career but I love what they've done with the proceeds from their latest album:
After tears and emotion and the shock of seeing this stuff you need to dust yourself down and get a strategy, look at what's in your ...
Tim Schmoyer over at Life In Student Ministry has unvieled his idea for free missions trips - a co-ordinated online "mission to facebook"!
The Online Missions Trip is a two week outreach campaign for teenagers and youth leaders to capitalize on the tremendous social opportunities that exist on the Internet and use it to share Christ with unsaved friends all over the world!
The 'trip' will be taking place early next year with youth groups ...
I'm getting quite excited about The Big Church Day Out that's happening on 24th May 2009. Although it's still six months away, momentum is building for the biggest cross-denominational church celebration event in the South of England!
Organised by my friend Tim, the day is taking place in the grounds of Wiston House, West Sussex and has an amazing line up of bands, artists, speakers and supporters including Delirious? (in one of their last ever UK ...
There's a guy that lives across the road from us who is always out in the street chatting to people. He's a really friendly man in his late 50's and you always hear his booming voice at some point in the day as he hollers a greeting to someone. Over the past few months we've had various conversations; he's had a hip replacement and is wearing the new one in, his son's just having his first baby, his mother-in-law who lives next door expects him for ...
Today sees the launch of the new CompassionArt album and accompanying book here in the UK (US readers have to wait until the new year!). Set up by some friends here in Littlehampton, "CompassionArt is a charity that joins the dots between art and poverty. It raises money to help breathe life into the poorest communities, restoring hope and igniting justice."
This album is worth mentioning because of the different model it is using to raise money. The ...
So a few weeks ago I lead worship for a wedding. The couple were getting married in a beautiful old Anglican church in the countryside and we arrived early to set-up the sound system and run through the songs.
After we had rehearsed, the vicar turned up - a wonderfully gentle man called Father Roger. As he ran through the details of the service with us, he asked me if I would be willing to "help out with communion". Always one to help, I ...
I've just got back from Soul Survivor C where as part of the worship they introduced the song "Healer" written by Mike Guglielmucci, and told his inspiring story of praising God through the horror of terminal cancer. Therefore I was saddened to hear of the announcement made yesterday by the Australian Christian Church that Mr Guglielmucci is a fraud.
It seems the Pastor of AOG youth church PlanetShakers never had cancer at all, but lied to his family, ...
Channel 4 are airing a new three-part series called Make Me A Christian which starts this Sunday at 7pm. The show features people from various walks of life that can be perceived as opposing Christian beliefs, including a playboy and a lesbian.
According to Christian Today:
Make Me A Christian follows the three-week journey of thirteen non-Christians who also include a witch, a Muslim, an unmarried couple with a child on the way, and a family of ...
As crazy as this sounds, The Register is reporting that a Baptist Church in Oklahoma recently tried to give away an AR-15 Assault Rifle as a way of attracting young people to attend the church. Apparently a local TV station intervened to stop the annual shooting competition. A statement is now posted on the church Youth Conference ...
