Vol. 1, No. 4 FAITH SHARING Pre-Christian faith sharing In the midst of ruin Desmond Tutu's calling Poems by Millie Horlacher OTHER RESOURCES Always prepared ... “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect … . ” I Peter 3:15 (NIV) In the midst of unimaginable shock and grief, Mindy Corporon of Overland Park, Kan., recently became the embodiment of this scripture when she stepped forward to share her faith after her son and father were killed in a hate crime at the Jewish Community Center. A member of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, along with her son, Reat, and her father, William, she has received national attention for her testimony to the love and grace of God. Read complete blog post Mindy Corporon Today Show YouTube video __________________________________________________ Cardboard testimonies If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your faith with someone else, here’s an exercise to help your group or class get started. Show the video of “cardboard testimonies” on YouTube. Give everyone in the group a piece of cardboard and a marker and invite them to create their own cardboard testimony. On one side, they place a word or phrase describing their life “before” Christ made a change in them. On the other side, they place a word or phrase describing their life now. For instance, the before side might read, “Needed to control everything,” and the “after” side might read, “Let go and let God.” Allow some time for reflection (perhaps play music) as people create their posters. Then enable everyone who is comfortable to share their cardboard testimony, either with or without a word of explanation. End with a word of prayer. This is a powerful tool to help persons increase their comfort level with sharing faith. The photo above is a recent ABIDE group using the process. __________________________________________________ RethinkHome Each month, through video, blogs, stories and links to helpful resources, we’ll explore a different topic related to your mission in your local mission field. We’d also love to hear your ideas about upcoming topics. Please share your responses with us at rethinkhome@greatplainsumc.org. Here’s the lineup for the coming months: May – Discipling, June – Navigating Change, July – Fruitfulness, August – Conflict. Forward this email View in browser You are receiving this email from RethinkHome@greatplainsumc.org because you have an existing relationship with us. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add info@greatplainsumc.org to your address book or safe sender list. To unsubscribe or manage mailings, click here Wichita Office: 9440 E Boston Suite 110 Wichita, KS 67207 316-684-0266

Congregational Excellence presents RETHINK HOME - Stories from the Mission Field at Your Doorstep from The Great Plains Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Vol. 1, No. 4 FAITH SHARING Pre-Christian faith sharing In the midst of ruin Desmond Tutu's calling Poems by Millie Horlacher OTHER RESOURCES Always prepared ... “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect … . ”   I Peter 3:15 (NIV) In the midst of unimaginable shock and grief, Mindy Corporon of Overland Park, Kan., recently became the embodiment of this scripture when she stepped forward to share her faith after her son and father were killed in a hate crime at the Jewish Community Center. A member of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, along with her son, Reat, and her father, William, she has received national attention for her testimony to the love and grace of God. Read complete blog post Mindy Corporon Today Show YouTube video __________________________________________________ Cardboard testimonies If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your faith with someone else, here’s an exercise to help your group or class get started. Show the video of “cardboard testimonies” on YouTube. Give everyone in the group a piece of cardboard and a marker and invite them to create their own cardboard testimony. On one side, they place a word or phrase describing their life “before” Christ made a change in them. On the other side, they place a word or phrase describing their life now. For instance, the before side might read, “Needed to control everything,” and the “after” side might read, “Let go and let God.” Allow some time for reflection (perhaps play music) as people create their posters.  Then enable everyone who is comfortable to share their cardboard testimony, either with or without a word of explanation. End with a word of prayer. This is a powerful tool to help persons increase their comfort level with sharing faith. The photo above is a recent ABIDE group using the process. __________________________________________________ RethinkHome Each month, through video, blogs, stories and links to helpful resources, we’ll explore a different topic related to your mission in your local mission field. We’d also love to hear your ideas about upcoming topics. Please share your responses with us at rethinkhome@greatplainsumc.org. Here’s the lineup for the coming months: May – Discipling, June – Navigating Change, July – Fruitfulness, August – Conflict. Wichita Office: 9440 E Boston Suite 110 Wichita, KS 67207 316-684-0266