Compiled by Chris Moon and Jim Nieman
Salty Church in Ormond Beach, Fla., recently celebrated the ninth anniversary of its weekly sunrise worship service on the beach.
The service launched in May 2010 and is held at 7 a.m. at the Granada Beach Approach. It is a way to attract “beach people”—surfers, bikers, and tourists. But the service tends to attract all kinds of folks, lead pastor Robbie O’Brien told the Ormond Beach Observer, which wrote a story about the milestone.
“The beach is typically a great equalizer,” O’Brien said. “We don’t know who’s rich or poor, or sometimes, we don’t know who’s homeless or not. The beach is the one thing where there’s less ‘us versus them.’”
The newspaper said 105 people attended the ninth-anniversary service.
“The beach is an identity,” O’Brien said. “It’s part of your blood and DNA, and when you pull the spiritual aspect into that, it really resonates with people.”
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The 167th Oregon Christian Convention will take place June 25 to 30 at Turner, Ore. Speakers will include Tim Wallingford, Arron Chambers, Alan Ahlgrim, and Dan Cole. Click here to learn more and to register.
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Steve Hayes, who has served with First Christian Church in Mattoon, Ill., since 2012, will retire Sunday, June 2, after serving in ministry for 27 years. The church is planning a reception starting at 9:30 a.m. Hayes, who worked in the shoe business for a time, told the local newspaper, “I went from selling soles to saving souls.”
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An emergency room nurse who was traveling with her family to First Christian Church in Champaign, Ill., was in the right place at the right time following a rollover accident that injured a 20-year-old driver earlier this month. Aja Bozarth was one of the first on the scene of the accident and is among those credited with helping save the life of Roxana “Roxy” Brown, according to the News-Gazette.
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North Terrace Church of Christ in Zanesville, Ohio, recently served as a shelter for people affected by a natural gas outage. WBNS-TV reported approximately 600 people were without service. The Red Cross opened the shelter at the church for affected residents.
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In his new book, The Rise and Falls of Movements, Steve Addison explains church-planting movements and disciple-making movements and how we can take part in them. Passion for Planting writes in its May newsletter, “Whether you’re a church planter, a local church pastor, or just someone who wants to help more people trust and follow Jesus, this new book will inform, encourage, and inspire you to play your role in multiplying disciples of Jesus.”
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