Encounter, a support and recovery ministry at the Elizabethown (Ky.) Campus of Southeast Christian Church, was the subject of a feature article in the News-Enterprise last week.
Campus operations leader Justin Blair has led the Encounter ministry since it launched in March 2018. Blair has been sober from drugs and alcohol since January 2013.
Jamel Maxwell was spiritually broken and addicted to drugs 18 months ago, but he has been in recovery for about the past year. He told the News-Enterprise that when he started recovery, he initially wanted to isolate himself, but he said Encounter was welcoming.
“I felt like, you know, people really had a real desire for me to be there. They really wanted what was best for me,” Maxwell said of the Wednesday night gatherings, which average 100 to 110. “[Encounter has been] life changing for me, and I’ve seen it as well for other people.”
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Northside Christian Church in Fortson, Ga., is hosting an Adaptive Sports and Activities Program (ADAP) on four Saturdays through the end of the year. The program is for children and young adults with learning or physical disabilities. The first session was Saturday.
The idea for the program came because young people with special needs don’t get many chances to join a game like other kids, an organizer told WTVM.com.
“A lot of times when the children want to go out for a sport or something like that, they can’t make the team,” said Beatrice Hiner, a member of NCC. “So, this is [an opportunity] for them to have something fun to do, that’s a sport, an activity, that is all-inclusive and they can feel comfortable and safe.”
After the November session the free program will resume in the spring.
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Good News Productions, International premiered an impactful story from Madagascar, Africa, on Tuesday. Another Village is available on GNPI’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
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Mark Lewis Trout, 68, who served most recently as minister with SonRise Christian Church Dunnellon, Fla., died July 30, 2022. The husband of Linda Trout for 49 years, father of two, and grandfather of 5, had served in ministry for 47 years. He graduated from Kentucky Christian College in 1975 and 1995 and had served churches in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Florida. Outside of the pulpit, he served at church camps, was active in the Florida Bible Bowl Association, and was a teacher and coach at Brunswick (Ga.) Christian Academy. He also was an avid collector of coins and the current governor of the Florida United Numismatists. Read a complete obituary at the website for Roberts Funeral Home and Crematory of Dunnellon.
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A Spiritual Formation Leadership Summit will take place Oct. 17-19 in Maryville, Tenn. The summit aims to help leaders embrace the commission to make disciples and meet the growing hunger among believers for a deeper walk with God.
The summit, which is part retreat and part conference, has three aims: minister to those who minister through a soul-nourishing retreat, equip those who equip with time-tested ways to disciple the body of Christ, and provide a forum for like-minded leaders seeking to grow and respond to the challenges facing the contemporary church.
Cost is $300, which includes lodging, meals, and resources. Guests can stay an additional night for $100. Dr. Jody Owens of Johnson University is the retreat leader. Learn more at www.jodylowens.com.
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Rural bikers in Oklahoma came together recently for the fourth-annual “Bikers and Backpacks Ride” to raise thousands of dollars for school supplies in five communities. The ride started at Sperry (Okla.) Christian Church and ended at Riveted Church in Skiatook, Okla., newson6.com reported.
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A nonprofit that helps to free lower-income folks of their medical debt has seen its business boom during the pandemic. RIP Medical Debt has worked with numerous churches, including independent Christian Churches, to help retire medical debt for tens of thousands of individuals for an average of $1 for $100 of debt. Since RIP’s founding in 2014, NPR reported, the nonprofit “has purchased $6.7 billion in unpaid debt and relieved 3.6 million people of debt.”
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