Here’s a guest post from 11 year-old Mallory Fundora. Mallory and her family are active members of Grace Community Church. I love her vision and passion. She reminds me of Isaiah 11:6 “and a little child will lead them”. Be inspired…

Here are the words of Mallory Fundora:

In October 2011 I sat down to write my Christmas list for my parents, I looked around my room and I realized there was nothing I needed, nothing I wanted. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about the children in Africa, and how they weren’t going to get Christmas presents, and there was a lot of things that they needed. So, I sent my mom an email with my Christmas list, one thing on it, to help Africa.

See, in August of 2010 the Ugandan Orphan Children’s Choir came to my church to perform, and I got to meet the children, and they were amazing. They were so loving, and just wanted to hug me and hold my hand. My mom had also started doing work for a couple of organizations that helped in Uganda, so she had taught me about the children there.

The day after I sent the email my Mom and I sat down and talked about what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to help. I contacted Amazima Ministries and Project Have Hope and I told them what I wanted to do, and I asked them how I could best help them. That is how Project Yesu was born. My goals at first were simple, I wanted to raise $600 to sponsor 2 children, one from Amazima and one from Project Have Hope. When you sponsor a child, it pays for food, medicine and sends them to school. I also decided I wanted to send Christmas cards to the children in Uganda, I mean who doesn’t like to get a card, it makes you smile. So I drew two different card designs and I contacted a local printing company and asked them if they would donate the printing of 650 cards, they did.

So I started to tell people about Project Yesu, and my mom helped me start a blog so people could read about it. I met with my Children’s pastor and asked if our youth group could help me with the cards, because I wanted them to be personal, so I needed a lot of help to write out 650 cards. I also spoke to my youth group, and told them about Project Yesu and about the children in Uganda and asked them to help me raise money. Every week I set up a booth at my church to tell people about my project, and the word spread.

In only 8 weeks I raised over $2,400 and I was able to sponsor 7 children. It was way more then I had originally planned on and it was great. I got to meet some wonderful people, and tell them my story. I was invited to go to WAYFM a Christian radio station because they learned about my project, and I was even on TV. The NBC station out of Nasvhille did a story on Project Yesu.

I read a quote one day from Mahatma Ghandi that said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. That’s what I want to do, I want to be the change, I want to make a difference, I want to help people. Everyone thinks kids are selfish or that we’re just kids and we can’t do anything like this. I want to show people what a difference one person can make. If someone, because they heard about me, or met me, decides that they can be a change too, then it will spread from me, to that person, to another person and so on. Kids have good ideas, and you know what? We don’t know all the reasons why it won’t work, we just know we what we want to do.

I know with Project Yesu, I am making a difference, not only in the lives of the seven children in Uganda who now have food, medicine and can go to school. But I am making a difference in the lives of my family, my friends, my teachers and even people I have never met before.

I want Project Yesu to continue to spread and grow, and to do that I need people like you, who are reading this post to spread the word and to help me. My goals for 2012 is to raise $4,500 – who knows maybe I’ll double that this year or even triple that and be able to help more and more children in Uganda. I plan to travel to Uganda in December of 2012 to hand deliver the Christmas cards to the children, to meet my sponsored children and to love on the children of Uganda who have changed my life.

If you want to know more about Project Yesu, or how you can help you can find me on Facebook – www.facebook.com/projectyesu or go to my site www.projectyesu.org.

I am selling T-shirts and wristbands to raise funds, and I am also looking for families, groups, classrooms or anyone to be a part of the “Be The Change” campaign by collecting coins to donate towards Project Yesu.

So I have accepted the challenge to be the change…. Will you?

I had a thought the other day…

What if Tim Tebow mentored Justin Bieber?

I love intentionality. I love people who use their influence for good. That’s what I see in Tim Tebow. I loved THIS STORY about Tebow’s work with suffering people each week. It’s incredible.

Here’s an excerpt:

Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster’s), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Fan or not, you have to agree Tim Tebow is doing good things on and off the football field.

I also love the rise to fame story of Justin BieberI don’t listen to his music that much. (I’m man enough to admit I like it though ) Justin Bieber is a professing believer. He was raised by a single mom. I’ve read some promising things about Bieber and the morals he hopes to hang on to. I understand he’s done some good charity work. We don’t read as much about him standing for his faith as we do about his pop status and he doesn’t appear as bold in his beliefs, but…

Think of the good Bieber could do with a few lessons from the older Tebow.

Two great men of influence. Two men with tremendous potential for the Kingdom.

We just need to get them together.

What do you think?

Who else impresses you by using their influence for Kingdom good?

I’ve got something BIG to share with you today. Some of you may remember last year’s Gifts of Water Team Challenge campaign. Ron Edmondson was a part of it and nearly 6,000 people (soon to be 9,000) received the gift of safe water and the opportunity to hear the Living Water Message through your efforts. The Proof – Malindi, Jaffna College

This year, Water Missions International is launching a major church initiative called Water Sunday. Water Sunday is one Sunday that a church dedicates to the global water crisis. All the materials will be provided to you to make this a fun and energizing Sunday for your church. Churches across the country are hosting Water Sunday’s in March. (March 22nd is World Water Day) You will be amazed at the work that the Holy Spirit will do in your church members hearts when they look outward at those in need around the world.

Water Sunday from Water Missions on Vimeo.

Here’s what you should know:

• All the materials are provided. (promo video, lesson materials, graphics, sermon notes)
• March 2012 is the focus month, but you can choose to host a different time that fits in your ministry schedule.
• The global water crisis takes the life of one child every twenty seconds.
• Connect your church community with communities in the developing world.
• Share the love of Christ in a tangible way and equip a local pastor with a valuable tool to share the gospel!

In the following months – inspiring photos, videos, and stories will come back showing the direct impact your church made.

Expect God to show up in BIG ways!

Visit the Water Sunday Website to learn more and sign up your church NOW!

Here is a short testimony of this impact:

“People are always questioning about how this system works and asking how they can acquire it. We always tell them about our Great God and there we end up with the chance of preaching to them the gospel. Can you imagine that even non believers come willing to offer us land to plant churches because of this water system. Not one or two, many have come to us! So to us, it is an iron tool for the gospel.” Pastor Charles – Glory Center church – Neddje, Uganda

You

want

to

reach

people

for

Christ

That’s all there is to it. Of course, you want more explanation if you’ve questioned it so far. Let me just say this: If you want to reach people, you have to go where people are…

Any questions?

Kent Shaffer is the mind behind Church Relevance and other online ministry resources. Kent is one of my early mentors for my blog and has since become not only a social media friend, but someone I’ve been able to hang out with a few times. I learned how to leverage influence by watching Kent online.

Now Kent has a new project and I’m excited to help introduce it to you here.

Introducing Open Church

Open Church is a nonprofit designed to empower global church leaders to equip each other with ministry ideas and free downloadable resources. You can visit http://openchurch.com to learn more about it, but consider this diagram to fuel some thoughts:

Be honest, did you know 80% of global church influencers are Americans, but Americans are only 10% of Christians? Have you even thought about learning from Christians around the world? Do you think they may have something they could teach us as Americans?

Social media has made the world a smaller place. I interact with pastors around the world everyday. Open Church is designed to allow believers to truly learn from one another.

Still want to know more? Check out this brochure for Open Church HERE.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” (John 10:10, HCSB). He gave life. That’s why we must introduce people to Him and give that kind of life away.

There are so many ministries doing that very thing today. You and I together couldn’t begin to number the ways they give life to others—from giving shelter to a homeless family to providing meals for the hungry and from rescuing a child out of slavery and trafficking to training up leaders to be disciples of the Word.

And that just touches the tip of what we’re called to do to be Jesus to the world.

That’s why I want to introduce you to my good friends at The Resonate Group and The SoulCare Project, who’ve teamed up to create a unique grant initiative for 501c3 ministries who give life to others every day. Bottom line: They’re giving away money to people who give away life. It’s a collision of innovation and funding through a simple online process—no frills, zero red tape.

There’s already a lot of excitement surrounding this new initiative.

For ministries and organizations, all they need to do is apply online, share who they are and how they give life, and upload a short video. Done. That’s it. Some great ministry leaders and organizations have already jumped on board to apply.

As for the rest of us, we just need to go to the Giving of Life site and vote on our ministry and/or ministries of choice to put them in the running to receive a grant of 50K, 20K, or 10K. Hundreds of fans are already following Giving of Life on Twitter and Facebook. And thousands have already voted.

On November 8, the top 10 finalists will be selected based on those who receive the most votes between now and then. In the end, a review committee will step in and help pick the top three ministries out of those ten who’ll receive grants.

How cool is that? Don’t wait. Go and apply or vote today.

There are close to three million prisoners now in the United States and that population is growing at a compounded rate of well over 2 percent a year. What will the future bring?

Introducing God Behind Bars

God’s prompting of the founder, Jake Bodine, and the skyrocketing number of incarcerated men and women in the United States has led directly to the creation of this one of a kind prison ministry.

Here are some of the features of what makes God Behind Bars unique:

* Unique four-step strategy that will allow a person to have full life change instead of some life change.

* Partner with churches an d faith-based organizations to stream live, dynamic, high-quality worship experiences into prisons all over the world.

* Online campus called “Church With Inmates” that allows the families of prisoners to see and experience the same service that their loved one is watching from inside the prison.

* Intentional about family reunification through outreach ministries such as their promising new children’s ministry “Project 22”, a ministry focused on providing children of inmates with a safe place to live and restoring the child and parents relationship through biblical principals.

* Next-generation aftercare program that pledges to walk with and care for each former pris oner who completes the three prerequisite steps. Among some things that will be provided initially by the ministry are temporary living quarters, groceries, gas, a cell phone, clothes, employment training and placement.

Watch this video that tells the story of God Behind Bars

Could you see yourself being interested in a ministry like this?

I have had a distant love and attraction to the city of New Orleans since hurricane Katrina and the aftermath devastated that city in 2005. Before Grace Community Church officially launched, we wrote our first check to relief efforts in that city. I was in New Orleans for the first time earlier this week. I spent a couple days visiting our student ministry team who were there on a mission trip. It was a very quick trip, but in addition to seeing the great work our team was doing, I was able to visit with a few great pastors doing good work in the city.

I had been to Louisiana a couple times, but had never made it into the city of New Orleans. It was hot and humid, but I left with some good memories and was glad to see some ways God is impacting that city.

On a short bus ride from the car rental hub to the airport terminal, the bus driver asked what I liked most about the city. It was an easy answer:

Food – Sorry to put that first, but it was that memorable. I never had a bad meal. I asked at the hotel where I should eat and, while she did give me a recommendation, she also said, “You won’t find a bad meal around here.” She was right by my experience.

People – Everywhere I went, regardless of the class of people I met or the side of town I was on, they were friendly and helpful. I’m sure there are a few scrooges in New Orleans, but those may be the tourists and I didn’t encounter them. From the police to the restaurant workers to the clerks in a store, the locals seemed exceptionally nice.

Resolve – New Orleans is coming back after Katrina. That period remains very much on the minds of the people. It was obviously a defining moment in their history. Progress appears slower than some want it to be and there are still frustrations with the government, but from an outside perspective I saw a people determined to love their city back to health.

Yes, there are still problems. I wish those who choose to litter wouldn’t. There are some places good Christians shouldn’t go. The roads could use some attention. They could lower the humidity a bit for my comfort. I suspect they could find some of those issues in my city as well. Overall, I was impressed with the city of New Orleans.

Have you been to New Orleans either before or after Katrina? What were your impressions?

I received email feedback the other day from someone who attends our church. Not having grown up attending church very often, but now wanting to learn the Bible and about the things of God, the woman thanked us for being a “church for dummies“. (That’s her term…not mine…) I laughed at first when I saw her comment and wondered how I should receive the remark, but then she explained that she used to leave church more confused than when she arrived. Now, after attending our church for a year or so, she is starting to understand the Bible and wants to continue learning more. She is thankful for a church that is challenging her to grow in her faith, but inviting enough to feel welcome, regardless of her background. I took it as a high compliment!

As I processed the meanings behind her statement, I thought of a few reasons she may feel as she does about our church.

Here are 4 reasons she might call our church a “church for dummies”:

Instruction – We teach truth everyone needs to know but we try to use language people who grew up outside the church can also understand. If there are Biblical terms not common to everyday language we try to explain the word rather than assume they know it or leave them guessing. Let’s face it. Being a mature believer is simpler than we’ve made it to be at times. It’s not a list of rules to keep, but a relationship to develop. Jesus said the work of God was “to believe in the One He has sent.” (John 6:29) The real work of being a Christian is Christ working in and through us as we submit our life to Him. Our goal then is first to engage the heart, create a passion for knowing Christ more fully and being like Him, and then provide them with resources, environments and service opportunities that help them grow as a believer. We know that engaging their heart first is a key to helping them take ownership in their individual spiritual growth process.

Application – We try to help people apply the timeless truth of God’s Word to their life today. We want them take next steps in life according to the truths of an unchanging God. The Bible is not only historical, but also practical and applicable to everyday life, so we try to help people understand how to adapt their life to the truth of Scripture.

Illustration - We use illustrations to relate truth to people. They called them parables when Jesus used them and we use lots of them. The illustrations we use are mostly from current, modern day and very transparent examples of how God works in a person’s life. Whether a personal story from our life, someone whose life is changing at Grace or a video element, examples of real life help people better understand the Bible.

Follow up – We know the people we see on Sunday aren’t living our vision as closely as we do during the week. It’s our occupation, but they have busy lives that distract them, so we find ways to repeat the same messages throughout the week, series and year.

If we’re doing our job, then people who are mature in their faith or people who are new to faith or still exploring faith can discover truth and be challenged to adjust their lives to that truth.

I don’t even mind being labeled…a church for dummies…in fact…the term is growing on me a little…

How does your church help people outside the faith or new to faith learn and grow in faith?