A couple months ago, we put out the call asking for cereal donations to include in the Food Shelf’s “To Go” boxes, providing food for local families in need. The Naidl family heard this call and rallied together their community to provide 149 boxes of cereal. We are so thankful for their hard work and enthusiasm, and the same goes for everyone else who chipped in. As a church, we collected 300 boxes of delicious, and sometimes nutritious, cereal. Read More
Last Wednesday, staff and volunteers from Heroes Gate (our children’s ministry) hosted a Reverse Parade at Woodland Hills. While honoring social distancing, they spread out along the front sidewalk of the church to wave hello, chat from a safe distance and hand out prepackaged snacks and activities for kids. Fifteen volunteers dressed up in costumes (masks and gloves included), played musical instruments and held signs that said, “I’m so excited to see you.” Twenty-six cars showed up with fifty plus kids. The pandemic certainly didn’t stop them from having fun! But don’t just take our word for it, check out the awesome photo gallery. Read More
As the Coronavirus situation evolves, we want to keep you informed about how we are making decisions to move forward, and how we hope to work our way back to a more normal church experience. One major decision that’s been made is to wait to hold in-person weekend services until at least this fall. This feels like a significant loss, but we feel it’s the best choice given the state of our community. Read More
We appreciate all the feedback and questions we’ve gotten over the last few weeks in our Race Conciliation series. Since there may be many people with the same questions, we’ve gathered some themed responses. Read More
America was established by whites and for whites, usually at the expense of non-white people. This created systems that advantaged whites through things like access to land ownership, the right to vote, etc., and disadvantaged non-whites, most obviously through the horror of slavery. While these eventually ended, the consequences of this racist history have lasted to the present, continuing to … Read More
A Google search for any significant topic turns up a cacophony of conflicting opinions. This hopelessly murky situation is our new reality, and it is here to stay. But we believe it is important for Kingdom people to hold to the existence of objective facts, and to take responsibility, to the best of one’s ability, to discern what these facts … Read More
Jesus died to tear down the walls of hostility that divide all people groups in order to create in himself “one new humanity” free of division. [1] Jesus died to fulfill God’s original dream for humans to reflect God’s loving character through love for one another. So why do we keep bringing this up? Because it’s a central reason the … Read More
Whether you are white, black or brown, the Gospel tells us we are all sinners in need of a savior. [1] So of course an individual black or brown person may be as prejudiced as any white individual. In addition, anyone can be discriminated against for any number of reasons. Some people are discriminated against because of their poverty, gender … Read More
You may wonder what this has to do with you if you don’t personally hate black people and you may wonder if you should be held responsible for other people’s past decisions? Certainly you are not responsible for your ancestor’s individual choices. But when it comes to racism in America, your personal responsibility doesn’t tell the whole story. In America, … Read More
When most white people think of racism, they think of someone in a white hood and robe or a generally hateful person. This is individual racism; the racist attitudes and actions of individuals. The examples of this are obvious, but systemic racism (sometimes called structural or institutional racism) is harder to understand. Does systemic racism just mean a bunch of … Read More
"Thank you for this ministry! It has transformed my life in some really radical ways. God has broken down so many barriers and exposed so many lies that have taken some serious burdens from my heart. It has given me hope, freedom and purpose I never could have imagined possible."
– Jenny, from Wisconsin
