International Students outreach

Calvary Chapel International Student

Host Homes Online Signup is now live!

 

 

TO PREVIOUS HOST HOMES:

 

We are happy to have online signup this year for those who want to host International College Students, Visiting Scholars, or Campus Ministry Staff in your homes for 3 nights -- Monday, Tuesday Wednesday nights, Dec 26, 27. 28 -- during the annual Interface Florida Christmas Conference.

 

To register your home as a possible host for this year's group of students, please fill out this online form on the Calvary Chapel website:

 

https://calvarystp.wufoo.com/forms/x7w8r3/

 

 

NOTE: If you hosted last year, you can leave the reference line on the form blank -- that's just for new hosts.

 

We hope you will be able to apply for hosting once again as we look for "open homes and open hearts."

 

You can find an information sheet with complete details at the signup table to the left of the lobby as you enter Calvary Chapel St. Petersburg.

 

But, before you forget about it -- why not just use the quick and easy online signup?

 

Thanks for your heart of service,

David and Trish Stevenson

 

 

New Ministry in Outreach!

Learn about some of our new outreach ministries!

The importance of Missions Equipping/training

Here is a video we did to promote, Mission 201. Maybe get excited for next September as I posted it late!

Be a Nehemiah- A short term mission leaders training handbook

Here is an interview I did recently on training short term missions leaders.  We put the manual together to help people get more equipped for Short Term trips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1WxU6Ls8NI

!0 Things to Remember after a Missions trip- From the Resurgence

Maybe you went on a mission trip this summer or are getting ready to come home. Here are ten things to remember about the gospel, missions. and humility as you process through your trip.

 

1.    Your identity is in Christ, not in what you do or have done for Christ. (1 John 3:1)

2.    The greatest need for all people, in all nations, is the gospel; not to become more or less like another culture. There are beautiful expressions of culture in other contexts. There are beautiful expressions of culture in America. There are sinful expressions of culture in both. Be careful not to pit one against another and neglect the gospel which is our greatest need regardless of the culture in which we live.

3.    Be patient with those who know nothing about the country from which you just returned. Patiently endure questions about food and dress and other stereotypical questions.  Think through carefully how you will answer typical questions graciously and in a way that points people back to the gospel and the reason for why you went in the first place.

4.    Even though you have experienced a lot, your knowledge about your host country is not exhaustive. Remember you have only begun to understand their culture. Keep being a learner about the culture that you just began to experience;  not an expert.

5.    This world is not your home––in either place. Fight against the temptation to make your identity in any one culture. We are all away from the Lord, from our true home (2 Cor 5:8,9) and our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20).

6.    Fight romanticism. Your trip (especially if longer than a month) was not all a bed of roses. Take time to journal and remember the hardships of living in a foreign culture. The temptation will be to be to romanticize missions and minimize the difficulties you encountered. Romanticism does not help promote and mobilize people to missions because the hardships are real. Be realistic with others who would consider such a project in the future.

7.    Fight pride. You did not gain standing with God because you lived in a foreign context for a year or a lifetime. We can only stand before God because of the death and resurrection of Christ not because of what we do for Christ. (Romans 8:3; 1 Peter 3:18)

8.    Fight Laziness. As you re-acclimate to life in the States, fight against the temptation to be lazy by neglecting the Word of God and cultivating your relationship with Christ. Relax and be encouraged but be intentional in how you do so in order that you do not fall into sinful patterns of behavior and thought.

9.    Remember to pray for those to whom you ministered. In most cases, you will never see the men and women with whom you spent so much time. For the brothers and sisters in Christ that you met and worshiped with, pray for them as Paul prayed as he remembered them.   (Philippians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:3)

10.Proclaim the need for the glory of God in the gospel to to be brought to all peoples. Keep the least reached peoples of the world before people who may not know of the need. (Matt 9:38)

 

Thoughts on life in an interview with Bono (lead singer of U2)

People seem to prefer watching people in the high streets of London fight policeman rather than watching children in Somalia fighting for their lives. People watch stock values crumble while I think about our own sense of values tumbling. This will define who we are. This is a defining moment for us . . . It is not our intentions, it is our actions . . . it is our priorities that define us.

Sail the Caribbean!

From Tom and Lisa of YWAM Marine Outreach:

 

We are in  urgent need of deck hands for traveling to Trinidad from Grenada and

back.   Our good friends, Steve and Leslie Harris, flew down and met us at St. Lucia

on July 5th and have helped us sail to Carriacou.  They leave on Tuesday the 19th.

Steve asked us if he could communicate our need to you.  Here are his thoughts:

 

First, I want you to know that I asked Tom and Lisa for space in this SAILMAIL; they didn't

approach me. Les and I have sailed with them on several other occasions as well as the last 9 days. 

I won't deny the unparalled beauty of the Caribbean sea and islands. Neither will I downplay the

hard work it involves for Tom and Lisa in pursuing their vision of ministry.  Sailing sounds exotic,

but too frequently is excruciating. Especially for just the two of them handling all the responsibilities. 

I'm asking you, even if you have no sailing experience, to consider a week sometime from immediately

to the next 8 weeks out, to come down and help them sail.  If you can't, but know of someone who

might be interested, please get them in touch with the Kaisers.  NOW is the critical time for added

hands on deck. God has provided so far; I don't believe it to be His nature to now leave them 

stranded. But God will use people like you and me, so please give this serious consideration. 

Thank you for your encouragement and support of them thus far. 

 

If interested send us an email at kaiser_tomlisa@yahoo.com

Somalia faces drought 'catastrophe' - 7/15/11

 

AFP

 

"We are no longer talking about a humanitarian crisis or a humanitarian emergency," said Jens Oppermann, the country director of Action Against Hunger (Action Contre La Faim, ACF).

 

"We are seeing this as a humanitarian catastrophe," he told AFP.

 

Thousands of Somalis have fled in recent months to neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya in search of food and water, with many dying along the way, as the region suffers what the UN has described as the worst drought in decades.

 

Many too have risked conflict by fleeing into Somalia's capital Mogadishu in a desperate search for aid.

 

Food prices in Somalia have soared by 270 percent in a year, he said.

 

"We see people coming into Mogadishu in a state that we have not seen in this form before," Oppermann added, describing "unimaginable suffering beyond the scale of what is acceptable."

 

"We are not able to provide enough assistance to everyone," he said.

 

ACF has been working in Somalia since 1992.

 

Meanwhile Doctors without Borders (MSF) said they were boosting efforts to support refugees fleeing across the border into Kenya after assessments found "alarmingly high rates of malnutrition."

 

"I expected to find a difficult situation but not a catastrophic one," said Anita Sackl, who coordinates nutritional assessments for MSF.

 

"The majority of new arrivals actually fled because they had nothing to eat, not just because their country has been at war for decades," she added.

 

Refugees are waiting for 40 days before being registered, receiving only two days of rations for that period, MSF said in a statement.

 

In Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp, 37.7 percent of children under five checked by MSF teams were suffering from acute malnutrition, with 17.5 per cent of those facing a "high risk of death."

...

 

Franklin and Larson Update

Ray and Jim returned from Uganda on July 8th and the trip was great. They learned alot about how the ICM Training Center operates and hopes to put that knowledge to use in helping to open a training center in Tanzania (Lord willing).
We are out of power 12 hours a day now (sometimes up to 16 hours) and it may get worse. There is a drought and since the electricity is hydro-power we don't get electricity when there is no water. Please have everyone pray for rain. We need rain for the crops, the animals, and the power. Many are suffering right now and it will only get worse unless the Lord intervenes for these people.

Need one male missionary for 3-day trip

Need One Very Short Term Missionary

CRC is looking for a short term missionary to help complete SignTruck Trip #2 when it returns from Palmyra, NY to Clearwater, FL. The Mormon Church has added New York City to their TV commercial test market so we will drive through and around NYC for a full day on the way to Florida, the message "WhatMormonsDontTell.com" driving people to the web site to get information about how Mormonism compares to the Bible.

This missionary will either fly up from Florida or fly home to NY afterwards, depending on where he lives. The trip will begin on or about Sunday, July 17 and end on or about Tuesday, July 19.

So far, the trip has been very exciting and productive. This mobile billboard really sends people to the web site. It has also provided numerous interesting witnessing encounters along the way.

If you (or someone you know) are interested in a fun, easy, and fruitful mission trip, call me ASAP so that we can get started with last minute plans. We'd prefer someone who can afford his own travel expenses but, if you want to go and don't have the funds, there may be some help. Call me in any case and we'll see what we can do.

Tom Jones

Christian Research & Counsel

3500 12th Ave N

St Petersburg FL 33713

727-667-4112 (Cell)

http://www.crcmin.org

"Belief without proof is faith. Belief in spite of proof is folly."

http://www.WhatMormonsDontTell.com

Volunteers needed for Missions Celebration

Looking for volunteers to help set up Friday after 2pm and Saturday at noon for this weekends events!  Got legs? At least one arm?  Come on out.

 

Rob Bell: Universalist? – Justin Taylor

Great article worth reading! Sent to me by Pastor Jim from CC Sarasota
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2011/02/26/rob-bell-universalist/

Costa Rica Team

For a glimpse into the life of a short term mission trip, check out our Costa Rica team that just got back

http://www.clfcostarica.com/CalvaryChapelJan11.html

 

http://www.mytripjournal.com/CostaRicaMission2011

 

Help Afghani Women get educated!

David, one our supported cross cultural workers has recently asked us to get the word out about one of their development initiatives!  So check out this innovative way to help the work in Afghanistan!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190480542340

 

SignTruck parking space needed

WANTED: PARKING LOCATIONS FOR MOBILE BILLBOARD

Looking for several locations (rotating hosts) to park a ministry billboard to warn the public about "www.WhatMormonsDontTell.com" and point them to the genuine Christ. Ideally, these locations should be on busy thoroughfares. We are way over due to vacate our temporary parking place and must find suitable parking ASAP. If you can help, or have any ideas who else might, please call Tom Jones at 727-667-4112.

Israel trip

We still have room on our Israel trip in May of this year.  Let us know if you want to join us on the trip of a life time!