Neighborhood Ministries

Dealing with issues teens & Adults One of the greatest needs today is the teaching of Biblical values. Our country was founded on the principle that the government should be by the people, of the people, and for the people. That means that it will be run by the people, will consist of everyday citizens, not career politicians, and shall be geared toward benefiting the people. That requires that the people be informed about what is going on and able to decide what is best for them. The result was a push for universal education so everyone would be educated and for affordable newspapers to inform the people so they could vote intelligently. Up until the 1970’s, the churches, the schools and media were active in teaching Christian values so even those who did not attend church generally supported Christian values and open discussion of issues was allowed and even encouraged. Since then, the schools and the media have become increasingly liberal and have increasingly pushed their views openly and actively suppressed any opposing views. In addition, the church has been very lax in teaching Christian values to its members. Eighty percent of active churchgoers say they want their church to teach moral values, especially those regarding the family. Since they don’t understand Biblical values, many who attend church today hold liberal views while continuing to give lip service to the Bible. Young people who once received Christian values in school are increasingly being indoctrinated with liberal values and persecuted when they question them. The church must actively teach members Christian values and to question what they hear from the media. In addition, the church needs to help members understand why those values are important so they can defend them against liberal teaching. As a result, I have created a series of courses on Udemy on Christian values and how they differ from man-centered values to help church leaders understand and teach Biblical values. They are in a series of short videos so they can be shown one at a time and allow a discussion time in between.

Curbside attractions-People are attracted by activity. People are attracted by a fight or other disturbance simply because life is dull and it is a diversion. They are also attracted by someone telling a story or painting a picture. The Salvation Army used to wander through the slums playing instruments to attract a crowd. Then they would stop and start preaching to the crowd. A friend of mine in Chicago had an old VW bus with the side door. He fixed a board with a sheet of paper on it just inside the van and would pull up to the curb, put money in the meter, and open the side door. Then he would start drawing a picture. As a crowd gathered on the sidewalk, he began telling a Bible story related to the picture he was drawing. In trailer parks we have lived in, there was very little for the kids to do and they often hung around with nothing to do. I often went out on the corner and began drawing a picture on a board.  When they saw me, they quickly gathered to hear Bible stories. After a couple times, the kids are eager to join a local children’s Bible club.