LOVING GOD’S WORLD

At First Christian we take seriously Jesus’ response to the question, “Who is my neighbor?”  In his telling of the story of the Good Samaritan Jesus shows us that the neighbor is the one who helps another – even a foreigner or stranger – in need.  We want to be good neighbors to a hurting world.  We extend compassion, care, and understanding towards our neighbors by:

• Giving to the Disciples’ Week of Compassion Offering http://www.weekofcompassion.org/ in order to provide emergency and long-term assistance to people in the aftermath of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, droughts, civil war and other natural and human catastrophes, and to support self-help programs that empower people and communities to stand against and rise above hunger, poverty, disease, illiteracy, and other forces of injustice that deny and destroy human dignity.
• Giving to the Disciples Reconciliation Ministry Offering http://reconciliationministry.org/ we seek to build just communities by breaking down the walls within our church which separate us. We claim a new reality in God’s realm by celebrating our unity, affirming the cultural traditions of each member of the body of Christ and working together for justice to heal the racial divides that we see.
• Walking and raising money to support Church World Service (CROP) http://www.churchworldservice.org/CROP/ .  We walk with neighbors taking a stand against hunger in our world. Together we raise awareness and funds for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting.

We invite you to join us in making a difference in God’s world as we reach out with hope and healing and love to neighbors around the world.