Orphan Sunday_SOUTHBRIDGE Video from Southbridge Fellowship on Vimeo.

• According to the US census 17.8% of American children (13 million) live in poverty.

• Almost half of the world – nearly three billion people – live on less than two dollars a day. In 2005 we spent $600 million on ring tones.

• 1 John 4:8-10 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

• There are over 140 million orphans in the world today.

• James 1:27 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

• The dollar value of the food North Americans throw into the garbage each year equals about one-fifth of the total annual income of all the Christians in Africa.

• Matthew 25:35-40 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

• 1 John 4:12 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

• Every year AIDS kills over 2 million people world-wide. That’s more than 5,479 people per day. Over 3.8 people per minute.

• Luke 18:7-8 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?  8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

These are more than statistics. These statistics are about people. These are more than just verses, they are God’s Word. Think about that. We can’t simply think about these things, we must do something. What will we do?

Statistics provided by the Docent Research Group.

Here is an excerpt from that page:

Human trafficking is not just a problem overseas; it is a problem here. With 14,500 to 17,500 people being trafficked into the United States each year, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Where should I start? How can I help?

World Relief Durham invites you to come together with our community as we bring to light modern day slavery right here in the Triangle. We believe that taking the time to respond contemplatively is essential in taking action to put an end to human trafficking.

Join us as we hear from those working to put an end to human trafficking in our community and learn more about this issue. Following this discussion will be time for silent reflection or prayer as we respond to this injustice.

We encourage you to invite your friends, co-workers, and small groups to this free event. Please bring journals, sketch pads, and questions as we reflect and respond to human trafficking in our community.

Child care and refreshments will be provided (please rsvp for childcare by emailing wrd.intern@gmail.com).

For more information on human trafficking and World Relief Durham’s work, please check out our website, www.wr.org/durham.

Southbridge Serves – 2011 from Southbridge Fellowship on Vimeo.

The vision behind SOUTHBRIDGE SERVES is to offer opportunities to overwhelm our community and city with the love of Jesus Christ through service, evangelism, fellowship, and prayer.

Last November, 140 adults and 60 children from Southbridge Fellowship came together to demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ through over 500 hours of service to our community during our first Southbridge Serves 2010. Hear from a few of those that served:

• Great participation from all team members. Not only in the meal preparation (as a group) but also connecting with the firemen during breakfast. A lot of spontaneous conversations sparked during that time.

• The ladies at the Meadows made me feel that I had been Jesus to them.

• Two comments [from those served] ‘I dont know how to thank you,’ We needed this uplift, we really needed this.”

• This was a very pleasant experience to meet people from SBF we did not know and get to spend some time getting to know them while serving others.

• We loved this. It was hugely impactful to our entire family and has given us other thoughts of little things we can do together to serve our community. Thank you for doing so much and making this such a sweet time for our church!!

• I just felt a sense of being in the middle of God’s will for my life. So rewarding!

• Any time you have multiple Christian people working toward the same goal, amazing things happen!

• Our Community Group really pulled together to feed the firemen.  The experience brought us closer I think.

We invite you to participate this year in SOUTHBRIDGE SERVES 2011- JUNE 17-18TH!

We are excited to offer new service opportunities with our Strategic Partners like Hope Reins of Raleigh and Raleigh Rescue Mission, and look forward to feeding the Firemen again, and leading crafts at the Meadows. We have more family friendly options, outdoor/manual labor options, neat Prayer resources, evangelism focused service, and more. Please see a full list at southbridgeserves.com.

WEEKEND DETAILS:

* Friday, June 17th- 7:00-8:30pm -PREPARE TO SERVE

Doors open at the Hampton Inn Brier Creek at 6:30pm. Light appetizers provided. No childcare provided.

We are pleased to announce- our guest speaker- Dr. Reggie McNeal, Missional Leadership Specialist for the Leadership Network of Dallas. Dr. McNeal has a passion for helping individuals and churches live ‘missionally.’ He says “to think and live missionally means seeing all of life as a way to be engaged in the mission of God in the world.”

MUST RSVP- visit southbridgeserves.com to sign-up for Friday. Please plan to attend even if you are not able to serve on Saturday!

* Saturday, June 18th- DAY OF SERVICE

We have a selection of predetermined service opportunities available between 7:00am-7:00pm.

Go to http://southbridgeserves.com/serve for a full list of service projects and register to serve as an individual, family, or community group!

We are trusting God to move in a mighty way through this focused weekend of prayer and service and we challenge you to prayerfully consider how you can be involved.

If you have questions you can reach the Outreach Team at 919-841-3802 or via email at outreach@southbridgefellowship.com

Thank you!

Meghann Ackerman on behalf of the Outreach & Communications Team

Tim Keller – Interview Session #3 from Vintage21 Church on Vimeo.

My Story – Jim Hendren from southbridge fellowship on Vimeo.

Below is the text from the handout that we gave on Sunday:

This challenge is meant to get us thinking beyond just giving, beyond just “doing what we’re supposed to do.”  It’s a challenge to be generous!  To give because we have received the most generous gift imaginable!  And because of the joy we have in the hope contained in that gift, we overflow with the desire to abundantly give to others.  Below are some suggestions to get you started.  Feel free to be creative.

Week 1:  Giving Away Your Time (March 6th to 12th)

Ideas:

• Volunteer with one of our Strategic Partners (i.e Raleigh Rescue Mission).  Visit the Connections Kiosk for a list of our partners.

• Help in an area that you normally would not – do someone else’s chore at home, assist a coworker in their responsibility at work, take a neighbor’s trash can back from the curb – and try to do it secretly if possible!

• Invite a neighbor over for dinner.

• Pick out an age-appropriate translation of the Bible and read favorite stories to your kids before bedtime.

• Take a prayer walk through your neighborhood.

• Plan a date night with your spouse and pray that God would use that time to draw you closer together and engage in transparent communication.

• Commit to attend a Community Group weekly for 10 months.

• Take a special trip with your kids to a local kids’ museum and take advantage of all teachable moments.

Week 2:  Giving Away Your Talent (March 13th to 19th)

Ideas:

• To learn about your giftings and passions, take Southbridge’s online assessment. (www.southbridgefellowship.com/assessme/about)

• Volunteer on a team (i.e. Tech, Bridge Kids, Hospitality, SYU, Outreach, Music, etc.

• Start a common interest/affinity group.

• Make a gift.  Take something you do well (i.e. baking, crafting, cooking, wood working, etc.) and make a gift for someone who wouldn’t expect something from you.

• Do something unexpected and nice for a neighbor based on your gifts and abilities.

Week 3:  Giving Away Your Treasure (March 20th to 26th)

Ideas:

• Bless someone in your Community Group generously.

• The next time you go out to eat, change your tip – 1) if you go to a restaurant that doesn’t receive tips, give a tip to the person cleaning tables. 2) if they do receive tips, double your tip (or double the bill as a tip!)  Thank God for the ability to do so.

• Sponsor a Compassion International (www.compassion.com) child or family, with your family, friends, or Community Group.

• Carry cash in your left pocket ($5-$50) and look for an opportunity to give it away.  Keep trying everyday until you can give it all away.

• Buy coffee for the person in line behind you.

• Commit to tithing (10%) for 30 days.

• Sell something you own and give the proceeds to charity.

• Go to www.lifestraw.com and donate a personal, portable water purifier that is used to prevent common diseases in many parts of our world.  (Cost = $5.00 each)

• Participate in the LifeCare and Gateway Pregnancy Centers drive March 13th to 27th).  Go to the Connections Kiosk on Sunday for more information.

Week 4:  Giving Away the Truth (March 27th to April 2nd)

Ideas:

• Share the Gospel with someone you love.  This could be in person or possibly a letter.

• Write a handwritten note of encouragement to your family or friends.  Tell the person why you value being in relationship with them.

• Set up a family meeting to talk about your generosity as a family (if single, do with a friend).  Discuss the biblical truth of what it means to be generous and how God wants you to be generous.  Ask for input as to where you should continue being generous.

• Start a Bible Study with your neighbors.  Contact the office if you need resources.

• Leave a Gospel tract with your server.

• Share your testimony (what God has done and is currently doing in your life) with someone.

• Ask God for obvious opportunities to share the Truth with others.

• Buy 10 Bibles and give them away.

We would love to hear how the Lord used this in your life.  Please let us know by going to the link below and sharing your story.  www.surveymonkey.com/s/generositychallenge

Southbridge Serves from Ascending Productions on Vimeo.