Stories - Page 68 of 87 - The Christian Heart

How Everyday People Live Out Their Christian Faith

Illustrating how men and women display their love for Jesus in their day-to-day lives.
Little things that may have an eternal impact. Might these stories motivate you to use your talents?

Church Activities Loving Your Neighbor Unique Ministries
THE COMFORT DOGS

If you have seen comfort dogs on site at crisis situations, then you've probably seen a member of the LCC K-9 Comfort Dog ministry team---a network of volunteers and dogs working together to bring compassion where it is needed. This powerful ministry officially began in 2008, but God was working on it even before it became "official." When Hurricane Katrina hit, the LCC Disaster Response Team set up a disaster triage. The team was asked to perform search and rescue for people with animals as many people were refusing to leave their flooding homes without their pets. The team saw firsthand the power of a pet to someone going through a crisis. In February 2008, Lutheran Church Charities (LCC) was contacted and asked to bring the dogs to Northern Illinois University where a shooting had occurred. At this point, it became clear that God was saying to stop waiting for disasters and to put dogs in churches. So, that's what LCC did. LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs started with four dogs in August 2008, and since then, it has grown significantly. The network now consists of 130 trained golden retrievers in churches and Christian schools across 23 states to do outreach ministry. People feel safe with the dogs, and the dogs allow the ministry team to go places they may not have been able to go. With the comfort dogs, the team can go out into the world and offer compassion, prayer, and Jesus to those who are hurting. They only go when invited, but they've been asked to serve many communities suffering from tragedies such… Read More

April 13, 2018
Children Labor Unique Ministries
A REFUGE FOR TEENAGERS

Since I was a high school senior, I had a dream of starting a youth center for teenagers. Even when people dismissed it, I knew that God had placed that dream on my heart. After I returned from Bible College to Sunbury, PA, my wife and I started a youth center called The Refuge. We wanted to create a safe and fun place for teenagers to go to after school, free of charge. In nine months, our youth center grew to about 50 teens coming in each week. We provided them with a comfortable space, games and a free meal. During the next two years, I went back to school to get my teaching degree (I now teach junior high). However, when I returned, we began to look for a new building in order to reopen The Refuge. When we did find an old broken-down building for $30,000, we received an anonymous donation that covered its cost. It took us three years to get it ready. We restored the building, set up a ping pong table and video games, made it accessible for handicapped kids and prayed it would be a blessing. Now, we also provide homework help, do Bible studies and use recording equipment so the teenagers can make their own music. All of our tutors and cooks are Christian volunteers from a variety of surrounding churches. We want the kids to have a real sense of community when they are here and be exposed to other… Read More

April 10, 2018
Church Activities Senior Citizens Unique Ministries
STILL SERVING THE LORD

I was a pastor of the same church for over 50 years. In that time, we moved from a small store front property to a large building that sat 500 in the sanctuary. And we ended up filling every seat on more than one occasion. By the time I retired, the church had grown to where it had two services to meet the needs of the growing congregation. The Lord certainly did some amazing work while I was pastoring. Since retiring, though, I have found that the Lord has even more for me to do. My days aren't as full as they once were, I am 90 after all, but I do what I can for the Lord. Most of my time on the weekends is spent filling in at churches without a pastor. I preach, counsel, and help these congregations as I am able. Many of them are small, rural churches that are hard-pressed to find a pastor willing to serve for so little salary. But they are wonderful people and I enjoy helping them. During the week, I visit shut-ins and people in the hospital to pray with them. We sing hymns and share old stories of what the Lord has done over the years. Then I will go to various auctions and farms around the area, picking up food for the food bank. There's never enough food for the number of people we serve each week, and this is a way I can contribute. I hop in my pick-up and make my rounds, knowing that the local farmers and auctioneers… Read More

April 6, 2018
Children Church Activities Unique Ministries
THEY CAN’T READ OR WRITE

It's so important that we pass on everything we have learned to our children. And that's because they are the future leaders. But can you imagine a bunch of leaders who do not have an education? I teach a Sunday school class of about 40 kids here in Ghana. The majority of them do not go to school at all and can't read or write. For that reason, it's hard to teach them Bible verses and English songs. It's sometimes hard to imagine what their future will be like with little or no education. This unfortunate situation makes me very sad. They will never be able to read and understand the word of God, which is the most important thing in life. So I decided to teach those who were willing to read and write. It was a bit challenging when I started. Most of them were interested. But some of their parents stopped them from learning because they are also not educated, and saw no value in it. There's close to a 70% illiteracy rate in our region. They simply want to take their children to the market to help them sell. But by God's grace, most of them know the English alphabet and that's a great encouragement to me. God is nudging me to continue despite these hurdles. So I'm putting together a team to help me teach these kids how to read and write so they, too, can benefit from the Word of God.

April 3, 2018
Church Activities Loving Your Neighbor
A WARM SMILE AND LISTENING EAR

About five years ago, I started volunteering as a door greeter at church. It was fun since my whole job was just welcoming people into church. Since my son was in high school and my husband served in a different ministry, it was a simple way for me to be involved at church without any added stress or preparation at home. About six months after I started working the doors, I realized what I was doing was an actual ministry. Before this, I saw myself as just opening the doors for people and helping them get to where they needed to go. But one morning that all changed when a young woman timidly walked up to my door. It was obvious she had never been there before as she tried to figure out where to enter and what to do. I approached her with a smile, ready to walk her to wherever she wanted to go. But something switched in my heart. I realized I wasn't just helping a new person find the auditorium. I was helping a lost soul find Jesus. I asked her about herself, and she began opening up to me. After the service, I tracked her down and we continued our conversation. She was all alone and just in need of a friend. That started my weekly journey to find one person that is all alone and show them compassion and love. It's been five years since I started, and I can't tell you the number of people I have stopped to talk with at church. I don't know what this… Read More

March 30, 2018
Adoption/Foster Care Children Mission Work
A NOT-SO-SHORT MISSION TRIP

My husband and I had finally finished the paperwork to adopt an American child. We discussed what we should do before becoming new parents. I had previously gone on several mission trips, and we decided to experience this together. Our church youth group was going to Haiti about six months after the massive 2010 earthquake. We had no practical or medical skills that could meet their needs but God was prompting us to go. I asked my husband, "What if our little boy is in Haiti?" But we both knew that would be crazy because we were prepared for a domestic adoption. On the first day of the trip, my eyes locked on a beautiful little boy, Izaiah. I can't explain it but I loved him immediately. He had tragically lost both his parents as an infant. We were told it would be impossible to adopt him since adoption of Haitian children had been completely closed because of the recent earthquake. But I loved him like my son, and so did my husband. God began making a way for us to move forward with pursuing the adoption of Izaiah. Doors started to open. But the journey was not without unbelievable trials. Paperwork that was supposed to be completed months prior had not been done. Numerous challenges came up that stalled the adoption. We wanted to preserve the special bond we had built with Izaiah so we thought I should stay in Haiti until the adoption was finalized. I ended up staying at the orphanage with… Read More

March 27, 2018

Browse all categories

Adoption/Foster Care 38

Church Activities 60

Financial Help 18

Loss Of Loved One 46

Loving Your Neighbor 68

Mission Work 52

Overcoming Obstacles 133

Prison Ministry 12

Senior Citizens 22

Special Needs 49

Unique Ministries 176

Verbalizing the Gospel 80

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