St. Louis group helping churches reach the city; Religious persecution in Mexico; What will be our jobs in Heaven?
Manage episode 436217467 series 3574861
Darren Casper believes in missions. As the executive director of the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association (often called STL Metro), he leads a staff of eight full and part-time missionaries. Their task is to equip churches to reach out with the gospel to the city of more than 300,000 people and a little more than 2 million people living on the Missouri side of the greater St. Louis metro area.
Casper led the association to sell its office building in Bridgeton a few years ago. Those funds are being rerouted into ministry, especially efforts to bolster church planting.
The director said when he came on board five years ago, he wasn’t looking for a centralized organization to manage. He preferred to have his staff work remotely from their homes and be mobile and accessible to the churches and leaders in the metro area.
The association’s mission statement says it is all about “Connecting churches to develop leaders and deploy them for mission because lostness is the greatest problem in our city.”
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The last Protestants in an indigenous Mexican community where Catholicism is the only religion allowed were forced from their homes Aug. 6, their lone church set ablaze, CSW reported Aug. 22 ahead of Protestant protests in the street.
Members of the Protestant Interdenominational Christian Church (ICIAR) and their supporters were expected to protest in the main square of Mexico City and in the city of Oaxaca Aug. 22, CSW said, calling out serious religious freedom violations in the community of San Isidro Arenal in San Juan Lalana Municipality, Oaxaca State.
The persecution of Protestants in indigenous Catholic communities stems from a 1993 community accord mandating Roman Catholicism as the only religion permitted in San Isidro Arenal, a system allowed under the Law on Uses and Customs. However, religious freedom is guaranteed in Mexico’s constitution.
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A Lifeway Bible study asks, What will be our jobs in Heaven?
California pastor Greg Laurie says, “God has more for us to do in His heaven. What we do now prepares us for that work. Pointing to Luke 12:44, Laurie explains while we are not sure what kind of work will be waiting for us will be meaningful.
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The world’s great problem is lostness. Learn how you can share the Light at IMB.org.
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