• church (lowercase c) = building where worship happens

• Church (capital c) = community of Christians

  • e.g. universal Church…

• church can also be used for Bible study, community events, etc.

Food banks

• food to people who can’t afford to eat

  • Trussel Trust - UK

    • people donate food

    • people volunteer to help food banks

  • Oasis Project

    • help people long term for job appliances, escaping domestic violence, overcoming drug addiction…

Street Pastors

• Christian volunteers who help people on the street by:

  • Discouraging anti-social behaviours and violence

  • listening to people

  • making the community safe

  • helping against gang vioelnce

Parish Nursing

• Supports NHS nurses

• Look after people w illness and lonely people, etc…

Mission and evangelism

• Evangelism = spreading the Christian Gospel (what the Christians believed about Jesus)

• Mission from God to spread faith

• Before Jesus ascended, he gave the great commission (“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”

• e.g. Preaching in public…

• Alpha course offers courses where churches help people who are interested to learn about Christianity

Church Growth

• Worldwide church is growing in South America, Africa, and Asia

• NOT growing in Europe, USA, or Middle East

• CfaN (Christ for all nations) is a charity which tries to spread the word of Christianity

  • e.g. through mass gatherings and books

• Disciples are people who try to live like the Jesus’ 12 disciples, such as through spreading Christianity, being committed, etc.

• All christians in the world = worldwide church

  • trying to bring christians together (reconciliation)

Reconciliation

• Bringing people back together after relationship has broken down

• Jesus came to fix broken relationship

• Reconcile between God and Humans, and between human and human

• Christians being in peace and living harmoniously together with God

Persecution

• Discrimination/treated badly due to race, religion, belief

• People who are persecuted for being christian will have their reward in Heaven

• Christians believe that persecution helps them understand what Jesus went through

• Helps christians show the strength of their faith

• Responses: e.g. Pastor Baber George, Corrymeela Community

Responses to World Poverty

• Jesus said christians should help the poor

• Those who do not show compassion to others have no love of God in them

• “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

• CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) tries to help the poor

• Christian Aid also helps the poor (“We believe in life before death”

• Tearfund helps people survive famine in Biafra, following Jesus’ example of travvelling to places and helping people who needed him