Welcome back,
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next stop we travel to
Bergen on the cost of Norway.
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Thank you, Gary.
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I'm here in Bergen,
Norway with Pastors Sven
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and you are pastor of
the church here in Bergen.
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Can you tell me a little
bit, Bergen has been chosen
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as the mission
to the cities city.
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What exactly does that mean?
What are the some of the plans?
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Well, the interest
thing here about Bergen,
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Bergen is a town
about 250,000 people
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and we only have
one church in this city
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and that's really too little.
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We've done too
little for too long.
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And the church has been
here for over 100 years.
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Just close to 100
years, yes, and so we have--
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I have been called here
to help engaged the church.
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The church itself
wants to reach out
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to the community and,
and so me working the church,
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we have come up with great ways
to reach out to the community
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and share the
gospel with people.
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It's very, very exciting to see
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how people are
responding to the Bible.
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We are primarily
a secular culture
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and we find that
the Bible is no longer--
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the Bible is no
longer the authority
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on how to live your life
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but the Bible is
still a an authority,
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is still an
authority that some people
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are interested
in learning about.
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And so when we go
out to the community
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and say hey,
would you like to know
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what the Bible says
about living rights?
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We find that very many people
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are very open to
hear about the gospel.
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And so we want to,
we want to utilize this
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and we want to use this as a,
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as a means to reach
people for Jesus Christ.
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Okay, part of it
is just a challenge
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is just coming to
contact with people
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and getting to know to
them, to get to that point.
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So what are some of
the things you're doing?
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Well, right now we
have, we have several things
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that we are
doing to reach people.
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We have church school
that is open for the public
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and we do active
advertising in the community.
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A Christian school,
yeah. A Christian school, yes.
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We get a lot of people in touch
with lot of people that way.
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We do have a nursing home,
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that we also have 90
percent non-Adventist that
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and we go up there and we
have Friday night worships,
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we have Sabbath
morning worships,
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we have Wednesday worships
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and so we get a
lot contact that way.
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And then we have, we
have a lot of foreigners
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they come to
Norway seeking fortune
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and the problem is you
cannot get a job in Norway
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unless you speak Norwegian.
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Even though a lot
people speak English?
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Everybody speaks English.
Everybody speaks English.
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Everybody speaks English,
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but they don't want to hire
non-Norwegian speaking people.
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So what the church did,
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we had three teachers
from our school to say we,
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we are teachers, we
can teach them Norwegian
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and so they
established a program to teach
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and from the very first
day we had over 30 foreigners,
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they came to study
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and we invited
them to come to church
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and many of them
are coming to church.
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Some of them are
sending their children
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to our church school
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and where they get
active Bible teaching.
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So, so we do have some
things that are reaching out
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but to and more
narrow population.
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We want to, we want to
reach everybody for Jesus,
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not just parents of children
or the children of the elderly
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but we want to reach out
to the broader community.
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Bergen is a town
with three universities
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and so right now we
really don't have anything setup
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to reach the
enormous student population
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that is here in Bergen
and, and that's really a shame
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but we should
really need to have
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some kind of student center.
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We do have by the grace of God,
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phenomenal youth group
that that is very cohesive
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and very excited
about doing evangelism.
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We do youth events.
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Our youth team
organizes youth events.
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We have impact that
comes in here every summer
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and invigorates young
people for evangelism.
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So we want to take
that to the next step
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and reach young people
that come here to study
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and reach them for Jesus Christ.
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So Impact was here in
Bergen, this last summer.
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Can you tell us a
bit more about they do?
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Yes, that, I want
my church, my church--
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I want our church
to be a learning church
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where we train
people to disciples.
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At Impact that's
exactly what they do.
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They take young
people and they teach them
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how to be
disciple making disciples.
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So as I said listen we
were doing the same thing,
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why don't you guys come
with your youthful enthusiasm
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and energy
bringing into my church
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we will give you
the whole church campus,
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you can stay
here, you can eat here,
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and do whatever,
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plus we have
250,000 people to reach.
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As if you do a
mistake on that block
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you can go to next block
and people don't know you.
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And so is this
huge room for error
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and we can feed off
of their enthusiasm.
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So that we had them
from last three years
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and this summer,
they just finished
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we got 94 people
that are interested
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in learning more
about health or Bible
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or prophecy or
even Bible studies
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and that's
phenomenal, praise the Lord.
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Now right now we are
right in the heart of Bergen,
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I guess you call it.
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And the church is,
is not quite downtown.
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What can we do to may be,
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be with the
people are down here?
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What are your dreams for Bergen?
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We definitely need a
presence at downtown.
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Of course the city is so large,
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and we have several
town centers around.
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My dream is to plant a church
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in every major part of the town.
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Just north of here the
largest part of our city
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it has 80,000 people that's a--
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that's a friendly large
city in a Norwegian scale.
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We have no church
presence up there.
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We definitely would need
to have some church plants
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going on here
in the city center,
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it would be wonderful to
have some kind of central hope
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where we can reach
the young population
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or other people
that do live here,
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people with the young children.
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We already have a
strong child program
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may be a daycare, that catered--
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these are some of
the needs that are,
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some centers for the students
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that can be opened
late where they can grab
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something to eat,
something to drink,
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where they can
finish up their home work,
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where they be so sure
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after may be
finishing up the paper
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and just go out and
just in a clean environment,
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that's not drug or
alcohol or whatever.
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So in another
words the opportunities,
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the potential is limitless.
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Absolutely.
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This is this is
untouched ground really
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and so we want to, we
want to try to reach out
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and whatever we do
here we gonna be successful
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because God is with us.
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Oh, thank you so
much for talking with us.
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Gary, back to you.
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Next stop we
travel to a church plant
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in the heart of
Chicago, Illinois.
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The battle for our intention
grows fierce by the minute.
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Marketers bombard us
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with
advertisements of all kinds,
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brand name
companies bend over back words
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to get their
products off the shelf.
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Ultimately, sellers
insist that you act now,
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call today and don't
miss this special offer.
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In such a pushy
world it's easy for anyone
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to perceive
Christians has people
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who are
throwing our sales pitch,
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people who at best are looking
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for an equally
beneficial exchange.
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However Christ was
clear in His approach.
00:08:01.50\00:08:04.10
He came to bless people.
00:08:04.13\00:08:06.03
He met ours with
disinterested benevolence
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leaving the ones He encountered
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with only one explanation.
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He did this
because He truly love them.
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In the heart of
Chicago, Illinois
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in a society with
little interest for God
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or church a group
of people meets weekly
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in rent studio
rooms of the Den Theater.
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In a normal day this a center
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for independent
actors, actresses, producers
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and others who love the art.
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But on the
Saturday this center is
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poshly
transformed in to a church.
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Here members worship
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as any other Seventh-day
Adventist congregation would.
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There is lively worship music.
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Hallelujah, Your
love makes me sing.
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An inspiring sermon.
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That world at
greatest displace of Christ
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acceptance of us was to trade
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in the promise edging
me in, in our John 14.
00:09:01.31\00:09:06.17
The members even
gather afterwards
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for a fellowship meal.
00:09:07.94\00:09:10.16
But this special
day doesn't end here,
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in the afternoon
members from the Epic Church
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go out on to the
streets of Wicker Park,
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to show love with
no strings attached.
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Their objective is to
brighten some ones day
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and making new friends.
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Need prayer?
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No problem, here
people who believe in God
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are available to pray with those
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who are heavy hearted.
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Some of the
signs read free hugs.
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Epic members that
taking this opportunity
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to encourage anyone
with the warm touch,
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a loving smile or
even an energetic hi-five
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to let other know
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that they are
precious in God's eyes.
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Perhaps Epic Church members
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are not leading
the message to church
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with free hugs and prayers
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but they are bringing
them closer to God's love
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and each day some
one is specially blessed.
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You never know
what you're gonna find
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or the kind of people
that you're gonna find
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and sometimes you
are surprised like
00:10:06.55\00:10:09.39
what you see and
what people tell you.
00:10:09.42\00:10:11.66
Well, today actually
my first hug of the day,
00:10:11.69\00:10:15.11
I gave the free hug
and this guy told me,
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my grandpa passed
away this morning.
00:10:18.48\00:10:21.20
So I just found it very touching
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and I know he needed that hug
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and I know that
sometimes we do little things
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but they might
mean a lot to people.
00:10:27.63\00:10:30.45
Free hugs and prayer
is just one of the ways
00:10:30.48\00:10:33.05
Epic members are
following Christ's method.
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This community is truly
about living discipleship.
00:10:36.35\00:10:40.27
Epic Church is like community
where discipleship happens.
00:10:40.30\00:10:44.01
If you come to
Epic Church immediately
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is going to be
evident in the conversations,
00:10:46.33\00:10:48.54
its going to be
evident in the sermons,
00:10:48.57\00:10:51.10
its going to be
evidence through worship,
00:10:51.13\00:10:53.40
its going to be a
evidence through the things
00:10:53.43\00:10:56.35
we do here
through the community,
00:10:56.38\00:10:59.10
that what we
after is discipleship.
00:10:59.13\00:11:01.70
It's a place where
discipleship happens,
00:11:01.73\00:11:03.32
it's a place
where un-church people
00:11:03.35\00:11:05.71
are invited into
a life of service
00:11:05.74\00:11:11.30
and knowledge of Jesus Christ,
00:11:11.33\00:11:13.15
is a place where
un-church people are accepted
00:11:13.18\00:11:17.13
and where church
people, followers of Jesus
00:11:17.16\00:11:19.98
are trained to
be disciple makers.
00:11:20.01\00:11:24.50
The location is
appropriate for meeting people
00:11:24.53\00:11:26.77
from all walks of life.
00:11:26.80\00:11:28.71
On a previous
Sabbath a local actress
00:11:28.74\00:11:31.13
who was
auditioning in the building
00:11:31.16\00:11:32.95
decided to stop by and see
00:11:32.98\00:11:34.55
what was happening in
the larger theater room.
00:11:34.58\00:11:37.53
As she peaked in the
door someone approached her,
00:11:37.56\00:11:40.20
answered some of her questions
00:11:40.23\00:11:41.85
and invited her
to join the worship.
00:11:41.88\00:11:44.19
She went in and he is now
attending on a regular basis.
00:11:44.22\00:11:48.42
Briana also found her man.
00:11:48.45\00:11:51.15
It's like I
wandered here one day
00:11:51.18\00:11:52.98
and now I'm just happier
and more at peace with things.
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And I feel like I'm a what
like I've had father for like
00:11:56.60\00:11:59.54
I'm supported at this no
things are gonna work out.
00:11:59.57\00:12:02.36
Yes, the very
different vibe here like
00:12:02.39\00:12:05.01
it's a like happy, joyful,
00:12:05.04\00:12:08.09
but as I supposed like I'm
here to this solemn and serious.
00:12:08.12\00:12:11.70
And people actually
want to talk to each others
00:12:11.73\00:12:13.21
now like, oh, we come to church
00:12:13.24\00:12:15.30
just because obligation
that we run away from it.
00:12:15.33\00:12:18.32
Epic Church is truly a place
of acceptance and diversity.
00:12:18.35\00:12:23.08
Through creative
approaches they are befriending
00:12:23.11\00:12:25.66
the Wicker Park
community around them.
00:12:25.69\00:12:28.01
Something is simple as the smile
00:12:28.04\00:12:29.85
can go a long way in
fulfilling our mission
00:12:29.88\00:12:32.38
to reach people in
a city like Chicago.
00:12:32.41\00:12:35.74
Please pray for this
holistic service to God
00:12:35.77\00:12:38.51
and others and pray
about what you might do
00:12:38.54\00:12:41.56
to share Jesus without a word.
00:12:41.59\00:12:44.37
Thank you, so much
for joining us today
00:12:44.40\00:12:46.19
on Global Mission Snapshots.
00:12:46.22\00:12:48.20
And I think you've been inspired
00:12:48.23\00:12:49.71
and challenged by what
you have seen and heard,
00:12:49.74\00:12:52.70
please remember to pray
for the people and places
00:12:52.73\00:12:55.23
that you see on this program.
00:12:55.26\00:12:57.38
It's an exciting venture to be
involved in frontline mission,
00:12:57.41\00:13:01.03
but it can
sometimes be discouraging,
00:13:01.06\00:13:02.86
its can sometimes be lonely
00:13:02.89\00:13:04.40
and is very
encouraging for them to know
00:13:04.43\00:13:07.03
that there are
people praying for them.
00:13:07.06\00:13:09.04
Before we go
please accept a free offer
00:13:09.07\00:13:11.84
from Global Mission,
00:13:11.87\00:13:12.93
it's the Global Mission calendar
00:13:12.96\00:13:14.82
which is a full
of mission images
00:13:14.85\00:13:16.82
from around the world.
00:13:16.85\00:13:17.89
It's a wonderful daily remainder
00:13:17.92\00:13:20.52
to pray for mission.
00:13:20.55\00:13:22.99
Well, that's it
for today's program
00:13:23.02\00:13:24.83
and I hope that you
can join me next time
00:13:24.86\00:13:26.99
right here on
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:13:27.02\00:13:29.77