Saturday, July 11, 1998

Outfront

SINGING FOR CHRIST

A gospel singing will be held July 19 at the West Texas Ranch for Christ, located 22 miles south of Sweetwater on Highway 70.

Singing will be from 1-4:30 p.m. in a beautiful canyon that once hosted Billy Graham and his entourage.

Everyone should bring a lawn chair. Call J.D. Taylor at 282-2756 for more information.

THIS WEEK'S VBS

The following churches will have Vacation Bible School this week. To have your church's Vacation Bible School listed, fax information to Loretta Fulton at 670-5242.

- Abilene Baptist Church, 5601 Hartford, Monday through Friday, 7-9 p.m., "Search for Wisdom," ages 4 through sixth grade. Graduation will be at 9:30 a.m. July 19. Lunch will be provided at the church. Call 692-2122.

- Antioch C.M.E., 809 Plum St., Monday through Friday, 6-8 p.m. Call 676-0624.

- Belmont Baptist Church, 2117 Palm, Sunday through Friday, 672-5689.

- Bethel Temple Christian Center, 3101 N. 12th, Monday through Friday, 6-9 p.m., "Son Country," Call 677-9720

- Crescent Heights Baptist Church, 1902 N. Mockingbird, Monday through Friday, 6-9 p.m., ages 3 through fifth grade Call 677-3749.

- Holiday Hills Baptist Church, 5309 Capitol Ave., "A Galactic Good News Adventure," Monday through Friday, 5:30 p.m., Call 692-6681.

- Minter Lane Church of Christ, 2502 Minter Lane, Monday through Friday, 9-11:30 a.m., "Bible Feasts and Festivals," ages 3 through fifth grade. At 11:45 a.m. Friday, parents and siblings are invited to join the children for a hot dog lunch and slide show following the final class session. Call 677-8611.

- Wylie United Methodist Church, 3130 Antilley, "The World of Elijah and Elisha," Monday through Thursday, 9-11:30 a.m., ages 5-fourth grade, 698-3409.

- Zion Lutheran Church, 1011 Briarwood, "Light House Adventure, Jesus Lights the Way," Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m.-noon, 692-2497.

GRAHAM ANNOUNCES 2000 EVENT

Evangelist Billy Graham is holding a press conference Thursday in New York to announce "an unprecedented international event to take place in the year 2000."

Representatives from every nation and territory in the world are expected to be on hand for the 10:30 a.m. announcement at the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York.

Graham has received almost 1,000 responses from Christian leaders around the world, communicating to him their belief that the year 2000 and the start of a new millennium was the appropriate time for him to convene a gathering of international church leaders for prayer, discussion and mobilization for evangelism in the 21st century.

21ST CENTURY CHURCH

Noted church growth expert Dr. George Barna offers a plan for spiritual revival and blueprints for building a relevant church for the 21st century in his new book The Second Coming of the Church (Word Publishing, $18.99)

Barna, president of Barna Research Group, which conducts demographic and marketing research for secular and religious groups, has observed that "though many leaders are unwilling to accept moral anarchy as a viable option, many churches are focusing inward, rather than outward, seemingly unsure of how to address this cultural crisis."

Barna warns that "unless a radical solution for the revival of the Christian church in the United States is adopted and implemented soon, the spiritual hunger of Americans will either go unmet or be satisfied by other faith groups."

In his book, Barna presents three keys to establishing a moral and spiritual revolution within the Christian church:

- Identifying, training, and commissioning godly leaders

- Developing biblically literate Christians

- Conceiving new models of the Christian community

Fellow pollster George Gallup Jr. praised Barna's book for its practical approach.

"George Barna has written a blockbuster of a book. He offers clearcut, practical advice on how to raise up the kind of leadership needed in this time of the church's testing," Gallup wrote.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Religion News Service

"Turning my will over to God is a daily deal with me. When I do it early in the morning, my day is usually great. When I wait until noon or midday, my day usually stinks until I get alone somewhere with that God who did all the star-scattering and breath-giving and say, 'OK, Father, forgive my arrogance. You can have your world back.' "

- Larry Gatlin, lead singer and songwriter for The Gatlin Brothers country music group, in his new book "All the Gold in California: And Other People, Places, & Things" (Thomas Nelson).