COMMUNITY OUTREACH
National Day of Prayer
Join others in DuPage County to pray for our country on the National Day of Prayer, Thursday May 6th, 12 noon until 1 P.M. at Naperville Municipal Building at the corner of Aurora and Eagle. The theme for this observance is "For Such a Time as This" taken from Nahum 1:7, "The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him." (sponsored by Concerned Women of America)
God has worked through this ministry over the past years and we trust that He will continue to move in the hearts of those who feel led to reach out to their neighbors, co-workers, and friends with the good news of Jesus. We'd like to make you aware of two opportunities for further training and discussion on how to start a Q Place.
Q Place Training Class—If you missed our Q Place event on January 25 or if you would like further training, Chris Castaldo and Laurie Costley are leading on a class on how to implement a Q Place (a gathering with non-Christian friends in which questions about Christianity may be explored) in your community. This seven-week class started Feburary 14 at 11 a.m. in C005. No registration is necessary.
For those who cannot make that morning class, there is a similar class on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. at the home of Ron Mangin (1466 Sandy Hook St., Wheaton), pastor at Blanchard Road Alliance Church.
Please email Annie to let us know if you'd like to attend.
Q Place, as an idea, is not new. It's over 2000 years old. The founder's name is Jesus. He invited twelve ordinary people to spend focused time with Him. Jesus asked relevant questions about God and the Scriptures. He listened. He lived with his followers. He loved them. He told them stories to help them seek truth.
Jesus enabled them to discover answers at their own pace and in their own way. He was patient with the process because he knew it couldn't be rushed. In that ongoing interaction, they came to know more than they ever expected. And it changed their lives.
Click on the big Q above to find out more!
Did you know that only 9% of professing Christians have a biblical worldview?
To counter this slide within the body of Christ, College Church is participating in an ambitious and powerful project—Focus on the Family's The Truth Project.
The Truth Project is a DVD-based small group curriculum comprised of 12 one-hour lessons taught by Dr. Del Tackett of Focus on the Family. This home study is the starting point for looking at life from a biblical perspective. Each lesson discusses in great detail the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life. The message of each DVD viewing is brought home by in-depth discussion and group prayer time.
See www.thethruthproject.org to view the trailer with Del Tackett describing the Truth Project and much more information on The Truth Project.
Culture Impact Seminars
"Living in A World with No Off Switch"
Dr.Read Mercer Schuchardt
Click on the below links to hear Dr. Schuchardt's talk.
Podcasts
Center for Bioethics has excellent podcasts on Clinical Ethics and Reproductive Ethics, which can be heard here.
Questions?
You can click here to send an email.
Please also visit Pastor Chris Castaldo's blog at www.Chris-tocentric.com.
OUTREACH COMMUNITY CENTER
The Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream helps neighborhood residents work together to build a stronger community. This goal is achieved through a wide range of community services that help people make positive changes in their individual, family, and community lives.
College Church's partnership with the Outreach Community Center includes:
The Christmas Store provides gifts at lower than retail cost to families in need.
Family to Family joins volunteer families with community families in mutually supportive relationships that include friendship and mentoring. The families meet regularly throughout the year to share life's journey in the areas of parenting, employment, education and faith exploration.
Tutoring is an after school activity that goes on year round at the Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream.
Ongoing food drive provides emergency food to families in need. We host a table in the Tunnel level of the Commons to collect food for this important ministry to feed the hungry.
Contact Outreach Community Center
CARENET PREGNANCY SERVICES OF DUPAGE
CareNet Pregnancy Services of DuPage helps women who are experiencing unplanned or unwanted pregnancies choose life for their unborn babies. CareNet provides counseling to women, men, and families; supplies maternity clothes and baby items; and hosts parenting and childbirth classes. Two annual events, a banquet and Hike for Life, help to raise funds for CPS.
CareNet of DuPage provides the following services:
Free pregnancy tests
Information on pregnancy and options
Post-abortion counseling
Referral to resources and agencies
Ongoing counseling and support
Counseling for parents of pregnant teens
Support groups
Counseling for men and families
24-hour hotline
Bridges parenting group
Abstinence education programs for teens
Contact CareNet Pregnancy Services
P.A.D.S. (PUBLIC ACTION TO DELIVER SHELTER)
P.A.D.S. is an organization that coordinates temporary shelter for the homeless in DuPage County. College Church provides volunteers to staff an emergency shelter in Wheaton the fifth Wednesday of the month. While serving dinner and breakfast and doing laundry on an overnight shift, volunteers have the opportunity to converse with the homeless guests.
For more information, call College Church at 630-668-0878 or visit the P.A.D.S. website at www.dupagepads.org.
TWICE IS NICE RESALE STORE
College Church founded and operates the Twice is Nice Resale Store to provide quality merchandise (gently used: clothes, furniture, toys, kitchen items, etc.) at reasonable prices to the community surrounding south Carol Stream. Funds raised go to support the Outreach Community Center in Carol Stream.
Volunteers run Twice is Nice are always looking for helpers to:
- Price merchandise
- Welcome customers
- Collect donations on Saturdays
- Sort donations
- Work the register
Call the store manager at 630-260-0942 to volunteer.
Donations are accepted anytime: quality used clothes, toys, and household items.
Twice is Nice is located in the shopping center on the northwest corner of President and Geneva in Carol Stream.
Store hours:
- Monday-Friday: 10-5
- Thursday: 10-8
- Saturday: 9-4
ILLINOIS FAMILY INSTITUTE
The Illinois Family Institute (IFI) is an organization dedicated to upholding and re-affirming marriage, family, life and liberty in Illinois. For the past fifteen years, the IFI has worked to advance public policy initiatives consistent with Judeo-Christian teachings and traditions, educating citizens so that they can better influence their local communities and the state. They accomplish this by serving as a reliable source of information and analysis on issues that affect the family and traditional values, promoting the pro-family agenda in local councils, school boards, the media and Illinois General Assembly, and building strategic alliances and networks that promote programs and policies consistent with their mission.
Contact Illinois Family Institute.
SERENITY HOUSE
Serenity House is a community-based, comprehensive treatment facility offering services to adult men and women suffering from the disease of chemical dependence and substance abuse. Their programs provide these individuals with the necessary skills to rebuild families, strengthen relationships, and to become productive members of their communities.
Contact Serenity House.
CENTER FOR APPLIED CHRISTIAN ETHICS
The Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) supports the mission of Wheaton College by promoting and encouraging the formation of moral character and the application of biblical ethics to contemporary moral decisions. In addition to serving the Wheaton faculty and students, CACE provides the broader public with publications, programming, and conferences. Through a tri-annual newsletter, featuring essays and book reviews, a website, national and regional conferences, and academic publications, CACE presents evangelical moral reflections on contemporary issues.
Contact the CACE.
EXODUS INTERNATIONAL
Exodus is a nonprofit, interdenominational Christian organization promoting the message of freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ. Within both the Christian and secular communities, Exodus has challenged those who respond to homosexuals with ignorance and fear, and those who uphold homosexuality as a valid orientation. Exodus provides support for individuals who want to recover from homosexuality, as well as providing support for their family (parents, spouses, children, relatives) and friends.
Contact Exodus International.
PROBE MINISTRIES
Probe Ministries desires to present the Gospel to communities, nationally and internationally, by providing life-long opportunities to integrate faith and learning through balanced, biblically based scholarship, training people to love God by renewing their minds and equipping the Church to engage the world for Christ.
Contact Probe Ministries.
EVANGELICAL CHILD & FAMILY AGENCY
ECFA is an evangelical Christian social services agency providing services such as adoption, pregnancy counseling and care, family counseling and child welfare services which includes foster care and family preservation.
Contact EFCA.
CENTER FOR BIOETHICS AND HUMAN DIGNITY
The Center equips thought leaders to engage the issues of bioethics using the tools of rigorous research, conceptual analysis, charitable critique, leading-edge publication, and effective teaching. It is a national and international leader in producing a wide range of live, recorded, and written resources examining bioethical issues. Recognizing that biblical values have exercised a profound influence on Western Culture, the Center explores the potential contribution of such values as part of its work.
Contact Center For Bioethics.
CHRISTIANITY TODAY
Christianity Today is an international communications ministry that now includes multiple award-winning magazines, books, tapes, curricula, CDs and an ever-expanding online presence. Founded by Billy Graham, Christianity Today serves the global church with resources designed to meet the needs of both Christian leaders and laity alike — adults, youth, and families.
Contact Christianity Today.
EMMAUS MINISTRIES
Emmaus provides hope in Christ for men involved in sexual exploitation by developing ministries of evangelization, transformation, and education.
Contact Emmaus.
PRISON FELLOWSHIP/BREAKPOINT MINISTRIES
Prison Fellowship develops and communicates Christian worldview messages that offer a critique of contemporary culture and encourages and equips the church to think and live Christianly. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today’s news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Chuck Colson’s daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday.
Contact Prison Fellowship. 
LifeNews.com is an independent news agency specifically devoted to reporting news that affects the pro-life community. With a team of experienced journalists and reporters, LifeNews.com reaches more than 250,000 pro-life advocates each week via its web site, email news reports, and weekday radio program.
LifeNews.com also acts as a service provider to furnish news content to media that share the pro-life perspective. The topics covered by LifeNews.com include abortion, assisted suicide and euthanasia, bioethics issues such as human cloning and stem cell research, campaigns and elections, and legal and legislative issues.
Formerly the Pro-Life Infonet, LifeNews.com has been harnessing the power of the Internet since 1992 to bring pro-life news to the pro-life community. We've developed a reputation for fairness, accuracy and timeliness in our fifteen years of service.
For more information visit Life New.
First Things is a monthly journal which is focused on creating a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society." The journal is interreligious and non-partisan, representing a broad intellectual tradition of orthodox Christian critique of contemporary society. It is published monthlyr. Click here to go to the website.