.

In October 4,000 Christians from every country of the world met in Cape Town, South Africa to discuss evangelization in the 21st century and to identify key challenges facing churches today.

Carl Nelson, GMAE President, was one of 20 evangelical leaders from Minnesota invited to participate in the congress.

One of the repeated themes is that the 21st century will be a century of missions “by everyone to everywhere”. For American Christians this will mean learning to partner with sending churches from Nigeria, India, China, Brazil, Kenya and many other places where churches are thriving. It also means being ready to welcome and engage missionaries coming to the US.

One of the highlights of Cape Town 2010 was celebrating the explosive growth of the church in the “global south” of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Today 80% of all the world’s Christians live in these regions of the world. Reflecting that new reality, this congress was not dominated by American speakers  and issues, rather, many godly and gifted spiritual leaders from other regions of the world were involved in planning, leading and teaching at Cape Town 2010.

You can access resources and watch dozens of videos from the congress online at conversations.lausanne.org.

In a report presented at the NAE Generation Forum in Minneapolis, a total of 64% of unmarried evangelical young adults have either had sex in the past year, or are in a sexual relationship now. One of the observations made by presenters at the forum is that this report shows that evangelical young adults are unsure and confused about how to understand sex and marriage.

View the report here.

One panelist noted how frequently they heard evangelical young adults talk about the pain of experiencing their parents’ divorce and saying that they would never do that to their children. So their opinion was that it was better to live together first to make sure their relationship could work, and then get married.

Another point was made by several panelists that parents need to speak more freely and openly with their young adult children about the benefits of enjoying sex within marriage. While children may receive sex education at school or at church, an open relationship with parents, even after the children become adult and move out of the home, is important to helping young adults develop a positive image of sex as a good gift from God to be enjoyed most within his design.

In response to the misconstrued ideas that Americans – and including evangelicals – have about sex, the the NAE recently published a Bible-based “Theology of Sex” to give pastors, parents and church leaders a guide for talking about “God’s good gift of sex” and how we can honor that gift.

The Theology of Sex is available online, and GMAE has copies available that can be mailed to you upon request.

]]> http://www.transformmn.org/2011/07/evangelical-young-adults-confused-about-sex/feed/ 0 http://www.transformmn.org/2011/05/preparing-to-end-life-well/ http://www.transformmn.org/2011/05/preparing-to-end-life-well/#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 21:41:54 +0000 Carl Nelson http://www.transformmn.org/?p=1956

Speakers at the 2001 Evangelical Leaders Forum

The implications of our faith extend into all areas of life, including our values and attitudes as we approach the end of life.

In May GMAE teamed up with TPT (PBS Channel 2) to host an evangelical leaders forum titled “Preparing to End Life Well: An Evangelical Discussion of End of Life Care Issues”. You can view videos from that evening below, or learn more about the public campaign at www.honoringchoices.org.

Pastors and evangelical leaders from all across Minnesota, and even a couple from Wisconsin, came and discussed how to engage their churches in conversations about this sometimes sensitive topic. Speakers Leith Anderson (Wooddale Church) and Jay Barnes (Bethel University) took the lead in sharing Biblical principles that guide us and give us hope as we “prepare to end life well.” Doctor Ross Anderson and hospice home director Bob Solheim gave insight as Christian professionals.

Participants at the Evangelical Leaders Forum

We knew this was an important topic to discuss – given today’s sophisticated medical technology – but we were surprised by how thankful everyone was that GMAE organized this forum.

One participant wrote later and said:

I am so glad GMAE is bringing this issue to our churches!  I learned so much from the discussion and feel more confident as I help my Dad go through this time.  I wish my church would have had something like this before I went through it with my Mom.  I had to make difficult decisions and as a prolife, Christian, I was concerned about those decisions. I’ve already talked to people about starting a small group.  Our church leaders need to help lead us in this area.

Here are video segments from this Evangelical Leaders Forum.

Leith Anderson introduces the program with passages from scripture and examples of how Joseph and King David approached end of life care.

Jay Barnes continues by explaining how it is important for Christian leaders to help our congregations prepare for end of life issues.

Dr. Ross Anderson, retired Medical Doctor shares a perspective from the medical profession.
Bob Solheim shares his perspective from hospice care ministry.

Feedback from group discussion sessions and Q&A session.

Imagine what Minnesota would be like if Christians loved their neighbors like Jesus tells us to, and we helped people to meet Jesus personally.

We believe it’s possible! If we take care of our neighbor and love them like Jesus tells us, if we help people meet Jesus, if we reconcile our racial and cultural differences, if Christians put their faith in action and we work together, we can transform Minnesota!

Transform Minnesota is a diverse network of evangelicals extending the gospel of Jesus and his kingdom, and our vision is to transform Minnesota by connecting and mobilizing evangelicals.

But why change our name?

Primarily because we need to do a better job to communicate our desire for people to be changed by a personal encounter with Jesus and to explain the ministry that we do. We had clear feedback that our previous name – Greater Minnesota Association of Evangelicals – was too long to say, and “GMAE” was simply an acronym that didn’t tell people what our mission was. As a result too many people were confused about our purpose.

After much prayer and planning we chosen a name that communicates the re-birth and supernatural change that is experienced when people encounter Jesus. It also expresses our hope that whole communities can be changed through the loving service of churches.

While the evangelical network is concentrated in the metropolitan area, our training, leadership resources and connections extend across the whole state, and our vision is that people everywhere in our state will be transformed by Jesus and that the whole state would experience the blessing of churches extending the kingdom of God to their neighbors.

Still the same!

Even though our name is changing, who we are and what we do will stay the same:

• Connect and mobilize evangelicals to spread the Gospel of Jesus and extend his kingdom.

• Empower churches to reach neighbors in their communities.

• Help evangelicals bridge racial, geographic and denominational differences by forming new relationships within our diverse networks.

• Equip and train evangelical leaders through conferences, forums and leadership networks.

• Model transformational ministry by leading and supporting three affiliate ministries: Damascus Way Reentry Center, New Life Family Services and World Relief Minnesota.

Transform Minnesota is also looking for a Finance & Facility Manager.  The Finance & Facility Manager will help Transform Minnesota and its three affiliate ministries  fulfill their goals by managing and organizing financial activities and procedures as well as managing facilities and business operations.  A complete job description can be found here.  To apply, send a cover letter and resume to Schelli Cronk, Human Resources Manager at schelli@transformmn.org

New Life Family Services is looking for a Client Care Nurse.  This position can be filled by either a Licensed Registered Nurse or a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS).  This is a 24-32 hour/week position.  Responsibilities include but are not limited to; conducting pregnancy tests and performing ultrasounds, assessing client needs and maintaining accurate records and documentation.  Must hold a current Registered Nurse’s License in good standing with the Minnesota State Board of Nursing or is a sonographer who has received education from an accredited program or completed training in an accredited practice and is a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer.  Experience in obstetrics preferred.  A full job description can be found here.  To apply, send a cover letter and resume to Schelli Cronk, Human Resources Manager at schelli@transformmn.org