Outreach thru Faith in Action – Youth and Young Adult Lost Souls!

April 2019

Hope, so many people seem to be living with it.  And as Christian people we know and believe that the source of our Hope this Easter Season is found in the cross, and most of all in the empty tomb with the news that Christ is not dead, that He is Risen.  The rate of those living with hope is really scary when we look at the 18 – 34 age bracket.  We know that the majority of this age group is unchurched.  They are living without the love of Christ in their lives, and without that hope I can’t help but think they are in a very dark place.  Even in my own family, I lost my son to suicide.  I am not the only one, the rate of suicide, especially in this age range is on the rise.   The number of suicides in Arizona in 2018 was about 1300.  It is the second leading cause of death for ages 15-34 nationally, over 44,000 deaths recorded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention last year.

Depression can be a factor.  Teen lifeline received more than 23,000 calls and nearly 1400 text messages from youth in Arizona in 2018.  A 12% increase over 2017.  I know many at Mountain View have had personal experiences with the conditions of depression.  You may even have a loved one who struggles.  These people need our Lord’s love.

We believe FaithInActionAZ.org, our online church can help.  We believe that Jesus came to the world with the Gospel of Hope, we believe that Jesus is Hope.  As such we want to provide a place where people can go and hear messages of hope, and be surrounded by people who have Hope online.  Faith in Action currently has plans to start posting sermons by pastors in our online church.  We pray they can attract the youth to the church and bring the hope they need so much.  We also hope to one day call a pastor to FaithInActionAZ.Org, but until that time, we will work with area pastors to fill our needs.

But our Hope extends beyond preaching.  We want to have these 18-34 year olds engage in chat rooms and community experiences.  We plan on hosting several events for them throughout the year and even want to engage the homelessness problem in Arizona through our online church and our young people.  Affiliation with Desert Ministries is bringing the homeless of Apache Junction into focus.  There were 43 homeless counted in AJ in January of 2017 by Arizona State University Sustainable Cities Network.  We believe the low income are in a cycle of being homeless.  Our Tomahawk project will be working to break this cycle.  We pray that it will come alongside ministries like The Genesis project and Family Promise, which Mountain View holds close to its heart.  Our hope is that these missions will help our young people connect and grow.

And they are already doing the work of the church.  The young people connected to our online church are already telling their secular friends about the hope they have in Jesus and are inviting them to check out FaithinActionAZ online.  We hope our Online Church can serve as a doorway to the hope of Christ and as a community for those who would not enter a physical church.

We also hope to provide support.  The Faith In Action Staff will be monitoring our site to look for those who cry out for help.  We plan to provide resources to them and will even call Teen Lifeline or the National Suicide Prevention Hotline if the need arises.  

We Pray this Easter you make a difference with us.  Invite anyone missing from church to check out FaithInActionAZ.Org or invite them with you to your local congregation, such as Mountain View Lutheran.

We also pray you would consider helping us with your time, talents and treasures.  We need your help.  Financial help is needed to continue these efforts.  We also need volunteers to assist our staff.  To make a donation check out our website, FaithinActionAZ.Org.

This Easter season lets encourage those we love, especially those living without hope to come with you, to check out our website, and to once again hear the message of Hope found in the empty tomb.

Submitted by Dale Laurin