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I will . . .
I didn’t really expect to see Francis “Fran” Gavin and his wife, Joan, (pictured above) show up for the Everyone Outreach seminar. They hadn’t even registered for the event. Also Fran is 94 years old.
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But I wasn’t too surprised to see them there. After all, I knew that Fran and Joan were passionate about sharing their faith. In fact, during the seminar, one of the men in attendance pointed to Fran and Joan and said, “They’re the reason I’m sitting here today.” And I had made more than one outreach visit to prospects whom Fran and Joan had invited to church.
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But I had also made multiple hospital and sick visits to Fran and Joan. Fran still came to church every Sunday with a smile and a wisecrack, but sometimes he used a cane to assist his walking. Even more frustrating to him than his leg problems, though, are his memory challenges.
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But there they were, sitting patiently through both days of an eight-hour evangelism seminar. Near the end of the event, the presenting pastor asked each of us to stand and share our most important “I will” statement, statements we worked on during the seminar that reflected how we would each try to do better in the area of evangelism.
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We went around the room sharing our ideas. “I will start a new women’s fellowship group that I can invite my friends to.” “I will volunteer for outreach events.” Finally, it was Fran’s turn. I wondered what he would say.
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A catechism review
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Go back to the basics and review the teachings of Luther’s Small Catechism with this new online series from Forward in Christ. Here's a sneak peek of the first week.
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“Christian church burnt down and its pastor locked up!” That kind of headline easily catches our eye. Persecution, however, has many forms. “Elly” lives in a large country in Asia that is hostile to Christianity. She is a landscape designer with the local . . .
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WELS Christian Aid and Relief delivers hands-on disaster relief and humanitarian aid to communities around the world. During these times of disaster and trauma, WELS missionaries and volunteers work to provide not only physical relief and assistance but . . .
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In April, Grow in Grace, the institute for continuing education at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (WLS), Mequon, Wis., hosted about 200 people in San Antonio, Texas, for a Celebration of Ministry retreat for pastors celebrating 3, 10, 25, and 35 years . . .
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