Free Ministry Resources

Check out the resources found on my website: Barefootpreachr.org

Here you will find links to free devotionals, surveys, handouts, financial guides, leadership resources, church job descriptions, church policy tools and much, much more.

Please check back again shortly, more will be added in the next 24 hours.

Do you know of a resource that you think would help others in ministry? Be sure to tell me!

And let me know what you would like to see here – audio? videos? children’s? teen sources?

Just remember – it’s all available for free!

Prison Fellowship Conference

On March 28-31, 2010, Prison Fellowship will host the Georgia Out4Life
Prisoner Reentry Conference at the Embassy Suites Atlanta Airport
Hotel. The conference will be conducted in partnership with the
Georgia Department of Corrections and the State Board of Pardons and
Parole. Leaders and volunteers will convene to address practical
barriers to reintegration, cultivate collaborative relationships, and
begin to develop fitting strategies to reduce recidivism and restore
prisoners to their families and communities.

A combination of plenary talks and concentrated workshops will delve
into such topics as employment for ex-offenders, addiction and
recovery, public safety, family issues, special needs of women
prisoners, and the importance of establishing networks to meet these
and many other needs. Your participation is highly valued.

Some of the featured speakers include Mark Earley (Prison Fellowship
President), Brian Owens (Commissioner, DOC), Garland Hunt (Parole
Board Member), Jay Cory (Atlanta Union Mission), Chaplain Susan Bishop
(Metro State Prison), and Vicki Lopez Lukis (Co-Chair, Florida
Secretary of DOC Reentry Advisory Council).

The Out4Life Conference is for pastors, volunteers, community leaders,
government officials, ministry organizations, employers and anyone
interested in helping inmates successfully transition into our
communities. Participants will be encouraged to extend services to
offenders and help build community reentry coalitions across the
state.

For more information, please visit the website at www.out4life.com

Justice and Mercy Impact Ministries … and another update

Men Stopping Violence

Men Stopping Violence is seeking faith based institutions that would like to participate in the Because We Have Daughters (BWHD) program. This fun and educational program will be conducted in partnership with researchers from GSU to study the effectiveness of BWHD as a violence prevention program promoting safety for girls and women. If funded, small stipends will be available for the site, as well as to participants. If interested, please contact http://www.menstoppingviolence.org/index.php

A proposal being submitted requires letters of interest no later than January 19, 2010

Justice and Mercy Impact Ministries … another update

Atlanta Fulton Family Connection Child Abuse and Neglect Council

Atlanta Fulton Family Connection Child Abuse and Neglect Council invites all who work with these issues in nonprofits, ministries, or agencies and other concerned citizens to the January meeting. 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.; Wednesday Jan. 20, 2010; Fulton County Juvenile Court; 395 Pryor Street Room 1132; Atlanta, GA 30312. Please R.s.v.p. by sending me a comment so I can forward your information.

Justice and Mercy Impact Ministries updates

Informational Gathering on Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking

January 21 | Avondale Patillo UMC, Decatur

North Georgia Conference
Advocacy Team is hosting a time of discussion, discernment and
decisions for action with metro-area United Methodist churches,
conference leaders, other interested persons and the Interfaith
Children’s Movement. Please join us on Thursday, January 21, 2010 at
10:00 a.m. at Avondale-Pattillo UMC, 3260 Covington Highway, Decatur,
30032. If you plan to attend please R.S.V.P. by commenting here and I will send you additional information.

For more information about ICM check out their website at
www.interfaithchildrenmovement.org

Justice, Mercy & Opportunities!

Wonder how you can live out your faith? Explore these many opportunities!

Faith Communities Responding to Domestic Violence
November 17 | Doubletree Hotel (2061 N Druid Hills Rd, Atlanta)
Religious leaders are frequently the primary contact for support and aid following physical abuse by an intimate partner. On Tuesday, Nov. 17, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. participants in this one-day dialogue with nationally recognized speakers, will build on their own insight and experience as they explore the dynamics of domestic violence, effective responses to victims and abusers, and local resources available to faith communities. Registration is free. Continental breakfast and lunch are provided. Please RSVP by Tuesday, November 10 via email to taylort@gcadv.org or call 404-209-0280 for more information.

Here is another one:

Prison Ministry, Thresholds will provide a two-day training to certify volunteer mentors on consecutive Saturdays, November 14 and 21, 2009, from 8:30-3:00 each day, at Marist School. Thresholds is a structured program using mentors working one-on-one in training prisoners prior to their release in the art of thoughtful decision making. For more information and to apply, contact Jim Powers, Volunteer Coordinator, jfpowers@bellsouth.net or 404-312-2067

You can also check this out:

Visit RaiseMeUp.org to learn more about this national campaign. On the Georgia pages learn how to get involved to help children in our state. You don't have to raise a child to raise them up. You just have to raise your hand and say you'll help.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? ~ Micah 6:8

Justice and Mercy Impact Ministry Expo

Quick update on prison ministry expo:

Learn About Justice and Mercy Ministries at Expo This Sunday
10/13/2009

Have you ever felt a burden on your heart to minister to the prisoners in our penal systems? Would you know how to begin if you wanted to explore that call? Would you be able to find some holy task that matches your ability, interest, and situation? The answers are yes to all of these questions IF you attend the Justice and Mercy Impact Ministry Expo this Sunday evening, October 18, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. St Andrew UMC in Marietta will host this expo in the fellowship hall.

Here you can review various ministries that serve victims of crime, help inmates reenter society, visit detention facilities for worship services, sponsor children for summer camp or mentor a child, pray for the victims, the families and offer care and restoration of victims, offenders, criminal justice officials, and more. There will be many ministries present to highlight their ministries.

Come find out more about a particular ministry that interests you or come and see what ministry areas are available. Ministry representatives will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

This can't be said enough ...

This was written on our son's carepage five months after his 20th birthday. It is still relevant today and I wanted to share it with you.

7 Ways You Can Help Me in My Grief written 10/30/06

1. Don’t try to “Fix-It.” Try to listen to me without judgment. I don’t need you to “fix” my pain, anger or tears. Just allow me to share it with you.

2. Say it with Food, and Hugs and written notes. Now more than ever, we need to know how much you love us and are praying for us. Bring us a meal occasionally – we have days that we don’t even know what to prepare for dinner and can’t figure out how to prepare it even if we know we have it in the house! Hug us often and say “I love you,” or “I’m praying for you” with actions and words, over and over again – even if you think we know it. Write a note and tell us what you remember about our loved one or what he meant to your life. And then write us another note to mark the anniversary – by weeks, months – or other special occasions. (Letters in the mail, cards with little remembrances, are tangible prayers that we can hold in our hands as well as our hearts.)

3. Offer Specific Help. “Call me if there is anything I can do” is just too hard for me to do right now – I don’t really know what I need to do and I certainly don’t know what to tell you to do! So offer specific help. Can I shop for your groceries? Can I drive you to a doctor’s appointment? Arrange to take us out for coffee or lunch – individually, so we can talk. Run errands – the cleaners, drug store, post office, bank deposits. Arrange among our circle of friends to deliver meals. Set up a cooler outside the door – so we don’t feel obligated to meet and greet each meal delivery – and drop off dinners there.

4. Faraway Friends. You’re halfway across the country, but you desperately want to help us. You know us – we feel passionately about helping others struggle with cancer and finding new treatments and will appreciate if you participate in a walk-a-thon, or rally a group to do so in Matthew’s honor.

5. Deliver Comfort - Pamper Us. When we are at home just stop by with special little things to make us feel special. This is especially important for the kids – Zachary and Stephanie – they get overlooked in their grief as folks ask “How are your mom and doing?” Take a good book, a couple of magazines, or a gift card to the local video store. Drop by with a couple of milkshakes or a favorite coffee drink or favorite snack.

6. Just Be There. When you are hit with such a tragedy you are hurled into a world that is very unfamiliar, scary and lonely. Suddenly you do not feel like you are a “normal” person anymore but that we belong to a club no one ever wants to be a part of. And people react to you in very interesting ways. Some good some bad. Each family member is an individual dealing with our pain and stress in our own way.

7. Ask us what we need without judgment – and then ask us when you see us again, and then again. At the time you ask, we may not be able to answer you. Remember, some of us want to talk - some don't. Some need to retreat - some don't. And these needs change day-to-day. We need above all else to feel unconditionally loved, supported, respected and part of the world. “Love is such a curative property that it cannot be quantified.”

I’ve added an eighth way:
8. Help Us Remember. One of our greatest fears is that we will forget Matthew – what his voice sounded like, what he looked like, his favorite food, how he laughed, what it felt like to have him hug us. So, talk to us about him – mention his name, tell us the stories you remember, write the stories down and share them with us! Also, ask others to honor Matthew’s memory and share Matt’s story with someone else.

Now for an update...
Remember our pain and grief still lives within us. Our son is still DEAD! He isn't gone, he hasn't been lost, he isn't away - he is DEAD. We will celebrate moments in life, but never without the knowledge that a vital part of us is absent. So, it still matters 3 years and 3 months later, that we are not walking this difficult road alone. And it matters that YOU remind us we are not walking alone. And it matters that you share with us the many ways you have been touched by Matthew's life and death.


Keep in touch, it matters to us.

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

JUSTICE and MERCY IMPACT Ministry Expo

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2: 17
Explore ways you can “Rethink Church” – by putting our faith in Jesus Christ into action as we serve and minister to one another and to those outside of our local church. On Sunday evening,
October 18, 2009, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM, various ministries that serve victims of crime, help inmates reenter society, visit detention facilities for worship services, sponsor children for summer camp or mentor a child, pray for the victims, the families and offer care and restoration of victims, offenders, criminal justice officials, and the community as a whole will gather to highlight their programs. St Andrew UMC in Marietta will host this expo in the fellowship hall.

Come find out more about a particular ministry that interests you or come and see what ministry areas are available. Ministry representatives will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. If you volunteer with a particular ministry or would like your ministry to participate, email barefootpreachr@gmail.com and complete an Expo Registration Form.

We (you and I) are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ and God has a place of service for each one of us through these programs. See you October 18th!

A need for prayer

"God only requires of his adult children, that their hearts be truly purified, and that they offer him continually the wishes and vows that naturally spring from perfect love. For these desires, being the genuine fruits of love, are the most perfect prayers that can spring from it." ~[from "A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by John Wesley (1703-1791)]

Prayer for forgiveness:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast goodness; in your abundant mercy blot out my offences. Wash me thoroughly from my sin. For I acknowledge my rebelliousness, And my sin is always before me. Against you only have I sinned, And done what is evil in your eyes. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. ~ Psalm 51