Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of stories about congregations responding to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s call to "Grow Christ's Church Deep and Wide." The call to grow in evangelism, discipleship, servanthood and diversity was adopted by the 2008 General Assembly and renewed by the 2010 General Assembly. — Jerry L. Van Marter

When First Presbyterian Church of San Anselmo, Calif., heard there was a need for a temporary homeless shelter in its area, it stepped up — even though its members had almost no experience working with the homeless.

Only one member had any …

Christians in Pakistan say they are shocked by the killing of two young Christians, who were shot dead on court premises when they were taken there by police to face a charge of blasphemy against Islam.

The Justice and Peace Commission of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan named the two men as Rashid Emmanuel, a pastor, and his brother, Sajid Emmanuel.

They were leaving the court in Faisalabad accompanied by a police officer on July 19, when unidentified gunmen opened fire, killing the two Christians and injuring the police officer.

The brothers had been detained in early July on …

When editorial director Dean Ridings imagines the reader of Thriving Family magazine produced by Colorado-based Focus on the Family, he pictures a soccer mom, toting it along to her child’s game.

Leadership Journal is geared for pastors, and Men of Integrity, also published by Christianity Today International, is aimed at men who might tuck the small devotional periodical in their suit pocket.

Specialization is the name of the game — and sometimes the key to survival for Christian magazines, experts say. But while niche-targeting may give a magazine a better chance of making it, it’s not a cure-all for …

As a young girl, the Rev. Debra Matthews was inspired to "step into greatness" at a Stillman College step show. The young adults who were performing weren’t much older than the thousands of youth gathered at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium here this week.

Matthews told the several thousand Triennium participants not to doubt their ability to influence people and change the world. Don't settle for mediocrity, but realize that the enemy will tempt you along the way, she said.

The scripture reading for July 21 Triennium worship was not read so much as it was acted. Young adults told the …

The Rev. Marianne Rhebergen has seen many churches that have little or no sense of what they are called to be, and a host of discouraged and even dysfunctional pastors serving them.

"So many are living out of old models — models that worked in the middle of the 20th century," she said. "Today, there is a desperate need for our congregations to ‘seek the welfare of the city in which they have been planted,’ to move outside their doors into God's world."

That's one of the reasons why Rhebergen, then interim executive presbyter for Lehigh Presbytery, became a member …

Faith-based organizations working on HIV are experiencing shifts in funding that are reducing their capacity to provide treatment and related services, according to a study presented during the 18th International AIDS Conference in Vienna.

“There is growing concern that momentum behind the push to fund universal access to HIV treatment is being lost,” says the study, which was presented at a July 21 media conference in Vienna. It was commissioned by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, an international network of more than 50 churches and Christian organizations

Described as a “pilot study,” the research found that the effects of shifts …

Wearing a bright, floral blouse and pink shorts, Mita Jean Louis stares into a mirror, unmindful of the people around her. She is smiling, and someone asks if she’s smiling because she sees the reflection of such a beautiful young woman.

The smile vanishes.

“I don’t know,” says the 19-year-old, instantly shy. She puts the mirror away in a makeshift cabinet, and lowers herself onto her bed. The bandage that covers the stump of her thigh shows through below her shorts.

Mita turns her face into the shoulder of another teenager, 17-year-old Reginette Sinelien, who also lost a leg.

“They …

Editor's note: This is the latest in a series of stories about congregations responding to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s call to "Grow Christ's Church Deep and Wide." The call to grow in evangelism, discipleship, servanthood and diversity was adopted by the 2008 General Assembly and renewed by the 2010 General Assembly. — Jerry L. Van Marter

Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore recently wrapped up another successful year of tutoring.

While tutoring is a fairly popular community outreach for churches, it’s not just a trend at Brown Memorial — it's a 46-year-old tradition.

The program was started by …

After 17 years as head of the Reformed Church in America, the Rev. Wesley Granberg-Michaelson announced July 20 that he will retire as general secretary next year.

In recent years, Granberg-Michaelson has been a key leader in ecumenical circles, helping to found the group Christian Churches Together in the USA, the nascent Global Christian Forum and also the new World Communion of Reformed Churches — a merger of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council.

Granberg-Michaelson expects to serve until the fall of 2011, allowing the church’s General Synod Council to launch the search for a …

A survey of British Jews has found that more than half of respondents would support Israeli government negotiations with Hamas, the Islamic resistance movement that controls the Gaza Strip.

The survey, conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, found that three-quarters of respondents favor a two-state solution for Israel to live in peace with its neighbors in the Middle East. Two-thirds of those surveyed also favor swapping land for peace, while opposing expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The survey report, “Committed, Concerned and Conciliatory: The attitude of Jews in Britain towards Israel,” is described by …