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Express Grace<br />
Conference<br />
SOUTHWOOD<br />
reflect<br />
<strong>2015</strong><br />
I will never forget the day I gave a homeless man my home phone<br />
number. My middle-school youth group was serving lunch to the<br />
homeless at a park in Dallas, and I struck up a conversation with a<br />
young man who said he wanted to be a banker. “My dad is a banker,”<br />
I said, “I bet he could get you a job at the bank! Here is my home<br />
number, call anytime after 6pm and ask for Mark Denton. I will let<br />
him know to expect your call.” Three collect phone calls later (and no<br />
job at the bank), my dad was not too pleased with me. My 7th grade<br />
self understood that the man needed a job, even wanted a job, but<br />
I was not sure where to point him to find one. I had no idea what<br />
would be required for him to overcome his current situation, secure a<br />
job, and then maintain that job for a meaningful length of time. This<br />
might be a silly example, but I hear from people all the time, “I met<br />
this woman who really needed _____ ...and I had no idea how to help<br />
her!” Perhaps many of us feel the same way I felt in that park - unsure<br />
how to help in a meaningful manor.<br />
Our mission statement is simple, to Experience and Express Grace,<br />
but working that out in reality is not always so simple. We might<br />
believe that a relational approach to poverty alleviation is best, but<br />
we have no idea where or how to begin building a relationship with<br />
one of our materially poor neighbors in Huntsville—much less one 2<br />
continents away in India! All too often we can find ourselves talking a<br />
lot about serving our neighbors without meaningful action.<br />
This is why Southwood has developed strategic partnerships both<br />
in Huntsville and around the world! We are not subcontracting out<br />
our kingdom work to these ministries; rather, we have the privilege<br />
of participating with them in kingdom service and following their<br />
leadership. We could simply preach a sermon on expressing grace<br />
and then give you a list and tell you to go and engage. However,<br />
we know that sometimes a personal conversation goes much further<br />
in connecting individuals with ministries and service opportunities.<br />
To this end we have asked our ministry partners to join us Saturday,<br />
<strong>January</strong> 17th for our Express Grace Conference. Each ministry<br />
partner present will have a specific way that you can engage with<br />
their ministry—whether praying, tutoring, answering phones, or<br />
serving on a short-term mission trip. You will have the opportunity to<br />
ask personal questions, find out about new ministries, and consider<br />
practical ways to get involved. We want you to leave Saturday night<br />
not only encouraged to express grace in our community, but also well<br />
equipped to do so!<br />
Express Grace Schedule:<br />
5:30-6:30pm - Casual Dinner (nursery for 0-3 will open at 5:30, child<br />
care for children over 3 will open at 6pm)<br />
6:30-7:15pm - Worship and teaching with Scotty Smith<br />
7:15-8:00pm - Dessert, coffee, and connecting with our ministry<br />
partners<br />
We are asking everyone to consider bringing a finger dessert to<br />
share. We hope this night will be an encouraging time of fellowship<br />
and intentional consideration of the ways we can express grace in<br />
Huntsville and around the world!<br />
8 JANUARY <strong>2015</strong> | SOUTHWOOD.ORG
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