BRANCHES January 2015

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Express Grace Conference SOUTHWOOD reflect 2015 I will never forget the day I gave a homeless man my home phone number. My middle-school youth group was serving lunch to the homeless at a park in Dallas, and I struck up a conversation with a young man who said he wanted to be a banker. “My dad is a banker,” I said, “I bet he could get you a job at the bank! Here is my home number, call anytime after 6pm and ask for Mark Denton. I will let him know to expect your call.” Three collect phone calls later (and no job at the bank), my dad was not too pleased with me. My 7th grade self understood that the man needed a job, even wanted a job, but I was not sure where to point him to find one. I had no idea what would be required for him to overcome his current situation, secure a job, and then maintain that job for a meaningful length of time. This might be a silly example, but I hear from people all the time, “I met this woman who really needed _____ ...and I had no idea how to help her!” Perhaps many of us feel the same way I felt in that park - unsure how to help in a meaningful manor. Our mission statement is simple, to Experience and Express Grace, but working that out in reality is not always so simple. We might believe that a relational approach to poverty alleviation is best, but we have no idea where or how to begin building a relationship with one of our materially poor neighbors in Huntsville—much less one 2 continents away in India! All too often we can find ourselves talking a lot about serving our neighbors without meaningful action. This is why Southwood has developed strategic partnerships both in Huntsville and around the world! We are not subcontracting out our kingdom work to these ministries; rather, we have the privilege of participating with them in kingdom service and following their leadership. We could simply preach a sermon on expressing grace and then give you a list and tell you to go and engage. However, we know that sometimes a personal conversation goes much further in connecting individuals with ministries and service opportunities. To this end we have asked our ministry partners to join us Saturday, January 17th for our Express Grace Conference. Each ministry partner present will have a specific way that you can engage with their ministry—whether praying, tutoring, answering phones, or serving on a short-term mission trip. You will have the opportunity to ask personal questions, find out about new ministries, and consider practical ways to get involved. We want you to leave Saturday night not only encouraged to express grace in our community, but also well equipped to do so! Express Grace Schedule: 5:30-6:30pm - Casual Dinner (nursery for 0-3 will open at 5:30, child care for children over 3 will open at 6pm) 6:30-7:15pm - Worship and teaching with Scotty Smith 7:15-8:00pm - Dessert, coffee, and connecting with our ministry partners We are asking everyone to consider bringing a finger dessert to share. We hope this night will be an encouraging time of fellowship and intentional consideration of the ways we can express grace in Huntsville and around the world! 8 JANUARY 2015 | SOUTHWOOD.ORG
eflect SOUTHWOOD Partners Represented at Express Grace: Each of the partners listed below will have personal representatives at our Express Grace Conference. You are encouraged to stop by their tables, learn about their ministry, and then consider what action steps you will take to engage with their work. There are many ways to serve, and each representative will happily share how you can fit into their ministry! Lincoln Village Ministry Lincoln Village Ministry consists of a partnership between churches in our city and Lincoln Mill neighbors to share the hope of Christ and facilitate long-term community revitalization through housing rehabilitation, a private school, afterschool tutoring programs, and relationships with their neighbors. The CornerStone Initiative The CornerStone Initiative is focused in the neighborhood behind Butler High School and is committed to relational reconciliation and long-term community development through “front porch” conversations, workforce development strategies, and educational support for students. Second Mile Development Second Mile Development works within the Terry Heights and Hillandale neighborhoods to reconcile relationships through the promotion of neighborhood initiatives, early childhood education, and parental empowerment. Young Life Young Life is committed to engaging students in the midst of their lives and culture so volunteers attend sports games, sit in school cafeterias, and work to show God’s love to students through the ministry of presence designed to foster deeper relationships. Aggies Arts Aggies Arts is committed to partnering with impoverished families in Uganda and engaging them in developing economic independence through meaningful relationships, highquality education, and entrepreneurship. They do this by teaching women in Uganda how to make beaded jewelry and then providing a Western market for the jewelry through their offices in Huntsville. The Village of Promise The Village of Promise is committed to engaging children and families from the womb through college, beginning with Infant University where young parents learn about early childhood development and are equipped to be active participants in their child’s growth. The Village of Promise currently works in Montview Elementary and University Place Elementary. RUF A&M and UAH The purpose of RUF is to build a community on the college campus that reaches students of divergent beliefs and doubts with the message of the gospel and equips them to love and serve Jesus and his Church. Roy Hubbard serves at Alabama A&M, building a core of students where there is currently little reformed presence. Reid Jones serves at University of Alabama in Huntsville. 29:11 Inc. 29:11 Inc believes that children are our community’s most promising investment, but that many are not thriving in their current educational settings. To this end they are opening New Beginnings Academy in the Terry Heights neighborhood to provide a nurturing and academically rigorous environment for low-income students in Huntsville—working alongside families to reverse the trend of generational poverty through relational investments. Global Mission Partners We have foreign mission partners scattered across the globe, but just because they cannot attend this event does not mean that there are not meaningful ways to engage with one of these partners! Stop by the Global Missions table to learn about our different missionaries and find specific ways to pray, give, and even go on a short-term mission trip with them in the next year! JANUARY 2015 | SOUTHWOOD.ORG 9
Page 1 and 2: BRANCHES YOUR GOSPEL IS TOO SMALL l
Page 3 and 4: PASTORS’ NOTE Seriously, a Pastor
Page 5 and 6: YOUR GOSPEL ...iS TOO SMALL
Page 7: eflect SOUTHWOOD agenda than simply
Page 11 and 12: elate SOUTHWOOD ON A PERSONAL NOTE

BRANCHES January 2015

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