December 2007

Happy Holidays from Mission Year! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are gearing up for a fabulous Christmas. It’s hard to believe that our team members only have a few short weeks left in their first trimester and will be heading home soon to celebrate Christ’s birth with their families. They have all worked extremely hard to start building relationships so that with the cold weather will come open doors and warm hearts. As you enjoy this holiday season please be keep in mind our neighbors who may find this time of year to be difficult. It is no secret that violent crime and suicide rates spike during this time all over the country. Lord, bless the widows and the orphaned. Bless the homeless, hungry, and lonely. Keep them in the hollow of your hand. We praise you for the friendships that you have given to our team members and ask you to grow them in your love.

Enjoy this time and celebrate what matters.
Sarah Bell, Dir. Of Recruitment/Admissions
Email Sarah

Why Wait?

Are you are in the middle of your college years? Maybe feeling a bit restless, like you are wasting your time and money or would appreciate some time outside of the college bubble. Or maybe you’re a senior and you want to do something different before settling into the workforce. Or maybe you are out of school but looking for a way to invigorate your passion for Christ and serve him in all you do.

As you reflect on life this season, consider spending next year serving Jesus in a very real and tangible way. Consider serving with us in an urban neighborhood. Take a year, while you still can, to radically follow Jesus in the city, get to know your neighbors, see Him in a different way, and focus on living out the commandment to love God and love people.

No work. No bills. College loans deferred. Practical experience in your field of study or interest. All of your expenses covered so you can be present with those that are hurting. You could even get undergrad credit or a master’s degree for joining us.

If you’re just finishing high school or are in the middle of college you can return to college with more direction and purpose. If you’re about to graduate or are out of school you can enter (or re-enter) the job market with a new perspective of how to integrate Christ and justice and love into your job.

Take this time over Christmas to pray about Mission Year. Instead of just watching the semesters pass by or punching the time card day in and day out, spend a life-altering year living out your faith and serving God where He needs you.

Once you get tired of watching Christmas movie marathons, eating fruitcake and dodging questions about what you are doing with your life there is a Mission Year application just waiting to be filled out!

Highlight of the Month

Our program in Atlanta is comprised of 3 teams – a co-ed team in the English Avenue neighborhood, an all-female team in Thomasville, and a married team in Clarkston. These team members are working with after school programs, international refugees, schools, and the like. Everyone is led by City Director, Jeff Delp. Jeff married into Mission Year by way of his lovely wife and alum, Katie and they recently had their first child – Sam. Right now you can be praying for Atlanta and the whole state of Georgia as they are in a very significant drought. Also, be sure to check out everyone’s blogs and consider supporting them financially or in prayer.

Faith Nugget

Holy invasion, By John Fischer

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation!” (Isaiah 52:7 NLT)

Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere.

Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born!

Jesus had a purpose when he came to earth. He was a man on a mission. He knew where he came from, where he was going, and what he came here to do. He never doubted it once, except when he was in the garden, and even then, he didn’t doubt his mission, he only struggled with the reality of completing it. We are all eternally grateful that, when faced with his darkest hour, Christ chose God’s will instead of his own. He was able to make that choice because he was a man on a mission, and in the end, the mission won out.

Christmas is, at its heart, the celebration of an invasion. God invaded earth. Not content to just stay in heaven, God came to earth in human form to overcome the evil in our lives and reclaim the good. Because Christ was born and he accomplished his mission, there is help from above – help only God could bring. Jesus Christ has joined the human caravan. Creator became created. Adam and Eve passed on to us their propensity toward sinning. It’s in our DNA. But Christ is the new Adam. He was born of a virgin, a child of the earth, but born through a seed that was conceived of God. The result is a man, fully human, but with God’s DNA in his veins. Only this perfect blood could atone for the sins of the world. Only this life could be an acceptable sacrifice.

And we have become partakers of this new life by faith. This is what it means to be born again – to be born into a new bloodline through Christ and have God’s DNA (the Holy Spirit) in you to help you be more like Christ.

Jesus Christ was on a mission of love. His purpose was to love us so much that he would lay down his life for us. We have a mission, too. Our mission is to love people so much that we will tell them the Good News about what Jesus did. There is hope! There is forgiveness! There is a new life we can live through the Holy Spirit! God did not stay aloof to our predicament; he invaded our flesh and blood and altered it for eternity!

Tell it on the mountain or over the hill – tell it everywhere: Jesus Christ is born, and because of it, nothing is the same!