Since 1998, Jim and Mary Mather have led the Friends of Internationals ministry at the University of South Alabama and served as surrogate family for students who are worlds away from the comforts of home.

Hey Mars Family! As a missionary with Horizons International supported by our church I want to share a little bit with you about what God is doing among Muslims in the Middle East!

Hamburgers. Hot Dogs. Ten Trillion Cookies. Inflatables. Bubbles. Cornhole. Cake Walk. Conversations. NINJA WARRIOR.

It was a fun time. Thanks to everyone who came out!

What is Ecclesia Academy? A year-long, seminary-level training course for those in the church to dive deep into the Bible, theology, discipleship, and leadership development.

October always seems action-packed for families, and it certainly seemed that way for our church family this month! Even though it’s a busy time of year, we strive to provide opportunities for the church body to grow through AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY, FAMILY DISCIPLESHIP, and BIBLICAL TEACHING. Here’s a recap of some of the events that help our church family engage in those three things.

In an email interview, David shares about his family, his hobbies, and his faith. It’s our hope that by getting to know David, we will be reminded of the call we have as a church body to work with kids in our flock.

We pulled up to a section of shacks, and as we piled out of the SUV, three kids emerged from one of the little box houses. One of the missionaries opened the back hatch to reveal a small stack of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes.

We hear the personal, heartbreaking stories of families struggling through medical issues, and we want to help, we’re just not sure what to do. So for many of us, we let the compassion for these families fade as soon as the news cuts to commercial. Because when the problem is so big and overwhelming and complex, well, how could one person make a dent?

You do not have to be alone in your pain and suffering, for Christ will walk with you in your trials, and the church will join you to see you through.

Dispensing meds and administering rapid malaria tests to people in a poverty-stricken village in Africa is not a typical day for Christa Hewett. At home in Mobile, she is a wife, mother to three young kiddos, full-time nurse, and active Mars Hill Church member.

There is the idea of slowing down and just “being.”

It could consist of being present, being missional minded, being slow to speak, being slow to anger, being willing to stop and seek rest in Christ- this is something Alan Fadling calls in his book, An Unhurried Life, is living at the “pace of grace.”

If you think about it, the Gospel always places our immediate needs and wants into perspective and ensures we can say, no matter what happens, “It is well with my soul.” May we declare with our whole heart that Jesus is enough, I need nothing else.

What do you demand of Christ? If we were honest with ourselves, I’m sure we’d all have a long list of things we begged Jesus for over the years.

In case you haven’t noticed, I (and most of the other teachers) will end their teaching by speaking a blessing over the people. The most common blessing comes from Numbers 6:

“Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num. 6:23b–26 ESV).

If there were ever two doctrines that have divided evangelical Christians throughout our history they would be our biblical understandings of baptism and the Holy Spirit.  So, how ought we reconcile these two ideas?

Just like a loud, clear musical note played into the strings of a piano, the correlating strings begin to vibrate showing the note played is in tune. The melody ringing in my soul has transformed into this thought of "being present" so that when another note is played nearby in tune with that, it resonates within me.

Have you ever felt really young inside? Like, in one moment, your internal experience is closer to that of a much younger self. This could be in response to a regrettable incident with your spouse, an instance of immaturity and course joking, or a scenario where you have felt immense shame or overwhelming anger. Many of us, especially men, wrestle with these feelings and are driven to put on a mask and avoid authenticity and transparency in an effort to uphold cultural expectations of what men are supposed to be. However, this does not give us the opportunity to become curious, explore these uninitiated parts of ourselves and to begin a process of masculine initiation.

Let’s start with the question, “What is worship?” I like the definition John Piper gives: “True worship is a valuing or a treasuring of God above all things.” Deuteronomy 6:5 states “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

On the one hand, what Scripture tells us about God’s sovereignty is comforting. As a believer I rest in passages like Romans 8:28 that promise that all of life’s circumstances providentially work together for my good because all things that occur, occur because they were within God’s Will. But on the other hand, in my flesh, I’m troubled by that same thought.

The task of spiritual formation in today’s world is arguably more difficult than ever. Thanks to the advent of the smartphone, disciples have never been more distracted. These devices provide us with instant access to more information than our brains could ever dream of processing. Social media, in particular, is in constant competition for our attention. The never-ending feed of status updates, tweets, and pictures can draw us in for hours of wasted time we can never recapture. The implications for our growth as disciples are massive and virtually impossible to overlook.