School Can Be a 9 Month Mission Trip

The Good News
1 Sep 2014
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The Dominican Republic, Kenya, Colombia, Southeast Asia, Haiti — these are some places that may pop into your head when you think of a mission trip. Mission trips are altruistic endeavors by church groups to provide physical and/or spiritual relief in times of crisis. At First Priority students are equipped for a mission trip to places that desperately need Jesus. It is estimated that where they go 96% of the population is without Jesus. Where’s their destination? The public school campus. If you have gone on a mission trip before, it may have lasted a week, a month or a […]

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First Priority: Connecting the Church to Reach the Campus for Christ

The Good News
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  Three of the largest school districts in the country are right here in South Florida: Miami-Dade County is the 2nd largest, Broward County the 5th and Palm Beach County is the 12th. These are only three of the five counties First Priority serves. Startling evidence shows that 96% of those students do not attend church or show evidence of a personal relationship with Christ, which demonstrates the urgent need for us to meet them where they are — the campus. The greatest influence on a teenager is a peer, so First Priority partners with the local church to equip […]

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Faithwalker

The Good News
4 Aug 2014
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The smell of buttery popcorn filled the living room as the microwave announced its readiness. On cue, I procured the bag, ripped it open, shook it into a bowl and with a quick spritz of I Can’t believe It’s Not Butter, headed back to the couch to start the movie. It was “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and Bilbo Baggins was the unlikely brave hero. In this prequel of the classic Tolkien tale, Bilbo and his team were on a destiny quest. A journey of bravery into a land of danger to reclaim what was stolen: the right to […]

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A June Day in Jerusalem

The Good News
3 Jun 2014
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Still waking up, but with hot coffee in hand, we step outside on the balcony to join the pots of red geraniums that are already welcoming the day. The Jerusalem sky never fails to stun us. It is too blue to be real, but there it is, always this blue through at least September, reaching down to touch the rooftops and mountains of this beautiful city. Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks Today is Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, one of the three feasts on which God required Jewish men to appear before Him in Jerusalem. It was during this very […]

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529 College Savings Plans Offer Tax Benefits

The Good News
2 Jun 2014
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college savings plans

Saving for college—whether for your children or your grandchildren—has become easier in recent years with the emergence of state-sponsored savings plans. Called a Section 529 Plan, after the section of the Internal Revenue Code that created them, these plans are offered by all 50 states and provide tax benefits to college savers. Two options While each state plan is different, there are two general types of plans: prepaid tuition plans and college savings plans. With a prepaid tuition plan, the money you put into the plan is earmarked for tuition at your local state university. In most cases, once you […]

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Tell Mom How Much She Means To You

The Good News
1 May 2014
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“For Mother’s Day this year, I want . . . .” If you’ve ever heard your mom utter these words, consider yourself among the fortunate. For the rest of us, Mother’s Day can be a somewhat stressful holiday filled with indecision and confusion as to what to buy for the woman who gave us birth. Not to worry, though; with a little forethought, Mother’s Day can be a breeze. Here are a few ways to let mom know she’s appreciated. Service and memories We often think that gifts need to be physical, but it isn’t so. Some of the best […]

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Do You Want to be Happier?

The Good News
11 Mar 2014
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By: Dr. Norm Wise Happiness is one of the goals that people consider of significant value in their lives. However, if happiness comes from outside circumstances and other people, then only to the extent that we can control these factors will we be happy. Therefore, happiness is very fragile because we have little or no control over our circumstances. What can be done? One key to feeling greater happiness is having realistic godly expectations of life “East of Eden” and a committed acceptance of our community of imperfect people. If we can lower our expectations and increase our forbearance of […]

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Who is On the Lord’s Side?

The Good News
9 Mar 2014
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By: Penni Bulten “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us or for our adversaries?’ He said, ‘No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD’” (Joshua 5:13-14). As Joshua discovered, God transcends the question, “Are you on our side or on our enemies’ side?” He also transcends the American version of the question: Is God a Republican […]

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Unmarketing: Jesus’ Unconventional Method of Spreading His Message

The Good News
6 Mar 2014
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I’ve thought for the longest time that marketing and advertising (my chosen profession) is probably the most useless things in the world of Christianity.  My rationale goes something like this: Jesus didn’t have a brand. He didn’t even have logo. Jesus didn’t have the media. He didn’t even have the internet for crying out loud. Jesus wasn’t worried about ROI (his Return On Investment) And yet the entire known world was changed by a man with no marketing plan. Inconceivable. And yet. And yet there are still some things we business people can glean from Jesus’ un-marketing methods.  Let’s start […]

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Local Church Meeting at the Movies

The Good News
5 Mar 2014
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Special to the Good News Choosing a 20-foot movie screen and comfy chairs with cup holders over the traditional pew and pulpit, Coastal Community Church launched its church services in the Muvico Broward 18 Theater on Sunday, January 26, 2014 at 10:15 a.m. Holding a church service in a movie theater may seem odd, but Coastal is actually the latest in a nationwide trend of progressive churches that meet in movie theaters in an effort to be more accessible to the community. “Everyone goes to movie theaters,” says TJ McCormick, Coastal’s pastor. “It’s a comfortable, non-threatening environment for people who […]

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