Is God Big Enough

“Is God Big Enough…?” Our perspective has a huge impact on our outlook on life. Is God big enough to handle our problems? Answer our prayers? Is He big enough for me to trust? For me to change? Listen to the first lesson from the series online

Life Lines: North Dallas Family Celebrating Christmas with their Newly-Adopted Nigerian Orphans

A north Dallas family, The Abebefes, are introducing their two newly-adopted children from a Nigerian orphanage to their first Christmas celebration in the United States.  Dr. David Abebefe, along with his wife, Karen,  and volunteers from their church, Grace Outreach Center, led two medical missions trip to the Ministry of Mercy orphanage in Nigeria, providing free medical care to 900 patients.  And, as a result of their trips there, the family decided to adopt two of the orphans.  The children, ages two and four, arrived here at their new home in November.

The Abebefes have four other children, and are showing their new daughter and son a different way of life.  The orphans were used to a life foreign to any North Dallas family.  At the orphanage, 250 children live together, with half of them sleeping on the hard floor each night.  The children rise at 4:30 a.m. to hunt bugs they will eat for their first meal of the day.  The Abebefe family will show their new family members how to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, a celebration of Jesus’ birth, along with the principle that it is better to give than to receive. The emphasis at this home will not be on gifts they hope to receive, but how they can give to others, this season and all year long.  

The Abebefes are members of Grace Outreach Center, an interdenominational church in Plano, Texas.  Grace Outreach has supported the MoM orphanage through church-wide efforts:  the teenagers purchased 200 backpacks; the children’s church bought 105 sleep mats for orphans who sleep on the floor; volunteers provided a generator to supply electricity to the orphanage; church families traveled to the orphanage to help and teach their own children about serving.  One family gave up their annual ski trip to go to the orphanage instead.   

Also members of Grace Outreach, the Aguilera family is in the process of adopting four children from the orphanage.  Dan Aguilera and his wife, Miesa, who have three children of their own, just returned from Nigeria two weeks ago.  Dan and Miesa got to hand out the sleep mats to the grateful children at the MoM orphanage. 

The spirit of the season is shining bright in these Plano homes where families have opened their hearts to those who need love the most. 

Grace Outreach Center is an interdenominational church in Plano.  Pastor Gerald Brooks founded the church in 1982.  

See CBS 11 coverage of the Abebefes here

Life Lines: Champions

The Student Impact youth ministry of Grace Outreach Center is pleased to announce the Champions program. 

A recent report issued by the Center for Disease Control found that 1 of every four girls aged 14-19, in the United States was currently infected with a Sexually Transmitted Disease. This translates into approximately 3.2 million teenage girls currently carrying an STD.  Some STDs can lead to sterility and premature births.   

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that the average age of first alcohol usage is age 12, and the average age of first drug use is age 13.  These are areas of great concern for students and parents.  93% of all High School seniors report that they have used illicit drugs or consumed alcohol in their teen years.

In response to the mounting pressures that students are facing in these areas, Student Impact is offering the Champions program.  The Champions program is a 15-week course designed to give students in grades 6-12 the necessary tools to live drug free, alcohol free and to pursue sexual purity.  Since its inception in 2000, over 1400 students have participated in the Champions program.

 

The Champions program will begin Sunday, Jan. 11 at 9:15 a.m. in the Student Impact building at Grace Outreach Center, 5000 W. Parker Rd., Plano, TX. Registration is required, and the course costs $35.00. For more information or to register, please call 972.985.1112 or visit student-impact.com. 

Champions 2009 from Jesse LaBauve on Vimeo.

Wednesday Morning Prayer

Join us every Wednesday from 6am to 7am for a intercessory prayer meeting. Everyone is welcome to join us. We meet in the Admin Building

Accelerate

In any large group it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Students get discovered in the small groups of Accelerate. As part of Accelerate students do more than hear a message, they interact with it through in-depth discussion. They do more than learn, they establish the spiritual foundation upon which to build their life. They do more than grow, they meet the needs of others through outreach. We remember very few of the messages we hear, but we never forget the people who’ve influenced us. A defining moment is waiting for your student in Accelerate.