Ministry Today

Summit Life-Changing Program Turns 50

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Written by Charisma Staff

In celebration of a half-century of life-changing, Christian worldview education, Summit Ministries will hold a dinner Celebration on October 20 in Colorado.

Under the leadership of new president Dr. Jeff Myers, Summit Ministries has provided a significant impact on the youth that it trains with its summer conferences and adult training programs. In a recent study, Summit’s Turning the Tide: Evidence of Impact Study, it was found that graduates of Summit Ministries affirm a Biblical worldview at four times the rate of the average born-again Christian. Graduates also experience up to a 429 percent growth in spiritual disciplines and positive habits of cultural engagement.

Summit grads not only understand their own Biblical worldview better after their experience at Summit training courses, they alsobetter understand many other major worldviews and topics covered during the course of the training. And when Summitstudents graduate from Summit’s programs, they show demonstrable increases in political activity.

Did You Miss This in the News?

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Written by Charisma News

Check out some links below to recent stories from Charisma News that you'll find interesting and informative.You can also sign up to receive stories on your smart phone by signing up for the free app Charisma News by clicking here.

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I'm Sorry if This Article Offends You. Please Forgive Me.

Benevolence Shows a Love for Jesus

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Written by Joyce Meyer

“Do not forget or neglect to do kindness and good, to be generous and distribute and contribute to the needy … for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Heb. 13:16, AMP)

Being radically generous and helping others is easier than you may think. I have asked people to share practical ways we can show love, have read books, searched the Internet, and been aggressive on my own journey to find creative ways to help others. Below are some helpful ideas to remember in your daily life and as you think of ways your church can show love in action.

A Servant’s Heart Pleases God

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Written by Daniel Meyer

Some people you meet change your life forever.

When I met Abeba, a beautiful, sweet and special little girl in one of our Joyce Meyer Ministries feeding programs in Ethiopia, she was severely malnourished. Her little body was swollen, already in the shut-down mode of starvation. Many in her village were starving, but she was one of the worst cases.

The thing that blew me away about Abeba was her joy. Despite how much pain she was in from malnutrition and her living conditions, Abeba’s smile always glowed. I had the opportunity to give food to Abeba’s mother for Abeba and her nine brothers and sisters. They were visibly happy and thankful just to have something to eat. Often, the food our ministry provides in this region is the difference between life and death for many of these children and families. Abeba now had a new shot at life.

She Practices What She Preaches

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Written by Steve Strang

After 37 years of covering most of the world’s major ministries, I believe Joyce Meyer’s is one of the best

We are honored to have Joyce Meyer as this issue’s guest editor. When I became aware of her enormous outreach, I asked if she’d be willing to tell how her family and ministry have made such a huge impact through their missions efforts, both domestically and overseas, as well as their commitment to a lifestyle of radical generosity.

I wondered if she’d say yes. After all, she has one of the largest ministries in America. With her ongoing teaching and travel schedule, along with leading a global ministry, she’s obviously in high demand. In addition, she has the ability to get out her message through her own media.

But as we talked about it, I believe she understood my heart for wanting our readers to be inspired by what she has done. I know that when it comes to missions, one of the best ways to inspire others is for them to see it modeled for themselves.

In a way, that is what happened when Dave and Joyce Meyer opened the Dream Center in St. Louis. They modeled what they did by taking note of what Matthew Barnett has done in Los Angeles. He, in turn, was inspired by his own father, Tommy Barnett, whose ministry outreaches are legendary in Pentecostal circles. And recently I learned that the Dream Center picked up a few ideas from Bishop Bart Pierce of Baltimore, who gave them the idea of adopting specific blocks within a city.

Not long ago I was talking by phone to a businessman who I knew didn’t always pay his bills, even though he was a high roller. Despite claiming to be a Spirit-filled Christian, he obviously didn’t have the highest level of integrity. In our conversation, this man began criticizing ministries he didn’t like and mentioned something he read in an article about Joyce Meyer and her ministry.

I stopped him. I had visited Joyce Meyer Ministries and knew firsthand that it is one of the most generous ministries I’ve ever known. In more than 37 years of covering the Christian community, I have known and seen most of the major ministries—many of them up close and personal. From my vantage point, Joyce Meyer and her ministry are among the best. They walk in integrity. I know that not only as a journalist who has covered them over the years, but also as a publisher who published one of her books. When you work with someone in the book business, you quickly find out if he or she is the real deal. And I can say that Joyce Meyer and her ministry are! 

Yet another example of this is how hard they worked on this issue. It didn’t benefit them nearly as much as I’m sure it will benefit you. 

And I’ve benefited too. As I read over the final articles before they went to press, I was stirred in my own spirit. I have long had a heart for the poor, but this issue of Ministry Today motivated me to do more, especially in my local community, which is still reeling in the aftermath of the killing of Trayvon Martin. That tragedy happened only 2.3 miles from my office, a fact you would know if you read our recent coverage in Charisma of the racial reconciliation efforts in Sanford, Fla.

We recently had a meeting of churches and pastors to see what we can do to show the love of Jesus by helping the poor and helping to ease some of the tension in our city. In that way, we overcome evil with good! I liked some of the articles in this issue so much I copied them and handed them out because I knew it would inspire those who work regularly with the poor to do even more.

Sadly, too many churches and pastors are focused more on their own congregations and their own finances than the actual needs around them in their community. They never seem to have enough to help others. Or if things go well, then they begin to consume more of the Lord’s blessings rather than using those to help others.

God is not honored by that. He is honored when we give to the poor. 

May you be inspired by these articles just as I was. We’d love to hear how they impacted you, so send us your stories of how you’ve been inspired.

Generosity Idea Starters

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Written by Joyce Meyer

“Do not forget or neglect to do kindness and good, to be generous and distribute and contribute to the needy...for such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Heb. 13:16, AMP).

Being radically generous and helping others is easier than you may think. I have asked people to share practical ways we can show love, have read books, searched the Internet, and been aggressive on my own journey to find creative ways to help others. Below are some helpful ideas to remember in your daily life and as you think of ways your church can show love in action.

• Mow an elderly person’s lawn or organize teams to mow lawns and shovel snow for single-mom families and shut-ins in your church and community.
• Help a single mom or senior adult clean their house or offer to do their grocery shopping.
• Give single moms gift cards to take their children out to lunch.
• Invite a person who has no family in town to your home for the holidays. Or think big and host Thanksgiving for international college students.
• Organize a ministry team to offer a night of babysitting, giving new parents an opportunity for a date night.
• Encourage your children’s ministry leaders to look for specific and thoughtful ways to honor their community heroes.
• Deliver homemade cookies or fresh-baked bread to your community's local police and fire departments.

The list of ways to bless others is endless. Be open to God and ask Him to show you how you and your church can help people. Your radical acts of generosity may be just the key to unlock the door of someone’s heart to hear and receive the gospel.

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In February 1976, Joyce Meyer drove to her job in St. Louis, frustrated after having yet another difficult morning, when she cried out to God: “Something is wrong; something is missing!” That day, Meyer says, the Holy Spirit touched her life.

“I was just so frustrated, because I was desperately trying to do what I felt like the church was telling me to do,” she says. “I was going to church and doing church work. And it just wasn’t working for me. That day, I became so very acutely aware of not only the presence of God, but the goodness of God.”

It was a spiritual turning point that became a catalyst for what has become one of the largest ministries in the world and what would make Meyer one of the most recognizable and respected leaders in Christendom today.

St. Louis-based Joyce Meyer Ministries includes the international radio and TV program, Enjoying Everyday Life, broadcasting worldwide to a potential audience of 4.5 billion, and close to a dozen domestic and international conferences every year. Meyer is also a New York Times best-selling author of more than 90 books that have been translated into nearly 100 different languages. Her most recent release, Do Yourself a Favor ... Forgive, tackles the vital practice of forgiveness and its positive impact.

Through Meyer’s teachings and resources, God has provided myriad opportunities to meet the needs of the suffering and demonstrate the gospel in practical ways. Hand of Hope, the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries, supports and provides outreaches around the world. In 2000, Dave and Joyce Meyer founded the St. Louis Dream Center to serve their hometown’s inner city through hands-on programs targeted at reaching the lost and hurting with the love of Christ.

“We are passionate about world missions,” she says. “I have dedicated the rest of my life to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and relieving as much human suffering as I can with the time and resources we are given.”