Pennsylvania pastor close to Trump rally site leads church to pray for nation; Relief efforts continue in Houston; Churches can reach 'young adults'

Good News for Today

Like everyone else, Bob Hurd remembers where he was when he heard Donald Trump had been shot on Saturday afternoon. Hurd was at a wedding reception about 20 minutes away from the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., where Hurd is pastor of Whitestown Road Church and lives across the road from the Butler Farm Showgrounds, cite of the assassination attempt.

Hurd said he led his church to pray for the country on Sunday morning following the tragedy that left one rally attendee dead and several wounded.

Southern Baptist Convention president Clint Pressley encourages believers to pray for healing, especially for Bible-believing churches that we would be part of the gospel solution, bringing down the talk of violence, hatred and pointing people to the goodness of God that is found in Jesus.”

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Five days after Hurricane Beryl swept across southeast Texas, large parts of Houston remain dark. Traffic lights, restaurants, homes all lack power in many places. Internet service is sporadic.

But the temperature is hot, as well, with the typical 95 degrees and high Houston humidity.

An electricity of frustration fills the air like the oppressive heat. People are on edge. It’s like having your wallet stolen, replacing your driver’s license and credit cards only to have the wallet taken again.

Waking up before dawn each morning, a group of Texans on Mission and church volunteers are ushering in a refreshing breeze of hope.

First they cooked 6,000 meals. The next day they did 7,500. Then 8,500. Soon, it’ll be 10,000 meals delivered across the city.

In other places across the region, Texans on Mission chainsaw teams are cutting up fallen trees and limbs. They’re making it possible for people to enter their homes again.

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Georgia church leader P.J. Dunn believes churches can reach young adults.

He writes, “The first issue with defining young adults is that “young” is relative. Young is not age; it’s a mindset. Using it as a term to reach an age group quickly becomes problematic. While the generally accepted use of the term “young adult” is considered late teens and 20s, a person in that group rarely identifies as young. Only those outside of the group identify them as such.

The term “young adults” is hardly used on search engines, as people don’t type it in to find people like themselves. They use age and life stage words like married or single to self-identify and find community. Rather than define a people group, ask people questions about how they identify themselves so you can better shape language to connect with them.

Use specific, not general, language if you’re trying to define a life stage to communicate within your church and community. If you need to identify young adults, use married, single, gender, and age, not “young adult.”

2. See young adults

He says that data reveals young adults may be college students or emerging adults, but they may also be single, never married”, married, divorced or single parents.

Read the full piece from Dunn to get insights on who young adults are and how your church can connect with them.