In our “overconnected” culture, isn’t it ironic that we feel more isolated than ever? We may feel like we are involved in people’s lives because we witness everything they have going on via social media, but in reality we’re lonelier than ever. Because we aren’t physically involved in their experiences, we begin to feel overlooked and detached. This often leads…

This Sunday when we get back into our study of Luke, Jesus is finally going to speak! Dr. Luke has spent the first four chapters describing the credentials of Jesus as the chosen One of Israel and the whole world. This week, at last, we get to study the first words of Jesus’ public ministry. What do you think Jesus…

It was good to launch into the Gospel of Luke on Sunday! We took a look at several humble characters who were faithfully waiting for the intervention of God in some desperate circumstances. One of our own Church of the Open Door members, Cheri Fortner, was willing to share with us her personal journey of waiting long on the Lord. I hope her story encourages you, as it…

More than ever, the circumstances of our lives and our world feel like a chaotic storm on the ocean. Like ships, we are subject to changes from driving wind, undercurrents, and massive waves. Sailors rely on an anchor to keep their ship from drifting during storms. It also protects the ship from capsizing or being destroyed by rocks. Without an anchor, things feel…

Now that it is the middle of February, we are officially done with winter camp season here in Hillside Student Ministries! We were able to take a group of about 50 high school students to Hume Lake back in January, and 35 junior high students to Camp Pondo earlier this month. If you have had kids in our youth group, hopefully you…

On Wednesday of this week our Tanzania Team departs for Africa! This short-term team will be providing ministry support to the Nyamwezi alongside COD missionaries Andy and Margaret Andersen. I hope you'll be encouraged as I am after reading reflections from Team Leader Kyleen Hughes on ways the Lord is already at work before the team even steps on the…

The first pastor of Church of the Open Door, Dr. Reuben Archer Torrey, declared, “Prayer is God’s appointed way of obtaining things, and the great secret of all lack in our experience, in our life and in our work is neglect of prayer.” This is hard for me to hear. Is this hard for you to hear? Have you noticed…

Happy New Year friends! While I enjoyed some time off around the holidays connecting with family and making memories, I’m not gonna lie, I drove up to campus on Monday and realized how much I had missed everybody. What a gift to not only have our biological family, but also a faith family. My husband and I have been part…

Earlier this year we felt called to bring back a beloved tradition called Trunk or Treat. Having taken a year off, and still journeying through a pandemic, we were unsure how many people would participate or attend. We bathed it in prayer, stepped out in faith and boy oh boy did God show up!  God cared for Trunk or Treat from…

So often when we come to Paul’s discourse on marriage in Ephesians 5, the primary questions we are bringing to the text are related to who has the authority and power in a marriage relationship, who leads and who follows, who has the final say in decisions or disagreements, and so on. We tend to focus more on the distinctions…