Please join us for the next Revive – An Evening of Prayer and Worship on Friday, October 16 at 6:30 pm. This quarterly gathering is a unique opportunity to corporately worship and pray about the purpose and direction of our church. We invite you to come and engage in prayer with us as we seek Him.

 

Registration for childcare is available if you register here by October 12. Have questions about Revive? Please contact Nate.

Don’t think there’s a global problem in your backyard? Think again. It is estimated that 2 children are sold every minute into the sex trade, and it happens right here in the Midwest.

 

Find out more about this epidemic and how you can help when Common Ground once again hosts "Purchased," a unique awareness and educational event concerning sex trafficking on November 7 featuring Ten Shekel Shirt.

 

Purchased is largely to support Love146, a non-profit committed to abolishing child sex slavery and exploitation around the globe. Local non-profits and organizations supporting the cause will be also represented, including the Julian Center, Exodus and more.

 

Join us for Purchased on November 7 at 7 pm at our Midtown location (4550 N. Illinois Street) and find out how you can participate in the effort to protect, defend, restore and empower lives. Childcare is available if you register here by October 24. Click here to learn more about Purchased.

Lesotho, South Africa, is a remote mountainous country that has been devastated by the AIDS epidemic to the point that nearly 40% of the population has HIV/AIDS. Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is working there in conjunction with different medical teams to help provide humanitarian aid to the people of Lesotho.

 

While working in Lesotho, the MAF pilots discovered that there is very little evangelism going on there. Traditionally, the people of Lesotho are oral learners, which means they pass on information through stories rather than reading books. So, MAF is beginning to implement some new evangelism and training methods in Lesotho. Specifically, they are translating a film called "God's Story" into Sesotho (the native language of Lesotho). “God's Story” is a film that depicts a chronological overview of the Bible from beginning to end. Once translated, MAF will work to have this film played in the 50 healthcare clinics that they work with in Lesotho. Each clinic sees up to 200 patients per month. The hope is that by being able to share this Gospel message with patients waiting to be seen in the clinics, more evangelistic efforts will take place.

 

In addition, MAF is partnering with a national church in Lesotho that needs more tools for evangelism. That church is willing to train people to go out to clinics and respond to interest that is sparked by the film. “God's Story” will provide a great tool for the church in Lesotho for outreach. Common Ground recently made a donation to MAF to help pay for the translation work remaining on this project.

 

To learn more about MAF, check out their website.

Hey middle school and high school youth! On Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 pm we are planning an awesome evening just for you, including a hayride, bonfire, food and good times. If interested, please register via the website or contact Nate.

 

Join our friends at Englewood Christian Church on November 13-14 for their conference, Through the Consuming Fire: Economic Faithfulness in An Age of Consumerism.

 

Main speakers for the event include Shane Claiborne, author of “The Irresistible Revolution” as well as Kelly Johnson and Will Samson. The conference will focus on consumerism and how it is one the greatest challenges facing the church in North America today. They will explore what economic faithfulness would look like -- particularly as shaped by denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Jesus. Specifically, they will examine three themes that when taken together will give us a good start on the journey toward economic faithfulness: community, contentment and creativity.

 

The early registration discount is still available if you put “Common Ground” in the referral box on the registration form. To learn more about the conference, and to register, please visit their website.

Baby Dedication

The next baby dedication is Sunday, November 1 and is almost full. If your child is between the ages of 0 and 18 months and you would like to participate, please click here for full details and registration. The deadline to register is October 23.

 

Intro to Common Ground

Intro to Common Ground is an opportunity for those who are new to CG to learn about the vision, values and story of our community. The next gathering is Tuesday, November 3 at 6 pm. Attendance is limited and a light dinner and childcare are provided. Follow this link to register.

 

GRACE (God's Real Acceptance Compassion and Encouragement) is a post abortion Bible study for women who have experienced the pain of abortion and are in need of learning God's way of love, healing and forgiveness. The next GRACE retreat will take place the weekend of November 6 through 8 at Plainfield First Assembly of God. For more information on this retreat, please contact Jennifer Thompson.