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News
Highlights
Member News:
Rock the River
An "Extraordinary Miracle" in Finland
New VP Joins Douglas Shaw &
Associates
Is America A Christian Nation?
Marketplace:
Kerusso Focuses On "Unsponsored" Children
Inside NRB
July 1, 2009
Vol. 13, Issue
23
Publisher:
Frank Wright,
Ph.D.
Editor-In-Chief:
Craig
Parshall
Senior Editor:
Laurel MacLeod
VP of Membership:
Robert
McFarland
Director of Marketing:
Steven R.
Cross
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Maxim Design Group
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Broadcasters
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©2009 National Religious
Broadcasters
All Rights Reserved
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Inside
this Edition
July 1, 2009
Vol.
13 Issue 23 |
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 This
month’s issue of Reader’s Digest singles out one ministry of
evangelist Luis Palau, the “Season of Service” (SOS), as the “Best Group
Service Project” in America. It’s part of the Digest’s cover story
“Best of America,” giving readers 75 reasons why every American should love
their country.
Last year’s Season of Service project in Portland, OR, did what few could
have imagined: it mobilized 550 churches, 68 nonprofits and local
businesses, and 27,000 volunteers to take on more than 300 community service
projects. Their goal was to sustain long-term change in Portland long after
Palau’s evangelistic festival had ended.
 “At the
festival,”
says Luis Palau’s son Kevin, “Dad clearly proclaims the Good News of
Jesus Christ. And in the months leading up to the festival, Christians
unite to tangibly demonstrate the love of Christ.” The most pressing
social needs are first determined by each festival city, then a combination
of church, corporate and civil leaders come together to determine how to
meet those needs. The Portland SOS included mentoring school dropouts,
helping homeless individuals, providing food for the hungry, and cleaning up
public school grounds, among other things.
The idea developed from conversations between Luis Palau and Randy Thomas,
the former Maintenance Director of Portland’s school district. Budget cuts
had shrunk Thomas’ staff from 26 to only two people. The schools looked
run-down, and Thomas noticed that the children who spent every day in those
schools didn’t look excited to be there. But last year’s SOS changed that. As one local Portland pastor, Rick McKinley, put it, “[T]he synergy
[came] together and the impact [was] phenomenal.”
 This
year, another SOS project is already underway in Portland, running from May
1st through October 31st. And there’s an SOS in
progress in Central Arkansas, too. You may
click here
for more information about the Palau Season of Service,
here to read the Reader’s Digest article about last year’s
Portland SOS, and here
to learn more
about the Luis Palau Association’s festivals and ministries.
PHOTOS ABOVE:
Pictures from the Palau 2008 Season of Service in Portland, OR, featuring
clean-up of the Eastwood Elementary School, caring for the homeless, and
providing free lunches. Photographs courtesy of the Luis Palau Association.
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Rock the River
The Rock the River Tour, sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association (BGEA), opens in Baton Rouge on July 18th at LSU’s
Levee Lots. This “high-energy music tour traveling up the Mississippi”
presents the Gospel of Jesus in a medium that is unique and comfortable to
many of today’s youth. Grammy Award nominee Canton Jones, a singer,
songwriter, producer and arranger, served as BGEA’s emcee for Rock the
River’s launch events in March. Jones, who has gained his own following with
three Gospel Choice Awards and a Stellar Award nomination – in addition to
his Grammy nods – offers a unique blend of hip hop, R&B and urban gospel. He
will perform at most of the Rock the River venues, along with bands like
Flyleaf, Superchick, and Red, to name a few. Click
here to
view the tour schedule and a band lineup for each venue, or to view Rock the
River’s powerful “Graffiti Video”.
An
“Extraordinary Miracle” in Finland
On June 18th,
Finland’s Cabinet of Ministers issued a terrestrial nationwide television
license to the Family Channel of Finland, which is owned by Christian media
people and businessmen. With an on-air identification of Suomi TV (STV) this
channel falls within the parameters of Finland’s “must carry” provision, so
it will be carried by all 87 television towers and every cable network
operating in that country. The award of such a license in Europe is very
rare (there’s one other such channel operating in the Netherlands), and
there were nine well-financed competitors for the two licenses that were
issued. They included BBC World News, Disney, Discovery, Eurosport, and two
of Finland’s largest commercial television channels. Not only was the
Christian channel picked over all others, but it was awarded the longest
license available – until 2016. As an international member of NRB, Hannu
Haukka, STV's Managing Director/CEO, asks for prayer for wisdom and
direction as STV moves forward in the days ahead.
New VP Joins
Douglas Shaw & Associates
Ray Pokorny recently joined Douglas Shaw & Associates (DSA) as the Vice
President of Client Services. Pokorny has more than 30 years’ experience in
advertising, marketing, strategic planning, sales, fundraising, promotion,
research and product development. Most recently he worked for the
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), as well as
previously working at the top advertising agency Leo Burnett, and well-known
Christian ministries like Focus on the Family, Moody Publishing, and
FamilyLife. “The team at DSA has a tremendous passion for helping
its clients advance their missions,”
says Pokorny, and DSA
is equally complimentary of his work. “Ray Pokorny has lent his vast
experience to a number of national ministries,” says DSA Chairman and
CEO Douglas Shaw, “and we’re excited that our clients will benefit from
his knowledge and wisdom.” You may
click here to learn more about
the work of Douglas Shaw & Associates.
Is
America A Christian Nation?
This July 4th weekend, “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley” will
air a program entitled, “Is America A Christian Nation?” It will feature
historian David Barton, who is considered an expert in United States history
and constitutional issues. Barton will explain the origins of “American
exceptionalism” and “why this unique ‘experiment’ in representative
government has been so successful and inspirational for more than 230
years.” Click
here to find a station in your area that will broadcast this special
Independence Day program. Click
here to visit In Touch and view the program online or download a
podcast.
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Does Your Organization
Deserve
the least Legal Protection or the BEST?
NRB’s new legal resource,
The Guardian Group, is designed
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you’ve probably used a system to minimize legal liability and avoid costly
mistakes, but these are extraordinary times, with unprecedented threats
ahead. Membership in The Guardian Group will entitle
you to breaking news and information about those threats, free
representation on NRB-related legal cases and issues, and pro-active ways to
avoid legal “land mines.”
Click here for more information.
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 Kerusso
Focuses On “Unsponsored” Children
Kerusso,
one of the nation’s leading producers of Christian-themed apparel, recently
launched a worldwide initiative called: “Live for Him: Waiting Children”. A
portion of all sales from the “Live for Him” apparel line will be donated to
Compassion International – for example, $1 from the sale of every tee-shirt
or cap, and 25 cents from the sale of every “Live for Him” wristband. More
than half of the goal amount of $500,000 has already been raised.
 “In
2006 I went to Peru and visited several Compassion projects in action,”
says Vic Kennett, President and CEO of Kerusso. “I saw first-hand the
true impact of the sponsor-child relationship on the faces of the children –
with and without sponsors. These precious little ones deserve our help.”
Compassion International provides a full range of resources to unsponsored
children, many of whom wait up to six months for sponsorship. That’s why
Kerusso’s emphasis is on “Waiting Children”; all proceeds from the Kerusso
sales will help unsponsored children.
Click here
for more information about Kerusso’s “Live for Him: Waiting Children” line,
and here for more
information about child sponsorship through Compassion International.
PHOTOS ABOVE:
Kerusso’s recognizable “Live For Him” wristband, and their tangible goal of
raising $500,000 for unsponsored Compassion children. Images courtesy of
Kerusso Apparel.
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For
more information, contact Taun Cortado at Gospel for Asia at
