http://www.waaytv.com/news/content/focusonfaith/default.aspx Focus on Faith en-us Copyright 2012 Huntsville All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:01 -0500 Sun, 27 May 2012 05:12:29 -0500 Focus on Faith / http://www.waaytv.com/news/content/focusonfaith/default.aspx 50 50 15 http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Its-a-God-thing/TlEqpbjr20e5xc5wKk1Tyw.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/TlEqpbjr20e5xc5wKk1Tyw.cspx Meridianville, AL -- It's a God thing. That's the only way the youth group at First Baptist Church in Meridianville can explain the incredible success of their Clean Water Project. It started in August, when youth pastor David Hutto challenged them to raise $50,000 in one year to buy five water filtration systems for people in Guatemala.

With only around 60 students in grades 7-12, it was a lofty goal for the Madison County teens. But just nine months in, the group has already topped the $53,000 mark. Hutto says, "we realized early on that God was in this, and that as we joined God, we just saw God open up doors."

The students pledged their own money, sold t-shirts and organized fundraisers - like the holiday bake sale that far exceeded all of their expectations. They had hoped to raise $400 to $500 dollars. By the end of the night, they'd collected around $8,000.

Three water purification systems have already been installed in Guatemala, but the youth group has no intention of stopping anytime soon. Plans are already in the works to install a system in an African village this September. Hutto says, "from our perspective, clean water is just part of it, because we are seeking to share the living water of Jesus Christ with them." To learn more about the effort or to contribute, visit 50kyouth.org. ]]> focusonfaith Wed, 23 May 2012 18:26:38 -0500 Focus on Faith: It's a God thing http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Centurion-Witness-Ministries/Qbbbgjnf7EqJz2kAGbaXWg.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/Qbbbgjnf7EqJz2kAGbaXWg.cspx Huntsville, AL -- America's military members know they may be called upon to risk their lives in battle, but there's another war some find themselves fighting - one of a spiritual nature. "The physical conflict that everyone is exposed to, we train for that. We prepare for that, but the spiritual warfare side, we don't," says Keith Poole. Poole is the director of Centurion Witness Ministries. He started the ministry last summer to offer spiritual support to veterans in the Tennessee Valley.

Poole, a veteran himself, is able to relate to the men and women he serves. He knows the challenges they face, and says he wants to make sure a lack of salvation isn't one of them. The goal of Centurion Witness Ministries is to reach as many veterans as possible with the message of Jesus Christ. Poole says, "we are veterans, and we understand what our brethren have been through. It kind of opens that door to talk to them a little more easily about Christ and what he has in store for them."

The name of the organization comes from the passage in the Bible about the centurion who stayed with Jesus during the crucifixion. According to Mark 15:39 (NIV), "when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" Poole says, "it occurred to me, here I was a professional soldier. I had had Christ in my life that whole time and didn't really realize it."

Members of the ministry participated at last fall's Operation Stand Down in Huntsville, a three-day event that provides care and assistance to homeless veterans. Their involvement there led to the forming of a relationship with the Downtown Rescue Mission. They are now working to develop a support group among the veterans at the rescue mission, and there are other plans for the future.
To learn how you can help, visit centurionwitness.org. ]]> focusonfaith Sun, 20 May 2012 20:51:00 -0500 Focus on Faith: Centurion Witness Ministries http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Steven-Curtis-Chapman-Superchick/JrDZFZnAT06ZARH7viw80Q.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/JrDZFZnAT06ZARH7viw80Q.cspx Decatur, AL -- Over the last 14 years, SoulStock has built a reputation as a premier Christian music and worship event. Started in 1998 by Valley Church in Athens, the goal has always been to expose area youth to the message of Jesus Christ, but the way in which that message is relayed has certainly changed as the event has grown. That first year, the rally was held in a field behind Valley Church. It now takes place at the Spirit of America Field at Point Mallard in Decatur. Instead of performers on flat bed trailers, some of the top names in Christian music rock out on a stage overlooking a crowd of thousands.

Organizers say this year's lineup won't disappoint those who have come to expect the best. Grammy and Dove Award winner Steven Curtis Chapman will headline on Friday, May 18th. Superchick will close out the show on Saturday, May 19th. Two headliners became necessary when the decision was made to spread the event out over two days. Depending on the weather, up to 20,000 people are expected Friday. SoulStock coordinators think Saturday's crowd may number 15,000 or so.

Other big names on the schedule include MIKESCHAIR and Britt Nicole. Still, despite the depth of talent, SoulStock President Phillip Presley says he doesn't think of the event as a concert. "Because you go to a concert, you buy a ticket to be entertained. We consider this ministry, and that's why we continue to do it for no charge admission," he says. SoulStock's budget is around $70,000. With no admission, the money comes from area businesses, churches and the sale of food and drinks at the event. This year, 31 churches are partnering in this multi-denominational effort to reach area youth.

SoulStock also hopes to make a difference in the lives of people around the world, by working with Show Hope and Soles 4 Souls. Show Hope will be on-site, offering sponsorship packages for orphans, while Soles 4 Souls will be collecting new or gently-used shoes for people in third-world countries. Those who attend are asked to consider bringing a pair for the ministry.

Coolers are not allowed on the field. Those with tents will be asked to set up toward the back of the field and may need to fold their tents if it becomes too windy. Umbrellas and other sunshades are allowed, however organizers ask that everyone be respectful in not blocking the view of the stage. Here's the lineup for this year's event:

Friday:
5:30 PM - Gate opens
6:30 PM - Lindsay McCaul
7:30 PM - Caleb
8:15 PM - Chris Wheeler, Speaker from Show Hope
9:00 PM - Steven Curtis Chapman

Saturday:
3:00 PM - Gate opens
4:00 PM - Luminate
5:00 PM - MIKESCHAIR
6:00 PM - for King and Country
7:00 PM - Chris Wheeler, Speaker from Show Hope
8:00 PM - Britt Nicole
9:00 PM - Superchick ]]> focusonfaith Wed, 16 May 2012 19:28:05 -0500 Focus on Faith: Steven Curtis Chapman, Superchick Coming to SoulStock 2012 http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Combating-Islamophobia/qTvLbrIRe0a96fxQYIVe1g.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/qTvLbrIRe0a96fxQYIVe1g.cspx Huntsville, AL -- On Thursday, May 17th, people representing a cross-culture of Madison County will come together to learn more about Islam. "Combating Islamophobia: Truths and Myths About Islam" is a community engagement workshop sponsored by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice, UA-Huntsville, and the Huntsville Islamic Center, among others. Aladin Beshir, director of community outreach for the Huntsville Islamic Center, hopes the event will help build bridges in the community. "This is a very, very small step and a very focused and great grand scheme of cooperation among law enforcement and the Muslim community, sending the message that we are all united to protect America."

Beshir says there are many misconceptions about Islam that have arisen, in part, by people taking portions of the Quran out of context. He says, "Islam does not teach violence. People love to pick and choose," adding, "the Holy Quran states, one destroys one soul as if he killed the whole humanity, and one saves one soul as if he saves the whole humanity." When it comes to addressing myths about Muslims, Beshir says the media represents one of the biggest challenges because, "if you listen to the media, you will think they're under the bed and coming to get you!"

The number of Muslims living in Madison County may be small, but they represent 20 percent of the world population. Beshir says it only makes sense to learn more about this faith shared by millions of people. "What we believe in doesn't need to be agreed upon by everybody else, but it will help for the majority to know more about the minority," he says. Through greater knowledge, he hopes will come greater understanding and acceptance.

The Huntsville Islamic Center is also working toward that end with a monthly open house. On the first Saturday of each month, the public is invited to attend a free pot-luck dinner at the HIC, which is located at 1645 Sparkman Drive in Huntsville. Also, Aladin Beshir is available to speak to community groups and schools. He may be reached at (256) 479-7221. For those who would like to learn more about Islam, he recommends www.whyislam.com and www.islamtomorrow.com

As for "Combating Islamophobia: Truths and Myths about Islam," it will be presented from 5:30-8:00 p.m. Thursday, May 17th in Room 107 of the Shelby Science Center at UA-Huntsville. There is no charge and no registration. ]]> focusonfaith Sun, 13 May 2012 20:51:44 -0500 Focus on Faith: Combating Islamophobia http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Coping-with-Grief/qGtgMN1jLkCBxL1bAwDE7g.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/qGtgMN1jLkCBxL1bAwDE7g.cspx Huntsville, AL -- On Tuesday, May 15th, one student at Liberty Middle School in Madison will be named the Torrell Holley Spirit Award winner. Two days later, a lucky senior at Bob Jones High School will be awarded the Torrell Holley Scholarship. For Charles Holley, these awards are proof that while his son's life may have been short, it was not without influence.

In 2001, Torrell Holley was a 13-year-old student at Liberty Middle School. Friendly, outgoing and athletic, he was trying out for basketball, when he suddenly collapsed in the gym of an undetected heart condition. Efforts to revive him failed, and within minutes, he was dead.

The Holley family was devastated. His sister, Kiana, was just 9-years-old at the time and felt her big brother's loss keenly. His mother, Cassandra, was overwhelmed with grief. His father, Charles, a minister, found himself facing a crisis of faith. "Job was my hero, and I thought should anything like that happen to me, I thought I would be like Job, and I would be able to say, 'well, Lord you gave him to us and now you've taken him away,' but when my son passed away, that wasn't me. I told God these words, 'I'll never forgive you for this, because I trusted you.'"

Holley fought against the bitterness and says, "I think my breakthrough came when I just poured my true feelings out to God . When I went to him and said, 'this hurts. I'm angry. I don't understand this.'" From there, he began to heal, and in 2005, he and his wife founded CL Holley Ministries to help others dealing with grief. He also wrote four books about their experiences.

On Saturday, May 12th, Holley will discuss one of those books, Forgiveness: Walk Me Through It at the main branch of the Huntsville Madison County Public Library. The library is located at 915 Monroe Street. The discussion will take place from 2-3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Another book discussion is set for June 2nd. For more information, visit CL Holley Ministries. ]]> focusonfaith Wed, 09 May 2012 21:11:31 -0500 Focus on Faith: Coping with Grief http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Graduation-Dreams/a6UmSb5VpkuSfRhCjDhsOw.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/a6UmSb5VpkuSfRhCjDhsOw.cspx Huntsville, AL -- Tina Brown never got a chance to celebrate her high school graduation and before she knew it, more than a decade had passed. Then, the mother of four realized something had to change. Her children wanted help with their homework, help that Brown couldn't provide. At 29 years old, she enrolled with the Christian Women's Job Corps of Madison. "I had no motivation, and I never knew what my next step was going to be until I got with these ladies at Christian Women's Job Corps, and everything changed. I had more faith, more motivation and actually more courage," Brown says.

The free 9-month program includes classroom work, tutoring and mentoring. In November, Brown also had the opportunity to take her GED test. The next month, the letter came with her results. Too nervous to open it, she handed it to her oldest son, who delivered the news that she had passed. Now, she's attending Drake State Technical College and making plans for the future. Brown says, "I'd say within the next year and a half to two years, I would love to own my own salon, but we'll see how far this takes me, I know God's got my side. He's got my back."

Faith is at the heart of the program. Executive Director Elaine Dickson says, "we instill in the women that God, first of all, desires a personal relationship with them, but also that He has a plan for them, and He wants them to succeed. We want them to succeed as well, and we provide them with some tools that help them do that." On Sunday, May 6th, Brown and 19 other women graduated from the Christian Women's Job Corps program. To find out how to apply as a student or a volunteer, click here. ]]> focusonfaith Sun, 06 May 2012 20:52:00 -0500 Focus on Faith: Graduation Dreams http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Westminster-Christian-Academy/MNZfX9B-L0ab0YNl03o_Xw.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/MNZfX9B-L0ab0YNl03o_Xw.cspx Huntsville, AL -- With a strong history of academy and athletic success, along with its comprehensive liberal arts program, Westminster Christian Academy is an attractive option to Madison County parents who want a private, Bible-based education for their children. In fact, it's so attractive, that Headmaster Ron Klein says there's not enough room for all the prospective students. Klein says, "for instance, right now, in grades K-3 we have vacancies, but in the rest of the school we have one (vacancy) in this class and two in this class, so there's some frustration.

In order to expand, the school moved from its old location near University Drive three years ago to a new property off Oakwood Road. Klein says, "the entire real estate has been purchased with the intent to build a middle school here and then move the elementary school." Currently, around 200 elementary school students attend class at a campus in Monrovia. Another 500 middle and high school students share the main building on Oakwood Road.

School leaders hope to build the middle school within five to eight years and the elementary school within the next 10 to 12 years. That's not all, though. Klein says, ""we'd like a chemistry lab. We would like all sorts of facilities. We would like lighting on our baseball fields. We always have needs to expand what we offer." To help pay for the expansion and other costs, the school hold an annual golf tournament. The next tournament is scheduled for June. Those interested in participating can call 256-705-8221 or click here for more information. ]]> focusonfaith Wed, 02 May 2012 21:50:01 -0500 Focus on Faith: Westminster Christian Academy http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Forming-Relationships-Out-of-Ruin/1HT3tzPH406U8i_VZmom8Q.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/1HT3tzPH406U8i_VZmom8Q.cspx Huntsville, AL -- Local congregations played a vital role in the days and months following the April 27th tornadoes. Some organized food drives. Others raised money, and many pitched in with the cleanup.

In Madison County, some congregations got involved on a more individual basis. The Interfaith Mission Service, which is made up of around 40 congregations representing a wide variety of faiths, asked its members to "adopt" families that had been devastated by the storms. IMS Chief Administrative Officer Jeannie Robison says, "we were sort of the conduit behind finding the people who were most needy and the congregations that were willing and able to help."

Robison says the congregations were asked to commit to at least three months of financial and emotional support. She says that included, "helping them get their houses rebuilt, helping them pay rent if they had to move out of their houses, helping get them back and forth to the doctor, bringing them food." Back to school items for the children and Christmas gifts were also supplied.

For some, especially those who were uninsured, there would have been no recovery without the assistance. "A number of the families that were hit lived close to the edge anyhow, and when they lost their job and lost their home and lost their transportation, it pretty much almost put them on the street," Robison says.

The program has since ended, but many of the relationships that were formed still remain. The congregations have remained in touch with the families that were helped, and Robison says there's a real feeling of pride in their resiliency, adding, "we're so proud of people for hanging in there, getting their lives back into some normalcy." ]]> focusonfaith Sun, 29 Apr 2012 20:57:00 -0500 Focus on Faith: Forming Relationships Out of Ruin http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/FOF-Amazed-Youth-Rally/fRKyM8RN0kOGK1NNeOXFYQ.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/fRKyM8RN0kOGK1NNeOXFYQ.cspx Gurley, AL -- The congregation of Agape Community Worship Center in Maysville may be small, but the members have big plans for an upcoming event. They hope to attract hundreds of young people from all over Madison County to their Amazed Youth Rally on April 28th. Pastor Andrew Boozer says, "a lot of our youth today are afraid to share their faith. They are afraid to open up and express how they believe, because they're afraid they'll be ridiculed or made fun of."

The church wants to show the area's youth how to live boldly with the rally in Gurley. Seven bands have been invited, and there will be two speakers. Youth Pastor Tony Bryant says, "It's also to teach them there are life choices. There are choices not to do drugs. There are choices to excel in school."

The youth group members at Agape Community Worship Center are excited about the possibilities. Amanda Barnett says planning the rally has been a lot of work but worth it. Emily Wall says she hopes it gives them an opportunity to attract more people to their group, and Michelle Barnett adds, "we're just an itty bitty church in a cotton field, so no one really knows where we are... some people might be amazed what a little church can do."

The Amazed Youth Rally is from 12pm-8pm on Saturday, April 28th at Charles Stone Walking Park, which is located at 235 Walker Street in Gurley. Here's the lineup:

12:00pm - Opening/Cave Springs Praise Team
12:30pm - New Salem Baptist Drama Team, Agape Youth Group
1:00pm - Josh Harris, Speaker
1:30pm - Breaking Free
2:15pm - Not Forgotten
3:00pm - By Faith
3:45pm - Notbychance
4:30pm - Joey Beck, Speaker
5:00pm - Solid Rock
6:00pm - Seven Daze
7:00pm - Vital Pursuit

For more information and updates, visit the Amazed Youth Rally's facebook page. ]]> focusonfaith Sun, 15 Apr 2012 20:56:00 -0500 FOF: Amazed Youth Rally http://www.waaytv.com:80/news/content/focusonfaith/story/Focus-on-Faith-Esthers-Closet/b7VzL9juB0WP8sdrXY8whg.cspx?rss=3063 http://www.waaytv.com/s/b7VzL9juB0WP8sdrXY8whg.cspx New Hope, AL -- This is prom season, the highlight of the school year for many high school students. One Madison County ministry is helping ensure more students get a chance to experience it. Esther's Closet is an outreach of the Care Center in New Hope. It provides prom dresses, jewelry and shoes to girls who would not otherwise be able to afford them.

The idea for Esther's Closet came in 2010 during a small group meeting at Cove United Methodist Church. Debbie Leeth was discussing the idea of prosperity with her group of high school girls. She recalls, "we talked about what God meant when he said that to everyone that much has been given, much is required. The girls all agreed that they were blessed, and they wanted to be able to give back to other girls whose families might be struggling with financial hardship."

The teens decided they wanted to start a prom dress ministry in conjunction with the Care Center, which runs a thrift store. Leeth says, "at that time, they weren't set up for prom dresses because a lot of people think, I'm not going to give my prom dress to a thrift store. No one will want it, but really there is a need out there, there are girls who go to thrift stores looking for prom dresses."

The girls began asking their friends at school and at church to donate their gently used dresses, and the formal wear began pouring in. Each spring, the dresses and accessories are moved to the basement of a New Hope church, and girls from the community are invited to come in and select their outfits. Lauren Tanner is one of the small group members who helped start the ministry. She says, "we've been getting lots of pictures of the girls. They email us pictures of the dresses, and of them at prom, and a lot of the girls have actually donated the dresses back here. So, it's like a cycle, and hopefully, it will keep going for a long time."

The Care Center is located at 5439 Main Drive in New Hope. Donations are always welcome. The phone number is 256-723-CARE (2273). More information, including online donation opportunities, may also be found www.thecarecenter.us ]]> focusonfaith Wed, 11 Apr 2012 21:07:09 -0500 Focus on Faith: Esther's Closet