See How the Other Half Lives
Want to broaden your horizons this summer? Talk to your youth group leader about having some events to see how "the other half" lives. You can do fun events or service projects to become a more well-rounded person or youth group. Here are some ideas to get started:

1. Adopt a Gran

I love the Church. I love our church.

When I was a teen, the Church of the Nazarene found me and adopted me. I was a paperboy from a broken home. A customer invited me to the Church of the Nazarene. Once there, I discovered that several of my customers were members. On Sunday mornings I would stand in my front yard and jump in the car of whichever Nazarene drove by first.

Tanya was counting the days.

The little girl with chestnut hair and auburn eyes sat at home on her bed in Russia, wishing away the hours and daydreaming about the next time she could travel with her sister and mother to church. She loved the games of Kids? Club and the singing during worship, but most of all she loved talking to Jesus. She knew He could hear her prayers and she believed that He saw her tears.

"As a child I often cried and asked Him to help," says Tanya. "I always knew in my heart that I could cry to Jesus."

When we moved to Loudon, New Hampshire six years ago, we purchased a home so close to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) that when we watch NASCAR races on TV we turn the volume down and open the windows!

I sensed God encouraging me to offer pastoral care to the racers, workers, and guests. However, the owner did not feel that was necessary. A year later the track was sold and I made the same offer to the incoming general manager. He enthusiastically accepted and I began to minister to the racing community at NHMS in 2007.

When we moved to Loudon, New Hampshire six years ago, we purchased a home so close to New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) that when we watch NASCAR races on TV we turn the volume down and open the windows!

I sensed God encouraging me to offer pastoral care to the racers, workers, and guests. However, the owner did not feel that was necessary. A year later the track was sold and I made the same offer to the incoming general manager. He enthusiastically accepted and I began to minister to the racing community at NHMS in 2007.

In this segment, Nazarene Archives answers a question about the history of the Church of the Nazarene denomination.

Exactly how did the Church of the Nazarene get its name?

The earliest Christians were a notable lot. Were many of us to rub shoulders with them, we might find ourselves intimidated by the intensity of their discipleship. "Counting the cost" was no glib phrase for these stalwarts. They often paid a huge price to simply follow Jesus.

Daniel G. Powers, writing his commentary on 1 Peter in the New Beacon Bible Commentary, cites a passage from the Epistle to Diognetus. It is worthy of our consideration: