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Dear Mom, I’ll Never Be Too Old to Stop Needing You

It doesn't matter how old I am, I'll never stop needing you mom.

Autistic Boys’ Parents Send Him to Visit Murderer in Jail—Radically Changes His Life

From his Colorado prison yard, Vogt explained what he sees as redemption. "This is the thing I do to give back," he said. "When Zach and even the other kids get to work with me, they don't see the murderer. This has given me a chance to do something better."

Kidnapped Woman Used Grubhub to Contact NYC Police, Rescued With the Help of Restaurant Workers

A restaurant in New York City was surprised when...

Baptist Church Calls Transgender Pastor to Lead Congregation: “She Was Called to Our Church”

On July 1st, an Ohio Baptist church called a transgender pastor to lead their congregation, making it one of a few churches in the Baptist congregation to be led by a person identifying as a gender other than their birth sex.

Peace Community Church in Oberlin, Ohio, welcomed Erica Saunders as their new leader, an LGBT-affirming pastor who started identifying as a female in her first year of seminary at Wake Forest University School of Divinity. Saunders saw hope for a future in Christian ministry after the former executive director of the Board of International Ministries of American Baptist Churches USA informed her he was confident he could find a church “crazy enough” to accept a transgender pastor.

Founded as First Baptist Church of Oberlin in July 1866, Peace Community Church is affiliated with the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Alliance of Baptists, and the American Baptist Churches of the Rochester/Genesee Region.

According to Baptist News Global, Saunders was chosen after a long recruitment process that dwindled the 16-candidate pool down to two contending pastors.

“Both candidates were very strong…but Erica stood out as a candidate with unique strengths,” the pastoral search team wrote in a letter. “Bright, compassionate, faith-filled and spirit-led with a loving presence, she showed as much interest in each of us as we did in her. At the end of our time together on Sunday, when we formed a circle and said a departing prayer, I think we felt and she felt a sense of calling to our church.”

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Kelsey Straeter
Kelsey Straeter
Kelsey is an editor at Outreach. She’s passionate about fear fighting, freedom writing, and the pursuit of excellence in the name of crucifying perfectionism. Glitter is her favorite color, 2nd only to pink, and 3rd only to pink glitter.

Dear Mom, I’ll Never Be Too Old to Stop Needing You

It doesn't matter how old I am, I'll never stop needing you mom.

Autistic Boys’ Parents Send Him to Visit Murderer in Jail—Radically Changes His Life

From his Colorado prison yard, Vogt explained what he sees as redemption. "This is the thing I do to give back," he said. "When Zach and even the other kids get to work with me, they don't see the murderer. This has given me a chance to do something better."

Kidnapped Woman Used Grubhub to Contact NYC Police, Rescued With the Help of Restaurant Workers

A restaurant in New York City was surprised when a food order they received through the Grubhub app alerted them to a hostage situation....