Zondervan and Gazelle Sports Welcome Legendary Female Olympic Track Star to Grand Rapids

"As a dedicated runner myself, I'm thrilled to host Olympic track star Sanya Richards-Ross in West Michigan," said Tom Dean, VP of Marketing, Zondervan Trade Books. "Runners and non-runners alike can learn from Sanya's dedication and perseverance."
Baker Book House Offers Summer Reading Programs for Kids, Adults

"The program is all about promoting literacy at an early age, to encourage kids to read and love books," said Darron Schroeder, assistant manager at Baker Book House.
This year's program puts special emphasis on the state of Michigan, with at least seven Michigan authors visiting the story for special programs. Authors include Glenys Nellist, Crystal Bowman, Gary Bower, Laurie Keller, Tracy Madder, Kenneth Kraegel and Katie Newell.
GRIL Grads Include First Group From Emerge Program

GR Initiative for Leaders' (GRIL) 2017 graduates include its first class from its Emerge program, a nine-month curriculum for adults who want to take their leadership skills to the next level and become leaders in their community, according to Denise Fase, GRIL's executive director.
Terry’s Picks: June 2017

Festival of the Arts Includes Faith-Based Options

And of course, there are also those church-hosted booths which sell luscious food items while raising funds for their various ministries.
Local gospel singer-songwriter Gerald Perry knows the festival well. "I've sung there for a long time – from my days with the Bethel Pentecostal Choir," said Perry, who in his formative years sang with the noted church group.
Musical Inspiration To Fill the Summer Air

Maranatha Bible Conference in Muskegon, Worship On The Waterfront in downtown Grand Haven, Sandy Pines Lakeside Chapel in Dorr, Gospel Music Barn in Hudsonville, and the Christian Reformed Conference Grounds on Lakeshore Dr. between Holland and Grand Haven all feature weekend concerts that are open to the public on a free-will-offering basis. (Details below).
And for Memorial Day weekend, the music is already underway.
Walk For Life Opportunity to Band Together in Prayer, Support Local PRC

The PRC's annual Walk For Life on June 17 is an opportunity for people to band together in prayer, raise needed funds for the pro-life nonprofit founded in 1985 and experience the contrast between light and darkness.
"The Walk is about building awareness and saying to the community, 'We're here,'" said Jim Sprague, the PRC's chief executive officer.
Singer Brings Life to Her Music

Plumb's 2012 power ballad "Need You Now (How Many Times)" - with its Psalm-like longing for God's help - was originally written about her struggles with anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
"But it was soon afterward that my husband and I separated," she recalled of the tumultuous period which her marriage eventually survived. "The meaning actually turned around for me and I became a listener to my own song. I now needed God more than ever before."
Plumb and her band perform Saturday May 20 at Rock the Coast, a two day Christian music mini-festival at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds also featuring David Crowder, Josh Wilson and others.
Molly Klimas Wraps Arms Around Women Caught in Unintended Pregnancies

That was 31 years ago.
Raised in a Roman Catholic family where she is the oldest of eight siblings, Klimas was engaged to her fiancé, Paul Klimas.
Affirmation Is Never Too Extreme

The typical parent, I assumed the absolute worst. I wonder how bad the accident was. Which hospital would he be in? I hope the other kids weren't hurt too.
Concerned, I dialed his cell phone. He answered right away, to my relief. Keeping my voice calm, I addressed the situation. "Son, it's a little later than you said you'd be home. Where are you?"
He hesitated. "Do I have to tell you?" he asked.
New Music Review: Forrest Wakeman

"Messes to Miracles" is a polished effort filled with contemporary ballads and anthems suitable for corporate or personal worship.
Wakeman, who has several advanced music degrees and is music director at Blythefield Hills Baptist Church in Rockford, wrote all the songs and co-produced the CD with long time area worship leader Andy Ferris.
Access of West Michigan Annual Hunger Walk Celebrates 40th Year of Supporting Good Food!

Since 1977, the Hunger Walk has raised over $6 million for local and international organizations promoting a thriving food system through the support of thousands of individuals, businesses and congregations.
Chonda Pierce on May 5

Church Planter Makes 137th Trip to Ukraine, Sees Revived Hunger for Gospel

By his own admission, when he launched Church Planters' Training International (CPTI) in 1992 as founder and president, Correll had no prior theological or church planting experience. In his earlier years he worked for Bethlehem Steel as a sales manager (1967-1988), selling the alloy to some of the area's largest manufacturers in West Michigan.
Plus, he doesn't speak the East Slavic native language, Ukrainian, nor does he dialogue in Russian that nearly 30 percent of Ukrainians speak, nor does he know any of the 40 minority languages and dialects spoken in the Eastern European nation.
Terry’s Picks: May 2017

Singer Doesn’t Mind Role as “Opener”

"My parents own every record he ever made," said Feliz, 28, of the veteran Smith. "I never thought I'd ever be able to share the stage with him."
The relative newcomer Feliz is an opening artist on Smith's current tour, coming to downtown Grand Rapids at 20 Monroe Live on Sat. April 29.
"I feel like my childhood experience of listening to CDs in my parents' car is being lived out right now," he smiled.
Smith, 59, needs no introduction to Christian music fans. More than two dozen albums, nearly three dozen No. 1 songs, and various collaboration projects have left an indelible mark for the Gospel Music Hall of Fame member.
Authors Record Year-long Experiment in Radical Change

Arthur, author of several other books, originally pitched the book as one family's year-long practice of new monasticism in suburbia. Then Tom and Sarah Arthur met Erin and Dave Wasinger and asked them to be part of the journey.
"We formed a covenantal relationship with the Wasingers," said Sarah Arthur. "It's a whole different thing when close friends know what you're doing and challenge you, asking you the hard questions."
The goal was to engage in the 12 marks of new monasticism, a lifestyle espoused by the likes of Shane Claiborne and others.
Vander Kolks Leave for Lebanon to Alleviate Pain, Serve Local Church

This will mark the Grand Rapids couple's third medical mission trip to the Middle East country when they leave April 28 and return May 6. John will head up the dental aspect of the medical Christian humanitarian trip, with Rosa serving as his dental assistant. Joining them will be two dentists, a nurse, two assistants, an emergency room doctor, an obstetrician, a physician's assistant, an epidemiologist and two interpreters.
Summit Addresses Needs of Single Parents

Now single parents can find help and encouragement at the inaugural Midwest Single Parenting Summit, created by Haviland, founder of A Father's Walk, and Dawn Blocker VanderWerf, founder of Single Parent Missions. The summit takes place at EverGreen Ministries on May 12-13.
"We want single parents to know how loved and cherished they are by God, and that God hasn't forsaken them," said Haviland. "We want them to find encouragement in the sessions and through the people there and the teaching."
Heartside Ministry’s New Executive Director Knows Homelessness Firsthand

Masiriri was 15 years old when his father died in 1985, leaving him no other choice but to try to care for himself, he said.
"I didn't have anything," said Masiriri. "I know what it means when people are struggling and want to get out of it. They have the same desires as anybody else. They hope like anybody else.
Outcry of Worship Voices Comes to West Michigan

"My teacher thought I was really rebellious and would not let me re-join again at any point in high school," said the singer of the incident during 9th grade. "So all the musical things I did was with stuff outside of school," she recalled.
In college when the hopeful singer first auditioned for the school worship team...she was turned down.
Easter and the Southern Cemetery

To me and most of the kids I knew, that cemetery had an eerie mystery about it—the kind only a graveyard can offer. It was exciting in a spooky sort of way.
Still, my friends and I taunted our fears in that place. We played games there because it always made the hairs on the back of our necks stand up a little. And every time we were in that cemetery, we were constantly aware that death was just beneath our feet.
Every time, that is, except for one day each year, when we all lost sight of the graveyard's creepiness for a few minutes.
President of Colson Center for Christian Worldview Warns Against Tsunami of Social Change

The average churchgoer might reply people resemble God because of their abilities, including the knack to be rational and to communicate. This is known as the functional viewpoint.
Others might says that we don't resemble animals' behavior and thus must be a reflection of the Almighty, also called the relational perspective.
Original Video Leads Easter Worship

"The theme is 'Alive and Well,'" said worship pastor Brad Spead of the morning's message.
Using a poetic, spoken word approach, the video encapsulates the salvation story from creation to redemption all in 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
"My goal is to put truth, theology and Scripture in front of the congregation in unique ways," said Spead, 28, of his larger-than-life video script. "I wanted to emphases certain phrases and passages people would recognize, but presented in a different way."
Suspense Novelist Shares Her Love of Story

"All the Nikki Boyd plots take place within 48 hours, because the first 48 hours are the most important in solving a crime," said Harris. "There is more suspense than romance in these books because how much romance can you have in 48 hours?"
Retired Army Chaplain Urges Restorative Help for Veterans’ Moral Injury

Despite the bad breaks, he eventually he healed and regained the use of his limbs.
But healing isn't as obvious for active duty soldiers and veterans grappling with the destructive consequences of moral injury, a term that's not as well trod as post traumatic stress disorder but just as problematic.
Terry’s Picks: April 2017

New Book’s Message Focuses on Uniqueness of Each Child

"We all have different qualities that make us who we are," said Newell, who lives in Lowell with her husband and three children ages 6, 8, and 10. "The world will do a good job pointing out the bad, but if we focus on the good the bad doesn't weigh us down so much."
Rock the Coast Returns

Set for May 19-20, the Christian music mini-festival has moved south from Muskegon to Holland at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds. "Reaching out to a new audience in the Holland area should give us the ability to see the event grow," said festival director Kevin Newton, spokesman for Alive On The Lakeshore, the non-profit group behind the event.
The organization already produces the Unity Christian Music Festival in Muskegon, which has drawn more than 50,000 persons over its four day schedule each August.
Sidewalk Advocates For Life Serve as Christ’s Hands, Feet to Mothers, Unborn

Yet on Wednesdays you'll find her standing outside of the building at 320 E. Fulton, clutching pro-life literature and praying that the women and girls who intend to enter the Heritage Clinic for Women (HCFW) to abort their preborn children will give her the time of day.
Margaret Murphy breathes the same prayers and intent as Snow's. She stands in front of the same clinic's sidewalk on Thursdays.
Brown’s Sensible Shoes Series Expands, Continues to Draw Readers

"My goals for this book and series are the same as they were in the beginning: that readers would encounter God as they read and that the books would cast a strong vision of what community can be like," said Brown, who lives in Ada. "I longed for the characters to be a reflection of our own fears and hurts and changes."
The four women meet at a spiritual retreat—all there for different reasons and at different places spiritually—and embark on a journey that cements their newfound friendship as they each grow closer to God.
A Red Light, Green Light Marriage

I guess you could say I'm one of those guys who's easily distracted. If I'm driving and I have to stop at a red light, my center of focus scatters all over the place. I glance at the people in the car next to me, I watch squirrels and birds intently, I check out nearby architecture, I try to read the fine print on litter at the side of the road. Basically, I give my attention to everything but the colored circles dangling above the intersection in front of me.
Yeah, I'm that guy. Sorry if I've kept you waiting.
New Music Scoop Review: Wayburn Dean

The former Acappella group member has a distinguished solo career, with multiple albums containing tunes which reached national charts.
Dean's latest effort (once again done in collaboration with his wife Janae) continues his track record of well-crafted, inspirational music featuring his soothing and soulful voice.
For example, the medium tempo "It's a Miracle" takes a pop setting with its smoothly sung tale of the miraculous power of God. The album's title song similarly benefits from the singer's silky vocals wrapped around the song's central message.
Another highlight is "Before the Throne," a slow ballad which is closest to Dean's former accapella sound with lush yet pointed background vocals.
Different Kids, Different Love?

The apples didn't fall far from the trees, but it's fair to say they've rolled away a little. So as a parent, I often have to remind myself that my children—my own flesh and blood, the ones I've helped to nurture and raise—are people, just like anybody else.
They're real people, which means I have to work to relate to them just like I work to relate to others. Which means that the relating won't always feel like second nature.
Just like anybody else on the planet, each of my kids has a personality that I both enjoy and endure. They make choices I admire and argue about. They hold opinions that match and disagree with my own. Their attitudes I cheer for and despise.
GR Dream Center Starts With Request: Can I Be Your Friend?

"There was a woman in her 50s who lived a life of being a crack cocaine addict for 20 some years and was prostituting herself," said Leah. "She prayed for toilet paper that morning and we showed up with toilet paper. I knew her heart was softening and God was telling me to seek her out and I'll rescue her."
The Molchans are co-founders of the Grand Rapids Dream Center (GRDC), a movement-based, mission-focused ministry they launched in August 2014 that mobilizes volunteers to meet people's spiritual and physical needs.
Casting Crowns Unveils the “Next Thing”

"That's hard to do when you've got eight records of songs with everybody having their favorites they want to hear."
The million-selling, inspirational-pop band visits Van Andel Arena on March 23 with guest artists Danny Gokey and Unspoken (details below).
The title song "The Very Next Thing" sums up the album's theme: don't wait for the grandiose thing you'd like to do for God someday – just do the very next thing He asks.
Local Christian Bookstores Step Up As Family Christian Closes Doors

Family Christian announced late last month that it would close its nearly 250 stores around the country, almost two years after filing for bankruptcy. It is unknown when the local stores—on 28th Street, Alpine Avenue and 44th Street—will finally shut their doors.
Kregel Parable and Baker Book House are remaining open.
Profits Earned Respecting Scriptural Principles are Part of God’s Design, Plan

"He's depressed and overwhelmed by what he sees," said Rathbone Bradley, vice president of economic initiatives for the biblical advocacy think tank, Institute for Faith, Work and Economics (IFWE), based in McLean, Vir. IFWE's mission is to inspire Christians to embrace a biblical understanding of work and economics, exemplified by greater creativity and increased human flourishing.
Local Gospel Quartet Still Searching

It's a small part of a larger search: The Faithful Journey Quartet has been looking high and low for a new tenor singer for over six months.
"Yes, we've been seeking in many different directions," said Jim Visser, lead singer and manager of the West Michigan-based group. "We've put a message on a (gospel music) magazine posting board, I've placed notices with some of the larger local churches, and other gospel quartets in the area know that we're looking," added Visser, 52.
Good vs. Evil is Theme of Local Author’s Debut Novel

First was a trip he and his wife took to Las Vegas. They rented a car a drove into the desert outside the city. Second, Parker is a fan of Westerns—novels and movies—and dreamed of setting a novel in the west.
Third was a John Donne sonnet titled "Batter my heart, three-person'd God," in which Donne believed that he couldn't change until he was ravished by God.
"The idea of beating the good into someone really got to me," said Parker, who lives in Walker with his wife and twin sons.
Terry's Picks for March 2017

Pine Rest Launches Pax Crisis Response

"Crisis" carries with it an elastic meaning, said Bob VandePol, Pine Rest's executive director of employee, church and school assistance programs. Whether it's because of violence, suicide, a pastor's ethical failure, tragic death, or a natural disaster, the common element with them all is there's an immediate need for constructive direction.
Ada Bible Church Pastor Pens Third Book

Manion has preached and taught on faithfulness through the years, mostly touching on it as part of other topics. "But people responded to it," he said. "The material touched a nerve, and seems like a topic that has resonated."
His new book "Dream Big, Think Small: Living an Extraordinary Life One Day at a Time," recently released by Zondervan, speaks to faithfulness in everyday life.
Christian Writer’s Group Offers Skill-Building, Encouragement

Sitting by a desk or on a couch with a laptop, tablet, or legal pad waiting for inspiration. Perhaps struggling with a string of phrases or sentences. And then wondering what interruption will pop-up next to divert the attention from the task at-hand.
Here's a possible solution: Search out others who share your passion for writing and face similar writing challenges...join a writers' group!
"I believe that every writer needs to be in a group of their peers who understand the writing process," said Kathy Bruins, president of the faith-based Word Weavers of West Michigan. "That's where real feedback will be given with a goal of making their writing better."
More Articles...
- John 10:10 Guides The Hope Project’s Battle Against Sex Trafficking
- Outcry Returns to West Michigan
- New Paradigm Needed to Make Senior Adults’ Years Their Best, Say Encore Alliance Leaders
- Terry's Picks for February 2017
- Painter Tom VanDerKolk operates business with integrity
- Bridge Street Mission School Strengthens, Deepens Faith
- Concerts Taking Shape in 2017
- Terry’s Picks: January 2017
- Faith-based Blues Gym Mentors Kids through Kickboxing, Living out God’s Word
- New Service to Connect Churches, Worship Players
- SOWERS Plants Retirees Where Help is Needed; ‘Anyone Interested Should Look into it’
- New Music Review: Orlando Rodriguez
- The Whole Sex Talk is New Ally for Tongue-tied Parents, Churches
- New Christmas Book Will Delight Children and Parents
- Kingsbury Offers 24th Book in Baxter Family Series Just in Time for Christmas
- Donut Shop’s Closing Highlights Need for Mel Trotter to Come Alongside Least of These with Wide-Ranging Services, Programs
- “Old Time Radio Variety Hour”
- Terry’s Picks: December 2016
- MercyMe, GR Symphony, Combine for Holiday Concert
- Former Planned Parenthood director affirms, ‘My goal is to make abortion unthinkable’
- Local Author Pens Book for Children
- Christmas Music Heralds The Holiday