Can Life Partners Work Together?

BY HIRAM AND ELIZABETH RIOS Divorce and separation are rampant. Statistics show that over half of marriages today end in divorce. Unfortunately, these statistics are just as high for evangelicals as the rest of the population. For those of us in ministry, we know how easily the demands of ministry can take their toll on…

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Balancing Marriage and Ministry

BY CHARLIE AND BETTY RIVERA It was a beautiful sunny day and we had just arrived home from Sunday morning service. Our plans were to spend Sunday afternoon together in our apartment eating sandwiches, watching a little TV, and then cozying up to take a short nap before returning to church for the evening service.…

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Bisexuality and Homosexuality: The Ultimate in Sexual Confusion

BY JACOB ARANZA After a high school assembly in Wichita, Kansas, a young attractive girl walked up to me after everyone else had left the gym. “Jacob,” she said, “I have to tell you something I have never told anyone before.” Looking around to be sure no one was in sight she whispered, “I’m gay.”…

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More Singles in Ministry

BY DINA GONZALEZ “Love” is the word engraved on a ring that I wear on my hand. I cannot tell you how many rings I have given away to some of the youth in my youth group, friends, or young people who have chosen to vow to a life a sexual purity until marriage. But…

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Liderazgo en Acción: Wendy Calderon, Sonny Arguinzoni, Jr., and Richard Hinojosa

WENDY CALDERON Wendy Andrea Calderón, a Colombian-American, is an exceptional and well respected leader in the metropolitan New York Christian community. She accepted the Lord during her freshman year at Brown University and entered full-time youth ministry upon graduation. Wendy is an ordained minister and serves as the Executive Director of Urban Youth Alliance. Urban…

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Off the Record

BY DAN MONTEVERDE Youth today, especially the Hispanic youth we work with, love music. If we are not in agreement on this issue we will be hard pressed to agree on many other things other than the Lordship of Christ and his imminent return. If you want to know where a kid is socially, emotionally…

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Interview with Jaci Velasquez

To hear Jaci Velasquez share her vision is to be given hope again. To hear her sing it, as in the case of her message of abstinence (on “I Promise”) is to be renewed and inspired to share it with someone else. That’s the way her ministry works, naturally, as she lives it out in…

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Somewhat Out of Control

A Youth Pastor Shares His Story About How Sexual Sin Ruined His Life, Family and Ministry BY ANONYMOUS “We need to talk.” These were the four most frightening words anyone could say to me. The questions would fly through my mind: “What did they know?” “Did one of the girls tell?” “Were they suspicious?” I…

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Hispanic Teens and the Sexual Dilemma

BY LARRY ACOSTA, MARY ARIAS, AND CLAUDIA RAMOS The issue of teen sexuality in our Latino community has been one that is both culturally and spiritually difficult to deal with as church leaders. Our teens need positive role models who will talk honestly with them about sex, but often times this openness clashes with our…

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Pastor Gadget

BY MAX TORRES Early on in ministry, I remember sitting in meetings and watching effective leaders writing in their detailed, page-per-day calendars. I wish somebody would have asked me, “So how do you schedule your days?” I wasted so much time! Effective planning requires know how, a good planning device and discipline. There are a…

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