Good News Florida

concept of Christian commu- nity predates the Jesus Move- ment, the Charismatic Movement and even the early church in the New Testament. Abraham of old was called into a covenantal relationship with God and his fellow be- lievers, called to be the Father of the faith and interacting as well with non-believers in his new community in Canaan. Joseph as well earned the favor of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and was an important part of God’s plan to minister to the Hebrews and Egyptians alike in the predicted famine in the land. Ruth, Esther and Paul the Apostle all showed us important lessons about living in community, as they all had the opportunity and the call to be God’s messengers in a cross-cultural setting. You can explore the world from the comfort and safety of your home, read stories about people who have literally changed the world and learn how to pray for God’s global community. Modern day examples of those who have responded to the call to community include Billy Graham, who is now with the Lord after more than six decades of worldwide min- istry, and Nick Vujicic, an Aus- tralian evangelist with the extremely rare tetra-amelia syndrome, who has over- come all odds to minister to over 700 million in 175 coun- tries. Many readers will have recently completed a 21 day fast or longer period related to the Lenten season. This is a good time to get a better un- derstanding of how God sees the world and how we can learn to see our neighbors, co-workers, people in our community of other back- grounds, and others in vari- ous cultures around the world with God’s eyes. For more information go to www.wycliffe.org/community. Robert Woods is an engi- neer with Skanska USA Civil Southeast and a published Christian author. He and his wife Marie attend Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, and Robert has made more than 15 short term mission trips to Haiti, St. Thomas and Canada. His children and grandchildren have minis- tered in Haiti, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Hungary.