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CSA’s free weekly publication, a carefully curated collection of original articles at the intersection of spiritual formation and social action.

The Price of Pain

Ministry volunteers and secondary trauma

by Nita Belles

As I walked along Bourbon Street in New Orleans a couple of nights before the 2013 Super Bowl, my heart broke repeatedly. Young teen girls were paraded in and out of strip clubs while their pimps talked on cell phones, arranging “dates” for their victims, who would be forced to turn over every dime “earned” for providing sexual services.

Church + Holistic Gospel = Hope

By Vincent Bacote
I am most hopeful in those circumstances that continue to reveal that there is the potential for the church to be a powerful witness to a holistic gospel,

Church + Discipleship = Hope

By Al Tizon
What gives me hope when I consider the church? Churches that love God in creative worship; churches that acknowledge people’s brokenness;

Church + Humility = Hope

By Craig Wong
I’m seeing, over the past 15 years, a growing embrace of humility, not only as virtue but also as paramount to recovery of the American church’s reason to exist.  

Church + Light = Hope

By Gary Wilkerson
The reason I have great hope for the church is that in the midst of the darkest times the church shines the brightest light.

Church + Community = Hope

By Mae Elise Cannon
People who choose to be steadfast and to fight for biblical community even in the midst of human brokenness and suffering give me great hope.

Church + Integrated Faith = Hope

By Danielle Shroyer
I think young people are asking great questions of the church, and those questions are pushing the church to think critically about what we believe and how we worship,

Church + Ecumenism = Hope

By Ron Sider
There is much to celebrate in today’s global Christianity. In my lifetime, I have seen the evangelical world move from a one-sided emphasis on evangelism to a

Church + the Cross = Hope

By Yohanna Katanacho
My name is the church of the Middle East. Death is below me, above me, beside me, around me, and in me. I am doomed, bleeding, and I can see only a cross.

Church + Race = Not So Much Hope…

By Kathy Khang
When I look at the church today I am sad, hurt, angry, and confused. We say we want to be bold, to proclaim Christ’s love, grace, forgiveness, and truth to the world.

Church + Neighborhood Engagement = Hope

By C. Christopher Smith
When I look at the vast diversity of churches in North America, there are two related things that give me great hope. First, I am encouraged by the number of churches that

Church + Obedience = Hope

By Michael R. Wear
I am hopeful about the church, because of Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Church + the Holy Spirit = Hope

By Jo Anne Lyon
As one looks at the future it is always beneficial to reflect on the past. For over 2,000 years the church has persevered as the light of Jesus Christ in the world.

Church + Diversity = Hope

By John M. Perkins
The people are getting together and looking at the gospel afresh with a keen awareness of its redemptive purpose. They are drawing this from a holistic perspective

Church + the Whole Gospel = Hope

By Eugene Cho
This is a difficult question to answer, because it’s hard to identify a single thing that gives me hope. But my answer to what I’m most hopeful about is also what