*conVERGE Episode 4 with Carrie Badertscher Follow Up

Hello to *conVERGE viewers.  Welcome to my little corner of the the internet world... a.k.a. my blog.  There will be times we'll send you over here for some follow up info on certain episodes.  In Episode 4 with Carrie, we talked Innovation for Change, and I shared some statistics at the close of the show concerning some of the issues going on in our world.  I believe God cares deeply about every issue outlined below.

• 40% of the world lacks basic sanitation facilities.
• 1 Billion People have unsafe drinking water.
• 1 out of every 2 children are born into poverty.
• 1 out of every 4 children have to work instead of going to school.
• In Africa there are 15 million children orphaned due to AIDS.
• Equal to entire population of Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska.
• Every year, 2.2 Million children die because they are not properly immunized.
• 27 Million people are living as modern day slaves.
• Every 6 seconds, a child dies of hunger.
• 1 Million+ legal abortions are performed every year in the United States (1 every 30 seconds)
• 6,871 of the 16,000 people groups in the world are still unreached with the message of Jesus Christ.
• 2.8 Billion people have not heard the message of Christ.
• 33% of the world is Christian. 4.62 Billion people practicing other or no religion.
• 1 out of 3 teens have been heavily drinking this year.
• 900,000 teens have been abused in their own homes.
• 1 out of every 5 have seriously considered suicide
• 1 out of every 4 high school girls have experienced sexual or physical abuse.
• 9 out of every 10 teens have been exposed to online pornography.

If you've been struck by any of the issues, here's some websites and ministries that may be good to check out:

• I-heart.org - Organized by the Hillsong Worship Group, this site highlights many of the more significant Humanitarian/Justice issues. It gives further information on the issues as well as ministries you can partner with.
• groundwire.net - A ministry reaching out to teens in crisis.  If you're 18 or older, you can go through training to become an online coach & help others in need.
• joshuaproject.net - A site dedicated to the fulfillment of The Great Commission.  It's full of information on the different people groups of the world.  Great place to start learning more about unreached people groups.

Here's some examples of Innovators for Change mentioned by Carrie:
Hoops of Hope:  Check out this site to see a great example of someone who saw, felt and acted on the issues.  Browse through this site and watch the stories on what happened.  It's a great example of an innovator for change.  Also, I highly recommend Austin's book, "Take Your Best Shot" to any teen who is seeking to follow Christ.

Tom's Shoes:  One for one.  For every pair of Tom's shoes you buy, a pair is donated to someone in need.  Blake Mycoskie (Tom's founder) saw a need and came up with a way to do something about it.


Teens and Trafficking:  Nappanee Missionary Church Youth saw two significant needs (Teens in Crisis and Human Trafficking) and have done multiple programs and steps to address those needs, inlcuding a dodgeball tournament that will raise $$ for a Teen Crisis Ministry.


View the epsiode from Carrie here.

Next week I'm joined by Caleb Bislow to talk about what it means to be a Missionary.  It will be FANTASTIC!