Gina’s guest has an incredible story to tell! Gwen Adams is an everyday mom and grandma who God called out of the church she was serving to be the church way out on the margins of society. It all started with a simple missional challenge from the Lord to pray. And those prayers have led to a profound movement of crazy church ladies who are having an amazing impact combatting sex trafficking in Alaska.
Find out more about 3DM at: https://www.3dmovements.com/
Mentioned in this Episode:
What happens when ordinary churchgoing women heed the radical call of an extraordinary God? The sex trafficking trade is an ugly, messy, and complicated crisis in desperate need of intervention, but it is easier to stay out of it and pray from a safe distance.
However, the church is not called to be safe. In Crazy Church Ladies, Gwen Adams recounts how she and her group of church ladies became crime-fighting machines to upend the world of trafficking in their city.
Crazy Church Ladies lays out a blueprint for the church to be the church. In a world with so much conversation about the church and social justice, this story shows how the church can live into its primary calling, to make disciples and impact the surrounding culture in ways that no government, law enforcement, or community activism can.
Simple Mission Challenges provides weekly practices for practically engaging with mission and discipleship at an everyday level. The hope is that as you engage with these small exercises over a 13 week period, you will have the opportunity to grow in learning how step out in faith and actively pray for your local community. Perfect for small groups, huddles, and congregations, this tool is a great first step for those who may be new local mission.
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.