The Indiana e-Christian

Donna Campbell, a student at Christian Theological Seminary and student associate at New Light Christian Church, is one of five Disciples semarians selected by the East Asia and Pacific office of Global Ministries to participate in the People to People Pilgrimage. The group will travel to China from May 29 through June 9.

Global Ministries ministers Julia Brown-Karimu and Dr. Xiaoling Zhu will travel with the group as they study Christianity in China and visit various historical sites. During the group’s 10 days in China, they will visit Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Zhoukou and Beijing. They will meet church leaders, attend worship services, and visit seminaries and projects.

City tours will include the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing.

The other seminarians chosen for the People to People Pilgrimage are: Rebekah Cypert, Brite Seminary; Ryan Charles Motter, Vanderbilt Divinity School; Tara Lyn Thompson, Phillips Theological Seminary; Jonathan David Wallace, The University of Chicago Divinity School.

The East Asia and Pacific office of Global Ministries encompasses a vast region from Mongolia to New Zealand, China to the Pacific Island nations. The region is home to nearly 1.6 billion people – one-quarter of the world’s population – and contains one-sixth of the world’s landmass.

Global Ministries currently has partners and projects in Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Micronesia, Fiji, and the Marshall Islands, including 16 missionaries in 7 different countries.

New Light Christian Church, Indianapolis, opened The Place 2 Hang, on Friday, April 17. The program is a community gathering place that features a weekly chaperoned social and recreational gathering for youth between the ages of 11 and 21. The Place 2 Hang also includes monthly programs for adults between the ages of 21-55.

The program is held every Friday from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., with registration beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Place 2 Hang is an outreach of New Light’s M-Power Youth Mentoring Program. The Place 2 Hang program is designed to make a positive impact on youth and the wider community. It is a place for youth to have fun and be themselves.

The church believes that if they can provide a safehaven for youth to gather, it will be a positive outlet for them. The Place 2 Hang is one way that New Light attempts to meet the youth where they are. Activites include, but are not limited to, time on the computers, Playstation, Wii, Basketball, Volleyball, Double Dutch, Talent shows, greek step shows, poetry contests, ping pong, movies, and more.

Rev. Michael Scaife, pastor of New Light Christian Church, comments that The Place 2 Hang offers "community outreach by providing recreational activities, mentoring, education, and social services." He adds, "We've also found out that when youth and the community at large are offered structured, consistent night-time programs that include recreation programs as well as evening social activities, the impact on crime reduction is proven."

The program serves young adults and older individuals through programs such as HIV/AIDS testing, voter registration, Health screenings, AA and NA information weekly and monthly.