This email broke my heart.
Just discovered over the holidays that no one in my family is a Christian… please pray for my family… my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Sadly, the three youngest generations of this family live apart from the Author of Life. They have never experienced the freedom of forgiveness, sensed a higher purpose for living, or known the hope of heaven.
Instead, they represent the nearly 5 million nonreligious adults in Illinois who are drifting from God.
Trapped
Day by day these precious people live trapped in the shame-based system of this world believing they are solely what they have, do or produce.
To escape the emptiness inside, some succumb to addictions or compulsions that lead down dead-end roads. Others try to prove their worth by achieving great success – only to discover it can’t fill the hole in their soul.
Confounded by their unhappiness, they shuffle through this life feeling alone and unloved. Sometimes, they whisper out loud, “What’s the use?”
A Pandemic
Loved ones, this is life apart from Christ. We must never forget the darkness, the despair, and the confusion so many of our family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and kids live with every day. It’s a pandemic of unreceived love.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Share the Treasure
Those of us who have accepted the forgiveness Christ alone offers and tasted God’s unmerited love can serve as guides to faith and ambassadors of hope. The treasure of God’s grace is too good to keep to ourselves. It is meant to be shared – widely.
That’s why I’m excited about partnering with the Illinois Great Rivers Conference to offer this new, 2-hour workshop, Connecting New Friends with Christ.
It’s designed to take a practical look at the motivation and skills needed to meet new people as well as engage with loved ones to help each one take steps toward Christ.
Two identical workshops will be offered:
- Saturday, March 1, 2025, 10 am to 12 noon – The United Methodist Conference Center, Springfield, IL
- Register here: https://igrc-reg.brtapp.com/ConnectingNewFriendswithChrist
- Saturday, March 8, 2025, 10 am to 12 noon – Wesley UMC, 502 E Front St,, Bloomington, IL
- Register here: https://igrc-reg.brtapp.com/ConnectingNewFriendswithChrist71
Each workshop is free, but you do need to register.
Let’s go on this journey together and see how God may use us to make an eternal difference in someone’s life.
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Roger Ross
A native of Cambridge, Illinois, Roger has served as a pastor in Texas, the British Channel Island of Guernsey, and Illinois. While in Illinois, he led teams that planted two new churches and served for 10 years as the lead pastor of one of the largest United Methodist Churches in the Midwest. It was his privilege to serve as the Director of Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference before coming into his current role with Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI).
Roger now comes alongside pastors, non-profit leaders and their leadership teams as an executive coach, specializing in leadership that inspires change. As a side gig, he loves teaching evangelism and church planting as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.
Other passions of his include SCUBA diving in warm blue water, Krispy Kremes, and board games with family and friends. He also has a weakness for golf.
Roger is the author of three books, Meet The Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith, Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For, and Come Back Participant Guide, all through Abingdon Press.
Now for the best part. Roger is married to Leanne Klein Ross, and they live Bloomington, Illinois. God has blessed them with two adult children, a son-in-law, several tropical fish, and one adorable granddog.
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