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Content P. 1/P.2. Pastor Bill Russell, Harvest City Church – Greensboro, NC P.3 ….. Brenda Sawyer, Author in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania P. 4 ….. Meltona Bryant, Independent Distributor (Glucose Support) P. 5 ….. Robert E. Speight, Dream Empowerment Network P. 6 ….. Felicia Hollins, Credit Repair P.7 …..
Tai Cunningham, Pampered Chef Consultant
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Pro-Site Services, Inc./ Elevation Properties, LLC
P.9/10 … The S.I.S.T.E.R.S Cruise P.11 …
Cherish Premium Sanitary Napkins
P.12 …
Laura Reynolds, Families United for Change
P.13 …
The New Christianaires (Florida based group)
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Charles Beasley & Vessels of Clayton, Alabama
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The Jones Family Singers of Houston, Texas
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Holy Connection TV
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Play.. What happens when passion is pain
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Youth Explosion 2018 (Lattisville Grove Baptist Church)
P.19 …
Goals for success crossword
P.20 …
Know Your Worth Conference (Sat. Sept. 8th in Greensboro)
P. 21…
Darrell Jay Jones—Director of Marketing, Branding, Radio & Digital Distribution
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The Man, The Misery and the Ministry (Pastor Bill Russell) Pastor Bill Russell has always had a love and a passion for Christ and the church. As a native from Long Island, New York he could always be found in church. Growing up it was evident that he had a love for God. While other children were actively engaging in peewee sports you could find Pastor Bill sitting on the front rows with the deacon board. As a youth he had such a passion for God he would often times play church with the neighborhood children. As he excelled in grade school, his peers were wearing the latest fashions, however, his normal attire consisted of blazers, ties and sometimes suits. It was known by everyone he encountered that he would grow to become a powerful man of God.
At the age of thirteen he preached his first message entitled, “WATCH OUT” and from that moment he shared a love for communicating God’s Word and seeing lives be impacted by the Gospel. All throughout high school Pastor Bill served as a youth minister, a minister of music and the church organist. After graduating high school he moved to North Carolina to attend North Carolina A&T State University to pursue a bachelor degree in Social Work. From that moment on he really experience God’s love, mercy, grace and advancement into ministry. Pastor Bill states that while he was matriculating in college he was the chaplain of the gospel choir and was known for his charisma in gospel choir performances throughout the school. This is where he believes he grew to know God like never before. Pastor Bill shared that during homecoming of his junior year he was introduced to smoking marijuana, he stated that one night held him hostage for years. Although, he was known for being active in campus ministry and in the choir no-one would ever suspect that he would be so heavily indulged in such a practice. “PB” as he is affectionately called; recalls getting to a point where everything revolved around smoking and it became a normal daily practice. For years it was a downward spiraling road that often conflicted with his call to ministry and his love for God. That one night would cost him his life and thousands of dollars down the drain for the next three years. During his addiction a small voice would often tell him he didn’t belong in ministry that marijuana was better. Through the help of God, Pastor Bill finished his degree while dealing with his silent struggle. Through prayer, faith and the support of family and friends he was delivered however, he soon found himself in a very dark place. After graduating Pastor Bill found himself to be depressed, he had turned down an opportunity to pursue graduate studies in Atlanta to remain in Greensboro NC. After graduation things became difficult, and it was hard to secure a job in his field and housing. “PB” remembers sleeping in his car, praying to work all night and crashing on the couches of friends. He became frustrated with life and began to become distant! His thoughts became so low that he wondered if life was worth living. One night he attended an event at his former school A&T and heard someone share how God had delivered them from self-mutilation. Being in a negative place and feeling as if nothing was helping he decided to see if “cutting himself” would work. That very night things got deeper as he cut himself for the first time. This behavior continued and the depression worsened. “PB” recalls hearing God in the middle of everything saying that, “he didn’t have to hurt himself that Jesus was already inflicted so that he might live in freedom”. F aced with shame “PB” called his family and was flown back home to New York, to meet with his pastor, a clinical counselor and a psychiatrist.
P.2 divineconnectionsmagazine.com Through this experience Pastor Bill begin to see the need of spirituality and mental health. Throughout counseling and prayer things rapidly turned around! After one of the strongest storms in his life God made up for lost time and he went on to become a college pastor. His ministry grew a college ministry from 9 to over 100 students in bible studies and he obtained a Master in Social Work degree. It was then when God called Pastor Bill to plant a life giving church in Greensboro, North Carolina. In the summer of 2016 Pastor Bill planted Harvest City Church, located in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is a multigenerational charismatic church that is on fire for God. Since its inception God has done many things, many lives have been saved and baptized. The mission of Harvest is to Love God, Love People and to Love the City, which is exactly what they do. Their passion as a chur ch has been to give back to the community in numerous ways. For example, they have: hosted an Annual Kickball Tournament to benefit a local community center, donated a used vehicle to someone in need, and donated school supplies. They have also: donated coats to the community, helped a family that suffered loss due to a house fire. They have donated over 100 winter survival kits to assist persons experiencing homelessness, and have committed 1000 hours of community service to the city of Greensboro. In the near future, their ministry is also hosting a community baby shower and a support group for new and expecting mothers. Pastor Bill shared that he has seen God do so much through Harvest City Church but one of the stories that particularly stands out is that he was invited to speak to a group of entrepreneurs on a local college campus. Not knowing what to speak about he decided to speak about Noah and having to build when the need had not yet presented itself. At the conclusion of the discussion he prayed for the group and the next Sunday a large group of the young men came to service and gave their lives to God! One of those young men invited his roommate because he was so excited about what God had recently done in his life. This friend came to church gave his life to Christ and after service shared with him that he had NEVER been to church. Not even for a funeral. This young man has not only been faithful but recently was baptized with his group of friends! Moments like this assures Pastor Bill that everything he went through had a purpose that is now being released in this season. They are seeing families reunited, marriages prospering, babies being born, those who have been hurt in church trying church again, and Pastor Bill says,� What we are experiencing is REVIVAL�. Harvest City Church is not one that can be done justice thr ough wr iting; it is simply something that has to be experienced. Pastor Bill is an example of not letting life and misery stop you from following God!
Pastor Bill’s favorite scripture is 1 John 3:2 ( KJV) Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
https://www.facebook.com/harvestcitygso
For more information visit www.harvestcitygso.com
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In about two months, we will be embarking on a historic trip: THE S.I.S.T.E.R.S. CRUISE!!! Have there been cruises before? Yes. Have there been “girls’ trips” in the past? Absolutely! Was there an immensely popular and hilarious movie about four life-long friends on a trip to The Essence Festival that would change their lives? There sure was! Have some of us been blessed enough to leave these shores to visit the Florida Keys and Cozumel, Mexico? Indeed! But can you combine it all? Amazingly, on August 27th, women inspired by the spirit of a movie about sisterhood will set sail with two women who had similar ideas from different sides of the Mason-Dixon line. Virginia native, Shon Graham, inspired after seeing the trailer for “Girls Trip,” created the “Massive Girls Night Out” movie night in Richmond, VA that attracted a huge social media following, sponsors and local media attention. Meanwhile, up north, full-time Philly nurse and part-time blogger & creator of “Makeda’s In Her Feelings,” Makeda Nurse was inspired to create her own event around the movie for a sold out audience. Both events were hugely successful and ignited the entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to bring women together. In highlighting these two wonderful sisters, the CEO of ParadigmShift LLC, Jacqueline Hoskie, managed to connect them and the spark of inspiration ignited a fiery proposition: Why not create the largest Girls’ Trip at sea? Fast forward to 2018 and we are grateful and proud to say the S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Cruise has turned into an incredible success. The interest in this event has been extremely high. Women from all walks of life and from different parts of the country have created a movement beyond a Cruise but a vacation with purpose!
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This cruise will depart from Miami, Florida for 4 days & 3 nights of events and activities stopping in Key West and then to Cozumel, Mexico. In addition to the myriad of activities provided by Carnival Cruises, We are proud to present events focused on women’s empowerment, a professional mixer, discussion forums to discuss entrepreneurship, and the Grown & Sexy Comedy Show. We anticipate the S.I.S.T.E.R.S. Cruise will bring together women from all walks of life and professions to celebrate each other and learn from women who have created business opportunities by addressing needs in their communities. ParadigmShift, an organization dedicated to education, community development and group economics is pleased to support this effort in support of women. There are currently hundreds of women interested in taking part in the first ever event of this kind; however, it has sold out! We encourage all interested parties to follow the movement on FB @Thesisterscruise or subscribe to Paradigmshifttravels.com to receive information on upcoming vacations and Events hosted by the Hosts of the S.I.S.T.E.R.S Cruise. Article written by Kyle McKiver The event organizers thank all of those who are already signed up and hope to be
Sailing In Sisterhood To Encourage Real Solidarity
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