PRESS RELEASE

Of interest to editors and journalists covering:
Religion, Christian Interest, Charities, Latino Interest, FL News 


Florida Group Reaches Out To Poverty Stricken Nation 

Lifespring Community Church Has a Global Vision to Help the Poor

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - September 2, 2004 /Send2Press Newswire/ -- When Paul Heier,
a local minister, visited Nicaragua last year, he was stunned to see the
immense poverty. He came back and invited the thirty-five people at his church
to "help change the world."  When several people from his church offered to
give up their summer vacations, he knew things were going to work out. He and
the other minister from Lifespring Community Church (www.empoweredchurch.com)
in Palm Harbor, Al Depoutot, took a group of twenty-one people to Nicaragua
near the end of July.

Most of the twenty-one were from Lifespring, but other people joined the group
as they began to learn about what was going to be done.

The group worked with impoverished children, gave out food to the hungry, and
distributed gifts to hundreds of children in the Northern section of Nicaragua
near the city of Chinandega.  Lifespring Community Church has a love for
helping people.

Last year they provided school supplies for dozens of underprivileged school
children in downtown Clearwater. They also went on a missions trip to Panama
City, Panama and worked with hundreds of children there.

Although most of the team worked with children, church leaders in Chinandega
had asked both ministers to teach classes and sponsor a conference on
leadership. The church's two pastors, Paul Heier and Al Depoutot, Jr., are
elated at the response of the church and the community.

"Many people went with us and those who didn't go ended up giving so that the
others could go," said Heier.  Most of Pastor Heier's book on leadership
entitled, "Leading Out of Love," was translated into Spanish and was the basis
for the leadership conference.

"Hundreds of people received food while, one little girl was given financial
assistance to buy hearing aids, and one family got a brand new roof. It doesn't
get much better than that!" Heier exclaimed while reflecting on the trip.

The church recently celebrated its second birthday.  Although it is currently a
small congregation, the church has big dreams and wants to live out Jesus'
command to "love your neighbor."  They have found many avenues to serve their
community by giving out free soft drinks, offering breakfast bags to busy
commuters, and delivering snacks to local business people.  Some from
Lifespring even went recently to help victims of Hurricane Charley.

"It's so fun to ‘love your neighbor' because we live in a world where most
people don't have many friends.  They're surprised when someone just does
something nice for them without some sort of hidden agenda,"  Heier went on to
say.

Lifespring Community Church meets at 10:30AM on Sundays upstairs at the Plaza
at Lake St. George, located at 3442-C Tampa Road in Palm Harbor.  For further
information, contact them by phone at  (727) 934-6714 or visit their website at
http://www.empoweredchurch.com.


	Media contact: 
	Paul Heier
	of Lifespring Community Church
	elijahsfaith@hotmail.com
	+1-727-934-6714


	
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[ source of news =  Lifespring Community Church ] 

ref: 
http://www.send2press.com/2archive/2004/pr04-090202-lifespring.txt
  http://www.send2press.com/2archivePDF/pr04-090202-lifespring.pdf
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*IMPORTANT NOTE TO MEDIA: 
 to reach the organization releasing this news, please contact:
 elijahsfaith@hotmail.com  (media only)

	If used for publication, please send specimen copy.
	
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S2P-NB / 0C NOLK / FL / PALM HARBOR, Florida / USA / English 
Copr. (c) 2004 Send2Press Newswire.

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization, 
who is solely responsible for accuracy of content, 
by Send2Press(TM), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

[www.FloridaNewswire.com]




references
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churches Palm Harbor, FL,  Paul Heier, Christian leadership, missions,
servant, evangelism, life spring, lifespring community church