Sheila Allen/Northwest Baptist Witness

CHEHALIS, Wash. (BP) -- Shirley Cunningham hoped for a military career but a training exercise gone awry caused an injury that forced her to pursue other options in life. God used the discipline she learned in the Army and the diversity of her background to prepare her for ministry to hurting people. Now the director of SAFE Family Ministries in Chehalis, Wash., Cunningham completed a doctoral program through Gateway Seminary this spring to enhance her abilities to assist at-risk women and their children.

GRESHAM, Ore. (BP) -- A hands-on Bible lesson took on a life of its own for 10-year-old Dallas Claytor after attending Sunday services with his parents and sister. Young Dallas heard pastor Keith Evans of Pathway Church in Gresham, Ore., preach about the parable of the talents. Evans used unmarked envelopes of money to hand out to unsuspecting volunteers during the sermon in denominations of $10, $20 and $50 each. He then asked each recipient to use the money to bless or encourage someone in coming days. "I got the envelope with $50 in it," Claytor said. "The pastor wanted us to multiply the money and make God proud. I was shocked."

VANCOUVER, Wash. (BP) -- A mind for finance coupled with a heart for ministry is a natural recipe for bivocational ministry for Jonathan Johnson. Firmly ensconced in the financial world as a registered investment adviser, Johnson worked his way through college and an MBA program. "I worked fulltime at a bank, then became a manager at a credit union while going to school fulltime at night," Johnson said. He also married his wife Kristen at age 18 after meeting her at a youth camp five years earlier.

U-Turn for Christ, a restorative ministry in southern Oregon led by Kevin Darr, has been standing firm for nearly a decade against the ravages of life-controlling addictions.

VANCOUVER, Wash. (BP) -- Many Christians want to share their faith but miss opportunities by not actively listening or recognizing cues, evangelical trainer Margaret Slusher said in eight workshops across the Pacific Northwest this spring. The isolation and loneliness people feel today leaves them wanting to talk, Slusher said. "While it is hard to listen, you must hear what they are really telling you."