Bouncer-turned-pastor still wrestles with God Yes, Matchett is real — for good, bad and unapologetically candid — a quality too often missing in church administration, I've learned. As I often tell churchgoers, although I'm labeled as "unchurched," meaning I don't regularly attend a specific church, I've visited dozens of churches and spoken to literally hundreds of parishioners and clergy. Matchett stands out, in a positive way, without being didactic, condescending and, even more noticeably, holier than thou, as too many preachers come across these days. more...

Where Are They Now: John Pappas As an outreach pastor for young adults at Living Hope Church in Merrillville, Pappas tries to give guidance to those facing adulthood and uncertainty. "What we do is try to build a relationship with God," Pappas said. "God is found in relationships and people and even through sports. "We are not here to judge people, but to realize God is found in everyone and everywhere. Jesus Christ is here to help us with our 'junk.'more...

Admit it, you've forgotten all about Haiti, one year after the quake Christian Rath of Crown Point, a deacon with Living Hope Church in Merrillville, has traveled to Port-au-Prince seven times to help relief efforts. "I've seen an incredible amount of support coming from various organizations, but as the year went by, this effort has diminished, partially due to the increased frustration from having to operate in an environment filled with bureaucracy, to say the least," said Rath, who is the church official I shadowed on my trip there. "The overall situation is still very chaotic, with politics, bureaucracy and corruption still very predominant," said Rath, who led a team of engineers to assess the damage and create a master plan for reconstruction. more...

Living Hope Church easter Extravaganza MERRILLVILLE \| Hundreds of children bolt to pick up candy dropped from a helicopter and plastic eggs scattered by volunteers Saturday morning as they participate in the first Easter Eggstravaganza at Living Hope Church in Merrillville. more...

Pastor leads young adults to a relationship with Christ Pastor John Pappas leads young adults to build relationships with one another and Christ at Living Hope Church in Merrillville. "It's a lot of life changing in those years, 18 to 32," he said. "It's a great group, it's a niche group many churches have forgotten about - young adults, singles and young married couples. We talk about what is the vision over your life and how will you live out that call. more...

Local Christian lives up to his name during relief trip to Haiti Christian Rath, 48, of Living Hope Church in Merrillville, recently embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. Last Thursday, he left for Haiti to take part in a ministry called Builders International. This ministry is very active in building schools, colleges and churches around the world, and it specializes in sending and managing teams. Christian (who truly lives up to his name) was asked to visit Haiti on an exploratory trip to assess damages and come back with data required for a master plan of reconstruction. more...

Bouncer-turned-pastor still wrestles with God

Yes, Matchett is real — for good, bad and unapologetically candid — a quality too often missing in church administration, I've learned. As I often tell churchgoers, although I'm labeled as "unchurched," meaning I don't regularly attend a specific church, I've visited dozens of churches and spoken to literally hundreds of parishioners and clergy.

Matchett stands out, in a positive way, without being didactic, condescending and, even more noticeably, holier than thou, as too many preachers come across these days. more...

Where Are They Now: John Pappas

As an outreach pastor for young adults at Living Hope Church in Merrillville, Pappas tries to give guidance to those facing adulthood and uncertainty.

"What we do is try to build a relationship with God," Pappas said. "God is found in relationships and people and even through sports. "We are not here to judge people, but to realize God is found in everyone and everywhere. Jesus Christ is here to help us with our 'junk.'more...

Admit it, you've forgotten all about Haiti, one year after the quake

Christian Rath of Crown Point, a deacon with Living Hope Church in Merrillville, has traveled to Port-au-Prince seven times to help relief efforts.

"I've seen an incredible amount of support coming from various organizations, but as the year went by, this effort has diminished, partially due to the increased frustration from having to operate in an environment filled with bureaucracy, to say the least," said Rath, who is the church official I shadowed on my trip there. "The overall situation is still very chaotic, with politics, bureaucracy and corruption still very predominant," said Rath, who led a team of engineers to assess the damage and create a master plan for reconstruction. more...

Living Hope Church easter Extravaganza

MERRILLVILLE | Hundreds of children bolt to pick up candy dropped from a helicopter and plastic eggs scattered by volunteers Saturday morning as they participate in the first Easter Eggstravaganza at Living Hope Church in Merrillville. more...

Pastor leads young adults to a relationship with Christ

Pastor John Pappas leads young adults to build relationships with one another and Christ at Living Hope Church in Merrillville.

"It's a lot of life changing in those years, 18 to 32," he said. "It's a great group, it's a niche group many churches have forgotten about - young adults, singles and young married couples. We talk about what is the vision over your life and how will you live out that call. more...

Local Christian lives up to his name during relief trip to Haiti

Christian Rath, 48, of Living Hope Church in Merrillville, recently embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. Last Thursday, he left for Haiti to take part in a ministry called Builders International.

This ministry is very active in building schools, colleges and churches around the world, and it specializes in sending and managing teams. Christian (who truly lives up to his name) was asked to visit Haiti on an exploratory trip to assess damages and come back with data required for a master plan of reconstruction. more...