About
About SHOUT IT Ministries
Know the Truth. Live the Truth. Be The Truth.
Overview:
“SHOUT IT” is a simple, short, yet powerful statement that is a call to live a life of purpose, passion, conviction, and love. “SHOUT IT” begins and ends with TRUTH. We believe the single greatest reason why the church is not effectively reaching the lost and loving others is because we have neglected the truth. Thus we as the body of Christ are failing to understand want we believe and more importantly we fail to live out what we believe. This is where the slogan for SHOUT IT Ministries comes from. “Know the Truth. Live the Truth. Be the Truth.” -is a three-tiered process in the Christian faith. First, you must fully grasp your faith and why you believe what you believe, then you must take those truths and apply them into your daily life. By living out what you believe you begin to transform and become more like Christ. The phrase, “SHOUT IT”, is an acrostic covering seven principles that encompass this slogan: Stand Up, Holiness, Outrageous, Unite, Thankfulness, Integrity, and Tell Them. The first word, SHOUT, focuses on your relationship you have with yourself, God, and the church. The second word, IT, focuses on loving the lost and introducing them to Christ. SHOUT IT is in all caps because every principle is equally important and no single principle is more important than the others. Also because to shout something is to grab their attention and that’s what happens when we put these principles into practice. In essence, all seven principles need to be carried out in order to effectively live the life God meant for us to live. Listed below is why we’re not doing so as the Church:
The Seven Core Problems We’re Facing as a Church:
Emphasis on Entertainment
Christianity is rapidly becoming a form of marketing. Jesus is no more than an icon to sell things and seen as a novel concept. Christianity as become a brand over a call to follow Christ. In the church, we crave excitement and adrenaline that entertainment brings us along as we want to stay in our own comfort zones. We’re too self-absorbed into our own little worlds to see the larger picture that there’s a world in need and in desperate need of our love.
Culture Creatures
The church is dangerously blending itself with our society. The gap between the church and unbelievers isn’t so big anymore and there’s almost no difference at all. Our lifestyles are almost no different and it’s crippling the effectiveness of drawing people to Christ. This includes divorce rates, our lifestyles, the media we emerge ourselves in, and our eating habits. This is driving people away from the church and it must be addressed as a serious problem.
Cotton Candy Philosophy
The false teachings are often sugar coded today into what seems to be harmless self-help books, seminars, and sermons. The truth has been twisted so much that a growing number of Christians believe that God exists solely to give them the life they want, full of blessings, pleasures, and happiness. Only one side of the gospel is presented and the core fundamentals are thrown out the window. This is why the church is weak in America–it’s foundation is frail and faulty.
Worship Wars
Many churches are being divided because there is a great debate on which type of worship is correct. Is it hymnals, contemporary, or modern? What’s lost is that God loves all styles of music and the heart of worship is bringing glory, honor, and praise to His name. Also lost is the concept that worship is more than just the music on Sunday mornings. It’s a lifestyle that encompasses every aspect of our lives. There are also civil wars within the church on the right translation of the Bible, over traditions, teaching styles, and everything in between. Is it any wonder then why non-believers are so turned off by Christians?
Busyness Over Biblical Base Building
It’s becoming a disturbing trend on the growing number of believers who are biblically illiterate. This is simply mind-blogging considering there are a vast amount of translations, study bibles, and resources to present the gospel than ever before in human history. Most can say they have multiple Bibles that they own, but they’re left on a shelf untouched collecting dust. This is a sad state of irony we are in. Often it’s our schedules that put to blame. Things like television, texting, the internet, and videogames have taken the place of the spending time with God. Without a solid foundation the church is cracking at the seams; becoming a much easier target for the enemy. Thus we are prone to accept the world’s teachings on what’s right and wrong distorting our judgment.
Passive Praying Vs. Purpose-Driven Participant
Being an active participant in the body of Christ is lost among the church today. Instead of serving our communities, offering a help hand, serving others with love; we choose the easy way out by saying we’ll pray for someone or just throwing money in offering to keep ourselves from feeling guilty. It’s not that these practices are wrong, it’s just our priorities are mixed up. Apathy, ignorance, and indifference all are contributing factors.
Tolerance Over Truth
Postmodernism, secular humanism, and evolution have crept into our teachings, culture, society, and schools and become accepted as truth. What’s even worse is that many believers accept these as truths without question and add them into the correct Biblical worldview. This has created weak convictions for the faith and a very confused, weak, and often lost generation with no foundation to build on. Without a solid ground of truth, the church cannot intellectually reach people in need of Christ or live lives of clarity, passion, and purpose.
The Slogan: “Know the Truth. Live the Truth. Be the Truth.”
We believe that the Christian life is a continual process of these three phases:
1) Learn and Know what you Believe
2) Apply what you Believe and Grow Spiritually
3) Transform and Become more like Christ
The key repeating element is Truth. Without Truth we cannot possibly make wise decisions, live with conviction in what we do, or develop and mature in our relationship with the Truth Himself, Jesus Christ. By carrying out this process throughout our daily lives we can be the change, hope, and light to a world in desperate need of love. Transformation starts with Truth and ends with Truth. We are created to become like Christ learning to love and serve the way He did. Although we cannot achieve this aim fully here on earth, we need to all strive to reflect and mirror our Lord and Savior more every day! Know the Truth. Live the Truth. Be the Truth!”
The Seven Principles of SHOUT IT
Here is a Brief Overview of the Seven Principles that make up SHOUT IT:
Stand Up:
The first principle begins with the essentials. This principle is about forming your worldview and building a foundation of your faith, discovering your identity, and facing your fears.
Holiness:
This covers your relationship with Christ through the act of surrender, service, and seeking His ways. Becoming like Christ is core compotent of this life. Not to bring glory to ourselves but in return glorify the only One worthy of our praise.
Outrageous:
The term outrageous is usually conveyed in a negative sense, but here it’s a put back in a positive light. What if you choose to live your life on purpose? What if you left no regrets, living each day as if it was your last? This principle covers the three tenses of your life: Your past, present, and future; and how to live the life your were meant to live. When you follow through, it’ll truly be seen as outrageous to people!
Unite:
At the core of SHOUT IT, is unite, which is about love, relationships, and coming together as the body of Christ. The greatest two commandments are to love God and to love people. Nothing is more important. In this principle, unconditional love, communication, and loyalty are all covered.
Thankfulness:
To cap off the first word, SHOUT, is the principle, Thankfulness. This principle is a call to live a lifestyle of worship to God through the act of showing gratitude towards Him, taking part of what He has given us, and being a steward with everything you own.
Integrity:
The “IT” has the primary aim to bring the lost to Christ. This cannot be done without integrity. Being who you proclaim to be at all times is critical. It all comes back to knowing what you believe and being able to live it out.
Tell Them:
Last, but not the least, is the action of telling others about Christ. Evangelism isn’t optional and just for people involved in the missions field. It’s something we all must be a part of. We can carry out the Great Commission by showing love to others, telling others of our personal testimony, and by telling them the gospel message of Christ.
The Seven Main Objectives of SHOUT IT Ministries
1) Educate believers on the issues and topics that we are faced with in today’s society
This will be done mainly through the Weekly Blogs and the topics that will be discussed are essentially limitless in nature. We’ll look at issues such as current events and how they correspond to Biblical prophecy, technologies implications on us, the false teachings in the church today, and what the Bible has to say about current issues. Plus we’ll spend a considerable amount of time looking at spiritual disciplines and spiritual living. But there will be current topics discussed in the other ministries from time to time as well.
2) Explore God’s Word and apply it’s truths into our daily lives
The truth can be found in God’s Word and that is where the foundation of SHOUT IT Ministries is. Living our beliefs are more important than knowing God’s Word; so we’ll constantly look into the scriptures forming a solid Biblical worldview in which to apply into our everyday lives. Application is strongly emphasized here and we’ll set our sights on not only knowing the Truth, but living and becoming truth as well.
3) Embrace our God-given talents and discover our unique personal calling
SPECIAL Ministry was created to help you in discovering your unique personal calling. If you don’t know who you are, what your strengths and weakness are, or you don’t a clear purpose in life you can’t possibly live an effective life for Christ. For more information on SPECIAL visit: www.shoutitforlife.com/special/blueprint. **As of November 2011, this ministry has been re-launched and is fully running again.**
4) Equip believers with the knowledge and understanding of the truth
The primary aim of SHOUT IT is to present the truth and that’s found in the Bible. On top of knowing the Bible there is strong evidence found elsewhere to confirm our faith. Apologetics will be discussed in blogs and an entire separate ministry in the future will be devoted to Apologetics(2013/2014). This is strongly linked to Exploring God’s Word, the 2nd objective of SHOUT IT Ministries.
5) Empower the church to reach a lost and hurting world in need of love
Through the Weekly Blogs, Truth’s Transformation, Kaleidoscope, Sound Bites, and many other of the separate ministries you’ll be presented from time to time with challenges on how to show the love of Christ to the world. Being the hands and feet is Christ is the call we must all choose to be a part of. In the Weekly Blogs, the challenge is called, “Can You Hear Me Now?” In the future ministry, Wired Without Walls, (2013-2014) it’s primary focus will be to help you recognize people’s needs and bring you into action for Christ.
6) Establish loving, lasting relationships within the body of Christ
In the Weekly Blogs we’ll look at relationships and how to love others like Christ loves us. In the distant future there will be forums and ways to communicate with each other in order to create on-line friendships so that we can encourage, pray, support, and be accountable towards one another. These features will be available once there is a strong enough amount of readers and subscribers to this website. For now check out the SHOUT IT Ministries Facebook community page. This is where you’ll receive daily updates on new content, daily Sound Bites, notices on feature features, and a place to leave your comments, questions, and suggestions.
7) Experience a life of Purpose, Passion, and Potential
Lastly, SHOUT IT Ministries aim is to help you live out your life to the fullest. Christ came to give us life that is free of sin, barriers, fears, and addictions (John 10:10) This can be realized with a solid understanding of the truth, having an intimate relationship with Truth, and applying the truth to our everyday lives. All the separate ministries of SHOUT IT Ministries are designed to make this a reality in your life.
The SHOUT IT Ministries Covenant
What makes SHOUT IT Ministries unique? What sets it apart? Why should you be actively involved and subscribe to this website? Read the SHOUT IT Ministries Covenant and see why. There are seven main reasons listed as well as a list of promises to you the reader. To read this in its entirety visit:
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/shout-it-ministries-covenant/
An Tour of SHOUT IT Ministries
The Homepage:
This is where the Weekly Blogs are located at. They cover current topics, Biblical truths, Christian living, and spiritual disciplines that can be applied into our daily lives. Typically there is a new blog added each week. For more information visit:
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/weekly-blogs-blueprint/
Sound Bites:
The newest ministry added to SHOUT IT Ministries is Sound Bites. This is first ministry that is updated daily. Each day of the week covers a specific theme of the Christian worldview providing you with a small bit of inspiration, a challenge, a thought, etc. to carry with you throughout the day. This ministry is also run entirely through the SHOUT IT Ministries Community Page keeping you up to date with each new Sound Bite. For more information visit:
http://shoutitforlife.com/sound-bites/sound-bites-blueprint/
Profiles:
This ministry is provides you with Biographies on Christian athletes, music artists, and writers, heroes, and everyone in-between. There will be one new Profile added each month on average. For more information visit:
http://www.shoutitforlife.com/profiles/blueprint
Shout Out to the Silver Screen:
Shout Out to the Silver Screen is a ministry devoted to bringing movies into our everyday lives putting them into a whole new light. You’ll also have lots of fun learning about your favorite movies, seeing how they are made, and be given lots of trivia. For more information visit:
www.shoutitforlife.com/shoutout/blueprint
Truth’s Transformation:
Truth’s Transformation is where we’ll cover every principle in detail of the SHOUT IT Mission Statement from start to finish. There will be on average 1-2 blogs per month. For more information visit:
http://shoutitforlife.com/transformation/blueprint
SPECIAL:
This ministry is devoted to helping you discover your calling, identity, and purpose in life. There will be lots of hands-on activities and resources for you to discover along the way as well as blogs and personal questions for each lesson. For more information visit:
www.shouttiforlife.com/special/blueprint
Reckless Abandon Worship (RAW):
This is a brand new ministry that is written by Brian Shooks. He will share his thoughts on worship today, Christian music, give album reviews, and how to apply basic principles of worship into your daily life. For more information visit:
http://shoutitforlife.com/raw/raw-blueprint/
Kyle’s Kaleidoscope:
In this ministry, Kyle will write on his personal life and how he sees the world through the lens of Christianity helping you relate Biblical truths into your own life. For more information visit:
www.shoutitforlife.com/kaleidoscope/blueprint
Wending the Way:
A unique voice along with a gifted photographer has been added to SHOUT IT Ministries, Alicia Wendland. Her ministry called, Wending the Way, gives us a picture literally and figuratively of what it means to walk with Christ. For more information read her introductory blog written on June 25, 2011, located here:
http://shoutitforlife.com/wendingtheway/
Mission Statement:
Want to see the entire outline of SHOUT IT Ministries from start to finish? This page provides you with the entire statement from Stand Up all the way to Tell Them. Truth’s Transformation will directly correspond with these principles giving an detailed overview and study of the entire Mission Statement. (There will be a PDF file available of the Mission Statement in 2012)
To view the SHOUT IT Mission Statement in its entirety visit:
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/missionstatement/
Future Features:
Want to know what’s coming up next? This is the section where you can find out what the next Weekly Blogs series will be about, the upcoming Profiles, Shout Out to the Silver Screen material, blogs for Truth’s Transformation and SPECIAL. This is all provided in the Feature Features section located at the following:
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/futurefeatures/
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/futurefeatures/profiles/
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/futurefeatures/shout-out/
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/futurefeatures/special/
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/futurefeatures/truths-transformation/
Links:
This is simply a place to find website links on Apologetics, reaching the world in need, and fun sites that deal with current news, music, books, products on Christianity. The links provided through the Sound Bites ministry will be added each week as well to the Links pages. They can be found at:
Contact Us:
This section gives a brief introduction to who we are, what our vision is, and provides a form that you can fill out to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions. To access this page visit this link:
http://shoutitforlife.com/about/contactus/
The Future of SHOUT IT Ministries
There is plenty already established and in place for SHOUT IT Ministries, but there are a few other concepts/ideas/ministries that are coming in the distant future 2-5 years down the road:
- An Apologetics Ministry where new discoveries, insights, concepts are discussed, recent article links are provided, and topics of Apologetics are analyzed fully. (2013-2014)
- Wired Without Walls A ministry where relief organizations, outreach programs, mission projects, and people serving the community are all examined, ideas are discussed on how to involve yourself in them, and creative ways to reach people in need is looked at. (2013-2014)
- A Devotional ministry that gives daily insight into the Bible from a scripture of passage and how we can apply these truths into our everyday lives. (2015?)
- Appreciation Proclamation: A ministry where you can write daily status updates/short notes on what you have to be thankful for, focusing on God’s provision and goodness. (Late 2012/early 2013)
- More ideas and ministries are sure to come as well!
The SHOUT IT Ministries Header
The SHOUT IT Ministries Header is designed to give you a visual representation of the seven principles of SHOUT IT Ministries. This logo can be seen in the header of the website on each and every page.
The “S” is slight a larger font to represent the principle, “Stand Up”. The Bible is the firm foundation of truth and is the basis of the entire mission statement.
The “H” stands for “Holiness” and it’s color is faded out with a bright light in the background some to show how Christ is in us, giving us life, and conforming us to His image.
The “O” stands for “Outrageous” and in distinct font style that’s different from font used with the other 6 letters. Also a megaphone is shown in the background, because when we live an outrageous life for Christ, it “Shouts” His life in us!
The “U” stands for “Unite” and to display this quality the “U” is simply closer together to the “O” and “T”.
The first “T” in SHOUT is the principle, “Thankfulness”, and is represented through a person lifting their hands in worship in the form of a “T” shape. Worship is a lifestyle and the principle, “Thankfulness” captures this concept.
The “I” of IT stands for “Integrity” and is represented by a microphone on a microphone stand in the shape of an “I”. By living lives of integrity we proclaim Christ and the gospel message which ties in directly to the last letter, “T”.
The “T” of IT stands for “Tell Them” and most appropriately is a cross; which is what the Gospel is all about. The light shinning in the background shows that we have hope in the cross and that the gospel message doesn’t end with the cross–but with the resurrection of Christ. That is the good news of the gospel!
The SHOUT IT Ministries Logo
Created in November 2011, the Official logo is much more simple and clean looking than the header. This is to help promote SHOUT IT Ministries outside of this website. It has the same color scheme as the header with red font and a dark blue background. The megaphone obviously is a strong symbol SHOUT IT Ministries. The “T” of IT is a cross similar to the Header. The background also had sound waves flowing through the logo. Finally, there are two more versions of the logo. One is with the domain name included and the other is a version with a plain white background. Both are located in this About Page.
Final Thoughts
For background information on how SHOUT IT Ministries began read the Blog titled: “SHOUT IT: A Short, Simple Seven Letter Statement” written on November 20, 2009. For more information on any of the different ministries read the blueprint under each section. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please feel free to contact Kyle at kyle317@gmail.com, Alicia at alicia.m.wendland@gmail.com, or Brian at bshooks23@hotmail.com. Our vision is that through SHOUT IT Ministries you’ll come to know Christ more, strengthen your faith, and live a life fully committed for Him! May God Bless you through this ministry!! Remember “Know the Truth. Live the Truth. Be the Truth.”
