Category Archives: Blog

Almost done Running…

November 26, 2014 By in Blog Tags: , Leave a comment

Three things to give you an update on where things are at:

#1. Taymouth, NB

IMG_6028I’d like to give a huge shout-out to Pastor & Sis. Michael Trail of Nashwaak Valley Pentecostal Church… an absolutely BEAUTIFUL church located in Taymouth, NB, a community situated along the picturesque Nashwaak River.

Although I had met the Trails on a couple of occasions it was our first time to really spend time together (as has been the case with many of the pastors that we’ve connected with during our mini-deputation). What wonderful people!

We had the morning service together followed by a wonderful meal and a short Sunday afternoon nap – you know you feel at ease with folks when they let you take a nap and entertain (or are entertained by) the kids. After the evening service we drove back to Saint John (about a 1.5hr drive), arriving around midnight to 3 deer on our front lawn… quite perturbed that we’d interrupted their midnight snack on our shrubs!

#2. Breaking 70%

Not only was the building beautiful… the people were as well. They took up an offering for us and through their generosity, we were able to just break the 70% mark in our fundraising. Little by little we are getting there, but we still require the remaining 30% to be committed. Breaking it down, it would mean, for example:

– 30 donors* at $50/month  or
– 15 donors* at $100/month
* (Where donors could be individuals, groups or churches)

If you would like to financially support us during out time in France, please click here.

#3. Near Future Focus: KIDS

If anyone saw the blog post which mistakenly came through to your email box yesterday (AIMKids Missionary Moment on the Eiffel Tower)… you’ve already had a glimpse of something that coming “down the pipes”.

Prompted by an email exchange with Sis. Joni Owens, Children’s Pastor at New Life Center in Bridgeton Missouri (Rev. Garry Tracy is her pastor), I will soon be adding a section to the website focusing on kids. The goal is two-fold:

  1. Solicit targeted prayer for our kids while in France
  2. Provide tools for Sunday School & Youth workers to help grow a sensitivity to missions in the hearts & lives of kids / youth under their care, and to help them develop their own capacity to impact their part of the world.

… Like I said, I have been pulling those posts together for a launch through December and inadvertently published one yesterday by mistake.  I have since unpublished the post as it was not yet complete and I prefer to do a more thorough launch within a few weeks.

What I can tell you though, is that the tools will have a lot to do with Raising Children with a Global Vision; a blog post from earlier in November and which came out of a workshop at General Conference in St. Louis.

So…

My apologies for the mixup… keep an eye out for that focus area in a short time.
Shout out and Thank you to Sis. Owens for the great idea!

Prayer Focus

We are now pretty much down to the 2-month mark. Please keep us in your prayers… there’s lots to do in the coming weeks! This weekend… our last scheduled service will be in Temperancevale, NB with our District Superintendent, Rev. Terry Brewer.

Thank you for following!
God bless you today!

 

Afraid of Change

November 22, 2014 By in Blog Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Some call it a fear, others a phobia. For some it’s a dilemma and for others, an outright disorder. But regardless of the setting… whether in the workplace, in relationships… even in personal style or habits, change is not easy!

Fear of the Unknown

I have stared change right in the face over the past two weeks and have survived to this point (we’ll see what tomorrow holds)… I updated the operating systems on both my iPhone and my MacBook Pro.

Don’t check-out just yet… I’ll get to the “meat” in a bit… I promise.

  • Why did I wait so long with my phone that the iOS went from 6.1 t0 8.1?
  • Why, on my MacBook, did I have to jump from Mountain Lion to Yosemite without even looking at Mavericks?

Because I dislike change. I’m uncomfortable with the unknown.

Have you ever heard the old classical musician’s quippy pun?
“If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it!”  (word play on ‘broke’)

Dealing with Change, Afraid of Change, Uncertainty, Fog, Leap of FaithMy phone and laptop were working well enough for the most part, but then, in each case, there was an app that I wanted to use and was unable to because I’d so successfully resisted change. What if I did the update and it set off a domino effect, requiring me to update a never ending succession of programs and patterns?

Worst case scenario: Total system crash requires me to purchase new.
Definite scenario:  I might have to … ugh… learn to do things differently.

– and that takes time, which I don’t have enough of…
– and it takes effort, which I’d rather devote elsewhere…
– and it means accepting to become uncomfortable…

Dealing with Fear

Not only am I a Christian… I’m a pastor for heaven sake. So I am very familiar with the many times that Jesus commanded people to “Fear not!”, I’ve heard countless verses and messages that deal with putting things into the Lord’s hands and leaving them there, and I’m very familiar with Hebrews 11 that defines Faith as: the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

  • So why does fear still creep in from time to time?
  • Why will I avoid situations, actions or even people sometimes?

Because every day presents us with numerous opportunities to embrace change or to shrink back from it. Oh now I’m not just talking about updating an operating system… that’s just a lightweight example. This is the nitty gritty.

In short, I’d have to say that we don’t deal well with change because we’re still on the earthy side of heaven’s gate. You know, where weeds still grow in the garden and our flesh is not completely wiped out by our spiritual self. Our faith is still… being perfected.

Change-Related Stress

As I age I find I have less tolerance for change in general. Consequently, there are times when it amazes me that we are preparing to shove just about as much change into our life as can be imagined.

I did a quick tally on an interactive version of the Holmes & Rahe Stress Scale (try it out here) and scored 270. If you’re not familiar with the scale, the authors assign a numeric value to various life events, the combined total of which quantifies the level of stress that you are managing. It considers things like, in my case:

– Change of financial state
– Change of residence
– Change of responsibility at work

My 270 is not good. A score of 300+ generally indicates a high or very high risk of becoming ill in the near future and you must get below 150 to have a low risk.

Why on earth would someone who is increasingly averse to change consider willingly introducing so much change in their life?

Key to Embracing Change

I don’t know that you’ll be able to understand unless you experience it for yourself but in my mind the only reason that a sane person willingly introduces that much change in their life is that their minds are captivated by something that is worth much more than their personal comfort.

william barclayI call it being in the Will of God.

William Barclay put it this way:
“There are two great days in a person’s life; the day they are born and the day they understand why.”

When you know, beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are doing what you were created to do, it is much easier to embrace change and temporary discomfort.

That’s why we are preparing to leave a secure position in an established church, sell our house and move our family some 4,982km away to live in a new city, with a small church and depend on others for our livelihood.  Because we are in the will of God.

Expressing Faith

When momentary fear tries to raise its ugly head, we remind ourselves of this fact. We express, whether silently or outloud, that we trust the One who is trustworthy; the one who does all things well.

*God, I trust you for the big things…. and the little things too.*

Thank you for stopping by again today.
Be strong and courageous…. you’re in good hands!

French Evangelism Conference 2014

November 19, 2014 By in Blog, Events Tags: , 2 Comments

A weekend in “The Word” is what we had in the city of Montreal!  For that was the theme of the 2014 French Evangelism Conference (FEC) at the Église Pentecôtiste Unie de Saint-Laurent, pastored by Rev. Dieudonné Kahozi, under the oversight of Bishop Rev. Paul Graham.

Guest Speakers

Services began Thursday and ran until end-of-day Sunday. We were privileged to rub shoulders with fellow guest-speakers:

Justin MacKenzie, OneHalifax.com, Rev. David Sagil, UPCI Ministry of Jewish Relations, Valérie Agba, Arras, Dieudonné Kahozi, UPC Saint-Laurent

  • Rev. Justin MacKenzie
    (Lead Pastor of One Church in Halifax, NS)
  • Rev. Valérie Agba
    (Pastor of UPC Arras, France)
  • Rev. David Sagil
    (Pastor of New Hope Temple, Chicago, IL and North American Director for the UPC’s Ministry of Jewish Relations) and
  • Rev. Dieudonné Kahozi
    (Host Pastor)

This was the first time I’d heard Bro. Agba and Bro. MacKenzie minister (although I’ve known of both for quite some time).  Bro. MacKenzie was the youngest of the group, but I can tell you my esteem for him increased yet more: What a profound young minister!

Rev. David Sagil, UPCI Minsitry of Jewish Relations It was the second time that I’d heard Bro. Sagil minister and as I said to a couple… it was like trying to eat a steak with no bone, fat or gristle…. 100% pure meat!  Incredible. So appreciative to spend time with such high calibre men.

As for Bro. Kahozi… there’s no question. Friends for a long time, he is doing an incredible job there in Montreal. There were 534 in service on the Saturday night service. A record for any French meeting in North America. God is raising up a French church in that city!  All in all… 28 people were filled with the Holy Ghost and 18 were baptized in Jesus’ name.  AWESOME!!

Surprise Offering

Our kids are homeschooled using the DVD curriculum from Abeka Academy  requires that they use a laptop computer. The ones that they’ve been using are roughly 8-10 years old and just before we left for conference, one gave up the ghost completely. Hoping to buy a new one before leaving for France, the handknit scarveskids were selling scarves that they’d knitted a while back (they probably sold $200 worth this weekend alone).

Bro. Kahozi indicated that Friday night he’d do a promo of the scarf table to let people know what it was for. In addition to doing that however, he took up an offering solely for the kids’ computer need. Over $1,700 was collected and we will easily be able to replace both of the old laptops. Thank you Pastor Kahozi… what a blessing!

Church Growth: a daughter work

Meubles Hochalaga, Église Pentecôtiste Unie de Montréal Est, 8729 Hochelaga MontrealSunday morning we attended one of Saint-Laurent’s daughter works… Église Pentecôtiste Unie de Montréal Est. I’d been there several times but it was a first for Liz and the kids.

They meet in the old Meubles Hochelaga building: nicely done inside, but they have yet to change the signage. It’s a young church with young teenagers playing music and twenty-somethings doing just about everything else. That morning 2 young people were filled with the Holy Ghost for the first time – after having attended for only about 3 weeks.

New European Citizens

IMG_5832Our main task for Monday was to visit Montreal’s Italian Consulate to get the kids’ passports.

Oh they do have Canadian passports already, but because Liz is an Italian citizen by birth and since, upon their births, the kids were registered at the consulate; obtaining Italian passports is simply a question of paperwork, which Liz had done in advance. We only had to show up with photos, sign some “autographs” and wait. In fact we were in and out in less than an hour… passports in hand.

Then, we celebrated with chocolate covered waffles at Suite 88 Chocolatier on de Maisonneuve. o. my. goodness.

Back to work

As I write this… my head is still somewhat in the cloud given that we spent just over 10hrs on the road, driving back. Just under two months to go and there’s still a lot to prepare. We appreciate your prayers for the sale of the house – and other preparations.

We’re excited about what God is going to do!

 

Quebec

November 15, 2014 By in Blog Leave a comment

Quebec City, Ville de Québec, YQCGood morning from Montreal!

Just a quick post today as we’re in the midst of the French Evangelism Conference at the Church in St. Laurent, QC. Anyone who has taken part in or followed the local FEC knows that the pace is incredible!

Bro. Graham has often used the expression:

“À St. Laurent, le chômage ça n’existe pas!”
(Unemployment doesn’t exist in St. Laurent)

For ministry, this is certainly the case. As an example, this Sunday there will be 5 separate services take place in the church building. And after a 4-day conference, there is a good chance that the 60-80 young people that meet for Bible Study on Monday night will still want to meet. Incredible hunger is breeding incredible revival.

The days run long and late, but are rich in teaching, preaching and zeal-filled worship – also several have been baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost.

It took us roughly 10-hours of driving time to get here but we broke it up with a walk around Old Quebec and supper in Lévis and a short ferry ride across the mighty St. Lawrence River. In Wednesday’s post I’ll share with you a little bit of what took place at the conference and while in Montreal. For now though, the end of a long day has come.

Thank you for your prayers… we are humbled by what the Lord is doing… and will do.

Baptized in Jesus’ Name!

November 12, 2014 By in Blog, Events Tags: , , , 5 Comments

Sunday night, I had the incredible pleasure and great privilege of baptizing Timo in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins…. what a thrill!

4 Great Days

Timo_baptized_1

In Timo’s own words Sunday night…. “These will be four great days!” He was referring to the fact that:

  1. Friday was Atlantic District Kids Convention.
  2. Saturday, Kids Convention (cont’d) with Evangelist David Morehead. Timo told us that he’d been filled with the Holy Ghost.
  3. Sunday, was the day he got baptized, and
  4. Monday, was the day he was celebrating his upcoming birthday with friends.

It’s possible that Timo received the Holy Ghost earlier (he’s very sensitive when praying in the altar), but we never pushed the issue too much with him: we wanted it to come from him… we wanted him to be convinced enough about it to tell us… We thank God for his incredible gift!

Excited

There were a couple of things that were very neat to see / hear: Timo_baptized_2

  • Timo was jumping up & down in the changing room beforehand… “I’m going to get baptized, I’m going to get baptized!!” he repeated several times.
  • Afterwards, while still in the changing room, he said “I feel so light!” 
  • A little while later (still at home afterward), he said… “I’m so glad, because now my name is written in the book of the Lamb!”

How neat to hear statements like that which make me so grateful for Liz’s influence and the influence of Sunday School Teachers who put that kind of understanding in the heart of an almost-9-year-old!

That makes Three!

IMG_5363

As of Sunday night, November 9th, all three of our kids have been baptized in Jesus’ name for the remission of their sins and filled with the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues as God gives the utterance. (the promise of Acts 2.38, exampled in Acts 2.4)

All three have been baptized since I became a licensed minister and so I have had the incredible honour of baptizing them all myself. I’m somewhat in awe when I stop to think about that.

#IAmGlobal Connection

When Timo told us Saturday that he’d gotten the Holy Ghost, I didn’t put it together immediately, but Sunday night before service, I remembered that there was a connection between that day and the #IAmGlobal offering taken at General Conference.

IamGlobal

Liz & I pledged an amount in the #IAmGlobal offering… an amount that was a stretch for us. We determined that, rather than rent our house while we went on AIM, we would sell it. This would not only allow us to leave completely debt free, but would allow us to make a sacrificial offering as well. It wasn’t an easy decision: not only would it require more preparation prior to our departure, but it also removed one of the safety nets for our eventual return home post-AIM.

Timo_baptized_3So what’s the connection with Timo’s Great 4 Days?
I think the best way to make that clear is to quote you from my journal entry of October 2nd, where I describe our experience of the Global Missions service and the #IAmGlobal offering:

“During his sermon, Bro. Mangun said that the supernatural would follow the sacrificial, so he urged people to not leave… to wait for the giving to be completed, then we would pray and there would be healings & such.

In my head I was thinking:
“I don’t need a healing, but God, give us our city (thinking of Châtellerault).” 
“I don’t need a healing, but Timo needs the Holy Ghost.”
“I don’t need a healing, but we need to leave fully funded.”

After we came back to our seats, someone that I did not know came up to me and prayed:
“It’s not that it ‘will happen’, that it is ‘going to happen’… it ‘has happened’. God has seen your desire, your tears and it has happened; He has brought it to pass, He has heard your prayer.”

.

What else can I say? We trusted him with something that, eternally speaking, is of little consequence (our house & our finances) and within barely a month, he established the eternal in Timo’s life!  Stepping out in faith is never easy (or it wouldn’t be a step of FAITH) but there’s nothing like the way that God answers!

God is great!
God is real!
I can trust Him!
Praise the Lord!

Old Memories & Daily Challenges

November 5, 2014 By in Blog, Churches Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

As I mentioned Saturday, this past weekend was our 7th in a row to be on the road…. and it was a special one!

Fredericton NB

In a couple of ways it just felt so right to be at Capital Community Church (CCC) this past weekend.

Wood-Howell

The guests for their weekend Missions Conference were ourselves and Bro. & Sis. Bruce Howell (Gen. Director of Global Missions UPCI), but because of flight delays, the Howells weren’t able to get in until late Saturday night, missing the first service. In his stead, CCC Lead Pastor Raymond Woodward spoke.

The reason it felt so great was this: when I first came into Pentecost in the mid 1990’s, Bro. Woodward was in the Saint John church and music was led by Jack & Kathy Leaman… so everything just felt so familiar!

Sunday

The services were great on Sunday!  In the morning, Bro. Howell preached on the protection that can be found in the walls of salvation… and in the evening, on the fact that Christians should always be Ready to Rejoice!  One of the neat surprises though was that the choir went from singing in English to French (without warning)… How cool to hear that!  It caught me by surprise, so I didn’t catch all of it, but here’s what I did get.

.

Budget Progress…

FullSizeRenderCCC members gave liberally this weekend and their generous offering put us up to 65% of our required budget.

But over and above that offering, they also showed some love to our kids in a special way as well. Saturday night the kids went forward and church members put a total of $329 in their hands… so just under $110 for each of the kids.

Can’t thank you enough CCC for all the support you have shown us!

Crunch Time

To finish off today’s post I’m going to be a bit transparent. I’d ask for and extra covering of your prayers over the coming weeks.  There is so much that needs to happen and only so many hours in a day. Feelings of being overwhelmed are never far off as there is a keen awareness of the pressure to:

  • sell the house & correct a few things in preparation for that
  • prepare to transition my church and District responsibilities, including the publication of the monthly district magazine.
  • continue sorting / packing / purging
  • maintain responsibilities in our local church where I’m employed full time
  • prepare paperwork & immigration formalities
  • complete fundraising our budget

…all while we continue to travel each weekend for the remainder of November
(We intentionally have no services/travel booked for December).

Do we know that we are in the will of God? …yes
Do we know that he’ll take care of the details? …yes

But in the meantime it’s still a great deal to juggle in the day to day… we need his strength more than ever, not just to get it all done, but to maintain our joy in the process.

the Bottom Line

God is getting ready to do some incredible things and we’re so privileged to be part of it. Blessed be the Name of the Lord!

Thanks for following us and for praying so faithfully!

Raising Children with a Global Vision

October 29, 2014 By in Blog, Events Tags: , , 2 Comments

Steve Shadrach makes the following #wowQuote in his book “The God Ask,” and I have wholeheartedly embraced… because it’s bang on!

“In some churches, you will raise support
and in others you will raise supporters.”

Since reading it, I have quoted it numerous times… Here’s the essence – for me:

 A pastor may, for any number of reasons, express to you that their church is unable to offer financial support at this time (size, stage of growth, economic climate, etc.), and it’s often just as difficult for them to say “no” as it is for you to hear. My response…

“No problem, here’s how you can help…” 

Kids_IamGlobal_2 NicI then talk about my kids who will experience much change as they become global and suggest getting a Sunday School class or seniors in the church to adopt them as a Prayer Project. We will provide their photo, birth dates and other pertinent information and they only have to do two things:

  1. Pray for them regularly by name and referencing France.
  2. Write them a note card for birthdays or a holiday, reminding them that
    • They are not forgotten
    • They are being prayed for
    • God wants to, and will, use them in France also.

A win-win

Not only does it mean the world to us to have our kids encouraged, but it will also benefit those taking part as well.

For Kids: It’ll embed in them a connection to world missions in general and Western France in particular. This connection is then part of their early memories, paving the way for greater missions involvement later on.
For Seniors: It allows them to contribute in a meaningful way, even if a limited income hinders them from giving financially the way they’d like or if mobility issues prevent them from getting out regularly.

Over time, these kids or seniors are becoming supporters even if they can’t offer financial support at this time. To get back to Steve Shadrach’s quote… this is how we raise supporters.

Raising Children with a Global Outlook

…that reminds me. I wanted to tell you about he fourth workshop we attended at General Conference: “Raising Children with a Global Outlook.” It’s facilitators were Angie Clark (author of numerous resources on developing kids’s prayer), Linda Poitras (WEC staff, author & retired missionary) and Cylinda Nickel (MK Ministries).

The goal… help children develop a sensitivity to God and to the work of missions in a global environment. Here are some steps that will help accomplish that.:Kids_IamGlobal_2 Sophie

  1. Your passions is important. Kids will mirror you so let them see passion for missions and the work of God in you.
  2. Results will come when you know what the goal is… be patient and be intentional about planning.
  3. Nurture their gifts. Mentoring is training an individual to mimick/imitate the behaviour attitudes of another whereas nurturing focuses on their interest in involvement.
  4. If you don’t like the results you’re seeing initially…. change yourself. Don’t seek to change them first off.

Esther 4:14

“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

This passage of scripture, Shared by Sis. Poitras, is relevant for a couple of reasons…

  1. It underscores the value of each child. Who knows what the Lord has planned for them?  Getting them connected to missions could lead to a child making a difference across the world or in their city.
  2. The numeral reference (4:14) is also a target age-bracket for secular marketers: from computer games to clothing and more.  If they can get a child “hooked” on their product at a young age there’s a good chance that they’ll have them for ages!  How much more in the Kingdom and Work of God!

Tips & Resources

Tips for growing a child with a global vision:

  • Kids_IamGlobal_2 TimoWhen you find them looking out their window… ask them how they can impact the place where they are living, right now.
  • Adopt another missionary family… in particular with a child their age. Pray for and connect with them regularly
  • Get them to hold a globe in their hands and pray for different places in the world.

Resources:

Now…. go grow some global kids… !
Thanks for stopping by today… Let what you read inform your prayers.

 

 

“Jesus’ Legacy of Prayer”

October 22, 2014 By in Blog, Events Tags: Leave a comment

… in the words of the formidable Vesta Layne Mangun, claiming to be apostolic and having a weak or absent prayer life is like “Picnicking on the border of Hell”. I debated as to whether or not to make that the title of this post… but then thought again.

Let me give you the third run-down in the mini-series of posts dedicated to workshops we attended at General Conference.

Jesus’ Legacy of Prayer

This was the title of Sis. Mangun’s workshop on… you guessed it, prayer.  Let me just start out by saying this in my own defense. “Have you ever tried to take notes during a Vesta Mangun message?” …it’s not easy.

  1. VLM

    Photo from #BOTT14

    First and foremost, the tendency is to sit there, somewhat in awe of the conviction and passion with which she communicates her subject, her anecdotes and her extensive real-life experience.

  2. Secondly… her style is more a string of very relevant “zingers” (*think T.F. Tenney*) mixed in with relevant experience and references to scripture.
  3. Thirdly… it’s like trying to keep track of the bullets coming out of a rapid-fire weapon. It all comes “fast & furious”.

That being said… Let me give you some of the…

Highlights

We must follow Christ’s example of prayer:
“Be ye followers of me (Paul), even as I also am of Christ.” 1 Cor. 11.1

  1. Jesus prayed when he was alone in the garden, when on the mountain top and when in the wilderness. There is always room for prayer!
  2. We see Jesus praying 9 times in Matthew, 8 times in Mark, 13 times in Luke and 5 times in John.
  3. Jesus prayed about everything at all times.
  4. Jesus doesn’t start with the small things and “build up” to the big ones. Jesus starts with the impossible and revival followed… so Think big! Pray big!
  5. Any strength or ability that we have becomes nothing of eternal value without prayer. (#WowQuote)
  6. Jesus’ prayer life had priority over his social life.  Mt. 14.23
    (it also had priority over his physical rest, but I didn’t catch the reference in Luke)

Six Zingers

  1. “You’re a sitting duck without prayer.”
  2. “We can’t be apostolic with a weak or absent prayer life.”
  3. “We’re not praying about the things that we spend a lot of time talking about.”
  4. “Knock (in prayer) as you would knock to get into the ark if you were drowning outside.”
  5. “Prayer can be considered the school of hard knocks… sometimes you have to knock hard… but it’s school and we’re learning (about prayer).”
  6. “No other preparation can be effective if there’s been no preparation of prayer.”

Supplemental Reading on Prayer

If you want to read more about prayer… look through the following books of the Bible:

  • Esther
  • Nehemiah
  • Ezra
  • Daniel
  • Samuel

That’s all for today…

Thanks for following what we’re doing!  Over the next couple of posts, look for one on Saturday concerning our kids “Going Global” and then another that I’m working on which will deal with the benefits of deputation… (yep, you heard right… benefits).

Now I definitely feel like I should go pray!

 

Timeline of The Call

October 18, 2014 By in Blog, Process Tags: , , , 2 Comments

Here is a look at the timeline detailing how God connected us to French-speaking Europe and eventually western France in particular… over time.
“He who began a good work is faithful to complete it!”
Philippians 1.6

 

Timeline (web)

 

 

What do you think?

Can you see the hand of the Lord at work, leading, guiding and preparing things in advance… leading us, over time, into the center of His will for our family?

If so, we are still in need of financial partners whose gifts will enable us to advance the Kingdom of Christ in the city of Châtellerault. Would you consider partnering with us?  Click here for a Partner Form and instructions on how to go about supporting our family.

Thank you for your prayers… by them, you too are par of #Revival_inFrance!

The Dynamics of Soulwinning

October 15, 2014 By in Blog, Events Tags: , , Leave a comment

This is the second workshop from General Conference that I’m going to highlight. I’m not presenting them in the order that we attended them necessarily… pretty much just a random order. My eyes landed on the notes for this one… and it’s a good one!

Rev. Eli Lopez

UPCIGC14 welcome

The first thing you need to know about this particular session is that it was pretty much  standing room only!  We met someone we knew outside the room and when we asked them if they were just arriving or leaving, they answered that they were just arriving and wanted to enter, but that people were lining the walls. We walked in anyway and a family with a couple of small children got them to move so that Liz & I could have a seat. YES… First victory!  (although, you’ll note that I was unable to get a decent photo of the speaker… we were further back than my iPhone could handle)

The second thing that you need to know is who the facilitator was… Bro. Eli Lopez, Director of Ministries and Senior Associate Pastor at Stockton California’s Christian Life Center. He’s got an impressive C.V. and has a great deal of responsibility in this incredible church for such a young man. Definitely Kudos!

Now for some of the highlights:

3 Battles of a Soulwinner

  1. Complacency: It takes effort to overcome complacency, for it is much easier to do what we’ve always done rather than trying something new.  …to stay with those we know rather than get to know someone new.  Yet the gospel is not just for us:  “Jesus is the propitiation for our sins… and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”  1 John 2.2
  2. Selfishness: Things will really begin to change and growth will be visible when we get to the point of thinking about others more than we think about ourselves.  It’s not about our comfort, but about their eternal life…
  3. Weariness: Remember… “We will reap, if we faint not!”  Galatians 6.9

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3 Things to overcome those Battles

  1. The Power of Purpose: Truly understanding our purpose will help us overcome complacency, selfishness and weariness… “The motivation that took Jesus to the cross will take us to the lost.”  Jesus didn’t consider the harvest a future event, but rather a present and a pressing need!
  2. The Power of Prayer: Matthew 9.35 relates a prayer request that Jesus made to his disciples: “Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest sends our workers into the harvest.”  If Jesus’ identity, as the Lord of the Harvest, was wrapped up in the harvest, then shouldn’t we, as his followers be likewise?  As they began to pray about the harvest, they began to take on responsibility for it… after that, Jesus sent them out into the same harvest that they’d been praying for!  Who better to go but them that have taken on responsibility in prayer?
  3. The Power of the Personal: Statistics vary in different parts of the country, but there’s no disputing that a significant factor in people coming to church remains that of personal contact. We can be active (going toward them) or passive (waiting for them to come to us)… intuitively we all know which one is better.  We are commanded to “GO and make disciples…” Give them a compelling reason why they should want to come to church!

“Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you…
and ye shall be witnesses unto me…”
Acts 1.8

Thank you Bro. Lopez!  Really a great seminar!

Upcoming Posts…

  • Saturday – An info-graph showing the growth our relationship with, and the call to, western France.
  • Next Wednesday – Highlights from General Conference Workshop #3

Prayer

  1. Pray that God helps us, through his power, to grow as soulwinners while in France.
  2. We’ve begun the process of applying for our visa from France… (Passport renewal done this week) and we’ll have to visit the French Consulate in Montreal in the coming weeks. Pray that each step in the process goes smoothly and that we find favour among men & women.

 

Here’s to #Revival_inFrance