Camp is going well. We just finished our 10th Batch. We had a total registered attendance of 754. There were 232 who got saved and 91 believers were baptized.
To this date the total number of campers is 8,633. Total number of souls saved is 1,726. While the total number of believers baptized is 413.
Some of us who have been in camp since day one are beginning to feel wear and tear not so much with the work load but due to the erratic weather changes. The alternating sudden rains and the high humidity when the sun is up is causing many of our camp staff to feel minor illnesses such as colds and headaches but all are undeterred in their commitment to finish the whole camping season.
Our hearts are excited with testimonies of how the Lord has been working in ways we were not even aware of. A Cambodian Pastor in the capital town of Kampong Spue (the large community about 60 kilometers before the campsite coming from Phnom Penh) excitedly shared to me a very encouraging testimony. Pastor Bontheoun, has a brother in-law (husband of one of his sisters-in law) who he tried to witness to for over 4 years. He was very resistant and so even his wife who wanted to go to church could not go because she was afraid he would beat her if she did. This man came to camp during the 5th batch. On the first night of camp, he was very absorbed listening to the very first message he heard. When the invitation was given for people to trust Christ, he came with tears from his eyes. On one of the subsequent services, he came to present himself for believer's baptism. While in camp, before baptism, he took off the talisman (amulet) he wore for a long time around his waist and got baptized. Immediately, when he got home, he tore off and broke to pieces the spirit house in their home. The next Sunday he called all his family members and took them to church on his vehicle. This has happened during the second week of camp. We only knew about it because Pastor Bontheoun came to camp bringing another big group of unbelievers from his community, several of these got saved and were baptized on this last batch.
There are many wonderful stories of lives changed as a result of these Evangelistic Camps we do together. Thank you so much for supporting us both in finances and in prayers so that we can reach Cambodians with the Gospel. You might be able to get acquainted with only about a dozen of these people on your trips here in Cambodia but for sure all these other people whose lives are touch by your spiritual investments will be glad to meet and thank you and your family in Heaven.
Thanks again and God bless you.
Mike Valdez
Editors note: This is a letter sent to Herb Rawlings of the Rawlings Foundation.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Brothers of Cyrene reaching out to Black America
The Brothers of Cyrene was started primarily for the purpose of fellowship. However, their mission and purpose today is to evangelize Black America by planting strong Independent Baptist Churches in their cities, towns, communities, and neighborhoods with aggressive emphasis on soul winning, teaching, preaching, praying, discipleship, and education.The Brothers of Cyrene, with the Lord’s help, desire to reverse the negative trends found in the home, education, drug and crime, incarceration, and high mortality.
Pastors James Richardson, Living Waters Baptist Church, Mobile, AL.; Samuel Mitchell, Bible Study Baptist Church, Moss Point, MS.; and Ira A. Walton Sr., Crenshaw Community Baptist Church, Luverne, AL., are all close friends, shepherding churches they planted, and active in their state’s fellowships.
Because these pastors were all bi-vocational, they never had time for any serious fellowship except when their paths would cross or they spoke on the phone. Two of these men and their wives would soon meet at a restaurant and have a time of fellowship. They quickly realized they shared and were experiencing some of the same problems and concerns in their ministries and in their communities. They discussed the urgency as well as the difficulties encountered in reaching Black America and how could they best evangelize and do it at a faster pace.
This was very exciting to Pastor Walton and he felt led of God to arrange for some type of permanent fellowship on a larger scale and with structure. He suggested that instead of meeting at a restaurant that the group should meet at someone’s church and invite other inner city independent Baptist pastors to be a part of the fellowship.
On August 9, 2007, Pastor Richardson was host of the Baptist Bible Alabama/ Northwest Florida Fellowship meeting and Pastor Walton decided at that meeting to engage the six Black pastors who were in attendance.
With a flyer in hand complete with an agenda, a date, time, and place for a larger fellowship, Pastor Walton went to work in inviting those pastors in attendance to a special fellowship meeting. The meeting took place at Living Waters Baptist Church in Mobile where Pastor Walton began to share his God given vision for the fellowship with all the pastors in attendance. In that first meeting they discussed structure, issues and concerns in reaching Black America, the need to plant more churches, and the need to assist and encourage other pastors.
On September 14, 2007, the fellowship began to organize and Pastor Walton would once again share the vision and go into greater detail as to the scope and magnitude of the fellowship and how to assist those independent Baptist pastors who are just starting their ministries in predominantly black neighborhoods.
On March 28, 2008, at Living Waters Baptist Church, the fellowship instituted rules to govern themselves, developed a purpose and mission statement and named the fellowship “BROTHERS OF CYRENE,” taken from Matthew 27:32, “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.” The name of the fellowship originated in the heart and mind of Pastor Walton’s great friend, Pastor Chuck Ford, Community Baptist Church, Grady. AL.
During that March 2008 meeting, the fellowship voted in two officers, the moderator and secretary. Pastor Walton assumed the duties of moderator and Evangelist Isaiah Moore, Living Waters Baptist Church, Mobile, AL., was voted secretary of the Brothers of Cyrene. On March 19, 2009, Pastor Bill Fluker, Grace & Mercy Baptist Church, Jackson, MS., was voted in as secretary replacing Evangelist Moore, and on June 8, 2009, Pastor Mitchell was voted in as treasurer.
The Brothers of Cyrene are not of the opinion that the blacks must separate in order to effectively address the unique circumstances involving Black America. They desire and desperately need the help of predominantly non-black congregations to reach Black America and plant churches.
This organization, through its website, will serve as an information hub for Bible College graduates, laymen, church members, etc., who have been called of God to help evangelize Black America. The website will provide information and locations where pastors, youth directors, Christian school teachers, choir directors, etc., are needed. Additionally this site will provide a means by which believers of like faith will have the opportunity to search for and find independent Baptist churches in other cities and towns. The site will offer other opportunities as well.
The Brothers of Cyrene are affiliated with and work closely in conjunction with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI) and state fellowships in planting churches. They desire to work with other Bible-believing fellowships, mission’s boards and local churches in their efforts to evangelize their communities and neighborhoods.
The Brothers of Cyrene are pastors and laymen who are active participants in their state fellowships. They strongly desire the pastors of the state fellowships to truly embrace their vision by encouraging their members to pray and to get involved. The Brothers of Cyrene are ready and willing to “Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23). They ask all those in the BBFI and in other Bible-believing ministries who already have productive and prosperous ministries, to help the Brothers of Cyrene to reach the unreached for Christ.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
If you desire to write us, send correspondence to the following address:
Brothers of Cyrene
c/o: Crenshaw Community Baptist Church
1607 Rutledge Loop Road
Luverne, AL 36049
www.brothersofcyrene.com/
Saturday, August 8, 2009
How To Reach Out To Your Community
Community Outreach
Our church just completed a week of outreach to our community. We began with a carnival on Saturday, August 1 from 11 AM to 4 PM. The carnival was geared to children but there was something there for everyone. Everything was free – food, games, etc. We had the inflatable jumpers for the children, volleyball, a radar speed gun for judging the speed of pitches. That was a real hit. We had a gospel sing that lasted for an hour. We had over 150 attendees and most of the children who came were not part of our church family. We distributed tickets the two weeks before the carnival and that seemed to be an effective way to reach people.
Then on Sunday, August 2, at 6.30 PM we began our Vacation Bible School and it continued through Thursday night. We registered over 90 students with a high of 68 on Thursday night. We invited the parents to come on Thursday night and we extended the program an additional 30 minutes. We had the largest turn out of parents ever – about 40. There were ten children who prayed to receive Christ. On the last night we did a pictorial review of the week so the parents could see what the children had been doing all week. That was a real hit with the parents and children.
We praise God for the desire of our church body to invest time and money into such outreaches. Only eternity will reveal the impact of these events on our community.
Editor's Note:
Dr. Jerry Burton and the members of Calvary Baptist Church, Rittman, Ohio, were responsible for the outreach program you are reading about. Way to go, Jerry.
Our church just completed a week of outreach to our community. We began with a carnival on Saturday, August 1 from 11 AM to 4 PM. The carnival was geared to children but there was something there for everyone. Everything was free – food, games, etc. We had the inflatable jumpers for the children, volleyball, a radar speed gun for judging the speed of pitches. That was a real hit. We had a gospel sing that lasted for an hour. We had over 150 attendees and most of the children who came were not part of our church family. We distributed tickets the two weeks before the carnival and that seemed to be an effective way to reach people.
Then on Sunday, August 2, at 6.30 PM we began our Vacation Bible School and it continued through Thursday night. We registered over 90 students with a high of 68 on Thursday night. We invited the parents to come on Thursday night and we extended the program an additional 30 minutes. We had the largest turn out of parents ever – about 40. There were ten children who prayed to receive Christ. On the last night we did a pictorial review of the week so the parents could see what the children had been doing all week. That was a real hit with the parents and children.
We praise God for the desire of our church body to invest time and money into such outreaches. Only eternity will reveal the impact of these events on our community.
Editor's Note:
Dr. Jerry Burton and the members of Calvary Baptist Church, Rittman, Ohio, were responsible for the outreach program you are reading about. Way to go, Jerry.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Dr. Armie Jesalva's Philosophy of Ministry
WHAT I BELIEVE ABOUT THE MINISTRY
By: DR. ARMIE F. JESALVA
Acts 2: 41 – 47
The Ministry is my life touching another life for the sake of the gospel.
* Every Christian is always on duty:
- To win souls.
- To follow them up for baptism and added to the church membership.
- Members must be steadfast – in the apostle’s doctrine.
- They ought to be given opportunity to fellowship and pray with other Christians.
- They ought to be in one accord and to strengthen one another.
I praise God for the people that are added to our ministry and the opportunities to expand our outreach or enlarge our spiritual influence. We ought to discover in our ministry the places where we can have more harvest of souls.
I have been pastor of Bible Baptist Church, Cebu City for 40 years, and the more I stay, the more I see the harvest field further away that I must conquer. Orison Marden said, “Go as far as you can and when you get there you can see further.”
When Bob Hughes came to Cebu City in 1957 there were already Southern Baptists and Canadian Baptists. There were other groups but he took it upon himself the responsibility to capture all of Cebu City.
He worked with other Baptists. He partnered with them. He had good fellowship with them. He prayed with them. He was part of the team. He knew that teamwork divides the effort but multiplies the effect. But his motivation was to reach Cebu City for Christ. He stood one day on Beverly Hills, looked over Cebu City with tears in his eyes and said “LORD, HELP ME CAPTURE CEBU CITY. Give me 1,000,000 Bibles to give to the people.” God gave him one and a half million.
I am glad to have a little part in that journey of faith that Bob Hughes initiated many years back. But I believe that if I have to strengthen my ministry and do more to pursue what God has began, I believe three things about the ministry.
I. The Ministry Is A Marathon. It is not a 100 meter dash thing. It is a long distance race.
You cannot have a strong, growing church if you stay in one place for five or ten years. It takes more than desire or even dedication. – It takes insight, it takes patience, it takes vision, it takes strong faith, and it takes skill to attain it.
Dr. Don Tackett of the Rawlings Foundation said, “Our ministry is suffering because there is no continuity.” I Cor. 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase.” The ministry is a marathon.
a) It is a marathon of work. Not Proselyting but working. II Tim 2:3 “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” From the time of watering new believers in discipleship it takes a lot of hard work.
- Memorizing verses
- Daily in the word
- Preaching messages intended to make them grow and be involved in missions.
- Teaching them ways to live the Christian life. It takes hard work, consistent hard work, courageous hard work, and continuous hard work.
Dr. Jack Hyles pastored First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana for over 50 years and had a big day of over 26,000 in Sunday School, the biggest Sunday School in the world. He is our example of hard work.
Dr. Jerry Falwell had a high day of 18,000 in Sunday School at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been pastor of the church for 49 years. Just imagine how hard he worked.
Dr. Lee Roberson built the Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee for 47 years through – a marathon of soulwinning, - a marathon of teaching, - a marathon of discipleship. A hireling will not do that. A hireling will keep changing flocks but the true shepherd does not.
The ministry is not a 100-meter dash. It is a 10,000 – meter run. It takes a long time to accomplish something big for Jesus Christ. You’ve to stay on the road a long time. It is a marathon of work.
b) It is a marathon of stay. When you pastor a church or be a missionary, you orchestrate your work with a single-minded attitude.
- Of building up lives
- Building up standards
- Equipping them
- Organizing your Sunday School Department .
- And training believers.
Eph. 4:11- 12 “And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelist, and some pastors and teachers. For the perfecting of saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
You must have a long term ministry. Nobody has done anything meaningful for the Lord by staying in one place for two years. The ministry is a marathon of stay. You stay in the will of God. You stay in the purpose of God, you stay focused. Once you establish the fact that God has called you in a specific area, then, stay there. Claim that area for Christ. The ministry is a marathon.
II. The Ministry is Multitudes. Matt 4:25 “And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.” Multitude of people was coming from all directions. They were coming from the north, from the south, from the east, and from the west. Great crowds were coming. Huge crowds, enormous crowds. People were attracted to his ministry that one time the Bible says in Luke 8:42 “. . . the people thronged Him”.
It does not matter if they have to travel a great distance; people came because they were attracted to the ministry of the Lord Jesus. In Matt. 14:21 Jesus fed 5000 men and if you count the women and children, there may have been probably more than 15,000 people attending that service. That was many years back when transportation was slow and few. And remember, the church of Jesus Christ is still attracting crowds of people today.
- You don’t need to use gimmicks to attract people.
- You don’t need to compromise your convictions of music to gather them.
- In fact, you don’t need to have a beautiful building to make them come.
How can we attract people to the ministry?
1. We should love unbelievers. When Bro. Gerry Nable of Bethany Baptist, Makati was just a few years into the pastorate, he asked what would be my advice for him in the ministry. I said “love the people.” Matthew 9:36 “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.”
Jesus loved lost people and he spent some time with them. Jesus enjoyed being with people who are seeking the truth far more than with religious leaders who oppose the truth. He was called “a friend of sinners”. People could feel his love for them.
Even little children enjoyed being around Him. We should love unbelievers. They are your potential members.
This is probably the most overlooked key to a growing church. Without compassion, we will never be willing to make the sacrifice necessary to reach people. The ministry is multitude. If we don’t love people nothing else matters. This is why, as church members, our love should be focused towards visitors and first timers not just towards each other. You’ll never attract unbelievers if you don’t love them. Jesus loved unbelievers.
How can we show our love for unbelievers?
a). We should have an atmosphere of acceptance. While plants need to have the right climate to grow, it's the same way with our ministry. The right climate for ministry growth is an atmosphere of love and acceptance. Dr. Rick Warren said, “Growing ministries are loving ministries and loving ministries are growing ministries. This seems very simple but many times we overlook it. If your ministry is going to grow, have an atmosphere of acceptance. If a church does not rescue sinners, that church must be rescued.
b) Be nice when people come. Smile and be friendly. Make them feel welcome. Long before the pastor stands to preach, the people are already deciding whether they’ll come back or not depending on how you welcome them. Be nice when people come.
c) The pastor must be loving. If you are the pastor, you set the tone and atmosphere on the congregation. I have visited many churches and the main reason the church is not growing is because the love of the pastor is lacking in the atmosphere. The pastor hides in his office.
d) Remember names. It shows you are interested in people. Nothing sounds sweeter to the second- time visitor than hearing the use of his name. You say, but I don’t have the gift of remembering names. Well, just work at it.
e) Greet people personally before the services. You can warm up the crowd by meeting as many people as you can before the Sunday school or services. Get out among the crowd and talk to people and encourage them.
f) Touch people. How? Give them a look, a word, a smile or a pat on the back. There’s a lot of lonely people in the world. A pat on the back may be the only thing that will make a difference in their lives.
g) Accept people without approving them. As Christians we are called to accept and love unbelievers without approving their sinful lifestyles.
- Think of the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar. Jesus accepted her without approving of her licentious lifestyle.
- Think of Zachaeus. Jesus dined with him without approving his dishonesty.
- Think of the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. Jesus defended her dignity without approving her immorality.
h). We should meet people needs. – Physical needs, - relational needs of those rejected by parents, - spiritual needs, - financial needs
Our Lord would open a door for evangelizing a person’s by meeting a felt need. They’ll pay attention to the good news of salvation if you discover the key to his heart.
- Medical & Dental Evangelism
- Feeding Program in very depressed areas.
Sometimes I would drive around Cebu City and find myself behind the wheels praying, Lord, there are so many people. They are potential members of my church, potential missionaries or potential Bible students that can be trained and equipped to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ. How can I reach them for you?” Many times we think that the answer to every need is a sermon or a verse of scripture. It is meeting people needs. James 2:14–17. Read.
I never believed in advertising our school in the newspapers. If parents decide to enroll their children in Bob Hughes Christian Academy or in Bible Baptist College, they’ll do so when they see one of our graduates. Changed lives are our greatest advertisements. The ministry should meet people needs. The ministry is multitudes...
III. The Ministry is Missions. Missions is reaching our world for Jesus Christ. This is our ultimate goal. The health of the church is measured not by its seating capacity but by its sending capacity.
How many missionaries have you sent out from your church? Jesus said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” Acts 13:3 “And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” V. 5 “… and they preached the word of God.” How many missionaries have you sent out?
How many missionaries do you support locally and globally? The way we answer this question depends upon how strong is our missions program.
A weak missions program cannot help propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Eph. 5:21. It cannot fulfill the great commission. The ministry is missions.
If you have to start supporting missionaries in small amounts don’t be ashamed of it. The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. The devil tries to put all kinds of roadblocks to discourage you in your missions outreach. But if you determine that with God’s help you will obey God’s command, the Lord will strengthen your faith and bless your work.
THE MINISTRY IS A MARATHON
THE MINISTRY IS A MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE
THE MINISTRY IS MISSIONS
This is what I believe about the ministry.
By: DR. ARMIE F. JESALVA
Acts 2: 41 – 47
The Ministry is my life touching another life for the sake of the gospel.
* Every Christian is always on duty:
- To win souls.
- To follow them up for baptism and added to the church membership.
- Members must be steadfast – in the apostle’s doctrine.
- They ought to be given opportunity to fellowship and pray with other Christians.
- They ought to be in one accord and to strengthen one another.
I praise God for the people that are added to our ministry and the opportunities to expand our outreach or enlarge our spiritual influence. We ought to discover in our ministry the places where we can have more harvest of souls.
I have been pastor of Bible Baptist Church, Cebu City for 40 years, and the more I stay, the more I see the harvest field further away that I must conquer. Orison Marden said, “Go as far as you can and when you get there you can see further.”
When Bob Hughes came to Cebu City in 1957 there were already Southern Baptists and Canadian Baptists. There were other groups but he took it upon himself the responsibility to capture all of Cebu City.
He worked with other Baptists. He partnered with them. He had good fellowship with them. He prayed with them. He was part of the team. He knew that teamwork divides the effort but multiplies the effect. But his motivation was to reach Cebu City for Christ. He stood one day on Beverly Hills, looked over Cebu City with tears in his eyes and said “LORD, HELP ME CAPTURE CEBU CITY. Give me 1,000,000 Bibles to give to the people.” God gave him one and a half million.
I am glad to have a little part in that journey of faith that Bob Hughes initiated many years back. But I believe that if I have to strengthen my ministry and do more to pursue what God has began, I believe three things about the ministry.
I. The Ministry Is A Marathon. It is not a 100 meter dash thing. It is a long distance race.
You cannot have a strong, growing church if you stay in one place for five or ten years. It takes more than desire or even dedication. – It takes insight, it takes patience, it takes vision, it takes strong faith, and it takes skill to attain it.
Dr. Don Tackett of the Rawlings Foundation said, “Our ministry is suffering because there is no continuity.” I Cor. 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase.” The ministry is a marathon.
a) It is a marathon of work. Not Proselyting but working. II Tim 2:3 “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” From the time of watering new believers in discipleship it takes a lot of hard work.
- Memorizing verses
- Daily in the word
- Preaching messages intended to make them grow and be involved in missions.
- Teaching them ways to live the Christian life. It takes hard work, consistent hard work, courageous hard work, and continuous hard work.
Dr. Jack Hyles pastored First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana for over 50 years and had a big day of over 26,000 in Sunday School, the biggest Sunday School in the world. He is our example of hard work.
Dr. Jerry Falwell had a high day of 18,000 in Sunday School at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been pastor of the church for 49 years. Just imagine how hard he worked.
Dr. Lee Roberson built the Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee for 47 years through – a marathon of soulwinning, - a marathon of teaching, - a marathon of discipleship. A hireling will not do that. A hireling will keep changing flocks but the true shepherd does not.
The ministry is not a 100-meter dash. It is a 10,000 – meter run. It takes a long time to accomplish something big for Jesus Christ. You’ve to stay on the road a long time. It is a marathon of work.
b) It is a marathon of stay. When you pastor a church or be a missionary, you orchestrate your work with a single-minded attitude.
- Of building up lives
- Building up standards
- Equipping them
- Organizing your Sunday School Department .
- And training believers.
Eph. 4:11- 12 “And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelist, and some pastors and teachers. For the perfecting of saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
You must have a long term ministry. Nobody has done anything meaningful for the Lord by staying in one place for two years. The ministry is a marathon of stay. You stay in the will of God. You stay in the purpose of God, you stay focused. Once you establish the fact that God has called you in a specific area, then, stay there. Claim that area for Christ. The ministry is a marathon.
II. The Ministry is Multitudes. Matt 4:25 “And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.” Multitude of people was coming from all directions. They were coming from the north, from the south, from the east, and from the west. Great crowds were coming. Huge crowds, enormous crowds. People were attracted to his ministry that one time the Bible says in Luke 8:42 “. . . the people thronged Him”.
It does not matter if they have to travel a great distance; people came because they were attracted to the ministry of the Lord Jesus. In Matt. 14:21 Jesus fed 5000 men and if you count the women and children, there may have been probably more than 15,000 people attending that service. That was many years back when transportation was slow and few. And remember, the church of Jesus Christ is still attracting crowds of people today.
- You don’t need to use gimmicks to attract people.
- You don’t need to compromise your convictions of music to gather them.
- In fact, you don’t need to have a beautiful building to make them come.
How can we attract people to the ministry?
1. We should love unbelievers. When Bro. Gerry Nable of Bethany Baptist, Makati was just a few years into the pastorate, he asked what would be my advice for him in the ministry. I said “love the people.” Matthew 9:36 “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.”
Jesus loved lost people and he spent some time with them. Jesus enjoyed being with people who are seeking the truth far more than with religious leaders who oppose the truth. He was called “a friend of sinners”. People could feel his love for them.
Even little children enjoyed being around Him. We should love unbelievers. They are your potential members.
This is probably the most overlooked key to a growing church. Without compassion, we will never be willing to make the sacrifice necessary to reach people. The ministry is multitude. If we don’t love people nothing else matters. This is why, as church members, our love should be focused towards visitors and first timers not just towards each other. You’ll never attract unbelievers if you don’t love them. Jesus loved unbelievers.
How can we show our love for unbelievers?
a). We should have an atmosphere of acceptance. While plants need to have the right climate to grow, it's the same way with our ministry. The right climate for ministry growth is an atmosphere of love and acceptance. Dr. Rick Warren said, “Growing ministries are loving ministries and loving ministries are growing ministries. This seems very simple but many times we overlook it. If your ministry is going to grow, have an atmosphere of acceptance. If a church does not rescue sinners, that church must be rescued.
b) Be nice when people come. Smile and be friendly. Make them feel welcome. Long before the pastor stands to preach, the people are already deciding whether they’ll come back or not depending on how you welcome them. Be nice when people come.
c) The pastor must be loving. If you are the pastor, you set the tone and atmosphere on the congregation. I have visited many churches and the main reason the church is not growing is because the love of the pastor is lacking in the atmosphere. The pastor hides in his office.
d) Remember names. It shows you are interested in people. Nothing sounds sweeter to the second- time visitor than hearing the use of his name. You say, but I don’t have the gift of remembering names. Well, just work at it.
e) Greet people personally before the services. You can warm up the crowd by meeting as many people as you can before the Sunday school or services. Get out among the crowd and talk to people and encourage them.
f) Touch people. How? Give them a look, a word, a smile or a pat on the back. There’s a lot of lonely people in the world. A pat on the back may be the only thing that will make a difference in their lives.
g) Accept people without approving them. As Christians we are called to accept and love unbelievers without approving their sinful lifestyles.
- Think of the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar. Jesus accepted her without approving of her licentious lifestyle.
- Think of Zachaeus. Jesus dined with him without approving his dishonesty.
- Think of the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. Jesus defended her dignity without approving her immorality.
h). We should meet people needs. – Physical needs, - relational needs of those rejected by parents, - spiritual needs, - financial needs
Our Lord would open a door for evangelizing a person’s by meeting a felt need. They’ll pay attention to the good news of salvation if you discover the key to his heart.
- Medical & Dental Evangelism
- Feeding Program in very depressed areas.
Sometimes I would drive around Cebu City and find myself behind the wheels praying, Lord, there are so many people. They are potential members of my church, potential missionaries or potential Bible students that can be trained and equipped to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ. How can I reach them for you?” Many times we think that the answer to every need is a sermon or a verse of scripture. It is meeting people needs. James 2:14–17. Read.
I never believed in advertising our school in the newspapers. If parents decide to enroll their children in Bob Hughes Christian Academy or in Bible Baptist College, they’ll do so when they see one of our graduates. Changed lives are our greatest advertisements. The ministry should meet people needs. The ministry is multitudes...
III. The Ministry is Missions. Missions is reaching our world for Jesus Christ. This is our ultimate goal. The health of the church is measured not by its seating capacity but by its sending capacity.
How many missionaries have you sent out from your church? Jesus said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” Acts 13:3 “And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” V. 5 “… and they preached the word of God.” How many missionaries have you sent out?
How many missionaries do you support locally and globally? The way we answer this question depends upon how strong is our missions program.
A weak missions program cannot help propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Eph. 5:21. It cannot fulfill the great commission. The ministry is missions.
If you have to start supporting missionaries in small amounts don’t be ashamed of it. The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. The devil tries to put all kinds of roadblocks to discourage you in your missions outreach. But if you determine that with God’s help you will obey God’s command, the Lord will strengthen your faith and bless your work.
THE MINISTRY IS A MARATHON
THE MINISTRY IS A MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE
THE MINISTRY IS MISSIONS
This is what I believe about the ministry.
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