An excerpt from The Bicycle
By Frank Martin, International Pastor
April/May/June 2011

The bicycle is a good example of what prayer should be in our lives. The frame represents prayer itself, attaching to all other parts of life.

The chain illustrates love, driving everything we do. Love grows as we spend time in God’s Word.

The rear wheel stands for our family. Everything we know about God must first be acted out in our homes.

The bicycle represents how prayer applies to our lives, but it is useless without the rider. And that rider is you! The bicycle and you make a powerful team! With prayer, you can show the world that this thing we call the spiritual life is real. Renew your team effort by taking the bicycle of prayer and putting your talents and gifts in motion. God wants to use you and your bicycle of prayer to change the world!

ACT: Get weekly bicycle (prayer) exercise for WGM missionaries. Learn more and sign up for Prayer Lifeline at www.wgm.org/lifeline.

It Takes a Team!

An excerpt from It Takes a Team
By John Muehleisen, Africa
April/May/June 2011

By this time, Ruthven’s heart had softened toward spiritual things. He and other families in the community agreed to offer their homes as security against the church loan. Soon, a church was started.

Ressie and her family prayed for Ruthven for over 30 years. In 1979 he was hospitalized with heart problems and black lung disease. Thinking he was near death, Ruthven asked a pastor to come pray with him. He was saved and he lived a few more years as a transformed man.

Ruthven and Ressie’s youngest child, a son named C.R., accepted Christ as his Savior and felt called to preach. He attended Asbury University (Kentucky) before going on to Asbury Seminary. He was a student at Asbury during the 1970 revival. As a result of this revival, many student teams went out to minister in churches on weekends. C.R. was a member of a team that went to a church in St. Clairsville, Ohio, for revival services, and at the end of the Thursday night service, a 13-year-old boy walked down the aisle. C.R. prayed with him as he gave his life to Jesus. That young man’s name is John Muehleisen.

Whose redemption depends on your obedience today?

What neighbor, family member, or stranger is waiting on you to persevere in prayer and to give of yourself, your time, your money?

ACT: God used Team Ressie to make an impact in her community. What can you and your sphere of influence do to leave a missions impact where you live? The World Go! Manual is a great study to get you started. Call Tara Mast at 765.671.7244 to purchase a copy, or download it for free at www.wgm.org/
worldgo.

Get Off the Bench!

An excerpt from Get Off the Bench
By Rachel Elwood, Support Staff
April/May/June 2011

Sometimes you need a solid kick in the pants to get off the bench. I care deeply about issues in our world—creation preservation, women’s rights in Third-World countries, evangelism in cultural context, and lots more. But when it comes to actually—gasp!—doing…well, that’s a different story.

As it turned out, my “orphan” is a skinny 16-year-old girl who just needs some encouragement and love. Yep, I signed up to mentor a high school student, even though I’ve never thought of myself as a kid person! We meet once a week to munch on Taco Bell takeout and talk about school, boys, family, hopes for the future, and life in general.

It’s a small thing, you know? God is helping me see that I have to get in His work, changing hearts and transforming lives.

Consider this your solid kick in the pants. Get in the game, and go show someone some Jesus love!

ACT: Get off the bench! What’s a need in your community that you can help with? Contact your church for suggestions on a ministry where you can plug in.

Why Coach?

An excerpt from Why Coach?
By Troy Simpson, Support Staff
April/May/June 2011

Jesus had a team called the disciples. Jesus recruited and chose His team through a series of “tryouts.” Jesus coached His team daily, giving praise when things were done right and correction when needed. Jesus knew when His team was all on the same page, and He knew when at least one was no longer a team player. And talk about pressure! If Jesus’ team had not been ready, the salvation of the world could be lost. He did all of this without any all-Americans, not one all-conference player, or even an honorable mention. Jesus took players that nobody really wanted and worked through them to create His church.

ACT: Ministries come in all varieties, and often they are not what we would have chosen. Is God asking you to use something ordinary in your life as a ministry? Pray for guidance in this area.

Picking Your Team

An excerpt from Picking Your Team
By Kelly Hallahan, Uganda
April/May/June 2011


Every church needs a good team. Here are the key players and how you can maximize their potential:

1. Pastor
•Pray for him or her that God will increase his or her passion for missions.
•Sponsor his or her trip to visit missionaries your church supports.
•Pray for him or her to take the Perspectives course or a missions class at a local Christian college.

2. Missions Committee
•Global Outreach Weekend—WGM would be glad to help your church explore its missions plan for the greatest impact.
•Connect with other missions committees. Host a missions prayer breakfast and invite missions committee members from other churches. Perhaps have a missionary or someone who has been on a short-term trip share. Encourage one another in missions.

3. Missionaries
•Missionaries want to be involved in your life and in your missions journey.
•Invite a missionary to dinner while they are on homeland ministry assignment.
•Send personal and church prayer requests to your missionaries.