Friday, January 25, 2013

Follow. Trust. Worship. Trust.


Follow. Trust. Worship. Love.

By Jazmin Frank, Team Participant
January-March 2013


They say every story has two sides. Usually that involves two different perspectives of the same experience from two different people. But have you ever realized that as we experience things individually, there are also two sides to the story—the physical side, which is what we actually experience; and the emotional/spiritual side, which is the internal experience?

I want to share my internal experiences (the spiritual side) of my missions trip to Papua New Guinea. This side of the story revolves around four words: follow, trust, worship, love.

Follow. Every day, we are taken out of our comfort zone in some way; we are changed by our experiences and the people we meet. It doesn’t matter if God calls us around the world or across the street. Following Him simply means laying down our lives for Him daily and trusting in His good and perfect plan.

Trust. Throughout my preparation for this missions trip and the trip itself, God kept asking me one question: “Will you trust Me?” Again and again, He would ask me if I would trust Him, and again and again, though my answer was a bit delayed at times, my answer was always, “Yes, I trust You. I commit to follow You wherever You lead, doing whatever You ask of me.”

Worship. The first Sunday we were in Hagen, I have to say I had never experienced a worship service as joyful as that one. I wished I understood Pidgin, the main language of PNG, so I could sing along!

Love. On the last night of VBS, I received so many hugs and handshakes, but what touched me the most was their tears. We had been with these people only a week. We had only sung songs, played a few games, done some crafts, and shared a few Bible stories, yet in that short time we had poured out love on them, and the people of Papua New Guinea had loved us in return.

This is the stuff that matters. The activities are fun, but sometimes the lessons are what stick with us the longest.

ACT: Saying yes to a two-week missions trip is just part of the experience. What God will teach through your experience may be the most important part. Join a team or create one of your own by sending an e-mail to Noritta Carter atteams@wgm.org.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Children to the Mission Field?


Children to the Mission Field?

By Pastor Ryan Bash, Team Participant
January-March 2013

Someone asked me a great question regarding the purpose of churches sending a team to the mission field. He inquired about the benefit to the missionaries and the benefit to the team itself. Given that our church was sending 15 workers (including six children!) to McAllen, Texas, to help with the ministries of Taylor Christian School, I counted it a wonderful opportunity to share my heart for missions. He, in turn, encouraged me to share this answer with others. So why do we go? And in particular, what is the value in sending children?

For the Missionaries…
Most career missionaries have made tremendous sacrifices to serve where God has called them. One of the greatest gifts short-term teams can offer these missionaries is the reminder that they are not alone. When we come and serve alongside them, we communicate that they are not forgotten, that their ministry matters, and that the church back home is ready to do whatever it takes to help them succeed in spreading the gospel. In short, our mindset must not be one of a gracious benefactor, but that of a humble learner. We need to be people who want to help in any way we can—both while onsite and once we get home.

For the Team…
The team gets to enjoy a week immersed in a different culture. The greatest benefit to the members of a short-term team is that they return as missions-minded people. Our Lord has called His followers to go into all parts of the world to make disciples and to be His witnesses. Going to the mission field, as opposed to simply sending money, serves to instill in us a passion for God’s children all over the world. Ideally, such an experience will lead us to give even more, be emboldened to share our faith at home, and grow more sensitive to God’s specific invitations to Christian service in our own lives.

For the Children…
When they are at a young and impressionable age, we are teaching them the value of Christian service. We are teaching them how to work and serve in difficult conditions. We are introducing them to the varied faces of world Christianity. We are inspiring a whole new generation to care about what God is doing in neighborhoods all over the world. Thus, when they are grown and making decisions about their own time and resources, we will have established a foundation for selflessness and missions-mindedness. We are benefiting not only them, but also the church.

ACT: Want to help your church become more missions-minded? Take charge and invite others to take a short-term trip in the coming year. Explore the places you can go atwww.wgm.org/teams.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Seeds of Blessings

Estate Planning: Seeds of Blessings


January-March 2013


She raised her six young children alone, by no fault of her own. Her husband of 20 years had died from medical malpractice. Her shoulders were weighted with the insecurity of the unknown. But with humble, tenacious faith, she looked for, fiercely claimed, and stood on the promises of God’s care for the widowed and orphaned. Her faith was honored by a God who never fails. This woman is my grandmother, Lovina Miller.

The little girl was eight years old, and the day began as any other day...only to culminate with the first of many seizures in the years to come. Options for treatment were few. Lacking financial resources, the family could only place the young child in God’s care despite her continued seizures. “God gave me my daughter, and I have given her back to Him. He is the one who must provide,” said her mother, at peace but broken over the pain and suffering of her youngest child. This child is Heydi Selena Maldonado Estrada, a member of Shalom Church and a friend of our family.

A life of faith lived in the Midwest produced seeds of blessing. Upon Lovina’s death, she designated part of her estate to mission work. God took those seeds of blessing and blew them all the way to Choluteca, Honduras, where Mark and I plant, water, and pray they blossom into blessing.

Through the gift of Grandma’s faithful living, Heydi was offered the opportunity to seek specialized care in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Upon her first visit, her medication was changed and she has been seizure free. The true test lies in the upcoming months. Will you pray with us for a miracle for Heydi?

What challenges me is the impact of Grandma’s life that continues on, long after her death. Imagine touching others far beyond your own ways, means, and even duration of life. Are you living in a way that provokes God’s blessing?

GIVE: Create your own seeds of blessings by creating an estate plan. For assistance, contact Mark Moore, WGM attorney, at 765.661.2803. All discussions will be held at no charge and in complete confidence.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

God's Economy


By Paul ShingledeckerHaiti, with Rachel Cox, Team Participant
January-March 2013

God's Economy“Why spend $20,000 to send a work team to Haiti to build a house? The same house could be built using local labor for half that, and it would provide jobs for the Haitians as well.”

BUT

Rachel Cox would disagree. She helped build a house in Haiti with Adopt a Home, and what she discovered is worth far more than $20,000.

“I must share with you what the short-term missions trip has done in my professional life. I have been a pharmacist for 24 years. In June, I was privileged to see the poorest of the poor in Haiti. My heart was crushed - I saw my world with fresh eyes. My time in Haiti opened my eyes to the needs of the people in my world.

In God’s economy, a work team makes dollars and sense. Work teams are still needed to build homes in Haiti! Sign up today by contacting Noritta Carter at 765.671.7204 or teams@wgm.org.


Monday, January 14, 2013

The Spiritual Equivalent to Blue-Chip Stock


The Spiritual Equivalent to Blue-Chip Stock

By Jason Beavers, Team Participant
January-March 2013

In the business world, an investor desires to feel confident that he is choosing a winning corporation with which to entrust his partnership. He will ask if he can trust this company’s managers. Do they run their corporation efficiently and credibly? Perhaps most importantly, will this investment yield a profitable return? These questions are relevant to the spiritual world as well. Christians who invest their prayers, time, and money in Christian missions want to feel confident that they will receive affirmative answers to these same questions as they relate to the propagation of the gospel. From my personal experience in Papua New GuineaChristian Union Bible College is the spiritual equivalent to blue-chip stock.

The potential for continued success is unbounded. PNG nationals are hungry for the gospel, and the Lord is supplying their needs through the college. CUBC is one of the most effective ways to produce a Spirit-led, self-sustaining church in PNG. Local Christian leaders leave this three-year program equipped to minister in their neighborhoods and villages. They are multiplying the numbers counted among the saints every year. This effective ministry, combined with the Papua New Guineans’ thirst for the gospel, makes the field a potential for tremendous continued success.

Spiritually speaking, the yield on return is high in PNG. CUBC needs additional funds. The Lord will provide; He always does. Is God calling you to invest in or partner with Christian Union Bible College in PNG? Please prayerfully consider how best you can be involved:

Pray: Pray that Jesus will be lifted up and glorified in all of the ongoing training at the Bible college. Pray that God will enable the missionaries to explain the teachings of the Bible in a way that is relevant to the culture.
Go: Has God called you to serve Papua New Guineans with your church or a work team, or as a volunteer, using the talents He has given you to teach the Bible?Give: Christian Union Bible College needs your help! Will you help send a pastor to Bible college? A financial investment of $900 can send someone to the college for one year. Any gift will assist in transforming a congregation with a pastor who has been trained in the knowledge of the Bible and of God.
Pass It On: After hearing about this powerful ministry and their need for partners, can you think of someone you know who would like to learn about Christian Union Bible College in PNG? Pass on this article so others can learn how God might use them to minister to a lost world.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

How to Cure Summer Boredom


How to Cure Summer Boredom

By Billie Sue DunnAmerican Indian Field
January-March 2013

How to Cure Summer Boredom
Once school starts, children begin to count the days until summer. When I taught school, I would hear the students say after the first day, “Only 179 days to go.” But then when summer would arrive, parents would hear, “I’m bored! When does school start?” Students need activities to keep the summer boredom away.

Summer camps at Southwest Indian Ministries Center on the American Indian Field provide opportunities for children to have a Bible-based camping experience. Four different levels of Bible camp are offered, which includes teen camps and elementary camps.

Most importantly, campers have the opportunity to learn what Jesus has done for them. One camper wrote, “As the days went by, I learned more and more on why Jesus died for me, for my sins, for everything.”

You can be a part of enriching the lives of Native American children. A minimal registration fee of $50 is requested, but that covers only one-third of the $150 cost for each camper. No camper is turned away if he or she is not able to pay the $50. You can become a part of the camp scholarship program, which helps camps be affordable for all Native American children.

ACT: Become part of the American Indian Field camp scholarship program. Although camp costs $150, any size offering will help send a kid to camp. Send your check to World Gospel Mission and write account #23749-CALL on the memo line. 
World Gospel Mission
P.O. Box 948
Marion, IN 46952-0948

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Discover Your Cause

President's Perspective

By Hubert Harriman, President
January-March 2013


Steve and Alene Burgert, missionaries to Kenya recently spoke at WGM's chapel for support staff. As they began to share, we immediately sensed the energy of a God-given cause. Alene’s training and experience in prison chaplaincy ministry in the United States had “unknowingly” prepared her to play a vital role in the new prison chaplaincy training program envisioned by the Africa Gospel Church. She exuded passion and compassion as she told the story of Peter, who was converted while serving a life sentence. He was miraculously released and is now studying at Kaboson Pastors Training College, preparing to go back into the prison as a chaplain. Alene had not only discovered a God-given cause; she was intent on duplicating that cause in the lives of other people, in order to touch needy communities with the life-transforming message of the gospel. There is no greater cause!


This is why WGM has captured this as its central ministry focus. We state simply, strongly, and succinctly that our central focus is“Whole person transformation into the heart and soul of all communities.” We truly believe God can do this, and it is the reason Jesus came among us. This is happening over and over again across our fields of ministry. We have some incredible God-given causes that bring healing and help into individual lives and into the heart and soul of communities.

By the help of God, WGM is intent on helping believers discover missions—to discover their God-given cause. Without this, we die. With this, we live!

So, what is your cause?

ACT: Discovering your cause may seem a daunting task, but WGM is here to help. A resource to get you started on this journey is the World GO! Manual. Download the first chapter and get started on your path to discovery at www.wgm.org/worldgo.



Monday, January 7, 2013

Sponsorships for More Homecomings

Sponsorships for More Homecomings

By Christián Meléndez
January-March 2013

The primary vision of Escuela El Sembrador (The School of the Sower) has always been to sow the seeds of Jesus through the teaching of God’s Word with love and a genuine concern for the students. Students at El Sembrador receive an education and the vocational training they need to break the cycle of poverty for them and their families.

August 18, 2012, marked the 58th homecoming celebration for Escuela El Sembrador. Over 150 alumni were present, with men and women who were students 50, 30, and 10 years ago joining recent graduates.


At the closing of this celebration, the alumni and students were challenged to support other Hondurans in need and were encouraged to become sponsors for future generations. Sponsoring future generations is something you can take part in, too.

With the dropout rate growing in Honduras, many children are not receiving a proper education. Only 50 percent of Hondurans finish the fifth grade, and less than 6 percent will reach seventh grade. With many school-aged children being forced by economic hardships to stay home and provide for their families, those blessed with an education are vital to the future of Honduras.

Become a significant part in the future of these children through the El Sembrador Sponsorship Program. A gift of $125 a month for 12 months will provide a child with the education they need for one year. Donations can be made to account #23493-CALL and sent to:

El Sembrador Sponsorship Program
World Gospel Mission
P.O. Box 948
Marion, IN 46952-0948