"Imitate Me..."

An excerpt from...

"Imitate Me..."

By Kristy Weinert, Argentina
April-June 2013

There are as many definitions of discipleship as there are discipleship materials. Paul understood this when he invited the Corinthians to imitate him. In 1 Corinthians 4:15-16, he said there was an abundance of “instructors” but few “fathers” who are willing to take on spiritual children and demonstrate Christian living through their own lives. This kind of discipling requires a personal investment.

We are involved in a ministry that requires a 24/7 investment. Brad and I accepted the challenge to open a residence for Christian university students. Every year, over 100,000 students fill the university campuses of Córdoba, Argentina. Many come from around the country and have no family or contact in the city with whom to live while attending the university. We provide Christian students with low-cost living quarters, a weekly Bible study, Christian principles for living together, and the encouragement to stand for Jesus in a very non-Christian campus.

But it’s more than the daily involvement or Bible study; we’re being watched! We received comments such as “I didn’t know what a Christian marriage looks like,” or “I know you have devotions each day because I’ve seen you.” Even now as we live next door on the same property, they’re watching us daily to see how we deal with discouragement, financial needs, crises that arise, or spiritual needs around us. They need to see practical Christianity lived out in everyday life. What a responsibility to keep our own hearts in fresh contact and renewal with the Lord. It’s not about how flawless we are (we’re not!), but about how evident He can be in us if we walk as closely to Him as humanly possible.

What an awesome thing to say with Paul to a young Christian, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Do you dare to invite someone to come alongside you and walk with Jesus?

Discipling someone will teach you how to help another mature in faith. If God is calling you to invest in a young Christian, read the Plant chapter of the World Go! Manual to help get you started. Download the chapter for free atwww.wgm.org/worldgo.

Prayer Calendar: April 28 - May 4, 2013

The Call's prayer calendar offers this mission's prayer point for this week:

PRAY for Brad and Kristy Weinert as they disciple university students in Cordoba, Argentina.

Discipling someone will teach you how to help another mature in faith. Is God calling you to invest in a young Christian?

If You Have a Desire to Give or Go...

An excerpt from...

If You Have a Desire to Give or Go...

Join Paraguay’s Mobile Evangelism Team

By Tracy Dubois, Support Staff

April-June 2013 

Statistics are thrown around in every avenue of life. Depending on the avenue, the same percentage can have very different meanings. A 3 to 4 percent body mass index is amazing, but when you hear that only 3 to 4 percent of Paraguayans consider themselves evangelical Christians, your heart may skip a beat.

With that number, Paraguay has one of the smallest percentages of evangelical Christians in South America, and many Paraguayans are reluctant to even enter an evangelical church. However, WGM Paraguay has the perfect answer to this dilemma—the Mobile Evangelism Team.

Using a flatbed truck as a mobile stage, the team travels to outlying areas to visit retirement homes, hold evangelistic campaigns, and share during Vacation Bible School programs and other outreach events.

“The Mobile Evangelism Team is needed as an evangelistic tool so that many will clearly hear of God’s love for them and His desire to transform their lives,” emphasized Paraguay Field Director Larry Carr. According to Larry, the two basic needs that have to be met to take advantage of this unique ministry are funding and personnel. Money is needed to get the truck and sound equipment in working condition, and a missionary is needed to organize the ministry with national churches.

“Without the funds and personnel, the truck will be used in a very limited way and will spend most of the time parked in a garage,” Larry shared. “There is so much potential for this ministry, and it’s sad to see a valuable tool for evangelism in such poor condition.”

Contact recruiting@wgm.org to see how you can minister with Paraguay’s Mobile Evangelism Team.

Partner with the Mobile Evangelism Team at www.wgm.org/givetomobile. To donate via check, make it payable to World Gospel Mission and write account #21665-CALL on the memo line. 

Send check donations to:

World Gospel Mission
P.O. Box 948
Marion, IN 46952-0948

Prayer Calendar: April 21-27, 2013

The Call's prayer calendar offers this mission's prayer point for this week:

PRAY for new partners to join the Mobile Evangelism Team in Paraguay.

“The Mobile Evangelism Team is needed as an evangelistic tool so that many will clearly hear of God’s love for them and His desire to transform their lives,” emphasized Paraguay Field Director Larry Carr.

A Prayer Offering

An excerpt from...

A Prayer Offering

By Nathan Vitatoe, Spain
April-June 2013

Prayer is the foundation of who we are and all that we do. The outpouring of love for our family and our ministry that we receive from the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ is truly humbling. With the hand of God guiding us and the earnest prayers of His children for His will to be done, we are sustained and encouraged during the spiritual warfare that comes with being travelers of the gospel.

Kenzie and I recently invited our family, friends, and prayer partners to join us for seven consecutive days of specific prayer for our family and ministry. The response of encouraging tweets, e-mails, messages, and “Likes” to our updates on our Facebook group BarcaJourney touched our hearts tremendously.

We all go through ups and downs in life. We need each other as the body of Christ, His Church, to support and encourage one another. It’s our joy to be able to pray for our fellow global Christians by sharing life and ministry together.  

As followers of The Way, we all journey together on the path where He has placed us as the hands and feet of Christ, sharing the truth and hope of knowing Him to a spiritually needy world. We have the wonderful privilege to communicate with the Creator of the universe, our heavenly Father, at any moment. Take time today to share your heart with the Lord.

PRAY: Does God want you to commit to full-time service on the mission field? Not sure? There is no better time than now to begin forming your prayer support team. Ask your family, friends, and church to commit to seven consecutive days, like the Vitatoes’ challenge to their partners, to faithfully pray for your discernment. Like Nathan said, “With the hand of God guiding us and the earnest prayers of His children for His will to be done, we are sustained and encouraged….”

Discover the Now

An excerpt from...

Discover the Now

By Hubert Harriman, President
April-June 2013

One of the greatest promises given to God’s people is “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV). Our problem is that we tend to relegate promises like this to the distant future and rob ourselves of discovering the now of God.

• We do this with the presence and power of sin in our personal lives, accepting a thinking that says: “Someday you will know freedom, but not as long as you are in this body.” But along comes the apostle Paul who won’t be still because he has discovered that we can be set free from the body of this death (Romans 6:22-23), now!
• We do this with the presence and power of sin in other people’s lives, succumbing to the life-killing thinking that we can’t change it, so why try. But along comes an army of Spirit-filled people who won’t be still because they have discovered a Power beyond themselves, causing them to defy the odds and storm this dark world with the light of the life-changing gospel, now!

What if we surrendered ourselves to God’s promises and allowed Him to work in us and through us? What would you and I discover? You have heard me speak of the need to discover a divine cause for your life. But this begins first with a discovery of what God can do in us and through us, if we’ll let Him. What if we let Him? Think of the power that will unleash. Think of the impact we could have in our world!

Ready? Let’s discover the NOW of God!

ACT: Not sure what you have that God can use? A great resource for you in this exploration time is the book SoulShift. The “Consumer to Steward” chapter will especially help in the self-discovery process. Take a look at www.oursoulshift.com.

Prayer Calendar: April 14-20, 2013

The Call's prayer calendar offers this mission's prayer point for this week:

PRAY for a revival of discovery in your heart, in your family, and in your church.

"You have heard me speak of the need to discover a divine cause for your life. But this begins first with a discovery of what God can do in us and through us, if we’ll let Him. What if we let Him? Think of the power that will unleash. Think of the impact we could have in our world!" ~President Hubert Harriman

If You Have a Card...

An excerpt from...

If You Have a Card...Share the Ministry of Encouragement

By Tracy Dubois, Support Staff
April-June 2013

If you’re wondering if encouraging others is really that important, look around your house and see if you have any of the following: a ribbon-wrapped stack of love letters or cards from your spouse, copies of letters your grandparents wrote to each other during World War II, or silly notes or birthday cards from a deceased loved one. If the ministry of encouragement is not important, why did you keep these mementos?

Paul tells us in Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) to “encourage one another daily.” The ministry of encouragement, though often overlooked, can be accomplished quickly and easily.

Let me challenge you to be that encouragement to a missionary today. Send an e-mail, post a message on Facebook, or take some extra time and send out an old-fashioned letter. You’ll impact the recipient more than words can say.

ACT: Take a quick trip to your local store and stock up on all-occasion cards or creative stationery. You can also visit www.wgm.org/missionaries, click the name of the missionary you wish to encourage, and use the Contact link to send a quick e-mail. Your ministry of encouragement awaits!

Prayer Calendar: April 7-13, 2013

The Call's prayer calendar offers this mission's prayer point for this week:

ASK the Lord for the name of someone who needs your encouragement today.

"If you are wondering if encouraging others is really important, look around your house and see if you have any of the following: a ribbon-wrapped stack of love letters or cards from your spouse, copies of letters your grandparents wrote to each other during World War II, or silly notes or birthday cards from a deceased loved one. If the ministry of encouragement is not important, why did you keep these mementos?" ~An excerpt from If You Have a Card...Share the Ministry of Encouragement, Tracy Dubois, Support Staff~

Use What You Do and Where You Live

An excerpt from...

Use What You Do and Where You Live 

An adaptation from 31 Days of Homemade Missions on www.thehallahans.blogspot.com
By Kelly Hallahan, Uganda

I love the idea of homemade missions. My definition of homemade missions is simple; it’s anything you do where you live to expand the kingdom of God around the world. It’s great to talk about living so that others may be transformed into Jesus’ likeness, but how do we actually make it happen? 

Let’s be honest: some days, all that gets done is shopping for groceries, shuttling kids to school, and fixing dinner. But what needs to change is how I go about doing those things. I need to shift my focus.

One vital question to ask multiple times a day is: “Who is with me right now?” I could shove those relationships to the sidelines so I can [insert one of your hobbies], or I can invest time and energy into those relationships and make our minutes together count for eternity.

Another question is equally vital: “How can I be a catalyst for transformation in their lives?” I don’t know who God is calling you to touch today, but I’m sure He will tell you if you ask Him.

Maybe you feel as if there is no one around. May I suggest that you find a new circle of influence? Step outside your bubble and start making new friends. Ask Jesus to give you eyes to see the person right in front of you who needs Him.

And maybe you feel as if the dishes and the laundry are your best friends. Washing the dishes is not transformational—unless it’s you He wants to transform. He always has more ways He wants us to become more like Him. Can you clean dishes for the pure joy of serving Jesus? He would be so blessed.

PRAY: This month, spend part of your prayer time asking Jesus to give you eyes to see the person (or people) in your circle of influence who needs to know Him and listen for what He asks you to do to touch their life.

Prayer Calendar: April 1-6, 2013

The Call's prayer calendar offers this mission's prayer point for this week:

ASK Jesus to help you make every moment of your day count for eternity.

Introducing: Use What You Have

Doing missions isn’t rocket science. Sometimes missions is so easy that the obvious ways to get involved are overlooked.  Get ready - the April/May/June 2013 issue may inspire you to rethink your missions activity and challenge you to do more with what you already have.

This issue drops in mailboxes this week and is also available online at www.wgm.org/call. 

Happy Reading!

~Kristi