Follow-up is so valuable. One of the key elements of Paul’s church planting work was his method of follow-up. Even though we have looked at these verses before, it is helpful to look at them again. “When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21–22). While we may have a solid missionary understanding of evangelism and spreading the gospel to the unreached so that a local church is formed, our experience shows that quick follow-up to establish new believers is weak. Let me explain.
Care for souls is not complicated but needs great wisdom so we do not neglect their spiritual growth. As Paul clearly teaches in Ephesians 4:11-16, maturing every believer is part of the responsibility of every gift Christ has given. Let us be careful not to neglect our spiritual gift and fail to promote the purpose of the Church.
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With only a few hours left Sunday morning in Mocha before these pastors returned to their homes, we did an overview of God’s Plan for His Church and tied it in with the diagram that explains why we love tradition more than the simple power of God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. I could tell by the expressions on some faces that they were understanding the problem and a desire to be different. This was followed by a message from Tim on how we return to the authority of Scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit through repentance. He used the church at Ephesus and Jesus’ letter to them in Revelation 2:1-7 as an example of this need in our day. We had the joy of remembering the Lord Jesus in the Breaking of Bread, reminding us that He is the reason and center of all we teach and do. Certificates of completion were given to those who had finished GPHD. One pastor was already taking forty others through GPHD, and another pastor had introduced GPHD to four other churches. There was a powerful sense of God closing our time with celebration and commitment to finish what had been started. Individual testimonies are more than I can give here, but they left us with praise for what God is doing among them. We ended in prayer for them, and they prayed for us. This does not end the need to hold them in continual prayer for the Spirit to accelerate His work in them. Our next day in Ecuador was mostly spent traveling from Quito to a retreat center in Mocha, about a three hour trip plus stops. This location was chosen by the Quechua pastors as the best central place to meet for training and accommodations. I found it encouraging to see them working together in making us at home and providing excellent meals. Because of the elevation (10,633 ft.), the nights were cool which made for good sleeping. The highlight of these two days was gaining their interest through introducing God’s Plan for His Church(GPHC). The first evening, Tim did an overview of Paul’s three missionary journeys; how he planted churches where none existed and covered 8,000 miles in ten years. Since Paul, there is no example that comes close to what God did through him. The question we always ask is, why is this not being done today? Relating this to the current situation in Ecuador among these Quechua people raises questions that they will need to wrestle with, but there was a learning spirit with most. Some had finished God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD), some had started, but others needed to start. Oswaldo and I worked with those who had not started or finished GPHD and helped them grasp the overall picture and provided motivation for them to finish. Tim worked with those who were starting GPHC. Times like this reveal the difference between those who want to learn from Scripture and those who are holding tightly to tradition and find it difficult to change. Jesus warned those who “make void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Mark 7:13). This warning is serious and should make us think carefully about whether we have shut out the Spirit because we are more interested in doing things our way over and over. The past four days have been amazing! Tim and I have spent one day in Quito, Ecuador, two days in Mocha, and one day in Puyo, and now we are back in Quito. There is far too much to report in one blog, so I will break up the report into the places we visited so I can give enough details that do justice to each one. After arriving in Quito late on the evening of the 3rd, we rested the next morning and prepared to meet six Quechua pastors from various parts of Ecuador in the afternoon. Their desire is to unite Quechua churches in Ecuador around the Great Commission. Due to conditions in Ecuador ten years ago, the Church largely lost its focus on missions, and it needs to be rekindled. With this vision, they have formed the United Mission of Evangelism of Ecuador as a legal entity for the purpose of restoring a biblical mindset. The purpose of meeting was to discuss the possibility of introducing God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) and God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC) as a means of reviving spiritual health and vision. They plan to gather pastors and leaders from as many of these churches as possible in June to present their burden and plan. There was obvious unity among them, and we will join them in committing to be present at the conference. We ask you to join us in prayer that God will cause their passion for the gospel to be fruitful in reaching the people of Ecuador and beyond. This is the remainder of Randy’s schedule in Nigeria. It is easy to see from his agenda that this trip is packed. I trust you are taking a few minutes each day to pray for him and those he is with, asking God to motivate those he trains to be more devoted to the Lord and His work. May 14-16: Graduation of GPHC in Gombe. Kufai Bible College has around 50 students who are using GPHC to prepare to be pastors, church planters and missionaries. Please pray for these and the faculty members that are graduating their students! May 17-19: Introduction of GPHC in Mubi. Church of the Brethren is a denomination that has suffered the most from Boko Haram who has killed many of their leaders and people and destroyed up to half of all their church buildings. Please pray for them as they rebuild their work using GPHC to equip new and emerging leaders. May 20-23: Introduction of GPHC in Yola. Church of the Brethren has another work in Yola, and we will begin training leaders who will rebuild their work. May 24-25: Teaching in Jalingo. Great Impact Bible & Theological College (GIBTC) has asked that I spend two days teaching on How to Move Forward During Times of Suffering. Please pray that God will encourage the students and faculty. Let us pray for results from these events to be like the church in Thessalonica. “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6–7). What “ends of the earth” are you impacting? “…we celebrate in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also celebrate in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” Romans 5:2b-5.
“Every day we hear of kidnappings & killings in Nigeria, and this trip focuses on how to begin again after great suffering and how to move forward in difficult days. The groups I will meet have all suffered persecution from Fulani Militants and/or Boko Haram. May 9-10: Fly JFK to Abuja, Nigeria. After 20 hours of travel to Nigeria, I will spend the night and move on to Jos early on May 11 to begin training in the afternoon. May 11-13: Training and meeting with leaders in Jos. Leaders of one of the main churches will graduate GPHC (God’s Plan for His Church) students and we will introduce GPYD (God’s Plan for Young Disciples). We will also meet with the president of ECWA, one of the largest evangelical denominations in Nigeria with over 10 million members, and the Director of EMS, the missionary arm of ECWA that we have worked with for over 5 years. Please pray that these leaders will have renewed vision for church planting.” (Randy) I can’t tell you how much this ministry appreciates Randy. His dedication and sacrifice, his wise approach to missions, and his deep love for God’s Word all make him a very valuable asset and tool in the Lord’s hands. I urge you to pray for him daily! In the blog yesterday we saw how perseverance with Nehemiah and his leadership resulted in the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem. This provided essential protection from enemies, but more than that, it became a powerful witness to the enemies of Israel and other nations.
There is another work that is still in process which will also provide protection and exceptional witness. Paul calls it a “good work.” It is rooted in the gospel. Notice how Paul describes this process in his letter to Philippi. “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:3–6). God is interested in His work in the gospel because of what it does through people He has chosen. He guarantees that it will be complete when Jesus returns, yet it is doing something amazing while we wait for Him. From the moment God's work in the gospel begins in us, there is a witness to the world that He always intended (Acts 1:8). What will it take to increase our interest in completing the gospel work in us? In the next section of this letter, Paul turns his imprisonment into a blessing because others were “much more bold to speak the Word without fear” (1:14). Do we look at difficult circumstances as opportunities to share the gospel and be a strong witness for Jesus while we wait for Him? That one word “finished” in Nehemiah 6:15 carries so much meaning. Not only did Jesus use it on the cross (John 19:20), but Nehemiah uses it to express more than just completing the repair of the wall. It was “finished” through much trial and opposition. We cannot forget the opposition that Jesus faced His whole life, yet He completed what the Father sent Him to do. It was finished by dying and rising again!
We might think that finishing the wall would stop Tobiah and his gang from their efforts, but they continued to send messages intended to bring down Nehemiah and those who had done the work. That was not possible because the spirit God placed in His people would not be stopped by anyone who did not have God’s will and perspective at heart. In addition to this unquenchable attitude, there was another result of their work that was far reaching. “And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (6:16). Nehemiah had not promoted what they had done in other nations, but it was their witness that spread through the mouth and quill of others. What does our “finished” work look like and what does it say to the world around us? Is there evidence that it was “accomplished with the help of our God”? Words are important, but actions more often speak a language that others understand. There is never a time in all history that leaders of God’s people should not use discernment. As we see in Nehemiah 6:1-4, the enemy of God’s work will use every possible means and tactics to derail those who are doing what God wants them to do. It starts with subtle invitations, and if the enemy does not succeed, he will become more and more brazen in his approach, using scare techniques to make us think we must leave our work to give attention to the dangers.
At the root of these moves by the enemy is the attempt to draw God’s servants away from keeping their eyes on Him and trusting what He has told us. No wonder the writer of Hebrews states that endurance is maintained by “laying aside every weight and sin which clings so closely…looking to Jesus the founder and perfector of our faith” (12:1-2). Where we let our eyes rest is where we are headed. The cultural issues of our day are getting louder and consuming most avenues of media. The danger of this is to become absorbed with these matters instead of feeding our minds with Scripture, God’s truth. The more this takes center-stage in our minds, it will be much easier to discern what is error and lies. Tomorrow Sherman and Tim head to Quito, Ecuador for a week of follow-up with those who have finished God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) and training of pastors using God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC). On May 5 we will be training at a retreat center located at the base of the Tungurahua, an active volcano. This is a follow up training of GPHC. On May 7th we will travel to Puyo, a town located in the jungle area further east, to visit Juan who has been a faithful leader in the area. May 8th, we travel back to Quito where we will follow up with the training there. On May 10 we will return home. Pray for effective training and follow-up that encourages God’s work and produces a multiplication factor. We want this training to become an indigenous movement that is self-sustaining and self-propagating. |
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