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Through months of hard work and paying careful attention to details that most translators would overlook, our Arabic translator has finished the Teacher’s Edition of God’s Plan for Young Disciples (GPYD). Previously, he has translated God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) and God’s Plan for His Church (GPHC). These are now being used in Africa and elsewhere.
Let me tell you a little about this dear Brother. He was born and raised in the Middle East; Arabic is his native language. After coming to this country, he looked for a church where he felt God wanted him to learn and grow. It so happened that it was the church where I was the Associate Pastor for five years. Several years later, we reconnected, and he offered to help with translation work in the Arabic language. As an engineer by trade, he is very technical about translating words. He often calls me wanting to be sure of English word meanings, their context, and how they relate to other references in the book being translated. He is not satisfied with the technical aspect of translation, he also wants to grow spiritually through this work. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this Brother and the work he is doing for us. Its impact is spreading!
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With some people, time causes memories to fade. Facts and details seem to lose their importance to a point that telling a story years later does not have the same excitement as it did before. This is not always the case.
It was around 37 or 38 years after Jesus had ascended to heaven when Peter was an older man that he wrote his second letter to believers who needed encouragement. As part of his exhortation to them, he recounts an event during the three and a half years with Jesus, that grew stronger in his memory. “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16–18). Even though Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in person on the mountian, what Peter, John, and Paul wrote about Jesus is a divine mosaic of His glory. The Spirit in us takes these accounts and reveals to us His glory in such a way that we are transformed by them (2 Corinthians 3:18). I trust this is true of you!  This is a note from the coordinator of the training conference in South Asia.
“Grace and peace to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We want to take a moment to thank God for His amazing grace and perfect plan, as He allowed us to gather for God’s Plan for His Disciples and God’s Plan for His Church training. It was truly a time of blessing, growth, and unity in Christ. More than 90 people from nearly 12 cities and from different denominations (Catholic, Protestant, Brethren, Anglican, Pentecostal, and others) came together in one spirit, and the Lord poured out His presence in a powerful way. We give our deepest gratitude to our dear speakers, Brothers Randy and Terry, who faithfully shared God’s Word with us. Through their teaching, we have learned valuable truths and have been encouraged to live more fully as disciples of Christ. As the Scripture reminds us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20). We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the churches, prayer partners, and intercessors, who continually lifted us up before the Lord. Your prayers were felt in every session, every worship, and every heart that was touched. Truly, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1), and we have seen His hand building His church during this conference. May the seeds planted during these days bear lasting fruit, and may Christ’s Church continue to grow in love, unity, and obedience to His call. Let us press forward together, shining as His disciples and living for His glory.With gratitude and joy in Christ!” Moments before I started writing this blog, I received a note from dear believers in our church saying their close friend’s cancer has “spread too rapidly for treatment to be effective. As I often do, my heart immediately turned to prayer for this family. Though they know Jesus as their Savior, there is a human ache in the heart and a feeling of not knowing what to say; any words that might bring them some degree of comfort.
As I was praying for them, the words of 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 came to mind. “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Corinthians 5:1–5). What do we clothe ourselves with? Since the Spirit is the “guarantee” of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14) and dwells in us forever (John 14:16), we must allow Him to clothe our minds and hearts with truth that we are “in Christ” and the promise of God cannot fail. Through our human eyes, we cannot see the final chapter, but it is as real and true as God is true. “Therefore, encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).  We received this report from Jacob that reminds again how God is working in many African countries. Some are more difficult than others, but His grace is more than equal to any.
“By the grace of God, we were able to complete the training with God's Plan for His Disciples in San Pedro and Tabou. These two cities are in the western part of Côte d'Ivoire, very far from where Patrick lives, but for the work of God, the journey was necessary, and he made it with joy! He started in the city of San Pedro with pastors from several churches of different denominations — a total of 87 pastors with their wives and disciples. After 4 days of training, Patrick continued to Tabou where he held the same training again on God's Plan for His Disciples, this time with 91 pastors and disciples, along with their wives and some church members.” “May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, beloved brother Patrick!”  We are receiving reports and pictures from our team in South Asia. God is using this team to inspire over 80 pastors with God’s Word: teaching principles from Scripture with the help of the Holy Spirit and GPHD. In a place where persecution and dangers are always present, this is a rare opportunity. Training like this builds confidence, not in themselves or in us, but in the absolute and unchanging truth of Word of God. After two days of training through God’s Plan for His Disciples, they will move on to an introduction of God’s Plan for His Church. Training at this depth is a strong motivation for these pastors to return to their churches and help them become better established in God’s truth, encouraged in the face of adversity, and bold in the power of the Holy Spirit. What can you and I do? PRAY!  Have you ever heard someone describe some gorgeous place and at the end of their speech you wish it was possible to see what they told you for yourself? In fact, this friend invites you to go with them to see it for yourself. But you never go to that place, and you never see the beauty that was described so vividly. Not only that, but you also can’t tell someone else about this amazing place because you have never been there and seen it.
Can you feel the passion John the apostle had for the glory of Jesus? “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Notice the appeal in John’s words as he writes to his audience. “That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3). His yearning for those he writes to is that they would experience the same fellowship with the Father and His Son as John had experienced. No one can force you or anyone to gaze on the glory of Jesus and be transformed by its light and power. You must want it yourself so much that you are willing to sacrifice anything to stand in its light and receive the transformation! Some of us have been going through the book of Hebrews and noting the comparison between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Even though this subject is extensive and could take months and many pages to review all the details, there a few very important distinctions that highlight why the New Covenant is much better than the Old. There is much more to be said, and details explained, but this should cause great joy in our hearts. Our love for Jesus and His glory grows as we consider these tremendous changes.  This coming Thursday, Tom and Deedee will be traveling to Cuba again to follow up with contacts and take medical supplies, sports equipment (donated by a local ministry), and a supply of God’s Plan for His Disciples in Spanish. Knowing they will face challenging conditions, we ask you to pray for divine success and to accomplish what God wants.
The plan is to visit several villages and introduce God’s Plan for His Disciples in Spanish (GPHD). Because rental cars are not reliable to take him around, Tom asked pastor Alexis if he could invite some pastors and their wives to come to his church, which he has done. Six local pastors and their wives have agreed to go to Alexis’ church for the GPHD introduction. Tom is excited about meeting with these pastors. He met a group of pastors a couple of years ago and gave them a copy of GPHD. They told Tom that they wanted him to come back with more manuals and introduce it to them. They want to use GPHD in their churches. These men are administering in difficult situations. Meeting these men and getting to know them is not only what Tom looks forward to, but it is in these meetings where relationships are built. As future ministry opportunities develop because of these new relationships, pray that the Lord will use them to bring glory to Himself. It has been said that “Starting an indigenous work in a pioneer field is not a major difficulty. What we need to know is how to apply indigenous church methods on a field where mission work has existed for years under the old mission-directed system.”
We have witnessed in some areas of the world where traditional mission work has been there for over one hundred years with traditions that are still being followed and little progress has been made in conversions. When I use the term “traditional mission work” I am referring to a mission person or team going to a people group and spending years learning the language and culture well enough to be able at some point to present the gospel well. Jesus pointed to a method which He gave His disciples in Luke 10:1-12. When you go to a place, find a “man of peace” and stay with that person. As they receive the gospel, prepare them to pass the “Good News” on to their own people in their language and culture they are familiar with. The danger has often been that “Western Missionaries” think that part of evangelizing is teaching new converts “Western” ways, habits, and traditions as part of the gospel. In these methods, there is a basic mistrust in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Do we know better than Him? |
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