One of the most fruitful meetings we have ever experienced took place in Turkey a couple of years ago with key leaders from the Middle East, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria. I believe a couple of factors were in play here which greatly enhanced the results. One was isolating the leaders from their busyness, cell phones and ministries. Secondly, was their diligent pre-meeting work in the manual in preparation for the meeting, therefore we are going to try the same method in Asia and see what happens. Also, there are several other benefits: it costs less for the indigenous leaders to travel to a neutral location and for us to travel to a location that is easily accessible and many times less dangerous. It sounds like a win win situation, but we will wait and see. Actually, there is another aspect of this new training. We are training one or two key leaders instead of holding a conference. Many times, we train leaders but the “key” leader is never really on board with the teaching which sometimes can create problems. By training the key leader one on one, he will then be able to go back and do a conference on his own hopefully without our presence, which is also a cost saving factor. We would appreciate your prayers for discernment and wisdom, but most of all, that we be filled with the Spirit and focused on our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It will also be our joy to deliver approximately 2,500 Bible to believers in Laos, a country where the Word of God is only in the hands of a few. Also, through the gifts of many, 1,000 Bibles are being given to the Karen Refugee Camp that burned down on the border between Thailand and Myanmar. Please rejoice with us that God has provided these and pray that they will arrive safely without incident. For a long time we have encouraged ministers of the gospel to be self-sustaining so they do not need outside support. We have the joy of helping a brother in Christ purchase a Tuk Tuk so he can provide for himself and use the profit to help others do the same. Following this model of Paul will accelerate the spread of the gospel and give a living proof of its life changing message. Please pray that this brother will become a model to many in his country and beyond. To God be the Glory! ITINERARY May 5 – 12 Key Karen Leader from Thailand: Will work through the manual, God’s Plan for His Church, completing the projects and developing a church renewal and church planting strategy for Karen Baptist of Thailand. Training will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. May 12 – 19 Key Leader from Cambodia: Will work through the manual, God’s Plan for His Church, completing the projects and developing a church renewal and church planting strategy for the Khmer of Cambodia and purchase Tuk-Tuk to help key leaders become self-sustaining. Training will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. May 19 -21 Distributing Bibles in Vientiane, Laos May 19 – 26 Key leader from Pakistan: Will work through the manual, God’s Plan for His Church, completing the projects and developing a church renewal and church planting strategy for Pakistan. Training will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. May 19 – 26 Distributing Bibles and encouragement to the Karen refugee camp on the Burma/Thailand border which was burned to the ground. May 26 – June 2 Key Burmese and Karen Leader from Burma: Will work through the manual, God’s Plan for His Church, completing the projects and developing a church renewal and church planting strategy. Training will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. June 2 – June 8 Key Chin Leader from Burma: Will work through the manual, God’s Plan for His Church, completing the projects and developing a church renewal and church planting strategy. Training will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
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While much of the world around us has commercialized the coming of Jesus and many churches and religious services and programs do little more than stir up fleeting emotions that rarely result in life changing spiritual transformation, let me offer a thought or two which may impact our lives in 2013. These thoughts are inspired by Paul's compelling statement in Phil. 3:8, "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord..." Please follow my trail through Scripture.
God the "I AM", revealed himself in the Old Testament,
We are very excited to announce God’s Plan for His Church, (GPHC) a new manual for Church Planting and Church Renewal. This revised edition has new lessons not previously covered, illustrations for better visual understanding, and a format that makes it easy for anyone to follow.
Considering Christianity is growing at a 0.5% rate in the USA (Operation World p.862), we believe this revision is momentous and relevant for today’s church because GPHC: · Lays a foundation in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture in the Holy Spirit. · Provides an opportunity for a fresh work of the Holy Spirit in willing hearts and churches. · Reveals the value of marriage and family in the process of church planting and renewal. · Visually illustrates the principles of God’s plan for His Church from Pentecost forward · Helps churches and leaders become Christ centered and self-sustaining like Paul. · Uses powerful supra-cultural and timeless principles from Scripture. · Gives biblical solutions to many of the current issues facing today’s family and church. · Teaches a time-tested and proven model of church planting, growth and renewal that can actually thrive in financial deficiency, illiteracy, and persecution. We ask that you take a serious, prayerful look at this enclosed material for a way that God would begin a fresh work of the Holy Spirit in you, your family and your church. There are life changing testimonies on pages 3-5 from those who have worked through previous editions published in 30 languages so that you can read firsthand how God has used this tool around the world. We are so convinced of the importance of God’s Plan for His Church that we are willing to personally meet with you face to face. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us via information on the "contact" page for further details. A digital interactive CD or Internet copy is available upon request. All the materials and services are offered at no charge. We are praying for you as you consider this timely opportunity for a new beginning of power, oneness, freedom and joy in serving our wonderful Savior. I will get right to the heart of what God has done and then what we are asking you to pray that He will do in the future. First I will give you a glimpse into Tim's last trip to Thailand and Myanmar by way of testimonies from those who attended the CPM conferences and contacts that were made. There were clearly ‘God ordained’ events and the working of the Holy Spirit. 1. The General Secretary for the Karen Baptist Association tells us that the Thai translation of the GPCP manual is in process and they plan to have it printed by October when we return.
2. The same brother from Thailand reports: “We owe you a lot, and we believe that we can surely apply what you have shown us in our church-planting missions. We will not look backward, but go forward. We will do our best for the Lord. Please pray for TKBC because we believe that with God's grace and prayers of the righteous, we can make a great impact here in Thailand. We will try our best to be a good example for young couples…but we will always be careful and not let any space for Satan. Please pray that we will never fall nor make others upset. Brother, I have been looking for my Paul, but I have not found one yet…. Could you accept me as your Timothy? Many godly people are too busy like Martha, but I can see you care that I become a faithful and fruitful servant of God.” 3. The following is an email from another brother in Yangon, Myanmar. “We could not help talking about how we appreciate you and your teaching. We look to you as our model after Christ. We would like to do the course again with you with another group in October or November this year. Let me know what time is good for you. Then we will bring the two groups together in March 2013. Do you think we should have more time for the course - for 5 or 6 days? We have finished the 18 days training with the group and now we are going to start another training with a different group on Tuesday the 27th of Mar for 4 days. Please pray for us. We are so blessed to have you and your training. It is God's divine appointment for training the church planters in Myanmar for the end time.” We agree with this brother!! 4. Tim met with Moses in Myanmar who is translating GPCP into the Chin language. He is requesting a CPM Conference this fall when the CPM will be complete so they can start biblical church planting. 5. We have a request from the Burma Karen Baptist Association to teach graduating students for a month in the seminary in Yangon. We have also received a request from the Arab Baptist Seminary representing North Africa and the Middle East to provide GPCP in a seminary course format. This has tremendous potential for all Arabic speaking nations. Along with this we are also working on reformatting the present manual so that it is simpler to use--adding diagrams so that the student gets the most out of the Scriptures with the teaching help of the Holy Spirit. Please pray for both of these endeavors as they potentially could have a huge impact in countries around the world. Here is the testimony of a dear brother in Cambodia: “I would like to share about GPCP manual and how it has been used in Cambodia to train Church leaders here to strengthen and grow their church. I found feedback from them about this manual; it is a great and powerful tool contained with biblical principles inspired by living word of God to their personal life, families, church and mission breakthrough so much more than they expected, especially to plant more new churches in new areas where no church exists. Lastly I would like to say thank you for Pastor Tim Bunn that God has blessed and found this great tool to our Cambodian’s Church and in region.” Let me add one final testimony from a brother in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: “The solution rests in a radical return to God's Plan for Church Planting! This is a serious, long-term answer to help call the Church back to New Testament Biblical Principles, as we enter this new era." With the Lord opening these doors of opportunity, we feel deeply dependent on the Him, first to work in us so that God’s Word may be spoken without hindrance and in the Spirit’s power. For we “do not count our life of any value nor as precious to us, if only we may finish our course and the ministry that we received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Opportunity: The best way to describe the upcoming God's Plan for Church Planting (GPCP) meeting in Turkey is like flinging Brer Rabbit into "dat brier-patch." As you know, the manual thrives in a persecuted environment because it teaches a biblical model that enables the church to grow and expand in the midst of persecution, opposition and poverty. What does Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria have in common? The church in these countries is faced with Islamic persecution and opposition. Therefore, this meeting provides a very strategic opportunity. Praise: Praise our Lord for my dear brother and friend Hanna for completing the publishing of the Arabic GPCP, fully funded, and for organizing this meeting, not yet fully funded. I am also thankful for his leadership in encouraging these key leaders from Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Algeria to read and complete the manual. Lord willing, these leaders who have worked diligently for many hours will be ready for the workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, December 5 - 10, 2011 (See Hanna's Email Below). This is one of the GREATEST opportunities we have ever had. Prayer: Please pray for the Holy Spirit to work powerfully and for our Savior and Head to be honored and glorified in His Bride in the Middle East and North Africa through these indigenous leaders. Concerning the Arabic GPCP meeting in Turkey, Hanna and I are looking to the Lord to supply the necessary funds for their room, board and travel. While this is quite costly, it is still much more economical and practical than me personally traveling into these countries. Please pray for this provision. Manual Need: Also pray for our Lord to replenish the Burmese and Khmer manuals, #1000 Burmese (Myanmar) and #3000 Khmer (Cambodia). The cost is $1300 and $3000 respectively. In both of these countries, God is using this tool to grow and expand His Church (see attached pictures from Burma). Incidentally, I could almost daily send out reports of God using this tool (GPCP) to grow and expand His Church throughout the world through indigenous leaders, without our presence. As I ponder these needs, the Turkey workshop and manuals, I am reminded of Paul's words in Philippians: "Not that I seek the gift but I seek the fruit that increase to your credit." Hanna's Email: The venue is at a hotel about 50 klm from Istanbul. I will send further details in the next few days once we have the final tally. The countries represented will be Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria. We will meet from 9 AM every morning till about 1 PM, break for lunch then meet again at 3 Pm until 6 or 7 PM and break for the evening. We will do that Monday through Friday. Because we will be far from the city, we will not leave time for shopping. I look to you to lead our sessions. I will co-chair it with you and help with translation etc. By the way, I just learned that we have another 35 ministers and our volunteer staff in Egypt who have either completed the study of the CPM or are completing it. But we will not invite this huge number to Turkey. We will conduct a separate seminar for them in Egypt sometime next year, Lord willing. God is at work and will be glorified in His church even in the Middle East Hanna "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever Amen" Tim |
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