Hershey and More

McGwires Testify to God's Work in the News

2010-05-18T18:30:00.001-04:00

We Are All Broken

2010-04-28T16:58:00.003-04:00

Here is the second report from Paul Haken, team leader for the Hershey Free's current team in Haiti.

It's Tuesday afternoon. This morning we had class on "How can we find healing for our interior wounds." It was quite amazing. The class really seemed to resonate with the material. When I asked them "How many of you are sleeping in tents?" nearly everyone raised their hands. Several of them have houses that have not fallen down, but they are fearful of going into their houses or at least sleeping in their houses. The guy who drove us back to the center has constructed a shelter along the side of his house and he sleeps in that. Besides that, though, these people seem very normal and quite cheerful, not to mention very well educated with good jobs.

In the course of the morning class, they said that how could they themselves help others when they are traumatized and in need of help? I tried to help them understand that everyone in the world is broken in some way and that no one is really "qualified" to help. I told them that they were at least motivated enough to come to a class and that they could count of the Lord to help them to reach out to one another. During the course this morning I talked about the importance of listening as a way of helping. Fednor and I did a skit where he told me about his trauma and I looked around, talked on my cell phone, crossed my legs and arms and got up and walked away in the middle of his sentence. At one point I was talking on the cell phone and indicating to him that he should keep on talking. The class got quite a charge out of it. When I asked them what they noticed about how I listened, they had a long list of criticisms.

From there, I divided them into groups of three and asked them to share with each other their own stories over the course of about 5 minutes. I asked one of the three to critique the listener. They seemed to get into the exercise and really shared with each other.

At the end of the class, they were asking for more hours of teaching. It is a blessing to teach them.

The other guys here built a couple of toilets. Now they are constructing an outhouse enclosure. This is all for a bilingual school that is not very far away and meeting in a tent beside the tumble down school house.

Seems like we will be working on a school for the next three days. Wesley spoke of a wall the school at Port au Prince that needs repaired and a bunch of desks that need to be made for a school in a neighboring town.

The team all seem to be doing well. Thanks for your prayers. There are many opportunities here to be a blessing.

Update from Haiti Team

2010-04-26T17:43:00.001-04:00

Paul, Carl, Raphael, Herb and Jason arrived from Hershey to Haiti on Saturday evening. Here is a report from Monday.

The team that went to do the water filter install still is out. My class this morning went very well. As it turned out, all the participants were fluent French speakers so I just spoke in French. The translator helped out by contributing to the conversation and doing some reading of Scripture. There were about 20 in the class. We spoke about the subject: "If God is loving, then why does he allow suffering." Tomorrow's topic is "How can we find healing for emotional woundedness." We will be doing a lot of talking about debriefing and listening with understanding. The class members participate eagerly and have asked and said some very perceptive things. While we were talking about God loving us and calling us his children (1 Jn 3:1,2) one of the class members commented that a man would do anything for his children. He noted that God did not call us his cousins or his brothers or sisters, but his children. I'm hoping that tomorrow the group will be able to be divided up into groups of 3 or 4 and tell each other their stories about where they were and what they experienced at the time of the earthquoke on Jan 12th. Prior to that, I'm hoping to coach them on the value of listening well and the importance of speaking about painful experiences.

In half an hour, the translator (Fednor) who now is not translating, will be coming by to take me to see the tent where he lives. His house fell down in the earthquoke and he is living in a tent. It is very warm here and he commented to me that it is impossible to stay in the tent during the middle of the day because it is unsufferably hot. One of the other workmen here at the centerl, Marko, told me his mothere was killed in the earthquake and that his own house was flattened. He and his young wife and 3 year old daughter were able to get out ok.

When the team gets back, I'll try to let you know how their day went. Thanks so much for the news that people are interested and praying. We want to be a blessing here and that will only happen if God does it.

Grateful for the opportunity to be here,

Paul

Pastor Omar Stranded in Moldova?

2010-04-22T09:56:00.003-04:00

Just received a note from Omar Zook about his teaching marriage counseling in Moldova. It is still uncertain if he will be able to return on Saturday as he had planned because of the massive airline interruption from the Icelandic volcano. But he did send this report about the ministry.

My time here has gone very well. I am able to accomplish all that I set out to do. It's been a real blessing to get to know more students. Yesterday I talked with a young man who is planning to get married to a Russian girl. He says the class is very helpful in helping him prepare. He will be living in a city in Russia of about 60,000 and there is one Baptist church in the city of only 13 that he will be pastoring. He said the obstacles are great--a lot of drinking, immorality, etc--but God is greater. His future father-in-law is the current pastor but is in bad health and almost died. They have been praying for another pastor to take his place. When he shared his plans to be the new pastor to a member of the church, he cried and said, "you are what we have been praying for for the past few years." He is praying that his father-in-law lives a few more years so he can have someone to mentor him.

Today I had the opportunity to visit a ministry here in Chisinau called "Beginning of Life" which is for girls who have been caught up in sex trafficing or sex abuse here in Moldova as well as other countries. They have a residential program for 6 girls, provide counseling for others as well as the residents, do seminars in schools, do a bi-monthly publication, etc. I was very impressed with all they are doing and with the vision of Vladimir and Julia who are the couple directing the ministry. Julia happens to have a Masters Degree in Psychology from the university here in Chisinau. Both she and Vladimir teach at the college in the Social Services program. It was a great opportunity to talk about the need for more counseling courses here at the college which is different than the Social Services program but there could be overlap. They stated that there is a strong need for more counseling and would like to see a curriculum developed for this. It was good to get their perspective because of the kind of work they are doing and to hear from someone who has training in Psychology and is doing practice (she is the one who does the counseling at this ministry). They see first hand the breakdown of families and marriages and the social problems that exist here in Moldova.

I gave the 2nd test today. I was surprised that the students did as poorly as they did. Many did fairly well, but a number did not do very well. It's hard to tell how much it's translation difficulties, how much it's that they don't study, or that the teacher isn't making things clear enough. One thing that really surprised me is that I outlined on the white board about 5 times the different components of marriage as I was working through them. I thought this would help them to get them clearly in their mind. On the test I put them as matching. There are 10 of them. For example, Commitment is the foundation of marriage, Family of Origin is the roots of marriage, Conflict Resolution is the growth stimulant for marriage, Forgiveness is the healing balm for marriage, etc. Amazingly, more than half of the students got at least half of them wrong. They continue to give positive feedback from the course. I hope it is being meaningful and helpful.

I have been enjoying Mihai's family as usual. They are very hospitable and accept me right into the family life. They are very gracious. The children are very courteous and friendly. It makes it nice to relax here and feel at home. Plus the cooking of Lydia is terrific.

Need For Spiritually Well-Prepared Teams in Haiti

2010-03-09T11:50:00.003-05:00

Sarah Painter of TouchGlobal Crisis Response sent an email about her recent visit in Haiti. She says...

"Katie and I went with Mark and Kevin this past weekend to Haiti.

It was wonderful! The Lord is so clearly working in the lives the people there. Churches are full...others seeking hope. It is def. devastated. It looks like a war zone. The roads cracked in two, homes are piles of rubble. Even if there is a home/structure left standing people prefer to sleep in tent-like structures. These are made of scraps from the rubble, blankets, and garbage. This is what many families are calling home."

Here's the section to pay special attention to...

"The Lord is clearly directing us to partnerships in the area. Churches are filling up as people seek His HOPE and TRUTH. The conflict between voodoo and Christianity is becoming more apparent for the Haitian people. The sermon of the Haitian preacher on Sunday addressed this. He compared the times of Haiti to that of Elijah...where in 2 kings he builds an altar along with those who worship Baal to show that God is the true and only God. The Haitian pastor encouraged the people to stand firm against those who say otherwise. I was so thankful that I we were able to hear this. In the middle of the service a Haitian man came over and interpreted for us! What a blessing : )"

I just finished reading Jesse Penn-Lewis' book, War On The Saints, written after the Welsh Revival at the turn of the 20th century. One of her concerns was counterfeit spiritual activity that emerged immediately after genuine acts of the Holy Spirit. She wrote for the purpose of helping Christ-followers discern between the works of the Lord and the closely mimicked deceptions of Satan.

My thoughts went to the apparent revival going on in Haiti these days and that we need to be praying for discernment among believers (Haitian and guests helpers). We can not be passive about this spiritual aspect of the work in Haiti. The task is not limited to medical care and physical rebuilding. Teams need to be highly sensitized to the spiritual dynamic at work in the heavenlies that has huge impact on the physical.

The Parsonage of Love, INC Makes the News

2010-03-04T09:19:00.003-05:00

Several people from Evangelical Free Church of Hershey help with Love, INC (in the name of Christ) and volunteer to help provide housing for families with an adult in the hospital. A local news station highlighted the ministry.

What Jesus DOESN'T Say

2010-03-01T09:23:00.002-05:00

"Jesus said, 'Follow me.' He did not say...

'Have great doctrine.'

'Buy stuff and change channels.'

'Improve your career.'

'Image is everything.'

'Simmer down now!'

Dave Davidson, taken from God's Great Ambition

Are You a Person of Spiritual Devotion?

2010-03-01T09:11:00.005-05:00

This is the second excerpt that I'm taking from a publication by the Rethinking Forum called Rethinking Hindu Ministry II (2009). It is written specifically about helping Asian Indians see Jesus Christ but I am convinced that the two points below are helpful in any relationship-especially the second point.

"There are two keys to effective witness to Hindus. The first is your own testimony of experiencing the grace of God. When Hindu friends can see the peace and joy of Christ in your life, your testimony of that experience will be very powerful. Do not rush to tell your story; wait on God for the appropriate time to share this most holy aspect of your life, and only share with a friend who will respect what you share.

The second key is intercessory prayer. In some of the many traditions of Hinduism there is the reality of prayer, but generally (due to no clear revelation in Hinduism) there are foggy views of God and no sense of the privilege of praying to a God who hears. Do not be afraid, once there is a basic friendship, to speak of prayer and mention that you pray for your friend. When there are tensions and trials, offer to lead in prayer with your friend. The reality of answered prayer is powerful evidence of the truth of God in Christ."

She Didn't Let Me Fall

2010-02-25T20:25:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday evening, Emma took me wall climbing as a birthday gift. We both like climbing but since I'm nearly twice her weight, I wasn't convinced that she would be able belay me if I would slip. We had climbed once before with one of Emma's friends and all went well. I thought to myself, maybe she'll be able to handle me.

After her first climb of the evening, it was my turn. My concern about her ability forced me to ensure that I didn't slip on the way to the top of the wall. Then I arrived at the top. If I was to descend, I was going to have to trust Emma. Well, I'm here to write the story. Emma did a fine job thanks to her following instructions and using physics.

There is a little life lesson in this dad and daughter time: as our children grow, we can entrust them with important responsibilities. Parents must come to a point when we trust our kids to handle difficult tasks and issues. Then we will see them as the capable young people that they are growing up to be. After we train them, we give them a trust. Then we see them rise to the challenge.

On Being a Humble Servant of Christ

2010-02-23T09:14:00.005-05:00

I found this stimulating excerpt in an article by H.L. Richards, a friend of Hershey Free who serves Jesus Christ among Hindus. I think his thoughts are instructive for anyone who desires to share his faith in Christ.

"Friendship evangelism among Hindus needs to keep the emphasis on friendship. Hindus are very sensitive to Christian agendas to convert Hindus and 'win' their country to the Christian religion. The general Hindu perception is that Christians are pushy propogandists, and too much 'evangelistic' activity confirms this impression. A Hindu friend should be a true friend, and not a project to be dropped if 'unsuccessful.'...

The matter-of-factness of much Christian preaching and teaching is thus highly problematic in the Hindu world. The apostle Paul taught that 'the man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know' (1 Cor. 8:2), and this is a verse that should always govern the heart of one who shares with Hindus. We do not possess God, he possesses us. We can perhaps say that we know God, but it is much more true to emphasize that he knows us (Gal. 4:9)...

"The humble servant of Christ (which should be the only referent for 'Christian'!) will not stumble in these areas. Doors of friendship will open with Hindus when followers of Christ reach across perceived boundaries and establish friendship."

-- from "Good News for Hindus in the Neighborhood", Rethinking Forum

Spiritual Ground-Taking in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6

2010-02-06T09:33:00.000-05:00

Last week, during preparation for a Bible study I entitled, Truth Encounter: Praying With Power, I studied Ephesians 6 and then went onto 2 Corinthians 10. (I continued on to Matthew 18 and Colossians 2 but these passages are for a future reflection.) The main perspective that I came away with is that spiritual battle is not simply about protection. Nor is it only about individual protection.

The Christian life, individually and in community, includes ground-taking. Quite possibly, Christian living may be more about joining the advance of righteousness, justice and charity (the old world for ‘love’) than about keeping ourselves from being messed about by Satan and lies.

First thing to notice (in verse 4) is that the battle zone is not where we think. Just as Ephesians 6: 12 points out, the war is not against ‘flesh and blood’. Because of that, the weapons are not the usual domination tools – bigger, better, faster, smarter, richer. Therefore, let’s be careful of going to war against persons and trying to silence them with world techniques. Rather, pray and demolish strongholds of untruth with diamonds of truth in settings of golden charity.

I’ve often prayed the intent of verse 4 in an individual and corrective way. “Lord, take my lustful thoughts, my negative thoughts and make them obedient to you, Jesus.” Consider that the Apostle Paul is writing to a faith community, the First House Church Network of Corinth. It is far more than individualized. In this immediate case, his writing is corrective to their behavior. However, verse 6 leads me to believe in the ground-taking aspect.

What on earth does Paul mean that we (the apostolic team that Paul is leading) will be ready to punish disobedience once your (Corinthian Christ-followers) obedience is complete? Why punish if there is full obedience? I interpret this sentence to mean that obedience starts in the community of faith. Before Christians go condemning wickedness in our town, city and nation, we need to be living with integrity in the Lord. This is not only a call to search own hearts before judging others but there is an implied call to spiritual ground-taking.

In spiritual warfare, (remember, I’m not talking about worldly strategies of belittling and destroying people or people groups) we daily dress in the ‘armor of God’ (gospel of peace, righteousness, Bible understanding, truth, etc) insuring our obedience and then confronting our spheres of influence with righteousness, justice and charity. This begins with assertive prayer and declaring to Satan that ‘the gates of Hell will not prevail’ against the ground-taking efforts of Jesus Christ’s body, the church.

Have we been too cautious in spiritual ground-taking? Do we only see the tangible obstacles to spreading faith in Christ? Are we praying aggressively against Satan’s tactics?

Report from Haiti

2010-01-15T09:54:00.001-05:00

I just received this note from Glen Schreiber in Florida who works closely with Free Church efforts in Haiti.

Pastor Steve Exantus, who lives in south Florida and directs our EFCA church
planting efforts in Port-au-Prince and Bombardopolis, just contacted me to
say that he hasn't been able to hear from our folks in Port-au-Prince yet.
Not knowing is difficult especially when we see the stark images and hear
the tragic stories and can't help but transfer the names and faces of our
friends into those images and stories.

And don't forget, Steve is also grieving the loss of his father who died in
Haiti last week and was planning to travel to Port-au-Prince next week for a
funeral service.

Additionally...

I just received this email from Henoc Lucien who leads our EFCA efforts in
northern Haiti (Cap-Haitien). It speaks for itself...please read on:

"We had a bizarre day. Last night the earthquake keeps on repeating itself.
Even this evening, it has been repeating itself. According to the Radio
MetropoleHaiti website, it has repeated itself 38 times since last night.
We have been stunned as no one can understand what is going on, yet the
magnitude is unbelievable.

I woke up at 4:am and drove to the city. I wanted to see what has happened
to our church people. Our people live all around Cap-Haitien. It is a very
fragile city as we are surrounded by the ocean. I picked up our principal
and a deacon at the church in Cap and we went on the streets to tell all the
students waiting for the bus that they could go back home because we don't
know when school may open again.

It has been raining in Cap-Haitien for at least 22 days non-stop. To the
very minute, it is raining. People are staying inside and cannot go
anywhere for their daily activities. The rain is very steady and slow and
many places start getting flooded. Today, I had to remove a family whose
house wall cracked and their house get completely flooded. So, I took 12
of them to their original hometown of Ferrier. They are in town because of
school.

Most of the attention is directed toward Port au Prince and Southern Haiti.
The Prime Minister gave a speech today and he estimated that at least one
Hundred thousand people got killed. People who are hurt are carried by
Thousands. Most of the hospitals in Port au Prince are destroyed. So
people are coming all the way to Cap-Haitien for health Care. It is
unbelievable, but no one knows what to do.

I am dealing a lot with families who have their children in Universities in
Port au Prince. Most of the young people go to Port au Prince for
University education after graduation from High School. Many of them stay
there to work after graduation. Many families cannot contact their children
because there is no telephone service in Haiti right now. One of our
pastors, Sansoir, has two girls in universities in Port au Prince. It gets
confusing because of what they are hearing. One Catholic Seminary
collapsed. The priest in charge and all 200 students got killed. Several
High Profile artists and government officials got killed. One university
collapsed with 1200 students inside taking exams. All got killed.

I just got the news that one congressman whose wedding I performed a few
years ago and whose wife was very active in our church was found dead. It
is very touching to me. This is a good friend to whom I speak just about
once a week.

One of our major need is to help bring stability to families around here by
helping them with food and medicine as they have not been able to get out
for almost a month. We are getting ready to evacuate people around Cap
Haitien as we are awaiting the worst of the flooding. One part of the city
where many of our church members live, Petite Anse, has already been
flooded. More rain will get Fort St Michel and other parts of town in deep
trouble.

This is the time to reach out and touch the poorest of the poor. Please
continue to pray.

Henoc"

HOW WE CAN HELP...

Cash is the way we can help at the moment. That's the best way we can give
them opportunity to quickly appropriate the needed basic necessities to
survive the next days and weeks.

Our EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response Team is readying itself to help the
rest of us respond in the most effective way possible. I am so thankful for
their experience in these matters and look forward to partnering with them
as they help us help our friends.

They have already set up an Earthquake Relief Fund and I'd encourage you go
to our EFCA national web site (www.efca.org) and follow the directions they
give.

And, of course, as both Pastor Steve and Pastor Henoc have asked, keep
praying...ask for God to show Himself in obvious ways, bringing rescue and
relief to the people, and glory to Himself.

Venezuela Seeing Growth in Faith Communities

2009-12-08T10:44:00.005-05:00

Gene and Linda Wilson serve with ReachGlobal as trainers of CP coaches. Gene filed the following report.

One of our joys last month was to hear about the church in Venezuela, a country often in the news here in the United States. Linda and I have been there several times but not for the last five years. At our training in Costa Rica last month Abdy P., the head of the Church Planting and Missions Department gave us a report (picture).

Backdrop: The Evangelical Free church of Venezuela was started in 1920 by a missionary team led by David Finstrom. It took 30 years to establish the first few churches. One of the men on Finstrom’s team, Arthur Peterson, wanted to work inland on the plains. Finstrom disagreed. The result was a divided work for 25 of those 30 years. When reconciliation took place in 1949, the church advanced and became an autonomous association between 1952 and 1954. From then until 1978 the work expanded to fifty churches. The next 30 years was a coming of age for the Venezuelan Church. However issue of leadership, restructuring and identity took the focus away from church planting and missions . In 2003, during the 50th anniversary of their existence as a church body, they asked God to make the next decade a time of “Relaunching Mission.” Soon afterwards a new Venezuela president was elected and gradually pressure was brought to bear on Evangelical churches. Missionaries were expelled from tribal areas. New laws were passed to control churches. We asked Abdy to share what is happening there..

Here are some highlights from his report:

There may be up to 80 preaching points and developing churches that are not officially recognized by the government, while between 40 and 60 are recognized.
Nine pastors have been killed under suspicious circumstances, including a leader of the association of Evangelicals. Restrictions and red tape have increased.
There were divisions between pro-govern. and anti-govern. factions in the churches until they decided to keep all politics out of the church and focus on the kingdom.
Opposition and restrictions by the government have fostered church renewal. Evangelical leaders have formed an informal network to be able to communicate if rights of association become tighter. Greater unity is emerging.
The church growth rate among evangelicals in Venezuela has risen from 3% in 1999 to between 7 and 10% in 2009.
Although travel to indigenous tribes in the Amazon has been restricted, the work has grown. Tribal leaders are coming out for training and returning to equip more church planters. The first church took 20 years to establish. Yet a new church has been planted each of the last 3 years and another one is planned for 2010.
Venezuelan missionaries are trained waiting to go. Partnerships are being forged to send missionaries to Muslim peoples and to Europe. Additionally a three-tier non-formal training effort mobilizes workers: 1) Lay short-term workers, 2) Church Planters, and 3) Coaches. Coaching Clinics have taken place in 4 areas. The strongest aspect of the non-formal training is lay mobilization.

God is answering the prayers of those leaders during the 50th Anniversary in unusual ways! Praise the Lord!

PLEASE PRAY FOR A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT IN VENEZUELA
PRAY FOR CHURCH UNITY TO CONTINUE TO GROW
PRAY FOR BELIEVERS TO BE STRONG IN CHRIST

Perhaps, a little sacriligious

2009-11-30T21:14:00.000-05:00

Victory in Spiritual Warfare

2009-11-23T16:30:00.003-05:00

This story was sent to me via Face Book and I thought you will be encouraged by it. Hershey Free has made a grant through our Global Ministries Project Fund for some of the teacher training events that Rich describes further along in the story. This is an incredible story of Satan's attempts to destroy and God prevailing.

"20 years ago yesterday, the Berlin Wall came down! What an historical day that was…a day that almost no one predicted and yet it was an answer to many prayers. It was a day that changed our lives immensely, although we didn't know it would at the time. Now, the Lord has given Christians 20 years to freely proclaim the gospel in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Some countries have been hard to reach like Russia and Czech Republic but others like Albania, Romania and Ukraine have definitely been fields white unto harvest. Below is a link to a 10 minute video which tells just a bit of what the Lord was doing through our ministry in those days before the wall fell down. I encourage you to take the time to view it. Some of our staff who are speaking in the video knew only atheism 20 years ago and now they are leaders in our ministry in countries across Eastern Europe.

We feel like God continues to change history here in Ukraine. We experienced the Lord greatly at work just over a week ago in the western Ukraine city of L’viv where we held a 3 ½ day CrossRoads Teacher Training. It was an amazing week.

Day 1: 173 teachers showed up for the training. We had no idea how many would come, because we had to change cities just two weeks before the event and many of the teachers only heard about the training 1-2 days before it started.

Day 2: A sense of excitement was growing and the Lord was winning over the hearts of the teachers, as He always does.

Day 3: The practical lessons in 22 classrooms were alive with student involvement and the teachers returned rejoicing. They spent 40 minutes taking their turns sharing about their experiences.

BUT…the spiritual battle makes itself known at every conference in one form or another…
30 minutes before the JESUS film showing began (the afternoon of Day 3), a teacher in the hall received a phone call telling her that there was a major outbreak of Swine Flu in western Ukraine and all schools and universities were under immediate quarantine and all meetings forbidden.

Panic and chaos followed…
We went to the Lord in prayer…

The teachers asked me if we could end the conference that day. Since I knew we couldn't possibly do that, I told them that we had to continue and finish the next day. Amazingly, they stayed and were completely quiet and engrossed during the JESUS film showing.

We got permission to finish our training the next day.

Day 4: On Friday, the teachers showed up in spite of the flu scare! I was able to share the gospel and my personal testimony…it was completely silent while I spoke. Many indicated that the spiritual dynamic of our training was a significant part for them. We’ll see them again in a few weeks at the follow-up seminar on DEC. 12.

Please pray for spiritual fruit from among this group of hungry teachers!

Ukraine is under a 3 week quarantine (all schools and universities are closed and all large meetings discouraged) in response to the Swine Flu scare. Is it real??? Nobody really knows... As a result, KCA is closed, too. The school has organized some “off site” classess and the kids are still doing homework, so it's not a vacation.
We have rescheduled our Zhitomir training for December 1-4. Please pray that the quarantine would end by then and that our conference would proceed as planned.

Thank you for your prayers and partnership with us in Ukraine.

Rich and Barb Leary

Be Good News or Point to the Good News?

2009-11-23T15:46:00.003-05:00

In the last week, I've become acquainted (in a small way) to something named Call2All. The name captures my imagination and stirs my heart. There seems to be two levels of meaning. [1] God's call to repentance and restoration in Jesus Christ is for all people - those from Palmyra, PA, those working in Washington, D.C. and rascals living in a network of caverns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. [2] The second level is an invitation to every Christ-follower to 'get in the game' of Kingdom expansion through generous living with our neighbor all the way to partnering in Kingdom partnerships around the world.

Call2All expressed the Christ-followers' mandate in this way: God is calling us to be Good News to the nations. I like that statement. It doesn't lock the church into simply spreading religious doctrine but moves us to live God's wisdom in every facet of our lives. There is a 'being' and 'doing' blend in that sentence. As my colleague, Dave Hyatt says, Christ-followers are to declare and demonstrate the Good News.

Here's my question; are we taking too much responsibility for the Good News (gospel) if we say we ARE the Good News? Jesus Christ is the Good News. He's the incarnated Son of God, the Logos (or chesed of Proverbs). Christ's substitutionary death and death-defying resurrection is the Good News. The fact that Christ's attributes and actions have a restorative effect on people (including a rascal like me) is incredibly Good News. But I'm not the Good News.

By God's grace, I am an example of the Good News. I have the honor of trying to describe the Good News to people in my neighborhood and in the nations. I can point people to the Good News. I live out the effects of the Good News. But can I really be the Good News?

What do you think?

Must I Be Dour to Pray Deeply For My World?

2009-11-14T14:24:00.003-05:00

I'm nearly through Robert O. Bakke's book, The Power of Extraordinary Prayer, which recounts 1 & 2 Great Awakenings in the US and Europe. One thing I'm meditating on is the eschatological driver for deep prayer. J. Edwards was post-mil, praying for deepening godliness in society that would usher in the Kingdom of God and the New Jerusalem. Interesting historical note is that the 18th century was beginnings of much utopian social philosophies with their height in early 19th century. I find it amazing how theologies and philosophies often influence on another. Then there is pre-mil theology that started rising in late 19th century and hit its stride in early to mid 20 century. This view motivated evangelism, missions and godliness because Christ was to return at any moment to extract believers and begin judgment process. So, post-mil and pre-mil theologies drove people to prayer, evangelism and missions but with different emphases.

However, I'm looking at 1 Thess 1:10 which says Thess converts 'wait for Christ who saves us from coming wrath. I do not get the idea that the 'telos' motivated them as much as the experience of the HS working among them (1:5) convincing them that Jesus was superior to previously worshipped idols (1:9). Honestly, while I believe the scriptures teach about the end, I tend not to emphasize eschatology as a motivator for missions or conversion.

So I think the opportunity to know God and experience his glory presently (though limited and shielded) is the motivator for me.

The other thing that I'm pondering is if deep prayer must be accompanied by deep sadness, solemnity and outrage. Bakke bean his historical review by looking at John 11:33 where John records that Jesus was troubled in spirit around Lazarus' death wailing. BAkke quotes Os Guinness explanation that 'troubled in spirit' is akin to a stallion snorting before going into battle. The implication is that Christ was outraged at death and sadness as he turned Lazarus' death into life. I love that picture of a strong Jesus and a god-man fedup with Satan's wiles.

I started my weekend wondering before God what I should be outraged about in a godly way. But Christians tend to be viewed as dour, serious, critical and 'against everything'. Then I began wondering if I need to be outraged or can I simply steadily follow Christ in working against the efforts of Satan with joy.

THese are not final thoughts - just musing through my fingertips. Maybe I am outraged but I keep it bottled inside. Maybe I'm outraged at the wrong things. Maybe I'm not sure how to work out a godly rage for fear that it is simply rage. And just maybe, it is possible to be joy-filled and life-loving while working out a controlled burn of the garbage that Satan dumps on lives and communities.

Glimpses of India

2009-10-25T08:29:00.000-04:00

India Unwrapped

2009-10-13T12:21:00.002-04:00

Monday night, several of us went to a silk weaving workshop. The brocade (silk and gold-plated silver woven together) was gorgeous and expensive! The craftsmanship of many Indians in jewelry, silk tapestry and marble is top quality.

But step outside the shop …

Take the silk, pearl or marble wrapping off and Hindu society makes you ask some serious questions. Hinduism and Buddhism, which is a reformed Hinduism, are the worldviews that have given birth to many of the ideas behind early views supporting the environment and animal rights. Here are a couple questions to grapple with:
 Why is pollution so bad all over India?
 Why is there so much racism in India?
 What gives a Hindu hope for a better society?

The photos below are colorful and give the appearance of wonderful devotion but the reality of Hindu daily life is a vaporous hope.

However, God is doing a new thing in India. On Sunday I and another couple visited a young church in Hyderabad. One crippled woman told how she learned about Jesus Christ while in boarding school. In spite of her handicap, she praises God for forgiveness of her sins and purpose in this life and hope of eternal life because of Christ. She now delights to teach children in an outreach ministry. Her Hindu family enjoys the peace that she experiences.

Way More Than Reading and Writing

2009-10-10T11:24:00.005-04:00

Today's focus was adult literacy but quickly learned that the program is about changing a society. Sure the participants learn to read and write but the content is lifestyle. Early on, the lesson is "Stop borrowing and start saving." (Maybe we could use this program in the US.) Participants are in the literacy class for 12 months. Almost everyone saves nearly the equivalent of $2 a month and combines the cash in a savings club that the learners form. Another lesson is on the benefits of small family.

We visited a group tonight (all women) and they beamed with confidence in their ability to read, count to make sure they received correct change at the shops and find the right bus to get where they wanted to go. One woman said that before she could read she was an invisible woman, meaning that because of fear and shyness, she hid in her house. Now she sells vegetables to help with family income and can help her children with school work. Literacy is truly liberating.

The Hindu-background woman are also discovering Jesus and his forgiveness of sin and power to transform. 12 of the 25 participants professed faith in Jesus Christ and have been baptized, which is a huge statement in Indian culture.

And just to prove that sacred cows do roam the city streets, here is picture of one I met :-)

55 Children, 100 SF and 4 Hours

2009-10-09T11:45:00.002-04:00

Today's emphasis has been Children's Bible Clubs in India. After being treated to a national report that included dances and songs, our group traveled to visit clubs in session. Four of us went to one in a government housing area and were met by 55 energetic children in not much more than a 10' X 10' room. This crowd meets every day after school for about four houses. All the children are from Hindu homes but the parents are glad to have them participate. The activities include physical games, school work since these kids can't afford to go to school and Bible lessons.

There are five of these groups in the block so there are approx. 250 children in Jesus clubs. The pastor of the area church would like to have 10 clubs but there isn't the budget for it.

God has used these clubs all over India. Little kids' lives are changed and Dad and Mom notice and come to Christ. John DeVries, founder of Mission India, has talked about this approach being used in the US and there has been initial results in the Washington D.C. area. What if Hershey Free adopted such an approach...?

Enjoy the colorful pictures. Kids always look great in picts.

BHAG - 500,000 new churches in India

2009-10-08T12:33:00.006-04:00

Dr Jere and Mrs Kim Woodward and I arrived in Hyderabad safely and wearily. After a short night we began hearing all about the ministry in India.

If you've read Jim Collins, book, Good to Great, you'll remember that BHAG stands for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. That is what God has given leaders in India. They have adopted a goal of starting 500,000 new, additional Christ-communities throughout idea. Sounds ridiculous but there are approx. 300,000 existing churches and given the population they think there should be over a million Christ-groups. So 1/2 million new churches is still short of what is likely to be needed for all India to have a church within the cultural and geographical reach of every woman, man and child.

But they are well on their way. There are 1600 ministries that are WORKING TOGETHER in this. 1600 partners who are not worried about protecting their turf and 'results'. The Holy Spirit is working in this land but it is hard. You may be aware of stories of persecution.

The group we are visiting organizes Children's Bible Clubs. This picture shows the basic infrastructure the org provides in addition to the lessons - a small slate and a gas lantern for evening clubs - after the children are let out of work!

Today was the opening session of the dedication of the Global Transformation Center. Here's a couple shots of some participants and the building.

Christ-followeres Host Science, Politics and Philosophy Summit

2009-10-01T09:32:00.002-04:00

There is an incredible opportunity for the gospel happening this weekend in Kursk, Russia. Christians have organized a symposium for key political, eduacational, social, and economic leaders and emerging leaders to talk about crucial issues from God's perspective. You and I can have a part in it by interceding for the event. There is an English website listed in the letter below.

Dear Praying Friends of Kursk Ministry,
I need your prayers for my presentation on The Fifth Scientific Conference “Human personality, Religion and Society in Time of World Crisis,” which will be held in Kursk Institute of Management on October, 2-3, 2009. The work of the following sections is expected: Philosophy, religion; Medicine, psychology; Sociology, pedagogic; Ethic, culture.

This conference is organized by our Christian brothers with goal to reach top levels of our siciety with message of Salvation n Christ. Visit this site to learn more: http://www.apologet.ru/Conference_09_Eng.htm I will speak on "Spiritual Crisis as the Basis of the Social, Economic and Political Crisises".

Over 50 scientists, high regional officials in education, medicine and administration are scheduled to present their topics. About 250-300 of "top guys" and future leaders from Russia and Ukraine and few other countries will be present. I really want my speech to lead participants to Christ, Who Can solve all crisis’s via fixing individual’s spiritual foundation through salvation, establish right value system and thus can heal our very sick society.

I am scheduled to open the main section on October 2 at 2-50 p. m. Moscow time. Time difference between Moscow and New York is 8 hours.
Grace and Peace
Igor Petrov and family

Truck Drivers - Unreached People Group (UPG)

2009-09-28T08:46:00.002-04:00

The Evangelical Free Church of Hershey Mission Council chair saw an piece in World Magazine about over-the-road truckers. (I never got used to the OTR description. My dad was a long-distance driver!) The article, "Big, Big Rigs" by Andree Seu, mentions that there are 3 million drivers, not including gov't and USPS drivers, and goes on to observe that that number is the size of some small nations in the 10/40 window.

The five minute pod cast is a quick listen and the powerful stories told are examples of God's grace shown through a ministry called Transport For Christ. The interviews took place at several track stops just 8 miles north of Hershey, PA. By the way, Scott Weidner, a member of EFCH, leads TFC and is always eager to train volunteers to work alongside the Truck stop Chaplains.

Here's the link to the podcast:
http://www.worldmag.com/podcast/andreeseu.cfm

"Future Comes One Day At A Time" - A. Lincoln

2009-09-21T13:27:00.001-04:00

This posting is an excerpt from Nancy Gibbs' essay in the 9/21/09 issue of Time. It is a powerful challenge to all of us to shape the future and our circumstances rather than passively accepting and moaning about change.

"... The future's power is born of experiment, and the endless grudge match between fear and hope. We are having a dozen simultaneous converations right now about change: in our institutions, our culture, our treatment of the planet and of one another.
It's tempting to just stand stock-still and squeeze your eyes shut and wait for the moment to pass, or else hoard canned goods and assume the worst. his has been an awfully ugly summer of argument, and you'd be forgiven for concluding that we've lost our will to face of fix anything. We'll just dance with the devils we know, thank you. But if you look past Washington, Wall Street, turn down the volume and go outside and walk around, you'll find the parcels of grace, of ingenuity and enterprise - people riding change like a skateboard, speeding off a ramp, twisting, flipping, somehow landing with a rush of wind and wheels - and wonder that it somehow killed us yet.
When members of the freshman class of 2027 look back at our future, what's likely to surprise them most? Will they marvel that gays were once not allowed to marry - or that they ever where? That we waited while the planet warmed, or that we acted to save it? That we protected the poor, or empowered them, or ignored them? That we lived within our means, or beyond them! We'll make our choices one day at a time, but our kids will judge our generation for what we generate, and what we leave undone."

It seems that each day brings new opportunities for decision and action. We can not maintain and complain. I am challenged by Gibbs' final sentence: what will we generate and what we leave undone? In the cause of Christ, will we pass along a fresh, living faith and practice to the next generation?

Best Way to Spend Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-07T20:43:00.004-04:00

Evangelical Free Church of Hershey is a proud supporter of China Outreach Ministries - a service to Chinese scholars doing graduate, post-grad and post doc research in US universities. During Labor Day weekend, COM organized a retreat at Summer's Best Two Weeks camp in Boswell, PA (10 miles from PA Turnpike Somerset exit) with 280 people participating. Some came from Florida and others from Wellington, Ontario. Many from Pittsburgh and Penn State. Some attendees are committed Christians others are exploring.

Click on the Flickr Badge on the right to see some picts of the weekend.

One of the Chinese pastors said that through the years, the retreat has been a major milestone for many giving their lives to Christ and growing in significant ways of service.

Hershey Free made a grant from our Global Ministries Project Fund to help keep the costs of this weekend affordable. Melody, Emma and I were delighted to be able to volunteer for this event and see first-hand how God is using this retreat.

Just Released Promo for Confidence

2009-08-25T16:08:00.004-04:00

Pray for and plan to participate in this conference to be held in Hershey on January 16, 2010

Why Hershey Missions Emphasizes Quality Ministry Training

2009-08-25T09:06:00.005-04:00

Hershey Free is constantly helping and funding high quality theological training of nationals. This quotation from Latin American pastor and seminary teacher, Milton Acosta (Mendalin, Colombia) illustrates why.

"Bad theology harms people. Often [Latin American pastors] see that what they have been taught doesn't match up with the truth. Often, they reject God because of it. My own church has taken on the task of counseling such seekers.
We especially need to recover and discover anew the priesthood of all believers.
and the primacy of canonical and historical interpretation of the Bible, while never
forgetting who we are as Latin Americans. Only then can we begin to speak of a Latin
American biblical theology."

You can read the full article, Power Pentecostalisms, at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/11.40.html

The people of Hershey Free have generously supported these theological trainers:
* Tim McIntosh (ReachGlobal)serves with Latin American Training Network (called ProMETA in Latin America). LATN provides distance learning in graduate level theological and ministry training.
* Gene Wilson of ReachGlobal is now providing excellent church planting coaching for national trainers all around the world.
* College of Theology and Education in Moldova provides thorough theological training for Moldovans, Russians and many from Muslim contexts.
* Peru - training village pastors in oral tradition of teaching the Scriptures
* there are more but you get the idea.

But I want to make another observation. The Power Pentecostalisms article talks about the syncretism of shamanism and Christian practices in Latin America. Acosta calls it religious anarchism. North American evangelicals can easily fall into thinking that we truly understand biblical theology and the poor natives need us to teach them the right path.

Let's be humble about this. North American Christians also mix our Christianity with the prevailing viewpoints. We must be as diligent as Latins, Asians and Europeans, etc in understanding what is biblical and what is our traditions.

Committed Christians from all around the world work together to do our best to understand and pass on God's perspective on life and worldview.

One last comment: Hershey Free cares deeply about passing on the truth about the Creator and Restorer. We also can deeply about physical restoration too. Just talk with Dr. Jon and Melissa Eager (Tanzania medical clinics) while they are living among us this year.

Part of Something Tremendous, Something Eternal

2009-08-13T16:53:00.002-04:00

EFCH supports Bill and Sue Cristobal serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators (JAARS). Their work in the home base, training pilots and shipping materials around the world makes milestones like the dedication of the New Testament for the Folopa people of Papua a reality.

News from "Confidence" and Colombia

2009-08-04T11:16:00.002-04:00

Perhaps you have heard that a group of teen girls have taken the initiative to plan a teen women's conference that they are calling 'CONFIDENCE.' They have connected with Cindy Lear (youth women's leader) and Donna Nilson (EFCH Women's Ministry Director) for counsel and guidance. They have planned the event for Jan 16, 2010 (I think) and are working on an incredible program line up.

This past weekend, they held a yard sale fundraiser. They call it an "enormous' yard sale and it was! They raised in excess of $2000. Way to go, ladies.

Now, a little update from Gene Wilson who is one of our supported friends who coaches national leaders in church planting all around the world with Reach Global. Here is a note about his recent time in Colombia:

"Thank you for holding us up during Gene’s trip to Colombia. It was 104 degrees in Cartagena so we struggled with the heat but at least had a simple room with AC to sleep. No toilet seats but who cares when you have AC and can get a good night’s sleep! The people were as warm and hospitable as the weather. One highlight was traveling by bus for the first time to Sincelejo on a road which had been controlled by the FARC guerrillas for years. There we (four Colombian national leaders, Mike Gunderson and I) encouraged the saints and ordained their church planter Guillermo. Thank you for praying. Linda did well and had a restful week. We missed each other a lot. This trip was such a blessing!

Does the World Need Sappy Compassion?

2009-07-29T09:32:00.001-04:00

You and I are usually pretty willing to help someone in need. But have you noticed that we are often unwilling to accept someone else’s help? When we help, we are in a strong position. We feel good about ourselves.

I believe we carry that into our view of the world. When we hear of a need, we are ready to help from our strength of funding, skills and wisdom. We pity the poor souls that just don’t have the superior capacity that we do. In our good hearts, there may reside a subtle arrogance.

Henry Venn, honorary secretary of the Church Missionary Society (Anglican) from 1841 to 1873 articulated the ‘three-self’ approach to missions. In Venn’s thinking, the markers of a truly indigenous church were that it was self-governing, self-supporting and self-extending. In other word, the church was lead by leaders from within the culture, it was funded by local resources and because of those, the movement was able to multiply in its context.

In recent years, Paul Hiebert, argues that a fourth ‘self’ should be added. A truly contextual church will be ‘self-theologizing.’ This means that thinkers in a given context are being led by the Holy Spirit to search the Scriptures and discern God’s perspective on issues uniquely experienced in their context.

Here’s where I’m going with this. God has used the Western church to carry the gospel to many parts of the world and train national leaders. These leaders are rising up, having heard God’s call on their lives. These leaders are not the young children of the Western church. We are not the parents of the national leaders. We are partners in the gospel. When we partner, we are not the ‘sugar daddy’ helping someone who just can’t help themselves. What we are doing is combining each partner’s gifting and resources to follow God to the next level of ministry. And often, what is needed is not simply dollars but a differing perspective that helps each partner see the situation from a different angle. Let us respect our brothers and sisters around the world as we consider how to work together.

I also want you to know that the Hershey Free Mission Council doesn’t always jump on ministry needs, not because we don’t care but because we seek to weigh the issue that I just wrote about. We really do want to do well at doing good.

What it takes to get a Bible in the hands of those without one

2009-07-20T14:26:00.002-04:00

I received this from Ray and Merle Brubaker who serve with Wycliffe at the JAARS Center in North Carolina. They provide exceptional service that helps people translate the Bible into languages where no Bible has existed.

Dear friends,

In these perilous times, financially speaking, Ray and I want to give our sincere thanks to so many of you who receive this letter regularly. Because of your financial gifts and prayers, we are able to live in this beautiful place (Waxhaw, North Carolina – please come and visit us – the trees will get your attention) and spend our working days at the near-by JAARS Center. Ray is working steadily taking plane engines apart and putting them back together again, with improvements, and shipping most out to places like Cameroon and Papua New Guinea. I (Merle) am spending more hours than I have in the past, desperately trying to keep missionaries supplied with software and anti-virus programs. The short story is I am still the only staff person working consistently in the software sales department. Two positions are open: part time software sales person, and a full time Software Sales Manager.

Ray and Merle Brubaker

The Only Fear ...

2009-07-20T13:42:00.004-04:00

Maybe fear isn't so bad after all. Many Christians have a problem with the idea of the fear of God. How approachable, how inviting is a fearsome supreme being?! God's handlers in the Old Testament and even the New Testament really mucked things up for contemporary Christians when they talked about fearing the Lord.

But maybe the problem is with our concept of fear and not with God. Is there a possibility that love, acceptance and fear can coexist. Yes, I remember that 1 John 4:18 says that 'perfect love drives out all fear.' But when we love someone, we are eager to treat them well and may be anxious that we screw up and hurt them unintentionaly. We are concerned that we respect and honor that beloved. What I'm driving at is that we may simply have a wrong concept of fear.

I pick this up as I read Isaiah 29:13 from the English Revised Version (ESV) where I read, "their fear of me is a commandment taught by men." This translation emphasizes to me that something external pressures a person to live in fear of God. People are instructed that they are to respond to God in some fearful manner. So, any kind of scariness about God comes from a human (mis)perception of God.

Certainly, God is fearsome to those who minimizes him. God is wrathful when he is deliberately ignored. But those who humbly respond to the Lord find compassion, mercy and grace.

Fear, when more correctly understood as honor, respect, humble awe, is nothing to run from. Rather, fear becomes an attraction.

Somewhere Between Twilight and Dawn

2009-07-13T13:11:00.000-04:00

Bright point of Venus over the sea
Residual full moon behind me
Silent beachside streets
Sparrows beginning to awaken
Cold, tide-drenched sand
Daughters, wife and me huddled for warmth
Steady churning hum of the salty waves
Distant Atlantic City lights brilliant against twilight horizon
Empty beach except for shadows
Two adventurers wrapped in sandy blankets
Black sky becoming charcoal …
… becoming gray
… becoming
Faint light playing with the wispy clouds
Gulls starting their daily scavenge
Atlantic City fades in the growing wash of light
Waiting for the glowing orange sphere
Horizon clouds holding back the rise
Impatient family
City workers collecting yesterday’s leftovers
Cloud rims glowing with light
Rims burning golden
Solar orb birthed above the cloud line
Family quiet and still
Mercies new every morning

Daniel Witwer 11 July, 2009

A Vision for the Middle East or A Funny Thing Happened After My Bike Riding This AM

2009-06-30T15:27:00.003-04:00

No pain, no gain, right? Well, I'm loving bike riding three early mornings a week. So how can something so fun be of any help? Anyway, after a 10 mile ride, I get a bowl of cereal, move to the back patio and do some daily Bible reading. I'm in Isaiah right now.

This morning I found a passage that grabbed my heart and imagination - Isaiah 19:23-25.

"In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. That Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, 'Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handwork, and Israel my inheritance.'"

There are some many amazing aspects to this vision. Some Christians view Israel as God's only interest in the region but the enslaving nation (Egypt) and the marauding nation (Asyyria) are on God's heart too. E and A were and still are the arch nemesis of Israel but 'in that day' the whole region will be loving God and loved by God. So the first aspect is that God's interests are pretty broad and not limited to a few.

The second thrilling aspect to this vision is the interaction and transaction between all three nations / peoples. There will be a highway without toll booths or passport controls or immigration barricades. There will be a free-flow of people between the countries. (Reminds me a little of Acts 8 when the Ethiopian official was returning home from Jerusalem and the Holy Spirit gave him a repentant heart and forgiveness in Christ.) It is interesting to me that Assyrians do not become Israelis on Egyptians, etc. They seem to maintain their national identities but they are worshiping God. Following God does not mean that people must become someone or something different than what the culture that they have developed.

The final observation for this post is how deeply God accepts the three nations. Egypt = my people; Assyria = my handiwork; Israel = my inheritance. Has the ring of Revelation 21:3. God will dwell among them, they will be his people and he will be their God.

I don't think my thoughts are Zionist or Palestinian but someting far greater than nationalistic or sectarian. Somehow, God will reveal himself in the whole region and people will respond in unity to the Creator. What will it take? What is my part?

Note the January Galveston Team

2009-02-03T09:46:00.002-05:00

Hey team,
I received a card from Galveston last week for you -

"I wish to thank the members of the church that helped me clean my home after Hurricane Ike. May God bless all of you.
- Tina C. (she gave her address in the card. If you wish to write to her, let me know and I'll send the address to you.)

Surprising Provider

2009-02-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

The following story is reported (12/08) from Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school in Kijabe, Kenya. Our friends, John and Melissa Eager who are medical servants in Tanzania have strong connections to RVA. Also, EFCH Mission Council member, Nancy Wehr and her husband Dave, taught at RVA in the early 1990’s. The story reminds me that our generosity meets unknown needs and results in thanks to God.

Nancy Peiffer, an RVA worker, reports, “One Saturday, I took a group of high school girls to an orphanage. We took some maize and beans and the girls spent the morning playing with the 15 girls ages 5-16.” She said she enjoyed talking to Ruth who runs the orphanage and the girls just loved the RVA students. When they returned to Kijabe, and throughout the week, Nancy said, “I just wasn’t able to get those 15 girls, or Ruth, out of my mind.” Even though life at RVA was very busy she decided she must go back to the orphanage again. She said, “So finally, last Friday some time opened up for me and I called Ruth and arranged to go and visit. I cleaned out Ben and Katie’s (Nancy’s children) closet of outgrown clothes, [plus] we also had some solar flashlights that were given to us that I wanted to take along.”

“I arrived and gave her the clothes and showed her the 20 flashlights.” Wide-eyed Ruth said, “When I told my husband you were coming, he said, ‘Maybe she will bring us a flashlight.’” But when Nancy and Ruth were busy loading batteries into the 20 flashlights, Ruth started smiling and gave the reason for the strange request. “On Monday the Kenya Power and Light Company came and cut off our electricity because we could not pay the bill. We have been using a few candles at night and we didn’t know what to do. You are such a blessing to us.”

Quickly Nancy replied, “But the real blessing is that about six months ago, before you ever had trouble paying the electric bill, God put it on the heart of a man in America to send us these flashlights so that now, when you need them, they are here. Our God knows what we need before we ever know we will have the need. That is what is so wonderful about this.”

If you typically do not slow down to mediate on God’s word, just be quiet and listen to Him, start now and see what God might say to you. Perhaps you will be the next surprising provider.

God's Money Plan

2009-01-26T14:52:00.003-05:00

“Economic Brokenness”

In a recent edition of Willow Creek Association's Defining Moments monthly audio journal Bill Hybel's lists a few solid biblical points of God's Money Plan.

* Earn money enthusiastically and honestly.
* Live well within means - build margins into your finances.
* Avoid debt like the plague.
* Save and invest all you can - plan for the future.
* Give generously to the poor.
* Honor God with the first 10% of all you earn to advance God's purpose and causes.
* Hang on to God's hand - trust God, not your portfolio.

Simple and plain but solid. As many of us review our spending, earning and investing habits, these are good basics to lean upon.

Good leader doing badly?

2009-01-20T11:37:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading 2 Samuel a few moments ago. Near the end of David's life, David ordered a census that resulted in 70K people dying of pestilence At the beginning, the author says that God was angry with Israel and told David to count the warriors. God wasn't angry with David; he was angry with Israel. So David instructs Joab to count. Although Joab argues against it, 'David's words prevailed.' David was insistent in following the command of the Lord to take the census. Then David has a guilt attack. Why? I don't understand. Then God plans punishment for the counting. Seems to me that God is hard on David but David chooses the pestilence option relying on God's mercy. God does ratchet back his punishment but only after 70K people die.

So, in the end, God punishes Israel as planned. He uses David, the king, as the catalyst for the punishment. David, the leader looks bad from human perspective but God's purposes are accomplished.

This doesn't fit neatly with my view that a godly, obedient leader brings about good, pleasant and positive advances for a team, group, church, or nation. It appears to me that an obedient leader may be used for painful, even destructive things for a people. I don't see this written by leadership seers and advisors. Lord, I don't understand.

If my reading of 2 Samuel 24 is somewhat correct, then the challenge for the leader is to perceive God's purposes even when asked to do something that seems bad for the group. I would think that there is a fine line between the damage from a leader's sloth and incompetence and the punishment that God may bring to a group using an obedient leader.

Any further reflections you can add to help me ponder this?

Walking By Faith - Not By GPS

2009-01-19T10:42:00.004-05:00

Our team returned to Hershey by 8 PM on Saturday in spite of a GPS giving faulty directions from the Philadelphia airport to the PA turnpike. (That's a little story you'll have to ask Tom Moore about!) Travel on AirTran from Houston to Philadelphia was on time and efficient. (AirTran will charge for checked baggage but they are very generous with packets of pretzels.)

We are all reflecting on our week of service and we have a debriefing meeting scheduled for Monday January 26 at 7 PM where we'll talk about lessons learned and commitments made.

I am a closure person and I was not alone in feeling a sense of dissatisfaction in not seeing projects brought to completion. We did physical tasks in homes that we were not able to finish. We had conversions with people that did not end in clear choices. Each of us must be content to let another team follow us and finish the home we drywalled but couldn't finish and paint. Each of us must trust that words we expressed to a homeowner or a neighbor are part of the Holy Spirit's process of illuminating that will result in growth toward Christ next week, month or year(s). The bottom line is that we obeyed in the present and we trust that God will use that to make changes in the future.

We heard a snippet of that near the end of the week. A neighbor who had been resistant to help and spiritual conversation relented. She asked for help. Then she confided that although she considered herself a Christ-follower, she had not prayed or really interacted with God meaningfully. One morning this past week, she asked God for help and that she just couldn't do everything on her own. It was that very day that two of the long-term staff spoke to her and helped in Jesus name. She couldn't understand why people would help and she was surprised at why these guys helped. They simply replied that is what God does. He answers prayer.

This story was months in the making. Our obedience, your obedience is an act of faith. We trust God to take our Holy Spirit motivated actions and put them to use for his purposes.

Thank you for checking in on this blog and thank you for praying for our team.

Galveston - Day Six

2009-01-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

I'm going to be bumped off this computer shortly because the gang is in the middle of a Speed Scrabble tournament and they need to check the online dictionary.

We were on two teams again today. One group of four primed a whole house of fresh drywall. The rest of us did finish work on drywall, primed two rooms and hung several doors.

Two of our team members had a long, intense conversation with two other volunteers about the truth of the Bible, God's expectations for salvation, the reality of heaven and hell. Bob Lejcar said that he believes that discussion was the reason he was brought to Galveston.

We are all somewhat eager to return to PA although the news of frigid temps is a little depressing.

Thank you for praying for us.

Galveston - Day Five

2009-01-15T21:35:00.004-05:00

Good evening all! Pastor Dan asked me to blog this evening of our day's 'adventures' and since this is my first blogging experience, expect anything! I won't mention my name, but I might be known as the ice cream seeker. We did get our 'fix' last evening.
As for today, my particular project team headed off to a site where a dear woman named Tina is seeking help cleaning out her home. Part of the Manhatten College group joined Charmaine, Kyle, Sarah, and I. We were a bit overwhelmed by the amount of contents in her home, but eager to help her box up and remove her 'memories'. She also asked if we could help do some demo, and we were able to accomodate her there also, turning the day into a very full day's labor. Tearing down ceilings and walls, and tearing up wood floors can be exhausting, but the group's commitment to helping Tina was evident with the group's efforts. Tina was very pleased with our dedication in being the hands and feet of Jesus.
The rest of our group returned to the home site where we have been working all week. Drywalling and door framing was the theme there, and all of us are feeling the wear and tear on our physical bodies. Fortunately, our hearts are led by spiritual strength that comes only from our Lord Jesus. We have a day left, and continue to ask all of you to still continue to lift us all up in prayer for God's purposes. YOU, who are our supporters in prayer and elsewise, are every bit an equal part of this team and we love you all as our friends and family for standing by us in God's adventure for us. Thank you!
In Christ, a local Ben & Jerry's supporter (a.k.a. Robert Oswald)

Galveston - Day Four

2009-01-14T22:01:00.003-05:00

After another cold sleepless night we were ready for our third day of ministry. Today
proved to be the warmest with temps in the sixties. The work continued on pastor Thomas's house with Brad getting the worst job getting stuck in the attic installing
insulation. By the way the Attic was only 18 inches high! meanwhile pastor Dan was in the shower all day.

Steve again headed the team to Ms.Gee's house. They worked on hanging dry wall and
doors while Sarah and Charmaine helped clean out another house with team members from New York City. Sarah said they had some good conversation about salvation with some of the other volunteers. Praise God his spirit is at work in Galveston. Tonight we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at a nice restaurant for seafood. Everybody seem to really enjoy it. For myself it's been a blessing to see so many different people with all kinds of personalities and backgrounds from all over the country, come together in the name of Jesus to do his work.

contributed by Bob Ebersole

Galveston - Day Three (Blustery Winter Day in Texas)

2009-01-13T21:22:00.003-05:00

One of the common experiences of short term ministry opportunities is that one seems to see God's finger prints (some people call them God-sightings) a little easier. It is not the trip that makes God more obvious but the heightened expectancy. One is hearing more about the Lord each day. One is looking more intently for God to show up. One can easily read into events a divine intervention that we might miss dismiss in our life-as-usual routine.

Fact of the matter is that we can have that same intensity 'at home' but needs to be intentional. We really could allow ourselves to go into unfamiliar territory each day because there are adventurous options to choose.

Each one of the ten of us is seeing God a little more clearly these days. Each is being stretched with the kind of tasks we are being asked to do. There are conversations some are having with home owners and team mates that we might otherwise ignore. Some team members are mercilessly abusing their team leader (me!) in ways they would not do at home. Some of us are leading others when we not quite sure of the next steps. Some of us have been spared injury when we didn't even know we were in trouble.

I'm philosophizing so I had better mention a few things we've done today. Five of our team worked at the destroyed home of the pastor of Galveston Bible Church. They've been helping so many others that they haven't been able to work on their own house. Part of our team is being great encouragement to them. The other half of us are insulating, hanging drywall and getting ready to install 6 replacement doors in the house of an elderly woman. Just today she was under surgery for complications with Parkinson's Disease. Each job site represents a unique and interesting story. And we are glad to be part of a paragraph in the story that helps point to Jesus Christ.

An unexpected part of this ministry is that not all the volunteers are Christ-followers. This is another opportunity. This week there are volunteers from HERSHEY, of course, Illinois, Minnesota, student group from Manhattan College, Olympia,Washington and there is a long term volunteer family from northern Alberta.

These are the expected assignments for tomorrow:
+ Bill and Robert - drywall a bathroom
+ Charmaine and Sarah - painting several interior rooms
+ Brad - stuffing insulation in a very small crawl space
+ Steve - hanging interior doors
+ Bob (E), Bob (L) and Kyle - finish the trim on exterior siding
+ Dan - tiling a shower

Each of us are seeking to obey God in our activity.

contributed by Dan

Galveston - Day Two

2009-01-12T21:05:00.004-05:00

It was our second day in Galveston but our first day of work. 2 team members went to do some work on the pastors house and the other 8 of us started work on Miss Gee's house. As Bob says "Our team uses their head." The very first thing that we started working on was taking trip down so that we could then take town the ceiling and well as Brad was prying it off the end hit him in the head. (he was okay of course) It was very funny but it was a great way to start our work. Then later Dan and I were working in the bathroom and accidentally broke a small PVC pipe, which was not a big deal till later when the water got turned on and it started spraying out all over the bathroom. The house has already had a new floor put down through out. So we are mostly working on replacing the ceiling in the kitchen, bathroom, and a bedroom. And then putting in some dry wall, painting, and doing some other small jobs to get the house back in a livable condition. In our first day of work we got a lot started and are looking forward to making a lot of progress. Our team worked really well together and is looking forward to spending the rest of the week working together. And Robert really wants ice cream everyday.
- Contributed by Sarah Keller

See the Flickr photo file on the side bar for some up to the moment views of the team.

Galveston Team - Day One

2009-01-11T22:04:00.002-05:00

This is our first full day here in Galveston. We arrived last night around 9:30 after eating dinner in Houston. A team from Illinois and some other leaders welcomed us to Galveston and showed us where everything was located, bunks, bathrooms, showers, etc. So far the weather has been very cold and very windy. This morning we were at the regular Sunday service for the Galveston Bible Church. This afternoon we plan on going on a prayer walk in a nearby community hoping to find some people we can minister to and going to some of the sites on which we plan on working at throughout the week. Later tonight we’ll learn more about our work activities and duties at the work orientation in preparation for the upcoming week.
Kyle Ebersole

It’s amazing how well you can sleep in an unheated dorm room with some thirty other snoring men, after an exhausting day of air and car travel when God gives you rest. That’s just how I felt this morning upon awakening, breakfast, a shower, a short prayer and devotions and meeting with 30 other volunteers from Peoria, IL and then church at 11. Mexican lunch where only a few knew what to order received mixed reviews. Mine was great … whatever it was. The afternoon was spent touring a Galveston neighborhood, meeting a few residents and learning about their experiences and offering whaterver encouragemntwe could … more to follow.
Steve Steinkamp

Here's the Galveston Group

2009-01-10T11:09:00.003-05:00

We left Hershey at 7 AM to be prepared to wrestle with snow and traffic. The only problem was dirty windscreen and bad wipers. As I sit in the airport, the sky is brightening and now snow in sight!

Change in Saturday (1/10/09) Departure Time

2009-01-07T22:15:00.001-05:00

Our team will be leaving the rear parking lot at 8 AM on Saturday.

Looking for Success

2009-01-07T22:13:00.002-05:00

A friend sent this list from a little book called The Go-Giver - A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea, written by Bob Burg & John David Mann. Thought-provoking.

The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success

1. The Law of Value - Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

2. The Law of Compensation - Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

3. The Law of Influence - Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.

4. The Law of Authenticity - The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

5. The Law of Receptivity - The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

Sounds like Phillipians 2

Heroes

2009-01-05T22:15:00.002-05:00

Wanna be a hero? Live for a cause bigger than yourself.

Travel Logistics - Ministry Starts Now

2009-01-05T21:42:00.004-05:00

Our team will be meeting in the EFCH back lot on Saturday at 8:30AM. Roger Smeal will be driving the church van (filled with our luggage and us) to Philadelphia airport for a 12:29PM departure on Air Tran Airways. There will be a stop in Atlanta and we arrive in Houston at 5:50 PM (CT)

Our return will be January 17th to Phila at 5:15PM. Tom and Dawn Moore will be driving us back to Hershey in two minivans. Thanks to Roger, Tom and Dawn for their great help.

Our ministry doesn't start when we arrive in Galveston. Our ministry has been today, will continue tomorrow, and we'll get to have ongoing ministry in Phila, Atlanta on into Houston and Galveston. Keep your eyes and hearts wide open.
<>< Dan

TouchGlobal Crisis Response Blog

2009-01-04T18:59:00.001-05:00

You can see more about Galveston ministry at this official EFCA Crisis Response Blog.

http://efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com/

Pray for our Team

2009-01-04T18:47:00.003-05:00

We'll be holding a final prep team meeting on Tuesday PM (1/6). Hopefully, I will get a team photo to put on this space. In the mean time, here is a list of team members.

Dan Witwer (team leader)
Bob Ebersole
Kyle Ebersole
Brad Ebersole
Charmaine Hoo
Robert Lejcar (team treasurer and secretary)
Robert Oswald
Bill Snyder
Steve Steinkamp
Sarah Keller

Pray that we will be humble and compassionate as we work and serve in 70-80 degree weather while most of our friends are stuck in sub-freezing temps :-)

Seriously, please pray that all ten of us will be filled (influenced, controlled, energized) by the Holy Spirit so that we will respond to people, team members and circumstances in a way that will reflect Jesus Christ.

Birds-Eye View of Galveston

2009-01-04T18:40:00.002-05:00

The following was posted by TouchGlobal staff based in Galveston. It gives the context in which our Hershey Free team will be serving January 10-17, 2009.

90 Days. 3 months. A season. 2160 Hours. 12 weeks. It was the end of summer then. It's soon Christmas now (It even snowed on the Gulf Coast you know). Perceptions of time are interesting. Today is Ike Day 90. It was interesting reflecting last evening over dinner with new friends from Galveston, that I feel I have known for years. For Galvestonians, it seemed like the days of living by generator power went on and on. It was a month. It seemed like the days of waiting in long lines of check points to get into Galveston went on for a long time. Two weeks. Distribution Centers. 30 days. Eating MRE's. Had one last week.

Homelessness for 1000's of people. 90 days. Some still waiting to hear if they can even rebuild their homes. 90 days. Disruption of normalcy and life as it was. 90 days. Loss of jobs. 90 days. Dealing with piles of forms and long lines and hours on the phone with FEMA and insurance companies. 90 days. Trying to come to grips with loss and turmoil. 90 days. Struggling with fear. 90 days. Wondering what next. 90 days. Struggling marriages. 90 days. Worrying about paying the bills when jobs are gone. 90 days. Wondering, 'Why Has this happened to me?'. 90 days. A mission field ripe for the harvest. 90 days.

The hard part for most though, is the 90 days is really only the beginning. On a practical level, a fortunate few people had flood, winstorm, and home owners insurance, and some of them have even been able to get started with repairs. I have not found very many of them. Almost all of the people I have come in contact with have gotten little from the government, nothing from insurance and are trying to figure out what next with out any real resources. The truth is, this new 'normal', called disruption, does not have an end in sight for many.

The continuous and ongoing and uncertainty of when will things be 'OK' for people here, is wearing on people. This is all too familiar for me, as we are still working with families in New Orleans 3-1/4 years later who are still wondering the answer to this question.

A widow lady we are helping to rebuild her home named Mickey June told me today that last night she got a notice under her motel room door telling her she had to be out today. She had been told by FEMA that she had been extended for her room until, 1/3, but it took her hours on the phone, as she packed up, to get the paperwork straightened out. So she then unpacked again to stay 3 more weeks in the motel room. She has a FEMA traielr in the front yard, but is waiting for the utilities hooked up.

We served a man named David today at his mothers house. She died 3 days before the storm. Her home had 4 feet of water in it. His home had was alos flooded and he is temporarily living 30 miles away on the mainland. It was a painful story for him to share, about all the loss at all the levels that he has experienced. But it was a priviledge to put my hand on him and lift him up prayer today.

It is so reassuring though to know that God is moving in it all. Pray for:
- Families spending Christmas in motel rooms.
- Struggling marriages.
- People to put their Hope in Jesus.

Results Count (or counting results)

2008-09-15T08:49:00.002-04:00

Some people in Christian work argue AGAINST counting people or results. They will point to David, King of Israel, who took a census of fighting age men to determine if he could win a battle. God judged David for that act.

On the other hand, Luke includes plenty of numbers in his record of the early church in Acts.

This issue seems to be correctly determining WHAT to count and for what you plan to use the numbers. I heard the following and thought it was compelling. What do you think?

Reasons to Measure (Count)
1. To keep faith with our vision
2. To learn from what we do
3. To account for what we describe
4. To celebrate God’s faithfulness
Dr.Daniel Rickett, Webinar on Sept 4, 2008 – “Authentic Intercultural Partnership: Nine Things Every Partnership Needs to Succeed.”

Info About Derry Township People

2008-09-02T11:51:00.003-04:00

I pulled the following from ZIPskinny.com. The creators make the point that they try to be accurate but this info is only 'first-glance' demographic material. The figures are taken from 2000 US Census.

I won't write any observations or interpretations. Just look around and be amazed at some of the stats for Hershey.

Market Research and Demographic Information (education, marital status, median income, occupation, racial diversity, age) for ZIP Code 17033 in HERSHEY, PA

Veda Boyd at Her Best

2008-07-22T14:44:00.003-04:00

Often we don't have to stress over finding opportunities to be a channel of God's grace. God brings people to you - if you have an open demeanor. Veda Boyd tells a story of a recent meeting at Harrisburg's Amtrak station.

Know Missions, Know Blessing: No Missions, No Blessing?

2008-07-08T11:40:00.002-04:00

I have a question for you to ponder and give some feedback: Missions advocates have said that a church will be blessed to the degree that it engages in missions. I've only begun reflecting on this but no Scriptures come immediately to mind that say this. Will you help me?

Large Vision - Huge Results

2008-07-08T11:37:00.001-04:00

If you know Larry Buckman (Hershey missionary since 1973), you know he never thinks small thoughts. At this point in ministry, he and his wife, Fay are training pastors among the Tucuna Indians which is the largest tribe in Brazil. The Tucuna pastors and Larry have conceived the idea of a massive training conference for national pastors all over Brazil.

Here’s the plan: a week-long training conference in Manaus, Brazil, a major city halfway between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean along the Amazon River for 1000 pastors. Three river boats will bring these pastors together. The organizers have contracted the Evangelista from our partner, Evangelical Missionary Church of Pucallpa and nearly 200 pastors will be collected on the 10-day journey from Pucallpa, Peru to Manaus, Brazil. Two other boats will be coming from other directions.

The conference will be held September 6-9. Speakers and trainers from a variety of ministries all over Latin America will lead the main sessions as well as many specialized workshops. The Mission Council has approved a grant of $40,000 from the Global Ministries Project Fund for a resource package for each pastor. The package will contain a study Bible, Bible dictionary and a set of laminated sheets to use in telling the narrative of the Bible.

I hope this next point humbles us rather than makes proud. Our church has given approximately $100,000 toward the building of the Evangelista boat. (The Pucallpa church, Group Publishing and Leadership Resources helped with another $100,000.) This boat is being used effectively to take the gospel out from Pucallpa. But it is now having impact in neighboring countries as well. God is permitting you and me to be used to expand the Kingdom of Jesus Christ broadly in Latin America. Our obedience in living for Christ (in everything) and our open-handed generosity to God is resulting in many more people hearing Christ’s message of forgiveness, liberty and purpose.

Here’s another thought that comes to my mind as I ponder God’s work around the world. We will be able to participate in wonderful ministry around the world as long as we have a healthy church in Hershey. We need to give ourselves fully to God’s work here – intercession, creativity, funding, energy so that we can bless the nations.

We Just Think Differently

2008-06-13T14:12:00.004-04:00

	Grandma Was	Grandma Is
Food	“Please … eat, eat! Do you want some more?”	“Do you have the kids on south Beach?”
The market	“How much are bananas?”	“What’s the Dow doing?”
Plastic	On the couch	In the wallet
Jewels	“This was my mother’s.”	“This is my new bling.”
The Web	Dust it	Surf it

Taken from Generation Ageless, J. Walker Smith and Ann Clurman, (p. 46) Collins.

How do you think the church can engage those from the Boomer generation? Post your comments.

What do you mean - missional?

2008-06-11T21:46:00.001-04:00

Mike Frost speaks on the meaning of 'missional'. Apart from the attractive Aussie accent, the content is clear and compelling. It is about 51 minutes. What do you think?

Overview Picts of Ucayali Ministry Trip

2008-06-04T14:44:00.001-04:00

Water Filter Installation

2008-06-04T14:28:00.001-04:00

Jungle Chicken Coop

2008-06-04T14:16:00.001-04:00

Outcomes of Ucayali Training Conference, May 26-30, 2008

2008-06-04T13:24:00.002-04:00

Evangelical Missionary Church of Pucallpa attempted something that they didn't know would work. The risk was worth it. We all saw God lead and work.
Villagers, committed Christians and unbelievers, saw that the Pucallpa Church is very interested in them and every aspect of their lives.
Two Lima Free Church leaders participated in a broader Kingdom effort than they ever done before. They have a growing vision for those who still need to hear about Jesus Christ.
14 people professed faith in Christ.
40+ water filters were placed in representative homes in several villages to help people see their value.
Stronger friendship built between Pucallpa Church pastor and EFCH pastor.
The EFCH team had a blast together in serving others in Peru.
Several churches and organizations worked together and now have a greater appreciation of what can be done together.
God was honored. I think this is true and I hope I'm not being presumptuous.

Bruce Clutcher 's Reflections

2008-06-03T19:12:00.001-04:00

This was my 7^th trip to Peru. I was part of the team of 9 from Hershey Free to contribute as an instructor for Community Health Education for the Shipibo village Health Promoters who attended our ‘up river’, week-long class in Sharara. We had 13 men in the class. I was team teaching with Ana Savaadra, RN, who is a nurse with the Swiss Mission outside Pucallpa. A translator from the Pucallpa church (Betsy) helped translate my English to Spanish, the Shipibo’s second language. The men were eager to learn and it was evident that there was a range of experience and knowledge about health, so we kept the material simple and basic. An emphasis on prevention dominated the class, knowing that up to 80% of common illnesses are preventable with simple processes and knowledge. This is especially important in these jungle villages where access to basic medical/dental care and medications is minimal to non-existent. We used a combination of lecture, discussion, role-playing, pictures, ‘field trips’ and skits to get our point across. We provided a copy of the ‘Donde No Hay Doctor’ (‘Where There Is No Doctor’) book to each student. This was used as our class text book, and as a reference book to take back to the village for helping the health promoters do their job. The following topics/activities were discussed:

v How to use and reference the ‘Donde No Hay Doctor’ book (e.g. looking up topics in the index, how cross-referencing works, where to find information/dose guidelines on medications, etc).

v Pregnancy/maternal care

v Delivering babies

v Post partum care

v Early childhood care

v Sexually transmitted diseases

v HIV/AIDS

v Common skin problems

v Arthritis

v Anemia

v Vaginal discharge problems

v Hygiene/Sanitation

v Water-bourn illness and clean drinking water (including the bio-sand water filter education with a ‘field trip’ to watch a filter being installed in a home).

v Snake bites

v Teeth and mouth care

v Use of and building latrines

v Infectious disease

v Medication use

v Parasitic illness

v Nutrition

v Malaria prevention and treatment

v How to make and use bandages/litters, and transporting the sick

v Bleeding and wound care

v Choking

v Diarrhea prevention and treatment

We took a trip to Sharara’s government-built health clinic. While the facilities were the most impressive structure in the village it was obvious that only the very basic health care is provided sporadically in the Ucayali River region.

We had a great team from Hershey. I enjoyed each one of my brothers and sisters who went. The team got along very well (including the ‘acid test time’ we are experiencing now as I write this and travel home without sleep for over 26 hours so far). I want to thank those of you who were my financial and prayer supporters in making this trip so successful. I only wish you could have been there with me in the village church building were we taught to see the appreciation these village health promoters expressed for the knowledge share, and love of Chirst that was manifested. In some ways, I guess you were there with me. Muchas gracias en todos, y que Dios te bendiga grandemente.

Glimpses from Ucayali Conference

2008-06-01T16:21:00.000-04:00

Some Thoughts From Second Day in the Jungle

2008-06-01T16:17:00.001-04:00

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Boat departed village port EARLY (sunrise, 5:30 AM?). Before breakfast saw two dolphins playing. (Saw another after breakfast.) Talked to Ricardo Rojas a bit this AM. He has very little English and I have very little Spanish. However, our conversations are developing and we are talking about more than the weather. Last night, Saul, a 19 yea-old, was brave enough to try to talk with me and he insisted that I learn a few words. Who knows how much Spanish I may pick up this next week.

I preached from Colossians 1:19-23 for worship time this AM. I wanted to help those listening to understand the gospel even if they are Christians. Tim McIntosh was my translator and he was encouraging about the presentation and content.

We’ve stopped at two villages and took on passengers / conference participants. [11:30 AM]. Stopped at numerous other villages and took on passengers. I think we had approx 35 but the time we stopped for the evening. We have a husband-wife team from Pucallpa who are evangelists. Before supper, four villagers committed their lives to Jesus Christ. Yesterday was evangelism oriented: I preached on grace and sin management on AM, Crover and Angela explained gospel to four villagers on the boat, and Tim McIntosh gave an evangelistic message from John 4 at our welcoming program. Who knows, we may have a baptism service this week.

Team Thots on Trans-Equatorial Travel (aka Hershey > Newark > Miami > Lima > Pucallpa)

2008-05-24T09:48:00.002-04:00

I can’t believe I’m actually in South America!!!!! What a complete eye opener! Very different from Perth, Ontario! I’m excited to get on the boat today. Can’t believe we are on our way to the jungle! It is hot and humid and have enjoyed a/c in hotel. The team is awesome! I am loving getting to know everyone! Have enjoyed meeting Rosa, Ruth and Elizabeth! They have made us feel completely welcomed!!!!! It is definitely a culture shock for me and I know the jungle will rock me even more!

~Jennifer

P.S. The coffee is amazing!!! Look out Tim Hortons!!! Dave~get ready to take Spanish Lessons!!!!!

Lots and lots of motorcycle carrying taxi’s! Reminds me of China. Very hot and humid. I rose this morning and realized that the trip is HERE. We will be boarding the boat around 9 a.m. and

We are on our way! Our team is great and I am looking forward to getting to know each one better. This is great! – Judi

This will be the last posting until we return to Pucallpa on Saturday PM. God has given us all an expectation that He has imortant work for us to do. It could be something news-worthy or it might simply be serving our brothers and sisters. Whether noble or hidden, God will do a mighty work. Please pray for breakthrough in health, farming, parenting and, most definitely, spiritually. - Dan

Latest Peru Picts

2008-05-23T19:19:00.001-04:00

Ucayali Training Trip. Dia Dos

2008-05-23T18:42:00.002-04:00

Pretty great day. Dark, rich coffee for breakfast surrounded by a team that is gelling nicely. What more could you ask for? A fried egg and homefries! J (Dan, remember you’re in a different culture!)

We joined up with Tim McIntosh (ReachGlobal staff in Lima) and two Lima pastors at the airport and headed to Pucallpa. Romero is 42 and has been a pastor for 9 years; Ebdulio is 60+ and pastor for 21 years. I will be serving alongside Tim, Romero and Ebdulio. (That makes our team a total of 12.) As we flew northeast toward Pucallpa, the clouds broke enough to see the snow-capped Andes. Breathtaking.

While on the plane, I started talking to a man with a really big video camera. Turns out that he is creating a dvd highlighting missions work of the International Missions Board of the Southern Baptists. He introduced me to Dr. Rankin, president of the SBC. It is fun to see God network people who are serving him and try to find ways to work together, sharing resources.

Arrived in Pucallpa to 88 degrees F and 90% humidity – another breath-taker. I had opportunity to speak with Blair McGwire, our point person for EFCHershey’s partnership with Evangelical Missionary Church of Pucallpa, about a few critical issues so that we’d be prepared for a meeting with the church elders at 4PM. We were prepared. Guess what? The meeting got postponed.

Not to worry. When serving on a short term team one hears the mantra - ‘be flexible.’

Next change in plans: we were to leave on the Evangelista II at 7 AM tomorrow (Saturday). Can’t do that because the Peru Navy (maritime department) is coming to inspect the boat at 9 AM. They’ve been asked to come for two months. There are just some things governments have in common. Obviously, that means a delay in departure and we won’t get as far upriver on Saturday. But what’s the rush? I don’t even have a watch along on this trip.

Ripples Out From Hershey

2008-05-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

A number of things to pray about:

But first, a praise- you may have read this in a Keys Ministries newsletter but here it is again. (Zaur Balaev is a graduate of College of Theology and Education in Chisinau, Moldova.)

Open Doors-Santa Ana, CA: In February, we asked you to pray for Azeri Pastor Zaur Balaev who was sentenced to two years in prison on false charges.

"Please pray for me," Pastor Zaur had asked. "I believe in prayere and if we pray together, God will help."

As we received news that Zaur had suffered two heart attaccks in prison, and that he was transferred to an even worse jail, Open Doors supporters ralllied in prayer.

We are thrilled to report that God answered your prayers! Pastor Zaur was granted presidential amnesty to mark the spring festival Novruz, and he was released from prison on March 2oth. "It's a great joy to be free!" he exclaimed.

Thank you for praying for Pastor Zaur. And please continue to pray for the Church in Azerbaijan. They desperately need your prayers to endure!

++++++++

Last Friday, a Keys team with 4 people (Susan Mittan, leader, Roger Lentz, Dave and Nancy Wehr; also Steph Kish, whom we support) from Hershey Free left to reach English for two weeks as part of the curriculum at CTE (Moldova). Pray for ability to work through translators and good team cooperation.

++++++++

This morning (Monday) a small team left the Hershey Free parking lot loaded with brand new kitchen cabintry to install at the Child Evangelism Fellowship ministry center in Philadelphia. Dave Siwert is leading the team that consists of Ken Pierce and Ron Pankratz. Jeff Davis, director of CEF of Eastern PA and attendee of EFCH is also on this team. They will spend most of the week installing and finishing the kitchen and visiting the ministry sites around Phila.

+++++++

On Thursday AM, 8 people (Blair and Joan McGwire, Mel Gehman, Walter and Marion Hoops, Bruce Clutcher, Judi Needham and Dan Witwer) from EFCH and one from Toronto (Judi's daughter, Jen) will be working alongside our partner church, Evangelical Missionary Church of Pucallpa (Peru) to hold the first ever training conference in Sharara, Peru. Pray for effective evangelism and training so that God is honored.

Into The Jungle

2008-05-18T21:40:00.004-04:00

I'm headed to Sharara, Peru. Sharara will not be on your map unless you have a REAL detailed map of the jungle. Sharara is 18 hours up (south) the Ucayali River from Pucallpa. We'll depart Pucallpa on Saturday and pick up 4 select leaders from 21 different villages that the Evangelical Missionary Church and Hershey Free have been serving for the past several years. The leaders will be in these categories:

village pastor

health promoter

farmer

mother

These will be the four areas of training for the week-long conference.

I will be giving the message on Sunday when we arrive in Sharara. My message will be taken from Colossians 1: 19-23 where Paul clearly points out our resistance to God but how God reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ making us blameless and pure as we follow him in faith. There will be committed Christians and unbelievers in our group and the village. Of course, the gospel is important for the unbeliever to hear but I am just as eager for the believers to hear and understand the gospel. It is my conviction that believers struggle because we believe and live a partial gospel. So I want to start the week being as clear as the Holy Spirit will lead on what a true Christian is.

I will be teaching 4 additional times on themes from Colossians. One will be the pre-eminence of Christ over powers and authorities (1:15-20); another theme will be prayer; another relational peace in Christ. I'll determine the fourth as I interact with the pastors. My overall objective is to help the village pastors develop their closeness to Jesus Christ. I'm sure they are eager for mechanics of doing church but who am I to instruct them on how to have meaningful, Spirit-led gatherings. I don't understand their culture. Truthfully, who cares about religious meetings? If they can grow in hearing from God, they will serve out of the overflow of the Spirit and the Spirit will lead them in doing church.

Well, you have a little sense of my heart as I prepare to go. I hope you'll pray. Pray that I hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches along the Ucayali.

Things That Bug You

2008-03-25T13:08:00.003-04:00

I'm going to throw out a couple random thoughts that actually have a somewhat unifying theme.

1. My son, Joel, is studying in Dunedin, New Zealand this semester and loves the place and the people. The studying is going pretty well too. If you would like to read an interesting story of EPIC FAILURE, as he calls it, go to http://joelwitwer.blogspot.com.

The truth is that while he failed to reach a goal, he accomplished incredibly important things. He took initiative and made progress. He admitted his limitations and changed course. He interacted with people and found help outside himself. And finally, he reflected on the experience and learned important lessons. Nothing bothers me (and maybe you) more than failure. But very useful lessons come from missing the mark.

2. This AM at Men's Fraternity, one of my friends talked about a ministry that God called him into. What was the spark? Something bugged him. He'd arrive at the church building for weekly services and he'd be bugged by chaotic parking and people not following the 'rules'. The stress was noticeable in his body as he arrived to worship God.

Tim turned that frustration into action. He is now one of the leaders of our church's greeting ministry in the parking lot. He's learned not to police the lot but to assist people as they arrive. A enrgetic greeting and a warm handshake is Tim's way to help people worship even before they enter the service.

I was reminded that the very things that bother us may be an indicator of what God has gifted us to do in serving others and making God known to others. Turn your grumbling inside out and see what God may do through you.

One last thing for this post: notice the 'blogarithim' near the top of this site. If you would like to be reminded when I add a post, simply type in your email address. There are no catches and nothing to buy.

Breakfast is serious business!

2008-03-20T17:31:00.001-04:00

Shoes Made For Walking (running and going, etc)

2008-03-19T09:07:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday (3/16), I gave a presentation of several objectives the Mission and Evangelism Dept of the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey has for the next fiscal year. I used shoes as visual tags. If you missed the presentation, I'll give it here.

Dawn Moore, Diana Landis, Pastor Dave Hyatt and I believe that God is wanting us to concentrate on three objectives represented by a hiking boot, sandal and running shoe.

1. Hiking boot. Ephesians 6:15 (feet fitted with the gospel of peace) points to going into new territory, relationships, the unknown to invite others to meet Jesus Christ. So the first objective is local outreach broadened. This past week we've invited a couple thousand people to "More Than a Man" Easter musical. We are also working hard to prepare for April 19th GraceWorks community caring outreach. (You can sign up to join a team for the projects listed on Sundays or by calling the church office. This is a whole church event so that together we might bless our community.)

While we have these big events, we believe that God is also calling our church to findinng ways for everyone of us in many places to express the wonder and Jesus Christ to those who need him most. As we all growin our ability and desire to bring Jesus into our interactions with others, our local outreach will be broadened.

[This is also a good place to mention outreach to internationals living among us. Home Away From Home is a ministry that is more that teaching English and is an opportunity God has given us to reach the world without applying for a passport.]

2. Sandals are comfortable, casual footware. We usually wear them when we are enjoying friends in an informal atmosphere. Our second objective is that Guests Become Good Friends. Two different people each told me their story. One spoke about their small group where people have helped her and she is able to help them. She felt like this group is her family. Then a family that has started attending EFCH expressed how teens in the youth group and adults have helped them feel at home. They have found a place to belong.

Our prayer is that everyone who comes into contact with EFCH people will be able to tell similar stories. Sandals illustrated our desire for guests to become good friends. In all honesty, you may say, "I don't know everyone at EFCH but a group knows me and together we care for others."

3. Running shoes illustrated our objective that Missionary Care is Strengthened. Good shoes help a long-distance runner make it to the finish line. We want to help our international servants persevere in their ministries. Tim and Debbie McIntosh have been serving well and faithfully in Lima, Peru. We rejoice with them that they've served 25 years. But we also weep with them. In the beginning of March, Debbie's father passed away in his home in Lititz, PA. It is hard for the family but we seek to care in such times.

Our missionaries have found EFCH to be a family to turn to in the past. The Mission Council wants this to continue well. Therefore the 'running shoe' objective is that missionary care is strengthened.

The staff of the Missions and Evangelism department are facilitators for local and global outreach. We are serving EFCH to 'think globally and act locally.' In other words, we desire that our church have God's heart for the whole world and act right in the spot where God has placed us for his fame and reputation.

We sense great responsibility to be good stewards of the personal energy and funds that you faithfully invest in our church and our outreach work. Thank you for serving together.

Is Hershey Free Church Unique?

2008-03-11T10:25:00.000-04:00

Sure, this local church is different. The people who attend are different, the context is specific, and the history is ours alone. What I'm thinking about is a list of challenges that EFCH has been facing for the past number of months (some might say, years). Attendance at worship services has been slowly slipping. Finances are increasingly difficult. Some regulars are expressing distrust in leadership.

As a result, we are all trying to analyze the cause. Is there a hidden, tolerated sin among the church so that God has removed his hand from EFCH? Is Satan attacking this church in an increased way? Do we need different worship styles? Do we need different leaders? The questions pile up.

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a workshop where two presenters from Center for Ministry Advancement (www.advancement.org) talked about trends in society and ministry. Dr. Jay Desko presented 13 trends that their consulting group has observed in the churches they serve in Philadelphia area and around the US. I won't list each of the trends but here are just a couple:

Inadequate Understanding of Change
Increasing Options (that lead to paralysis in choosing)
Definition of Ministry (we are in an incredible time of RE-definition)

As Jay described his observations, I found myself wondering how he know so much about my church when I hadn't spoken to him. Then the realization struck me that EFCH is not unique. Churches everywhere are struggling with the cultural shift of no longer being in Christendom. Hershey Free has been in an supportive Christian environment for nearly all of its history but culture is changes and so are people inside and outside the church.

This awareness is actually, a good and healthy one. (Not that misery loves company) We at EFCH are not necessarily being selected out for supernatural attack. The issues that leadership are wrestling with are not stupid mistakes of our making (although we may sometimes do that). The struggles we are experiencing are issues that ministries around the US and the world are having.

Therefore, rather than assign blame, we as a church have the opportunity to collaborate among ourselves as well as with other churches to hear what the Spirit of Christ is saying to the churches to demonstrate and declare the gospel to ourselves and the community and the world. My efforts are aimed at helping our church work together for new expressions of 'new creation' life (2 Corinthians 5: 17) based on the ancient truth of the Creator of the Universe and his son, our rescuer. I hoppe that we will be listening to the creative efforts God has for continuing his powerful ministry in and through EFCH.

I'm back

2008-03-04T18:51:00.000-05:00

I can not believe that I've been away from this blog spot for nearly two years. How about if I make a St. Patrick's Day Resolution? I will write something - anything - each Tuesday. This blog is linked to jumpseat.pbwiki.com and vice versa. This is my attempt to facilitate an interactive community around the issue of mission, missions and missional at the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey.

Go to the wiki sight to find prayerletters, photos and info of what is happening around Hershey Free. At this point, I don't believe that the wiki site provides a way to talk back(or interact) so I'm thinking it will need to happen here. Feel free to post your thoughts. My teens 'hang out' on FaceBook. Maybe I can learn from them but I'll hang out between this blog and jumpseat.pbwiki.com.

For your information, this attempt is fueled by the observation that people are reading less hardcopy stuff but many are online much more. I and others at Hershey Free really want to communicate so here is my attempt to go outside the box.

I'm finding that RSS feeds help me get where I want to go quickly and easily on the Internet. I beg you to set hersheyandmore.blogger.com and jumpseat.pbwiki.com as RSS feeds. Look for RSS somewhere near the bottom of an Internet page or look for an orange square with little sound waves in it.

India in Hershey, PA

2006-05-11T08:59:00.000-04:00

Except for the fact that we all had our shoes on our feet, we felt like we were somewhere in India on Saturday night. Aradhna (www.Aradhnamusic.com)led approximately 100 people in a Bhajan Satsang at the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey, playing devotional songs to Jesus in a fusion of Indian and western music. The room was filled with flowers and items from India while pictures from India were projected on the wall.

Tamil- Hindi- and English-speaking Indians enjoyed the music and ambience. One woman from Uttar Pradesh, north India, who saw a poster in the public library insisted that her whole family attend. Chris Hale, the lead musician, was raised in UP so a huge relational connection emerged. Another Indian who is a disciple of Jesus has leadership for international students in a nearby communicty college. He is making plans to invite Aradhna and our church to help make Jesus an issue at a future college event.

The Indians who attended were thrilled to worship in a manner that felt familiar. With the world becoming increasingly cosmopolitan, our church will need to be thinking how to better express the forgivenness and leadership of Jesus Christ in a manner that reaches the soul.

Help! The Job's Not Finished

2006-03-28T12:11:00.000-05:00

Jesus, replied, 'Let us go somewhere else - to the nearby villages - so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.'

Mark 1: 38

I can't believe Jesus didn't finish his work in Capernaum. The night before, the ministry line stretched out the door into the streets. He finally went to bed. Whether he couldn't sleep anymore or he was very disciplined, he got up early and spent time talking to YHWH, his Father. And the crowds went looking for him before Denny's was open for breakfast.

So there was more people-work to be done. I could understand Jesus' response if the disciples were chasing him for a ministry report or an early AM team meeting. But there were more illnesses to heal and demons to eradicate.

Instead, he left town with an unfinished task and went to the next town - and the next town - and the next. His reason: all these places need a touch from God.

There are at least two lessons in Jesus' action:
1. Fulfilling God's plan mustn't get stuck by hundreds and thousands of needs. There are times when a person must come away from the obligations and pressures of service to interact with God and to reach more people who are far from God.
2. Those who are served can pass on what they've received. This lesson is not stated in the incident in Mark 1 but I wonder if this wasn't in Jesus mind. Ministry can be reproduced when the receivers become givers. Often, a vacuum is needed- a vacany experienced - before healed people feel able to heal. I believe that urgent need can be the Holy Spirit's best motivator.

Jesus didn't leave Capernaum with unfinished ministry. He knew what was needed for expanded ministry - staying intimately connected with the Father and moving on to other places for expressing the Kingdom of God. There are times when you and I need to make a hard decision to stop the good thing we are doing to do the best.

A Desperate Seeker

2006-03-23T08:42:00.000-05:00

The content of this post is not original with me but it resonates with my heart. It is taken from a chapter on Oswald Chambers in V. Raymond Edman's book, They Found The Secret (1984)

"The Almighty creates no desires deep in the human soul that He cannot Himself satisfy..."

"Climbing in the Spirit is accomplished by kneeling, and not by running; by surrender, and not by determination. Despair of self leads to utter desperation; but beyond these mists lies the sunshine of God's presence. Many a soul will turn back to accustomed marshlands of defeat rather than brave the fogs of frustration; but the mountain peaks rise high above the rain and gloom."

This pattern in the crisis of the deeper life, followed by its wide outreach, is almost identical with the experience of countless others of God's children. First, there is the hunger of heart, often followed by a sense of desperation that leads to utter surrender of self. Thereafter is the meeting of the soul with God in whatever manner the Almighty is pleased to reveal Himself to the desperate seeker who, like Jacob at Jabbok, will not let Him go until there is blessing. (Edman, pgs. 52-53)

I have many thoughts that emerge from these few paragraphs. The main one is that I (and probably many others) are impatient for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. It is easy to then critize the church community, our theology, or Jesus Christ himself, believing that he just isn't real. Help me surrender, Lord, so I see you in your fullness.

One last thought from Colossians 2: 10 - "You have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." Fullness has been given. I want to live that out by faith.

Enduring Heart

2006-03-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

Restating the Vision for EFCH Outreach to the World

The following remarks were given at the Appreciation Dinner for Mrs Betty Shaffer (3/11/06)who served for 17 years Director For Missionary Care at the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey and many years before that as one with a passion for spreading Christ's leadership in the world.

We’ve been recounting the heart and contribution of Betty to our lives and world evangelization. Thank you, Betty and Don, for your tireless and wise efforts. And, we know, that your work in ministry will continue as long as God gives you strength. You are a model to us.

The founders of EFCH had the conviction that their new church would not only exist for those among the fellowship of believers but that it existed for people that Jesus misses most – those who have yet to trust him. Early on, Betty joined that vision and expertly brought people together to move that conviction along. Our church has an incredible reputation for missions leadership throughout the US and even around the world.

The Holy Spirit has used Betty and many others to build a powerful foundation but I believe that the best is still to come. God has just as much for our church yet to do as has been done in the past. And by His grace, we will participate in his work in new and different ways.

Growth in support of outreach
During the first years of our church, 10% of all contributions were designated for missions. Over the years, we have consistently budgeted 20-25%. In February 2005, the Mission Council proposed to the Elders and they affirmed the aspiration that 35% of our total annual giving be used for local and international outreach. I see our general ministry budget and the missions budget as integrated. We need healthy generosity to our church so that generosity for outreach near and far might grow. In addition, I envision our Global Ministry Project Fund growing as we seek to communicate the opportunities for large international projects more and more.

Equipping people for international ministry
Our world has become far less foreign and more global. You and I are no longer surprised to meet someone in our neighborhood from Pakistan or someone in the store from Ukraine or someone in our church from New Zealand. Outreach is not as easily divided between local evangelism and foreign missions. For that reason, our church’s outreach has the opportunity to start in Hershey and have impact in the region and extend to places in the world that we may have never heard about. We have the wonderful privilege to train people in ministry close by and as God develops them and puts his heart in them for the whole world, we can help send them to most distant places.

Releasing new energy for outreach
As our church moves into new opportunities we have the potential to inspire new people in this global effort. Two years ago, a young adult woman gave her life to Jesus Christ and soon after she became aware of the fact that God may want to use her in another part of the world. She’s been investigating and praying about possibilities. But in the mean time, she’s being mentored and serving in various ministries right here. Three days ago, I met with a man to talk about an aspect of our missions communication within the church. He accepted my challenge and is pleased to be able to use his skills in a new way. He said, “Dan, I really know nothing about missions. My daughters have gone to Mexico, but that is all I know. There are some exciting things that God is doing and we need to get the word out in captivating ways.”

30 years ago, most of us were 30 years younger and God put a passion in our hearts for those Jesus misses most. My longing is that our missions ministry will be able to inspire many new people in our congregation so that in another 30 years someone can stand here and recount past blessings and continue to dream of what God wants to do through his church, the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey. This is God’s enduring heart. It is the enduring heart of our church.

Using Your Influence

2006-03-02T09:22:00.000-05:00

In John 3:8, Jesus told Nicodemus, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The process that the Holy Spirit uses to draw an individual to remorse for their independence from Jesus Christ and to complete delight in Him is unique to each. We are not cut-outs so that one method of communicating the gospel fits all.

There are some milestones that acknowledge that coming to faith in Christ is a process and these milestones give us some direction in connecting with people that 'Jesus misses most.' The milestones I list are likely to be a little different than some of us have looked for in the past but people seem to better appreciate these better from Christians.

Spend time in your friends world.

Share a verbal expression of the grace of Jesus Christ.

Introduce your friend to your believing friends at a party/activity hosted by your small group.

Include your seeking friend in Christian community where vital faith is expressed and explained.

When the Holy Spirit has prepared your friend, invite him to accpt Christ's forgiveness and embrace life in Jesus Christ.

Continuing in Christian community, foster continued spiritual growth and service to others.

This process doesn't need to take a long time. Some people are just waiting to have someone come close enough to them to talk about serious matters of the soul. Others haven't thought about spiritual issues at all. The bottom line is that each follower of Jesus is the first point of contact and the faith community we are part of is simply a help.

Watching a Godly Man Die

2006-02-28T12:54:00.000-05:00

I've lost my father to cancer when I was 15 years old and all of my grandparents have died. I have become acutely aware that death is a thief in many ways. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I understand that death does not have the final word. All those who leave this earth having repented and trusted Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sinfulness are far more alive now than they ever were when I saw them face-to-face. But you and I both realize that there is a hole in our hearts when someone we love dies. And often, we don't like to talk about it with the dying one or even our family members.

My 92 year-old stepfather is dying. On Sunday night, Feb. 19, he was taken to the ER with breathing difficulty. The diagnosis was pnuemonia. When he was taken to a hospital room, he had another heart attack. (He had his first while deer hunting in NY at age 91. He's been a robust man!) We didn't think he'd survive but the doctors and nurses did what they do best and he regained strength. However, the doctors say his doesn't have too many heart beats left in him. But each day he has improved. During one visit, he looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Dan, if you want to go to Heaven, don't go to a hospital. They won't let you go."

Ralph knows that he doesn't have long to live. He is eager to see Jesus Christ face-to-face. He has been a direct man all the years I've known him but realizing that he hasn't much time, he has has decided to use whatever time and breath he has to encourage others to join him in longing for Heaven. Every nurse or aide or doctor knows that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to have peace with God because Ralph is telling them in one way or another.

My mom brought Ralph home from the hospital on Sat. Several hours after he was settled into his bedroom and hospice had explained many details to Mom, he began struggling for breath. In fact, he stopped breathing momentarily. Mom called Ralph's children as well as my brothers and me. The family gathered in his room for Ralph's transition vigil. Although Ralph was apparently unconscious and his extremities were growing colder we again expressed our love for him. We shared 'Ralph' stories with one another and laughed. We read some of his favorites scriptures. We talked about his funeral arrangements and we sang his favorite hymn, Victory In Jesus.

It appears that he heard our singing and opened his eyes ever so slightly. A couple minutes later he awakened in a confused state, trying to focus his eyes. "Why are you all here?" "Am I dead yet?" "I want to go to Heaven." (I guess our singing was enough for anyone to want to escape this earth!)

As of this posting, Ralph is still in this existence on earth with his family. But he is in transition. It is hard work, especially for my mom but Ralph is anticipating the time he wakes up and looks into the eyes of his Rescuer and Leader. I am honored to be able to watch a godly man, not die, but transition to real, full and complete living.

Faithful or Effective?

2006-02-23T11:01:00.000-05:00

I’ve often heard Christians say, “What counts is being faithful, not results.” This thought has come from my mouth too. Of course, the Holy Spirit is the one who transforms lives, not me or my strategies. Committed followers of Christ are convinced by the Holy Spirit to turn from sins and become more like Jesus Christ. People far from God are drawn by the Holy Spirit to a 180 degree turnaround by the work of the Spirit. I know that and agree 100%.

Sometimes we use the ‘being faithful, not results’ line as a way to feel comfortable about limited impact. I raise the question, “are we always being faithful?” We easily get stuck in our thought patterns and methods because they are safe and convenient. Our way of doing things may not connect with the ‘missing person’ but we assure ourselves that we were, at least, faithful. I believe that faithfulness moves us to be diligent in finding the best ways to engage people who are not yet delighting in Jesus Christ.

I am challenged by an equation that is found in Becoming a Contagious Christian.
HP + CP + CC = MI
High potency life in Christ – an authentic lifestyle of trusting and obeying Jesus Christ is the starting point for effective outreach. But then we need close proximity to those God has deep compassion for. We need to be close enough for people to be willing to see and hear what God is doing in our lives. Modeling Christ is critical but there comes a time when God opens the door for us to explain the gospel. We need to be prepared to communicate clearly, using language and images that the uninitiated understand and that penetrate the heart. When these three issues are active, the potential for maximum impact exists. When one or more of these is absent, we are less likely to effective. In fact, we may not even be faithful.

I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work putting a hunger and a thirst in the soul of missing people and puts them in the relational sphere of those who are faithfully cultivating a high potency walk with Christ, close proximity to people who need Jesus Christ, and are seeking to communicate the need for repentance and grace to others in understandable ways. I want to participate with the Holy Spirit in being faithful and effective. How about you?

Short-term Teams: just another church activity?

2006-02-16T09:53:00.000-05:00

In 2005, Hershey Free Church had 140 teens and adults participate in a brief ministry team somewhere in the world. The reports that came back were thrilling to read and to hear. Some people believe that everyone in the congregation should serve on a team. I think there is tremendous merit for sending teams but I think teams need to be purposeful. What follows is our description of purpose for our short-term ministry.

The Mission Council wants short-term team ministry to be intentional and effective for the receiver, participant and the sender of each team. Short-term teams have the potential for being little more than a passing activity or profoundly directing the lives of others. We believe EFCH short-term teams should have these overriding purposes:

· To encourage and advance the work of missionaries we support.
· To advance the work of the key partnerships God has developed for EFCH.
· To stimulate congregational interest, prayer and support for EFCH missionaries.
· To prepare those God is calling from EFCH for long-term international ministry.

Short-term teams shall be planned, formed and evaluated on the basis of the receiving field needs and opportunity rather than quantity of EFCH participants.

Missionary care is important to our church and we believe that short term teams can be an aspect of care. As team members connect with our supported missionaries, the Holy Spirit helps our global servants and challenges the team members to consider how they might invest their lives for God's honor.

We do send teams to ministries not directly connected to our church but we work hard to send many teams to those we have had ongoing and meaningful relationships so that our church can continue to strengthen the bond between our local and international family.

Juggling All Those Requests

2006-02-09T07:30:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we are NOT exhilarated to be generous because there are serious questions that get in our way. Let’s think about some of those questions.

1. Instead of sending brief ministry teams abroad, wouldn’t it be more useful to simply send the cash?

Sending dollars, while requiring a financial investment does not require the personal investment of attention, focus, energy and involvement. Let’s be honest, we can simply give some money and feel like we’ve done a noble thing and never think about the person or ministry again. Coming alongside people gives an opportunity to be Jesus’ arms, legs and heart to people who need to see Jesus with ‘skin on.’
A consistent response from those being helped by teams is, “It is the Christians who are helping. Other religions are not here.” Going to help is the relational part of help that most cultures prize more than anything else.
I suspect that God is not as concerned for cost-cutting as we are. There are some things that are more important that saving money. Think about Jesus’ response to the critical disciples when Mary Magdalene ‘wasted’ expensive perfume from the alabaster decanter.

2. How can I stop receiving so many financial appeals from mission agencies and our own short term teams?

You’ve heard it said that there are only two sure things in life: death and taxes. Well, there are actually three things – financial appeals must be included!”

We need a strategy for responding to requests. Here are some suggestions:

a. Turn complaint into praise. Here is another ministry serving Christ and benefiting people. Praise God. Bless their efforts with a prayer of thanksgiving (even as you toss the appeal into the ‘circular file.’

b.Establish your criteria for response. (See 2 Corinthians 9: 7 –“…each should give what he has decided in his heart to give.”) –as directed by the Holy Spirit

o What ministry do you care about?

o What workers do you care about?

o Determine your contribution amount (e.g. for short term missions) in advance for the year and distribute it until it is completely allocated.

o What priorities do you have for giving?

o What countries / people groups do you care about?

o What character do you expect in those you support?

c. Confidently say ‘yes’, ‘no’ or not respond. After you have listened to the Holy Spirit in establishing criteria for responding to appeals, give your answers without apology.

d. Look for ways to become increasingly generous. I am constantly amazed by how much stuff many of us has in storage that we absolutely needed 3 months ago.

e. Trust God, along with person making appeal, that the ministry needs will be provided from other resources.

3. Isn’t it true that giving to international ministry is of higher value than giving to local church ministry?

It is true that churches in the US have many more resources than churches in most of the rest of the world. 2 Corinthians 8 instructs those with much to assist those with little.
Giving to others in need, especially to people and cultures different from us helps us see the diversity and vastness of God’s character. We need this perspective to keep from becoming myopic, insulated, isolated and proud.
But we need a strong ministry right here. We need to be as creative and resourceful in reaching our community for Jesus Christ as we expect missionaries and nationals to be in other countries.
In total, the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey general fund provides over $1m for outreach (local and global). If we are not exhilarated about giving to the general fund, the approximately 25% allocated in the budget for missions struggles as well as other ministries.

4. Why should I give to poorer people who will waste it anyway?

We are called to be good stewards of the resources God gives us. Therefore we ought to do our best to insure the integrity of the organizations and people to which we donate. Accountability for the handling of funds is important. The Apostle Paul is very concerned about how the funds were to be conveyed from Corinth to Jerusalem in 2 Corinthians. 8.
But, we can use that very same accountability as a control to keep a national ministry or a poor man bound to us, the giver. Trust frees the recipient make the best decisions for ministry in his or her context which is usually much different than ours.
Several years ago, our church contributed $30k to a seminary in Thailand for the building of a dormitory. The building was built with poured concrete and the leaders saved all the forms which cost a good deal. Since they had the forms, they were able to build a second building of classrooms and dormitories for very little additional cost! Very often, those with little have extremely creative ways to make every gift stretch.

5. Shouldn’t we give as much as we can to poorer countries since we have so much? After all, we can generously support a national who might otherwise earn only $7 a day.

a. We must seriously ask, “What can be reproduced in the context?” When a servant of God is financed by an outside source rather than from within his or her context, the ministry is far less likely to multiply. New servants will believe that the only way to do ministry is soliciting support from outside the context.

b. Danger of the national worker serving the donor rather than serving God.

c. We do better to facilitate ministry rather than finance ministry. “Giving a hand up not a hand out” This is the goal of the Global Ministry Project Fund.

§ Combine for College of Theology and Education (Moldova) – Helping to establish an agri-business that will provide ongoing local resource for the college operations.

§ Water filter manufacturing in Pucallpa, Peru – The Evangelical Missionary Church will oversee a business that will provide local jobs and make the pure water service serlf-sustaining.

§ Training for gypsies at Trinity Equipping Center (Kursk, Russia) – Skills training and ‘cottage’ industry development help those whose way of life relied on theft and deceit to provide for their families in godly ways.

§ Dave and Martha Siwert who serve with ABWE (Assoc. of Bapt. For World Evangelization) specifically help Christians all over the world in micro business development so that resources for ministry can be generated within the local context.

§ Mercy Foundation (Thailand) was established by Thai Christians to respond to the devastation after the 12/04 tsunami. EFCH contributed to the effort with cash but also volunteers. Local people are being trained in building skills, those receiving houses are required to help in the building and orphans are being cared for. Thai Christian leaders have been resourceful in finding resources locally and the ministry is continuing to have impact physically and spiritually.

CONCLUSION

What happens when we generously contribute to God’s work both locally and around the world? People that we may not even know give thanks to God. When we present the gift for new houses in Thailand, people see God’s provision through us and worship him. New worshippers are emerging because of our giving. That is getting more ‘bang for your buck.’ That is exhilarating.

2006-02-09T07:20:00.000-05:00

Aw, cut that out, son!

Toward Torino

2006-02-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

Everybody wants to be an ice skater or a snowboarder during the winter olympics. But you don't get to Torino unless you have taken the spills on Ski Roundtop or Blue Mountain.

According to the Bible, the very last words of Jesus before he was taken to Heaven were,

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the
earth."Acts 1:8

There is a powerful integration of outreach contexts that is in this verse. Outreach is both near and far. It is not one or the other.

An effective church outreach will do well to keep this wholeness. A church that cares about the local community (physically, emotionally and spiritually) has skills and gifts to offer communities in distant locations. The local outreach of a church has to opportunity to be the birthing place of effective servers. As godly character and ministry skills are fostered, the Holy Spirit often creates platforms for effective ministry in wider spheres.

The Evangelical Free Church of Hershey desires to be more effective in pointing people to Jesus Christ in our nearby communities. And we want to extend Christ's impact in distant locations. I think that local outreach and international outreach need to be coordinated and integrated so that we fulfill Christ's directive in Acts 1:8. I'll write more about ideas that I have in future postings but for now, I want to help us think about local outreach and global missions not as competing programs of the church. Rather, international ministry is most effective when it is the overflow of outreach passion at home.