January 2007 - Posts

• CD Gift Outreach

  Reaching Ireland for the gospel demands creativity. Carrickmacross Baptist Church began as a mission church in County Monaghan almost 15 years ago. In 2006 it was officially incorporated and welcomed into the fellowship of Irish Baptists. In spite of its presence in the town for several years, however, lack of an identifiable building has meant that most towns people are not really aware that the church exists.  (The church currently rents space in a local school for church services.)  Church members are constantly talking and thinking about ways to increase the church’s visibility and impact on the town. Last autumn Susan White, young mother of four and long-time member of the congregation, came up with an inspired idea for increasing the church’s profile in the community. Realizing that the congregation included a number of competent musicians, she suggested that the church produce a CD of Christmas music, which could be sold in local shops to promote a local charity, the Carrickmacross Cancer Society.  For several weeks after Sunday services, church members rehearsed familiar Christmas carols and instrumentalists practiced solo and ensemble numbers. The final result was a lovely collection of Christmas carols performed in various styles. Church members were glad to buy CDs as Christmas gifts for family and friends, and more than 40 shops in the town were willing to display and sell them as a means of benefiting a good cause. As a result of everyone’s hard work and cooperation, more than €3000 was collected on behalf of the Cancer Society, and the Baptist Church was given greater visibility in the town.  We praise God for people with creative ideas in the church family, and we trust that he will continue to use Carrickmacross Baptist Church to impact our town and region. Posted Jan 18 2007, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Serpent

  I recently returned from a trip to Ghana, West Africa, with a team of three doctors, a pastor and a businessman. In eight days, we visited 12 remote villages and provided basic health care to approximately 800 children and adults. One highlight was the opportunity to visit a leper village of 100 adults ostracized from villages along the Volta River Region. I had never met a leper before, but when I saw them all waiting, I felt compelled to greet each of them by name and extend my hand. I was asked to speak briefly and chose to tell the story of Jesus healing the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19). Christ’s love for the untouchable is so powerful! In reality, each of us was warped and numbed by leprosy of the heart called sin – yet God reached out to each one of us! I focused on the one leper who returned to thank Jesus and how his faith healed him on the inside. African Pastor Francis gave an invitation and about 30 stood with bandaged feet and raised gnarled hands to receive this same healing from God. We visited another village where a funeral was taking place. Drums beat in the distance, several women wore black, but one woman was walking around in a white dress. We found out that she had consulted a witchdoctor for healing who told her to make a vow with a spirit and change her name from Mary to a name that means “Belonging to the Serpent.” When we talked with her, she clearly was fearful of the path she had chosen, but had no hope of release. I challenged her to trust Christ and turn from the power of the Serpent spirit. Her mother and aunt were fearful of what the witch doctor might do, but the pastors and members of our team circled around and prayed for them despite the opposition they would face.  Later I talked with a group of 50 kids and 20 adults. I told them a story of an 8-year-old boy who killed both a serpent and a lion in one day! I began with the account in Genesis of how the serpent deceived us and the curse of sin affected the human race. Then I told them how Jesus crushed the serpent’s head on the Cross. When I put my trust in him as a child, I didn’t have to fear death because he helped me kill the serpent. Then I told them how Satan roams the earth like a lion seeking to devour, but Jesus protects and give us authority in his Name. The pastor led in a prayer and many in the group prayed and raised hands of faith. Only God knows how many will continue to walk with him, but pray for these children and adults. Please, continue to pray for Mary and her family to find freedom, healing and power in Jesus Christ. Posted Jan 18 2007, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• PACT Church Plants Daughter Churches

  A church that moves into a larger facility isn’t much news, but one that moves into a new facility while at the same time establishing two daughter churches is something to mention. The Wu Chang Church was the recipient of WorldVenture's Plant a Church Together project in 1986 to purchase their original building. This project partners national churches with U.S. churches to plant a church. After 15 years, the church has grown to overflowing and the facilities were stretched beyond capacity. Over the last five years the church planned and prayed, asking for God to provide a new place for them to worship. With 600 to 700 worshipping the Lord together each Sunday, they also thought of other alternatives to relieve some of the crowding. Knowing that many of their members lived in other parts of the city, the church leaders considered taking a group from the church to start a daughter church. Four years ago the first daughter church began with over 50 members of the congregation, forming a core group for the new church. Within a matter of months the mother church had grown to replace those who had left, and the new church had grown as well. In 2004 the church once again asked for volunteers to move from the mother church to a new daughter church in a third area. Once again both churches have grown well, leaving the Wu Chang Church still overcrowded. At the same time John Cheng, senior pastor of the Wu Chang Church, grew increasingly aware of the hardships experienced by the smaller Conservative Baptist churches in the countryside. God’s rich blessing on his church prompted him to consider what his large church could do for these other churches. Over the last four years the church has sent out evangelism teams to the town churches, sent staff to teach and train Sunday school and teen outreach workers, and help to fund some churches that were struggling financially. With an economic downturn in 2004, a half-finished building was put up for sale. The 10-story structure was in an ideal location, across a major intersection from the recent constructed city government building. After negotiations the church bought the structure and began the process of converting it into their new facilities. In August, the Wu Chang Conservative Baptist Church Taiwan began using the offices and chapel of their new building in the City of Kaohsiung. The new sanctuary, seating 900, was finished soon after in September. The church dedicated the new edifice in November, and has given an open invitation for any who would like to attend. The Wu Chang Church has become an example to many Christians in Taiwan of how to share God’s blessings with his people. Posted Jan 08 2007, 02:00 AM by Transformed

• Placement of a Pastor and Partner

  Pastor David Darkon Awuda is Pastor of the Salvation Baptist Church in Nkwanta V/R. As a child David was told by the older people in his village that he would be something special, but he had no idea what that would be. In 1999, when David was 29 years old he asked God to direct him as to how he could help the perishing people. It was at that time that David acknowledged his call to preach and attended a three year certificate course at the New Life Pastors Institute in Accra. In the meantime, the pastor of Salvation Baptist Church passed away. The pastor who replaced him, soon after, was caught in an adulterous affair. The members of the church asked David to come to accept the post in Nkwanta. In June, Pastor David gave us an estimate for a simple structure (100? x 50?) that he wanted to build so that his church would have place to worship. The cost of the structure was estimated at 14,400,000 cedis (approximately $1,600). With the help of two individuals from the U.S. we were able to take Pastor David a gift of 10,000,000 cedis (almost 70% of the total cost) toward his building project. David is an example of the pastor that we will be walking alongside; leaders with passion and calling but who lack the resources and vital training necessary to build a productive and self-sustaining ministry. David?'s passion is planting churches and bringing the lost to Christ. He travels to very remote places regularly by foot, and has trekked through swamps and been attacked by swarms of bees, but nothing stops him. He has planted three other churches and left leadership in place. David can?'t do it alone. He has one deacon in his church with no training, he does not have any associate ministers in his church. It is our prayer that we will be able to help David and others like him to become reproducing leaders. Posted Jan 08 2007, 02:00 AM by Transformed