Celebrating 25 years with Global Church Growth and 40 years in the ministry!
WOW! I can’t believe it has been this long, but I praise the Lord that He has allowed me to serve Him in many ways and places. I praise the Lord that my wife Jacque has able to join me in the last 25 years as we have served in Global Church Growth together. I pray for some more good years to help make some more disciples that make disciples. When I think about being 65, it makes me think about what has been and what my legacy will be. I pray that those I have brought into the faith will continue and that they will bring others into the faith. Children of the faith are great, but more important are the grand and great grandchildren in the faith. The success is in the grandchildren, for it shows disciple making has worked.
Cuba Once Again
Plans come and go, but I pray God will always guide my path. This trip to Cuba was to accomplish a lot of things. The plan was to go first to the Havana area and meet with several churches that are in the system and some new ones. In the first two day conference all those who were in the system from the west (Pinar del Rio) did not come for the fear of the virus, but the Lord brought 7 new representatives from their churches to hear the system for the first time. And that went great for they all want to implement the system of growth in their church. I also learned that two of the churches that have implemented the system have grown significantly. One has gone from 23 in one congregation to starting 5 different mission points and gaining 197 believers in 5 years. The other has gone from 19 to 117 baptized believers with three campuses and one mission point.
With the virus I started a new way of greeting. The normal way in Cuba is a handshake, hug or a kiss cheek to cheek. I told them this was the way to greet in Nepal. Namaste.
On Sunday I trained a Free Will Baptist church in the system. Our hope is to present the disciple making system to the whole denomination at their annual camp in July. Their president wants every church to see the opportunity and then hopefully choose to have us train their churches nationwide.
But this was not the full plan. George Carillet was supposed to join me on Wednesday the 18th and we were supposed to take a train 11 hours to the east to have 4 different sessions in four locations with 100 churches. But all got the fear of the virus and canceled. Therefore, I too cut my trip short 15 days so I could get out of the country before anything else could happen like the border closing. Now I am home in the basement, but at least I am at home.
French-Haiti
Verlen Sanon, my director in Haiti, has finished the French translation of my first two books and the leader’s guide in the Church Growth System and is now getting ready to print them. When this is all done, we will make plans to go back to Haiti to train and get things going/growing. The plans are for Verlen to reach out to other Caribbean countries that speak French.
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Venezuela
My director Jose, seated to the left, made a historic and important trip to Venezuela to visit a church that started after he met a man in the Havana airport and gave him some of my material. Jose had to travel two days into the mountains to visit the new church. There are many more churches in Caracas (the capital city) that want the system. I doubt that I will ever physically visit Venezuela, but I am there through Jose and the books. This shows that the work is expanding outside Cuba with the second generation, and now third. Glory to God.
Introducing a new partnership between two missions.
In 1975, at the ripe old age of 20, I met and traveled three months behind the Iron Curtain with George Carrillet. This was the start of my passion for missions. Now, 45 years later, George joined me in Cuba. After this trip George saw the growth and opportunity for growth in Cuba through Global Church Growth. He then decided to join our efforts together. Both missions will continue, but will be in a joint relationship working together.
PRAYERS are always needed.
Please pray for the world epidemic. And that at this point the church and each Christian will take the opportunity to share God’s love and compassion without fear.
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