Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Dominican Republic Update
Dear Friends of Mission Surge,
The trip to the Dominican Republic last week was extremely productive. We hand delivered the three laptops provided through your generous gifts to Mission Surge. These computers will allow three indigenous pastors to communicate with our Dominican leader here in the United States in order to receive weekly training, direction, and encouragement. They will also allow our Dominican leader in the states to receive reports from our indigenous workers. It is such a blessing to be able to remain in constant face to face contact with our point men in the DR without the $700 plane ticket!
We were also able to meet with the Executive Director of the Dominican Baptist Convention and hear his vision for the Dominican. This allowed us, at Mission Surge, to begin formulating a plan to further Manolo’s vision for his people. God is already working in mighty ways in the DR and Mission Surge has an opportunity to be involved in what He is doing. Here is a summary of the possibilities in the DR.
First, we hope to provide training to those men who are already actively planting churches and cell groups in the DR and some of their key leaders. Three trainings will take place over the course of a year with assignments that must be completed between training sessions. Through the training these men receive we hope to, not only speed up the number of churches being planted, but also strengthen the individual pastor’s spiritual life, family life, and church.
Second, we hope to provide funds to help these faithful men overcome financial barriers in their own lives, ministries, churches, and missions. There are times when these men hit road blocks that they cannot financially overcome. These road blocks slow down their ministries and productivity. We hope to be able to help them get to the next step in their vision and work.
Finally, we hope to financially send and support Dominican missionaries to other Latin American countries. There are several benefits to using Dominican missionaries rather than American missionaries. One, they already know Spanish. Two, they already know the Latin American culture. Finally, they have already proven that they can plant cell groups and churches in a Latin American context. If God allows us to fulfill this part of the vision, then we can begin to link up American mission teams with Mission Surge missionaries all over Latin America. It is exciting to think about.
Of course these are all just initial impressions and ideas. A meeting will take place between Gene Pickern (the Dominican leader here in the U.S.) and myself in a few weeks to map out the vision and plan for the DR. I will update you on that later.
Mission Surge is now tweeting! For those of you who are interested, you can sign up to follow me here: http://twitter.com/#search?q=Missionsurge Spread the word if you don’t mind!
Let me leave you with a few prayer requests.
1. Pray for our board meeting Wednesday night. It is going to be a very long and complex meeting as we elect officials, wade through 501(c)3 paperwork, and debrief concerning our DR trip and upcoming opportunities.
2. Pray for Gene and I as we sort through the possibilities and make plans concerning our DR work.
3. Continue to pray for people to commit to make monthly donations to Mission Surge so that we can prepare a more accurate budget and projection of future ministry. Pray that God will continue to raise up people to support this work in the midst of these hard economic times.
4. Pray for open doors to share about Mission Surge in local churches. If your pastor, or a pastor you know, may be interested in allowing one of us to come share about Mission Surge or preach a revival, evangelistic crusade, or conference, please direct him to www.missionsurge.com and have him contact us ASAP. This year is filling up fast! Also, If your church has an upcoming missions conference or event that we could set a table up at, please let us know.
Thank you for your prayers and support. God is working and we are honored to be a part of what He is doing to reach the world. We are grateful that you have partnered with us in this task. Please share this report with anyone and everyone that may be interested in the work of Mission Surge where we are seeking to impact individuals, families, churches, and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
The trip to the Dominican Republic last week was extremely productive. We hand delivered the three laptops provided through your generous gifts to Mission Surge. These computers will allow three indigenous pastors to communicate with our Dominican leader here in the United States in order to receive weekly training, direction, and encouragement. They will also allow our Dominican leader in the states to receive reports from our indigenous workers. It is such a blessing to be able to remain in constant face to face contact with our point men in the DR without the $700 plane ticket!
We were also able to meet with the Executive Director of the Dominican Baptist Convention and hear his vision for the Dominican. This allowed us, at Mission Surge, to begin formulating a plan to further Manolo’s vision for his people. God is already working in mighty ways in the DR and Mission Surge has an opportunity to be involved in what He is doing. Here is a summary of the possibilities in the DR.
First, we hope to provide training to those men who are already actively planting churches and cell groups in the DR and some of their key leaders. Three trainings will take place over the course of a year with assignments that must be completed between training sessions. Through the training these men receive we hope to, not only speed up the number of churches being planted, but also strengthen the individual pastor’s spiritual life, family life, and church.
Second, we hope to provide funds to help these faithful men overcome financial barriers in their own lives, ministries, churches, and missions. There are times when these men hit road blocks that they cannot financially overcome. These road blocks slow down their ministries and productivity. We hope to be able to help them get to the next step in their vision and work.
Finally, we hope to financially send and support Dominican missionaries to other Latin American countries. There are several benefits to using Dominican missionaries rather than American missionaries. One, they already know Spanish. Two, they already know the Latin American culture. Finally, they have already proven that they can plant cell groups and churches in a Latin American context. If God allows us to fulfill this part of the vision, then we can begin to link up American mission teams with Mission Surge missionaries all over Latin America. It is exciting to think about.
Of course these are all just initial impressions and ideas. A meeting will take place between Gene Pickern (the Dominican leader here in the U.S.) and myself in a few weeks to map out the vision and plan for the DR. I will update you on that later.
Mission Surge is now tweeting! For those of you who are interested, you can sign up to follow me here: http://twitter.com/#search?q=Missionsurge Spread the word if you don’t mind!
Let me leave you with a few prayer requests.
1. Pray for our board meeting Wednesday night. It is going to be a very long and complex meeting as we elect officials, wade through 501(c)3 paperwork, and debrief concerning our DR trip and upcoming opportunities.
2. Pray for Gene and I as we sort through the possibilities and make plans concerning our DR work.
3. Continue to pray for people to commit to make monthly donations to Mission Surge so that we can prepare a more accurate budget and projection of future ministry. Pray that God will continue to raise up people to support this work in the midst of these hard economic times.
4. Pray for open doors to share about Mission Surge in local churches. If your pastor, or a pastor you know, may be interested in allowing one of us to come share about Mission Surge or preach a revival, evangelistic crusade, or conference, please direct him to www.missionsurge.com and have him contact us ASAP. This year is filling up fast! Also, If your church has an upcoming missions conference or event that we could set a table up at, please let us know.
Thank you for your prayers and support. God is working and we are honored to be a part of what He is doing to reach the world. We are grateful that you have partnered with us in this task. Please share this report with anyone and everyone that may be interested in the work of Mission Surge where we are seeking to impact individuals, families, churches, and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Santo Domingo Update
We arrived in the Dominican Republic safely and spent Monday afternoon with the head missionary in Santo Domingo. Tuesday morning we drove to the Dominican Baptist Convention Office and met with the outgoing president of the Dominican Baptist Convention and the incoming president to discuss Mission Surge’s role in the DR. In this meeting we heard Manolo’s (outgoing president) vision over the past 5 years for the convention. According to his timeline, Dominican churches are supposed to just be beginning to plant churches. However, God has moved far ahead of his vision. The convention has gone from thirty something churches to more than 200 churches over the past 5 years. They have increased from thirty something pastors to more than 100. Total membership in the Dominican Baptist Convention has increased from 1700 to more than 5000 and they are baptizing hundreds of new believers every year. God is working in the DR and Mission Surge has many opportunities to be involved and help speed the work along. I look forward, upon my return to being able to share more about the possibilities.
Tuesday afternoon we met with a young pastor who has just recently planted a church in an unreached area of the city. Tomorrow morning we will be meeting again with Manolo and another pastor named Yojalaver. Yojalaver is going to be traveling to India with a team from Cleary later this month as the Dominican’s first overseas volunteer missionary. The prayer is that this trip will birth an international missions movement among the believers in the DR.
We will leave this meeting and go scout out a camp and conference center where we plan to offer training next year (2011) to Dominican pastors and church planters. Then we will travel to meet a pastor out in the mountains named Socio. The word on the street is he is preparing us a home cooked meal of Bachalau…a salt cured fish. According to the missionary, he was sick for 3 days after eating this meal. PRAY FOR US!!!! Then, we will meet with a Haitian church and pastor that we are working with and eat with them for supper before heading back to the apartment.
Thursday morning we will meet with 2 other pastors that we are praying about partnering with and supporting through Mission Surge before heading home. Please keep us in your prayers as we are going to be making some crucial decisions about our work in the DR in the coming weeks. Pray that God will open doors and raise up the financial support, resources, and manpower to do great things in His Name, for His glory, in the DR. Thank you for your continued prayer support.
I will update you more after we return and settle down at home.
In Christ,
Kevin
Tuesday afternoon we met with a young pastor who has just recently planted a church in an unreached area of the city. Tomorrow morning we will be meeting again with Manolo and another pastor named Yojalaver. Yojalaver is going to be traveling to India with a team from Cleary later this month as the Dominican’s first overseas volunteer missionary. The prayer is that this trip will birth an international missions movement among the believers in the DR.
We will leave this meeting and go scout out a camp and conference center where we plan to offer training next year (2011) to Dominican pastors and church planters. Then we will travel to meet a pastor out in the mountains named Socio. The word on the street is he is preparing us a home cooked meal of Bachalau…a salt cured fish. According to the missionary, he was sick for 3 days after eating this meal. PRAY FOR US!!!! Then, we will meet with a Haitian church and pastor that we are working with and eat with them for supper before heading back to the apartment.
Thursday morning we will meet with 2 other pastors that we are praying about partnering with and supporting through Mission Surge before heading home. Please keep us in your prayers as we are going to be making some crucial decisions about our work in the DR in the coming weeks. Pray that God will open doors and raise up the financial support, resources, and manpower to do great things in His Name, for His glory, in the DR. Thank you for your continued prayer support.
I will update you more after we return and settle down at home.
In Christ,
Kevin
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Update
Dear Friends,
I wanted to give a brief report on what is going on with Mission Surge at this time. First, we are grateful to our God for the launch of our website: www.missionsurge.com We are also grateful for God placing it on someone’s heart to provide the funds to purchase 3 laptop computers for our Dominican pastors in Santo Domingo. We will be leaving Monday morning at 6 a.m. to deliver them and conduct some important business that pertains to the future work of Mission Surge in the DR and the world. We are also overwhelmed with gratitude for a recent, unexpected donation of $1000 to Mission Surge. God continues to open doors for us to work and he raises up the help we need just in time. We give him thanks.
I want to ask you to pray about the following things.
1. Pray that God’s will be accomplished next week as we go to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The agenda for this trip is fourfold. First, we are delivering the 3 laptops that your gifts have helped make possible. These laptops will be given to three key pastors who are working hard to plant churches in Santo Domingo among Dominicans and Haitians. These computers will help them as they labor, but most importantly it will allow for frequent, live meetings through Skype with our Dominican leader here in the U.S. This is going to be a great blessing and opportunity for teaching, guidance, and accountability without the $700 plane ticket! Second, we will be meeting with and encouraging local pastors in their work. Third, we will be sitting down with the outgoing president of the Dominican Baptist Convention as well as the incoming president to discuss future strategy in the Dominican. We will discuss the role Mission Surge can take in training pastors as well as the possibility of Mission Surge funding the paperwork, travel, and initial costs of sending Dominican Missionaries to other Latin American countries and even as far away as South Asia. Finally, we will be meeting with a Dominican pastor who will be coming to the U.S. in December in order to meet up with a team from our church who is traveling to South Asia to a Muslim people group. He is going along with our team in order to help discern if God may be calling him to serve as a full time missionary to this area of the world. There are a lot of exciting possibilities in the DR and this trip Dec 6-9 will help solidify some of those possibilities. Please pray for us as we travel, meet, and plan!
I hope to post updates on my blog kevinivy.com daily next week as long as we have internet. If you have not signed up to follow it, please do so or check kevinivy.com regularly. You can also access the blog at www.missionsurge.com and click the link at the bottom that reads Mission Surge Blog. Please keep up with us so you can pray for us as we work. Pictures will be coming soon to the Mission Surge webpage and Facebook page of the trip so be on the lookout.
2. Continue praying for the open door we have in Kenya. God has provided a teacher to travel to Kenya in April. In order to house, feed, and transport 400-500 Kenyan pastors, we will need $4000-$5000 dollars. Pray that if God wants this training to occur, that He will raise up the financial support needed to make it happen.
3. Please continue praying for our work with the Vietnamese in Southeast Asia.
4. Please pray also, that God would begin opening doors for us to preach, teach, and share about Mission Surge in local churches. This will increase awareness and allow opportunities for us to share things that we cannot post online. If you know of a church, conference, or pastor that may be interested in our ministry of evangelism, the family, the church, or our mission to the world, please connect them to us. We are praying for open doors.
5. Finally, join me in praying for God to raise up monthly supporters for our work. We are so grateful to God for the way he raises up large donors at just the right times in our ministry. That may be the way God wants to work in this ministry. If so, that is fine. However, it would allow us greater freedom to pledge our monthly support to pastors and missionaries if we had those who would commit to give monthly. You can give online by going here http://missionsurge.com/financial/give-online.html and clicking on any of the give buttons if you feel led.
Thanks so much for your support of this ministry. Please keep us in your prayers and be on the lookout for updates on our DR trip next week.
I wanted to give a brief report on what is going on with Mission Surge at this time. First, we are grateful to our God for the launch of our website: www.missionsurge.com We are also grateful for God placing it on someone’s heart to provide the funds to purchase 3 laptop computers for our Dominican pastors in Santo Domingo. We will be leaving Monday morning at 6 a.m. to deliver them and conduct some important business that pertains to the future work of Mission Surge in the DR and the world. We are also overwhelmed with gratitude for a recent, unexpected donation of $1000 to Mission Surge. God continues to open doors for us to work and he raises up the help we need just in time. We give him thanks.
I want to ask you to pray about the following things.
1. Pray that God’s will be accomplished next week as we go to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. The agenda for this trip is fourfold. First, we are delivering the 3 laptops that your gifts have helped make possible. These laptops will be given to three key pastors who are working hard to plant churches in Santo Domingo among Dominicans and Haitians. These computers will help them as they labor, but most importantly it will allow for frequent, live meetings through Skype with our Dominican leader here in the U.S. This is going to be a great blessing and opportunity for teaching, guidance, and accountability without the $700 plane ticket! Second, we will be meeting with and encouraging local pastors in their work. Third, we will be sitting down with the outgoing president of the Dominican Baptist Convention as well as the incoming president to discuss future strategy in the Dominican. We will discuss the role Mission Surge can take in training pastors as well as the possibility of Mission Surge funding the paperwork, travel, and initial costs of sending Dominican Missionaries to other Latin American countries and even as far away as South Asia. Finally, we will be meeting with a Dominican pastor who will be coming to the U.S. in December in order to meet up with a team from our church who is traveling to South Asia to a Muslim people group. He is going along with our team in order to help discern if God may be calling him to serve as a full time missionary to this area of the world. There are a lot of exciting possibilities in the DR and this trip Dec 6-9 will help solidify some of those possibilities. Please pray for us as we travel, meet, and plan!
I hope to post updates on my blog kevinivy.com daily next week as long as we have internet. If you have not signed up to follow it, please do so or check kevinivy.com regularly. You can also access the blog at www.missionsurge.com and click the link at the bottom that reads Mission Surge Blog. Please keep up with us so you can pray for us as we work. Pictures will be coming soon to the Mission Surge webpage and Facebook page of the trip so be on the lookout.
2. Continue praying for the open door we have in Kenya. God has provided a teacher to travel to Kenya in April. In order to house, feed, and transport 400-500 Kenyan pastors, we will need $4000-$5000 dollars. Pray that if God wants this training to occur, that He will raise up the financial support needed to make it happen.
3. Please continue praying for our work with the Vietnamese in Southeast Asia.
4. Please pray also, that God would begin opening doors for us to preach, teach, and share about Mission Surge in local churches. This will increase awareness and allow opportunities for us to share things that we cannot post online. If you know of a church, conference, or pastor that may be interested in our ministry of evangelism, the family, the church, or our mission to the world, please connect them to us. We are praying for open doors.
5. Finally, join me in praying for God to raise up monthly supporters for our work. We are so grateful to God for the way he raises up large donors at just the right times in our ministry. That may be the way God wants to work in this ministry. If so, that is fine. However, it would allow us greater freedom to pledge our monthly support to pastors and missionaries if we had those who would commit to give monthly. You can give online by going here http://missionsurge.com/financial/give-online.html and clicking on any of the give buttons if you feel led.
Thanks so much for your support of this ministry. Please keep us in your prayers and be on the lookout for updates on our DR trip next week.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Mission Surge Update
Dear Mission Surge Friends,
I wanted to give you an update of what has been going on with Mission Surge over the past few weeks and an idea of what the future holds so that you can join us in prayer.
First, we are grateful for how God has worked. A team of 4 men just returned from Southeast Asia and training Vietnamese pastors and lay leaders related to Operation Backdoor. Mission Surge was prepared to spend $600 for this training. However, just before we left for SE Asia, the number of pastors and lay-leaders increased so that we had to pay $1100 to cover the expenses (travel, food, etc). This took $500 out of our fund that we had planned to use to purchase laptops for our contacts in the Dominican Republic. We chose to follow God’s guidance step by step and trust Him for the funds for the laptops if He wanted us to have them. So, we spent the $1100 in SE Asia.
I returned from SE Asia and discovered that our DR trip (to deliver the laptops I could not afford) had to be postponed. In the meantime, God placed on someone’s heart the burden to purchase the remainder of the laptops. Through that time, the trip was rescheduled for a couple of weeks later. The trip was postponed in the Providence of God. God impressed someone to meet the need. The laptops have been purchased, and will be delivered Dec 6 to the DR God willing. God is Sovereign and He is our provider and we give Him thanks. When we learn to wait upon Him, He will accomplish what He wants done.
Last weekend we held our first ever Mission Surge Conference. We had many great men of God come and share with us over the weekend. Everyone was encouraged and challenged. Video and audio of the conference will be available in the near future.
I also want to inform you guys that the Mission Surge website is live. Please take time to go check it out. Over time we will be adding video of the sermons preached at the Mission Surge conference last weekend. We will also make available different Bible studies, resources, and helps to encourage you as individuals, families, churches, and in our mission to reach the world. Most of these resources will be downloadable and therefore free! The website is http://www.missionsurge.com/ Please go check it out and share the link with your friends, post it on Facebook, forward it through email, and help us get the word out.
Next week we hope to apply with the Federal government for 501(c)3 status. We have been approved by the state and given a state tax ID number, but we have not filed federally yet. That process is supposed to begin this coming week. Crossing this bridge will allow people to receive tax credit for their gifts to Mission Surge. Pray that it goes smoothly and that the funds necessary are made available.
Pray that God’s will be done concerning the timing of our upcoming DR trip Dec 6. Many important things are going to take place on this brief trip that will lay the groundwork for the future. The DR is our most stable work and we need this trip to solidify some things. You can learn more about our work there at: Reaching Santo Domingo
Lift up those pastors and lay-leaders trained through operation backdoor. Continue to pray for God to raise up individuals to support the financial needs in that ministry. You can see these needs at: Operation Backdoor
Finally, please be in prayer about a possible open door in Kenya. Mission Surge has the opportunity to be involved in the training of 400-500 Kenyan pastors in April of 2011. We have been quietly praying that if this is God’s doing He will call out the right pastor to go. One of our board members has indicated that he is feeling led to take on this training opportunity in Kenya. Now, we are waiting on God to prepare the funds to host the conference (transport, feed, and house these Kenyan pastors who do not have the funds to attend otherwise). The cost is estimated at $5000. I know that is a big chunk, but when you think about it, we can train 500 pastors in Kenya for a week for $10 apiece. Not too bad? Please pray that God will raise up 10 people to give $100 a month for November, December, January, February, and March. That will provide the needed funds to do the work. Pray that God would put it on someone’s heart to contribute the total amount, or on 5 people’s hearts to give $1000 each. If He wants this to happen in Kenya, He will raise up the needed support. Please pray that He would do His will in the matter soon so that we can begin making preparations on this end to go.
Finally, forward this around to your praying friends. If you are reading this on the Mission Surge blog, through Facebook, or if a friend has forwarded it to you and you would like to receive email updates directly from Mission Surge, please email kevin@missionsurge.com and put UPDATES in the subject line and you will be added to our email list.
Thanks for praying for us.
In Christ,
Kevin
kevin@missionsurge.com
http://www.missionsurge.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Florence-MS/Mission-Surge/145423062144598?ref=ts
kevinivy.com
I wanted to give you an update of what has been going on with Mission Surge over the past few weeks and an idea of what the future holds so that you can join us in prayer.
First, we are grateful for how God has worked. A team of 4 men just returned from Southeast Asia and training Vietnamese pastors and lay leaders related to Operation Backdoor. Mission Surge was prepared to spend $600 for this training. However, just before we left for SE Asia, the number of pastors and lay-leaders increased so that we had to pay $1100 to cover the expenses (travel, food, etc). This took $500 out of our fund that we had planned to use to purchase laptops for our contacts in the Dominican Republic. We chose to follow God’s guidance step by step and trust Him for the funds for the laptops if He wanted us to have them. So, we spent the $1100 in SE Asia.
I returned from SE Asia and discovered that our DR trip (to deliver the laptops I could not afford) had to be postponed. In the meantime, God placed on someone’s heart the burden to purchase the remainder of the laptops. Through that time, the trip was rescheduled for a couple of weeks later. The trip was postponed in the Providence of God. God impressed someone to meet the need. The laptops have been purchased, and will be delivered Dec 6 to the DR God willing. God is Sovereign and He is our provider and we give Him thanks. When we learn to wait upon Him, He will accomplish what He wants done.
Last weekend we held our first ever Mission Surge Conference. We had many great men of God come and share with us over the weekend. Everyone was encouraged and challenged. Video and audio of the conference will be available in the near future.
I also want to inform you guys that the Mission Surge website is live. Please take time to go check it out. Over time we will be adding video of the sermons preached at the Mission Surge conference last weekend. We will also make available different Bible studies, resources, and helps to encourage you as individuals, families, churches, and in our mission to reach the world. Most of these resources will be downloadable and therefore free! The website is http://www.missionsurge.com/ Please go check it out and share the link with your friends, post it on Facebook, forward it through email, and help us get the word out.
Next week we hope to apply with the Federal government for 501(c)3 status. We have been approved by the state and given a state tax ID number, but we have not filed federally yet. That process is supposed to begin this coming week. Crossing this bridge will allow people to receive tax credit for their gifts to Mission Surge. Pray that it goes smoothly and that the funds necessary are made available.
Pray that God’s will be done concerning the timing of our upcoming DR trip Dec 6. Many important things are going to take place on this brief trip that will lay the groundwork for the future. The DR is our most stable work and we need this trip to solidify some things. You can learn more about our work there at: Reaching Santo Domingo
Lift up those pastors and lay-leaders trained through operation backdoor. Continue to pray for God to raise up individuals to support the financial needs in that ministry. You can see these needs at: Operation Backdoor
Finally, please be in prayer about a possible open door in Kenya. Mission Surge has the opportunity to be involved in the training of 400-500 Kenyan pastors in April of 2011. We have been quietly praying that if this is God’s doing He will call out the right pastor to go. One of our board members has indicated that he is feeling led to take on this training opportunity in Kenya. Now, we are waiting on God to prepare the funds to host the conference (transport, feed, and house these Kenyan pastors who do not have the funds to attend otherwise). The cost is estimated at $5000. I know that is a big chunk, but when you think about it, we can train 500 pastors in Kenya for a week for $10 apiece. Not too bad? Please pray that God will raise up 10 people to give $100 a month for November, December, January, February, and March. That will provide the needed funds to do the work. Pray that God would put it on someone’s heart to contribute the total amount, or on 5 people’s hearts to give $1000 each. If He wants this to happen in Kenya, He will raise up the needed support. Please pray that He would do His will in the matter soon so that we can begin making preparations on this end to go.
Finally, forward this around to your praying friends. If you are reading this on the Mission Surge blog, through Facebook, or if a friend has forwarded it to you and you would like to receive email updates directly from Mission Surge, please email kevin@missionsurge.com and put UPDATES in the subject line and you will be added to our email list.
Thanks for praying for us.
In Christ,
Kevin
kevin@missionsurge.com
http://www.missionsurge.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Florence-MS/Mission-Surge/145423062144598?ref=ts
kevinivy.com
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Mission Surge Conference
The Mission Surge Conference is rapidly approaching. I hope that you are looking forward to it, planning to attend, and inviting others to come with you.
We will be spending the entire weekend discussing the power of the Gospel and how the Gospel impacts individuals, families, churches, and the world. Romans 1:16 really sums up the theme of the whole conference: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ESV
This is what missions is all about: the Gospel. The Gospel is not a power, but THE power of God for salvation. The Gospel makes an impact and an impact makes waves, it sends ripples, it surges outward. This is where the name Mission Surge came from. The Gospel surges outward through individuals, families, churches, and to the very ends of the earth. And when the Gospel works in this way, it has maximum impact; maximum power.
This weekend you will hear messages that exalt Christ and the true Gospel. You will hear messages that reveal how the Gospel applies to the individual, the family, the church, the community, and the world. You will hear from area pastors like Dr. Greg Belser, Dr. Justin McClendon, Dr. Paul Young, Pastor Buddy Sheriff, and myself. You will hear from pastors who are planting churches as far away as Nevada like Neal Creecy. You will hear from pastors written popular books on leading families and making disciples of our children like Jerry Marcellino. You will hear from missionaries who have invested their lives in places like the Dominican Republic like Gene Pickern and during the breaks you will get to browse tables that display prayer needs and ministry opportunities from the U.S. to the ends of the earth. It is going to be a big weekend at Cleary and I hope you are looking forward to it!
You will also have an opportunity to learn about a brand new ministry that is seeking to impact individuals, families, churches, and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You will learn what this ministry is seeking to do and how you can be personally involved. You will be the FIRST to be given a brand new website address so that you can research, pray for, and get involved in this new ministry that has the potential to make a difference in lives for God’s glory.
The conference is free. You do not have to register to attend. We simply ask that you give a love gift to help show the men who are preaching your appreciation. You will have an opportunity to give through an offering on Friday night and Saturday night during the services. If you cannot make those 2 services, a box will be available for you to place your offerings in. A nursery will be available for children 0 to 3 years old Friday night and Saturday. Sunday morning, we will have nursery and children’s church for those up to 5 years. A lunch will be provided on Saturday for those in attendance, but supper will be on your own....and it is all free of charge.
You can learn more about the speakers and the conference schedule at the following link.
http://clearybaptist.org/Outreach_Mission_Surge
Please spread the word on your Facebook page, through your email contacts, and by word of mouth. You can also continue the promotion by commenting on this blog and on the Mission Surge Conference Facebook page by clicking here http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=140588559312506 and by commenting on other peoples FB pages who have posted info about this conference. In other words, keep the conversation going! Forward it to everyone in your email contacts list and share with brothers and sisters from other churches that this conference is not just for Cleary folks but is for everyone who loves the Gospel and wants to change the world!
We would really love to have a good crowd attend the first annual Mission Surge Conference at Cleary. We know that you will be challenged and encouraged by what you hear.
Help us spread the Word!!
We will be spending the entire weekend discussing the power of the Gospel and how the Gospel impacts individuals, families, churches, and the world. Romans 1:16 really sums up the theme of the whole conference: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ESV
This is what missions is all about: the Gospel. The Gospel is not a power, but THE power of God for salvation. The Gospel makes an impact and an impact makes waves, it sends ripples, it surges outward. This is where the name Mission Surge came from. The Gospel surges outward through individuals, families, churches, and to the very ends of the earth. And when the Gospel works in this way, it has maximum impact; maximum power.
This weekend you will hear messages that exalt Christ and the true Gospel. You will hear messages that reveal how the Gospel applies to the individual, the family, the church, the community, and the world. You will hear from area pastors like Dr. Greg Belser, Dr. Justin McClendon, Dr. Paul Young, Pastor Buddy Sheriff, and myself. You will hear from pastors who are planting churches as far away as Nevada like Neal Creecy. You will hear from pastors written popular books on leading families and making disciples of our children like Jerry Marcellino. You will hear from missionaries who have invested their lives in places like the Dominican Republic like Gene Pickern and during the breaks you will get to browse tables that display prayer needs and ministry opportunities from the U.S. to the ends of the earth. It is going to be a big weekend at Cleary and I hope you are looking forward to it!
You will also have an opportunity to learn about a brand new ministry that is seeking to impact individuals, families, churches, and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You will learn what this ministry is seeking to do and how you can be personally involved. You will be the FIRST to be given a brand new website address so that you can research, pray for, and get involved in this new ministry that has the potential to make a difference in lives for God’s glory.
The conference is free. You do not have to register to attend. We simply ask that you give a love gift to help show the men who are preaching your appreciation. You will have an opportunity to give through an offering on Friday night and Saturday night during the services. If you cannot make those 2 services, a box will be available for you to place your offerings in. A nursery will be available for children 0 to 3 years old Friday night and Saturday. Sunday morning, we will have nursery and children’s church for those up to 5 years. A lunch will be provided on Saturday for those in attendance, but supper will be on your own....and it is all free of charge.
You can learn more about the speakers and the conference schedule at the following link.
http://clearybaptist.org/Outreach_Mission_Surge
Please spread the word on your Facebook page, through your email contacts, and by word of mouth. You can also continue the promotion by commenting on this blog and on the Mission Surge Conference Facebook page by clicking here http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=140588559312506 and by commenting on other peoples FB pages who have posted info about this conference. In other words, keep the conversation going! Forward it to everyone in your email contacts list and share with brothers and sisters from other churches that this conference is not just for Cleary folks but is for everyone who loves the Gospel and wants to change the world!
We would really love to have a good crowd attend the first annual Mission Surge Conference at Cleary. We know that you will be challenged and encouraged by what you hear.
Help us spread the Word!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Final Leg
We are finally back in the U.S. As I type this blog, it is around 1 p.m. here in San Francisco as we wait to board our flight to Dallas and then to Jackson.
I want to share just a bit of what happened Sunday in Southeast Asia and wrap up the trip. We got up early Sunday morning and went to share with the English speaking church (made up of Indian and Chinese believers). Then, we ate lunch with them aftewards (some type of shrimp porridge). I have gotten wise! It has taken me all week, but I finally learned. I ate very, very, very slowly and left an unoffensive amount in the bottom of the bowl because I just knew the Vietnamese were cooking for us upstairs.
Sure enough, before we finished the porridge, a Vietnamese lady came down and beckoned us upstairs for lunch AGAIN. We all sat cross-legged style in a circle on the floor. Many varieties of food were in the center of us. Once again, I have learned! I sat far away from the ladies because they see you getting low and start throwing stuff on your plate with their chop sticks. I guess they think because we are all fat Americans, that we never get full... well, I can tell you one thing for certain. Vietnamese people eat twice as much as any American I know. They are literally bottomless pits. Anyway, I sat far away from all the ladies, planned to eat very slow (which chop sticks aid when I use them) and be okay. I turned to put some cabbage and "something" in my bowl, sat back upright and there to my right was a Vietnamese girl. She had decided, I guess, that I might need some meal assistance after all. I ate slow, and when I got a little low, she would throw something in my bowl, but eating slowly helped. At least she didn't throw the chicken head in my bowl... that might have caused a problem.
Anyway, they were extremely gracious to us and more than hospitable. After a brief rest, busses,taxis, and vans began pulling up. The busses held a limit of 44 people, but there were as many as 58 on some of them, traveling up to 2 hours sitting in the floor. Around 200 Vietnamese packed the English speaking church. After about 2 hours of singing and sharing, I preached on the cost of following Christ (which is very real for them). There were a few dozen recommit themselves fully to following Christ in spite of the cost and 3 professed to come to Christ.
Then there was about an hour and a half of picture taking and good-byes before we left to eat (yes EAT AGAIN) and return to the room. We got in bed again around midnight, woke up at 4:00 a.m. and headed to the airport. We have crossed time zones and been in the air for so long we don't know which way is up. We have operated on less sleep than I though possible and have stayed extremely busy. No time was wasted and the time that was invested has the potential to reach into the remotest areas of South, Central, and North Vietnam.
God has gathered together people from all over Vietnam (a seriously restricted nation) and as we learned on this trip, God has also brought the Nepalise fromthe country of Nepal as well. He has brought them to a place in East Asia that is also restricted, but apathetic about them as transmigrant workers. This has opened the door for us to openly share and train them and then send them back to their homeland to impact their world. The investments in this work seem to promise fruitful returns in the Kingdom. Now, we must let the fog clear, seek God in prayer, and determine what type of role he wants us to play in the long term efforts of this work.
Until next time...
I want to share just a bit of what happened Sunday in Southeast Asia and wrap up the trip. We got up early Sunday morning and went to share with the English speaking church (made up of Indian and Chinese believers). Then, we ate lunch with them aftewards (some type of shrimp porridge). I have gotten wise! It has taken me all week, but I finally learned. I ate very, very, very slowly and left an unoffensive amount in the bottom of the bowl because I just knew the Vietnamese were cooking for us upstairs.
Sure enough, before we finished the porridge, a Vietnamese lady came down and beckoned us upstairs for lunch AGAIN. We all sat cross-legged style in a circle on the floor. Many varieties of food were in the center of us. Once again, I have learned! I sat far away from the ladies because they see you getting low and start throwing stuff on your plate with their chop sticks. I guess they think because we are all fat Americans, that we never get full... well, I can tell you one thing for certain. Vietnamese people eat twice as much as any American I know. They are literally bottomless pits. Anyway, I sat far away from all the ladies, planned to eat very slow (which chop sticks aid when I use them) and be okay. I turned to put some cabbage and "something" in my bowl, sat back upright and there to my right was a Vietnamese girl. She had decided, I guess, that I might need some meal assistance after all. I ate slow, and when I got a little low, she would throw something in my bowl, but eating slowly helped. At least she didn't throw the chicken head in my bowl... that might have caused a problem.
Anyway, they were extremely gracious to us and more than hospitable. After a brief rest, busses,taxis, and vans began pulling up. The busses held a limit of 44 people, but there were as many as 58 on some of them, traveling up to 2 hours sitting in the floor. Around 200 Vietnamese packed the English speaking church. After about 2 hours of singing and sharing, I preached on the cost of following Christ (which is very real for them). There were a few dozen recommit themselves fully to following Christ in spite of the cost and 3 professed to come to Christ.
Then there was about an hour and a half of picture taking and good-byes before we left to eat (yes EAT AGAIN) and return to the room. We got in bed again around midnight, woke up at 4:00 a.m. and headed to the airport. We have crossed time zones and been in the air for so long we don't know which way is up. We have operated on less sleep than I though possible and have stayed extremely busy. No time was wasted and the time that was invested has the potential to reach into the remotest areas of South, Central, and North Vietnam.
God has gathered together people from all over Vietnam (a seriously restricted nation) and as we learned on this trip, God has also brought the Nepalise fromthe country of Nepal as well. He has brought them to a place in East Asia that is also restricted, but apathetic about them as transmigrant workers. This has opened the door for us to openly share and train them and then send them back to their homeland to impact their world. The investments in this work seem to promise fruitful returns in the Kingdom. Now, we must let the fog clear, seek God in prayer, and determine what type of role he wants us to play in the long term efforts of this work.
Until next time...
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Days Three & Four
In this blog, I am covering the work of Friday and Saturday. There has literally been no time to write. And when I do find time to write, there is not time to find and connect to internet and post. Also it is a challenge to determine if the blog posts because the country has blocked access to my blog due to its content.
We got up again Friday at 7:00 a.m., ate breakfast, and headed out one more time to the Chinese church to teach the third session of 2 Peter and Church planting training to the Vietnamese workers.
Afterward we went to a ladies apartment to share with a group that meets in her home. We climbed about four flights of stairs and entered a room about 10 X 15 feet. Approximately 30 people gathered, sat Indian style on the floor and listened to me share for about an hour and a half or two hours. Question and answers followed until midnight. One young lady shared her testimony of how the demons that possessed her great grandfather (the shaman in Vietnam) tormented her family for years. She met Christ here in Souteast Asia, shared with her father back in Vietnam and the whole family came to Christ.
The demons stopped harassing them and they are currently hoping to plant a church as soon as possible in their home.
We got back to the room around midnight and got to bed around 1:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 23
It is now Saturday. We actually got to sleep past 7:00 a.m.! We left the hotel at 11:00 a.m., went to eat and shared about the possibility of future work. Then we traveled about an hour where I preached to an English Speaking Church called the Lighthouse. There were approximately 60 Chinese and Indian believers gathered there.
After a short break the Vietnamese began filtering in. There were probably around 100 who filtered in from as far away as the Thailand border. The leaders had them stand up to show which areas of Vietnam were represented. The South, Central, and Northern parts of Vietnam were all represented. Several different remote Ethnic groups were also there.
The realization came to me that in this one service tonight, all of the nation of Vietnam was potentially being impacted. These people will return home to unreached, unengaged peoples and many will begin house groups in their communities. Several shared that they have already led their parents, grandparents, and siblings to Christ by phone from here in Southeast Asia. This work has great potential.
Pray that the leaders continue to grow in the Word and right methods of witnessing and evangelizing.
We preached, sung, heard testimony, and prayed until 11:30 p.m. There were 9 or 10 who professed to follow Christ from the meeting. After some pictures with those professing faith, we are now on our way back to the hotel and should get there around 12:30 a.m. We will hopefully be in bed by 1:00 and will have to rise around 5:30 or 6:00 in order to leave the hotel at 7:00 and get to our next stop on the tour.
I will preach at 9:00 a.m. to another English speaking Chinese congregation and then that evening to more Vietnamese. These services will be taking place around 8:00 p.m. CST Saturday evening and 3:00 a.m. CST Sunday morning.
Pray that God will have His way. It is going to be a short night and a long day tomorrow, then we will have to leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning to get to the airport and head home. We will likely need 48 hours of unbroken sleep when we finally stop.
Pray that we will stay alert and focused and rested for the work. Hopefully I can update the blog one more time before we head for the airport Monday morning to catch our plane at 7:00 a.m. (6 p.m Sunday night CST).
Pray for us.
We got up again Friday at 7:00 a.m., ate breakfast, and headed out one more time to the Chinese church to teach the third session of 2 Peter and Church planting training to the Vietnamese workers.
Afterward we went to a ladies apartment to share with a group that meets in her home. We climbed about four flights of stairs and entered a room about 10 X 15 feet. Approximately 30 people gathered, sat Indian style on the floor and listened to me share for about an hour and a half or two hours. Question and answers followed until midnight. One young lady shared her testimony of how the demons that possessed her great grandfather (the shaman in Vietnam) tormented her family for years. She met Christ here in Souteast Asia, shared with her father back in Vietnam and the whole family came to Christ.
The demons stopped harassing them and they are currently hoping to plant a church as soon as possible in their home.
We got back to the room around midnight and got to bed around 1:00 a.m.
Saturday, October 23
It is now Saturday. We actually got to sleep past 7:00 a.m.! We left the hotel at 11:00 a.m., went to eat and shared about the possibility of future work. Then we traveled about an hour where I preached to an English Speaking Church called the Lighthouse. There were approximately 60 Chinese and Indian believers gathered there.
After a short break the Vietnamese began filtering in. There were probably around 100 who filtered in from as far away as the Thailand border. The leaders had them stand up to show which areas of Vietnam were represented. The South, Central, and Northern parts of Vietnam were all represented. Several different remote Ethnic groups were also there.
The realization came to me that in this one service tonight, all of the nation of Vietnam was potentially being impacted. These people will return home to unreached, unengaged peoples and many will begin house groups in their communities. Several shared that they have already led their parents, grandparents, and siblings to Christ by phone from here in Southeast Asia. This work has great potential.
Pray that the leaders continue to grow in the Word and right methods of witnessing and evangelizing.
I will preach at 9:00 a.m. to another English speaking Chinese congregation and then that evening to more Vietnamese. These services will be taking place around 8:00 p.m. CST Saturday evening and 3:00 a.m. CST Sunday morning.
Pray that God will have His way. It is going to be a short night and a long day tomorrow, then we will have to leave the hotel at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning to get to the airport and head home. We will likely need 48 hours of unbroken sleep when we finally stop.
Pray that we will stay alert and focused and rested for the work. Hopefully I can update the blog one more time before we head for the airport Monday morning to catch our plane at 7:00 a.m. (6 p.m Sunday night CST).
Pray for us.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Busy Training Day
We ate some home cooked Vietamese food for lunch. It was definitely an experience. I prayed during the blessing that God would give me the ability to eat the food and to give me a stomach of iron. It was noodles, some very strange looking mushroom slices, bamboo shoots, and duck meat. It was surprisingly good. For desert we had bong bongs... not spelled correctly. Bong bong means fruit and whatever we ate was a fruit with no name, so they call it bong bong. I have never seen it before and they were very unique, but pretty tasty.
After we left the first training session, we went to eat some local and authentic Chinese. It was definitely NOT American Chinese. Some of it was a little tough to swallow "literally." They brought out some type of pork that I have never seen before. It looked like a spleen, but we discovered it was the meat from underneath the pigs belly wrapped in a spinach leaf and cooked. It didn't make it around the table and to our plates and I don't think I heard anyone complain.
After we ate, we traveled to Bill's for the last time and sat Indian style in his floor for about an hour and a half straight talking about the Gospel and answering questions. We left Bill's at 11:30, got back to the room a little after midnight and hit the sack at about 1:00. All is well. The work here with the Vietamese seems to be a good work and worthy of investing in. The people are converted, discipled, and trained here and then sent back to Vietnam to plant churches. God is working in Vietnam and among the Vietnamese and it is our hope and prayer that this week of training and encouraging will move the work along even further. Off to bed...
Thursday, October 21, 2010
East Asia - Day Two
Well the first full day in East Asia has come to an end and it has been a busy one. We got in bed late last night, jet lagged, at 1 a.m., got up at 7 and hit the road at 9. We have been wide open ever since.
We have learned first hand in a fresh way that persecution is real. It is not easy to be a believer here, but there is joy and a hunger for God.
We have met some interesting young men and women from Vietnam who are hungry to learn more of the word and hungry to learn more about planting churches both here and in Vietnam. One young man, who I will call Bill came to Christ, returned to Vietnam and began evangelizing the lost in his community. In a short time the communist government caught on to his work, began harrassing him and his family and eventually drove him out of the country. He is currently here separated from his family,planting churches, and discipling young men and women.
We led church planting training, shared testimonies, and computer training from 10:30 until 4:30 for him and some of his colleagues today. Then tonight after traveling to Bill's and spending time with him and his fellow workers this evening, I taught in Bill's home to a packed room full of his disciples from about 9:15 until 10:30. In reality, he should be teaching me.
I feel like a guy who just went to Wal Mart, bought a hammer and a Do it Yourself magazine trying to teach a bunch of contractors and construction workers how to build a house. I am insufficient for this task.
It is almost 11 as I am typing this, in the van, on the way home from Bill's. It is clear that there will be very little rest or down time on this trip. By the time we get back to the hotel, call home, and get cleaned up it will be 1 a.m before bed again. We need your prayers that we will be energized and rested for the week. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for this task.
More tomorrow...
first full day's report
Well the first full day in East Asia has come to an end and it has been a busy one. We got in bed late last night, jet lagged, at 1 a.m., got up at 7 and hit the road at 9. We have been wide open ever since.
We have learned first hand in a fresh way that persecution is real. It is not easy to be a believer here, but there is joy and a hunger for God.
We have met some interesting young men and women from Vietnam who are hungry to learn more of the word and hungry to learn more about planting churches both here and in Vietnam. One young man, who I will call Bill came to Christ, returned to Vietnam and began evangelizing the lost in his community. In a short time the communist government caught on to his work, began harrassing him and his family and eventually drove him out of the country. He is currently here separated from his family,planting churches, and discipling young men and women.
We led church planting training, shared testimonies, and computer training from 10:30 until 4:30 for him and some of his colleagues today. Then tonight after traveling to Bill's and spending time with him and his fellow workers this evening, I taught in Bill's home to a packed room full of his disciples from about 9:15 until 10:30. In reality, he should be teaching me.
I feel like a guy who just went to Wal Mart, bought a hammer and a Do it Yourself magazine trying to teach a bunch of contractors and construction workers how to build a house. I am insufficient for this task.
It is almost 11 as I am typing this, in the van, on the way home from Bill's. It is clear that there will be very little rest or down time on this trip. By the time we get back to the hotel, call home, and get cleaned up it will be 1 a.m before bed again. We need your prayers that we will be energized and rested for the week. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for this task.
MOre tomorrow...
We have learned first hand in a fresh way that persecution is real. It is not easy to be a believer here, but there is joy and a hunger for God.
We have met some interesting young men and women from Vietnam who are hungry to learn more of the word and hungry to learn more about planting churches both here and in Vietnam. One young man, who I will call Bill came to Christ, returned to Vietnam and began evangelizing the lost in his community. In a short time the communist government caught on to his work, began harrassing him and his family and eventually drove him out of the country. He is currently here separated from his family,planting churches, and discipling young men and women.
We led church planting training, shared testimonies, and computer training from 10:30 until 4:30 for him and some of his colleagues today. Then tonight after traveling to Bill's and spending time with him and his fellow workers this evening, I taught in Bill's home to a packed room full of his disciples from about 9:15 until 10:30. In reality, he should be teaching me.
I feel like a guy who just went to Wal Mart, bought a hammer and a Do it Yourself magazine trying to teach a bunch of contractors and construction workers how to build a house. I am insufficient for this task.
It is almost 11 as I am typing this, in the van, on the way home from Bill's. It is clear that there will be very little rest or down time on this trip. By the time we get back to the hotel, call home, and get cleaned up it will be 1 a.m before bed again. We need your prayers that we will be energized and rested for the week. We need the Holy Spirit to equip us for this task.
MOre tomorrow...
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
We are Here
We finally arrived at our destination in East Asia a few hours ago. It is now 12:40 a.m. and we are going to get rolling in the morning at around 7 so we need to hit the sack. Hopefully we will have time to report more tomorrow. Until then, remember us in your prayers. Pray for our health and our energy level as we have a very busy schedule and are operating on little sleep. Pray for the pastors we will be training and the unbelievers we will encounter. Keep up here, at kevinivy.com, for more updates (hopefully in the next 24 hours).
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Mission Surge Report
Dear Mission Surge Friends,
There are several exciting things that are beginning to fall into place with Mission Surge and several extremely urgent matters of prayer that I want to share with you today in this email. Please read this and forward it to everyone and anyone that you believe will pray!
First, we are literally a few weeks away from having our brand new website up and running in the public domain. The web address will be www.missionsurge.com We already have a Facebook page, but the official website will make the ministry much more public and functional. Please pray that we get this thing finished up and launched very soon.
Second, we have been approved by the state as a non-profit organization and have been given our tax ID number. In November, we should have our Federal non-profit status completed and officially be a 501(c)3 ministry. We are looking forward to this as it will allow people to begin giving regularly and directly to Mission Surge without having to go through Cleary Baptist Church.
Third, this Sunday afternoon I, and 3 other companions, will be leaving for Malaysia until Monday, October 25. Malaysia is a restricted Islamic nation. I will be preaching and teaching for 40-50 hours while there and we need your prayers. I will be speaking in several worship services and evangelistic services in Malaysia. During the nights I will be meeting with a group of migrant workers from North Vietnam to teach them how to plant churches and teach the Word of God. They will go back to North Vietnam and plant churches with the information they gain from this trip. Please, please be in prayer for me as I try to prepare in the midst of 100 other things calling for my attention and as we travel to, in, and from Malaysia and pray all next week for the work there. Also, please pray for these 3 other guys who will be helping me teach and train and encourage the believers there. If you want updates on what is going on in Malaysia you can go to kevinivy.com each day beginning Monday as I will be updating you through that blog. (Just as a side note, Mission Surge is NOT financially supporting me or any of the men going to Malaysia next week. The funds of Mission Surge are only being used to support the pastors who we are working with and training IN Malaysia).
In relation to Malaysia, Mission Surge is providing transportation for the Vietnamese to and from the training. In the beginning these costs were estimated at $600. I just found out that the cost have now jumped to $1100. This has caught me off guard. It has not caught God off guard however. We have committed to transport these men to this training and we are convinced that God will provide the needed $500 to do so. Please, please pray that God would move the right person or people to meet this need in His time. We trust Him.
Fourth, in November we are hosting, at Cleary Baptist Church a conference called Mission Surge. At this conference, we will have a time where Mission Surge, the ministry, will be introduced and the website announced etc. The dates are November 12-14 (Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning). A great line up of speakers will be present and the vision of Mission Surge will be preached through the weekend: The Gospel impacting individuals, families, churches, communities, and the world. You can check out the information about this conference at www.clearybaptist.org Please plan to attend and invite others to do so as well.
The Monday after the Mission Surge conference, I will be traveling to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with our missionary to meet with the president of the Baptist Convention in the DR. We will be going in order to plan a future strategy for impacting the DR. This is an extremely important meeting and I need you to be in prayer for it. Also, we are supposed to deliver 3 laptop computers to 3 key pastors that we are working with in the DR so that they can meet weekly through Skype with our missionary to the DR who is now living in the states due to medical reasons. We have the money for 2 of these laptops. Please pray that God will raise up someone to purchase the third laptop before November.
As we await the launch of our website, you can find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Florence-MS/Mission-Surge/145423062144598 Please go there and join the page and you will get updates regularly.
Thank you for your prayers for the Malaysia trip, for your prayers in relation to the needed funds, and for your continued prayers for the upcoming conference and DR trip. Please, please forward this email to those in your inbox who will pray! Please check us out on FaceBook! Please keep up with our Malaysia trip next week through www.kevinivy.com and SPREAD THE WORD to as many people as you will!
If you have any questions or any words of encouragement, please leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Thank you.
There are several exciting things that are beginning to fall into place with Mission Surge and several extremely urgent matters of prayer that I want to share with you today in this email. Please read this and forward it to everyone and anyone that you believe will pray!
First, we are literally a few weeks away from having our brand new website up and running in the public domain. The web address will be www.missionsurge.com We already have a Facebook page, but the official website will make the ministry much more public and functional. Please pray that we get this thing finished up and launched very soon.
Second, we have been approved by the state as a non-profit organization and have been given our tax ID number. In November, we should have our Federal non-profit status completed and officially be a 501(c)3 ministry. We are looking forward to this as it will allow people to begin giving regularly and directly to Mission Surge without having to go through Cleary Baptist Church.
Third, this Sunday afternoon I, and 3 other companions, will be leaving for Malaysia until Monday, October 25. Malaysia is a restricted Islamic nation. I will be preaching and teaching for 40-50 hours while there and we need your prayers. I will be speaking in several worship services and evangelistic services in Malaysia. During the nights I will be meeting with a group of migrant workers from North Vietnam to teach them how to plant churches and teach the Word of God. They will go back to North Vietnam and plant churches with the information they gain from this trip. Please, please be in prayer for me as I try to prepare in the midst of 100 other things calling for my attention and as we travel to, in, and from Malaysia and pray all next week for the work there. Also, please pray for these 3 other guys who will be helping me teach and train and encourage the believers there. If you want updates on what is going on in Malaysia you can go to kevinivy.com each day beginning Monday as I will be updating you through that blog. (Just as a side note, Mission Surge is NOT financially supporting me or any of the men going to Malaysia next week. The funds of Mission Surge are only being used to support the pastors who we are working with and training IN Malaysia).
In relation to Malaysia, Mission Surge is providing transportation for the Vietnamese to and from the training. In the beginning these costs were estimated at $600. I just found out that the cost have now jumped to $1100. This has caught me off guard. It has not caught God off guard however. We have committed to transport these men to this training and we are convinced that God will provide the needed $500 to do so. Please, please pray that God would move the right person or people to meet this need in His time. We trust Him.
Fourth, in November we are hosting, at Cleary Baptist Church a conference called Mission Surge. At this conference, we will have a time where Mission Surge, the ministry, will be introduced and the website announced etc. The dates are November 12-14 (Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning). A great line up of speakers will be present and the vision of Mission Surge will be preached through the weekend: The Gospel impacting individuals, families, churches, communities, and the world. You can check out the information about this conference at www.clearybaptist.org Please plan to attend and invite others to do so as well.
The Monday after the Mission Surge conference, I will be traveling to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic with our missionary to meet with the president of the Baptist Convention in the DR. We will be going in order to plan a future strategy for impacting the DR. This is an extremely important meeting and I need you to be in prayer for it. Also, we are supposed to deliver 3 laptop computers to 3 key pastors that we are working with in the DR so that they can meet weekly through Skype with our missionary to the DR who is now living in the states due to medical reasons. We have the money for 2 of these laptops. Please pray that God will raise up someone to purchase the third laptop before November.
As we await the launch of our website, you can find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Florence-MS/Mission-Surge/145423062144598 Please go there and join the page and you will get updates regularly.
Thank you for your prayers for the Malaysia trip, for your prayers in relation to the needed funds, and for your continued prayers for the upcoming conference and DR trip. Please, please forward this email to those in your inbox who will pray! Please check us out on FaceBook! Please keep up with our Malaysia trip next week through www.kevinivy.com and SPREAD THE WORD to as many people as you will!
If you have any questions or any words of encouragement, please leave a comment on our Facebook page.
Thank you.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Anyone want to Volunteer?
Some of you may be aware, through Facebook, that a brand new ministry called Mission Surge is in its early stages. The goal of Mission Surge is to clarify the biblical gospel to individuals, encourage fathers to serve as the spiritual leaders of their homes, reform churches, impact communities, and carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We have already been privileged to provide 4 families with financial assistance after they were displaced from their homes and village in East Asia. We are also traveling to East Asia next month to teach pastors from a restricted nation the Word and teach them to plant churches in their closed country. We have been blessed with the finances to provide transportation to and from the training as well as resources for training these pastors. In November we will be setting up training and potential support to pastors in Latin America. God continues to open doors at home and abroad.
We are in the process of developing a Mission Surge Website to further explain the mission of Mission Surge and to promote the work of Mission Surge. We need some people to volunteer a couple of hours of their time over the next few days to provide us with some information we need to post on the website to make it more user friendly.
Here is what we need…we need some individuals who would be willing to listen to a few of my old sermons on audio (I know, I know…sorry) and notate every Scripture referenced in the sermon WITH THE TIME that the Scripture is used in the sermon. Then you would email the Scriptures and times used to us so that we can post this info on the Mission Surge website. If you are interested in helping with this project please let me know ASAP and I will give you further detail or put you in contact with the right person. You can email me at kevin@missionsurge.com. Thanks for your willingness to volunteer!
I look forward to hearing from you.
We are in the process of developing a Mission Surge Website to further explain the mission of Mission Surge and to promote the work of Mission Surge. We need some people to volunteer a couple of hours of their time over the next few days to provide us with some information we need to post on the website to make it more user friendly.
Here is what we need…we need some individuals who would be willing to listen to a few of my old sermons on audio (I know, I know…sorry) and notate every Scripture referenced in the sermon WITH THE TIME that the Scripture is used in the sermon. Then you would email the Scriptures and times used to us so that we can post this info on the Mission Surge website. If you are interested in helping with this project please let me know ASAP and I will give you further detail or put you in contact with the right person. You can email me at kevin@missionsurge.com. Thanks for your willingness to volunteer!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Emergency Need!
HELP!
In East Asia (I cannot share the exact location online), among an unreached people group, four families of national believers were kicked out of their community. They were forced to leave everything behind (home, clothes, furniture, food etc). They have been displaced and they have nothing. Since they are from a devout Muslim community they have no support or assistance. Since they were the entire church in their community, there are no brothers or sisters in Christ to help them where they are. They need our help!
I want to ask you to pray for these believers. They are totally dependent upon God and they are part of the body of Christ. When one part suffers, we should all feel the pain. Please pray that God would be merciful to these believers and provide for their every need. Also pray that God would use, what looks like a trial, and use it for His glory and for the furtherance of His kingdom.
If you would like to financially assist these national believers, Mission Surge has a contact that knows where each family has been displaced to. He can and will personally deliver the gifts that you provide. Every penny you send will go to these national believers that have been displaced.
Unfortunately, we are so new that we have not had sufficient time to get our Mission Surge website and paypal information completed so that you can donate online. For now, we need you to make your check out to Mission Surge with a memo of "National Believers" and mail it as soon as possible to:
Mission Surge
c/o Cleary Baptist Church
1580 Florence Byram Road
Florence, MS 39073
2 Cor 8:3-4: For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints (ESV).
Please spread the word by forwarding, facebooking, and spreading this need by word of mouth. Spread the word and pray for these families! You can also help by clicking here and keep up with what is going on at Mission Surge. Also be on the lookout for missionsurge.com
Thanks
In East Asia (I cannot share the exact location online), among an unreached people group, four families of national believers were kicked out of their community. They were forced to leave everything behind (home, clothes, furniture, food etc). They have been displaced and they have nothing. Since they are from a devout Muslim community they have no support or assistance. Since they were the entire church in their community, there are no brothers or sisters in Christ to help them where they are. They need our help!
I want to ask you to pray for these believers. They are totally dependent upon God and they are part of the body of Christ. When one part suffers, we should all feel the pain. Please pray that God would be merciful to these believers and provide for their every need. Also pray that God would use, what looks like a trial, and use it for His glory and for the furtherance of His kingdom.
If you would like to financially assist these national believers, Mission Surge has a contact that knows where each family has been displaced to. He can and will personally deliver the gifts that you provide. Every penny you send will go to these national believers that have been displaced.
Unfortunately, we are so new that we have not had sufficient time to get our Mission Surge website and paypal information completed so that you can donate online. For now, we need you to make your check out to Mission Surge with a memo of "National Believers" and mail it as soon as possible to:
Mission Surge
c/o Cleary Baptist Church
1580 Florence Byram Road
Florence, MS 39073
2 Cor 8:3-4: For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints (ESV).
Please spread the word by forwarding, facebooking, and spreading this need by word of mouth. Spread the word and pray for these families! You can also help by clicking here and keep up with what is going on at Mission Surge. Also be on the lookout for missionsurge.com
Thanks
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
New Blog Title, New Ministry, and New Opportunities
My blog, "The Reformed Pastor" has now been renamed, as you can tell. It is now titled Mission Surge. Mission Surge is a brand new ministry that is in the very early stages of development. Mission Surge is seeking to impact individuals, families, churches, communities, and the ends of the earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We hope to see individuals impacted as they understand the biblical gospel and respond to it on a daily basis. We hope to see families impacted as mothers are challenged to assume their biblical roles, fathers are called upon to assume their biblical roles, and children are taught the Word of God and the ways of God first and foremost in the home. We hope to see churches revived and purified and in turn impacting their communities with the gospel. We hope to see communities impacted by churches taking the initiative to go to the lost and unchurched, and instead of inviting them to "their church", seek to plant a Bible study where they are, in their community, or apartments.
Finally, it is our desire to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. We hope to do that by providing the ministry needs of indigenous pastors. For a few hundred dollars a month we can supply local pastors in the Dominican Republic with transportation, resources, and supplies to disciple their barrios. We will know of needs within the body of Christ in the DR, Africa, India, and in other countries that we will be able to meet. We will be able to provide food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, and the gospel for the unreached for a fraction of what it would cost to send a full time missionary from America. Then we can go link up with our indigenous pastors periodically to encourage them and support them with mission teams from America. The Gospel will literally work through us, as individuals, our families, our churches, into and through our communities, and to the ends of the earth. More information will be coming, hopefully in the near future, at missionsurge.com as we develop and launch our brand new website. I will let you know when it is up and going!
One last mission surge note: November 12 and 13, at Cleary, we will be hosting a Mission Surge conference. Dr. Paul Young (Mount Zion Baptist Church), Dr. Justin McClendon (Briar Hill Baptist Church), Pastor Jerry Marcellino (Audobon Drive Bible Church), Missionary Gene Pickern (International Mission Board), Dr. Greg Belser (Morrison Heights Baptist Church), and myself will all be speaking this weekend on how the gospel impacts individuals, families, churches, communities, and the world. More details about the workings of Mission Surge will be revealed that weekend as well. Mark it on your calendar and begin spreading the word. It will be a weekend you wont want to miss.
Also, if you are not following this blog, please subscribe as a follower above...also you can go to clearybaptist.org and click on the newsletter tab and sign up to have this blog delivered directly to your computer each week. Finally, please spread the word about Mission Surge, the conference, and this blog as you feel led. Until next time...
We hope to see individuals impacted as they understand the biblical gospel and respond to it on a daily basis. We hope to see families impacted as mothers are challenged to assume their biblical roles, fathers are called upon to assume their biblical roles, and children are taught the Word of God and the ways of God first and foremost in the home. We hope to see churches revived and purified and in turn impacting their communities with the gospel. We hope to see communities impacted by churches taking the initiative to go to the lost and unchurched, and instead of inviting them to "their church", seek to plant a Bible study where they are, in their community, or apartments.
Finally, it is our desire to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. We hope to do that by providing the ministry needs of indigenous pastors. For a few hundred dollars a month we can supply local pastors in the Dominican Republic with transportation, resources, and supplies to disciple their barrios. We will know of needs within the body of Christ in the DR, Africa, India, and in other countries that we will be able to meet. We will be able to provide food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, and the gospel for the unreached for a fraction of what it would cost to send a full time missionary from America. Then we can go link up with our indigenous pastors periodically to encourage them and support them with mission teams from America. The Gospel will literally work through us, as individuals, our families, our churches, into and through our communities, and to the ends of the earth. More information will be coming, hopefully in the near future, at missionsurge.com as we develop and launch our brand new website. I will let you know when it is up and going!
One last mission surge note: November 12 and 13, at Cleary, we will be hosting a Mission Surge conference. Dr. Paul Young (Mount Zion Baptist Church), Dr. Justin McClendon (Briar Hill Baptist Church), Pastor Jerry Marcellino (Audobon Drive Bible Church), Missionary Gene Pickern (International Mission Board), Dr. Greg Belser (Morrison Heights Baptist Church), and myself will all be speaking this weekend on how the gospel impacts individuals, families, churches, communities, and the world. More details about the workings of Mission Surge will be revealed that weekend as well. Mark it on your calendar and begin spreading the word. It will be a weekend you wont want to miss.
Also, if you are not following this blog, please subscribe as a follower above...also you can go to clearybaptist.org and click on the newsletter tab and sign up to have this blog delivered directly to your computer each week. Finally, please spread the word about Mission Surge, the conference, and this blog as you feel led. Until next time...
Monday, August 2, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Prayer Request
I would like to ask all of you that read this to be in very serious prayer for me this week Sunday, July 25 through Friday, July 30. I am supposed to be preaching 7 sermons at Cato Baptist Church just outside of Mendenhall, MS for their annual revival. I know the tendency of each one who opens this blog will be to read it and never pray. I am asking you to pray specifically for these series of meetings today and throughout the coming week.
Cato has no pastor to lead them at this time. The people originally scheduled to come in and lead worship are no longer coming due to financial issues and the church having no pastor (I think), so Cato’s part time worship leader will be leading worship. The person originally scheduled to come and preach was also canceled (for the same reasons I believe), so they are stuck with me. I am physically down (with sinus trouble), emotionally down (with the trials my close friends Gene and Julie Pickern are facing), and in the spiritual dumps (don’t act like you haven’t been in the spiritual dumps before). All in all, it sounds like the stage is set for real revival to take place. At least there would be absolutely no one who could take credit for it other than God.
It is my prayer that in my weakness, He will be made strong. In the midst of everything going against revival, from a human standpoint, it is my prayer that God will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or imagine. It is my hope that each of you will really stop and pray for…
1. The people of Cato to be prepared for what God has in store.
2. The Holy Spirit to anoint me and fill me as I preach.
3. For God to move upon people’s hearts and lives in a very real and dramatic way.
4. For an awakening among those who are lost and in the community surrounding Cato.
5. For true revival among those who are saved.
Please continue to pray for me and Cato Baptist Church throughout this next week. I will try to update during the week as to how things are going. I do indeed covet your prayers.
If you are a part of Cleary, please remember that I will be back for our Sunday evening service this weekend as we continue in our sermon series, Assurance: Making our Calling and Election Sure. I hope to see you there.
In Christ,
Kevin
Cato has no pastor to lead them at this time. The people originally scheduled to come in and lead worship are no longer coming due to financial issues and the church having no pastor (I think), so Cato’s part time worship leader will be leading worship. The person originally scheduled to come and preach was also canceled (for the same reasons I believe), so they are stuck with me. I am physically down (with sinus trouble), emotionally down (with the trials my close friends Gene and Julie Pickern are facing), and in the spiritual dumps (don’t act like you haven’t been in the spiritual dumps before). All in all, it sounds like the stage is set for real revival to take place. At least there would be absolutely no one who could take credit for it other than God.
It is my prayer that in my weakness, He will be made strong. In the midst of everything going against revival, from a human standpoint, it is my prayer that God will do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or imagine. It is my hope that each of you will really stop and pray for…
1. The people of Cato to be prepared for what God has in store.
2. The Holy Spirit to anoint me and fill me as I preach.
3. For God to move upon people’s hearts and lives in a very real and dramatic way.
4. For an awakening among those who are lost and in the community surrounding Cato.
5. For true revival among those who are saved.
Please continue to pray for me and Cato Baptist Church throughout this next week. I will try to update during the week as to how things are going. I do indeed covet your prayers.
If you are a part of Cleary, please remember that I will be back for our Sunday evening service this weekend as we continue in our sermon series, Assurance: Making our Calling and Election Sure. I hope to see you there.
In Christ,
Kevin
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Is the Altar Call / Invitation Essential to Biblical Christianity?
I want to post an article tonight that deals with one of the sacred calves of the modern church: the altar call/open invitation. It is something that I struggle with for a multitude of reasons. First, because there is absolutely no way whatsoever that adequate counseling can be done in 2 minutes at an altar while Just as I Am is blaring in the background. Secondly, there is a great chance that those who respond do so based on emotion, manipulation, or fear rather than because of the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of God. Thirdly, it seems that people think that the only place they can sufficiently respond to Christ is at an altar and the only time they can sufficiently respond to Christ is during the invitation at their local church. Finally, though an appeal was made for people to repent and believe in the New Testament, there is no indication that an altar call was offered.
The accusation will be made that without an altar call, we are risking the souls of men. After all, if we fail to extend a public invitation and then someone leaves our service without Christ and tragically dies, we have missed our opportunity. To this I would simply reply, God is in complete control. If He had been convicting the individual, the individual could have and would have responded at his seat or at the close of the service sought counsel from a pastor or elder. A man or woman's salvation does not depend on you or I offering a clever appeal. Yes, we should offer a persuasive call to respond (in repentance and faith), but not to walk down an aisle during the window of a hymn. Author Jim Elliff explains this much better than I could in his article, "Closing With Christ." I hope you will read it in its entirety and consider it carefully and prayerfully.
Closing With Christ, By Jim Elliff.
When modern evangelical churches seek to bring the unregenerate to Christ (and they should do so with passion), they often fall prey to a formula which produces disappointing results. The pattern runs something like this:
• Extending a public altar call
• Praying "the sinner's prayer"
• Giving immediate verbal assurance that one is in Christ on the basis of the sinner's sincerity and the
accuracy of the wording of the prayer
• Immediate, or near immediate, public announcement that this person is now in Christ
• Public baptism as a symbol of death to sin and life in Christ
This pattern has been passed down and repeated because few are taking the necessary time to examine both its flight from Scriptural precedent and precept and its dismal effect. When asked to give more careful consideration to its content and outcome, however, we are finding that many, thankfully, are rejecting this inept structure in favor of a better, more biblical one. The above list will seem familiar to every soul-loving believer, but the very evangelistic passion we have for our neighbors and unconverted family members should drive us to lay our present methods up against the truth for a well-needed examination. Like the short-of-breath fifty-year-old who has never been to the doctor, it is time for a major check-up. What then is wrong with the above list?
First, there is no biblical precedent or command regarding a public altar call. Whatever might be said for its use, we cannot resort to the Bible for support. Jesus nor Paul, nor any other early Christian leader used it. Did Jesus ask his listeners to come to the front after He preached the Sermon on the Mount? Did Paul say, "Every head bowed, every eye closed" as Luke quietly sang the invitation hymn on the Areopagus? Did Peter have seekers raise their hands as a sign of their interest in Christ at the end of the Pentecostal sermon?
Quickly it must be said that I espouse a verbal call to Christ in a most serious way and believe that the spoken invitation to come to Christ is a part of all gospel preaching. We "compel them to come in." When Moody failed to offer a public altar call on the evening of the Chicago fire, he stated a new resolve: "I learned that night [a lesson] which I have never forgotten; and that is, when I preach, to press Christ upon the people then and there, and try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have that right hand cut off than to give an audience a week now to decide what to do with Jesus." I could not agree more with his underlying sentiment, but this does not argue for an altar call. Evangelistic preaching does say, "Repent and trust Christ now." But there is nothing sacrosanct about getting people to occupy a certain piece of geography at the front of a building. Nor have I kept them from Christ by not having them respond to a public altar call. Rather I am offering them Christ without anything in between. I want nothing between their soul and the reality of Christ's offer. To put something in between is a practical sacramentalism.
Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875) popularized this method through his mourner's bench. There was a person here or there that used it in an occasional manner prior to him, but he put it on the map. Reacting to Finneyism's ineptness, theologian Dabney commented:
We have come to coolly accept the fact that forty-five out of fifty will eventually apostatize [fall away].
On the other side of Finney was the veteran evangelist Asahel Nettleton (d. 1844), whose converts stood. For instance, in Ashford, Connecticut there were eighty-two converts, and only three spurious ones. In Rocky Hill, Connecticut, there were eighty-six converts and they all were standing strong after twenty-six years, according to their pastor. Nettleton rigidly refused to offer public altar calls, believing that it prematurely reaped what would turn out to be false converts. C. H. Spurgeon, the Victorian "Prince of Preachers," thought similarly. The long-term history is consistent on this issue; you may and should examine it.
Attached to the altar call (and to personal evangelism) in this model is the use of "the sinner's prayer." What can be said about this? Is it found in the Bible? The sad truth is that it is not found anywhere but in the back of evangelistic booklets. Yes the Scripture says, "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved," but this means to evoke or place confidence in the name of Christ. The sinner may express genuine faith through a prayer, but to pray such a prayer is not the essence of the required response to the gospel invitation.
The typical "sinner's prayer" as evangelicals have come to express it, has three elements: (1) a mere acknowledgment of sin, which is not the same as repentance, (2) a belief in the act of Christ's death, which is far removed from trust in his person and work, and, (3) an "inviting Christ into the life." The last phrase hangs on nothing biblical (though John 1: 12 and Rev. 3: 20 are used, out of context, for its basis). It is considered, nonetheless, to be the pivotal and necessary instrument for becoming a true Christian. But God commands us to repentingly believe, not to invite Christ into the life.
Following the above, immediate assurance is given to the one who prayed on the basis of the sincerity of the person and the accuracy of the prayer. But it is the Holy Spirit who gives assurance of life in Christ, not the evangelist (Rom. 8: 16). We are to relate the basis of assurance but leave the actual assuring to the Spirit. This is rarely practiced in modern evangelicalism. We prefer rather to take the place of the Spirit in assuring the pray-er and therefore seal many in deception. It is not the efficacy of a prayer that saves; Christ alone saves. The well-quoted passage on assurance, 1 Jn. 5:13 states: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." "These things…written" are the tests in the rest of the letter which give a basis to determine if we are truly converted.
In many cases the next step is to publicly introduce the one who has prayed the sinner's prayer and has just been told that he or she is a Christian. I have cringed to find that some leaders turn around after five minutes of "Just as I Am" and announce that the persons coming forward are converted. Sometimes the person has not been known to the pastor until that moment! Regardless, his optimism is often not founded, since extremely high numbers of these never show any competent sign of being converted. I am not intimating that people cannot be saved immediately, but that our early acceptance of the persons coming forward has often led us to "eat our words" about their new life in Christ.
Finally, there is the last stage of public baptism. It is interesting to note that in much of evangelicalism which is Baptistic, the number supposedly "being saved" and those being baptized is vastly different. If a hundred were purportedly converted during some sort of evangelistic effort, then we might not baptize but thirty of them. But out the thirty, as seen among Southern Baptists as an illustration, statistically only ten or eleven of those thirty (34 %) would show up on a given Sunday morning and only four or five (12%) on a Sunday evening (in churches that have services at that time). They do not really love the brethren or the atmosphere of godliness. All of these, however, have prayed the prayer, walked the aisle, been told they are Christians by someone in authority, and were publicly declared to be such.
Would it not be better for a system to be re-instated which comes closer to recognizing only the smaller number of true Christians? Is it love for the lost that will perpetuate practices producing such damning deception in so many—or is it merely love for success? Or should we assume that most leaders have simply gone on with "business as usual" without ever thinking it through at all? I prefer to believe the later is true in most cases. Whatever the motive, however, those deceived on our rolls are still damned.
The more biblical way of "closing with Christ" is to focus on the gospel itself, without props. Whereas the altar call method can be tacked on to just about anything, no matter how absent the gospel, the biblical method demands the hearing of the Word. "How will they believe without a preacher."(Rom. 10: 14). It is the "by the will of God that they are begotten, through the Word of truth" (Jam. 1:18, emphasis mine). They are "born again…through the living and abiding Word of God" (1 Pet. 1: 23, emphasis mine).
It is interesting to note that the Bible account focuses attention on the object of our faith, Jesus Christ, and his life and work, when presenting the gospel to those who do not believe. There is virtually no explanation of the nature of repentance and faith; merely its mention seems to be enough. Why is that so? It is because of this wonderful reality. When the Word is preached and the Spirit is at work, the sinner is brought to conviction of sin and he cannot love his sin any more. He must repent. And when the Word presents Christ as the only hope and the Spirit is at work in the sinner, he sees no refuge for his soul but Christ. He must believe. Where else could he possibly go?
What about those passages that deal with the nature of repentance and faith in detail? Those passages are there for the presumptuous. The Epistle of First John, James, and many other portions help the professing believer understand the nature of faith to test the quality of the faith he says he has. But on the main, evangelism, after laying out the awfulness of man and his sin, and the consequence and offense against God, focuses its gaze on Christ and His work on behalf of sinners. And the people simply believe. There is no emphasis on anything else. They just believe—no laboring of mechanics or methods or perfectly worded prayers, or walks to the front. They believe because it is all they can do.
The New Tribes Mission has been instrumental in giving us the best of missiological tools in their chronological approach to working with tribal groups. They teach the Bible from its beginning, laying out each story in sequence without revealing what is beyond that point. When they come to Christ, they do not present the gospel in its doctrinal entirety until it comes in the passage. In other words, they leave the person to experience the New Testament as it was experienced by those closest to Christ. In their video depiction of a tribal group in this process, the day to explain Christ's death comes. To the man, the New Guinea tribe visibly shows its sense of shame and remorse for the crucified Master. Three days are given before the group returns. Then the resurrection is explained. In the midst of the presentation, an older man jumps to his feet and loudly exclaims, "Ee-Taow," or "I believe." Others stand with the same exclamation, though this tribal group is normally reserved in their expressions. In time the whole tribe is chanting "Ee-Taow, Ee-Toaw," and jumping up and down. This went on for an extended period of rejoicing. A tribe was re-born in a day!
Such a response, with varying degrees of emotion, is the nature of believing in the New Testament. It was entirely incidental whether anyone prayed a "sinner's prayer" or walked to another place to take someone's hand. The powerful Word had encountered the people through the invincible Holy Spirit. This is New Testament evangelism.
You may not agree with my assessment, but it is my contention that our use of the altar call and the accouterment of a "sinner's prayer" is a sign of our lack of trust in God. Do we really believe that the Spirit convicts and regenerates, and that His Gospel preached and read is the ordained means He uses? Surely there is nothing unbiblical or non-evangelistic about the man who preaches the gospel forthrightly, prays earnestly, appeals urgently and places his entire trust in God to do what only He can do.
Copyright © 1999 Jim Elliff
Christian Communicators Worldwide, Inc.
Permission granted for not-for-sale reproduction in unedited form including author's name, title, complete content, copyright and weblink.
Other uses require written permission.
http://www.ccwtoday.org/
The accusation will be made that without an altar call, we are risking the souls of men. After all, if we fail to extend a public invitation and then someone leaves our service without Christ and tragically dies, we have missed our opportunity. To this I would simply reply, God is in complete control. If He had been convicting the individual, the individual could have and would have responded at his seat or at the close of the service sought counsel from a pastor or elder. A man or woman's salvation does not depend on you or I offering a clever appeal. Yes, we should offer a persuasive call to respond (in repentance and faith), but not to walk down an aisle during the window of a hymn. Author Jim Elliff explains this much better than I could in his article, "Closing With Christ." I hope you will read it in its entirety and consider it carefully and prayerfully.
Closing With Christ, By Jim Elliff.
When modern evangelical churches seek to bring the unregenerate to Christ (and they should do so with passion), they often fall prey to a formula which produces disappointing results. The pattern runs something like this:
• Extending a public altar call
• Praying "the sinner's prayer"
• Giving immediate verbal assurance that one is in Christ on the basis of the sinner's sincerity and the
accuracy of the wording of the prayer
• Immediate, or near immediate, public announcement that this person is now in Christ
• Public baptism as a symbol of death to sin and life in Christ
This pattern has been passed down and repeated because few are taking the necessary time to examine both its flight from Scriptural precedent and precept and its dismal effect. When asked to give more careful consideration to its content and outcome, however, we are finding that many, thankfully, are rejecting this inept structure in favor of a better, more biblical one. The above list will seem familiar to every soul-loving believer, but the very evangelistic passion we have for our neighbors and unconverted family members should drive us to lay our present methods up against the truth for a well-needed examination. Like the short-of-breath fifty-year-old who has never been to the doctor, it is time for a major check-up. What then is wrong with the above list?
First, there is no biblical precedent or command regarding a public altar call. Whatever might be said for its use, we cannot resort to the Bible for support. Jesus nor Paul, nor any other early Christian leader used it. Did Jesus ask his listeners to come to the front after He preached the Sermon on the Mount? Did Paul say, "Every head bowed, every eye closed" as Luke quietly sang the invitation hymn on the Areopagus? Did Peter have seekers raise their hands as a sign of their interest in Christ at the end of the Pentecostal sermon?
Quickly it must be said that I espouse a verbal call to Christ in a most serious way and believe that the spoken invitation to come to Christ is a part of all gospel preaching. We "compel them to come in." When Moody failed to offer a public altar call on the evening of the Chicago fire, he stated a new resolve: "I learned that night [a lesson] which I have never forgotten; and that is, when I preach, to press Christ upon the people then and there, and try to bring them to a decision on the spot. I would rather have that right hand cut off than to give an audience a week now to decide what to do with Jesus." I could not agree more with his underlying sentiment, but this does not argue for an altar call. Evangelistic preaching does say, "Repent and trust Christ now." But there is nothing sacrosanct about getting people to occupy a certain piece of geography at the front of a building. Nor have I kept them from Christ by not having them respond to a public altar call. Rather I am offering them Christ without anything in between. I want nothing between their soul and the reality of Christ's offer. To put something in between is a practical sacramentalism.
Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875) popularized this method through his mourner's bench. There was a person here or there that used it in an occasional manner prior to him, but he put it on the map. Reacting to Finneyism's ineptness, theologian Dabney commented:
We have come to coolly accept the fact that forty-five out of fifty will eventually apostatize [fall away].
On the other side of Finney was the veteran evangelist Asahel Nettleton (d. 1844), whose converts stood. For instance, in Ashford, Connecticut there were eighty-two converts, and only three spurious ones. In Rocky Hill, Connecticut, there were eighty-six converts and they all were standing strong after twenty-six years, according to their pastor. Nettleton rigidly refused to offer public altar calls, believing that it prematurely reaped what would turn out to be false converts. C. H. Spurgeon, the Victorian "Prince of Preachers," thought similarly. The long-term history is consistent on this issue; you may and should examine it.
Attached to the altar call (and to personal evangelism) in this model is the use of "the sinner's prayer." What can be said about this? Is it found in the Bible? The sad truth is that it is not found anywhere but in the back of evangelistic booklets. Yes the Scripture says, "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved," but this means to evoke or place confidence in the name of Christ. The sinner may express genuine faith through a prayer, but to pray such a prayer is not the essence of the required response to the gospel invitation.
The typical "sinner's prayer" as evangelicals have come to express it, has three elements: (1) a mere acknowledgment of sin, which is not the same as repentance, (2) a belief in the act of Christ's death, which is far removed from trust in his person and work, and, (3) an "inviting Christ into the life." The last phrase hangs on nothing biblical (though John 1: 12 and Rev. 3: 20 are used, out of context, for its basis). It is considered, nonetheless, to be the pivotal and necessary instrument for becoming a true Christian. But God commands us to repentingly believe, not to invite Christ into the life.
Following the above, immediate assurance is given to the one who prayed on the basis of the sincerity of the person and the accuracy of the prayer. But it is the Holy Spirit who gives assurance of life in Christ, not the evangelist (Rom. 8: 16). We are to relate the basis of assurance but leave the actual assuring to the Spirit. This is rarely practiced in modern evangelicalism. We prefer rather to take the place of the Spirit in assuring the pray-er and therefore seal many in deception. It is not the efficacy of a prayer that saves; Christ alone saves. The well-quoted passage on assurance, 1 Jn. 5:13 states: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life." "These things…written" are the tests in the rest of the letter which give a basis to determine if we are truly converted.
In many cases the next step is to publicly introduce the one who has prayed the sinner's prayer and has just been told that he or she is a Christian. I have cringed to find that some leaders turn around after five minutes of "Just as I Am" and announce that the persons coming forward are converted. Sometimes the person has not been known to the pastor until that moment! Regardless, his optimism is often not founded, since extremely high numbers of these never show any competent sign of being converted. I am not intimating that people cannot be saved immediately, but that our early acceptance of the persons coming forward has often led us to "eat our words" about their new life in Christ.
Finally, there is the last stage of public baptism. It is interesting to note that in much of evangelicalism which is Baptistic, the number supposedly "being saved" and those being baptized is vastly different. If a hundred were purportedly converted during some sort of evangelistic effort, then we might not baptize but thirty of them. But out the thirty, as seen among Southern Baptists as an illustration, statistically only ten or eleven of those thirty (34 %) would show up on a given Sunday morning and only four or five (12%) on a Sunday evening (in churches that have services at that time). They do not really love the brethren or the atmosphere of godliness. All of these, however, have prayed the prayer, walked the aisle, been told they are Christians by someone in authority, and were publicly declared to be such.
Would it not be better for a system to be re-instated which comes closer to recognizing only the smaller number of true Christians? Is it love for the lost that will perpetuate practices producing such damning deception in so many—or is it merely love for success? Or should we assume that most leaders have simply gone on with "business as usual" without ever thinking it through at all? I prefer to believe the later is true in most cases. Whatever the motive, however, those deceived on our rolls are still damned.
The more biblical way of "closing with Christ" is to focus on the gospel itself, without props. Whereas the altar call method can be tacked on to just about anything, no matter how absent the gospel, the biblical method demands the hearing of the Word. "How will they believe without a preacher."(Rom. 10: 14). It is the "by the will of God that they are begotten, through the Word of truth" (Jam. 1:18, emphasis mine). They are "born again…through the living and abiding Word of God" (1 Pet. 1: 23, emphasis mine).
It is interesting to note that the Bible account focuses attention on the object of our faith, Jesus Christ, and his life and work, when presenting the gospel to those who do not believe. There is virtually no explanation of the nature of repentance and faith; merely its mention seems to be enough. Why is that so? It is because of this wonderful reality. When the Word is preached and the Spirit is at work, the sinner is brought to conviction of sin and he cannot love his sin any more. He must repent. And when the Word presents Christ as the only hope and the Spirit is at work in the sinner, he sees no refuge for his soul but Christ. He must believe. Where else could he possibly go?
What about those passages that deal with the nature of repentance and faith in detail? Those passages are there for the presumptuous. The Epistle of First John, James, and many other portions help the professing believer understand the nature of faith to test the quality of the faith he says he has. But on the main, evangelism, after laying out the awfulness of man and his sin, and the consequence and offense against God, focuses its gaze on Christ and His work on behalf of sinners. And the people simply believe. There is no emphasis on anything else. They just believe—no laboring of mechanics or methods or perfectly worded prayers, or walks to the front. They believe because it is all they can do.
The New Tribes Mission has been instrumental in giving us the best of missiological tools in their chronological approach to working with tribal groups. They teach the Bible from its beginning, laying out each story in sequence without revealing what is beyond that point. When they come to Christ, they do not present the gospel in its doctrinal entirety until it comes in the passage. In other words, they leave the person to experience the New Testament as it was experienced by those closest to Christ. In their video depiction of a tribal group in this process, the day to explain Christ's death comes. To the man, the New Guinea tribe visibly shows its sense of shame and remorse for the crucified Master. Three days are given before the group returns. Then the resurrection is explained. In the midst of the presentation, an older man jumps to his feet and loudly exclaims, "Ee-Taow," or "I believe." Others stand with the same exclamation, though this tribal group is normally reserved in their expressions. In time the whole tribe is chanting "Ee-Taow, Ee-Toaw," and jumping up and down. This went on for an extended period of rejoicing. A tribe was re-born in a day!
Such a response, with varying degrees of emotion, is the nature of believing in the New Testament. It was entirely incidental whether anyone prayed a "sinner's prayer" or walked to another place to take someone's hand. The powerful Word had encountered the people through the invincible Holy Spirit. This is New Testament evangelism.
You may not agree with my assessment, but it is my contention that our use of the altar call and the accouterment of a "sinner's prayer" is a sign of our lack of trust in God. Do we really believe that the Spirit convicts and regenerates, and that His Gospel preached and read is the ordained means He uses? Surely there is nothing unbiblical or non-evangelistic about the man who preaches the gospel forthrightly, prays earnestly, appeals urgently and places his entire trust in God to do what only He can do.
Copyright © 1999 Jim Elliff
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