December News

Dear Friends of Mission Surge,

I wanted to write you on this first day of December to wish you a happy holiday season.  It is, in my opinion, indeed the most wonderful time of the year.  Thanksgiving is the perfect time to look back and remember all the ways that God has blessed us.  Christmas is the perfect time to look up and remember the gift of God in Christ that makes life worth living.  New Years is the perfect time to look ahead and recalibrate our lives!  I trust that your Thanksgiving was blessed, that you are getting in the Christmas spirit, and that your New Year will be better than the ones before.

I would like to ask you to pause during this busy season in order to pray for a few things if you would.

1.  We are getting moved in and settled in Clinton.  We are looking forward to investing more of our energy in leading Providence, reaching out to college students at Hinds, MC, and JSU, and we are excited about the relationships God has allowed to be formed with increasing numbers of internationals here that are from unreached, unengaged people groups.  We are really anticipating being missionaries to the international community here in the spirit of J.D. Payne’s “Strangers Next Door.”  If you haven’t read his perspective on missions at home you should do so.  Check it out here:  http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=5758      We are really excited about the multitude of opportunities and possibilities.  Please pray that God would lead, guide, direct, orchestrate, and work.

2.  It has become evident that one of three things must take place in my life.  I must either

A.  Raise roughly $600 a month in support so that I can continue pastoring and 

             leading the growing ministry of Mission Surge in a full time basis.

B.  Or I must find a job that will enable me to meet the needs of my family and 

             yet will be compatible with my ministry.

C.  Or, I must increase in faith and trust the Lord to provide for us in 

             supernatural ways.  God has been faithful to provide for us in 

             amazing ways again and again, especially since we started 

             Providence.  I could literally write an unbelievable book. 

So, I am in a position where I need guidance.  Maybe God would have us to press on and trust Him to provide in supernatural ways. There is value in seeing God work in that way.  There is also much in God’s Word about church planters, pastors, and missionaries being supported by multiple churches, friends, and fellow believers.   At the same time there is value and honor in being a tentmaker.  I am happy to take option A, B, or C.  Please pray that God would lead, guide, and direct me!  Please pray that if He would have me raise support that He would move people to give.  Please pray that if God would have me be a tent-maker for the first time in my ministry, that He would open the doors for the right job (I have applied for about half a dozen over the past month and have not had any offers).  Please pray!

3.  Finally, I have been invited to travel to Haiti in January, North India in late March, China in the summer, and the Philippines in late summer.  I also feel an urgency to visit all of our missionaries soon, which will be costly. Please pray that God would lead me to go when and only where HE wants me to go.  Please pray that God would provide, as He always does, for the work.

Thank you for Your faithful prayers and support.  

(SINCE ORIGINALLY POSTING THIS NEWSLETTER, I WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT OUR NEWS IS NOT MEANT TO BE A REQUEST FOR FUNDING, BUT RATHER SOLELY A REQUEST FOR PRAYER.  PLEASE, AS YOU READ THE NEWS OF MISSION SURGE, PRAY FOR US AND THE WORK.  GOD WILL BE FAITHFUL TO LEAD, GUIDE, DIRECT AND PROVIDE.  THANK YOU)

Kevin

Sowing the Wind, Reaping a Whirlwind

Sowing the Wind....Reaping a Whirlwind

I am not a prophet nor am I much on politics.  I am just a no-name pastor.  So, what I am about to say is not coming from a legal scholar, a lawyer, a politician, or anyone with any national influence.  What I am about to say however, I do believe comes from godly wisdom. 
Between 1861 and 1865 America was involved in a civil war, at least partially, over the issue of slavery.  Thankfully, slavery in the United States came to an end after the Civil war.  After the civil war ended however, the sovereignty of the state was swallowed up by the authority of the federal government.  Thence ends one form of slavery, and thus begins another form of slavery.  States lost, and continued to progressively lose their sovereignty.  Through a multitude of grants for education, social welfare, construction, transportation etc. the federal government bought the states (and the citizens of those states) over the next 150 years.  Now, all 50 states and their citizens, are enslaved to their new master:  the political “powers that be” in Washington.  This epidemic of subtle slavery has spread like wildfire and it is for this reason that I believe America is destined to fall.  Consider the following thoughts.

1.  Senior adults (65 and over) are enslaved   

Social security came into existence in 1935 and, since then, the senior adults of this nation have become more and more dependent upon the Federal government for their sustenance and medical care.  Caring for widows and the elderly is no longer a need for churches.  Uncle Sam has it “under control.”  If a politician wants to go down fast, let him mention touching social security.  Those of retirement age in America are, for the most part, totally enslaved to and dependent upon the federal government. 

2.  Adults (18-64) are enslaved

Consider the number of people who are working and how many of them are dependent upon the state for their employment.  They are city employees, state employees, or are employees of businesses that are subsidized and upheld by government grants etc.  (I am NOT implying that it is wrong to have a “state job!”  I am just stating the fact that those who work a state job are dependent upon the state and the tax revenue of the state i.e. federal government)  

Consider those adults who are not working, but who have learned to work the system!  The number of people who have been purchased by the federal government for the price of EBT cards, medicaid, medicare, disability, and a mosaic of welfare options is continually increasing.  Again, caring for the poor is no longer a job for churches.  Uncle Sam has it “under control.” As of 2011, almost 50 million people received food stamps and medicaid!  49% of the population received benefits from one or more government programs.  Now, not only the senior adults, but those of working age (whether they are working, or are working the system) are enslaved to and dependent upon the state.  How many people have been sold at the auction block of America for the price of an EBT card?  All along they thought they were working the system, when in fact the system has been working them! 

3.  Young people (5-17) are enslaved

Consider the number of children in public schools in the nation.  As of 2011 that number was almost 50 million.  Say what you will, but the whole “our schools aren’t like their schools” argument no longer holds water.  All of the schools belong to Washington.  Why do you think the administrators and teachers go into panic mode when test time comes?  Panic ensues because the scores determine the ranking of the schools which determines how much federal funding the schools get.  After all, they cannot function without the funding of the state.  They have been bought with a price and are now the property, not of the people of the school district, but of the powers that be in Washington DC.  Consider the philosophy of Karl Marx who said that, “in order to establish a perfect socialist state, you have to destroy the family.  You have to substitute the government and its authority for parental authority in rearing children.”  Washington is training the masses in America to look to the state for protection, provision, and permission in every area of life.  If you don’t believe this is reality today, two words should get your attention:  Common Core.  The Public schools, no longer belong to their communities. They belong to Washington.  Again, I am not denying that some of the administrators and teachers in the public school system are seeking to be salt and light.  I am pointing out however that, if they shine too bright they will be snuffed out by the powers that be because the schools are no longer community owned and operated, but are the property of the federal government.

4.  Food, Water, Electricity and More

Consider the fact that Washington owns, at least on some level our nations farms and food.  The government has its hand in our water and electricity production.  We look to the government to help us with climbing energy costs.  We look to the government for subsidies that will lower the costs of our food, water, and electricity never realizing that it is our tax dollars (and all the fiat money being printed) that provide the subsidies!  

Our enslavement has been so subtle, we don’t even own our own property anymore!  Uncle Sam does. Consider this.  If you paid cash for your home and property you would say that you are debt free.  You would have no mortgage and that would feel great!  You would own your own home.  However, what would happen if you did not pay your property taxes each year?  The home is “yours.”  The land is “yours.”  But if you fail to pay your property taxes, the state will “repossess” “your” property and sell it because you failed to pay your property taxes.  If the state can take my property because I failed to pay them rent (property tax), the question naturally arises: who really owns my property?  

Virtually every aspect of our lives, our schools, our employment or lack thereof, our retirement, our homes, our state governments….all are enslaved to Washington!  We are a society that is as much a victim of slavery today as we were in 1860, if not more so.  We are just no longer enslaved to a plantation owner.  We are enslaved to politicians!  But that is not all.

5.  China and Russia

The vast majority of Americans have willingly sold themselves into slavery for a bowl of lentil soup.  But…and this is crucial to see….our task-masters…the federal government, have sold themselves, and us, to another master!  We have all been carried to the 21st century slave auction and sold to China and Russia.  The federal government’s fiscal irresponsibility (Republican and Democrat) has so indebted this nation (we are more than 17.5 trillion dollars in debt) that the average American citizen owes the government more than 55,000 dollars!  If China and Russia pull the plug on America and cash in on this debt, what happens? (And with China’s economy heading south…we might want to be careful!)

Which leads to the obvious question: Who will Set us Free?

1. Not the Politicians!

The Republicans and the Democrats are on the same paths.  Sure, one path may move a little faster to the goal than the other path, but the paths lead to the same destination.  The politicians are not the answer…they are the problem.  Are  we naive enough to think they will save us?  

Please don’t be so naive that you think the state government and politicians will save us either.  All the buzz about standing up to the feds is a bad joke.  It is not going to happen.  Our states are enslaved to the federal government.  
The federal government funnels money to the states so that they can then use that money to keep their citizens comfortably satisfied with grants, social welfare, and smooth roads etc.  To stand up to Washington would threaten those funds which would then cause discomfort and displeasure to their clientele which would then threaten their political standing in the state government.  No, the state politicians will play the game.  And let’s not forget that most of the state senators and representatives long to become U.S. senators and representatives.  Standing up to the big boys in Washington isn’t the quickest way to the top, so you can stop putting your hope in the local guys either.  They have sold themselves and their districts into slavery too!

2.  Not the Citizens

Please don’t wait for the citizens to stand up and do anything either.  For the most part the men in this nation have been castrated.  Can you see the Revolutionary War being led by a bunch of guys in skinny jeans and flip flops?  The younger generation is so feminized that the only place they could even begin to fight any type of battle would be on their game console!  
And let’s be honest…griping radio talk show hosts don’t help at all!  A griping head is no threat to anyone.  They just vent and give room for others to vent.  And please hear me when I say that liking something and sharing it on Facebook is almost as useless as playing your video game or watching fox news all day!  Do you really think the government gives a rip about your Facebook post?  They know as long as you are glued to the television and to social media liking and sharing you aren’t doing anything.  Carry on! 
Liking and sharing a post that says, “Try and take my guns and see what happens!” is as productive as me parking my vehicle in a crime-ridden neighborhood, leaving the keys in the ignition, and leaving the doors unlocked only to go into my bedroom, shut the door, and post on Facebook, “Try and steal my car and see what happens!”  While you are on Facebook, they are taking the car!
To make things worse, Americans citizens are as fiscally irresponsible as the politicians we elect.  The average american is more than 225,000 dollars in debt!  With our big houses, fancy cars, four-wheelers, boats, credit cards and more, we are so financially strapped, we can’t point a finger at Washington.  The federal government is up to its eyeballs in debt and so is the average citizen.  Bankruptcy awaits virtually everyone and no one seems to notice!  We are all amusing ourselves while Rome burns!

3.  No other nation

The European Union will not come liberate us.  The UN is definitely not going to come to our aid.  And Russia and China, the new powers that be in the world, aren’t real interested in assisting us either.  Our own nation is on the verge of total anarchy and lawlessness, which makes us a perfect recipe for a heavy handed and brutal dictator to force his way onto the stage. 

Conclusion:

America is enslaved.  The politicians in Washington aren’t going to help us.  The politicians in our state governments aren’t going to help us.  The citizens aren’t going to help us. And no other nation is going to help us either.  Our only help and hope is from God, who is not too pleased with any of us right now.  So what can we do? 

1.  We must prepare spiritually.  We must humble ourselves, pray, turn to God, and repent in sackcloth and ashes for our own personal sins.  There are a multitude of them on the national level, state level, county level, church level, family level, and individual level.  Read the Bible, look in the mirror of God’s Word and get honest with yourself.  We have sinned greatly. We have sown the wind and are reaping the whirlwind.  

2.  We must prepare mentally.  We need to get our minds wrapped around the fact that the course we are on must someday come to an end.  We don’t want to be tossed off of the plantation and share-cropping for the next 100 years without at least mentally preparing for the difficulties and dangers ahead.  Get your mind prepared for trials.

3.  We must prepare financially.  Get out of debt and get out of debt fast.  Sell everything you have and start over with a 1970 model car and a 1970 model 14 by 60 mobile home on 1/8 of an acre if necessary.  Get over covetousness, greed, and the idea of the American dream and get out of debt!  

4.  We must prepare physically.  What are the necessities of physical life?  Make a list.  Try to prepare enough for your family, your neighbors, and so that you can offer hospitality to strangers during another depression-like era. 

5.  We must prepare socially.  One of the biggest needs that I see is community.  We live in an individualized, independent society where we park in closed garages and have privacy fences around our yards so that we do not have to see anyone.  If America falls, we will need each other.  Get involved in a church family where you can link arms with other men and women. Build a community of like-minded faith, family, and freedom lovers in your neighborhood.  

6.  Forget Hillary and Donald Trump.  Pour your efforts into learning the constitution, the bill of rights, and the declaration of independence.  Teach it to your county officials.  Hold them accountable.  They will be our first line of defense against the tyranny of the state.  If they don’t know the laws and their rights, we are toast.  Fighting for and defending freedom at the county level is doable and fruitful!  Read here, a real ordinance passed by a  real town in order to secure their local rights:  http://www.sedgwickmaine.org/images/stories/local-food-ordinance.pdf  Vote for presidents and representatives, but invest your energy on the local level.  Elect people that have a spine and will stand up for their communities!  Then, work together with them to demand the same from your governor and state representatives.

Maybe I am wrong in my unprofessional analysis of the situation at hand in America.  But, I hope that at least we can agree that we are not on a hopeful course in America or the world.  I fear the hand is writing on the wall and we have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.  My hope is that we will at least turn off the ball game long enough to realize it.  

August News

Dear Friends of Mission Surge,

I want to begin this newsletter by, once again, thanking you for your prayers.  More and more each day I realize the absolute necessity of prayer.  Without the prayers of the saints, we are really just spinning our wheels.  So often we get caught up in what we say, what we do, what we give, or what we blog, put on Facebook, Tweet etc. when the real progress is made behind closed doors, in our closet, on our knees.  This is where the real war is fought.  I appeal to you to join me in lifting up the following!

1.  Please pray for our current partners around the world.  You can learn more about them here:  http://www.missionsurge.com/our-partners/

2.  I want to announce the addition of a new partner missionary:  Martin Rizley and his family will be traveling Monday to Spain to serve.  Please pray for them as they travel and as they get situated in a new country and a new culture and environment.  Pray that God would encourage them and use them in their new ministry.  You can learn more about the Rizley’s here:  https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52ebd35fe4b071e1ddebd284/t/55dd0fdfe4b007afe2bc5d2b/1440550879008/Martin+Rizley+Testimony.pdf (please let me know if this link fails and I will try again!)

3.  I want to also encourage you to pray for the Tiegreen family as they draw near their departure date for Central Asia.  They still lack some of their funding.  They have 75% of their start up costs raised and 70% of their monthly needs pledged.  Please pray that God would move in the hearts of individual people, Sunday school classes, small groups, and churches to support them in this endeavor.  No amount is too small!  If God were to move you, or someone you know, to support them, you can learn how to do so here:  http://www.john1016.com/support/

Above all, please pray that God would meet their needs as they step out in faith to go to a hard region of the world to spread the Gospel.  Hold the rope for them as they go down into the well!

4.  I ask you to please pray for me!  God is working in some amazing ways in the church that we started almost 3 years ago now.  He continues to expand the ministry of Mission Surge both here and around the world.  And He continues to give vision for doing evangelism and personal discipleship here as well as ways to engage the unreached around the globe.  Please pray that God would move the right people to get involved in the trenches!  We will not win the world by witnessing and preaching on Facebook, Twitter, and in the blogosphere.  We must get in the trenches.  Please pray!

Finally, be aware that the address for Mission Surge will be changing in the next week or two.  I will be sending out an email with the new mailing address as soon as possible so that you can make any necessary changes.  The current address will remain active for several months so that there will be plenty of time for everyone to make the transition to the new address.  Since we are 100% volunteer operated, and due to increased work load and increasing numbers of missionaries, we have had to restructure some things to be more efficient.  Please bear with us and please bear us up in prayer.  

Thank you for your faithfulness to give, to share, and to pray.  Please lift these needs before the throne of grace over and over again!  

In Christ,

Kevin

July News

Dear Friends of Mission Surge,

I wanted to send you a brief email asking you to pray concerning a few things.

1.  Please pray for our partner missionaries, especially the Tiegreen’s as they are still striving to raise funds in order to serve as full time missionaries in Central Asia and the Johnson’s who are having trouble getting their Visas so that they can return to their work in Indonesia.  Please lift up Refugee Ministries International as well as we have a team leaving Providence this weekend to go work in the refugee camps.  

You can read about all of our partners here:  http://www.missionsurge.com/our-partners/

Lift them up in prayer and be on the lookout for some new missionary partners in the near future.

2.  Please pray for me as I seek to lead Mission Surge through some needed structural changes.  I need wisdom and insight in the best way to go about this and the best way to make necessary changes.

3.  Please pray for a pastor-friend in the Dominican Republic, Roman Sosa.  He sent me a message this morning asking for prayer for Santo Domingo, because they only have enough water to last the city another 35 days!  Please pray for rain to fall in the right areas of the DR.  

4.  Please consider financially supporting a worthy pastor in the Dominican and/or a worthy pastor in South Asia.  If your Sunday school class, WMU, church, or small group is interested in helping with either of these men’s support, please message me and I will give you more details.  $800 a month would fully support one of them.  $1600 a month would fully support both.  

Finally, if you are not following Mission Surge on Twitter and Facebook, please do so now!  New news and opportunities are on the horizon and, if you are getting your updates from my personal Facebook page, you will not be able to do so much longer.  Please like and follow at the pages below now.  

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mission-Surge/145423062144598

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/missionsurge

Thanks for praying and giving to support the work of this ministry! 

In Christ,

Kevin

Missionary Perseverance

If you have not read the first two installments on Adoniram Judson, please do so before reading this post!  You can read part 1 here.  You can read part 2 here. 

Originally intending to work in India, the Judson’s were turned away by the East India trading company.  Their boat sailed, (providentially) onto the shores of Burma (now Myanmar) at a port called Rangoon.  

He wrote:  The prospect of Rangoon, as we approached, was quite disheartening.  I went on shore, just a night, to take a view of the place, and the mission house; but so dark, and cheerless, and unpromising did all things appear that the evening of that day, after my return to the ship, we have marked as the most gloomy and distressing that we ever passed.  Instead of rejoicing, as we ought to have done, in having found a heathen land from which we were not immediately driven away, such were our weaknesses that we felt we had no portion left here below, and found consolation only in looking beyond our pilgrimage, which we tried to flatter ourselves would be short, to that peaceful region where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest.  But, if ever we commended ourselves sincerely, and without reserve, to the disposal of our heavenly Father, it was on this evening.  

Judson believed God providentially placed them in Burma and not all the representations of his friends could induce him to turn from his work to relieve the spiritual wants of Englishmen, or preach before an English congregation.  It was this determined perseverance that made Judson the missionary he was.  His work in Burma was like a Christian marriage.  Divorce was not an option.

Though the soil was hard, the work was difficult, and the costs were more than anyone should have to bear (he lost his infant son, his wife, and his 2 year old little girl in Burma) he pressed on.  Here are some of his quotes:

“God grant that we may live and die among the Burmans, though we should never do any thing more than smooth they way for others.”

“I know not that I shall live to see a single convert; but, not withstanding, I feel that I would not leave my present situation to be made a king.”

“Is it a suitable time to leave a people when the Holy Spirit is operating on their minds, and creating in them ardent desires to know the way which leads to eternal life?  True, the number of our inquirers is small; but if there is only one, his soul is worth more than the wealth of the world, nor should it perish for want of Christian instruction.”

At 27 years old, Adoniram wrote, “Missionaries must not calculate on the least comfort, but what they find in one another and their work.  However, if a ship was lying in the river, ready to convey me to any part of the world I should choose, and that, too, with the entire approbation of all my Christian friends, I would prefer dying to embarking.  This is an immense field, and, since the Serampore missionaries have left it, it is wholly thrown on the hands of the American Baptists.  If we desert it, the blood of the Burmans will be required of us.”

It was a longing to see God worshipped and glorified that kept Judson in Burma.  However, this longing for God’s glory was not without a definite passion and love for the people.  He wrote, “When we feel a disposition to sigh for the enjoyments of our native country, we turn our eyes on the miserable objects around.”  May we all turn our eyes to the miserable objects around us, wherever we are, and with love for men and love for God’s glory commit ourselves to work while it is day, for the night is rapidly coming when no man may work.  

Adoniram Judson's Legacy: Part 2

Adoniram Judson was the first foreign missionary sent from America overseas in the early 1800's.  If you have not read part one of his legacy, please do so here.  

Adoniram wrote a list of "rules" or resolutions, much like the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards.  Judson's rules and resolutions might be a bit easier to digest than Edwards' but they are no less potent!  He had an original list and then added some more rules to it a bit later.  I have meshed the two lists together for our purposes in this post.  I would encourage you to read through these rules, meditate upon them, apply them to your own life, and seek to discipline yourself to live by them!

1.  Rise with the sun.

2.  Be diligent in secret prayer, every morning and evening.

3.  Read a certain portion of Burman every day, Sundays excepted.

4.  Have the Scriptures and some devotional book in constant reading.

5.  Read no book in English that has not a devotional tendency.

6.  Never spend a moment in mere idleness.

7.  Restrain natural appetites within the bounds of temperance and purity.  “Keep thyself pure.”

8.  Suppress every emotion of anger and ill will.

9.  Suppress every unclean thought and look.

10.  Undertake nothing from motives of ambition, or love of fame.

11.  Never do that which, at the moment, appears to be displeasing to God.

12.  Seek opportunities of making some sacrifice for the good of others, especially believers, provided the sacrifice is not inconsistent with some duty.

13.  Endeavor to rejoice in every loss and suffering incurred for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s remembering that though, like death, they are not to be willfully incurred, yet, like death, they are great gain.

More from Adoniram Judson to come!  Stay tuned.

Adoniram Judson's Legacy: Part 1

          Adoniram Judson, was the first foreign missionary sent from the United States of America.  He left in the very early 1800’s a Presbyterian on his way to India, but by the Providence of God, he became a Baptist on the trip over and was rerouted to the Kingdom of Burma, now Myanmar.  He was extremely intelligent and gifted, and despite those who thought he would be more productive to remain in America, his eyes were set on the mission.  He wrote in his journal, “I hardly think that I shall write any more sermons.  Why should I spend my time in attempting the correctnesses and elegances of English literature, who expect to spend my days in talking to savages in vulgar style?”

Adoniram and Ann’s life and sacrifice to reach Burma are inspiring.  Below are some of his most challenging quotes (more to come in the coming months).    

Speaking of our spiritual dryness and dullness he wrote, “We refuse to open the window shutters and complain that it is dark.”  We complain on Facebook, Twitter, talk radio, blogs, and in the pulpits, but we do not actually do anything about the darkness.  That would require real prayer, real labor in the trenches, and real patience.  We refuse to open the window shutters and yet complain about the darkness.

We are also guilty of spiritual procrastination!  Judson hits the nail on the head when he wrote, “Of how much real happiness we cheat our souls by preferring a trifle to God!  We have a general intention of living religion; but we intend to begin tomorrow or next year.  the present moment we prefer giving to the world.  “A little more sleep, a little more slumber.”  Well, a little more sleep, and we shall sleep in the grave.  A few days, and our work will be done.  And when it is once done, it is done to all eternity.  A life once spent is irrevocable.  It will remain to be contemplated through eternity.”

“Let us then, each morning, resolve to send the day into eternity in such a garb as we shall wish it to wear forever.” 

“As every moment of the year will bring you nearer the end of your pilgrimage, may it bring you nearer to God, and find you more prepared to hail the messenger of death as a deliver and a friend.” 

"O the pleasure which a lively Christian must enjoy in communion with God!  It is all one whether he is a city or a desert, among relations or among savage foes, in the heat of the Indies or in the ice of Greenland; his infinite friend is always at hand.  He need not fear want, or sickness, or pain, for his best friend does all things well.  He need not fear Death, though he come in the most shocking form; for death is only a withdrawing of the veil which conceals his dearest Friend."

“This life’s a dream, an empty show.  O, if we could always realize this, and live above the world,—if we could tread on its trifling vanities, live far from its perplexing cares, and keep an eye fixed on our heavenly inheritance,—how comfortable and useful we might be!”  

“Life is short.  Happiness consists not in outward circumstances.” 

“How great are my obligations to spend and be spent for Christ!”

“O, if Christ will only sanctify me and strengthen me, I feel that I can do all things.  But in myself I am absolute nothingness.”

“O, let us live as we shall then wish we had done.”

       Contemplate on these quotes.  They are power packed if you ponder them and apply them to your own life.  How far we have drifted from the spiritual depth of yesteryear!  It is out of such spiritual depth that missionary movements are born.   

June 2015 missionsurge update

Our June Newsletter, via video.  



Please take time to pray!  Samuel Chadwick said, “The devil fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion.  He laughs at our toil and mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.  No man is greater than his prayer life.”  Please pray that God would work!!!!!

If God would grant us the vision....

"If God would grant us the vision, the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short, we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ." 

We just finished reading the old book “Through Gates of Splendor” by Elizabeth Elliot.  It is primarily composed from the diaries of the 5 men slain by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in January of 1956….much better than the movie, by the way.  

It was kind of eerie reading the men’s thoughts as they made their secret plans to engage the Auca’s of Ecuador and hearing the first hand accounts of the events that led up to their martyrdom.  The words from Nate Saint on page 176 especially struck me and I wanted to share them here, as a challenge to us all to consider those who are still unreached and unenaged. 

On Sunday afternoon, December 18, Nate Saint sat at his typewriter to tell the world why they were going—just in case. In speaking these words he spoke for all:  

As we weigh the future and seek the will of God, does it seem right that we should hazard our lives for just a few savages?  As we ask ourselves this question, we realize that it is not the call of the needy thousands, rather it is the simple intimation of the prophetic Word that there shall be some from every tribe in His presence in the last day and in our hearts we feel that it is pleasing to Him that we should interest ourselves in making an opening into the Auca prison for Christ.  

As we have a high old time this Christmas, may we who know Christ hear the cry of the damned as they hurtle headlong into the Christ-less night without ever a chance.  May we be moved with compassion as our Lord was.  May we shed tears of repentance for these we have failed to bring out of darkness.  Beyond the smiling scenes of Bethlehem may we see the crushing agony of Golgotha.  May God give us a new vision of His will concerning the lost and our responsibility.

Would that we could comprehend the lot of these stone-age people who live in mortal fear of ambush on the jungle trail…those to whom the bark of a gun means sudden, mysterious death…those who think all men in all the world are killers like themselves.  If God would grant us the vision, the word sacrifice would disappear from our lips and thoughts; we would hate the things that seem now so dear to us; our lives would suddenly be too short, we would despise time-robbing distractions and charge the enemy with all our energies in the name of Christ.  May God help us to judge ourselves by the eternities that separate the Aucas from a comprehension of Christmas and Him, who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor so that we might, through His poverty, be made rich. 

Lord, God, speak to my own heart and give me to know Thy Holy will and the joy of walking in it.  Amen.

Important May News

Dear Friends of Mission Surge,

I wanted to send you this email in order to ask you to please pray for the following present needs.

First, please pray for our partners ECCI and Coram Deo as they work together in Italy later this month.  Pastor Jerry will be leaving in weeks and is still $1000 short of his budget.  If you are impressed to help with this need, please do so as soon as possible.  Learn more and/or give here:  http://www.missionsurge.com/ecci-1-1

Next, I want to ask you to pray for me, and two others, as we travel to Asia in June to teach house church leaders and pastors there.  It is going to be a busy and intense trip and we covet your prayers for our efforts there.

Then, I want to remind you of the opportunity to support a partner in the Dominican Republic monthly.  If you, your Sunday school class, or church would like to partner with this faithful pastor, I would love to hear from you.  He needs approximately $800 a month to support his family and work.  There would also be opportunity to travel to the DR and work alongside him. If this interests you, your small group, or church please let me know.

Finally, I mentioned recently the need of a Pakistani Christian family I have encountered.  The family fled Pakistan and moved to Malaysia in hopes of being granted Asylum. They have been denied and are now stuck in Malaysia with expired visas.  They must pay a fine and return to Pakistan by the end of this month.  It will cost roughly $2700 to meet their needs.  Let me know if you are interested.  

P.S.  Mission Surge will be setting up a booth at the Mississippi Home Educators Association at MSU in Starkville later this month, as well as at the International FIRE Conference in Atlanta, GA.  Please pray that God would connect us to many during these two opportunities.  Many many things are developing in our work and the needs and opportunities continue to grow.  Your prayers are more important than you realize.  Please, please pray for the work of Mission Surge as often as you will!

In Christ,

Important April News!

Dear Friends of Mission Surge,

Things are moving extremely fast lately!  We continue to acquire new missionaries on the field to partner with (you will be hearing about some of them soon) and are in the process of sending several more missionaries overseas in the coming months (you will hear about them soon as well).  On top of partners on the field and missionaries on their way to the field, the demands of indigenous pastors and church planters continue to grow.  That is the reason for this email.

I have a particular pastor/missionary in the Dominican Republic on my heart that is in need financially, and has been for several years.  He has been praying that he can serve full time, but the funds are just not there.  He is legitimate, well educated, faithful to the Word of God, and faithful to the ministry.  If God would so move your church, your small group, Sunday school class or your family to help support this pastor, please let me know.  It would take approximately $800 USD to support his family and his work each month.  There would also be an opportunity for you to connect with him in the DR and help his ministry by evangelizing alongside him and his church as well as training leaders if you would like to adopt him!  

Please let me know if you are interested in helping support the work of this faithful pastor in the DR by prayer, funding, and feet on the ground.  It would be a blessing to him and to the work in the DR.

I have also just confirmed the desperate need of a Pakistani Christian family stuck in a Southeast Asia Muslim Nation.  They fled to this country for asylum, but have been denied.  Their lives are now being threatened and their only viable option is to return to Pakistan.  However, they must pay fines for he, his wife, and 3 school age daughters before they leave because their Visa's expired.  They must also pay for their plane tickets.  They must pay the fines and leave the country prior to May 31 or the fines will be drastically increased.  If the fines are increased, they will likely never be able to pay them.  An American contact that we currently have in this country has confirmed, as much as we can, the validity of this need.  I plan to follow up with the Pakistani family trough email and Skype.  The total cost of fines and plane tickets are roughly $2700.  If you, or your church, are interested in helping with this pressing need, please contact me and we will discuss the details.

In closing please continue to pray for our partners, Jerry Marcellino and Coram Deo in Italy as they prepare for work in Italy in May.  Also pray for me and two others who will be traveling to East Asia in June.  And, stay connected with what is going on with Mission Surge by following us on twitter and liking us on Facebook etc.  The links are below. 

https://twitter.com/missionsurge

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mission-Surge/145423062144598?ref=bookmarks

Thank you for your prayers and support.  

In Christ.

Special News from Mission Surge

Dear Friends of Mission Surge,

I wanted to send out this special newsletter to remind you of a few things from our last newsletter and share with you a message from one of our partners:  ECCI.  

First, please pray for me and the two other men who will be traveling to East Asia June 1-13 in order to teach and learn from house church leaders.  We covet your prayers!  If you want more info on this trip, let me know and I will be glad to share with you the details, however due to security concerns, I would rather not do so in an email format online.

Also, please continue to pray for the opportunities Mission Surge has in the coming months to set up displays at conferences in Starkville, MS and Atlanta, GA.  We need God to provide for the materials and display costs!  We are at almost 20% of what we need to make this a success.  These conferences can greatly broaden the reach and prayer support of this ministry!  If God, leads you to help offset some of these expenses, please let me know ASAP.

I also want to share with you about the upcoming work of ECCI and Jerry Marcellino in Italy next month.  Please take time to read his message below.  Pray for him and the work of Coram Deo in Italy and if God moves you to help offset his expenses, he would be grateful.  Read his email below.

Finally, if you have not watched and shared www.oblviousfilm.com please do so.  If you have not followed Mission Surge on twitter or Facebook you can do so at the links below.

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mission-Surge/145423062144598

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/missionsurge

And, if you are interested in listening to sermons online you can do so here:  http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=missionsurge

Finally, if you, or your pastor, could use me for a revival, harvest day, missions conference, evangelism/discipleship conference, or family discipleship conference, let me know!  I would also love to come share on a Sunday or Wednesday night about the work of Mission Surge.  Thank You for your prayers and support!

READ THE REPORT BELOW CONCERNING ECCI AND CORAM DEO IN ITALY!

Dear brethren in Christ,

If you are receiving this email or letter it’s because I count you a dear personal friend and brother or sister in Christ. But also, because I know you to have a heart for the gospel and a desire to see Christ Proclaimed among all nations.

I have written this note to request your prayers for my wife Dawn and me as we continue, by God’s grace and by His provision, to seek to go semi-annually to minister in the gospel-needy land of Italy. Our next trip, is planned for May 30-June 2, 2015 (slightly-less that nine weeks from today!). Please see the attachment for details about this important conference to strengthen the evangelical church in Italy. 

Basically, we will be addressing the topic of “The Gospel, Sex, and Money” to both the male leadership, women, and young people from the various denominations and churches who will be attending (including foreign missionaries in Italy) this conference from both the far Northern to the extreme Southern regions of Italy (including Sicily). The other speakers are: John Glass (an American missionary serving in Geneva, Switzerland) and Carey Hardy (an American pastor serving in Winston-Salem, North Carolina).

We are also seeking the Lord for at least $2,500 to cover all of our other possible expenses. If you can pray for this wonderful ministry opportunity and also consider making a gift (of whatever size) toward meeting these needs, either personally, or from your church, or through its mission’s committee; that would be very encouraging to us and a great blessing to the Italian believers who will attend this year’s conference!

I remain, your affectionate brother,

In the co-labors of the gospel,

Jerry Marcellino

*Please feel free to call me on my cell number (on the next page) if you need any clarification about this trip. 

**Please visit the Conference link below for more important information related to our trip:

http://www.missionsurge.com/ecci-1-1/

WATCH my November 2014 ministry trip to Sicily (Video Interview)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Wsz9zv0pE

** Please see the link below to WATCH my Video invitation to all Italian believers to attend our Conference this May 30-June 2 in Rimini, Italy ** Please pray for their prompt positive response…

http://youtu.be/MHjCNqK-VXM

Jerry Marcellino

Pastor, Audubon Drive Bible Church

P.O.Box 8055

Laurel, MS 39441-8000

Thanks for your willingness to pray for, and support the work of, Mission Surge!!

In Christ,

Kevin