This update is from Lorenzo Arroyo, GCI-USA regional pastor and mission developer for Mexico.
A new mission outreach has been launched in Colonia Santa Rosa del Valle on the outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico. The goal of this outreach is to work toward starting a new GCI church in the community of Santa Rosa.
The idea for this mission grew out of discussions led by Alfredo Mercado, GCI-Mexico national leader and senior pastor of the Guadalajara church. It was decided to give the green light to three Guadalajara church leaders to get the mission started. In April, Lorenzo Arroyo appointed Luis Alberto Soto, Humberto Perez and Jose Rodriguez to commence the mission work.
The mission team’s first event was a prayer meeting on June 7. Five adults and four children attended. Then on September 6, the team conducted an afternoon fiesta entitled “Mexican Tardeada.” The surrounding community was invited and the 100 people (including the 40 children) who attended enjoyed live music, singing, prayer, a sermon, food and lots of fun, including games for the children (see the picture above).
The place of meeting was a tent with a dirt floor (see below) set up on property graciously donated by a GCI couple for the use of the new church. Lorenzo (shown preaching below) gave an evangelistic sermon from Romans chapter 1, connecting the message of the gospel to the lives of the many newcomers in attendance.
One of the highlights of the event was a blessing of the children ceremony (pictured at right).
Everyone enjoyed themselves as the crowd interacted with the mission support team made up of members of the Guadalajara mother church. New people from Santa Rosa were heard asking, “When is this going to happen again? Will you be coming back?” Our response is that it’s the goal of the mission team to bless every child in that community by Christmas of this year!
During his visit to Guadalajara, Lorenzo, accompanied by Jose and Bertha Rodriguez (on the left in the picture at right), conducted a Bible study during a visit with Daniel and Carolina Blanco and their six children (pictured at right). The Blancos, who are new converts, live in Santa Rosa and have joined the mission group.
Though the lives of the Blancos have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, Daniel, a bricklayer by trade, struggles at times to find employment in the impoverished community of Santa Rosa. The family lives in an upstairs apartment no bigger than most living rooms. But they light up at hearing the word of God and have become diligent workers in the new mission.
On the day before returning to the U.S., Lorenzo attended Samuel Mercado’s presentation and defense of his thesis paper. Samuel (pictured at right) is a leader in the Guadalajara church and national youth leader for GCI Mexico. Following his presentation, Samuel was told that he had defended his thesis successfully and would be awarded a master’s degree in information technology from the University of Guadalajara. Congratulations, Samuel!
Lorenzo extends his thanks to the GCI-USA congregations who have generously supported GCI’s gospel work in Mexico. As indicated in this report, there is much to be done, but the Lord has, as always, been more than gracious.
We were saddened to learn of the death of Bernie Schnippert on September 10. Please pray for his wife Arlene and their daughters Crystal and Coral and the rest of the family during this difficult time.
In a brief note to close friends Arlene wrote “I wanted to let you all know that Bern passed away about 7:00 pm this evening. He was asleep and it was very peaceful. His months and years of suffering are now over and he can be at peace.” A small private memorial service is being planned.
Due to ongoing health struggles, Bernie retired from GCI employment on June 27. He had served for many years as GCI’s legal counsel. To read about his distinguished career in an earlier Weekly Update article, click here.
Bernie and his service to GCI will long be remembered and missed.
Cards of encouragement to the family may be sent to:
This update is from GCI pastor Rick Shallenberger who recently visited Malawi and Ghana on behalf of GCI president Joseph Tkach.
Malawi: new church building dedicated
GCI-Africa mission developer Kalengule Kaoma (KK) and U.S. pastor Rick Shallenberger participated recently in dedicating a new GCI church building in Mbulumbazi, Malawi, just outside Blantyre (the new building is pictured below, left). In 2012, Rick preached at the congregation’s former thatched meeting hall (pictured below, right) while visiting his daughter in Blantyre.
The congregation was planted in 2009 when community leaders in Mbulumbazi asked GCI to start a congregation there. They did so because they were deeply impressed by the compassion GCI members showed in caring for a terminally ill resident of their village who formerly attended a GCI congregation in another village, but moved to Mbulumbazi to be near family and medical care.
Ribbon cutting at the new building
So in 2010, GCI purchased a small plot of land in Mbulumbazi and built a small thatched (grass) hut where worship services were conducted. Average attendance at the time was 35. But members desired a more permanent structure, so they constructed a building on the property in 2012, and average attendance increased to 55. They delayed official dedication of the building until pastor Rick could return. Those attending the dedication last month included the village chief and headmasters, along with chiefs from adjoining villages and leaders from other denominations. Total attendance at the dedication service (pictured below) was 255.
Malawi: leadership training conference
In addition to participating in the new building dedication, KK and Rick also conducted a two-day leadership training conference for GCI Malawi leaders (pictured at right). Rick opened the conference asking, “What does it mean to be in communion with God?” Discussing the related questions of “Who is Jesus?” and “Who are we in relation to Jesus?” led into a communion service.
In other sessions, Rick discussed how GCI theology affects mission and ministry. KK then discussed ministry in the African context, particularly with respect to church planting, leadership development and working with groups wanting to join GCI. Rick and KK also hosted a special dinner for the group on behalf of Pastor General Tkach.
Ghana: 40th anniversary celebration
With the theme: Ebenezer: The Lord has been faithful and gracious to us, GCI-Ghana concluded a year-long celebration of its 40th anniversary with an eight-day festival at the church property in Kutunse, north of Accra. The property, which formerly served as the church farm, now is the location of a school and church hall (pictured at right) and hosts youth camps and other church events.
One of the highlights of the festival was the return of Ghana’s first pastor, Abner and Sharon Washington (on the right in the picture at left with leaders from Ghana). Abner, now 90, said returning from the U.S. to Ghana was “a dream come true.” He and Sharon are considered the “Dad and Mom” of the Ghana churches and received a beautifully worded certificate of appreciation and a number of gifts, giving them due honor. Abner gave two of the messages during the eight-day festival.
Each day of the festival began with 30 minutes of music and devotion before the start of the service. The two-hour service featured hymns, praise songs, dancing and choir music along with the messages. Following each service, Pastor Emmanuel Okai, director of Ghana churches, presented awards and gifts to various groups who have served over the years. Speakers included Abner Washington, South Africa mission developer Tim Maguire, KK and Rick. On the final “Thanksgiving Day,” Rick greeted all on behalf of President Tkach and his wife Tammy and gave a message about our communion with the Father, Son, Spirit and each other. The 40th anniversary celebration ended with all participating in communion. Attendance averaged 500 a day with the peak of 604 on the final day.
Ghana: African national ministry leaders’ conference
Twenty-seven African national leaders and pastors (pictured below) from Nigeria, Angola, Togo, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, met in Accra, Ghana, from August 28 through August 31. These meetings were held in the afternoons and evenings following the 40th anniversary activities (see above). For many of the leaders, it was the first time they had met.
The meetings, which were conducted by KK, Tim and Rick, began with an address from Rick about our communion with the Father, Son and Spirit, followed by a review of the “Christ events”—Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection and ascension, explaining the significance of each in our lives. Each national director then gave an update on his country. Here is a summary:
In Kenya, we have 16 congregations and many active ministries. Membership continues to grow, currently topping 1200 members. The challenge is finding appropriate places for worship and encouraging pastors to stay motivated.
In Togo we have one congregation and approx. 200 members. These numbers are down. The current project is building a social and medical center, which will not only be used for worship services, but also as a place to provide healing and a place to build relationships.
In Nigeria the attendance is just below 500. Nigeria is a very poor country, but God has blessed the church. There are many youth in Nigeria, and they are being connected to different areas to provide growth opportunities. They have just completed a new church building and are hopeful to build more so congregations have a base to work from.
Following these presentations KK, Tim and Rick covered various topics: theology, church planting, church development, mission/ministry, developing pastors, pastoral succession, African tradition/culture, finances, managing change, and questions and answers.
During the conference Rick and KK hosted a special dinner for the group on behalf of Pastor General Tkach. The conference, which ended with an affirmation exercise and prayer session, was a great success. Nigerian pastor Essien George summed it up well: “The last week of August 2014 is going to remain in my memory for a long time, because it was the week I had the opportunity to meet with Christian leaders, brothers and friends from GCI in other countries. I met many for the first time. It was a joyful experience that solidified the teaching and belief that we are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer is requested for Deb Paz’s aunt, Elaine Vernon. She is beginning another battle with cancer, this time in her brain. Please pray for healing, strength and peace. Elaine will be receiving a treatment on September 23, which involves pinpointing and eradicating the cancer.
In an earlier post, we reported on the ChurchNext training conducted in July in Asheville, North Carolina, by GCI Church Multiplication Ministries. Videos have been produced with excerpts from the training segments at that conference. You will find those videos in the YouTube playlist embedded below. These videos are helpful tools for equipping your congregation’s leaders and workers in key aspects of our participation with Jesus in his disciple-making mission. The videos address various aspects of that mission in and through newly planted churches and established churches.
We were saddened to learn that GCI elder John Connors died of pancreatic cancel on September 10th. John served as an assistant pastor in the Boston, Massachusetts congregation.
John is survived by his wife Robin and their children Jennifer, Jackie and John.
Cards may be sent to:
Robin Connors 232 Pearl Street Newton, MA 02458-1345
Here are helpful resources related to the topic of evangelism (involving ministries of cultivating, planting and reaping) in and through the local church. To celebrate the fruit of this work in one of our congregations, click here.
Identifying evangelistic gifts
In a post on the Exponential website, church planter Beau Crosetto writes this:
If we are going to activate evangelistic people in our ministry, then we have to know what they look like! Sometimes this can be pretty easy if they are highly gifted and are more developed. But if they are a young person, it may not be as clear from the surface. What do you look for to identify those people with the Ephesians 4 gift of evangelism (part of the five-fold gifts) in your church? Here are six indicators I often consider…
To read Beau’s article, click here. Though it is written from the perspective of a church plant, it applies directly to established churches as well.
Tools that help
In a post on The Exchange Blog, entitled “Strategic Evangelism,” Ed Stetzer lists several tools that are useful in helping members share in the Holy Spirit’s work of evangelism. To read Ed’s post, click here. For related resources produced by GCI, click on these links:
CrossRoads Christian Fellowship, the GCI church that meets and ministers in Tipp City, Ohio, is pastored by a team of elders led by senior pastor Jim Valekis. The team includes associate pastor Becky Valekis (Jim’s wife), who coordinates discipleship programs. For over 10 years, CrossRoads has emphasized evangelism as the win segment of its win-build-equip-multiplydisciple-making pathway. Their evangelistic efforts have been of two types: person-to-person connection, and community outreach and engagement events.
CrossRoads’ faithful, persistent and creative efforts to share in what Jesus is doing in the community have born significant fruit, seen in a “Down to the River to Pray” baptism service held on August 24 at which 17 people of various ages were baptized—15 are residents from the surrounding community who are new to GCI, and 2 are children of long-time GCI members. The service was packed with family and guests, with one deciding at the event to come forward for baptism. Another person who was moved by the service has been baptized since.
Reflecting on the day, pastor Jim commented:
We have a lot of work ahead to help these new converts learn to live out their new transformed lives in Christ. Many are from badly broken situations, so it will be a challenge to help them learn to follow the Spirit into the true freedom that is theirs in Christ. This weekend is the culmination of years of hard work in which “sweet inspiration” often was followed by “sweet exhaustion.” But it’s been worth it—we’ve been shown that even though Jesus does it all for us, he wants us to do it with him. His grace “works!” And what a joy it has been to see so many lives transformed by Christ! It’s such a blessing to be enabled by the Spirit to enter with our Lord into the joy of his harvest.
Here are comments from others concerning the baptism service:
It was more than amazing! Being led by God and by every person at CrossRoads has made my life so fulfilled! I hope we all touched someone at the service so that they may let God lead them too!
I shed more than a few tears at the service. I have been so, so blessed to be part of an amazing movement at CrossRoads of bringing people to Jesus Christ. I had no idea that when my wife and I walked through the church doors that Halloween night several years ago, just how much our lives would change. Yesterday, almost my entire family was there. My wife, my mother, father, sister, all four of my children and all four grandchildren. A grandson and two of my children, who have struggled to resist God and have struggled through so many things in their lives, accepted Christ as their Savior and were baptized. Now they will begin to see what wonderful changes are about to occur in their lives.
I want to thank each of you for your prayer and, of course, your service that made for a wonderful Celebration Sunday! I thank God for you all! It was truly a wonderful, joyous and humbling day! Glory to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ!
The thought that struck me at the service was that even though God sends the message, the message doesn’t always get received, or if the message is received, the feet are sometimes too timid to move. What I saw on display this weekend, however, was something far different. The message WAS received and the feet took off running. You can lead followers and help them grow, however you can develop leaders and grow explosively. What I am seeing at CrossRoads Church are leaders developing leaders through Christ and the results speak for themselves!
Big things are upon us—I pray that we stay close to God and to each other so we can take this movement where God wants it to go!
Below is a short video that recaps pastor Jim’s sermon of introduction to the baptism service (given at church) followed by scenes from the baptism service itself, held at a nearby river. We welcome these new believers into the body of Christ and celebrate with CrossRoads this fruit of their faithful labor in the Lord.
Please pray for Thérèse Cayer, wife of GCI-Canada elder Denis Cayer. The couple serves the Trois Rivieres and Quebec City congregations.
Thérèse saw her doctor recently and she was diagnosed with cancer in the membrane covering her left lung and adjoining structures. The cancer is inoperable and incurable. The only thing that can be done to extend her life is to undergo chemotherapy. She will be having further tests to see if the cancer has spread and she’ll have a drain tube installed to empty liquid from her lung. She is not having any pain, though she understands that she is facing a mighty battle. She has chosen to let God lead, and desires to continue for now on the preaching teams in both congregations.
As a child, there were many things I wanted to be “when I grew up”—but a trapeze flyer was not one of them! I recall watching these artists at work and being both fascinated and frightened. I’d hold my breath as they’d let go of the trapeze bar, soar through the air and be caught (hopefully) by a fellow artist. I wasn’t sure I would be able to trust anyone enough to take that leap of faith!
Miguel and Juan Vazquez were among the best trapeze flyers in the business. In 1982 they made history in Tucson, Arizona, when 17-year-old Miguel landed the first quadruple somersault on the flying trapeze (watch him do it on another occasion at http://youtu.be/qFEB7yFGgYE). This was a stunning accomplishment, not only because no one else had done it before, but because most experts thought it impossible. Miguel got a lot of praise, but the true hero was the catcher, Miguel’s brother, Juan.
Used with permission from The Last Great Circus Flyer website.Juan Vazquez on the catch bar in 2009. Used with permission from The Last Great Circus Flyer website.
Here is how Juan described the event in the book, The Greatest Trick:
Hanging upside down, I am swinging toward [Miguel] as he is hurtling toward me at 75 miles per hour. Now I’m reaching for him; my hands are straining toward his, his hands are straining toward mine. I have him! Our hands are locked and holding!
Even the most expert trapeze flyer is unable to pull out of a quadruple spin and grab the bar on their own. The catcher must grab the arms of the spinning acrobat, pull them in and then not drop them. Who would you trust to do that for you?
Fortunately, most of us will never be called upon to fly from a trapeze bar hoping that our partner will catch us. But we all will face situations in life where we must reach out in trust—and such trust doesn’t develop overnight. Miguel learned to completely trust Juan over years of working together.
Trust seems to develop in two ways: 1) Directly, through a relationship that involves trusting a person over a period of time. 2) Indirectly, through watching another person trust someone, and then, through that example, learning to trust that someone yourself. Both methods apply in learning to trust God.
Here are people of faith in the Bible who we can learn from:
Noah believed God’s plan for him to build an ark.
Abraham believed God’s covenantal promise to bless everyone through him.
Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about the final resting place of his bones.
Moses’ parents hid him for three months.
Moses encountered God in the burning bush and led his people out of captivity.
Joshua followed God’s plan to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land.
The disciples left their respective jobs and followed Jesus.
Paul went on his various missionary journeys.
And, as the author of Hebrews writes:
I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground (Hebrews 11:32-38).
The Spirit enables us to learn to have faith in God through these examples of amazing trust. As we read the stories of faith in the Bible, we learn that God was, is and always will be faithful to us. No matter what Israel did, God remained faithful to his people and to the covenant he made with them. The Lord was also faithful in his mercy and love and faithful to his plan to send his Son to be the Redeemer, Reconciler and Savior not only of Israel, but of all people, everywhere and in all times. Reflecting on these examples, we learn to trust God as we grow in our own relationship of faith with him.
In Jesus, God has given us the perfect brother to work alongside: “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11). We trust Jesus because he is always with us and for us. Whether stumbling through the routine of daily challenges, or facing unexpected crises that feel like flying through the air doing quadruple somersaults, we know that Jesus is there to catch us—every time. Hear his words of reassurance:
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand (John 10:27-29).
We are secure in Jesus! We can trust him completely to always catch us, no matter how many “somersaults” life brings our way.
Trusting Jesus with you, Joseph Tkach
P.S. We recently posted at www.gci.org/media/conference2014 video and audio recordings of the plenary presentations given at the 2014 U.S. regional conferences. I encourage you to watch them if you were not able to attend one of the conferences and to share them with others. They unpack our conference theme of GCnext: sharing Jesus’ faith, love & hope.
The idea for this mission grew out of discussions led by Alfredo Mercado, GCI-Mexico national leader and senior pastor of the Guadalajara church. It was decided to give the green light to three Guadalajara church leaders to get the mission started. In April, Lorenzo Arroyo appointed Luis Alberto Soto, Humberto Perez and Jose Rodriguez to commence the mission work.
During his visit to Guadalajara, Lorenzo, accompanied by Jose and Bertha Rodriguez (on the left in the picture at right), conducted a Bible study during a visit with Daniel and Carolina Blanco and their six children (pictured at right). The Blancos, who are new converts, live in Santa Rosa and have joined the mission group.
On the day before returning to the U.S., Lorenzo attended Samuel Mercado’s presentation and defense of his thesis paper. Samuel (pictured at right) is a leader in the Guadalajara church and national youth leader for GCI Mexico. Following his presentation, Samuel was told that he had defended his thesis successfully and would be awarded a master’s degree in information technology from the University of Guadalajara. Congratulations, Samuel!
