Message Magazine Online - Vol. 56, No. 03, Summer 2008

In This Issue

• Editorial
  Angela Shuff
• Canadian Editorial
  David W. Smith
• The Ecology of Church Planting
  ABWE's Core Ministries Institute Training Team
• Living Out Wisdom Literature in Middle Eastern Culture
  Susan Schmidt, Middle East
• Consider the Joy
  Bill Commons, Strategic Initiative and Research
• Culture Shock Revisited
  A. W., South Asia
• A Willing Sacrifice
  Pauline Stevens, with her sisters Dr. Beulah Hall and Mrs. Laura Anne Cebulak
• Dig Your Roots Deep–But Where?
  Kimberly Rae
• Deep in Liberia, People Have Never Heard
  Keith Lippy, Liberia
• Training a Special People Group
  Bill Amstutz, President, Shepherds Ministries
• CLIPS
• Adapting to Retirement
  Spence W. Jackson
• Kids Can Help Start Churches, Too!
  Jim Cook, ABWE Next Generation Ministries
• Invest in Training Missionaries for Cross-Cultural Ministry
• Focal Point
  Michael G. Loftis, President, ABWE International

CLIPS: Press-time reports of need, opportunity, inspiration, and praise

Opportunities to help in crisis

Pray that God will use ABWE to serve the victims of cyclone Nargis that hit the coast of Myanmar on May 2, 2008. Aid is still slow in reaching the poor of the country. Possible projects that can be carried out by ABWE national partners and friends in Myanmar are as follows:

• Help our Burmese brothers and sisters buy now and stockpile for the future since the prices of basic commodities will continue to escalate. They need rice, cooking oil, salt, beans, and grains.
• Help the poor families of the outreach with the costs of repairing their bamboo thatched-roof houses. One grass house can be constructed for about $250 US.
• Give medical care on a case-by-case basis.
• Help repair the seminary building in Yangon.
• Sponsor the poorest families who need financial help to buy their children school supplies.

You can find out more about these efforts as well as the assistance being given to victims of the earthquake in China and the volcano in Chile at www.abwe.org.

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Pray for IMPACT students serving abroad

IMPACT is ABWE’s department for college students that provides short-term missions opportunities and guidance counseling for students who have a desire to serve the Lord in cross-cultural ministry. This year’s IMPACT short-term teams are made up of students from various colleges, such as North Carolina State University, The Citadel, Moody Bible Institute, Tennessee Temple University, Baptist Bible College, Faith Baptist Bible College (Iowa), and Cedarville University. The students will serve overseas during the months of May through September for time periods of three weeks to three months. One team is going to Nepal to share the gospel with those they meet while backpacking  through the Himalayas. A team going to the Czech Republic will be helping with English camps, women’s ministry, Bible studies, and other church ministries. Other teams are going to Cameroon and South Africa to assist with various ministries. For more information on IMPACT call 877-MEnlist or email mobilization@abwe.org.

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Cyclone Sidr relief is successful

Contributions to the ABWE Cyclone Sidr Relief Fund provided $75,000 to bring hope and comfort to Bangladeshis who were hit hard by Cyclone Sidr in November 2007. During January and February 2008, The Association of Baptists NGO in Bangladesh coordinated with a national partner (Pastor S.) and his team to provide compassionate aid in the name of Christ. Approximately 1,000 families received food relief, and approximately 1,000 families received a package of other necessity items. Sheets of high-quality tin were provided for 200 families to re-roof their damaged houses. During these distributions, Pastor S. shared the gospel to the Sidr victims.

As a result of the relief effort, spiritual fruit is ripening and doors for ministry are opening. Weekly church services and Bible classes witnessed major increases in attendance since the relief project. Ten locations increased in number by an average of 85 people. A Bible class for seekers has begun in one of the target areas and has up to ten attendees. There are possibilities for another class in a neighboring area. This  compassionate aid was used to begin relationships with the local officials. With an open invitation from the officials and promise of police protection, Pastor S. is preparing to bring his literature library boat and a ministry team to one of the target areas on a regular basis. Continue to pray that the gospel will go forth and change the hearts and lives of those in need.

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Church Ministries Institute in Ukraine partners with Horizon International Schools

A partnership has emerged between Church Ministries Institute in Ukraine and Horizon International Schools, a division of ABWE that provides online distance education programs. By developing a distance-learning program in the Russian language, the door has opened for CMI to reach a whole new wave of students—from the remotest parts of Siberia, to the workforce of a major city, and even to Russian immigrant communities in Israel or the West. Avenues are also being explored to provide “underground” training to Christian leaders in restricted-access regions who would otherwise have to leave their home countries and their families to seek training elsewhere. This is a huge step forward towards the vision of preparing church workers for ministry in Eurasia and around the world.

Visit www.his.msites.com for more information.