Bible Thief
I enjoy receiving the reports from the guys on deputation. It helps me to know how to better pray for them and help them. Sometimes I receive experiences that are too funny. Under one category, Advice you would like to share with others on deputation, I received the following. I have omitted the name but thought you would like this:
Advice you would like to share with others on Deputation:
Always bring your wife with you if you’re as scatterbrained as I am. Last night I drove by myself to a revival meeting a couple hours away. Afterwards the pastor told me to call later to schedule a meeting. I then accidentally stole his Bible and didn’t realize until I arrived home hours later. (My wife) laughed her head off. Hopefully the pastor will have a forgiving spirit.
I guess stealing the pastor’s bible is one way to have a good reason to call him back, get a conversation started and book a meeting! God bless you as you minister and serve today!
Bro. Tony
Cochabamba Bolivia
What a joy and honor it has been to be with Bro. Kevin White and his dear wife, Beth. God is truly doing a great work through their ministry here. Please keep them in prayer as they will be going on furlough in about four weeks. If you would like to have him come by your church, please call 336-499-2585. He and his dear family will be a great blessing to your people.
Keep them in prayer as well as they seek to get some land and building. God has given him and the church a great vision for Cochabamba and the world. Please get behind this great work. I am very proud of them!
How To Stay Focused On The Right Ministry
There is so much ministry that we can do; we must decide what we should do. Very few missionaries go around not having anything to do. The problem is working long hours every day and not seeming to accomplish anything. What is it that God desires to accomplish through you on the field? Will what you are doing make that a reality? We all have the same amount of hours in a day/week/year. We must redeem the time and use it as wisely as possible.
Below are some helps on how to stay focused on the right ministry.
1. Align yourself each morning to the Word of God. Seeking God and getting your mind and heart in line with His is a must. Let Him speak to you and reaffirm the direction He has given you. Knowing about God and knowing God are two drastically different things. Learn to listen to God.
- Remember that doing your devotions is not sermon preparation though a sermon may come from your devotions.
- Be open and teachable so that God can mold you to be more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.
- Spend enough time with God to “fill you” so that He can pour you out through the day in ministry.
- Be sensitive to the Spirit. He will lead and guide you as your serve and seek Him.
- Seek to genuinely understand what God is saying rather than reading into Scripture what you would want it to say.
2. Have clearly defined objectives. There is a difference in “doing ministry” and doing the ministry God has for you. God has a specific plan for you in His work and in this world.
- Are your objectives in line with God’s Word?
- Is what you are doing going to fulfill the objectives?
- Are “new” ministries going to add to or take away from the objectives?
- What unique contribution does God want you to make to His work in this world?
- Do you have any specific strengths, abilities, opportunities, or desires that you could use to glorify God?
- Will your ministry reproduce itself through disciples?
- Are you following the II Timothy 2:2 model?
3. Evaluate your ministry regularly. As time progresses, ii is easy to fill your life with “busy work” but not the right work. Some questions to help you evaluate what you are doing in light of your objectives would be:
- How much of your time, energy and resources are invested in your objective?
- Is what you are doing now yielding the fruits necessary for your objective to be reached?
- Are there “good things” that need to be done away with because they are crowding out the best things? (this one is difficult to do!)
- Would a friend agree with your assessment or would he say you are being blinded by your conclusions. The need for honesty in evaluation is paramount.
- Do you have a mentor in your life that you can get honest feedback from in evaluating your ministry. This is so vital for healthy growth and direction.
Find more helpful articles at bcwe.org
Focus in Ministry
Over the last few days, missionary Travis Snode and I, have been discussing ministry once one gets to the field. If you get the right training, right strategy and all the “how to’s” down, does it guarantee that once on the field you will do what you supposed to? It is one thing to talk about it and maybe even criticize others, and quite another to implement what has been learned.
One of the greatest things that must be remembered is focus. What is it that God has placed upon your heart to do on the field and is what you are doing right now going to accomplish that? It is so easy to get in the rut of the same few members, the same problems and mounting frustration. If you are not careful, everyone will tell you what ministry you are to have, and what you are to do. Ask yourself the following questions:
- What did God put in your heart?
- Is the energy being exerted going to help that dream become a reality?
- Where is the majority of your time being spent?
- Is it where the majority of your times should be spent?
To accomplish what God desires for our lives and ministry demands focus. It demands staying in tune on a daily basis with what God has put into our hearts to accomplish. One book said that good is the enemy of great. The Bible states that we are to approve those things which are excellent.
- Has your vision become blurred?
- It is hard to see clearly the direction God wants?
- Have you got so caught up in “church as usual” that you have lost your vision of training men, raising up preachers and starting churches?
Focus. Focus. Focus. Today you may need to realign your ministry, focus, time and energy. God gave you a dream. Do not let it die in the land of mediocrity. Let it burn once again. Let it burn so brightly that it burns away all the little foxes that have stolen your dream and vision. Let it burn so that those around can not help but be affected by it.
We get so busy doing many so called “good” things that we lose sight of “this one thing I do.”
I love you and pray that our ministries today would be more focused than ever.
Find more helpful articles at bcwe.org.
Londonderry Ireland!
Stacey and I arrived in Belfast Tuesday morning, traveled to Londonderry and I started preaching Tuesday night! We have had three great meetings and look forward to preaching again tonight. I will preach tonight, tomorrow, six times on Sunday, Mon- Wednesday and fly home Thursday and crash! Please pray that God would do a great work during our time here.
We are honored to be with Missionary Travis Snode and his wife Teri. They are doing a wonderful job working in two different churches. Their lives are very full and busy and they need your prayer. They now have three children. Grant (4), Darci (2) and Cali (8 mos)! The Snode’s will have been in Ireland six years this June 4th. He is one of the finest men of God I know, with a wonderful wife and family. They are truly deserving of your partnership as they try to reach this country. Pray for wisdom and power as he lead these churches and raises up an army to take the gospel to the World.
Please be in prayer Saturday for a youth meeting that God would touch some young people to yield their lives to the Lord. It has been an exciting time with more to come!
Thanks for praying.
Bro. Tony
Ways To Pray – Part II
10 Ways To Pray
Questions For Personal Evaluation
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May God use you greatly as you prepare to serve Him on the field. God has blessed you with gifts and abilities to accomplish the calling in which He has called you. Stir up the gift that is within you. See it blossom and grow in the area of ministry you are in now so that it may continue to blossom and grow on the field.
31. Are you using your spiritual gifts?
32. Are you teaching others to use their spiritual gifts?
33. Are you building relationships of accountability?
34. Are you a leader?
35. Who is following you?
36. How well do you know the Bible?
37. Are you learning Theology and growing in Bible knowledge?
38. Will your Pastor miss you when you leave the church to go to the field?
39. Will you have someone who can effectively run your ministry when you are gone?
40. What are you doing to get ready for the next step?
a.
b.
c.
Golf Tournament
Clarification
I am sorry for some of the confusion I may have caused with the questions of evaluation coming out. Some of these are applicable for those who have not started deputation, that should have been done before deputation. Many of the questions can be used by you in your conversation with those interested in missions. If they are not doing these things before deputation, they may not should start deputation.
May God use you greatly as you seek not only to raise support but laborers for the field. While you are traveling in the states ask God to also use you as a missions mobilizer. Thanks for your service to our God and input.
Bro. Tony