Church Planting Discussion

I am sorry to all my devoted followers (all two of you. Thanks mom!) for my extended absence. The internet in my house has not been working after my return from a great trip with my friend Travis Snode. God is really using him there. He had 34 on Sunday morning after kicking his church off officially in August. That’s pretty awesome. He is also really getting his people behind missions at home and here in Africa.

One of my main jobs along side of church planting and evangelism is recruitment. The job in the Muslim world is too huge for one person or one church. That is why we work hard to get students to come during the summer and churches like Travis’ to come and visit us. Once they see the need we are confident that God will work to call some full time to reach Muslims and other through “satellite support”.

So in about one month for a period of one month my family will be heading to the states to preach in 3 Bible colleges, a bunch of churches, and the Our Generation Summit. We will be going from Florida to Wisconsin and possible California. Crazy but it’s what we have to do to stir up an awareness in America for the 1.3 billion lost souls in the Muslim world. One need we have is for a vehicle. We will be traveling around for just a month but need a reliable vehicle to get us there. If you know of one just sitting around or whatever please let me know.

Pray for laborers.

The world is smaller figuratively than it has ever been but I have found some of its corners in my last two trips.

My most recent trip was to visit Keith Shumaker in Burkina Faso, West Africa. One day out soul winning with two African brothers we were invited into the home of a Muslim family. Only the mom and her 5 small children were home. The smallest was crying her head off and running in fear hiding behind her mom and older siblings. I asked one of the African brothers what was her problem. They told me that she had never seen a white person and she was afraid I would eat her.

So now I am in Northern Ireland. I have never seen so many white people in all my life. I went the grocery store with Travis and that is all there is here: white people. No blacks, browns, yellows…just white. We have been door knocking now for three days. I have probably knocked a couple hundred doors and ALL white people. So, I was talking yesterday to David, a man of 40 years old attending Travis’ church. David told me about a trip he had taken a few years ago when he was in his twenties to America. It was the first time he had EVER seen black people in person. He was in a room with 20 of them and he said he really was afraid they were going to kill him. He got over his fear and then observed in amazment their bi-colored hands (you know, black on one side, white on the other.)

So the African thought the white man would eat her and the white man thought the Africans would kill him. That’s amazing in 2007. I wonder if anything like that ever happens in China?

I am looking forward to getting back to the brown people.

Last week a wonderful saint of God passed away at 99 years of age and 11 months. She was my great, great grandma, my daughters names sake, and the reason I am in the ministry. She raised my grandma to love God, and my grandma did my mom, and my mom did, in turn, her job with me. So today I am where I am because of that wonderful women. She spent all the years I knew her witnessing to every doctor and nurse that came by her bed. So, keep ut up ladies! You never know how many “Timothy’s” you are raising for the following generations.

I wanted to give you a report on what Travis’ church is doing here in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. They just had their celebration Sunday on September 16th and he is already mobilizing the troops. They went from his living room (we joked tonight that he is in the midst of writing a book called “Church Planting: Don’t try this at home”), to a small room at a hotel holding 30 chairs, to a room now holding 50 chairs and will be moving to a larger room soon. My first night here on Wednesday he had an unsaved couple return (and even miss their favorite Liverpool F.C. playing). He had more visitors tonight and a great spirit from the other who have been coming faithfully and getting involved. He caste the vision tonight of their church touching the world. He is motivating a 2 month old church toward some huge goals including a visit to us in Morocco next year. I think they are “shocked and awed” as we Americans like to do it. But their are signing up to get on board. God is working and using Travis’ hard work. We stayed up till 2 am this morning talking about plans that he presented to his church tonight. Please pray for him as he moves up and onward.

I have arrived in Londonderry, Northern Ireland with Travis Snode and the Northwest Baptist church. Check them out at www.northwestbc.org. God is really beginning to move here as he blesses a ton of work and investment that Travis is putting in.

We were able to witness a little and give a New Testament to a few Kuwaiti guys we met in London. Huge need there.

I just read from another blog that I am subscribed to a very interesting post. The http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifquestion has to do with Mission Agencies and Field Councils. It also has to do with the amount of input that comes from the local church. It is trying to see what happens in terms of the Bible and not common practice.

Vision News

Rachid called back today around 10 am. I had told him yesterday that he was supposed to read John 1 and call me back. I was in language school so I had to step in the other room to take Rachid’s call. Our teacher is not a believer. I asked Rachid if he had read John 1. He said that he had but it had cost him quite a bit of money to print it all out off our website at the internet cafe. I figured out that he had printed out the whole book of John and read it and not just the first chapter. Oh, well. No harm done.

So we started with the first verse and talked about how the Word was God and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He read a verse and then we talked about it all the way down to verse 12 where we learned that to all those who believe on the name of Christ are given power to become sons of God. From there we went to Romans 10:9-10. I told him that all he has to do is confess Jesus as Lord and his death and resurrection. As I said it I noticed he was writing it down. “Now, what should I say?” he asked. I saw that I was confusing him by telling him that there is no magical sentence so I just told him, “Pray to God and say something like this, “Lord, I know I am a sinner. I thank you for sending Christ to die for my sins and be my Savior. I want to accept him and receive eternal life.” He made me repeat it a few times as he wrote it down.

About 20 minutes later I got on Skype and this is it’s translation:
R: Salam
A: Salam and grace from Jesus Christ
A: Have you accepted Christ yet?
R: Yes
A: When?
R: I believed in Jesus Christ
R: He saved me from my sins
A: Read Romans 10: 9-10
(He reads it)
A: So, when did you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth?
R: Today
A: Amen!
A: Write down this date that you became a Christian today.
A: Does your wife know that you believed on Christ and that you read the Bible?
R: Yes. I am working to see her believe with me so she can be saved to.
A: Very good!
A: The Bible says in Mat. 10:32-33 that we must confess Christ before men and Christ will confess us before the Father. (I copied the verses)
R: That’s right. That’s the truth.
A: Amen.

So praise God. Only God could do something like that. It was exciting to see those literal hours spent memorizing John 1 in Classical Arabic pay off in such a huge way.

God will work on his end if we do our part to communicate the gospel to people on our end. He is the Savior of those who call, the Convictor of those who hear, and the Enabler of those who preach. Only He can receive the glory.

I received the following question some time ago and just have been covered up and unable to answer this. I will leave this here and hope that some of you give your opinions. I am really very busy getting ready for tomorrow right now and may not give my comments until Monday but this is a discussion that really needs to be thought through. Comment and be a blessing to your brother!

Say a missionary goes to learn the language of a “closed” country and then
before getting much accomplished gets kicked out of the country. Was the
risk worth it, time, and money worth it? Or is it a waste of the churches
money to send missionaries where missionaries aren’t welcome. Maybe it’s a
loaded question but I think about as we have moved two families into a
Muslim country and are planning on moving many more.

Vision News

If you can trust when everyone about you Is doubting Him, proclaiming Him untrue;

If you can hope in Christ, tho’ all forsake you And say ’tis not the thing for you to do;

If you can wait on God, nor wish to hurry, Or, being greatly used, keep humble still;

Or If you’re tested, still refuse to worry, And so remain within His sovereign will;

If you can say, ’tis well, when sorrow greets you, And death has taken those you hold most dear;

if you can smile when adverse trials meet you, And be content e’en tho’ your lot be drear;

If you can be reviled and never murmur, Or being tempted, not give way to sin;

If you fight for right and stand the firmer, Or lose the battle when you ought to win—

If you can really long for His appearing, And therefore set your heart on things above;

If you can speak for Christ in spite of sneering, Or to the most unlovely one show love;

If you can hear the call of God to labour, And answer, “Yes” in yieldness and trust, And go to tell the story of the Saviour To souls in darkness o’er the desert dust;

If you can pray when Satan’s darts are strongest, And take the road of faith instead of sight; Or walk with God, e’en tho’ His way be longest, And swerve not to the left nor to the right;

If you desire Himself alone to fill you, For Him alone you care to live and be;

Then ’tis not you, but CHRIST Who dwelleth in And that, 0 child of God, Is victory!

Vision News

Rachid wrote our website two months ago asking for a New Testament. After sending him a CD with Bible on it and a first lesson he called me while Sa. and I were traveling. Sa. took the call. He had profusely thanked Sa. for sending the material and asked for more. Last night I got a phone call from Rachid again. We talked for about 15 minutes and he told me his story. Four months ago he found a Muslim book about the “Prophet” Jesus in a Suq in his home town (which happens to be about 16 hours driving distance from us). He has never liked Islam and was looking for some other way. I don’t know what the book said but it touched his heart. He found our website www.alnour.com and began to read the Bible. It was through that website he contacted us. He told me that he and his wife want to be Christians but need to know more. So I prayed for him and hope that he is serious. It is extremely difficult for me to know exactly how to lead him over the phone. He is supposed to be reading the first chapter of John today. Tomorrow we will talk about it. Pray for him, his wife, and little boy. He lives in a city of over a million that has somewhere around 30 believers. If you know Khalid Intidam from Vision Baptist Church, it is where his parents are originally from in the South.

That was call number 1.

This afternoon I got a call from Sa. He had gone home after our trip. This was his ninth day reading the Word daily. Course we said our 2 minute hello that Arabs do: Good day. No problems? Family good? Kids good? No problems? God bless you. God help you. yadda yadda. Then he dropped the bomb: “So, have you read your Bible today?” Busted! I had stayed up late working last night and got up late this morning just in time to get to the office. So I didn’t read my Bible and I had to admit it. Honesty is best. “I have read three chapters.” He gloated. He was being a punk but I loved it.

That was call number 2.