We praise the Lord that He saw fit to allow us to take our first deputation road trip with little problem. Our truck was able to pull the trailer effectively, we arrived at all our meetings on time and safely and did not experience any vehicle issues. For those things and many other blessings we praise the Lord and appreciate your prayer on our behalf.
While not problematic, it does not mean it was not uneventful as we learned our share of lessons over the past 8 days. From setting up and using a travel trailer to closing and maintaining it I found myself busy scratching my head, parking and unhitching just slightly too far from my services (lesson learned) and learning things about holding tanks, chemicals, awnings etc. It was a good learning experience for all of us and we enjoyed every minute (well most of them).
The girls had a great time, they did perhaps better than expected on the long rides having to stop only once in 6+ hours on the way there and back. Each of our meetings required a shorter drive and they did great with them also. Of course we found that a 2 and a 3 year old are not ready to sit through a full service after just getting out of carseats for the past 2-2.5 hours... So that left mom busy a couple times - lesson learned for next time. Proverbs 31 speaks of the virtuous woman by saying that her children arise up and call her blessed, her husband also and he praiseth her. I appreciate my wife tremendously. Four girls, six months to six years, require patience, love, organization and prayer. My wife wonderfully balances these very things in allowing me to focus on setup, presenting, preaching etc. She is a blessing.
The big fear was "what important thing will we forget with all this packing?" Praise the Lord, we had everything we needed on the way - it was the way back that was the issue. It was 90 in Smyrna, De on Sunday after a great service and a wonderful lunch fellowship. Steph was gathering kids and I was breaking down the display table. Well, sure enough we left something behind. We are grateful to Pastor Cereghin and Grace Baptist for their graciousness in mailing it home since we were a few hours down the road before it was recognized as missing... lesson learned - have a checklist.
The meetings were great, three churches in three cities - one in a home, one in a storefront and one in a building - all excited about the things of God and all missions minded. It was great to fellowship with each family, share testimonies and make connections to shared acquiantances.
It is not uncommon in the Philippines that I am asked to dunk a basketball while I am in a shirt and tie at a jail or school or whatever but I cant say I expected it on deputation. Sure enough it was requested, made me feel like I was back in Manila. That was Rockland Bible Baptist Church and the other wonderful experience there was that many of their members are Filipino. It was a good time for us to learn more and be encouraged. The presentation turned more into a game of Jeoparday and I would ask the members how many islands, what is the population or when were they given their independence etc... it was a lot of fun while at the same time helping the body of Christ to lift up their eyes and look on the fields that are white already unto harvest.
Again, we appreciate your prayer that God would continue to open the door for meetings on a consistent basis and that the Lord will impress upon those He will to partner with us in bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Philippine Islands.
Showing posts with label Deputation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deputation. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Homegrown Missions Conference
We had a great time this week with many of our heroes of the faith. The conference at FBBC through whose ministry I was raised, saved, trained etc was focused this past week on the 27 individuals and families that were trained at FBBC and are serving or preparing to serve on fields all over the world. 13 of these families were present this week.
It was a blessing to be able to stand in front of so many of our dearest friends, brothers and sisters in Christ and share with them how their investment in us is just one more indication that our labor is never in vain in the Lord. We praise the Lord for the amount of encouragement and prayer support that families have offered us. We knew that many we have been close with for years would be by our side but we were humbled by all those that we dont know well in this large church who are taking an active part in the Philippines by beseeching God to do a work there.
Autumn with Grandma
Autumn joined me at Men's prayer meeting on Tuesday night after the service. It has done her well to be around all the older Missionary kids this week, they have such a sweet spirit and have encouraged her in the Lord. She will likely not understand what to expect on the field of for the next many months of deputation but she is excited that God is in control and has been amazed at the many answered prayers we have seen already! Praise the Lord!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
First Missions Conference!
It is such a blessing to have begun formally presenting the call of God on our lives at churches. The first conference of course will be a memorable experience simply because it was the first one but we are blessed in that we will always look back at this conference as a true joy. From March 30th-April 2nd we were in Lockport, NY at Antioch Bible Baptist Church. The conference included a music school during the day in which we learned how to sing the great hymns of the faith in four part harmony. This was an educational experience for me and while I have much learning to do yet, I undoubtedly profited from this experience.
Every wall of this church shouts out the love and burden they have for world missions. All of their missionaries are prominently displayed year round. It is heir parents, pastors and missionaries that the kids of the church look at as present day examples. With this atmosphere I have little doubt that Antioch will see some young people yield to God in the future toward ministry and missions.
Pastor Steve Pawley was a gracious host to us, he allowed each of the missionaries ample time not only to present ministry but to preach and to present a charge to the youth. 
The church family was wonderful, they showered us with blessings, love and hospitality - we were humbled by the sweet spirit of this group as well as the love and nurture that they have for each other in the congregation. Pastor Ron Ralph from Cornerstone Batist in Carthage TN preached a spirit filld conference and it was great to see how God brought all of the messages together and the response of the people in attendance. It was no coincidence that the conference was blessed as the church as a family all spent significant time of prayer and fasting in anticipation of the conference. We praise the Lord for Antioch and for the wonderful experience.
The church family was wonderful, they showered us with blessings, love and hospitality - we were humbled by the sweet spirit of this group as well as the love and nurture that they have for each other in the congregation. Pastor Ron Ralph from Cornerstone Batist in Carthage TN preached a spirit filld conference and it was great to see how God brought all of the messages together and the response of the people in attendance. It was no coincidence that the conference was blessed as the church as a family all spent significant time of prayer and fasting in anticipation of the conference. We praise the Lord for Antioch and for the wonderful experience.As you can see, Anna enjoyed her violin lessons
Every wall of this church shouts out the love and burden they have for world missions. All of their missionaries are prominently displayed year round. It is heir parents, pastors and missionaries that the kids of the church look at as present day examples. With this atmosphere I have little doubt that Antioch will see some young people yield to God in the future toward ministry and missions.
A couple other blessings which were not coincidental nor minor were that the Barone family was there with us. To be able to share our first conference with friends who have invested in us and shared their wisdom gained from experience was a great blessing.
We were encouraged to meet one of the missionary families - the Youngs to Australia considering that she is a filipina! There were also many other like blessings and testimonies that we could share of how great God has been through all of this but I dont want to add to my reputation of writing too much.Lest we forget...tell someone of the the Lord Jesus today!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Goals for Deputation
Our desire in the process of raising missionary support is
To grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ
To bring Him glory through trusting in Him for our needs in His timing and by being an example in word and deed as a family
To share our burden for the Philippines and wait on the Lord to provide those that He will have to partner with us
To be a blessing to the churches we visit in any way possible through service, encouragement, prayer, evangelism or preaching
To pray that God will allow us to have an impact on others to be more involved in missions. What a blessing it would be to see some people yield to God’s call for them during this time.
To be a blessing to the churches we visit in any way possible through service, encouragement, prayer, evangelism or preaching
To pray that God will allow us to have an impact on others to be more involved in missions. What a blessing it would be to see some people yield to God’s call for them during this time.
To enjoy the fellowship of other brothers and sisters around the country and rejoice with them in the greatness of our God
To gain wisdom from the knowledge and experience of pastors and others and therefore further prepare us for the field.
To continue the study of language and culture both from language software as well as from our Pastor who spent twelve years on this field
To continue the study of language and culture both from language software as well as from our Pastor who spent twelve years on this field
Ministry and Deputation Approch
We want to be sure to document our approach to ministry as we find it supported through God’s word. We are not interested in using man’s reasoning and strategies but to bring God glory by ministering His way for His names sake.
1Co 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
The great commission as recorded in the four gospels and Acts 1 apply to every Christian and it includes evangelism to all as well as baptism, discipleship and establishing of local churches among the believers.
Evangelism
God makes it clear that He came to seek and to save and we are now His ambassadors to preach of His resurrection and gift of eternal life through repentance and faith. Mk. 16:15
We desire to be obedient to any opportunity to present the gospel. From door to door, schools, jails, public ministry and more; there is a great need and many possibilities.
Discipleship
We have been trained by a strong discipleship church. It is imperative that we multiply people to go preach the gospel and this will be done by teaching them the word of God, good doctrine and disciplines as well as encouraging them to identify and exercise the spiritual gifts that God has given them for His glory. 2 Tim. 2:2
Church Planting
New churches that are planted within any culture should be appropriate for that area while not worldly or conforming. The responsibility of a missionary is not to westernize the people but to bring them the gospel, teach them the Bible and trust the Holy Spirit to work in their lives as the church is established. In this we desire to adapt to their culture through language learning and practices that do not violate the holiness of God. The churches should be fitting for their location and class and should be self sustaining. The missionary should be perceived as a church planter rather than a long term pastor or administrator. It is God’s church that is put in their care. The church is to be taught the principles of the Bible and the people must then be responsible as stewards of God to administrate and build the church as God provides. They also must exercise their God given gifts to form the body of Christ in that area that is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, under the headship of Jesus Christ. It should be Filipinos that support and lead the church enabling them to then reproduce their churches on their own upon the departure of the missionary to another area.
Source of power
Not a single thing will be accomplished by our might, power, talents or wisdom but by the Spirit of God through the weapon of prayer. God has promised to hear and answer what is asked in faith according to His will. We desire nothing more than to see God receive glory for changed lives and souls that only He can bring about. It is a blessing to know that we are equipped with the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation and the perfect words of God in the King James Bible.
Humanistic Endeavours
Depending on the location you can easily find many poor, hungry, homeless and sick in the Philippines. These range from very young children that are orphans on the streets and surviving in any way they can through begging, stealing or worse up to the elderly that can no longer provide for themselves and have no one to look after them. There is certainly biblical support for helping the fatherless, widows, poor and hungry meaning we will not deny the opportunity to help as the Lord leads and provides. This being said, our primary goal is not one of meeting physical needs but rather offering a hope that has far greater benefit than a supply of food - the salvation offered through the shed blood of our loving Saviour, Jesus Christ. With this as the primary focus, we will present the gospel in sincerity and truth to all that will listen.
Summary
The souls of men are of utmost importance to God. A man’s soul is worth more than all the wealth of the world according to God. Souls are so important that He gave His only begotten Son to suffer and die at the hands of His own creation while we were yet sinners because of His great love. The resurrection of Jesus Christ then brought victory over death and hell and completion of the redemptive plan for mankind. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, He is not willing that any should perish, He would have all men to be saved and there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. God receives His due glory when a soul is saved, the Lamb of God receives the reward of His suffering and an unworthy sinner receives not only a merciful pardon from hell but a place in the family of God for all eternity through His grace. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts nor are His ways our ways. God ordained that these redeemed individuals should then be His ambassadors to every creature throughout the world. We are to take the warning of the righteous judgment of God and the good news of His redeeming grace unashamedly to any and all. Beyond this commission to all who are saved, God calls and equips His children for specific tasks and gifts them according to their call. He orders our steps in His word and directs us to what He would have us to do. While we have nothing to offer of ourselves, we can be confident in our Saviour to equip and empower us to fulfill His call for our lives. That call for the Putney family is to the Philippine Islands.
Our Approach to Deputation
Should we visit your church, our practical objectives are to be punctual, prepared, orderly in our family presence, considerate of the time allotted to our ministry and endeavour to bless others.
Thank you for your consideration
Stewardship and Accountability
God has called all Christians to be wise stewards and to be missions minded. There is additional responsibility and accountability required of the foreign missionary and of the local church as they are entrusted to be stewards of money given for the work of the ministry. When God’s people give God’s money for the work of the ministry, both the supporting churches and the family sent should be certain that good stewardship is being exercised. Galatians 2:20 speaks of being crucified with Christ and crucifixion denotes death. Yielding to God and dying to self means that no reserves are kept as “untouchable” in the service of God as it all belongs to Him in the first place. We pray that we will never take lightly what the Lord provides to be used through us for His service. We are to be stewards in all respects and never take for granted or abuse the privilege to be entrusted with the gospel (1 Thes. 2:4), the gifts of God’s people as they obey God’s commission through support (Phi. 4:10-17) and the time that God allows us to serve both in the US and the Philippines (Eph. 5:16-16; 1 Cor. 15:58). For this reason we are open in our communication and accountability, knowing that no person or church could ever hold an individual accountable to the extent that we will ultimately answer for to our Lord Jesus Christ concerning our stewardship. We know that time on deputation will also require the support of God’s people and of course we intend to be active in God’s work wherever we may be. This time is a testing ground for missionaries that if accompanied with the faith and desire to learn and grow that it needs, can be invaluable on the field.
Biblical Support for Deputation?
Although there is no clear model for deputation in the Bible we do know that Paul did receive support from various churches like those in Philippi and Macedonia during his travels and that they met his needs often times while he was ministering in a place that was not willing or able to at the time (2 Cor. 11:8). More importantly than the financial aspect was the prayer that was exchanged for each other and the encouragement and investment in one another as Paul often spoke of his prayer for the churches as well as their support and encouragement of him. It is a delight to consider the relationships and prayer support that can be built up in this process. Our motive must be the glory of God alone. Deputation is representing Jesus Christ and His commission to various churches. In that process we also represent our sending church and need to take that seriously. If our motive is anything but glorifying God and representing Christ, missions and our sending church, there is a problem.
Differences
Our desire is to share the burden God has given us to make His glory and gospel known in the Philippine Islands (Isa. 42:12). God has worked in our hearts over the years and led us to standards of separation that we now hold in our family to draw a line against the subtle devices of the enemy (2 Cor. 2:11) and to be salt and light to the world around us. The standards of separation that we hold will never be the same as every family or church that we have the privilege to visit. While we stand firm on the importance of standard and are established with them for our family, our objective is not to press our standards on others nor change what God has directed us to personally as we travel church to church. Our desire is to educate those that we meet about the need in the Philippines and our intentions for service there. We are happy to fellowship with our brothers in Christ that are likeminded in the key doctrines of the faith although they may stand differently than we do in some areas. As far as on the field, too often a missionary will attempt to duplicate the western church and practices to mimic almost to a tee what is done in the churches that send or support them. To teach that the church must be western in tradition and custom would be to indict the culture and customs of the people in that land as being the problem. Sin is the problem and it is as prevalent in the west as it is in the east. Holiness and separation are commanded in the Bible and that is what should be taught, being American in your dress, décor and services is not.
1Co 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
The great commission as recorded in the four gospels and Acts 1 apply to every Christian and it includes evangelism to all as well as baptism, discipleship and establishing of local churches among the believers.
Evangelism
God makes it clear that He came to seek and to save and we are now His ambassadors to preach of His resurrection and gift of eternal life through repentance and faith. Mk. 16:15
We desire to be obedient to any opportunity to present the gospel. From door to door, schools, jails, public ministry and more; there is a great need and many possibilities.
Discipleship
We have been trained by a strong discipleship church. It is imperative that we multiply people to go preach the gospel and this will be done by teaching them the word of God, good doctrine and disciplines as well as encouraging them to identify and exercise the spiritual gifts that God has given them for His glory. 2 Tim. 2:2
Church Planting
New churches that are planted within any culture should be appropriate for that area while not worldly or conforming. The responsibility of a missionary is not to westernize the people but to bring them the gospel, teach them the Bible and trust the Holy Spirit to work in their lives as the church is established. In this we desire to adapt to their culture through language learning and practices that do not violate the holiness of God. The churches should be fitting for their location and class and should be self sustaining. The missionary should be perceived as a church planter rather than a long term pastor or administrator. It is God’s church that is put in their care. The church is to be taught the principles of the Bible and the people must then be responsible as stewards of God to administrate and build the church as God provides. They also must exercise their God given gifts to form the body of Christ in that area that is fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, under the headship of Jesus Christ. It should be Filipinos that support and lead the church enabling them to then reproduce their churches on their own upon the departure of the missionary to another area.
Source of power
Not a single thing will be accomplished by our might, power, talents or wisdom but by the Spirit of God through the weapon of prayer. God has promised to hear and answer what is asked in faith according to His will. We desire nothing more than to see God receive glory for changed lives and souls that only He can bring about. It is a blessing to know that we are equipped with the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is the power of God unto salvation and the perfect words of God in the King James Bible.
Humanistic Endeavours
Depending on the location you can easily find many poor, hungry, homeless and sick in the Philippines. These range from very young children that are orphans on the streets and surviving in any way they can through begging, stealing or worse up to the elderly that can no longer provide for themselves and have no one to look after them. There is certainly biblical support for helping the fatherless, widows, poor and hungry meaning we will not deny the opportunity to help as the Lord leads and provides. This being said, our primary goal is not one of meeting physical needs but rather offering a hope that has far greater benefit than a supply of food - the salvation offered through the shed blood of our loving Saviour, Jesus Christ. With this as the primary focus, we will present the gospel in sincerity and truth to all that will listen.
Summary
The souls of men are of utmost importance to God. A man’s soul is worth more than all the wealth of the world according to God. Souls are so important that He gave His only begotten Son to suffer and die at the hands of His own creation while we were yet sinners because of His great love. The resurrection of Jesus Christ then brought victory over death and hell and completion of the redemptive plan for mankind. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, He is not willing that any should perish, He would have all men to be saved and there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. God receives His due glory when a soul is saved, the Lamb of God receives the reward of His suffering and an unworthy sinner receives not only a merciful pardon from hell but a place in the family of God for all eternity through His grace. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts nor are His ways our ways. God ordained that these redeemed individuals should then be His ambassadors to every creature throughout the world. We are to take the warning of the righteous judgment of God and the good news of His redeeming grace unashamedly to any and all. Beyond this commission to all who are saved, God calls and equips His children for specific tasks and gifts them according to their call. He orders our steps in His word and directs us to what He would have us to do. While we have nothing to offer of ourselves, we can be confident in our Saviour to equip and empower us to fulfill His call for our lives. That call for the Putney family is to the Philippine Islands.
Our Approach to Deputation
Should we visit your church, our practical objectives are to be punctual, prepared, orderly in our family presence, considerate of the time allotted to our ministry and endeavour to bless others.
Thank you for your consideration
Stewardship and Accountability
God has called all Christians to be wise stewards and to be missions minded. There is additional responsibility and accountability required of the foreign missionary and of the local church as they are entrusted to be stewards of money given for the work of the ministry. When God’s people give God’s money for the work of the ministry, both the supporting churches and the family sent should be certain that good stewardship is being exercised. Galatians 2:20 speaks of being crucified with Christ and crucifixion denotes death. Yielding to God and dying to self means that no reserves are kept as “untouchable” in the service of God as it all belongs to Him in the first place. We pray that we will never take lightly what the Lord provides to be used through us for His service. We are to be stewards in all respects and never take for granted or abuse the privilege to be entrusted with the gospel (1 Thes. 2:4), the gifts of God’s people as they obey God’s commission through support (Phi. 4:10-17) and the time that God allows us to serve both in the US and the Philippines (Eph. 5:16-16; 1 Cor. 15:58). For this reason we are open in our communication and accountability, knowing that no person or church could ever hold an individual accountable to the extent that we will ultimately answer for to our Lord Jesus Christ concerning our stewardship. We know that time on deputation will also require the support of God’s people and of course we intend to be active in God’s work wherever we may be. This time is a testing ground for missionaries that if accompanied with the faith and desire to learn and grow that it needs, can be invaluable on the field.
Biblical Support for Deputation?
Although there is no clear model for deputation in the Bible we do know that Paul did receive support from various churches like those in Philippi and Macedonia during his travels and that they met his needs often times while he was ministering in a place that was not willing or able to at the time (2 Cor. 11:8). More importantly than the financial aspect was the prayer that was exchanged for each other and the encouragement and investment in one another as Paul often spoke of his prayer for the churches as well as their support and encouragement of him. It is a delight to consider the relationships and prayer support that can be built up in this process. Our motive must be the glory of God alone. Deputation is representing Jesus Christ and His commission to various churches. In that process we also represent our sending church and need to take that seriously. If our motive is anything but glorifying God and representing Christ, missions and our sending church, there is a problem.
Differences
Our desire is to share the burden God has given us to make His glory and gospel known in the Philippine Islands (Isa. 42:12). God has worked in our hearts over the years and led us to standards of separation that we now hold in our family to draw a line against the subtle devices of the enemy (2 Cor. 2:11) and to be salt and light to the world around us. The standards of separation that we hold will never be the same as every family or church that we have the privilege to visit. While we stand firm on the importance of standard and are established with them for our family, our objective is not to press our standards on others nor change what God has directed us to personally as we travel church to church. Our desire is to educate those that we meet about the need in the Philippines and our intentions for service there. We are happy to fellowship with our brothers in Christ that are likeminded in the key doctrines of the faith although they may stand differently than we do in some areas. As far as on the field, too often a missionary will attempt to duplicate the western church and practices to mimic almost to a tee what is done in the churches that send or support them. To teach that the church must be western in tradition and custom would be to indict the culture and customs of the people in that land as being the problem. Sin is the problem and it is as prevalent in the west as it is in the east. Holiness and separation are commanded in the Bible and that is what should be taught, being American in your dress, décor and services is not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)