Category: missions

Despite the majestic basilicas, impressive cathedrals, and rich history of the nation, less than 1% of the 47.5 million people of Spain claim to have a true relationship with Christ. Young people do, however, find Jesus in the 25 Christian camps throughout the country. Since L’Arcada has been in existence nearly thirty years, children of campers who came to the Lord quite a while ago are now attending the same camp their parents did

Dave and Cindy Bintz, missionary friends we visited in 2019, speak about the transformation that takes place as a young person puts faith in our Savior. At the end of a summer, most leave camp and return to a town where there are few, if any, followers of Jesus. L’Arcada has a strategic plan to stay in touch, disciple new Christians, and help them find churches, but the lack of fellowship is a real challenge.

Dave and Cindy witness the fruit of the Holy Spirit as the young people return to summer camp as workers or campers. “Sometimes, we will stand outside the kitchen door and listen to the teenagers sing praises to Jesus as they wash the dishes. They are so happy to be in fellowship with others who also have experienced the life Jesus gives. We often cry for joy.”

This must be the joy Paul experienced as he thought about and prayed for the churches he and others planted throughout the world. He once wrote to the Colossians:

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people — the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world — just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” (Colossians 1:3-6)

God gives the gift of His Spirit to those who receive Jesus as Lord. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…”(Ephesians 1:13) The gospel brings life, change, and fruit. We can thank God for His Spirit; we can pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world; and we can ask Him to use us to spread His kingdom.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:9-14

(photo by C messier – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons)

This coming weekend, seven groups of students accompanied by Greater Atlanta Christian School teachers will leave our country to visit and serve Christian brothers and sisters in Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Athens, Greece. Please pray for protection and for God’s purposes to be fulfilled.

Over twenty years ago, Matt Elliot and Melaney Cost went to then President David Fincher with a dream of taking high school students to serve the Lord during a spring break. These three courageously embraced a vision without knowing how many kids would be interested.

From one spring trip in 1997, hundreds of students and dozens of teachers have chosen service over other options during school breaks. A team for a new destination has been formed to serve in Thailand this summer where one of our teachers lived while growing up. Most trips begin with a connection someone has with a missionary or ministry in a distant location.

In addition to the ones listed above, these countries have been visited: Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Brazil, Haiti, Puerto Rico, China, Namibia, Kenya, Rwanda, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia, and Russia. There have also been over a dozen different places in the United States where teams have served.

Several teachers have led trips to the same location many consecutive years, building long-term relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ. Kristy Shelton is leading her 15th group to Honduras. Tim Ball has led ten teams to Atlanta’s inner city to serve the homeless during Thanksgiving week and spring break. It is not unusual for several GAC graduates to join him as God has given them His heart for the poor.

I can think of at least a dozen alumni or former teachers who are presently serving God as full time missionaries or leaders of ministries. Of course, God gets all the glory for anything good His children do. He enjoys inviting us to participate with Him in revealing His love to others… and as we go, He always lets us see our weakness and His strength.

God’s vision goes far beyond ours. He knows one day the nations will worship Him. When Jesus commissioned His apostles to go into all the world, He commanded them to make “disciples of all nations.” How do we do that? Surely, we are to take one step at a time remembering He is with us and that “with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

“Great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are Your ways, King of the nations. Who will not fear You, Lord, and bring glory to Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” Revelation 15:3-4

Around 5:30 Saturday morning Susan and I drove through downtown Atlanta to join other friends in welcoming Pastor Manuel, Paula, Marco, and Mayra to our city. Shining clearly in the darkness was a neon sign attached to the steeple of a church with the words: JESUS SAVES.

Marco and Mayra have visited before, but this is the first time Pastor Manuel and Paula have been on a plane and the first time they have left their country. After a joyful reunion, Rick and Melaney Cost took the tired foursome to their house and we looked forward to Sunday fellowship with several from Atlanta who have visited their home in Ecuador.

Jesus always kept two things in mind: why He did not come to earth… and why He did come to earth. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:17) Jesus knew we were all lost sheep who had gone astray. Sin had entangled us all… and Jesus came to save us.

The woman caught in adultery was being condemned by religious zealots who dragged her before Jesus. But even these teachers of the law and Pharisees knew deep down they had no right to throw a stone. After they walked away, Jesus asked: “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (See John 8:1-11)

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19: 10) Pastor Manuel is a messenger of this good news in the villages of the Andes Mountains, where he and Paula grew up. After riding a bus up the narrow road to such a village one school trip and realizing that Pastor Manuel usually walked the long path, possessing no car of his own, one of our teenagers asked: “What is so important that you walk two hours up a mountain to visit people you don’t even know? Do you bring them something?” “I bring them Jesus,” our friend quietly replied.

Jesus heard criticism from the ‘righteous’ and made a simple observation: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” The obvious truth is we are all sick… we have all been lost… “There is no one righteous, not even one…” (see Romans 3:9-18) Praise God that Jesus saves! Praise God that we have a Great Physician! Praise God that He offers the gift of righteousness! Let’s spread the Word…

“For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13

“Salvation is found in no One else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

I recently read a book entitled Evidence Not Seen written by Darlene Deibler Rose, a missionary called to Indonesia in the late 1930’s to serve with her husband Russell Deibler and several other American and Dutch missionaries. The dedication to learn languages and to embrace harsh living conditions in order to bring the Gospel to unreached peoples is inspiring.

The subtitle of the book reveals that the dreams of the young missionary couple did not go as anticipated: A Woman’s Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the islands of the South Pacific became danger zones. The Deiblers and over 1,500 others were rounded up by the Japanese and imprisoned on the island of Celebes. Eventually the men were taken to one location and the women and children were held at a place called Kampili.

The cruelty of their captors and the terrible living conditions drove believers to ask many difficult questions: “Where are You, God?” “Why would You call us to preach the Gospel and then allow us to become prisoners of war?” “Will we survive this horror?”

Some survived; some did not. The Gospel was preached; there was just a different audience than expected. And whether one felt it or not… God was there. The greatest testimony of men and women of faith who enter any fiery furnace remains: He is with me.

Russell encouraged scores of prisoners of many nationalities, but the sicknesses of the jungle wore down his body. He died in captivity in 1943. Darlene was not told of her husband’s death until three months later and her sorrow was overwhelming. “Why God? What is the purpose? Will You take me too?”

The Japanese leader of her camp, who was guilty of personally beating and killing prisoners during fits of rage, was touched by the grief of the twenty-six-year-old American. When he tried to explain that such are the happenings in war, Darlene was given the grace to share what Christians know is true.

“Mr. Yamaji, I don’t sorrow like people who have no hope. I want to tell you about Someone of Whom you may never have heard. I learned about Him when I was a little girl in Sunday School back in Boone, Iowa, in America. His name is Jesus. He’s the Son of Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth.” God opened the most wonderful opportunity to lay the plan of salvation before the Japanese camp commander. Tears started to course down his cheeks. “He died for you, Mr. Yamaji, and He puts love in our hearts – even for those who are our enemies. That’s why I don’t hate you, Mr. Yamaji. Maybe God brought me to this place and this time to tell you He loves you.” With tears running down his cheeks, he rose hastily and went into his bedroom…

After being a POW for nearly four years, the war ended and Darlene was freed. Of their close circle of missionaries, eight died during imprisonment and seven survived. Darlene returned to America, eventually re-married, and served for over thirty years with her husband Jerry Rose as a missionary in New Guinea and Australia.

Some joyous news came to Darlene years after the war. “A friend vacationing in Java happened upon a priest who had just returned from bicycling in Japan. While in a small coastal village, the priest had stopped at a bicycle shop for repairs. Striking up a conversation with the owner, who spoke Indonesian, the priest discovered that the man had been the commander of the women’s POW camp outside Macassar during World War II. The owner asked the priest if he ever met any of the women who had been in Kampili, to tell them he was sorry he’d been so cruel. He said he was a different man now. Later Darlene heard that Mr. Yamiji had spoken on radio, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the Japanese people.”

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (KJV)
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (NIV)

Quotes from Evidence Not Seen, by Darlene Deibler Rose, published by Harper and Row, ©1988, pp 111, 224

“As soon as the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him.” Mark 9:15

A group of sixteen of us traveled to Ecuador this past June to work with Pastor Manuel and his family in the mountains and valleys of the Andes. Each day construction work and community service took place, with each of us enjoying the fellowship of our humble, hard-working brothers and sisters.

On our last full day in the country, we were happy to accept the invitation of the only Christian family who lived in a small village called Providencia. This family wanted all the children of the community to hear the story of Jesus, so we were able to bring a simple meal, some arts and crafts, and the Gospel.

The meeting room barely held the sixteen Americans, about fifty children, a dozen or so mothers, and two grandpas. After singing a few songs, I was asked to speak. Being a teacher, I can usually target students that can potentially sabotage the best of lessons; two thirteen-year-old boys were my top candidates. When one returned my wink during the singing, I at least thought they would give the foreigners a chance.

I shared about the God who created all the beauty of their land and the Father who loved each one of us more than we can imagine. As our leader Melaney interpreted, it was remarkable to watch every single person focus on the message. At the close, I told them I wanted to tell a story about Jesus and asked if a few of the children would help act it out.

Three girls and three boys raised their hands, including one of the thirteen-year-olds who had earlier caught my eye. We had two college-age kids in our group named Andrew and James; I let our John be the apostle that Jesus loved; and I changed the name of my good friend Mark to Peter as he had the best beard among us.

I asked everyone to pretend that I was Jesus, who often visited villages just like theirs. I shared that one day several children wanted to meet Jesus, so I asked my six volunteers to stand at the end of the room opposite me. But for some reason, some of Jesus’ closest followers thought Jesus was too busy and too important to greet the children. As Andrew, James, John the Beloved, and bushy-bearded Peter stood with arms folded across their chest preventing the children from coming to my side of the room, the crowd seemed quite distraught.

I don’t think Jesus ever wore a baseball cap, but I became so aggravated with my apostles that I took off my cap and hit each of them on the head. “What are you doing?” I cried. “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them! Don’t you know the kingdom belongs to ones like these?” Big smiles broke out among all in the house as the kids made it through the barrier and everyone realized that Jesus wants to be a Friend to all. Jesus brings Good News!

“And they were bringing children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.’ And He took them in His arms and blessed them, laying His hands on them.” Mark 10:13-16