February 27, 2010
On Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 3:34 a.m. local time (1:34 a.m. EST) an 8.8 magnitude earthquake devastated portions of Chile and triggered tsunami warnings to be posted for the entire Pacific basin.
The quake’s epicenter was located 325 km SW of Santiago. In this city of 200,000 the earth shook for approximately one and a half minutes. The tremor was strong enough to cause the crumbling of many structures. Local reports state that people were streaming into the streets wrapped in blankets and fearing for their lives.
Initial news reports say that as many as 147 people have died and untold numbers have been injured in this earthquake.
Currently a CAMA representative is meeting with Chilean personnel to review the damage and formulate a plan. More information will be forthcoming as we receive word from our people on the ground.
What You Can Do
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Ten cents of every dollar given to this project will be divided between the CAMA Advance Fund and the Great Commission Fund to cover travel, administrative, and logistical costs of ministering to the needs of those affected by this disaster. As far as possible, the expressed preference of a donor will be respected and followed. In the event that this gift is oversubscribed, any remaining funds will be used for future disaster relief efforts.
February 26, 2010
Editor’s note: Community Church by the Lake’s ministries are made possible, in part, by the Alliance Development Fund (ADF), which has helped the church through tough financial times. “ADF is about helping churches,” says Pastor Don Foor. “Without ADF, we wouldn’t have the following stories.”
“We don’t want ‘that element’ hanging around our church,” said a handful of church members at Community Church by the Lake in Big Bear Lake, California. High in the San Bernadino Mountains, the Alliance church has played a key role in the community’s outreach to teens, specifically skateboarders. But some believers weren’t on board.
Already, the church had collaborated with the Parks and Recreation Department (Park and Rec) as well as a group of civic leaders and private donors to transform an old building on the church property into a teen center. Church member Reese Troublefield, who is the general manager for Park and Rec, approached Don Foor, who has pastored the church for nearly six years, with the idea of using the old building for a teen recreation center. “Through his job, Reese had been trying for eight years to find land to fulfill his vision for the city’s youth but to no avail,” says Don. “Land is too expensive.”
A Unified Effort
Reese suggested remodeling the empty church building. “He told me he could get the money but needed the church’s consent to use the building,” Don says. “With unity and funding from the county, local businesses, and Soroptimist International Women’s Club, the vision of a teen center at Community Church by the Lake became a reality in 2007.”
The center is staffed by Park and Rec employees from 2-5:30 p.m. daily and used by the church for its youth group meetings in the evenings. “The center is equipped with video, TV, games, billiards, and a small kitchen,” Don says. “It’s a fabulous place where all kids are welcome. When our kids invite their friends to stay for youth group, their parents readily approve, appreciating a safe place for their children.”
The Forbidden Element
But the center did not solve the problem of skateboarders with no place to skate. “Six months of the year, we are under three feet of snow,” says Don “When the kids aren’t snowboarding, they are skateboarding.”
The distance of Big Bear Lake’s only skate park, located at the opposite end of the city, kept the kids in the church neighborhood from utilizing the facility. So Don invited the teens to skate in the church parking lot. Word got around quickly, bringing skateboarders and their homemade equipment for jumps and stunts.
Residents had been complaining about skateboarders being a nuisance, skating recklessly past businesses and homes. Skateboarding was outlawed and signs went up, forbidding the favorite teen pastime. Don attended a public hearing where the problem was discussed. “We need another skate park,” he told Reese, who also was at the meeting. A councilman heard Don’s remark and asked, “What’s he willing to do about it?”
Walking With Jesus
Community Church’s property included a piece of land next to the teen center that had only a few shrubs on it when it wasn’t covered by snow. “I went to the church board with the idea to build a skate park on church property,” Don says. “The board agreed. Reese approached the county supervisors and again, funding was approved for the $100,000 project.”
But when Don announced the plan to his congregation, he was met with some opposition. “Some members were against it,” he says. “‘We don’t want that element here,’ they told me. They were afraid that the youth would vandalize the church.”
Don, who spent five years with his wife as pastoral couple at Simpson University, would not stand for such discrimination toward the young people of Big Bear Lake. “I remember as a kid, bolting silver wheels to a board and skateboarding down my street,” he says. “I wanted to do something for the kids here to let them know that they are valued.”
Don preached a sermon the following Sunday entitled “That Element.” “‘Jesus came and sat in the middle of that element,’ I told them. ‘We can’t demonize people because they put wheels under their feet. We’re a C&MA church, a missionary church. We don’t take the gospel to some and not others. We won’t do that.’” When he admonished the congregation not to use the term again, disgruntled members left the church.
A Safe Place
The Community Skate Park was launched in 2008. “It’s been an incredible collective message to the teens, who are very protective of their new turf,” says Don.
Recently, a boy who wasn’t a “boarder” broke a church window. Skateboarders called the sheriff, who later brought the boy and his father to meet with Don. The sheriff wanted Don to press charges, but the Alliance pastor had a better idea. “The father and son, both remorseful, agreed to my plan. The father paid for the window, and his son is working with the church janitor.”
For insurance liability reasons, skating is not allowed after dark “But one night I found a few kids skating and reminded them of the rules,” Don says. “One of the boys challenged me, ‘Who are you to tell me I can’t skate?’
“The other two boys stepped up. ‘We’ll tell you who this guy is. When no one else would let us skate, he made it happen.’”
Local police have thanked Don for the church’s contribution to the community. “It’s easy to monitor,” they say. “We can see the park clearly. It’s the best thing you could have done for the kids and for us.”
“Kids have been always been skating and will keep on skating,” Don says. “And today, they are so athletic and so brave. Most important, their overall attitude about church has changed. Close to a dozen kids from ‘that element’ have accepted the Lord.”
Learn More
Read about other Alliance churches that are using community outreaches to shine the light of Christ.
What You Can Do
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure the continuance of church planting at home and abroad.
Editor’s Note: Alliance international workers are pushing back the darkness in some of the hardest places on earth. Where religious and cultural practices typically prohibit traditional Alliance work and hinder nationals from seeking Jesus, God is revealing Himself through dreams and visions. One man was so troubled by his dream that he sought help from Alliance church leaders.
John* first heard about the international church while he was studying English at an Alliance multipurpose center located in a Middle Eastern city of 1 million people. The church, which was launched in September 2008, has seen steady growth with about 50 in attendance every week. For John and most of the local people who attend, it is the first time they have ever entered a church or experienced the joy of Christian fellowship.
John, a successful 30-year-old who owns several stores, began attending church on a regular basis. Then a disturbing a dream compelled him to seek help from church leaders. When an angel in his dream told him he was going to hell, John asked the angel, “Why? I’m a good person, and I own my own business.”
“You are going there because you do not believe in this,” the angel said, holding up a cross.
John was deeply troubled and agreed to participate in a weekly Bible study. During the first session, he prayed to receive Jesus into his life. Since that time, he continues to attend the services and is being discipled.
One leader says, “Starting from zero, with no knowledge of Jesus Christ or the Spirit-filled life, John has a long way to go. But all of us are encouraged by John, the first fruit of this international church.”
*Name changed
February 25, 2010
Editor’s Note: John and Janine Schultz—Alliance pioneer missionaries to the jungles of Irian Jaya (now Papua), Indonesia—saw entire villages turn to Christ among tribal people whose lives had been consumed with appeasing evil spirits. The couple’s work is chronicled in their book Stone Age Diary: The Story of John and Janine Schultz.
In August 2009, John was invited to speak at a church conference in the same village where the couple had begun their missionary career 60 years earlier. The purpose of their return visit was to ease increasing tensions that had developed between two groups of believers. The following is a chronology of what has transpired since.
DATELINE: PAPUA, Indonesia, October 27, 2009 – A C&MA national church conference was met by an angry mob threatening to kill Alliance workers and church members who had arrived by plane for the event. When the pilot opened the door of the cockpit, one man tried to pull him out of the plane.
The attack occurred as a result of tensions between the Gospel Tabernacle [the C&MA national church, or GKII] and a group that had officially separated from the GKII. “The breakaway group, [known as the GKIP], had seriously departed from the gospel message and proclaimed to be the real fruit of Alliance missionary efforts in the region,” said retired C&MA international worker John Schultz.
Days before the conference, representatives of the GKIP had descended upon the church building where the event was to take place, setting it on fire-along with the district office and the home of one of the pastors. The conference was rescheduled and moved to another location.
A Harrowing Confrontation
On the day of the conference, the Schultzes boarded a Mission Aviation Fellowship plane, along with several Alliance workers and national church leaders who had been invited to attend. “We had been told that it would be safe for us to come and that the local police would guarantee our safety,” said John.
“As we landed on the airfield, we were immediately surrounded by a large crowd of several hundred people, most of whom obviously belonged to the split group. A smaller group, belonging to the Gospel Tabernacle, was spread out among them. Before the door of the airplane could be opened, the opposition shouted and gesticulated angrily that they did not want us to disembark-that we should go home and leave them alone.
”Policemen moved among the crowd but [were unable] to disperse the angry demonstrators. We were told that if we came out, they would burn the airplane. After some deliberation and prayer, it was decided that getting out [of the plane] and having the conference was not an option. The pilot felt that we had no choice but to depart-a sentiment we all shared.”
But there was no possibility of starting the plane’s propeller while the demonstrators were still milling around. “They did not want us to disembark, but they made it impossible to start the engine and leave,” said John. It was not until armed military personnel arrived on the scene that the crowd began to disperse.
Wanted: Prayer Warriors
“As the plane became airborne, the tragedy began to have its full impact upon me,” John said. “I shed tears before the Lord, wondering why He had brought [Janine and me] halfway around the world only to witness this scene. Then I understood that He wanted us to see how bad the situation was. Through this experience, God called us to intensify our intercessory prayer for Papua, the land of Indonesia, and all other areas where the national church has been left [to carry on ministry] after the founding missionaries have departed from the field.”
DATELINE: Interior Highlands, Indonesia, January 1, 2010 – “The church split was taken to a new level of conflict earlier this year,” Alliance worker Barry Jordan reported in his weekly prayer update. “A GKII group from the interior highlands meeting in a kindergarten for a New Year’s service was confronted by a dilemma. Fire started to consume the building where they were meeting. The group that started the blaze was waiting to [attack] those who ran out to safety.”
A Cry for Restoration
Thankfully, no one died in the fire, but all who escaped were beaten on their way out of the building. “Please pray for our divided church,” wrote Barry. “Pray for the pastor and congregation to respond and live ‘Christ’s way.’ Pray that in their investigation, the police will respond justly, bringing peace and [reconciliation] between brothers.”
DATELINE: February 11, 2010 – “Thank you for praying for a resolution to the church problem in Indonesia,” wrote Barry Jordan. “After the GKIP (the split-off group) burned a building where GKII (C&MA) people were worshipping, six church leaders from the GKIP were put in jail.”
On February 11, during a meeting between the two church groups with police and government officials, the GKII forgave the GKIP leaders for their actions. A letter was signed by GKIP leaders agreeing not to harass the GKII anymore. “Oh, the power of forgiveness!” wrote Barry. “There was much rejoicing. Thank you for praying for our church leaders and for unity [in the Body of Christ]. Although we are still feeling the heat of spiritual warfare, we know God has already won the victory on the cross.
“THANK GOD for these steps toward unity. Please continue to pray for church leaders and for us-for humble hearts that seek God and the honor of His Name.”
“Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18, King James Version).
What You Can Do
“The peace agreement was only in one geographical location,” Barry Jordan later wrote. “Many other areas of the country still have hostility.” Please continue to intercede for this situation, asking the Lord Jesus to bring lasting peace among the Body of believers throughout Indonesia.
Rev. Joseph A. Nicholson, retired missionary to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, entered the Lord’s presence on Thursday, February 18, 2010, in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He was 83 years old.
Rev. Nicholson was born May 19, 1927, in Kinkonsi, Belgian Congo, Africa, to missionaries Joseph and Myrtle Nicholson. At the age of 15 he invited Christ into his life. He returned to the United States to complete his high school education in Houghton, New York. He graduated in 1946 and enrolled in Nyack Missionary College in the fall. While he was at Nyack, the conviction came to him that the Lord wanted him on the mission field. He met his wife, Betty, while they were both students at Nyack; they married December 20, 1949.
The Nicholsons completed their home service at the Alliance Church in Buffalo, New York. They headed for Portugal in April 1953 for a year of language study and then began their African ministry in the Portuguese Enclave of Cabinda (Angola). They were reassigned to the Congo after their first term and resumed language study, this time French in Belgium. Their ministries included Bible teaching, primary school supervision, bookkeeping, house parenting, field leadership, and more.
The Nicholsons pastored an Alliance church in Valley Cottage, New York, from 1971-1981 before returning to Kinshasa for their fourth term. Rev. Nicholson served as mission travel/business/purchasing agent. He also assisted in evangelism and church growth and started a Bible school for teachers. Mrs. Nicholson conducted international women’s Bible studies and served as ESL teacher at the U.S. Embassy. They retired from International Ministries in 1982.
The funeral service will be held on Friday, February 26, 2010, at 11 a.m. at the Country and Town Baptist Church, 1822 S Market St., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 17055 with Rev. Scott Minnish officiating. Rev. Wayne Spriggs will represent International Ministries. Interment will follow immediately after the service at the Mechanicsburg Cemetery. Rev. Nicholson is survived by his wife, Betty Mae, and their four children: Judith, Ruth, Mark, and John.
Cards can be sent to Mrs. Betty Nicholson, 5327 Cobblestone Drive, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, 17055.
February 24, 2010
Ana Porras de Ladines, a teacher at Alliance Academy International in Ecuador, was killed in a head-on collision on February 13 along with her husband Emilio and their seven-year-old son Asaf. A dump truck rammed into their vehicle after crossing the opposite lane.
Alejandra, the nine-year-old daughter of Ana and Emilio, survived with minor injuries. She is with her grandparents in Guayaquil. The couple had been serving as international workers prior to returning home to Ecuador and was preparing to begin a new term of missionary service this summer.
By Don and Hazel Schaeffer, serving in Japan
Last fall, the Alliance family prayed for Mrs. N, who had come to our church’s Bible study after receiving a gospel choir flyer.
During a recent Bible study, Mrs. N heard people praying for her and her young son, who had been having problems with his teacher. Mrs. N told a woman in attendance, “I know I will be a Christian soon.”
Shortly thereafter, Mrs. N attended special evangelistic meetings at our church. As the pastor shared the gospel, she dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief throughout the afternoon session.
During the concluding prayer time, Mrs. N raised her hand to indicate that she wanted to believe in Jesus. The speaker prayed with Mrs. N, and when she talked with us afterward, she said she wants to be baptized! Praise God for how He is working.
What You Can Do
Thank the Lord for bringing Mrs. N to a saving knowledge of Jesus. Pray that the rest of her family will receive Him as Savior.
Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure that dedicated workers like Don and Hazel Schaeffer can remain on the field introducing lost people to Jesus.
February 23, 2010
In January 2010, a team from Franklin Alliance Church in Franklin, North Carolina-which has a ministry partnership with the Burkina Faso Alliance field-roofed several churches in the remote Tougan District in northern Burkina. “As with many bush adventures, this team experienced equipment breakdowns and vehicle mishaps,” said Alliance worker Larry Wolters. “But through it all, [they] persevered and finished a big job well.” The following is an adapted excerpt from the trip blog of youth pastor Kevin Ford, the Franklin church’s work team leader.
Since 2007, I have had the opportunity to take five teams to Burkina. It’s a life-changing experience every time.
Kids, Life Here, and Jesus
There always seems to be one person or kid that you feel this connection with every time you come here. Sometimes there are 40 or 50 kids around you, and other times there are hundreds. They all smile and laugh and play if you play with them.
It’s a grim reminder to me that one out of three children here dies before the age of 10. As a parent, I can’t imagine having to deal with that reality. I’ve heard people say that it’s their culture, so it’s just life to them. To those critics, I ask, “Does that make it any easier?”
Imagine watching your child die from something as simple as diarrhea because you don’t have $2 for medicine to kill the bacteria that is causing the problem. I have been sick like that before, and it would be horrible to basically die of dehydration. We have no comprehension of what this must be like. All the more reason I admire these people.
It’s really cool to be in a church service and hear Burkinabe believers talking about reaching unreached people groups in their own country. The genuine and authentic love and passion Burkinabe Christians have for our Jesus leaves me feeling inadequate to be leading teams here.
Jesus is their life and their hope for everything. We love Jesus, but our lives and our hopes are wrapped up in all of our stuff. I long for the day that we in the Western world figure this out.
I look at the people here, and I don’t feel sorry for them because they are poor. They are actually happier than we are, and they don’t have near the stress that we do, worrying about all of the stuff we worry about.
One thing that I do feel for them is compassion . . . [I would love] to help them become more efficient in reaching their people with the gospel, to begin equipping them to know how to evangelize and make disciples as we are commanded to do.
It’s not our responsibility to come over here and change them. We have to adapt to their ways and provide resources and training to enable them to continue to do what they are already doing. We have to provide training and avenues to make this happen. This is how you change a country for the sake of the gospel. That has been our mission since our first trip in 2007.
What Now?
I could write forever about stories that I have heard or things that I’ve seen here. I have come to the conclusion that the only way to really explain it is to bring you here and show you.
I’m planning another trip back to Burkina this fall. I haven’t covered much of the country, but I listen to Pete (Brokopp), Larry (Wolters), and the other missionaries, and all of them have so much to do. There are four more churches ready to be roofed, and they are waiting for someone to come [help].
I have a deep love for the people of Burkina Faso. You may not have a burden for this country, but there are many places in the world where the people need to hear the gospel message.
Go!
Learn More
A work team from Glenview Alliance Church in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, arrived in Burkina Faso on February 3, 2010, to assist the Patte d’Oie church put finishing touches on its new facility. To learn about the strong partnership between these two churches, read “Hands Across the Water” in the December 2008 issue of Alliance Life magazine.
Check out how your church can get involved in an Alliance ministry partnership.
Read about The Alliance in Burkina Faso.
February 19, 2010
By Jay and Beverly Bellamy
Jay and Beverly Bellamy teach at Christian Alliance Bible Institute (Institute Biblique de l’Alliance Chrétienne), located in Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo. The following is an adapted excerpt from the Bellamy’s February prayer update.
This past month we saw God at work in wonderful ways.
Immediately after we received reports of the earthquake in Haiti, our Alliance-supported Christian radio station in Pointe-Noire, Radio Sangu ya Mbote (“Radio Good News”), announced a prayer gathering for Christians to pray for Haiti. There was a tremendous response. Many came to plead for God’s mercy and help for a people whom they had never met.
The Poor Give out of their Need
We were touched to see how Pointe-Noire’s Christian musicians were moved to put on a concert-again, in conjunction with our radio station-to raise money to send help to the people of Haiti.
About $5,000 was raised at the concert, Sunday night, February 7. Several Pointe-Noire businesses donated to the cause; but about half of the amount was given by those who typically live on about $2 a day, wondering where their meals will come from and how they can provide for their own families.
To really understand the poverty here, you have to understand that the infrastructure is poor-even those with salaries spend a lot to buy clean water and treat health problems resulting from poor sanitation. Much of the time, most of Pointe-Noire’s population also lives without electricity, which complicates everything from lighting and fans to refrigeration and recharging cell phones.
It is amazing to us that people here were able to look past their own problems and reach out to others.
More Donations
Nicaise, the radio station director, is visiting other business owners in Pointe-Noire who have promised to add to the Haiti donations, so the final total could well be more than $5,000. Because of his good reputation, the government has also asked Nicaise to oversee the fund-raiser to ensure that the funds will all go to Haiti.
Pray that this project goes smoothly and that God will bring glory to Himself through this generous outpouring.
What You Can Do
- Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure that dedicated workers like the Bellamy’s can remain on the field doing cutting-edge ministry.
- Staff workers and friends of Sangu ya Mbote Christian radio are seeking to raise some $9,000 to erect a new antenna tower that will enable the station to extend its vibrant ministry beyond Pointe-Noire into southern Republic of the Congo. You can make an online donation to this worthy project.
February 18, 2010
By Zac and Julie Stutler, serving in the Dominican Republic
Happy belated Valentine’s Day! This is a fun time to celebrate love and friendship. How wonderful it is to remember that the greatest expression of love of all time wasn’t on Valentine’s Day but on Calvary when God showed His great love for the world in giving Jesus to pay the price for our sins.
It is that amazing message that we want to share with those around us here in the Dominican Republic (DR). February is a great time to do so, since in the DR it is considered the month of love and friendship.
Following are a few special activities that we have been organizing in February to share the love of Jesus here in Punta Cana. Will you please join us in prayer?
Chocolate Lover’s Class
We started the month of February with a special baking class in our home. Eight women attended and enjoyed making and eating brownies and chocolate chip cookies. In addition to her recipes, Julie shared a mediation on how a relationship with Jesus is even better than chocolate—and of course isn’t fattening! The women expressed interest in the weekly Bible study that we have in our home. Please pray that God will use the devotional in the lives of these ladies. Also, pray that they and their husbands will attend the special activities we have planned for couples this month.
Night of Love & Friendship
February 18 we held a get-together in our home for couples to celebrate the month of love and friendship. We are excited about this special activity, which included a special talk titled “How to Speak the Language of Love.”
Couples’ Movie Night
On February 22, we are going to make lots of popcorn and put out the chairs and video projector for a special movie night, inviting our friends to our home to see the powerful Christian film Fireproof. We used this movie various times in Santo Domingo last year, and it was a great blessing to the couples who saw it. Most of our friends here in Punta Cana have yet to see it. We are excited to see how God is going to use this movie in the lives of couples here.
In addition, we also are thinking of offering a six-week class on marriage as a follow-up to the movie. Pray that various couples will attend and that God will use it in a special way to strengthen their marriages and to bring them closer to Jesus. Also, pray for God’s specific leading for the follow-up class.
A Special Thank-You
As we celebrate this month of love and friendship, we also remember you all. Your love and friendship are truly gifts from God. We thank the Lord for you and how you express your love for Jesus, for us, and for the Dominican people in such practical ways through your partnership in ministry with us. Thank you for expressing your love through your faithful prayers, encouragement, and your sacrificial giving to the Great Commission Fund or our Work Special/Outfit Funds.
Your partnership makes it possible for us to share the love of Christ with the people of the Dominican Republic and help them enter into an eternal friendship with Jesus.
May you be blessed in wonderful ways today and always, and may your lives always be filled with the love of Jesus!
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in the Dominican Republic.
What You Can Do
Help keep Alliance workers on the field reaching lost people with the love of Jesus. Give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries.
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