November 3, 2009
By Ed and Sue Danneker, serving in Thailand
Praise God for the eight children who joined us each day for our weeklong Vacation Bible School (VBS) in October. We used the “Wordless Book,” a color-coded evangelistic device, throughout the week to present the gospel to the children. After Wednesday’s lesson on “red,” symbolizing the blood of Christ that cleanses us from sin, a sixth grader named Baan asked Fely, our missionary colleague, if Buddha could wash her sins away. Fely answered that Buddha teaches us to be good people but only Jesus can wash our sins away. Baan was definitely interested in having Jesus do that.
On Thursday Noi Na, another colleague of ours, taught the “white” lesson on how we can pray to ask Jesus to cleanse us from our sin and become new in Christ. The four girls sitting on the front row of the mat were intently following her every word. God really anointed Noi Na for that day’s message. The four girls wanted to pray to have Jesus wash their sins away.
A Vivid Contrast
As Noi Na began to lead the girls in prayer, a monk from China who was begging for money approached the front of the church where Ed was seated. I (Sue) began praying that Ed would be able to quickly and quietly have the monk move on without disturbing the children. It was such a vivid picture of the spiritual battle for the children between the former ways and the Jesus way. The children’s backs were to the monk, and they were so intent on what Noi Na was telling them that they did not turn around. Praise God! Ed managed to have the Chinese monk move on, and the four girls did pray to receive salvation in Jesus.
What You Can Do
Pray for the follow-up of these children. Already, Baan is eagerly doing some children’s Bible studies and reading more about Jesus.
Thank you for your generous gifts to the Great Commission Fund of the C&MA, which supplies what we need to live and minister in Thailand.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Thailand.
October 15, 2009
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from the summer 2009 Alliance Asia Pacific Regional Update.
Earlier this year, the Khmer Evangelical Church (KEC), the C&MA national church in Cambodia, elected Pastor Sok Sophon to serve as its new president. He had been a Khmer Rouge soldier who fought against the Vietnamese after they invaded Cambodia in 1979. His wife, Maram, was nearly killed by a napalm bomb that was dropped on her family’s home by the U.S. military in the early 1970s. She still has horrific scars on her back, arms, and hands. Eventually, she became a nurse. She met Sok Sophon in a hospital during his recovery from a shrapnel wound through the neck that nearly killed him.
Captivated by Christ
Years later, in the early 1990s, Maram became very sick during her first pregnancy, and Sok Sophon brought her to a refugee camp in Thailand for treatment. While in the camp, Sok Sophon heard the gospel and quietly began to attend the camp church. He did this secretly, sitting in the back row and slipping out of the service as soon as it ended. At first he was skeptical, but the story of creation captivated him and eventually led him to Christ.
Soon after, he began to study TEE (Theological Education by Extension) in the refugee camp with Bounoeuy Kes, now an Alliance worker serving in Cambodia. Bounoeuy and others noted Sok Sophon’s voracious appetite for God’s Word. To this day, he has an amazing ability to memorize the Bible. There isn’t yet a proper concordance in the Khmer language, but he is a walking concordance.
Maram also came to Christ during the time she and Sok Sophon were in the Thailand refugee camp. In 1993 they were repatriated back to Cambodia and went to live in Sophon’s home village of Kuttesot. Joe Kong (the former director for Intercultural Ministries at the U.S. C&MA and now an Alliance missionary serving in Cambodia) and Bounoeuy met Sok Sophon there and asked him to consider moving from his home town to help start a church in the much larger provincial capital of Sisophon. He and Maram did so, and they have both been tireless workers for the gospel ever since.
Nothing Less for Jesus
Sok Sophon once said, “I used to walk days for the Khmer Rouge with no thought of food, water, or pay; how can I do anything less for Jesus?” The Lord has worked through him to start more than 15 churches in northwest Cambodia over the past 15 years. He has been one of the key leaders to implement TEE in northwest Cambodia and has personally taught more than 100 TEE students.
Over the years Sok Sophon has been involved in a number of special events and speaking engagements throughout Cambodia.
As Pastor Sok Sophon leads the KEC, pray for him and Maram to maintain a close walk with God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and to experience health and safety in their many travels.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Cambodia.
What You Can Do
Help keep Alliance workers on the field. Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries.
October 14, 2009
By Ruth Davis and Jo Kiel, serving in Brazil
Editor’s Note: Jo Kiel, an Alliance missionary to Brazil, has developed a dynamic ministry. In evangelistic fashion seminars, Jo demonstrates the use of colors to accentuate outer beauty and introduces women to Jesus, the Master Painter, who can make them beautiful on the inside. Over the years she has interacted with hundreds of women during presentations in tennis clubs, universities, government offices, and private homes. Several recent events were organized by Ruth Davis, who serves with The Alliance in Sao Paulo.
During a week of presenting “Inner and Outer Beauty” seminars, we were privileged to come in contact with more than 130 women in six different venues, including 65 women who indicated that they wanted to give their lives to the Creator, Jesus Christ. Also, 18 people wanted to start Bible studies.
For the second time, we went to a business club and were well- received. The club members mentioned that they desired to make this an annual event. We had 35 women present, and 23 indicated that they wanted to give their lives to Christ.
Thursday was our double header as we presented the seminar at the Federal Revenue Department of Brazil with women who were paid to listen to the message. Ruth asked for a double anointing, and God answered. We had 35 people present with 26 indicating they wanted to give their lives to Christ. We received an open invitation from the deputy to come back anytime. God willing, we will. Later that day, we presented the seminar at a hair salon where participants were packed in like sardines.
At the end of each seminar, we gave out door prizes including accessories, beauty products, Christian books, and a pink women’s devotional Bible, which the women seem to love more than anything else. We prayed that the right person would be chosen to receive each gift.
We could not be doing this ministry without your partnership in praying and giving. So when we see results like this, we want to share them with you as you are here with us in the Spirit as we live the call together. We are thankful to God for putting you in our lives. May He richly bless you!
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Brazil.
Watch a video about Jo Kiel’s ministry to women.
What You Can Do
Please pray . . .
- for effective follow up of all who attended the seminars and for God’s direction in planning the next week of color events in March 2010
- that God will continue to open doors into women’s lives through this innovative outreach
- that all who hear the message of inner beauty through a relationship with Jesus will receive Him as Savior
Help keep Alliance workers on the field. Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries.
October 6, 2009
In our GoChurch series, Jim Blake, director for Alliance Redwoods Camp and Conference Grounds (ARCCG), describes the mission of his “congregation” within the camp community. ARCCG hosts churches and groups from all over California and beyond, providing God’s majestic redwood trees as the background for ministry.
Thousands of children and young adults experience authentic community each year at Alliance Redwoods Camp and Conference Grounds (ARCCG), where a Christian camping adventures have changed lives for more than 60 years.
At ARCG, nearly 1,000 young people make decisions for Christ annually as they receive ministry to the whole person and build relationships with God and with caring mentors. The camp environment breaks down social, economic, and cultural barriers that the traditional church setting struggles to overcome and provides a safe environment that is conducive to positive interactivity.
Catch Them While They Are Young
More than 85 percent of those who come to Christ do so before they reach the age of 18. Ten-year-old camper Josh,* whose biker father did not attend church, connected with Greg, one of the head cooks. Greg, sporting his biker regalia and is a chaplain for the Christian Motorcycle Association, spent the week building a relationship with Josh. As Josh left camp, Greg gave him his card for Josh’s dad.
Filled with excitement about his week at camp, Josh gave Greg’s card to his dad, who was moved by his son’s experience and attended a local Alliance club meeting. Soon Josh’s entire family received Christ and all now are active church members who are growing in their newfound faith in Jesus.
Sarah was cutting herself. But the self-inflicted torment could not ease the pain in her heart. Camp counselor Natalie Romalia was asked to help. “When I approached Sarah, she told me that she was having a hard time because her mother had died,” said Romalia. “I brought up losing my brother to suicide, and Sarah said, ‘My mom committed suicide too.’”
That seemed to break the ice between a hurting teenage girl and a high school camp counselor. Natalie’s willingness to share her pain with Sarah immediately built a bridge of hope between the two women.
“We talked longer, and I prayed with her that afternoon,” said Natalie. ”That night when other teens were sharing their testimonies, Sarah asked, ‘Would it be okay if I shared?’ I said sure! She stood up and shared a little bit of her story with everyone.”
Sarah’s youth pastor believes this is the beginning of a big breakthrough in her life. At this particular high school camp, too many students to count came to the front during ministry time, weeping with sorrow for their sins and praising God for His unconditional love.
No Boundaries
The impact of ARCCG does not begin and end in California. Part of our vision is to become an international training and sending center for The Alliance, taking Alliance camping worldwide. Every winter since 2002, ARCCG has hosted a month-long camp in South Africa that has ministered to more than 6,000 impoverished children. More than 50 percent of them have indicated a desire to have a personal relationship with Christ. Many of these children have AIDS and will never see adulthood. Each one reached represents a life turned from despair to hope in Jesus Christ.
Germaine was a 12-year-old street kid, sniffing glue, selling drugs, and stealing to survive when he came to our first Camp South Africa (CSA) outreach in 2002. Germaine came to Christ during that camp and the following year, he testified that he was drug free, back in school, reading his Bible, and attending a local church-all with no parental care or supervision. It is amazing to observe what the transforming power of God can accomplish in the worst of human circumstances! Germaine now is a spiritually mature 17-year-old and worked as a camp counselor for CSA 2008 last December. He has a passion to reach others for Christ.
International camp workers receive training at ARCCG and go to mission fields like Russia, Romania, Paraguay, and Hawaii. They have a sense of urgency to fulfill the Great Commission and bring back the King. Requests for training abound from all over the globe, and expansion of this vision is limited only by our current financial resources, making your partnership a vital link to building the bridge to future generations.
Stories like Josh, Sarah, and Germaine’s abound at ARCCG, where we are living out The Alliance’s first core value: Lost people matter to God. He wants them found. Life circumstances may differ, but many lives are touched by God during camp!
Jim Blake has served as executive director of Alliance Redwoods Camp and Conference Grounds since 1998. His wife, Christine, is a physical therapist and member of the Camp South Africa 2007 team. College-age daughters Kate and Emily have been campers and summer staffers at Alliance Redwoods since moving to California.
Learn More
Read about Alliance camping ministries in the March issue of alife
Visit Alliance Redwood’s Web site.
What You Can Do
Pray for Jim Blake and his team as they work through daily details and plan for future ministry. Also, pray for the lives of those impacted for Jesus through ARCCG.
Donate to Alliance Great Commission Ministries
October 1, 2009
No one will forget the act of terrorism on the United States on September 11, 2001. On the eighth anniversary of the tragic event that forever changed a nation, The Alliance remembers one of its own who gave his life to save others. (Original release date, September 18, 2001)
Todd Beamer probably wouldn’t have thought of himself as a hero or a martyr. But it has been said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. The seed planted as a result of Beamer’s heroic demise already is taking root.
Beamer, who by every account was a gentle man, sharing his faith in Christ with a servant’s heart, has been credited with his efforts to thwart the plan of the enemy on United’s Flight 93 September 11. Knowing that death was eminent, Beamer, with the cooperative effort of several other passengers, selflessly threw himself in harm’s way to prevent the probable attack on another target.
As word spread of the heroism on Flight 93, so also did the testimony of Beamer’s conviction that Jesus was his Lord and Savior. On countless TV talk shows, Beamer’s wife Lisa reiterated time and again that her husband had absolute faith in Christ, and his life exemplified that to all he met.
When Russian TV reporters wanted to interview Lisa about Beamer’s Christianity, they were invited to the C&MA’s Princeton Alliance Church in New Jersey. In Beamer’s Sunday school classroom, the reporters saw a diagram on the “white” board, showing the chasm between man and God because of sin and how Christ’s death on the cross bridged the gap between them.
A Russian bureau chief, Eugene, commented that he never had seen anything like the bridge diagram and wanted to learn more. Eugene accepted Christ that day as his Savior. He returned to Russia to prepare a news broadcast about Beamer that will be shown to millions of Russians. It will include the bridge diagram.
Church history has shown that millions of people in places such as China and Vietnam have come to Christ after what were, by man’s understanding, tragic deaths of His servants. Yet our sovereign God has shown throughout history that He can use the most heartbreaking events to fulfill His purpose, bringing peace and healing to the lost and hurting.
In the cloud of evil inflicted on the American people on September 11, 2001, the silver lining brings us renewed hope-in men who laid down their lives for their fellowman and in a loving God who longs for us to turn to Him in our time of need. For Lisa Beamer, that hope is her source of strength.
“Still other seed fell on good soil . . . and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” Luke 8:8.
Watch video of Todd Beamer tribute on 9/11 anniversary.
By TEAM Isaan
Editor’s Note: Team Isaan, a ministry of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, has a vision for an indigenous church-planting movement in three provinces of northeastern Thailand, where the largely unreached Isaan people live. A prison ministry has been introducing many incarcerated people to the gospel, and they are evangelizing their home villages upon their release. The following story shows the unexpected ways in which God has been at work through this dynamic ministry.
Two prisoners learned about Jesus through an inmate who, before he was incarcerated, had heard the gospel from EQ, a former inmate who now ministers with TEAM Isaan. EQ received Christ while in jail and has led 12 people in his home village to the Lord following his release.
Since the 12 people in EQ’s village were baptized, God has been using them in the most obscure ways to share His love with their fellow villagers and in neighboring villages. One of the most recent opportunities has led to a group of 15 people actively studying God’s story.
Scared and Hopeless
The 25-year-old son of one of the families that came to the Lord in EQ’s village was arrested with his friends. Though this young man had studied about God in some of the meetings, he hadn’t been attending regularly and had not accepted Christ. His friend was in possession of drugs, so both men were placed in a county prison cell while they waited to hear if they would appear before a judge. While in the cell, the young man met many other people who were scared and felt hopeless.
He began telling these prisoners about the hope that the people of his village had found in Jesus, even though he still has not chosen to believe in and accept Christ. Two people in the cell who were arrested for gambling became very interested in learning about this hope that he mentioned. So the prisoner told them to call EQ when they got out, and he would share with them about Jesus Christ.
Ready and Willing
A few weeks ago, the gamblers were released from the cell and called EQ. He challenged them to get their family and friends together, and he began sharing with them about God. For the past couple of weeks, 15 people (ages 25-45) have been learning stories about God. After they finished the story of Creation and the fall of man, EQ shared his personal testimony with them.
At first, he was a bit unsure if they would still respect him after he shared with them about this own past and formerly having been imprisoned. But as he challenged them to think about committing their lives to Christ, he said every single person in the group was ready and willing to make that decision. He even questioned them to make sure they knew what this choice meant, and all of them were able to explain that they knew they needed Jesus to save them and give them new life.
On October 14, this group will begin meeting together as a church. Pray that God will use this new fellowship of believers to reach others in their villages and in neighboring villages.
Learn More
Read an alife article about TEAM Isaan’s ministry.
What You Can Do
To help keep our missionaries in Thailand on the field, support Alliance Great Commission Ministries.
Alliance congregations across the United States are taking new approaches to ministry, moving beyond just talking about Christ’s love to actually showing it. Pastor Rick Gates has led his Crossroads Church congregation in Perry, Iowa, out of the sanctuary to shine the light of Christ during a Week of Service in their community. Church members have completed 40 projects in four years. Local TV news shows have reported the “free help” that Crossroads provided for the community in June.
The Week of Service initiative began in 2005, when Gates offered to shampoo carpets at a local school. Other church members cleaned windshields at a grocery store and distributed complimentary water bottles at community functions.
“Our culture today knows nothing of the church except that it expects people to give money and attend services for no meaningful or relevant purpose,” says Gates. “The church is not connected to their daily lives and does not make sense to them. Jesus talks a lot about being servants . . . as we serve, people slowly begin to see Jesus.”
Open Doors
Since these outreaches began, many civic groups and individuals have solicited the church’s help. As the requests come into the church for projects in the community, church members go out and serve-free of charge. They have painted 10 classrooms and shampooed carpets in a local school, saving the school district hundreds of dollars. A deck has been built, ground tilled, and grass planted
“A widow was grateful when some of our people helped her burn a huge pile of brush behind her home,” Gates says. She was amazed to receive all of the help without being charged. Other people in the community, who are not members of Crossroads Church, have joined to help out with projects just to be part of the excitement.”
Heather, a single mother, started attending Crossroads recently. “I can relate to a church that reaches out to others instead of just taking care of its own needs,” she says. “That’s why I’m here with my daughter, and that’s what I want to be a part of.” Heather now wants to do something to help someone else soon!
The doors are open for cross-cultural outreach as well. During the weekend of September 12-13, 2009, Crossroads Church hosted “Booth of Hope” at a Latino festival in town, giving away bottles of water and New Testament Bibles.
“We want to be involved in cross-cultural events in order to engage their culture,” Gates says. “We want to share God’s love in tangible ways and be ‘Jesus with skin on’ in our community.”
Learn More
Read how other U.S. Alliance churches are impacting their communities
What You Can Do
Pray for open hearts as the Crossroads family interacts with their friends and neighbors.
Donate to Alliance Great Commission Ministries.
September 29, 2009
More than 1,000 young people attended a four-day youth conference last week in Pyramid, Indonesia, located in Papua’s highlands. “Dozens made decisions to receive Jesus, dozens more brought fetishes to be burned, and still dozens more committed their life to serve Christ full-time,” says Alliance worker Barry Jordan, who ministered at the retreat. “Praise God, and thank you for praying!” Initially, about 600 youth were expected to attend.
“On the final night [of the retreat], the bonfire event was put off until 1:30 a.m. because of rain in the evening,” says Barry. “When it stopped raining, everybody woke up for it!”
Between 500 and 1,000 youth are expected to attend an October 6-9 retreat in Ilaga. “Pray that the Lord will speak His words through me to these young people who are so hungry for God,” says Barry.
Learn More
Check out our Alliance work in Indonesia.
What You Can Do
Pray that Christian youth in Papua will impact their country for God’s glory and stand for His truth.
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries! Help to ensure that workers like Barry Jordan can continue to share the love of Christ with those who are hungry for God.
September 22, 2009
Burkina Faso’s government has placed land markers on the four corners of the Alliance-run Dorcas House property, reports Amy Nehlsen. “Praise the Lord with us! We have been praying for this for three years, since this assures that the property is secured and is officially ours.”
The Nehlsen family serves with The Alliance in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Life-Saving Assistance
Fifteen young women live in the home in Ouagadougou where they receive literacy training and Christian discipleship as well as vocational skills training. Nearly 80 percent of females in Burkina are illiterate and face a life of deep physical and spiritual poverty without interventions like those Dorcas House offers in Jesus’ Name.
Amy asks for continued prayer and protection for house residents. Last week a five-foot snake was killed in one of the dormitories on the property. “We rejoice in the protection of the Lord on the girls,” she concludes.
Learn More
Read about the spiritual awakening at Dorcas House earlier this year.
Check out our Alliance work in Burkina Faso.
What You Can Do
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries! Help to ensure that workers like the Nehlsens can continue to share the love of Christ with those who are destitute and without hope.
September 17, 2009
By Tim and Penny Iverson, serving among the working class in Taiwan
At an incredibly early hour, the phone jangled in our ears. Struggling to understand through the fog of sleep, I (Tim) listened as a taxi driver explained that he had an Indonesian woman at the airport who insisted that she was coming to work for us.
“Huh?!” was all I could muster. Early in the morning, Mandarin Chinese is not my strong suit. Finally coming to some kind of comprehension, I told the driver to bring her down, a three hour-and very expensive-trip. But this story really began two months before.
Divine Appointment
A visiting Alliance pastor, Rev. Rob Douglas, had accompanied us to a restaurant, where an Indonesian woman named Tikka was working. Since Rob is an MK from Indonesia, he spoke with her briefly. We gave her our card, telling us to call if she ever needed anything.
Two months later, while we waited for Tikka to arrive at our home, Penny and I had a strong sense that God was bringing Tikka to us.
Thousands of workers come to Taiwan from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Their agencies hire them with a three year contract, and they are placed in factories, construction work, as care-givers, and in various other jobs. Although Taiwan’s government is trying to establish safeguards for the immigrants’ protection, still there are many cases of abuse and unfair treatment. In Tikka’s case, this included not being paid in 10 months, having to eat table scraps to survive, and being forcibly taken to the airport to be sent back to Indonesia against her will, before her contract had expired.
A Desperate Move
At the airport, Tikka was checked in and ready to board, but she didn’t want to leave. So she left the airport, hailed a taxi, and pulled out our business card.
As we pieced together Tikka’s story, we really didn’t know what to do. We were concerned that Tikka was now considered an illegal and in danger of being sent to a detention center. We decided it was best to take her to a pastor friend who had more experience dealing with these kinds of situations.
Tikka had come to us as her only shred of hope, and as we comforted her and tried through language barriers to explain what we needed to do, she was obviously frightened, confused, and embarrassed. Penny asked her if she could pray to our God, Jesus, on her behalf, and Tikka quickly agreed. Before Tikka and I left, she turned to Penny again with sorrowful eyes and asked her to pray. With a breaking heart, Penny let her go, but God was watching over Tikka.
As Tikka and I started out, the Holy Spirit prompted me to take a detour to the home of Sally, our Indonesian friend, who is a believer. Soon there were three Indonesian women comforting Tikka. After hearing her story, they called the immigration office. The immigration worker told the women that the office was aware of problems with the agency that had hired Tikka and would look into the situation. Now, Tikka could not be reported as an illegal runaway.
Reprieve!
That afternoon, the immigration official came to our home. The employment agency will be dealt with, and Tikka will be placed in another job. Sally and Lena, another believer, have offered Tikka a place to stay until things are worked out. These women have provided Tikka with comfort, a safe refuge, and even some of their own clothes.
After Tikka was moved to a government shelter, we visited her and learned that she had decided to become a Christian. We have seen God’s hand in this all along, and we also found out that she’d had other Christian influences in her life before this.
We received word recently that Tikka is fine in the shelter where she is living and had a job interview that will allow her to remain in Taiwan. But the real matter for prayer is that a couple in our town applied to have Tikka come and work for them as a caregiver for the man’s mother. Please ask that this might be God’s will for Tikka.
We praise God for protecting Tikka in the midst of her troubles and for bringing her to us. “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18).
Please pray
- that God will provide the right employer for Tikka in our town. Pray that Tikka can remain in our area, within reach of Christians who love her
- that God would protect Tikka and continue to provide Christians to encourage her and help her grow
- for those ministering to foreign contract workers in Taiwan. Pray specifically for Thu and Hanh Nguyen, C&MA missionaries ministering to Vietnamese workers in northern Taiwan, and for an Alliance ministry to Thai people in Taipei.
- Although our ministry focus is to working-class Taiwanese, during the past three years, God has brought a number of Indonesians into our lives; most are married to Taiwanese men. We will soon begin meeting with two other Indonesian women, Lily and another Lena, who desire to study the Bible and walk with Jesus. Pray for them to faithfully follow Christ.
What You Can Do
Donate now to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to ensure that our worldwide team of workers, including Tim and Penny, can continue to faithfully serve the Lord.
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