Archive for the 'Director's Web Blog' Category

I’ve been thinking about the last ten years, both for myself and for Village Missions. I started as Executive Director in November 2000, so I’m about in sync with the decade. What a decade it has been! I’d like to highlight the ten most significant developments involving or affecting Village Missions.

1. The decade has involved a series of man-made and natural disasters. Early in the decade, we experienced 911 and now at the end of the decade the earthquake in Haiti has occurred. We experienced two major economic downturns, several earthquakes, a tsunami, several hurricanes and typhoons, several new diseases, and an ongoing conflict against Jihadist Muslims. The decade seems to be remarkably in tune with Mark 13:8Mark 13:8
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be earthquakes in divers places; there shall be famines: these things are the beginning of travail.  

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Yet in spite of these terrible events, it appears, at least to me, that the human race has been remarkably unaffected. One would think that these constant, powerful reminders of our frailty and the finiteness of our resources would remind us of our need of the Infinite God. I have not observed any significant turning to Christ, at least in the United States and Canada. Perhaps Christians have deepened in their walk with Christ, but the signs are subtle at best. It would be interesting to hear from Village Missionaries and others as to what they have observed in their local communities.

2. The decade saw a dramatic change in our relationship with Stonecroft Ministries. In the United States, in the budget year ending in June 2000 we received $1,684,621 from Stonecroft, approximately half of which was the Christmas gift. Giving declined to $410,000 in the budget year ending June 2009 and then was eliminated in the current fiscal year. Although we still pray for one another, clubs are no longer hearing about Village Missions and we no longer have a Stonecroft representative on our board. These changes have been painful and involved great heartache for both organizations. I am thankful for the continued giving to Village Missions Canada on the part of Stonecroft Ministries Canada.

3. The two previous developments have caused me to reflect in wonder and praise to God over His provision in the past decade. In addition to the financial pressure from the above two developments, we have experienced escalating pension and workers compensation costs. I just received word of yet another dramatic increase in our pension cost. The new churches we have served in this last decade have generally required increased financial investment on our part. How is it possible, then, that we ended our last fiscal year with a surplus and are in the black six months into the current fiscal year? Perhaps there is more evidence for a deepening Christian commitment than we generally realize. Beyond that, we have observed firsthand a miracle of God.

4. A fourth significant development has been the challenge of providing adequate health coverage to our missionary family. I discussed our Health Plan in a previous blog. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, health care costs have risen 131% over the last decade. The monthly cost of employer-sponsored family health insurance coverage is $1115. The last ten years has required constant adaptation and innovation on the part of our Benefit Board to hold down costs and provide adequate coverage. After some painful increases in the early part of the decade, we have been able to balance the plan and hold the premium of $950 a month for the last three years.

5. In these last ten years, we have fine-tuned our purpose statement and communication. Our purpose statement is, “Village Missions exists to glorify Jesus Christ by developing spiritually vital churches in rural North America.” We distilled that even further with the tagline, “Keeping Country Churches Alive.” We developed a new logo that better expressed the reality of who we are and what we do. With the development of the new logo, we also created new brochures and banners, as well as a redesigned magazine called Country Matters. We also created three new videos plus some offshoots of those videos. Thus, no longer able to depend upon Stonecroft to get the word out about Village Missions, we ramped up our communication in several ways.

6. Over the last ten years, we have seen the apparent continued decline of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Our video, “They Are Not Forgotten” gives a face to the decline in rural communities. This decline has been measured by several statistics and it is seen in the prayer requests sent in by Village Missionaries. Many more requests deal with symptoms of a societal breakdown that once was reserved only for the inner city. In the last ten years, we have prayed for broken marriages, terribly dysfunctional home life, people battling with addictions, and even anguished requests (mine included) for our own children. Ministry to hurting people is challenging and uplifting as we see people find hope and forgiveness in Jesus.

7. We have seen the rise of technology related ministry. Recently, I kept people informed on my Facebook page and on my blog about the Village Missionaries who were in Haiti. We just finished a pilot program called Pastor’s Roundtable in which Village Missionaries connected with each other visually and audibly while a mentor discussed leadership issues. We’ve changed to web based monthly reporting in Canada and hope to do so soon in the United States as well. We’re finding that an increasing number of people are learning about us on the web and are making inquiries about serving with us or are donating through PayPal.

8. The change in the office in Canada is a significant development that is still in process as I write this. It has been delayed by the difficulty we have had in obtaining banking privileges. When fully implemented, Roy and Lennie Adrian will handle depositing and receipting while the Dallas office (ISC) handles all the background accounting. I am rejoicing that we have at least reached the point where someone contacting Village Missions Canada will communicate with someone who knows something about the Mission! Already, we have significantly improved communications and the accuracy of receipting. Along these lines, the Board of Village Missions Canada has clarified my responsibilities with the adoption of a service agreement with Village Missions US.

9. Over the last ten years, we have expanded our ministry cross–culturally. God has done a mighty work through our approach on our Hispanic field in Avenal. We trust that He will do the same thing in the Navajo Nation as we now serve two Navajo churches, one in Arizona and one in New Mexico. The independence of the local church, the ability of a missionary-pastor to devote full-time to ministry, accountability and support, and the approach of “Preaching the Word and loving the people” I believe will translate very well into the Navajo culture as it has in the Hispanic culture. Pray that the Lord will lead the right couples into our ministry.

10. The final development in the last ten years has been increasing challenges in recruiting and retention. Over the last ten years in the United States, we accepted 93 couples/singles into Village Missions, not counting Associates. We lost 143 couples/singles through retirement, resignation, or dismissal. As a result, our total number of fields has declined although just recently the number has risen in both countries. Increasingly, Bible colleges are eliminating their pastoral departments and encouraging their graduates to go to seminary. Although worthwhile, seminary graduates generally have enough debt to make it difficult for them to serve with us. In addition, most schools emphasize the mega church ministry in spite of the fact that the vast majority of churches are small. An extremely exciting development in the past ten years has been the development of schools at our fields, led by Contenders Bible School at our field in Machias, WA. Fields in Camano Island, WA and New Gloucester, ME have also started Bible schools. We are also grateful to Peace Haven ministries for their support of missionaries who need to regroup.

Perhaps some of you have had the experience of climbing a mountain. It can seem strenuous at certain points but you just keep plugging away on the trail. Then, at the top, you look back and are amazed at territory you have traveled. That’s what this look back has done for me. Remembering the challenging times along the trail, I am amazed at what God has done and how graciously He has provided for Village Missions in the past ten years. If the last decade and the start of this decade is any indication, God will allow many challenging trials to occur in our personal lives and the life of Village Missions. Yet Jesus will continue to build His church through this ministry until that unexpected time when He calls His church home. May that time come soon!

Carole and I traveled Sunday January 17 to Halsey, OR to preach at this new field. The congregation of Grace Bible Community Church is trying to secure a parsonage so that we can send them their first Village Missionary family. They are a wonderful congregation, and we were warmly welcomed.

You can see pictures and read about our visit at my Facebook page (even if you are not a member of Facebook).

Here is a link to a TV interview with Village Missionary Ken Wagstaff after he returned home from Haiti.

Village Missionaries Terry and Martha Major from Pierceville KS, Village Missionary Ken Wagstaff from Andover, ME, (click on the link and type in their name) and Village Missions’ Board Member Doug McGraw (from Pierceville) are in Haiti as part of an eleven person team planning to put a roof on a church outside of Carrefour.  The team is located in Carrefour–this earthquake is being called the Carrefour earthquake because it was so close to this city.  All of the members of the team are okay.

 The team was working with Dr. Andre J. Louis who is with Independent Christian Alliance .  Terry had been in Haiti for the previous week speaking to a pastor’s conference.  Attendance last Sunday numbered over 1300.  This organization is located in Carrefour, which was only 6 miles northeast of the epicenter of the quake.  Dr. Louis has visited Pierceville regularly since 1973—this is the first time a work team from the church has visited Haiti.

 The earthquake occurred at 4:53 pm EST.  Terry and Martha Major had been in Haiti for the previous week as Terry preached to a pastor’s conference.  Other members of the team had arrived in Haiti about noon.  Please pray for their safety, for the safety of the congregation, for opportunities to minister and be used by God, for their families at home, and for the people of Haiti.

 Terry Major has been able to post to his Facebook page.  Here are his postings:

From before the earthquake:  (From first to last–will keep updating this site)

 1/7/10 First preaching last night went well. Headed back for the morning teaching session. the weather is wonderful – sunny, 75 degrees with a breeze! We’re not missing Kansas at all with its ice and snow! God is good – thanks for praying for our ministry here.

 1/8/10 Finished my last teaching session and had dinner of rice & beans with fish. One more preaching assignment tonight and a brief “sermon” on Sunday and I will be done with the preaching part of my trip! Warm here in Haiti – wish you were here?

1/9/10 Finished our parade to the ocean for baptisms – what enthusiastic worship! It is now 80 degrees and we are glad to be home in the shade. four people prayed for salvation last night after my final message! Praise the Lord for using His Word through me.

1/11/10 Finally back in internet contact. Quiet day of recovery from Sunday celebration. There were one thousand three hundred and forty people in church! It was crowded and a rich blessing to experience. Our team is coming in tomorrow morning and we will begin the projects on Wednesday. Pray for safe arrivals and work!

 After the earthquake:

1/14/10 10:16 PST We are back in internet contact! Hallelujah!! We are safe, well fed, lots of water, no serious issues we have to deal with. We have been able to stabilize Andre’s house/office and help with medical needs around us. No one is hurt at the house, but there are houses down around us. Thanks for praying. We hope to have Magic Jack contact with everyone soon.

 1/14/10 1:07 pm PST The engineer is here looking over the house. He says if we put 2 by 4s under the jacks we put up the house should be fairly safe. We will be getting the lumber as soon as possible and moving forward with the roof project, too, if possible. God is good.

1/14/10 5:05 pm PST The suburb where we are located is not as destroyed as the report says. A house across the street collapsed and killed one. Two or three houses near the church were destroyed. Most houses have some damage, but we don’t know that they will be destroyed. The engineer says that he can save Andre’s house, which is good news.

 1/14/10 5:10 pm PST It is now night. We just had another aftershock, small, but still unnerving. Pray that we will be able to get inside the house and put the timbers in place with the jacks to stabilize the house. We need God’s strength and power to persevere in this battle to save Andre’s house.

1/15/10 3:30 pm PST Internet is finally back up and running. It is now night. We had two pretty strong jolts this AM, but nothing since. No more serious damage, PTL. The engineer came this AM and is sending his men in to brace up the perimeter of the house, so we are now unemployed! We don’t mind. Three of the team went 60 miles west this afternoon to see the damage and all of the churches and schools were either damaged or destroyed. No lives were lost, but many close calls. We will go to the beach tomorrow for R&R and maybe some clean up around that area. We are hoping to work on a church out there that was damaged by the flooding of the hurricane last year for the first part of the week since we can’t do any more work around here. God has blessed our labors thus far and we want to be a blessing as long as we can and do as much as we can. The airport is open, but if we try to leave early and something happens we may be here until the middle of February, so we will go with our scheduled leaving times on Friday.

Thanks again for all the prayers. It is a blessing to wake up in the morning – before daylight – to the praises and prayers of the Haitian believers as they worship the Lord! Pray that many hearts will be open to salvation as the pastor’s preach in these gatherings that are believers and nonbelievers. One of our team’s oldest daughter recommitted her life to the Lord as a result of this experience – it makes the trip worthwhile to see people come to the Lord.

1/15/09 6:00 pm PST The men who went west said that they saw no front-end loaders for cleanup or rescue/police or Red Cross; no one non-Haitian. There was a lot of destruction there, too, two churches totally destroyed and two schools; two damaged fairly badly. We saw army helicopters going overhead, so something is going out.

Clarification Posted 1/16/10: So far, the church has survived the earthquake and the many aftershocks. Other churches and schools in the area have been destroyed. Doug told Saundra that damage in their area is similar to damage from a tornado—one house undamaged and the house next to it destroyed. A man died in the house across the street. The team has ample food and water.

1/16/10 7:00 pm PST From Terry Major: The new church is the second floor of the old church and we were on the second floor when the quake hit. We went to the open area between where the pulpit is and where the balcony will be eventually – a temporary roof over the congregation. There are tall pillars on the sides going up where a roof will be someday and they are what swayed in the quake all around us. We didn’t get off the building until after the quake was over. if the pillars had broke we don’t know what might have happened, but He protected us and gave us a witness, too.

Another 5.8 quake centered west of us where some of the team went to see the damage – and it was great all ready, so we chose not to go to the beach because the roads were already in bad shape.

We had water and electric trouble and were ready to call Samaritan’s Purse for help, but after a season of prayer God gave us the victory in restoring all things and we are doing okay.

Church will be outside tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM. We will meet in the church courtyard and so need to start early before it gets hot. We will not have a lot of time for us to share they say, but it will be a wonderful day of praise.

Six people who spent the night in our courtyard prayed for salvation this AM; 7 in another courtyard, so we are rejoicing in God’s goodness in taking this tragedy and using it to build His church.

We need to check with the embassy on Monday as we are hearing a lot of problems in getting out. We want to stay until Friday to help in any way we can—especially secure a “campsite” for Andre and his staff. (His wife is going to get evacuated as she hurt her back in the quake on the stairs getting out of the house, first of the week.)

Thanks again for the prayers of support. God is working in us too. We will never be the same again.

1/17/10 1:30 pm PST Good day so far, but the water pump has given out so there will be no more clean water. We will go to the airport in the morning and evacuate so that all the resources Andre has can go to his staff and people.

1/18/10 4:00 am PST The sun is rising. No new tremors, which is good. Trying to find another car for transport to airport. Leaving ASAP. Pray for these dear people and the long struggle to normalcy they face.

E-mail From Saundra McGraw: Brian, you may have gotten the word that the team is trying to get to airport as I write, and will wait for a way to get out. Please pray for safety, and Andre’s wife’s priority to get out today. she is in a lot of pain with her back, as she fell trying to get downstairs during the EQ, (and had a back issue before). They feel they have done all they can to help now, and need to conserve the resources he has for those in his care. Thanks, Saundra

‘They are standing on the tarmack waiting in a long line waiting for a military seat. Praise God. They got to the airport earlier than I expected.  Saundra

1/18/10 4:45 pm PST Just received word that Terry Major and the rest of the team arrived safely in Orlando, FL from Haiti and are now rebooking flights home.

1/18/10 5:50 pm PST From Terry Major on Facebook: We are in Orlando, only took 5 hours to get through Haiti evacuation. We will catch a flight in the morning and be in Pierceville by 9 PM (Denver at 3). It is so good to be back in the good old USA! Thanks for your prayers – keep them going for the people of Haiti and esp. Andre as he helps people exist and move forward.

1/20/10 6:45 am PST We are safely home in Pierceville and so appreciative of all your prayers for us. All of the team is home except for Steve who had a two day drive up from Miami to NC. Keep Pastor Andre and his work in your prayers.

Are health insurance companies the reason why health care costs are so overwhelming? Will targeting them alone revamp the health care system? What level of premium will citizens have to pay if everyone is forced to buy coverage and no one can be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition? If our experience with a self-funded plan, a plan in which we provide our own health coverage, is any indication, insurance companies are only a small contributor to the high medical costs. Citizens may very well be in for some profound “sticker shock” when it comes time to ante up for their monthly premium.

What has been our experience?

Village Missions saves money for our churches with a self-funded plan and can tailor our coverage to minister more effectively to our missionaries. However, the premium we need to charge to remain in the black ($950 per month per missionary family) is high. Our premium is out of reach for some of our poorest churches, and we supply financial resources to help them. The Congress will have to do a lot more than demonize insurance companies to bring down costs.

The premium is broken down into several components. The bulk amount covers medical and pharmacy costs. We also pay for life and disability insurance. An ever-increasing piece is stop-loss insurance for large medical claims. The stop-loss trigger was once $60,000. We have raised the level to $160,000 in an effort to lower the premium. However, that means we absorb the first $160,000 of medical expenses. Stop-loss insurance accounts for our biggest single cost (average $14,000 per month) other than actual medical and pharmacy payments. We pay a company to administer the medical bills (T.P.A.) and a consultant to advise us on structuring our plan. All the above are part of the needed pieces to maintain a working health plan.

In managing our plan, we have four main goals. First, we want to provide the best coverage possible to our missionaries. Of course, we balance this goal against our second goal of reducing the premium to the lowest possible level for our churches. Our third goal is to do as much as possible to encourage healthy lifestyles and engage in preventative medicine. Our fourth goal is to provide health care that contributes to our purpose of developing spiritually vital churches in rural North America.

What do we do to support these four goals?

First, under the tireless leadership of Dr. Larry Malewiski, our Benefit Board tries to develop coverage that meets missionary needs. We can’t do everything given the cost but we do everything we can. When a missionary experiences a serious health problem, managed care starts. We have hired a company (MRC) that guides the missionary through the health care maze and makes sure he or a family member receives the best treatment. If warranted, missionaries will receive expert care at Centers of Excellence throughout the country. Often Dr. Larry personally intervenes to provide direction and support.

But we also must manage costs. The Benefit Board, sometimes in anguish, balances premium costs versus deductibles, out-of pocket expenses, and covered procedures. Fortunately, we have a Helping Fund that provides additional support for missionaries burdened by medical or other emergency expenses. Our health care consultant, B.C.N.W., has worked hard to enroll all our missionaries in health networks (P.P.O.) that negotiate reduced costs for medical care. It has been a huge undertaking to find P.P.O.’s in many of the rural areas we serve. The Board examines overall costs to look for savings. For example, they changed our Pharmacy provider to save money and improve service.

We also work to fulfill our third goal of preventing illness. All preventative care such as an annual physical is covered at 100%. At our staff conferences, we have conducted blood screening as well as encouraging a healthy lifestyle. I benefited personally from a blood screening that discovered a high PSA level. We will try to continue such programs, if we are able to resume staff conferences. We encourage missionaries to take responsibility for their own health.

Fourth, we must advance our goal of developing spiritually vital churches. Currently, without our plan missionaries with pre-existing conditions could not obtain coverage or would have to do so at much higher rates. In addition, families with a large number of children (we have several) would be forced to pay much higher rates. Even the Christian plans, Medi-Share and Samaritan Ministries, for example, do not accept people with pre-existing conditions. Simply put, we could not supply anywhere close to the number of Village Missionaries without having a plan that covers every missionary.

A few years ago, we noticed that the poorest churches, the ones most in need of our help, could not afford our plan. We developed a way that these churches could have leadership without putting a huge drain on our resources. We call it the “Sliding Scale.” Churches initially do not have to pay the entire premium based on their General Fund offering. Then as offerings increase with effective leadership, the amount the church pays increases according to a scale. The Sliding Scale enables us to continue keeping country churches alive.

Village Missions has one of the few successful self-funded plans among Christian organizations. Besides the provision of God, this is due to the cooperation of the churches we serve, our missionaries, and the tireless work of our Benefit Board. Some churches perhaps could find a lower premium for health insurance based on whom they have as a missionary but they recognize they are helping provide coverage for the entire missionary family. Their generous spirit enables us to continue this plan.

The Benefit Board will monitor changes made by the Congress. Whatever changes are made, we will make sure that our Village Missionaries in the United States have the best coverage possible. We have experienced difficult challenges in providing health coverage for Village Missionaries. I hope that Congress doesn’t make the situation even worse.

“If God were to ask you why He should let you into heaven, what would you tell Him?” I’ve asked that question to many people and received many different answers. In Senator Edward Kennedy’s letter to Pope Benedict XVI, we gather what might be Senator Kennedy’s answer to God.

Kennedy knows that he is dying and asks the Pope to pray for him. In this remarkable letter he appears to assess his life. Looking back on his career he writes,

I want you to know, your Holiness, that in my 50 years of elected office I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I’ve worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I’ve opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a U.S. Senator.

Perhaps reflecting on less savory aspects of his private life, he speaks of the role faith has played in his life.

That gift of faith has sustained and nurtured and provided solace to me in the darkest hours. I know that I have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith I have tried to right my past.

Mindful of the huge disconnect between Catholic teaching on abortion and his own support of abortion, his advocacy of health care apparently includes access to abortion but,

I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field and I’ll continue to advocate for it as my colleagues in the Senate and I work to develop an overall national health policy that guarantees health care for everyone.

At the close of his letter Kennedy assesses his life as a Roman Catholic. He writes,

I’ve always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness. And though I have fallen short through human failings I’ve never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings of my faith.

I think it is fair to say that the Senator wanted more than prayers on his behalf. This is a man facing eternity, not sure of his eternal destiny, asking for help from the man he thinks is best able to help him. You can read the full text of his letter here and the text of the Pope’s reply here.

Such is the despair and uncertainty of anyone who thinks he or she must earn their way to heaven. Have I done enough? Has my good outweighed the bad? Does my second half of life outweigh my first half? And the unvoiced question on Kennedy’s part, but clearly between the lines of his letter, “Will my support of the murder of countless unborn children be overlooked in light of the other political good I have done?”

The message of the Bible is terribly discouraging to anyone in any religion who would seek to go to heaven by trying to live a good life. You can’t do it. You might as well try to jump across the Grand Canyon as to try to earn the favor of God.

Jesus once was asked to summarize the requirements of God. If we can meet these requirements, then we can earn passage to heaven. Jesus said,

37And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (NASB) Matthew 22:37-40Matthew 22:37-40
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
37 And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second like [unto it] is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.  

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The Bible makes clear that none of us measures up to this distillation of God’s requirements. We can fool ourselves by ignoring them or by inventing a less rigorous God but any of our efforts at escaping their implication will not help us when we actually stand before God. Paul makes it clear in his great letter to the Romans:

9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” (NASB) Romans 3:9-12Romans 3:9-12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God; ¹² They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one:  

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We chaff at this impossible requirement from God but it is actually a great act of mercy that enables anyone anywhere to be sure of an entrance into heaven. Romans 11:32Romans 11:32
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
32 For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.  

(NASB) reads, “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” It is mercy we need, not a forlorn hope that somehow our good behavior will outweigh our bad.

God makes known a wonderful and sure way to know forgiveness and heaven in His Word. It is a way that has nothing to do with our efforts and everything to do with His mercy and grace. It is the way that is wrapped up and solely sufficient in the person of Jesus Christ, who was punished for anything and everything that would keep us out of heaven on the cross. Read the clear promise of Scripture:

4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together £with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (NASB) Ephesians 2:4-10Ephesians 2:4-10
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
4 but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ , ⁶ and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus: ⁷ that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: ⁸ for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; ⁹ not of works, that no man should glory. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.  

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Only God knows whether Senator Kennedy had the faith that rests in the finished work of Christ on the cross as the basis of acceptance before God. Tragically, from his letter, it appears that he did not. How I pray that everyone who reads this would find grace and mercy in Jesus Christ and not cling to the inevitable failure of their own merit before God!

I don’t cry at weddings-guys just don’t do that sort of thing.  But as I sat with Carole in the Evergreen Community Church, a church served by Village Missions in beautiful Redland, Oregon, tears began to flow down my cheeks as I learned more of this remarkable couple who stood before the congregation to exchange vows. 

Consider, Travis, the groom.  Travis grew up in a godly Christian home, a farm family in eastern Washington.  In High School Travis became convinced that God was leading him to some type of vocational Christian ministry.  Acting upon that conviction, he applied and was accepted at Moody Bible Institute.  God soon directed him into pastoral ministry and then, more specifically, into rural ministry.

I met Travis when he was in his junior year and John James and I were representing Village Missions at the annual Missions Conference.  Travis was interested in learning more about Village Missions.  The chair of the Pastoral Department, Dr. John Koessler, highly recommended him.  We had just changed our policy about accepting single young men.  Believing that God was leading him to Village Missions, Travis applied and we accepted him.  We assigned him to serve an internship of one year with Village Missionaries Tony and Kathy Pinkham, serving in Kettle Falls, WA.

Consider now Jennifer, the bride.  She is the daughter of Village Missionaries Steve and Lisa Rief.  She felt from an early age that God wanted her to be the wife of a Village Missionary.  But where was he?  In High school she patiently waited upon God.  Each year at staff conference at Cannon Beach, as I addressed the teens and challenged them to become Village Missionaries, she would be one of the teen girls that would say, “But we have to have a husband that wants to be a Village Missionary!”

Jennifer attended Ecola Bible School and still she waited.  Even at Ecola, none of the guys wanted to be a pastor.  Feeling that being a pastor’s wife was what God called her to be, she waited.  There was even a rock on the beach and Jennifer would go there, sitting on the rock, reading her Bible and praying.  Jennifer’s rock was not the rock she sat upon but the Rock of her salvation.  She cast herself upon that Rock, believing that if He had called her to that role then He would provide for her.  Would He?

Tony and Kathy Pinkham arrived at Cannon Beach in June 2008 for what would be our last staff conference for at least some time.  Travis stayed behind in Kettle Falls.  But as Kathy renewed ties with the Rief family at staff conference, and specifically Jennifer, she thought of Travis.  She mentioned Travis to Jennifer and he soon began to e-mail her.  They continued e-mailing and then met in person last September.

Now this young couple was standing in front of the congregation entering into the marriage covenant, led in the ceremony by Jennifer’s dad, Steve.  Their kiss, after Steve pronounced them husband and wife, was their first kiss.  They had waited until that time.

It was a holy moment and tears ran down my cheeks.  Holy, because it was before the body of Christ, faithfully ministered to by Village Missionaries over the years, and specifically by Jennifer’s parents, Steve and Lisa, since 1995.  Holy, because godly parents had raised them both in homes where Christ was preeminent.  Holy, because both were obeying God’s call to serve as Village Missionaries.  Holy, because both had waited upon God with trust and perseverance.  Holy, because we in the congregation powerfully glimpsed how much God cares about our individual lives, how much He cares about His church, how much He cares about marriage as the picture of His church, and yes, how much He cares about calling young couples to the great task of keeping country churches alive.

His act of generosity and sacrifice so inspired the early church that they started to call him Barnabas, for the encouragement he had provided through his selfless gift.  Evidently, a wealthy man, he had taken sold some land and given the money to the Apostles. 

Later, in Acts 9:27Acts 9:27
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.  

, he would see the potential in a broken but redeemed man named Saul.  Through subsequent years, Barnabas would mentor Saul, who later would be called Paul.  It is hard to underestimate the impact of Paul, but much of it was owed to a wealthy man who took him under his wing.  The Bible describes Barnabas as a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24Acts 11:24
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.  

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).

I’ve just met some modern day men and women who are like Barnabas.  In fact, they belong to the Barnabas Group.  The tag line for the Barnabas Group is “where marketplace leaders meet ministry opportunity.”  It is a ministry that helps ministries.  From their website:

The Barnabas Group  was created to bring diverse value to ministries locally and globally.  We provide our members with ongoing opportunities to use their time, gifts, abilities, network and/or resources to support pre-screened Christian ministries.

I presented the ministry of Village Missions at the San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles Barnabas Groups recently.  Several other ministries, large and small, local and international presented their work.  No one entertained these men and women.  They were there to learn about our various ministries and come alongside the ministries to provide help.

Actually, it was an extraordinary thing for me to observe.  So often, we have to entertain Christians or provide some sort of “dog and pony show” to get Christians to attend a meeting.  However, these Christian men and women came to learn how they could in some way partner with a Christian ministry that needed their help.  I came away from the meetings not only blessed by their help but also blessed by the reality that they were there to help!  If you are a Christian businessperson or professional reading this, I encourage you to learn more by going to their website at http://www.barnabasgroup.org/.

Every morning our staff at our Village Missions’ office has devotions and prayer.  Today, February 27, we read in Oswald Chamber’s devotion: “The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do.”  Village Missions has entered a time of believing Jesus for something that stretches our faith.

Stonecroft Ministries notified us recently that financial support for Village Missions will end effective March 31, 2009h 31, 2009
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
Izbrano poglavje ne obstaja!

.  This will result in a loss of income to Village Missions of $40,000 per month.  The giving from Stonecroft Canada to Village Missions Canada remains unchanged at this point.

Our mission has enjoyed a “family” relationship with Stonecroft since our founding in 1948.  Helen Duff Baugh, founder of Stonecroft Ministries and Rev. Walter Duff Jr., founder of Village Missions, brother and sister, both had a deep burden for country churches and reaching country people with the Gospel.  For many years Village Missions was the project of Stonecroft Ministries, providing extensive prayer and financial support to Village Missions and to Village Missionaries.  Village Missions could never have affected so many communities and lives for Jesus Christ without the support of Stonecroft.  You can read more about the history of Village Missions at this link.

Stonecroft has decided to focus its efforts and resources on “encouraging and equipping women to impact their communities with the Gospel so that women and their families not only know Christ, but share Him with others.”  We will be praying that the Lord will bless those efforts and provide the needed resources for them to fulfill that vision.

Village Missions, as the Lord provides, will continue its calling to keep country churches alive.  The need is great.  North America, and especially rural North America, is an increasingly needy mission field.  Churches in rural areas are closing throughout our land.  Broken lives bear grim testimony to the despair of trying to live life without Jesus Christ.

The opportunities are great.  I have seen the hope of Jesus Christ brought to community after community through the ministry of Village Missions.  We send a dedicated couple to a church that asks for our help.  We provide salary and other forms of support so that our Village Missionary can devote his full energy to “Preaching the Word and loving the people.”  People come to Christ, their lives are changed, and even the community is transformed.  The people of Helix, OR learned this when Village Missions sent a dedicated couple to live in their town.

Years ago Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”  I truly believe that God will supply the needs for the important ministry of Village Missions.

Recently I’ve received some links that have been a blessing to me and I pass them on to you.

 A retired Village Missionary passed on the devotion in Our Daily Bread for January 24, 2009 entitled Small Is Beautiful.  The title says it all.  I know for a fact in meeting Village Missionaries that He has sent “His best workers to labor for a lifetime in some small place.”

Breton Murphy, Village Missionary in Nova Scotia, sent me a link to an article on SermonCentral.com entitled “Six Benefits of Not Changing Churches” by Dean Shriver.  Discussing the first benefit of a long stay Shriver writes:

Unfortunately, our cultural disregard for commitment has infected the American Church. As pastors, we loathe the consumerism and the “what’s in it for me” attitude that causes many to drift from church to church, seeking “God-honoring music,” a better youth group or a place where they can finally “be fed” (whatever that means). But in a day when pastors on average change churches every five to eight years, is it possible that we’re part of the problem, too? Where can believers see what long-term commitment looks like if they can’t see it in the example of their pastors?

Finally, John Adams, Village Missionary serving Hauser Community Church in Hauser, Oregon sent me this insight about long-term stays:

This is from Western Seminary’s quarterly newsletter: The executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, Dr. Daniel Aleshire reports that by a conservative estimate, a pastor who spends 30 years in congregational ministry will likely touch the lives of up to 100,000 individuals.  I’m sure a lot of that influence is second-hand and generational, but it’s still a tremendous impact for the Kingdom.

So, keep on keeping on and do so even if God has placed you in a so-called little place!

With a sense of urgency, our Village Missionary broke through the door.  What he found inside was heartbreaking.  Village Missionary Greg “Mac” McCallum told his congregation what he discovered in an e-mail.

I have to share some bad news with you.  This morning Mr. Petersen didn’t show up for our weight training class.

Mr. Petersen taught PE to students in grades 4 through 12 and social studies in their local school.  Mac went on . . .

After knocking on his door with no response, I dismissed the kids and went home.  Two hours later the school called me and said he still had not shown up.  I’m very sad to tell you when I broke through his door I found he had shot himself. 

This tragedy stunned the small town of Helix, Oregon.  It shocked the high school students and staff, and deeply saddened the entire community.  I wrote about this event in a previous blog without identifying the town, If the Church Had Closed, but now the information is public. 

John Petersen had been raised in Salem and graduated from Western Oregon State College, now Western Oregon University and Willamette University’s College of Law.  He was 38 years old . . . planning to coach next year’s newly started football team.

Mr. Petersen’s death was a huge loss.

These kinds of terrible things can happen any day, any place.  What happened next is what I want to tell you about . . .

But first, let me give you a bit of background about Village Missions’ involvement in Helix, Oregon. 

A couple years ago, I stopped at the Helix Community Church as I was traveling through the area.  They were a great group of believers, but struggling to keep the church open.  Earlier this year they asked for our help.  In March, we sent Village Missionaries Mac and his wife Julie there.

The church was down to 6 people . . . Village Missions was their last hope before closing their door.  But because of caring Christians, they have a full-time pastor!  

On one of the hardest days Helix ever faced, a Village Missionary was there. 

• Mac was the first person the school called when Mr. Petersen didn’t show up.  
• After the district crisis team went home, Mac was still there, and folks came to him because he’s part of their little town. 
• Most of the young people at the school had never dealt with death, especially someone they knew.  They came to Mac with their questions about heaven. 
• Mac spoke at John Petersen’s memorial service in the school gym . . . some 200 people came and heard a Gospel message.

Mac would be the first to tell you that he’s not some kind of superhero.  He’s just a guy who was willing to invest in people who call Helix their home.  He felt God called his family there.  Now he’s a part of the community and part of God’s work there.   

What would Helix have done if there had been no Gospel-preaching church there?  Who would the school kids and many others have gone to with their questions about God and eternity?  Where would they have found comfort and hope?

I want to say thank you to all who make it possible for Village Missions to help people like the folks in Helix.  There aren’t words enough . . . because eternity hangs in the balance.  You’ve helped people come to faith in Jesus Christ.  You’ve made such a difference! 

It’s thrilling that Village Missions is being asked for help in other places like Helix – places where God needs a voice.  I’m asking you to join with me so we can say yes to them, too.

We have 84 mission fields today that are unable to pay their pastor’s full support.  Village Missions pays the balance.  We must do all we can to fully fund these and be prepared to say yes to folks that may need to close down their church without our help.

Would you pray about becoming a partner with us in keeping country churches alive?  If you would like to give to Village Missions, you can do so at this link.  Thank you!