Relevant Principles of Evangelism

Begin with Sobriety and Humility - The attitude of the missionary must reflect an appreciation of the profound nature of spiritual transformation. We must accept with complete sobriety our position as a spiritual guide, and the delicate work that this entails. Given the danger of misdirection, both naïve and cavalier attitudes toward the giving of spiritual instruction are unacceptable. Our confidence and adequacy depend entirely on the Lord (2 Cor. 3:5), apart from whose operation we can do nothing (John 15:5).

Unfortunately, Americans often come across as frivolous and self-confident in their role as cross-cultural evangelists. We should be humbled by the fact that our actions and words are shaping the understanding of others toward the gospel, on which eternal life depends. We must examine ourselves and see if we are reflecting the heart and wisdom of God as we labor.

Give Biblical Instructions - Only God's instruction is true instruction, and so God's word is the source for the directions we must give toward new life in Christ. We must not fall short or go beyond these instructions when we deal with the unconverted. Many instructions given to unbelievers are not to be found in Scripture, and seem to be based on the desire to give a person something to "do" in order to complete the conversion transaction. But there are no external actions, including a prayer, which can bring about internal reality or force God's hand. Instructions to "accept Jesus into your heart" or "pray to receive Christ," along with other similar formulations, place the attention of the seeker upon his own actions, as if by some activity he could open a gate and the Lord would be required to enter in. Rather, a person must see that new life depends on the action of God, and that he must seek the Lord Himself rather than perform any particular man-made action or ritual. It is this realization of helplessness that brings the sinner into the fearful prospect of direct dealing with the Sovereign God (a prospect his heart naturally avoids). For this reason, instructions for particular actions are less critical in leading a person to Christ than are explanations of the truth and of the general call of God to repent and believe in Christ. As the seeker hears the words of truth, the Holy Spirit is able to act in ways that are unseen to us, and the result will be faith, repentance and confession.

The dangers of unbiblical instruction are magnified across cultural lines, where man-made conversion instructions become further distorted by language differences. People may naturally tend to turn their attention toward us, wanting to please the wrong party. We must lead them to Jesus, and know where our role ends. Although people we deal with in cross-cultural ministry often seem to come to faith coincident with a prayer or an act of commitment, I have seen that conversion rituals are more likely to abort the process than to induce it. But nobody truly coming to faith is in need of such a ritual. No human force can prevent a soul once it has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, from pressing in to God. But unbiblical means of salvation can leave people complacent though still lost, and later attempts to encourage them to follow Christ may be rendered much more difficult.

Accept Uncertainty as Inevitable - This principle follows from the prior. If God has not given us any absolute proofs of another's conversion, we should not expect such proofs. There are no particular visible actions that invariably signify invisible realities. We should not expect to have certainty over the spiritual state of another person, and we should learn to live with this state of uncertainty. Westerners tend to naively desire everything to be cut and dried, easily categorized and labeled, and feel nervous if their system doesn’t hold up. Their fear of ambiguity leads them to offer a simple step to take in response to the question "what must I do to be saved?" Rather, we must be comfortable to stick to the broader instruction given by Scripture. No true seeker will be put off by this kind of guidance, because in his desperation he will not rest until he understands the biblical truth about salvation, has truly met the Lord on His terms, and has experienced the inner certainty of the new birth.

Again, cultural differences compound the difficulty of interpreting the actions of individuals in response to hearing the gospel. A zealous desire to identify converts quickly, often as part of a desire to create statistics, leads to much misinterpretation and unfounded claims of conversions (especially in the wake of mass evangelism efforts). At the very least, we should use words of a tentative flavor when we describe the results of our efforts, and put away the fear that our uncertainty is a result of ineffective ministry.

Lead to Biblical Assurance - We can certainly preach a certainty of salvation, though we do not tie it to the performance of any particular action as mentioned above. But true assurance of salvation cannot be "given" by us to others. We can explain the basis of salvation from the Scriptures, but only the Holy Spirit provides inner assurance in conjunction with His Word. We should never feel a pressure to "close the deal," which very often leads to an interruption of the spiritual process rather than a completion of it. And moreover, healthy warnings are better in leading to true assurance than are uncritical verbal assurances. It is wise to express our inability to judge a person's spiritual state while pointing that person to deal directly with God. The lost person may want our certainty to be a substitute for his dealing with God directly. We can only point to Scripture and direct people to go to Jesus. Then our teaching about assurance of salvation will coincide with the convert's inner experience.

Spiritual fruit by its very nature takes time to identify. "First the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head" (Mark 4:28). At the time of the blade, there are unfruitful tares that seem identical to the wheat. The mind and heart of the natural man can be distorted in many ways. We must be ready to deal diligently and soberly with the heart of a lost soul, seeking for constant feedback in the process and calling on people to examine themselves (2 Cor. 13:5). If not, we face the common problem of people that have become acculturated rather than converted. Many such unsaved people will utilize explanations and definitions that others have given them when describing their "conversion experience." Even truly saved neophytes do not have the biblical understanding to be able to explain what they have done (whether they are converted or not), and sometimes "read back" into their experience the elements that are offered to them by others who are teaching them about salvation. It can be because of these explanations, rather than out of their own deep convictions, that they identify their conversion point at one time or another. They want their conversion to be "valid" and thus alter their own perceptions (and testimonies) to fit the pattern. Thus dealing in simplistic rituals and formulas for conversion can prevent the development of biblical assurance. The unconverted gain unwarranted, shallow assurance and the converted become confused when they compare their experience and the "party line" interpretation of it. They will then alter their testimony to something that they cannot communicate with conviction, and second-generation evangelism is rendered less effective.

Develop Spiritual Discernment - This principle is perhaps the key to the others. There is a critical need among missionaries for spiritual discernment, which includes clear biblical understanding, wise observation, and spiritual sensitivity. We must be very cautious in our interpretation of a person's actions and our resulting evaluation of their spiritual state. In my research I found that the points of conversion identified by missionaries were often quite irrelevant to the reality as candidly explained by young believers. There was a common tendency for missionaries to be credulous. They commonly valued the idea of “acceptance” of people rather than examination, as if being cautious would mean they were skeptical. They seemed to equate being gracious with never probing or challenging. Too many are too easily convinced, by any kind of positive response, that a person is converted. This attitude is ultimately damaging to our work of evangelism, and does the unconverted no good. It is the eventual longer-term life adjustments that will be better indications of the inner reality, and the discerning missionary will be a patient listener and observer. Spiritual work is not pop psychology, and its fruits cannot be produced artificially.

To be a mature missionary, one must grow in the ability to discern cultural clues. My Russian friends were often shaking their heads at the lack of discernment shown by American missionaries in the face of obvious (to them) phonies who crowded around missionaries in order to gain material help of one kind or another. Furthermore, Americans were commonly unwilling to listen to the warnings given by Russian believers regarding such "seekers," as if Russians were just too skeptical. Part of spiritual discernment for a missionary is the realization that reading signals across cultures is demanding work worthy of patient study, and that it is no shame to distrust one's own judgment when evaluating people of another culture.

Conclusion

The commonly mentioned failures of missionaries are those based on an inability to communicate across cultural lines. I would like to suggest that many of our problems go back a step further, in that an understanding of biblical principles is commonly lacking on the field. Ever in search for something "new and improved," American missionaries are often in danger of out-smarting themselves. But God's principles cannot be mocked - true fruit comes from simple obedience to the word of God. Even the best cross-cultural communicator is not going to have fruitful ministry unless it is built on a foundation of biblical wisdom. Such wisdom must not be taken for granted, but should be an integral goal of missionary training. Otherwise we will export superficial notions that will result in artificial transplants, rather than the living body of Christ, in foreign cultures.

Mark J Harris

Relevant Principles of Conversion

Regeneration is Invisible - The new birth is a spiritual event undetectable by the human eye. In addition, it has an unpredictable, mysterious element, being the work of the sovereign Holy Spirit. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) Only God sees the inner nature of another person; we cannot, and must not naively suppose that we have a window into the human heart. All we can see are external actions that may or may not be indications of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. To begin with, therefore, we must respect and never trivialize the mysterious aspect of regeneration.

Only God Gives Life - A person must have the Spirit of God indwelling or he is not saved: "However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." (Rom. 8:9) Only those regenerated by God are truly His. And a person is not capable of "birthing" himself. Furthermore, he is not even able to come to Christ by his own strength: "No one can come to me, unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:44) There is no mechanism whereby a person can give himself spiritual life - it is granted by God (John 17:2). Therefore the central issue of regeneration centers on the operation of God, not man. We must not suppose that we can offer people new life, or that we can offer people a means to regenerate themselves. The Spirit of God is not ours to "dispense," nor is He theirs to "acquire."

Conversion is a Process - I believe, with probably most evangelicals, that regeneration happens at a moment in time. "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24) One is either born again or is not. However, from our human perspective as missionary evangelists, we are not seeing regeneration in others. We can only see the process of old things passing away and new things coming (II Cor. 5:17). Since we cannot see the inner transformation, we must rely on what is outward and visible in order to discern new life. Conversion can only be observed as a process of life change, expressed in words and actions. And furthermore, even from the perspective of the new believer, conversion is more likely experienced as a process, though the new life began at a point in time. Truly regenerated people are often unable to look back and identify the point at which they had passed into new life. They didn't have the biblical understanding or spiritual discernment to interpret what was happening to them along the way. While becoming awakened to their new life, they often tend to wonder whether to expect something else more to occur than has already happened to them (the source of many early doubts of their conversion). On the other hand, nothing spiritual has happened to unregenerate people, but they can be led to believe that they have all that they need as a result of something that supposedly took place at some point in time (and as a direct result of some action they took). In the early stages, therefore, to emphasize a “point in time” mentality of conversion can be to aim a seeker toward potentially improper expectations. The result can be somewhat damaging even to true believers, but can be devastating to the unsaved, aborting the process of coming to new life.

Fruit is Inevitable - Conversion and new life are inseparable, and the visible evidence of spiritual life is spiritual fruit. The patient observation of a true convert will be rewarded with visible signs of a changed life. Again, since he is a new creation, the old things will pass away with the coming of the new. This is not to say that maturity comes quickly or without struggles and setbacks. Furthermore, the initial actions of a true convert may not be satisfactory to an observer who has a preconceived grid in his mind of exactly what should be expected. However, in the longer term, spiritual fruit will reflect the Holy Spirit who lives within every child of God (Romans 8:9). The missionary can rightfully expect to see fruit, and has every reason to doubt the conversion of a person who shows no spiritual growth, regardless of whatever actions or words came from that person at the supposed time of regeneration.

Fruit can be Counterfeited - Not everything that looks like spiritual fruit is an evidence of conversion. Many words and actions of a person, especially in the early days of exposure to and response to the gospel message, are not from the Spirit of God, but are from the natural man. Natural commitments can result in very zealous actions (look at the Pharisees - Matt. 23:15). These are not from the Spirit of God, but can appear very similar to His work, and their natural source is not easy to detect. The human heart is full of deceit. Although the natural man is not ready for spiritual life, is not willing to submit to God, and cannot receive spiritual truth on his own (I Cor. 2:14), he is often willing to perform convincingly in order to be acceptable to other people for one reason or another. Becoming "religious" has never been a true sign of conversion (and in fact is often the sign of an unbroken pride). People are amazingly flexible, and like children can learn to mimic the words and actions of others to whose society they have prolonged access. This "fruit" cannot grow to maturity, but either fades or takes the form of something self-centered.

Mark J Harris

• A contemporary Russian translation of the whole Bible. There are a few good translations of the New Testament. But we are still waiting for the Old Testament to be translated.

• New evangelical churches which are relevant to today’s culture.

• Indigenous missionary societies and sending structures.

Does a can of Dr. Pepper thrill you? Recently we discovered Dr. Pepper for sale here in Kyiv. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the familiar label. The shock was to find it in Ukraine. And we love the taste of Dr. Pepper. So of course we bought a supply and went back for more since. Ukrainians know Coke, Fanta, and Sprite. But the Dr. Pepper label is unknown here. Their first assumption is that it is a new alcoholic drink. We have our doubts whether it will catch on. Perhaps our source was simply a misdirected case that somehow found its way to Kyiv. What ever happens, it has been a nice welcome taste of home.

We need not dream dreams for God. Our Almighty Creator has already dreamt up every perfect dream for us imaginable. In order for us to live out God’s sovereign  dreams we must walk by faith in His will. As we do this God will reveal to us day by day a part of His incredible dream.

Faith is having confidence in someone or something. To describe faith as a decision weakens the true force is of its meaning. A decision is something we do when we visit a restaurant. Such as, “Should I order chicken salad or a steak?” Either choice would make a fine decision, depending on how the steak is prepared, and usually you can’t go wrong with chicken salad.

However, to call faith a decision is completely backwards. It is backwards because no one can choose God. The one doing the choosing is God Himself. God makes the decision, not us. Faith is a reaction to the action of God choosing us for salvation. God invites us to receive salvation by sending those who have already placed their trust in the gospel to come and speak to us. The gospel is this: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on a cross, was buried, rose three days later, appeared to His disciples, and ascended into heaven.

Do you believe that to be true? Do you confidently trust in your heart the message of this gospel? This is not a decision. It is a complete life direction change! Decisions can be changed. Believing the gospel can never be changed. Once you believe in the gospel, you are changed for eternity.

Faith is not a decision!

 Here is a short video clip of Ukraine.  

YouTube - Promo Ukraine
   

Below you will find 27 great ideas that have been used by churches to show love and care to missionary kids, often called MKs. They have been collected from a wide variety of churches and caring church missions personnel.

For MKs Growing Up Overseas

1. Enlist prayer partners for each MK. Finding one or more people who will commit to pray for an MK regularly is spiritually beneficial, encouraging to the missionary parents and sometimes to the MK. It also helps the intercessors develop a genuine love for the MK they have chosen. This has the potential to create a lasting relationship when the MK returns home.

2. Maintain the MK’s membership in a Sunday School class. Once a missionary kid has been a part of your Sunday School class during a home assignment, maintain his or her membership in that class. Advance the child’s name on the class roll fro m year to year. Post the MK‘s address, a current photo (keep it updated, at least once a year), hobbies, and a world map showing the location of ―your MK in the classroom. Stay in touch with the child by having the class members write letters and remember the child on holidays and birthdays. Exchange letters and tapes. Send Sunday School papers. Ask the child to send something unique from the field (such as the front panel of a corn flakes box in the national language). Use Instant Messaging to stay in touch, or call the child on Skype to talk with friends. Send care packages. Keep the connection alive so the child will feel a part of the class during the next home assignment, and classmates will welcome the child as one of them.

3. Correspond regularly with the MK. Write to the MK on a regular basis, and always add little age-appropriate gifts in the envelopes: a page to color, stickers, Kool-Aid packets, key chain, some seeds to plant, calendar, pictures, jokes, word puzzles, stencils, note pad, balloon, craft supplies, bookmarks, unique shoelaces, iron-on patches, a fold-out Christmas decoration, an interesting clipping or update on their favorite sports team.

4. Send magazines or catalogs. Send fashion magazines or catalogs to teens before they come home so they can see the styles that are popular in the USA. They might be able to have things sewn very inexpensively in their country, with only a picture as a guide. Or they may want to order from a catalog so some new clothes will be waiting for them when they return.

5. Provide housing for MK teens during the summer. Some missionaries like to send their MKs back to the US for summers towards the end of high school so they can adjust to the USA, get work experience and obtain a driver’s license. Provide homes willing to host the high school MKs for summers.

6. Send Videos or DVDs.

 When a good age-appropriate movie comes out, send it to your MKs so they will be familiar with the things that kids their age discuss when they get home. To the MKs, it’s more than just a gift; it helps them stay in touch with American culture and the interests of kids their own age back home.

 Have the youth group make and send a video on ―What‘s Hot and What‘s Not.

 Send a Veggie Tales video to show at the MK‘s birthday party.

 (Special note: Be sure that DVDs are the right format for the country.)

7. Subscribe to a magazine for MKs. Age-appropriate magazines help them to stay in the touch with the US. Examples are Ranger Rick, Highlights, Clubhouse, National Geographic World, and Campus Life. Focus on the Family has publications for all age groups. For MKs who you know better, send magazines that relate to an area of interest: Sports Illustrated Kids, National Geographic Kids, Sports Spectrum. For college or adult MKs, Among Worlds is a great publication, published by Interaction International. See http://www.tckinteract.net/amongworlds/overview.htm

8. Send short-term teams that include teens. For missionary families with teenagers, having teens from their home country can be a real encouragement. Not only do their kids get to work alongside other teens, they also develop friendships that can help when they re-enter their home country. If the MKs and visiting teens click, the MKs will have peers at home who actually understand a little bit about their life and who will reflect back on fun times overseas.

9. Birthday in a Box. Before the MK‘s birthday, send a package that includes everything that the child needs to have a birthday party. The package can include: paper plates and cups, napkins, streamers, balloons, tablecloth, party favors, cake mix, frosting, candles, party hats, confetti, candy, goody bags and even wrapping paper and thank-you cards! Also include a gift for the child. These can be developed around a theme. Allow families in the church to sign up for these so every child gets one in time for his or her special day. Foothills Bible Church of Littleton, CO does this annually for every child up until age 12. (See Synergy Newsletter for another creative idea from this church.Click here) Grace Church in Mesa, AZ did this for one year, so every child received a Birthday in a Box as a onetime surprise.

For MKs on Home Assignment

10. Furnish a bedroom for an MK. Before the missionary family returns for home assignment, find out the interests of the children. Offer to decorate or furnish their bedrooms with themes based on their interests in the place where they will live during home assignment. (A younger child might like a VeggieTales theme. For an older child, you might paint the room in the colors of his or her favorite sports team and put up posters of that team.) Be sure they understand they can take these things back to the field with them when they return. Or offer to ship the bedspread and decorations back for them when they go back to their overseas home.

11. Help them obtain new clothing. When MKs first arrive home from overseas, their clothing may be outdated. If they have come from a warm climate, they probably have no winter clothes at all— the ones from last home assignment won’t fit any more ! Provide mall gift certificates or financial assistance to help them get new clothing. Or take them on a shopping spree for clothes that are suitable for going to school in the USA. This is especially appropriate for teens or pre-teens who struggle to ―fit in, but be sure that all children within a family are treated equally.

12. Help them get acquainted with new friends before church. When missionaries with children come to speak in your church, let them stay with a family that has friendly kids who are their age or with the youth leader or Sunday School teacher. Let them get acquainted with these new friends before church so they can go with their new friends to Sunday School, youth group , etc. and not feel so alone. Or invite some kids their age to have supper with them Saturday night before they visit the church on Sunday.

13. Do some research and prepare for the MK’s arrival. Before hosting a missionary family, do some research on the country where they are working. Involve your children in this research and learn about the place where this family lives. Build anticipation so the host children will be eager to learn from the MKs when they arrive . This could also be done by the Sunday School class of the MK child‘s age group, so the MK will be a celebrity who is everyone’s friend when he or she arrive rather than feeling like the missionary’s kid that no one understands or knows how to talk to.

14. Post current pictures of the family. Be sure to post an updated picture of the family in the host home and in the church. Having an updated picture shows care to the MKs, who hate to come home to pictures of themselves from eight years ago posted on the refrigerators or on the bulletin board in the church.

15. Help them learn skills needed for life in the USA.

 Provide financial aid for the child to attend camp or a re-entry seminar, such as Interaction International’s Transition Seminar. (See http://www.tckinteract.net/seminars/TCKtransition.htm)

 Play a North American sport together (football, baseball, tennis, golf) noting rules, scoring, star players, etc.

 Provide an ESL tutor for MKs who have studied in another language and whose skills in written English are not well developed.

 Provide a teen MK with a driver’s education course . Enlist people who a re willing to take the MK driving to practice for taking the driver’s test and getting a license . MKs often have difficulty finding someone who will let them practice driving enough to actually get a license.

 Volunteer to take an MK on a tour of a local college campus.

 Give the gift of a book on American idioms. Even adult MKs often struggle with understanding common idioms they hear in the USA. A good one is Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projectpage.asp?id=2500256 but many others are available.

16. Host the children when their parents travel. Offer to keep the children while their missionary parents travel for conferences or support team building. Make their stay at your house a memorable time by doing special things they may not get to do overseas or things they miss from their country.

17. Sponsor a “fun d ay” for the family. Provide free tickets to the area amusement park or water park.

18. What not to say to MKs.

 Isn’t it great to be home? (This might not feel like home to them.)

 You’ve grown so tall. (They already know it, they’ve heard it before, and of course they have— they‘re four years older! Your kids have also grown in four years.)

 I knew you when you were “this big ”.

 Remember me? (Don’t put them on the spot and embarrass them.)

 When are you going back? (That may not make them feel very welcome!)

 What’s it like to live in _____? (The question is too general and hard to answer. It’s like saying , ―Tell me about your life. What’s it like? Ask a more specific question like ―Where do you go to school? MK’s do like to share about their lives.)

 Say something in Chinese. (Again , it is too general. Ask ―How do you say hello ‘ in Chinese?)

 I met someone from India. Do you know him? (India is a big place! It’s a little like some one asking you , ―I met an American . Do you know him?)

I found this to be a real eye-opener. I thought you might find it interesting as well, if not shocking.

The following is a list compiled by missionaries in Ukraine during the 1990’s. It was designed to help supporters and future missionaries understand life in this part of the world. Most of these circumstances have improved some. But for the sake of remembrance and humor, what follows is the original document.

We have put together 16 procedures that Westerners can implement in their own homes to simulate life in the former Soviet Union.  Our hope is that this will help promote a better understanding of missionary life.

1.  Take your house and cut it into 16 pieces.  Live in one of those pieces, preferably in the one with the bathroom but this is optional.
2.  Split your bathroom in half.  Remove the sink and put your washing machine in where the sink was.  If you have enough room to sit comfortably on the toilet, go back to step #1.
3.  Take a hammer and smash the top of your toilet tank into at least 3 distinct pieces.  Clear tape it together for ease of access when the toilet won't flush, or won't stop flushing.
4.  Go to your local pet store and purchase 8,000 cockroaches. Distribute them liberally throughout the living quarters.
5.  Take the area rugs off the floor and immediately hang them on the wall, dark side out.
6.  Tour dumpsters in the neighborhood for furniture, must be orange or cockroach brown in color.
7.  Move your refrigerator into the living room.
8.  Make sure that you can stand in the middle of the kitchen and touch all four walls without moving your feet.  If you cannot do this, return to step #1.
9.  Open your oven door.  Break one hinge and remove the temperature control.  Rewire the stove so that no two burners can function simultaneously.
10.  All light fixtures must be lowered 4 inches to properly expose the wiring and all attractive fixtures must immediately be destroyed.  An adequate chandelier can be created from any 2 liter pop bottle--green is preferable.
11.  Remove light switch from the wall, but let it dangle for access and easier handling.
12.  Move all of your children to the smallest room of the house.  Stack beds at least 3 high.  In the remaining square meter create a spacious, student-friendly, distraction-free learning environment.
13.  Turn all thermostats on high.  Open windows for temperature regulation.  One month before spring thaw, turn off all sources of heat. Switch heat back on only after two inches of snow have accumulated in the fall.
     13a. For added cultural adaptation, turn off the water heater at the same time the heat is turned off.
14.  For variety, turn off the cold water and function with only hot water.  A good indicator of proper water temperature is if your children receive second degree burns on their hands while brushing their teeth.
15.  Remove your front door.  Replace it with the steel door from a bank vault.
16.  If you have a pet, the proper place for potty training is the front entryway.
17.  Smash glass bottles and spread liberally along with cigarette butts on the sidewalk in front of your home.  Used syringes can be added to perfect the aura.    

Implementation of these procedures will ensure a smooth and uneventful transition into your new adopted homeland.

This is Ukraine. We live in the capitol city, Kyiv. Kyiv is located in the north central portion of the country. There are about four million inhabitants and the city is growing.

There are now 46 million people living in Ukraine. When we first arrived in Ukraine, there were 48 million. Ukraine boasts the fourth fastest declining population in the world.

The Carpathian mountains run through Western Ukraine. The peninsula of Ukraine - Crimea, along it's Southern coast is subtropical. Most of the country is steppe with farmlands and many large and small communities. The mighty Dnieper river runs through the center of Ukraine.

My daughter recently initiated a conversation about the end of the world. I explained that when this world passes away, God will create a new heaven and new earth. She asked, "You mean that everything that is on the earth and in the earth will be gone?" I answered, "Yes." She was sad. Then I explained to her that the new earth will be even better than this one. That there won't be any more sickness and disease. Then she asked me the stumper of all questions, "Will we need to go to the bathroom?"

If you have any ideas about that one, let me know.

Here is the house we are staying at in Ukraine. It is located in, what is now considered, a suburb of Kyiv called Bortnichi. We are literally on the outskirts, hence the title of today's blog. Which is a translation of a popular Ukrainian phrase.

If someone were to say, "My hut is on the edge of the village." They would be saying, "I see nothing and know nothing." Meaning, I don't want to get involved in any of the affairs that are taking place and I will just go about my business. Which was a very wise thing for people to say considering Ukraine's history. To stick one's neck out could result in the falling of the axe.

For now we are enjoying the peaceful surroundings. Though we feel a bit on the fringe from the rest of our team. Hopefully by December we will be moved in closer to the action. 

Have you ever climbed a mountain? Our family reached the top (100%) -the pinnacle of our fund raising. It's been a journey, but we've reached our goal. Thank you for taking us there!

I've begun reading this book The Gospel & Personal Evangelism. It is an excellent book. So often we mistake our role in regards to evangelism. The mistake lies in the assumption that we are to convert people. Which is not our role but God's. Our part is to be faithful messengers of the gospel no matter the outcome. I highly recommend the book. It is only about 100 pages long and the author, Mark Dever, uses plain language anyone can understand.

I've noticed in recent years there has begun a quantum shift in the missions component of America's churches. More and more I am seeing evangelical Christian churches embracing compassion ministries to the near exclusion of sending their own people to foreign lands to make disciples. It troubles me to see us focusing so much on temporary external life issues and disregarding the work of communicating true eternal life-change.

I'm not saying that Christians are to look the other way and allow human suffering. Of course we are to have compassion on the suffering when it is within our ability to do so. What bothers me is we are replacing evangelism and church planting with well projects, clothing distribution, medical aid, toys for children, food for the hungry, and building construction. These are all good things to do. But are they the best we can do?

Missionaries often use creative ways to access countries that are closed to Christian evangelistic endeavors. Certainly in that case compassion ministry is the "official" work but we know evangelism is the real purpose. Perhaps secular relief style work has influenced our hearts. Americans like to see tangible results for the things they do. To see a smile come to a child's face makes us feel good. Conversion is an invisible change. And if you look at conversion from a biblical perspective most of the work is in God's hands, not ours.

So what's wrong? What's wrong is we have thrown compassion ministry into the mission program of the church. Churches categorize relief work as missions and it drains from true missionary activity. The wisdom for doing this can only be: if it takes place in another country it must be missions. So what is true missionary activity? True missionary activity is taking the gospel to people who have not heard it. 

The Church was commissioned by Christ Himself to go to the nations with the gospel. This type of activity will have to continue until Christ returns. We have a cure for suffering. One that lasts for eternity.

We live in John Deere territory here in Rock Island. Recently we made a trip to the John Deere Pavilion. The Pavilion is where Deere displays many of their agricultural and industrial equipment. As well as telling folks about their history and showcasing latest developments.

On one wall of the Pavilion is written:

"In 40 years the population of the world may double!"

That caught my attention. At the display below these words was an automated digital readout of the current population of the world. Every second the number increases by five. Can you believe it? Five more people in the world every second. Tick... tick... tick... 15 more people. 15 more lives.

15 more souls added to the world. WOW!

I thought some more. If the population doubled, that would mean when my kids are my age; there won't be 6 billion people in the world, there will be 12 billion.

Incredible!

Just forty years! What does that mean for missions? How are all these people going to be reached? Will they be...?

In just forty years the world we know today will be different. I think we can make a difference today that will ensure a better future. I'm not talking about recycling, conservation, or dieting. Real change will take place as we go about our days making disciples.

It’s a big world. And its getting bigger.

What to pray for:

1. For the Missionary's Health (Psalm 103:3, 107:20; Deuteronomy 7:15)
   • One of the most effective ways Satan has to cripple missionary work is to attack the body of the missionary and send him back home. Recognize that it is not God's will that Satan strip mission fields of workers through sickness. Resist him (Psalm 97:10). Recognize that it is the will of God for His children to have health and strength to carry out His work (Psalm 42:11; John 10:10b; Romans 8:11) - though God works powerfully through our weaknesses as well! Exercise your God-given authority to bind Satan and loose the child of God from his attack (Matthew 18:18; Luke 9:1, 10:19; Mark 16:17-18). Pray that God will quicken all these promises to the missionary himself.
2. For the Protection of His Mind
   • The trying climate, the oppression of the enemy, the difference of culture, the loneliness, all work towards a nervous breakdown for the missionary. Pray that the missionary may enter into the provision for him in Revelation 12:11. Pray that the missionary may enter into His rest and peace (John 14:27; Hebrews 4:9-11a). Pray that the missionary may refuse to hear any accusation from Satan against his fellow workers and believers (Zechariah 7:9-10). Satan may defeat a missionary through injecting suspicions against his fellow workers or the national Christians. This separates him not only from his bothers but also from God, and is disastrous.
3. For Protection Against Satan's Attacks on the Missionary's Spirit
   • At times a missionary can get very discouraged. Intense powers of darkness make work difficult and slow. Pray for his encouragement and for strength to be given to break through the powers of darkness (Psalm. 147:3; Deuteronomy 31:6). Pray that the missionary will learn to resist Satan in the Name of Jesus (I Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7). The accuser of the brethren is always on hand to accuse him of being a failure, or of being out of the will of the Lord, etc.
4. For a Heart Filled with the Love of God
   • Missionaries live in abnormal and difficult situations, and the natural love in the human heart will not stand the test. Without the love of Christ filling the heart, the difficulties will bring about hardness, impatience, sharpness of speech, anger and even bitterness. Pray that he may have love for the fellow missionaries who are always at hand. It is imperative that there be love between missionaries, for only then can God bless that work (Psalm 133) and his love be displayed. Pray that he may have Christ's love for the non-Christian. Again natural love breaks down and fails to meet the test, for the missionary is not alway appreciated by the heathen. Neither he nor the message he brings is wanted. He is a foreigner and an intruder. Through Christ's love and compassion he is able to take shame, and return time after time until love has broken through and he and his message are accepted.
5. That the Missionary May Live in Brokenness (Psalm 51:17, 34:18)
   • In his dealing with the national Christians or other team members it is often necessary to rebuke for sin, but if done in hardness spirit it tends to harden the transgressor and drive him further from the Lord. Like begets like; brokenness in the missionary produces the same in the national Christian (Ephesians 4:15-16). In witnessing to the heathen, preaching the gospel with hardness will only harden the heart of the sinner, whereas brokenness and weeping will break the heart of stone (Psalm 126:5-6).
6. For the Anointing of God to be on the Missionary (Acts 1:8)
   • How easy it is to labor in the arm of the flesh, depending on one's own strength, wisdom and ability, but how futile! Satan laughs, for he recognizes no power but the power of God. Only the Spirit-filled Christian will be effective in setting free the captives of Satan. Pray, pray and continue to pray that the missionary might be filled continually with the Spirit (Acts 4:31, 33).
7. That the Missionary Might Konw how to Exercise Authority over Satan (Luke 10:19; Matthew 18:18; Mark 16:17-18; Ephesians 1:17-23, 2:6, 6:10-18)
   • Satan was completely defeated at Calvary. God placed the enforcing of Satan's defeat in every land in the hands of His servants, and He has given them the authority. Satan, however, will not recognize his defeat until forced to do so by the servants of Christ.
8. For Revival
   • God has promised to pour out His Spirit in these last days on all flesh - this means every field (Joel 2:28-29)
9. For the Establishment of a National Work
   • In these perilous days the missionary may be driven out at any time, but if a national work is established the work will go on. Also, the national, prepared by the Spirit, can be more effective in his witness than the missionary can ever be. Pray for the training of nationals.
10. For More Laborers (Matthew 9:37)
    • All occupied fields are shorthanded. More workers are needed to advance into new territories.

How to pray:

• Pray in Faith (John 11:40; Mark 9:23)
• Before going to prayer, read some challenging, helpful, faith-building Christian article. Meditate on the scriptures given above. Finding in them that it is God's will to ask these various things for your missionary, you may stand on His promises, and know that He hears His servants.
• Keep Informed
• Write to a missionary in order to receive fresh "fuel" for your prayer. Your letter will be a real encouragement to the missionary. Make a point of keeping in touch with at least one missionary. It will be a tremendous blessing in your own spiritual life.
• Pray Consistently (Luke 18:1; I Thessalonians 5:17)
• Once you have a prayer target before you, continue to shoot at it until the thing has been taken for God. Satan's defeat may cost you many hours of perserverance in prayer. God is holding you, His servant, responsible to back the missionary with consistent prayer.
• Pray in the Spirit (Romans 8:26)
• Effective prayer must be in the Spirit. God has promised to help us pray by His Spirit. To become a prayer warrior you must give yourself to prayer as the early Christians did (Acts 6:4). Prayer is not a burden God forces on you, but rather a privilege and responsibility to be exercised.
• Exercise Your Authority over Satan (Matthew 18:18)
• It is in prayer that the binding and loosing ministry God has given us is accomplished. Ask Him to help you as you enter into this important ministry.
• Pray with Fasting (Acts 13:2; Mark 9:29)
• We have found it works! Fasting added to pryer will break any stronghold of Satan. If you are a group coming together to pray, do not waste time in idle talking (Proverbs 10:19) but use your time wisely in intercession.
• Praise God for the Answers
• Someone has likened prayer and praise to the two wings of a bird. Praise is necessary if we are to soar above our circumstances....Prayer is mighty, but prayer with praise mightier (2 Chronicles 20:20-22)

Source: www.PrayforMissions.org

This morning I had my first earthquake experience! It woke me up. First I heard the handles on the dresser begin to rattle. Ya' know those loose kind of handles on antique furniture. They usually rattle when someone walks across the floor. But no one was walking across the floor. I thought it nothing, maybe a heavy truck was passing by on the street.

Then our bed began to shake. It wasn't the kind of shake you feel when a plane flies over or the wind blows hard. It was like different sections of the bed moving in waves one after another. First one corner of the bed, then the middle of the bed, then another corner, and another... It lasted a few seconds. I looked over at Carrie. She wasn't moving, and was sound asleep. She didn't cause these tremors. Then I thought, it must be an earthquake! So I looked at the clock, mine read 4:38. When I checked the news this morning, sure enough, downstate Illinois was the epicenter of an earthquake, 5.2 on the Richter Scale. 

Here's an article about it from the Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-earthquake-webapr19,0,6535454.story