Strangers called to minister | Lifestyles - Times-Enterprise

Posted: 19 Oct 2019 06:00 AM PDT

When I was 13 years old, a baby boy was born on the eastern coast of South Africa. He was a member of the Zulu nation. He lived in poverty in an area where poisonous snakes claimed the lives of many children.

During his teens and through his 30s, he would face another danger called "apartheid," an institutionalized racial discrimination enacted in 1948. I would experience my own poverty and abuse in America. In my 60s and his 50', God would supernaturally bring Pastor Thomas and Pastor Ann together in ministry. What has happened is no less than a miracle as lives across two continents have been changed, the gospel has been preached and leaders in the kingdom of God have been raised up.

As a little girl, I would check out books from my church library. I would sit at the top of the stairs and read about missionaries in foreign countries who were sharing the gospel with those who had never heard of Jesus Christ. The stories of Lottie Moon in China, Amy Carmichael in India, and Stanley and Livingstone in Africa filled my heart with a love for people I had never met.

It was a challenge as a teen to surrender my life to that potential call of God to "go wherever you want me to go." I did surrender at sixteen and I thought for sure my life would end in a foreign jungle living a life other than the romantic, picket fence, house full of children dream I had!

When apartheid "technically" ended in 1993 in Africa, Pastor Thomas was four years into building a church, Victory in Fellowship Church, (VIFC) in one of the townships it had created. He had very little in resources, but he had a passion to share the gospel that had changed his life. This December 2019, the church will gather and celebrate its 30th anniversary.

From the original VIFC, 11 satellite churches have been established. Eight thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean, my husband Larry and I had founded and co-pastored Victory Fellowship Church (VFC) in Thomasville in 1997. Larry retired in 2013 and I remained until 2016. God was working to bring "Victory" to his people worldwide!

Upon retirement from the church, I began mentoring, writing curriculum and training men and women called into the ministry. Pastor Thomas heard of the training program and asked me to help prepare ministers for the 11 satellite churches he had established across South Africa. A partnership of two unlikely strangers began in 2017 and continues.

Upon my return to South Africa at Easter of 2020, 27 ordained ministers will have been deployed. An amazing God found two improbable, but willing vessels and married two continents into the work of building the kingdom of God! I stand amazed.

In Matthew 28:18-20 (NKJV) the scripture says, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." I grew up knowing this passage as "the great commission." It was the final instructions of Jesus to his disciples before he ascended to the Father. It was the expressed wish of a resurrected Savior for the future of his church.

The Amplified Bible states it this way, "Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations (help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually — regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age."

Are you willing to receive God's commission? Are you willing to share the good news of Jesus Christ with your neighbors along the highways and byways of life? Are you willing to "help the people learn of Me, believe in Me and obey My words"? If you are, quietly surrender in a simple prayer between you and God and then watch what happens.

It will be amazing!

why-church | Opinion - Leader & Times

Posted: 17 Oct 2019 07:57 AM PDT

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

On Sunday mornings in early America, the practice used to be that most people attended some kind of worship service. Now, though, there are more cars in the parking lots of shopping centers than those of churches.

My first church experience was in the seventh grade, and I continued in that congregation until I left for college. This past Sunday we were privileged to attend there, where my mind was flooded with memories of the good people I met as a teen. They were so kind to my sisters and me, and I remember the day I told our parents, "I want what they've got." Church from that day on has been a place of belonging.

Another event of the weekend was attending a reunion of cousins on my dad's side. Everyone there could remember being drawn to my grandmother and one particular aunt who always made us feel welcome and loved. The get-together was held – where else - in a church fellowship hall.

Many people don't see the need of going to church. It is true that belonging or attending won't make anyone a Christian. But being a part of a local church helps meet human and spiritual needs we all have.

There are a number of current books that start out each chapter telling a story about bad experiences in churches. After being a Christian for fifty-nine years, fifty-one as a pastor, I have never had experiences as negative as those described. Perhaps my good memories so completely outweigh the bad, or perhaps knowing what life was like "Before Church" kept the perspective in focus.

The local church is a place to get to know others and experience the joy of shared lives through loving, encouraging and helping each other. In other words, a local church facilitates giving and receiving a blessing with others.

In a good local church you can be spiritually and biblically nurtured in a loving atmosphere. It becomes a family who knows you and is committed to your welfare. As well, it serves as a place to learn about God and grow in relationship with Him.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians (chapters 3 and 4), the Colossians (the entire book), and the Corinthians (chapters 3 and 12 in the first letter) about what being part of a church can mean. It indicates that needed spiritual growth can only be found as we're linked together with other believers.

Hebrews 10:19-25 calls us to draw near to "the holy place, … the house of God" with confidence, sincerity and a clear conscience. The author continues to urge readers, "hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering" … and consider "how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds." The scripture concludes with a warning not to forsake "our own assembling together" in light of the need to encourage one another.

Pastor and author Dr. Tony Evans wrote a booklet on church membership containing the following words. "The measure of a church is the effort it puts into preventing defection from the faith by caring for people – not the expanse of its buildings, the acreage of its property or the size of its congregation."

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