Back from Vanuatu! 
 

This has been a wild and crazy season in life! We returned from Vanuatu in March, we had an exciting, hot & sweaty time there! The islands are a very unique place, full of life and family. Here's a bit of what happened while we were there! Vanuatu is such a beautiful place, and extreme in its spiritual climate. The roots of animism and idolatry go very deep, and there were many times we felt and saw the effects of it on the people. HOSPITAL testimonies: I loved going into the hospital to pray for people. One day especially sticks out to me. I was with my friend Sarah, and we ran into some extreme cases of sickness. Among them were 2 young men. The first was a 15 year old who when we went up to him had a look of terror on his face, he had very bad pneumonia and could hardly breathe, had excessive nosebleeds and was getting a blood transfusion as we were standing there! He had been there for 3 weeks already. He let us pray for him, and we could see that terror and fear so strongly over him, but as we talked and prayed with him, it lifted and we could speak...more

YWAM, what is it? 
 

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) encompasses thousands of people and hundreds of ministries in almost every country of the world. In every case, our passion is to know God and to make Him known. We are a mixture of people from all over the world, from 149 countries in fact. In many of our locations, people from a wide variety of nations serve side by side. We come from numerous different Christian denominations and speak hundreds of languages. Nearly half of our staff come from "non-western" countries, such as Brazil, Korea, Indonesia, India and Nepal. In addition to our full-time staff, many YWAM locations host short-term outreach teams made up of individuals, youth groups, families and churches who get to participate first-hand in "making God known" through both words and actions. We send out over 25,000 short-term missionaries each year. Full-time staff worldwide: about 11,000 Approximate number of people trained through YWAM worldwide per year: 10,000 Short-term missionaries sent out per year: 25,000 Number of nations YWAM is presently in: 149 Number of training locations: 250 There are three strands of ministry weaving throughout all that YWAM does: EVANGELISM Some creative tools used to present the gospel include drama, music, performing arts and sports camps. YWAMers want to share their faith effectively in ways that the audience--whether teenagers, elderly refugees, or an unreached people group--will understand. YWAM also engages in church planting among unreached people groups. MERCY MINISTRY Mercy Ministry is the "hands and feet" of...more

Germany: The Key to World Revival Pt. 1 
by Loren Cunningham. Reprinted from MINISTRIES TODAY, May-June 1992.

How many movies or TV shows have you seen where the villain wears a swastika and has a thick German accent? From Casablanca to Raiders of the Lost Ark, we have been raised with German villains. What is it like growing up in a land with the dark shadow of the swastika on your past...one of the darkest shadows in the history of the world? How does this affect your image of yourself and your nationality? Can a country escape its past and find itself again?

Several months ago, one of the leaders of newly-reunified Germany went to Israel and met with her political leaders. He carried a message. He asked them to forgive Germany for the holocaust against the Jews. Their answer? Not in this lifetime!

Recently, my wife Darlene and I completed a ministry tour of Germany, where I spoke --- times in --- days in 15 cities. In each place, I opened my message by reading the entire genealogy of Jesus from the first chapter of Matthew. By the time I read aloud all the "begats," along with interpretation into German, the congregation was laughing.

Why All the "Begats"?
Why did God include His "telephone books" in the Bible? The genealogies show us that our roots are important to God and should be important to us. They are a part of who we are--deny them and we die a little. Jesus accepted His roots, including Rahab the prostitute, David the murderer, and Rehoboam who ruined his country. We can never have a healthy image of ourselves--either as individuals or nations--or find God's destiny for us if we don't accept our heritage, forgiving the wrongs and being grateful for the blessings.

Most of us realize that God has a unique destiny for every baby born on earth. Each individual has been gifted in a combination different from everyone else in the world. We are each a gift to the rest of humanity, with a calling which we will either lay hold of, or allow to remain unfulfilled. If we miss our destiny, we miss the reason we were born.

God also has unique callings for every country on earth. In His Word, God makes it clear that He is the one who gives birth to nations and each nation has a destiny to fulfill. If that destiny is unfulfilled, it affects all of us.

I have given this message in many countries, but never with such a sense of historic importance as when I preached all over Germany that they should accept their roots, as Jesus did.

(To be continued...)

Calling all “bridge” people 

 
Acts 6:1-6

Cultural offenses in the church can be painful to experience. The church in Jerusalem was made up of Jewish believers, but not all had grown up in the same culture. Some came from a very orthodox background and spoke Aramaic and/or Hebrew. The others spoke Greek and came from a background influenced by Greek thought and customs. The dominant Aramaic speakers failed to notice the needs of the Greek widows. That same kind of insensitivity is not uncommon today.

A Dutch Christian who was hosting some American Christians was appalled at how they piled their slices of bread high with meat. The next morning she suggested eating “in the Dutch way,” serving just one slice of meat for each piece. Silence filled the kitchen as the group contemplated the meager serving. Finally one American said, “Oh, silly Dutch! Let’s do it our way!”

The dominant cultural group in a church often overlooks the sensitivities of a minority group. In most cases they don’t really intend to hurt anyone; they simply assume that everyone thinks and acts like they do. Note how in Jerusalem the Aramaic leaders responded by appointing Grecian Jews to be “bridge” people who could promote unity and inclusion.

Note the differences in those around you. What can you do to honor others’ perspectives and customs and values?

Digging deeper: Zech. 2:11; Acts 16:1-3; 17:10-14; 18:1-5; Rev. 7:9-10.