Poverty in Perspective

I am amazed at how our church stepped up and sponsored over 155 children with Compassion. What a great demonstration of the global care.

I realize there are plenty in need here in our own backyard. But this article puts the difference into perspective:

Here at home, poverty is a single mom in Detroit trying to keep food on the table. In Africa, poverty is a 14-year-old orphaned head-of-household trying to find fresh water for himself and his siblings. The challenge isn't to choose one over the other. The task is to view two harsh realities through a common lens of compassion and assistance.

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Global Care in Action

Our vision for Global Outreach at New Covenant is for every person to be actively involved in global prayer, care, and share. With that in mind, we are excited to announce we will be offering an opportunity for global care through a Compassion Sunday on September 19.

Compassion International exists to release children from poverty in Jesus' name. All of their work and ministry is through a local church. Last March, Pastor Bob and I had the opportunity to travel to India to establish a partnership with a church that hosts and runs a Compassion child development center. We saw firsthand the work that is being done and the great need for even more to be done.

On Sunday, September 19, we will make available child sponsorship packets for children ministered to through our partner church. If all of those are taken, we will also have additional packets for children at other child development centers in the region. Our goal is to transform the lives of over 100 children in East India. I hope you will prayerfully consider joining us in this global care opportunity.

30-Days of Prayer

This year Ramadan is August 11 to September 09. Will you join with Christians around the globe praying for the Muslim World?

Find out more at 30-Days of Prayer for the Muslim World. This site has articles, as well as daily prayer requests that you can download or subscribe to by email.

You can also go to 30DaysFire.net for a full multimedia experience or become a fan of 30-Days International on Facebook.

New Covenant will sponsor a special time of prayer late in August. More details coming soon.

Partners in the Gospel

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:4-6 NIV)

If I had to only use one word to describe how we view "missions" at New Covenant, that word would be "partnership." We do not "hire" missionaries to go do our work. We do not send out full time employees of New Covenant. No, we partner with those doing the ministry.

This idea of partnership is not just for individuals and families who serve as missionaries. It is also something we can do as a church. Around five years ago we intentionally began a partnership with a church in Cesky Tesin, Czech Republic. (A report on that partnership is coming soon!) Today we are in the process of being partnered through Compassion International with a church in East India.

So what does a partnership mean? What does it look like? In one word, a partnership is a relationship. We find an individual or a church who shares our passion for local and global prayer, care, and share, and we come alongside them in a relationship to see how we can accomplish more together than we can on our own.

It is important to understand that this is significantly different than a business partnership. While there are boundaries and expectations in a relationship, a biblical missions oriented partnership is about the relationship, not accomplishing a list of goals or achieving a predetermined list of results. Obviously when you invest in a relationship you hope something comes out of it, but an organic relationship allows things to develop based on how each partner is designed by God, not based on how we can "use" each other.

We will be announcing soon the details about our partnership with a church in East India. As we do so, my hope is that when you hear the word "partnership," the first thing that comes to mind is "relationship." Exciting things are ahead. I am grateful for the opportunity God has provided us to learn and grow along brothers and sisters in Christ in East India.

Why Did Jesus Come?

Why did Jesus come to earth 2,000 years ago? Some of you might give the "Sunday School" answer: He came to die for my sins. Others of you might suggest He came to show love to the world. Some may not really care. But for those who take the Bible seriously, this is an important question to get right. Why, exactly, did Jesus come?

We don't have to guess. We don't even have to read what someone else said about this question. Here is what Jesus himself gave as the reason he came:

Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and the regaining of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to tell them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read."
(Luke 4:16-21 NET Bible)

There are many other passages that can be added to this one to give the full picture of why Jesus came. But we make a mistake if we don't take this one seriously. Jesus came to do more than just provide us a way to go to Heaven when we die. He came to do more than give me a happy, fulfilled life. No, He came to bring good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoner, sight to the blind, and liberty to all who are oppressed. That is why the Gospel truly is "Good News."

So as you celebrate Christmas this year, keep in mind that Jesus' birth was about far more than you and me. It should especially be a time when we remember those less fortunate than ourselves. It should be a time when we care for the poor, bring comfort to those who are hurting, and, yes, proclaim the truth that a new relationship with God is possible because God is with us -- He took on human flesh and dwelt among us. That is why we can truly have a very Merry Christmas.


I will be taking a break for Christmas. See you again the first week of January.

Clean Water

A few minutes ago I went and filled my water bottle with ice and water from the tap. It is something I do regularly. I don't stop to wonder if the water is safe. I don't boil it before drinking. While I like putting it through a water filter, it is for taste, not to remove dangerous parasites amoebas. When I brush my teeth, I don't have to worry that just putting my toothbrush under the faucet could mean getting sick for days or even weeks.

I have visited many other countries where I could not drink the water. Some of the time it was just because I was not adjusted to the microorganisms in their water supply. But other times it was because the water was dangerous. Yet I never understood how deeply this impacted the lives of over a billion people around the world. Here are just a few facts you can find on the website of Living Water International:

At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by patients suffering from a water-related disease.

Nearly 90 percent of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene. Every year, there are 4 billion cases of diarrhea as a direct result of drinking contaminated water; this results in more than 2.2 million deaths each year—the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing every day.

The weakest members of communities are the most vulnerable; every day water-related diseases claim the lives of 5000 children under the age of five. That’s roughly one every 15 seconds.

This year we at New Covenant are considering how to approach Christmas in a way that focuses less on ourselves and more on our Savior. As we enter into the story of Christmas, we are drawn to worship our Savior who left the comfort and splendor of Heaven to come and provide living water for all who are willing to accept it (see John 4:7-15). But the story does not stop there. His example was to not only meet the spiritual needs but the physical as well (one example: John 6:1-13).

As we follow His example, we should do the same -- meet both the physical and the spiritual needs of those in need. But in order to do that, it takes spending less on ourselves, giving more of our presence to others, and loving all -- especially those who are most in need (see Luke 10:25-37). One tangible way is to provide clean water, which is probably the most basic physical need in our world today.

That is the focus of our special Advent offering this year at New Covenant. On Sunday, December 20, we will take a special Advent offering to care for needs both locally and globally. We will send 90% of the offering to Compassion International to help up to nine projects in East India. We have chosen Compassion because they work through a local church, which means there is opportunity to help with both the spiritual and the physical needs in that community. Each church partner location will use $5,000 to supply clean water by drilling and/or rain water catchment and storage infrastructure. We will fund as many of these projects as God provides money. The remaining 10% of the offering will be divided among our local ministry partners such as Aid to Women, His Hands Free Medical Clinic, and House of Hope.

If you don't attend New Covenant, you can still make a difference. Go to the website for Living Water International for one option. And check out the website for the Advent Conspiracy and this article at Missions Network News to learn more about how we spend far, far more just on Christmas presents than it would cost to provide clean drinking water to those who need it around the world.

Remember the Poor

When you hear about someone who is "poor," what comes to your mind? What images do you see? What judgments do you make? What emotions do you feel?

Now take time to read these four verses and compare what they say to the answers you just gave:

There will never cease to be some poor people in the land; therefore, I am commanding you to make sure you open your hand to your fellow Israelites who are needy and poor in your land.
(Deuteronomy 15:11 NET Bible)

The one who oppresses the poor insults his Creator,
but whoever shows favor to the needy honors him.
(Proverbs 14:31 NET Bible)

The one who gives to the poor will not lack,
but whoever shuts his eyes to them will receive many curses.
(Proverbs 28:27 NET Bible)

Open your mouth, judge in righteousness,
and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
(Proverbs 31:9 NET Bible)

The New English Translation (NET Bible) has 164 verses that contain the word "poor." Some of those verses contain warnings that imprudent choices can lead to poverty. Unfortunately, those are the verses some choose to emphasize, forgetting the many commands to care for those who are poor. In fact, I was one of those who forgot these commands. I was never purposefully demeaning of those less fortunate than myself, but I failed to recognize my responsibility to get actively involved in helping those in need.

I don't believe those of us who have been blessed should live in guilt over our prosperity. Instead, I think we should do what God intended -- use our blessing to bless others. In the coming months, we will explore some ways we can do this at New Covenant in a global context.

Our goal is not to end poverty. It is simply to be obedient to what God commanded us to do.

Why Do Global Care?

At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, got up and predicted by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole inhabited world. (This took place during the reign of Claudius.) So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. They did so, sending their financial aid to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 11:27-30 NET)

For the last four years we have been challenged to live a lifestyle of reaching out to others through prayer, care, and share, both locally and globally. While this may not have been a new concept to you, I have found this approach very helpful as well as challenging. It has helped me to see outreach as more than just telling someone the Gospel and expecting them to cross the line of faith right then and there. Yet it reminds me that sharing the Gospel is always something I should look for God-given opportunities to do.

But the biggest challenge has been the “care” component. On the local level, it reminds me of the importance of having a relationship. On the global level, it reminds me of how ignorant I am at times of the real needs of others in the world.

I want to challenge you to become more aware of the global needs for care. This does not replace the need for us to share our faith. Rather, it is often an important and necessary step to demonstrate that our faith is real. We are not caring for people to get converts. No, we care because Jesus cares. We reach out because Jesus reached out to us.

This type of care was true in the early church. The Christ followers in Antioch sent financial aid to the church in Jerusalem during a famine. But keep in mind what the church in Jerusalem was doing. They were reaching out to their community. The financial aid helped care for more than just believers in Jerusalem.

Let us do the same today as we reach out to those in need, both here in Cedar Rapids and those in other nations.

To learn of one way we can reach out to churches and individuals in other countries to demonstrate the love of Christ, read this story about a way churches are meeting a need in India:

http://www.mnnonline.org/article/13394