End of the Spear

I love to fly. When I was in sixth grade, my Sunday School teacher took me up in a single engine Cessna to fly from Long Beach to Catalina Island. It was probably a 30 or 40 minute trip each way, and I was both terrified and yet loving every minute of it. That day a dream was born: I wanted to be a pilot. Over the years that followed, I read books on planes and the rules for flying. Because of my interest in missions, I also began reading about missionary pilots, which led me to the story of Nate Saint.

January 7, 2006, marked the 50th anniversary of five missionaries who were killed as they attempted to reach out to the Huaorani with the Gospel. Nate Saint was one of those five. He was an incredibly gifted man. He and his fellow missionaries devised ingenious ways to solve the unique problems of jungle flying. More importantly, they were dedicated to bringing the Gospel to tribes who had never heard about Jesus.

While Nate and his friends did everything they could to prepare for their encounter with the Huaorani (formerly called the Auca), they knew it was dangerous. They went forward with the plan because they considered the salvation of those who had not heard more important than even their own lives. Steve Saint, Nate’s son, writes the following: “I remember telling my dad ‘Please dad, if the Huaorani attack you, you will defend yourself! You will shoot them?' My dad said, ‘Son, we can’t shoot the Huaorani, they are not ready for heaven but we are.’”

That was not the end of the story. God used the death of Nate and his coworkers to open the door to reaching the Huaorani people. It is estimated today that 80% of the Huaorani have heard the Gospel, and over 25% of them are believers. Steve himself has developed a deep friendship with Mincaye, one of the men who murdered his father.

This month the movie End of the Spear is out in theaters. It tells the story of Nate Saint and how God turned a seeming tragedy into a testimony of forgiveness and redemption that has literally impacted the world. Learn more about it by visiting these websites:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/001/30.38.html

http://www.assistnews.net/stories/s06010062.htm

God's Will

¹⁹Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. ²⁰Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. ²²News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. (Acts 11:19-22, NIV)

Have you ever wondered what God’s will was for your life? How do you know what job you should take, who you should marry, or whether you should join a mission trip? How do you know what God wants you to do?

Even if I could write a book on the topic, I am not sure I could give an adequate answer. But I want to share two things that I have found to be biblical and that have helped me over the years. I make it my goal to be obedient to what God has told me to do in the Bible, and I look for where God is at work and then join in the fun!

This is what happened in Acts. Following the death of Stephen, the believers suffered persecution and were forced to move. As they went, they were obedient to Christ’s command to preach the Gospel. At first, they only told the Jews, but then they included others as well. As a result, many people believed and turned to the Lord. What did the church do? They saw that God was at work and they chose to join in the fun! They sent Barnabas to Antioch to teach and disciple the new believers.

What is God’s will for us as a church? It is the same! This year the Missions Committee will continue the process of prayerfully considering both God’s commands and where He is at work. There are many new missionaries and missions projects we could support, but we are not called to do everything. Please pray that God will give us wisdom to know what he is uniquely calling us to do.

Pray for Our Persecuted Brothers and Sisters

Our country was founded on the concept of religious freedom. So it can be easy to forget that this freedom is the exception, not the rule. Even in countries that offer political freedom, there can be religious oppression. Many more countries make life difficult for or actually persecute those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

November 13 is an International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church. But my hope is that we remember this need not just on one Sunday, but throughout the year. I find it helpful to have specific things for which I can pray, so here is one situation you can bring before the throne of the true King of the Universe:

Tajikistan (MNN) – The Bible League's Tajikistan director is asking for prayer about a shipment of New Testaments being held in customs.

Officials dispute the need for Scriptures, they are also imposing a huge import fee and they're charging storage fees while the shipment is detained.

In many Central Asian countries like Tajikistan, Christianity is viewed as a western import. Often, family members and others treat it as a cult, and make strenuous efforts to rid the new believer of his faith and make him “come to his senses.”

In many cases, the more outspoken the Christian, the more vigorous the attempts to either stop him from speaking of his faith, or to re-convert him to Islam.

Because of that, high profile attention can exacerbate an already dangerous situation. That's true for the Bible League's director in Tajikistan. With each delay, he grows more concerned that he may become subject to many unpleasant meetings with government officials.

Please pray that God would make a way to get the Scriptures to Christians in Tajikistan. There are also concerns that the situation could extend to harassment of the director's family, and his associates.

(Article distributed by Mission Network News, www.mnnonline.org .)

A Kingdom Perspective

But he answered, "You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

"How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish.” (Mark 6:37-38, NIV)

It is easy to judge the 12 disciples when we read this story because we know how it will end. But imagine that you are in New Orleans the day after the hurricane. You are sheltering 5,000 people in your church and all you have is one loaf of Wonder Bread and an Oscar Meyer package with 12 slices of turkey. I come to you and tell you to feed everyone. I dare say you would call me a lunatic.

I am very hesitant to ever say that God has told me to do something. But when I returned from the Czech Republic in June, I believed God was asking our church to help the Trinec Church with the purchase of a building they could use for services and outreach. I knew if this was from God, then he would reveal his desire to others. I presented the need to the Project CR Team, the Missions Committee, and finally to the Elders. While there were reasonable concerns and questions, there was almost unanimous agreement that God was leading us to assist the Trinec Church.

It was a step of faith to ask you as a church to donate $30,000 towards this project. And as a church, you have overwhelmingly responded. We have received more than $30,000 towards our goal. No more donations are needed. We have “12 baskets full” left over, a testimony of your generosity and God’s faithfulness.

The point of the miracle is simple. The question is not “How much do we have to give?” The question is “What is God asking us to do?”

Kingdom Partnerships

Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NET Bible)

At the end of his time on earth, Jesus told his disciples (which includes us today) to go and make disciples of all nations (literally, all “people groups”). This is a huge responsibility. In fact, if you were one of those original disciples, it truly would have been overwhelming. Think about it. They had no Internet, printing press, TV, radio, car, plane, or even portable copies of scripture. Jesus gave them a task that was truly beyond their capabilities. And that is the way he meant it. From the beginning, the work of spreading the gospel message around the world was meant to be one based on kingdom partnerships.

First and foremost, we were meant to have a partnership with the King of Kings himself. Perhaps we are too quick to read past Jesus’ promise that he will be with us. We think of it during times of trouble—and indeed he is there when we are in need. But the context here is not just a promise that Jesus is there to comfort us. The promise here is meant to assure us of that we will have his power and authority to fulfill his commandment. It parallels God’s promise to Joshua that he would be with him as he went in to conquer the Promised Land (Joshua 1:5, 9).

Equally important, we were meant to make disciples as a team. Though there are some rare exceptions, the biblical model of ministry clearly demonstrates the importance of working together. Paul experienced this when he went on his first missionary journey with Barnabas (Acts 13-14). He experienced this when the church in Philippi financially supported his ministry (Philippians 4:10-19). He reinforced this concept when he taught us that the church is a body, and each of us has a unique role to play (1 Corinthians 12).

Kingdom Partnerships: It is not a slogan; it is God’s plan for ministry.

The Kingdom of Light

Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:12-14, NIV)

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:6, NIV)

Kingdom Partnerships is more than just a title for our Missions Weekend next Friday through Sunday. It is a description of what we are about as believers. Jesus’ last command was to go and make disciples of all people groups. Jesus told his disciples, which includes us, that we would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. As we make disciples, we are advancing the work of the Kingdom of God. We are participating in their liberation from the kingdom of darkness and rejoicing in their entrance into the Kingdom of Light.

Participation in making disciples for the Kingdom is not an option. The question is not if you should be involved, but how and where. This coming weekend will give you plenty of opportunities to consider. We have 8 out of 18 New Covenant missionary families represented at our Missions Weekend. Please take time to come to a dessert on Friday night to get to know one of them better. We have a fun time planned for our “International” Potluck Dinner next Saturday evening. Next Sunday you will have an opportunity to “adopt-a-missionary” as part of our new Barnabas Ministry. Through regular prayer and a simple phone call, card, or email, you can give our missionaries the moral and emotional support they need. Next Sunday we will also be taking an offering to help advance the ministry vision of our partner church in Trinec. So take the plunge this coming weekend and get involved in advancing the cause of the Kingdom of God!

Need for a Building

When the New Covenant leadership was first considering sending a gift to the Trinec Church, we asked Cindy Howard for her perspective based on her having lived there three months. Here is what she told us:

I used to be critical of believers who thought they had to have a building. But when apartments are small, and the winter is long and cold, where can you do ministry? I heard one church share they didn't want to build a large building, they just wanted some space to do ministry.

I believe this is what is driving the Trinec Church here to desire property. They have rented space for about 7 years. The building we had was too small and only had space for one Sunday School class (elementary kids).

We rent space for AWANA in a local school. If we could have our own space we could structure the council time, and the Word time better. If we want to have a bible study for seekers, we need to kick a family out of their apartment or rent space in a public facility. If we want to do something like Alpha that requires a meal, I'm not sure where we could do this and no one has a large kitchen either.

There is no physical church building in Teresa (the part of Trinec where this building is and where the church currently meets). They deliberately selected this area because of the need for “light” in this area. These are totally unchurched people.

There are many empty rooms in the building they hope to buy, so as the church grows the space is available. We could also use the space for women's studies, prayer meetings, etc. Right now we need to rent space for all of these, and sometimes the space is not available.

We just need space in order to reach out to others in ministry. This church is not trying to be elaborate. God has eliminated the place we were in for 7 years. Now a temporary place has been provided for 2 months (with no Sunday school rooms, and only 60 people can fit (we routinely have 70) so this will not be workable in the fall. It really seems like God is asking us the Trinec Church take this step of faith.

Project CR: Trinec Outreach Center

Future Trinec Outreach Center

It had been a while since I was in snow that deep. The sun was out, and it was beautiful there in the Czech Republic. We had spent some time meeting with the elders of the Trinec Church, hearing about their vision to create a community outreach center to reach their community. We were now taking a break to see where their vision might one day become reality. Our first stop was the school building they were leasing. It was already too small and had very little parking, but they were making do as best they could.

Our next stop was a preschool building that had not been used for over 10 years. The elders were not even sure who owned it or what the condition was inside. But the location near the heart of the residential district was perfect, surrounded by flats on every side. It was easily accessible by foot or public transportation. The church had a vision to use the facility to host English clubs, sports activities, business workshops, and a computer lab to train the many who are unemployed.

As we returned to Jaroslav’s house, the building seemed little more than a dream. They did not know if the owner would be willing to sell, and the price would probably be far more than they could hope to raise. They had faith God could provide, but it would be a year or two before it was even an option.

God had other plans. Five months later, the Trinec church lost their lease. At almost the same time, they discovered the abandoned school’s owner was an old friend of one of the elders. The owner was interested in selling, and at a price 25% lower than they anticipated.

Today the church has raised or borrowed 75% of the cost of purchasing the facility. We have the opportunity to help make up the difference. On Sunday, September 18, we will be taking a special offering to send $30,000 to help the Trinec Church take the next step in reaching their community for Christ. (See the Task@Hand on the NCBC website for more information about our partnership with the Trinec Church and our plans to send them a financial gift: www.newcovenantbible.org )

Project CR Agreement

After months of discussions, phone calls, emails, and a trip to Trinec, it was time to draft a “Project CR Agreement.” It was submitted to and approved by the elders of both churches to be in effect from June 2005 through May 2008 and reviewed on an annual basis. Here are some highlights from the agreement:

New Covenant Bible Church in Cedar Rapids and the Brethren Church in Trinec –Terasa share the mutual purpose of growing great lives that are on mission for Christ. It is our desire to see people get saved and grow in their walk with Christ in both Cedar Rapids and in Trinec. The purpose of Project CR is to assist each other in accomplishing our shared goal of evangelism and discipleship.

New Covenant Bible Church agrees to: pray regularly for the Trinec Church; send individuals and teams to assist in evangelism outreaches, leadership training, and spiritual development; and consider helping with work teams and financial aid to assist the Trinec Church’s move to a larger facility.

The Brethren Church in Trinec – Terasa agrees to: pray regularly for New Covenant; play an active role in any evangelism outreaches, leadership training, and spiritual development that New Covenant sends teams to assist; possibly come to Cedar Rapids to assist in similar endeavors; try to assist any New Covenant Missionary who comes to stay for a few months or longer.

The Fingerprints of God

I am always cautious in saying I know what God is doing. I am not worried about sounding arrogant, but about being presumptuous. So I look for the “fingerprints of God” to help me discern where God is at work. The “fingerprints of God” are circumstances that cannot be a coincidence but rather are a sign that God is up to something.

While we were on our partnership exploratory trip to the Trinec Church in the Czech Republic last January, I began to clearly see the “fingerprints of God.” In fact, they were all over the place! It started with hearing about the core values of Pastor Marek and the elders. It continued with hearing the vision they had to reach their community. It crystallized as we listened to the needs they have, needs that we seem uniquely prepared to partner with them to fill.

One need they have is for servant leadership training. God has blessed New Covenant with individuals who are strategic thinkers and who model servant leadership. For over 5 years, God has allowed us to strategically plan and to implement those plans. While things are different culturally in the Czech Republic, there are many principles we can share with them and help them to explore how the principles would apply in their setting. After hearing about our process of strategic planning, they asked for us to come back and teach them. We are currently making plans for a small team to return in October to meet with their leadership, as well as leadership from other churches in the region, and teach a weekend seminar on strategic planning.

The Trinec Church has a strong commitment to reach the children in their community. This is somewhat unusual to find in other countries. As we talked about their goals, Pastor Kim realized that they were describing the ministry of Cindy Howard, one of our very own missionaries! God had closed the doors for Cindy to return to Moscow, and Kim had just talked to her right before our trip to Trinec. She was looking for a new location where she could come alongside a church or group of churches and help them grow their ministry to children. We joked that we would come back to Iowa and tell Cindy, “God loves you, and we have a wonderful plan for your life!” When we did first tell Cindy about the opportunity, it did not seem like it was the right option. But over the next few months we watched as God closed doors to other options and threw open the doors for her moving to the Czech Republic. Looking back seven months later, it is absolutely clear that God’s hand was preparing the way for Cindy to have an open door of ministry in Trinec and the surrounding region.

God’s hand was clearly at work. His fingerprints could be seen everywhere we turned. The next step was to put a partnership agreement in place.

One principle I really appreciate from Henry Blackaby’s Experiencing God study is that I should look for where God is already at work and join in. When I returned from the Czech Republic in June 2004, it was clear that God was at work. For four years New Covenant had been a part of the Business English Camps and had seen God touch the lives of many of the students. But just seeing them for one week a year was clearly not enough. We had a growing desire to find a way to continue our ministry to the students after we had returned to America. At the same time, we were developing a relationship with the Brethren Church in Trinec-Terasa where Bronek Lipus, the Czech national who led the camps, was an elder. When we learned of the Trinec Church’s desire to reach their community, it seemed like God was providing us with a strategic partnership to accomplish both of our goals.

A few months after I returned, I began exploring the possibility of us working together with the Trinec Church. In order to evaluate the possibility of us entering into a partnership, I helped create the “Project CR Team” which consists of Pastor Bob, Pastor Kim, Ed Luebe, Doug Forret, and me. Together, we began thinking through the issues we were facing.

A partnership can be defined as a relationship that shares complementary strengths and resources to reach a mutual goal. A partnership is a lot like a marriage. It should only be entered into after carefully considering whether you share similar passions and values. For the next few months we traded emails with Bronek to share our expectations and to explore the heart of the Trinec Church leadership. When it became clear that there was a solid foundation, we knew the next step was a trip so that we could meet face to face. It was also important for Pastor Kim and Pastor Bob, who had never been to a camp or to the Trinec Church, to meet the pastor and elders to talk with them directly. So in January 2005, Pastor Bob, Pastor Kim, Ed and I traveled during the middle of winter to the Czech Republic.

The trip was an important confirmation that we were headed in the right direction. After 2 days of meeting with their leadership, it was clear that we were very similar in our doctrine, passions, and values. In fact, I was amazed at how well our visions fit together. Next week I will share more about that vision and the steps that followed after our January trip.

It Is a God Thing

“It is a God thing.” We sometimes use this phrase to indicate that the only way we can explain something that happens is that God brought it about. It is scary when it happens because it is clearly out of our control. But it is also exciting when it occurs because we get to see a glimpse of God at work.

When I arrived at New Covenant a year ago April, I learned of a desire to form a sister church relationship, especially with a church in another country. I knew from experience that this was a difficult process and thought it would take years to happen. God had other ideas.

Last June I was a part of the Business English Camp in the Czech Republic and met Bronek Lipus who ran the camp. He is a Czech national who is part-time staff with International Messengers. Bronek has a real heart for people, and many who attend the camp come because of a personal connection with Bronek.

During the 2004 camp, the seeds of a partnership began to sprout. Many students attend the Business English Camp, and some of them have attended 2, 3 or even 4 different years. Our desire was to find ways to continue reaching out to them after we returned to America. This would require us partnering with someone there in the Czech Republic. We were therefore excited to learn from Bronek the vision God had given to his church to reach out to their community. The church and the camp are not directly connected (other than Bronek being an elder of the church and also the one running the camp), but many of the students who attend the camp live in Trinec near Bronek’s church. Because of our shared desire to make disciples in Trinec, we recognized that we could accomplish more working together than either church could on its own. The basis for this partnership was more than just to have a “friendship” with a church in another country. It was an opportunity for us to labor together for the sake of the Gospel.

I very much believed God was at work, but entering into a partnership was a major step for us to take. We would not do so lightly. Next week I will share more about our “Project CR” trip in January as we continued to investigate whether this partnership was truly “a God thing.”

Prayer Does Make a Difference

Have you ever wondered if your prayers really make a difference? If you prayed for our mission trip to the Czech Republic, your prayers most definitely made an enormous difference!

This was the fifth straight year that New Covenant has staffed the Business English Camp. This has allowed us to see the changes and growth in many of the student’s lives. But we have never seen the level of response that we saw this year. Some students who had never even read the Bible 4 or 5 years ago are now telling us that they are believers. Others have moved significantly closer to putting their trust in Christ. A few disagreed with the message of the Gospel, but because we presented the truth in love and were not there to simply “convert” anyone, they remained actively involved in the camp and said they would come again.

Perhaps the clearest place I saw God at work was during our conversation class discussion of Most. The film allegorically illustrates the sacrifice God made to provide our salvation. It left almost everyone stunned and overwhelmed. My class had been somewhat reluctant to talk about other topics on previous days, and that night they didn’t want to discuss the film. I silently prayed that if God wanted to use this time that He needed to work because nothing was happening. I guess I should not have been so surprised when 15 minutes later we were not discussing the film itself but instead were having an in depth discussion of the Gospel and what it means to become a Christian.

This level of response was not a result of our skill or anything we necessarily did different this year. It was God at work. Even before we left, we could see his provision, especially with us learning about and being able to show Most. It definitely helps that some have now known us for many years, but many this year were completely new to the camp. It is clear to me that God was at work in a special way this year, and all of the glory is His.

Safely Home

Dear Friends,

The last day of camp was not quite what we pictured.
We were told at breakfast that they needed to clean
most of the rooms we had been using as classrooms. We
had 6 classes that needed to meet, and only one room
available. We flexed and met where we could, and God
was at work. We had planned to use the English
Reading time to read scriptures that explained how
God's plan for our salvation. In spite of the change
in venue, we were able to clearly present the gospel
to the students. After lunch, we said our good-byes.

Thank you for your faithful prayers. Eight of us made
it safely home on Monday night, and the two who
remained to sight-see for a day should be home by
Tuesday night. Although we did face some challenges,
we know that your prayers did have an impact. Bronek
and Lorisa, who live in the Czech Republic and have
organized camps for over 7 years, agree that they saw
many more move closer to Christ than in previous
years. Some indicated they made a decision, and many
more said they would be interested in being part of a
small group Bible study. Bronek and Lorisa, along
with Cindy, will be helping to make arrangements for
the various groups.

Please continue to pray for Cindy. She has already
"run into" one of our students who was out shopping in
her village. Because of the camp, she has made many
contacts in the Trinec area. Pray for wisdom as she
works on building on these relationships.

Pray, too, for the rest of us as we transition back
into our lives here in the states. We look forward to
telling you all about our trip in the weeks ahead.

James

End of the Week

Dear Friends,

The end of the week and the end of the camp is near.
We will have a lot to talk about when we get back
home. We will have a lot of stories of how we saw God
at work in our own lives and in the lives of our
students.

Last night we showed the short film, ¨Most.¨ It is an
allegorical story of how God was willing to allow his
only son to die for our sins. It was very powerful.
Many of the students are still talking about it. For
some, it was disturbing. One of my students said it
was ¨cruel.¨ Others said it made them think. Please
pray for wisdom for us as we continue to discuss this
film with our students. Pray, too, as we explain the
Gospel in our Bible Reading classes tomorrow morning.
I have had many good questions in my class. Some are
believers, but others do not believe the Bible is
true. Please pray that we will finish well and take
advantage of every opportunity.

Pray, too, for our health. One member of our team is
fighting an infection. Fortunately, God had another
member of the team who had just the medicine that was
needed. Otherwise, we have not had any health
problems this week.

Pastor Marek of the Church in Trinec told me yesterday
that they have made arrangements to rent space at the
Cultural Center for the next few months. So they now
have a place to meet. This will be a trial period,
and hopefully they will be able to extend the
agreement. They are also meeting this week with the
owner of a building they would like to buy. Pray for
favor that the owner will be interested in selling to
them and that he will give them the time they need to
raise the 3,000,000 Krowns it will cost.

Finally, pray for our time tomorrow. We will go meet
at a restaurant and bowling alley with some people who
came to camp in previous years but could not come this
year. We hope to build on the relationships that have
already begun. Pray that we can discuss things that
matter for eternity.

James

Wednesday Report

Dear Friends,

We are about half way through the camp, and things are
going well. We have had good food, good weather, and
great opportunities to build relationships with the
students.

Today a group of us left to go up to Lysa Hora, a
nearby mountaintop. After our group wandered lost for
an hour, I finally came back to the camp, but many
others kept going (they did finally find the way). I
could not help thinking of the fact that many are also
being led astray spiritually. Please pray that we
would have more opportunities to share the good news
of God's love with the students in the days that
remain.

James

Camp Has Begun

Dear Friends,

Camp has now officially started. We had our own
worship service this morning here at the camp
facility. Then the students began arriving. We have
processed around 40 or more students already this
morning. There are some familiar faces, along with
many new ones. We now begin the process of starting
or renewing relationships with each one.

As you pray for the camp, pray too for our sister
church in Trinec. They just found out a few weeks ago
that the school they have been renting has been sold
and is being remodeled for the new owners. They must
find a new place to meet by the first Sunday in July.
It is not as easy to find a place here as it is in
America. There is not much available, and the little
that is available is quite expensive.

Pray, too, for wisdom for the church. There is an old
school building that they would like to buy. It is in
an ideal location, and there is very few options
available to them for purchase in the city itself.
They would need to raise or borrow about 3,000,000
Krowns, which is about 150,000 dollars. They have
about a month to do this.

Thanks for your prayers. Things so far have run very
smoothly. Pray that God would be glorified in all
that we say and do.

James

We Have Arrived

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to let you know that we have all arrived
safely in the Czech Republic. We had smooth flights
and relatively smooth transitions between planes, and
all of our luggage arrived when we did! We are tired
after going almost 24 hours with little sleep, but we
are excited to finally be here.

We met up with Cindy Howard at our hotel, and will
connect tonight with George and Beth Justice who came
a few days early. We will leave early tomrrow to take
the 9 am train to Csesky Tesin. Bronek will pick us
up from there and take us directly to the camp at
Malenovice.

Please pray that the next few days would give us even
greater unity as a team, and pray for us as we begin
to meet our students on Sunday.

I will email from the camp if I am able. Thanks for
your prayers.

James

Open Their Eyes, Lord

²⁴“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else... ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17, NIV)

Whether it is here in America or in a distant country, there is one thing that we can depend upon: “[God] gives all men life and breath and everything else.” Though some may attempt to ignore or deny this fact, God’s love and grace permeates the very fabric of our existence. It is not his desire that any should perish, so he is doing everything he can to bring each person to a place where they put their trust in Christ alone as their Savior.

It was this truth that gave Paul confidence as he preached in Athens, and it should give us confidence today. We live in a culture that wants to make “god” in his or her own image. We live in a society that questions the authority and integrity of the Bible. It can seem like an impossible task to change the very foundational beliefs of those we encounter as we seek to make disciples of all people groups. The reality is we do not need to win an argument. We just need to, through the power of the Holy Spirit, open the eyes of those who have been blinded by sin and Satan to the God who is already there.

Over the next two weeks, we have two teams whose goal is to tell people in Kenya and the Czech Republic that God exists and that he wants to have a relationship with each and every one of them. Please remember to pray for the Watershed team to Kenya, June 11-26 (Steve & Heather Adolphs ,Linda Anderson, Kelly Erickson, Zac Harlan, Aaron Menken, Eric & Kim Prevo, Pam Stavlund, Christina Stephenson, and Brad Tucker), as they work with Homeless Children International. Pray, too, for the Business / English Camp in the Czech Republic, June 15-27 (Sean & Lisa Barkley, Doug & Amy Forret, Sara Hungerford, George & Beth Justice, Paul & Cathryn Rustebakke, and James Wartian).

Business / English Camp Team

Here we are. I am the one hiding, the third person from the right!

Czech Business / English Camp Team 2005

Memorial Day

As a child, I did not understand the meaning of “Memorial Day.” It was simply the last holiday before we got out of school in June. Perhaps it was because both of my grandfathers did not serve in World War II, and my uncles who served in Vietnam did not talk much about it. Perhaps it is because a child has a hard time comprehending the sacrifice others have made to keep me free. Whatever the reason, I was a teenager before I fully realized the importance of the holiday.

Sometimes I think we can make the same mistake when we talk about the fact that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. It can be a distant fact, not a vital reality. It is the reason for “Christmas” and “Easter,” not a reason to stop and worship. I suspect that is why the movie The Passion of the Christ was so powerful. It forced me to stop and recognize the sacrifice that was made to set me free.

Next month, I will be a part of a team going to the Czech Republic to conduct a Business / English Camp. While there, we plan to show a short but powerful film called MOST (the Czech word for “bridge”) on Thursday, June 23. This Academy Award nominated film powerfully illustrates the sacrifice God made in sending His own son to die for our sins. As you pray for our trip, please pray especially for the impact of this film and the discussion that will follow. Please pray that God would prepare the hearts of those who will see it. Please pray that God would give us the right words to say to answer their questions. Please pray that some would put their trust in Christ alone as they finally understand the true meaning of the sacrifice Christ made for them.

Welcome

Hi. My name is James Wartian, and I am the Missions Pastor (as well as Mature Adult Pastor) at New Covenant Bible Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This is my personal blog to tell more about missions at New Covenant. Thanks for coming to check it out. I will be posting about once a week my thoughts about missions in general, and about my experiences on various missions adventures. And your thoughts will be welcome too! Join me on this great adventure.