Missions News

by Metro Calapan Christian Church — Wednesday, 05 November 2014 12:25

Baptisms Continue in Calapan City, Philippines

Edward Barquilla and Marissa Villanueva have decided to follow our Lord here the capital of the province.

by Rob Skinner -- Tucson, AZ — Monday, 03 November 2014 21:16

Tucson Church Celebrates Second Anniversary

The Tucson Church of Christ just celebrated its second anniversary on Sunday, September 28, 2014. The planting, sponsored by the Los Angeles Church of Christ and Phoenix Church of Christ, started with a team of 22 disciples and now numbers 101 members. A mother of a teen disciple, an Army Ranger Captain and a member of the University of Arizona Wildcat's basketball team have all been baptized in September. The church started with one disciple on campus and now has around 20 student disciples.

by Richie & Romie Beadle — Sunday, 26 October 2014 19:07

Hundreds Enroll in Caribbean School of Ministry

A major milestone was accomplished this summer among our churches in the Caribbean, as our fellowship witnessed the much-anticipated launch of the Damian Jean-Baptiste Caribbean School of Ministry! The historic event, split over two weekends in Jamaica and Trinidad, hosted over 200 students in the inaugural module of the newly launched academy. Students representing several of our churches in the Caribbean joined participants in the Kingston or Port of Spain churches, or participated live online.

by Mary Snow -- Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX — Thursday, 16 October 2014 11:10

Highlights from TalkEnglish Program

TalkEnglish launches new independent study program!

Don’t have time to teach TalkEnglish? That’s okay! We just designed a new TalkEnglish Independent Study program so that students can complete the entire TalkEnglish program online independently. Students can now read the book of John online, practice their pronunciation with the free TalkEnglish Pronunciation Teacher, check their own answers, post answers to discussion questions, watch movies about Jesus, and submit decisions after every lesson. TalkEnglish students can make decisions to read the Bible every day, go to church, pray, serve someone, share their faith, confess sin, and even be baptized! TalkEnglish is a tool to help our church to reach every tribe, language, and nation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you don’t have time to become an instructor, then simply send your international friends to our website (www.talkenglishprogram.com) and we’ll take care of them! If they want to become a disciple of Jesus, we’ll send them your way!

by Melanie Singh -- Boston, MA — Thursday, 16 October 2014 09:58

Faith in Action Missions Fundraiser Raises Money, Impacts Community

Editors Note: The article was written by John Rountree, Mission Zealot. Inspired by the Rountrees desire for European missions, the church participated in a Serve-a-thon to raise money.

October 11, 2014 was an amazing day. After four months of planning, over 50 disciples from the Southern Connecticut Church of Christ came together for four hours in the pouring rain and transformed a long-neglected garden in front of a public school in Bridgeport, CT into a beautiful, professionally landscaped feature that the school and the community around it will take pride in for years to come.

by Lori Gath -- Boston, MA — Tuesday, 07 October 2014 09:53

The Young at Heart Find the Kingdom

Edward & Maybelle Bunker reside in Billerica, Massachusetts. When Ed married Maybelle she was a widow with six children. Between the two of them they have eight children, twelve grandchildren, and six great grandchildren! This December, they will celebrate thirty years of marriage.

by Jon Buchholz -- Milano, Italy — Saturday, 04 October 2014 22:15

Greetings from Milano, Italy

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." -- 2 Corinthians 5:20a, 6:2b

Greetings from Milano, Italia! We are excited to report some of what God has been doing among us in the Chiesa di Cristo di Milano.

by Melanie Singh -- Boston, MA — Thursday, 02 October 2014 13:58

Boston Welcomes the IMS Board

IMS Board Meeting Highlights

As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" -- Romans 15:10

Last week the city of Boston was host to the board members of the International Mission Society (IMS) as they gathered together for their quarterly meeting. The focus of this meeting was to discuss "Operations" within the board.

by Douglas Jacoby International Teaching Ministry — Tuesday, 23 September 2014 20:08

September Update from Douglas Jacoby's International Teaching Ministry

Hello from Los Angeles! The night is too dark to see the ocean, but if you strain your ears, you can just make out the gentle roar of the Pacific. Covering nearly half the planet, astoundingly deep, filled with mystery, the sea is an apt metaphor for the profound depth of God's wisdom.

The purpose of the teaching ministry is to help us to think about God and his word, in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). The task is immense, far beyond the resources of a single person or team. Rather, we can only strive to faithfully fulfill our small part of the ministry (2 Timothy 4:5), trusting the Lord to use these modest efforts in accord with his purposes.

Summer has ended, autumn has arrived and what an exciting season this has been! Earlier in August I taught in Trinidad, Suriname, Mexico, and Texas (previous newsletter). Most of the time since then, Vicki and I have been in Asia. Our work in Indonesia, Singapore, and Myanmar (formerly Burma) was possible because of your gifts -- and continued encouragement to keep teaching and preaching. When I'm fatigued, or wondering how much difference the ministry is really making (Acts 18:9-11), please know that we do derive strength from your moral support and prayers.

Southeast Asia

Vicki and I ministered together for several weeks in Southeast Asia. On the map to the left, Indonesia is the country in yellow. Myanmar is the country in purple, to the west of Thailand. And Singapore is the minuscule dot between Indonesia and Malaysia (dark green). (For reference, the large nations in light green are India and China.)

Singapore

I'll never forget my first visit to Singapore (1983), or the planting of the Central Christian Church (1988), which has now seen many thousands baptized in the region, now home to scores of churches. I was asked to come to Singapore as part of our fellowship's Teachers' service team. This is a group of about 15 men and women who understand the key role that biblical teaching plays in church building. After committee meetings, our team gave a presentation on the urgent need for training, before an assembly of international delegates. After Sunday service, my friend Gordon and I enjoyed the hospitality of the "Chinese golden ministry" (Chinese speakers, mainly in the 50+ age range) for lunch and informal discussion.

We then joined thousands of Christian leaders at the International Leadership Conference. This is important because events in one part of the world affect the entire planet. Besides an array of classes, fellowship with colleagues from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, and discussion on important issues, we also enjoyed a new musical production by Steve Johnson, Build!, focusing on the life of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus before Christ's public ministry. All the cast were Asian, the drama and music were superb, and it's hard to imagine a more powerful or appropriate presentation. This is all the more so since the majority of our world isincreasingly Asian. Build! set the stage for the International Leadership Conference, which shared its title.

Vicki and I also had the opportunity to celebrate our upcoming 30th wedding anniversary with Singaporean friends. It's no small thing to reflect that we have spent most of our life as a married couple. (Weren't we baptized as single college students?)

After Singapore, it was time to head to the massive nearby nation of Indonesia.

Surabaya, Indonesia

We flew to Indonesia's second city, Surabaya, for a conference of 500, with participants from six Indonesian cities. I taught on Sound doctrine(material from earlier in the month, in Mexico City). Vicki shared some of her excellent material on Mary. And together we taught on Psalms: Inward Focus & Outward Focus (from Thrive!). We didn't teach alone, however. Two other American couples also shared from their lives and ministry experience: Doug & Jennifer Lambert and Al & Gloria Baird.

Denpesar, Indonesia

After a short flight eastward to Denpesar, we rested for a couple of days on the island of Bali. Bali is the Hindu part of Indonesia, an otherwise overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Islam never managed to lure the hearts of the Balinese away from their many exotic gods and goddesses.

Yet the highlight of this leg of the trip was speaking before our sister congregation, the Bali Church of Christ. Among the hundreds of congregations where we have shared round the world, it is no exaggeration to say that none has outdone the Denpesar group for enthusiastic fellowship, warm embraces, photos, laughs, thank-you notes, and exuberant energy!

Yangon, Myanmar

After Indonesia, one final stop. Since the Burmese got a new government in 2010, it has been easier for outsiders to enter. For years I'd been hoping to visit, and this was the chance. I spent several days in the principal city, Yangon, in fellowship, distributing books, and teaching from Psalms.

On language

A word of thanks is due to my translators, Jersan in Denpesar, Jony in Surabaya, and Myo Aung in Yangon. I would also like to express gratitude to my many brothers and sisters worldwide who have pushed themselves to learn English. (Would that we Americans, Britons, and others would show the same diligence!) This has enabled them to connect at a heart level with brothers and sisters from different cultures, and to better understand the large global family of which they are a part.

Clockwise, from top L: Indonesian water lizard; Hindu deities; Vicki & pachyderm; Myo Aung, Burmese evangelist; Burmese leaders;Shwedagon Pagoda, dating to 6th C. BC (the Buddha); Yangon;tiger. (Burmese believe evilnat possess tigers; offerings placate the spirits.)

United States: CA & GA

Here in the Los Angeles area I have been staying on the beautiful Pepperdine campus, in the home of professor and wife John and Claudette Wilson. They have been huge supporters of our work and even of our wing of the Restoration Movement. John is a true polymath. Even though he'll soon be an octogenarian, his mental and physical energy to keep studying history, current events, ancient coins, biblical texts, church history, and much more all remind us that life never need be dull. It doesn't matter how old you are, there is so much to learn! (And his wife, also a PhD, is a beautiful model of a faithful Christian woman.)

This morning I preached at Lifeway Church, in Glendale. On Friday evening I was able to share on Acts 2 & Campus Ministry with (mainly) Pepperdine and UCLA students.

Once I'm back in Georgia, the next lesson is The Bible & Culture. Should women cover their heads, as Paul directed the Corinthians? Should we be practicing the holy kiss (and whom should we kiss)? Wash one another's feet? Meet in houses, as opposed to public buildings? The list of questions goes on and on... Everyone agrees that some parts of the Bible are mandated for all time; others were temporary regulations. But how do we decide which are which? By 30 September this special class will have been recorded. Look for the free (public) lesson at the website.

Upcoming: NC, NS, BST
October looks to be another excellent month. After preaching in Wilmington, North Carolina, it's off to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for an annual summit with Canadian Christian leaders, and a lesson, Rethinking the Paradigm. A few days later Vicki and I fly to Rome for the annual Biblical Study Tour. I'll drop you a line once we're back from Italy. In the meantime, God bless, and please remember this ministry in prayer.

Yours in Him,
Douglas

by Jorge and Ana Bittencourt -- Sao Paolo, Brazil — Friday, 19 September 2014 22:24

We Have a Dream in Brazil!

We have a dream!

I, Jorge, was baptized in São Paulo on August 31, 1999, at the age of 22, while studying for my master's degree in Computer Science at São Paulo University. Ana was baptized on October 20, 1993, aged 20, while pursuing her law degree at the same university.

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