This is the weekend we typically set aside to say "Thank You" for our blessings...although we all know we should be thankful every day of the year. So after you have thanked the Lord for everything He has done for you, thank Him for what He is going to do in Caracas in January.
There are three critical areas that need prayer this weekend. First of all, the December 2 election in Venezuela...a referendum which, if passed, will do away with presidential term limits. Much of what we are trying to do will be affected by the outcome of this election. Second, many of the ballplayers are making decisions in these next few weeks whether or not to participate in the crusade. A couple of BIG name players will make their decision this weekend...we NEED them...pray that they will be able to be a part of this. Along this same vein, many coaches and minor league players want to go but need funds...pray that God will provide for them. Third, the New Testaments are en route and have hit a small snag...we think everything will work out, but it is definitely a matter of prayer that the Bibles get to Caracas before January.
There are many of you who have been so faithful in your support of us and this vision to share the Gospel with the people of Caracas and Venezuela. We thank God for you. You have prayed with us, prayed for us, encouraged us when we were discouraged, given sacrificially to the cause. And we thank you.
It is our prayer that you enjoy your blessings...your family, your health, your place as a child of God.
Thanking God for you,
Kerry & Diane
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Baseball and Jesus
Peanut butter and jelly…socks and shoes…little boys and frogs…some things just naturally go together. We found out this weekend that baseball and Jesus go together! We met with men who have spent years using baseball to bring people to Jesus! What a concept!
We met in Atlanta to discuss and plan how to use baseball clinics and professional baseball players to our advantage at the crusade in Caracas. These are the men who sat at the table:
Dr. Bill Cashion…the first sports evangelist for the International Mission Board who spent nearly 12 years building churches in Caracas through baseball clinics. He currently pastors in Georgia and is our man-in-charge for lining up baseball players to share their testimonies at the crusade and to lead baseball clinics for kids.
Dave Altopp…Executive Director of the Baseball Ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He coached baseball and led students to the Lord for 35 years, retiring at Lee University in Georgia. He was inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame that night following our meeting!
Don Gordon…played professional baseball for 10 years (Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians) including 4 off-seasons in Venezuela. Now Don is the International Baseball Director for SCORE International organizing Christian baseball clinics around the world.
Carlos Subero…manager of the Caracas Leones when they won their national championship two years ago and stood before the cameras on national television giving the glory to God. Carlos has just been hired by the Chicago White Sox to manage their AA team in Birmingham. He is also involved in a foundation in Caracas that ministers to young people through baseball.
Hector Rodriguez…pitched for the Caracas Leones and managed teams throughout Europe. Hector is the president and founder of an international motivational organization in Venezuela called 100% Actitud de Vencedor (Winning Attitude) and works with local churches in starting sports ministries. He will soon come to the U.S. to pastor a small Hispanic church in Clinton, Iowa.
WOW! What a group of guys who use their love of baseball to share the love of Christ to others! And they all share our vision of bringing all of that to Caracas in 2008! We truly believe that the meeting was a success, that God has brought all of these guys together for a purpose. We came home with a list of nearly 20 professional baseball players who will be contacted over the next month about going to Caracas to share their faith at the crusade. Many other minor leaguers, umpires, and coaches will be contacted about going to lead baseball clinics for the kids. The plan is to have at least 10 clinics a day throughout Greater Caracas (which includes 5 “zones”) for 5 days.
Of course, we also came home with more prayer requests. In addition to praying that God will prepare these players, umpires, and coaches to go (and have the funds to do so), pray for these:
1. Accept the challenge to pray that God will pour out His Spirit on His people. Caracas 2008 will be the beginning point for His Spirit to spread throughout the country.
2. Pray that new believers will be cared for adequately by the local churches.
3. Everything is in the hands of the President…he says yes or no…about the stadium, about the hotel, about everything. Pray that God will allow us to have the use of the stadium and the hotel and every area that is needed to carry out His plan.
4. The month of November is very critical and dangerous in Venezuela. Riots have already begun on both sides of the political issue. Pray for the small groups already being formed that they will grow and be cared for so they might grow and multiply. This will begin a network of groups all across Caracas.
Baseball and Jesus…they go together quite nicely!
We met in Atlanta to discuss and plan how to use baseball clinics and professional baseball players to our advantage at the crusade in Caracas. These are the men who sat at the table:
Dr. Bill Cashion…the first sports evangelist for the International Mission Board who spent nearly 12 years building churches in Caracas through baseball clinics. He currently pastors in Georgia and is our man-in-charge for lining up baseball players to share their testimonies at the crusade and to lead baseball clinics for kids.
Dave Altopp…Executive Director of the Baseball Ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He coached baseball and led students to the Lord for 35 years, retiring at Lee University in Georgia. He was inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame that night following our meeting!
Don Gordon…played professional baseball for 10 years (Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians) including 4 off-seasons in Venezuela. Now Don is the International Baseball Director for SCORE International organizing Christian baseball clinics around the world.
Carlos Subero…manager of the Caracas Leones when they won their national championship two years ago and stood before the cameras on national television giving the glory to God. Carlos has just been hired by the Chicago White Sox to manage their AA team in Birmingham. He is also involved in a foundation in Caracas that ministers to young people through baseball.
Hector Rodriguez…pitched for the Caracas Leones and managed teams throughout Europe. Hector is the president and founder of an international motivational organization in Venezuela called 100% Actitud de Vencedor (Winning Attitude) and works with local churches in starting sports ministries. He will soon come to the U.S. to pastor a small Hispanic church in Clinton, Iowa.
WOW! What a group of guys who use their love of baseball to share the love of Christ to others! And they all share our vision of bringing all of that to Caracas in 2008! We truly believe that the meeting was a success, that God has brought all of these guys together for a purpose. We came home with a list of nearly 20 professional baseball players who will be contacted over the next month about going to Caracas to share their faith at the crusade. Many other minor leaguers, umpires, and coaches will be contacted about going to lead baseball clinics for the kids. The plan is to have at least 10 clinics a day throughout Greater Caracas (which includes 5 “zones”) for 5 days.
Of course, we also came home with more prayer requests. In addition to praying that God will prepare these players, umpires, and coaches to go (and have the funds to do so), pray for these:
1. Accept the challenge to pray that God will pour out His Spirit on His people. Caracas 2008 will be the beginning point for His Spirit to spread throughout the country.
2. Pray that new believers will be cared for adequately by the local churches.
3. Everything is in the hands of the President…he says yes or no…about the stadium, about the hotel, about everything. Pray that God will allow us to have the use of the stadium and the hotel and every area that is needed to carry out His plan.
4. The month of November is very critical and dangerous in Venezuela. Riots have already begun on both sides of the political issue. Pray for the small groups already being formed that they will grow and be cared for so they might grow and multiply. This will begin a network of groups all across Caracas.
Baseball and Jesus…they go together quite nicely!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
You Can Be a Part of This!!!!
Are you interested in being a part of one of the most exciting events ever? If you have read many of these blog posts, you know of the exciting things in store for Caracas in January of 2008. If you haven't read them, I encourage you to do so to learn of the plans being laid out for a great evangelistic crusade in the city of Caracas, capital of Venezuela, home to over 6 million people, and only 39 Baptist churches! Caracas is the largest unevangelized city in South America. Yet the door is open and people are hungry to hear the Word of God. We have experienced this firsthand.
So, what do you do after you read the blogs and learn all there is to know about the Caracas Crusade? Hopefully God is leading you in at least one of three ways...
First of all, you can pray. Everyone can pray. You will find prayer requests throughout many of the postings on this blog. Many people come to us and say, "We can't go, we can't give, all we can do is pray." What they don't realize is that praying is the single most important thing they can do! Without prayer, none of this is possible. And believe me when I say that when we go down to Venezuela, we feel the prayers of the people back home. It is such an awesome feeling...I can't really describe it. So pray, pray, pray.
Second, perhaps you can give. We estimate this crusade costing close to $250,000. We have been handed the responsibility of raising almost all of this. The people of Caracas...the local churches and the national convention...are doing what they can, but basically they are a poor nation relying on our help. We believe God gives to us so that we can give back to Him. All we ask is that you pray about it and ask what God wants you to do, how much He wants you to give. Some of you have great resources from which you can give; others of you live on meager means but will feel led to give what you see as a small portion. Whether great or small, all gifts are precious and all gifts are worthy. And God will bless all givers, no matter the size of their gifts.
Third, maybe God wants you to go! Yes, go to Caracas in January to be a part of this massive effort in leading 25,000-30,000 people to Christ in a 4-day city-wide evangelistic crusade. Here is what you need to do: Contact us at venezuelavision@gmail.com and let us know you want to go with us. Or call us at the Vision Office at 325-657-2900 or 877-657-2939 and talk to one of our office volunteers. We will then send you a registration packet...we can e-mail it to you, snail mail it to you, or fax it to you. Cost for the trip is $1500.00. You will need to return pages 3 & 4 of the packet (with all your pertinent information) and $1000 as soon as possible. The remaining $500 will be due January 1, 2008. We encourage you to get your registration and first payment in as soon as possible in order that we can get airline reservations secured and begin the process of making all the other arrangements such as hotel reservations and trip insurance. Also, please make sure your passport is in order. If you do not have one, begin the process immediately...because of the new regulations, there are more people seeking passports, so it will take a little longer to get one. If you have any questions, call the office! If one of the volunteers cannot answer your questions, they will refer you to us, and we will be glad to talk with you!
Please pray about how God wants you involved in Caracas 2008. Many of you are already involved, and we praise God for you. Many of you have been praying continually, checking this blog daily, and encouraging us all along the way. You have given back to God a portion of what He has given you, and we are so grateful. Some of you are already signed up and ready to board that plane heading south in January. Praise the Lord! We love everyone of you!
So, what do you do after you read the blogs and learn all there is to know about the Caracas Crusade? Hopefully God is leading you in at least one of three ways...
First of all, you can pray. Everyone can pray. You will find prayer requests throughout many of the postings on this blog. Many people come to us and say, "We can't go, we can't give, all we can do is pray." What they don't realize is that praying is the single most important thing they can do! Without prayer, none of this is possible. And believe me when I say that when we go down to Venezuela, we feel the prayers of the people back home. It is such an awesome feeling...I can't really describe it. So pray, pray, pray.
Second, perhaps you can give. We estimate this crusade costing close to $250,000. We have been handed the responsibility of raising almost all of this. The people of Caracas...the local churches and the national convention...are doing what they can, but basically they are a poor nation relying on our help. We believe God gives to us so that we can give back to Him. All we ask is that you pray about it and ask what God wants you to do, how much He wants you to give. Some of you have great resources from which you can give; others of you live on meager means but will feel led to give what you see as a small portion. Whether great or small, all gifts are precious and all gifts are worthy. And God will bless all givers, no matter the size of their gifts.
Third, maybe God wants you to go! Yes, go to Caracas in January to be a part of this massive effort in leading 25,000-30,000 people to Christ in a 4-day city-wide evangelistic crusade. Here is what you need to do: Contact us at venezuelavision@gmail.com and let us know you want to go with us. Or call us at the Vision Office at 325-657-2900 or 877-657-2939 and talk to one of our office volunteers. We will then send you a registration packet...we can e-mail it to you, snail mail it to you, or fax it to you. Cost for the trip is $1500.00. You will need to return pages 3 & 4 of the packet (with all your pertinent information) and $1000 as soon as possible. The remaining $500 will be due January 1, 2008. We encourage you to get your registration and first payment in as soon as possible in order that we can get airline reservations secured and begin the process of making all the other arrangements such as hotel reservations and trip insurance. Also, please make sure your passport is in order. If you do not have one, begin the process immediately...because of the new regulations, there are more people seeking passports, so it will take a little longer to get one. If you have any questions, call the office! If one of the volunteers cannot answer your questions, they will refer you to us, and we will be glad to talk with you!
Please pray about how God wants you involved in Caracas 2008. Many of you are already involved, and we praise God for you. Many of you have been praying continually, checking this blog daily, and encouraging us all along the way. You have given back to God a portion of what He has given you, and we are so grateful. Some of you are already signed up and ready to board that plane heading south in January. Praise the Lord! We love everyone of you!
Vision Banquet
Many of you have been wondering how the Vision Banquet went...it went pretty well. We had a number of no-shows which was a little disappointing, but those who attended responded well in their financial commitments to the Crusade. We are still receiving commitments and offerings, so it is hard to give an actual accounting at this time. The banquet itself went quite well. The students of First Baptist served as our waitstaff, and we had a marvelous meal. Following the meal we had a program which included music by Julie Eustis (singing Ray Boltz' "Thank You"), a presentation to Buck Smith honoring him and Ila Mae for their years of service on the mission field in Venezuela, and a word from our keynote speaker, Dr. Richard Jackson, who challenged the group to follow the Great Commission and to be obedient as well as visionary. Larry Shotwell shared his testimony, a glimpse of his experience in Puerto Ayacucho in 2006, and asked the group to pray about how they could be involved in this effort. Kerry shared the vision for Caracas and Venezuela and we showed a video clip made in Caracas, a video invitation from the pastors and church leaders there, asking us to come be a part of the Evangelistic Crusade in January 2008. We also shared a power point presentation showing the work that had been done at the crusade in Puerto Ayacucho in 2006 as well as pictures of Caracas, all set to the words of Wayne Watson in "For Such a Time as This."
There were several who attended the banquet who expressed an interest in going to Caracas with us in January. This is exciting as we are down to the wire in getting people to commit to go. We are busy this week following up with everyone who has expressed an interest. Because there have been questions and comments on this subject, I will address it more in a separate post.
In the meantime, I ask that you continue to pray for the crusade, for the people of Caracas, for those of us who are in the directors' chairs, for the remainder of the funds needed, and for the people God will lead to be a part of our team.
There were several who attended the banquet who expressed an interest in going to Caracas with us in January. This is exciting as we are down to the wire in getting people to commit to go. We are busy this week following up with everyone who has expressed an interest. Because there have been questions and comments on this subject, I will address it more in a separate post.
In the meantime, I ask that you continue to pray for the crusade, for the people of Caracas, for those of us who are in the directors' chairs, for the remainder of the funds needed, and for the people God will lead to be a part of our team.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Gideon's Army in Caracas
Good Brothers and Sweet Sisters,
Thank you so much for praying. In answer to prayer God gave us the opportunity to speak to hundreds of evangelical Christians concerning little churches that multiply. Tony and Felicity Dale lead six hour training sessions in six different areas of Caracas for all who wanted to start house churches. Team members and Venezuelan leaders were incorporated into the training process. 300 were trained and commissioned into the harvest. There were reports of several churches being started since our brief visionary visit in June. In Puerto Ayacucho on the edge of the rain forest of the Amazons 85 were trained and commissioned. The meetings were so Spirit filled that it was said the mosquitoes were humming, ‘There is Power in the Blood.’ Please continue to pray as training opportunities continue to develop and we move toward the stadium crusade in Caracas January 24-27, 2008.
Your rejoicing brother,
Gail
Thank you so much for praying. In answer to prayer God gave us the opportunity to speak to hundreds of evangelical Christians concerning little churches that multiply. Tony and Felicity Dale lead six hour training sessions in six different areas of Caracas for all who wanted to start house churches. Team members and Venezuelan leaders were incorporated into the training process. 300 were trained and commissioned into the harvest. There were reports of several churches being started since our brief visionary visit in June. In Puerto Ayacucho on the edge of the rain forest of the Amazons 85 were trained and commissioned. The meetings were so Spirit filled that it was said the mosquitoes were humming, ‘There is Power in the Blood.’ Please continue to pray as training opportunities continue to develop and we move toward the stadium crusade in Caracas January 24-27, 2008.
Your rejoicing brother,
Gail
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Endurance and Encouragement
A new post is long overdue. We have been working feverishly on the fundraising banquet which will be this Saturday evening. We had hoped for 25 tables...we have 23. But we still have two days left! And we expect some to come who were not officially invited by a table host...friends from church who are interested in coming and supporting the crusade. So we are hoping for the best and leaving it all in God's hands. Pray with us for this...pray that God will have there the people He wants to participate and that everyone will make it a matter of prayer as to how much to give. I know, it's that ugly thing about asking people for money. But you know, I've learned that there are plenty of people out there who are willing to give of their resources to causes such as this, especially when they seek the Lord's guidance about it. Those who give of what has been given to them know that they will be blessed many times over. I'll try to post a report early next week, so be sure and check back and see how God blesses His vision!
Sometimes I look at all that needs to be done, both for the banquet and for the crusade and for the trip itself, and I just feel overwhelmed. How can we do this? It is an enormous task! But it is a task that we feel God has presented to us to do, so we go along, trying to follow His guidance and do what we can do. We just have to ask God to bless our inadequacies and blunders and send us good, mission-committed people to work with us who can share the vision God has given us.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)
Buck is back from Caracas and arrangements are going well down there. His task is to enlist 50 teams of 2 people each to go with us and work with the local churches in Caracas. (Yes, this is a hint...if you are reading this and are interested in going or know someone who is, let us know as soon as possible!) Gail Graves has a brief report from Caracas as well about the house church training. (I'm at the Vision office this morning and cannot access his report...I'll post it after I get home.)
Time is getting short for enlisting folks to go with us. We have heard from the group at Colonial Heights in Kingsport, Tennesse, and there are about 6 from there who want to go...including our friend, Matt Dykes, whom we have gone with before. This will be added to the updated prayer list at the end of this post. We need PEOPLE to sign up to GO as QUICKLY as possible! So many have voiced an interest in going, but we have yet to get them to commit definitely.
Another prayer...the New Testaments. They have been shipped and are on their way. Pray that they get there in time, that all the paperwork is in order, and that a place is secured to store them until January. 50,000 New Testaments...that's a lot of boxes!
One more thing...pray for our good friend Tom Robuck who has been our liaison with the BGCT. Due to budget cuts, many jobs were eliminated (effective Oct. 31) at the BGCT, and Tom's job was one of those. We are not sure where that leaves us in working with the BGCT, but we DO know that this leaves Tom without a job and looking for answers at a crucial time in his life.
Time for a praise! Several people have already given substantially toward the crusade and we were able to send $38,500 as a deposit to secure the hotel in Caracas. I know this seems like a lot for a deposit, but they required half, and we are reserving the entire hotel with its apartment-style accommodations.
OK...the PRAYER LIST:
1) The Fundraising Banquet, Saturday, October 20, 7:00pm
2) The New Testaments
3) People to go with us in January
4) Tom Robuck and other employees whose jobs were eliminated at the BGCT
5) Still need assurance that we will be able to use the Baseball Stadium
6) Upcoming meeting in Atlanta on Nov 2 with Bill Cashion and the baseball players
7) Pray for Kerry and me and Buck as we continue to seek God's guidance on the planning; that He will give us strength and endurance.
Sometimes I look at all that needs to be done, both for the banquet and for the crusade and for the trip itself, and I just feel overwhelmed. How can we do this? It is an enormous task! But it is a task that we feel God has presented to us to do, so we go along, trying to follow His guidance and do what we can do. We just have to ask God to bless our inadequacies and blunders and send us good, mission-committed people to work with us who can share the vision God has given us.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)
Buck is back from Caracas and arrangements are going well down there. His task is to enlist 50 teams of 2 people each to go with us and work with the local churches in Caracas. (Yes, this is a hint...if you are reading this and are interested in going or know someone who is, let us know as soon as possible!) Gail Graves has a brief report from Caracas as well about the house church training. (I'm at the Vision office this morning and cannot access his report...I'll post it after I get home.)
Time is getting short for enlisting folks to go with us. We have heard from the group at Colonial Heights in Kingsport, Tennesse, and there are about 6 from there who want to go...including our friend, Matt Dykes, whom we have gone with before. This will be added to the updated prayer list at the end of this post. We need PEOPLE to sign up to GO as QUICKLY as possible! So many have voiced an interest in going, but we have yet to get them to commit definitely.
Another prayer...the New Testaments. They have been shipped and are on their way. Pray that they get there in time, that all the paperwork is in order, and that a place is secured to store them until January. 50,000 New Testaments...that's a lot of boxes!
One more thing...pray for our good friend Tom Robuck who has been our liaison with the BGCT. Due to budget cuts, many jobs were eliminated (effective Oct. 31) at the BGCT, and Tom's job was one of those. We are not sure where that leaves us in working with the BGCT, but we DO know that this leaves Tom without a job and looking for answers at a crucial time in his life.
Time for a praise! Several people have already given substantially toward the crusade and we were able to send $38,500 as a deposit to secure the hotel in Caracas. I know this seems like a lot for a deposit, but they required half, and we are reserving the entire hotel with its apartment-style accommodations.
OK...the PRAYER LIST:
1) The Fundraising Banquet, Saturday, October 20, 7:00pm
2) The New Testaments
3) People to go with us in January
4) Tom Robuck and other employees whose jobs were eliminated at the BGCT
5) Still need assurance that we will be able to use the Baseball Stadium
6) Upcoming meeting in Atlanta on Nov 2 with Bill Cashion and the baseball players
7) Pray for Kerry and me and Buck as we continue to seek God's guidance on the planning; that He will give us strength and endurance.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Greater is He that is in me...
Praise the Lord, Oh my soul, and all that is within...Praise His Holy Name! God's mighty hand is apparent at every turn.
I have just returned from Caracas where I met with Jacobo and several members of our team...Buck Smith, Tony & Felicity Dale, Gail Graves, and Sheryll & Deitra McCleery. Our goal was two-fold: 1) work out many details of the Crusade with Jacobo and 2) further train workers in the Church in the House effort.
Jacobo and I met for about 10 hours of intense discussions. Many areas needed to be "hammered" out. Much was accomplished. There was a great spirit of cooperation! Praise the Lord!
The training sessions were a great success! To accomplish God's purposes, we divided into 5 teams: 1) Tony Dale, 2) Felicity Dale, 3) Deitra & Sheryll McCleery, 4) Buck Smith, and 5) Gail Graves & Kerry Peacock (accompanied by Ladimiro). Reports were good. It was a long day, but we saw God work to encourage over 600 people in their participation in the Crusade. I truly believe that God is going to give us a great tremendous outpouring of His Spirit! The people of the churches are so receptive!
In the coming days, please continue to pray for the power of God's Spirit to go before us. We walk by faith. There are so many things that Satan is doing to try to prevent this effort. We claim the promise that "greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world!"
One area of particular need is still the financial area. We are planning a fundraising dinner on October 20 at First Baptist Church in San Angelo. We are asking God for $200,000 of commitments from that dinner. That will certainly not cover all the expenses, but it will be a start! Your prayers and support would be extremely welcome!
Also, we are planning a meeting in Atlanta on November 2 to gather our baseball players with the team including Dr. Bill Cashion. Part of our needs include video of the ballplayers that can be used in promotion of the crusade. This is crucial for a great turnout at the Crusade. Please pray!
Dr. Jackson and his team are working hard to insure that the 50,000 New Testaments will be there for distribution during the Crusade.
Director of Missions Ed Jump, Baptist General Convention of Texas liaison, Tom Robuck, and Buck Smith comprise the team that will be organizing pastors who want to go and lead revivals in the churches of Caracas in the beginning part of the week of the Crusade.
Come go with us! Share your resources! Pray for a great move of God!
Praise the Lord, Oh my soul!
Kerry
I have just returned from Caracas where I met with Jacobo and several members of our team...Buck Smith, Tony & Felicity Dale, Gail Graves, and Sheryll & Deitra McCleery. Our goal was two-fold: 1) work out many details of the Crusade with Jacobo and 2) further train workers in the Church in the House effort.
Jacobo and I met for about 10 hours of intense discussions. Many areas needed to be "hammered" out. Much was accomplished. There was a great spirit of cooperation! Praise the Lord!
The training sessions were a great success! To accomplish God's purposes, we divided into 5 teams: 1) Tony Dale, 2) Felicity Dale, 3) Deitra & Sheryll McCleery, 4) Buck Smith, and 5) Gail Graves & Kerry Peacock (accompanied by Ladimiro). Reports were good. It was a long day, but we saw God work to encourage over 600 people in their participation in the Crusade. I truly believe that God is going to give us a great tremendous outpouring of His Spirit! The people of the churches are so receptive!
In the coming days, please continue to pray for the power of God's Spirit to go before us. We walk by faith. There are so many things that Satan is doing to try to prevent this effort. We claim the promise that "greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world!"
One area of particular need is still the financial area. We are planning a fundraising dinner on October 20 at First Baptist Church in San Angelo. We are asking God for $200,000 of commitments from that dinner. That will certainly not cover all the expenses, but it will be a start! Your prayers and support would be extremely welcome!
Also, we are planning a meeting in Atlanta on November 2 to gather our baseball players with the team including Dr. Bill Cashion. Part of our needs include video of the ballplayers that can be used in promotion of the crusade. This is crucial for a great turnout at the Crusade. Please pray!
Dr. Jackson and his team are working hard to insure that the 50,000 New Testaments will be there for distribution during the Crusade.
Director of Missions Ed Jump, Baptist General Convention of Texas liaison, Tom Robuck, and Buck Smith comprise the team that will be organizing pastors who want to go and lead revivals in the churches of Caracas in the beginning part of the week of the Crusade.
Come go with us! Share your resources! Pray for a great move of God!
Praise the Lord, Oh my soul!
Kerry
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Group leaves for Venezuela Thursday, Sept. 27
From Gail Graves, Simple Church Team Leader:
Co-laborers in Christ: Greetings in Jesus’ name. Please pray into the training of several hundred simple church advocates in Venezuela. Our Lord is calling out laborers for the harvest in Venezuela. Hundreds are availing themselves to training in simple church core values. The training dates are September 29, 2007 thru Tuesday October 9. We leave for Venezuela tomorrow. See the team members below. Our hope is that our Lord will begin a church multiplication movement that will reach the entire nation in Christ and beyond. Please join our Lord in what He is doing there in prayer. Your brother, Gail.
Venezuela House Church Training Team
Deitra McCleery; San Angelo, TX
Sherryl McCleery; San Angelo, TX
Mike Birrer; Tucson, AZ
Felicity Dale; Austin, TX
Tony Dale; Austin, TX
Gail L Graves; Boise, Idaho
Bill Rowland; IMB Missionary, Venezuela
Please join me in praying the Luke 10:2 prayer. Set your cell phone alarm at 10:02am and pray each day to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest
Kerry also leaves tomorrow...he will return on Sunday. He will take care of several issues while down there such as hotel reservations and other details with Jacobo. Buck left on Monday and will be with the group listed above. They will travel to Puerto Ayacucho toward the end of their stay for a few days with the pastors and churches there. Buck will return on the 15th. Pray for safe travel, safety while there, the training taking place, and the details being ironed out.
Co-laborers in Christ: Greetings in Jesus’ name. Please pray into the training of several hundred simple church advocates in Venezuela. Our Lord is calling out laborers for the harvest in Venezuela. Hundreds are availing themselves to training in simple church core values. The training dates are September 29, 2007 thru Tuesday October 9. We leave for Venezuela tomorrow. See the team members below. Our hope is that our Lord will begin a church multiplication movement that will reach the entire nation in Christ and beyond. Please join our Lord in what He is doing there in prayer. Your brother, Gail.
Venezuela House Church Training Team
Deitra McCleery; San Angelo, TX
Sherryl McCleery; San Angelo, TX
Mike Birrer; Tucson, AZ
Felicity Dale; Austin, TX
Tony Dale; Austin, TX
Gail L Graves; Boise, Idaho
Bill Rowland; IMB Missionary, Venezuela
Please join me in praying the Luke 10:2 prayer. Set your cell phone alarm at 10:02am and pray each day to the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into the harvest
Kerry also leaves tomorrow...he will return on Sunday. He will take care of several issues while down there such as hotel reservations and other details with Jacobo. Buck left on Monday and will be with the group listed above. They will travel to Puerto Ayacucho toward the end of their stay for a few days with the pastors and churches there. Buck will return on the 15th. Pray for safe travel, safety while there, the training taking place, and the details being ironed out.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27
While this wasn't the sermon text for this morning, it was referenced by our pastor. My mind just seemed to grab hold of that thought. The Christ that is in me IS my hope...without Christ in me, there is nothing I can do that is right, nothing I can do that is good enough, nothing I can do that will make a difference. It is only through Christ that I can be called a child of God, only through Christ that I can endure this life on earth, only through Christ that I can be assured of an eternity with Him in heaven. And it is my obligation, my responsibility to share this hope with others...both here and through our mission efforts in Venezuela.
It's amazing how everything I hear, everything I read seems to turn my thoughts to Venezuela. Probably because we are in the "crunch time" for the crusade in January. Our Sunday School director put up a display in our room this morning...a Venezuelan flag and an American flag connected with a row of crosses...depicting what we are trying to do...carry the message of the cross to Venezuela. And he had this written on the board....124 days. No, that is not how many shopping days until Christmas. And it is not how many days left in 2007. It is the number of days until the crusade in Caracas. Then he said...if you cannot do anything else, you can pray for the next 124 days.
That is so true. Yes, we need funds...we need assurance that we will have the stadium...we need other things to fall into place in order to hold a crusade in a city of six million people. But more than anything, we need prayer. And everyone of you who are sitting there reading this blog can pray. So we are asking you...please pray. Scroll through the previous postings and find the prayer lists. There are plenty of things to pray about. Be specific in your prayers...everything from the obvious (open hearts to the gospel, souls saved, churches started) to the not-so-obvious (decent weather, health and safety of team members). There are things that need to be prayed about that we don't have listed, because we do not know everything God has in mind. When we held the crusade in Puerta Ayacucho in 2006, there was a Christian radio announcer who showed up, on his own, driving 27 hours, bringing his own equipment, who broadcast the crusade on the radio for 3 hours every night. We did not know he was coming. The pastors there did not know he was coming. But God knew...God sent him. So ask God to put needs on your heart to pray.
I started out this posting talking about hope, and ended up talking about prayer. I guess they really do go hand in hand. Take from this what you will...it may seem like rambling...but it is what is on my heart this Sunday evening.
God bless you...have a great week!
Diane
While this wasn't the sermon text for this morning, it was referenced by our pastor. My mind just seemed to grab hold of that thought. The Christ that is in me IS my hope...without Christ in me, there is nothing I can do that is right, nothing I can do that is good enough, nothing I can do that will make a difference. It is only through Christ that I can be called a child of God, only through Christ that I can endure this life on earth, only through Christ that I can be assured of an eternity with Him in heaven. And it is my obligation, my responsibility to share this hope with others...both here and through our mission efforts in Venezuela.
It's amazing how everything I hear, everything I read seems to turn my thoughts to Venezuela. Probably because we are in the "crunch time" for the crusade in January. Our Sunday School director put up a display in our room this morning...a Venezuelan flag and an American flag connected with a row of crosses...depicting what we are trying to do...carry the message of the cross to Venezuela. And he had this written on the board....124 days. No, that is not how many shopping days until Christmas. And it is not how many days left in 2007. It is the number of days until the crusade in Caracas. Then he said...if you cannot do anything else, you can pray for the next 124 days.
That is so true. Yes, we need funds...we need assurance that we will have the stadium...we need other things to fall into place in order to hold a crusade in a city of six million people. But more than anything, we need prayer. And everyone of you who are sitting there reading this blog can pray. So we are asking you...please pray. Scroll through the previous postings and find the prayer lists. There are plenty of things to pray about. Be specific in your prayers...everything from the obvious (open hearts to the gospel, souls saved, churches started) to the not-so-obvious (decent weather, health and safety of team members). There are things that need to be prayed about that we don't have listed, because we do not know everything God has in mind. When we held the crusade in Puerta Ayacucho in 2006, there was a Christian radio announcer who showed up, on his own, driving 27 hours, bringing his own equipment, who broadcast the crusade on the radio for 3 hours every night. We did not know he was coming. The pastors there did not know he was coming. But God knew...God sent him. So ask God to put needs on your heart to pray.
I started out this posting talking about hope, and ended up talking about prayer. I guess they really do go hand in hand. Take from this what you will...it may seem like rambling...but it is what is on my heart this Sunday evening.
God bless you...have a great week!
Diane
Thursday, September 20, 2007
God Meets Our Needs
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
My niece called me on Tuesday to share this scripture with me. My niece who is like a daughter to me. My niece who I have been the one to encourage through the years. Now this niece is calling to encourage me! And share scripture with me! Of course, I know this scripture. But sometimes in my humanness, I forget. I forget about all the other times He has supplied everything I needed. I forget about all the times He has supplied everything my family has needed. In my humanness, I forget.
This niece of mine...let me tell you about her. She has 4 kids and is a stay-at-home mom. Her husband works in the oilfield in West Texas. She is a consultant for Home & Garden Party. She informed me a couple of weeks ago that God had put on her heart that she needed to help us in our Caracas endeavor. "But what can I do? I can't go!" She questioned God, and He reminded her of Kerry's sermon at our family reunion (where we had our own little church service on Sunday morning). Kerry spoke about using what is in your hand, using Moses, David, and the little lad with a lunch as examples. Then she realized what she could do. She explained to me that she is developing a fundraiser through Home & Garden Party, selling candles, and will give all the proceeds to Venezuela Vision! Wow! I never cease to be amazed at how God works!
So, Maggie, I know you are reading this...thank you! Thank you for being willing to let God work in your life. Thank you for doing what little bit (in your eyes) you can for God's Kingdom. (He, of course, does not think it is a little bit...nor do I!) Thank you for your interest and participation in our Venezuela Vision. Thank you for calling to encourage me when I needed encouragement. I love you!
Diane
My niece called me on Tuesday to share this scripture with me. My niece who is like a daughter to me. My niece who I have been the one to encourage through the years. Now this niece is calling to encourage me! And share scripture with me! Of course, I know this scripture. But sometimes in my humanness, I forget. I forget about all the other times He has supplied everything I needed. I forget about all the times He has supplied everything my family has needed. In my humanness, I forget.
This niece of mine...let me tell you about her. She has 4 kids and is a stay-at-home mom. Her husband works in the oilfield in West Texas. She is a consultant for Home & Garden Party. She informed me a couple of weeks ago that God had put on her heart that she needed to help us in our Caracas endeavor. "But what can I do? I can't go!" She questioned God, and He reminded her of Kerry's sermon at our family reunion (where we had our own little church service on Sunday morning). Kerry spoke about using what is in your hand, using Moses, David, and the little lad with a lunch as examples. Then she realized what she could do. She explained to me that she is developing a fundraiser through Home & Garden Party, selling candles, and will give all the proceeds to Venezuela Vision! Wow! I never cease to be amazed at how God works!
So, Maggie, I know you are reading this...thank you! Thank you for being willing to let God work in your life. Thank you for doing what little bit (in your eyes) you can for God's Kingdom. (He, of course, does not think it is a little bit...nor do I!) Thank you for your interest and participation in our Venezuela Vision. Thank you for calling to encourage me when I needed encouragement. I love you!
Diane
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Planning Banquets and Enlisting Ball Players
As we get closer and closer to January, we have a tendency to panic that plans are not going according to schedule...we tend to forget that God has everything scheduled already, and His timing is not necessarily our timing.
I'm not sure why the fundraising got left in our hands, but apparently God has a reason for this. We have been able to delegate most of the other areas (i.e. baseball players and clinics, house church groups, follow-up and discipleship) to others who have embraced the vision of evangelism in Caracas. But God has left the gathering of resources in our hands, so we are doing what we know to do.
Our efforts these last few weeks have been on putting together a fundraising banquet. We seem to be getting bogged down in enlisting table hosts and underwriters for our Vision Banquet. We have asked our good friends Rick Williams and Charlie Smith to help in this area. Pray with us that God will lead people to step forward to this task. This is a critical part of a successful fundraiser. Time is getting short to enlist people who will commit to asking others to attend the Vision Banquet who will be helpful in funding the crusade in January. The date of the banquet is October 20. Pray that all the planning and enlistment will come together, that we will have a peace about the whole process, and that God will use the event and speakers to gather His resources that will be needed.
The other problems we have encountered this week have been in getting our Venezuela Vision office set up. Our friend Robert Thorn has been helping us get all the equipment set up, but there have been problems with the phone service and having the phone lines set up as needed. This has delayed our getting the office up and running. We DO have volunteers, however, who are waiting to begin serving in this area of the ministry. They will be there to answer the phone and do other office tasks that need to be done. They will also be helpful in the office work required for the banquet.
On an upbeat note, we are excited about the professional ball players who have committed to go and share their testimonies at the crusade. We are meeting in Atlanta on November 2 with Dr. Bill Cashion who is spear-heading this facet of the crusade. We will meet with many of the ballplayers who will be a part of the clinics and the crusade. Jacobo, from Caracas, will be here as well, having just been to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual convention in Amarillo. We have several ballplayers on board, including Juan Rivera and Carlos Subero, and several more we are waiting to hear from, including Mariano Rivera, Omar Vizquel, and Edgardo Alfonso. Jeff Siegel of Global Youth Baseball is on board with his ministry that conducts clinics all over the world. Jeff is also our link to SCORE International.
So a recap of this week's prayer needs:
1) Vision Banquet: the planning and enlistment of table hosts and underwriters, the gathering of guests who will embrace the vision and help financially, a calming peace for Kerry and me.
2) Meeting with ballplayers in Atlanta: traveling mercies for all who will attend, God's presence in the meeting, God's leading in expanding our vision to them.
3) The Venezuela Vision office: the set-up and quick opening of the office, the volunteers who will help, gratitude for those helping us.
4) The House Church teams: the enlistment of teams to go in January to work with local church members in setting up groups, the small contingency going at the end of September to help train local church leaders in Caracas.
5) The shipment of Bibles: The 50,000 New Testaments are ready to ship. Pray that they will get to their destination, that all of the paper work will be in order, and that they will be delivered as planned to the group in Caracas. There are numerous horror stories of shipments from the US being confiscated or held in port because of faulty or "mislaid" paper work!
Thanks to everyone for their prayers. And if you are interested in being a part of our trip in January, let us know!
Diane
I'm not sure why the fundraising got left in our hands, but apparently God has a reason for this. We have been able to delegate most of the other areas (i.e. baseball players and clinics, house church groups, follow-up and discipleship) to others who have embraced the vision of evangelism in Caracas. But God has left the gathering of resources in our hands, so we are doing what we know to do.
Our efforts these last few weeks have been on putting together a fundraising banquet. We seem to be getting bogged down in enlisting table hosts and underwriters for our Vision Banquet. We have asked our good friends Rick Williams and Charlie Smith to help in this area. Pray with us that God will lead people to step forward to this task. This is a critical part of a successful fundraiser. Time is getting short to enlist people who will commit to asking others to attend the Vision Banquet who will be helpful in funding the crusade in January. The date of the banquet is October 20. Pray that all the planning and enlistment will come together, that we will have a peace about the whole process, and that God will use the event and speakers to gather His resources that will be needed.
The other problems we have encountered this week have been in getting our Venezuela Vision office set up. Our friend Robert Thorn has been helping us get all the equipment set up, but there have been problems with the phone service and having the phone lines set up as needed. This has delayed our getting the office up and running. We DO have volunteers, however, who are waiting to begin serving in this area of the ministry. They will be there to answer the phone and do other office tasks that need to be done. They will also be helpful in the office work required for the banquet.
On an upbeat note, we are excited about the professional ball players who have committed to go and share their testimonies at the crusade. We are meeting in Atlanta on November 2 with Dr. Bill Cashion who is spear-heading this facet of the crusade. We will meet with many of the ballplayers who will be a part of the clinics and the crusade. Jacobo, from Caracas, will be here as well, having just been to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual convention in Amarillo. We have several ballplayers on board, including Juan Rivera and Carlos Subero, and several more we are waiting to hear from, including Mariano Rivera, Omar Vizquel, and Edgardo Alfonso. Jeff Siegel of Global Youth Baseball is on board with his ministry that conducts clinics all over the world. Jeff is also our link to SCORE International.
So a recap of this week's prayer needs:
1) Vision Banquet: the planning and enlistment of table hosts and underwriters, the gathering of guests who will embrace the vision and help financially, a calming peace for Kerry and me.
2) Meeting with ballplayers in Atlanta: traveling mercies for all who will attend, God's presence in the meeting, God's leading in expanding our vision to them.
3) The Venezuela Vision office: the set-up and quick opening of the office, the volunteers who will help, gratitude for those helping us.
4) The House Church teams: the enlistment of teams to go in January to work with local church members in setting up groups, the small contingency going at the end of September to help train local church leaders in Caracas.
5) The shipment of Bibles: The 50,000 New Testaments are ready to ship. Pray that they will get to their destination, that all of the paper work will be in order, and that they will be delivered as planned to the group in Caracas. There are numerous horror stories of shipments from the US being confiscated or held in port because of faulty or "mislaid" paper work!
Thanks to everyone for their prayers. And if you are interested in being a part of our trip in January, let us know!
Diane
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Watching God Move
Excitment is building and resources are coming together as we enter into these critical days of planning for the crusade in January. God continues to bring people to us who are able to embrace the vision and have committed to help in the planning process as well as participate with us in Caracas.
Most recently we have been in contact with Ed Jump, Director of Missions for the Corpus Christi Baptist Association. He was just waiting for our call and is ready to recruit pastors from his association to take part in the the crusade. Also, his wife has committed to leading a women's ministry there in Caracas.
Bill Cashion, who is our team leader in charge of the baseball players and baseball clinics, is setting up a meeting in early November with many of the ball players and our planning team, including Jacobo from Caracas. Please be in prayer for that meeting.
Gail Graves and Sherryl & De McCleery have just returned from the annual National House Church Convention where they were able to speak and share our vision for taking the Gospel to Caracas and starting 1000 house churches. They had a very positive response, especially from a delegation of Chinese Christians who had come from China for the convention. They want to be a part of our group in January! How amazing is that?
On the local front in San Angelo, we are busy putting together a fundraising banquet scheduled for October 20. We have many close friends, most of whom are from our Sunday School department, who have committed to help us as we put this together. Pray that God will lead us to mission-minded men and women from our community who will be willing to host a table and invite their friends to become a vital part of this endeavor by sharing the resources God has given them.
One of the most exciting aspects of this whole thing is watching God work and move His people together! It is amazing what He can do when we take our hands off and allow Him to work in the lives of His children! Our favorite quote these days is from Henry Blackaby...Don't ask God to bless what you are doing...find out what God is doing and get in on it! That is our prayer for us and for you!
Have a blessed day!
Most recently we have been in contact with Ed Jump, Director of Missions for the Corpus Christi Baptist Association. He was just waiting for our call and is ready to recruit pastors from his association to take part in the the crusade. Also, his wife has committed to leading a women's ministry there in Caracas.
Bill Cashion, who is our team leader in charge of the baseball players and baseball clinics, is setting up a meeting in early November with many of the ball players and our planning team, including Jacobo from Caracas. Please be in prayer for that meeting.
Gail Graves and Sherryl & De McCleery have just returned from the annual National House Church Convention where they were able to speak and share our vision for taking the Gospel to Caracas and starting 1000 house churches. They had a very positive response, especially from a delegation of Chinese Christians who had come from China for the convention. They want to be a part of our group in January! How amazing is that?
On the local front in San Angelo, we are busy putting together a fundraising banquet scheduled for October 20. We have many close friends, most of whom are from our Sunday School department, who have committed to help us as we put this together. Pray that God will lead us to mission-minded men and women from our community who will be willing to host a table and invite their friends to become a vital part of this endeavor by sharing the resources God has given them.
One of the most exciting aspects of this whole thing is watching God work and move His people together! It is amazing what He can do when we take our hands off and allow Him to work in the lives of His children! Our favorite quote these days is from Henry Blackaby...Don't ask God to bless what you are doing...find out what God is doing and get in on it! That is our prayer for us and for you!
Have a blessed day!
Venezuela: An Invitation to Harvest
This is a post copied from the House Church blog by our brother and fellow team member, Gail Graves.
Our Lord is very much at work in Venezuela. Evangelical leader and DAWN Ministries International associate Jocobo Garcia says, “These are perilous times in Venezuela. Now is the hour for Spiritual awaking in our country.” North American house church advocates have been asked to help start 1000 house churches in Venezuela. Venezuela evangelicals are planning an evangelistic stadium crusade in the capitol city of Caracas January 2008. Caracas is the most unevangelized large city in South America with only two percent evangelical Christians. They are expecting 10,000 to 30,000 professions of faith. All Christians need help especially the new ones. To follow up this many decisions for Christ is an overwhelming task for Caracas believers. Please consider ways that you can join the harvest that our Lord is multiplying in Venezuela.
1. Commit to pray. The one way and the most important way that everyone can join our Lord in this endeavor is through prayer. This is a spiritual battle. It will be won in prayer. Each of us can join our Lord and Venezuela believers in a concerted effort of prayer. Your investment of prayer may seem like a small thing. Remember in God’s economy little becomes much. When we pray in faith, mountains are moved and walls come tumbling down. Ps 2:8 says, “Ask of me and I will give you the nations.” The precious people of Venezuela rightfully belong to God. Let us ask for the nation.
2. Ask the Lord to use you and your network in putting together a church planting team. Travel together to Venezuela in January for a minimum of ten days to start a new network of house churches. Venezuela crusade leaders will place in your hands 100 to 300 decision cards over a five day period of new Christians located in a specific part of the city. Contact each of them by phone in the first 24 hours of their new walk in Christ. Make appointments for meeting together and introduce the rest of their family to Christ. Help them form new churches. Extensive HC training is being conducted thru the remainder of this year with established Christians in traditional churches who are excited about simple church life. Feel free to start free churches or you can partner up with a trained simple church advocate native to Caracas. Venezuela leaders have committed to help furnish bilingual interpreters to help in the process. As you are there you will discover and build relationships with persons of peace. When you return to the states you can keep in touch through inexpensive modern communications to help nurture the new networks over time. God will show you how to proceed.
3. You can help make it possible for someone else to go. There are hundreds of capable network facilitators in North America who are stretched to the limit with their time and resources. ‘Many hands make light a heavy load.’ God possibly could use you with the help of others to make it possible for a capable simple church advocate to be able to afford the time off work and travel expenses to participate. Our Lord has led Venezuela evangelicals to stretch their faith and attempt what only God can do. Please consider joining Him and them as He extends Himself to the precious people of Venezuela in the building His church. For more information see this link http://venezuelahousechurchvision.blogspot.com/ or contact Gail Graves gailgraves@msn.com.
Our Lord is very much at work in Venezuela. Evangelical leader and DAWN Ministries International associate Jocobo Garcia says, “These are perilous times in Venezuela. Now is the hour for Spiritual awaking in our country.” North American house church advocates have been asked to help start 1000 house churches in Venezuela. Venezuela evangelicals are planning an evangelistic stadium crusade in the capitol city of Caracas January 2008. Caracas is the most unevangelized large city in South America with only two percent evangelical Christians. They are expecting 10,000 to 30,000 professions of faith. All Christians need help especially the new ones. To follow up this many decisions for Christ is an overwhelming task for Caracas believers. Please consider ways that you can join the harvest that our Lord is multiplying in Venezuela.
1. Commit to pray. The one way and the most important way that everyone can join our Lord in this endeavor is through prayer. This is a spiritual battle. It will be won in prayer. Each of us can join our Lord and Venezuela believers in a concerted effort of prayer. Your investment of prayer may seem like a small thing. Remember in God’s economy little becomes much. When we pray in faith, mountains are moved and walls come tumbling down. Ps 2:8 says, “Ask of me and I will give you the nations.” The precious people of Venezuela rightfully belong to God. Let us ask for the nation.
2. Ask the Lord to use you and your network in putting together a church planting team. Travel together to Venezuela in January for a minimum of ten days to start a new network of house churches. Venezuela crusade leaders will place in your hands 100 to 300 decision cards over a five day period of new Christians located in a specific part of the city. Contact each of them by phone in the first 24 hours of their new walk in Christ. Make appointments for meeting together and introduce the rest of their family to Christ. Help them form new churches. Extensive HC training is being conducted thru the remainder of this year with established Christians in traditional churches who are excited about simple church life. Feel free to start free churches or you can partner up with a trained simple church advocate native to Caracas. Venezuela leaders have committed to help furnish bilingual interpreters to help in the process. As you are there you will discover and build relationships with persons of peace. When you return to the states you can keep in touch through inexpensive modern communications to help nurture the new networks over time. God will show you how to proceed.
3. You can help make it possible for someone else to go. There are hundreds of capable network facilitators in North America who are stretched to the limit with their time and resources. ‘Many hands make light a heavy load.’ God possibly could use you with the help of others to make it possible for a capable simple church advocate to be able to afford the time off work and travel expenses to participate. Our Lord has led Venezuela evangelicals to stretch their faith and attempt what only God can do. Please consider joining Him and them as He extends Himself to the precious people of Venezuela in the building His church. For more information see this link http://venezuelahousechurchvision.blogspot.com/ or contact Gail Graves gailgraves@msn.com.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Prayer List Update
Answered Prayer:
1) New Testaments: The Jackson Center of Evangelism at Howard Payne University is taking care of printing and shipping 50,000 soul-winning New Testaments to Caracas.
2) Office: Offices have been set up in both Venezuela and in the States to handle details of the crusade as well as registration of team members.
3) Equipment: A laptop computer and video projector were purchased and sent to Caracas to help with the training sessions leading up to the crusade as well as for follow-up discipleship training following the crusade.
4) Baseball Players: Several players, managers, and coaches have committed to going to Caracas to share their testimonies at the crusade; also, Dr. Bill Cashion has agreed to organize and manage the details for the ballplayers as well as set up the daily baseball clinics.
Continued Prayer Requests:
1) Pray that the needed funds (approx. $250,000) will be raised soon!
2) Pray that we get permission to reserve the baseball stadium.
3) Pray for the political climate in Venezuela and for the salvation of President Hugo Chavez.
4) Pray for the baseball players who will share their testimonies and work in the baseball clinics...some have committed to go, others are needed.
5) Pray for 1000 house (or simple) churches to be established following the crusade. Church leaders in Caracas will be trained in establishing house churches September 28-29 and again at the end of November.
6) Pray for volunteers who God will lead to go and be a part of this evangelistic effort.
7) Pray for Richard Jackson, evangelist for the crusade.
8) Pray for Jacobo, head of the crusade team in Caracas.
9) Pray for the U.S. planning team (Kerry & Diane, Buck Smith, Gail Graves, and others who God has brought to us to help).
10) Pray for the people of Caracas...pray for the churches of Caracas as they reach out to the lost.
11) Pray for the translators...we need bi-lingual team members as well as Venezuelan interpreters.
12) Pray for affordable accommodations for the team while in Caracas.
1) New Testaments: The Jackson Center of Evangelism at Howard Payne University is taking care of printing and shipping 50,000 soul-winning New Testaments to Caracas.
2) Office: Offices have been set up in both Venezuela and in the States to handle details of the crusade as well as registration of team members.
3) Equipment: A laptop computer and video projector were purchased and sent to Caracas to help with the training sessions leading up to the crusade as well as for follow-up discipleship training following the crusade.
4) Baseball Players: Several players, managers, and coaches have committed to going to Caracas to share their testimonies at the crusade; also, Dr. Bill Cashion has agreed to organize and manage the details for the ballplayers as well as set up the daily baseball clinics.
Continued Prayer Requests:
1) Pray that the needed funds (approx. $250,000) will be raised soon!
2) Pray that we get permission to reserve the baseball stadium.
3) Pray for the political climate in Venezuela and for the salvation of President Hugo Chavez.
4) Pray for the baseball players who will share their testimonies and work in the baseball clinics...some have committed to go, others are needed.
5) Pray for 1000 house (or simple) churches to be established following the crusade. Church leaders in Caracas will be trained in establishing house churches September 28-29 and again at the end of November.
6) Pray for volunteers who God will lead to go and be a part of this evangelistic effort.
7) Pray for Richard Jackson, evangelist for the crusade.
8) Pray for Jacobo, head of the crusade team in Caracas.
9) Pray for the U.S. planning team (Kerry & Diane, Buck Smith, Gail Graves, and others who God has brought to us to help).
10) Pray for the people of Caracas...pray for the churches of Caracas as they reach out to the lost.
11) Pray for the translators...we need bi-lingual team members as well as Venezuelan interpreters.
12) Pray for affordable accommodations for the team while in Caracas.
It is NO Coincidence!
Praise God for what He continues to do! So much is happening that it's hard to tell everything. In the spirit of openness, I want you to know as much as possible.
We are excited to tell you that we will be opening an office for the Caracas Crusade 2008. We praise God for the generosity of First Baptist Church, San Angelo, for allowing us to use an office there. The phones will be installed tomorrow (8-14-07). We hope to have the office ready to receive team member registrations by September 1, 2007. The office will be staffed by volunteers with Diane overseeing the project.
A registration form is near completion. We are waiting on some critical information regarding the cost of housing and transportation. We are excited to report tht Buck (Rolando) Smith's son-in-law, Leonel, has become a travel agent and will be able to save us a lot of money in the purchase of airline tickets.
In the house church area, Gail Graves is excited that Tony & Felicity Dale, who met with us in Dallas a few weeks ago, have invited him to speak at their annual National House Church Conference in Dallas on Labor Day weekend. It is my understanding that Sherryl and Dee McCleery (part of our team) will be accompanying him. Pray that hundreds of people will feel led to go to Caracas to help start 1000 house churches following the crusade. This is one of the most critical parts of the entire plan.
Regarding the athletes and their participation, I am excited to report that Dr. Bill Cashion has agreed to be our point man in the coordination of the professional athletes and the baseball clinics that we envision. Bill has been a missionary to Caracas/Venezuela. He used ball players to help start over 20 churches in the Caracas area. Bill has worked with many leaders in the sports area of Christian outreach. Dave Altopp with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Eddie Waxer are familiar with Bill's ministry. God is so good! And it is no coincidence that Bill is an advocate of the House Church ministry...wow!
Brian Harper with Saddleback Community Church has consented to help us with several pieces of literature that we will need for the training of simple church leaders. It is no coincidence that he knows Gail Graves, Bill Cashion, and others on our team! Tom Holiday, brother-in-law of Rick Warren gave me Brian's name. I am praying that Saddleback will get even more involved.
I do have one area of concern that I need you to pray about. As of this moment, we don't know how God is going to fund it all. I am planning several fund raiser dinners as well as talking to every church that Diane and I get the opportunity to talk to about the crusade. We need $250,000...and we need it NOW! We need to reserve the stadium. We need to reserve the hotel. We need to get sound equipment. We need to start the publicity. Please pray with us!
Praise God for all that He is doing!
We are excited to tell you that we will be opening an office for the Caracas Crusade 2008. We praise God for the generosity of First Baptist Church, San Angelo, for allowing us to use an office there. The phones will be installed tomorrow (8-14-07). We hope to have the office ready to receive team member registrations by September 1, 2007. The office will be staffed by volunteers with Diane overseeing the project.
A registration form is near completion. We are waiting on some critical information regarding the cost of housing and transportation. We are excited to report tht Buck (Rolando) Smith's son-in-law, Leonel, has become a travel agent and will be able to save us a lot of money in the purchase of airline tickets.
In the house church area, Gail Graves is excited that Tony & Felicity Dale, who met with us in Dallas a few weeks ago, have invited him to speak at their annual National House Church Conference in Dallas on Labor Day weekend. It is my understanding that Sherryl and Dee McCleery (part of our team) will be accompanying him. Pray that hundreds of people will feel led to go to Caracas to help start 1000 house churches following the crusade. This is one of the most critical parts of the entire plan.
Regarding the athletes and their participation, I am excited to report that Dr. Bill Cashion has agreed to be our point man in the coordination of the professional athletes and the baseball clinics that we envision. Bill has been a missionary to Caracas/Venezuela. He used ball players to help start over 20 churches in the Caracas area. Bill has worked with many leaders in the sports area of Christian outreach. Dave Altopp with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Eddie Waxer are familiar with Bill's ministry. God is so good! And it is no coincidence that Bill is an advocate of the House Church ministry...wow!
Brian Harper with Saddleback Community Church has consented to help us with several pieces of literature that we will need for the training of simple church leaders. It is no coincidence that he knows Gail Graves, Bill Cashion, and others on our team! Tom Holiday, brother-in-law of Rick Warren gave me Brian's name. I am praying that Saddleback will get even more involved.
I do have one area of concern that I need you to pray about. As of this moment, we don't know how God is going to fund it all. I am planning several fund raiser dinners as well as talking to every church that Diane and I get the opportunity to talk to about the crusade. We need $250,000...and we need it NOW! We need to reserve the stadium. We need to reserve the hotel. We need to get sound equipment. We need to start the publicity. Please pray with us!
Praise God for all that He is doing!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Answered Prayer....It's a God Thing!
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
A GOD THING….
Buck, Diane & Kerry left San Angelo Friday, July 27, to drive to Dallas for what Kerry says was one of the most blessed weekends he ever spent in his 59 years. As we drove, we talked about all that we hoped the days ahead would bring. The weekend was all about our dream…a crusade in Caracas, Venezuela in January of 2008. We were to meet with Jacobo from Venezuela, Gail Graves (former SBC church planter, now a Simple Church planter), Tom Robuck (partnership coordinator, Baptist General Convention of Texas or BGCT), and Drs. Tony and Felicity Dale (authors, physicians, and national leaders in the house church movement). God had brought these people together at this particular time to follow His will into a great adventure for Him.
As we drove, we talked about the hopes and fears. We discussed the need for professional American league baseball players from Venezuela to agree to share their faith during the crusade…they are key to drawing the 40,000 to 50,000 people we expect each evening. We need money, close to $300,000, to fund the various aspects of the crusade, including buying a sound system capable of handling a large stadium. We need offices both in Venezuela and in the U.S. to handle all the logistics of sending hundreds of North Americans to Venezuela. We need permission and funds to rent the baseball stadium there in Caracas, the largest venue available. We need to get the publicity rolling. We need to know what the BGCT will do and how they will help. The questions seem never-ending.
As we neared DFW Airport, we realized that we have several immediate problems. We know that Jacobo is due in from Atlanta at 5:55pm on Delta…but what gate? Will he know to look for us at the baggage claim exit? How can we contact him? Gail is coming in from Boise, Idaho…we do not know when or which airline. As we turned onto Hwy 114 and approached the toll plaza into the airport, Kerry’s cell phone rang. It was Gail! His flight out of Boise was delayed, and he was put on another flight going through Atlanta…and he found Jacobo on his flight! Their plane had just landed, he said, and they would be at Gate E-23. As we pulled into the arrival area, there was Gail and Jacobo. They had just walked out the doors only moments before. We all agreed…it was a “God thing.”
He answered their prayers, they trusted in him. 2 Chronicles 5:20
GIVING THE VISION BACK….
The five us sat in a circle and prayed, asking God to reaffirm the vision if it was from Him. There were still many unknowns and unanswered questions hindering our progress in the planning of the crusade. We still had no assurance in reserving the baseball stadium for the crusade. We still had no commitments from any professional baseball players to go and share their testimonies. We still had many logistical details to work out.
We were in our hotel room, having spent most of the evening talking about what we felt God wanted us to do and how we could make it happen. There we were…Jacobo, Diane, and Kerry sitting in the floor, and Gail and Buck sitting in the two chairs in our room…and we did the only thing we knew to do…we prayed. We realized that we alone could not make it happen…only God could. And we needed to be reassured by Him that we were indeed on the right track. We agreed as one to give the vision back to Him, laying it before Him and taking our hands off of it. We prayed for guidance and direction and for open doors and made ourselves available to His work, fresh and anew.
Wow! Don’t ever pray like that and not expect something to happen!!!
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17
AND THE ANSWER IS….
The morning came early. We all met together in the breakfast room about 8:30. After breakfast, the breakfast room became our conference room. We began to plan and strategize for the crusade and in preparation for the afternoon’s meetings. As Gail and Jacobo worked out plans for the ten-day Simple Church leadership training in September, Kerry felt an urgency to get in touch with Juan Rivera, outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels. Kerry had tried the night before to get into his office e-mail where he had phone numbers for both Juan Rivera and Carlos Subero, manager of a farm team for the Texas Rangers out of Bakersfield, California. He had not been able to connect, but on a hunch, he decided to try again. He was able to connect immediately! He got the phone numbers and called Juan. He told him who he was and that Carlos had given him his number. He told him that he wanted Juan to share his faith at the crusade in Caracas. The phone went dead. Perhaps he thought it was a prank call. Kerry’s heart sank, and as he told the group what happened, he could see the disappointment in their eyes. However, a few minutes later, Kerry’s phone rang. It was Juan! They spoke a few minutes, then he handed to phone to Jacobo to speak to Juan in Spanish. When they finished, Jacobo related that Juan had agreed to be at the crusade for 3 days! Wow! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, FCA! Thank you, Carlos Subero!
About 15 minutes later, Kerry’s phone rang again. It was Carlos! Kerry told him he had just spoken to Juan and what his response was. Carlos was ecstatic! He had contacted two other athletes, one a soccer player who is on one of the best teams in Venezuela, and they had both agreed to come. At this date, we believe that we have 4 professional athletes committed to share their testimonies at the crusade! Yes, it’s still a “God thing” and yes, He does answer prayer!
Many, many other things were accomplished including searching through Google to find a phone number for Bill Cashion and talking with him about working with the ballplayers during the crusade. We adjourned for lunch, basking in the victories God had given. (And we got to have lunch with one of our grandsons who lives in Lewisville…icing on the cake!)
At 2:00 Tom & Libby Robuck arrived at our breakfast room conference room. They are a warm and very caring couple who have passion for missions. Tom had just gotten back that morning from a mission trip to Brazil. As we talked, he let us understand that the BGCT leadership had decided to make the Caracas crusade a “project” as opposed to a part of the partnership between Texas Baptists and Venezuela set to begin in 2008. This would allow more immediate freedom to fund and form teams for the crusade. They have even already begun to publicize the crusade in a couple of events and have received quite a bit of interest! Wow! What an answer to prayer! The details began to fall into place. Our thoughts and hearts began to meld together. Tom and Jacobo make a great team. Tom speaks Spanish quite well, and the plans began to roll. Another answer to prayer!
At 4:00 Drs. Tony & Felicity Dale showed up, along with some of our friends from San Angelo, Sherryl & De McCleery, who are involved with a house church here and plan to be a part of our Caracas team. The Dales are well known across the nation in the area of simple churches. They have written books for the House2House group and have had one of their books translated into Spanish by Rick Warren’s group to use as follow-up material. What an honor it was to meet them. There was an instant affinity with them and our group. They will be going to Venezuela in September (as will the McCleerys) to help Gail train the simple church leaders! Praise God! They will be with us in Caracas for the crusade! Praise God! They will give Gail time at their national convention to present our dream for Caracas! Praise God!
Often during our meetings we stopped to pray and offer praise to God. It was hard to go to sleep that evening. Wow! God had given so many answers, so many open doors, so many assurances. All we needed to do was step back, walk by faith, and let Him work.
Sunday morning we took Jacobo to the airport early for his day of travel back home to Caracas. (As it turned out, it became two days of travel because of bad weather in Miami.) We were able to send back with him a notebook computer and video projector to be used in the office and in trainings there in Caracas…another answer to prayer! Buck, Gail, Kerry & Diane drove to Frisco to attend Stonebriar Community Church where Chuck Swindoll pastors…and where our kids Rich & Christi attend church. Chuck was away, but we did get to spend time with two of our other grandchildren! After lunch, we took Gail to the airport for his flight back to Boise, then we, along with Buck, began our trip back to San Angelo. It was a journey punctuated with praise, plans, and Dairy Queens! We probably got great gas mileage on our way home because we were floating…it had been such an awesome weekend.
It is our prayer that we not get to where we are asking for God to bless what we are doing but to find out where he is working and join him in it. We believe God is working in South America, and we believe He has placed in our hearts a passion for the people of Venezuela. And we will do whatever we feel led by Him to do in order to share the Gospel with them.
A GOD THING….
Buck, Diane & Kerry left San Angelo Friday, July 27, to drive to Dallas for what Kerry says was one of the most blessed weekends he ever spent in his 59 years. As we drove, we talked about all that we hoped the days ahead would bring. The weekend was all about our dream…a crusade in Caracas, Venezuela in January of 2008. We were to meet with Jacobo from Venezuela, Gail Graves (former SBC church planter, now a Simple Church planter), Tom Robuck (partnership coordinator, Baptist General Convention of Texas or BGCT), and Drs. Tony and Felicity Dale (authors, physicians, and national leaders in the house church movement). God had brought these people together at this particular time to follow His will into a great adventure for Him.
As we drove, we talked about the hopes and fears. We discussed the need for professional American league baseball players from Venezuela to agree to share their faith during the crusade…they are key to drawing the 40,000 to 50,000 people we expect each evening. We need money, close to $300,000, to fund the various aspects of the crusade, including buying a sound system capable of handling a large stadium. We need offices both in Venezuela and in the U.S. to handle all the logistics of sending hundreds of North Americans to Venezuela. We need permission and funds to rent the baseball stadium there in Caracas, the largest venue available. We need to get the publicity rolling. We need to know what the BGCT will do and how they will help. The questions seem never-ending.
As we neared DFW Airport, we realized that we have several immediate problems. We know that Jacobo is due in from Atlanta at 5:55pm on Delta…but what gate? Will he know to look for us at the baggage claim exit? How can we contact him? Gail is coming in from Boise, Idaho…we do not know when or which airline. As we turned onto Hwy 114 and approached the toll plaza into the airport, Kerry’s cell phone rang. It was Gail! His flight out of Boise was delayed, and he was put on another flight going through Atlanta…and he found Jacobo on his flight! Their plane had just landed, he said, and they would be at Gate E-23. As we pulled into the arrival area, there was Gail and Jacobo. They had just walked out the doors only moments before. We all agreed…it was a “God thing.”
He answered their prayers, they trusted in him. 2 Chronicles 5:20
GIVING THE VISION BACK….
The five us sat in a circle and prayed, asking God to reaffirm the vision if it was from Him. There were still many unknowns and unanswered questions hindering our progress in the planning of the crusade. We still had no assurance in reserving the baseball stadium for the crusade. We still had no commitments from any professional baseball players to go and share their testimonies. We still had many logistical details to work out.
We were in our hotel room, having spent most of the evening talking about what we felt God wanted us to do and how we could make it happen. There we were…Jacobo, Diane, and Kerry sitting in the floor, and Gail and Buck sitting in the two chairs in our room…and we did the only thing we knew to do…we prayed. We realized that we alone could not make it happen…only God could. And we needed to be reassured by Him that we were indeed on the right track. We agreed as one to give the vision back to Him, laying it before Him and taking our hands off of it. We prayed for guidance and direction and for open doors and made ourselves available to His work, fresh and anew.
Wow! Don’t ever pray like that and not expect something to happen!!!
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us – yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17
AND THE ANSWER IS….
The morning came early. We all met together in the breakfast room about 8:30. After breakfast, the breakfast room became our conference room. We began to plan and strategize for the crusade and in preparation for the afternoon’s meetings. As Gail and Jacobo worked out plans for the ten-day Simple Church leadership training in September, Kerry felt an urgency to get in touch with Juan Rivera, outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels. Kerry had tried the night before to get into his office e-mail where he had phone numbers for both Juan Rivera and Carlos Subero, manager of a farm team for the Texas Rangers out of Bakersfield, California. He had not been able to connect, but on a hunch, he decided to try again. He was able to connect immediately! He got the phone numbers and called Juan. He told him who he was and that Carlos had given him his number. He told him that he wanted Juan to share his faith at the crusade in Caracas. The phone went dead. Perhaps he thought it was a prank call. Kerry’s heart sank, and as he told the group what happened, he could see the disappointment in their eyes. However, a few minutes later, Kerry’s phone rang. It was Juan! They spoke a few minutes, then he handed to phone to Jacobo to speak to Juan in Spanish. When they finished, Jacobo related that Juan had agreed to be at the crusade for 3 days! Wow! Thank you, Lord! Thank you, FCA! Thank you, Carlos Subero!
About 15 minutes later, Kerry’s phone rang again. It was Carlos! Kerry told him he had just spoken to Juan and what his response was. Carlos was ecstatic! He had contacted two other athletes, one a soccer player who is on one of the best teams in Venezuela, and they had both agreed to come. At this date, we believe that we have 4 professional athletes committed to share their testimonies at the crusade! Yes, it’s still a “God thing” and yes, He does answer prayer!
Many, many other things were accomplished including searching through Google to find a phone number for Bill Cashion and talking with him about working with the ballplayers during the crusade. We adjourned for lunch, basking in the victories God had given. (And we got to have lunch with one of our grandsons who lives in Lewisville…icing on the cake!)
At 2:00 Tom & Libby Robuck arrived at our breakfast room conference room. They are a warm and very caring couple who have passion for missions. Tom had just gotten back that morning from a mission trip to Brazil. As we talked, he let us understand that the BGCT leadership had decided to make the Caracas crusade a “project” as opposed to a part of the partnership between Texas Baptists and Venezuela set to begin in 2008. This would allow more immediate freedom to fund and form teams for the crusade. They have even already begun to publicize the crusade in a couple of events and have received quite a bit of interest! Wow! What an answer to prayer! The details began to fall into place. Our thoughts and hearts began to meld together. Tom and Jacobo make a great team. Tom speaks Spanish quite well, and the plans began to roll. Another answer to prayer!
At 4:00 Drs. Tony & Felicity Dale showed up, along with some of our friends from San Angelo, Sherryl & De McCleery, who are involved with a house church here and plan to be a part of our Caracas team. The Dales are well known across the nation in the area of simple churches. They have written books for the House2House group and have had one of their books translated into Spanish by Rick Warren’s group to use as follow-up material. What an honor it was to meet them. There was an instant affinity with them and our group. They will be going to Venezuela in September (as will the McCleerys) to help Gail train the simple church leaders! Praise God! They will be with us in Caracas for the crusade! Praise God! They will give Gail time at their national convention to present our dream for Caracas! Praise God!
Often during our meetings we stopped to pray and offer praise to God. It was hard to go to sleep that evening. Wow! God had given so many answers, so many open doors, so many assurances. All we needed to do was step back, walk by faith, and let Him work.
Sunday morning we took Jacobo to the airport early for his day of travel back home to Caracas. (As it turned out, it became two days of travel because of bad weather in Miami.) We were able to send back with him a notebook computer and video projector to be used in the office and in trainings there in Caracas…another answer to prayer! Buck, Gail, Kerry & Diane drove to Frisco to attend Stonebriar Community Church where Chuck Swindoll pastors…and where our kids Rich & Christi attend church. Chuck was away, but we did get to spend time with two of our other grandchildren! After lunch, we took Gail to the airport for his flight back to Boise, then we, along with Buck, began our trip back to San Angelo. It was a journey punctuated with praise, plans, and Dairy Queens! We probably got great gas mileage on our way home because we were floating…it had been such an awesome weekend.
It is our prayer that we not get to where we are asking for God to bless what we are doing but to find out where he is working and join him in it. We believe God is working in South America, and we believe He has placed in our hearts a passion for the people of Venezuela. And we will do whatever we feel led by Him to do in order to share the Gospel with them.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Praying for the City
While we were in Caracas for our planning trip, our group really wanted to have a time of prayer for the city. Of all the large cities in South America, Caracas has the smallest percentage of Christians among their population. While discussing what we could do with our free afternoon on Friday, someone suggested riding the cable cars up to the top of the mountain to look out over Caracas. We decided this would be a great opportunity to look out over this huge city of 6 million and pray for its people. So the seven of us...Kerry & Diane, Buck, Gail, Jacobo, Ladimiro, and Bill...rode up to the top of the mountain. We weren't very high before we began to see the city spawling below us in every direction. We saw the stadium where we hope to hold the evangelistic crusade in January. We saw hundreds of highrises which housed the people of Caracas. We saw the different areas of the city where pastors and leaders will be trained for the crusade. We saw the houses built up on the side of the mountain, in every little crevice and valley. The higher we went, the more we saw. But this is the rainy season in Venezuela, and there were dark clouds threatening around us. Sure enough, just before we got to the top, we were enveloped in a cloud. Stepping out of the cable car, the air was cold and misty...you could barely see twenty yards down the path, much less the city down below. As we walked along the path on the top of the mountain, surrounded by a cloud, we knew we were also surrounded by God, and He was encouraging us to do as we had intended...to stand and pray for the city of Caracas. He just wanted us to see it, not through our physical eyes, but through our spiritual eyes...through His eyes. Even if we could have seen, we would only been able to see buildings. Through our spiritual eyes, we began to see what God saw...each and every individual thirsting to know of His love. That is how we prayed...that God would begin now to prepare each and every heart in the city of Caracas...some would be led to be a part of the leadership team...others would be led to attend the crusade, perhaps hearing about Christ for the first time...still others would be led to bring a friend, a family member, a neighbor. We prayed that all would know of the grace and mercy and salvation known only through Jesus Christ. Then we sang a couple of praise songs, standing in a circle, under a flagless flagpole, in the midst of a cloud on top of a mountain. We sang in English, then with the help of our translator, we sang in Spanish. Our hearts are still burdened for the people of Caracas, but we continue to pray for each and every man, woman, boy and girl. We pray by faith, and not by sight.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Simple Church Vision Trip
Message written 7/7/07: Greetings all from Boise, Idaho USA. Thank you so much for praying with me on the Venezuela adventure. The reception to simple church core values continued through the entire trip. As the adventure continued to Porte Ayacucho (over 100k pop, gate way to the Amazon rain forests, roads end just south of here and it is foot and river for hundreds of miles inhabited by the tribes of the Amazon, some of them yet unnamed) we met with Christian leaders. Every one with whom we met embraced simple church values. There were two large group meetings of about 100 and 60 respectively. These are people who relate to the tribes of the Amazon. Many have come out of the forrest. Virtually all have family ties to tribes in the jungle. It is obvious how difficult it is to fit western traditional church into the jungle. When simple church vision was presented it was like they were waiting for someone to tell them that little churches are real churches and near to the heart of God. They have asked for some one to return and teach more fully. The meeting with the Bible Institute of Porte Ayacucho faculty was overwhelming and they want to set up further instruction. Upon returning to Caracas we met with a group of respected evangelical leaders of the city. Thomas Moreno the DAWN coordinator for South America joined us. Again the reception to simple church core values was received as a revelation from God. These are people of tremendous influence in evangelical circles. We met late at night with the Sr. pastor of the largest church in Venezuela. We would call it a mega church. He is president of the Evangelical Alliance of Venezuela. He has more respect from evangelical Christians in Venz than any other. The meeting was terrific. He and I sat and talked for 45 minutes. His English is better than mine. They have a strong cell group ministry. He is very interested in learning more about encouraging cell groups to become free churches and what that will mean to Caracas. We will set up phone conference meetings with experienced and capable HC advocates in the USA to help him grasp the vision more fully. Thanks again for your prayer and please continue to pray for the precious people of Venezuela. Your brother, gail.
Message written July 1, 2007 FYI: Greeting all from Caracas. As most of you know Venezuelan evangelicals have asked simple church advocates in North America to help start 1000 house churches as follow up for a stadium crusade next January. I am in Caracas sharing simple church core values accompanied by a small team now. The response is overwhelmingly positive. Virtually all the pastors and leaders attending the addresses over 160 total have caught the vision for simple church life. The Spirit descended on each meeting. There was a Holy hush on each address as simple church life was revealed. My hope was to help traditional church leaders tolerate simple church and some of them encourage it. The reception seems unanimous with strong enthusiasm for those attending. They are asking for intense training to understand in the fullest way possible. The rector of the Baptist seminary in Caracas wants to schedule some extensive time with himself and his faculty for training. We are working on this for September. This is way beyond my expectations. This is something only God could do. We met with the second pastor of the largest pentecostal church in Venezuela today with a very encouraging reception. We will meet with the Sr pastor on Wed. We meet with an influential non-denominational pastor later today who has indicated strong interest. Their involvement is a significant factor. We will travel to the Amazon river some 500 miles south of Caracas tomorrow to share simple church life with leaders in and near Porte Ayacucho. This city is a major gateway to the rain forests of Venezuela. Thanks for your contribution of prayer and please continue to pray. Your humbled brother, gail.
Message written July 1, 2007 FYI: Greeting all from Caracas. As most of you know Venezuelan evangelicals have asked simple church advocates in North America to help start 1000 house churches as follow up for a stadium crusade next January. I am in Caracas sharing simple church core values accompanied by a small team now. The response is overwhelmingly positive. Virtually all the pastors and leaders attending the addresses over 160 total have caught the vision for simple church life. The Spirit descended on each meeting. There was a Holy hush on each address as simple church life was revealed. My hope was to help traditional church leaders tolerate simple church and some of them encourage it. The reception seems unanimous with strong enthusiasm for those attending. They are asking for intense training to understand in the fullest way possible. The rector of the Baptist seminary in Caracas wants to schedule some extensive time with himself and his faculty for training. We are working on this for September. This is way beyond my expectations. This is something only God could do. We met with the second pastor of the largest pentecostal church in Venezuela today with a very encouraging reception. We will meet with the Sr pastor on Wed. We meet with an influential non-denominational pastor later today who has indicated strong interest. Their involvement is a significant factor. We will travel to the Amazon river some 500 miles south of Caracas tomorrow to share simple church life with leaders in and near Porte Ayacucho. This city is a major gateway to the rain forests of Venezuela. Thanks for your contribution of prayer and please continue to pray. Your humbled brother, gail.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Prayer List
Praying for the Crusade for Family Values in Caracas, Jan 27-Feb 1, 2008
1) New Testaments - printing and shipping of 50,000 New Testaments
2) Baseball Players - Venezuelan baseball players who play in the U.S. major leagues and who are Christians...to share their testimonies at the crusade each night
3) Office - in Caracas to deal with all the details and logistics of bringing close to 1000 volunteers in from the U.S. to help with this effort and in San Angelo to deal with the details of those 1000
4) Equipment - a laptop and video projector to be used in preparation of this effort
5) Location - permission to use the stadium for this event...or another place which will accommodate the anticipated crowds
6) Political climate - continue to pray for the political climate in Venezuela and for Hugo Chavez
7) Funds - pray that people will give generously to fund this effort...approximate cost: $500,000 U.S.
8) Translators - pray that God will provide the 200+ translators from Venezuela needed for this event as well as the fund to pay them for their services.
9) Dr. Richard Jackson - pray that God will protect and guide Dr. Jackson, evangelist for the crusade, in these weeks and months leading up to this evangelistic effort.
10) Other details - there are many other details and contacts involved...pray that God will direct the planning team as well as those He has in mind to be a part of this event.
11) Volunteers - pray that God will begin now to impress upon the hearts of those He will direct to be a part of this crusade effort, that He will protect them and their families and make it possible for them to join Him in bringing the people of Caracas to know Him as their Lord and Savior.
1) New Testaments - printing and shipping of 50,000 New Testaments
2) Baseball Players - Venezuelan baseball players who play in the U.S. major leagues and who are Christians...to share their testimonies at the crusade each night
3) Office - in Caracas to deal with all the details and logistics of bringing close to 1000 volunteers in from the U.S. to help with this effort and in San Angelo to deal with the details of those 1000
4) Equipment - a laptop and video projector to be used in preparation of this effort
5) Location - permission to use the stadium for this event...or another place which will accommodate the anticipated crowds
6) Political climate - continue to pray for the political climate in Venezuela and for Hugo Chavez
7) Funds - pray that people will give generously to fund this effort...approximate cost: $500,000 U.S.
8) Translators - pray that God will provide the 200+ translators from Venezuela needed for this event as well as the fund to pay them for their services.
9) Dr. Richard Jackson - pray that God will protect and guide Dr. Jackson, evangelist for the crusade, in these weeks and months leading up to this evangelistic effort.
10) Other details - there are many other details and contacts involved...pray that God will direct the planning team as well as those He has in mind to be a part of this event.
11) Volunteers - pray that God will begin now to impress upon the hearts of those He will direct to be a part of this crusade effort, that He will protect them and their families and make it possible for them to join Him in bringing the people of Caracas to know Him as their Lord and Savior.
Planning Trip to Caracas ~ June 28-July 1, 2007
What a fast four days! Almost from the time we got settled into our hotel on Thursday until we left for the airport on Sunday morning, we were in planning mode. From our 'scheduled' meetings to our meetings at mealtimes to spontaneous planning while driving from one place to another, God was with us as we tried to determine how best to do this thing we are calling La Cruzada para Valores Familiares.
We were met at the airport by Buck Smith and Gail Graves who had flown in the night before. We got settled in to our room, then left for a late lunch at Leonel & Melissa's house...Melissa is Buck's daughter. (We finally got to meet Buck's famous grandchildren!) This turned out to be our first meeting. They gave tremendous imput and shared their thoughts on our endeavor, offering to help in many ways. From there we went back to the hotel where Jacobo and Ladimiro were waiting for us...the first of our 'scheduled' meetings. Bill Rowland, IMB missionary near Caracas, joined us and spent the weekend with us, planning and translating. We discussed many aspects of the crusade itself; then Jacobo briefed us on the meetings which would take place over the next two days. We followed that with a huge dinner while watching the US soccer team get slaughtered by the Argentinians in the America Cup. All the while, the planning never stopped...
Friday morning we traveled to the Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel and met with a group of pastors and church leaders. Kerry shared the vision God had given him concerning the crusade and encouraged them to be a part of what God is doing in Caracas and throughout South America. Gail shared the concept of the House Church or Simple Church with the group and told testimony after testimony of how people had come to know Christ as Lord through these small groups.
There were training sessions in five areas of Caracas on Saturday, and we met with two of the groups, again sharing the visions God had put before us. The response was positive on every front.
Friday afternoon, our little group of seven rode the cable car up to the top of the mountain to pray for the city of Caracas. (See "Praying for the City" post.) The planning never stopped. We had coffee and hot chocolate at a little place on the top of the mountain, and Jacobo was making notes on a napkin as we continued to discuss details and logistics. That evening, Jacobo's wife, Sarah, and daughter, Rose, and grandson, Santiago, joined us for a light dinner at a place familiar to us all.....Wendy's! It started pouring down rain while we were there, so we were stranded there for a while...no problem....more time to plan.
Saturday evening, after a full day of meeting with churches (and a quick trip to a "Commercial Center"...their word for a mall...for some pizza in the food court) it began to rain again, so we quickly ran next door to a small sandwich shop. You guessed it...eating and planning...and watching Venezuela win their game against Colombia in the America Cup...oh, what a celebration in that city that night!
We left very early Sunday morning to return home...full of new ideas, tasks to be done, and additions to our prayer list. (See 'Prayer List' post) Buck, Kerry and Gail will return at the end of September to meet with the other groups in their training sessions. Gail will take a team to train the church members in organizing Simple Church groups.
Yes, it was a fast four days...so much was done...so much remains to be done. We are excited as the Lord continues to lead us on this journey, allowing us to be a part of His work in Venezuela.
We were met at the airport by Buck Smith and Gail Graves who had flown in the night before. We got settled in to our room, then left for a late lunch at Leonel & Melissa's house...Melissa is Buck's daughter. (We finally got to meet Buck's famous grandchildren!) This turned out to be our first meeting. They gave tremendous imput and shared their thoughts on our endeavor, offering to help in many ways. From there we went back to the hotel where Jacobo and Ladimiro were waiting for us...the first of our 'scheduled' meetings. Bill Rowland, IMB missionary near Caracas, joined us and spent the weekend with us, planning and translating. We discussed many aspects of the crusade itself; then Jacobo briefed us on the meetings which would take place over the next two days. We followed that with a huge dinner while watching the US soccer team get slaughtered by the Argentinians in the America Cup. All the while, the planning never stopped...
Friday morning we traveled to the Iglesia Bautista Emmanuel and met with a group of pastors and church leaders. Kerry shared the vision God had given him concerning the crusade and encouraged them to be a part of what God is doing in Caracas and throughout South America. Gail shared the concept of the House Church or Simple Church with the group and told testimony after testimony of how people had come to know Christ as Lord through these small groups.
There were training sessions in five areas of Caracas on Saturday, and we met with two of the groups, again sharing the visions God had put before us. The response was positive on every front.
Friday afternoon, our little group of seven rode the cable car up to the top of the mountain to pray for the city of Caracas. (See "Praying for the City" post.) The planning never stopped. We had coffee and hot chocolate at a little place on the top of the mountain, and Jacobo was making notes on a napkin as we continued to discuss details and logistics. That evening, Jacobo's wife, Sarah, and daughter, Rose, and grandson, Santiago, joined us for a light dinner at a place familiar to us all.....Wendy's! It started pouring down rain while we were there, so we were stranded there for a while...no problem....more time to plan.
Saturday evening, after a full day of meeting with churches (and a quick trip to a "Commercial Center"...their word for a mall...for some pizza in the food court) it began to rain again, so we quickly ran next door to a small sandwich shop. You guessed it...eating and planning...and watching Venezuela win their game against Colombia in the America Cup...oh, what a celebration in that city that night!
We left very early Sunday morning to return home...full of new ideas, tasks to be done, and additions to our prayer list. (See 'Prayer List' post) Buck, Kerry and Gail will return at the end of September to meet with the other groups in their training sessions. Gail will take a team to train the church members in organizing Simple Church groups.
Yes, it was a fast four days...so much was done...so much remains to be done. We are excited as the Lord continues to lead us on this journey, allowing us to be a part of His work in Venezuela.
An Impossible Dream
Our goals for the Crusade for Family Values in Caracas in 2008
1) filling a baseball stadium which seats 25,000 for 4 nights,
2) seeing 30,000 professions of faith during those 4 nights,
3) distributing 50,000 Spanish New Testaments,
4) starting 9 new standard churches, 500 cell type churches, and 1000 house churches,
5) strengthening existing churches in Caracas,
6) having Christian baseball players give their testimonies in the evening services,
7) sponsoring baseball clinics for the children during the day,
8) allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to bring not only Caracas but all of Venezuela to a saving knowledge of Jesus,
9) pleasing God!
Some answers to prayer which we have already seen include
1) the donation of the 50,000 Spanish New Testaments,
2) a connection with the D.A.W.N. (Disciple a Whole Nation) organization in helping start house churches,
3) a connection with the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) to help line up baseball players and organize baseball clinics,
4) The BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) will recommend a three to five year partnership with the Venezuelan Baptist Convention...a group of BGCT representatives are in Venezuela this week (June 16-23) to meet with churches and pastors across the country,
5) orientation and training of pastors has been set up for June 30, September 29, and November 24...Buck, Kerry & Diane, and Gail will travel to Caracas to meet with these groups June 28-30.
Additional prayer requests include
1) acquiring a sea container big enough to ship the 50,000 New Testaments and a truck to haul them to port,
2) getting the contract to use the 25,000 seat stadium,
3) lining up six to ten professional baseball players who will share their testimony on TV and at the stadium each night,
4) raising funds for the crusade, estimated at $500,000,
5) asking God to speak to President Hugo Chavez and to his spiritual needs,
6) asking God for volunteers who are willing to go and do house to house witnessing during the weeks of January 20 - February 3, 2008.
1) filling a baseball stadium which seats 25,000 for 4 nights,
2) seeing 30,000 professions of faith during those 4 nights,
3) distributing 50,000 Spanish New Testaments,
4) starting 9 new standard churches, 500 cell type churches, and 1000 house churches,
5) strengthening existing churches in Caracas,
6) having Christian baseball players give their testimonies in the evening services,
7) sponsoring baseball clinics for the children during the day,
8) allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to bring not only Caracas but all of Venezuela to a saving knowledge of Jesus,
9) pleasing God!
Some answers to prayer which we have already seen include
1) the donation of the 50,000 Spanish New Testaments,
2) a connection with the D.A.W.N. (Disciple a Whole Nation) organization in helping start house churches,
3) a connection with the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) to help line up baseball players and organize baseball clinics,
4) The BGCT (Baptist General Convention of Texas) will recommend a three to five year partnership with the Venezuelan Baptist Convention...a group of BGCT representatives are in Venezuela this week (June 16-23) to meet with churches and pastors across the country,
5) orientation and training of pastors has been set up for June 30, September 29, and November 24...Buck, Kerry & Diane, and Gail will travel to Caracas to meet with these groups June 28-30.
Additional prayer requests include
1) acquiring a sea container big enough to ship the 50,000 New Testaments and a truck to haul them to port,
2) getting the contract to use the 25,000 seat stadium,
3) lining up six to ten professional baseball players who will share their testimony on TV and at the stadium each night,
4) raising funds for the crusade, estimated at $500,000,
5) asking God to speak to President Hugo Chavez and to his spiritual needs,
6) asking God for volunteers who are willing to go and do house to house witnessing during the weeks of January 20 - February 3, 2008.
A Report on the Crusade in Puerta Ayacucho ~ April 9-16, 2006
The following is a report I wrote on our return last year following our city-wide crusade in Puerto Ayacucho. On our layover in Caracas following the crusade week, we had dinner with Jacobo and Sarah Garcia. Jacobo is head of the Evangelism division of the Venezuela Baptist Convention. He asked us at that time if we would consider doing the same type of crusade in the capital city of Caracas in 2008...hence the birth of another dream...the dream of 'La Cruzada para Valores Familiares' (The Crusade for Family Values) to be held January 31-February 3, 2008
Thirteen of us arrived in Puerto Ayacucho on the 7th of April, ready to begin the experience of a lifetime. God’s power was demonstrated through each and every one who went…some preached, some sang, some translated, all shared their faith and saw people come to receive Christ in their hearts. The first part of the week our team divided into five teams to work with the five local churches. Revival services were held at night and visitation during the day. By Wednesday night close to 200 new believers were brought into the Kingdom.
On Wednesday, two more arrived to add to the team…Dr. Richard Jackson and his friend, Mickey Eddins. On Thursday, Larry Shotwell left to return home to San Angelo.
Larry Shotwell led a seminar on the basics of Sunday School on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings at the Bible Institute there in Puerto Ayacucho. He had about 70 church leaders attend his classes. Many of the churches have Sunday School for children, but only a few have Bible study classes for adults.
Larry Rice, a retired music missionary to Venezuela who now resides in South Carolina, taught classes in Baptist Doctrine. He had about 25-30 in his classes which also met in the Bible Institute.
Kerry and I were assigned to the Puinave church which actually serves not only the Puinave tribe, but three or four other tribes as well. Kerry preached, Esperanza (a friend of my mom’s from Odessa) translated, and I sang. I even sang in Spanish! There were at least 200 there every night…one night there were more people outside than inside! The little church building will hold about 200 packed in, one side is crude benches and the other side is set up with plastic patio-style chairs. We saw many come to know Christ…one lady for whom they had been praying for three years! Her sons were already believers and leaders in the church. What rejoicing there was that night! Two different pastors came and wanted to align their churches with the Baptist association there in Puerto Ayacucho…one from the Jecuana tribe and the other from a Puinave group across the river in Colombia! This little church is very mission-minded and has 22 missionaries who go deep in the jungle on both sides of the river to the villages to spread the gospel. Tribal leaders who become believers then come back to the city to be discipled and taught how to share Christ with the rest of their village.
The crusade started Thursday night. It was so exciting to see our vision being fulfilled. The Holy Spirit was definitely in our midst. There were about 5000-6000 in attendance every night. Each night there were about 30-35 buses which went out to the villages to bring in people. Ten additional buses were added the last night of the crusade. It was exciting to see the buses pull up to the gates of the Concha Acustica, bringing hundreds of villagers to the crusade. Many people traveled hours by road and by river to come.
Dr. Jackson preached simple, to-the-point, evangelistic sermons. The gentleman translating for him, Ladimiro Urdaneta, is head of the Linguistics Department at the university in Caracas. The two men worked wonderfully together in their preaching. Hundreds came to the front each night…many of them making professions of faith, some rededications, some just wanting a Bible. Almost 1000 were registered as having prayed to receive Christ. We know there were hundreds more that did not get registered because there was a shortage of counselors. We just pray that whoever brought them to the crusade follows through with them and/or they begin attending one of the churches so the church can follow through. We know that some came forward only to receive a Bible, but at least God´s Word is going out. It is our prayer that there be at least one person saved for every New Testament that was given out.
In addition to being able to share the Good News to 5000-6000 every night at the crusade, thousands more were hearing it on the radio! A radio announcer drove 7 hours to come and broadcast for 3 hours every night of the crusade! A wonderful Christian man, the announcer interviewed people before and after in addition to broadcasting the service.
Thousands of New Testaments were given out throughout the city and surrounding villages and deep into the jungles. There were five teams of local people who were working in the jungle during the week while we were working in the city. They shared the Gospel with almost 700 people, distributed almost 500 New Testaments and 400 tracts, had 134 professions of faith and 69 rededications.
Almost 200 believers from all over Venezuela came to Puerto Ayacucho to help the churches in their revivals and with the crusade. Some led music in the churches, some worked with the children, and almost all helped in the daily visitation and witnessing.
God answered all our prayers, and then some! The radio broadcast was a complete surprise to us…but not to God! The team stayed healthy…no one got sick or hurt, travel was uneventful (aside from the usual Venezuelan delays), new friends were made, a unified effort was accomplished. The weather was not a problem…the first night of the crusade (in an outdoor setting), storm clouds gathered, but parted around us in that part of the city. The second day, it rained in the early afternoon, but cleared by evening. The third day was overcast but no rain. The last night, it rained heavily just before the crusade began (causing a late start) and then lessened to a light sprinkle, but the people still came. We had as many, maybe more, as on the other nights! Friday night all the power went out during the middle of the service (right after I sang!)…the entire area was out, the people remained calm, the worship leader led the group in songs while we prayed and waited for a generator to be hooked up…God answered our prayers and the power came back on before they could get the generator out! It was so exciting to see God working in so many ways…so often we pray, only halfway expecting an answer, and then are surprised when He answers! It was different this time…we prayed, expecting God to do as He promised…use us to share His word with His people in the Venezuelan Amazon. And He did! Hallelujah!
There are still prayers to be prayed…some of the most important work of the crusade is yet to be done…the follow-up and discipleship. Pray for the local pastors and churches to draw in all of those who made professions of faith and show them how to grow in their new life in Christ. Also, many New Testaments will be finding their way into hands of unbelievers both in the city and deep in the jungle. It is our prayer that at least one person will come to know Christ for every New Testament that has been given out. The Bibles are marked with scriptures leading the way to salvation. Dr. Jackson designed and marked them as if he (or anyone else) were sitting down with the person, leading them through the scriptures, leading them to know Christ.
Our 10 days in Venezuela were definitely a time to be remembered…one of those rare times when you find out what God is doing and jump on board. He blessed each one of us by allowing us to be a part of His work. And we thank all of you for your prayers and concern. You may not have made the trip with us, but we could not have done it without you, our family and friends, supporting us.
We love you….and it’s great to be back home!
Kerry & Diane
Thirteen of us arrived in Puerto Ayacucho on the 7th of April, ready to begin the experience of a lifetime. God’s power was demonstrated through each and every one who went…some preached, some sang, some translated, all shared their faith and saw people come to receive Christ in their hearts. The first part of the week our team divided into five teams to work with the five local churches. Revival services were held at night and visitation during the day. By Wednesday night close to 200 new believers were brought into the Kingdom.
On Wednesday, two more arrived to add to the team…Dr. Richard Jackson and his friend, Mickey Eddins. On Thursday, Larry Shotwell left to return home to San Angelo.
Larry Shotwell led a seminar on the basics of Sunday School on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings at the Bible Institute there in Puerto Ayacucho. He had about 70 church leaders attend his classes. Many of the churches have Sunday School for children, but only a few have Bible study classes for adults.
Larry Rice, a retired music missionary to Venezuela who now resides in South Carolina, taught classes in Baptist Doctrine. He had about 25-30 in his classes which also met in the Bible Institute.
Kerry and I were assigned to the Puinave church which actually serves not only the Puinave tribe, but three or four other tribes as well. Kerry preached, Esperanza (a friend of my mom’s from Odessa) translated, and I sang. I even sang in Spanish! There were at least 200 there every night…one night there were more people outside than inside! The little church building will hold about 200 packed in, one side is crude benches and the other side is set up with plastic patio-style chairs. We saw many come to know Christ…one lady for whom they had been praying for three years! Her sons were already believers and leaders in the church. What rejoicing there was that night! Two different pastors came and wanted to align their churches with the Baptist association there in Puerto Ayacucho…one from the Jecuana tribe and the other from a Puinave group across the river in Colombia! This little church is very mission-minded and has 22 missionaries who go deep in the jungle on both sides of the river to the villages to spread the gospel. Tribal leaders who become believers then come back to the city to be discipled and taught how to share Christ with the rest of their village.
The crusade started Thursday night. It was so exciting to see our vision being fulfilled. The Holy Spirit was definitely in our midst. There were about 5000-6000 in attendance every night. Each night there were about 30-35 buses which went out to the villages to bring in people. Ten additional buses were added the last night of the crusade. It was exciting to see the buses pull up to the gates of the Concha Acustica, bringing hundreds of villagers to the crusade. Many people traveled hours by road and by river to come.
Dr. Jackson preached simple, to-the-point, evangelistic sermons. The gentleman translating for him, Ladimiro Urdaneta, is head of the Linguistics Department at the university in Caracas. The two men worked wonderfully together in their preaching. Hundreds came to the front each night…many of them making professions of faith, some rededications, some just wanting a Bible. Almost 1000 were registered as having prayed to receive Christ. We know there were hundreds more that did not get registered because there was a shortage of counselors. We just pray that whoever brought them to the crusade follows through with them and/or they begin attending one of the churches so the church can follow through. We know that some came forward only to receive a Bible, but at least God´s Word is going out. It is our prayer that there be at least one person saved for every New Testament that was given out.
In addition to being able to share the Good News to 5000-6000 every night at the crusade, thousands more were hearing it on the radio! A radio announcer drove 7 hours to come and broadcast for 3 hours every night of the crusade! A wonderful Christian man, the announcer interviewed people before and after in addition to broadcasting the service.
Thousands of New Testaments were given out throughout the city and surrounding villages and deep into the jungles. There were five teams of local people who were working in the jungle during the week while we were working in the city. They shared the Gospel with almost 700 people, distributed almost 500 New Testaments and 400 tracts, had 134 professions of faith and 69 rededications.
Almost 200 believers from all over Venezuela came to Puerto Ayacucho to help the churches in their revivals and with the crusade. Some led music in the churches, some worked with the children, and almost all helped in the daily visitation and witnessing.
God answered all our prayers, and then some! The radio broadcast was a complete surprise to us…but not to God! The team stayed healthy…no one got sick or hurt, travel was uneventful (aside from the usual Venezuelan delays), new friends were made, a unified effort was accomplished. The weather was not a problem…the first night of the crusade (in an outdoor setting), storm clouds gathered, but parted around us in that part of the city. The second day, it rained in the early afternoon, but cleared by evening. The third day was overcast but no rain. The last night, it rained heavily just before the crusade began (causing a late start) and then lessened to a light sprinkle, but the people still came. We had as many, maybe more, as on the other nights! Friday night all the power went out during the middle of the service (right after I sang!)…the entire area was out, the people remained calm, the worship leader led the group in songs while we prayed and waited for a generator to be hooked up…God answered our prayers and the power came back on before they could get the generator out! It was so exciting to see God working in so many ways…so often we pray, only halfway expecting an answer, and then are surprised when He answers! It was different this time…we prayed, expecting God to do as He promised…use us to share His word with His people in the Venezuelan Amazon. And He did! Hallelujah!
There are still prayers to be prayed…some of the most important work of the crusade is yet to be done…the follow-up and discipleship. Pray for the local pastors and churches to draw in all of those who made professions of faith and show them how to grow in their new life in Christ. Also, many New Testaments will be finding their way into hands of unbelievers both in the city and deep in the jungle. It is our prayer that at least one person will come to know Christ for every New Testament that has been given out. The Bibles are marked with scriptures leading the way to salvation. Dr. Jackson designed and marked them as if he (or anyone else) were sitting down with the person, leading them through the scriptures, leading them to know Christ.
Our 10 days in Venezuela were definitely a time to be remembered…one of those rare times when you find out what God is doing and jump on board. He blessed each one of us by allowing us to be a part of His work. And we thank all of you for your prayers and concern. You may not have made the trip with us, but we could not have done it without you, our family and friends, supporting us.
We love you….and it’s great to be back home!
Kerry & Diane
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