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.