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| Happy New Year to You! | January 2006 |
During 2005 at least 300 people were in some way or another a part in making the MAP Ministry happen. In this update we would like for you to hear what some of these giants in the faith (your co-laborers) did to make MAP a reality for the glory of God.
It is pure delight to see missions unfold before your eyes when you sit in the chair of the senior pastor. Our God is big in planting the seed, and then fertilizing it over the years. The strength of MAP is its potential. It is a mission board like no other. I envision in the near future, individuals and families joining the MAP board as missionaries. Then we can send them to the Amish populations in the USA and Canada to reach the people. They will begin Bible studies, witness and establish relationships with the Amish communities. It will not be easy, but I believe churches will begin and multiply because of the effort. There are an unlimited number of missionary candidates that could be used by God to reach one of the largest un-reached peoples group in North America.
At Bethel, we know first hand the pleasures and pains of a church plant. Only mothers who have had babies can relate with the process of planting a church. The travail is worth it when the baby comes. Then it is hard work from the birth on. The church plant has taught us several key principles that must be remembered in all avenues of missionary work. (1) Relationships with people are important. (2) Biblical truth always works (3) Sin in the camp, left unattended, spreads like cancer (4) Correct in love (5) Be faithful no matter what (6) The Devil is alive and well on planet earth and (7) Godly people need to stay together.
First of all I would like to say that it is a blessing to be part of a ministry that God has blessed, and still continues to do so. The prayer meeting was started roughly three years ago, with an attendance of 6 to 8 people and currently we have about 25 people attending.
A lot of times when we pray for God to answer our prayers, we can't see that he answers them right away so we often times give up or forget the prayer request that we had. I think too often we expect everything to happen in our time and the way we want them to be answered.
God has changed and matured many lives through the prayer meetings. One thing we try to do is encourage our group to think of all the positive things God has done for us rather than focus on the negative things-which we as human beings seem to do.
Since we started the prayer meetings, God has also opened the door for Joe to start a church. This has been a huge prayer request, just all by itself.
When we get together to pray, we give God our fullest attention. After all, that is what God wants from us. He does not only want to save us, but to be in control of molding our lives. The more time we spend with him, the more we become like him. Psalms 17:6 says, I HAVE CALLED UPON THEE, FOR THOU WILT HEAR ME, O GOD: INCLINE THINE EAR UNTO ME, AND HEAR MY SPEECH.
It's been a wonderful experience getting to know the people within the Map Ministry. But seeking grants to support the various needs has not always been pleasant!
We spent much time trying to learn the best approaches to persuade the best foundations, and even met with professionals to get their ideas. Their advice was not very encouraging. It was hard to know what God wanted from me, and for MAP. But I knew it was God's purpose for the Amish to hear about Jesus. It was my job to just keep trying.
When it looked like the year was over and we had no results, we got a wonderful call. MAP had received $10,000! It was unusual to get a grant so late in the year. However, it was God's timing. My God is bigger, He is able, and He wants the best for us when we are in His will. "IS THERE ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD"? Genesis 18:14
The reason we have been so faithful to M.A.P.....Bob and I truly feel that God has his hand on the MAP Ministry and we have watched it grow. We have felt so blessed that God has allowed us to be part of this ministry even though we are miles away. Seeing so many come to know & accept Christ as their savior, and lives changed, is so wonderful.
The SonLight Club is not only a blessing to the students that receive the Bible lessons through the mail but it is also a blessing to those of us who have been given the privilege of working in this ministry. 2005 was a good year, and we would like to share some of the details with you………….We offer 28 courses/each course has between 6 & 15 lessons. 7,042 students have enrolled since we started in 2000 (not all of them are active). They come from 32 states, Africa, and Canada. In 2005 we mailed out a total of 37,293 lessons. We recorded 230 salvation decisions. $8,000.00 was spent on buying the lessons, certificates, gold seals and envelopes. We have also mailed 2200 certificates of completion to students that finished a course of Bible study and went on to the next course. Postage alone cost us close to $9,000.00.
None of this could have been possible without our faithful financial supporters and dependable volunteers. We have a "Group Work Day" every two weeks to help get the lessons ready for mailing. It takes many hours just to get the lessons ready for that day.
To our Faithful Supporters...We Praise God for you!!!! To our Faithful Volunteers...Thank you very, very much for your hard work! Our volunteers are Rachel Shrock, Wilma Brooks, Diane Prattis, Marie Long, Norma Henry, Fannie Blake, Laura, Katie and Mary Schwartz (Susie and Rachel Schwartz when they could), Rachel, Jonathan and Esther Keim, Freida Kiser, Kathy Chronister, Levi and Miriam Yoder, Joyce Mink, my daughter Amber Tolliver who spends many hours putting lessons into the computer while I open and grade. My good friend Jan who comes every Monday evening that she can to help me get ready for Tuesday, and we can't forget Mary Schrock who does our Awards Program way out there in Missouri. We love you all and we appreciate you more than we could ever put into words.
The awards program is designed to be an incentive for students to enroll and stay actively involved in the SonLight Club. A student can earn 100 points for each set of Bible lesson answers that he/she fills out and returns to the SonLight Club. When they reach 1,000 points their award is a New Testament. At 2,000 points they receive a bookmark and pin set. At 3,000 points they receive a beautiful ribbon with a Bible verse and the SonLight Club logo embossed on it. They can continue to receive an award for each additional 1,000 points they earn, up to 12,000 points. Some awards vary according to the student's age.
A total of 1,147 New Testaments were sent out as awards in 2005. An additional 660 various awards have been awarded to students at other levels. Some of them have reached 3,000 points already, and are very excited about the SonLight Club and awards program.
I count it a joy and a great privilege to have a part in reaching "my people" for the Lord. I have walked in their shoes, and my heart goes out to these dear people who are so blinded by the Amish religion.
One of the greatest blessings in this program is receiving notes from the students telling us that they have received the Lord as their Savior, or what a difference the Bible lessons have made in their lives, and how much they enjoy the lessons. These notes also remind me that God has the power to do what is humanly impossible, as we read in John 6:44 - No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Please, pray that the Lord will continue to bless the ministry, and bring glory to His name through the salvation of the many still in need of the Savior.
We enter 2006 with much enthusiasm and excitement. With Almighty God at the lead and all of us giving our very best, I have no doubt that a few more souls can be translated from the grips of sin and death to complete forgiveness and assured a place with King Jesus. Aren't you glad that we are on the winning team!
I am excited to let you know that we have finally printed our first edition of "My Amish Vows: Are They Binding" booklet. With the help from a local printing company and some special donations, we were able to print up 4,000 copies. This booklet has a total of 17 pages and covers one of the strongest hangups that come out of the Amish religion. The last three pages offer the plan of salvation with an invitation to accept the Lord as Savior.
If you are interested in getting one or more copies please let us know. We would gladly give them out for free and will do so if need be but also realize that there was a cost for printing which amounted to about $.50 each.
Below are some sample questions from the book that are then answered from God's Word
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