(April 22, 2023) Ross and Donna, Mandate Ministries, share from Chiang Mai, northern Thailand…
Hunger for God Our team, which included Pastor Phil and Tracey McCourt, recently held a training program for Hmong pastors and workers in the mountains of a neighbouring province.
The theme of the sessions was Fire on the Mountain and the fire certainly did fall!
So honoured to minister to and with these beautiful people who have such a hunger for God.
Hilltribe Village Outreach For over a year now, Donna and I have been visiting a village which is comprised of several different hilltribe groups, mainly Long-Neck Kayan, but also Akha, Lisu, Ka-ren,and Palaung.
Our problem is sin, the consequence of which is death. How did God deal with it? He dealt with it by sending His Son – the Logos (Word), the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ – to live the life we could not live and die the death we deserved.
In full humility Jesus Christ surrendered Himself to be devoured by evil. On the cross He shed His perfect blood by which we are covered, forgiven and saved.
From the grave He defeated death and rose again, demonstrating that all who are covered by the blood of the Lamb will follow Christ to eternal life.
Through this, the cross – an instrument of torture and execution – is itself redeemed. Today, crosses adorn necks and crown steeples around the world as a symbol of life and amazing grace.
(March 31, 2023) Steve Rees reports for GodReports…
A fourth-generation pastor, Scott Pearson echoes the Lord Jesus in saying that –
The fields are ripe for harvest.
To reap lost souls.
The church should look to the Book of Acts for inspiration and power!
Co-founder of a school of supernatural ministry, Pastor Pearson believes it’s time for the church to wake up and perform the works described in Acts. For 20 years, he has carried the presence of God outside the four walls of his church performing signs, wonders and miracles in the lives of thousands of people at restaurants and malls, on city streets, and even in a biker bar.
God is on the move ‘It’s time to do more than just sit in a church service and watch others or hear about what others are doing. It’s time for us to take God outside the four walls of the church and bring the kingdom everywhere we go,’ Pastor Pearson says.
His recently published first book, God on the Move, is like a modern-day sequel to Acts. Pearson practices what he preaches. Subtitled Encountering the Love of God, this book is filled with testimonies of salvation, healing and deliverance. A half-dozen significant testimonies of God’s healing power will fill the pages of his second book.
Once a week, Scott Pearson (right) prays for the sick at a healing room where many people report complete recoveries from cancer and other illnesses. For many years, he taught courses on evangelism and supernatural encounters to Youth With A Mission (YWAM) students preparing for ministry during what’s called Holy Spirit Week. He hopes more opportunities arise to share testimonies of God’s miraculous acts.
Supernational encounters Four months into 2023, God continues to supernaturally save, heal, restore and deliver people through Pearson’s dependence on the Holy Spirit who, he says, will move through anybody.
(March 30, 2023) Elizabeth Kendal, RLPB, shares and requests further prayer…
During March we prayed concerning the following –
EGYPT (1)Brutalised grandmother Regarding the vexatious civil lawsuit being brought by three Muslim men against Mrs Thabet, the Christian grandmother whom they brutalised, there is no further news.
(2)Adoption denial As reported in RLPB 686 (March 22), the court declined to rule in the lawsuit brought by a Christian couple regarding their right to adopt Shenouda, a boy they had raised for four years since he was found abandoned inside a church as a newborn [RLPB 682 (March 1)]. Consequently, the State’s decision stands: Shenouda (5) will not be returned to his adoptive Christian parents. It is imperative that the law be amended to give Christians the legal right to adopt children under Christian Family Law.
TURKEY: Concerning adoption Islam permits guardianship (foster care) for orphaned and abandoned children. However, it bans adoption so as to ensure non-biological children do not receive inheritance. On February 6, Turkey was struck by a series of devastating earthquakes which are estimated to have killed up to 46,000 people. In response to questions about whether children orphaned by the quake could be adopted, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) issued a fatwa (religious ruling) explaining that, while Islam bans adoption, ‘there is no obstacle for marrying’ earthquake-affected children.
(March 8, 2023), Alan Higgins challenges us to be like Patrick– a radical disciple and missionary!
Next week, March 17, will be Saint Patrick’s Day celebration. Personally, I’ll be remembering what Ireland’s patron saint achieved in respect of discipleship and mission… and I share some thoughts here.
The main scriptures – familiar to many – that I have chosen for this article are Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 28:16-20 … scriptures, I believe, that must have been on Patrick’s heart.
What can we learn from them… and what do they tell us about Saint Patrick, the Irish legend?
1. Patrick’s life… Exemplifies Jesus’ command to reach the lost. The gospels give us the following messages from the heartbeat of Jesus, not just Patrick, on the importance of fulfilling the great commission.
Matthew 28:16-20 is what Patrick set out to do in Ireland – to make disciples in this nation. His life and ministry teach us to be open to the call of God in our lives.
His beginning in Ireland did not dictate his future, but drew him into a love relationship with Jesus.
His relationship with Jesus helped him to overcome adverse circumstances in both his teen and later years.
His ability to draw close to Godand forgive had a dramatic impact on the Irish people.
His willingness to follow God’s callmakes him a hero of the faith.
Let’s learn from this man of God and ask ourselves a few questions. Such as: ‘Am I willing to draw closer to God in turbulent times? Am I willing and able to forgive those who have caused pain in my life? Am I willing to follow the call of God and even give my life to those who enslaved me?’
If you do, you too could become a hero of the faith just like Patrick!
The U.S. judge who denied Torben Søndergaard’s (right) asylum application probably didn’t want to set a precedent for hundreds of Nordic Christians to flee to the United States, claiming religious persecution, the lawyer for Torben speculated in an interview with Dr Michael Brown.
‘Excuse me for speculating, but I think I’m making a very good, educated guess: In the back of that judge’s mind, he doesn’t want to set a precedent that would allow other individuals to apply for asylum,’ said Michelle Sanchez, immigration attorney for Torben.
Lambasted by other Christians! ‘The immigration judge would open up the floodgates and say, ‘Christians who are persecuted in this way in Nordic countries can apply for asylum because I’m finding that Mr. Søndergaard fears persecution should he return,”’ she added.
Danish evangelist Torben Søndergaard started a cutting-edge international movement of evangelizing in the streets, casting out demons and baptising people. His movement, dubbed The Last Reformation (TLR), has generated myriad supporters who gush about his ministry. Other Christians, rankled or disgruntled, lambasted his methods and even went so far as to call Torben a con man.
(February 25, 2023) Elizabeth Kendal, RLPB, requests that, remembering Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV, we urgently pray alertly for the following –
* NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Today, Saturday, 25 February, is Nigeria’s presidential election being held amidst soaring ethno-religious tensions, gross insecurity and the threat of widespread election-related violence. Nigeria has a population of 220 million, around half of whom identify as Christian. Those most at risk are minority Christians in the Muslim North and all ethnic Igbo living outside the South East. [The Igbo are Nigeria’s most Christian (98 percent), most industrious and most widely dispersed tribe.] The Nigerian Church is one of the world’s leading missionary-sending churches. * AZERBAIJAN: ARMENIANS FACE ETHNIC CLEANSING Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) – an ethnic-Armenian Christian enclave in Turkic Muslim Azerbaijan – has been in a state of siege since December 12 when Azerbaijani agents blockaded the Lachin Corridor (the road that links Artsakh to Armenia). On 15 February the Armenian Weekly warned: ‘It is beyond any doubt that the actions’ of these Azerbaijani agents ‘serve as a consistent tool for Azerbaijan’s hybrid warfare tactics and systematic policy of ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh. … Cut off from the outside world, the 120,000-strong population of Artsakh is inching closer to an inevitable humanitarian catastrophe every single day. There are extreme shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities. There is a lack of proper heating in harsh winter conditions.’
(February 18, 2023) Mark Ellis reports more Holy Spirit fire falling in Kentucky…
As a senior at Asbury University in Kentucky, Joshua Curry, 22, decried his own sense of disquiet about his spiritual condition and the religious atmosphere at the college.
Attendance at chapel is required three days a week at the private Christian university, formally aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. Many students seemed unenthusiastic, apathetic about the mandatory obligation. ‘There were a lot of people who were just tired of having to come to chapel, people would always groan about having to show up for an hour a day, three days a week.’
‘I was actually feeling very poor spiritually, like a sinking ship. I wrote down in my journal that I’m tired of milquetoast Protestantism. I want liberty from slavery. I want forgiveness of sins. I want a zealous spirit,’ but he felt the world and its current cultural milieu was luring him away from what he desired most.
The revival that hit the school in the 1970s was fading from memory. February 2023 and student Joshua Curry bears witness to the following awakening…
(February 5, 2023) David McGuire, ‘the missionary with a camera’ to Romania again uses his camera to ‘write’ reports on his latest trip to Ukraine…
Once again I and other concerned Christians ventured going up into Ukraine to share the love of Jesus with heartbroken and needy Ukrainians.
Many Ukrainians have practical needs! Sharing the gospel message of love doesn’t mean preaching only – it begins with fulfilling Jesus’ command to ‘love thy neighbour’ (Mark 12:31)!
As I reported last year – Sharing the Gospel With Words and Deeds with other photos – on a number of times caring Romanian Christians have made several dangerous trips up there to bring groceries, practical supplies and other goods to dear, distressed people who have seen their homes and towns destroyed by Russia. And to pray about needs!
Just recently, some Ukrainians were blessed by yet another such venture up there by a Romanian team… despite dangers. Firstly Groceries were purchased that could be distributed freely to needy Ukrainians. Here’s Chris and me loading up bread and other grocery items.
Then practical provisions were obtained, such as desperately needed woodburning stoves and generators asthere is no electric or gas where we were daring to travel. And not only no heat but no water!
For over 88 nights in a row, a small country church in Kentucky has been the site of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as many are being saved, baptised and set free from addictions and bondages.
The North Main Community Church,Heidrick has been packed with roughly 300 hungry people every night, which has left Pastor Scott Phipps searching for ways to expand their facility. The town of Heidrick has a population of about one thousand, according to Pastor Phipps (Photos: S. Phipps).
‘The aisles are full every night,’ Pastor Phipps told God Reports. ‘It was the end of the 54th night when I really realised things had changed. Last night you could also feel a shift come in the church. A man was praying for healing. We were praying for him, and I went numb all over. You could feel the power of God in such a way and even the lead evangelist looked at me at the same time.’
Saved from drug addiction Scott Phipps and his wife, Tammie were saved out of drug addiction 29 years ago. ‘I was deep in drug addiction and trafficking in drugs and had a store with a 24-hour game room and a lot of other illegal activities going on,’ he recalled.
‘A backslidden preacher come in one night and lost all his money in one of the poker machines,’ he says. Somehow, Scott and Tammie ended up with the preacher’s rusting Chrysler LeBaron convertible, leaking through the roof. They found a rain-soaked Bible in the back of the car.
‘My wife was drying the Bible out and she started reading it,’ he reports. The power of the word and the Spirit grabbed Tammie’s heart and she visited a church nearby. ‘She went one night and God delivered her of almost seven years of opiate addiction and saved her.’
Phipps was shocked when Tammie returned from the church and said, ‘Honey, God saved me. I don’t want to do drugs anymore, and I love you now.’
He didn’t like the change. ‘I got upset over it. She wouldn’t get high on drugs. I mean, that was our life and I thought, Well, I’ve always been the leader in her life; she’d been with me since she was 13.’
After a few sleepless nights, Phipps made his way to a church, fell to his knees at the altar, and was born again. ‘I realised I was blind. Looking back now, I didn’t know how miserable I was. You’ve got to realise that me and my wife had no experience in church. We weren’t raised in Christian homes. When she was three her dad was shot and killed in a bar that got robbed. I was introduced to drugs by my own father. And so, we were the opposite of being raised in a Christian home.’
Inexperienced butled to church plant They left their old life behind and went to Lexington, temporarily homeless, living in a Super Eight motel with their twin, one-year-old boys.
After he found work, they lived in Lexington for two years, then returned home and felt called by God to plant a church. ‘It had one his and hers outhouse, a potbelly stove in it for heat, and held about 40.’
‘We planted the church in 1998, which wasn’t long after we found the Lord. I knew nothing… I had flashcards many times, with a story you hold up and you read them off the back. I knew nothing about preaching.’
After several years, they moved into their present location. They also run one of the area’s largest addiction recovery centres, Hope City and Redemption Road Recovery.
‘It’s a dark hour and a lot of people are just lost,’ he observes. The area is inundated with drugs, mainly cheap Methamphetamine and heroin. ‘Now an ounce of meth is US$200. People are trading their lives for it.’
From ashes to beautiful lives Many filling the church are escaping the emptiness of drugs. ‘Eighty percent of our church people come out of addiction like us and then other people that just didn’t know a lot about church, and others who lost that first love,’ he says.
(Pastor Scott Phipps and his wife, Tammie. Photo:Facebook)
‘We’ve been blessed with a group of people that truly love much because they’ve been forgiven much. They love much, and they feel they owe their life to Christ. The world says there’s no hope for people like this, there’s nothing for them. People are just coming from everywhere. A lot of them say they’ve been waiting for this‘ he added.
Pastor Phipps says, ‘Only God can take the ashes of a life and make something beautiful out of it. Only God can do that.’ _________________________________________________________
GodReports.com, founded by Mark Ellis in 2009, is devoted to promoting Christian missions by sharing stories and testimonies from missionaries and mission organisations. _________________________________________________________
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