Worthy of Praise

“Sing to God, sing praise to his name,
extol him who rides on the clouds—
his name is the Lord—
and rejoice before him.”
(Psalm 68:4)

We do rejoice before Him who made the world and everything in it. It is a great privilege to have been called and equipped to work for Him as we do. Whatever of any value that might be accomplished is only due to His grace and mercy responding to the prayers of His people. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!!

I (Bob) have just completed a week of training in Indiana for the work we do in Japan and Korea. It was a great privilege to rub shoulders with people who are working for the King in every corner of the world. I sat by two friends from Korea who have significant ministries in Korea and other parts of Asia. I worked with a brother from New Zealand who coaches church planters in Eastern Europe. I got to hear and work with a man who helps lead a great move of God in the Caribbean. We heard reports of thousands coming to Christ through One Mission’s efforts in Africa. Praise the Lord for these things!

Suzanne and I have a busy next two weeks meeting with prospective partners for our ministry in the Northwest and in Asia. There are many contacts to make and follow-up calls to complete. Please pray for us that we’ll complete these things well.

We leave for Central Asia in just two weeks. We hadn’t thought that Suzanne would be able to accompany me on a return to Central Asia and the friends we made while there. I’ll have a series of meetings regarding the school. We’ll both have the opportunity to renew our relationship with the people we worked with last year. We’re looking forward to the week there. Following that, we’ll move on to Korea for a week of training and follow-up of sessions we’ve done. (This will be Suzanne’s first visit to Korea since 2004 – I think.) We finish our trip in Japan meeting with church leaders to further develop plans for church multiplication. We’re also going to begin the first round of training for a group of church planters.

The next several weeks will be very important for us as we continue to develop our support team and fulfill ministry assignments overseas and in the US. Here is our schedule:
May 10-22 – In the Northwest with a possible quick trip to Spokane.
May 16 – Speaking at Glenfair Evangelical Church
May 23-June 1 – Travel to, and meetings in, Central Asia.
June 2-9 – Ministry in Korea
June 9-16 – Ministry in Japan
June 28-July2 – The Evangelical Church’s General Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

There are several important issues that we need you to pray about. Some of these are in the future, but we need focused prayer for the preparation of these things. Please pray for:
> Our ministry schedule listed above.
> Wisdom for the Central Asian seminary board. We have many decisions about training leaders for the church. We also need to determine how to use the building and other resources God has given.
> Our partners in Central Asia are coming to the Northwest this Summer. Pray that we’ll develop a schedule to communicate their ministry and assist with their support.
> OMS is planning a series of desserts in the Northwest September 19-26. These will feature the ministry of One Mission Society around the world. There are truly some exciting reports to share. (I’m attaching some I’ve recently received.) We’ll provide more information to you in the future. If it is at all possible, try to attend.

I know that this is long and apologize for it. Thank you for your interest in our ministry. None of this would be possible without people who listen to God’s voice and care about those who attempt to serve Him.

Serving the King together,
Bob & Suzanne

PS – Here are the statistics:
Let me just relate some of them to you. If the angels of heaven rejoice over one who repents, this is a cause for great rejoicing. Yes, these numbers represent the labor of dedicated missionaries and many national workers. However, without the blessing of God and his work, there would be no results of eternal value. God has blessed and to Him goes all the glory. (These are statistics from the world of One Mission Society for 2009.)
• Decisions for Christ - 313,163
• Baptisms - 82,216
• Attending services - 1,610,420
• New Churches - 4,104
• Discipleship training - 87,591
• Leadership training - 23,025

Thank you, again, for praying for us and One Mission. God is answering your prayers. PTL!

Spring in the sun.

Greetings from sunny Arizona!

Suzanne and I cashed in some frequent flyer miles and came to Tucson to see Michelle and Glen, Luke and Micah for a few days before another busy period commences. The weather has been gorgeous these last couple days. Highs are in the mid-eighties and the nights are cool. It’s pretty nice. They’re scheduled to move this summer to San Antonio so this is likely our last visit to this area. We’ve enjoyed out times visiting the area, but it’s been the family connection that makes the visits special. Thanks, Glen and Michelle.

We spent last week in Spokane meeting with friends and telling our story of how God has changed the direction of our ministry in the last couple years. We’re humbled by people choosing to partner with us in fulfilling the Great Commission and challenged by that to prove faithful in the task. There are two great joys in returning to Spokane: seeing family (Steve and Kelly, Trainor, Ryley and Tierney) and seeing friends.

The next task we have is to return to Oregon and continue discovering people that would like to partner with us. I’ll spend the first week of May in Greenwood, IN for meetings related to my work in Japan and Korea. At the end of May I’m scheduled to attend board meetings in Central Asia for the seminary I worked with. After those meetings I’m planning on continuing on to Korea for a pastor’s conference and then on to Japan for training and/or orientation in church multiplication. Suzanne expects to join me in Korea and Japan. We’re hoping to work with the trainers and their wives in Korea, then begin our work in Japan.

Thanks so much for your willingness to pray for us. These plans don’t come to pass and the fruit isn’t produced without people supporting us in prayer. Remember, though, we want to pray for you as well. If there are things in your life that you’d like us to carry to the Father, let us know. We’d be happy to pray.

Spring, Baseball and Focus

My two sons taught me to love baseball. Like most of the boys growing up around me, I had played some up through junior high. I played pickup games around the neighborhood with boys of various skill levels. I played on little league teams and school teams. There were two things that I couldn’t handle. One was a curve ball and the other was playing bunt defense 30 feet from home plate. (I had a graphic image of a batted ball imbedded in my forehead.) Watching my sons play with passion and skill inspired an attraction for the game that hasn’t ebbed.

I’m reading a biography of one of the sport’s great legends – Lou Gehrig. Gehrig was known as a shy, clean cut, talented Yankee who was a stark contrast to Babe Ruth and his flamboyant, carousing lifestyle. He was known for most of his life as a mama’s boy. He had a lifelong affection for the strong, stable, self sacrificing woman that raised him. In fact, for several years, he supplied a hotel room for her so she could stay in Florida for the Yankee’s spring training.

The author of this biography tells a story about Gehrig that is such a contrast to most of today’s players that it bears repeating. (Even if a player was disposed to duplicate this, I don’t know if today’s fans would cooperate.) The following story is told about his 1927 team described by one sports writer as “the frolicking, rollicking, walloping Yankees.”

When the Yankees were in New York, he would spend most nights at home with his parents. On days off, he might go fishing, alone or with his father. He sometimes traveled by himself to Rye Beach, where he would ride the roller coaster alone for hours. Only rarely would he accept an invitation to socialize after hours with his teammates.

“He used to come up to the apartment Benny Bengough and I shared and sit around waiting for us to introduce him to girls,” [Mark] Koenig once said. “He would wear a nice new suit, perfectly pressed by his mother, and would sit on the sofa with his hands in his lap. When a woman was introduced, he usually found it too difficult to speak.”

He took some teasing for his shyness, but he never let on if it bothered him. The more he hit, the more his teammates accepted his idiosyncrasies. No one on the team took the game more seriously or worked harder to improve. He loved baseball so much that he sometimes went home after a game, rounded up a few of the kids from the neighborhood, and played in the street until dark. [Without lights at the stadiums, every game was a day game.]

Lou Gehrig is perhaps best known for the disease named after him – Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS).

Admittedly, Gehrig’s reticence at joining his teammates in after-game activities was due to shyness more than anything else. But, there is still a lesson here for me: It’s possible to get distracted by many things. Some of those would be fun things. Others might be interesting things. Some might even be good things. The question we should be asking is: What’s God’s plan? Paul wrote “this one thing I do.” It’s possible for me to get sidetracked very easily and lose focus of the main thing or the prime directive. In my case, that’s working to see that the great commission is fulfilled. Will I get that done? Will I fulfill it? Of course not! But, God says that one day the Great Commission will be fulfilled. I have a part to play in the fulfillment and need to continue to focus on my role. What is my role?
1. Work in the Northwest to mobilize people and resources to help fulfill the great commission, and
2. Work internationally to train nationals strategies to multiply churches among their people.

Will you pray for Suzanne and me that we’ll complete our portion of the task?

Ministry Report:
Korea: Bob spent a week in Korea training four men who will train other pastors and church planters. The sessions went very well and we are optimistic about the future for the denomination we work with – Korean Evangelical Holiness Church (KEHC). They are planning a conference for pastors in June that we’ll attend and assist them in the training. The four trainers are committed to the 2 Timothy 2:2 model of training leaders who will train others. I also had the blessing of preaching in two churches. It’s difficult to know how things go with a sermon that’s translated, but I think it mostly went well. There was one time when I shared something not in the notes and thought as soon as I said it that it might be too culturally tied to the US. As I turned, I knew that to be the situation as soon as I saw the translator’s face.

Japan: Suzanne joined me in Japan for a week working to build relationships with the Japan Holiness Church (JHC). Our desire is to develop a program in Japan to train leaders in multiplication of churches. The percentage of Christians in Japan is very small – less than .1%. We believe that a multiplication strategy holds the key to reaching this nation for Christ. We attended the denomination’s annual pastor’s meetings and spoke informally with several who wanted more information about training pastors and laity in this strategy. It was also a blessing to be able to renew our acquaintances with the OMS team in Japan. They are a dedicated group and need your prayers to work in a difficult place.

Future Activities:
Suzanne’s and my primary task in the next few weeks will be to recruit ministry partners. We’re making appointments to talk with people and share our story about our role in fulfilling the Great Commission. We travel to the Spokane area after Easter and then on to Seattle. Bob leaves for meetings in Indiana the first week of May connected with ministry in Japan and Korea. Please pray for the next international trip scheduled for the end of May to the middle of June. Bob is expected to attend school board meetings in Central Asia and then move on to Korea and Japan. Our goal is that Suzanne will be able to make the same trip.

It is a great privilege to know that people are praying and giving to make this ministry possible. May God bless you for your part in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Serving Together

There are lots of people concerned about fulfilling the Great Commission. Not all of them carry the label “missionary”. Yes, there are thousands who carry that title and labor sacrificially all over the world. Many serve in dangerous places without much notoriety (probably a good thing) or support. The number of missionaries from the third-world is growing quickly and many of them devote their lives to some of the least reached groups. All of these deserve our gratitude and prayer.

There is another group of people that also labor to see the Great Commission fulfilled. This group also labors mostly unknown and unthanked. These are the people who devote time in their prayer closet seeking God to move among the nations revealing His wonderful plan for salvation to those who have never heard. Only eternity will reveal the impact this tremendous group has had on reaching the nations for Christ. This unnumbered group deserves our appreciation and admiration.

Suzanne and I are telling our story to individuals and groups. God’s call to leave pastoral work and enter the world of international missions fulltime has been an exciting road. It is an honor to meet so many people who are interested in what we’re doing, and, more importantly, what God is doing.

We spent the middle of January in Spokane making contact with many old friends. What a thrill it was to see them, hear what is transpiring in their lives, and share where God is taking us. We also had the opportunity to attend our Pacific Conference Midwinter Pastor’s Retreat in Newport, OR. The weather on the coast in January is normally better than one would expect. This year was no exception. It was great to be with the pastors and wives after missing last year’s retreat while we were in Central Asia. We learned about the importance of “digging our [spiritual] well deep” if we want to be victorious in the difficult times of life.

This week we’ve had meetings at Oregon City Evangelical Church. Again, we’ve met people who are interested in and committed to the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. We’ve met with high school students and adults. This weekend we have a food fair and will meet with elementary students and more adults. We have several opportunities to share a portion of our story in various forums. It’s a challenge to share something of substance in a short time, but the opportunity to do it frequently is a privilege we don’t take for granted.

As we’ve moved through these last couple years we’ve learned a great deal (still have a long way to go) about the vast team God uses to fulfill his plan to reach the nations. We appreciate each of those on our team, and recognize that we are just one part of His overall plan. One of our partners closes his letters with, “Great to be on the team with you.” That is an expression that characterizes our attitude for those who support us and all those we work with – known and unknown.