I've recently been reading a book by Bro Andrew (author of: God's Smuggler) called Secret Believers. It is excellent. It's about true life stories of Muslims turning to Christ. Very inspiring and motivating. It definitely makes a good case for reaching out to Muslim people.
I would love to hear from those who are reaching Muslims. Is there anyone who is reading this blog out there witnessing to them? Do you have any neighbors that are Muslim? This is their Ramadan season. They fast all month long from daylight to dark (after dark and before dawn they will eat). This is a good time to ask them about their fasting and what it all means in order to open up a conversation. You can tell them about Isa, (Jesus), and they will listen. Just try it.
After you have read the book, give it to a Muslim. The book calls us "to join a new kind of jihad, leaving vengeance behind in favor of forgiveness, radical love, and unyielding prayer. "
David
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Ministry Partners Needed
Some of you may already know that, by the grace of God, we will be attempting to start a multi-cultural church in the DFW area sometime around the first of the year. I am entering into this with much prayer and looking for God's guidance.
We already have a couple of potential ministry partners willing to join us. We are in need of several more. Please pray that God would bring us an African American family who would help us. We already have an hispanic pastor and his wife willing to join us. We are also looking for an Asian ministry family. Please pray for us in this. If you know of someone that loves children's ministry and would like to join our team please let us know. We also have a discipleship minister and a media minister who are seriously praying about joining us.
If you would like to have a part in this effort as a ministry partner please get in touch with us. If you would like to be a part of our giving team, please visit our Online Giving on our website and leave your love offering for our expenses.
Starting this new multi-cultural church is part of what XSTREAM is about. We are glocal in our vision. "Promoting a global church planting movement".
David
We already have a couple of potential ministry partners willing to join us. We are in need of several more. Please pray that God would bring us an African American family who would help us. We already have an hispanic pastor and his wife willing to join us. We are also looking for an Asian ministry family. Please pray for us in this. If you know of someone that loves children's ministry and would like to join our team please let us know. We also have a discipleship minister and a media minister who are seriously praying about joining us.
If you would like to have a part in this effort as a ministry partner please get in touch with us. If you would like to be a part of our giving team, please visit our Online Giving on our website and leave your love offering for our expenses.
Starting this new multi-cultural church is part of what XSTREAM is about. We are glocal in our vision. "Promoting a global church planting movement".
David
Friday, September 14, 2007
Online Giving Works, Try it!
I've noticed that there are many faithful readers of our blogs, and many more that visit our website. I am honored that so many would want to read my opinions and find out more about our ministry.
May I take advantage of you fine folks out there and ask you to visit our "Online Giving" section on the front page of our website? Would you just go ahead and click on that tab and see if it works? I mean, go ahead and put 20 dollars in there so that I can be really sure that it works? As far as I know it works, we tested it when we installed it, but we are patiently waiting for someone to try it. Our XSTREAM Global travel fund is in great need right now. I'm trying to dig out of a huge deficit. I am praying about going to Nepal in November and also helping in getting a couple of churches started. We need your 5,10,20,50 or 100 dollar offerings soon in order for us to go where God is leading us.
Our trips for opening new fields and church planting are often very productive. Unfortunately, what happens is, that when we make our plans and commitments to go to certain destinations I am consequently locked in to go. Over the last several years not enough funds have come in to cover my expenses. It has really added up and I feel that we must address this now or we won't be able to open the new fields that are out there.
We would love to make you a part of our XSTREAM Elite Group who would be willing to contribute a one time offering of $100 or more towards our travel expenses helping us to open new fields and planting reproducing churches.
Online giving works, will you try it?
David P Smith
May I take advantage of you fine folks out there and ask you to visit our "Online Giving" section on the front page of our website? Would you just go ahead and click on that tab and see if it works? I mean, go ahead and put 20 dollars in there so that I can be really sure that it works? As far as I know it works, we tested it when we installed it, but we are patiently waiting for someone to try it. Our XSTREAM Global travel fund is in great need right now. I'm trying to dig out of a huge deficit. I am praying about going to Nepal in November and also helping in getting a couple of churches started. We need your 5,10,20,50 or 100 dollar offerings soon in order for us to go where God is leading us.
Our trips for opening new fields and church planting are often very productive. Unfortunately, what happens is, that when we make our plans and commitments to go to certain destinations I am consequently locked in to go. Over the last several years not enough funds have come in to cover my expenses. It has really added up and I feel that we must address this now or we won't be able to open the new fields that are out there.
We would love to make you a part of our XSTREAM Elite Group who would be willing to contribute a one time offering of $100 or more towards our travel expenses helping us to open new fields and planting reproducing churches.
Online giving works, will you try it?
David P Smith
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Evangelism Doesn't Work Anymore
The idea for this blog is not originial with me, but it expresses my heartfelt opinion about evangelism today especially among our own churches, pastors and leaders.
Some may not hear what I am going to say, but those that have ears to hear, will!
It is obvious that evangelism is not working among hundreds of our pastors and churches because there are few, if any souls, coming to Christ and even fewer are being baptized every year. The minute books of dozens of our local associations prove that to be true; it is written in black and white, and undeniable. Evangelism is not working!
It is very possible that one of the main reasons that evangelism is not working anymore is that evangelism isn't being worked. It makes no difference what you do, if you don't put evangelism to work it won't work. That's why evangelism isn't working!
One reason that evangelism doesn't work is that some would prefer to extol the values of just quietly living their faith in such a way that others will want to find out more about their faith. Well, it sure sounds good, but that's not evangelism and it doesn't work very effectively either. Maybe that's why evangelism doesn't work according to some.
Or maybe evangelism doens't work because very few have experienced the immense satisfaction of personally leading a lost soul to Christ. Therefore very few will have seen dramatic life-changes occur in someone's life which would have been solid evidence of evangelism working. But evangelism isn't working or we would be seeing more life-change in a lot of people. Right?
If evangelism doesn't work anymore it's because you and me are not working it. That's why evangelism doesn't work anymore.
David
Some may not hear what I am going to say, but those that have ears to hear, will!
It is obvious that evangelism is not working among hundreds of our pastors and churches because there are few, if any souls, coming to Christ and even fewer are being baptized every year. The minute books of dozens of our local associations prove that to be true; it is written in black and white, and undeniable. Evangelism is not working!
It is very possible that one of the main reasons that evangelism is not working anymore is that evangelism isn't being worked. It makes no difference what you do, if you don't put evangelism to work it won't work. That's why evangelism isn't working!
One reason that evangelism doesn't work is that some would prefer to extol the values of just quietly living their faith in such a way that others will want to find out more about their faith. Well, it sure sounds good, but that's not evangelism and it doesn't work very effectively either. Maybe that's why evangelism doesn't work according to some.
Or maybe evangelism doens't work because very few have experienced the immense satisfaction of personally leading a lost soul to Christ. Therefore very few will have seen dramatic life-changes occur in someone's life which would have been solid evidence of evangelism working. But evangelism isn't working or we would be seeing more life-change in a lot of people. Right?
If evangelism doesn't work anymore it's because you and me are not working it. That's why evangelism doesn't work anymore.
David
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
At 60!
I can't believe that on the 15th of this month (September) I will have reached the big 60. Some of you reading this blog have a ways to go before you reach that number, others may have passed me a long time ago.
So what has 60 years meant to me? More than I can tell. I received Christ at the age of 5 with the faith of a little child. I'm so glad Mom taught me how to be saved. She also taught me how to put gospel tracts in people's doors in the small Canadian town where we lived. She gave me a handful and sent me out on my own, I was six years old. That was my initiation into evangelism. I started my own kids out in a similiar way by taking them with me in our outreach evangelism and visitation while they were very young. It was a good investment in their lives spiritually. Evangelism was built into their DNA as it was in mine.
At 60 I am as serious about evangelism and church planting as I have ever been. In fact, we are presently looking at starting a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic church in the very near future. There is probably more on my plate now than ever. Of course, XSTREAM is a very big part of who I am for Christ and will continue to represent my vision for the rest of my life.
My dream, at 60, is to see the ABA become truly serious about church planting and missions. There are some who are awakening to the challenge, but many have yet to catch a vision for souls and church planting. I believe it is yet possible for the ABA to become a viable and progressive association of churches if we would launch out into new horizons and become proactive with the Great Commission.
My prayer at 60 is for creative Christ-honoring changes to take place everywhere among our churches. That a renewal of evangelism and church planting would dominate our thinking at associational meetings. That our associations think less of mundane business and think more of the buisness of church planting.
May I be so bold, at 60, as to say that we would do well to spend our associational times together developing strategies and plans for church planting rather than what seems to be endless making and discussions of reports. Reports need to be put on paper then distributed and only casually referred to, in my opinion. Let's spend the extra time that would be generated in seminars, good preaching, and real planning on how we are going to reach our neigborhoods, and our nation for Christ! How to help our churches to 'comeback' from decline and imminent death.
At 60, I'm looking for some serious Christ-honoring change.
David
So what has 60 years meant to me? More than I can tell. I received Christ at the age of 5 with the faith of a little child. I'm so glad Mom taught me how to be saved. She also taught me how to put gospel tracts in people's doors in the small Canadian town where we lived. She gave me a handful and sent me out on my own, I was six years old. That was my initiation into evangelism. I started my own kids out in a similiar way by taking them with me in our outreach evangelism and visitation while they were very young. It was a good investment in their lives spiritually. Evangelism was built into their DNA as it was in mine.
At 60 I am as serious about evangelism and church planting as I have ever been. In fact, we are presently looking at starting a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic church in the very near future. There is probably more on my plate now than ever. Of course, XSTREAM is a very big part of who I am for Christ and will continue to represent my vision for the rest of my life.
My dream, at 60, is to see the ABA become truly serious about church planting and missions. There are some who are awakening to the challenge, but many have yet to catch a vision for souls and church planting. I believe it is yet possible for the ABA to become a viable and progressive association of churches if we would launch out into new horizons and become proactive with the Great Commission.
My prayer at 60 is for creative Christ-honoring changes to take place everywhere among our churches. That a renewal of evangelism and church planting would dominate our thinking at associational meetings. That our associations think less of mundane business and think more of the buisness of church planting.
May I be so bold, at 60, as to say that we would do well to spend our associational times together developing strategies and plans for church planting rather than what seems to be endless making and discussions of reports. Reports need to be put on paper then distributed and only casually referred to, in my opinion. Let's spend the extra time that would be generated in seminars, good preaching, and real planning on how we are going to reach our neigborhoods, and our nation for Christ! How to help our churches to 'comeback' from decline and imminent death.
At 60, I'm looking for some serious Christ-honoring change.
David
Saturday, September 8, 2007
XSTREAM Vision
Many of you are familiar with our global (glocal) ministry but I wonder how many really know our vision. It is a vision that we want you to be a part of.
Let me go backwards a little bit in time and then bring you up to the present, ok?
Our vision for global and national church planting really began in 1975 when my wife, two small children and myself went to Toronto, Canada to plant our first multicultural church. After thirteen years and successfully planting this church we took off for London, England. In six months we had 30 attenders and then six months later we left the work with my associate. We joined with Macedonian Missionary Service in 91 and my vision expanded to higher levels than I ever expected. Thanks to men like Harold Williams and Leon Jasper, I experienced missions in a way that opened my eyes to the greater possibilities of serving Christ globally. Nearly 17 years later we now see many new churches started and more missionaries called to new places all over the world. As a result we now have missionaries and churches in places like; Albania, Jamaica, Mongolia, Lithuania, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Ukraine, to name a few.
As the foreign field continues to increase with new churches and missionaries it became apparent that the home front was failing. Even though more churches were sending out missionaries and giving to missions, yet very few new churches were being planted at home. In 2003 I was honored to be a part of the launching of a new ministry called Reach America, with Charlie Ellison and Mike Prince along with four other visionary men. It was born with a vision to "help churches plant churches". We have only begun to scratch the surface.
XSTREAM was formed officially in 2005. XSTREAM's vision is to become a ministry that promotes and develops strategies for planting and reproducing churches glocally; networking with all likeminded and willing ministries in order to encourage a church planting movement in the USA without abandoning the foreign field. We continue to pursue the opening of new fields globally and at home. We are not interested in who gets the credit or the glory because it all belongs to Jesus.
XSTREAM's vision: "Promoting a Global Church Planting Movement".
We would love for you to join us in this vision. Visit our church planting section in our website and tell us what you like and what additions you would like to see.
(Pray for the possibilities of starting a new church in Vancouver Canada in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Also pray that a significant work in Nepal can be established. )
Let me go backwards a little bit in time and then bring you up to the present, ok?
Our vision for global and national church planting really began in 1975 when my wife, two small children and myself went to Toronto, Canada to plant our first multicultural church. After thirteen years and successfully planting this church we took off for London, England. In six months we had 30 attenders and then six months later we left the work with my associate. We joined with Macedonian Missionary Service in 91 and my vision expanded to higher levels than I ever expected. Thanks to men like Harold Williams and Leon Jasper, I experienced missions in a way that opened my eyes to the greater possibilities of serving Christ globally. Nearly 17 years later we now see many new churches started and more missionaries called to new places all over the world. As a result we now have missionaries and churches in places like; Albania, Jamaica, Mongolia, Lithuania, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Ukraine, to name a few.
As the foreign field continues to increase with new churches and missionaries it became apparent that the home front was failing. Even though more churches were sending out missionaries and giving to missions, yet very few new churches were being planted at home. In 2003 I was honored to be a part of the launching of a new ministry called Reach America, with Charlie Ellison and Mike Prince along with four other visionary men. It was born with a vision to "help churches plant churches". We have only begun to scratch the surface.
XSTREAM was formed officially in 2005. XSTREAM's vision is to become a ministry that promotes and develops strategies for planting and reproducing churches glocally; networking with all likeminded and willing ministries in order to encourage a church planting movement in the USA without abandoning the foreign field. We continue to pursue the opening of new fields globally and at home. We are not interested in who gets the credit or the glory because it all belongs to Jesus.
XSTREAM's vision: "Promoting a Global Church Planting Movement".
We would love for you to join us in this vision. Visit our church planting section in our website and tell us what you like and what additions you would like to see.
(Pray for the possibilities of starting a new church in Vancouver Canada in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Also pray that a significant work in Nepal can be established. )
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Try Faith Promise Giving, It Works
Faith Promise giving, a method of enhanced missions giving, is spreading slowly throughout our ABA churches. I am so thankful that more churches are practicing this exciting way to give by faith every year.
In missionary and ministry circles it is becoming apparent that missions funds are getting tighter. There are more missionaries and more new ministries vying for support. It is also interesting to note that churches which practice 'faith promise giving' are very popular churches with missionaries. Faith Promise churches have caught a vision for missions that is putting many other churches to shame. So while some churches faithfully give 10-15% of their general fund to missions, there are the faith promise churches that have doubled and tripled their giving by simple faith going beyond the percentage system of giving to missions.
I once spoke with a pastor about trying faith promise in his church. He proudly stated to me that his church gave $100,000.00 to missions that year. I simply asked him, "wouldn't he like to see his church do better?" He soon learned what that meant and is now doing faith promise and watching the blessings of God increase. Some pastors think they're doing pretty good already with their church missions budget, but if they could only understand that they haven't even begun to scratch the surface of God's resources.
No matter how small or large your church is it will be blessed by faith promise giving. It's not just a 'missions revival' or a 'missions conference' that we are talking about, it is about challenging God's people to have increased individual faith in the matter of trusting God to supply through them what He would not give to them for the cause of reaching people for Christ around the globe.
Try faith promise, it works.
Go to our website and click on Church Planting then go to Faith Promise for more information.
We can help you conduct a faith promise giving conference in your church. It costs nothing but a little faith.
David
In missionary and ministry circles it is becoming apparent that missions funds are getting tighter. There are more missionaries and more new ministries vying for support. It is also interesting to note that churches which practice 'faith promise giving' are very popular churches with missionaries. Faith Promise churches have caught a vision for missions that is putting many other churches to shame. So while some churches faithfully give 10-15% of their general fund to missions, there are the faith promise churches that have doubled and tripled their giving by simple faith going beyond the percentage system of giving to missions.
I once spoke with a pastor about trying faith promise in his church. He proudly stated to me that his church gave $100,000.00 to missions that year. I simply asked him, "wouldn't he like to see his church do better?" He soon learned what that meant and is now doing faith promise and watching the blessings of God increase. Some pastors think they're doing pretty good already with their church missions budget, but if they could only understand that they haven't even begun to scratch the surface of God's resources.
No matter how small or large your church is it will be blessed by faith promise giving. It's not just a 'missions revival' or a 'missions conference' that we are talking about, it is about challenging God's people to have increased individual faith in the matter of trusting God to supply through them what He would not give to them for the cause of reaching people for Christ around the globe.
Try faith promise, it works.
Go to our website and click on Church Planting then go to Faith Promise for more information.
We can help you conduct a faith promise giving conference in your church. It costs nothing but a little faith.
David
Monday, September 3, 2007
Wal-Mart Churches
No, Wal-Mart hasn't started any churches, but if they did I could only imagine what they would be like.
Without going into a lot of detail I suppose the one thing that really strikes me about Wal-Mart is that every segment of our society can be found there. It appeals to every culture, language, and race of people. Their employees are often bilingual and in some cases multi-lingual. I'm sure you have noticed the same. In fact, if you wanted to do a demographical study of your area, just go to Wal-Mart and spend some time in observation. It will tell you a lot about the people who live in your neighborhood.
It is becoming increasingly more difficult for churches to 'run away' from changing neighborhoods. Relocation has, in some cases, become economically impossible, especially if the congregation has dwindled down to just a 'faithful few'. Moving to another area doesn't fix the 'problem' either, because newer neigborhoods are not exclusively one culture anymore but many.
What is the solution? It's simple. Bloom where you are planted!
O for our churches to look more like Wal-Mart.
If you would like more information on cross-cultural evangelism in your own neighborhood please contact us.
David P Smith
Without going into a lot of detail I suppose the one thing that really strikes me about Wal-Mart is that every segment of our society can be found there. It appeals to every culture, language, and race of people. Their employees are often bilingual and in some cases multi-lingual. I'm sure you have noticed the same. In fact, if you wanted to do a demographical study of your area, just go to Wal-Mart and spend some time in observation. It will tell you a lot about the people who live in your neighborhood.
It is becoming increasingly more difficult for churches to 'run away' from changing neighborhoods. Relocation has, in some cases, become economically impossible, especially if the congregation has dwindled down to just a 'faithful few'. Moving to another area doesn't fix the 'problem' either, because newer neigborhoods are not exclusively one culture anymore but many.
What is the solution? It's simple. Bloom where you are planted!
O for our churches to look more like Wal-Mart.
If you would like more information on cross-cultural evangelism in your own neighborhood please contact us.
David P Smith
Ministering to Muslims
More than likely you have met or seen a Muslim. If they don't live in your neighborhood or city yet, they will. If you frequent your neighborhood Wal-Mart you probably passed them in the isles.
More and more towns in the USA have Mosques. There is one in my city, Arlington, Texas. Their presence is escalating and we need to know more about them and how to evangelize them.
Muslims evangelize others! They are very aggressive and not ambarrassed to go door to door anywhere. Two men in their native dress came down my street earlier this year inviting people to their Mosque and sharing the Koran with anyone that would listen. It made me wonder why many missionary Baptist have decided that door knocking doesn't work. Muslims, Mormons, J.W.'s continue to grow. I wonder why? Could it be that they are door knocking and we are not?
Ministering to Muslims requires the breaking of barriers. We will need to reach out to them personally and build relationships with them in order to share the love of God with them. Have you made a Muslim friend?
Let me hear from you if you have been able to reach a Muslim person.
David
More and more towns in the USA have Mosques. There is one in my city, Arlington, Texas. Their presence is escalating and we need to know more about them and how to evangelize them.
Muslims evangelize others! They are very aggressive and not ambarrassed to go door to door anywhere. Two men in their native dress came down my street earlier this year inviting people to their Mosque and sharing the Koran with anyone that would listen. It made me wonder why many missionary Baptist have decided that door knocking doesn't work. Muslims, Mormons, J.W.'s continue to grow. I wonder why? Could it be that they are door knocking and we are not?
Ministering to Muslims requires the breaking of barriers. We will need to reach out to them personally and build relationships with them in order to share the love of God with them. Have you made a Muslim friend?
Let me hear from you if you have been able to reach a Muslim person.
David
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