In Canada

We rolled into Mississauga, Ontario, Canada on December the 2nd. It's already been three weeks since we have arrived!

We hit the ground running. We've made some new contacts with folks and renewed friendships with many we haven't seen in many years. Time changes a lot but one thing is certain, there is plenty of opportunity to minister and witness.

The culture here is so diverse that it is mindboggling. On every side there are people from every walk of life, nationality, culture and language. It is humbling to be a part of such a culture. But it is most exhilirating as well because these people need Jesus and we are here to do something about it.

David

Returning to Canada

So much has happened in the last month that it is difficult to rehearse everything as it happened.

Firstly, I resigned my church at Angleton (Greater Heights Baptist Fellowship) and it will be affective this coming Sunday. The church and I had a good relationship but I strongly felt that I was no longer being effective. My Lord was preparing me for a return to my 'home and native land', Canada.

Alice and I hope to be in the Toronto area by the end of November. We are excited but sad. We are excited about the great opportunities that abound in the Greater Toronto Area for church planting and outreach. We are saddened to leave our children and grandchildren! It has been 21 years since we lived in Canada.

We will be working to restart the church we planted in 1975. There is unfortunately just a small core group left but we will do our best with the Lord's help to restart this work and hopefully start other churches.

The need in Canada cannot be overstated! There are more people in Canada from other countries than are original Canadians. (In fact, it is becoming difficult to determine what an original Canadian is anymore; the country is now a mosaic of cultures and languages that surpasses anything else in the entire world).

The Greater Toronto Area (ten million) is probably the most diverse place on the globe. This affords us great opportunity for ministry and evangelism which can impact the entire globe. Everyone living in southern Canada has relatives somewhere else in the rest of world.

So please pray for us as we are in need of financial support to sustain us.
Please call us or email us to let us know you will be praying for us.

David

Pandemic of Apathy

We know what a pandemic is don't we? We have the swine flu. It is now a pandemic. Pandemic means it is on global proportions. The pandemic of apathy has reached America via Europe nearly 60 years ago. Europes' churches are mostly dead and it happened because of apathy. It wasn't about doctrine and the word of God it was about the 'sin of silence'. European believers quit soulwinning! They felt it was more important to build their buildings and worship God in solitude and peace. Now all they have is empty church buildings.

America is headed down the same path so swiftly that it makes my head spin. Church after church is hunkering down with worship and enjoying the fellowship of the saints. But the pandemic has fully arrived. It is apathy. Who cares that the lost are dying and going to hell, someone will tell them! Someone will get a bible to them! Someone will give them a tract! But I don't care if they do or don't, say those who have been struck with the pandemic.

I am so glad to hear of the places where this sordid hellish disease has not yet arrived. Praise God for Chinese believers who are winning their nation to Christ. Praise God for scores of other nations where the Gospel is in full swing and there is no apathy, yet.

What is the antidote to this Pandemic of Apathy? Go win some souls to Christ Jesus and you will find the remedy.

David

Closet Calvinists

You know something....most of us would bend over backwards to keep a 5 pointer (Tulip) Calvinist out of our pulpits. We would do it at all costs! Yet, we have numerous closet Calvinists in our pulpits and our pews. Now before you draw any conclusions regarding my comment please read on.

What do I mean by a "Closet Calvinist"? We all understand that most 5 pointer Calvinists believe that there are those who are 'elected' or 'preselected' (foreordained) to be saved. A Closet Calvinist is someone who doesn't admit he is Calvinist openly but practices it secretly. "Don't ask , Don't tell!

Therefore, being a 'closet Calvinist' is the idea that there isn't any need for evangelism or missions. This idea was stated clearly when J. C. Ryland was merely expressing the universal attitude of Baptist Churches (in England) when he impatiently interrupted William Carey (soon to be first missionary to India) and exclaimed, "Sit down, young man, sit down and be still. When God wants to convert the heathen, He will do it without consulting either you or me." Now Ryland was perfectly honest in his statements and reflected what everyone else thought around him. This is so typical in our churches today. So many are convinced that the lost need Christ but few really believe that God will really send the lost to Hell. There is a pandemic of apathy now ruling in our churches and it will be the death of us.

There are scores upon scores of Closet Calvinists among God's churches. We believe God will save souls but He doesn't need you or me to get involved! Everyone believes in a literal Hell but no one cares that anyone might be going there. The sad thing is that many of us have this attitude as part of our theological background. We were taught this by well meaning church leaders when they said "Let's build our church building and they will come if God wants them to come." Others have said, "They know where our church is so they will come if they want to". These comments and many others like it have contributed to a negative attitude towards evangelism over the last 50 years. We talk openly about the importance of people getting saved yet we do not believe that we need to get involved in the process called 'evangelism'.

David

I'm Back

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post. Been very busy and am still busy. I dropped off from Facebook. That was beginning to take more time than I had to spare so here I am once again.

Lots has happened since my last posting in April. We have now seen 42 souls saved through our outreach. Pray for these folks because most of them have never held a bible in their hands or been in a church, ever! We have had to go to them because they are not coming to us.

The summer attendance has been lower but we are gearing up for the Fall with a special Family Emphasis on September 13th. We need young families desperately to be a part of our church.

We are still looking for a youth and music minister. Pray for us on that one.

God bless you all and I hope to be back on here fairly regular again.
David

The Unchurched Need to be Invited

Recently, the polls have confirmed: "Most of the unchurched would welcome an invitation to church".

On the average, 80% of your community is unchurched. Some variations may occur. Recently we counted up all the churches in our city area and guestimated at the average attendance. We discovered that we were an average town where about 80% of the population does not go to church on the average Sunday morning. This is in the Bible belt, in the South!

And yet, so many still don't get it! We have a tremendous harvest that is awaiting us. And to think that the Unchurched are simply waiting for an invitation to come to church. Are we inviting them?

We are doing our second Friend Day this Easter Sunday. People are inviting. We more than doubled our attendance last year. We are hoping for at least the same this time.

David

Five New Works?

We are approaching April and to my knowledge there are 5 new works that have been started since July of last year. We are somewhat behind last year's tally at this same time period. 5 is fine but not anything to be getting excited about when there is such a great need.

My concern for our fellowship is that there doesn't seem to be an urgency for starting new works. Planting churches is still the best form of evangelism. You would think that we would see a lot of new works started since we believe in the local church so strongly. It only makes sense that if we believe in the local church we would want to start as many of them as possible.

Let's start some new churches/missions soon. Let's stir up our young men to go out and do it! Older men too!
David

Missionary Statistical Report Form could help find new works

Over the years we have heard the report of thousands being saved every year in our associated ABA work. I am always excited about that! We are also told about how many thousands of sermons were preached and lessons given and how many were baptized. That's interesting and it makes good reporting.

But where is the information that will really tell us about the disciples that are being made? We have no idea about how many missions or churches were established as a result of the souls saved and baptized. Wouldn't this information be helpful for us to know? I have tried to gather research on how many new churches have been started in the last two years and it is very difficult to find out. We have learned of only four new works so far this year. Maybe someone out there can tell me about more that I don't know about. There is a way to gather that important information; it's called "The Missionary Statistical Report Form". Every missionary could simply tell us what we are trying so hard to find out.

By having this information we could know more accurately what our missionaries are achieving and how well we have been doing the Great Commission. It would be a simple addition to the statistical report form. Apparently it will take a vote of the messenger assembly to add these questions.

The Missionary Statistical Report Form does not have a place for this necessary information. Here are some questions that need to be included in that form:

1. List the number of new missions established under your ministry during this reporting period.
2. List the number of new churches organized under your ministry during this reporting period.

We could include two other questions that would actually give us much more accurate information about the status of church planting in our work. They would be:

1. List the number of missions that have closed their doors or disbanded.
2. List the number of churches that have closed their doors or disbanded.

Some feel the above questions are too negative and should not be included. My answer to this is, why shouldn't we want to know the whole truth of what is happening in our ABA missionary work, if it will help us to do better in the future? To my knowledge there is little or no statistical work being done among our churches or missions to ascertain the progress or development of our associated work other than some local associations scattered about.

If you are interested in having this information added to the Missionary Statistical Report Form please let me know.

David

Why Europe?

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2009/02/i3-paper-why-europe.html

Check out the above blog written by Ed Stetzer. Especially those of you who are in Europe doing ministry. It is very insightful.

There is a growing opportunity for serious ministry in Europe. There is still freedom by and large to do church planting. The climate is changing dramatically with nearly 25% Muslilm population throughout Europe. Those who are going or are already there need to look closely at bridging to these interesting people.

David

Fireproof Movie Event

Our "Fireproof" movie event turned out well. Although we did not have the kind of attendance we were hoping for, yet God brought those that needed to come (121 on a Sunday night).

One thing that has really been a blessing is watching our church rise to the occasion of such an outreach event. Everyone was ready for whatever God was going to do. Our greeters were ready, our Welcome Center folks, our ushers and the parking lot attendants and the fellowship crew (food); all had made their preparations. This was good training for our folks who are learning to prepare for the harvest.

The Movie "Fireproof" was excellent. As a result we will have some new small groups with new people attending them. This was part of the outreach. And it worked.

We thank God for all of His blessings.
David

One more saved Tuesday night

We have set a goal for 50 souls to be saved this year through our church people and outreach. We had 22 last year, our first year as a church.

Tuesday night we had another young boy receive Christ in one of our small groups. Praise God, we have now seen 4 children saved in this home where we are conducting small groups.

We finished up on Bill Faye's "Share Jesus Without Fear" last week and it was excellent. It has stirred a number of our folks up to be witnesses for Christ. Then last night we viewed Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort's "Way of the Master" video. It gave us another perspective on soulwinning.

Our prayer is for many to be saved and added to the church this year.
David

Starting a Church without Losing Your Soul

The following article was written by Ed Stetzer: All church planters would do well to read this excerpt that I have pasted here. You can read the whole article at: http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2009/01/starting-a-church-without-losi.html

Spiritual Renewal
I know this sounds basic, but many church planters neglect fundamental spiritual disciplines. An informal survey of Nehemiah Project church planters (North American Mission Board) revealed their greatest challenge was spending time with God. I talk to church planters all over the country from many denominations and I am amazed at how many find it difficult to maintain a quality relationship with God. They love God and trust him for the future of the church plant but for most it has become a long-distance relationship.

Church planting is a rigorous task that leaves planters physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. Church planters are busy and stressed. The inherent instability of church planting places constant pressure on these Alpha-leaders to excel. They feel that every sermon, every service, every advertisement, every contact, and every event must be exactly right for them to succeed. Performance pressure overwhelms their theological moorings as to who they are in Christ creating an incessant anxiety which drives them even further into the work that drains them. It's a vicious cycle.

Finding rest in the presence of God is the only answer. But rest rarely comes when the planter's mind is a vortex of what must be done next. "Next" becomes the enemy of God's work in their lives "now." Consequently, the planter's relationship with God gradually erodes over time leaving him spiritually dry and empty.

If you find yourself enslaved in the vicious cycle, there is only one answer-stop! Now, I don't mean push the "Pause" button on the church plant. But you need to put some of the responsibilities into the hands of others (even if they will not do it as good as you think you will) and give yourself more time for with God. Guarding your life with regular times of prayer, solitude, and Sabbath where you sit unhurried before God will ensure a rich and abundant reservoir of spiritual life and power. Planters who fail to keep their time with God a priority will invariably suffer in their personal walk and the church plant will feel the profound effects as well.

Ed Stetzer

A Soulwinner's Dilemma

What is a Soulwinner's Dilemma? To some it might be being stuck in an office or some other situation where you cannot meet people regularly and build relationships in order to witness. Or if you are a pastor or missionary, your dilemma is that when you are out witnessing you feel you need to be back in your study preparing lessons and sermons. Or visa versa.

But have you ever experienced the following dilemma? You discover that someone you lead to Christ a week or a month ago gets saved again? You will ask yourself, where did I go wrong? What did I forget to say or explain about salvation that they felt they weren't saved the first time? Or were they really saved the first time and were just confused by someone elses well meaning efforts? Now don't get me wrong, it doesn't matter to me who leads someone to Christ, as long as that person is genuinely saved. But that is the issue: who determines if someone is genuinely saved?

Here is the dilemma: You lead someone to Christ and another Christian witness comes along and determines that the person you brought to Christ wasn't really saved because that person wasn't lead to Christ by him personally. In other words, some people feel that unless they lead the person to Christ he is not really saved. I have seen this happen many times. It bothers me just a little.

I have actually experienced pastors and missionaries not accepting new converts simply because they didn't lead them to Christ themselves. Or they weren't there to supervise the soulwinning experience personally and give approval to the new converts profession of faith. Only after they personally counsel with the new convert and pray with them the sinner's prayer are they genuinely saved, in their opinion.

Personally, I'm just glad that the person genuinely gets saved. However, I am very concerned about the confusion that some new converts will experience because of this. I am also very suspicious of the motives of the person who doesn't accept the soulwinning efforts and successes of another witness for Christ. I'm all for 'double-checking' a person's experience in receiving Christ, but this goes a little bit too far, in my opinion.

Is there anyone else out there that has experienced this?
David

Three Saved last night

From the 22 converts that have come to Christ over the Summer and Fall we have been working hard to establish some small groups and work on discipleship. Last night three children received Christ after nearly a month of weekly small group meetings. (Home bible studies for those who may not know what a small group meeting is). Small group meetings are more than bible studies; they are times of interaction, sharing, praying and discussing God's Word.

The children belonged to the lady we had lead to Christ during the Summer. There were six children in the small group and three adults not counting our small group team leaders. This small group is beginning to grow and to see significant spiritual results.

The lady of the house remarked last week that our small group meeting was the highlight of her week. So far she has not been to our church but is beginning to anticipate coming. She has distant Jehovah's Witness background and knew nothing about the Bible when we met her. Please pray for her and her four children. (Three of her children were saved last night).

We rejoice in the salvation of those three precious children.
David

A Month Passes Quickly

So it has been a month since I lost blogged. It's beyond me where time has gone. So what do I blog about after being gone for over 30 days? I could talk about a number of things but none of them are really on my heart. Soulwinning is always on my heart!

We have been conducting the "Share Jesus Without Fear" series and small group study on Wednesday nights. It has really been a blessing. Several folks are implementing what they are learning. Bill Fay does an excellent job in the video and Lifeway did an excellent job in putting together this series. Tomorrow night will be our last night.

We are getting ready for Fireproof. It's a dynmic Christian movie that has been in the movie theaters. It is excellent. We are doing the Movie Event and advertising in papers, radio stations, and offering free tickets for the movie. We already have a great deal of interest. We are praying for God to move in a great way with souls saved small groups started.

If you want information on either of these quality outreach programs please get in touch with me.

Hopefully I'll be back in a few days.
David