CBC Missions

Dear Family and Friends at CBC:

A physician has to learn how to recognize a disease from seemingly unrelated symptoms. For instance, I recently heard the dramatic story of a doctor who identified a rare bone disease simply by the color of a patient’s eyes.

I began to think—without Christ, people are a little like that. They’re like patients complaining about symptoms, unaware of the true disease. What they ask for help with doesn’t always draw a straight line to Jesus. As a ministry, when we evangelize in our traditional fashion, with straightforward ads like “Jesus Christ Loves You,” we get responses like “Who is Jesus?” “How can I be sure?” “What is sin?” and “I want to live a holy life.”

But we are constantly looking for ways to reach people more broadly and less expensively; ways to “go viral.” Changing our initial approach also means reaching those less acutely aware of their desire for God. They sense resulting problems, not the malady behind them. They just want help: “How can I have a better marriage?” “Please pray for my husband to ask God to help him.” “I’m so sick and weak. Where is my way?” “God should help me pass my test.” Please pray for us to get better at directing them to Christ in ways they understand.

I think life’s tests are one of the primary ways God makes us understand our need for Jesus. For four weeks from June 18 to July 13, Mike attended Campus Crusade’s Institute of Biblical Studies at Winter Park’s Rollins College. Intense as it was, (558 pages of assigned reading, numerous in-class assignments, papers and a sermon), I believe the experience will be very helpful for my future ministry. It was like drinking from a fire hose, as a number of CCCI and seminary scholars showered us with practical insights and principled approaches from their decades of experience.

Practical ministry has always made me painfully aware of my own deficiencies. I have to see this as one way God has been preparing me to find common ground with those to whom I am communicating. My own need for Christ in numerous surprising ways helps me to better see theirs as well.

One of the most famous missionary appeals in all of Scripture is the “Macedonian Call.” During his second missionary journey, Paul and his companions planned to go to Asia, then Mysia and Bithynia, but were forbidden by the Holy Spirit. Instead, Paul had a vision that night in which a man begged them, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

The Macedonian Call has come to symbolize a dramatic call to evangelism, like the Great Commission. But I think if we can look at it with fresh eyes, it wouldn’t sound so different from the daily appeals made on the GMO Facebook page, the GodLife Prayer wall or our Live Chat ministry. They say, “please come help us!” in various ways. We must learn to hear, “I desperately need Jesus in my life.”

Love, in Christ,
Mike and Cindy Skinner
“One Day Closer!” (Romans 13:11)

Dear CBC:

In a recent meeting in Kenya I made the statement before a group of pastors that, “Though I am grateful to God for the work He has allowed me to be a part of in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe, I believe the single most thing I am proud of is my family.” This month’s update is about our family and how God is using each one of them for His service.

It is not a stretch to call Sandy “the hub” of our family. It is to “mom” the girls seek counsel and discuss issues (including politics and Korean films) and it is to “grammie” the grandchildren desire to be with for everything from snacks to games. Sandy has recovered completely from her heart incident last March and just returned from a five-week visit to Senegal. She is presently involved in a weekly Bible study intensive and one of the mentor’s for Mothering Matters at the church.

Becky (Lewis) Marietta has more energy than a two year old. Always on the go, always with a plan, always two steps ahead of everyone else (I’m sure she has her Christmas shopping done by now). In addition to mom duties she teaches creative writing at John Brown University and is editor for her dad.

Molly is now a freshman at Oklahoma Baptist University, receiving a full four-year scholarship.

Colin is a sophomore in high school, 15 and already taller than his grandfather, loves to play the trumpet in band and jazz.

Casey is the guy who keeps everything even keel. In a tough economy the Lord has blessed his construction company with steady work.

Sara (Lewis) Toombs has the gift of conversation and talking with her is like reading a novel.  One never knows how the story will unfold until the end of the visit.  She is so naturally relational that people are drawn to her, which is an opening for below surface discussions. Sara’s primary role today is taking care of three kids and, some days, just surviving Senegal.

Isabella is 10, in the 4th grade, is writing a book, loves to draw and crochets, among other things.

Simon is 7 and is in the 2nd grade at their international school in Mbour. He likes cars and being with his dad.

Sofia, nearly 2, has no inhibitions and jabbers in two languages. She knows her grandfather only through the computer screen but likes to talk to “Doc” on Skype.

Aaron is the muscle behind Beersheba Project, which has drawn attention for their agricultural work from the government of Israel and Samaritan’s Purse.

Thanks for your financial support for Sandy and Richard and praying for us as well as our family.  Richard is in India for 6 weeks, will be traveling to 3 mission conferences in the US in October and will be teaching in Ukraine in November.

“Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies, And your gates of crystal,  And your entire wall of precious stones.” Isaiah 54:12

Community Bible Church members:

We arrived safely back in Poland after a long trip back over.  It seemed harder this time to get over jet lag than with previous trips.  We all were wide awake at midnight for a few days.  Slowly we got back into the Polish time.  We also sort of hit the ground running.  We arrived on Thursday the 23rd and I led worship and preached a short sermon on Sunday.  We also had an evangelistic concert in the center of town last Sunday.  The concert went well.  It first got interrupted by rain but then the sky cleared and the Lord gave us beautiful weather.  A good size crowd gathered and the gospel was clearly presented.  A lot of people took literature and free New Testaments that we offered.   This is a good sign.  Usually people are somewhat resistant to taking any gospel literature.

We also have seen some spiritual progress with one seeker who has been going to Bible study.  The woman had resisted coming to church but would study the word on Tuesday nights.  She now is also attending church.  I am also back into the editing of the commentary.  The translator plowed ahead over the summer and is now finishing the book of Romans.  During my time in the US I did not have too much opportunity to get at the editorial work.  I am in the Gospel of John.  I am happy though that the translator got so far.  It means we are making good progress with the project.

Tomorrow the kids head back to school in Poland.  I have to get them to three different schools, elementary, middle and high school.  This will mean a little bit of organizational savvy is needed.  We also are adjusting emotionally to Teresa being back in the States at school in Florida.  She is doing well and is meeting the challenges head on.  She started school back on August 13th.

I also got home to more problems with the nearby city waste site.  Please be in prayer for this.  The city on one hand says that they are trying to move it but over the summer they voted to rezone the area where it currently is so that it will be legal.  Up until now they have operated it illegally by violating their own zoning regulations.  With some of the neighbors we are filing an appeal.  It is time consuming and frustrating.  Please pray that they just move the thing.

Please be in prayer for the President of the seminary, he had a heart attack the other day and as of last night was still in the cardio-logical hospital in Warsaw.

Finally please pray with me for my partner “J”.  He needs a place to live.  He got a phone call on Friday that the landlord of his apartment needs the place back and he has to move out.   This happened without any warning.  He has started to look for another place but so far he has not had any decent offers.  Pray that the Lord will make a way in the wilderness for him and his family.

Your servant in Jesus,
Chris

Dear faithful members of Community Bible Church,

Though my instruction and teaching is primarily for cross-cultural workers, sometimes, many times, what I teach is helpful for those who serve Christ in their own culture. Shanti’s story us a good example of how one can use cross-cultural training for their ministry in their home area.

Last month I caught up with Shanti, who was one of my students two years ago in a class I taught in South Asia. In many ways Shanti’s story is common in this part of the world, but unique in its nuance.

Shanti is from the state of Manipur in the northeast of India. Born into a Hindu family, she became a follower if Christ just a year before I met her. Predictably the opposition to her conversion became an issue in her household. Shanti’s father wanted to arrange her to marry a Hindu boy, but she refused. Shanti’s pastor visited with her father and suggested she attend a training school that specializes in small trade projects for church workers and missionaries.  After completing her training she returned to her home and now works in her church.

I learned that Shanti’s mother and sister are now followers of Christ and her father has softened his attitude towards her.  At this stage she does not want to think about marriage as where she lives finding a Christian boy to marry would be difficult and her father, due to pride, would probably resist such a marriage.  Shanti is content to wait on the Lord and serve Him anyway He sees fit.

Though my passion is teaching missionaries from all parts of the world to take the Gospel cross-culturally, the teaching of how to communicate the Good News is not just for those crossing geographical boundaries.  For Christians like Shanti, who live in the midst of unreached communities, the lessons of how to contextualize the Gospel in one’s own family is relevant.   People movements are seldom, if ever, brought about in big evangelistic meetings.   Families and communities coming to Christ are more often a result of one person who tells one other person about the Savior.  In societies where the Gospel is restrained because of ethnic and religious opposition, it is often the faith of one family member that becomes the catalyst for household conversions.

Though we in missions often pray for the unreached people groups, in that prayer may we also remember Christ followers like Shanti, who faithfully live out their faith and share it with those in their own communities and, indeed, among their own family.

Richard Lewis
Lewis Cross-Cultural Training, Inc.

Dear Ministry Partners, Words Fail Me.

I have just returned from training Filipino pastors in two countries in the Middle East. What I saw is astounding! Thousands of believing Filipinos are living in apartments (like the one below) and compounds alongside foreign workers from unreached people groups from the Middle East and Central Asia, countries where missionaries are not allowed. Filipino believers live, work, eat, and play among these people who would never have a chance to hear the Good News in their home lands. What an amazing mission opportunity!

Could these apartment buildings be the key to reaching the Middle East?

These believers want to increase their effectiveness with this amazing opportunity in a very difficult area, but they need training. The Global Diaspora Network and the Filipino International Network are providing on-site training. I had the privilege of being involved, and I expect this to continue on a regular basis.

Next stop—Brazil:

In mid-June I will be in Brazil to meet with seminary faculty. Like the Philippines, Brazil sends millions of job-seekers around the globe; thousands of these workers are evangelical Christians. I hope to learn what the Brazilian church is doing to train these diaspora workers for effective ministry in their adopted countries, and to help create cooperation between Brazilian and Filipino churches in this incredible work.

Maryland, Toronto, Cebu…

Immediately after I return from Brazil, Jan and I will attend Converge Worldwide meetings and missionary retreat in Maryland. From there I will go on to Toronto for an advisory board meeting of the Global Diaspora Network.

From July 12 to September 14, Jan and I will travel to Cebu, Philippines, to teach at Cebu Graduate School of Theology (CGST). I am especially excited about the five students enrolled in the PhD program with the goal of raising Filipino faculty for CGST and other schools in the Central Philippines.

A Way to Help:

From March to June, Jan has been on a temporary leave of absence from Converge Worldwide with a goal of freeing funds for ministry. (She replaced an English teacher who left a nearby public middle school.) Jan will be traveling with John this summer. But we are still low on work funds that cover travel. All gifts designated for our Diaspora Ministry are used solely for work related expenses, especially travel. Blessings,

John and Jan Baxter

“For in this case the saying is true, one sows and another reaps.”  John 4:37

Greetings all,

Evangelistic Worship Service

Today for the third time we held an evangelistic worship service.  I know that it is unusual to use the Sunday morning worship hour as an evangelistic service but we are seeing some fruit from this ongoing endeavor.  This past week Jarek and I, with the help of some of my kids, passed out nearly 4000 invitations to people in the main square in Wejherowo.  This was quite an investment time-wise given the fact that every day we went out to distribute. Like in past services we again had someone show up.  Given the fact that our fellowship is small this makes a difference and is an encouragement to the believers.  However as you can see the ratio is an amazing 4000 to 1.  This is more or less what it has worked out in the previous two services that we organized like this.  The sowing that we are doing is bearing fruit but you need to sow real widely here to get any response.  In broad terms I see this is generally true in all of Poland.  There is no magic bullet method of outreach here that is “the” way to do evangelism in Poland. Churches here are generally small with the average congregation of around 25-50.  There are some mega churches with membership around 300, but they are definitely in the minority. The country is currently swooning toward secularism among the young, while the older and middle age folks are still staunchly Roman Catholic.  On a side note there were other unsaved in today’s service who we have met through other outreaches. One person even brought a friend. I preached a straightforward gospel message on the law’s demands and Christ’s grace and called for repentance and faith. The man who came for the first time today broke down and wept as he heard the gospel preached. He is not far from the kingdom of God.

Commentary Project

The commentary project winds along.  I still have to edit the last bit of the Gospel of Luke before sending it to our Polish specialist who will ensure that the Polish is of a high quality.  Trying to find time for this editing in the midst of the outreach we did this week was trying.  I still have all the family responsibilities with the kids and their schooling.  As it stands now we will probably finish the translation work in mid-2013, then there will be layout and printing, which will take place probably in early 2014.

Seminary Board

This past month I was a delegate to the National Baptist Convention in Poland.  The convention was a blessing and in my role as chairman of the Seminary Board I was asked to meet with the head of the union of churches and the national leadership council.  They reminded me that the term on the President of the Seminary is expiring next year and let it be known that they would like to see a change.  The decision however is up to the Seminary Board to decide.  We met as a board and the decision was made to open up the process to look for a new President.  I personally have mixed feelings over the matter.  I generally like the current President, who is faithfully conservative in his doctrinal views.  However, there has been a degree of frustration among the board members that he is not getting things done at the Seminary and things are currently stagnated.  Please pray for us as we move through this process and that God would guide us to the right man for the job.  It may be after all this is over the current President keeps his job but the process of selection may be a motivator for him to be more productive in the task at hand.

Trip to USA

Next month we will be in the Southeastern corner of the United States visiting churches.  It looks as though all the accommodations have been worked out. Praise the Lord.  There will be a lot of travel as we are given a vehicle at Slavic Gospel Hdqs. in Illinois and then travel to North Carolina to begin deputation ministry.  Please pray for safety in travel and that we would get a number of things done here before we leave.  I have two kids changing schools this year and our leaving in early July complicates the process of getting them accepted into other schools.  I may have a third kid changing schools but that is up in the air right now.  Pray also for Jarek, my Polish partner, who will guide the church plant along in my absence.

A couple of final prayer requests

Please pray for the healing of the son of a pastor friend in the USA.  He is only 16 years old and was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  He starts chemo tomorrow on the 4th of June.   Also be in prayer for us as a family this month as we observe the one-year anniversary of Kasia’s death.  It is hard to believe that a year has gone by.  I still miss her greatly.

Yours in His bonds,
Chris  Osiecki

“Let the weak say, ‘I am strong’” (Joel 3:10)

Dear Family and Friends:

I like movie previews. The best ones give us a tantalizing look at the film they summarize. The funny parts. The drama. Just an impression of intense emotional struggle or sudden relief. An expertly-crafted preview can even make a mediocre movie look entertaining. But for the best films, a tiny glimpse of the highlights could never oversell what’s in store.

Movie previews are like testimonies. A committed Christian’s testimony can only represent a few of the highlights—glimpses of God’s intervening grace in their lives that they’ve been privileged to perceive and interpret for us.

One of the best parts of helping with the approval and training process for new Online Missionaries is getting to review the testimonies of the applicants. Often the story starts out like a tragedy. For instance, one applicant was molested by her biological father. She felt immense pain and self-loathing. Then, to her surprise, she found that no less an authority than the Word of God had better things to say about her. God said she was “fearfully and wonderfully made.” When she walked toward the altar following the invitation, she says it felt like something was pushing her back and something else was pulling her forward.

Another had been on the FBI’s most wanted list and even spent 11 years in Federal Prison - seeing and experiencing terrible things before turning to Christ. One man even fled a war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and walked with his family to Zimbabwe. (Over 300 miles) God miraculously provided them protection, food and water, as people died all around them. Both men testified that they sensed God saying He had plans for them.

As a child, one man spent years walking with crutches because of a bone disease. He asked his mother “why God picked me to be crippled.” She replied that God had a special plan for him and wanted to make sure he was strong enough to do it.

These wounded people are now part of our ministry. They are the weak, made strong for Christ’s sake. As the Apostle Paul said, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) The beginning of the same letter explains a little more of this:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

These applicants have experience with trauma, with temptations and abuse. And they know from experience that Christ came to save sinners. (1 Tim. 1:15) None of it goes to waste, as they likewise encounter visitors who say:

“I desperately need Jesus in my life. Right now I am so confused, I thought I knew God who would really take care of me I call upon him for answers to my problems but somehow there seems to be no reply I feel so alone.”

“I have always heard of Salvation but Can you please enlighten me more about it?”

“Could God can forgive all my sins?”

“Just need your help, most importantly spiritual..I want to really get close to God the creator of the world.”

“i want 2 know how 2 pray?”

“why of me still alive this world? If every i feel lonely sad and hurt and no hope”

From such weak, tortured and tangled voices come the next generation of storytellers. Like movie previews, testimonies also precede the full revelation of the story. If you take time to read Hebrews 11 carefully, you’ll glimpse a few amazing revelations that aren’t explicitly part of the stories from which they’re drawn. That’s because Hebrews 11 gives us a little more flavor of how God will tell the stories of His children. Like one of my favorite verses, Ephesians 2:7, I think it’s there to whet our appetites for what we’re destined to one day experience:

“…that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:7)

I will close with one final story - one that I just heard today. Dorothy was in her 80’s when she became an Online Missionary. She had recently lost her husband, and, in her thinking, really had nothing left to live for. But she saw a presentation about GMO in her Sunday School class, and was reminded that she had a computer. She could use e-mail. So for the next 3½ years, she shared Christ with seekers all over the world on the Internet, excitedly checking to see who had written her back all during the day and night. Yesterday, her own failing health forced her to retire, but what could have been a sad and lonely conclusion to her story took a dramatic turn upward because of how she spent the last few years of her life. I’m warmed by just anticipating what she will soon experience. God changed her life and gave her a fruitful worldwide ministry just before she meets Him face to face.

Can’t you sometimes see glimpses of the “feature presentation” that lies just beyond this preview? Don’t you yearn for the rest of the story? When this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality… when the country it seems you’ve been homesick for all of your life becomes your experience, and the invisible is revealed as the true reality; that’s when we will see what God was really doing!

We know and experience some of what God is doing through you as you manage your life in such a way as to be able to invest in our work. You help make all of this possible - and we will one day share His joy over the whole story. We are always thanking Him for the strength He shows through you.

Love, in Christ,

Mike and Cindy Skinner
Serving with Global Media Outreach
“One Day Closer!” (Romans 13:11)

Dear Partners and Friends of LCCTI,

My visit to the newest country, South Sudan, was tough physically, but was well worth the time and money spent.  Sleeping in a mud hut, traveling on dusty hot roads for hours in a crowded bus and eating sorghum mush was a small price to pay for the opportunity to meet and visit with the Kenyan missionaries serving in this remote part of the world.  What I learned from this visit was:

1.     Though South Sudan is described as Christian/Animist people, there are more animism (belief in spirits) than Christian.

2.     Preparing Kenyan missionaries to serve in South Sudan is a great need.  Many Kenyans who serve in this neighboring country is challenging for them as the food, climate and behavior of the tribal people in this region is as foreign to them as it would be for an American.

3.     A new appreciation for Julius.  A Kenyan who has worked in South Sudan for over 5 years and has established 3 churches.  Recently married to a Sudanese girl, this brother is an astute student of both culture and Scripture.

Please continue to pray for the ministry in South Sudan.  Thank you for praying for us as well as making it financially possible for us to serve in some of the most unreached places of the world with the Good News of Christ.

As you receive this update, Richard is in South Asia training cross-cultural workers.  Continue to pray for God’s blessings and encouragement for those serving in that area.

Richard Lewis
Lewis Cross-Cultural Training, Inc.

I would like to give praise to our wonderful Lord and Savior for allowing this Ministry to be the instrument used in changing lives.

Statistics from January to December of 2011:
*Church/Bibles studies conducted: 　908
*Ministered to 15,641 people
*Salvations: 82 at least
*Prayed /counseled with 440 people
*Bibles given out: 662
*Volunteers: 　63

Coastal Harbor Treatment Center for Youth

One night I was at Coastal Harbor for Youth for our weekly girls Bible study. There were 18 girls and 3 staff in a small room with only 12 desks; the topic was forgiveness (Psalm 32). The girls had so many questions. I love the questions. It means they are thinking and they really want answers. I even had a staff person ask me for a Bible that night. It is so sad to see these teen and pre-teen girls think that God will not forgive them for what they have done. Please pray for them, that they will understand God’s great sacrificial love for them and that He will forgive them. So many of them have people in their lives that they need to forgive, or they need to be able to forgive themselves, but they need to know the unconditional love and forgiveness of our wonderful LORD and Savior before they are truly able to do that. I really feel that God is working on some of their hearts. Please pray that they will be sensitive to God’s tugging at their heart.

Philippians 3:12-14

Because He Lives,
Marty McKenzie - Missionary To The Forgotten
His Love Ministries Nursing Home, Jail, & Prison Ministry
Endorsed by the North American Mission Board as a Chaplain

Greetings all,
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.” Deut 4:29

Time is flying right by and we are almost in April. The weeks seem to fly by. I guess that’s a sign I’m getting older. I would ask you to pray about the following items.

1) Please pray for a couple of people who are coming to our weekly Bible study. They are not saved but searching. One person in particular is seeking God.

2) Please pray for the commentary project. The translation is moving along. The translation to the commentary on Matthew’s Gospel is complete. It is now being edited (by me) and it takes all of my free moments. I am checking the translation word for word with the commentary. There are 1000 pages.

3) Please pray for my preaching. I notice that since I don’t have Kasia to speak with anymore, that my spoken Polish has suffered some. Please pray for power in preaching and a good usage of the language.

4) Please pray for my kids. Some are struggling in school and I struggle with being able to help them. Kasia used to do this and it was easier for her.

5) Please pray for our semi-annual board meeting of the Baptist Seminary. There are some big issues to deal with. Pray for the Lord’s will to be done.

6) Please pray for finalizing summer furlough plans. We have to take a shortened furlough because the kids get out of school late. We will not be able to visit all our churches this year. This is a tough issue for me. We may have to furlough again in 2013 to make it to the rest of our churches.

God bless you all and thanks for your partnership in the Gospel in Poland.

Blessings,
Chris Osiecki