EE Year End Matching Grant

One of our donors has promised to match dollar for dollar up to $100k, if given before June 30, 2011.  As Evangelism Explosion approaches the end of its fiscal year there is critical need that we raise $70k by the end of June.  EE  does two things that are close to the heart of God.  It does these two things efficiently and effectively.  It does these two things on a shoestring.  First, It works exclusively in and through the local church strengthening it and building it.  It is not a para-church organization.  When you give to EE you are giving to the local church! EE also reaches lost people with the gospel.  EE shares the gospel, teaches others how to share the gospel and teaches others how to teach others to share the gospel.  We don't often evaluate Christian mission organizations in terms of outcomes, but EE is different.  It is effective and efficient.  For every two dollars that is donated to EE one person is led to Christ.  No other Christian agency, organization or denomination can even come close to making such a claim.

You can contribute through our website at eeworks.org.  Thank you for your prayers and support for this ministry!

Akward!

Link >>>>   Akward!

Do I exhibit the kind of faith that causes God to marvel?

Luke 7:9
Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith."

Dear Father God, forgive me for my lack of faith.  Help me, dear God, to realize that the problems, struggles, and obstacles in my life are the fertile soil out of which great faith grows.   I am a desperate man, in desperate need of your blessing upon my life and ministry – I have heard of your marvelous provision in the lives of others. I remember a time when you worked in my life and through me.  I have read in your Word how you use the most unlikely people, in the most unlikely circumstances, to bring about the most extraordinary results.  I know that I do not have, because I do not ask. I understand that I must take the initiative, stepping out by faith in obedience if I am going to see your power unleashed in my life. I do not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! Lord, I pray that I might have the kind of faith that causes even the Son of Man to marvel!  Amen! 

Pastor Randy Bowman

Is God Glad UBL is dead? - John Piper

Very provocative and insightful article on how God views the death of the wicked.  Stands in contrast to the way most of us are responding to his death.  I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Is God Glad UBL is dead?

Seinfeld: Puddy is a Chrsitian

How embedded is this image in our psychic that it prevents us from sharing our faith.  This irreverent portrayal may reflect the attitude of some but totally ignores those who  have a hunger for God as a result of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.
Tell us what you think!

Puddy is a Christian

Hell: The Subject we must not avoid!

Here is another earlier article by Dan Kimball on the subject of hell - let me know what you think.

Dan Kimball:  "Hell, the subject we must not avoid."

Heaven, Hell & Evangelism

Here is provocative article written by one of the pioneers (Dan Kimball) in the Emerging church movement.  Universalism in its various forms is, in my opinion, one of the primary reasons for the decline in personal evangelism, missions and giving to missions.  Read this article and the other one by Kimball I have posted and let us know your thoughts on this vital topic.

A Caution on “Being Missional”

A Caution on “Being Missional” (Dr. Charles Arn)

As an instructor at Wesley Seminary (Marion, IN), I teach a class called “The Missional Church.”  It is a joy to see “lights go on” in the hearts of students when they consider the priority of believers to share the message—and experience—of God’s love beyond the walls of their church.  The “missional movement” is bringing many church leaders to the important realization that Christians are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus in their world.

I have observed, however, that after reading books by missional authors and viewing videos of missional teachers, some students seem to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  That is, they conclude that the ultimate goal of a “missional church” is to go into the community to do good works in the name of Christ and the expansion of “the Kingdom.”  And whether these needy folks ever come to faith, and membership in a local church, is not a criteria to define “success” in their missional endeavors.

For example, a missionally inclined blogger recently lit into Andy Stanley’s “5 million dollar bridge.”  North Point Community Church, a church known for its commitment to outreach and evangelism, has grown to the point where parking has become problematic.  Stanley told his parishioners of the need to ease traffic congestion by constructing a bridge off of the main thoroughfare into the church.  His letter to members included the following paragraph: Is it [the bridge] worth it?  It all depends.  If our mission is to be a church that’s perfectly designed for the people who already attend, then we don’t need a bridge.  But if we want to continue to be a church unchurched people love to attend, then yes, it’s worth it.  From my perspective, this is not a “nice to have” option.  Honestly, I don’t want to raise money for, or give money to, something that’s not mission critical.  I believe creating a second access point allows us to stay on mission. [i]

It seems obvious that Stanley’s commitment, as pastor, is to make disciples and assimilate them into the local church.  But the missional blogger responds: This makes me sick.  This is completely un-missional.  Missional churches are not attractional churches.  Missional churches send out their parishioners as missionaries to the world, not bring them to church over a five million dollar edifice set up to speed up their exit and entry.[ii]

In their zeal to create the Kingdom of God in the world, some who “buy into” the missional movement seem to have (or develop) a bias against the established church.  Their commitment is to “bring the Kingdom of God into the community.”  But, the success of those kingdom-building efforts does not seem to be evaluated on whether those who are exposed to “the Kingdom” are ever reached and assimilated into active membership and participation in a local church.

A commitment to the great commission (Mt. 28:19-20) demands a “high view” of the church—that the church is absolutely essential.  It is not a Body of Christ; it is the Body of Christ.  Not just a bride, but the bride of Christ. The Church is held to be the central part of God’s plan for the salvation and discipling of people and nations.  New converts must not only believe in Jesus Christ, but must become responsible members of the Church.  If the Bible is to be taken seriously, we cannot hold any other point of view.  Becoming a Christian means becoming a part of the Body.  In fact, unless non-Christians believe and become part of the Church, personified through the local congregation, the ultimate value of our “missional” activities must be questioned.  This is the high view of the Church.  A low view of the Church is that whether or not you belong to the Church is more or less a matter of choice.  If you like it, you belong; if you don’t, you don’t. As we lead our congregations forward in a re-commitment to focusing beyond the walls of our churches, I hope we will keep a balanced notion of Christ’s ultimate objective, and thus ours: to seek and to save those who are lost (Lk. 19:10), and to be an instrument of Christ in building His Church (Mt. 16:18).

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[i] http://letsbuildabridge.com/note-from-Andy.pdf

[ii] http://everydayliturgy.com/being-missional-build-a-five-million-dollar-bridge/

EV2

Here is a synopsis of the EV2 Equipping ministry.

We’re excited because God is still opening doors for pastors and lay people to not only witness to their family, friends, and neighbors, but also to effectively train others to do the same.

Evangelism Explosion has maintained all its core values and quality of materials while reducing the training semesters from 13 weeks to 7 weeks. EV2 Leadership Training begins with a Share Your Faith Workshop, followed by seven sessions that include preparatory devotions, classroom instruction, and Scripture verses that strengthen the ability of believers to communicate the Gospel message.

There is now new training material to help pastors and lay people alike, move from casual conversation to meaningful dialogue, to spiritual questions and discussion, allowing believers to gently lead others to Christ through easy comfortable conversation.
On-the-Job Training (OJT), that has always been the hallmark of Evangelism Explosion, continues to set it apart from all other equipping ministries. The EV2 Leadership Training Launch offers 4 OJT's, and is designed to have brand new recruits sharing the Gospel on their very first OJT activity! The materials are designed with a "kick-off" Share Your Faith Workshop followed by a 7-week EV2 semester. For more information, please call 954-465-2236 and ask for Susan.

Also check out EV2 at www.eeworks.org

Every nation equipping every people group and every age group to witness to every person.

Share Your Faith Workshops

Check out Evangelism Explosion's one day Share Your Faith Workshops. Introduces a simple tool for sharing your faith, helps you discern where God is working and joining Him in the process.  If you live in Northern California and would like more
information about hosting a SYFW at your church please contact Nor-Cal Local Cood, Randy Bowman, rbowman@eeworks.org

Evangelism Explosion works wherever and whenever it is implemented!

Share Your Faith Workshop Website

"A Time to Speak" -Voon Yuen Woh

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: … a time to be silent and a time to speak …” Ecclesiastes 3:1,7

Most of us are aware that there are times when we are to be silent. Job’s friends sat down on the ground with Job for “seven days and seven nights” without speaking a word. This must have been difficult but the Bible explained that his friends saw that Job’s grief was “very great (Job 2:13).” In the time of grief, we often appreciate our friends staying with us without them having to say anything. In these situations, it is rather difficult to have to say something.

Of course they are also many who lack the wisdom and keep saying the wrong things. We often describe them as having “foot in mouth” disease. The Foot in Mouth Award is awarded each year by the British Plain English Campaign for “a baffling comment by a public figure”. The 2006 award was won by supermodel Naomi Campbell who said, “I love England, especially the food. There’s nothing I like more than a lovely bowl of pasta.”

Sometimes we have to remain silent, but on other occasions we have to speak up. Wisdom is needed in order to know when to speak and when to remain silent.

I have heard my secondary school principal, Mr David Boler, made the following quote several times throughout my sojourn through the mischief and school boys’ pranks of our teen years. Once after several obscene artworks were found in the boys’ toilets, he repeated this quote, “All that is needed for evil men to triumph is that good men say nothing.”

Mr Boler had reasoned that these “great works” of art would have taken hours to paint and could not have been done without some of the students having seen the perpetrators. In our school assembly later, he cautioned the students who had seen the crime to speak up and not to remain silent. Those who remain silent are actually encouraging the commitment of crimes. We must speak up in order to push back the forces of evil. We must also speak up for social injustice, for civil liberties and so on. If we do not speak up, the evil goes on … and on… In recent times, many in our nation have been emboldened to speak up for such reasons.

However, many of us are happy to speak within our private circle of friends when we are not held to account for what is said. In public or in front of our superiors, we take greater care in what we say. Often people who have a lot to say in private are speechless in public. The Apostle Paul refers to these as gossip and slander when people’s reputations are destroyed behind their backs. It was a person no less than the Lord Jesus Himself who said that all men will have to give account on the day judgment for every careless word they have spoken (Matthew 12:36-37).

When we come to the issue of sharing our faith, most believers have sudden attacks of the dreaded “deaf and dumb” disease – “deaf” as in the inability to spot a witnessing opportunity and “dumb” as in the inability to speak out the good news with our lips. If we do not find a cure for this “disease,” people will simply not be saved. “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14).

One of the reasons why people speak up is because they are passionate about something. The prophet Jeremiah declares, “… his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones” (Jeremiah 20:9). This burning desire of the heart inflames every fibre of our being and our lips will quite often be the first to respond. David declared, “My heart grew hot within me, and as I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue:” (Psalm 39:3 NIV). Jesus also said, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt 12:34 NKJV).”

People will not say anything about a subject if they have no feelings about it. I cannot imagine that someone, after listening to a subject of discussion, picking up a phone in anger and dialing and then shouting at the hearer on the other end saying, “I have no opinion on that issue.” People just won’t speak up on an issue that they are not passionate about. The crowds cheered, danced and marched on the streets in Madrid when Spain won the FIFA World Cup this summer. That’s what passion makes people do. There is a distinct lack of passion in the community of believers in sharing their faith. Without this passion, many would prefer to remain silent or transfer their passion to the football stadium. D.L. Moody possessed this passion when he said, “It is the only happy life to live for the salvation of souls.”

Passion comes from having a right perspective. Once several British clergymen approached Moody to find out why “this poorly educated American” was so effective in winning throngs of people to Christ. Moody took the men to the window of his hotel room and asked each in turn to tell him what they saw. One by one, the men described the people in the park down below. Then Moody looked out the window and tears began coursing through his cheeks. “What do you see, Mr. Moody?” one of the men asked. “I see countless thousands of souls that will one day spend eternity in hell if they do not find the Saviour.”

Because he saw eternal souls where others only saw people strolling in a park, Moody approached life with a different agenda. He could see the untold millions perishing “untold” and he was passionate enough to do something about it. The founder of EE International, Dr D James Kennedy, once said, “If God would dip all pastors in hell for a fraction of a second . . . . . . and then yank them up by their shirttails — as they’re standing there smouldering and their clothes and skin are full of black soot, and their shoes have half melted off, I think their commitment to the Great Commission would substantially increase.”

It is obvious that passion and a correct perspective won’t save people. We need to perform as well. It has been said that after all is said and done, more is said than done. Believers need to take responsibility and just do it!

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Jesus tells a story about a man who asked his two sons to go and work in the vineyard (Matthew 21:28-31). The first son initially replied in the negative but finally did what the father wanted. The second son however, replied that he will comply but ended up not doing the father’s will. Jesus’ hearers could see that it was the first son who performed and ultimately the one who pleased the father. We have been given the Great Commission, to “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15).

The Psalmist declares that our God is a speaking God: “Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure:” (Psalm 2:5 NKJV). Again, “the mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken.” (Psalm 50:1) Truly “in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,” (Hebrews 1:2). In the letter to the seven churches in the book of Revelations, Jesus is seen speaking to each of the churches. My red edition Bible is all red in Revelations 2-3.

One of the marks of integrity is that we speak the truth. Can someone who truly believe the word of God that says, “for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) and “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6) not speak out to the lost? The promise to the believer who desires to “live on God’s holy hill” is to the one who speaks the truth from his heart (Psalm 15:2). In the end, the devil is defeated by the “word of their testimony” (Rev 12:11). Speak now, or forever hold your peace. Today is the time to speak.

Lead me to some soul today, O teach me, Lord, just what to say; Friends of mine are lost in sin, And cannot find their way. Few there are who seem to care, And few there are who pray; Melt my heart, and fill my life, Give me one soul today. 

-Will H. Houghton, 1936.

Voon Yuen Woh
14th December 2010

Overview of EE Ministries

New video overview of EE Ministries.  Check it out!