Some photos of our week

I remembered to take our camera with me a couple times this week and so here a few photos of some of the things we've been up to:

Remodeling the stairwell at our church workday.  We set up scaffolding and then scrapped the walls clean of whitewash pealing plaster.  It was incredibly dusty work. 


The view from our roof.  I had to climb up and clean the snow off as nearly a foot had built up and was starting to ice over.  The snow is beautiful but makes driving not fun. 

Senior citizens enjoying a meal at our church's monthly Evening for Seniors. 

Christmas gifts for orphans

In December some families in our church put together shoebox gifts for the kids in the orphanage that our church visits.  We had a special Christmas party for the children at our church with games, snacks, a participatory reenactment of the Christmas story, gifts of fruit and candy from the elderly ladies in our church, and the shoebox gifts.   It was a very special time for the kids, and a special time for those in our church who were able to come and give the gifts and show the children that they were not forgotten.

having a blast playing games

having a blast not playing games (also, twinsies!)

preparing to reenact the Christmas story

Oksana and Tanya, the event's organizers, serving cake

Alexandra telling the children they are loved and that she, with the other grandmothers in our church will be their substitute grandmas this Christmas

Vova opening his gift

A video about the rehab center in Sloboda

This video the guys at the Halle Project put together a while ago, and I just realized that I haven't posted it up here yet.  This was done before the major changes in the program at the center this fall, but the Halle guys did a great job capturing the feel of the place and showing what God has been doing there over the last couple years.

New books from In Lumine

I went down to the post office today and picked up some of In Lumine's latest books:

I'm happy with the way the design and the print turned out on these, especially the little black book by Mark Driscoll.  The other two are the workbook and leader's guide for The Gospel Centered Life course that our church will start going through starting in February.

First real snow of winter

Global Mission Mondays: Cameroon

Cameroon's population is about 19 million and the population is young: an estimated 41% are under 15 years old.  Compared to other African countries, Cameroon enjoys relatively high political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, about a third of the population live below the international poverty threshold.

Both monogamous and polygamous marriage are practiced, and the average Cameroonian family is large and extended. In the north, women tend to the home, and men herd cattle or work as farmers. In the south, women grow the family's food, and men provide meat and grow cash crops. Cameroonian society is male-dominated, and violence and discrimination against women is common. Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa. The HIV/AIDS seroprevalence rate is estimated at 5.4%

Estimates identify anywhere from 230 to 282 different folks and linguistic groups in Cameroon, with French and English being the official languages. 

Cameroon has a high level of religious freedom and diversity. The predominant faith is Christianity, practiced by about two-thirds of the population, while Islam is a significant minority faith, adhered to by about one-fifth. The Christian population is divided between Roman Catholics (38.4 percent of the total population), Protestants (26.3 percent), and other Christian denominations (including Jehovah's Witnesses) (4 percent).

[information from wikipedia]

Christmas festivities

On Saturday our church gathered to celebrate Christmas with a special church concert.  Quite a few people prepared a song or a poem to perform.  The worship band played Christmas carols in the traditional Ukrainian style as well as the traditional western protestant style.  A good time was had by all and one person even went so far as to say he was so joyful he just wanted to jump up and down (I wasn't sure how I was expected to respond to that so I just smiled). 


Throughout the holiday season kids (and I'm told adults, though I've never met any) go around caroling which means they sing you a song or recite a poem and you give them candy or money.  Unfortunately we are never prepared because they come either on New Years day, Christmas day, or Old New Years.  This year two unfortunate boys came and knocked at our door and recited a poem only to find we had no money or candy for them, only tangerines.  After they left I locked our gate because I didn't want  the rumor to perpetuate that weird Americans live here and they don't even know that one is supposed to give money or candy to carolers.


Going through Kaharlyk's downtown today I saw that even though Christmas was on Saturday the festivities are continuing.  There was a brass band playing outside the House of Culture, but I didn't stop to find out what they were playing because I'm pretty much all partied out.  

A strategy for discipleship in our church

Having a more structured and long-term approach to discipleship in our church has been something I've been wanting to do for the last few years.  Since finishing the major parts of our remodel last autumn I've had more time to spend forming a long-term goal and strategy for discipleship in our church.  Reading The Trellis and the Vine was very helpful in working out a framework for what was needed in our church and what steps we should be taking to get there.

After working out a strategy, making a plan that would take nearly all the members of our church through a small group discipleship course over this next year, and working with In Lumine to get The Gospel-Centered Life course printed, in December we embarked on the first step of the strategy.

I started with a group of 5 people who are already ministering and able to communicate God's word and we went through The Gospel-Centered Life course learning how to lead it.  We went quickly and finished by the end of December.  The plan now is for those 5 people to lead small groups over the next few months.

When we return from our trip to the US we'll do a debrief with these leaders and then have them either start new groups or else go through a different bible study course with their groups.   Then I'll begin to train another group of 4 or 5 leaders to lead their own small groups.

Our goal is that by the end of the year our church, having gone through this course in small groups,  will have grown in knowledge of the gospel and faith in Jesus Christ, and that the gospel would be more central to all that we do.  We will have 8-10 people who can lead small groups that will continue to meet together to grow in their understanding of the gospel and become stronger disciples of Jesus Christ.

Global Mission Mondays: Nigeria

We are continuing Global Mission Mondays at our weekly prayer meeting this year.  Our goal is to have our eyes opened to the needs of people around the world and be active in spreading the gospel throughout the world by prayer.   So each week I find a few facts that give us a picture of what is going on in a country and at our prayer meeting we pray for that country, for the gospel to be spread, for the strengthening of the church there, and for those who are oppressed or suffering in that country. 

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the seventh most populous country in the world  at 167 million people. 

Previously, economic development had been hindered by years of military rule, corruption, and mismanagement. The restoration of democracy and subsequent economic reforms have successfully put Nigeria back on track towards achieving its full economic potential. It is now the second largest economy in Africa (following South Africa).

Health, health care, and general living conditions in Nigeria are poor.  HIV/AIDS, cholera, and polio are major health problems (there are 2.6 million people with HIV/AIDS).  Life expectancy is 47 years (average male/female) and just over half the population has access to potable water and appropriate sanitation.  42% of the population are under 15 years old.

The number of languages currently estimated and cataloged in Nigeria is 510, The official language of Nigeria, English, was chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country.

50.4% of Nigeria's population are Muslims, 50.8% are Christian (15% Protestant, 13.7% Catholic, and 19.6% other Christian).

According to these statistics there are roughly 80 million Christians in Nigeria, half of them are urban, and most of them are under 40 years old.
 

[information via wikipedia and the CIA world fact book]

Evening for Senior Citizens

Wednesday night was our monthly evening for senior citizens at our church.  We held the evening in our newly remodeled cafe/fellowship hall.  The atmosphere was great, but when 40 people showed up we found out that it is too small so next time we'll go back to meeting in our main hall. 


Liese helped out in the kitchen and they cooked an amazing meal that kept with the Orthodox Nativity fast that is going on right now (more about that fast here).  Everyone who came seemed to enjoy the evening (I measure that by how many hugs I get as people leave) and we had a lot of helpers come to clean up and put everything away.  It is great to see our church reaching out to the elderly in the community.

Global Mission Mondays: Ghana

Ghana has a population of about 24 million people. It is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups.  Ethnologue lists a total of 79 languages spoken in Ghana with English being the official language.

Since 1992 Ghana has had several open elections and now has the status of a stable democracy.

The economy of Ghana has been listed as The World's Fastest Growing Economy in 2011 with an economic growth of about 20.146 % for the year 2011.  Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has more than twice the per capita output of the poorer countries in West Africa. Ghana is one of the world's top gold producers and is the second largest producer of cocoa in the world.  The economy relies heavily on agriculture which accounts for 37.3% of GDP and provides employment for 56% of the work force, mainly small landholders.

The adult literacy rate in Ghana was 65% in 2007, with males at 71.7% and females at 58.3%.  With 83% of its children in school, Ghana currently has one of the highest school enrolment rates in West Africa, although some 500,000 children still remain out of school because of resource constraints in building schools, providing adequate textbooks and training new teachers.

According to the CIA World Factbook, religious divisions are as follows: Christian 68.8%, Muslim 15.9%, Traditional African beliefs 8.5%.  In 1960 only 24% of the population identified as Christian. 

[information via wikipedia and the world factbook]

10 Reasons to Go on the Mission Field

 [original graphic from theResurgence]

A while ago I was reading theResurgence and I came across this article by Justin Buzzard about 10 reasons to join a church plant.  As I read the list the thought that kept coming to mind was "these are reasons to go on the mission field, not just join a church plant". 

So here are the Top 10 Reasons Justin Buzzard gave for joining a church plant, and my explanation why they are also reasons to go on the mission field:

1. If you want to see Jesus do something new and are sick of the status quo.
God's plan is to gather for Himself a special people from every tribe and tongue and if you want to get out of the status quo of life then give up that which you can not keep to gain that which you can not lose and give your life for the spreading of the gospel throughout the world.  You will see Jesus do something new.

2. If you dream of being part of something bigger than yourself.
God's mission has been going on since the creation of the world.  It is bigger than any one person, than any one local church, than any one generation. Yes, the church is God's main vehicle for His mission but His mission is bigger than a church plant and if you want be a part of something bigger than yourself go overseas to spread the gospel.

3. If you want to get into a fight/enter a battle for the kingdom of Christ.
If you want to enter a battle for the kingdom of Christ go to India where the spiritual darkness is almost palpable.  Go to tribes in Africa that are seeped in animism and witchcraft.  Go to countries where government, economic, and political corruption are so entrenched in the culture that every good deed, every act of righteousness is a long drawn-out battle. 

4. If you feel a constant itch to see people who don’t know Jesus come to know Jesus and you believe church planting is the best way for the gospel to advance.
If you feel a constant itch to see people come to know Jesus take a look at the statistics of countries in Africa, Asia, and the middle east and see how few people are out there telling people about Jesus.  If you believe church planting is the best way to advance the gospel then go to those countries and plant churches.

5. If you want to give your time, money, energy, and talents to starting something new and you want to make sacrifices to see a mission succeed.
This applies directly to overseas, cross-cultural missions.

6. If you fully support the vision, mission, doctrine, and leadership of a church plant.
If you see the reason to plant a church, the vision of why churches need to be planted, and what the mission of the church is, then take one step further and see that while America needs healthy churches most places in the world just need churches.

7. If you want your faith to grow and you want God to fundamentally meddle with and change your life.
This is not a reason to go on the mission field, but if you go you will find at every step of the way God will fundamentally meddle in every area of your life and change everything about who you are. 

8. If you want to love your city.
Loving your city can easily become more about the place than about the people who live in the place.  Loving your city can include cooperation between the local church and the international mission to build a bridge from your local city to the rest of the world.  This can enrich your city as God's creation of multiple cultures, languages, and peoples are introduced to the glory of God in His plan to save.  This isn't the only way to love your city, but loving your city doesn't only mean staying and planting another church.

9. If you want to watch God move in ways you never imagined and you want an adventure (with all its discomfort and risk).
Don't stay home.  Go.

10. If you’re not afraid to bank your life on Matthew 16:18 (“I [Jesus] will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”).
This promise is the foundation of missions: Jesus is building His church and calls us to be a part of it in every corner of this earth. 

What do you think?

Global Missions Monday: Togo

This week we are praying for the country of Togo in West Africa.  Togo has a population of about 6.7 million people and is a tropical, sub-Saharan nation, highly dependent on agriculture, with a climate that provides good growing seasons.

Most of the population (65%) live in rural villages dedicated to agriculture or pastures.  Approximately one half of the population lives below the international poverty line.

The largest religious group in Togo are those with indigenous beliefs (approximately 51% of the population), but there are significant Christian (29%) and Muslim (20%)minorities.

There is not much current information available about Togo, apparently due to political instability over the last 7 years.

The Nativity Fast

The Orthodox Church throughout the world is celebrating the 40 day Nativity Fast right now and as our church prepares for Christmas I thought it would be helpful for us to look at the reasons for the Nativity Fast and to see what we can learn from the Orthodox traditions. 

In the Orthodox Church fasting is seen as purification and the regaining of innocence.  Fasting is the means for a Christian  to rid himself or herself of the passions, the desires of our fallen carnal nature.  The underlying philosophy is that the physical things in this world are at odds with the spiritual things of God and fasting is a way to move away from the physical in toward the spiritual.   In general fasting is usually simply abstaining from meat and dairy, and on the stricter days also abstaining from oil and wine. 

In general in Ukraine most people know about the Nativity Fast but thanks to the Soviet Union making the New Year holidays the main holidays of the year, not very many people actually observe the fast because that would mean not being able to party on New Years Eve.  Often the Orthodox fasts (which happen every couple months throughout the year) are looked at as a healthy thing to do because it means not eating meat and other fatty foods. Many understand the Orthodox fast as testing yourself, making your spirit strong, or simply doing something that is healthy and will make you a more complete person. Many see the fasts as good things, something that one should do to purify oneself because of all the partying that is going to happy during the holidays.

In this week's sermon I'm going to talk about how the culture around us looks at fasting and then we'll look at what fasting looks like in the bible.  

The main thing we will learn from the Orthodox tradition of fasting is that it is good to discipline yourself to fight your flesh and seek God as we seek to know the power of God in our lives.  

Preparing for special holidays is a good reminder to be disciplined in drawing near to God and seeking the fullness of His grace in our lives.

Global Mission Mondays: Benin

Benin is a country in West Africa with a population of approximately 9 million.  It was ruled by France until the 1960’s and then in the 1970’s after more than a decade of ethnic strife, coups, and regime changes Benin became a Marxist state.  At the end of the 1980’s the Marxist state collapsed.  

Now Benin is highly dependent on agriculture, with substantial employment and income arising from subsistence farming. The literacy rate in Benin is among the lowest in the world: in 2002 it was estimated to be 35% (48% for males and 23% for females). 


There are about 42 African ethnic groups in Benin.  In the 2002 census, 43% of the population of Benin were Christian (27% Roman Catholic, 5% Celestial Church of Christ, 3% Methodist, 7% other Christian denominations), 24% were Muslim, 17% practices Vodun, 6% other traditional local religious groups, 2% other religious groups, and 7% claim no religious affiliation.

[information from wikipedia and the world factbook]