My life verse is Ps 37:5
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. NKJV
 
In today’s society, I need to hold even more tightly to this verse. Our world is full of uncertainties; NEVERTHELESS there is still ONE who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  Though the circumstances around me may not be to my liking, I continue on with God.  It is the ONLY way.
 
Most commentaries will say that commit means to roll your care upon God, which we should be quick to do. But when I really study commit, I find that it means to burn your bridges behind you. It means there is no going back to the former fleshly secular way. It means to trust God who knows and wants the best for us today and every day. It means that we do not lean on our own understanding. And listen to the last part of this verse: God shall (not might) bring it to pass. God will make it happen. He will work through you to bring everything you need in your life and ministry.
 
The verse just before Ps. 37: 5; Ps 37:4 says:
 Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. NKJV
 
He shall give you the desires of your heart:  Most commentaries on this verse say: if we delight in the Lord, our hearts will be right and we will not ask for selfish or worldly things. I think those comment are good; but I think there is much meaning beyond that. If we delight in and commit to the Lord, He will put the desires He wants in out heart. Then we will be in perfect agreement with His will and He will accomplish His purposes for us through us.
 
So today we must each ask our self: what are the desires in my heart? Are the desires in my heart those which are given to me by the Holy Spirit or are these desires driven by the circumstances of my life? Remember, the cares of this world can make us ineffective.  (Mark 4:19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. NKJV)
 
Let us not be caught up in the cares of this world, but let us continue to be about the Father's business.
 
Be Blessed
Bishop Bob Coulter

One effect of Adam and Eve eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was that they were deceived into believing that they could know good from evil, and right from wrong, apart from God revealing these things to them. Just as all people were cursed with death by being children of Adam, we all have received this curse of trying to be independent of God for the knowledge of good and evil. God spoke through Isaiah: (5:20,21) Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! John’s gospel records Jesus as saying, (16:15) “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

Since we can only know the truth about right and wrong, and our sin, as the Holy Spirit reveals it to us, how much more likely is it that we would not know any one else’s sin apart from revelation? How could we judge a situation righteously apart from His righteousness being established in our hearts by His Holy Spirit? If the knowledge of sin comes by revelation, then, shouldn’t we treat any knowledge that we have of sin as if it is a revelation - a very weighty thing? We should respond soberly and with a heart toward accomplishing the will of our Father in His earth. This should be the case for our sin and for others’ sin.

One thing to consider regarding other people’s sin against us is that it is not against us! If we truly believe that Jesus paid for every sin on the cross, we must act like we believe it. Is it not true that every sin that ever has and ever will be committed by humanity (except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) was paid for by Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the cross? If He paid for every sin, then every sin to which we apply His blood can be forgiven. That includes my sin against you and your sin against me. It was all pulled down on the back of Jesus as a filthy baptism in sin.
If you owe me $50 and cannot pay, I can take you to court. If someone comes to me and says, “I understand that a friend of mine owes you fifty dollars. I would like to pay that debt,” I can receive that payment as if it is yours. If I refuse to receive the payment, I have hatred in my heart. I want to see you suffer more than I want to receive my $50.
Please stop and read Matthew 18:21-35 and Matthew 6:9-15 before reading any more of this article. Even here in the “disciples’ prayer” (the Lord’s prayer is , “Send laborers into the harvest”) we are instructed to ask our Father to forgive us the same way we forgive others. We are promised that if we do not forgive the people who sin against us, we will be handed over to “tormentors” by our Father. If He will hand us over to torturers for not passing on to others the forgiveness we have received, it can only mean that He is holding us responsible for it because He is going to make it possible for us. As the Holy Spirit said through Paul to the church at Ephesus, (Ephesians 4:32) “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” If the most important work on the Father’s mind right now is using love to bring reconciliation through forgiveness and redemption so that He can produce from fallen humanity a Bride for His Son, be assured that if you are a roadblock to that forgiveness and reconciliation and love being spread in the earth, you will find an awesome God opposing you! No matter what additional response I may have to someone’s sin, I must always forgive them.  here is no other option that is an alternative. There are additional options, things that I do along with forgiveness, but there is no alternate option.
With this truth as a foundation, we should be able to have the proper attitude to study what our responses to others’ sin and failure should be.
I believe that any response we could have could fit into one of four categories:
INTERCEDE • INTERVENE • ACCUSE • IGNORE

INTERCEDE
1 John 5:14-17
And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any 14 thing  ccording to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear 15 us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto 16 death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. 17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
Since Jesus said that all sin had forgiveness available but blaspheming the Holy Ghost, perhaps, since John says there is “a” sin unto death, this is the sin he is referring to. He doesn’t say, so I will not presume to know surely. At any rate, that still leaves a grand pile of sin for which I may pray. Even if I am going to respond to someone’s sin in some way beyond intercession, I will not know what that response should be apart from the Lord answering me as I pray for the person regarding how to answer their sin. Prayer should always be my first response to someone’s sin. In some cases, it is all that is required. His answer to my prayer will change the individual or the situation.

INTERVENE
Matthew 18:12-17
How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be 12 gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that 13 he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of 14 your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his 15 fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two 16 more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the 17 church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Here, we have instructions from the Lord about how to handle some situations in which another’s sin or failure has been revealed to us. We are to confront sometimes. We are to get involved in stopping the sin from progressing or proceeding. Our intent should be reconciliation: “If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” We only go to another person with the news about the first person’s failure because we are asking them to go with us to talk to the offender, still with the intent of reconciliation. We only report it to the church if he refuses to listen to the two of us, and if the ministry of the church fails to turn the offender around, we are to only then
treat him as if he is a traitor, and allow the offence to harm our fellowship.

ACCUSE
Revelation 12:7-12
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And the great  dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and th kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
To accuse is to find at fault, or to blame, or to bring charges against. I do not have to go to another person and speak for there to be an accusation. I simply hold someone responsible for failure or fault. This is the same dynamic that Jesus taught about when He said that I do not have to have sex with a man or woman in order to have committed adultery with them. If I am holding a person in a prison of unforgiveness in my heart, I am guilty of accusing them publicly before the Righteous Judge. If I am holding a person in prison in my mind because of their sin, I have become their accuser. Satan accuses us before our God day and night even now - even though he has been cast down - by using the Saints (believers) as they bring accusations against each other and against unbelievers in their hearts and even in prayer. Yes, we bring accusation against others in prayer! I have observed for many years in many situations a person becoming a believer, and their spouse remaining in unbelief. I have heard the believing husband or wife pray for years, and ask others to join them in prayer over and over, for the unbeliever to come to salvation. I can’t remember but maybe twice that I have seen such prayers be effective in more than 25 years. I have seen many times, however, when a child in a family becomes a believer, and Mom, and Dad, and aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters and neighbors get saved with them, in no time at all! I sought the Lord regarding this, and I believe He showed me that with rare exception, the husband or wife was motivated in their prayer for another’s salvation by their irritation with the sin of the unbeliever, but the child’s prayer is motivated by love. The child does not want Mom or Dad to go to hell and suffer, etc. If there is any real ministry of any type going on in the earth, it has its root in John 3:16 - so that God’s love is the place it gets its power and direction and value. God the Father so loved the world that He sent Jesus; Jesus so loved the world that He sent you and me (John 20:21). If we are going forth in any other power or direction or value, we are either on our own, or at the service of God’s enemy.
If I go to prayer for someone with a motivation other than John 3:16 and John 20:21, it is likely that I am praying to expose the person rather than intercede for them. For a couple of months I prayed for an individual to be set free from the strongholds that were empowering her to destroy the effectiveness of a ministry she worked for. Finally one morning I felt that the Lord showed me that the demonic network had been pushed away, and the two things left to pray about were the “jezebel” spirit that she was submitting to, and the “ahab” spirit that the ministry’s leader was submitting to that gave the woman the false power. About 3 weeks later, as I was praying one morning for her to get right or get removed, the Holy Spirit interrupted me and asked me, “Are you praying for her because you love her, or because you are sick of her?”  Knowing that when the Lord asks us a question, He is not looking for information, but change, I responded with repentance. I asked Him to put in my heart the love that He had for the woman, so that I could pray for her properly. I did not continue to pray until I sensed a change in my heart toward her. I then proceeded to pray for her to be reconciled to God and set free to serve Him. The next day, she got mad at someone who criticized her for a decision she had made about a certain project that she had authorized, quit her job and left the ministry’s property. She did not have any change of heart that I know of, but even the ministry was not blessed through my intercession regarding her until I prayed for her in love.
We have looked at two forms of accusation: accusing in our hearts and in our prayers. The third possibility is the one we usually think of when we consider accusation - making a sin known to another person. If we expose sin or failure, we are accusing the person. Many prayer requests are nothing more than gossip. Do not be deceived into believing that a report must be fake to be gossip. If it is not building up, it is probably tearing down. If I am not revealing something about another person with the hope that they will be built up, made stronger, healed, restored, encouraged, or protected, I am probably revealing it so that they will be stopped, discredited, exposed, harmed, feared, hated, brought down, etc. It is possible that I am hoping that I will benefit positively from their loss - making them look bad to make myself look good, for example.
Perhaps you have wondered at some time why the people who lived in Canaan were treated so destructively by God when He took Israel in from Egypt. You must look back to Noah to find the answer. Please stop here and read Genesis 9:18-27. Note that Ham is called “the father of Canaan.” When Ham discovered his father Noah’s failure (drunken nakedness), he mockingly exposed the situation to his brothers. Their response was different – instead of exposing, they covered. They went into the tent backwards, and covered Noah with his garment. They did not even want to look on the failure, but Ham wanted to expose it. He may the be first gossiper in the Book. When Noah sobered up, he blessed Shem and Japheth and their descendants, and cursed the descendants of Ham, through his son, Canaan. So we have a very costly and therefore a very valuable lesson to learn through the invasion by Israel of the land of Ham’s son Canaan.
By contrast, our ministry is love (John 3:16, 20:21). Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirreth up strifes, but love covereth all sins.” Peter had this in his heart when he wrote (1 Peter 4:7-9): “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” We are to cover sin, not expose it. Note, though, that we do not cover it by sweeping it under a rug, but with the blood from the cross of Jesus! There may be situations that do call for exposure, such as calling the police when we see a person being beaten or robbed, but even these times may be corrected by asking our mighty God for angelic intervention, etc. We will only know how to proceed in our response to a situation if our first response is intercession. As we pray, having love in our hearts, we are able to be led on to the next step, as Peter said above.

IGNORE
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is 4 not  proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, 5 it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices 6 with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always 7 perseveres.
Sometimes the Lord will call me to keep no record of a wrong. If I am attempting to minister to an immature believer and he or she says something offensive, I may find no benefit in addressing such things on some occasions. I might need to stay on the track God has given me and not be distracted by the offence. Sometimes, the person is in the flesh, not in the Spirit, and would be incapable of comprehending my point if I made it. In these times, it would be best if I would spend a moment in intercession, seeking the Lord about how to respond. He may give me an anointed word that will bring deliverance, and He may give me instruction to ignore it and proceed to the more important, and perhaps the only, achievable goal.
When someone deals with me treacherously, or with incompetence, or any other failure of theirs is revealed to me, I must seek the Lord for His response to the situation. I must bear in mind that He was tortured to death so that Icould be free to go beyond the offence to bring ministry to the situation or the individual. I must remember that covering and exposing are opposites, and exposure is something that the Judge will do at some point in time that may be far beyond the life I have here, and He has not necessarily called me to do it for Him prematurely. I must remember that every sin has been paid for, and that if I refuse to accept His payment for your sin against me, I am insulting His sacrifice. I must remember that He is so intent on my forgiving of others that He will hand me over to tormenting demons if my heart is not right to pass on the free forgiveness He has suffered to give me for my sin and
failure.
Every time I think again about an offence, I must forgive the person again, until the time finally comes when I can think of that situation without seeing sin, but seeing their need instead. If my life is dedicated to exposing rather than covering, I can expect a very long and hard educational experience to be in my future.
Is there anyone who has sinned against you or let you down that you are having difficulty forgiving?
Try these steps to freedom:
* Ask your Father to forgive you for holding the debt unpaid.
* Take this wonderful opportunity to thank Him for the many times He has counted your debts paid by virtue of the spilling of the blood of Jesus.
* Ask Him to fill your heart with the love that He has for the person who offended you.
* Intercede for them to be forgiven by Him, even if they don’t repent.
* Ask Him to set them free from any bondage to sin.
* Forgive them yourself - perhaps you could imagine seeing them in a prison cell for what they did wrong, and then imagine walking to the door, unlocking it, and inviting them to freedom.
* Every time you think about the sin they committed against you, you will probably have to go back through these steps again, until you no longer experience the bitter response of wanting them to pay for their sin. Repeat the steps as often as needed until you are free.

(2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 

Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 is talking about a battlefield on which Believers
wage war. He talks about 3 fronts on which the battle is fought, and he never gets out
from between my ears in describing the place! The battle is won or lost in my mind!
The first battle he mentions is casting down imaginations, or arguments. The
word is literally just talking about thinking something through, or reasoning it out.
Taking what God has said to us and trying to decide if it seems good or bad is a
practice that comes from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you
are arguing with God or with the people whom He sends to speak to you, you are at
spiritual war with your enemy whether you know it or not. If you do not stop arguing with
Him and start agreeing with Him, you have already lost against the one who is really to
be argued with and fought against. How can you receive His instruction for battle if you
will not listen? If you are not willing to see the argument, the stronghold, as sin, you will
not be set free from it. If you agree with Him, you will win. If your stronghold is being
used by a demon to torment you, you will never pull it down without agreeing with God
and allowing His Holy Spirit to war with your adversary and set you free.
The second battle is regarding the knowledge of God. You cannot have the
freeing knowledge of the Truth (God) if you have lies in your mind that you are
believing, because there is no room for both in your mind at the same time. If you are
believing a lie, you cannot be believing the Truth at the same time. When a pretense of
truth (something that is pretending to be true) is in your mind, it sets itself up against
the knowledge of God. Just identifying the lie is not the end of the battle, however. “The
name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs
18:10). Until we have built up a new stronghold, one where the Spirit of the LORD is
free to dwell and do warfare, we are still subject to falling back into believing the same
old lies when we are tempted to or when we are under pressure to make a decision
quickly.
The third battle is to take every thought captive to make it obey Jesus. If
thoughts are in your mind that you are not absolutely in charge of, you need to take
them captive and make thoughts that are in line with the will of God for you replace
them. If you are easily tempted by a certain sin, you must be well in control of your
thoughts when you get into a situation where you could commit the sin, or you will give
in to the temptation. Reminiscing about the “old days” when you used to enjoy a certain
sin will release that set of thoughts to take you captive if you don’t take them captive
first!
In order to pull down a stronghold, a process of identifying it and demolishing it
must take place. There is no magic formula, and as Paul said, our weapons are only
mighty because they have God’s power, not because we have anything about our flesh
that will help. There are some things that must take place, however, whatever strategy
is used, whether conscious or unconscious. The following sequence of actions can
help, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
FIRST - Identify the sin that is related to the stronghold.
This is part of the agreement with God that there is a problem. Our spirits have
been made perfect if we have been born again, but sin still dwells in our flesh (Romans
7:18-25). Even though we have intentions of never sinning again, our flesh has sin
dwelling in it, and that sin will affect our lives if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to war
against it and give us self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The confession of the fact that
we have sinned is the first step toward freedom because it gets the sin under the blood
of Jesus so that we can be cleansed and may proceed to pull down the stronghold with
God’s mighty power. Before we can confess the sin, though, we must identify it. This is
our declaration of war!
SECOND - Identify the lies that we are believing
that are allowing us to justify the sin on
the occasions that we give in to the temptation.
If we have been convicted of a certain sin, and we confess to God that we
committed it and we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we should never do
that same sin again. We have been shown our error, and we have agreed that it was
wrong. Yet, we commit the same sins over and over again! The reason that we do is
because we are believing lies. When we are walking down a path and suddenly are
taken in by temptation, it is because we at some point along the way believed that
something was true that was not. It was pretending to be true, and it set itself up
against the knowledge of God, and we were deceived into sin. An example would be: it
is never acceptable to God for me to steal, let’s say. The Holy Spirit convicts me of sin
regarding stealing, and I repent, deciding that I will never steal anything again. One
day, I am hungry, and I think, “I do not have any money, and I am
hungry. I will have to steal something so that I do not have to go hungry.” I steal
something, and the Holy Spirit again manages to convict me of sin, and also of His
desire for me to have faith that He will provide for me in a righteous way, not making
me depend on stealing to have bread. The lie was that I needed to provide for myself in
a thieving way, because I could not trust God to provide for me. When I believed the
lie, it caused me to also believe that sin was justified, or acceptable. If I identify that lie
as a lie, I will mark it as something that is a tool of my enemy, and I will not fall for that
trick anymore!
THIRD - Find the TRUTH in God’s Word that
is the appropriate replacement for the lie.
As Jesus was teaching one day, He told about a person out of whom a demon
was cast. He said that the demon would wander around, and if he came back to the
person, he would find that the person would be like a house swept clean and put in
order. So, the spirit would take with him seven other spirits worse than himself, and
would invade the house again, making the end of the man worse than the beginning. If
the demon came back and found the house furnished, however, and the Lord of Hosts
resting there, he would flee in terror! When we cast down sin, we send away our
tempter. If we do not build up in its place the strong tower of the Name of Jesus, we
have not protected ourselves from a return of the sin. When we build up the Word of
God in our minds, we have put there the knowledge of God, to set itself up against the
lies! We want strongholds in our minds, but not the sort that our enemy can occupy and
use our minds against us. We want holy strongholds built there, where the Commander
of the Lord’s Army can come and wage war against our enemy, giving us vengeance
against our adversary (Proverbs 18:10; Luke 18: 1-8)! We must find the Scripture that
directly combats the lie that we have been prone to believe if we are to be freed from
it’s strong hold on our minds.
FOURTH - We must learn the combating Scripture.
When we commit the Word to memory will we find the power to be safe from the
tempter every time he attacks us, as the Holy Spirit gives the power to us.
FIFTH - We must use His mighty power to take every rebellious
thought captive and make our minds obey the Mind of Christ.
When we have our minds filled with His truth, lies will not have room to fit in!
When we are seeking His power to overcome every day, and when we are walking in
His Spirit instead of our flesh, we are preparing the battlefield for our enemy to be
slaughtered!
SIXTH - If it is possible, we should become
accountable to someone who is a mature Believer.
It is a normal, Biblical situation to make ourselves accountable to another
Believer when we have a weakness which we are trying to overcome. “Iron sharpens
iron,” (Proverbs 27:17). When we confess our sin and desire to overcome it to a mature
Believer, asking them to pray with us and for us, and to challenge us regarding our
progress, we are giving the Holy Spirit another opportunity to help transform us into the
likeness of Jesus. He wants to minister to us in power through our Spiritual Family (the
Body of Christ - the Church). When we submit to those whom He puts around us in the
Body as unto Him (if they are mature and godly), we are actually submitting to Him! If
we do not know someone like this, we simply must pray that He would send one of His
leaders our way.
Again, this is not a magic formula that guarantees results without death to your
carnal mind or your money back. Still, the steps that I have found to be a good “means
of grace” or “discipline” are:
1 Identify the sin
2 Identify the lies
3 Identify the Truth in the Scriptures
4 Memorize the Scripture
5 Walk in the Spirit
6 Seek accountability

Make a worksheet for each stronghold or several worksheets if one stronghold
leads to more than one sin. Use the worksheet to identify the related sins and
strongholds, and to find the path to their destruction. Use the sheet to memorize the
path to failure to be such, and to memorize the Truths of the Scriptures as the path to
freedom.
The sin
The lie
The Truth
The Scripture

We people have certain absolutes in our lives. For instance, we need food and water to exist. If we have no food or water we die - that is an absolute.

My wife and I have had the opportunity to travel to many lands. What they eat truly is different, and the instruments they eat with differ. Some eat with hands, some with chopsticks, some with knives and forks, but they hold them differently. Now how we eat, or when we eat, or what we eat varies from person to person - so our forms or methods differ. But we all eat! In fact, I am convinced that the 11th commandment is that where two or more Christians are gathered, there will be food to eat.

What is it that the church uses for its principles or absolutes? The Bible, the Word of God. But how we implement these principles and absolutes will vary from church to church. So our forms or methods probably differ from church to church. But to be effective in today's society, we must look to new methods to bring the Gospel to the lost.

As Christians, we must realize that the United States is a heathen nation. One of the latest statistics I've read was that only 4% of young people are going to church. Note that I said going to church, I did not say they were Christian. If this trend continues, things will only get worse in the United States.

Therefore, as Christian leaders, we must develop a missionary mind-set for our churches and ministries.

What do missionaries do?

       1. They remove cultural barriers to the Gospel

       2. They build cultural bridges to the Gospel. They make the Gospel relevant to people's lives.

       3. They consider that the most important culture to know is their local culture because that is where they live.

       4. They must learn the language and customs of their local people:  what issues are important to them and how these issues affect their lives.

       5. A missionary must learn to be flexible. They must know their core values. If a particular point of doctrine is not worth dying for, then it is probably something the missionary can be flexible on.

One mistake that churches make is to try to duplicate another successful church in their community. As Joyce Myers recently stated, "God will make you all that you are supposed to be, but He will not help you be someone else."

For example, Bill Hybel has a wonderful church in the Chicago area. We had a pastor that lived in our small rural town come back and try to duplicate Bill Hybel's church.  The problem was that the culture was different: there were no upper-middle-class people to reach out to.  We can use the same Biblical principles that Bill Hybel uses, but applied to our culture.

God has called you and your church to reach and disciple certain people in your community.  You are the ones whom these people will relate to. They are drawn by the Holy Spirit to you for guidance. As you and your people are faithful to minister to a few, then God will give you more.

The problem that most churches have is that they get fixated on their method of ministry. If you are ministering the same way you ministered 20, 10 and even five years ago, then you are not relevant to the present culture. Note: I am not saying to water down the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is as relevant today as it has always been, but we must find new ways to communicate it to each new generation.

I remember once ministering in a church in which the average age was over 60. We were holding a men's luncheon, and I had a team member sing a song. He sang a traditional hymn with an upbeat rhythm.  One of the local churchmen said he did not like the way it was sung. That brought up a discussion on church music.

I asked the man who objected whether he would be willing to have different music in his church if it meant that younger people would come in, and that some of them might be saved. He told me he would pray about and let me know the next day.

The next day he stopped me in church and said, "I prayed about it. I guess new music would be OK, but I sure would not like it."  If your church has that mind-set, it will not grow. If you are only trying to satisfy the people presently attending your church, you are already a declining church. All our church activities should be aimed at reaching the lost for Jesus Christ.

The question is what new methods you are using to minister in your church and community. Are you using the internet to communicate with your people? Several years ago I was trying to reach people in California. I called ... no response. I mailed them ... no response. Finally I sent them e-mail. Plenty of response!

Do you have a website? Nowadays people do not ask for your business card; they ask for your website or your e-mail address. Many successful youth groups now have computer-game night. Yes, there are some good Christian computer games! Stay away from the it's-not-done-that-way-around-here mind-set. Look for creative ways to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My wife and I used to own a book store. Believe me when I say that the younger generations are not reading books. They are audio- and visual-oriented in their learning. My grandson spends hours on his computer playing games, doing homework on-line. My granddaughter spends time doing her homework on-line and instant-messaging her friends.  By the way, they are multi-tasking - listening to their music, doing homework and instant-messaging their friends!

Young married people are now working more hours than ever. The only time a lot of families have together is Sunday, because a lot of them work Saturdays. So if they are going to give you any of their time, it must be for something that is meaningful to them. If they are going to give you their time, they want it to make a difference for them and their community. That is, the Gospel must be relevant in their lives.

When looking at the ministry of the church, you might consider these Biblical steps for renewal.

   1. Have ministries that reach the lost for Jesus Christ.

   2. Have ministries that strengthen marriage in the church. Most churches are interested in ministries to the youth. Most leaders know that if they do not have ministry for the youth, then families will not stay.  However, we must look to ways to strengthen our Christian marriages. Too many are ending in divorce. If you do not have strong Christian marriages, then you will not have strong Christian Families.

   3. Have ministries to strengthen the family unit.

   4. Have ministries that will identify your people's spiritual gifts, and then train them and release them for ministry.  Most Christians are looking for revival in their communities. I would suggest that revival will come when we as leaders put more time and emphasis on getting our people ministering in the community than on getting people into our Church. It is only when we release our people for ministry and encourage them that the love of Christ will be seen in the community, and revival will come.

The Mission of the church is to make disciples. Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age. A-men
 
 
Some churches read that passage of Scripture, and in their minds they think it says go and make converts. They forget to make converts into disciples. Many churches are more interested in the 'numbers' game than the spiritual-substance game.  We must remember that it is not about getting more people to attend our church, but to make these saints into true disciples of Christ. We must not just entertain them on Sunday so that they will return next Sunday. We must take the time and do the work to make them disciples of Jesus Christ.
 
The Scriptures say that we are to teach them to observe all the things Jesus commanded. We are not to make them disciples of our church philosophy, but disciples of Jesus Christ. The first and most important thing we must do is to preach and teach the Word of God. If we are not preaching, teaching, and living the Word of God, then our churches will fail. God will not honor a church that does not honor His Word.  We all know about the reduction in membership of mainline denominations that have turned away from God’s Word.   They have all declined by at least 30%.
 
Our churches must have firm biblical foundations. We must encourage the people and give them opportunity to study the Word. We can do this through Sunday-school classes, home Bible study, and men's and women’s groups.  In today's society, you can have Bible study on-line with the people in your church. A good Bible study which many churches have used successfully is Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life. Videos and guidebooks are available.
 
It is important to get new coverts into and grounded in the Word as quickly as possible so that when difficulties come, they will have the promises of God to support them. I encourage every church to give each new convert a good modern-language study Bible.
 
When I first accepted Christ as my Savior, I went into a Sunday school and told the leader George Reed that I could not understand the King James version of the Bible. He said, “No problem, Bob, take my Bible.”  I cherished and read that modern Bible from cover to cover in six months. George was concerned about making me a disciple of Christ, not in debating about what version of the Bible I should read.
 
Our churches must create opportunities for fellowship so that people get to know each other. In the past, churches were often the center of social life, with events such as suppers, picnics, couples' night out, men's and women’s groups, Golden-age groups, etc. These are all good events, but in today's society, time is frequently an issue. Families are busy, and they evaluate how much time they are able to give to the church. Moms and dads are both working, many of them six days a week. The children also have demands on their time. So most families feel the pressure of time.
 
May I suggest that you consider making outreach events fellowship events? When people work together for a common goal, it brings closeness and unity to the group. In today's society, young Christians want to make a difference for Jesus in their community.  They want their time to be meaningful for the kingdom of God.   You can use these young Christians to plan teen outreaches, visit nursing homes, feed the homeless, or craft an outreach event for their own special calling.
 
People who work together usually stay together and become true friends. In the church, it is important that your events build fellowship and relationships. Most successful large churches have small groups to minster to people's felt needs.  Such groups lead to true fellowship.

As churches, we must continually have an evangelistic outreach. True evangelism is not recycling Christians from other churches: it is reaching the lost for Jesus Christ.  True evangelism is not giving away Christmas baskets.  Giving baskets at Christmas is a good thing, but most churches do not do it in an evangelistic way. We must have ongoing ministry to reach the lost for Jesus Christ, using every activity of the church to attract the lost to Jesus Christ.
 
When a church is first established, evangelism is usually a priority.   If the church is to survive, it must evangelize. Evangelism loses its importance when the congregation reaches 35 to 50 people and becomes comfortable with its present membership.   The church is then in danger of becoming a religious social club.
 
Ginny and I have done leadership training in many churches where the average age is 65 and they are now looking for young people to join their church.  They have not reached out to the lost for many years and have been a dying church without recognizing their plight.  In most cases, it is too late to save such a church.
 
As leaders of the church, we must continually encourage people to reach out to their unchurched neighbors, families, co-workers, etc. The most effective evangelism is 'friendship' evangelism. Seventy-five to ninety percent of church attendees were invited by a friend or relative. It is vital that we encourage our people to reach out to the unchurched around them.
 
One of the methods of encouraging 'friendship' evangelism is to have each person draw a hub with eight spokes coming out from the hub. At the end of each spoke, draw a large circle.  Have the member write his name in the middle of the hub. Then have him write the name of one unchurched friend, family member, or co-worker, in each of the circles. Next, encourage him to pray for those persons daily - not once a week or once a month, but daily. While he is praying, he will continue to interact with these people sharing with them what God is doing in his life. In other words, they become friends. The problem with most Christians is that within three years, they have no non-Christian friends. So this must be intentional, to make friends with the unchurched and to lead them to Christ. It must become a lifestyle for your people. As they are faithful, God will open the door for them to lead people to Christ.
 
Pastor, if you do this as a church, and have your people give you a copy of their lists, you will find that the names of some people will show up on several lists. These would be your target persons to reach out to as a church. I suggest that you do this annually, so the people can add new names to their lists to replace those who have been saved. Some names may remain on people's lists for years.  Encourage your people not to give up.
 
As churches, we must have continual, intentional evangelistic outreach ministry to the lost. If the only people you are ministering to are your own people, you already are a declining church. New coverts that you disciple are the lifeline for the future of the church.

DOMINCIAN REPUBLIC REPORT:

In January, Bishop Thomas and Rev. Angela Solomon, Connie Kesner, and my wife Ginny and I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic (DR).  We saw first-hand how God continues to move in the DR using Mitch and Debbie Martinez to facilitate many activities.
Mitch and Debbie Martinez
You may remember in November and December the relief effort for the flood victims at the Village Rieles.  The people told us that mud and water were 3 feet high in the houses. You could see the mounds of mud that were shoveled out of the houses. Mitch and Debbie were praising God for all the help TMCI people gave during this crisis. They were able to buy 50 mattresses for the people, and help to feed them after the flood had passed.

Although we lost the church building in the flood, God has raise up a new church in the area. They now have two adult Bible studies and a children's program.

                      
The church's location in Rieles, now only river • Mud shoveled out of houses • Debbie showing us the area

Bible Study. The young man on the left said that he had not become a Christian. I took his picture and said I would pray for him until he did. Two weeks ago he accepted Christ as Savior. Praise God!

Mitch and Debbie are helping Pastor Joselo Toribio in Ranchito to build a new church building and school. Pastor Joselo has outgrown his present building. At the present location he has a school during the day, and during some of the evenings and Sunday it is a church.

Ranchito is a town of about 15,000 people that is about a half-hour's drive from La Vega. Mitch and Debbie are helping them to purchase some land to build a church and school.  They have a three-year land contract for $17,000. They are in the process of trying to raise this money.  They need to pay the land contract off in three years or the interest rate will go up to 20%. Once the land is paid for, they will start building the church and school, which will cost an estimated $35,000. 

If you are interested in donating to the project, you can send your donation to the TMCI office, and note Ranchito on it. One hundred percent of monies receive will go to the project.  
                                                  
Pastor Joselo Toribio and family                               Pastor Joselo's school

                                           
Pastor Joselo presents the church             The new site for the future church and school
   and school building        

The team praying over the land for God to use it to His glory, and that many souls would be saved through this ministry.

We also visited a church in a village call Suarez. This village is about 10-15 minutes from La Vega. Pastor Ambioris Sanchez has ministered in the village for about six years.  He has purchased some land, and has cement slabs and wooden poles with a tin-roof structure on it. He would like to have a building so the elements and the mosquitoes would not hinder services. TMCI was able to give them $2000 for the footing of the church, but they need an additional $7000 to complete the building.

If you are interested in contributing to this project, you can send your donation to the TMCI office, and mark your donations Suarez. One hundred percent of monies received will go to this project.

Pastor Ambioris's Church

God is still doing miraculous things at the La Vega Christian School that Mitch and Debbie founded. They now have 425 Students. They need more space, so they are in the process of raising money for four more classrooms. The cost of the four classrooms is $14,000 per room for a total of $56,000 for the four rooms. The good news is that a church had donated $18000 to start the footings.

If you are interested in contributing to this project, you can send your donation the TMCI office, and mark your donations La Vega School. One hundred percent of monies received will go to this project
                                      
      Mitch at the School                                                     Students at recess

While there, the team had opportunity to minister in many churches and outdoor revivals. We had over 80 people accept Christ as their Savior, and many healed, and one delivered. It was a great time in the Lord.

Lastly, I would like to share about Earl and Shirley Featsent. They are TMCI missionaries that went to help Mitch and Debbie. Earl does a lot of maintenance at the La Vega School and is a blessing to Mitch and Debbie.
Shirley ministers at a church in Camelita where she teaches adults English. At the same church in Camelita, Shirley and Earl are helping a school that minister to underprivileged children.  many are from Haitian families. The school gets no outside funds. The school needs fund to pay for teachers' salaries, utilities, busing for the 21 children. The cost of busing the children is 400 pesos or $12 a month. It does not sound like much, but it is a lot when you do not have it.  The Featsents would also like to start a feeding program for the children. Therefore they are starting a child-sponsorship program of $25 per month.

If you are interested, you can contact the Featsents at earl4jc@gmail.com, or you can mail your donations to Earl & Shirley Featsent, Your Missionary Outreach, P.O. Box 1761, Columbia, SC 29202
                                 
  Shirley teaching English                                 Students at the Camelita School
                                                                               
        Earl Featsent                                           Students at the Camelita School

Ginny and I have been going to the DR since the early 90s, and are always amazed at the way God has blessed the work there.

Praise the Lord!
Bishop Bob Coulter

What is the church?  It is not a building.  It is not just a Sunday morning activity as some people think who consider Sunday morning their religious obligation for the week. Church is a seven day activity. It a group of dedicated Christian Joining together to fulfill the calling that God has given their church. Notice it is a group, it takes more than one, it takes a team. The group are dedicated Christians. Church is hard work. It takes time, money and effort.  You will need a core group of dedicated leaders to make it successful.
 
The first thing we need to remember is that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church as we see in Colossians 1: 15-18. As leaders, it is our responsibility to get the mind of Christ for the Church he has given us.  We must know what direction he wants us to lead the church.
 
It is not what the congregation wants for the church, it is what Christ wants. Church is not a democracy, but a theocracy.  The last time I read my Bible, when a democratic vote was taken, the group wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not ignore the congregation, and try to lord it over them. But we must lead (influence) them in the direction God has given us. Leaders must lead.         
 
Ephesians 4:11 & 12 says that Christ, who is the head of the church, gave the church Apostles, Evangelists, Prophets, Pastors, and teachers to equip the believers to do the work of ministry. Please note it is not the pastor that does all the work.
 
                The pastor and the other 5 fold ministries’ responsibility is to equip and build up the believers for ministry. It is usually the pastor that God gives the vision for the church. The pastor sets the vision and equips the people to complete the vision. The Pastor is the coach and cheerleader of the flock. The responsibility of the leadership is to release their people for ministry.  To identify spiritual gifts and to train and release the people for ministry.
 
                The leadership job is not to try to get the community into their church, but to get their church people into the community ministering to needs.  Remember sheep beget sheep, not shepherds. So it is important that we train and release our people to ministry in the community. As we do that, I believe that we will see the revival for which we have all been praying. The other result of getting your people to minister in the community will be more people who come to your church so that you can disciple, train and release them for more ministry in the community.
 
                Ephesians 13-16 has some good input for the leaders of the church. Verse 13 says till we all come into the unity of the faith… The first thing we need is unity among the believers.  God direction (vision) for the church will bring unity to the church. Unity does not mean that we agree 100% on everything. But we have a consensus of the direction we are going. Once the decision is made, the leaders must support that decision, especially publicly.  Some times leaders have to agree to disagree, but can continue to respect and love each other, but when the majority agrees on the direction God is leading, they must support that decision.
 
                Verse 13 continues ... and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
 
                As leaders, we must be preaching and teaching the word of God.  How do we come into the knowledge of the Son of God?  How do we become a mature Christian? Though the study of the word of God.  As leaders we must take time to read the Word of God, The Bible every day. WHY? Because of what verse 14 warns us against. That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting... 
 
If we are not in the word daily, we can be fooled by the new age philosophy.  New Age Philosophy may sound good, but is not of God. How many times have you heard people say that the Bible says “God helps those who help themselves.” This is not found in the Bible; in fact I believe that the Bible teaches just the opposite. We trust God and God works through us to accomplish His will.
 
One time I was teaching a Sunday school class and we had a new couple join the class. They were a young couple that had just moved into the area.  We were so excited to have them consider coming to our small church. But during the Sunday school class, she started sharing. What she was sharing sound good and moral, but it was not Biblical so I had to stop her in love and point out what scripture said. What I found was they were new Christians and they had just move into the area from Salt Lake City. She had Mormonism and Christianity confused. But if I did not know the word of God, I could have been deceived and worse yet the whole class could have fallen for the deception.
 
                The leadership must be on guard.  It is the leadership’s responsibility to make sure that the Scripture does not get perverted in our churches. Pastors cannot be everywhere. So all the leadership must take time to study the work of God. As 2Timothy 2:15 tells us be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
 
                In fact, God gives a promise in Psalms 1 verses 2 and 3 But his delight is in the law of the Lord (the word of God) and in His law he meditates day and night, he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings its fruit in its season whose leaf also shall not wither; and Whatever he does shall prosper.
 
                As we meditate and get God’s word with understanding down in our spirits, God through the Holy Spirit can bring to our remembrance His Word to bring Godly knowledge and wisdom to solve the problems in our lives and the life of our church. Without the word of God operating in our lives, we become like the Israelites in the Old Testament. We will be doing what seems right in our own eyes.
 
                Verse 15 says: but speaking the truth in love may grow up in all things into Him who is the head-Christ.
We as leader must give each other permission to speak truth to each other in love. This is called accountability.
 
1. When we are in a meeting we must allow our brother or sister to express his opinion without taking offense.
Everybody has heard these comment “I did not say anything because I did not want to hurt their feelings” This statement is from the pit of Hell. Satan’s main goal is to stop truthful, loving communication between leadership and people and to break communication with the leadership and the congregation.
 
I know this would never happen to you, but I was in a meeting where a person knew information that would have stopped us from making a poor decision, but the person did not disclose the information because he did not want to hurt someone’s feelings.
 
2. If we truly love each other we will hold each other accountable: Galatians 6:1
 
Speaking the truth in love will set people free. It may hurt, but it will always set them free. Allow others to speak truth into your life. Remember, you’re never as good as you think, and you are never as bad as your enemy thinks. But the truth is that we all need constructive criticism in our lives.  Most of the time constructive criticism comes from our loving spouses. Receive it with love.
 
As we excises these truths we will become more Christ like, which should be our goal as leaders:  to have the mind of Christ. 
 
And as we walk in unity, use our spiritual gifts, as every part of the body does its part, the outcome will be growth of the church in love.
 
 

GOD BLESSES AFRICAN TRIP:

What a mighty God we serve! Our mission (Rev. Dr. Moses Nueman, Rev. Joe Werner, and I) trip to Liberia, Ghana and South Africa was a great blessing. Dr. Moses has been ministering in Africa for about fourteen years and is familiar with the culture and customs.  God truly sent him as a gift to Joe and me since it was our first trip.

In spite of a rocky beginning, God proved himself early on. Many of you have continued to pray for me for weeks as I struggled with severe back pain. When we landed in Ghana after twenty-four hours in route, my back was killing me. I had to rest against the wall frequently as we went through customs. The pain was so bad that I could not help with the luggage in baggage claim. Moses and Joe got the luggage as I sat nursing my hurting back.

Moses retrieved my suitcase first and placed it on the floor while he went for his luggage. When he returned, my luggage was gone. At first we thought the steward had taken it, but that was not the case and we had to file a missing luggage claim and go to the hotel without my suitcase.

The next morning we left early for the airport and Moses checked to see if my suitcase had been found. It had not. Further, my suitcase was checked in Moses' name so he had to fill out new claim forms.

When he was leaving, Moses heard a commotion in the custom area. A man was trying to enter the customs area from the outside. The guard was instructing him to go around and enter the right way. The man said that he was trying to return a suitcase that did not belong to him. Moses immediately recognized my suitcase. Praise God.!! The evening before, Joe and Moses had prayed for the suitcase to be found. Further, Joe prayed that the person who took it would not be able to sleep and would be unsettled until he returned it. The man's testimony to Moses was that he could not sleep and just had to return the suitcase so that he would have some peace. How's that for a God incident! From there, the trip got better and better, my back got better and better, and God was glorified.  I was able to stop taking pain pills and no longer needed the back brace.

When we arrived in Liberia, we were greeted by Rev. Philip and Gloria Boimah and their church. What a blessing!! They had their children's choir greet us in song. The children's choir was anointed and blessed us throughout our visit in Liberia. We went to the church that afternoon and had a short greeting ceremony and from there to the Missionary Compound. God provided a lodging place across from a lovely beach and ocean with the ocean breeze to cool us at night.
For twelve years, Liberia has been in civil war, which ended four years ago. The country has little infrastructure and is struggling economically. The Boimahs help their people help themselves through an agriculture program. In the morning of the first day we went to one of their churches and saw the sweet potato field. Also at the church, we were greeted by the children who attend school there in the church.  The school is a vital ministry for the churches as there were no schools during the civil war.  After a greeting ceremony at the church we went to the sweet potato field, which was being harvested.

Next, we went to Pastor Francis Daudo's church and school where we were again greeted at a formal ceremony. They served a special African meal in honor of Joe Werner's first visit to Africa. We went to the meal with fear and trembling but found the food delicious: fish over rice, Carvassa greens (like collard greens), soup, sweet potatoes, and Carvassa root (like our potatoes).


After dinner we ordained Pastor Edwin Sumo into TMCI.  It was truly a blessed first day.
The next two days we conducted a leadership seminar at Pastor Boimah's church. About one hundred people attended, many of them pastors from the area.  We were blessed to speak into their ministry and lives. At the end of the seminar on Saturday, the church gave us traditional Liberia outfits.

Pastor Daudo & wife	Pastor Edwin Sumo

On Sunday, Joe preached at Francis Daudo's church and I preached at Pastor Boimah's church with Moses' help. After the church service, we attended a baptism service for twenty-one Christians. Moses helped baptize them and Joe and I prayed for them as they came out of the water. What a blessing!

I soon discovered that you need at least two handkerchiefs a day to wipe off the sweat. We drank a minimum of two liters of water at every meeting and at least another liter at night. On Saturday evening after the meeting, Joe got the brilliant idea of buying two fans for Boimah’s church. We thanked him for dry handkerchiefs Sunday afternoon when we met for the baptism.

Monday (our last day in Liberia) we visited new land Pastor Boimah wants to purchase for the agriculture project and missionary house. Pastor Boimah and his helpers recently planted their fourth church in this area. In order to get to the property they told me that we would have to cross a very long bridge.

I said let do it!
However, when I got to the bridge - well, you can see the picture! It was not what I had in mind. It is a log bridge that crosses the river and swamp. I suggested that Pastor Boimah send us a picture of the property and we returned to the car.

From there we went to see their Carvassa Field, which looks like a jungle and seems to go on forever. The church people will start harvesting that field this week. Pastor Boimah leads by example so he and Gloria will be working in the fields with their people.

I believe that God can use TMCI to make a great difference for the Kingdom in Liberia.

Paynesville, where the Boimahs, Pastor Daudo and Sumo live has no fresh water. We are in the process of raising the $3,000 needed to dig the well, which is scheduled in March of 2008.   The well will be located on the Boimahs’ church property and will be open to the whole village. What a great evangelistic tool!  If you would like to help with this project, send your donation to the TMCI office and mark it “water well”.

From Liberia we went back to Ghana where we met with Pastor Daniel Patrick, his wife Favour, and his leaders.  Pastor Daniel, who is the process of joining TMCI. pastors a house Church and is conference speaker.

While we were in Ghana, Pastor Daniel Mawuenyega Ephraim, a friend of Moses Nueman, helped us greatly.  Pastor Ephraim is also in the process of joining TMCI.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we did a Leadership seminar for Rev. James Godly, a pastor friend of Robert and Happy Crentsil who live in Johnson City, New York. The Crentsils had to flee for their lives during the civil war in Ghana. They are now in the process of reestablishing relationship there. Several pastors attended the seminar. That night at ll:00 pm, we left for Capetown South Africa.

In Capetown, we met with Bishop Justin Nwokeji who affiliated with TMCI in 2006. Bishop Justin and his wife Tumi rent the second floor of an industrial building where he pastors a vibrant church of about five hundred people. Bishop Nwokeji has recently purchased land in Capetown and is building a church that will seat about two thousand five hundred people. Because of our rescheduling, we could not minister in his church since he had scheduled a series of meetings with a minister from Ghana. Those meetings ended on Sunday with the church people making commitments for the new church building. Monday (the day before we left) we were privileged to walk the new property with Bishop Justin and pray over the land. This land is between a large Government housing project and private homes - a great fishing pond for the church!

While in Capetown, we met Bishop Dennis and Rev, Gertie Abrahams whom Moses Nueman contacted on the Internet before we left the US. The Abrahams pastor a lovely church:  Shiloh Community Church where we held a leadership seminar. We spoke into several pastors who attended and were especially helpful to the Abrahams. We got to know them well since we were at their house everyday. Gertie loves to cook and we love to eat. The night we arrived was their thanksgiving, so we were invited to a barbecue and met the whole family. On Sunday evening we were invited to a special surprise birthday party for Bishop Dennis.

On Sunday we met Eleanor Ment, who is in the process of joining TMCI, at Shiloh Church. Eleanor is finishing work on her master degree in missions and will be moving to England soon.

It is exciting to see how God continues to expand our international missions.  I firmly believe that this trip was just the beginning of our work in Africa.

One of the big blessings of the trip is that Moses Nueman has agreed to be the TMCI Senior Presbyter for Africa.  Moses will be a great help as God opens more doors for TMCI. Let us pray to that end.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Bishop Bob Coulter

 1. PRAYER: Your success in ministry is directly related to the amount of prayer you put into it.
 
 
 
I pray that this teaching was a blessing to you and I leave you with this quote from Oswald Chamber:  Every Time we pray, our horizon is altered, our attitude to things is altered, not sometimes but every time, and the amazing thing is that we do not pray more
 
Be Blessed,
 
Bishop Robert Coulter
Sr. Bishop of the Church