MorningStarMissions: Man of Faith

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Not Brave, Just Obedient Not Crazy, Just a Man of Faith by Undercover Disciplemaker I meet people all the time, who, when they learn where I do missions work, tell me I am either brave or crazy.  I don't think I am either.  The Word says, "...go and make disciples of all nations..."  All nations must include those nations with a hostile spiritual environment and lack physical safety.  To go to a country or area because you see a need can be presumptuous.  But to go because the Lord personally tells you to is to go in obedience and faith.   I never planned on being a missionary.  But looking back I can see where the Lord had planted this in my heart and prepared me for years before I moved in this calling.  Several years ago I went to Asia Minor to visit a long-time friend who is a missionary.  While I was there my heart was awaken to a call to share the gospel and make disciples.  I then worked for the next two and a half years to find a way financially to join my friend in the ministry there.  Because I was willing, the Lord then sent me where He wanted me, which was Central Asia.  The Lord had to prepare my heart so I would go to this dangerous location.   When I arrived in Central Asia it was more than a shock in the natural; and it was very much a shock in the spiritual.  I have been through more than one evangelism training course.  All of them were taught from a western mind-set and from a western cultural perspective.  This does not work in a closed Muslim country.   Fortunately, I went as part of a team.  No one could get a visa to enter this country as a missionary but you could get one as part of an international humanitarian organization.  Many of our team had many years experience in this land.  And I was additionally blessed by working with two nationals who were believers.   I soon realized to be effective in presenting the gospel and to begin making disciples would require a long-term vision.  Six months in and out would not build a strong foundation.  I began to understand I must start by showing the love of Jesus and from there build relationships.  Being in a closed country where its against the law to share the gospel caused me to hone the ears of my heart to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.  This was vital for me to accomplish my mission.  I had to grow in patience as I waited for the Holy Spirit to provide an opportunity to witness to anyone.  Eventually, I learned many things such as to only answer the question I was asked and not try to tell the entire Truth all in one opportunity.   In my second year there I was able to begin a dialog with a national unbeliever.  We were alone in a car and I was able to ask the national driver, who was carrying me out into the city, a question about Islam.  As we talked, he questioned me about Christianity.  As the weeks went by, he talked with me and with others on our team.  After some months he prayed for the Lord to come into his heart and be his Savior.  We baptized him in a bathtub.  The next year another team member was able to get him into an evangelistic training center in a country in Asia Minor.  While there he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.  He has since returned to the country of his birth.   Last June the Lord directed me to return to the U.S.  I had mixed feeling about this. After a couple of months I realized how much I needed to be recharged.   In January, God gave me the opportunity to return to the country in Central Asia and see Him move in some powerful ways in only a couple of weeks.  I was able to meet privately with a group of 21 men with whom I had spent years building a relationship.  All 21 allowed me to privately pray for them individually to open their heart to Jesus!  During this trip I was also able to plant two New Testaments in the national language.  One of the men I gave a copy to is having a national friend print 100 copies of the NT to distribute!  This, of course, must be done in secret.       I looking forward to living out the Great Commission and II Timothy 2:2.  The Kingdom of God will come to this country!     FaceBook Donate to MorningStar /CMM Missions Today! Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Mission Child: There are many children who need our help around the world. We have so many that are asking us for help. There are great opportunities for you to get involved. You can partner with us to pray! You can sponsor a child for $30 a month. We are sponsoring children from many different countries. We invite you to participate. For inquiries email at: missionsbase@gmail.com   Read more >  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 MorningStar Missions, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our web site or signed up through CMM. Our mailing address is: MorningStar Missions 375 Star Light Dr. Fort Mill, SC 29715 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

CORRECTED: MorningStar CM Missions Updates

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. India’s Missionaries Committed To Win The Lost At Any Cost Condensed from updates written by PG and Aby Vargis edited by Cristi Winkler Every year, IET (India Evangelical Team) plants several hundred pioneer churches in distant villages and unreached tribes. In 2012 IET planted 611 new churches in the far north of India, where persecution is stronger than the south. Once a congregation is birthed in an unreached tribe, it soon becomes strategic to build a ‘house of God’ for the congregation. A separate ‘house of God’ becomes critical in establishing the pioneer work. Why is a separate structure, even though it may be a tin roofed shed, important? There are several contextual, legal, and strategic reasons. Let me share some: First, a church building creates a feeling of stability for the new believers. In most of Asia, particularly in South Asia, a sacred place of worship has proven to be an important element in establishing a new and respectful house of worship. We have repeatedly seen that the Christian faith establishes itself faster and spreads quicker when having a ‘house of God’ as part of the strategy. This is perhaps the most important element for me; I want to see the product of our energies and investments last till Christ returns. Second, a separate structure accelerates financial self-sufficiency in a village church. Recently we found that in those villages where we constructed a simple tin roofed prayer shed, the congregation achieved at least 25% financial self-sufficiency within few months. Read more > FaceBook Donate to MorningStar /CMM Missions Today! Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Mission Child There are many children who need our help around the world. We have so many that are asking us for help. There are great opportunities for you to get involved. You can partner with us to pray! You can sponsor a child for $30 a month. We are sponsoring children from many different countries. We invite you to participate. For inquiries email at: missionsbase@gmail.com  Read more > Grace Controversy: From Jorge Parrott, Missions Director: There has been a lot of talk of ‘ultimate reconciliation’ or ’universalism’ in churches around the world.  The subject of grace is one we must handle with utmost care as shepherds over our flocks. This is a very powerful and foundational message for our time and for you as pastors and missionary leaders in many nations. Please click here to listen to Rick Joyner's talk on the "Grace Controversy". We believe you will be blessed by this timely word. Exciting Frontline News From the Vineyards of the Lord January 2013 by Jorge Parrott, MorningStar/CM Missions Director Cuba: Native Evangelist Friend Allowed To Minister in Maximum Security Prison Our dear MS/CMM friend and MSU College of Theology Doctoral student, who is truly an apostolic leader in this nation, recently played baseball with the prisoners and then began to preach loudly in the center of the prison yard. A prison official started to shut it down, but the spirit of the Lord won out. As our friend, (whose name we cannot mention) shared the love of Jesus silence fell over the entire prison. Read more > African Royal Priesthood by Jorge Parrott Often our unenlightened world view can be shattered as a mere carnal misconception once the Lord opens our eyes to more of his heavenly reality. In 2 Cor. 5:17 (KJV) we read “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new”.  In seeking to know more of God’s heart for the nations through deepening relationships with remarkable apostolic leaders around the world God has always exceeded my expectations.  Read more >  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 MorningStar Missions, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our web site or signed up through CMM. Our mailing address is: MorningStar Missions 375 Star Light Dr. Fort Mill, SC 29715 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

MorningStar CM Missions Updates

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. India’s Missionaries Committed To Win The Lost At Any Cost Condensed from updates written by PG and Aby Vargis edited by Cristi Winkler Every year, IET (India Evangelical Team) plants several hundred pioneer churches in distant villages and unreached tribes. In 2012 IET planted 611 new churches in the far north of India, where persecution is stronger than the south. Once a congregation is birthed in an unreached tribe, it soon becomes strategic to build a ‘house of God’ for the congregation. A separate ‘house of God’ becomes critical in establishing the pioneer work. Why is a separate structure, even though it may be a tin roofed shed, important? There are several contextual, legal, and strategic reasons. Let me share some: First, a church building creates a feeling of stability for the new believers. In most of Asia, particularly in South Asia, a sacred place of worship has proven to be an important element in establishing a new and respectful house of worship. We have repeatedly seen that the Christian faith establishes itself faster and spreads quicker when having a ‘house of God’ as part of the strategy. This is perhaps the most important element for me; I want to see the product of our energies and investments last till Christ returns. Second, a separate structure accelerates financial self-sufficiency in a village church. Recently we found that in those villages where we constructed a simple tin roofed prayer shed, the congregation achieved at least 25% financial self-sufficiency within few months. Read more > FaceBook Donate to MorningStar /CMM Missions Today! Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend Mission Child There are many children who need our help around the world. We have so many that are asking us for help. There are great opportunities for you to get involved. You can partner with us to pray! You can sponsor a child for $30 a month. We are sponsoring children from many different countries. We invite you to participate. For inquiries email at: missionsbase@gmail.com  Read more > Grace Controversy: From Jorge Parrott, Missions Director: There has been a lot of talk of ‘ultimate reconciliation’ or ’universalism’ in churches around the world.  The subject of grace is one we must handle with utmost care as shepherds over our flocks. This is a very powerful and foundational message for our time and for you as pastors and missionary leaders in many nations. Please click here to listen to Rick Joyner's talk on the "Grace Controversy". We believe you will be blessed by this timely word. Exciting Frontline News From the Vineyards of the Lord January 2013 by Jorge Parrott, MorningStar/CM Missions Director Cuba: Native Evangelist Friend Allowed To Minister in Maximum Security Prison Our dear MS/CMM friend and MSU College of Theology Doctoral student, who is truly an apostolic leader in this nation, recently played baseball with the prisoners and then began to preach loudly in the center of the prison yard. A prison official started to shut it down, but the spirit of the Lord won out. As our friend, (whose name we cannot mention) shared the love of Jesus silence fell over the entire prison.   Read more > African Royal Priesthood by Jorge Parrott Often our unenlightened world view can be shattered as a mere carnal misconception once the Lord opens our eyes to more of his heavenly reality. In 2 Cor. 5:17 (KJV) we read “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new”.  In seeking to know more of God’s heart for the nations through deepening relationships with remarkable apostolic leaders around the world God has always exceeded my expectations.  Read more >  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 MorningStar Missions, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our web site or signed up through CMM. Our mailing address is: MorningStar Missions 375 Star Light Dr. Fort Mill, SC 29715 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

MorningStarMissions: Window in January for Charitable deductions to be credited to 2012

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Window in January for Charitable Deductions to be Credited to 2012 Jorge Parrott, Missions Director Here is an opportunity to consider for this tax season. The so-called “fiscal cliff” law just passed by Congress and signed by President Obama, formally known as the “American Taxpayer Relief Act” (the Act), includes a little-publicized provision providing a very short window of opportunity for eligible taxpayers to make direct charitable distributions from their IRAs in January of 2013 and count them as made on December 31, 2012. The Act also contains a relief provision for eligible taxpayers who took distributions from their IRAs in December of 2012 (not knowing that the direct charitable IRA distribution exclusion would be retroactively renewed). The Act allows those taxpayers to exclude those distributions from their taxable income (within the prescribed limits) so long as they transfer the distributed funds to a qualified charity by the end of January 2013. These rules relate to the fact that the Act re-extends through 2013 the exclusion for direct charitable IRA distributions by taxpayers 70½ years old and older. That exclusion had expired as of December 31, 2011. The renewal is retroactive and covers 2012. Given the fact that the renewal of the provision did not occur until January of 2013, Congress is allowing taxpayers a temporary window through January 31, 2013, during which taxpayers may make direct charitable IRA distributions (within the prescribed limits) and treat them as having been made on December 31, 2012. Please check with your financial advisor about more details. Donate to MorningStar/CMM Friend us on Facebook!   (Taken from: Evangelism Explosion International. Dr. John B. Sorensen John Sorensen President © Evangelism Explosion International, All Rights Reserved.)    follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © 2013 MorningStar Missions, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our web site or signed up through CMM. Our mailing address is: MorningStar Missions 375 Star Light Dr. Fort Mill, SC 29715 Add us to your address book  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences