Author: Believers Church

April 10, 2019 Believers Church

Before Jesus ascended, He left His men with marching orders. In giving those orders, He made it clear to both the devil and His disciples what He intended to accomplish from afar. He intended to build His Church, just like He had always said, through willing men & women for centuries to come. Only now, this plan was no longer mere talk, it had actually begun. The Commission had been given, and the gates of hell were on high alert.

After 2,000 years of building, the Church of God is yet unfinished. The work is still happening, but the war is still raging. Our progress is sure, but it’s slow, and it seems that we’ve got a long way to go. A modern missionary to Asia gives a sobering first-hand assessment of one possible reason for any lack of success in our work, saying this: “Sadly, over the centuries of missionary efforts, there has been a huge disconnect between the church at home and those sent to the mission field. People at home are not sure what to do or say to those in the field, and those in the field often feel forgotten and abandoned. At the same time, it’s hard for those in the mission field to accurately describe what it’s like where they’re at, and so they give up trying, leaving those at home without the full knowledge of what’s happening and what they’re going through”

Another article reminds us that: “When a congregation sends out missionaries, they extend their church’s ministry beyond their immediate cultural and geographical context.  This partnership means the missionaries do not cease to belong to their sending church, or are simply absent friends, but should remain valued members of their church, albeit in another place. A healthy relationship between a sending church and its missionaries will be a rewarding and enriching two-way process, keeping the church abreast of God’s wider purposes and giving an increasing awareness of cross-cultural and global mission”  

Forgotten Statistics

“Mission’s Season” has begun for us already this year, and the season itself only seems to get longer and longer. The JFB community has a total of 4 short-term missionary endeavors in 2019, stretching from March to October, with a total of 48 participants, many of whom will be on multiple trips. The numbers are impressive for a church our size, and noteworthy for various reasons, but hidden behind those figures are other statistics that are easily overlooked. As many people as we are sending into the mission field this year, there are approximately three times as many people who are staying home. They will not be prayed over, they will not be sent out, and they will not keep us updated on the exciting things they’re doing for God’s Kingdom via the mission’s blog. Instead of fighting against malaria, jet lag, and homesickness, they’ll be doing battle with the common cold, long commutes, and monotony.

Satan’s chief concern is that we, the church, unify, and that each of us gives full attention to our particular role in missions (whether going or staying), and that we will actually fulfill the Great Commission. His strategy, in part, to prevent that from happening, is to promote a “disconnect” between the church and her missionaries. The Lord knows his schemes and has shown us how to fight against that disconnect. There is a way for those whose mission field goes no further than the county line, to partner with those we’ve sent out, and share in the work of building up the Church of Christ. But how? How can we who stay home, bless, serve, and unite with those in the field, keep the bond between us strong, and share in the eternal reward for the missionary work done by this church? 

1. Be Relational

They say that “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. In other words, distance needn’t weaken the relationship you have to the ones in the field. In fact, because of the spiritual dynamic in true Christian fellowship, it can actually make it stronger. Read what Paul wrote to the Romans in 1:9-13 and you’ll see that his affinity for the friends he had at church didn’t diminish because of his work in the field; quite the opposite. Let separation prove how deep your friendship really is. Our missionaries know that they have the support of the church, but do they know whether they have yours?

Be sensitive, of course, to how you can best communicate that to our missionaries without burdening them, or interfering with their work (Paul wrote a letter, he didn’t bombard them with voicemails and text messages).

2. Be Prayerful

Absence can make the heart grow fonder, but it can also cause the mind to forget. This may sound like a given, but pray for your missionaries regularly. Pray for their specific needs…if you don’t know what they are, then ask them! Ask them before they leave. Get updates while they’re gone. Assure them that you’ll be praying for their specific prayer requests. And then make sure to follow through with your promise. Make the extra effort to be thoughtful and pray for what they may not be thinking of (which is the very heart of intercessory prayer; Romans 8:26).

The formerly quoted missionary to the people of Asia puts it like this: “We don’t need people at home to pray weak prayers for us like, “And God, remember ____. Bless him/her.” We are on the “front lines” in countries where the Gospel has either never been taken or is not well-known. We need powerful prayers from you! Not just short, last-thought on a prayer-list prayers. We need to be prayed for as sons and daughters on the front-lines of battlefields are prayed for. I encourage you to adopt some missionaries to battle for in prayer; prayer for faith, encouragement, continued vision, strategy, health, wisdom, protection, & harvest reaping”

3. Be Thoughtful

Find creative and helpful ways to bless missionaries according to their needs. Is there anything you can do to help them get ready for their trip? Is there something they could use while they’re gone? Is there any help they’ll need when they come back? What can you do to say, “Welcome home, we’ve missed you”. Sometimes the expression of a little extra care and consideration can be very refreshing to a tired servant of God.

“Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people” Philemon 1:7

4. Be Missional

The missionaries you’re praying for have such a strong desire to see the work of God accomplished, they were willing to rearrange schedules, suffer docked pay, and leave friends, family, & comfort, in order to do it. They’ve made major financial sacrifices, and taken substantial risks to fulfill their role in the Great Commission. Nothing would encourage them more than to remember that you are doing the very same thing on domestic soil.

Be evangelistic like they are. Work hard like they are. Make sacrifices like they are. Leaving the state isn’t required for a person to be “missional”. You can serve Jesus in many ways right here, right now, that will put you in the game and bless your missionaries.

We’re all part of the same team. If we take missions seriously as a church, then let those of us who won’t be boarding a plane or piling in a van this year make sure that we’re every bit as missional as those who are. The Great Commission will be fulfilled when each of us finds & fills our place in it. And when we do, we’ll shake the gates of hell.  

April 4, 2019 Believers Church

Pastor’s Recommended Media

Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll has released a new book called Christians Might Be Crazy. In it, he seeks to answer the 7 top objections to the Christian faith. In union with the release of the book, Pastor Mark has begun a compelling new series at Trinity Church in AZ to cover each of these objections in individual sermons.

The introductory sermon talks about the issue of intolerance.

Mark Driscoll: #1 Intolerance Video-Sermon

Click on the button above to watch the video. If you would prefer the audio, press play on the video and then click on the the three dots in the upper right corner of the video to change to audio.

April 1, 2019 Believers Church

On Television

Well over a year ago, JFB began an ambitious project that involved broadcasting our services on the CW network out of both Eau Claire and LaCrosse Wisconsin at 10:00 am each Sunday morning. When we made that decision, we did so with a missional albeit realistic heart of knowing, or at least understanding, that the likelihood of increasing our attendance was a longshot at best. But for us, that was never the point. We wanted to increase the kingdom attendance. So we stepped out into the crazy world of TV and multiple volunteers have worked diligently each week to make this project a reality. On a fairly regular basis we have heard from those who are out there watching which is wonderful and certainly reinforcing, and then…

Suddenly we started hearing from the dark. Perhaps you are unaware of this unique place we live, one aspect of which is the multiple state correctional facilities within a couple of hours drive time from Menomonie. This caveat may have no specific bearing upon your life, but apparently, it did upon our Tv broadcast. For we have already heard from inmates in 6 of those prisons, and they are watching…take the example below:

One of several recent letters

2 / 21 / 19 – Dear Pastor Tim,

My name is ……………. and I am currently incarcerated at New Lisbon Correctional Institution in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. I’m actually from Menomonie, though. In 2008, I actually visited Jesus Fellowship of Believers a couple times. I had just come home after serving 4 years in the Army and had lived on 9th next to Our Savior’s. I’d call myself a Christian for years, but was clinging tightly to my secret sins. I was very convicted by your preaching, but I wasn’t ready to give up myself for the truth. I found a church that delivered a feel-good message and I continued to live my life trying to be a Christian and chase after strange flesh and indulge in an addiction to pornography. Your words on the days I visited JFB stuck with me for years. You said, “Going to church makes you as much a Christian as going to McDonalds makes you a hamburger.” I was really good at going to church, but I was a terrible Christian, if one at all.

So, why am I writing you? I’ve been in prison for 3½ years and will continue to be until 2031, and will have to serve part of that in Minnesota prison. I finally gave my whole heart to Christ and made Him Lord of my life in 2015 with my knees hard-pressed on a cold concrete floor in a jail cell. I’d hit rock bottom after I turned myself in. I lost my wife, my kids, my home, and my career because I believed the lies of the enemy and molested my step daughter. I’ve spent the past 3½ years growing closer to God and studying Scripture. I even enrolled in Bible college through correspondence courses. We are blessed here with a chaplain who is on fire for prison ministry but, I still often find myself needing to be fed spiritually. I’ve moved past the milk and desire more meat. Understandably, the message preached at the services here are usually along the lines of a “milk” message.

Recently, our institute upgraded our TV antennae and I found your service on the CW on Sunday morning. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing you preach again, be “fed” by the JFB service, and get a little taste of home. I just wanted to give you my brief testimony and thank you for making the service available on TV. It’s a joy to be a part of the JFB congregation, even if it’s just through the TV. If Menomonie winds up being my home again after my release, I intend to make JFB my permanent church home. Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy the service on TV; at least for the next 3 years while I’m still in Wisconsin. Thanks again and God bless!

For His Glory, 2 Timothy 2:21

Correctional Ministry

Now we might be wonderfully pleased by the letters we are receiving, but since when has “wonderfully pleased” been enough for us? So with 25 years of correctional ministry under our belts, we have lit upon a unique and, we hope, a creative pursuit to answer what we see as a golden opportunity. We are currently praying and moving forward on expanding our TV ministry into the very next 30 minute slot after our current Sunday service. In that ½ hour we are looking to develop a ministry TV broadcast engineered to specifically meet the needs of the believer that is incarcerated in those state facilities. This broadcast would have some footage from our regular Sunday services, and then application commentary from others, mostly our chaplain Ryan O’Gara, and lastly other media material directed toward discipleship and maturation of those who have turned to Christ despite being incarcerated. As far as we know, no one as attempted such an outreach endeavor in this manner. One reason of course, is few have the plethora of “captive” audience that we have within our reach via broadcast TV and at a cost that is affordable. The potential is unlimited, but of course so are the unknowable battles we may come up against. Please pray for this endeavor and wisdom on the part of your community leaders. And of course, if you feel so inclined, more volunteers for this ministry would be welcomed! Thank you for being a part of it…financially, prayerfully, and in unity!

PASTOR TIM

March 28, 2019 Believers Church

The Issue

There are times in the Christian life when something we see or experience causes us to question the justice and goodness of God. And even though our judgment is clouded in these times, we grow angry with God or the people around us because of what we “believe” is happening around us. That’s when bitterness finds root, and man, it can be tough to let go of.

Psalm 73 sheds some light into why our hearts are prone to “slipping” away from God’s reality when bitterness finds root. Asaph’s personal experience with this is forever recorded in the pages of the bible to bring direction and hope to those who are confined by or distorted by their perceptions of what is happening around them.

Desiring God Article by Jon Bloom

In his recent article “Leave Behind the Weariness of Bitterness”, Jon Bloom helps us to see that this is not uncommon to the people of God and shows us what Asaph did to rise up out of it.

Check out this compelling message to the embittered Christian: LINK

March 25, 2019 Believers Church

Campus Outreach 

For many university students, summer vacation is a week away. But that doesn’t mean we are taking a break – some universities did not start classes until August, so they will be in session until May. We continued to reach out to one or two universities per week to invite students to Street Level meetings and pass out the latest issue of Word On the Street Magazine. Live Radio Broadcasts have continued to be another way to promote Street Level Radio and SLM events. We were also able to do a student poll for the next edition of WOTS at the last live broadcast. We asked students if they could go anywhere in the world where would they go and why. It was neat to hear what they had to say and to interview them on the radio.

As the school year comes to an end, I am reminded we have known the core Architecture students from the University of the Visayas two years at the end of July. It is during these times, that I think about all that God has done in my life.

Science Creation Curriculum

For many years, March has signaled the end of the school year for students since classes normally start in June. This year, as schools move toward a mid August start date some students will be in class until May. Science Lessons wrapped up for the school year with a visit to Southern Bethany to reconnect with them and share a new curriculum with students in grades 7 & 8. Two new schools that we worked with the second semester have asked about the next school year. With classes out for the summer soon there have been a few possible summer options talked about. More curriculum continues to be developed and current curriculum edited as schools and class sizes change.

Relationships

Lately, we have been reminded of two phrases: “People, not projects” and Relationships matter.” On March 15, we had a pizza and movie night at Street Level. As I watched the movie and ate pizza that night I couldn’t help but remember where I came from. You see, I started walking with God after college. Often times, as we eat dinner and practice our Cebuano before the bible study I am reminded to never, ever lose sight of where I came from. Later that night I was thinking about friendship and life in general and was reminded how important friendship is. Earlier that week, I got coffee with a friend and we took a jeep home to make food and watch a movie. On our walk from the jeep stop to our apartment, we talked about books we have read, ministry and life.

I recently read a quote by Charles Spurgeon, “Friendship seems as necessary an element of a comfortable existence in this world as fire or water, or even air itself. A man may drag along a miserable existence in proud solitary dignity, but his life is scarce life, it is nothing but an existence.” The author goes on to say, “If you want to call friendship a luxury, that’s fine. But then make sure you also call air a luxury. There are few true necessities in life. Friendship is one of them.”

Prayer Requests

Please continue to pray for all the students as they wrap up the school year. Pray that they would continue putting God first in their lives. Also, we have been working on several tasks for the two missions teams that will be here this coming May and August. We ask that you pray for all we have been in contact with in regards to the summer missions team plans. Also, for safety as we finish up our last couple weeks here before we join everyone again for a short break. –Laura

March 22, 2019 Believers Church

We may not be perfect spellers, but we are learning God’s Word! Much learning and growing is happening in the Children’s Ministry these days!

New Teachers

In February we held a new teacher training class. Four servants who have been faithfully assisting in the Children’s Ministry are currently training to begin teaching in the Foundations Room. Please pray for Danielle, Amber, Abby, and Rachel as God is growing them into this new role!

New Foundations Room teachers in training

All Servants Meeting

In March all of the Children’s Ministry servants gathered together for a meeting. We were able to refresh on our mission, talk through policy updates, review a few procedures, and discuss several related questions. Our goal in these meetings is to keep everyone on the same page so we can better serve the parents and children of our church. It is always good to be reminded of our mission. It is also good to be flexible as God leads changes!

Foundations Room News

We also have a Family Worship Day coming up on March 31 for the kids in the Foundations Room.  On Family Worship Days, the Foundations Room closes to provide families an opportunity to experience the full corporate worship service together. Attention spans of young children can be short, but paying attention doesn’t naturally get easier as we grow older.  As parents, one of the ways we can serve our children is to help train them to be active listeners and participants in the worship service. If you’d like, you can click here to download or print a notes sheet that your child can use to help them actively listen to the sermon. (Note that it is meant to be printed two-sided with short-edge binding.)

Check out this video the Foundations Room kids practicing their last memory verse (Matthew 28:19) during a recent class. We like to make learning fun!

If you would like to learn how you can get involved in the Children’s Ministry, please contact Sara Huhmann or Mandie Schug.