Remember Your Witness

I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother. - Philemon 4-7 (NKJV)

Encouraging, uplifting words from Paul to his brother in Christ, Philemon. Here, Paul is encouraging Philemon to remember his faith, service and love of the Lord, as Paul is sending his run-away servant (and fellow brother in Christ), Onesimus, back to him. To remember and be mindful of his Christian witness as he receives him back into his house.

We may not have run-away servants in our lives, but we can take a lesson from Paul on how to respect and honor our fellow brothers and sisters. Paul is encouraging in his words. Many Christians are way too quick to be critical of other Christians who make mistakes, commit sins, and generally just screw up, instead of praying for them and encouraging them to seek the Lord's forgiveness. As Christians, why do we shoot our own wounded? Of all the different groups and religions in the world, the Church, the Body of Christ, should be the NUMBER ONE place to turn to in a time of trial, pain and need.

Use Paul's example. Love your brother and sister. Pray for them, encourage them, stand up for them, walk beside them. Whatever situation they may be in, they are still children of our Father and in need of His grace.

Besides... we never know when WE might be the ones in need of that same grace. We might be the ones in the "hot seat".

Yes, Another Blog Post

A month ago today (23rd) I arrived back on the mission field, and it has been a busy time here in Jamaica. There have been 4 teams in that time, 4 houses built, 1 VBS held, morning devotions at 10+ schools, work and painting done at the guesthouse, and other community outreach and house repairs done. What a wonderful ministry I am blessed to be a part of, and to see churches and individuals that are following God's call to fulfill the Great Commission.

The desire of my heart is to see churches become actively involved in local, state, national and world missions, to be mission minded, mission active, mission sending congregations. I pray that God allows me to help encourage those churches who serve with CSI to grow, and to continue on, in their missions programs. I have seen in the life of my home church how God can bless a congregation that surrenders to His call to minister through an active missions program and wish that all churches would receive a similar blessing.

Sadly, though, too many churches follow the lead of a pastor, elder, deacon, or other leader in the church who has no vision for anything other than their own agenda, instead of following the lead of the Holy Spirit. (Thank you Pastor Fred for following the vision the Lord placed in your heart so many years ago.)

It is way past time for the congregations across America to step outside the walls of their buildings and stop just GOING to church, but to start BEING the church we were called to be.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 28:19

URGENT NEED:

Dear Family, Friends, and Ministry Partners,

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During the last year and a half I have had many people share with me that they are lifting me up in prayer as I serve our Lord on the mission field. I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to know I am covered each day by prayer from my prayer partners. It is these prayers that sustain me during those times when Satan is on the attack. But it takes not only prayer partners, but financial partners as well, to keep me on the mission field.

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As you all know I am 100% supporter-funded as a missionary with CSI, and in order to stay on the mission field I must rely on the generous giving of my brothers and sisters in Christ. When I first came to Jamaica my monthly support was not quite at 100% of my budget, but there was a need for staff on the field and, thanks to generous one-time gifts, my ministry account had a surplus balance. After arriving on the mission field, the hope was to occasionally pick up new support from mission team members, or even a church or two, as has happened historically for many missionaries. That has happened on a few occasions over the last year and a half, but not as was hoped.

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In recent months the monthly gifts that go into my ministry account have consistently been around $700 short of my monthly budget. Sometimes the amount is short by as much as $1000. As of the beginning of February my ministry account had a total of just over $4400. If the current giving trend continues I may not have enough funding to stay on the mission field through the busy summer season. And if an unexpected expense happens to arise I may be forced to head back to the States even sooner.

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I know that many of you who are (or have been) regular supporters were affected by the financial situation of the last couple years and have found that regular giving has been difficult , but I also know that God is Jehovah-jireh and will provide for my needs as well as yours.

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If you are not one of my regular, monthly ministry partners, and have considered joining with me, but have been waiting for the right time, then there is no time like the present. Join with me in making a difference for the Kingdom.

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Has the Lord blessed you in such a way that will allow you to provide a blessing? Maybe you received a work bonus or will be blessed with a tax return this year. Maybe you could help with a one-time gift of $50, $100, $500, $1000, or more. Any and all monthly support and one-time gifts are appreciated.

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Do you have a difficult time remembering to send your support in each month? Well CSI has an easy, automatic withdraw option that allows you to easily give each month without worrying about forgetting to write out that check. Just contact the CSI office in Muncie for details (765.286.0711). Also, the CSI website (http://www.csiministries.org/) has an easy, secure method of giving gifts electronically.

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Please join with me in prayer as I seek God’s provision through new, and renewed, financial ministry partners. Might YOU be one of the ones God has prepared and is calling to be a ministry partner through giving?
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Here is an example of how new financial partners can help meet my $700 monthly budget shortfall.
1 supporter at $700/month
2 supporters at $350/month
5 supporters at $140/month
10 supporters at $70/month
20 supporters at $35/month
50 supporters at $14/month
100 supporters at $7/month
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If, after a time of prayer, you feel God’s lead to become one of my financial partners, I only ask that you first give your regular tithe to God BEFORE you begin sending any support for me.
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Thank you in advance to everyone who will be joining me in prayer, as well as to everyone who will be joining me as a monthly financial ministry partner.

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Jamaica John
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“Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." - Gal. 6:2

2K10

Well, the old year is over and a new year has begun. 2009 was a busy year for CSI Jamaica. Here is some info from 2K9:
- 22 teams
- 25 small houses
- 1 40X25 school room (2 team effort)
- 1 new school playground
- 1 school restroom
- 3 VBS
- 2 soccer camps
- 1 basketball camp
- multiple visits to local children's homes, schools, churches and the infirmary
- countless lives changed and relationships built
- new addition to the guesthouse (Host family apartment)
- property acquired
- and so much more

The Lord blessed CSI Jamaica in many ways in 2009 and I am thankful to have been a part of what He did last year. And, I am so looking forward to what He has in store for 2010. Our calendar is busy with teams coming down, we have new staff in the works who are preparing to join us on the mission field, and we are seeking God's direction and vision for the ministry of CSI in Jamaica. Changes in the way CSI operates in Jamaica are continuing. We as missionaries in Jamaica are asking for God's best to be done in 2010.

Happy New Year!!!

Meet With Him and Them

How great it is to meet together with other believers and share in fellowship and praise!

Since I have been back in the States I have met with many of my brothers and sisters in Christ.
- On November 12-15 I met with many CSI missionaries, staff, and other members of the CSI family at the CSI Staff Retreat.
- I have met with members of my home church.
- I have met with past team members.
- I have met with future team members.
- I have met with possible future team members.
- I have met with staff at our Muncie office.
- I have met with future CSI Jamaica staff.
- And over the next few days I will be meeting with another future team, a supporting church, and a possible supporting church.

All of these opportunities have been, and will be, times of praise to our Lord. I don't understand how some believers can get together and not enjoy themselves, but it happens. When I get together with other believers I expect Christ to show up; I expect to have a great time of praise, worship and fellowship. Shouldn't we all expect the same when we gather together in His name? (Of course part of the problem could be that too many Christians often fail to meet together in Jesus' name.)

"Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people." Psalm 111:1 (NLT)

It Often Happens

Have you ever had a great God-moment and then come up with a wonderful idea about some ministry you could do or be involved in that would allow you to serve God with all your heart?

Did you then jump into it with both feet, whole-heartedly, with no reservations, with all of your faith, with no plan as to how to carry out that ministry, without seeking God's direction and will, and without asking God if that was what He wanted you to do, but instead asked God to come along on the journey that YOU were starting?

Did it seem to go well at first?

You were excited! You didn't know how God was gonna work it out, but you "knew" He was gonna open some great doors of ministry opportunity!

Others offered words of caution, but you were confident that you were doing what was right!

After a short time you may have started to struggle and wondered why God had not blown the doors wide open for you to be able to succeed in this new ministry that you were so jazzed about starting!

A short time after that you started to realize that you may have allowed your emotions to lead you in a direction that was close to the direction Christ was trying to lead you, but you were now nowhere close to where He wanted you to go.

You knew that you needed to change what you were doing, but didn't know how you could admit to everyone else that you had made a terrible decision and went out to minister in Jesus' name without actually taking Jesus along with you.

IT HAPPENS!

From time to time we, as Christians, experience a great God-moment and get excited about the possibilities!!! But we have to be careful and use the good sense that He has given us. We have to take the time to get on our knees before Him and seek His direction and will for our lives and the ministry He has for us to do. He will give us His vision for His ministry if we will allow Him to lead us instead of allowing our emotions to take control.

"Where there is no vision the people perish." (Prov. 29:18)

More Just Stuff

It feels like forever since I have posted. Guess I will post a little something now.

My niece, Marcy, had a baby Monday. Jentry Jo Pribyl was 7-lbs 15-oz, 21-inch. I got to see and hold her tonight. She is a pretty baby. Marcy and Cris did good. They will hopefully get to go home on Friday.

I will be hitting the road next Tuesday (1st) and heading towards KY and IN. I have some speaking engagements, and will be visiting with some team members from the past year who have been to Jamaica, as well as visiting the CSI office in Muncie. Please pray for God to go before me and for safety as I travel.

Also, be in prayer for the rest of my time home. I will be speaking in a few churches as I try to boost my support. The financial difficulties that have affected others over the past year have affected my monthly support as well. Please pray with me that the Lord will provide me opportunities to speak to those whom He has already prepared to join me as ministry partners, as well as to encourage others who may have fallen away from their monthly giving. Since God called me to serve, I will trust Him to provide.

Gotta go.