The Barnabas Foundation...

The streets are quiet this morning as we are celebrating Juan Pablo Duarte Day (one of the freedom heros). But last night things were rocking and rolling. The Cibai Aguillas (Eagles) won the Baseball Championship and the victory parade was yesterday.  It started at 1pm and last night at 7:30 I was caught in traffic trying to get home from church!

Our time at the Civil Defense went well- there were about 45 poeple, mostly young folks. It will be interesting to see how this ministry develops.  Isaiah 55: 10-11 says:

10 As the rain and the snow
       come down from heaven,
       and do not return to it
       without watering the earth
       and making it bud and flourish,
       so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
       It will not return to me empty,
       but will accomplish what I desire
       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

I am thrilled to have this chance to share God's Word with these young volunteers however brief it may be because I know that God'w Word has its own power to accomplish things that I can't even imagine.

Our Sunday Schools are going well- we had 34 and 42 children!  It is very satisfying to see the children eagerly receiving Biblical instruction. 

The one down heartening issue for me yesterday is our adult participation: it is at an all time low. Beginning December, we were averaging 60-80 adults in our three services combined. Yesterday we had about 30.  December and January are typically months that have a lot of distractions and even more so among the people of my communities.  I don' t like to seek excuses- our teaching yesterday focused on preparing our minds for service (1 Peter 1:13 and Philippians 4:8-9). 

I did see several bright spots in our adult ministry:

• Carolina's husband came and participated in our service
• Christian was back yesterday and confessed that his spiritual life has been suffering but renewed his commitment to seek the Lord and serve Him
• the group in the Hole have formed two small groups on Wednesday nights and had a combined participation of 25-30 persons last week.
• the group in Los Santos is studying what it means to be a church and out of their Bible study last week have been visiting several members who have grown away from the Lord, encouraging them with Hebrews 10:19-25.  It is always exciting to see believers put into practice what they learn from the Bible.

Thanks for your continued prayers for these churches in progress! 

Our seminary class is under way. I thoroughly enjoyed presenting our studying of Acts and all of us were excited with the anticipation of discovering the "truth nuggets" found in this book.

We have started a number of our regular participants in Guayacanal in studying the Gospel of John- one called me Saturday to ask me if she could go further than lesson one this week! She says when she lays down at night, she likes to study the Bible and apparently has already finished lesson one which covers chapters 1-6.  What a blessing to see people eager to study God's word. Pray that it will be contagious!

It promises to be an exciting weekend!

• Seminary classes start back on Saturday. I will be teaching Acts (2-4pm) and Danny Castillo will be teaching Worldview.  Both classes deal with mission themes. We expect about 7 students. We lost a few due to various factors and have picked up some new ones as well.
• Sunday we will have our three regular services and two Sunday Schools. The Hole has not yet begun their SS and probably will wait until after the group leaves so we don't have to interupt the schedule just as we are getting started.
• Sunday (8am) we will begin sharing a 10-15 minute Bible message to the volunteers of the Civil Defense. They meet every Sunday morning for training and we now have the pleasure of sharing God's Word as part of their training. Continue to pray for the director, Francisco Arias, and all the 120+ volunteers!
• I will be distributing the first newsletter of the Timothy Project. We used to have quarterly associational meetings where pastors and missionaries shared what was going on in their ministries but for several years now we have not had that contact. Knowing that communication is vital for good relationships, I decided to take the initiative to share with our pastors and churches what we are doing through a newsletter. The first edition talks about this new opportunity with the Civil Defense and invites those who wish to take a turn preaching one Sunday.  It also shares our churches in formation with their weekly schedules as well as our missions. (All together, the Timothy Project has three churches in progress and two missions.)  pray this newsletter will be well recieved and that our pastors and leaders will take part in this exciting opportunity with the Civil Defense.

Please keep us in your prayers!

It is always a thrill for us to receive volunteer groups. They encourage us as well as stimulate our ministry. First Baptist Church of Big Pine Key, Florida will arrive February 3-9th.  They have an ambitious ministry schedule.  Sunday morning they will lead 4 different training conferences for the volunteers of the Civil Defense. The director estimates 120 people!  So they will be teaching from 9am-1pm and then all of us will enjoy lunch together!  Then, as if that wasn't enough, they will visit their other ministry sites and participate in the worship service at Los Santos (6pm).

Monday and Tuesday morning they will be leading children's ministries in Navarette.  Wednesday and Thursday they will do the same in Guayacanal.  In the afternoon and evenings, they will be making house visits (evangelistic) in the areas where they will be leading the conferences that evening.  Here is the afternoon/evening schedule:

Monday: Villa de Yaque

Tuesday: Navarette

Wednesday: The Hole

Thursday: Guayacanal

Before our training session got started tonight, I was walking through the schedule with our leaders. They were so disappointed that they couldn't hear all the conferences but I don't see how the group could teach 4 hours every night! And even then they wouldn't hear them all because there are 8 in all!  I told them they were going to have to divide and conquer, sending different leaders to different conferences so they can later share with each other what they learned.  It will be good practice of 2 Timothy 2:2. 

Please pray for this church and the team they are sending here to work with us. Those of you who have been involved in short term mission projects know how much hard work it is. keep them in your prayers as they finalize their ministry plans and pray for them to be protected by God's power as they prepare to be His instruments here in Santiago.

We just finished up with a training session here at my house led by Juan Francisco of the Liga Bíblica (Bible League). For quite some time we have been involved in the Phillip Project. Basically, in the project, one begins to develop relationships with people, inviting them to study the Gospel of John. When they finish the 5 lesson study, one invites them to form a small group in a home.  There are three study guides (Discover 1, 2, and 3) for this small group which cover the basics of Christian discipleship.  The materials are very well done and the Bible League provides them at a nominal cost which is very important!  We have led many people through the Gospel of John and some through Discover 1 and 2. We have one group studying Discover 3 right now. We are going to try to go back to the beginning and start new groups even as these other groups move forward.

Ten of our leaders went through the training tonight which was a "refresher course."  It is timely because next week we will host a volunteer team from Big Pine Key, Florida. We prayerfully expect to have many folks in various communities interested in studying God's Word and will begin them immediately in the study of John with the hope of forming many new small group Bible studies. Thanks for praying for the people we will make contact with and for the leaders of the Timothy Project as they follow-up.

We had not been out to Guayacanal for two weeks due to rain and mud. Also, the place where we meet is going through a new roof process. We went early to visit our folks and let them know we were starting back up. I was really pleased with the reception we received. I invited our regular gang to begin studying the Gospel of John. We now have 7 families commited to study! Our prayer is that as we go each week to review the study material, other family members and neighbors will get interested and within a month we will be able to initiate at least three new small group Bible studies. Pray with us!

We had a pretty good turn out for the Bible study given the fact that none of them knew for sure if we were coming. It was a time to challenge them to grow deeper in their knowledge of God and their commitment to Him. I was pleasantly surprised when a group of them approached me as I was getting in my car to leave asking me to make the studies two hours instead of the half hour we now do! So, we are going to re-work our plan for the large group time and do a more comprehensive study.

I had a delightful time last night visiting with the family of Minerva in Navarette. The whole family, including her son-in-law was present. We are in the process of studying a panorama of the Bible- 14 key Bible stories that tell the message of God's plan for our lives. So far we have studied the creation, the deception of the serpant which allowed sin to enter, and last night, the first judgment of God against sin, the flood.  And what a judgment it was!  Pretty complete! We were looking out at the mountains contemplating what it would be like to have the waters cover even them.  But always God gives hope, and Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah was a just and upright man in his generation, a very corrupt generation.  And through him, God gave us another chance. And of course, we continued to turn away from God, until finally Jesus came. Romans 5:6-8 tells how at just the right time, when we were helpless, Jesus died for us so that we may have life, and have it to the full as he said in John 10:10.

It is quite a message that we are called to share! Last night we felt inspired to live as Noah did, to ignore what is around us, and live in faithful obedience to God, and looking not to the ark to save us, but to Jesus Christ. Pray with me that the inspiration we felt will translate to commitment!

It is a priviledge to be able to do the things I do. This morning as I was doing my devotions, I came across this from the fly leaf of D.L. Moody’s Bible

This Book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of Salvation, the doom of sinners. Its doctrines are Holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, its prophecies are sure and its decisions are immutable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be Holy.  It contains light to direct you, and comfort to cheer you; it is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character.

Here Paradise is restored, Heaven opened and the gates of Hell disclosed.  Christ is the grand subject, our good its design and the glory of God its end. It should fill the heart and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully.

It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, a river of pleasure. It is given to you in life; it will open at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.

The Bible is quite a book! I urge you as I urge myself and our ministry team to make it an integral part of our lives.  Thanks for praying for me and for the ministry of The Timothy Project. Let us continue to give devotion to God's Word!

Planting churches from ground zero is quite a task! I have learned A LOT these past seven years as I have worked among the urban poor to plant new churches.  Despite some difficulties here and there, it has been a real joy to see people come to know Christ, to grow in their faith and mature to the point of being able to guide others in spiritual matters.  One thing I have learned is that I have to keep focused on what we want to see happen.  The Bible verses that I have in the title to this blog are my guiding lights; they are where I go (often) to remind myself what it is all about:

"I came so they can have real and eternal life; more and better life than they ever dreamed of." Jesus speaking in John 10:10 (The Message) 

 "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." The apostle Paul writing in his 2 letter to Timothy 2:1&2 (NIV)

As you pray for us, and for your own churches, let us pray that the people we meet and minister to will discover this "real and eternal life", and will prove to be qualified to teach others also so that our family of faith may always be growing, both in numbers and in quality!

This weekend our national convention celebrates its 38th gathering. I drove yesterday to the capital and had the opportunity to visit with friends and pastors (and missionaries) from around the country. It was a refreshing time to renew ties and celebrate our friendship. I was impressed by the growth that is taking place. We are blessed with a visionary leader, the founder of the Macedonia Project which I had the priviledge of working with several years ago.  He had invited back a former missionary who served just one term here and during his time established the Baptist work in Bonao (some of you have worked there.) It was inspiring to hear the now retired pastor of Bonao speak of his being baptized by this missionary and to share with him that from that orginal group of 7 there are now three strong Baptist churches, a number of mission churches and many preaching points scattered around the area. It made me wonder about 5, 10 15 years from now what will become of our ministry in the urban poor sectors of our city. Where will Victor and Sol and Hector and Carolina and Milagro and many others take the Gospel? How many will be counted among the Baptist lineage of the family of God? I have great hope and confidence that the harvest will be great!  My experience last night renewed my commitment and resolve to keep with the Timothy Project- teaching others the things of God in such a way that they too will teach still others who can teach others (2 Timothy 2:2).

Please be in prayer for our worship times tomorrow- we meet at 10am (Villa de Yaque), 2:30pm (The Hole) and 6pm (Los Santos).  My prayer is that our time will be focused on God and on becoming useful instruments in His service.

You can be sure I will be watching the AFC championship game tomorrow night, rooting for the New England Patriots!