The Church at Togahon

On Monday night Tim Albright told of a group of believers in Burkina Faso West Africa who had been prevented from using the village water source. Having moved on a hillside near the village, they were helped by CAMA Services to dig a well of their own. The next year when the village well ran dry these believers gladly shared their water with those who had denied the same to them. Out of this act of compassion a church has been born. Attached to this post are photos of the dedication of the building in which this church meets. Nancy Pierce, who shared these images with me wrote the following. "The first few young men who believed were beaten and locked into a tiny hut without food. That didn't work!"
Now there is a thriving church in Togahon. Praise the Lord and pray for more people to be given access to the Living Water and drink deep of His salvation.

From me,through me, to me VS From Him, through Him, to Him

On Monday night I listened to a panel discussion of missionaries that was part of the Family Festival of World Missions sponsored by First Alliance Church, Toccoa. These can be really cheesy events but this one was different. Actually, I don't know when I have more clearly seen the heart of God for lost people than I did when these folks were talking. One comment by Matt Fisher, who serves with his family in Krasnodar, Russia as a professor of theology in a Bible college particularly got my attention. When asked what one of the disappointments he had faced during his first term on the field he shared this-many of the people who are being trained as leaders in the Russian church have felt led to come to the U.S. and ostensibly minister to Russian immigrants in this country. While I have no desire to judge the motives of these brothers the effect on the church in Russia of these leader's decision to leave for the "Land of Opportunity"seems to be negative. Let's just suppose that the real motive of this re-location was for self-promotion or self-advancement. I can speak to this motivation because I have surely been guilty of it myself. I believe that this is one of the major issues that we the Church in 2009 must face if we are going to make progress in taking the Gospel to the 2 billion people in the world who are in effect cut off from it. In Paul's soaring doxoloogy in Romans 11:33-36 he ends with the bedrock truth that all things are "from him and through him and to him" speaking of God the Father. In light of this truth he then in 12:1-2 urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. One of the results of this sacrificial giving of self is that we are no longer conformed to the "pattern of this world". I think it's accurate to say that the pattern of this world is summed up in the phrase, 'all things are from me through me and to me', or to put it another way 'it's all about me'. This ancient motivation of self-promotion and self-advancement is something I deal with every day. I have been helped recently by realizing that God is actively at work bringing everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. (Eph.1:11) So, I must make decisions to lay down my life even while the momentum of this world and the temptation of the evil one pull toward self-preservation. So must church leaders in Russia-so must you. We are not alone in making Christ-like decisions to do the Father's will in order to fullfill the Father's plan. He is at work with all His mighty power bringing everything into holy conformity.