My first Podcast “From Bob’s Office” on Sports and Faith

What a privilege to be on the @FromBobsOffice Podcast. I talked a little longer than their other guests…but North East Ohio sports history needed a shout out as well as God’s faithfulness in my life and family! Enjoy! #sportsandfaith #FromBobsOffice
#NowPlaying

 

10/15/2019 in today’s “From Bob’s Office” episode we interview our friend Mike Jentes. We start with a quick update about our weekends () followed by a late recap of Dodgers/Nationals and some more baseball goings-on ().

We give a brief insight into the world of uploading podcasts, including Jacob’s frustration with what should have been a much easier and quicker process (). We spend some time looking back on the football weekend, spending a good amount of time on Packers/Lions and questionable refereeing ().

Then we have an extended conversation with Mike about his sports background and the highs and lows of growing up as a Cleveland sports fan (), then dive into his life and faith and all the travels and milestones that got him from his humble beginnings in northeast Ohio to his current status here in Long Beach.

 

You can find this podcast on Spotify and iTunes.


 

 

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Getting ready to record with @jbaumer42 and @jake_mathes episode 3 of their podcast @frombobsoffice #sportsandfaith

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Growing Daily in Your Relationship with God… Free Classic Book

Today I came across a free download of the letters captured in the book:

One of the things I seek in my own life and champion to others is the life of living WITH God. Not under Him, not over Him, not just from Him or for Him, but living our lives WITH God.

Now Brother Lawrence was from a more high-church tradition more than four centuries ago (yep in the 1600s!) but his letters and conversations have been captured for us.  At a variety of points over the decades of my walk with God, they have resurfaced for me to re-read and be challenged. They are a sample, a model even of living out a life WITH God…being in His presence.

So today again, God broke into my life and re-surfaced the stories and conversations of Brother Lawrence. I thought I would share them with you! As an example of some of the nuggets, here is one quote from Brother Lawrence in his 5th letter:

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with GOD: those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive; it is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because GOD would have us.

So I post here this free PDF of only 22 pages to engage with someone from a bygone era who might have much to teach us about living with God everyday.

THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
THE BEST RULE OF A HOLY LIFE
Conversations and Letters of Brother Lawrence


Thanks to PathsOfLove.com for posting and sharing!

Your Invitation: Sunrise Service for Easter Sunday!

On Easter morning, April 21st  at 6:00AM, we will have a Sunrise Service in Signal Hill near Hilltop Park! We will bring some coffee to keep you warm, but you should bring your coat & a chair so you have a place to sit! So we can see the sunrise (praying for no marine layer!), we will meet on the South side of Skyline Drive just east of Dawson Street around the Oil Well Workers statue. Map of our Location 2448 Skyline Dr. Signal Hill, CA 90755 To honor our own Denny, we will follow our time with an Easter breakfast at Denny’s at 2860 N Bellflower Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90815 (Dutch treat for breakfast). We would be delighted to have you celebrate our Risen Son at the rising sun on Resurrection Sunday!

Two Challenging Mission Messages

On March 9, 2019 in Wooster, Ohio, I was able to help coordinate the Connect & Equip missions conference by Encompass World Partners. It was a great day of connecting and equipping!

With nearly 100 people gathered together for the challenge of mission and among them were the leaders of 16 different workshops, electricity was in the air during this day. We had two main sessions and each of those speakers are men I deeply respect for their passion for the Lord, His Word and the Nations. Find out more and click through to these messages below:

Matthew Ellison is the co-founder of Sixteen:Fifteen, author of When WhenSafetyisSatanic coverMissions Is Everything  and was given the assignment to challenge the conference around the topic of Risk.  He nailed it from the Bible with the message “When Safety Is Satanic- Mark 8:31-35.”

 


Dr. Dave Guiles, Executive Director of Encompass World Partners and author of Discovering Global Missions & Mobilizing The Mobilizers, shared a challenging message about the disruption of destinies.  The messageDestinyDisrupter DaveGuiles ConnectEquip2019 “Destiny Disrupter: God has always been disrupting lives” is a clear call to be open to God and what He might be stirring up in our lives and those we influence.    

 

 

 

More St. Patrick’s Day Goodness

Today, on Saint Patrick’s Day, we spent some time telling his story and even praying a prayer called “Saint Patrick’s Breastplate Prayer.”

A very famous portion of the prayer is:

Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

(See what we prayed here)

In re-reading Patrick’s story in his own words from his “Confession,”  I was stunned by how Patrick’s destiny was disrupted. After being kidnapped by pirates, put into slavery and a miraculous escape, he was back home in England and describes what God did here:

And after a few years I was again in Britain with my parents [kinsfolk], and they welcomed me as a son, and asked me, in faith, that after the great tribulations I had endured I should not go anywhere else away from them.

And, of course, there, in a vision of the night, I saw a man whose name was Victoricus coming as if from Ireland with innumerable letters, and he gave me one of them, and I read the beginning of the letter: ‘The Voice of the Irish’; and as I was reading the beginning of the letter I seemed at that moment to hear the voice of those who were beside the forest of Foclut which is near the western sea, and they were crying as if with one voice: ‘We beg you, holy youth, that you shall come and shall walk again among us.’ And I was stung intensely in my heart so that I could read no more, and thus I awoke. Thanks be to God, because after so many years the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry.  (# 23 on pg. 9)

2 Stunning Aspects of Patrick’s Calling

1) Patrick Mentions his Parents’ Desires:

In just a few significant lines, Patrick outlines the overwhelming desire of his parents–for their son’s safety and for him to stay close to them.  We aren’t told how this was intimated, but Patrick knew what they wanted.

“Good” Christian parents in our time and country have the same desire: for their children to be safe and to stay close (maybe more for the future grandkids). Often this isn’t intimated to the children, but they know what their parents want.  Is this part of what holds back the extension of Jesus’ work in our world?

I just heard Dave Guiles share a message about our God who disrupts destinies–not only for salvation, but for calling to serve King Jesus in ministry and on mission. He has often remarked that the recruitment of future missionaries must address the parents and grandparents of young missionary families to release them to God’s work–which is hardly ever close geographically, and often not safe either.

During the same conference where Guiles was disrupting destinies, the other main session speaker Matthew Ellison shared a message entitled, “When Safety is Satanic.” I highly recommend you take a listen to that Biblical and challenging message out of Mark 8 and Hebrews 10.

Patrick seems to have felt the pressure from his parents. The connecting phrase he choses in this confession is so telling–“And, of course.”  If I can paraphrase: “Mom and Dad want me to stay home and be safe. And, of course God has work for me to do in a dangerous place far away.”  Patrick accents that the what God desires must supersede what parents desire.  And he proved it with his life.

2) Patrick’s Calling was for the Crying Irish

He concludes his “calling story” without a self-centered focus. “Thanks be to God, because after so many years the Lord bestowed on them according to their cry. “

Patrick saw that his calling was part of the Irish “crying.” It wasn’t about him, it was about those he would go to love, serve and shepherd.  Patrick’s calling wasn’t for his benefit, ego, identity or resumé, but because of God’s moving for the benefit of the Irish.

 

Who Was Saint Patrick?

I admit, this is an article that I’ve referenced/tweeted/shared every year for a long time, so I want to give Dr. Dave DeVries credit right off the top. It’s a repost. I do have some other items on St. Patrick like a video and an audio recording of a message with Mike McGinnis.


Growing up, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green so we wouldn’t get pinched by our friends at school. Nobody ever explained to me who he was and what he did. So, this morning as we ate a “green” breakfast, I told my kids about St. Patrick. Here are three things you should know about him…

1. Patrick was a Christian.

He was raised in a Christian family. His grandfather was a priest and he had acquired some Christian teaching. However, he ridiculed the clergy, and in the company of other “alienated” and “ungoverned” youth, he lived toward the wild side.

When Patrick was sixteen, a band of Celtic pirates from Ireland invaded the region; they captured Patrick and other young men, forced them onto a ship, sailed to Ireland, and sold them into slavery. The pirates sold Patrick to a prosperous tribal chief and druid named Miliuc (Miliuc moccu Boin), who put Patrick to work herding cattle.

During his years of enslavement, Patrick experienced three profound changes. First, the periods when Patrick was isolated in the wilderness herding cattle connected him with what theologians call the “natural revelation” of God. He sensed with the winds, the seasons, the creatures, and the nights under the stars the presence of God; he identified this presence with the Triune God he had learned about in the catechism. In his (more or less) autobiographical “Confession” Patrick tells us,

“After I had arrived in Ireland, I found myself pasturing flocks daily, and I prayed a number of times each day. More and more the love and fear of God came to me, and faith grew and my spirit was exercised, until I was praying up to a hundred times every day and in the night nearly as often.”

Patrick became a devout Christian, and the change was obvious to his captors.

Second, Patrick changed in another way during the periods he spent with his captors in their settlement. He came to understand the Irish Celtic people, and their language and culture, with the kind of intuitive profundity that is usually possible only, as in Patrick’s case, from the “underside.”

Third, Patrick came to love his captors, to identify with them, and to hope for their reconciliation to God. One day, he would feel they were his people.

2. Patrick was a missionary.

After six years, Patrick escaped and returned to England. He trained to become a priest, immersing himself in the scriptures. At the age of 48, after serving for years as a faithful priest in England, Patrick experienced a dream where his former captors in Ireland cried out, “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us. When he awoke the next morning, he interpreted this dream as his “Macedonian Call” to take Christianity’s gospel to the Celtic peoples of Ireland.

Patrick’s mission to Ireland was to be such an unprecedented undertaking that it is impossible to understate its magnitude and significance. Why? Because the Irish Celtic peoples were “barbarians.”

The Irish context of that period, however, provided some strategic advantages for Patrick’s mission. Ireland was populated by about 150 tuat-extended tribes-each tribe fiercely loyal to its tribal king. Ireland’s total population numbered between 200,000 and 500,000 people. By Patrick’s time, all of the tribes spoke the same language that Patrick had learned while a slave, and they now shared more or less the same culture, so Patrick understood them.

Indeed, the fact that Patrick understood the people and their language, their issues, and their ways, serves as the most strategically significant single insight that was to drive the wider expansion of Celtic Christianity, and stands as perhaps our greatest single learning from this movement. There is no shortcut to understanding the people. When you understand the people, you will often know what to say and do, and how. When the people know that the Christians understand them, they infer that maybe the High God understands them too.

As God blessed, the Irish people responded in faith to the presentation of the gospel of the cross. Patrick and his missionary band began planting churches and for 28 years, he continued proclaiming the gospel until his death in A.D. 460. An ancient document called the “Annals of the Four Masters” reports that Patrick’s mission planted about 700 churches, and that Patrick ordained perhaps 1000 priests. Within his lifetime, 30 to 40 (or more) of Ireland’s 150 tribes became substantially Christian.

3. Patrick started a missionary movement.

Irish Christianity spread remarkably in the generations following Patrick’s death. While we don’t have written records from this period, here’s what is clear:

First, the available evidence suggests that Patrick’s movement blanketed the Island: “In Ireland alone, there are more than 6,000 place names containing the element Cill-the old Gaelic word for church.” Second, Irish Christianity was geographically beyond the reach of Rome’s ability to shape and control, so a distinctively Celtic approach to “doing church” and living the Christian life emerged.

What would a visitor from Rome have noticed about Celtic Christianity that was “different”? The visitor would have observed more of a movement than an institution, …a movement featuring laity in ministry more than clergy.

The missionary movement that Patrick started spread and multiplied churches which continued to send teams into settlements to multiply churches and introduce people to faith in Jesus Christ. In two or three generations, all of Ireland had become substantially Christian. Within a century after Patrick’s death, Irish Celtic Christians were lifting their eyes to see harvests beyond Ireland. They continued to multiply churches, sending out apostolic teams.

An Irish apostle named Columbanus, with entourage, departed for Europe in A.D. 600 to launch a Celtic Christian mission to the continent. he may not have been the first Irish apostle to Europe, “but he as certainly the pioneer who inspired the mass exodus later.” …In the next fifteen years, Columbanus founded monastic communities in (what is now) France, Switzerland, and Italy; and in time his people founded a vast network of sixty or more monastic communities, learned a dozen or more languages and cultures, engaged peoples, planted churches, and launched a significant movement among the barbarian peoples of Europe, particularly in (what is now) France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Italy.

I was fascinated to discover how Patrick’s missionary endeavors transformed a nation. (I’m thankful for George Hunter’s classic book The Celtic Way of Evangelism. All quotes are from this book)

However you may “celebrate” St. Patrick’s day, prayerfully consider how God can use you to take the gospel message together in community with other Christians to those in the culture around you!


Authored by Dave DeVries

Dr. Dave DeVries is a coach, trainer, author and founder of Missional Challenge. He is passionate about coaching and training church planters and missional leaders. With 30+ years of church planting and leadership development experience, Dave brings his passion and encouragement to those he trains and coaches.

 

 

Mobilizing the Church for the Sake of the Least Reached- December Update

A Sincere Thank You I mean it, THANK YOU. Many of you personally sacrifice your time and treasure to support me for my work with Encompass World Partners. Your prayers and financial support are vital for me to continue serving as a mobilizer.  Please keep it up as there is still much work to do!

Below are some updates that you should be encouraged by…and pray for…and a way to contribute to the continued work of reaching the toughest places on our planet!

New People Group getting the Gospel

Unengaged Unreached People Groups: The picture to the right is a list of people groups that our partner churches have planted churches in Chad, Africa.  The number 6 people group on this list–the Kulfe–was a group that no one was going to with the Gospel.  They were considered an Unengaged Unreached People Group and were cataloged on the Finishing The Task list – see the detail on the Kulfe here.

We celebrate that this Christmas, this group which may have never had the Gospel before, now has at least as one church in their language and culture to be a light!

Bible Institute Graduates First Class!

Cameroon Leadership Training Coalition: On Saturday August 11 hundreds of people attended a historic Bible Institute graduation for 31 families (Bible Institute trains both the men & their wives!) in Yaoundé, Cameroon. What a privilege for me to be the coordinator of this coalition of churches who facilitated this effort over the last 5 years!  Your support of me helped make this happen!

You can see more about the graduation and Bible Institute from the Director Dr. Jason Carmean via email newsletter or on Facebook. We are excited that a whole new group of students have been accepted and are making plans even now for the second class of the Bible Institute. You can contribute to the new class starting in 2019 online.

Resources You Should Know About

Discovering Global Missions

Early this year, Encompass World Partners released a new book Discovering Global Missions, a starting point to lead you to deeper insights and meaningful engagement in God’s Global Mission. This book is a “fill-in the blank” Bible study which pushes you deep into the text via videos and the Scriptures. You can get your own copy in print or check it out as a download for free online here

I had the privilege to lead a four week class at Los Altos Grace using the book. Our friends at Grace Connect recently published an article about the class which you can read online here!

Missions Conference

March 9, 2019 in Wooster, Ohio: Connect & Equip is a missions conference for everyone interested in missions to interact with cutting edge speakers, training, dialogue, inspiration & challenge! The time for engaging our world on mission–across the street and around the world is NOW!We believe a day of Connecting & Equipping will further what God wants to do in our world! Check out the details and register now online at ConnectEquip.com

Encounter SoCal

A cross-cultural immersion experience in one of the most ethnically diverse geographic regions of the country – Southern California: If you want to come see my world and the great mission opportunities that are available in a short-term mission trip, check out Encounter SoCal onlineshoot me an email and we can talk about it for the coming year!

Grace Leaders Network

If you are in Southern California, then you should seek to connect with one of these great Network Gatherings in 2019.  We meet the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 10am-Noon at different Grace Churches. It’s a time of connecting, encouraging and equipping for ministry leaders! Find out more by checking out the Grace Leaders Network

In addition, this year in our Grace Churches Network we added one Spanish speaking church and are looking forward to many exciting things in the year to come.

Donate nowThanks for your support!

I wanted to thank you for your prayers, they make all the difference! Also, if you want to continue to mobilize the church for the sake of the least reached with Encompass, you can make a tax-deductible donation to support my work using the Donate button.  Or you can mail a check with my name designated to “Encompass World Partners” PO Box 3298  Monument, CO 80132-3290

Press on,
Mike–
Mike Jentes

Coordinator of Mobilization Initiatives
Encompass World Partners

 

You can sign up to receive these updates and see old issues of the newsletter online 

Syrian Refugee Ministry Resources from @EncompassCrisis

Today I had the privilege to be on a phone call with some of my friends and church leaders to swap stories, share resources and attempt to stimulate some movement toward making a difference.

My colleague, Barb Wooler who is director of Encompass’ Crisis Response Network has been collecting info and shared this helpful list.  I’m giving her all the credit…but wanting to circulate this to be helpful to you and those you know!

SYRIAN REFUGEE MINISTRY RESOURCES

THINKING BIBLICALLY

·        GC2’s Statement: Theological Foundations http://www.gc2summit.com/footnotes/

·        Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches (FGBC) Adopted Statement on Immigration & Refugee Debate — Point 5 on webpage:  http://fgbc.org/page/63

·        David Platt’s Five Points, Gives a Biblical Framework for the Church’s Response to Refugees — recorded Dec. 17, 2015 >>  5 Truths about the Church & Immigrants

·        Evangelical Immigration Table – good resource on immigration  (http://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/)

·        Resources from GC2 (http://www.gmi.org/connections/gc2summit/)

Current SituationSyrianRefugeeCrisis

 THE TALK – OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT ISSUE on (YouTube, https://youtu.be/qFF9yqFOp8E) – Recorded in November 2015 (33 min) with: World Relief’s Stephan Bauman, World Vision’s Richard Stern & Gabe Lyons

DO

Pray

·        The Syrian Circle video

·        The Syrian Circle Website (http://thesyriancircle.com/)

Go

·  Locally: As World Relief prepares for resettling many Syrian and other Muslim-background refugees (from Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan), they are in need of help including the following (see their Get Involved page):

  • “Good Neighbor Teams” (6-12 month commitment to a family)
  • Language partners
  • ESL help
  • people go prepare Welcome Kits
  • funding to pay for apartments for refugees
  • people to employ refugees

·  Internationally: There are a couple different opportunities – one in Germany and the other in Turkey – to help with refugees in camps or processing centers. This will not be firmed up for another month or so. More to come about these possibilities as they develop. Contact Barb if you are interested

·        Go on a team through The Syrian Circle – see their website (www.thesyriancircle.com) o

POSSIBLE NEXT STEP

·        Attend the GC2 Summit on January 20th at Wheaton College (Illinois), 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There was also talk that they would be offering Simulcasts, encouraging churches to have “Simulcast Parties” where the event can be live-streamed for a group in your church or community (information on that above link)

Grateful for your partnership in Christ,

Barb Wooler
Director of Crisis Response
Encompass World Partners
574-268-1888 x24 (office)
bwooler@encompassworld.org

Jesus’ Silence and Solitude

The priority of Jesus’ solitude and silence is everywhere in the Gospels. It’s how he began his ministry. It’s how he made important decisions. It’s how he dealt with troubling emotions like grief. It’s how he dealt with the constant demands of his ministry and cared for his soul. It’s how he taught his disciples. It’s how he prepared for important ministry events. It’s how he prepared for his death on the cross.

Jesus’ solitude is how he went deeper in his love-relationship with the God he knew as “Abba”.* Won’t you take a chronological journey through the Gospel of Mark and see where He stopped for silence & solitude?

Download/Print the Worksheet
Jesus’ Solitude & Silence

*Special Thanks to Bill Gaultiere who outlined most of this concept and content for us.  I did enhance the Bible Passages through the Gospels and made it a self-study worksheet.  You can see Bill’s article online at http://www.soulshepherding.org/2013/02/jesus-solitude-and-silence/ 

My Birthday Wish

So as I prepared to be greeted by social media friends (and real ones too) for my birthday on Monday, September 28th, I wanted to let everyone know my birthday wish…

…To Bring Clean Water to 26 people in Uganda!

As you may know, I’ve been training since the spring of this year to run the Long Beach Half Marathon with some friends from @LosAltosGrace Church and Team World Vision. Race day is coming up on October 11th.  I’ve done pretty well at the training and I think I’ll be in fine shape to complete the run.

One of our other goals in running is to seek to raise support for clean water in Africa. I haven’t worked as hard at that as I have my training.  So, I’d love to have you help me finish this off!

For my birthday would you consider giving the gift of clean water? Only $50 gives clean water to one person in Uganda!  You can read my story about why Uganda … and you can go to my support page, give a little (or a lot) and help me have a great birthday!

So no gifts for me, give it all for the kids in Uganda to have future birthdays with clean water!

 

Conversation on Periscope

So Periscope…you know about the one is on a submarine, but did you know about this new social media mechanism to live stream from your smartphone? periscope-logo-1920

Periscope is a live stream broadcasting platform connected with Twitter. I actually first used Periscope to attempt to watch the big Manny Pacquiao vs.Mayweather-Pacquiao Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight. I was too cheap to pay a hundred bucks to see the fight. To stay in the loop in real time, I started following the fight on Twitter and saw that some people were using Periscope to “watch” the fight.

I actually downloaded the app, linked it with my Twitter and found a broadcasting stream just in time for the last bell to go in the last round.  I watched the announcer proclaim Mayweather the winner (on someone else’s TV with about 7,000 other people tuning in) …and I realized that this live broadcast stuff had gone from the hands of the TV trucks to everyone with a smartphone!

While tinkering with Periscope, I actually watched some “behind the scenes” stuff of the NBA (announcers who were periscoping at shoot-arounds before games, etc.).  I also tinkered with following a few LA area celebrities like Marcellus Wiley of ESPN Radio (videoing a radio show!) and some local TV anchors as they talked with their fans prior to going on the air (when are they on air?).

A week ago, some ministry leaders and I had a conversation talking about Periscope and how it could be used for ministry.  Not many of us had much experience, but we shared what we knew…and had a conversation about it.  After a few moments of talking about Periscope, it dawned on me that I could actually Periscope our Conversation about Periscope.  So I got my iPhone out and started recording!

Here is the link to my Periscope feed from that:

Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 2.13.50 PM

One of the public figures who has done the most with Periscope is the publisher/author/blogger/platform-maker Michael Hyatt.  He actually did a 30 Day Experiment with ‪#‎Periscope.

After the experiment, he wrote a helpful article on what he learned. Pretty insightful stuff. I appreciated most of all this snippet:

“Think of it this way:

-Blogging is one-dimensional: just words.
-Podcasting is two-dimensional: words plus audio.
-Scoping is three-dimensional: words, audio, and video.

Because of this, people are able to experience more of who I truly am. Why is this important? Because the more authentic we can be, the more impact we can have.”

 

Not sure what all I’m going to do with Periscope, but I thought I’d share where I’m at currently…

August Mobilization Update on Coalitions, Mission and more from @MikeJentes

Mobilizing the Church for the Sake of the Least Reached

August 2015

The summer has been full with activity and ministry, too full to even write a newsletter ;-).

In July, I had the privilege to share in the Sunday morning service on Disciple Making & Mission @ Norwalk Grace Brethren Church, in Norwalk, CA. (hear’s therecording and powerpoint) What a neat church family with a heritage of engaging the world!

In late July, I was off to Atlanta for Encompass Family Reunion where it was great to catch up with many of our deployed staff who were back in the USA for home ministries. This time was rich for relationship renewal and even for the connections of future partnerships.

To wrap up that week away, I was in New York City (okay staying in Newark, NJ) at theFlinch Conference with our Grace Brethren Family. The theme on taking RISKs for Jesus was very powerful through messages and testimonies. You should check out some of thevideos of main session talks and audios of the workshops online.

I had the privilege to lead 2 workshops:
1) A Candid Conversation about Bi-Vocational Church Leadership with a whole panel of leaders, and
2) The Great Debate: Missions Vs. Missional with John Ward (handout)

Neither of these workshops got recorded, but I posted my powerpoints at the links above for you.

From a family side, we also sent our oldest daughter, Kayla, off to Grace College.  Here’s a little pic of us at a send off for her the night before she left!

(Thanks Flinch Conference for the selfie stick…we used it in Long Beach too..not just in NYC.)

Coalitions

Over the summer, we made some significant traction with a variety of coalitions:

Chad Educational Coalition:

Partnering with the Chadian church to help start new Christian elementary schools and help their teachers get the training/certification they need to lead those schools. We are looking to raise about $7000 per year to send 5 teachers to the training. Ways to give will be open soon!

Chad Medical Coalition: Partnering with the Chadian church leaders and evangelists and to aid their self-sustaining medical clinics and build a new surgical center where it is really needed. This one is still in development, but hopefully by the end of the year will be moving forward significantly.

St. James Way Coalition
A unique evangelistic opportunity is afforded by thousands of pilgrims walking on the Caminho de Santiago or the St. James Way. In Western Europe, where spiritual conversations are a rarity, this experience is fertile ground for the church to relationally and spiritually connect for evangelism, discipleship and leadership training. The faithful Via Portus Cale ministry in Porto, Portugal has become a strategic dual initiative: along the caminho and in therefugio.
We’ve had two different Teams to walk the St. James Way and to serve pilgrims over this summer. Also we had two interns serving consecutively for one month each.  One of the outstanding young ladies–Mariah Shope–was from our Los Altos Grace Brethren Church. There is much to be learned and prayed for in this ministry as we hope to send 20 international teams over the next 3 years! We are excited that Grace College will be doing a special mission project this fall (with solar panels) and taking teams next year!

Encounter SoCal

A cross-cultural experience in one of the most ethnically diverse geographic regions of the world — Southern California (pic from ChinaTown in LA). This pilot program from August 10-14 was a great success!
The participants had an eye-opening time and four people expressed faith in Christ for the first time through the ministry efforts of the team!  

Donate nowThanks for your support!

I wanted to thank you for your prayers, they make all the difference! Also, if you want to continue to mobilize the church for the sake of the least reached, you can make a tax-deductible donation to support my work using the Donate button.

Press on,
Mike–
Mike Jentes

Coordinator of Mobilization Initiatives
Encompass World Partners

 

My E-newsletter Archive:

August 2015 E-newsletter    on Mail Chimp
June 2015 E-newsletter    on Mail Chimp
May 2015 E-newsletter    on Mail Chimp
April 2015 E-newsletter    on Mail Chimp

Read the September 2014 E-newsletter
Read my February 2014 e-newsletter

Read my December 2013 E-Newsletter
Read my August 2013 e-newsletter
Read my June 2013 e-newsletter
Read my May 2013 e-newsletter
Read my April 2013 e-newsletter

The Candid Truth about Bi-Vocational Church Leadership

flinchconference2015For the conference on RISK–FLINCH Conference–I was asked to lead a workshop on bi-vocational leadership for the church.  Rather than me talking about this, I decided to pull together other leaders from around the country who have been doing it to share about the candid truth.

Here is the workshop description:

Since the beginning of the Church, her leaders have not all been fully salaried staff pastors. The Apostle Paul even made tents for a season in his ministry. One of the questions facing many of our leaders is “how to support my family and do the ministry that God has called me to?” We have a panel of leaders who have experienced the reality of bi-vocational ministry — earning income from the ministry and from some other source. So as we think about raising leaders and church planting, we should hear the stories of those who have embarked on the bi-vocational journey.

Here is the list of panelists:

Manuel Espinosa:  Pastor – Iglesia Cristiana de la Comunidad  (Lakewood, CA), Prison Evangelist, House Painter

Angel Ortiz:  Pastor – First Alliance Church NYC (Christian & Missionary Alliance Church; the church Dr. A.B. Simpson started), Freight Supervisor – Javits Convention Center in NYC

Jack Brown:  Pastor – North Shore Bible Church (Essex, MA), Realtor – Sotheby’s International Realty, Grow New England – Regional Church Planting

Javier Forero: Pastor –  Iglesia Comunal La Esperanza (Lithia, FL), Chaplain – Crush It, Dominion, & more!, Coaching & Recruiting Church Planters –   Encompass World Partners

Plus via Video– Hugh Halter:  Church Planter – Adullum (Denver, CO), Author, Trainer with Missio, House Painter

Here’s his video that set up our conversation (the first 7 minutes):

bivo-bookI’d recommend his book: BIVO: A Modern-Day Guide for Bi-Vocational Saints as well.

 
Unfortunately, our workshop didn’t get recorded, but I posted my PowerPoint online here

 

 

June Mobilization Update on Coalitions, Family and more from @MikeJentes


Mobilizing the Church for the Sake of the Least Reached

June 2015

I know I didn’t get this out at the beginning of the month, but since we are at the halfway point, I wanted to still send something out to you.

These last 6 weeks have held special times for our family…as we have multiple birthdays, end of the year concerts, award ceremonies, promotions, and a graduation from high school. Congrats to Kayla who graduated with honors from Los Alamitos High School.


We were blessed to have my Dad as well as Mindi’s Mom and Dad with us to celebrate several of these special milestones.

We are so blessed! Thanks for praying for us and standing with our family over many years!

Coalitions

Last month I shared about a vision trip heading to Chad, and that trip was a great success.  We are actually in the process of building at least 3 coalitions to aid the indigenous work there:

1. Chad Medical Coalition: Partnering with the Chadian church leaders and evangelists and to aid their self-sustaining medical clinics and build a new surgical center where it is really needed.
2. Chad Educational Coalition: Partnering with the Chadian church to help start new Christian elementary schools and help their teachers get the training/certification they need to lead those schools.
3. Reaching the Least Reached: Relational bridge building and future church planting in the capital city of N’Djamena.


St. James Way Coalition
A unique evangelistic opportunity is afforded by thousands of pilgrims walking on the Caminho de Santiago or the St. James Way. In Western Europe, where spiritual conversations are a rarity, this experience is fertile ground for the church to relationally and spiritually connect for evangelism, discipleship and leadership training. The faithful Via Portus Cale ministry in Porto, Portugal has become a strategic dual initiative: along the caminho and in therefugio.

Because of the potential of this ministry, we have a St. James Way Coalition to help the ministry prosper for the sake of reaching the lost, discipling believers and equipping leaders.

Two different groups (one pictured above) have gone to walk the St. James Way and to serve pilgrims in this last month. I was also able to help one of the outstanding young ladies from our church, Mariah Shope, to go and serve as an intern later this month! Pray for her and for the equipping of more hosts and guides for the ministry!

Encounter SoCal

A cross-cultural experience in one of the most ethnically diverse geographic regions of the world — Southern California.When: August 10-14, 2015 (Monday 9am thru Friday 4pm)

Who: A learning community of only 20 High School Seniors, College Students, and Adults

Individual/Group Sign Up: For applications and info email Haley, or call 678-992-5313 x49.

Donate nowThanks for your support!

I wanted to thank you for your prayers, they make all the difference! Also, if you want to continue to mobilize the church for the sake of the least reached, you can make a tax-deductible donation to support my work using the Donate button.

Press on,
Mike–
Mike Jentes

Coordinator of Mobilization Initiatives
Encompass World Partners
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