January 19th, 2010
Habakkuk 2:2-3 NASB Then the Lord answered me and said: “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; but at the end it will speak, it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail though it tarries, wait for it; because it will certainly come, it will not delay.”
In Eternal Life Ministries International the foundational vision is: 1. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever God opens the doors. 2. To exhort & encourage Christians in their faith & service to the Lord. 3. To have a genuine helps ministry to the poor, as led by the Holy Spirit.
The vision for the Churches of Eternal Life Ministries in the Philippines that we share with them is:
“We are Soul Winners Committed to bring the Gospel of Life, Hope, and Transformation to the Families, Communities, Cities, and Regions Beyond.
Our Missions Statement: “We raise up committed Soul Winners & Pastors to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, bringing Life, Hope & Transformation to the families & communities through discipleship training & church planting.”
I Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass.”
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings to you in the wonderful name of Jesus. Emie & I continue to pray for God’s unique, special, and timely blessings for your life this New Year and always. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ---I Peter 1:2
As we are now 2&1/2 weeks onto this New Year of 2010 and a New Decade as well, it is a good time to continue to seek the Lord for wisdom & guidance, in setting God directed goals for our personal lives and service to Him. Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” And in addition to God’s direction in setting goals I believe we also need to ask the Lord to give us the strength, courage, pure faith, and resources to fulfill His call and purpose for our lives. The Lord encourages in that regards in Isaiah 41:10. “Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ So we can rest assured that God is willing to help us---but we must always be willing to do our part and be willing to work at & apply what the Lord has taught us and directed us to do. James 1:25 NAS “But the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
Zig Ziglar, a Christian who is a motivational speaker and author, has shared much about goal setting. One thing he shared was a simple formula for achieving goals that greatly helped him and many other people. I will share them as you may find these helpful. “#1. Write the goal down. #2. Put a date on it. #3. List the obstacles I have to overcome. #4. Identify the people or groups I have to work with to help in fulfilling the goal. #5. Spell out a plan of action and put a date on it. #6. Identify the benefits to me.” I would simply add at the top and bottom of that list with every specific goal: “Pray and ask the Lord for His help & thank Him”---- because we know that with God all things are possible. An Old saying states : [“Just do your best, and God will take care of the rest.”]
First of all in starting the testimonial part of this newsletter in the beginning of this New Year & New Decade; we give heartfelt thanks & praise to the Lord---for His calling and the honor to serve Him and minister the gospel of Jesus Christ. Emie & I also would like to once again express our sincere thanks to you for your friendship & partnership---for your prayers, encouragement, and financial investments in the ministry outreaches. In effective missions work--- the teamwork of those who go and those who help send is vitally important. We continue to pray for God to bless you always for your help to us in leading people to Jesus.
When we had our monthly pastors meeting (1st Monday evening to ednesday morning) this January, we had a break-though in total weekly average attendance for December, the last month of the decade. [ The average combined attendance of adults, young people, and children for all the churches was over one-thousand people for the first time, it was 1,053]. I have mentioned in the past that Region 8 which consists of the islands of Biliran, Leyte, & Samar is the least evangelized region in the Philippines with only 1-2% born again and
medium church attendance is in the low forties. We started out 2009 with 17 churches, and now have 21 churches as of January 2010. In the past few months 4 pioneering church outreaches joined with us from these areas: Tacloban (SanJose/ V&G area) ---Pastor Dodong/ Calubian, Leyte---Pastor Chris/ Calbayog, Samar---Pastora Jonalyn/ and Ilo, Samar---Pastora Virginia. Please pray for God’s blessings & help to these pastors and churches. Emie recently had a special blessing and added responsibility given to her. In Tacloban City and a few neighboring small towns, they have a Pastor’s Association of 46 Churches from different denominations and independent ministries. Many of them meet weekly for prayer, fellowship, & planning of joint outreaches and seminars for Tacloban. Emie has been faithfully working with them for many years. For the past 2 years she was their Treasure, and this year was elected President by 90% of the vote. She is the 1st woman to ever hold that office. Please pray for God’s guidance, strength, and wisdom for her and all the Tacloban Pastors Association. Since they have been united and praying for the city of Tacloban, (& the region, nation , and other countries); ---we have seen growth and improvement in the Christian churches here.
I hope to leave room for 2 pictures for this newsletter so I will not write a lot more. In summary, most all the Eternal Life Ministries churches are doing well, our Sunday morning Regional Radio Broadcast is reaching several thousand people with the gospel and people are being saved. The children’ feeding and ministry outreach is a blessing. We have ministered in hospitals, prisons, funeral services, and many areas. The poor have been helped with food, medicine, cloths, and in other areas. By the grace of God we have in the past years been able to minister in Asia: to people in Vietnam, China, Thailand, &Malaysia; and in Africa: to people in Kenya, & D.R. Congo, and my home country the USA.
While it appears the majority of our ministry will be in the Philippines, we hope in this next ten years to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in some countries in all of the Continents on this earth. By God’s love, grace, mercy, and strength---we can all be used by the Lord in amazing and special ways in reaching many people with the life-saving & life-changing; gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank-you very much for your partnership in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Christ’s love, Gordon & Emie
P.S. Please continue to pray for God’ favor and blessings upon this New Year & New Decade of service to Him. We continue to need prayer for fresh anointing, clear direction, protection, wisdom, strength, good health, and financial provision. [We need and appreciate your prayers}
I Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
