A Season of Rejoicing!!

A quote from Jesus:  “I will build my church and the powers of hell with not prevail.” 

Well who would have thought?

When we entered the work to see churches planted among the P nation, we weren’t really sure what we were all up against.  As we studied their language and culture, we were truly astonished and appalled at the level of darkness and deceit in their hearts.  However, we kept claiming Jesus’ great promise for the work, that He would indeed build His church and that the powers of hell would not prevail.

So how did that promise play out?

Back in 2002, the church planting consultants strongly advised us to ordain elders, as there were different ones who qualified according to the Scriptures in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  However, I wanted to wait for one of my coworkers so we could do it as a team.  Well, for security reasons, we had to quickly exit P-land in April of 2002.  Then, for one reason or another, it never worked out down through the years for an ordination to take place before the P church.  But on this visit by our national team, everything came together.  Our team presented the five pastors before the church body and there was unanimous agreement among them.  Yes, they were their pastors.  Yes, they were their shepherds.  And yes, they measured up to the words that the sent-one Paul wrote regarding pastors.  And so it happened!  These five fellows, some of whom had been functioning as pastors for many years, were officially ordained before the local body of Christ. And this news was way too good to not send off to you all right away, even though we had put out an update not so long ago.  Yes, this is reason to rejoice!!

Below:  The church praying about God’s will and the selection of the pastors.

Below:  Our team members ordaining the five shepherds who qualify for their God-given work

The Five Ordained Pastors Below

Here below you have a shot of the five newly ordained pastors with two of the members from our national team, Andres and Jacinto.

So what came next?

After the ordination, the five pastors were going over their responsibilities as shepherds.  And my goodness, it had been a while since there was a baptism and there were quite a few who were wanting to be baptized.  And so the following day, after teaching on baptism once again, many of the believers and those who wanted to be baptized hiked to a lake 35 minutes away.  And there they baptized 23 believers.

Below:  The five pastors with their wives

Let us all…

Shout with joy to the LORD. along with the whole earth!
Worship the LORD with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the LORD is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Psalms 100

Rejoicing in the greatness of the Builder of His world-wide church,
Merrill and Teresa