PRESS ON

 

    

Hello, this is Multiply a word of encouragement for village church planters. I am Daneille Snowden and in this podcast, I  would like to share my heart on the vital importance in ministry (and life) to press on, move forward and not to look back. But, to stay focused on the great call God has upon your life and run the race to achieve the prize of fulfilling His purpose for you.

 Philippians 3:14 says; “I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Press on means to continue to move forward, to pursue.

I recall many years ago when my husband Brad and I were pastors; we were quite discouraged with our ministry and our church. Our hearts were broken, and we were so tired. God provided for us to attend a conference for pastors. At this time, we decided we are going to leave the church, and felt we did all we could, we just did not have any strength left to continue. At the time of the alter call during the last session, the speaker said he felt led from the Lord to say; “Don’t give up, press on and the Lord will show Himself strong through you.”

We stood up and then raced to the alter where we prayed through, the  burdens were lifted and we felt great victory over our weariness. 

From that day on, as we stayed committed to the Lord to continue to press on, the Lord did show Himself strong as we continued to do God’s Work.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Philippian church, which was near the end of his life, and still, he claimed he felt he did not yet attain all he needed to for the Gospel’s sake. This man lived out one of the most devoted and sacrificial lives ever recorded, yet still he felt this way.

His words: “I press on toward a goal…” references a race. Athletes work hard training to run far distances, they learn to run without distraction and extra weight. They focus on one thing and that was then and that is the goal. Our goal as church planters, is leading others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We fulfill this by accomplishing our life purpose as we follow the High Calling of God.

God chooses those whom He knows will and can walk in humility, diligence, and with courage that comes by the power of the Holy Spirit! As we do this, we bring praises and honor to Him and not to ourselves.

Keep the faith, take up your cross, go and make disciples of all nations! Laying aside negative thoughts, fears, hurts and even frustrations. May I encourage you to spend time in the Lord’s presence plus, feast on His Word, here you will have the strength and power to press on!

This has been Multiply, please share this with others and visit us at
www.vcpencouragement.org .   

#presson #pressontowardthemarkofthehighcallingofGod #villagechurchplanters

Church Planters Battle For The Truth

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a

podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

From ancient times there have been men and women in our world who are

happy to lie and deceive people for personal gain. Kings and queens have done

it. Traders and merchants have done it. Husbands have lied to wives and

wives have lied to husbands. Deception is all too common in our broken world.

But today, with the advent of smart phones and internet connections, we hear

many more lies much more quickly than we did in years gone by. How can we

protect ourselves from these deceptions that are designed to help the liar and

hurt the listener?

There are so many rumors and half-truths that we hear every day. Across

Africa and around the world internet preachers are getting wealthy by telling

listeners that God wants to give them unimaginable riches and the way to

access these riches is by sending money to the preacher. They manipulate the

word of God and use it for their own advantage.

Others prey on the fears of ordinary believers by distorting the news to

persuade their listeners to align themselves with certain politicians and

political ideas, even though those political philosophies are not rooted in the

Scriptures.

Church planter Paul encouraged the Colossian believers to watch out for

deceptive men and women who try to take them captive with lies and half-

truths.

He said in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through

hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the

elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

You are a church planter and as such you have pastoral responsibilities. Pastors

protect their sheep from wolves. How can you protect your sheep from internet

preachers who are lying wolves trying to deceive your church members for

personal advantage? Paul said their philosophies depend on human traditions

and elemental human traditions and not on Christ. So what is the answer?

Lift up Christ. Tell the story of Jesus and his love. The best defense is a good

offense. Be proactive in telling the truth. Tell Bible stories about the

character of Christ and the suffering of the early church. Tell stories about

God’s faithfulness in the midst of struggles. Teach your people to listen to the

Bible, understand the Bible and apply Bible truths for themselves.   

 If you do, they will recognize deceptive preachers a kilometer away and they

will take measures to avoid them or confront them if necessary. If you don’t

fill your people’s hearts and minds with the truth of Jesus, they will surely

accept the deceptions of false prophets and selfish politicians.

Remember, the best defense against liars is to proactively tell truth. My fellow

church planters, tell God’s big story and tell the stories of Jesus. Tell them

well and teach your people to be great communicators of the truth of Jesus.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church

planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement. Feel free to share

it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with

others.

Be encouraged, God is with us!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #TellTheTruth

www.vcpencouragement.org

Church Planters; As We Serve One Another, We Serve God

 

Hello! This is Multiply, a podcast to Encourage Village Church Planters and we are Brad & Daneille Snowden.

In Colossians 4 Paul is ending his letter with a personal salutation mentioning friends and co laborers of the faith. 

Let us read verses 7-9;  Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,  and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here”

Notice, Paul did not deliver the Colossian’s letter, it was Tychicus. A man that has been with Paul by his side for a long time now. He entrusted him to not just deliver this letter but share Paul’s heart with the Colossian church. Paul uses the words: ‘a dear brother in verse.7, a servant of Christ Jesus in verse 12, or dear friend  in verse 14.’ 

As I am now older, I stand amazed how our God has sewn people into my life that created a strength to accomplish His purpose within myself and others. 

My parents were pastors, in their early years together, my mother started a little children’s ministry in her own backyard. She invited the neighborhood children and would teach the gospel to them. Forty years later, a man found my father who had attended mom’s children’s ministry and became a Christian. He later went into the fulltime work of Jesus Christ serving Him as a pastor and evangelist. All because of my mother sharing the Gospel during that little children’s ministry. 

Because of Tychicus, we have three books in the New Testament that he faithfully delivered to their recipients—Ephesians, Colossians, and most likely the tiny book of Philemon (which appears to have been delivered at the same time as the letter to the Colossians).

We never know how our life will work and who God choses. Look at Onesimus; a slave to Philemon. He gave his master a hard time and even ran away. And God somehow brought Paul and Onesimus together where he was introduced to Jesus. God knew, and He had a plan all along; he would use someone from Collosse to introduce Tychicus as he delivered Paul’s letter and message to them. 

Some of us are Paul’s, some of us are Tychicus or an Onesimus; we all have an important part in God’s Plan for the Gospel to change lives. And we do this together, unified accomplishing our life’s-call in leading others to the saving knowledge of Jesus. 

Christian scholar E.M. Bounds said, “Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” 

Church planters you cannot go to every house, yet a Church Planter can disciple many to go and share Jesus, as they in turn carry the message as did Tychicus to places that still have not received the Gospel message.

This has been Multiply. Please share this episode with others. Follow us on Facebook called: Encouragement for Village Church Planters, on YouTube called VCPencouragement OMS and Multiply on PodBean. 

Thank you and God bless!

vcpencouragement.org 

Church Planters Reject Legalism

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a

podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

When I first started understanding the Good News of Jesus and of his love for

me, I paid careful attention to the testimonies of my new Christian friends.

One of the things they talked about constantly was what they called “a

personal relationship with Christ.” I did not know what it meant to have a

personal relationship with Christ, but I soon learned. Here is what they taught

me: They told me that God loved me very much and that his love for me was

unconditional. They told me that because he loves me, God sent his only Son

to die on the cross for the forgiveness of my sins. They told me that if I put my

trust in him, he would forgive me and I could experience an abundant life. As I

heard these things, I thought to myself, “If that is what a personal relationship

with Christ is like, I want it.” Soon I was born again and I had a personal

relationship with Jesus. It was wonderful! I had such peace in my life. I loved

to talk with God and learn from his word. I knew Jesus and I knew he cared for

me. I wanted to love him and I wanted to serve him.

I’m so glad my friends pointed me to Jesus and invited me to know him and to

love him. I thought this was the way all Christians lived. But soon I heard about

Christians who took their focus off of Jesus and his love and instead spent much

of their time making lists of rules about how Christians should live. I met

people who argued about which translation of the Bible was acceptable and

which was not. I met people who argued about what kind of clothes were

acceptable for worshipping God and which kind were not. I soon learned that

some Christians spent a lot of time arguing about whether or not Christians

could play sports or other games. When I heard these arguments, I knew

something was wrong. Soon I figured it out. These people had taken their

focus off of Christ and off of his love for them and their love for him. Instead

they were focusing on controlling the behavior of others. As a result they were

sad and angry.

Paul, the exemplary church planters tells us in Colossians 2 that we should not

let anyone judge us about religious rules. He says in in verses 16 and 17,

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with

regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.  These

are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in

Christ.”

Paul was saying that the Christian life is all about the love of God in Jesus

Christ. The Christian life is not about pleasing people by obeying an endless

list of manmade rules. No! The Christian life is about experiencing the love of

God in Jesus Christ. The Christian life is about loving Jesus. It’s about

expressing our love for him by joyfully obeying his commands. Focusing on

manmade rules only leads to discouragement and fighting among believers.

The better way is to focus on Jesus and his love.

My brother, my sister, as you lead your church and make disciples, I am

confident that you will keep your focus on Jesus and not on manmade rules. As

you do so you will plant heathy churches built on a solid foundation.

This is Multiply. Be encouraged. God is with us!

If you have found this message to be helpful, would you say thanks to the

person who shared it with you and tell him or her how it helped you? God bless

you today!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #SayNotoLegalism

www.vcpencouragement.org

The Character of a Leader - Helps Others Pull Together in the Same Direction

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.

In my previous message, I shared a final leadership principle from VCP Supervisor Peter Baraka, “We must love those we lead.” Near the end of that message, I shared some positive outcomes as we love those whom we lead. One of those consequences was “Kingdom work advances because everyone is working for a common Purpose.”

Getting everyone working together for a common Purpose does not come easily or naturally.

A veteran missionary friend wrote his doctoral thesis on the topic of “Training Strong People to Pull Together in the Same Direction”. The visual image is a group of physically strong people who are pulling a rope, all in the same direction, for a common goal. A good and godly leader serves his people well as he or she helps them identify the goal and achieve success by working together.

1. Leaders must first communicate the vision and identify the objective. Proverbs 29:18a reminds us that “Where there is no vision, the people perish:” One of the very important responsibilities of VCP leaders is vision casting with their teams and with leaders of partner denominations. Having a common vision – a shared understanding of VCP goals, objectives and methods – is a key factor for successful training centers.

2. Leaders clearly define or describe what success looks like. Jesus, as our model leader, did this with his disciples – and those of us who follow him – when He gave us what is known as the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19.

3. Leaders serve those who follow them by providing feedback as their followers pursue goals and objectives. Recall with me the story of Jesus’ disciples who were unable to cast the demon out of the young boy. Jesus taught them about the imperative of having faith in God as they prayed (Matthew 17:19-20).

4. Leaders manage conflict and issues that arise. Of all times and places, the Apostles had an argument during their Last Supper with Jesus. Luke 22:24-26 records that “A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them … But you are not to be like that. Instead … the one who rules [must be] like the one who serves. 

5. Leaders celebrate the successes of their followers. Luke 15 tells the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Each of those scenarios concludes with rejoicing. Leaders encourage followers as they celebrate successes with them.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Church Planters Stand Victorious In Christ

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a

podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

If you have listened to many Multiply podcast episodes, you will have heard me

say, “Church planting is hard work.” The reasons I say this is because I have

been a church planter and because over the past 45 years I have observed

many, many church planters all over the world. I have never, ever heard a

church planter say, “This is easy.” Never. I have seen church planters rejoice

in Gospel advances and I have seen them weep when their very best efforts

don’t seem to be quite good enough. I have heard them testify of God’s power

and provision in hard places and I have seen them quit because the harvest was

so painfully slow in coming. But I’ve never heard a church planter say, “This is

easy.”

So what do you do when the difficulty of the work before you is so real and the

progress you had hoped for in making disciples and starting new churches so

slow in coming? What does a church planter do when he or she feels

discouraged and is tempted to lose hope because the work is so hard?

I find that in moments like those, it’s a good idea to take my gaze off of the

problems and focus on Christ. Let me tell you why. Jesus our Savior is eternal,

we are young and inexperienced. Jesus our Lord suffered, and died and rose

victorious over sin and death. Our struggles are still before us. Jesus is

enthroned above in power and splendor. We live here on the earth walking

dusty roads. He is the ever-living, almighty God and we are his children.

Though we have not experienced the final victory, our Lord Jesus has won the

battle and defeated the Enemy. In Him we live and move and have our being.

The Apostle Paul put it this way in his letter to the Colossians, chapter 2,

verses 6 through 10. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as

Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him,

strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with

thankfulness. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and

in Christ you have been brought to fullness.”

That’s right, even though you are struggling, you are in Christ and Christ is in

God. His victory is your victory. His resources are your resources. This is why

it is so very important for church planters to take their eyes off of their

struggles and hardships from time to time so that they can gaze upon Christ.

His love is boundless and his final victory is assured. Recalling, remembering

and meditating on his infinite goodness and his ultimate victory give us faith to

go on; faith to confront hardships, faith to bring his victory to bear here and

now, faith to persevere until the harvest comes in. And so my fellow church

planters, when your journey grows hard, gaze upon Jesus. When you look upon

Him you will be strengthened as you walk the church planting path God has set

out for you.

This is Multiply. Be encouraged, God is with us!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #GazeUponJesus

www.vcpencouragement.org