Faith Promise 2018

Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

And our memory refresher verses for today are …

John 3:16-18

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Please open your Bibles to Matthew 28:16-20 which we will read in a few minutes.

Today is Faith Promise Sunday

- Faith promise is the way we support missionaries and missions around the world.

- Faith promise is not a pledge.

- Faith promise is a commitment between you and the Lord.

- With Faith promise you pray about what the Lord would have you to give to support world missions and pray that He will faithfully provide the funds and then you will faithfully fulfill the promise that you made to Him.

- Most of those who give to Missions here at Crossroads would just keep on giving whether we had annual faith promise Sundays or not; they have a heart for those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.

- Faith promise is not a part of the Tithe, it is giving above and beyond for the cause of Christ.

- Please be praying during the service to see what the Lord would have you to do as a Faith promise.

This past Monday we had a wonderful gathering with the Miller family from South Africa. (show photo)

Ronald was born and raised in South Africa. Rachelle was born and raised in Indiana. As a young adult she felt led to go to South Africa to work in the field office as a volunteer in VIMS; Volunteers In Missions Service.

From there the Lord drew Ronald and Rachelle together and they became the Miller family and together they are serving Jesus in huge areas of the continent of Africa.

Let me just give you a few statistics from their presentation. (use their 3 slides)

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Overall Africa Stats

? Continental

? 1.3 billion people

? 54 independent countries

? 3,000 ethnic groups

? 2,000 spoken languages.

? Church

? 704, 000 Members

? 42 countries (7 Fields)

? 137 districts

? 9009 churches

Growth of Christianity in Africa

• In 1900 the Muslim population of Africa was 34.5 million, compared to roughly 10 million Christians.

• By 1985 Christians outnumbered Muslims for the first time. Of the continent’s total population of 520 million, Christians numbered 271 million, compared to about 216 million Muslims.

• In 2000 the number of Christians in Africa grew to 346 million, with 330 million Muslims concentrated mostly in the Arabic-speaking regions of Egypt and North and in West Africa.

• The projected figure for 2005 was 390 million Christians, with 600 million estimated for 2025. It is a continental shift of historic proportions

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Why did the Lord call Rachelle to go to South Africa?

Let’s look for the answer as we read Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I also love how Isaiah 52:7 is simplified in the International Children’s Bible

Isaiah 52:7 ICB

“How beautiful is the person who comes over the mountains to bring good news. How beautiful is the one who announces peace. He brings good news and announces salvation. How beautiful are the feet of the one who says to Jerusalem, ‘Your God is King.’”

We could almost read it this way!

How beautiful is the person who comes from a place far away to bring good news.

How beautiful is the one who proclaims spiritual peace and brings good news of salvation.

How beautiful is the one who declares to all who are lost in sin, ‘There is a Savior and His name is Jesus!’

Let me introduce you to a few of those people!

Jon and Shirley Fischer – Venezuela, Ecuador and Columbia

After graduating from MidAmerica Nazarene College, Jon and Shirley found themselves settling into normal suburban life - Jon worked as an accountant at a dry wall company and Shirley taught school. Then Jon went on a Work and Witness trip and God started talking to him about missions. Through this trip God showed Jon that He not only wanted his money for missions, but He also wanted Jon’s time and family to be involved. So they "stepped out on faith".