Outreach
Footprints In The Sand-EPCPC Face Painters For God
by John on May.05, 2010, under Face Painters for GOD, Video
Leave a Comment more...Dinners for Eight
by John on Apr.25, 2010, under Dinners for Eight
Hungry for Fellowship?
Looking to form new Friendships?
Meet new people in our church
…and enjoy great food and conversation?
Dinners for Eight are a wonderful way for members and friends of EPC to get to know each other better. Dinners for Eight, which includes married couples and single people, works this way: dinners for four couples (or a combination of eight people) can be held at a Host couple’s home, a restaurant or any other venue decided upon by the group. There is no agenda other than good conversation, great food and wonderful fellowship as we get to know each other in the most casual of settings. You meet once a month, for four months, rotating Hosts at a date and time decided upon by the group. After the four months the groups will be re-formed so that new people can be added and get the opportunity to join in the fun. For more information contact Dan Manfre via e-mail @ dan.manfre@allcare-rehab.com.
A Heart for Germany E-Gram February 2010
by Roger on Mar.04, 2010, under Phil and Diane Thrash
- 1993-The original team leaders, Ken and Tammie Matlack, come to Berlin to church plant and form a partnership with the Luke Church, an evangelical German church with a 100 year history
- 1996-Team leaders Tim and Lyn Newbrander start church planting using the house church model
- Early 2000s God gives them the idea of starting fresh with a family center that provides programs which reach out into the neighborhood
- 2000-Phil’s gifts of intercession and evangelism become more evident
- 2001-Phil makes his first visit to the team to participate in a week-long neighborhood prayer walking/spiritual mapping event with team intercessor Paul Clarkson in the Boetzow Quarter. (Paul is now the pastor of the Jacob Church.)
- 2002-2004-Phil, Diane and Kelsey take further trips to visit the team and are invited to join the team with Phil as intercessor with evangelism in view as well
- 2005-Thrashes arrive on July 30 in Berlin to work with the church planting team
- 2010–to date the larger team, which separated into sub-teams after the initial church (Jacob Church) was planted, has planted three churches. We are now involved in the fourth church plant in the Prenzlauer Berg district and have been privileged to pray with three Germans to accept Christ as Savior.
- The Berlin branch of the reformed Martin Bucer Seminary is also a ministry supported by our team financially and in prayer
Berlin Prayer Warrior Bulletin
by Roger on Feb.17, 2010, under Phil and Diane Thrash
Dear Prayer Warrior,
As you may know, different seeds, when sown, take different amounts of time to come up and bloom or produce fruit. Sowing seeds of the Gospel also take time to mature. We sow or water and God makes it grow. As Paul said, ”I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. ”
(I Corinthians 3:6)
And regarding our prayers: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)
Praise Reports
- PTL for the response to the prayer event on January 29th. We had a small, but engaged, group. Two men, Detmar and Tom, gave a report during our church service that they really enjoyed the atmosphere and found it a wonderful experience. Tom now wants to pray for people during or after our services. Seeds were planted for the church plant to become a praying church.
- I was able to give 2 copies of the Why I’m Not an Atheist book to two workers at the fitness center in the last weeks. Pray they’ll read it as both were interested.
- The missional family center programs are mainly well-attended thanks to prayer and work. People are “crossing over” and coming to other events where they can hear the Gospel.
Prayer Requests
- that the family center programming and other team family events will lead to further opportunities for our team to share the Gospel verbally and for courage (for which Paul requests prayer in Ephesians 6:19-20)
- for the punctual beginning and completion (Feb. 2011) of the new building that will house the family center/church plant services called the Christian Health and Wellness Center (it will seat 120 for church and our costs will actually go down)
- for our team prayer times (to hear from the Lord), staff meetings (wisdom), prayer walking (guidance and hearing from the Lord as to what and where to pray) and our church plant core group meeting on the 18th where Michael will discuss the postmodern/atheistic culture and how to reach it
Thank you for praying and let us know how we can pray for you. May the Lord bless you today.
Blessings from Berlin,
Phil with Diane and Kelsey
P.S. We are feeling great with no colds etc… going on. Thanks!
Bob & Hope Carter Ministry Update
by Roger on Sep.10, 2009, under Bob & Hope Carter
Dear Ministry Partners,
August has come and gone, and still Kenya waits for rain. This is the third year in a row of below normal rainfall and inadequate harvests. People are suffering and a recent report suggests that 10% of Kenya’s population may already be in need of food aid. The local AIC church continues to collect food donations and money (and we continue to contribute to the effort) in order to provide desperately needed food to the most deprived families.
Lack of rain is now causing other spin-off problems. Most of Kenya’s electric power comes from hydroelectric sources. The water table, lakes and rivers have dropped to dangerously low levels and Kenya is no longer able to generate enough power to meet its current needs. Power rationing has been implemented across the country. Here at Kijabe, our power is cut off from 8am to 6pm three days a week. The hospital, schools and Bible College rely on expensive diesel-powered generators to produce the electricity needed on those days. We are fortunate to have such a backup system already in place. Other institutions and businesses are not so fortunate. The SIM headquarters in Nairobi just last week completed installation of a backup power system with large industrial-size storage batteries and power inverters wired into each of the offices. They are expecting this to be a long-term problem, and every indication suggests they are right.
Tented camps still house thousands of homeless families displaced from their communities by the inter-tribal violence following the 2007 elections. Below us in the Rift Valley, the tents of one distant camp can be identified as a multitude of tiny white dots. We hear that the residents of the camp have given up any hope of returning to their former homes and are banding together to attempt to buy the land where the camp now sits in order to be able to start building more permanent dwellings. They have decided to establish their own community. Most of the residents are Kikuyu, but one Kisii widow with no other support has appealed to the church for help so she can pay her portion of the community effort. The church is asking for contributions, not wanting her to think that because she’s not Kikuyu she can’t even belong to a community of internal refugees!
Please pray for Kenya. Conditions for most Kenyans are not improving and in fact life appears to be growing steadily more difficult for the majority. Many have lost faith in the seemingly ineffective “grand coalition” government, and fears are mounting that an eventual outbreak of civil violence may be drawing increasingly close. Pray this does not happen. Once violence breaks out there is no telling how long it may take to contain it again.
Meanwhile the hospital remains as busy as ever. Last week Bob enjoyed a change of pace overseeing general medicine patients on the men’s ward instead of remaining in the outpatients department. The hospital needed him to fill the gap between the departure of a short-term visiting doctor and the arrival of a long-term doctor returning from home leave. He enjoyed making daily rounds with the interns and discussing various aspects of patients’ evaluations and care. One of the patients on which a consultation was requested on Saturday ended up being the subject of yesterday’s case presentation. Bob was very proud of the good job done by the presenting intern.
This week Bob is back in the outpatients department, where there continue to be many opportunities for ministry. Today Bob prayed with a middle-aged woman who has been mysteriously losing weight for a year. She has been to many different hospitals and clinics and has now come to Kijabe in the hope of finding some effective help. Pray for wisdom and discernment as Bob oversees her workup and treatment. Pray too that Christ will be glorified in her life as she is brought under the ultimate care of the Great Physician.
Hope continues rounding on patients once per week with the AIDS team, is still analyzing the initial data from her nutritional research project, and just yesterday completed and sent out the daily AIDS prayer guide for the month of September. We hope to be able to begin posting these prayer guides soon to our web page. Meanwhile we have been informed (just today!) that the international HOPE for AIDS web site will also start posting these monthly prayer guides. After sending out the guide for August, Hope received an enthusiastic email from Canon Gideon Byamugisha of Uganda, founder of ANERELA, the African NEtwork of REligious Leaders infected or affected by AIDS. He called her a “prophetic voice” and strongly encouraged her to continue her work to inform AIDS-focused prayer efforts in Africa.
Sorry this is longer than intended, but as you can read there is much going on, and this has only scratched the surface. The Gospel is wholistic, with not just spiritual but also physical, mental, emotional and social impacts. We work for and pray for total transformation wherever the Gospel is preached and lived. Thank you for joining us in this work through your prayers.
Blessings,
Bob and Hope
VOM Prayer Update
by Roger on Aug.03, 2009, under Voice of the Martyrs
CHINA – Pastor Sent to Labor Camp – China Aid Association
On June 29, Pastor Dou Shaowen, who is currently serving a one-year sentence for “engaging in illegal activities,” was secretly transferred to Shifo Re-education Through Labor Center in Zhengzhou city, Henan province, according to China Aid Association. His family was not informed of his transfer. Pastor Dou, his wife Feng Lu and five other believers were arrested on June 14 when government officials raided and closed the Rock Church. The police confiscated computers and other church property. Pastor Dou and his wife were sentenced to a year in prison and the other believers were sentenced to 15 days in detention and fined 500 Yuan (US$ 73). Feng Lu, however, will serve her sentence at home so she can care for the couple’s 12 year-old daughter. China Aid reported Pastor Dou has been treated inhumanely in the labor camp. “When he wanted to talk to the police officers, he was forced to squat. He worked 18 hours a day from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. midnight. Over 70 people sleep in a room,” a source at China Aid said. “Due to the hot weather and the poor sanitary condition … some prisoners have eczema, herpes and other skin diseases. They have to work 18 hours a day without enough to eat.” Feng Lu tried to visit her husband in prison, but was told she was not allowed to visit him for a month. She is required to report to the Public Security Bureau police regularly, and could be sent to labor camp again if she is found “engaging in illegal religious activities” again.
SOMALIA – Christian man murdered – VOM Sources
On July 20, a convert from Islam to Christianity was murdered in the city of Mahadday Weyne, Somalia by members of al-Shabaab, a militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda, according to Compass Direct News. Mohammed Sheikh Abdiraman, who had been a Christian for 15 years and was the leader of a group of underground believers, was shot at approximately 7:00 a.m. He is survived by two children, ages 10 and 15. His wife died three years ago due to illness. Ask God to comfort and guide Abdiraman’s children in this difficult time. Pray that increased persecution will result in increased boldness among believers in Somalia.
SRI LANKA – Pastor Assaulted – National Christian Evangelical Alliance
On July 23, a pastor of a church in Polonnaruwa district, North Central Province, Sri Lanka was brutally attacked by unknown assailants, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka. The pastor was driving home from a prayer meeting when a group of men on motorcycles called out to him. When he stopped his vehicle and rolled down his window, the assailants attacked him with knives. He was able to prevent them from slashing his neck but sustained severe arm injuries. His vehicle was also damaged. The pastor eventually fled the scene and sought help. Pray for healing for the injured pastor. Ask God to bless the ministry of Christian workers spreading the Gospel in Sri Lanka amid opposition.
Youth Mission 2009 Report
by John on Aug.03, 2009, under Youth Group, Youth Missions
Leave a Comment more...Face Painters For God – Nature’s Classroom
by Roger on Jul.24, 2009, under Face Painters for GOD
VOM Prayer Update
by Roger on Jul.24, 2009, under Voice of the Martyrs
PAKISTAN – Christian Homes Burned – VOM Sources
On June 26, more than 150 Muslim extremists launched a devastating attack on more than 150 Christian families after a fight about a personal matter between Muslims and Christians occurred three days earlier. During the attack Muslims damaged 60 houses, including burning 16 to the ground, poured kerosene on a believer in an attempt to burn her, destroyed two donkey carts and broke 25 electricity meters, in Kasur, Pakistan, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts.
“They disgraced many Christian women,” VOM contacts said. “They tried to burn one of the ladies by throwing kerosene oil on her. Thanks God she was able to escape from them. One of the young girls was having bath, she escaped without her cloths when they attacked.” Pray for these families that have lost their homes and had their property damaged. Ask God to encourage and protect them during this difficult time.
IRAQ – Seven churches bombed – VOM Canada
On July 11, two bombs targeted churches in the cities of Baghdad and Mosul and killed at least four people and injured 30 others, according to VOM Canada. The two bombs ripped through the St. Joseph church in western Baghdad at approximately 10 p.m. The next afternoon, three bombs exploded within 15 minutes of each other outside three different church buildings in Baghdad. That evening, a car bomb detonated outside a church building in the eastern region of the city. Minutes later, another bomb exploded outside a church building in Baghdad’s Dora district. Meanwhile on July 13, a car bomb detonated near Our Lady of Fatima Church in the city of Mosul. Pray for those who have lost loved ones. Ask God to guard the hearts of Iraqi Christians against fear and enable them to continue serving Him with boldness. Pray that those responsible for these bombings will repent and come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior.
SOMALIA – Seven Christians beheaded in Somalia
On July 10, seven Christians were beheaded by the Al Qaeda-linked extremist group Al Shabaab which controls southern Somalia and the capital Mogadishu. The Christians were accused of renouncing Islam and being “spies” for the government. Public executions, floggings, and amputations have reportedly increased in areas controlled by Al-Shabaab in recent weeks. Pray for the friends and family members mourning the loss of these Christians. Pray that Somali believers will exemplify the love of God through consistent love and prayer for those who persecute them.
CHINA – House churches raided, Christians arrested – China Aid Association
Chinese officials have raided house church meetings and arrested believers throughout the country in recent weeks, according to reports from China Aid Association. On July 3, a house church was raided and eight Christians arrested in the A’Ler Tai area of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Meanwhile on July 5, officials raided a house church worship service in Dongyong city, Shandong province. Believers were accused of “disturbing social order” for organizing a religious service for more than 40 people in a home. The house church was abolished by the authorities. Pray for believers in China. Ask God to give Christians the endurance to stand firm despite the opposition.
What Are You Waiting On – Gary Whitmore, Trans World Radio
by John on Jul.19, 2009, under Guest Speakers, Trans World Radio
Mark 13:10
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