He's led thousands of natives to faith in Jesus Christ and planted hundreds of churches over the last three years. He's not American, he's a native Malagasy (I think that's what you call someone from Madagascar, at least according to my quick Google search :).
Want to know how much it costs him to lead one Malagasy to Jesus? About fifty cents.
That is, if you take the total yearly cost of his ministry and divide by the number of new disciples of Jesus, he wins two people to Jesus for every dollar spent.
It made me wonder how much it costs me to lead one person to Jesus... so if I go back and add up the costs of all the ministry training I can remember from the last 20 years (seminary, conferences, trips, trainings, books, etc), and if I divide that number by the number of people I've won to Christ, the answer makes me sick to my stomach (I actually worked up an Excel spreadsheet).
It costs me $29,325 to win someone to Christ.
Pathetic, huh?
Is your metric better than mine? (I hope so).
How about your church's metric? Take the total annual budget of your church and divide by the number of new Christians your church "produced" last year. What's the answer? How much does it cost your church to win someone to Christ?
How can it cost my friend $.50 to fulfill the Great Commission but it costs me nearly $30,000? Something's wrong here.
Incredible entry by Neil Cole on his blog from last August. I've read it multiple times over the last year. May it encourage you to follow Jesus outside the comfortable fold and into the unknown. Neil writes:
I found this brilliant passage in an article by the late F.F. Bruce
recalling a powerful teaching from E.H. Broadbent. The article by Bruce
was addressing the things that went wrong with the Jerusalem church, one
of which was legalism. So many of us look to the Jerusalem Church as
the model we wish to emulate, but many things went wrong with that
church. There are far more healthy examples in the NT than the mother of
all churches.
I wanted to pass on to you this important lesson about sheep in a flock vs sheep in a fold:
Many
years ago I (F.F.Bruce) heard E.H.Broadbent speak on the fold and the
flock in John 10. He pointed out that the sheep in the fold are kept
together by the surrounding walls while the sheep of a flock are kept
together by the shepherd. Moreover, the number of sheep that any fold
can contain is limited, while there was nothing to hinder the sheep
which the good Shepherd led out of the fold having their number
increased by the adherence of those 'other sheep' that had never
belonged to the original fold. But, he went on, developing the parable,
some of the sheep argued that in spite of the care and devotion of their
Shepherd, they would feel safer if they had walls around them, and so
they started to build some. But, said Mr. Broadbent, 'sheep are not good
builders.' Some of the walls they built were effective enough in a way,
but so restricted that they shut most of the flock out; there were
other walls, on the contrary, which were comprehensive enough, but so
badly constructed that they let several wolves in too, with predictable
consequences. The moral is that the people of Christ need no walls to
keep them together. We may learn valuable lessons from the books of Ezra
and Nehemiah, but Nehemiah's wall is not a model for churches to
follow.
We simply must let the Great Shepherd lead us
and stop building walls. Bruce went on to apply this to the Jerusalem
church as it grew more "zealous for the law":
"The
Jerusalem church, however, as time went on became increasingly concerned
with ways and means of keeping the wrong type out. It was not so in the
beginning, then the presence of God's holiness among the believers was
so manifest that 'none of the rest dared join them' Acts 5:13. There is a
certain plausibility about the affirmation that 'separation from evil
is God's principle of unity', but it is not really so; God's principle
of unity is positive, not negative; it is the principle of unity in
Christ; and separation from evil is a corollary of the principle, not
the principle itself."
Bruce concluded with this poem from William Barclay to summarize how ugly the fold can get...
"We are God's chosen few,
All others will be damned,
There is no room in heaven for you:
We can't have heaven crammed."
May we not be found in such a way. Follow Jesus outside of the camp (Heb 13:13).
From: Prof. F.F. Bruce, "The Church of Jerusalem," Christian Brethren Research Fellowship Journal 4 (April 1964): pp. 5-14
Here are 25 random things about Heidi and me that you may not know:
1. The first time I attempted to kiss Heidi was in the lobby of her dorm at Miami University. She turned her head and said, "No." It was quite a blow to my self esteem!
2. I got revenge. After the next series of dates, at the end of each date I would just hand her a Hershey's kiss and walk away.
3. We got engaged in downtown Philadelphia, one wintery Saturday night. I put the ring on her wrong hand and she gently corrected me. (And yes, we kissed).
4. We saw Titanic in the theater -- 12 times.
5. Heidi is a night person, I'm a morning person.
6. Each morning Heidi drinks a Diet Coke while I'll drink multiple cups of coffee.
7. I'm an only child; Heidi is the oldest of five, and her parents have housed nearly 200 foster children.
8. Heidi got her degree from Miami University while on a full academic scholarship, and finished in three years.
9. I went to Wright State University, worked myself through college, and finished in five years.
10. Heidi was valedictorian at her high school. Her graduating class was over 450.
11. My graduating class was 86. I finished somewhere in the middle of the pack!
12. A Cincinnati Reds scout once scouted me during a little league game. Ohio State recruited me briefly in high school. The University of Dayton offered me a baseball scholarship. But instead, I decided to go into youth ministry during college.
13. Heidi's bachelor's degree is in Communications, while mine is in English. Two COMPLETELY USELESS DEGREES!
14. We've each run a full marathon and neither plan to do it again!
15. We've lived 8 places in 16 years of marriage.
16. We're not really music people. We've probably spent less than $20 per year on music during our marriage.
17. We're HUGE pizza people though! $20 per week might be an accurate metric!
18. Our favorite vacation place --and the best vacation we ever had-- is in Hawaii. Our favorite vacation place that we can afford is Florida.
19. Heidi's favorite food is a baked ham and cheese sandwich from Milano's, or anything chocolate.
20. My favorite pizza is Flipper's Pizza in Orlando.
21. Heidi and her friend Jeanne WON the "2003 Wendy's International Duathlon" competition in Columbus, Ohio. (okay, they won their age group and were the only team registered in the 30-35 category....but still, WORLD CHAMPIONS!)
22. I have never had a speeding ticket. Heidi can't say the same.
23. Heidi reads 2-3 books a week. I can't say the same.
24. Someday we'd like to live somewhere with palm trees.
25. When we got married we planned on having one or two kids at the most. SURPRISE!
Several people have asked if they can help Fabrice and his family
financially once he goes home. We talked with the director of the
organization which brought him here (Childrens Medical Mission West), and she told us we can do two things:
1) Pay for him to go to school each year ($200/year) - due in September
and
2) Send a small amount of monthly support to his family ($35/month).
We
are going to set up a saving account for these funds, and then send the
money through her. She will Western Union the funds to her liaison in
Burkina Faso, who will get it to his family.
If you would like to
contribute, you can send a check made out to us (Gabe or Heidi) and we
will put it in the account, and then send it on each month. You can
send a one-time gift or monthly support, whatever you want to do!
*Fabrice
told me the other day that sometimes at home, after they eat all the
food, they are still hungry and there is no more food. Hopefully even a
little bit of support will help his family a lot!*
This was last night's conversation between Heidi and Fabrice as she was tucking him into bed:
Fabrice: "Hey mommy, can I be baptized in the morning?"
Heidi, a little surprised: "Sure, Fabrice... Do you know why people get baptized?"
Fabrice: "Yes, because Jesus said we should do that."
Heidi: "What else did Jesus do?"
Fabrice: "He died on the cross for our sins. I want him to forgive me for my sins. And Jesus makes us alive again -- I want that."
So this morning, we baptized Fabrice in the baby pool on our back deck!
Three months ago during one of our "Pajama Church" nights, we talked about baptism: what it is, why followers of Jesus get baptized, and the significance of our going down into the water as death, but coming up out of the water in the life that Jesus gives. Apparently Fabrice has been tossing it around in his mind over the last couple months and finally made the decision to ask about it.
Since we baptized Josiah in our baby pool a couple years ago, and since scripture does not mandate that we get baptized by paid clergy, or seminary graduates, or pastoral staff, or licensed ministers, I thought it appropriate to let Josiah do the baptism. (We gotta teach our kids that God does NOT give them a "Holy Spirit Junior," with limited capabilities and reduced functionality. No! They can "do the stuff" just like any other believer because they have the Spirit of the Living God working in them, too.)
So, after a few words by Fabrice and myself, Josiah lowered Fabrice into the water saying, "Fabrice, I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Fabrice then came up out of the water in a new life! He was excited and proud!
It was a great day! He'll be going home around June 20th, and this is a great way to send him off.
If God has put a dream in your heart, don't give up on it. Keep pursuing it even if the progress is slow. Our job is not to worry about success or failure, it's to be obedient. The success is up to Him.
Last year someone introduced me to the concept of divine accelerations. Those are times when, in the midst of hardship or perseverance, God suddenly shows up and boosts things forward beyond imagination. We can't control God, and we can't control how and when He shows up, but if we're being obedient to His words and seeking first His kingdom, then we should expect divine accelerations somewhere along the way. Divine accelerations bring glory and honor to the Lord.
Last Monday I experienced a divine acceleration.
Since last May I've been working on a campaign to raise $14,000 to construct a school building at one of the care points in Swaziland. This school is free for orphans, and currently some of them meet under a tree because there's not enough space in the existing buildings.
I contacted over 700 insurance agents in Ohio last summer asking them for a donation. I figured if each gave an average of $25, we hit our goal. By the end of summer we had raised $4,000, which was $10,000 short.
Fast forward to the end of December. As of December 29, 2010, we still had only $4,000 in the Ohio for Orphans fund. I had no idea what to do. Then on December 30th someone made a generous year-end donation of $4,000, doubling the amount in our account. Wow! I was excited but still had NO IDEA how we'd raise the final six thousand.
It didn't matter. Last Monday, February 7, 2011, from out of nowhere, someone mailed me a check for $6,000! SIX-THOUSAND-DOLLARS! Mission accomplished. It took me seven months to raise the first four thousand dollars. It took God forty-seven days to bring ten thousand. I am in awe of God. I am in awe of His love for his orphans and how He provides for them. Jesus, you are simply AWESOME!
Sometimes we miss out on divine accelerations because we give up too soon. If God's put a dream in your heart, don't give up! Keep plugging along and hope for a divine acceleration that will bring Him glory.
In many areas of Africa, India, or the Middle East, to become a follower of Jesus immediately puts your life in danger. Therefore, new believers are trained what to do if they're about to be killed for their new faith in Christ.
They're told:
If you're about to be martyred, you look your murderer in the eye and say, "You don't take my life, I give it to you. I give it to you the same way Jesus Christ came to earth and freely gave his life for both of us. And I pray you'll soon come to know the love and freedom Jesus Christ offers." And then you let them martyr you.
A hush fell over the room when this was shared with us.
The following is a true story relayed by missionary David Watson:
Recently two Africans came to faith in Christ. These were unschooled, ordinary men who could barely read. They wanted to take the gospel message out to the surrounding villages in their region, and so they took one Bible and the clothes on their back and started walking. After a day they came upon a village, entered it, and ask to see the chief.
They said to the chief, "We would like to tell you a story that's changed our lives." The chief replied, "No, not today. My wife has died and we are making preparations to bury her. We will bury her by nightfall."
They walked out of the chief's hut and, while leaving the village, one turned to the other and said, "Don't that book (the Bible) talk about raising the dead? Should we do that?"
"I dunno if it says it or not. But we should try it." His friend replied.
They went back to the chief and said, "We would like to pray for your wife in the name of Jesus. Would that be okay?" The chief agreed, but then the two friends said, "We would like to move her body to the center of the village, so that when we pray the villagers will know that we're not using witchcraft or black magic. We want them to know we're praying only in the name of Jesus." The chief agreed to their request.
So they moved her body to the center of the village. "How do we do this?" the one said to the other. "I don't know. How about you pray at her feet and I'll pray at her head."
And so they prayed. They prayed that Jesus' kingdom would come and that he would confirm the message of his gospel by raising this dead woman to life. They prayed for two hours without stopping. Then four hours. Then six hours. After six hours the grave diggers came back to the village and the chief approached the two men while they were still praying.
"It's time to bury her," he said.
And right after he said that, the corpse sneezed. And then it sneezed again and her eyes opened. With the chief staring in amazement, and the entire village watching, the wife stood up and started speaking!
That day, the entire village came to Christ.
And those two men who prayed for her? They now travel from village to village asking, "Has anyone here died today?" And if the answer's yes, they pull the body into the center of the village, and pray until God raises it back to life. To date, 13 more people have been brought back from the dead by the faithfulness (and guts) of these two new believers.
I find this story amazing. The more I hear about what God's doing around the world, the more I get this sense of me being on the outside looking in, wanting to be a part of what He's doing. Stories like this stir up a Godly discontent with my life and build my faith. How about you?
Just wanted to send out an invite to any mom reading this blog.
I read the book "Follow: A Simple and Profound Call to Live Like Jesus"
by Floyd McClung this past weekend. It was practical and challenging,
and just what I need to help me in as I try to live more like Jesus.
Click here to see the book at Christian Book Distributors.
But I thought it would be so much better to do with others... so I am
organizing an on-line group of fellow moms to go through the book together, and then
share over email. I hope we each hear God's voice leading us, and that
we can both encourage each other and hold each other accountable to obey
whatever God has in each of our lives to do!
This was last night's conversation between Heidi and Fabrice as she was tucking him into bed:
In many areas of Africa, India, or the Middle East, to become a follower of Jesus immediately puts your life in danger. Therefore, new believers are trained what to do if they're about to be killed for their new faith in Christ.
The following is a true story relayed by missionary David Watson: 