Welcome back.
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We're talking
about church planting
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and my guest is
Pastor Tim Madding.
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Tim, thanks for joining us.
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You're the senior
pastor here at Beltsville,
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Seventh-day Adventist church,
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a fairly typical suburban
church here in Maryland.
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But you're not
exactly a typical pastor,
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because your
passion is church planting.
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Right. Where did that come from?
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I started church
planting early on in ministry,
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I was a part of
a growing church,
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that had out grown its facility,
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we'd gone to two services
and the next question was,
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well, what do we do now?
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Do we just stop
or do we keep growing
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and so the natural response was,
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was just plant another church,
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let's start
another congregation.
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So since then it's
just been a part of me.
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Had a chance to
re-launch another church,
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which was the same
principles of church planting,
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for a church that had decreased
and the leadership said,
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we want to, we'd
really want it to grow
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and we're able to do
that outside of Seattle,
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and so it's just been
in my blood ever since.
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Wonderful, so you've actually
been in the Pennsylvania region
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and you've been
carrying for the ministers
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in that conference, but
you felt called to come back
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into church planting.
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Now you're here at Beltsville,
you're carrying for the church,
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but you're
actually inspiring them
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for further church
planting, how do you do that?
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I mean, people come
here every Sabbath day,
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they're quite content,
they have a nice program going,
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how do you motivate
them to church plant?
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Now the good
thing is Beltsville,
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much like my very first
church, has a great DNA,
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it's very out ward focused,
it's evangelism focused,
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they want to be about ministry,
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they don't just want to
be about church, coming,
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sitting in a pew,
hearing a good music program
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and a good
sermon and going home.
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They want to be
engaged in mission
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and they've been growing,
the church has been growing.
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They've gone to
multiple services now
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and so their next
question was, what next?
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What should we do next?
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And so when they found
out that I was, you know,
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very passionate
about church planting
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and wanted to be
involved in church planting
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and they felt that was
the next step for them,
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it just seemed a perfect
blend to make that happen.
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Yeah, so what
are your plans here?
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Well, we're looking to,
um, originally I was brought on
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to be the church planter,
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to plant a
church in Silver Spring,
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but at the same time
their lead pastor had retired.
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So they thought it
would be best that if I become
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the lead pastor to
plant many churches
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and so we're looking to
find the new church planter
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to replace us
here and, to replace me
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in planting in Silver Spring,
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so we're going to plant
a church in Silver Spring,
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we'll take about 50 or
60 people from Beltsville,
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committed people.
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They'll be going as missionaries
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to another
community not far from here
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and reaching a
segment to the population
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that may not be
currently targeted and reached.
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And then as
soon as we send them,
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we'll continue the
discipleship process here
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to develop new
leaders, replace leaders,
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develop new
leaders, reach new people
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and then begin the plans
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to plant another
church after that.
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And then we hope
this could be a continued
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cycle of church planting,
to just plant one church
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after another
church, after another church.
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Now some of our viewers
may not even be familiar
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with the term 'church planting.'
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We're talking about
starting new congregations.
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Starting new churches, right.
How do you begin this process?
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I mean how do
you plant a church?
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Yeah, it's not as
easy as it used to be.
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It's a little more complex.
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You have to have a
core group of leaders,
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and those core group of leaders
really need to be committed
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to the same
mission, the same purpose.
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Each church has its
own way of doing church,
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its own strategy, its own life,
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we call that the
DNA of the church
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and so when you're
starting a new congregation,
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a new church or church planting,
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you want to have that
core team develop the same DNA.
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So the leader, the
church planting pastor
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or the pass
sending pastor, whatever,
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works with the core
group of people and says,
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why are we here?
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What are we doing?
What's our purpose?
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You know, how are we going
to be the same or different?
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What's our community likes
so that we can reach the people
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in our community and
then they work together
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in the united effort to fulfill
the mission in that context.
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Wonderful, that makes sense.
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So they come
together, they pray together,
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they plant together.
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Then what's the first step?
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Do you preach a
series of public meetings?
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Do you make
friends in the community,
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what's the process?
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Yeah, there's all
different ways of doing that
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and people
involved in church planting
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or starting new congregations
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all have different
opinions on how to do that
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and I'm not going to be
critical of any of them,
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whatever advances
the kingdom of God,
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I'm in favor of.
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But I think a huge part
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is developing
relationships with community.
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Getting to know who the
people are in the community,
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spending time,
getting to know people.
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If there's a
square or city center,
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spending time there,
getting to know people.
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Actually talking with
people, or going door to door
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and getting to
know what the needs
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and the feelings
of the community are,
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developing
relationships with the leaders
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in the community, etc.
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So you get a feel
for the community.
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And then you can hold the
public series of meetings,
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like an evangelistic
series, inviting people to that.
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You can do a
series of invitations
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where you're inviting
people to maybe smaller groups
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or Bible study groups
or informational meetings,
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where people are developing
relationships through there
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and it's kind of
slow start to get going
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and then you launch, launch big.
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Wonderful. Now, Tim--
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There's a whole lot in that.
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Believe me, there is.
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Um, some people say, well,
let's fill up our church first
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before we start
thinking about church planting,
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how do you respond to that?
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Well, I think
that'll be a wonderful idea
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but it's, for the
most part, not working.
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Statistically, to
revive a dying church
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is a whole lot harder
than starting a new one.
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That was why I
left Pennsylvania,
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it's why I left ministerial.
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I loved serving as
a ministerial director
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in Pennsylvania,
I loved the pastors,
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I loved the people.
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But I realized that
there were a lot of churches
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that were really
focused on themselves
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and I would try to
come along side the pastors,
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and sometimes
working with church boards
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and elders and
leaders in the church
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that try to help
change their church.
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But in reality they
didn't want a change.
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They didn't really
want to be outreached.
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I mean, I sat down
with leaders of churches
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who said, we're happy
the way we are, right now,
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we don't want a change.
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But yet there's
people in their community
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who don't know Christ, there're
people in their community
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they aren't ready
for Jesus to come.
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There're people that, they're
going to be eternally lost
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and the church is
oblivious to that.
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And if we could grow the
existing churches, great.
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But that's not
necessarily happening
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and when you think about
the early Christian church,
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church planting
is how they grew.
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They didn't just grow
the church in Jerusalem.
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They went out, God even sent
them out to the far reaches,
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where they
worked in small groups,
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developed new
churches and grew from there
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and so church planting
was how the church grew,
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it's how they
fulfill the mission early on.
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The Seventh-day Adventist
church, which we're part of,
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is, began the same way.
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A small group of
people, but then they planted it
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intoanother area and
planted it into another area
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andsometimes even
went across state lines
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and planted even further away.
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That's how they--
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the advancement of
the gospel continued.
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That's how the church grew,
was through church planting
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and if we're not growing now
may be we need to revive that,
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that emphasis
in church planting.
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Not just say those
people in those churches
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are bad people or-
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They're wonderful, God
fearing, loving people.
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But they're not really
focused in their communities.
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Tim, thank you for singing
the song of Global Mission,
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planting two
congregations and best wishes
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for your
initiatives here in this area.
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And let's return now to
Pennsylvania, to Simplicity,
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to see what we're
talking about in practice.
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Another much needed service here
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is mentoring the children.
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The parents of
this community work hard
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and the children
have a lot of time alone.
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So Simplicity
Missionaries host the children
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on a regular basis so they can
learn to use their time wisely.
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The kids like it here so
much that they come on their own
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and visit often.
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Here, they play
games, they make new friends,
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and they learn about Jesus
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through songs and Bible stories.
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They each come here
for different reasons.
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Because it's fun.
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I love learning
about Noah and Jesus.
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The activities.
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Because it's fun.
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Because it spread
some joy in people life.
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Michelle's children
also come to the center.
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For her, Simplicity
has been a lifeline.
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She learned about
this community center
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when Andrew came by
her house to do a survey.
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She was extremely
hopeless that day.
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She was at the darkest point
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of the most difficult
situation in her life.
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So when
Simplicity came to my home,
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I didn't even want to see them.
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They had a list
on a piece of paper
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of all these
different community services
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that they offered.
00:08:31.68\00:08:32.74
One of them was Bible
study, help with your finances,
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that type of thing.
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I signed up, I
checked off every one
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and I always
wanted to do Bible studies
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but I never had an
opportunity so I was interested.
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As she showed interest
in the different services,
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Michelle began to open up
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and she felt the positive
connection to the missionaries.
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They asked Michelle to pray
for her and to her situation.
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Losing her kids
to social services
00:09:02.13\00:09:04.50
was a devastating experience.
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It's really hard, you
know, losing my kids in a--
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I actually started to pray.
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I felt this
tingling, warm sensation
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come down through
the top of my head
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and it hit my neck,
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the hair on my neck stood up.
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All of a sudden I felt happy.
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I had this overwhelming feeling
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that everything was
going to be all right,
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that I was going
to get my kids back
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and I couldn't
shake that feeling.
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Just like I couldn't
shake, prior to that,
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the feeling
that-- of devastation.
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This feeling took over.
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Now I knew they were-- I
was going to get them back.
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Sure enough, miraculously,
00:09:49.88\00:09:51.64
social services returned
her kids the very next day.
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They even
apologized for the incident.
00:09:55.70\00:09:58.19
Now Michelle just had
to learn more about the God
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who could control emotions
and solve the hardest problems.
00:10:01.08\00:10:05.35
As she studied the Bible,
00:10:05.38\00:10:07.19
she made important
decisions in her life.
00:10:07.22\00:10:09.85
She began to regularly
attend events at the center.
00:10:09.88\00:10:12.91
She quit smoking and
even began to volunteer.
00:10:12.94\00:10:16.42
As Simplicity Ministry
connects with the community
00:10:16.45\00:10:19.81
through different avenues,
they genuinely want to help.
00:10:19.84\00:10:22.96
They want to assist in
whatever area people need.
00:10:22.99\00:10:26.38
That's what we hope to
communicate to the community
00:10:26.41\00:10:28.19
that we're here to help
and that we are a people
00:10:28.22\00:10:32.35
who is understanding
and that is helpful
00:10:32.38\00:10:35.89
and that really
cares about their needs,
00:10:35.92\00:10:39.13
their families and their lives.
00:10:39.16\00:10:40.97
Just be yourself with them.
00:10:41.00\00:10:43.05
Just show them that you really
don't want nothing from them.
00:10:43.08\00:10:47.21
That you just came to give them.
00:10:47.24\00:10:49.34
Give your all to them,
like that you are really here
00:10:49.37\00:10:52.91
to just to help them, just
to do whatever is in your hands,
00:10:52.94\00:10:57.94
in your reach to help and
to try to improve their life.
00:10:57.97\00:11:01.88
We work really
hard to let people know
00:11:01.91\00:11:03.82
that that we're not in at
just to give them a Bible study,
00:11:03.85\00:11:06.62
not just to get something out
of them but that we're willing,
00:11:06.65\00:11:09.46
if they need a friend
we're willing to stop by,
00:11:09.49\00:11:11.44
you know, a
couple, three times a month
00:11:11.47\00:11:12.92
and be friends with them.
00:11:12.95\00:11:14.49
They don't have to,
they don't have to, you know,
00:11:14.52\00:11:16.60
get us there
under some pretence,
00:11:16.63\00:11:18.23
we're willing to
be there for them.
00:11:18.26\00:11:20.29
And of course we love it
when we get to study the Bible
00:11:20.32\00:11:22.39
with people, we've
got a number of people
00:11:22.42\00:11:23.59
that we've been
studying with for a while now
00:11:23.62\00:11:25.52
and so we don't turn that down
00:11:25.55\00:11:28.43
but, we want people to know
00:11:28.46\00:11:30.68
that we're
genuinely interested in them.
00:11:30.71\00:11:33.17
Giving Bible
studies gives me great joy.
00:11:33.20\00:11:35.58
Because the Bible
is God's word to us
00:11:35.61\00:11:39.82
and so in there we
find incredible freedom.
00:11:39.85\00:11:44.48
It's like I spoke
about, that many people
00:11:44.51\00:11:46.32
they have addictions and
they have, they have burdens,
00:11:46.35\00:11:48.41
they have troubles
and trials and so in there
00:11:48.44\00:11:50.97
is just the precious peace and
assurance that they can find.
00:11:51.00\00:11:54.04
Christ understood people.
00:11:54.07\00:11:57.14
He knew how to
befriend and bless.
00:11:57.17\00:12:00.08
The simple acts of
kindness speaks sermons
00:12:00.11\00:12:02.60
to the hearts of people
who have not yet met God.
00:12:02.63\00:12:05.09
As we establish centers
of influence in urban areas,
00:12:05.12\00:12:08.68
please pray that the Holy Spirit
00:12:08.71\00:12:10.58
revives all of Gods missionaries
00:12:10.61\00:12:12.49
to evangelize
through our actions.
00:12:12.52\00:12:14.78
We can all play a part
in this Simplicity ministry.
00:12:14.81\00:12:19.00
Each year millions of visitors
come to the Lincoln memorial,
00:12:19.03\00:12:22.24
here in Washington, D.C.
00:12:22.27\00:12:24.25
and Lincoln once said
00:12:24.28\00:12:25.36
that people who don't
show freedom to others
00:12:25.39\00:12:28.00
don't deserve to
receive freedom themselves.
00:12:28.03\00:12:30.68
And it raises the
question of, what do we do
00:12:30.71\00:12:33.18
with the freedom
that God has given us?
00:12:33.21\00:12:35.19
Do we use it to
focus on our own needs
00:12:35.22\00:12:37.81
or do we use it to
focus on the needs of others?
00:12:37.84\00:12:40.69
Well, I hope
you've enjoyed today's
00:12:40.72\00:12:42.54
Global Missions Snapshots.
00:12:42.57\00:12:43.95
As we've looked at
mission around the world,
00:12:43.98\00:12:45.76
please remember to pray
for front line mission work.
00:12:45.79\00:12:48.68
Pray for the people and
places you see on this program.
00:12:48.71\00:12:51.55
Pray for Global Mission pioneers
00:12:51.58\00:12:53.73
who are starting
new congregations
00:12:53.76\00:12:55.35
in difficult areas of the world.
00:12:55.38\00:12:57.53
Before we go,
I'd like to offer you
00:12:57.56\00:12:59.24
a free Global Mission calendar.
00:12:59.27\00:13:01.69
This calendar is
full of faces of mission
00:13:01.72\00:13:03.79
from around the world
and it's a daily reminder
00:13:03.82\00:13:06.34
to pray specifically for people
to come to know Jesus Christ.
00:13:06.37\00:13:10.79
Well, that's it
for today's program,
00:13:10.82\00:13:12.50
I'm Gary Krause, and I
hope you can join me next time,
00:13:12.53\00:13:15.31
right here, on
Global Mission Snapshots.
00:13:15.34\00:13:18.23