Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL250016A
00:02 I want to spend my life.
00:35 I want to spend my life. 00:45 I want to spend my life. 01:06 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 01:07 I'm JD Quinn. 01:08 And we welcome you to 3ABN Today Live. 01:12 And we're going to have a great program tonight. 01:15 Before I introduce our guest, I just want to read one of my 01:20 favorite scriptures, Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 01:24 We got our title or our ministry name from the three 01:29 angels of Revelation 14. 01:32 And I think my favorite verse is Revelation 14 verse 6 that 01:37 tells us when these three angels are appearing, John 01:41 says, then I saw another angel flying in the midst of having 01:46 the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on 01:51 the earth, every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. 01:58 The everlasting gospel, the grace of God, the salvation 02:03 offered through Jesus Christ, the love of God is the 02:07 foundation of the three angels' messages. 02:10 And tonight we have two special guests with us. 02:14 They are in a ministry. 02:16 I think it's an exciting ministry because they are a 02:20 network. 02:21 It's a thriving network. 02:23 They have over 400 ministries, lay ministries in this network, 02:31 and they're in 87 countries. 02:35 And they're wanting to go every country of the world so that 02:38 they can fulfill this scripture. 02:41 So without further ado, let me introduce our special guests. 02:45 We have Steve Dickman, who is the president of Outpost 02:49 Centers International. 02:51 Steve, welcome back. 02:52 Thank you. 02:53 It's good to be here. 02:54 We always enjoy when you're here because you have such 02:57 great stories. 02:59 And then we have James Hartley. 03:01 And James, you are the vice president of Outpost Centers 03:08 International. 03:10 We just welcome you here as well. 03:12 Thank you. 03:13 Glad to be here. 03:14 I'll tell you, that's a great scripture for this particular 03:17 program because we are covering the world. 03:21 You know, there's something interesting, at least from my 03:23 standpoint. 03:24 When you read the gospel commission in Matthew, and then 03:27 you read the gospel commission in Mark, and you read the 03:31 gospel commission in Luke, but John doesn't specifically 03:35 address that in the gospel, but he addresses it in Revelation. 03:40 So what you've just shared with us is one of my favorite verses 03:44 as well. 03:45 It's John's version of the gospel commission in the 03:48 context of these three angels' messages. 03:51 Amen. 03:52 So it's amazing. 03:53 And you know, if people don't know the love of God, if they 03:56 don't know the grace of God, the rest of the three angels' 04:01 messages aren't going to make any difference to them. 04:04 First, they've got to know God. 04:06 And that takes workers, that takes people who are out 04:11 ministering on behalf of the Lord. 04:14 Well, I know that everyone loves music and we have got a 04:19 great pianist with us tonight. 04:21 Josh Singletary, and he's going to be playing, Oh How I Love 04:26 Jesus. 04:27 Amen. 06:02 Thank you. 06:03 Thank you, Josh. 06:03 That was wonderful. 06:04 Yes. 06:05 That was uplifting too. 06:06 It was. 06:07 Amen. 06:10 are Steve Dickman and James Hartley with Outpost Centers 06:15 International. 06:16 And boy, have they got some stories to tell. 06:18 But I know you wanted to make a public thank you first. 06:22 You see how big this glass is? 06:24 Pretty big glass. 06:25 We just got to send some tomatoes that were about 06:28 looking like this. 06:29 Now, this is pre-tomato season here in Southern Illinois, so y 06:33 'all must have been busy. 06:34 And I asked, where'd you get those tomatoes? 06:37 And I'll be, if you didn't say, my group, my academy, the town 06:42 that I live in and everything, the academy there. 06:45 Harvard Hills Academy. 06:46 Harvard Hills. 06:50 wait to get home and have a tomato sandwich. 06:53 I'm with you. 06:54 I know what we're having for lunch tomorrow. 06:57 When it's tomato season, I like tomato sandwiches like every 07:00 day. 07:02 Tomato and avocado. 07:03 Well, this could be a gardening program just as easy. 07:07 You're out harvesting a different type of people that 07:12 got stories to tell and you've got stories to tell because 07:16 you're out there making things happen. 07:18 We love both of you. 07:19 Yeah. 07:22 I know that I always love to hear people's personal 07:25 testimonies and I know you do as well because it shows us how 07:30 the Lord works in our lives and brings purpose to our life. 07:33 So Steve, did you grow up in a Christian home? 07:36 Tell us your story. 07:37 I did grow up in a Christian home. 07:40 Both of my parents, my father was born as a Seventh-day 07:44 Adventist Christian. 07:46 My mother became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian when she 07:48 was about 15. 07:50 They both ended up attending a college in Tennessee that 07:53 focused on preparing missionaries. 07:56 And so they decided that they would dedicate their lives to 07:59 mission. 08:00 And so I was kind of born into that environment. 08:03 They helped to start this school where these tomatoes 08:05 came from. 08:07 They helped start that. 08:08 Wow. 08:12 grew up learning about mission and ministry from as early as I 08:17 can remember. 08:19 And boy, it took root in you. 08:21 By God's grace. 08:23 You just returned from Bolivia. 08:24 We're going to hear the stories, but you travel 08:27 probably nine months out of the year. 08:29 You're going around the world. 08:31 It's amazing how God is using Outpost Centers International. 08:37 And now, James, tell us a little bit about your 08:42 upbringing. 08:43 Yeah, mine was a little different. 08:44 I was raised to a wonderful Roman Catholic family in 08:47 Wisconsin. 08:49 I had never heard of the Seventh-day Adventist Church 08:51 before, but in my college years doing some traveling, me and my 08:56 friend got introduced to the Seventh-day Adventist Church 09:00 through a vegetarian restaurant in Basel, Switzerland. 09:03 It was called Country Life. 09:05 And in fact, it was an Outpost Center ministry. 09:08 So it's through OCI that I got introduced to Christ again, 09:12 because I had really left the Catholic Church. 09:15 I was into Eastern philosophies, meditations and a 09:20 very different lifestyle, drugs, alcohol, partying, just 09:24 traveling around. 09:25 And suddenly we meet some very godly people and I volunteered 09:29 on a farm referred to from the restaurant in Italy. 09:33 I lived three months on a family farm that were mission 09:36 -minded people and they just introduced Christ to us. 09:39 It was life-changing for me. 09:41 So I ended up getting connected with some of these other 09:44 Outpost Center ministries. 09:46 I got called down to Tennessee and I ended up volunteering on 09:49 the OCI headquarters, which had a farm at the time. 09:52 And I was just a farm help. 09:54 I showed up there with a t -shirt with skeletons on it and 09:57 long hair. 10:00 I didn't really have much of a picture of it all, but it was 10:06 life -changing for me. 10:08 So I started to read scripture there and got into the message 10:12 and gave my life to it. 10:13 So I decided to be a missionary for the rest of my life. 10:16 That was 25 years ago. 10:18 I think what it is, sometimes we focus on rules and 10:22 regulation. 10:23 What people need to find out first is if they know the heart 10:28 of God. 10:29 When you see people who are living, your faith should 10:35 result in faithful living. 10:38 And when you see that, it is a magnet, isn't it? 10:42 And then you got to know the heart of God and you couldn't 10:46 wait to serve it. 10:47 I could see Christ through the people that were witnessing to 10:50 me and that was just a huge witness to see the families, 10:54 the people that were passionate about God. 10:57 And I knew they had something that I was lacking and it just 11:00 kept me there. 11:00 So I kept volunteering. 11:02 They were patient with me. 11:03 I was a work in progress, but thankfully they didn't kick me 11:06 out. 11:07 They let me stay there. 11:08 So after nine months of studying and so forth, that's 11:12 when I joined the church and was baptized and yeah, it was 11:17 life -changing. 11:18 So I've been serving in outpost center ministries ever since 11:21 that time. 11:22 And that's over 20 years, right? 11:24 Praise the Lord. 11:26 And now tell us, outpost centers international began in 11:31 1983. 11:32 Tell us a little bit about the mission, the vision for outpost 11:38 centers. 11:39 Outpost centers international is a collection of ministries 11:44 who support the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 11:48 helping to get the gospel to the world. 11:51 So from 1983 with a handful of ministries, we're now, like you 11:57 mentioned earlier, over 400 ministries scattered in about 12:00 87 countries. 12:02 But that's only the beginning because the reality is that 12:06 there's 235 countries and there are a number of those countries 12:12 where it is not friendly towards the gospel. 12:17 And so we believe that laypeople have a special part 12:22 to play in helping to get the gospel into some of these very 12:26 challenging areas. 12:28 There's countries of the world like Zambia where one in every 12:33 15 people is a Seventh-day Adventist. 12:37 And so that's a fairly high concentration, but there are 12:41 other countries where it's one in 20,000 or one in 40,000 or 12:45 one in 60,000. 12:47 And so those are the places we believe and other areas of the 12:55 world, even some that are not in those countries, but they're 13:00 tribal groups that have not been reached yet. 13:03 And so we just feel like laypeople have a very special 13:05 part to play in that journey. 13:07 Well, we know for certain that without laypeople the mission's 13:11 not going to be accomplished. 13:13 One other thing that I was reading, I was on the internet 13:18 researching the two of you. 13:21 And one thing that caught my attention was there are some 13:23 countries that really don't want pastors to even come into 13:28 their country. 13:29 And I like what you said, but they all, the one thing that 13:33 they all catch hold of is an educator. 13:36 And you were in education for many, many years. 13:40 And so all of a sudden, come on in, sir. 13:42 You're an educator. 13:43 You're not a pastor. 13:45 So this is kind of what I'm hearing you say. 13:48 There's a lot of countries out there that are hungry and 13:52 thirsting for Jesus, but they just haven't had the 13:55 opportunity to learn who he is yet. 13:58 Yeah. 13:59 About two years ago, I visited a country that is extremely 14:03 closed to anybody from the outside coming in. 14:07 It was really kind of a miracle that I was able to even get a 14:10 visa. 14:11 And on the application, they asked, what is your profession? 14:15 And because I'm a teacher as well, I put educator and they 14:20 gave me a visa to go to that country where if you put pastor 14:25 or missionary down, you're not going to that country. 14:29 So praise God for laypeople that can engage in that kind 14:34 of, you know, reaching into some of those territories, like 14:37 you say. 14:38 Yeah. 14:42 I mean, that's just one of those miracles that happens. 14:46 And seed yields more seed. 14:49 And there's another area that the entire world seems to be 14:52 open to, and it's the health work. 14:56 Doesn't matter how rich you are, how poor you are, what 15:00 country you live in, people have health challenges. 15:04 And so the, one of the arms of outpost centers international 15:10 that is fairly active is the health work, whether it's a 15:16 health center, a wellness center, or it may be a 15:20 vegetarian restaurant or something like that. 15:23 So we have a number of those scattered around the world, 15:26 James. 15:26 Absolutely. 15:27 Yeah. 15:32 clinics. 15:33 We have Bush clinics. 15:35 We're ministering to cities. 15:37 So OCI is a, is a network of, of church members that are 15:42 actively involved in ministry through the right arm, through 15:46 the health message, ministering as Christ ministered, helping 15:50 people's physical needs, looking to introduce the gospel 15:52 to them, showing the God also through education. 15:57 And also I would say maybe a three, a third part to this is 16:01 businesses because through, you know, lay people opening 16:05 businesses that are gospel focused, they can also be used 16:09 to enter difficult regions where like you, like you 16:13 mentioned, pastors are not so welcome or an outward gospel 16:17 method is not allowed or legal, but through health, through 16:22 education, through business, we can get inroads in some of the 16:25 most difficult countries in the world. 16:26 And you have farming and agriculture as well. 16:30 Just kind of give us some. 16:31 Well, let me mention this. 16:32 So you're bringing the two together. 16:34 You've got ministry minded people that need some 16:38 assistance over here because we're ready to go. 16:42 Well, we don't really know what to do. 16:44 And then here is OCI. 16:46 Well, we know what to do. 16:47 We need your assistance. 16:50 And so a marriage is created there. 16:52 Now is that kind of the what we're saying? 16:54 Yeah. 16:57 There are 400 ministries. 16:58 There's over 5,000 missionaries engaged with all of these 17:02 projects. 17:03 Many of them have years of experience in running academies 17:07 or running wellness centers or running language schools or 17:11 running outpost agricultural projects and centers of 17:15 influence and restaurants and health food stores in OCI. 17:18 You're going to find expertise in all those areas and joining 17:22 into the network. 17:23 You're going to get connected with so many people that will 17:25 help launch you into ministry with some experience advising 17:30 you. 17:32 And I would imagine there's people that are watching this 17:35 that probably say, honey, come here and listen to this. 17:37 This could be a way that we could join someone that could 17:42 help us go further with our ministry. 17:45 It's actually one of one of our things that we highlight often 17:50 is on our website at outpostcenters.org. 17:55 People can go there and they can find mission opportunities. 17:58 I was just talking with a ministry today and they said, 18:02 I'm so happy I'm a part of outpost centers because it's 18:05 really being helpful to me. 18:07 I post my need. 18:09 I need someone to help in agriculture. 18:11 I need a cook. 18:12 I need to come to this ministry. 18:14 And they said, they've been getting responses because 18:17 people are also looking for opportunity many times. 18:20 And so it's a huge blessing. 18:23 Now, one of the things that we feel strongly about is that 18:27 sometimes laypeople just need to know they can do something. 18:31 And so we're often sharing the stories of other laypeople who 18:35 are doing things so that as they listen to that story, they 18:39 go, ah, look, if that guy can do it, I can do it. 18:42 I can do something. 18:43 So you have conferences where you do trainings and you talk 18:47 about sharing these testimonies. 18:50 And so when people come, I loved what you said in the 18:54 green room. 18:58 that you want to get across tonight? 19:01 He said, mission, mission, mission. 19:04 And it doesn't mean that you're going to be called overseas. 19:08 You can walk. 19:13 fence. 19:16 That's your heart. 19:18 I think if we would recognize the power of working together, 19:25 sometimes we think, well, somebody else is going to do 19:28 it. 19:30 No, it's for us. 19:32 It's our opportunity. 19:34 And if all of the Christians in the world got together, it'd be 19:37 amazing. 19:42 Christians, maybe about 10, 12 million, would really go 19:46 seriously on a mission to do something for God. 19:49 Wouldn't that be amazing? 19:50 I think it would change the world. 19:53 You want to share the story about when you were 19:56 interviewing those two young ladies? 19:59 You know, as I travel, one of the things I do is I interview 20:04 people and get their story because I love to tell stories. 20:07 So I need stories and I like to hear people's stories. 20:10 So I was going to do an interview with these two young 20:12 ladies. 20:13 They're in the Philippines. 20:14 We're in the Philippines. 20:15 They've come to an OCI conference. 20:18 And so I said, I've got to get their story. 20:21 And so I said, you would be willing to be interviewed? 20:23 Oh, yes. 20:24 They said, it's fine. 20:25 And so I'm thinking, oh, this would be great. 20:28 You know, I'm going to get a story here. 20:29 And so my opening question was, I thought it was the right 20:32 question. 20:33 And I said, so I'm Steve Dickman. 20:36 I'm here in the Philippines and I'm going to talk to Felicia 20:38 and Ann, hear about their work. 20:41 Who do you work for? 20:42 And their response was amazing. 20:44 They just looked at me with this incredulous look on my 20:47 face, like, I thought you knew something. 20:50 They said, well, of course we work for God. 20:53 And that really impacted me. 20:55 I thought, you know, isn't it so true? 20:57 Sometimes we forget who we work for. 21:00 They had come on a journey to get to this OCI conference. 21:04 They had been, they had to go up in the mountains because 21:07 they're missionaries up there. 21:08 They'd gone up in the mountains. 21:09 Sometimes you hike for one full day to get up to some of these 21:14 villages where they go. 21:15 So on the way up, they had to cross a river. 21:18 Well, you think, okay, it's no big deal. 21:21 Cross the river. 21:25 So as they crossed the river, they were struggling, you know, 21:27 to get over the river. 21:28 And we're talking the water coming up probably to their 21:31 waist. 21:31 Wow. 21:31 But they're not hesitating. 21:32 They're waiting across the river. 21:34 They're going to go on their mission. 21:36 After being in the village, it was still raining. 21:39 And the people told them, do not go down there. 21:41 The river is too flooded. 21:43 And they said, no, we have to go because we're going the OCI 21:46 conference. 21:47 And so they're coming down. 21:50 They're getting close to the river. 21:51 They can, they're getting near the river and a little three 21:55 wheel, you know, the Philippines have a lot of these 21:57 little three wheel things. 21:59 It came by and there's a big old guy driving it. 22:02 And he says, where are you going? 22:04 He says, oh, we're going across the river. 22:06 He says, we'll get in. 22:07 I'll take you to the river. 22:08 And they said, oh no, we'll walk. 22:10 He says, he insisted. 22:11 He said, no, you have to get in. 22:13 So they said, okay, we got it. 22:14 They got in the back of this thing. 22:15 They rode to the river. 22:17 They get there. 22:18 And they said, well, it was raging by that time. 22:22 We would say the water was just swift and flowing. 22:25 And he says, are you going across? 22:28 And they, and they said, yes, we're going. 22:30 And he says, well, you must go with me. 22:32 And so they got like behind him and he said, no, you have to 22:37 hold onto me. 22:38 And so he helped them across the river. 22:41 You know, when they got to the convention and they shared a 22:45 little bit of how they had gotten there, I was just 22:48 thinking, these are the two ladies that said, we're working 22:52 for God. 22:53 You know, God was watching out for them. 22:55 That guy that came by wasn't an accident. 22:58 I don't know, angels have interesting jobs sometimes. 23:01 I don't know if he was an angel or not, but I can tell you that 23:05 when they told me about their journey to get there, I 23:08 recognize if we're truly working for God, what do we 23:11 have to worry about? 23:13 The river may be deep. 23:15 The mountain may be high, but we're working for God. 23:21 And we're sitting here complaining because the airline 23:24 seat is not comfortable. 23:25 I get stuck in the middle here. 23:27 Lord, where are you? 23:29 And here's these precious ladies here. 23:31 I mean, wow. 23:32 That concept is that if every ministry, if every person had 23:39 that attitude, we are working for God. 23:42 There would be the unity that Jesus prayed for. 23:45 You know, we would, we got to hold on to one another and lift 23:51 him high. 23:52 And I love that. 23:53 That's beautiful. 23:54 Yeah. 23:58 said. 24:02 me that I don't always act like I'm working for God. 24:07 He says, you know, Isaiah 43 says, I know your name. 24:12 He says, when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. 24:17 Yep. 24:21 So if we're working for the king, we have special 24:28 privileges. 24:29 Amen. 24:30 Amen. 24:31 Amen. 24:31 It's well put. 24:34 So James, do you travel? 24:36 You don't travel quite as much. 24:38 I don't travel quite as much as Steve, but not many people do. 24:41 He's on the move all the time. 24:44 It's amazing from one place to another, which I really 24:46 appreciate because I can't, I don't want to travel as much 24:49 because I have a young family. 24:51 I've got a seven and a nine year old daughters, my wife. 24:54 So I travel a bit. 24:56 Yeah. 24:57 I was in Brazil, but there I sometimes I bring my family. 25:01 My wife is Brazilian, so that works out really good. 25:04 We had, we went to an OCI convention in Brazil, which was 25:07 really a blessing and traveled around to visit different 25:10 ministries. 25:11 There's 18 ministries now in Brazil. 25:13 It's a really growing territory, several new 25:16 projects, wellness centers, evangelistic projects, and so 25:20 forth. 25:21 And it was great. 25:22 I get to teach classes as I travel around to them. 25:26 And at one of them, maybe just a short story, I met a young 25:29 man. 25:33 clinic and some health work. 25:35 He was large. 25:37 And so I thought, oh, he must be a lifestyle guest. 25:39 But then in the afternoon, I was teaching a class and he was 25:41 sitting in the front row. 25:42 I said, oh, you're a student. 25:44 He said, yeah. 25:45 I said, how long you been here? 25:46 Six months. 25:47 And he says, yeah, this place has helped me a lot. 25:50 I've lost a hundred pounds. 25:52 Wow. 25:54 He was 400 pounds when he came to the Institute. 25:59 Some missionary found out about him. 26:01 He was at his very end. 26:02 He was suicidal. 26:03 He was thinking of ending his life. 26:05 He was wrapped up in, yeah, spiritualism and kind of some 26:11 demonic stuff. 26:12 And his life was falling apart. 26:14 He was out of control. 26:15 His health was out of control. 26:17 He got brought to this outpost center property. 26:20 And that's where our name comes from. 26:22 It's a, you know, not all of our places are in the country. 26:25 Some are in the city, but a lot of them are these outpost 26:28 centers that the name comes from a ministry that's just 26:31 outside the city. 26:32 So it can be a nice, natural, healing environment for 26:35 education, for healing and so forth and nice country living. 26:40 So he got brought out there and they said, well, what can you 26:43 do? 26:46 He could work 10 minutes and he was done. 26:49 Okay. 26:49 His heart was beating. 26:51 He was out of breath and he had all kinds of health problems. 26:54 But over several months he began, his life began to 26:58 change. 27:01 And when I saw him, you know, I realized this, this man or this 27:04 young man, he was probably only about 22 years old. 27:07 His whole life had changed. 27:09 Yeah. 27:12 100 pound difference. 27:13 And he was on a path. 27:14 He says, I'm working on the farm all day long. 27:17 I'm full of energy. 27:19 I'm strong. 27:19 I'm healthy. 27:22 I just got baptized. 27:23 I gave my life to God. 27:24 These people here at this, at this ministry here have 27:28 completely changed my life. 27:30 It really blew me away. 27:31 And in the classroom, he was the most inquisitive, asking 27:34 all kinds of questions. 27:35 He said, I want to serve God the rest of my life and I want 27:38 to help out these different ministries. 27:40 So yeah, he's very excited. 27:42 I could see it in his life. 27:43 He was a living testimony of the kind of change lives that 27:47 can happen through these, through these outpost 27:50 ministries. 27:51 Yeah. 27:55 about the outpost centers international, I always hear 28:01 that they're using Christ's method. 28:03 They're reaching out the love of Christ, the healing, the, 28:08 the personal interest. 28:10 And like I said, if that's, that is something that if you 28:15 come at people just with rules and regulations, religion, you 28:20 know, it's got to be relationship. 28:22 They have to have a relationship with the Lord. 28:25 And when he saw their love and he started understanding God's 28:29 heart, he gave God his heart. 28:31 They didn't judge him how he looked, where he came from. 28:34 He was a mess. 28:35 They opened up their doors, even though he, there was 28:37 nothing he could do to help them in the beginning. 28:39 But now actually they've got a strong helper around there and 28:43 he's motivating others. 28:45 And yeah. 28:46 So the, the people that the personal contact is so 28:49 important and yeah. 28:51 So it's exciting to be a part of, to see ministries like this 28:54 making such impact. 28:56 Yeah. 28:59 Three, this is the notes that I have. 29:01 So I'm in the ballpark. 29:03 I don't know, just have 368 ministries. 29:08 That's about 400. 29:09 400. 29:14 a pretty rapid rate. 29:15 Let's put that graphic up because this is impressive what 29:19 the Lord is doing. 29:21 Remember this is the mission is to have a thriving network and 29:25 we're going to talk about why people join because they get 29:29 all of this support. 29:30 But look at the growth since they began in 1981 and look at 29:36 this explosive growth that you've been through the last 29:40 couple of years. 29:42 It's amazing. 29:43 Well, what I was thinking about was there's 365 days in a year. 29:47 Is that right? 29:48 I think so. 29:49 Yeah. 29:50 And I saw the 368 that just jumped up to 400. 29:53 Yeah. 29:53 My goodness. 29:55 That's, that's seeing someone every one in that one and a 29:58 third every day. 29:59 Yeah. 30:03 This is amazing. 30:05 This is amazing. 30:07 Yeah. 30:11 James, maybe you could say just talk about this team that we're 30:15 developing that supports the ministries. 30:17 Yeah. 30:20 ministries that we're starting. 30:22 Steve and I are not out there starting. 30:24 No, I understand that they're, they're getting drawn in and 30:27 they're exactly what we see with part of that I feel like 30:32 God, the Holy Spirit is being poured out on people around the 30:35 world and they're getting engaged in ministry. 30:37 Amen. 30:39 Could I ask you this? 30:40 Yeah, sure. 30:41 Sure. 30:46 decided to start this ministry and we're doing this and maybe 30:49 we haven't become a 501C3. 30:52 Right. 30:57 mean, I know, but explain to our viewers why people want to 31:02 become part of OCI, what you're offering. 31:05 Yeah. 31:09 are engaged in ministry. 31:11 Right. 31:15 We'll help promote your ministry. 31:17 Then we have tools on our website where you could do 31:19 fundraising through our ministry because you may not 31:21 have your 501C3 set up, but if you're doing gospel work, you 31:27 could be raising money through OCI. 31:29 So we have a vetting process to accept members. 31:32 And if they're doing work similar to our charter, they 31:35 can join in, they can fundraise, they can launch 31:37 fundraising projects on our website. 31:39 They can get connected and finding helpers and staff. 31:42 They can promote, then they can come to our conventions, 31:45 network with, find out about the ministries. 31:48 And it's really neat because OCI is kind of a connecting 31:50 glue between ministries. 31:52 And there's a lot of collaboration that happens 31:54 because one place might be training people, the other one 31:57 is hiring them, you know, and there's a lot of give and take 32:00 between the ministries. 32:02 So when you're in, when you're in that network, you know, 32:05 there's a lot of, you know, connections that happen that 32:09 that's, that wouldn't be so easy if OCI wasn't there making 32:13 these, getting these ministries connected with each other. 32:16 So are you teaching them about like, if say someone is going 32:20 overseas, are you teaching them a culture, the language? 32:25 What? 32:25 Yeah, there's a variety of things. 32:27 Now, some of them are already there. 32:30 They're from that place. 32:32 What they need is what's the bar for good practice on how 32:37 you do governance? 32:39 How can we do better fundraising to enhance the work 32:44 we can do with our project? 32:46 How can we really build a team? 32:48 What does that look like? 32:49 Because we're growing and we need more people, but we don't 32:52 know how to do this. 32:53 So sometimes it's that. 32:56 And it's a big, and, and one of my joys is attending these 33:01 events that are planned mostly by our field team. 33:05 But when I go, I see these ministries because ministry on 33:08 the front lines is often lonely. 33:11 You feel like you're there by yourself. 33:13 You're the only one facing these problems. 33:16 Everybody else has an easy life, you think. 33:18 But when you get together with the other ministries and talk 33:21 to their leaders, you find out it's not true. 33:24 Everybody has the same problems, similar problems, 33:27 I'll say. 33:28 And as I see them talking together, praying together, 33:33 encouraging each other and walking away just really feel 33:39 like they can go back now and they can do something more. 33:44 It really blesses me to see that happen. 33:48 So OCI plays a role. 33:50 James called it kind of like a family, a network. 33:52 And that's so true because many times that's what they're 33:56 needing more than anything else. 33:58 But the other areas are important They need 34:01 encouragement. 34:02 And we have prayer chains and these are different languages. 34:06 Not everybody's speaking English. 34:07 So in Brazil, there's a community of these 18 34:10 ministries that are all texting each other on WhatsApp, praying 34:14 for one another, and they try to meet each other's needs. 34:17 They're working together, supporting one another. 34:19 That's extremely meaningful. 34:21 This is what I read about OCI. 34:26 Join the family. 34:28 Why? 34:30 There are seven reasons. 34:32 Spiritual competence, like -mindedness. 34:35 We've talked about that. 34:37 Someone to consult with. 34:39 They can talk to. 34:41 Hey, I'm experiencing this. 34:43 Networking and synergy. 34:47 Financial services. 34:50 It's a very important part of it. 34:52 No, certainly. 34:54 Try to start anything without finances and you'll find out 34:58 real quick how important they are. 35:00 Media service. 35:02 Global exposure. 35:04 Not just talking about 20 miles from home. 35:07 Global. 35:08 Number six, important, training. 35:11 They'll give you some tools to train. 35:13 So we've got a toolbox here. 35:14 Now it's getting full. 35:16 And number seven, strategic development. 35:20 What a business plan that is. 35:23 I mean, all I know is that I love Jesus and I have a heart 35:28 for him and I want to get out there and I want to call on 35:30 everybody. 35:32 Hey, young man, I think that we can help each other. 35:37 And I mean, here the simplicity is we can consult with you. 35:41 We can network with you. 35:42 We can help you connect the dots financially. 35:47 You want some global exposure. 35:49 We've got global exposure. 35:52 OCI. 35:53 We've been where you were 40 years ago. 35:57 Okay. 35:57 And so training. 35:58 So what are we looking for? 36:01 Someone that's like-minded. 36:03 Someone that's mission driven and someone that is committed. 36:09 But with all of these services, all these advantages, how do we 36:14 provide that for 400 ministries in 87 different countries? 36:17 How do you do that? 36:18 So we have a leadership team of experienced people. 36:22 People who have been in ministry a long time and have 36:24 experience in different areas. 36:26 Speak different languages. 36:27 Yeah, they speak different languages. 36:29 And maybe we could pull up even the picture. 36:31 This is just a couple of slides of our international leadership 36:34 team. 36:38 We have a field vice president for every division of the world 36:42 church and also regional directors for different 36:46 countries. 36:47 And so these people here are experienced. 36:50 They are local. 36:51 They go come visit your ministry. 36:53 They will give counsel. 36:55 They will help with strategic planning. 36:57 We're providing leadership training. 37:00 We're explaining how to use the website and how to get more of 37:04 the benefits of OCI. 37:06 They're promoting the conventions. 37:07 They're organizing the conventions. 37:09 Steve and I sometimes are flying around attending the 37:12 conventions, but there's teams in all these countries in 37:15 Chile, in Colombia, in the Philippines, in India. 37:19 They're organizing these lay missions conventions, drawing 37:24 in not only the ministries, but any interested church members 37:28 that want to get leaders, pastors will come. 37:32 And so it's the field team that's really causing the 37:35 growth, helping us to achieve what we really want to do. 37:40 We're just trying from the office to organize it, get the 37:43 tools in place. 37:45 Which is much needed because there has to be leadership. 37:48 But all I'm saying is that Shully and I, we just want 37:51 somebody that will listen to us. 37:54 That's where it comes down to. 37:59 Gotta connect all these dots. 38:01 But now let me ask you a question because you mentioned 38:04 that there's now 405 ministries and it's just growing so 38:08 quickly. 38:13 But you mentioned that there's over 5,000 workers. 38:18 Talk to us about the workers. 38:20 So we don't keep an exact track of this, but with all these, 38:25 like at Harvard Hills Academy, we have there serving, we 38:30 probably have 50, 60 staff members total. 38:33 So you take 400 ministries and start looking at the numbers 38:39 there. 38:40 Some of them just have maybe two or three staff that are 38:44 serving. 38:49 center, a wellness center, a school, an orphanage. 38:52 So you add all those up, I'm quite sure we're over 5,000 38:56 missionaries serving globally in these places. 39:01 And the interesting thing is we have a sincere, studied, 39:07 carefully planned desire to work very closely with the 39:10 pastors and church administrators of the Seventh 39:13 -day Adventist Church. 39:15 We want to work hand in hand. 39:17 We want to be there to partner with them. 39:19 We want to know that we are praying for their field and 39:24 have workers in their field helping to get the gospel to 39:29 that part of the world. 39:30 So we work very closely with them and we encourage them to 39:34 work very closely with each other so that we're not in 39:38 competition. 39:39 Competition is like, I can do better than you, but 39:43 cooperation and working together is so much better. 39:49 Amen. 39:53 church and with each other. 39:55 And it's a powerful, powerful synergy that comes together as 40:02 they experience working closer and as they experience working 40:09 closely with the church as well. 40:12 So there are numerous opportunities for us to work 40:17 more closely with the church. 40:19 And a lot of these places where it's very challenging or 40:21 difficult are the specialty for lay people. 40:25 So we just, when we see that, it encourages us. 40:29 And you know what is exciting to me is, I want to be sure 40:33 that we put up your, in case somebody can't join us during 40:37 the second hour, you may be watching right now and say, you 40:41 know, I feel like God's asking me to do something more. 40:47 You have volunteers as well, but you can go to the Outpost 40:52 Centers. 40:54 I'm looking for 40:58 your...outpostcenters.org. 41:00 And if you're looking for just maybe instead of starting a 41:05 ministry, joining a ministry, a job position all around the 41:10 world, you can see all of these. 41:12 And that's a great service that you can post these for your 41:17 ministry. 41:18 What a support. 41:19 But do people also just go and volunteer sometimes? 41:25 So there's volunteer opportunities as well. 41:28 And that's really an ideal situation for a ministry. 41:33 Maybe a person has decided to take a couple of years off from 41:37 their normal or regular employment and they want to go 41:40 do something globally, but they want to do something useful. 41:43 They have a skill. 41:44 Let's say they're a nurse. 41:45 Well, there's plenty of opportunity for you. 41:48 Let's say they're an ministries are always needing people to 41:51 help keep the book straight. 41:53 So there's many, many opportunities globally to go 41:56 and serve. 41:57 Or maybe you've retired and you say, I don't want to just sit 42:00 at home. 42:00 I want to do something. 42:02 I want to be actively involved for God. 42:04 Well, there's opportunities for you. 42:07 And there's some new features on our website. 42:09 So if you go to the website, you'll find a link there on job 42:12 opportunities and you'll see dozens of mission opportunities 42:16 that you can scroll through and get connected with the 42:19 ministry. 42:22 profile. 42:24 So anyone that's listening to this program here, you could go 42:27 to our website, outpostcenters .org, sign up as an individual, 42:31 a personal account, and you can make yourself available if 42:34 you're interested in short-term missions or long-term missions. 42:37 Oh, how exciting. 42:38 You can put down your languages, what country you're 42:40 from, what kind of work you like to do. 42:42 And our ministries will go on and they'll search out, if 42:45 they're looking for a teacher, they can search for teachers 42:48 and all the teachers will line up. 42:49 If you're looking for someone that speaks Spanish, someone 42:51 that speaks Portuguese, you can find those. 42:54 So our website is a hub for connecting people to get 42:59 engaged in missions. 43:00 And let's put that up one more time. 43:04 Outpostcenters.org. 43:07 And just let me hear again. 43:09 I was reading this and you just beat me to it. 43:12 These are opportunities that I looked up today. 43:16 So please listen, people, because there's people out 43:18 there that want to do something. 43:21 Music, caretakers, cooks, health food, massage, chefs, 43:26 lifestyle physicians, therapists, translators, 43:29 editors, gardeners, farmers, horticulture, construction, 43:35 project managers, graphic design, fundraising, RNs, 43:38 carpenters, development directors, biblical ministries, 43:41 accountants, and much, much more that I'll shut up. 43:45 I'm just saying that there is something for everybody. 43:53 These are positions that's open with those 400. 43:57 I mean, this is amazing. 43:59 Practical things need to be done at this project. 44:01 There's someone who needs it for accounting. 44:03 There's someone for sales, for patient care work, for 44:06 education, for farming, construction, Bible teaching, 44:11 speaking. 44:14 So this is how everyone can get involved. 44:18 Well, and I love the fact that you're working, if there is a 44:21 Semite Adventist Church in the local field, you're working 44:25 with them in cooperation. 44:27 And I love the fact that this is something that people can, 44:33 maybe you're thinking about starting a ministry and you 44:37 just want to know what it would be like. 44:39 You can go volunteer at an outpost center. 44:48 No, I'm thinking of centers of influence. 44:51 I know a lot of people that, I won't mention a name, but you 44:56 would know it. 44:57 And she has the center of influence and she teaches 45:01 English in an Arabic speaking country. 45:08 And it's, I think it is not, I think it is prohibited. 45:14 Well, I know it is prohibited from sharing the gospel, but 45:17 guess what? 45:18 She doesn't even have to try. 45:20 They just know something's different about her. 45:22 And as she's teaching English, they're asking questions and 45:27 God is moving. 45:28 So you're working whether you're being a farmer or 45:32 masseuse, you're working for God. 45:34 Just like those little precious Filipino sisters said. 45:38 Now, I want to share a couple of things with you because 45:41 sometimes we as people use excuses. 45:46 Well, I'm too young. 45:48 I'm too old. 45:49 I don't have the money or for various reasons, we think we 45:54 cannot be used by God. 45:57 I want to share a story with, I just came recently from the 46:01 country of Nigeria. 46:03 When we arrived in that country, we went on a journey 46:07 to the North, to the little, not little, to the city, major 46:11 city in the North called Joss. 46:15 They said, there is a center of influence here. 46:18 And I said, well, I want to see that center of influence. 46:21 And they took us to this little which was a vegetarian 46:26 restaurant. 46:27 And they had a few items on the shelf for sale. 46:31 And I talked there with Sarah. 46:33 I said, Sarah, how did you get started with this? 46:37 She said, well, I didn't know what to do. 46:41 I didn't have anything. 46:44 I had no idea. 46:45 But God was convicting me, encouraged me that I should do 46:49 something. 46:51 And she said, I figured out that I could make bread. 46:56 And so she started making bread and just making it available to 47:00 people. 47:07 working in the community, supplying food to those who 47:12 need it very desperately and homeless people on the street, 47:17 ministering to them, selling some of her products there in 47:21 her little store. 47:23 And she had such a joy on her face, such a smile, just to be 47:29 able to serve, just to have something to do for God. 47:33 So God doesn't need what we think he needs sometimes. 47:38 What he needs is our availability, our willingness 47:41 to do something for him. 47:42 And, you know, what I always think of that I love the 47:47 scripture that he uses the foolish things of this world to 47:50 found the wise. 47:51 He uses the weak things of this world. 47:56 Sometimes I ask myself, who am I that God would have tapped me 48:00 on the shoulder to bring me here? 48:02 It's so amazing. 48:05 And what Sarah is experiencing, when you're working for God, 48:10 there is nothing better than waking up in the morning with 48:15 the purpose of bringing glory to God, of the purpose of 48:20 introducing others to his love and his plan of salvation. 48:26 That's right. 48:27 It's wonderful. 48:28 So we want to put this up one more time. 48:32 We still have a few minutes. 48:33 I just want to get it up here because I just know somebody at 48:36 home is saying, you know, God's just been tugging at my heart 48:40 and wanting me to do something. 48:43 I just had no idea what to do. 48:45 I want to do more. 48:47 I'm just tired of existence like I have. 48:51 You can go to outpostcenters .org and look at all of the 49:00 opportunities, many of which you've listed off here, honey. 49:03 Thank you for that. 49:05 But it's something that's to me, that's a really an exciting 49:08 opportunity. 49:10 Yes. 49:16 single one of us. 49:17 He knows this individual. 49:18 He knows what our gifts are. 49:19 And he has a place for us. 49:22 Sometimes we think, well, God couldn't use me. 49:24 No, he can use us. 49:26 And he has a place, a specific place for us. 49:29 Amen. 49:30 And you might be looking for different countries, you know, 49:33 from our website, you can search to find, to, you can 49:37 peruse all of these 400 ministries. 49:39 You can search by country. 49:41 So you might be saying some, some viewers here might be from 49:44 a certain country. 49:45 Like, I wonder if there's a ministry in my country. 49:47 So you could go there and search by your country and 49:50 filter that or search by type. 49:52 You could search for orphanages or wellness centers or schools. 49:57 And you can put different filters on it and find exactly 50:00 what's happening, where, and then connect right with those 50:03 ministries. 50:03 Amen. 50:07 second hour, because we've got a really, he's got some 50:11 exciting testimonies and we're going to kind of shine a 50:15 spotlight on a few of the ministries, but you work more 50:20 out of the office. 50:21 Where is the office? 50:23 The office is outside of Tennessee. 50:25 Okay. 50:29 It's near Collegedale. 50:31 Southern Adventist University is right near there. 50:34 So yeah, we have a little office there. 50:37 And Steve, you're about four hours away from there, right? 50:40 Right. 50:45 wonderful produce for us. 50:47 Amen. 50:51 way, way back. 50:52 Yeah. 50:53 1904 is actually some of the roots of OCI, because 50:58 supporting ministries have always had a little challenge. 51:03 And when Southern began... 51:05 Explain what you mean by a supporting ministry, if someone 51:08 does, isn't familiar with that term. 51:11 So there are different ways you can talk about ministry that's 51:14 done by lay people. 51:15 And one of those ways you could say it's a supporting ministry. 51:20 That means the ministry supports the work of the 51:23 Seventh -day Adventist Church. 51:25 There's another term that could be used called independent. 51:28 We don't really like that term so much because we want to work 51:32 with the church. 51:33 Now I know that 3ABN is a supporting ministry. 51:37 Yes. 51:42 ministries of the church. 51:44 Okay. 51:45 Well, in the early years of 1900, there was a situation in 51:52 the Southern part of the United States. 51:54 As most of our viewers will know, there was... 51:58 It was only 40 years past the Civil War. 52:01 The Southern part of the United States, a lot of the 52:04 infrastructure had been destroyed. 52:05 Education was hard to find sometimes, and especially for 52:09 those of color. 52:10 And so Ellen White, one of the writers that really did a lot 52:16 of work on behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 52:19 she was helping to found the church. 52:21 She was making appeals, come to the South and help us. 52:25 And so these two men, Sutherland and McGann, started 52:28 Madison College there. 52:30 Madison became a training center to send missionaries 52:34 across the South, but not just across the South, across the 52:38 whole world. 52:40 In a few years, by 1942, they had sent out 47 new 52:50 institutions started from Madison. 52:52 So the work was really multiplying. 52:56 And when that happened, all of these supporting ministries 53:00 needed a place to come back and tell their story and to 53:04 encourage each other. 53:06 And so Madison played that role. 53:08 And so it's a very integral part of the history of OCI, as 53:12 well as ASI, which is the Adventist Supporting Ministries 53:17 kind of group, Adventist Layman Services and Industries. 53:23 And so... 53:26 six years of ASI. 53:28 Right. 53:31 So I know both of... 53:33 And you were on the board of... 53:35 You were as well. 53:36 You served on the board for many years. 53:40 OCI Outpost Centers International actually was 53:46 organized in 1983. 53:49 You became president of OCI in what year? 53:54 2021. 53:55 In 2021. 53:57 So you truly do. 54:00 Mission is in your blood. 54:02 I mean, that's just obvious. 54:04 You can look back at your history. 54:07 And it's so exciting to see how God has led you, James, because 54:13 he just picked you up, dusted you off, turned you around. 54:19 I love those kind of stories because we see the power of 54:25 God. 54:27 Once again, we're going to be taking a break here in a 54:29 moment, but I just want to encourage you. 54:33 What I love about OCI is all of these ministries are seeking... 54:40 They're using Christ's approach, His method to reach 54:46 people, to show love, to show the heart of God. 54:51 And when someone understands that, then they receive the 54:57 everlasting gospel that's to be preached to every tongue and 55:02 tribe around the world. 55:03 And you know what? 55:04 It's like, okay, I see God's love and action. 55:10 I'm ready to give my heart to such a wonderful God who can 55:14 change lives like James. 55:17 And then when they find out that He is a God who has given 55:24 us boundaries of love in which we should live to have an 55:29 abundant life here, an eternal life after, guess what? 55:33 They're always excited to find out about where some people 55:38 start with the rules and regulations. 55:41 You don't want somebody just to step into religion. 55:44 You want them to step into the covenant relationship with the 55:47 Lord. 55:48 And so once again, if God... 55:51 We're going to be coming back here in just a second with a 55:54 wonderful, some exciting stories for the second hour. 55:58 But if God is impressing upon your heart that I want to do 56:03 something, now's the time. 56:05 Write this down. 56:07 Outpost Centers with an S. 56:10 We'll put that up on the graphic. 56:13 Outpost Centers dot O-R-G. 56:16 You can go check that out, find out where you might volunteer 56:20 or even go to work anywhere around the country and the 56:26 world, I should say, around the world. 56:29 And it's something that... 56:31 What an exciting opportunity. 56:33 And maybe you're just graduating from college and you 56:37 haven't got a job offer now and you just think, you know, Lord, 56:42 I'd like to just take a year off and go work in your harvest 56:47 fields. 56:47 You will never regret it. 56:49 You will never regret it. 56:50 We always tell people that if you have a child who is going 56:56 down the wrong path, get them involved in a mission field 57:00 somewhere and you'll never regret that either. 57:04 You have a quick thought. 57:05 Oh, well, I just thought, boy, what a wonderful opportunity 57:08 you had when you first started. 57:10 I'm just going to take a short vacation and that short 57:13 vacation took you to Switzerland. 57:15 I mean, what? 57:17 That was a big detour. 57:18 That was a big detour. 57:19 And God had big, big plans. 57:21 Well, we are going to be right back with Outpost 57:25 International. 57:29 us for the second hour because you got to hear this story 57:31 about Nigeria and many other stories that they have to 57:36 share. 57:41 God. Amen. |
Revised 2025-05-23