The Global Advocate - March/April 2022

March/April 2022

Vol. 187, No. 2

ADVOCATE The

G L O B A L

a publication of the Churches of God, General Conference

Reimagine:

Evangelism & Discipleship

I N

T H I S

I S S U E

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ReThinking How We Make Disciples by Lance Finley

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The Need to RETHINK by Brad Brisco

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Reimagine: Neighboring by Mark Shoemaker

Demonstrating the Love of God in New Ways 10 with Pastor George Spangler 16 Sharing the Love of Christ by Pastor Jim Klausing

Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3b).

THE GLOBAL ADVOCATE (ISSN 0009-630X) is published bi-monthly by the Churches of God, General Conference.

Vol. 187, No. 2 Established June 5, 1835 as THE GOSPEL PUBLISHER, re-established on May 1, 1846 as THE CHURCH ADVOCATE, and re-established on October 1, 2019 as THE GLOBAL ADVOCATE. Rachel Foreman, Managing Editor

ReThinking How We

Make Disciples

by Lance Finley, CGGC Executive Director

The Global Advocate, official publication of the Churches of God, General Conference, exists to encourage members of the CGGC to maximize their collective potential for Kingdom impact.

Correspondence: Address correspondence to The Editor, The Global Advocate, Churches of God Publications, PO Box 926, Findlay, OH 45839, or email to RachelF@cggc.org.

Periodical rate paid at Minster, Ohio.

Postmaster: Send address changes to THE GLOBAL ADVOCATE, PO Box 926, Findlay, OH 45839. © 2022, Churches of God, General Conference 2 March/April 2022

What comes to mind when you hear the word discipleship?

For most of us in the church, we tend to think that discipleship is something that happens after conversion or a commitment to follow Jesus. When someone comes to Christ, discipleship helps them learn how to read the Bible, pray, understand the doctrines of the church, grow in their faith, discover their spiritual gifts and find ways to serve in the body of Christ. Of course, all of that is a part of discipleship, but does discipleship actually begin at conversion or does it start long before that important moment of the journey?

We

often consider everything before conversion as evangelism and everything after conversion as discipleship, but I’m not sure that’s the way Jesus saw it. When you study the life and ministry of Jesus, He called men to follow Him and they became His disciples. When were the disciples converted? When did they cross from unbelief to belief, from unsaved to saved? That’s a little less clear. In Matthew 16 there’s the account of when Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” There were several answers and opinions, but in verse 16, Peter answers, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” It certainly seems like Simon Peter is on the right track at that point. But here’s the problem, as Jesus began to relay to the disciples what was coming with the cross, it was Peter who took Jesus aside and said, “This shall never happen to you!” Of course, this led Jesus to rebuke Peter with the words, “Get behind me, Satan,” in verse 23. It certainly seems as if for Jesus, discipleship began long before conversion took place.

How do we need to rethink discipleship in response to Jesus’ example and in light of the present realities of our North American context? Most of us grew up in a world where evangelism was largely event driven and worked within a context that was familiar and even warm to the idea of Christian faith. If discipleship really does begin before conversion, how do we make disciples in an environment that has less familiarity or interest in spiritual matters? How do you make disciples when you don’t have any relationships with folks who aren’t already Christian?

This past October, we brought several leaders together from across the CGGC to spend a couple of days focused upon multiplication through disciple making. We were fortunate to have Steve Pike of Urban Island Project (urbanislandsproject.org) facilitate our time

together. One of the most helpful pieces Steve presented was around the idea of reimaging discipleship and the idea of discipleship starting long before a person ever experiences conversion.

I’d encourage you to pick up a copy of Steve’s book Next Wave: Discovering the 21st Century Church (https://nextwave.community). You will find the book incredibly helpful, particularly the second chapter: Reimagine Discipleship.

Steve lays out a framework that helps us rethink how we make disciples in an increasingly post-Christian context. Rather than start with what happens following conversion, Steve explores key elements that must happen to join Jesus in His mission of seeking and saving the lost. How do we help people move toward faith in Christ? There are four stages of pre-conversion discipleship that need our intentionality if we are going to truly make disciples: 1) Awareness, 2) Connection, 3) Relationship, and 4) Spiritual Conversations.

Awareness happens when a person becomes aware of you in a positive way. Think about your average day. How many people do you cross paths with in a given day? How many folks do you interact with through your ordinary activities? How many of those folks are aware of you in a positive way? Did you tip your server generously or handle their mistake kindly and graciously? Did you welcome a stranger warmly?

Did you look the gas station attendant in the eye and offer a warm thank you? Everyday, most of us have multiple opportunities to create a positive awareness. Each of us probably have opportunities to “not be a jerk” and create a positive awareness with someone else.

Connection happens when you know the name of a person and they know you know their name, and you are regularly praying for them.

Take your neighbor next door, Bob. You know Bob’s name and he knows that you know his The Global Advocate 3

name. What would it take for you to pray for Bob each week? What if you were to pray for Bob regularly and ask God to work in his life, to bless him, to stir a spiritual hunger in him and to position you in his life in ways that are helpful?

This doesn’t mean that Bob is your new best friend, he’s just a connection and you’re praying for him.

Relationship happens when you know the story of a person and they know you know their story and you connect with them at least once a month. Imagine that you invite Bob over for burgers and you learn a little bit about his life: that he grew up moving a lot because he was an Army kid and that he moved to your neighborhood because of a job transfer from Texas. You know that Bob loves rodeo and misses his kids who live with their mother in Texas. What would it look like for you to connect with Bob on a regular basis? Could you invite him over every few weeks for dinner or spend some time with a common hobby like golf or bull riding?

Spiritual Conversations happen when a person you’re in relationship with becomes aware that you follow Jesus and that you would like to help them follow Jesus. Over months of spending regular time with Bob, he becomes aware of your commitment to Jesus and you’re able to help him explore following Jesus. He grew up going to church but hasn’t ever made a commitment to trust Jesus.

You’re able to be a safe person when he has difficult questions about faith.

Do you want to make disciples? The first step for a lot of us is to try not to be a jerk! How are you going to create a positive awareness with the folks you have the opportunity to interact with today? Are you going to tip well? Are you going to offer a kind word? Are you going to scowl or huff and puff? Are you going to look at someone with a look of disdain?

How many names of others do you know who know that you know their names? How many of your neighbors do you know by name? How about the barista at your favorite coffee shop? Are you regularly praying for these folks?

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How many relationships do you have right now?

It doesn’t have to be a big number. Who are you connecting with regularly and building a relationship with where you know their story and have opportunities to share some of yours as well?

How many spiritual conversations have you had in the past month? Who is someone who has a relationship with you and how many times have you had spiritual conversations or had the opportunity to bring your own faith into a conversation in a helpful way?

We know that we’re supposed to make disciples, but I think most of us struggle to know where to start. Some of us fret over not having enough Bible knowledge or being able to answer deep, theological questions. Others get stuck because we think we need some complex, all-inclusive plan in order to help someone else move toward faith in Christ.

Do you want to make disciples? Stop being a jerk!

Start with a little kindness and grace.

I’m convince we need to start our discipling efforts in a different place. Start with stop being be a jerk (at least for some of us). Start with a little kindness and grace. Begin to learn some names of folks that you encounter on a regular basis and start to take a genuine interest in them and their lives. Pray that the Holy Spirit would allow the connections to grow into relationships and that spiritual conversations would grow out of those friendships in a way that allows you to bless your friend as you help them move toward faith in Jesus.

Let’s start to rethink how we approach discipleship and, more importantly, let’s start to live with some intentionality about how we make disciples.

NEED to RETHINK The

by Brad Brisco

“

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.

”

—Alvin Toffler

W

hen bringing about change in the way people behave, we often need to start with questions of “why” before considering the practical issues of “how.” In the book Start with Why, author Simon Sinek contends that there are two primary ways to influence human behavior: you can either manipulate it or inspire it. While manipulation is not always negative, for example when a retailer drops the price of a product to motivate a purchase, it often involves the use of fear or peer pressure to influence behavior. Additionally, change that is manipulated, is usually short-lived.

Inspiring change, on the other hand, involves the consideration of deeper issues. We need to ask underlying questions of “why.” Why do we perceive things in a particular way? Why do we behave in a certain manner?

What are the motivations or inherent factors that undergird our behaviors?

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Dealing with similar issues of change, author Ronald Heifetz, in his book Leadership Without Easy Answers, makes a distinction between organizational change and cultural change. He argues that organizational change typically involves restructuring of some type, along with the use of new programs, processes and techniques. Cultural change, however, looks at how to create a new culture or environment, which will in turn require a completely new set of skills and capacities.

Connecting the themes of these two books together, we can say that cultural change is about starting with the “why,” while organizational change is more about the practical issues of “how.”

but leave the original paradigms in place, nothing will change within the organization.

Therefore, for real change to take place, we need to experience a paradigm shift or, in most cases, multiple paradigm shifts.

The reason this conversation about change is important is because the answer to the crisis of the church in North America will not be found by making organizational changes. We can’t settle with minor adjustments in our ecclesiology, or how we do church. Instead, the problem is much more deeply rooted. We have to look to make cultural changes. We must be prepared to ask questions of why. The underlying issues are primarily spiritual, theological and missiological. To lead disciplemaking, missional-incarnational churches that have a mind-set of reproduction will take deep cultural change in the way we think about God’s mission and the nature of the church, as well as how the church engages in that mission in local contexts. We must change our attitude from “we have never done it that way before” to “whatever it takes.”

First, if a person has been “churched” for a long time they typically have some deeply held assumptions about church and mission that may no longer be appropriate in a post-Christendom context. Often these assumptions need to be challenged, or at least investigated, to assure they are still correct.

Another way to frame the discussion is to use the language of paradigm. The word “paradigm” is commonly used to refer to a perception, assumption or frame of reference. In the more general sense, it’s simply the way we see the world, in terms of perceiving, understanding and interpreting.

Every organization, including the church, is built upon underlying paradigms or assumptions.

This is not the same thing as the church’s beliefs or theological systems. Rather the paradigm determines how an organization thinks and, therefore, acts. Paradigms explain and then guide behavior. If we try to restructure an organization

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A paradigm shift happens when there is a fundamental change in an underlying assumption.

It’s a change from one way of thinking to another. There is a transformation, or a sort of metamorphosis that takes place. Now in the context of our understanding of church, mission and church planting, there are at least three reasons we need to experience this type of genuine paradigm shift.

Second, cultural change, and ultimately organizational change, will not last if it isn’t rooted in paradigm shift thinking. Without reestablishing certain theological foundations that help us “unlearn and relearn” (to reference the Alvin Toffler quote at the beginning of this chapter, we naturally default toward making modest tweaks in how we operate, rather than cutting to the deeper issues of why. We also believe these theological foundations provide a more robust claim and motivation for real change.

Third, it is difficult to fully understand the practices we ought to engage in without first seriously reflecting on these key paradigm shifts. For example, chapter 3 titled “ReThink Mission” speaks to the paradigm shift of allowing the incarnation of Jesus to inform our posture toward a local context. When we don’t spend time considering the missiological implications of Jesus’ incarnation, we will not fully understand what it means to incarnate our lives into a local setting to love and serve our neighbors.

One final thought on the importance of paradigm thinking. An adage that speaks to the importance

of considering change in an organization goes like this: We are perfectly designed to achieve what we are currently achieving. Read that again. We are perfectly designed to achieve what we are currently achieving. If we make application of this statement to the church today, one of the questions we might ask would be: Are we satisfied with what we are currently achieving? In other words, are we content or pleased with the impact the church is having today? If we are totally honest, the answer would seem to be a resounding “No!” The fact is, regardless of what marker a person looks at to judge the health of the church in North America, every indicator is trending in the wrong direction. If we are perfectly designed to achieve what the church is currently achieving, then shouldn’t we ask if there is an issue in the way we are designed? Or at least question if there is an issue in the way we understand the nature of the church and its place in God’s mission? Do we need to reconsider the way we think about church planting? Are there “design” factors that we need to rethink to achieve the outcomes we desire?

The strategies and techniques that fit previous eras of church history don’t seem to work any longer. What we need now is a new set of tools. We need a new vision of reality, a new paradigm—a fundamental change in our thinking that leads to a fundamental change in our behavior, especially as it relates to our understanding of the church, mission, discipleship, leadership and church planting.

Let the journey begin!

This article is an excerpt (Chapter One) of the book RETHINK: 9 Paradigm Shifts For Activating The Church by Brad Brisco (published by the SEND Network). Brad Brisco will be the main presenter at the 2022 General Conference Sessions: REIMAGINE held July 25th through July 27th in Findlay, Ohio. To download the entire E-book RETHINK: 9 Paradigm Shifts For Activating The Church, please visit www. cggc.org to download a free copy. All delegates to the 2022 General Conference Sessions are encouraged to read the book in preparation for the conference sessions. This article is reproduced with the permission of the author.

Brad Brisco The Global Advocate 7

Reimagine: Neighboring

by Mark Shoemaker

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hen thinking about building relationships with the people who lived in our apartment community, the thing that was an advantage for me was considering neighboring in the international missions context first. I wanted to be sent to a different field. “God, use me internationally. I want to be sent around the world so I can have a great impact.” But somewhere along the line, I realized that I wouldn’t say I have ever had a very great impact where I am right now. There’s no magic in being sent farther. Here I am asking to go and have a profound impact where there is great cultural and language distance, sometimes racial barriers, a different history; a much more complex ministry context somewhere else. I wanted to be used without ever doing it.

So, when my wife, Emi, and I got married we began to consider how we could use our home as home base for ministry. If we want to get good at being sent far away, we need to get good at being sent close—serving people who live near us, who shop in the same places, who cheer for the same sports teams and eat at the same restaurants. We wanted it to be authentic, not something we exceled at when we left our house, but stunk at when we were home. We wanted our lives to provide an aroma of hope in our neighborhood, something countercultural enough to stand out and create life-giving conversations.

Apartment living has been our experience of home and I must say it is very motivating to live in harmony with your neighbors when you literally share a roof. We are going to be shaped by these relationships one way or another, so Emi and I are very intentional about how we begin our interactions from the moment we move in.

Everyone is wondering whether we are the kind of neighbors who want to be left alone. Do they need to be suspicious of us? Are we for them or going to make their lives difficult?

When we moved in we wanted to send the message right away that we want to be interested in their lives. This is where Emi shines. She is typically the bridge builder. She doesn’t see new relationships by the boundaries that are there, but only as opportunities for new friendships. She is anxious to get started with new experiences and build our new story together. There is no right way to do it, no wrong way, you just have to meet them. In our experience it has sometimes been the most awkward attempts that have been the most memorable. Emi took every opportunity to ask one of our new neighbors about shamrock shakes and his favorite McDonald’s burgers until she realized he worked at MacDonald Contractors, not the restaurant. And they still laugh about those clunky first attempts at friendship.

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We have found that while you may not have a bunch of people who want to start relationships, all you need is one person to help pave the way into the community. Jesus referred to these individuals as persons of peace (Luke 10:5-7), individuals who serve you in various ways, giving you access to their relationships and resources. We have learned to be open minded about who that is. They have not always been who we expected, not necessarily the most like us, but they have their own sets of skills and strengths, and networks of connections. Steve and Erika (not their real names) have been persons of peace for us, offering us their friendship and help in all sorts of ways. And together with them we shared time and meals and laughs and teamed up to get to know our other neighbors.

Relationships in our apartment building really started to cement after Jack moved in and we noticed that he needed help from more than just one family. Good days would find him in his smoking chair on his patio, but if we didn’t see him there we knew he was struggling and probably hadn’t eaten that day. Neighbors stepped up, sometimes dropping off meals, sometimes offering a ride, helping in whatever way they could. And in his way, Jack responded by setting out another smoking chair on his patio and sharing free stuff he could pick up at various agencies. We started to drop by with ice cream or treats when his kids were there for visits and one of the neighbors gave him a TV and paid for internet so the kids would have something to do.

When we organized a building block party we made sure to schedule it on a day that his kids would be with him. Jack was so proud to be able to introduce us as his friends.

He took our neighborhood friendships very seriously. So seriously in fact, that when the community had reason to confront him, he responded with deep concern. Neighbors had been noticing unsafe people regularly coming and going from Jack’s apartment and I was the delegated spokesman to talk to him. I was able to let him know how much we cared for him, but that his decisions were putting our families and children in danger.

He was deeply moved that we thought enough of him to talk to him directly and jolted to realize the impact his decisions had on all of us. He made

the needed contacts that day and we never saw those individuals again.

Jack died right before his birthday. We had planned to take him out for dinner at a place of his choice.

We knew he wanted lasagna, but he didn’t make it to his birthday. We, as friends from the building, had come to know that because of the nature of his struggles, he didn’t have other friends and had burned a lot of bridges of relationships throughout his life. Because we were all he had, it was important that we honor him. So, we went out to eat on his birthday to remember him. We told Jack stories to honor him, to laugh and cry as a community.

Everyone spoke fondly of Jack, but also told really honest stories—our genuine stories of Jack.

I don’t think we really knew the true impact we had on Jack until his funeral. His family included us in his eulogy. We were what he told his family about; the block party, providing meals for him, caring for his children. We were his neighbors and friends.

Emi and I have observed that even if people don’t really understand it, they are drawn to healthy community. Jared and Cathy moved from an apartment down the street into our building because they had been invited to our block parties and wanted to be part of our neighborhood. Karl moved to another city, but brought his new girlfriend back to our block party because he wanted to introduce her to his friends.

Mike came from all kinds of labels that could have made him a stranger to the church. He was so far out on the margins I didn’t know if he would feel welcome or if it would feel alien to him to join us for meals and gatherings. Still, he came to neighborhood gatherings and brought his kids.

He said, “This reminds me of childhood. There is something so safe and good about this.” He was not a believer, not somebody who would want any sort of church activities or functions. He came from a very secular and hostile perspective to the church.

Yet, when surrounded by a community of people who were living out these shared values it felt good, like the way things should be.

We love our neighbors and love the community we are building together right here at home.

The Global Advocate 9

Demonstrating the Love of God in New Ways

An Interview with Pastor George Spangler of Turning Point Church

by Lance Finley, CGGC Executive Director

S

ince the very beginning, Turning Point Church (https://www.lesspew.com) has demonstrated a commitment to sharing the love of Christ with their friends and neighbors in the area around Mechanicsburg, PA. I sat down with their lead pastor, George Spangler, to learn more about how the church has lived out Christ’s call to love their neighbors.

George was quick to point out the theological roots of the congregation’s commitment to loving people well.

Early in the life of the congregation, they drew a deep understanding of the nature of God’s love from the Apostle Peter’s sermon in Acts 2:14-39: God’s love for people, demonstrated through Jesus, was intentional— verse 23 states, “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” God’s love through Christ was uninitiated—in other words, humankind did nothing to provoke or initiate God’s love, but rather God was the initiator. It was the Father who acted, who initiated in order to demonstrate His love for humankind. Lastly, God’s love was unconditional— God sent Jesus to live and die for sinful humanity.

There weren’t conditions on this love, but rather it was offered freely, without conditions.

George shares, “We understood that we’re to love others like God has loved us. If God’s love for us is 10 March/April 2022

Pastor George Spangler intentional, uninitiated and unconditional, it just makes sense that if we’re to love like God, then we need to love others in ways that are intentional, uninitiated by them, and unconditional as well. We want to love others in a manner that reflects the nature of God’s love.”

As a result of this theological foundation about God’s love for humanity, Turning Point Church spent a lot of time in the early days asking, “What could we do to express God’s love to the people of our community?”

Pastor George also shared that the book Guerilla Lovers: Changing the World With Revolutionary Compassion by Vince Antonucci helped to provide some of the initial ideas or inspirations for practical

ways they could share God’s love with the people of their community.

One of the ways in which they have demonstrated God’s love in their community is through something you might describe as a “guerrilla love” breakfast or lunch. George explains that they would become aware of food service workers with specific needs: perhaps a single mom working as a waitress or someone else in the hospitality industry that was facing a difficult time.

“We’d work with the management at the restaurant to make arrangements to eat a meal in this person’s section, and then we’d put out a call for folks to meet up for breakfast or lunch, clearly communicating one expectation: we’d like everyone joining us to come prepared to leave a tip of $20 or more on their individual meal. We’d have ten or fifteen people gather for a great meal and a time of fellowship and at the end of the meal, we’d get to bless our server with a card and a tip of several hundred dollars for waiting on our group. It was just a way to encourage someone and show them what God’s love is like.”

There were some pleasant outgrowths of these efforts.

“We’d take nominations from our church body. People would become aware of a hospitality worker who was struggling to make ends meet and we’d work with their employer to set up a breakfast or lunch. The beautiful thing about it was that you didn’t have to go to Turning Point to be a part of this effort. I’m bi-vocational and I’d invite my coworkers along from my day job. People would invite their friends and neighbors to join us as

well. Sometimes, we’d even have people who weren’t Christians join us at a guerrilla love breakfast or lunch. We’ve seen this catch on and grow beyond our organized efforts. We have folks who now mark their birthday or other special occasions by going out to lunch and leaving an extraordinarily large tip to share God’s love with their waitress or waiter.”

Over the years, the folks at Turning Point have found additional ways to demonstrate God’s love for the people of their community. One such way has been curtailed during the past two years of navigating the pandemic, but George hopes they’ll be able to pick up such efforts moving forward. The congregation recognized that there are many folks who are required to work over the holidays, particularly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. As most congregations are accustomed, Turning Point would celebrate the birth of Jesus with special services on Christmas Eve. At the conclusion of the service, the people of Turning Point would be given containers with two dozen cookies with instructions to deliver those cookies to the many folks in the community who were working: hospital workers, nursing home attendants, the workers at the local Sheetz gas station, first responders and retail workers. As the body of Christ dispersed through out the community, they delivered these small gifts as an expression of God’s love to the people of their community. “God sees you. You are appreciated. We’re grateful for the important work you do and love you.”

Many families over the years have shared that this small act of love had become a favorite family holiday The Global Advocate 11

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memory: parents and children demonstrating God’s love to someone in a small way as a part of celebrating the birth of Christ.

reinvests all the earnings back into the park. In 2022 they plan to use the earnings to provide picnic tables for the park.

In their early days, Turning Point established a good relationship with the local school district and the superintendent. They understood that there were many children in the district who received both breakfast and lunch at school because of their family economic situation. When it came to their attention that snow days could mean that some kids might not receive a nutritious meal since they weren’t able to go to school, the church found a way to help step in the gap. They began working with a nearby apartment complex to provide Snow Day Lunches on the days when school was cancelled because of inclement weather. When the pandemic started in 2020, they found even greater opportunity to help meet the needs of their neighborhood kids by helping provide lunches two days a week and working with the district to expand their home lunch program.

One thing that became apparent in our conversation was the intentional work the folks at Turning Point have done to understand their community and love them well. For instance, Turning Point, like many congregations, hosts an Easter egg hunt for the community each spring. They host their Easter egg hunt and breakfast on Easter Sunday morning because they want to connect with the folks who don’t normally attend church on Easter Sunday!

They’ve designed their experience to have a special area of accessibility for children with special needs.

They also serve about 200 breakfasts that morning, but no ham or sausage is on the menu because they know their neighbors well (their area is home to a growing population of Somali and Arab Muslims who do not eat pork). George points out that their hotdogs are always all beef for the same reason. Love pays attention!

Turning Point has hosted a variety of community events, all designed to be simple demonstrations of God’s love for the people in their community.

These range from block parties with food, games, petting zoos or public safety demonstrations to trunk or treat parties with school supply giveaways or hygiene supplies through the pandemic. Turning Point also operates a concession stand for the recreation park next door to their building and 14 March/April 2022

There are many other ways the church has worked to demonstrate love to the people that God has led them to over the years. When they learned that a 16-year-old girl had never had a birthday party, folks in the church hosted a party for her birthday with cake, balloons, gifts and music. When a single mom graduated from dental hygienist school, the church provided several outfits of scrubs to celebrate and help her prepare for her new career. The congregation has helped raise funds to provide families with reliable transportation. There have been many spontaneous opportunities to help meet needs with gas or groceries.

George relates one particularly creative approach to loving well. “We have a lady here at Turning Point who is from Cameroon, but most of her family still lives in Cameroon. She had wanted to visit family but the expense for the trip was prohibitive.

We realized that most of us don’t know much about this west African nation and so we hosted an event and invited her to give a presentation about the country and prepare some food from her homeland. At the end of the evening, we took up a love offering to support her effort to visit her family. It was a wonderful evening! A group of 50 of us got to learn about a place we didn’t know very well and experience a little bit of its culture and the love offering helped cover the expenses of her trip home to see her children and grandchildren.”

George offers that they regularly remind folks at Turning Point that “our church doesn’t exist for the folks who are here, we exist for the benefit of the people who aren’t here. Certainly, we care for one another, but we also care deeply about the people of our community.”

When we asked George to share some of what he’s learned from years of working to love others well, he offered several pertinent observations. “I’ve learned that if you do these kinds of things with the desired outcome that people will become a part of your congregation, you’ll be disappointed. We’ve seen a handful of people come to our church through these efforts over the years. If you’re doing this just to build attendance, you’re going to be disappointed!”

“If you’re doing this because you want to share God’s love and generosity with the people of your

community, there are incredible opportunities to grow in your discipleship in Jesus. We’ve seen lots of folks grow in their faith as they’ve learned to love like Jesus.”

“If you want to see spiritual fruit in the lives of people, it takes relationship and relationships take time. You need consistency over time, not just onetime events.”

“You have to disciple your people to love well. We have had to teach them that we’re not just giving hotdogs away, we’re here to show people that we love them and that we care for them. We are representing God’s love! If we’re not treating people with the patience and kindness of Jesus, then we’re not communicating the right thing. Sometimes we can be very dedicated and hardworking and allow disruptions to make us lose our focus of loving people well.”

“The outcome that we’re looking for is that folks might walk away from their interaction with us and know that they are lovable. If we want to represent God and His love, then we need to love whoever shows up so that they get a taste of the love that God has for them. We’re representatives of His love. As much as we may love you, He loves you even more!

That’s our goal, that through our actions, people might come to understand God’s love for them in a real way.”

The Global Advocate 15

Sharing the Love of Christ

by Pastor Jim Klausing, Connections Church, Findlay, OH

I have never been a “traditional” pastor. I don’t look or dress

the part. However, about five years ago, my ministry was fundamentally changed. I still don’t look or dress the part of a traditional pastor, but God opened a door to a whole new way of living out ministry.

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Pastor Jim Klausing pictured in center

I

had met and become friends with a member of a local motorcycle club. At the time, I had never ridden a motorcycle except as a passenger once as a kid. As our friendship developed, I felt a sense that God was up to something. At one point, my friend asked if I did counseling, because a “prospect” (prospective member) of the club was having some issues. I told him I would be happy to meet with the young man and see what I could do. It wasn’t long before my friend again came to me and asked if people came to me when they needed “stuff.” I soon found out that the motorcycle club was having a memorial ride for a fallen brother and his wife, who were tragically killed by a drunk driver. They were in need of a family to be the beneficiaries of the ride. And so began my association with this club. Over the years I have helped them find families to help out as they continue to “ride to remember” their brother. But that was only the beginning.

At first, I was greeted with a sense of distrust because I was a pastor. Why was I there, what was I up to? Did I want to convert them or get them all to go to church? “You’ll never see my husband in church,” one wife told me. “I don’t believe in God,” or “I believe in the pagan gods,” were comments that I heard when I introduced myself. It was then that I knew what God was calling me to do…show them His love, He would take care of the rest. And so my response to all those comments was, “I’m just here to show you the love of God.”

The Global Advocate 17

Blessing of the Bikes in 2019 Over the last five years I have been a part of the motorcycle club community in Northwest Ohio. I have broken bread and ridden many miles with the Outlaws, Barbarians, Iron Coffins, and Warlocks motorcycle clubs. You may laugh at their names, but I have learned what true brotherhood means by hanging out with these men. I have gone from a person of distrust to a welcomed friend. Where once I was greeted by, “I don’t believe in God,” I am now asked to pray for someone who is facing one of the storms of life that we all face. I have given of my time and talents to help out the various clubs at different functions or at times when they needed something done that I can do. This ranges from painting the inside of a newly renovated clubhouse, to performing weddings, and everything in between.

I have never invited any of these bikers to church, but they come. I have never initiated a “God conversation” with any of them, but still, He comes up almost every time I am around them. I have never brought a Bible to the clubhouse, but His Word is mentioned and talked about almost every time I am there. Sure, there are some things that go on that would never happen in any church I know of, but is that really what we should be concerned about? God taught me that my job is to show them the love He has for them, to be “in with them,” but not exactly like them. I am to be a mirror reflecting Christ’s love for them, because no one else does.

18 March/April 2022

Don’t get me wrong, this is not for everyone, nor should it be. This isn’t a “program” that every church should copy and paste and try to replicate. However, I know that there are groups of people in your communities that have never been shown the love of Christ. There are groups of people who would never, on their own, show up at a church service or church event because they feel like they would be judged or made to feel unwelcome. Maybe sometime in their past someone at some church or someone claiming to be a Christian said or did something to give them that impression, but we must overcome it. You can’t do that with an agenda. You can’t do that by going out to make converts. Go out and show them Christ’s love for them through your actions. Your words can follow after they learn they can trust you.

When I go out to the clubhouse, or any other biker event, I am greeted by “Hey brother,” or “Hey Preacher,” and once, “Just the guy I needed to see.”

I have had the privilege to help some of these men deal with some of the most difficult situations in life, to answer questions they had about God, the Bible, or life in general. I have helped them unburden themselves of issues that had been weighing them down for decades. Why me? Because I became their friend, a friend with no agenda other than showing them the love of God. God is so very cool. I learned just how deeply I had impacted these bikers when I lost my daughter Emma this past summer. The night it happened I

sent a text to my buddy that I mentioned at the beginning of this article. I simply said, “Brother, I need you.” He asked where I was, not why, or he was busy, but where are you. I told him, at my house. He was there within 10 minutes followed by 40 other bikers. As the Harleys lined the street, I learned that the word had spread about what had happened and my brothers showed up. They brought food, a cooler full of pop, water and ice, but most importantly, their support. “You have been there for us, now we’re here for you.” They helped with the visitation, and again, they all showed up (a few of the bikes present pictured above). The Findlay, Lima, and Forest chapters of the Barbarians, the Findlay chapter of the Outlaws, the Brothers Forgiven (Christian Bikers) and the White Horse Ministry (also Christian Bikers) and other Independent Riders showed up, gave flowers or money or both, but most importantly they gave support. At the funeral, the entire Lima chapter of the Barbarians was there. For weeks I received text messages and calls from them, just to check up on me. They told me how worried they were about me and if I had any issues with God because of this. They wanted me to be ok with God. How cool is that?

God is so very awesome. He knew that when I started following Him to the bikers that one day, I would need them as much as they needed me. They showed me the love of God. Let me encourage you to look around your community for people that are overlooked, judged, or otherwise forgotten. Jesus died for them as well as those who look and act like us. It may be a group of people you think you have nothing in common with, but Jesus may be calling you to show them His love. It may be a group of people that you are uniquely qualified to reach out to for God. Each of us can do this if we just remember to show them the love of God. Who knows, you might get a cool nickname like “Preacher!” And you might just make some really good friends who will be there for you when you need them the most. But most importantly, you may just change some people’s lives and grow the Kingdom of God. The Global Advocate 19

Global Reach Updates T

hank you for partnering with our friends and fields in Global Reach.

Your prayers and gifts help sustain and encourage them as they minister to communities and the downtrodden in their parts of the world. Please celebrate the following updates from some of the Global Reach fields.

Haiti

As we enter 2022, and the uncertainty and turmoil continue in Haiti, the VanDervorts (pictured near right) will continue serving part time in Project HelpHaiti (PHH) leadership from the USA. They have agreed to do this through the middle of 2022. Mike will lead the PHH Executive team and will communicate regularly with PHH Liaison Denis Droicin. Rod and Mila Ayers (pictured far right) will transition to communications liaison between sister churches in Haiti and their US partner churches. They will be communicating regularly with Pastor Denis and Watson Joseph to obtain information, updates, pictures, and messages from your sister churches during 2022. Please pray for the situation in Haiti to become stable enough to allow for safe return for our missionaries and teams.

Dominican Republic

Kilometer 20 has grown stronger, and they now have land where they are building and worshiping. They have a beautiful children’s ministry and are gaining ground in the village where they are located. They have named the church Christ is My Hope Churches of God. Please keep them in prayer, especially Juaquin and Odalis, who are taking the lead with church planting.

20 March/April 2022

India

The Mission has now started a Women’s Empowerment project in the western area. The project aims to provide skilled training to participants (all faiths) to empower their social and economic livelihood.

Starting with tailoring training, this project also aims to have a family counselling program, and women health awareness classes as well. When women are living safe, fulfilled, and productive lives, they can reach their full potential and learn of their value to God. Contributing their skills to the workforce can result in happier and healthier lives. This project aims to help sustainable economies and personally benefit the participants as well. Please pray that all those participating will know they are loved and valued.

Southwest

John and Toni Thumma (above right) have stepped down in January 2022 from the Gamerco pastorate to focus on the ministry at Hooghan Nizhoni. Jacob and Haley Day (below right) will step into the pastoral role at the Gamerco Church of God. John will continue working with Jacob and Haley as this transition occurs. Jacob and Haley will schedule all work and ministry teams at Gamerco. John and Toni felt the Lord was prompting them to turn Gamerco over to the willing and capable hands of the Days. John and Toni are slowing down, and they don’t want to hold back Jacob and Haley from leading the Gamerco fellowship with new and fresh ideas. Please pray for both churches as this transition occurs.

The Global Advocate 21

Bangladesh

The leadership at our Bangladesh Mission and Bogra Hospital express their sincere gratitude and appreciation for the generous response of US donors to provide a new surgical microscope. It is an incredible blessing. It is very cold in the northern parts of our Mission, so Dr. John and his team of staff are delivering blankets to the poorest communities we serve in. Thank you to all those who have given for this necessity which helps keep children and family members warm during the coldness of the nights.

22 March/April 2022

Chile Outreach

We are praying that this year we can finally visit Chile as we have not been able to go since the COVID pandemic began. We plan to travel with Ben Tobias to see the work and speak with the pastors there. This church began as a house church and they are well over 35 plus members now and growing out of their meeting space. Pray for guidance from the Lord as Global Reach hopes to bring Chile as a GR field.

Thailand

Ava is now one month old! After much cluster feeding throughout the day and frequent waking during the night, she is now eating less often and sleeping longer lengths at night. For both, the Crabtrees are very grateful. She also had pink eye for a few weeks but has now recovered. Pray for Bryan and Katie and their young children as they study the Thai language while juggling many other responsibilities. Katie is full-time teaching after six weeks home with Ava, and Bryan continues with his seminary studies.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and support in reaching the lost across the globe. It is making a difference for eternity.

The Global Advocate 23

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