FF News - Editon 3 of 2016 - Africa Reformation Overland Mission

2016 Edition 3

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NEWS

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“‘…Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of Hosts.”

Zechariah 4:6

Reformation to the Remotest Regions 2017 is Reformation 500. 31 October 2017, will mark the 500th anniversary of Professor Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses on the church door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in Wittenberg. This is by far the most significant spiritual anniversary that will take place in our life time. Reformation 500 provides us with an inspiring historic milestone to inspire, inform and involve our families, congregations, communities and countries, in rediscovering the foundational Biblical doctrines which: revived worship, renewed prayer, revitalised families, restored Biblical economics, re-established Christian schools, reformed societies, removed idols and restricted government to Biblical limits.

EuroChor in Cape Town

We praise God for a most blessed, inspiring and empowering series of Reformation celebration events and outreaches in Cape Town. Making this year’s Reformation celebrations absolutely unique was the ministry of the Eurochor. With over 140 members drawn from Belgium, France,

Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Switzerland, this International Christian Youth Choir has thrilled audiences throughout the world with their multilingual, varied, colourful and captivating concerts. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His Name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing Psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy Name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvellous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth.” 1 Chronicles 16:8-12

Reformation 500 FIRE

On 31 October 2012, we launched the Reformation 500 FIRE (Fellowship for International Revival and Evangelism) initiative at the Reformation Day Celebration service at the Huguenot Monument in Franschhoek. This included publishing The 95 Theses for Reformation Today and The Coalition on Revival Reformation 500 FIRE Manual, which includes: The 42 Essential Articles of a Christian Worldview, A Manifesto for the Christian Church, 25 Articles on the Kingdom of God, 7 Essential Actions Local Churches Must Take, the Authority of Scripture, as well as other

Strand Street Lutheran Church vital documents produced over the last 40 years, by the Coalition on Revival, in order to lay firm foundations for Biblical Reformation and spiritual Revival in our congregations, communities, countries and continents.

Reformation Africa

Since then, Frontline Fellowship Mission teams have widely distributed these publications throughout Africa and conducted Reformation FIRE Conferences and Seminars in Zambia, Malawi, the Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan.

Resources for Reformation

Since the launch of the Reformation Society, in 2005, we have produced a series of books to inform, inspire and involve a new generation of Reformed Christians, to make a vital difference in their congregations and communities, including: The Greatest Century of Reformation, The Power of Prayer Handbook, Reforming our Families and Victorious Christians Who Changed the World. In addition, other vital discipleship resources, such as: Practical Discipleship, Putting Feet To Your Faith, Biblical Principles for

Africa (also available in Afrikaans and French), Discipleship Training Manual, and the Firm Foundations for Your Faith series, including The Apostles Creed, The Authority of Christ and the First Day Sabbath and Biblical Faith and Modern Counterfeits, have also been produced.

A series of audio visual resources, MP3s and audio data boxsets for Understanding History and Reformation and Revival, have also been produced.

Our Literature4Africa ministry has distributed an average of 180 tonnes of Bibles, books, New Testaments, Gospels and Sunday school materials, each year, completely free. “So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

Isaiah 55:11

Field Workers for Reformation

In order to sow Gospel seed and lay foundations for Biblical Reformation and spiritual Revival, Frontline Fellowship has sent out a series of Africa Overland Missions, including the Livingstone 200 in 2013. Now we are planning and preparing to send out an Africa Reformation Overland Mission to conduct Evangelism and Soul Winning Seminars, Discipleship Seminars, Great Commission Seminars, Biblical Worldview Seminars and Reformation 500 FIRE Seminars. As Professor John Wycliffe sent out the Lollards to preach and sing the Scriptures and to distribute copies of the Gospels, so we need Field Workers of the Reformation to establish Revival Prayer Meetings, Bible Studies, Reformation Societies and Christian Action Groups throughout Africa.

“For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged

sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 Transforming Nations by Changing Lives

Our Mission is working at completely revising, updating and expanding our Chaplains Handbooks, Biblical Preaching Handbooks and Digital Libraries in order to educate, energise, equip and empower pastors, teachers, chaplains, Evangelists and missionaries throughout Africa, to inform, inspire, involve and impact their congregations and communities for Christ.

Firm Foundations for our Faith

The Coalition on Revival (COR) documents reprinted in the Reformation 500 FIRE Manual, includes the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978), 42 Articles of the Essentials of a Christian Worldview and the 17 Sphere documents, Manifesto for the Christian Church, Articles of Affirmation and Denial on the Kingdom of God and other vital resources, which give a clear, Biblical response to the many challenges and threats confronting the Church today.

Mobilise for Reformation

It is our vision to mobilise the Christian Action Network members throughout Africa to organise regional seminars and conferences, where we can educate, equip and energise leaders to motivate and mobilise their people to inform, inspire, involve and impact their congregations, colleges and communities throughout the country. “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16

Weapons for Spiritual Warfare

The EuroChor at the Dutch Reformed Church in Franschhoek

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Along with the Doctrinal, Discipleship, Evangelistic and History textbooks, which our teams will seek to donate to colleges, schools, ministries and ministers, our Comms office is devising up-to-date Digital Libraries, on discs, USB flash drives and SD cards, to equip and empower principals and pastors, educators and Evangelists, chaplains and counselors, Missionaries and ministry leaders, throughout the continent. In addition to the printed and Digital Libraries being delivered and distributed by our teams in the field, we already have

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over 300 sermons and lectures uploaded on our SemonAudio.com page, over 160 PowerPoints on our Slideshare, and many hundreds of articles on the 17 websites we have established, including www.ReformationSA.org www.Reform500.org www.frontline.org.za www.christianaction.org.za www.gospeldefenceleague.org www.williamcareybi.com and www.livingstonefellowship.co.za.

Libraries for Pastors

Various authors have donated books and Study Bibles for us to entrust to suitable pastors and teachers. Dr. R. C. Sproul of St. Andrews, has donated a large number of Reformation Study Bibles, which we have already carefully, prayerfully and strategically distributed far and wide, as far as South Sudan. We will be praying for authors, publishers and film producers to grant us the permission to upload films, books and study notes on SD cards and USB flash drives for Digital Libraries to be strategically delivered to those in Restricted Access Countries and to Unreached People Groups.

Great Commission Course

To select, orientate and train many of the Field Workers needed to assist our Missionaries on this Reformation 500 initiative throughout Africa, Frontline Fellowship will be conducting the Great Commission Course (30 December 2016 - 18 January 2017), near Cape Town. If you are interested in being involved, on the ground, with Film Evangelism, Literature Evangelism, transport, teaching, technical support, or any other aspect of this continent-wide Reformation 500 movement, please contact us (admin@frontline.org.za) and plan to participate in the upcoming GCC.

What resources can you contribute to the Reformation 500 FIRE movement throughout Africa? Please contact us to arrange how we can put you in touch with ministries that are shipping containers of Bibles, books and Sunday school materials to our ministry. They will be able to include boxes, or even pallets, from your ministry. If you have produced films or documentaries, such as, Polycarp, Indoctrination and Agenda 2 and would be willing to grant us permission to upload these onto SD cards and USB flash drives for Digital Libraries to equip trusted Christian leaders in Restricted Access Areas, we would be most grateful.

Do you have contacts in any African countries that you would like us to visit, equip, train, or deliver resources to?

Contact info@christianaction.org.za for us to follow up on contacts you would like included in this Mission. We are also trusting the Lord for the financial resources needed for the diesel, travel costs and equipment needed to complete these series of Missions in 2017.

Be Thou My Vision

We need a positive and practical vision from the Word of God for our personal lives, for our families, for our churches, for our communities, for our nations and for the world. “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Proverbs 29:18.

The vision of the Africa Reformation Overland Mission is to equip and empower God’s servants, to build upon Luther’s legacy, to follow in Livingstone’s steps and continue William Wilberforce’s

The V&A Waterfront Amphitheatre war against slavery, to fight the good fight of Faith, to make disciples, teaching obedience in all things that the Lord has commanded. The aim of this Mission is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, throughout Africa, working for Reformation in the remotest regions.

Strategic Impact

The Africa Reformation Overland Mission is being designed to carefully, prayerfully and strategically engage and Evangelise the largest number of people, on the ground, with personal instruction and equipping and empowering them with the very best resources, to enable them to establish and expand God’s Kingdom in their communities. This will involve a concentration of forces, focus in prayer, with the printed page, with the most up-to-date technology,

How Can You Help?

This movement needs manpower, material, money and much prayer. We already have a number of teams who are trained, experienced and eager. However, we need more co-workers, support staff and National Co-ordinators to maximise impact and expand this movement.

Our Mission has produced many of the materials needed, but we need far more from other specialist ministries, such as Answers in Genesis, Way of the Master, Evangelism Explosion, World Missionary Press and others.

Christopher setting up our recording equipment at the Amphitheatre

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visiting, supporting and supplying some of the most desperately needy Christians, including in Restricted Access Areas and in some of the most neglected regions amongst Unreached People Groups.

Back to the Bible

The Coalition on Revival study documents will help provide focus and foundation for congregations and colleges, to resist the corrupting influences of secularism and call congregations and communities back to the Bible, as God’s infallible, inerrant and irresistible Word.

Back to the Bible

The Reformation 500 FIRE movement will focus on the three R’s: Redemption, Reformation and Revival. Redemption and Revival are God’s sovereign work.

We need regeneration by the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation is by the

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Grace of God alone, received by Faith alone, on the basis of Christ’s Blood Atonement on the Cross of Calvary alone. Scripture alone is our ultimate authority and everything is to be done to the glory of God alone. Evangelism is our first step, education is the next.

But the goal is empowerment by God’s Holy Spirit. Through faithful preaching of God’s Word and patient teaching on how to apply the Lordship of Christ to all areas of life, our Missionaries will seek to inspire a hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness and energise God’s people to steadfastly seek God’s face for Heavensent Revival. “Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?” Psalm 85:6

energetic strategic action to fulfill the Great Commission, making disciples, teaching obedience to all things that the Lord has commanded, seeking first His Kingdom, loving the Lord our God will all of our heart, soul, mind and strength?

Do You Share This Vision?

Dr. Peter Hammond www.ReformationSA.org www.Frontline.org.za

As we approach this momentous Reformation 500: 31 October 2017: Will you join us in fervent prayer and

“All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the Kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations.” Psalm 22:27-28 May God enable us to be faithful to His Word and effective in His service.

May we be brave and bold for God. Yours for Reformation and Revival

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PRAY for CHRISTIANS in EGYPT Egypt’s Christian heritage is one of the oldest in the world. With a population of about 85 million, 11 million Egyptians would claim to be Christian, about 3.5 million are Evangelical. This is a land which Jesus Christ Himself came to when He was only a boy. It was later evangelised by the Gospel writer John Mark in the first century A.D. Since then, the Coptic Church has been a prominent religion.

Islam invaded Egypt in the 7th Century. By the 10th Century, Arabic was the official language.

Today Islam makes up around 87% of the population. According to Operation World, Egypt is arguably the intellectual centre of Sunni Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood is still alive in Egypt, even though the current government opposes them.

Despite the imposing force of Islam, Egypt has the largest congregation in the Middle East, with 7000 members, strong and vibrant youth, four weekly church meetings and a weekly prayer meeting, sport and children’s ministry focusing on the Gospel, education and health and they have volunteer programmes for international people to assist in ministry. This ministry is well known by the government for their participation in relief aid and

assistance of the afflicted during the so-called “Arab Spring” by setting up mobile medical clinics.

Egypt is a neighbour to many other Islamic countries characterised by war and tribal conflict. Refugees from these countries flee to Egypt for asylum. They often find themselves fed up with the false promises of Islam, and observe the aggression and violence which comes as a result of this corrupt worldview. These refugees are asking many questions about life and religion which only Biblical Christianity can answer, offering peace between man and God and man and fellow man.

Bible distribution in Egypt is also increasing. The Bible Society is making a great impact with their Bible programmes. Other ministries are finding that the youth in Egypt are very open to receiving their own copy of God’s Word. According to one source in Egypt, many young people see the religion (Islam) of their parents and grandparents as being somewhat of a failure. They are looking for answers. Some turn toward secularism while others are turning to Jesus Christ.

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The Gospel is spreading like wildfire across the Middle East, and modern technology is adding fuel to that enthusiasm. Many Muslims are coming to Christ through satellite television like SAT7.

Online evangelism and internet resources are helping Christian ministries spread the Word of God in areas which would otherwise be hostile or closed. Just as Martin Luther used the printing press to propagate Gospel literature and other written material nearly 500 years ago, Christians are making the most of the advances of technology as a tool to inform, inspire and involve.

Many people in the Islamic faith are surprised when Christians make reference about talking to God in prayer. Topics such as God’s love are somewhat foreign to them.

There is also a fascination with the prophet Jesus Christ. While Christians certainly believe that Jesus is more than a mere prophet, it is a wonderful starting point to talk about our Saviour. Christians in Egypt are finding that there are men and women from the Islamic faith who are willing to listen about Christianity and the central figure of our Faith—Jesus Christ.

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Frontline Fellowship is corresponding and working with churches in Egypt to develop training programmes for their leaders. Many are hungry to apply Biblical wisdom to their lives. Frontline has the unique opportunity to equip leaders through our William Carey Bible Institute which is a Reformed, Evangelistic, Biblical and practical leadership training programme.

Please pray for Christian unity amongst churches in Egypt.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. Churches need to stand together, hold each other accountable to the Word and the true Gospel, and meet challenges facing the Body of Christ with unity. While certain radical sects of Islam are not allowed to operate in Egypt, they do exist

and they are a very real threat to Biblical, Evangelistic Christians.

Conversion from Islam is also illegal in Egypt. Pray that those who are converting from Islam will be kept safe and find peace in the Body of Christ. Frontline Fellowship has ongoing training opportunities in Egypt. Pray for the development and implementation of our programmes. Those who are impoverished and desperate due to the lack of jobs in Egypt are in need of assistance. Some churches are taking this opportunity to reach out to their communities with love in action. Please pray for wisdom and support for these churches that are caring for the needy.

“So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.�

Isaiah 55:11 Rev. John Clifford Frontline Fellowship Email: jclifford@frontline.org.za www.frontline.org.za

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America for Christ “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6

Fifth Mission in Five Months

By God’s Grace I have safely returned from another Mission to America.

This was my fifth mission in five months. With a whirlwind of writing deadlines, printing projects and outreaches, it seemed that I had barely unpacked from the Mission to Kenya then I was racing off to the airport again to fly all across to the West coast of America, to Seattle and from there to Idaho. I left Cape Town exhausted and being squeezed into middle seats on the long international legs of this journey, bumped and jostled from all sides ensured that I arrived even more tired and jet lagged.

Christian History Conference Roadworks and repairs at the Spokane airport complicated the curbside pickup by my local hosts but the warm welcome from Pastor Campbell made it all worthwhile and we headed through to set up for the Old Paths Christian History Conference. Pastor John Weaver was already there and we enjoyed a good time of catching up and strategizing how best to respond to the

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challenges before us. I enjoyed John’s presentations on The World and Times of Jesse James, on Secession and the Puritans’ Vision of Victory.

My subjects were: Propaganda in the World Wars; The Assassination of General George Patton, A History of Body Piercing and Tattoos in Pagan Culture and Hope and Vision for the Future from the Life and Writings of Doctor David Livingstone.

Some homeschooling families had travelled from California and Arizona to participate in this History Conference. One large home educated family had driven through from Canada. The question times, fellowship and interest in the new resources on our book table were intense and the days were full. After the conference, numerous delegates

came through to the pastor’s house and continued an all evening question and answer discussion time which covered a wide range of important subjects and challenges.

On the Road

The next morning I was grateful that so many books and audio materials had been sold at the conference, because the dull backache that had been growing through the transcontinental air travel was now sharp and acute. Being very careful to bend with my knees and not with my back I negotiated the luggage (which is always mostly literature) for the flight to Southern Idaho.

Time Zone Confusion

What I must have missed was that the state of Idaho actually has two time zones. Having travelled from North to South it did not cross my mind that we could have changed time zones. Fortunately something prompted me to check my Skype connection an hour early to ensure that I was ready for the Going Global radio interview, only to be surprised that the interviewer was trying to get hold of me. Thinking that there had been a mix up in the radio appointment times, I launched straight into the hour long programme dealing with Slavery, Terrorism and Islam - Have fundamentalists distorted Islam, or is Islam bent on global conquest? After the radio programme I commented on how strange it was that it came an hour earlier than scheduled and

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it was then pointed out that we were actually in another time zone from Northern Idaho!

Schools, Services & Seminars

My host in Boise, Idaho had organised a whole series of school, church and radio meetings. These included classes and chapels at three different Christian schools including giving presentations on: Putting Feet to Your Faith, Faith Under Fire in Africa, Will Animals be in Heaven?, Biblical Worldview Issues, God and Government, Discipling the Nations, The Reformation Roots of Western Civilisation; John Wycliffe - The Morningstar of the Reformation, Jan Hus - Truth Conquers, Ulrich Zwingli - The Reformer of Zurich, Biblical Principles which God Blesses in any Country, Evidences that the Bible is the Word of God, Evidences for the Resurrection, and A Vision of Victory.

What Happened to the Prayer Meeting?

At a Church midweek service, there were families who drove up to 100 miles away for the evening presentation on Whatever Happened to the Prayer Meeting? The open discussion and time of prayer following the presentation was enthusiastic and intense. As a result I arrived back at my host’s house late for a scheduled Skype radio interview. Sometimes schedules can be unreasonably packed and it is just not possible to do everything!

It would not have been right to cut short the responses and prayers of people who had travelled from so far and wide for the midweek service in order to make a radio programme.

Fortunately the interviewer was understanding and is a friend who regularly interviews me. So we could reschedule for another time.

neighbour, as we seek to apply the Lordship of Christ in all areas of life.

Seminar in Omaha

Also in Boise, I was able to meet up with our good friend, John Boyd, the president of Missionary Aviation Fellowship and some of his key people concerning projects, priorities and plans for the field. The hour radio interview with Matt Slick Live on Faith Under Fire in Africa on Inspirational Family Radio was wide ranging, fast moving and intense as we confronted the cultural war raging around us seeking to apply Biblical principles to all areas of life.

Next I was jetting off to Omaha, Nebraska and was welcomed by our good friend Dr. Phil Kayser of Dominion Covenant Church.

Phil Kayser spent the first eighteen years of his life being raised on the mission field in Ethiopia. When people say: You do not know what it is to be a minority, he can respond: Actually I do! Dominion Covenant Church has a wide ranging Ministry, including into Asia and Restricted Access Areas. They had arranged a seminar for the Saturday where I was invited to speak on The Church Fathers of North Africa, The Christian Civilisations of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, The Eschatology of Victory in The Greatest Century of Missions and Reformation 500.

Rescue Those Being Led Away to Death

Literature Ministry

MAF and Radio

On Thursday, David arranged for us to attend a premiere film screening of Voiceless - an inspiring drama about a church worker in Philadelphia who tackles the issue of abortion and the devastating consequences it has, not only for the people involved, but for the community as a whole. This film courageously confronts crime, destruction of families, broken homes, the abortion industry, the silence and complicity of Christians in the abortion holocaust and our Christian responsibility to love our

The Dominion Covenant people and guests at the seminar cleaned out most of the rest of my literature which was a great relief as my back was still throbbing. However, I could not help but pick up lots more literature for our Mission Library from Phil Kayser and Robert Fugate - both of whom are excellent authors with a refreshing Biblical approach to a tremendous range of vital subjects.

Aim and Impact

After the seminar I was whisked off

to a nearby farm where we were able to get in some shooting practice with clay pigeons. Something I have never done before. With a wide range of weaponry we took out the waves of orange disks launched into the air and had the satisfaction of seeing them shattered into small pieces with rapid snap shooting.

In Unity is Strength

Sunday was a long day. Dominion Covenant has a gifted worship team with a wide range of musical instruments. They play with skill, leading from the rear of the congregation. The responsive Scriptural readings and prayers, including imprecatory prayers and singing Psalms wonderfully prepares one for worship in Spirit and in Truth. I presented the sermon: In Unity is Strength from Philippians 1:27-30. After Fellowship lunch the congregation came back for an open time of discussion with questions and answers based on the sermon. After that those who were interested gathered at an elder’s house where we engaged another five hours of open discussion/ question and answers where I sought to respond to Doctrinal, Historical and Socio-Political questions. The Great Commission is about making disciples of all nations, teaching obedience to all things the Lord has commanded, therefore it is essential that as Christians we know how to

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apply Biblical principles to every sphere of life.

Vigorous Discussions & Debates It is clear that Dominion Covenant Church is a congregation of home educators. Children who have been home educated are well read and tend to have enquiring minds.

Parents who take responsibility for educating their children also tend to be very well read and interested in a wide range of questions and controversies.

Family Reunion

The next morning I was flying off to Phoenix, Arizona, to be reunited with my beloved first born daughter, Andrea, her hard working husband, Hunter, who is juggling Masters in Theology study, parenthood and carpentry to provide for the family, alongside ministry to international students and our first granchild, Jeremy! Andrea drove me from the airport straight through to my parents-in-law’s home. Next year Bill Bathman will be 90. Despite battling two terminal diseases: cancer and a serious heart complaint, both Bill and Harriet Bathman are in good spirits and still enthusiastically involved in the Lord’s work. They had arranged for me to speak the next morning to missions minded members of the Village Chapel.

A hall had been hired and people from the community invited for me

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to give an update on Persecution of Christians in North Africa and our missionary endeavours.

To Live is Christ - To Die is Gain Bill Bathman showed me the book on Heaven by Randy Alcorn that he has been studying. “I’m reading up on my next move! This is the best book on Heaven I have ever read.”

He commented that this author agrees with my position that there will be animals in Heaven and how impressed he is with how Biblical the book is. “There is far more about Heaven in the Bible than I was aware of!” There were many practical missions related plans and discussions. Despite having two life threatening diseases competing with one another as to who will get him first, Bill said that he is trying to complete writing another book!

“Retirement is not in my vocabulary”, he said. “Whether the Lord comes or calls, I want to be ready and die with my boots on.” Harriet mentioned that his heart surgeon was quite surprised to see that he was still alive three months after he made his initial diagnosis. “Giving does not empty your purse, nor does loving empty your heart.” Bill added: “The thing that blesses people is not overwork, but overflow.”

Jeremy and Juliet

We were all delighted to see the energetic growth of baby Jeremy,

who had just celebrated his first birthday. Now that he is crawling and pulling himself up, taking first aided steps, nothing is particularly safe anymore. I was also introduced to Juliet, a lovely, fluffy Norwegian Forest kitten (related to the original Viking cats). Jeremy and Juliet are the best of friends and Juliet follows him around everywhere in the home.

Carolina and then on to Ashville where I had been invited to speak at the Awake Conference in the Western North Carolina Agricultural Centre. Other guest speakers included Brother Yun from China (author of the Heavenly Man), Isik Abla, a Turkish woman who survived terrible abuse and is a shining testimony of God’s Grace since her conversion from Islam and Dr. Mark Beliles of America Transformation.

There I was invited to minister on Frontline Faith and Revival. The Awake Conference went on for twelve hours straight without a break: 9am to 9pm with a continuous flow of ministry, prayer and worship.

There were many discussions, much prayer and by the end of the day my head was throbbing and my heart full.

Heart Cry for Revival

University Ministry

Andrea took me through to Arizona Christian University, where she graduated two years ago. I had been invited to speak on God and Government - the US Presidential Elections and What is at Stake for Christians in Africa. We also met with our good friend Dr. Mark Kreitzer, who after years as a missionary professor in South Korea is now lecturing on Missiology at Grand Canyon University. He had lined up a whole series of lectures for me at GCU, but these were cancelled by the administration. Mark was a missionary at Frontline Fellowship back in the 1980’s, then served with Gospel Defence League, before becoming a Missionary to Korea where he has had the opportunity of training believers from all over Africa and Asia in Missions.

At the Sunday morning service I preached on Lord Revive Us (Psalm 85:6) and in Sunday School fielded a wide range of questions and answers seeking to deal with the desperate needs confronting us and presenting a Biblical Vision of Victory to inspire us to press on against all opposition.

Travel Complications

by an hour, or more, and I was bumped from one flight because it had been overbooked. However,

by God’s Grace, I did not miss a single meeting. Although I was late for one radio interview by Skype and another radio programme had to be postponed because of prior commitments.

Mission in a Nutshell

All in all I ministered in 4 states, 35 meetings, including 2 radio stations, 3 schools, 2 Universities, 2 conferences, a seminar, 6 Churches, stayed in 7 homes and had 12 flights, in under 3 weeks.

A number of flights were delayed “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:57-58 Dr. Peter Hammond

Awake Conference

After all too short a time in Phoenix I was jetting off to Charlotte, North FRONTLINE FELLOWSHIP PO BOX 74 NEWLANDS 7725 CAPE TOWN SOUTH AFRICA

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Mission to Zimbabwe

Whilst most prospective pastors have left Zimbabwe, there are still a handful that choose to study at the few remaining seminaries. We had an opportunity to give presentations at two different seminaries. David and Joseph gave presentations on Old Testament Survey and also on Expository Preaching. I had an opportunity to give a presentation on Animism (or African Traditional Religion) at both seminaries. We also discussed with the students how the ‘health, wealth and prosperity’ preachers have replaced the witchdoctor in many communities.

These fraudulent, so-called ‘men of god’ are thought to get special revelations from God and have special healing powers, using ‘faith’ as a magical force. The students agreed that animism is still a big problem in Zimbabwe.

One of the things we emphasised in our lectures on the Old Testament at the Seminary was that each Book of the Bible points to Christ.

We found government bureaucracy stifling Christian ministry in state schools. We did get an opportunity to give a Fight the New Drug (freedom from addiction to pornography) presentation at a Christian School.

The children at this school were the best behaved we have seen.

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During a street evangelism outreach, I took the initiative to open-air preach three times. A tall white man preaching in the streets was a novelty for them, and large crowds gathered to hear the straightforward Gospel message. The street vendors were also open to engage in conversations. We distributed over 500 Gospel booklets in Shona during one afternoon. The people literally queued to receive a Gospel booklet!

The elderly in Zimbabwe who did earn a pension lost all their savings when the economy of Zimbabwe collapsed. It was a great privilege to once again deliver boxes of nonperishable foods and other useful items to these elderly folk and to hear their stories.

given and how they are going to apply it to their lives.

We also distributed Boxes of Love to the elderly in this community. We read the Bible with them and prayed for them. One woman cried with joy when we came to visit her. At 93 years of age, she still collects her own water for herself and her animals!

Innovative Pastor from a Rural Area

Pray for Zimbabwe

During a rural outreach we were encouraged to see that most of the congregation stayed behind after each service to discuss the message

Abrie Lourens www.frontline.org.za

With over 90% unemployment in Zimbabwe, some pastors have implemented innovative initiatives to provide an income for themselves. In addition to being a school principal, this pastor has developed a chicken business to provide extra income for his family.

FRONTLINE FELLOWSHIP NEWS 2016 EDITION 3

Please continue to keep the people of Zimbabwe in your prayers. Pray that the drought would remind them to thirst after Living Water. Pray that they would humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways, and seek His face, so that He would hear from Heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Renewing Minds for Reformation "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:24 With the recent turmoil in Zimbabwe protests in the capital city, one reporter wrote that live ammunition was being used on the crowds of protesters. The mass demonstrations were in response to the empty lies that the government had repeatedly told the populace. On an earlier Mission to Zimbabwe we counted 78 police stops. This time we only encountered 19. At the many road tolls that we went through the people manning them perked up when we handed them a Gospel tract to read. For much of these people’s lives, they either had things taken from them, or had to take items from people, but to receive something as a gift, was something new for them.

Outreaches

During an outreach we put together in one of the cities we were doing ministry in, people eagerly took the different tracts that we were handing out, some would even stop and have a conversation with us. During our Jesus film outreach the weather looked threatening and the clouds began to sprinkle. This gave us some concern for our equipment. With the prospect of rain and the rural setting, we began to doubt whether this was a waste of time. However, the rain proved only to be a passing shower and by the time the equipment was set up, the cloud had passed, providing a pleasant evening for the outreach.

A consistent theme throughout our ministry in Zimbabwe was the need for fathers, mothers, family members, friends and pastors to teach through consistent and God-honouring lives.

One of the primary goals of this Mission was to speak at several Bible Colleges on Expositional Preaching and An Introduction to the Old Testament. My total time to present this topic was about eleven and a-half hours, only an introduction to the Introduction of the Old Testament!

Some commented that they had not previously thought of Christ being in the Old Testament.

Reforming Minds for Reformation In order for Reformation to begin, we need to get back to the Word of God. The most prominent theme throughout this Zimbabwe Mission was to be re-shaping our minds and to do that, we need to know His will and the only way to know what God would have us do, is to read from Genesis to Revelation. Reformation begins in the heart and in order to begin reforming our hearts, the mind must be renewed. "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:2

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With over 3,200 miles of driving, I am amazed and am thankful for how God kept the vehicle in good working condition. Not even one tyre puncture! When we drove through the rural area our “road” would go right through a dry river bed with large rocks sticking up in every direction, which made a possibility for the rims to snag and wreck our tyres.

Please keep Zimbabwe in your prayers.

It is a country that is in desperate need of Revival. Pray for the truth of the Bible to be taught in the seminaries, so that the new generation of pastors and leaders would not see preaching as a method of earning money, but would understand it as a Holy calling, given to them by God. Pray for the members of the different churches in Zimbabwe, that they would not see the pastor as someone who can manipulate God for their material prosperity. Finally, keep praying for the missionaries that are pouring their lives and energies into Zimbabwe, that they would not grow tired and give up.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Joseph Cave www.frontline.org.za

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Literature 4 Africa

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FRONTLINE FELLOWSHIP NEWS 2016 EDITION 3