MARCH 2022
LFTL.AG.ORG | MEN.AG.ORG
Light for the Lost provides evangelistic resources for missionaries and missionary partners through five platforms: print, audio, video, internet, and technologies.
2021 SEES HIGHEST
LEVEL OF GIVING IN A GENERATION!
Words
FROM RICK n the last four months of 2021, we asked you to participate in the First Priority Miracle Challenge to help raise $3 million before year’s end. We did so because we feel strongly that world evangelism should always be our First Priority.
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During that four-month span, LFTL ministry partners responded with such amazing generosity, contributing an astounding $4,169,056!
And the news gets even better. In 2021, while most of the world still reeled from the effects of COVID-19 and economic crises, LFTL ministry partners contributed over $8.9 million for the year! This is the highest level of giving in a generation and we are overjoyed at what it means. It means that literally hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of people will hear, read, or see a presentation of
the gospel message this year because of a LFTL-funded resource. It means hundreds of missionaries will be fully equipped for evangelism. It affirms that our Fellowship, the Assemblies of God, remains steadfastly committed to world evangelism! Hundreds of unique missionary requests for evangelism resources were fulfilled throughout the world because of your giving in 2021. This is cause for celebration! Thank you for all you have done to make this happen. Over the next few months, we will share with you thrilling reports from the field about how these funds are making a difference right now in the lives of lost people worldwide. Thank you for standing with our missionaries and LFTL to keep world evangelism our First Priority! Rick Allen National Director Men’s Ministries/LFTL
FROM CURSING THE CLOUDS TO TRUSTING IN GOD Article by Kelly Robinette
eang Rorn is a rice farmer living in a very rural part of Cambodia. In the past, if the rain did not come in spring, Heang would shake her fist at the clouds and curse the spirits of the air, which she believed were responsible for her misfortune. If the rains did come, she would bow down to worship those spirits.
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Another Cambodian children’s evangelist prepares lessons using resources LFTL provided. In addition, Heang uses her Christian Life booklets to teach others in her village about Christ. She is one of several children’s ministry workers being trained in Cambodia.
Heang Rorn is a rice farmer and children’s evangelist in rural Cambodia. Here, she displays one of the resources provided with LFTL funds. But Heang recently came to faith in Jesus Christ and we are excited to see her being taught and strengthened in her faith through Global University’s 18 Christian Life booklets provided by LFTL funding. Since Heang is learning more about the real God, she no longer curses or worships spirits of the air. Instead, she bows to worship Jesus Christ no matter the weather. She is learning to trust in Christ fully for all things!
Through her, hundreds of Cambodian children will hear about Jesus, and we have LFTL to thank for that! On behalf of the National Church in Cambodia, I want to thank Light for the Lost for helping to equip us, our evangelists, church planters, teachers, and pastors. These resources empower us to share the Living Word with Cambodians who have never been reached with the Good News. Thank you LFTL for investing in Cambodia! Kelly and Cyndi Robinette serve as Assemblies of God missionaries to Cambodia
RESOURCING EVANGELISM THROUGH MOBILE TECH Article by Jeff Gregory
obile technology has inserted itself into almost every part of the world, and LFTL partners with missionaries like us who utilize this technology to share the gospel message.
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My wife, Pam, and I assist national churches, evangelists, and other missionaries worldwide with creating and using mobile tech for evangelism. LFTL funds provide us with every resource we need!
Hundreds of these SD cards spread the gospel electronically though using mobile technology. then distributed them to other missionaries and national workers. One of these cards made its way into a refugee camp in Sicily where a man overheard someone using it to listen to the Book of Proverbs. He asked some questions about what he heard. Later, he made a decision for Christ!
Missionary Jeff Gregory uses LFTL funds to provide mobile technology for evangelism worldwide. Mobile technology is everywhere. In fact, there are more active phones than there are people on the planet! For many people, their phone is the single most important item of technology they own. We recently used LFTL funds to provide thousands of small SD cards with audio recordings of scripture and evangelistic videos on them. The SD cards can be plugged into many mobile devices. We
In addition to SD cards, LFTL funds help us develop evangelistic apps that believers put on their mobile devices. Pam and I are so thankful to LFTL and for the resources that enable us to reach into the lives of thousands of people who are seeking connection and community and finding Jesus! Thank you so much! Jeff and Pam Gregory use LFTL funds and mobile and internet technologies to share the gospel in many countries.
CELEBRATING A RECORD YEAR OF GIVING IN 2021! TOP LFTL GIVING DISTRICTS/NETWORKS IN 2021 DIST./NET. LFTL DIRECTOR
WITH 1 to 99 CHURCHES
1. NEBRASKA
$122,057
KEVIN ROACH
2. NORTHERN MISSOURI
$63,285
JEFF ARP
3. APPALACHIAN
$60,137
JEFF BUSH
DIST./NET. LFTL DIRECTOR
WITH 100-199 CHURCHES
1. WEST FLORIDA
$290,626
CLINTON HOWELL
2. MISSISSIPPI
$223,932
JODY GURLEY
3. OREGON
$222,344
JOHN BAGORIO
DIST./NET. LFTL DIRECTOR
WITH 200-299 CHURCHES
1. SOUTH TEXAS
$624,869
NATHAN ROUSE
2. GEORGIA
$380,775
TIM GROSS
3. MINNESOTA
$331,331
MARK LEROM
“Light for the Lost is a Godsend to AGWM missionaries wherever they serve, from the Amazon jungle to the high-rises of Paris. This valuable ministry provides funds to purchase resources, equipping our ‘boots on the ground’ to spread the Word electronically, in print, and even through recorded audio for the significant portion of the world’s population who are oral learners. Through Light for the Lost, the men of the Assemblies of God stand shoulder-to-shoulder with AGWM missionaries to bring the light of the gospel into the darkness of humanly constructed religions and secularism.” Dr. Greg Mundis Executive Director Assemblies of God World Missions
DIST./NET. LFTL DIRECTOR
WITH 300+ CHURCHES
1. PEN FLORIDA
$1,617,770
TODD WESTON
2. OKLAHOMA
$704,134
CHAD BRODRICK
3. ARKANSAS
$503,284
CECIL CULBRETH
“On behalf of our entire U.S. Missions family, I want to express deep gratitude to Light for the Lost and its generous supporters for our continued Kingdom collaboration and partnership. “Whether it’s equipping our Adult and Teen Challenge centers with critical evangelism materials, providing vital gospel resources on our junior high, high school and university campuses through Youth Alive and Chi Alpha, or reaching the challenging, neglected and diverse people and places in our nation through our chaplains and missionaries, the reach of our workers in the field is expanded and the harvest is multiplied because of your faithfulness. Thank you!” Malcolm Burleigh Executive Director Assemblies of God U.S. Missions
A 360MAN GIVES, REAPS “BOUNTIFULLY” Thank God for those incredible men in my life! Growing up at Central Assembly in Springfield, Missouri, I remember men like Philip Wannenmacher, Don Jacques, and Glenroy Shedd encouraging the men of our church to give to missions. Pastor Wannenmacher preached missions and often offered his pulpit to missionaries. Brother Jacques organized awesome BBQ dinners for families to come and hear about LFTL, and Brother Shedd impressed upon us children the importance of giving generously.
EVERY CHRISTIAN MAN WHO GIVES TO AND PARTICIPATES IN GOD’S MISSION WILL EXPERIENCE THE BLESSING. My father, Werner Kersten, did his part, too. I watched him write many missions checks which he and mom placed in the offering.
I learned that giving to missions is exciting, rewarding, and honors God. Following their examples today is one of my greatest joys. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 about the bountiful blessings the man of God experiences through giving, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give what he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (ESV) Every Christian man who gives to and participates in God’s mission will experience the blessing. Younger generations are watching us. What are they observing and learning from our actions and attitudes? Take a moment to read 2 Corinthians 9:67 again and meditate over it. Ask God to reveal areas in your life where you can be generous in giving. The children, youth, and young men who are watching will thank you for it one day.
The men of Central AG may not have been aware, but I was watching and learning from them.
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Dan Kersten is Director of Communications and Development for LFTL and Men’s Ministries. He was a ‘missions journalist’ from 2004 to 2018. Email Dan at dkersten@ag.org or call 417.862.2781 ext. 4174. He would love to hear from you.
417.862.2781 ext. 4171
www.360Man.ag.org
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417.370.6280 To receive a digital version of the LFTL© 360 Spotlight, sign up at lftl.ag.org or email request to lftl@ag.org. 360 Spotlight is the official voice of Light for the Lost, an evangelism missions focus of the Assemblies of God. National Light for the Lost Director: Rick Allen; Editor: Dan Kersten; Designer: Josh Thomassen. LFTL may be reached at 1445 N. Boonville Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802. Please feel free to visit our website: lftl.ag.org or send us an email at: lftl@ag.org. If you are a missionary or missions partner that utilizes Light for the Lost funds and would like to send us your story, please email us at lftl@ag.org.
© 2022 by Gospel Publishing House, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802. All rights reserved.
