Part III: The Lost Plan

Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord. “Go and inquire of the Lord… for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the Word of the Lord.” 2 Kings 22:8, 13

During the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, God’s people drifted so far from Him that they lost the Book of the Law! Most scholars believe this “Lost Book” was Deuteronomy! After King Josiah’s zeal for God began the restoration of the temple, the Book of the Law was found by the High Priest in the temple! When the Spirit-filled words of this book were read to Josiah, he tore his clothes, wept and asked the Lord, “What are the consequences for not keeping the Word?” Because of his humility and brokenness, God gave him and his people mercy. Motivated by this mercy, Josiah’s restoration movement becomes even more radical. Of primary importance, he unifies the remnant by initiating a public renewing of God’s covenant as found in the lost Book, first with the elders and then with all the people. Guided by Deuteronomy, radical sweeping changes now rapidly occur in worship and life. This culminates in the greatest celebration of the Passover ever! (2 Kings 23:22)

For us over 2600 years later, it is almost unimaginable that our “brothers of faith” could have lost the entire Book of Deuteronomy! In our day, something especially shocking has been lost; God’s plan to give everyone on earth the opportunity to be saved. Truth: Jesus is God’s only path for salvation. (John 14:6) Truth: there is only one Biblical response to be saved – faith, repentance and baptism. (Acts 2:38)

However, hidden in God’s Word for centuries, most have lost God’s only plan to save the entire world in a lifetime – the multiplication of disciples. Truth. This plan is fully revealed through the three year ministry of Jesus. From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus knew He was the hope of both Jew and Gentile – all who were “poor…prisoners…blind…and oppressed.” (Luke 4:18) The very mention of this radical vision in His home synagogue in Nazareth at the beginning of His ministry resulted in an uproar and a brutal attempt to kill Him. (Luke 4:28-30)

After this incident, Jesus traveled “throughout Galilee preaching the good news of the kingdom.” (Matthew 4:23) Many followed him from Judea, Jerusalem, the Decapolis, and the region across the Jordan! He preached to the masses. True to His Father’s vision, Jesus made disciples. After about six months, Jesus went up on a mountain where he prayed all night for one of the most crucial decisions of his ministry. In the morning, “He called his disciples to Him and chose twelve of them” (Luke 6:13) He called them apostles – “messengers” – “that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach.” Jesus was not only training preachers, but by revealing God’s principle of focusing on a few, he was discipling as a group the future leaders of a new kingdom. By walking with Him daily the Twelve learned the Word of God and saw how to preach effectively. Equally as important, they saw how to impact individuals. Interestingly, in John 4:1 the Pharisees note that Jesus was baptizing more disciples than John. “Although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.” Different than John the Baptist as well as in modern denominations where only the preacher wins souls, Jesus was multiplying His effort with the Twelve doing the baptizing, not Him.

The Twelve, after watching Jesus call people to repentance as well as perform miracles, were sent out two by two to preach the Word and cast out demons! (Mark 6:7) Gradually Jesus calls the apostles to do more and more on their own. The apostles represent a second generation of disciples. By Luke 10 Jesus appoints 72 others to be preachers of the Word, admonishing them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” This is an interesting number. Perhaps Jesus allowed the six pairs of apostle to be the leaders of their own twelve! This would have allowed the paired apostles to begin to replicate how Jesus had walked and worked with them!

Christine Pabelico (fourth to the left) was rejoicing with her physical and spiritual family as she entered the waters of baptism!

When the seventy-two returned to share about their successes, they were fired up! (Luke 10:17) After this time of sharing, Jesus pulled the Twelve aside privately. He says, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but did not see it.” He wanted them to mark this momentous moment of the multiplying of a third generation of disciples! Though slow and numerically few, His every effort was intended to build a movement that would change the world.

After His resurrection, Jesus returns to Galilee where He gives the Great Commission, “Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20) Implicit in this command is a teacher-student discipling relationship. It begins before baptism and then continues afterwards, as we are to teach each other to obey the commands. However, if one studies the ministry of Jesus, we see other types of discipling relationships. Jesus set up adult-adult relationships by pairing up the apostles as well as “group discipling” by Jesus, the leader of the group. The apostles were commanded by word and example to put into practice all of these types of discipling relationships.

After Jesus’ ascension, in 29 AD, the faithful numbered 120. This included the Twelve, the 72, Jesus’ mother and brothers and the women followers of Jesus. (Acts 1:14-15) No doubt, this group believed in discipling and on their first day of preaching, 3000 were baptized! Three thousand new disciples were “added to their number” The unique power of the movement of Jesus was His call to be as committed as Him and to put into practice His ministry of discipling. From this point the number of disciples exponentially multiplies! “The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47)”The number of men grew to about 5000…” (Acts 4:4) “Nevertheless more and more men and women believed…and were added to their number.” (Acts 5:14) “In those days where the number of disciples was increasing…” (Acts 6:1) “The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly…” (Acts 6:7) “The church [the movement - no autonomy] throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria… grew in numbers…” (Acts 9:31-32) “The Word of God continued to increase and spread…” (Acts 12:24) “They spoke so effectively [in Iconium] that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.” (Acts 14:21) “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.” (Acts 16:5) “These are the men who have turned the world upside down for Jesus!” (Acts 17:6 RSV) By 62 AD, Paul writes the whole world has heard. The whole world had been evangelized!

Today many churches in the ICOC fellowship have either abandoned discipling relationships or compromised them by teaching there is no such thing as teacher-student (one-over-one discipling) relationships in the Scriptures. This is devastating false teaching. (2 Timothy 4:1-4) No wonder so many disciples are confused, lonely, lukewarm and lacking zeal for souls. One person teaching another is the essence of the method and ministry of Jesus. Let us not forget Josiah’s humble response to the words of the lost Book of God. His concern was that God is angry when we fail to obey his Word. Making disciples is a command of God for every true Christian. Jesus built God’s movement on the now lost plan of multiplying disciples. It was and still is the only plan of God to evangelize the world. And to God be the glory!

Part IV: Christ’s Love Compels Us

“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) God’s love for a lost world is utterly incomprehensible. God loves lost souls so much that he sent Jesus to die for all sins of all mankind of all time. Our appreciation of this “amazing grace” is directly proportional to how much we are motivated to live the Christian life. (1 Corinthians 15:10) In motivating each disciple in Corinth to become passionate ambassadors for Christ, Paul writes, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) Paul continues and exhorts the Christians to no longer look at people from a worldly perspective – we must see those around us as hurting and lost. Paul reasons that we who are in Christ have become “a new creation, the old has gone, the new is come;” therefore he admonishes, “Since God reconciled us to himself through Christ, he then gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18) It is interesting to note in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ … and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” Paul is saying, yes, Jesus died for the entire world’s sins, but God has given the responsibility to win a lost world to disciples – we all have become ministers of reconciliation! In denominational churches, only the paid staff are ministers. In churches composed of disciples, every member should be a minister!

Brady Vaughan rocking it out at the AMS-Network’s Open Mic Night

In Chapter 6:4-9, Paul pointedly shares the price he has paid to preach the Word, “Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed.” This is the price to be a servant of God, a minister of reconciliation, an ambassador of Christ – a disciple. By no means does this earn our salvation, but it should be our response to receiving God’s grace.

If our family of churches is going to evangelize the world in our generation we must go back to the cross. When we remember how much we have been forgiven, then our evangelism, sacrifice, lifestyle and relationships will be motivated out of this overwhelming appreciation for God’s grace. Today, too many churches preach a message of “cheap grace.” Cheap grace says, “Just feel good that you are saved; after all you are not saved by works.” True, works do not save us, but grace cannot be without effect. (1 Corinthians 15:10) Church leaderships with the theological persuasion of cheap grace, will not call church members to spend time with God every day or to be involved in one another’s lives by discipling, by obeying the “one another” passages. These members simply come to church when “they feel like it.” In many of our churches, the preachers are not calling their congregations to go out and share their faith. There is simply a lukewarm commitment. Where there is lukewarmness, we can be sure the Word and God’s grace are not being preached. (Revelation 3:14-21) Cheap grace is only a Satanic fake of salvation. One can lose the grace of God. In 2 Corinthians 6:1 Paul admonishes, “Since you are God’s fellow workers do not receive God’s grace in vain.”

Today, sadly in most autonomous congregations, preachers are afraid to preach the truth, some because they themselves are confused by Satan (John 8:43-45) and do not have a clear message. Others hold back from fear of church boards, elders, the people, and losing their jobs. (Where do we find preachers restricted in the Bible?) These same preachers and members alike pull back out of suspicion and cowardice from fellowshipping some churches because they do not want to be associated with controversy which always comes with the radical call of grace, commitment and discipleship. They selectively preach Scriptures that do not challenge the people, and just as in Jeremiah’s time God says, “my people love it this way.” (Jeremiah 5:31) In many parts of the United States and the world, disciples report that their congregations have little fire in the services, with little zeal in their singing, little discipling, little warmth, and very few baptisms. Last week a visiting disciple to Portland shared his thoughts about being in the service. He said, “This is so refreshing. I have not been in an exciting worship service for so long. I’m moving here because this is the church I was converted in!” If we are to win the world, preachers must preach the Word at any cost, just like Stephen, just like Paul, just like Jesus.

With jubilation, Aaron Brooks (middle) celebrated as he became part of God’s Kingdom!

Let me once again acknowledge and apologize for any sins whether intentional or unintentional (Leviticus 4) that I have directly or indirectly caused for any who are involved in discipling relationships. It is true that many of our churches drifted from preaching the cross as a disciple’s preeminent motivation. Numbers were too often used to motivate people to evangelize and it crushed them. Discipling became too authoritarian and controlling. We drifted from teaching obedience to the Word of God, to immature (and many mature) disciples calling for obedience to their opinions. Also in many cases, we failed to change the dynamics in the discipling relationships as people grew older physically as well as in the faith. In all discipling relationships, there should be a gradual shift from a teacher/student, mentoring dynamic to an adult-adult relationship. However, now is the time of forgiveness and not a bitter reaction or rejection of God’s only plan to win a lost world – “making disciples.” (Matthew 28:19) Remember, unrepentant bitterness will cause you to lose the grace of God. (Hebrews 12:15)

In the Portland Church, the leadership teaches that God expects newly baptized Christians to be in teacher/student discipling relationships. The very term disciple means student or learner! Carpenters have apprentices, doctors have interns, athletes have personal trainers and coaches, high school students have tutors and mentoring programs, and we believe the key to remedy and prevent further hurts is choice.

In Portland we teach from the Bible that everyone is expected to be in discipling relationships. (We call these Discipleship Partners.) However, each member chooses how many, who it is, and the two of them define whether the relationship will be more teacher/student or adult/adult. Also every week, the leadership expects each member to be in an evangelistic, discipling group – Bible Talk. However, once again each member chooses the Bible Talk in which he or she will participate.

One person once wrote, “To Jesus there was no difference between domestic and foreign missions, all was world evangelism.” As disciples we must individually and collectively humble ourselves before the cross. This will unleash the inexhaustible motivation of grace. Then and only then will we be the lifelong ministers of reconciliation God has called us to be. Disciples are God’s only plan to win a lost world. And to God be all the glory!

Kip McKean

Part 1: Old Testament Prophecy

“While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces … But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.” Daniel 2:34-35

Are present day disciples called to evangelize the world in our “generation?” Many teachers have minimized this century’s long dream of God or have simply chosen to ignore it in their treatises concerning “Christian freedom,” “the role of evangelists and elders,” and “autonomy of individual congregations.” Let us also consider that though “Christian movements” have over centuries “gone around the world,” the evangelization of the world in a lifetime has not been accomplished since the first century. (Colossians 1:6) Therefore, in future articles in this series, Scriptures will be shared that will reveal that world evangelism is not only God’s dream for each generation, but that by faith it is possible!

God’s eternal plan from before the beginning of time was to create a people that would love him forever. In the Old Testament God uses prophecy and foreshadowing to reveal His heart for a lost world. We must remember that the Old Testament was the “Scriptures” of the Christians in the first century. Foreshadowing occurs when our sovereign God orchestrates the physical events of the Old Testament to parallel the spiritual truths He reveals in the New Testament. For example, the Hebrews’ slavery in Egypt parallels our slavery to sin in our old lives. The blood of a lamb smeared over the doorposts saved each Hebrew firstborn from physical death. This parallels the blood of Jesus, the Lamb, saving us from eternal death. (John 1:29) Crossing the Red Sea represents baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2); the wanderings in the desert correspond to our new Christian lives; the crossing of the Jordan represents our physical death. (We sing about this in the song “Jordan River.”) And finally their Promised Land is our heaven! Understanding the Old Testament foreshadowing of New Testament doctrines is essential to deeply appreciating the breadth of God’s love and His plan of salvation.

Coltin Rohn and Anthony Patterson – awesome disciples visiting as speakers for the campus retreat!

As we begin to comprehend God’s desire to teach us about His love, let us examine some of the most convincing Old Testament prophecies about world evangelism and God’s eternal Kingdom. In Genesis 12:1-3 God tells Abram, “I will make you into a great nation…and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” The first level of fulfillment of this prophecy is in the building of a physical nation – Israel. Exodus 1:7 reads, “But the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so the land was filled with them.” We learn from this passage that it was in Egypt that God began to form a great nation through human families physically multiplying (being fruitful) in great numbers. (This is a foreshadowing of spiritual fruitfulness by the multiplying of disciples under the new covenant.) However, the second level of fulfillment is the concept of all people – Jews and Gentiles – being blessed through Abraham’s seed – Jesus. This promise is further detailed in Genesis 22:17 when God sees Abraham’s faith when he was willing to “sacrifice his one and only son,” (more Old Testament foreshadowing.) Then the promise is given, “your descendants will be as numerous as… stars in the sky.”

In Deuteronomy 1:10, Moses preached this promise was fulfilled in the Jews by the time he led the Jews out of Egypt. However, we by faith understand it also means all Christians of all time because Genesis 22:18 adds all nations on earth will be blessed, both Jew and Gentile! You and I as disciples are part of the fulfillment of this prophecy! God has always desired to be loved and glorified by all nations! Isaiah 2:1-4 is another powerful prophecy of the New Testament Kingdom and world evangelism. God tells a hurting and backsliding Israel there will be a day, when the mountain (Old Testament symbolism for kingdom/nation) of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains and all nations will stream into it. (This initially begins to be fulfilled in Acts 2, see verse five!) Then God adds in verse four, “Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.” This is because we will have brothers in all nations and we would not want to kill our brother! Also, in Isaiah 11:1-9, the prophecy of a kingdom built from the stump of Jesse (the remnant Jews) will someday be a unique fellowship where previous adversaries “will neither harm nor destroy” as referenced by “the wolf will walk with the lamb.” Then in verse 9, the great proclamation of this grand vision is concluded by “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the earth.” Only through world evangelism could this be fulfilled.

Finally for this article we will study the vision of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel retells the dream in Daniel 2:31-35 and then interprets it in verses 36-45. In this dream there is a huge statue of gold, silver, bronze, and iron. Daniel says these metals represent certain kingdoms. Borrowing from our high school history courses, we know that gold represents the Babylonian Kingdom, silver the Medo-Persian Empire, bronze symbolizes Alexander the Great’s Kingdom and the iron the Roman Empire. According to the dream, during the days of the Roman Empire “a rock was cut out, but not by human hands… it struck the statue on its feet of iron… and smashed it… the wind swept away without leaving a trace…However, the rock struck the statue and became a huge mountain and FILLED THE WHOLE EARTH.” Obviously, if something is “not made by human hands”, it is of God! The rock is Christ! The mountain is the Kingdom – the church – and those of faith in heaven, for this kingdom will never be destroyed! (Daniel 2:44) However, let’s focus on Daniel 2:35. In the dream, the rock becomes a mountain and fills the whole earth! This is what God desires for His Kingdom, to “fill the whole earth!” God through prophecy lays the foundation for Jesus and His Great Commission to the apostles, “Go and make disciples of ALL NATIONS baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit…” (Matthew 28:19) This is how God plans to bless all people on earth! Simply stated, this is the mandate of God for world evangelism.

The Campus Ministry Praising The Lord In Song!

Part II: The Lost World

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

In Romans 1:16 Paul writes, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew and then for the Gentiles.” In the eyes of God, all mankind is divided into two groups. First are the Jews, those who possess the law and the true knowledge of God. The second group is the Gentiles, those who do not have the law. In Romans 1:18-32 Paul preaches emphatically that all Gentiles are lost, because of “all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Since God has revealed His eternal power and divine nature in creation, Paul states, “Men are without excuse,” to not follow God’s precepts. In the second half of chapter one, Paul specifically details many of the sinful acts of man. The Holy Spirit is very clear, the Gentiles are lost.

n Romans 2 and 3, Paul decrees that all Jews are lost! Many of these Jews “brag about the law,” but “dishonor God by breaking the law.” He goes on to ask the rhetorical question, “What advantage is there in being Jewish?” He answers by saying, “They have been entrusted with the very words of God.” Then he writes that through the law, they became “conscious of sin.” Therefore, since no mortal man can keep the law without at least one transgression, no Jew will be declared righteous by perfectly keeping the law. Romans 3:19 declares, “the whole world is held accountable” by God. Chapters 1-3 are summarized in Romans 3:23, “All [both Jews and Gentiles] sin and fall short of the glory of God!” All are lost and our only hope is “faith in Christ’s blood.” (Romans 3:25) Many through the centuries have asked the question, “What about the man in Africa, that does not have the Word of God? How could a “just” God condemn him?” Romans 2:12-16 specifically addresses this most crucial issue, because if people are not lost without the Bible, there would be no motivation for world evangelism.

In essence, Romans 2:12-16 teaches that those who have the law (which we parallel to the Bible) will be judged by the law – the Bible. No one is perfectly obedient to the Word; all fall short – they sin. Therefore, all who have the Bible are lost. Then Paul says that those without the law (which can be paralleled to those without the Bible) will be judged apart from the law, apart from the Bible. Now that’s fair! “The requirements of law are written on their heart,” therefore God judges them by their conscience. Since no one perfectly lives up to their conscience, all who do not have the Bible, are lost.

Sunrise at Cocoa Beach, where the first annual campus retreat was held!

When we come to a deep conviction that we live in a lost world, we must come to an equally deep conviction about what the Bible teaches about salvation. The entire theme of the book of Romans is “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17) In Romans 4, Paul explains that being justified before God has always been by faith not works. He shows that the father of faith Abraham was saved, not because of circumcision or the law but by his faith: “Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.” To reinforce this concept, in verse nine another rhetorical question is asked, “Was Abraham justified by faith before or after circumcision?” The answer is before. Then Paul explains this concept so all who are uncircumcised (Gentiles) may call Abraham their father of faith as well as the Jews who do so by lineage. Therefore, the Jew is saved by faith and the Gentile has no need for circumcision. Both Jew and Gentile can only be justified by faith.

In Romans 5:1-10, Paul reminds the Christians in Rome they were “powerless,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and “enemies” before they became disciples. In chapter six, he reminds all that they died to their old lives in baptism and they were, like Christ, “raised to a new life.” Let us never cheapen the grace of God by under emphasizing our degenerated state without God. Our only hope of salvation is to respond in faith – believe intellectually in the resurrection of Christ, be cut about our sins crucifying Jesus, repent by turning away from sin and deciding to be a disciple and then being baptized for the forgiveness of sins to receive God’s promised Holy Spirit! (Acts 2:36-42) To be saved by faith means to respond to God’s grace through repentance and baptism.

Perhaps the most overwhelming teaching of God’s Word is that the world is lost. Only the gospel has the power of salvation. And as Paul preaches in Romans 10:14-15, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they believe without someone preaching to them?… How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Let us be uncompromising on this truth: the only plan God has provided for the world to be saved, which begins with our next door neighbor, is by our feet taking the gospel to them – world evangelism.

Kip and Elena McKean

Kip McKean

“But the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.” (John 14:31)

This past week in Orlando was nothing short of phenomenal! Sunday April 7, 2013 was our Special Contribution. Our goal was to give 15 times our weekly contribution which is over $33,000 while our faith goal was $43,000. Yet our God heard our prayers, saw our tears and hard work and blew even the faith goal out of the water with an incredible $80,880 being given! When I announced the total on Sunday the congregation was jubilant and several disciples (including me) burst into tears of joy! I have been informed by several disciples that they are giving even more in the next few days and so our total will continue climbing! This is such the need of the hour as our growth is forcing our Sunday meetings into the larger ballroom much sooner than we all thought and our rapid growth is calling for us to hire interns as soon as possible. In a church planting which only occurred 7 ½ months ago, this kind of goal smashing is just flat out amazing! This gift and sacrifice shows the heart and faith of our still very small congregation and the overwhelming power of our God!

Then to powerfully end our service God blessed the church with three amazing souls being added through the waters of baptism: Lobis Neal from the brand new AMS Network House Church, Latoya Holden from the newly formed Central South West House Church and Josh Digulla from the powerful Campus Ministry! What a day! So far in our first 34 weeks since the mission team officially arrived, God has blessed us with three (3) radical restorations, twenty-three (23) powerfully placed members (including the mission team) and forty-three (43) beautiful baptisms! This year our theme is “Even Greater Things” and our God is doing just that for us but truly for His glory! This article from Michael Kirchner, my dear friend, incredible shepherd for our movement and a man with impeccable integrity, is stellar in helping all of us understand the purpose and necessity of our twice annual Special Contribution. In Orlando, we will most likely go to a “one time a year” Special Contribution starting in June of 2014. We are still praying through the details and getting advice on what will be best for the movement but truly we all can look forward to November 2013 (this year) when we as a small and very new church excitingly will begin assisting the movement in supporting our missionaries, the Crown of Thorns Project churches and move toward planting Atlanta in the summer of 2014! Please read Michael’s article with care and an open heart to learn and grow!

Matt Sullivan

Michael Kirchner, Administrator For The SoldOut Movement, alongside his wife Sharon!

Special Guest Editorial By: Michael Kirchner – Administrator For The SoldOut Movement

The population of the world is 7.1 billion people and growing exponentially! The Population Reference Bureau estimates that a total of 107.6 billion have lived throughout the history of the world. That means 6.5% of all people that have ever lived are living today! According to Internet World Stats, 360,000 births occur each day (250 per minute) and 151,600 deaths occur each day (105 per minute)! The evangelization of the world may seem “impossible” to those lacking faith, as we attempt to reach the six populated continents, hundreds of islands, and billions of people speaking some 7,000 languages. In fact, Wikipedia lists 196 sovereign countries and another 46 territories by population, including the Pitcairn Islands with a population of 48! However, we know that “God determines the exact times and places each person should live… so that we would seek Him and perhaps reach out to Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)

The global population across the various regions of the world breaks down as follows:

Asia 59% Africa 15% Europe 11% Latin America 9% North America 5% Oceana 1% (Australia & Pacific Islands)

Within every one of these regions a very interesting phenomenon is occurring: people are leaving the rural areas and migrating more and more to the urban areas. According to National Geographic, in 1975 there were only three “mega-cities” with populations greater than 10 million – Mexico City, Tokyo and New York City. Today there are 21 such cities! If all 7 billion people stood side-by side they would take up an area equal to the greater Los Angeles area. We must remember that Jesus himself said, “And the gospel MUST first be preached to all nations.” (Mark 13:10) This is what our 2013 Missions Contribution is all about: taking the gospel of Jesus Christ “to all nations.” Jesus emphasizes that this “MUST” be done!

So often, disciples ask, “Why are we taking-up a Missions Contribution and how does the leadership determine the multiple versus our weekly contribution?” The answer is simple: We are resolved to preach the gospel to all nations in our generation. Each year we develop specific Prayer Goals for the City of Angels Church and all the other SoldOut Movement Churches with the foundation built on our Crown of Thorns Project developed in 2009 to reach 12 of the most influential cities in the world. Those cities in turn will evangelize the surrounding nations and cities, and so the world will be evangelized! (Acts 13:49; 19:8-10) To date, we have reached five of the 12 Crown of Thorns Cities – London, Mexico City, Paris, Santiago, Sao Paulo, and we will be half way to planting all 12 with the sending-out of the Sydney Mission Team later this year! Through the Spirit’s guidance and power, we now have churches on all six populated continents with an average Sunday attendance reaching 3,500! God’s new movement is seeing additions every six hours! This has been accomplished in only six years and we are just getting started!

Reality Ministries Celebrates with Josh Digulla, baptized into Christ!

America represents almost one third of the world’s monetary net worth. God has granted us religious freedom and incredible wealth in the United States. American wealth – combined with our generosity – is the source to raise the funds and fuel the growth of God’s churches, thus fulfilling the mission to evangelize the nations in our generation. Our dear brother Joe Willis – who Lord willing will plant Sydney, Australia later this year – has done a remarkable job in inspiring those of us in LA in the City of Angels Church to better understand what the Bible says about giving. Each week at the City of Angels Church Staff Meeting, Joe gives a five-minute charge regarding weekly contribution and missions. This, along with convicting teaching from our brother Kip, has allowed us to get in touch with the fact that the “American Dream” is really the “American Scheme!” (Luke 12:14-21) People are so focused on material possession and wealth that they totally miss out on the true purpose of “seeking and saving the lost.” (Luke 19:10) Our congregation’s leaders have worked very hard at helping disciples to live within their means, as well as to plan and budget properly. Our leaders have also taught from the Scriptures the benefits of giving their tithes and offerings to God. (Malachi 3:6-12)

The time is now for us to share with every disciple the specific SoldOut Movement Mission Goals for 2013. We are calling all USA congregations to take up a minimum 15X Missions Contribution in April and to budget for a 6X Missions Contribution in November. Los Angeles will collect a 20X Missions Contribution in June. This is what the movement needs in order to support the mission work to be completed over the next year.

As the Administrator for the SoldOut Movement, the Lord has put it on my heart to help everyone better understand the overall collection and distribution of all of God’s funds. Similar to Paul, “We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer [your] liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.” (2 Corinthians 8:9-10) Within our movement of churches there are four primary budgets: 1) The local weekly contribution on Sundays and the benevolence collection at Midweek Services support the daily operation of each local church. 2) The Central Administration payments of 15% of the Sunday collections support the Central Leadership, our Global Internet Ministry, legal counsel expenses, and church governance. 3) MERCYworldwide payments of 3% of each Sunday’s contribution support the “benevolent arm” of the SoldOut Movement. 4) Missions Contributions support existing international churches, missionaries, USA and international church plantings. In setting a Missions Goal of 15X or 20X our average weekly contribution, we are planning for that money to support these endeavors. Our 2013 Missions Contribution Goal is to collect nearly $1.1 million!

Internationally, these precious funds will be distributed to support our churches and fulltime ministry staff in Chennai, India led by Raja & Debs Rajan; Kiev, Ukraine led by Eugene & Yulia Sobolleff; Manila, Philippines led by John Malnegro; Mexico City, Mexico led by Victor & Aurora Gonzalez Jr.; Paris, France overseen by Tim & Lianne Kernan; Santiago, Chile led by Carlos & Lucy Mejia; Sao Paulo, Brazil led by Raul & Lynda Moreno; and the upcoming Sydney, Australia planting led by Joe & Kerry Willis.

Latoya Holden (center) is welcomed into the kingdom!

Excitingly, the 2013 Missions Contribution will also support the Las Vegas Church Planting being sent-out today from LA and led by Jason & Sarah Dimitry. Additional distribution of funds includes missionary training support for Argo & Anu Arneson – who oversee Stockholm, Sweden and the Scandinavian nations; Kyle & Joan Bartholomew – who Lord willing will plant the Manila, Philippines Church in 2014; Tyler & Shay Sears who we pray will plant Dallas, Texas in June 2014; and Oleg & Aliona Sirotkin, who if the Lord wills, will plant Moscow, Russia in late 2014 or early 2015! Additionally, the 2013 Missions Contribution will be applied for travel, relocation and training.

God continues to gather His remnant and this has provided us with the opportunity to welcome into our fellowship so many former fulltime ministry couples! Of note, Mike & Dena Sanicola will be assisting Jeremiah & Julie Clark in planting the Denver, Colorado Church in August 2013! Also encouraging, Renato & Maria Jose Tria recently joined us in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will work alongside Raul & Lynda in reaching the 194 million lost souls in Brazil! In addition, Gustavo & Claudia Escobedo will be establishing a remnant group in Guatemala City, Guatemala. God is gathering His leaders as well as His people as we lay the foundation on Jesus Christ. (Nehemiah 1:8-9; 1 Corinthians 3:11)

In sending out the 72, Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.” (Luke10: 2) The City of Angels Church has sent out 200 disciples in the past five years to either plant or strengthen seventeen different churches! God desires our USA congregations to join the City of Angels Church in sending-out workers into the harvest field. This is beginning to unfold, as this past year the Washington DC Church sent-out Carlos & Lucy Mejia along with 10 disciples to lead the Santiago Church! It is so exciting this year to see the DC Church welcome Steve & Kithy Ranga to further train in the ministry and walk with Ron & Tracy Harding. In August, Lord willing, the Washington DC Church will also send-out Jeremiah & Julie Clark along with 10 other disciples to plant a discipling congregation in Denver, Colorado! Ron and the DC Church are imitating the Los Angeles Church! (1 Thessalonians 2:14)

Could you only imagine if all the people of the world gathered in Los Angeles and stood side-by-side for the most amazing church service of all time? We could share the gospel with each and every one so much easier. Unfortunately that is not the way it works! In America, we plan for vacations, school, our careers, getting married, having a family, retirement and we even plan for death with funeral arrangements! So it should not surprise us that we need a financial plan for Missions Contributions that will allow us to send-out disciples to all the nations to preach the good news because, “All over this world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.” (Colossians 1: 6) Let’s continue to be in God’s grace and let the world know that like Jesus, “we do exactly what the Father commands,” which is to “go and make disciples of all nations!” And to God be the glory!

Michael Kirchner

Coltin is a great friend, a phenomenal disciple and a powerful evangelist for our Lord! He was converted from the efforts of the newly planted (in 2006) Phoenix International Christian Church in 2007. Chris and Sonja Chloupek began the remnant group in Phoenix and later Helen and I led the planting and still later I took on Mike Patterson as our campus minister for one of the largest Universities in the U.S., Arizona State University. Our faithful and extraordinarily evangelistic brother Donterrius (Jamal) Ellis of the fledgling campus ministry at that time met Coltin. He greatly impacted the ASU campus ministry, became Mike’s right hand man, a very good friend and it was clear that God intended something great for him. The kingdom has never been the same with the impact of this young man fighting on the Lord’s side! We are excited to announce that Coltin Rohn will be arriving in Orlando this next Thursday night to preach, teach and fellowship at our campus ministry’s first annual Campus Conference 2013 and then will be preaching to the entire church on Sunday April 14! Read and study this article as I believe brother Coltin has spelled out fantastically the reason, purpose and desperate need for Special Missions. Orlando Church- let’s give to God’s glory!
- Matt Sullivan

Special guest editorial by Coltin Rohn, evangelist of the incredible Boston International Christian Church

Yes, those two words can bring so many feelings to the surface of your heart. As baptized disciples we understand that we have to give up everything (Luke 14:33). But sometimes we can wonder where “Special Missions” came from? And why would disciples have to give a certain amount (4x’s or 15x’s) on a certain day? If you have ever wondered about the answer to those two questions, you’re not alone. Other disciples have as well. Special Missions wasn’t something that was created in the 21st century, but in fact was something that was used by the first century church.

1. The charge for all the churches!

1 Corinthians 16:1-5 “Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made… After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you.” ~54AD~ Paul writes to the disciples in Corinth and calls them to raise money. Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch (the churches in Galatia) had already been instructed to do so as well. Not only the disciples in Galatia were called to this “Special Missions”, but also Philippi, Berea and all the churches in Macedonia. And now Paul is calling for the churches in Achaia: Athens and Corinth, to do the same. In the 21st century we call every disciple in all the churches do be united in a “Special Missions”: Alakanuk, Boston, Boise, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Eugene, Hilo, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Syracuse, Washington DC, and all the churches in the United States, along with Tallinn, Stockholm, Sao Palo, Santiago, Paris, Novosibirsk, New Delhi, Nairobi, Mumbai, Moscow, Mexico City, Manila, Madrid, London, Kinshasa, Kiev, Hire, Guam, Ethiopia, Curacao, Columbo, Chennai, Brisbane, Abidjan and all the International Churches. The call is the same now, 1958 years later, every disciple in every church would be able to save money until the day that it is collected, calling it a “Special Missions”. Six months later, Paul writes the church again:

Coltin, and Mandee Rohn – Leaders of the Boston International Christian Church with their daughter Hailee!

“2 Corinthians 8:1-6 ” And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, … And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will”
Out of extreme poverty, far worse than that of the United States, God allowed the churches to raise more than their goal. That means they were assigned a special amount to raise, either a 4x’s or 15x’s. The amount was up to the leadership and the need for the movement (Hebrews 13:17).
But they did not rob God in the process; they still gave their weekly contribution. God doesn’t look favorably on disciples who try to rob Peter to pay Paul, in other words to rob God to pay special missions. We have to make sure that disciples continue to give themselves first to the Lord in their weekly contribution, and then to the movement for special missions (which is also to God).

2. Right understanding of Giving Special!

2 Corinthians 8:9 “9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
The disciples in Corinth needed to be persuaded to imitate Christ, who left his home in Heaven, left his Father to come to Earth, gave up his kingdom to become a servant, and gave up his life to die on a cross. Sometimes we get focused on the wrong things during Special Missions when what we should be focused on is what it took for us to be saved. What if Jesus had held back? What if he had thoughts like “if I don’t die, someone else will. After all, how important is my sacrifice?” We have to understand it was because Jesus was willing to sacrifice everything that we can share in having eternal salvation.
In the same way, whether we sacrifice everything, or fail to do so, determines if others can share in this eternal life. Your sacrifice means all the difference. When you hold back, it might mean the impossibility of someone being saved. Souls are on the line in proportion to your sacrifice.

Arizona State University – the largest University in the USA, followed very closely by our own University of Central Florida!!

2 Corinthians 9:9-13 “As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”… This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
God rewards with eternal life those who are willing to obey the calling. Not only does a special missions (contribution) supply the physical need of your brothers around the world, it results directly in people receiving salvation, and so results in praise to God. Your sacrifice saves souls. How much is a human soul worth?
The City of Angels Church was planted on a sacrifice of the Portland Church giving 15x March 2007. The church then became self-supporting because each member gave 10x November 2007 (remainder of the money used to send out other churches). They gave 15x April 2008, 2009 along with a 4x November 2009. They then continued to sacrifice 15x April 2010, 2011 and again a 4x November 2011. They gave another 15x in April 2012 and 4x November 2012. And they plan to continue to sacrifice with a 20x in June of this year! This will bring their total sacrifice to 132x their weekly contribution! What did their sacrifice produce? Well, in just 6 years the City of Angels Church has sent out over 200 disciples, 55 just this past summer to plant mission field churches or to strengthen the leadership of preexisting fellowships! Lord willing 33 more will be sent out this summer as well! And Los Angeles is now having Sunday Services with over 1000 in attendance! Disciples were sent to Boston, Chicago, Hilo, Honolulu, Kiev, London, New York City, Orlando, Paris, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Santiago and Washington DC! That means in just 6 years the Lord took 42 members of the original City of Angels Church and multiplied them to 2,500 disciples around the world with a Sunday attendance approaching 3,300! In just 6 years the Lord took that 1 church and made it into 41 churches in 20 different nations (“church plantings” and “remnant groups”) and is still counting to this day! What can a “special missions” do? Simply show God that we have the faith to evangelize the world! Simply show God that we have the faith to evangelize the world! Again you can ask the question, how much is a human soul worth? Better yet, how much was yours worth?

Eldrin Rojas, leader of the Curacao Remnant Group who recently visited with his wife Mariela two awesome children, Daniela and Joshua!

3. Special Missions isn’t optional, it’s an obligation!

Romans 15:26-29 “For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.”
Special Missions isn’t an option for disciples, in fact we are obligated to do it! Where did you hear the Gospel? From whom did you hear it? How is it that you have come to know Christ? I tell you it was from a baptized disciple. It was from a church that is composed of only sold-out disciples and has the dream to reach the ends of the Earth in one generation. The reason that church is there is because people were willing to sacrifice everything they had. As Paul tells the Church in Rome, the reason all the churches gave was that they understood that without the church in Jerusalem there would be no movement around the world. In the same way, we can understand that without the movement, most of us wouldn’t be saved. And because we owe our salvation first to God and then to our brothers and sisters and to the movement, a “Special Missions” of 15x is nothing compared to that. Let us now do more than our leaders ask this “Special Missions” and let us give at least 15x’s and see the movement grow daily in numbers. And to God be all the Glory and Honor, Amen.

Love,
Coltin Leondus Rohn

Chris Broom of the OC Region: Today we announced that after the 2013 Global Leadership Conference in August, we will be sending Joel & Courtney to lead the Syracuse International Christian Church! Like Ricky & Coleen Challinor, Joel will return to lead the church that he was baptized in as a teen! Over the years, the Syracuse disciples have sacrificed so much for God’s movement, and we affectionately call this congregation – “The Little Church That Could!” We are so thrilled to send this amazing church a couple like Joel & Courtney, in whom we are so confident that they’ll take the church to heights never before seen in Syracuse! While I will personally feel the loss of Joel’s partnership on a daily basis, I know this is what the Kingdom of God is all about – sending “our very best” “into all the world!”

Tyler & Shay Sears – Dallas Mission Team Leaders: “Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6) We would like to formally announce the initiation of the Dallas/Ft. Worth Remnant Group in July 2013! According to Wikipedia, with almost 7,000,000 in population, Dallas/Ft. Worth is the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States and home to twenty Fortune 500 Companies! There are 36 colleges and universities: most notable are University of Texas – Arlington, University of Texas – Dallas, and Southern Methodist University. As well, the city boasts one of the best economies in the USA, making it a vibrant place for employment!
The Dallas/Ft. Worth Remnant Group will be led by our dear brother and friend Tim Power of Boston! Several other disciples from the SoldOut Movement will be joining him including the Ramirez family of Washington DC! Other disciples from our former fellowship have already contacted us, as they so badly desire to “revive again” their heart for God, His movement and His mission of “making disciples of all nations!”
Our plan is for the Dallas/Ft. Worth Remnant Group to “set aside” their weekly collection to “off-set” all the costs of the official planting. Then, Lord willing with the necessary funds in hand, we (Tyler & Shay) will join them in either December 2013 or April 2014 with the rest of the mission team, thus formally planting the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Christian Church! If you have any interest in being part of this incredible team, or you are a remnant disciple with an interest in joining us, please contact us! (Tyler Sears – 626.991.8243 / tylerksears@gmail.com, Shay Sears – 626.253.0764 / shayvloet@gmail.com) In the meantime, please pray for this momentous effort and check out the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Christian Church website: www.dallasicc.net! And to God be all the glory!
Now more news around the globe…

NEWS FLASH! Raul Moreno of Sao Paulo: “At the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace!” (Romans 11:5) God’s plan has always been to gather His faithful remnant, so that God could bless the earth with the knowledge of Him! (Isaiah 11:9-12) In 1987, the Sao Paulo (International) Church of Christ (ICOC) was planted. By 2001, this vibrant congregation numbered 3,200 disciples with an attendance of 5,000, as well as having planted six other ICOC congregations around Brazil!
However, at the “Unity Meeting” in LA in November 2002, the ICOC returned to a more “Mainline Church of Christ theology” abandoning the Biblical teachings of Kip McKean upon which the ICOC (Boston) Movement had been built such as discipling, a central leadership and Jesus’ vision of the evangelization of the nations in this generation. In fact, the return to Mainline theology was so complete that the Sao Paulo International Church of Christ changed its name to the Sao Paulo Church of Christ! Also vividly underlining this damaging departure to Mainline theology, the Porto Alegre (Brazil) ICOC was totally disbanded when her leaders told the members to go to a Mainline Church of Christ.
In February 2003 just three months after the “Unity Meeting” where the ICOC Central Leadership was dissolved and called “unbiblical,” the Kreite Letter became the match that set-off an explosion of bitterness throughout the world in “what was left of the ICOC.” So, not only did the former Sao Paulo ICOC Church fall to 800 members, but they became autonomous and most who stayed grew “lukewarm.” Then a short time later, its 12 sectors separated and became autonomous from each other as well!
One of those sectors – the East Sector – became the Artur Alvin Church, which was led by Renato & Maria Jose Tria. Since Renato has always believed that there needed to be “a movement” to evangelize the world, it is not surprising that certain leaders in the Sao Paulo Church of Christ tried to fire the Trias, but “Renato’s” congregation stood by him! Then, a little over two years ago, Renato reached out to Kip on Facebook! From that time, Kip, Lynda & I have studied the Scriptures with the Trias about God’s remnant through the centuries.
So it was very exciting last week when Renato & Maria Jose courageously called their whole church of about 90 “on the roster” to join God’s new movement! Although this was their membership on paper, only about 40 were attending Midweek Services showing its true membership. Unfortunately, the Financial Board did not want to be called back to “total commitment,” and they opposed Renato by coming to the front and speaking out loud to the church after Renato made this announcement last Sunday! For the last eight days, they have conjured up terrible lies about Renato’s & Maria Jose’s characters, and have “poisoned” many in the church. (Acts 14:2)
That said, for us in the Sao Paulo International Christian Church, today was historic as Renato & Maria Jose Tria officially joined God’s Modern Day Movement by placing membership along with five other courageous souls! The Trias are “heroes in the faith” throughout Brazil, as they have been in the fulltime ministry for 15 years! God used them to plant the Recife (Brazil) ICOC Church; to lead the Belo Horizonte (Brazil) ICOC Church to over 500 disciples; as well as leading various sectors in the Sao Paulo ICOC Church!
Sunday was amazing! The group that came from Renato’s congregation was so happy! One of the mothers told me that she felt like how she did the very first time she came to church! Renato & Maria Jose were happy too! We gave them a huge basket of fruit saying that they will see much, much more fruit to come! Pray because at this time we are “counting the cost” with each disciple from Renato’s church, who wants to place membership in the next few weeks! Truly, God is gathering His remnant!

Anthony Eckels – FUNdraising events [Zumba Fitness Class]!

Maria Franklin from Chicago: “Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10) God is indeed increasing the storage of seed for us to be able to supply an incredible harvest for our 15X World Missions Contribution! This week, God enabled us to raise over $3,000 with only 37 disciples on the “tagging field!” Of special note, our dear sister Katie was working hard, when a “good Samaritan” approached her on foot and wrote out a check for $200 on the spot! Amazing!
Now more good news from the AMS Ministry… This Sunday, we had a visitor named Kiera, who participated in this year’s American Idol! Kiera not only loved the service, but studied the Bible right afterward! At our Thursday Open Mic Night, we had amazing performances, and to God’s glory, there were more visitors than disciples! Lastly, Theo, who co-leads the AMS Ministry, was met on the street by an influential director of many productions, who has worked with Tyler Perry and Tom Hanks. While talking with Theo, Walt offered him a role in one of his upcoming productions! Pray for God to open up many more doors for Chicago’s AMS Ministry!!!

Michael Williamson of London: Our new campaign entitled, Changing Lives 2013 has begun to move hearts here in LONDON. Before he was a disciple, Jamal Raoul, at one point had no faith in God, sold and used heavy drugs, alongside living in a pretty run down squat – typically a building or home taken over by the homeless. Thanks to the efforts of the Campus Ministry, he became a sold-out disciple and is currently an Intern!
We approached local businesses asking for support and donations to help the London Church hire more young people needing mentoring support and direction not to mention severe cases like Jamal. One business has donated clothing that we are selling, other businesses have requested we stop by and collect donations, and this Saturday we raised about $500 on the street in just a few hours of shaking buckets! Of course our most hardworking bucket shaker Saturday was Jamal highlighting his gratefulness at being “forgiven much!” (Luke 7:47)

The women gear up for this year’s Women’s Day event entitled “Priceless”!

However, God taught us all a lesson at the end of our campaign. A homeless man approached us asking for money… I reluctantly gave him the change in my pocket as did all the other disciples, which to be honest had me feeling a little unsettled. He then approached everyone in the Burger King requesting money. After collecting from everyone, he proceeded to walk out… but he put ALL that he collected in one of the brothers buckets! Pray for us as we are counting the cost with two UCL students – one studying Law and another studying Medicine!

Andrew Smellie of New York City: After an excellent service featuring George & Angelica Grima of Paris who shared for contribution, we had our first-ever AMS (Arts, Music & Spoken Word) Showcase to raise money for missions! The best performers of our monthly “Open-Mic” sessions performed to a packed house, featuring singers, dancers, poets, instrumentalists… disciples and invited non-disciples! In a word, it was fantastic!
The closing song was sung powerfully by our sister Erica Felder, who sang a “remake” of the recent Academy Award-winning James Bond theme song, Skyfall, (co-authored by Jonathan Pedican) calling people to “not fall” as “we save the world together!” This event was so powerful that people came off the street to hear what was going on! As God would have it, two girls from Paris, France came in, were introduced to the Grimas, and discovered that one of them lives nearby to where the Grimas live in Paris! They are now excited to come out and visit our sister church there! Truly, New York City has got talent!!! And to God be all the glory!

Dearest Brothers and Sisters, Jeremiah 23:3-4 is being fulfilled again in our day! “The Lord declares, ‘I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I’ve driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them and they will no longer be afraid or terrified nor will any be missing!’”
So exciting this month are the many “veteran” remnant disciples that God has gathered from the nations into His new movement: Mike & Dena Sanicola placing membership in DC and becoming a fulltime couple on the Denver Mission Team; Chris Bryant, one of the most dynamic preachers in our former fellowship being restored; and Renato & Marie Jose Tria and the incredible Brazilian remnant disciples joining us in Sao Paulo! Let us pray that “they will be fruitful and increase in number” as they in turn help our Father bring all the remnant from “all the countries” into His new movement so that none “will be missing!” And to Him be all the glory, honor and praise! Amen!

Much love,

Kip McKean

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. ⁸ But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” – Hebrews 5:7-6:8

What is the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase “mature Christian”? Does a mature Christian know the Hebrew and Greek languages? Is the mature Christian the “older,” married brother or sister in the church that has been around the longest? Maybe it is the one speaking, teaching, or preaching up front since they are entrusted with telling us how to live. We judge maturity by different standards when it comes to looking at our brothers and sisters. When our former fellowship of churches crashed one of the plights from the people was that many sermons lacked a “depth” in the Bible. Indirectly saying that was one of the reasons or causes of the crash. Many of those churches started emphasizing psychology, family building, and even books written by evangelical “Christians” outside our fellowship (ie. Rick Warren’s “Purpose Driven Life”). These in and of themselves are not bad but is that what the Bible calls maturity? The writer of Hebrews told the church about a deep biblical concept on “Melchizedek” and immediately after he says it is hard to explain these things to them because they are slow to learn! Was it that they needed to get deep in their Bibles that made it slow for them to learn? The writer says they hadn’t become teachers of the first principles and fruitful at that thus lacking maturity. Biblically maturity is producing the fruit of disciples through teaching the first principles and thus God opens our hearts to understand deeper doctrines of the Bible.

Anthony and Elizabeth Eckels, leaders of the Arts, Media, Sports Network and creative minds behind incredible FUNdraising events such as the Zumba Fitness Class and the Walk-a-thon!

Maturity by definition means to be “fully developed”. In one sense then we are constantly maturing physically as we grow. If a person stops growing physically something is wrong and death will ensue. If we are not maturing as disciples, then we are immature and in fact dying spiritually. A child can’t stay on “mother’s milk” forever or he will be malnourished and not grow. The biggest indicator of a spiritually immature Christian from the passage above is they are slow to learn. The writer wanted to discuss deeper spiritual truths that would enrich their faith but their lack of spiritual maturity made it impossible for them to learn or grasp them. They eventually fall away and may never return to God as the Spirit warns us above.

Before we get into what defines being a mature Christian biblically it is important to look at what biblical maturity is not. The Pharisees had knowledge of the Law better than anyone at the time. They could recite passages, prayers, tithed, and came to every synagogue meeting! Growing up in Judaism they would have a pretty impressive “spiritual resume” if you will. Jesus did not consider them mature in their faith though. In fact he said to them, “wisdom is proved right by her deeds”(Matthew 11:19). It didn’t matter how long they had been around, how much they did, or how much they knew; Jesus consider these guys immature and far from God! If maturity is proved by our actions what does a true mature Christian look like? When we carefully read the passage above five qualities of a mature Christian come to light:

1. Endure Suffering
Jesus had to be made perfect. Yes that is right, our Lord and Savior who never sinned had to learn obedience from what he suffered and be made perfect. How is this possible if Jesus never sinned? Like you and I, Jesus took on humankind and was maturing as he grew up physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jesus was “despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” (Isaiah 53:3). Coal placed under great pressure forms a diamond. Through the challenges, trials, sufferings, and ultimately death Jesus underwent our Lord was being made into a diamond who would bring salvation to all men. God uses suffering to bring you to maturity and make you fruitful. Do you go to God with loud cries and petitions like Jesus did in order to mature or do you give way to sin and become immature? “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4). Whatever you are going through right now God in his mercy is giving you a chance to mature in Christ.

The campus sisters celebrate early in the morning with Stephanie Pierre as she decides to make Jesus her Lord!

2. Knowing Right from Wrong
In Hebrews 5:14 a mature disciple can distinguish good from evil. Jesus was very black and white. He said you will build your life on the rock or the sand; there is light and darkness, Heaven and Hell. Sadly, our culture loves to talk, think, and act in areas of gray. There is no longer right or wrong, it is whatever you think or feel or somewhere in the gray area. Even in the church we can like going into gray areas of faith even in the name of “maturity”. For example, someone may think they can handle as a single being with the opposite sex alone since they are “mature” and there isn’t a verse that says “thou shalt not be in a apartment alone with the opposite sex.” This person is far from mature! Even young Christians compromise sometimes putting themselves in dangerous spiritual circumstances because they can’t distinguish good from evil. Just as a child may run into the street not looking for cars because they don’t have the ability to determine what is safe and what is not so it is with many young Christians in our fellowship. Maturity considers our choices and distinguishes right from wrong.

3. Become Teachers of the First Principles
The mature Christian has the “elementary truths” or as the KJV says “first principles” of Christianity in their heart and is able to teach them to others. They don’t have to go back again and lay a foundation on the fundamentals of the faith but are actively teaching them to non-Christians and fellow disciples. Every disciple is to become a teacher. We are blessed to be in a movement of churches that has a study series based off these elementary truths in the Bible that we use world-wide to make disciples. Do you know the first principles? If not, you are not mature. That is ok, because as a church we have our First Principles Class beginning April 10^th! Everyone has to start somewhere, so do not be discouraged if you are immature spiritually. This is a great opportunity to become quick to learn the first principles of Christianity!

4. Produce a Crop of Disciples
Hebrews 6:7-8 now makes sense in light of knowing the first principles. As we teach them to others we are planting and watering the gospel into non-Christians (1 Corinthians 3:6). The mature disciple is a teacher who baptizes disciples (aka produces a crop of disciples). If you aren’t mature you produce thorns and thistles (anxiety, worries of life, sin, etc.) and eventually this disciple falls away and in the end is burned in eternity. Many of us do not take seriously that to be mature means to bear the fruit of disciples (John 15). God in his infinite wisdom has given us the blessing of the first principles and being teachers to help keep us faithful! When I do a bible study with someone my faith is built seeing their life change and it helps keep me faithful. Only a disciple who is making disciples is a mature Christian, anything else is immature and in danger of being burned.

The campus ministry watched with great joy as they saw Clayton Stallworth stir the waters of baptism!

5. Understands Deeper Truths of the Scriptures
Remember the writer of Hebrews started off saying he had much more to say to them about Melchizedek but they were immature so they wouldn’t even understand it. When a disciple has endured suffering, become a teacher, and is bearing fruit the Bible comes alive in a way it never has before. Psalm 119:18 becomes a reality; “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Knowledge is part of maturity only when the prior steps are part of your life. If you just go after knowledge without being fruitful you get puffed up and pride causes you to become immature like the Pharisees (1 Corinthians 8:1). Remember, wisdom is proved right by her deeds. How deep are you into the Bible? Do you love the Old and New Testament? When a preacher is preaching do you understand what they are teaching? Excitingly, for those of us who already know the first principles, we are beginning a Second Principles Class to discover even deeper truths in God’s word that mature our faith. A deep love for God’s word and even the hidden nuggets of the Bible come into the heart of the mature Christian.

As a young disciple I dreamed of becoming a leader in God’s church and wanted to know the Bible so well. I even decided to go to Bible College and received my bachelors in Biblical Studies. Sadly, although not intentionally my knowledge puffed me up and I thought of myself as very “mature”. I knew theology but I had ceased to know Jesus. Hidden sin dominated my life so I did not choose to distinguish between good and evil falling away from God in my heart. Even though like the Pharisees I was at church, I was preaching, and I knew the Bible very well but biblical maturity was absent. I even knew intellectually what maturity was biblically but it wasn’t seen in my life. God brought men into my life who helped me to repent and I now see that true maturity is loving the lost by teaching them the first principles, and being fruitful, thus the knowledge of the scriptures rises in the heart (1 Peter 1:19-21) as we see Christ all throughout God’s word. Today, I am seeing so many wonderful nuggets in God’s word more than I ever had in all my years of Bible college combined. My prayer is that this article helps you determine where you are at and then where God needs you to go. Glory be to God!

Campus Minister,
Mike Patterson

Matthew 28:16-20 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Some may think this scripture is over used. Yet these are some of the last words of our LORD and must be heeded with a faithfulness that shows our respect and honor for his authority in our lives! Jesus spent around three years with his ragtag crew and formed in them a desire for God’s will over their own will; an obedient heart to love the truth of God’s word and an understanding of the incredible love God has for all mankind. These men willingly gave themselves to the cause and so the movement of Jesus the Messiah began to unfold. Jesus carefully plotted his course and never lived without his mission on his mind- Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke 19:10.

In his book The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman states; “No one was excluded from his precious purpose. His love was universal. Make no mistake about it. He was “the Savior of the world” (John 4:42). God wanted all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth… Contrary to our superficial thinking, there never was a distinction in his mind between home and foreign missions. To Jesus it was all world evangelism. His life was ordered by his objective. Everything he did and said was a part of the whole pattern… This was his motivating vision governing his behavior. His steps were ordered by it. Mark it well. Not for one moment did Jesus lose sight of his goal. That is why it is so important to observe the way Jesus maneuvered to achieve his objective. The Master disclosed God’s strategy for world conquest. He had confidence in the future precisely because he lived according to that plan in the present. There was nothing haphazard about his life- no wasted energy, not an idle word. He was on business for God (Luke 2:49). He lived, he died, and he rose again according to schedule. Like a general plotting his course of battle, the Son of God calculated to win. He could not afford to take a chance. Weighing every alternative and variable factor in human experience, he conceived a plan that would not fail.” That plan is you; a true sold-out disciple, willing to go into the whole world- even to the ends of the earth to see to the end the plan of the Master.

Welcoming Lucy Vasquez to Orlando! From left: Elizabeth Eckels, Lucy Vasquez, Helen and Matt Sullivan

Jesus could have spent all of his time healing the sick, finding housing for the homeless and feeding the hungry and yet the majority of his efforts were wrapped up in teaching his men and transferring his heart to 12 unschooled and ordinary men! He could have invented the internet and TV and used mass communication to get to the whole world. He did not. He chose men as his method of winning the world! Men like you and me! If you doubt Jesus’ plan, I challenge you to consider that Jesus, the man, God in the flesh could have come up with any number of other ways to win the world. He chose making disciples…one at a time and then sticking with them “teaching them to obey”. This challenges you and me to have a conviction that one by one we will make disciples of all nations. We will then baptize these disciples. We will and must then disciple these disciples to maturity in Christ so that they too can go and make disciples. Christ is to be formed in the heart of these men and so first must be formed in those doing the “discipling”.

In order for the perfect plan of Jesus to work- men must obey Jesus. So scary is the thought that the very plan of God’s son can fail if men do not imitate, hold on to and follow the heart of Jesus…the heart to obey. John 15:9-11 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. Obedience is the very heart of a disciple of Jesus. He obeyed his Father and we are to obey him. In 1 John 5:2-5 The Bible says; This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. How are you doing with the Lord?

Personally I spend the majority of my time discipling, teaching and training the eight men God has put in my life. Although I am completely broken and wrestle daily with my sinful nature, I am called to obey Jesus. My role is to “teach them to obey” and so their role too will be the same with their men. The greatest command is; “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’   This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40. If we would but start here, our men will be amazing! Our churches will be amazing and the job will get done in our generation! The issue is- will you obey and will they obey? The plan is not flawed- it is perfect. Only through the power of God will we get the job done…we are so weak and imperfect and yet once again, Jesus chose men as his method of winning the world. Are you discipling (the gerund of “disciple” which implies action toward being and living as a disciple while then transferring this heart to others)? Are you getting discipled? If not, why not? God has called each and every disciple to the same standard. You can and must obey in order to be a disciple of Jesus. If you are discipling others, are you discipling them to Christ or to a method? Are you teaching actions without getting to their heart? Jesus’ heart was all in, 100% in love with his Father. Are you and your disciples like that, like Jesus?

The AMS Network held their first Open Mic Night this past Friday! The talent was amazing! From left – Allen Copper rapping, Will Davenport singing & playing ukulele and Carmen Lewandowski singing in Spanish!

Recently I was on the phone with several men who informed me with sad and discouraged voices that their churches no longer practice discipling as seen in the Bible. There is a kind of “voluntary” discipleship among a few of the leaders (only when they really want it) and yet no expectation for the congregation to obey. There is disorder, distraction and disarray that are destroying their congregation. The only type of “discipling” which happens is to the person calling for repentance in the congregation. He is told (discipled) to stop offending other members and judging them. Personal righteousness and accountability are off the table as “everyone does as he sees fit”. Leaders are literally afraid of the members and so seek to appease them. Church discipline has gone by the wayside…unless you are being “forced” to stop discipling others.  No longer taught is the heart to imitate, to follow another man as he follows Christ nor is there the clarion call from the pulpit for “teaching them to obey”. Gone is the vision to go to all nations…so a sad result is now there are churches stagnant and unmoving. We must not only deeply value discipleship, we must have deep convictions to “hold to the teaching of Jesus” no matter what men may say!

A day is coming when men once again (just like 2003 for many of us) will not put up with sound doctrine but will seek to dismantle what Jesus taught as so fundamental to his movement- discipleship which teaches men to obey. Will you stand firm or fade away under the pressure of “itching ears” and false teachers seeking to scratch that itch? Without your own personal conviction to embrace discipleship, teach others to obey and be taught to obey- your faith and your church are on the line. God has added 41 to our number in just 7 months! That is 110% growth! Amazing as that is we are at risk because so many of our members are brand new disciples and may not yet have the conviction that discipleship is Jesus’ only plan to win the world. Some of our older “remnant” or “veteran” disciples may be tired and feel worn out because discipling another to Christ is like raising a child. If you are not dependent on God, His word and the power of the Holy Spirit every day you will give up your convictions and look for an “easier” path…though there is none. Luke 18:6-8 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

How do we transfer this heart to obey and to teach them to obey? Understand first that it is a heart transfer and not an information transfer. Many men seek to learn the ministry through seminary or a series of books they have read. Jesus simply was “with” his men. Mark 3:13-14 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve-designating them apostles-that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach… A heart transfer happens when we are with our disciples in many types of situations. These are not times to nitpick but to model Christ-like behavior. These men studied the life, doctrine and the person of Jesus Christ and so became like him. So inspiring are the words of Paul after 25 years in Christ he still proclaims, Philippians 3:7-21 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him…I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead… But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ…

A throwback Matt Sullivan preaching the Word after zealously tagging for the Lord!

Jesus spent incredible amounts of time with his disciples and Paul was the same. The very heart of Jesus is seen in the impact Paul had on his disciples. 1 Corinthians 4:14-17, 1 Corinthians 11:1, Philippians 2:19-23, 2 Timothy 2:1-2 and Colossians 4:7-14 all show us the power of day to day discipling in the lives of the men who Paul trained. These few men changed the world! They trusted the one and only plan Jesus had…men, discipled to become just like him.

He stoops down to make us great,

Matt Sullivan

Special Guest Editorial: by Kip McKean

Proverbs 15:30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.
Proverbs 25:25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.

Each week Kip McKean compiles all the good news reports from church leaders and evangelist around the world. With a passion to encourage the movement and those who are watching us- he sends this “report” out each Monday afternoon. If you have not yet signed up for the Good News Email- go to www.caicc.net, look for the link and sign up! Enjoy just SOME of the report listed here!
Greetings from Los Angeles! Since the Lord has raised-up so many dynamic, gifted and mature Women’s Ministry Leaders in the City of Angels Church, Elena and the sisters decided to have four separate Women’s Days in 2013! All four of these momentous events shared the same heartfelt theme of Priceless from Psalm 36:7, “How priceless is your unfailing love!”

On Saturday, February 23rd, the OC and IE Regions – led by Theresa Broom – saw God move, as the combined 80 women disciples witnessed 240 in attendance! Then this past weekend, on Saturday, March 2nd, Sonja Chloupek led the AMS, North and Ventura Regions to a great victory, as their 68 disciples had exactly 200 in attendance! Then, the next day on Sunday, March 3rd at the Downtown LA Sheraton Hotel, the Central, East, South, South Central and West sisters were inspired by Kacie Comisford, as the 172 sisters gathered had 420 in attendance with four baptisms! So with the Spanish-speaking Women’s Day yet to come on Saturday, March 16th, already 322 sisters have glorified God with a collective attendance of 860! Elena spoke at the Downtown LA Sheraton on the incredible theme – Priceless! In my opinion, this lesson was one of Elena’s very best! It can be heard in its entirety at CAICC.net! Also, this week, the Lord added a total of eight to our number – seven baptisms and one restoration! And to God be the glory!

David Jefferson – South Region Intern: Today we celebrated as Kierra was added to our number at our Annual Women’s Day! Kierra is a very soft-hearted, young woman who from her first study was determined “to seek God with all her heart.” Also, it was great the week before to see our dear sister Miriah come back and get restored to the Lord and His church. I’m so grateful to be in the South Region, as they are such an amazing group of disciples, who are working tirelessly to not only raise money for Special Missions, but at the same time forcefully advance the gospel – even during this time of great transition! This will enable Jason & Sarah to focus completely on the Las Vegas Mission Team, which will be sent-out from LA on April 14th! Please keep the Las Vegas Team in your prayers, as the weekend of March 14-17 will be our “spying out the land” weekend, appropriately titled, Oasis Not Mirage! Much love to all!

The Las Vegas Church logo was creatively designed reminding all of the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas Sign!”

Alvin Panlilio and Gina Dela Peña of Manila: God is so awesome, as Melvin De Leon & Rose Sobrino were baptized in the Lord and added to His awesome advancing movement here on Earth! Melvin was our very first visitor when we began our Bible Talk, and he is one of Jason’s employees. Rose is one of Kim’s friends! Rose was very active in her Baptist Church, and in fact, she was leading the youth ministry in her former church! She was in tears when she shared how grateful she is to have finally found the true church! Her stated dream is to be a part of a mission team someday!
We are in awe of how GOD has been bringing people to HIS KINGDOM! Right now with 12 sold-out members of the Metro Manila International Christian Church, we have 34 people studying the Bible and four of these want to get restored as soon as possible! Truly, “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few!” (Matthew 9:37)

Raul Moreno of Sao Paulo:“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12) The good news this week is our “Kingdom Kid teenager” Lucas Cruz. Lucas was baptized about a year ago and this week God used him to baptize his high school friend Flavia! Also, his mother, who fell away, has been coming out for weeks after seeing him change so much, and now she has made the decision to be restored to Christ! Teens can do so much in God’s Kingdom!

Lola Lof of Kinshasa: Warm greetings from your dear brothers and sisters in the Democratic Republic of Congo! Our Sunday worship was exceptionally phenomenal even though “it rained dogs and cats” all the day long! The transportation was “inferno,” and brothers and sisters had to walk in deep mud to come to church! Despite the obstacles, the Congolese disciples of Jesus overcame it as 230 attended the service! We opened the service with the inspirational song of the Kingdom, I AM THE LORD’S SOLDIER – in French version: JE SUIS UN SOLDAT DU SOLDAT DU SEIGNEUR! The rest of the songs were even more enthusiastically sung! And at the end of service, the waters of baptism were stirred as two more were added by God to our group: Prospère and Guelor! To God be all the glory!

Mike Patterson’s secret weapon for getting people to Bible Talk!

Matt Sullivan of Orlando: “Paul took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:9-10) The Lord continues to blow it out in our amazing Campus Ministry led by Mike & Chenelle Patterson! Almost daily, we have Bible Talks on campus at UCF, and just a few weeks ago, we began a new Bible Talk at the Valencia East Campus led by Johnny Cortez! Excitingly, this past week, they had 15 in attendance! On Thursday, we were fired-up to see Clayton – another UCF student – baptized into Christ! God has given us our own “halls of Tyrannus,” right here in Florida on two incredible campuses. God is awesome!

 Maria Franklin of Chicago: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1) This week has been inspiring as the Campus has led the charge! To start off, on Thursday, Umberto from the mighty West Campus Ministry at Morton College was baptized! He persevered through intense persecution from his family, who even set up an intervention to stop him from making the decision to follow God! He shared today at service about his incredible gratitude for God and his new spiritual family!

Michael Williamson: “And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message…” (Colossians 4:3) Greetings from London, England! The Apostle Paul prized his Roman citizenship as it proved to be valuable to him several times in his missionary adventures! In a similar way, I too rejoice, because after several long months of prayers, God has moved the British Government to approve my application for “Indefinite Leave to Remain,” which is equivalent to “Permanent Residency” in England!
Also, this Friday night’s Open Mic Night was spectacular attracting many talented young artists from all over London. One gentleman whose music is on iTunes, wrote a song entitled “OMV” – “Open Mic Veteran” dedicated to this Kingdom inspired event!
We closed out Sunday with the baptism of CJ, an incredibly humble University of East London Campus student! Before he was baptized, he powerfully shared that he would not have become a disciple if it wasn’t for the church’s love! Additionally, we’ve secured a Five Star Hotel for the 2013 European Missions Conference! The Marriott is offering us discounted rates of £125 ($188) including breakfast and tax, or £115 ($173) room and tax alone! Save the dates: Thursday evening, November 7 for the Speaker’s Dinner; Friday morning, November 8 for the Church Builder’s Workshop; and November 8-10, 2013 for the actual European Missions Conference!

Coltin Rohn: Greetings from Boston known as “the spirit of America!” “There will be a highway for the remnant of His people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.” (Isaiah 11:16) I believe that our God is building that “highway” in Boston! Today was an electric service as we are now “packing into” the room we meet for church and will have to soon find a new venue! To God be the glory!
One of the reasons the room was so “packed” today was because of all our faithful brothers and sisters visiting us from our former fellowship! In fact, we counted six out of the fifty two people that gathered to worship our Heavenly Father were faithful remnant (veteran) disciples! One of the remnant visitors said to me, “I loved service! I felt like a kid again listening to the Word of God!” Another shared, “Service was great! I want to study this week to become a member!” And still another said, “I may be 65, but I want to do something for God!” All were encouraged by the “angelic singing” and of course the “spirited” fellowship. Pray as many are on their way to the waters of baptism, as we strive to put the “Spirit” back into the great city of Boston! To God be all our praise and glory!

Carlos Mejia: Greetings from the saints in Santiago! Today was an awesome day as a young man by the name of Marcos was baptized into Christ! Marcos was met just three weeks ago and has studied the Bible vigorously since that time! It was so encouraging to see his convictions, as he left a promising job, and also the false teachings of his religious past, to seek the Kingdom and the righteousness of God first!
We were also privileged this week to share sweet fellowship with our brother and sister George & Maru Schweizer, disciples from the Mighty Ventura Region of the LA Church! Having already been married in the United States, the Schweizers held a ceremony here in Chile for both families, with Maru’s side traveling from our neighboring country of Argentina! I was so honored to be asked to perform the wedding!
The ceremony, which took place in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, was very inspiring! As George & Maru exchanged vows, a fiery orange-reddish sun was setting over all of the seven million lost souls of Santiago! We were reminded of what the Scriptures declare as “[God's] name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets!” (Malachi 1:11) God’s name is truly being glorified here in Chile! We are also so excited about the Fall Semester which kicks-off this week! Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to “forcefully advance” the Kingdom of Light in Latin America!!!

Ron Harding: Greetings from the Mighty DC Church! “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33-34) Imitating our first century brothers and sisters, we continue to see the forceful advancement of God’s Kingdom here in the Capital City of the United States! On Sunday, Jeremiah Clark delivered a “conference level lesson” entitled, Titanic. He charged everyone to pursue the incredible victories that come from simply allowing the Scriptures to be our standard, as he explained the “Titanic” perils of living life by worldly and religious theories (Sinner’s prayer, Being a good person, etc.) Most were moved to make life-changing decisions.
In the answer to so many prayers for the DC Church to have “100 for the Lord,” two were baptized earlier this week and Craig placed membership on Sunday, thus allowing us to power past our prayer goal as we reached 102 disciples! So inspiring was the baptism of Jose on Wednesday after midweek service. He was met by our incredible Singles Intern Jason Reali. Shortly after his own baptism, Jason began reaching out to Jose in 2009 and has stayed faithful to their friendship and committed to be there when Jose’s heart became open. A few weeks ago, Jose’s heart was softened… And on Wednesday night – after over three years since he was met – Jose proclaimed “Jesus is Lord” and was baptized!

Dearest Brothers and Sisters, Let us continue to “focus our eyes on Jesus” as for most SoldOut Movement Congregations, April is our 15X Missions Contribution! Though LA’s 20X Missions Contribution is in June, this month is LA’s “Pledge Drive” to increase our weekly pledge from $28,300/week to $32,000/week. Therefore, let us all collectively pray to “bring to completion” this sacrifice for missions that will allow our international efforts in London, Paris, Chennai, Manila, Mexico City, Santiago and Sao Paulo to be financially sustained, as well as for Las Vegas (April), Denver (August), Dallas (December) and Sydney (December) to be planted! (2 Corinthians 8:1-9) “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Much love,
Kip

Jude vs. 20-23 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear- hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

I am one of those who have been snatched from the fire of a life without God; still smoldering, ashes on my back and singed hair on my head. Only by the incredible grace of God and the love of men that God put in my life did I become a disciple. Without men risking their lives for me and without Jesus on the cross- I would have certainly been lost to the flames. Prayerfully this article will challenge you with four points on being snatched from the fire.

SNATCHED FROM:

 1. FUTILITY Genesis 19:1-14

This world is a mess. Are you caught up in it? Like Lot are you becoming more and more worldly or are you radically changing it? Why did Lot even go to this city after he parted ways with Abraham?  Genesis 13:11-13 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD. He knew it was a grossly ungodly city and yet went there with no mission but to be part of the landscape. If you are a disciple of Jesus, why are you in your city? Is it like Sodom- grossly ungodly?

Have you succumbed to the pressures of futility and yet still call yourself a Christian? If so- you need to be snatched from futility! A life free of futility is the call of discipleship from Jesus, a life of purpose and hope. James 4:4-10 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. This verseis ace hardline on being a friend of the world. If that is who you are- you are an enemy of God! There is never enough sin for us to indulge in, we always want more and so have to enter our cities with purpose.

As a young Christian, I was faced with a tough challenge. My boss called me into his office and told me I had to stop talking to customers and the other workers about God and my church. I knew this could mean my job, so I thought and silently prayed. I lifted my head and said, “No- I can’t do that. I tell you what, if you get all the guys to stop talking about how many women they slept with and how drunk they got last night then I will stop talking about God and my church.” He simply said, “Never mind.” I kept on talking and helped five of my friends become disciples that year- God blessed amazingly as I took a stand and was very distinct from the rest of my co-workers.

Emptiness is the way of the world, yet so often Christians get caught up in becoming more likeable and more bearable to those around them. Jesus was hated because of his radical stance on sin and the need for the world to be saved. Are these your convictions? Have your lost your heart for following Jesus? You need to be snatched from futility!

To Honor our Lord and Savior, the Motto for the ICCM is “Venia et Veritas” – Grace and Truth (John 1: 14)

2. INDECISION Genesis 19:15-26

 With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it–it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.) By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah–from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities–and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

 In this part of the story, the Lord hurried and Lot hesitated! Although the angels grasped their hands, Lot was indecisive about obeying the Lord’s command and instead pleaded for a smaller city (not God’s plan) due to fear. This indecisive action at first seems almost a good idea because the angels were willing to grant the request. But soon after, we see the affects as Lot’s wife looks back. His faithlessness and fear led to indecisive actions, even disobedience to God’s plan and ultimately the loss of his wife. With faithful decisions, we can lead people out of disastrous times. Let it be clearly stated: DECISIONS DEFINE YOU. Who you are and will be is determined by what you decide. Even today you may be wrestling with a decision like- do I keep talking to that person at work who is not a disciple…I am attracted to them but they have no interest in God or His church? Maybe you are wrestling with the decision to become a leader in God’s church but you are scared and worried about really being able to lead. Possibly you are praying about the full-time ministry. Wrestle with God and live by faith so you are not pulled into “not” making a decision. Get snatched from indecision.

3. REVOLUTION Genesis 19:27-28

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.

Imagine the sadness Abraham felt as he looked down on the destroyed cities that he had pleaded with God to not destroy. All those who died lost their opportunity to walk with God and lost all chance to be part of God’s revolution to save the world. Many of us have been snatched from the revolution! There will be revolution with restoration in our church and our churches if we are following Jesus. Without restoration of biblical convictions, a firm call from the pulpit to obey and an understanding that we are at war for our souls and the souls of men- we simply become another religious group without impact.

The talking and meetings the last ten years in our former fellowship have produced nothing but thousands of disciples who have pulled out of the war- out of the revolution. The destruction in our former fellowship has hurt so many and often the reaction is to quit. All of us who survived have lost dearly- our friends and family who walked away, decades old friendships and seeing the miracles of God no more. But will you quit and keep discussing without change?

On March 23, 1775, one of our founding fathers, Patrick Henry addressed the House on the ensuing war. The men had been discussing revolution for years and had even denied that Britain was a threat. Yet, even as he spoke, there were ships in the harbor with soldiers bent on beating the Americans into submission! They were already at war. So many still wanted to hear peace, peace, but there was none! He simply finished his speech with the clarion call: “Give me liberty or give me death!” Henry was willing to die to keep the revolution alive. The same is true in our day. We are watching as church after church is dying or dead and members are disillusioned, destroyed, dejected or without hope. Now is the time to snap out of the fog and realize many have been snatched from the revolution. Jesus was and always will be a revolutionary and our churches must follow him as we restore biblical convictions that will rescue us and this lost world!

Brady Vaughan, coming all the way from Honolulu, Hawaii, placed membership!

4. EXTINCTION Genesis 19:29

So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived.

How can you and I be snatched from extinction? By teaching and living Jesus’ plan. Each disciple must be taught to obey, then in obedience, must make disciples who make disciples who make disciples…

So often we have heard that focusing on your family will save your children. But we cannot forget that our children will become just like us. If we are not in love with God, walking with him and pouring out our lives to imitate him; our kids will not either. Do not be fooled. You will become a dead end Christian to the lost and to your family if you do not walk with the Lord and live the life he called us to. Isaiah 26:8-18 is a song about how grateful the Israelites were for God. They praised him, sang to him and were even “aware” of how much they needed him. But in verse 18 they realize all that was lip service because they gave birth to the wind. What they were called to do was “bring salvation to the earth and give birth to people of the world”… they did not, and were overwhelmed with the thought of extinction since the next generation would not carry on God’s dream of bringing blessing to all nations as promised to Abraham. We are given an incredible dream to bring hope and healing of the gospel to all nations- starting in our own back yards! Without following God’s plan, we will not be snatched from extinction.

If we are to be snatched from Futility, snatched from Indecision, avoid being snatched from Revolution and snatched from Extinction ( which spells FIRE) we will be able to understand God’s plan for us as “he stoops down to make us great” Psalm 18:32-35 so we can bring hope to the world.

He stoops down to make me great,

Matt Sullivan

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge… Be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall…” 2 Peter 1:5, 10

August 16, 2012 will be an historic date in the SoldOut Movement – marking the day the California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education approved our application for the founding of the International College of Christian Ministries (ICCM). We received the “Verification of Exempt Status,” which will allow the ICCM to grant Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees in Ministry according to “our” Biblical doctrines and standards. This “dream become reality” is a miracle brought forth by our God answering our prayers and honoring countless hours of effort by many of us, especially Tim Kernan and Chris Adams. Already, the news of this monumental event has spread throughout the world, as requests for applications have come from as far away as France, Brazil and even India!

To share my vision of this “school of prophets” (2 Kings 2:3, 5) let me begin by expressing what the ICCM is not. The ICCM is not a substitute for Jesus’ plan to train ministers by walking with them side-by-side for a period of years. (Mark 3:13) The SoldOut Movement will not “sell-out” by becoming a “cookie-cutter school” to “mass produce” Evangelists and Women’s Ministry Leaders. I believe “our” Evangelists and Women’s Ministry Leaders are the best trained ministers in all of Christendom. As a movement, we must continue the steady, consistent yet gradual multiplication of quality ministry people through one-on-one discipleship. (2 Timothy 2:2)

With a burning zeal to change the world, Khalil made the decision to make Jesus His Lord!

To understand our need for the ICCM, Tim Kernan wrote the following “program description” in our application to the California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education:

The European degree system, i.e. Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate, has been one of the most successful European cultural exports in history. The doctorate (Latin: docio – I teach) originated in Medieval Europe as a license to teach (Latin: licentia docendi) at a Medieval university. Its roots can be traced to the early church when the term “doctor” referred to the apostles, church fathers and other Christian authorities who taught and interpreted the Bible. This academic program is now present in almost every part of the world – even in China, India and Saudi Arabia, countries which are not viewed as being “pro-western.” This degree system has been fully embraced globally, almost without question, as the most legitimate indication of competency and qualification in a professional field.

“…When religious organizations – as is now the case with the City of Angels International Christian Church – have sent out ministers trained in less formal, non-seminary type settings… to plant churches and evangelize the nations, they regularly face suspicion and legal obstacles. These have come largely from… established religious leaders of that nation, the missionaries’ families, and even embassies and foreign government visa departments, who question the lack of formally-recognized academic training provided to missionaries.

The truth is that our “appointed ministers” – Evangelists, Women’s Ministry Leaders, Shepherds and Administrators – are superbly trained in Christian Ministry. What we have lacked hitherto is the vehicle to accredit the robust and dynamic course of study that our leaders already undertake.

As an evangelist and missionary, Tim’s words ring very true to me. Though this article’s brevity does not allow us to fully detail what candidates for the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate degrees must attain, let me briefly give a synopsis of the requirements:

The Bachelor’s Degree will include 100 certified hours of Staff Lessons, 100 certified hours of Small Group Leadership Lessons, completing 100 certified hours of leading Small Group Bible Discussions in homes, businesses or on campuses, 100 certified hours of “personal mentoring time” focused on ministry, doctrine and life, specifically marriage, personal finances, and any other relevant area required to be “above reproach,” as well as to have an excellent grasp of the Scriptures and the work of the ministry. Written and/or oral exams will be administered. All of this work will be “accredited” as a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Ministry to a disciple upon his/her appointment to the Kingdom Office of either Evangelist or Women’s Ministry Leader. We will also award a BA in Ministry to others who fulfill all of these requirements, though they may not aspire to become an Evangelist or Women’s Ministry Leader.

Of special note: a visiting brother from New Orleans, after seeing the love and convictions of the disciples, Curtis White decided to move to Orlando!

The Master’s Degree will require another 100 certified hours of Staff Lessons, as well as serving a one year minimum “residency” in the office of Evangelist, Women’s Ministry Leader, Shepherd or Administrator; completion of a reading list that will include such books as: Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey by Powell; The Search for the Ancient Order (Volumes 1-4) by West; and several other well-known books. In addition, of course, exams either oral and/or written will follow. There will also be a required 30 page thesis on a topic approved by the President or Vice President of the College. Lastly, a proficiency in a second language of Koine Greek, Hebrew or any modern language will be required.

Our doctorate level degree will not be known as a “Ph.D.” (Doctor of Philosophy), but like many seminaries, we will call this degree a “D.Min.” (Doctor of Ministry). For the D.Min., one must hold a Master’s Degree from the ICCM; another reading list will be required; a minimum 100 page thesis written in “book form” (ready to be published) must be completed; and one must serve effectively in an overseeing role over a multitude of churches for at least three years. This degree will be approved upon defense of one’s thesis before the Central Leadership Council of the SoldOut Discipling Movement.

 What cannot be over-emphasized is that all of the ICCM degrees accredit the already excellent program of training, discipling and study that our movement’s leaders presently undertake. In other words, it is not a “new” program of study, but it recognizes the work already done to be called an Evangelist, Women’s Ministry Leader, Shepherd, Administrator, “Overseeing Evangelist” and “Missions Evangelist.”

Also, it is important to note that the theses which will be written by the Master’s and Doctoral candidates will become a very exciting literary resource for the movement. The theses will provide a flow of excellent studies in areas that will be of importance to the movement such as: evangelism of Muslim countries, Christian fundraising, Women’s Ministry, Children’s Ministry, etc. These studies will help us to understand better the Bible teachings in these areas, and also, they will provide the foundation for possible books that could be published for and by the movement.

Presently, application forms are being prepared and will be available on the City of Angels International Christian Church website. (CAICC.net) The tuition for each of the three (four month) trimesters of a calendar year will be $2,000 per trimester. This amount is needed to cover all the costs associated with such an institution: the hiring of an administrator to keep pertinent detailed records for each student as required by the State of California, flying in qualified teachers, scholarships, travel and financial aid for foreign students, as well as the rental of facilities. The ICCM will grant full and partial scholarships to deserving applicants. Of course, financial aid from one’s local church may also be a source of money to pay for tuition. If one already holds the office of Evangelist or Women’s Ministry Leader in our movement, one will be qualified to receive a BA in Ministry at the GLC in August. However, to cover all expenses such as a cap and gown, a degree certificate, etc., a small fee of $300 will need to be paid.

The ICCM emblem will have a silhouette of a crown of thorns reminding us of our Crown of Thorns Project to spread the message of Christ to all nations in this generation. The motto on our emblem is Venia et Veritas – “Grace and Truth” – the Apostle John’s description of Jesus. (John 1:14) Since the universally recognized color for theology and ministry degrees is scarlet, we have selected “our colors” to be scarlet and gold: Scarlet to represent the blood of Christ; Gold to represent the purity of our life and doctrine. Lastly, MMXII (2012) will mark the year of the founding of the ICCM. Obviously, the ICCM is a “work in progress.”

As for the leadership of the International College of Christian Ministries, Chris Adams will serve as the Vice President, as well as the Dean of Academics, as he received his BA in History from Yale University and his MS in Special Education from Long Island University. I will serve as President having a BA from the University of Florida in Speech Communication, as well as formally studying at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Harding Graduate School of Religion. Elena McKean will serve as the Dean of Women. She received her BS in Occupational Therapy from the University of Florida. With 36 years of full-time ministry, as well as being born in Cuba, Elena will provide great insights into the challenges of building a college of diversity.

Michael Kirchner, who serves as the Administrator of the SoldOut Movement, will also serve as the Chairman of the Board. Michael earned a BA in Finance from the University of Iowa and an MBA at the University of Minnesota. Also serving on the board are Andrew Smellie and Helen Sullivan. Andrew received a BS in Human Biology and a MA in Health Administration from Cornell University. Helen obtained a BA in Economics and Spanish, as well as a MA in Education with a special emphasis on Second Language Acquisition – all from Stanford University.

It is the goal of the leadership of the International College of Christian Ministries to formally grant the first degrees at the 2013 Global Leadership Conference on Sunday, August 4, 2013. Let us all “stand in awe of [our] God” for this amazing new opportunity to teach the Scriptures. As there were schools of prophets formally led by Samuel (1 Samuel 10:5, 19:19-24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:3, 5), let us all pray that God will use this effort to propel His prophets – His missionaries – “into all the nations!” (Mark 16:15) And to God be all the glory!

Kip McKean