The aftermath of the presidential election provides recent evidence of how social media can be either a blessing or a danger. Facebook and Twitter (along with younger cousins like Snapchat and Instagram) are megaphones that amplify our voices so that – depending on the number of “followers” we have – we can let hundreds or thousands of people know what’s going on in our heads. That can be a very good thing, of course, and we have come to rely on social media to broadcast news that once required the lengthy process of printing and mailing out newsletters. We are blessed to learn of prayer concerns, praises, and urgent requests from friends in real time. However, the dangers of misusing social media can’t be ignored. As I write this on Nov. 10, the day after our country woke up to the results of the presidential election, we are hearing reports of riots across the country, and a barrage of acrimony on Facebook. Friends are “un-friending” each other. People on both sides of the political spectrum are voicing their deeply-held opinions and – in some cases – are urging revolution. Brothers and sisters, this is not a new thing: Scripture provides MANY warnings about misusing our words. Our Lord said this: “… For out of the overflow of his heart, [a person] speaks” (Luke 6:45) and “… I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt. 12:36). The Lord and an unknown number of people will see the things we say on social media. Some of us have experienced the painful consequences of speaking without thinking, or sharing information that was best left unsaid or at least said privately. In the past week I have made the mistake of sharing a financial need and forwarded a photograph that wasn’t legitimate. I didn’t know that, and neither did the person from whom I received it. But nevertheless, a few people saw it before I could take it down, and my credibility (and that of CCM) suffered. I should have checked it out before posting it, but I was in a hurry and therefore didn’t take the time I should have. Here are a few helpful reminders we should consider before we hit the "send" button:
I thank God for social media! But like any tool, it can be dangerous if misused. God bless you as you serve the Lord. Let’s keep the focus on our King during these times of division and anger. Let’s “sing a new song” and show the world how the people of God can love each other even when we disagree.
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The end of October brings a mixed picture of Cooperative and Designated giving in the CGGC, compared to this time in 2015. Cooperative (which represents budgeted giving from the regional conferences) is slightly down 1.0% from last year, while Designated (which provides the vast majority of CCM funding) is up 8.2% (from $810,078 in 2015 to $876,511 now). Thank you for your faithful, generous and sacrificial giving for the sake of God’s mission to save the world and make disciples of all nations!
The end of September shows a continued improvement in over-all giving to both Cooperative and Designated giving in the CGGC, compared to this time in 2015. Cooperative (which represents budgeted giving from the regional conferences) is up 0.7% over last year, and Designated (which provides the vast majority of CCM funding) is up 7.4% (from $730,253 in 2015 to $784,487 in 2016)! Praise the Lord! We here at the CCM office want to thank everyone who has given generously and sacrificially for the sake of God’s mission around the world. May the Lord continue to bless you as you bless others.
Below are two lists of specific CCM fields and missionaries with significant funding gaps. Please pray about how the Lord is directing you to respond in meeting these needs, and thank you in advance for whatever He prompts you to give. Also, be sure to check out the CCM pages on the CGGC website (cggc.org) for more information about any mission field and missionary. Please let us know if you have questions or any other request, and we’ll be happy to respond! Ministry % YTD Goal
Missionary Support Accounts
The end of June marked the completion of the 1st half of 2016, and I have some good news to share regarding CCM finances! Total designated giving ($530,240) is up over last year at this time by a whopping 27.5%! We want to thank all our friends and supporters for stepping up to show such wonderful support, especially in response to last month's special appeal for help for ministries in Bangladesh and India. May the Lord richly bless you as you continue to give generously and sacrificially for the sake of His glory.
Below are two lists of specific CCM fields and missionaries with signficant funding gaps. Please pray about how the Lord is directing you to respond in meeting these needs, and thank you in advance for whatever He prompts you to give. Ministry % YTD Goal
Missionary Support Accounts
Come to the Missions Banquet!
On July 25, the evening meal of the General Conference sessions will feature missionary guests, and you don't have to be a conference delegate to attend! Simply contact the Gen. Conf. office at 419-424-1961 and send $15 per seat to reserve tickets. (Make checks payable to CGGC with "Missions Banquet" in the memo.) The deadline for reserving tickets is June 25. What's an "E-Newsletter" and how do you get one? As you know, our CCM missionaries publish newsletters throughout the year to help us stay informed about their ministries, prayer concerns, and praises. If you would like to receive yours electronically, contact Becca ([email protected]) and let her know. May Financial Report We are grateful for the generosity in giving so far this year. The year-to-date DESIGNATED contributions total $594,613, a 16.5% increase over last year. Praise the Lord! We've seen significant contributions toward a variety of ministries and missionary support accounts, but some are in extra need. Please pray about how God is directing you to respond to the needs listed below: Ministry % YTD Goal
THANK YOU FOR GIVING TO THE LORD! The CCM Commission met for their Spring meeting on May 2-3, and I'm very pleased to share a number of important decisions and issues that were discussed. We interviewed and approved Stephen & Ubah Carlton as candidate missionaries to serve as guesthouse managers at Pierre Payen in Haiti. They're currently working with "Together We Can" in Montrouis, Haiti as ministry hosts/coordinators. Following support raising, they hope to be in place at Pierre Payen by this September. Stephen comes originally from Oregon, while Ubah is from Ethiopia (where they met and married). They have two adopted daughters Tarik (15) and Saba (5), and their son Jacob (1). Please pray for Stephen and Ubah! Their support number is CC 2737. We welcomed Pastor Tony Cargle (from Casey White Oak Church, MRC) and Lynda Bohager (from Hanover Church, ERC) as the newest members of the Commission. They are taking the places of Kara Norris and Joyce Hornbaker who are stepping down. We met with Pastor Rikkz & Andrea Premnath to discuss their experiences during their India internship during this past winter (Nov. 2015-March 2016). I'm sorry to inform you all that, due primarily to Andrea's health situation, they will not be able to return to India in the near future. Please keep them in prayer as they seek out God's will for their steps in life. We approved Wes & Mindy McKnight (from Urban Light Church, MRC) to serve as Affiliate Missionaries serving with Crossworld in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). Mindy is a doctor and Wes is a teacher, so we affirm their ministry in this war-torn part of Africa. Stay tuned for more information about the Missionary Banquet during General Conference sessions this July 25 at Chambersburg, PA! Today is my first time ever to attend the annual Q Conference, a gathering of Christians that focuses on addressing numerous "hot-button" cultural issues. To give you an idea of what it's like, some of today's topics included: a "state of the world" update about the 4 MILLION Syrian refugees and the challenge the overall refugee crisis (60 million refugees worldwide) presents to the Church; a discussion of deep-seated secularism and how Christians are seen as irrelevant and extreme by much of our Western society; a dialogue between the president of World Vision and a Muslim sheikh; a dialogue between the president of Focus on the Family and his friend who is a gay activist; a testimony from a Christian mother whose daughter converted to Islam; and a discussion about transgender issues featuring a Christian psychologist and a woman who struggles with gender dysphoria (the general term describing a transgender "experience"). Did I mention these were "hot-button" issues?? There were no pat answers; no one's mind was changed in these dialogues. But each one featured an honest desire to seek common ground while remaining faithful to Jesus Christ (on the part of the Christian). The key point is that of posture: how do we as Christians share our faith and our perspective in a way that shows gentleness, respect, and the love of Christ? How do we see those we disagree with as fellow human beings for whom Jesus died, as opposed to enemies in the culture war? This is personal for me. Allow me to share a story that came to mind as I watched Jim Daly (President of Focus on the Family) sit next to Ted Trimpa (a gay activist) and talk about how they have become good friends. Years ago I had a college friend named Bob. Together with a couple other guys, we were a tight-knit group who did everything together. Bob had a strong faith in God despite a difficult upbringing, and he dreamed of becoming a pastor someday. But Bob had a secret. The whole time we knew him, he secretly struggled with homosexuality and was terrified of letting anyone know. The reason he couldn't talk with us about it was because we openly mocked gays and showed remarkable insensitivity toward anyone who we suspected might harbor homosexual tendencies. Eventually Bob did "come out of the closet," and I responded with disbelief. I had no room in my heart to deal with it, and our friendship ended. Bob then spun off into a rejection of faith and ruined his life, largely because his Christian friends shunned him as a sinner. I have to wonder what Jesus would have done. No, I don't have to wonder. I think I know how Jesus -- the Friend of sinners, and the friend of me -- would have responded. And my prayer is that I will learn from Him how to respond better to those I disagree with: to speak the truth in love and build others up rather than tear them down. Bob, I'm sorry. It's hard to believe that the first quarter of 2016 is already behind us! And so I want to let you know about how things are going financially for Cross-Cultural Ministries now that the March financial report has come in.
First of all, praise God for an overall increase in giving compared to this time last year! Cooperative giving (funds sent to the CGGC through regional conferences) totals $224,890, an increase of 6.9% over 2015. Designated giving (which is the financial life-blood of CCM) totals $236,081, an increase of 20.7%! THANK YOU to all who have given generously! However, there are some areas of ministry that are significantly under-funded. Please pray for and -- as the Lord directs you -- give to these missionaries and mission projects that are in special need of attention: MINISTRY SHORTFALL % OF YTD GOAL
At a special CCM Commission meeting last evening, Mar. 29, we interviewed and approved two new interns for 2016. Please visit the CGGC website if you would like to donate online. Emma Geis is a Senior at the University of Findlay, and has been approved to serve a two month internship in Lima, Peru with the Life and Truth Church. (See www.fowlersinperu.com for more information about the church, and about Pastor Andrew and Liliana Fowler.) While there, she will assist in a wide variety of ministry opportunities, such as music, ministry team hosting and children's ministry. Emma's account number is CC2809.007. Sara Postic is also a Senior at the University of Findlay, and she has been approved to serve as Missionary Teacher for Charity, Daniel, and Joseph Hosler at Project Help-Haiti during the coming school year (September 2016-May 2017). Sara's account number is CC2809.003. We at CGGC Cross-Cultural Ministries are grateful for every dollar that is given to advance the gospel around the world. And we want to do everything possible to show good stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. We are excited about the existing ministries we are supporting, as well as the new missionaries and missionary interns who are “in the pipeline.” This leads me to introduce an important topic, namely: How do YOU as a donor know how a missionary’s or ministry’s support is doing? People frequently ask us how a specific fund is doing, or who is in greatest need of support. We certainly don’t answering those questions, but there are some places available for direct information. One is the CGGC website, where you will find overall monthly financial statements. (This information is found at http://www.cggc.org/resources/stewardship/. Click on the link that says “Contributions.”) The monthly financial statement provides information regarding Cooperative and Designated giving from each regional conference, as well as detailed year-to-date giving for each Designated ministry fund (which includes all CCM missionaries and ministries). Also, we provide “missionary shares” updates on a bi-annual basis using the "Share in the Sending" brochure and at http://www.cggc.org/ministries/cross-cultural-home-page/missionary-shares-program/. This also describes the shares program and why we use it. Just to let you know, we determine needed shares by taking the annual support goal and subtracting from it the sum of current pledged shares and one-time gifts. We then divide the remainder by $300 (an annual share), and – voila! – we have the number of currently needed shares. This looks like complicated math, but we do it this way so that people have an idea of current giving levels. We know that many people give occasionally as the Lord directs, but as much as possible we encourage monthly, budgeted giving so that our missionaries can have some idea of how their support is doing. Monthly giving also strengthens the missionary’s prayer support, as their supporters have a stronger link to them. Questions? Comments? Please let us know! Let’s start a conversation, and do everything we can to “excel in this grace of giving” (2 Cor. 8:7). |
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