The California Eldership provides a beautiful example of multiple cultures gathering together to praise God and grow in Christ. Four times a year they meet at a different church to sing, share testimonies and hear the Word of God from the pastors. I've had the privilege of visiting at the January meeting (Jan. 29-30) that is being held at the "La Palabra de Vida Iglesia de Dios" (The Word of Life Church of God) in San Diego, hosted by Pastor Victor Montalvo and his wife Alma. The Palabra de Vida church has a long-term lease at a beautiful building on 2130 Ulric St. (the Linda Vista Presbyterian Church) , and they consider themselves greatly blessed! As Pastor Victor described it, God provided the building in a miraculous way, just at the time when they had to leave their previous location. This is Pastor John Santos, who is helping to plant two missions in Mexico, one in Veracruz (on the Caribbean coast east of Mexico City) and the other in San Mateo Piñas in Oaxaca (on the Pacific coast southeast of Mexico City). Pastor Victor also shared about a new Bible study in Escondido (15 minutes north of San Diego), which he hopes will become a new church. The California Eldership is supporting these missions as they continue to reach out to Latinos.
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Greetings from Haiti! CCM Assistant Director Travis Helm and I (Ben Tobias) have been in Haiti for the Annual Conference sessions, and we rejoice to see how God is at work among our brothers and sisters here. What a blessing to hear the singing of hundreds of delegates excited to fellowship together! (More information will follow in the next Missionary Signal.) This is the current construction of the church building in Mwingi, Kenya. The Voice of the Gospel (our affiliate in Kenya) has helped this church with the building, and they are only $1500 away from putting a roof on the building. If you would like to help them complete this before the rains arrive in March, please give to "CC 2831 -- Kenya Ministries." Asante sana ! (Thank you very much!) There is so much to say! And so many things to pray about!
PLEASE PRAY! There are a number of critical needs throughout CCM that need God's mighty hand:
PLEASE PRAY AND GIVE! We've received the financial update from the end of November, and we want you to know about the biggest needs. As of Nov. 30, total DESIGNATED giving is DOWN 14.2%, which is a slight improvement over October's 14.6%. Below are the ministries and missionaries facing the larger shortfalls: MINISTRY SHORTFALL % OF YTD GOAL
Remember these and other ministries as you celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. As the Magi presented their treasures in worship, so let us also give sacrificially so that His Light will shine brightly in our world! Thank you so very much for your generous support. It makes a world of difference! Greetings in Christ! As we approach the final two months of 2015 (yes, it's already happening!), I want to let you know about the major funding gaps we're facing. As of Oct. 31, total DESIGNATED giving is DOWN 14.6% from last year at this time. That's a gap of over $138,000! Part of this shortfall is due to personnel changes in our missionary families, but as you can tell from the list below, there are many serious needs in personnel and project support. Please pray about how God is directing you and/or your church to respond in meeting these needs, and remember that we have the wonderful blessing of participating in God's plan to save the world by supporting our brothers and sisters around the world. Here are some of the greatest needs: MINISTRY Shortfall % of YTD Goal
You can give to these ministries and others online at: http://secure.cggc.org/cross-cultural-ministries/ THANK YOU for your generous giving! May God bless you as you continue to bless others! A lot of people are on the move in Cross-Cultural Ministries right now. Mission Consultant Don Dennison and CCM Assistant Director Travis Helm are on their way to Asia to visit with ministry leaders in our fields there.
In Haiti, Dr. Jean Weaver is launching a brand-new Physical Therapy training program at the Lois Habecker Technical School in Frecyneau (on the outskirts of St. Marc). Read all about it on pg. 6 of the upcoming Nov/Dec issue of The Missionary Signal. In the following week, the Agler (Chad & Dawn) and Hosler (Stephen, Amy, Charity, Daniel & Joseph) families will begin their respective internships in Haiti, and Rikkz & Andrea Premnath will begin their internship in Uluberia, India. PRAY for each of these families, as they encounter a new culture and serve in ministry. Participants in the 2015 CCM Missionary Retreat (Sept. 16-18, 2015) On Sept. 24-26, CCM Director Ben Tobias and Assistant Director Travis Helm traveled with CGGC Treasurer Bob Stephenson to Orlando, Florida for the “Mission Leaders’ Conference.” This annual event is sponsored by Missio Nexus, the North American community of mission agencies of which the CCM is a member. They heard inspiring – and challenging – messages from speakers like Skye Jethani, Nancy Ortberg, Michael Oh, and Libby (last name withheld for security purposes). In addition, there were over 100 seminars dealing with all manner of missions subjects and missionary care. Following the conference, Ben and Travis were privileged to visit Bethesda Evangelical Church, our Haitian congregation in Orlando pastored by Acheton Anger (pronounced “ON-zhay”). This was a first-time visit for both of them, and they were pleased to see former pastor (and the first President of the Haiti Conference) William Primé. Pray for the Bethesda Church as they seek to relocate to be closer to the Haitian community.
I want to thank you for visiting the CCM Update! As you can see, I'm using a different format, but I want to do everything possible to communicate current events, information, and my own reflections about God's mission to save the world. And I hope to do this in a timely, user-friendly way!
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