A Sincere Thank You To All Who Have Made It Possible

As you may already know, Italy is right around the corner.  The airfare is booked and I'm rolling my R's like a drunken opera singer!  Now, I wish to extend an earnest thanksgiving to everyone who has donated to the cause thus far.  I am forever grateful for showing me the love of God through you, His people.  You may have noticed that I will periodically post updates of donations received, but I never give names.  I refrain from shout outs so as to not play in to that innate human desire to be recognized for good deeds.  Look, I want you to lay up as much treasure possible in Heaven, so please don't feel offended if I haven't called your name.  Do take pride in knowing, however, that you have been instrumental in wrapping me up in the loving grace and kindness of our Lord.  He receives ALL the glory!  Any time I receive a donation, I never see a human hand, nor face, but the nail pierced hands of Christ our Lord.  Your standing with me on this mission has placed me in deep fellowship with my Heavenly Father and I am encouraged to pursue His call to the people of Europe.

But did you really think I would ignore those who were praying for me and just thank those who paid for my airfare?!  God forbid!  In fact, if you have donated, you're not off the hook yet because I NEED YOUR PRAYERS!  If it were not for those praying, there would be no way I could maintain my motivation (I discourage way too easily).  Once again, as I face the uncertain, I need your prayers NOW!  Please pray that I can accomplish the goals that have been set (My agenda and Vision for the trip will be posted below).  For those who do not know, I am not travelling with a missions group.  I am following what God has placed on my heart, to develop a curriculum and implement a strategy to unify scattered evangelical churches under the commitment to rear local church leaders.  Essentially, I want to plant schools that will be free of tuition and will prepare those called into the ministry to plant their own churches and be missionaries to their own people.  This strategy is a global one.  It can be used anywhere, from Italy, to Wales, to Cuba, to North Korea, yet specifically to areas whose churches have not digressed into institutions requiring thousands of dollars of post-graduate training in order to serve in vocational ministry.  Degrees are good, but foregoing relationships at the expense of tuition is not necessarily Biblical.  Therefore, I need your prayers that I may find cooperation.  Pray specifically for those willing to host classes and those who feel they are called into vocational ministry.  Pray for my health!  I do not want to run around Italy sick as a dog!  Pray also for my commitment.  My biggest fear is that I will not accomplish the task at hand and all of the donations will have been squandered.  This is not a vacation for me.  Please pray that I will not treat it like one!  

Once again, I am so thankful for those who have supported me in this vision.  It has been 3 years in the making and God has been so faithful to someone as undeserving as me.  His grace is so much greater than I could ever put into words.  I guess that's why, in spite of our sinfulness, we see His love for us tack His Son to a bloody cross, high on a hill for everyone to see...  Oh how we must magnify the cross!  For there is no other way to fully portray the immensity of God's love for us.  Thank you brothers and sisters for your prayers and donations.  Let's magnify the cross together. 

 

August 2014

8/4 to 8/27

Calling the Humble to Serve

 

Phase 1

Week 1	Spiritual Scouting / Religious Census
8/6-8/11	Day:  Visiting neighboring churches, acquiring doctrinal statements.  Seeking partnerships. Night:  Conducting religious poll in varying piazzas
	Bari / Bitonto San Matteo / Giovinazzo / Molfetta

Phase 2

Week 2	Recruiting Prospects
8/12-8/17	Present ministerial school vision to willing and doctrinally sound congregations.  Enlist willing prospects.

Phase 3

Week 3	Enlisting Hosts
8/17-8/21	Enlist satellite locations to house training centers.  Seek teachers amidst congregations.  Establish communications between hosts.  Unify congregations under a common vision, to raise their local leaders to serve.

Creating a Missionary Movement:

            The entire focus of Missione Salvezza is to unify small and scattered churches around the discipleship and training of those preparing to be in the ministry.  The educational process uses instructors, willing to teach sound doctrine, to those who are called into vocational ministry.  Each instructor must be honorable and qualified by the qualifications of deacons found in 1 Timothy 3:8-13.  Students will train for approximately 2-3 years in preparation for the ministry.  The entire process is voluntary and is free of charge to those preparing for full time Christian service.  Therefore, instructors will be volunteers and their ministry to the Church likened to honorary service to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  A curriculum of sound doctrine shall be provided from various authors, publishers, and denominational resources.

            The doctrinal statement of Missione Salvezza is as follows: 

“We hold fast the truth that the Triune God has chosen to reveal Himself perfectly to His creation and has reconciled the world through Himself by the atonement of His begotten Son Jesus Christ.  It, therefore, pleased the Father before the foundation of the world, that Christ, the Lamb of God, should be the propitiation of His righteous indignation and wrath for sin, reserved for unregenerate humankind.  We follow the clear instructions of Jesus Christ and His apostles that salvation is not by works of men, but is a regenerative and sovereign work of God, by grace, through faith, resulting in the sanctification and transformation of any sinner willing to repent and submit to the Lordship of Christ, the Son of God.  We have come to know this truth, as individual priests, under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, and by the authority of God’s Holy, Inerrant, and Infallible Word.  We, therefore, claim verbal plenary inspiration of the 66 books that comprise the canon of Scripture and revere God as our final authority, trusting His word to be true, clear, authoritative, and that which measures what is true and false in Christendom.”

The curriculum to be provided students in training shall consist of:

A.)  Discipleship

B.)  Bibliology

C.)  Doctrine and Theology

D.)  Church History and Mission

E.)  Spiritual Leadership

The curriculum shall be broken down into intensive surveys and comprehension of the aforementioned subjects.  Upon completion, each student will be thoroughly equipped to seed his own congregation and repeat the entire training process so as to create an evangelistic movement.

Each prospective student must be qualified by the qualifications of an overseer in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.  He must have a heart of service, not greed.  He must be humble, not seeking popularity or fame.  He must hunger and thirst after righteousness, while he must also fear God and denounce his own sin. 

A rotation of instructors must be provided as to relieve them of the duty of volunteer service.  The expectation of each instructor is to faithfully teach one class at a time.  Semesters will be determined by the intensity of each study and will vary in length. 

Instructors shall be appointed by the Pastor of each congregation.  The pastor should poll congregants on their willingness to serve in the teaching ministry.  Once more, the position of instructor is firmly voluntary, so as to provide ministerial training to students free of charge.  It is, therefore, the Pastor’s role to graciously recognize each volunteer in earnest thanksgiving and compassion.

Missione Salvezza seeks to disciple leaders according to the pattern of the early church.  In an age of universities, degrees, and ecclesiastical hierarchies, Missione Salvezza seeks to determine and qualify leaders according to the only final authority, God’s Word.  Thus, leaders will be encouraged to seed their own congregations.  Whether they be in homes, parishes, or subway stations, the leaders we wish to prepare are those who are humble to serve no matter where God has called them to lead.  We ascribe all glory to God and look to Him to bring forth the harvest of true discipleship until He gathers His Church to Himself.