To The Ends Of The Earth
TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 One of the reasons that it is such a joy being the pastor of Olivet is because we are a church family that is committed to taking the Gospel from where we are into the world. I like the simply way Alex Himaya pastor at THE CHURCH states the Great Commission. It is about going into our city, our nation and the world with the Gospel. That is and has been the heartbeat of OBC.
This summer our church has been involved in taking the Gospel to the world. We have had people in China, Africa, Hungary, Belize and Brazil. Through these connections there have been well over 500 professions of faith, believers encouraged and the kingdom advanced. I love being a part of a church with the world on its heart. As I have said many times, it took me way too long to learn that when you have the world on your heart you have your neighbor on your heart.
On Sunday, I returned with our team from Campo Grande in Brazil. It was much further north than we have been before and it was much hotter than it has been before but God worked in some incredible ways. This year was unique in that not only was the team of Americans all from Olivet but our church family gave 100% of the finances for the chapel build. It was truly an effort of our whole church family. It is incredible how our God works. God spoke to a mission minded church in Masseo (about an hour east of Campo Grande) who sponsored the Baptist church in Campo Grande, God spoke to the heart of the pastor in Campo Grande and He spoke to the hearts of the great body of believers at Olivet and look at what He did in a week. The chapel was built in four days, the team distributed over 500 sunglasses, did VBS for around 1500 students, saw around 380 professions of faith and there was an estimated 600(around a building that seats maybe 200) people at the Friday night dedication service. I learned once again that when people pray, give and go with the Great Commission on their heart with a kingdom agenda on their mind there is no limit to what God can do.
I was extremely proud of our team. They represented our church family with great character, enthusiasm, Christ-like spirit and a flexible attitude. They are EXTREMELY gifted and showed and shared the love of Jesus. Most of the team had been to Brazil before and they took the lead and were just incredible from the construction, to VBS, to street evangelism, to the glasses clinic. When we are in Brazil we have such great support. Tony and Karen Gray, Pastor Marcos who are with Pioneer Missions. They are a great group of people. Kevin Flenniken and his wife Tatianna and family are awesome. Kevin leads in the construction. Please remember them and their work in your prayers.
Once again we fell in love with the Brazilian people and this church family. They loved us, served us, fed us, helped us and showed us the love of Jesus. We need to remember their pastor Maciel, his family and their church in prayer. When we are in Brazil one of the frustrating barriers is the language but I think we all learned that the love of Jesus breaks down all those barriers. The love that grows in your heart for people that you cannot even talk with can only be a God thing. Jesus put it this way “By this all men shall know that you are my disciples because of your love for one another” John 13: 34. So let’s pray regularly for the Baptist church in Campo Grande (OBC south) and see the great things that God will do.
My prayer is that this will be the beginning of our church being able to finance, and send a team to build churches in Brazil. There is a way for every member of Olivet to be involved. First, everyone can pray. Second, some cannot go but you can give and help others go. Thirdly, God may be calling you to go.
You don’t want to miss Sunday night September 14. We will hear from Morgan Hitchcock about her time in Africa, the Brazil team will share. Following the service there will be a special fellowship with food from the different countries we have been connected with this summer. Together we can take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Pastor Scott