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Mar 23 Pray4projects @WorldOrphans

Praise!- Four of the projects that were without western church partners at the beginning of the year are now in partnerships.

    Fountain of Life – Juja is now partnered with Hill Country Bible Church – Northpoint in Austin TX
    Fountain of Hope – Nairobi is now partnered with River Oaks Church in Knoxville
    Lunkon Thmei – Cambodia is now partnered with Rutherford Bible Chapel in Rutherford N.J.
    Jesus Savior Church – Moldova is now partnered with Restoration Church in Arlington VA.
This is a great answer to prayer!

We still have six more projects without partners. Please pray for church partners for these projects:

• Christian Life Centre Chatsworth, South Africa
• Ebenezer Bible Church Temba, South Africa
• Nayla Presb. Evang. Church Darfur, Sudan
• United Community Methodist Church Jinja, Uganda
• Bethel Gospel Chruch Hyderabad, India
• F. S. Training Center China
• A total of 138 former orphans being cared for by these churches.

• Pray for the Haiti Orphan Relief Team as they roll out the strategy to connect  the first 10 churches in the US with 10 churches in Haiti to provide care for the orphans. To learn more go to, www.Haitiorphanrelief.org 
• Pray for the team deploying to South Africa on April 8th, led by Mike Krick.

A Cord of Three for Haiti

A strategy has been compiled to coordinate the response of churches to the crisis in Haiti that will bring focus to what needs to be accomplished for the church and the orphan at the same time. The Haiti Orphan Relief Team is a multi-disciplined team that will begin to map out churches in Haiti that have the heart to rescue and care for orphans, and will include some members of our staff. We are all aware of the setting they will be going into and the need to have a prayer team backing them up every step of the way.

The decentralized World Orphans model does not afford the staff with the luxury of being in close proximity to one another, we can't all gather together in one place at one time. Yet, being spread across the country does afford us the luxury of being in several time zones, having influence in multiple regions and churches. We need to begin today to use the disbursement of our staff to the advantage it affords us, in corporate prayer, as preparations are being finalized and while the team is on the ground.

I do not mean to imply that you are not praying for the crisis in Haiti, I am saying that we need to ramp it up. I'm not saying that the needs of the team are over and above the needs of those already on the ground and in the midst of the suffering chaos, the need is different but the same in importance. I'm not saying this is more important than the upcoming teams going to Nicaragua and South Africa, the difference is that the HORT Team will not have the focus of a sending church to form the chorus of prayer that will be needed like the other trips will have. Our ministry, You and I will be the sending body that needs to be standing in the gap for those going and their families. You and I need to include this strategy in every aspect of our daily conversations with God. It needs to be on the minds in in the prayers of everyone you and I  have contact with.

The situation they are going into is tough. Yet, the bible reminds us about the need for a team. "And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV) We need to build a strong team. Building off the theme of three, the Lord, the Team, and you and I, this team can stand tougher than the circumstances they will face.

Taking the theme  of three further, I am asking each of you to join me in adding an additional layer of prayer to what has already been discussed above. I am asking you to pray at :03 past the hour every waking hour during your day for this strategy and the team. You may need to set your watch, your phone or a clock as a reminder, but take a moment at :03 past the hour to pray. Praise the Lord for what He is doing, lift up the team at that moment, and pray for the rest of our ministry. Encourage others in your life to do the same.

This is not meant to be a ritual, but a reminder that "in all these things we are all more than conquerors [only] through Him who loved us."

If you want your church to get involved in caring for the hundreds of thousands of new orphans in Haiti go to the Haiti Orphan Relief Team page.

You can keep up to date with the teams progress by following them on Face Book and invite your friends to join the fan page as well.

The numbers from Haiti can be staggering

Some of the numbers of orphans in Haiti are beginning to be reported in articles like this one from the AP,
"Haiti's children on their own on shattered streets". This article estimates there are now 1 million orphans in Haiti; children that have either lost one or both of their parents.

I'm not going to get into the debate concerning single or double orphans. I think it is fair to say that the orphan population will have at least doubled, if not tripled since the quake.

The AP article points out how the response is falling short when it comes to the needs of children. UNICEF, the Red Cross and Save the Children are all doing the best they can under the circumstances. Save the Children has set up 13 "Child Spaces" zones in the settlements. These zones are not meant to provide the care needed by 600,000 new orphans. The Red Cross has begun to search for parents and next of kin for children, and the effort will go on for months if not years. The task is bigger than relief agencies alone can provide. A larger network is needed.

Using the numbers available from one of the networks, the Florida SBC, the estimate of the number of Protestant churches in Haiti could be extrapolated to be 1600. Is this network big enough to care for 600,000 new orphans? The answer is: with a strategy, Yes.

If each church cared for 20 to 40 children in family style homes on church property they could care for 32,000 to 64,000 children. Which leaves 536,000 children to care for.

So some of the 'experts' will use this staggering number as justification to set up large institutional orphanages. The rationale being that the warehouses are better than the streets. But there is a better strategy, the Continuum of Care. Residential care is one point on the continuum, but another point is community based foster care.

Churches will be able to facilitate and support the care of hundreds of children in foster homes in the surrounding community. If only the 1600 evangelical churches are involved, it would mean that each church would only need to facilitate the care to 335 children their surrounding community through foster and kinship based care.

Another sad fact is that the earth quake that produces orphans also produces widows. The widows are also in need of support and resources. Eighty-four (84) widows in a community surrounding a church could care for 335 children, with a ratio of 1 care-giver to 4 children.

So the numbers may be staggering, but this shows that a church based network response is feasible. Yes, many other factors come into play. Will the number of orphans needing care be 600,000? Probably not, it could more, it could be less. Will all 1600 churches get involved? Probably not, but other faith based organizations will most likely also respond. A big factor that I have not covered yet is that the scripture is clear that it is totally possible since it's what the Father wants, Eph. 3:10, James 1:27.  That trumps all the other strategies of the world.

Churches wanting to get involved in a strategy to partner with Haitian churches can contact World Orphans by emailing me, or info.worldorphans.org, or calling 720-386-4881. World Orphans is working with several network partners and agencies to formulate a strategy to tackle this issue. Contact us now to get on the distribution list for the strategy when it is completed. Churches that begin to participate now by giving to World Orphans Haiti Response Fund on our giving page will be the first to be partnered with churches, and the first to go on trips when the time is right.

Words From Haiti.

'Disaster and chaos' in Haiti after major earthquake 1/12/2010

These are the words taken from an Associated Press headline after the earthquake struck Haiti. The article went on to quote people that were on the ground and their descriptions of the events there. Unless you have been away from the media over the past few days you have seen your share of the words in headlines, and are probably close to being overwhelmed by the news. Words like disaster and chaos are catchy, I’ve even used them here. Words like providence or provision don’t seem to go with disaster and chaos. Yet, they can be found in Haiti.

If there is one thing that I am learning in my new role at World Orphans, it is that there are no coincidences in God’s plan. In his blog, Paul Myhill gives an account of a group arriving in Haiti just moments before the earthquake with supplies and provisions to help a church-base home for orphans there. I’m limited to the information that Paul has given us, and I doubt that this story will ever end up in an article by the Associated Press. But I think it is a great example of God’s providence. A group of people made plans to go and help, well in advance of the earthquake. They gathered provisions and went. Then in God’s timing, they were on the ground just as this event was unfolding. That is more than just a matter of timing.

Still, some will say this is just a coincidence.  I am convinced it is more than that, it is the providence of God at work in the midst of what the world calls chaos. From this tidbit of a bigger story we can see how the church really is the best instrument for long term response and change. This church-based home is not a current World Orphans partner but it is at the center of this story. The help this group will be able to give the people of Haiti is in part possible because the church is there, and the church is responding to the community by caring for orphaned and abandoned children.

In the coming days I hope we get to hear more about the story of Jodi’s friends and the response they were able to help the church make in Haiti. I’m sure the story will be ripe with words that describe God’s grace and mercy, His providence and provision more than disaster and chaos.

Would you like to help the children of Haiti, by helping the churches that are already there to rescue them? You can contribute to the World Orphans relief efforts online at our giving page. Simply make a”miscellaneous” gift and type “Haiti” in the memo box. Or you can send a check to:
    World Orphans
    P.O. Box 1840
    Castle Rock, CO 80104

Thank you in advance for being part of what God is doing through the church and for the orphan.

Keith

The "Third Wave"

The World Orphan logo is (ec)³. Which stands for each church, each child, each community. The national Church is completing both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment through the act of caring for the orphan. With a just few resources from the west, the national Church can get it done.

 In his book, "Revolution in World Missions," K.P. Yohannan writes:

"But around the world today, the Holy Spirit is breaking over Asian and African nations, raising up thousands of dedicated men and women who are bringing the salvation story to their own people. And millions of lost souls in closed countries would probably never learn about the love of God by any other means. These national Christians-humble, obscure pioneers of the Gospel-are taking up the banner of the cross where colonial-era missions left off. They are the third wave of mission history-the native missionary movement....

I believe we will see this generation reached for Christ as this exciting third wave of mission leadership unties with concerned Christians, churches and mission agencies around the world. As we draw nearer to Christ in unity, feeling His heartbeat for lost and dying souls, we realize that we are all serving on King and one Kingdom."

Do you sense how fortunate we are to live in these exciting times. A time that is like none other in so many ways. The third wave in missions is just one way, but a big way. When obedient Christians around the world begin to unite in ways they never have before we will see the Holy Spirit honor that unity with a mighty movement. When obedient Christians around the world feel the heartbeat of the Lord for the orphan, for lost and dying souls the Kingdom will be impacted and the Great Commission will be fulfilled during this generation.

Please join me in praying for the third wave, for the unity between the Churches in the developing world and the Churches in the developed world. That together, we can see the Holy Spirit honor our obedience with by fulfilling the Great Commission through us as we fulfill the Great Commandments, and rescue the orphan.

You can obtain your own copy of Yohannan's book at this web site free book offer .

"Destiny Rescues Destiny"

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to hang out at the Desperation Conference at New Life in Colorado Springs. It was my fist time to meet the members of the _Tag ministry and hear their heart for the orphan. This is part of their story. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next.

Day of "Coincidence." Part 2

In Part one I asked if you have ever had one of those days where too many things happen for them just to be a coincidence? The other day I had one of those days, which seems to happen more often than not. A quote from an author, a Bible verse and an email all converged at once to make a reoccurring point.

Here's the email and the point:

The Bible verse, Jer. 22, was scheduled for the reading plan over 100 years ago. But it "happened" to fall on the same day that I received an email from My Space. It said "check out the new MySpace Local and see what has been reviewed in Denver."

The title that caught my eye was "Top Night Life, Church." I have to admit I was more than just a bit curious. Someone has figured out how to do church and end up as one of the top venues? Maybe in Colorado Springs, but not in Denver? So I clicked on the tab. The review included this summary:

"This former cathedral pumps up the volume and praises the electronic gods on the dance floor...

With several bars, three dance areas, a couple of lounges and even a sushi bar, The Church makes getting rowdy lots of fun. Depending on the night and the room, it attracts crowds of goths, mods and club kids. There's obvious appeal to ordering a drink and dancing the night away in a former church. However, it's not a concert hall: Sound bounces off the stone walls and cavernous high-arched ceilings creating some less-than-stellar acoustics."

The building has remained, but the church is no more.

The building, St. Mark's Parish Church, was built in 1889 and is listed in the National Historical Register. The historical designation meant that it could not be torn down after it was abandoned years ago. So, someone bought it and turned it into a nightclub, and named it "The Church."

Buildings can end up on the National Historical Register for several reasons. They might be associated with events or people that made significant contributions to society, or they have distinctive characteristics of construction that represent the work of a master. Some of the buildings in Denver are registered for being the first in the Nation to provide health care to tuberculosis patients, people that had been robbed of their health by a terrible disease. 

It turns out that St. Mark's Church was registered for it's representation of the work of master Denver architects, Lang and Pugh. The church didn't make it into the National Register, only the building did.

I don't know what happened to the church, but I dare say that their culture is no more, at least at that site. Did they go to sleep and wake up too late? What happened to the vision of Kingdom work that made them contribute so much, to build such a great building that could be described years later as a cathedral? What happened to the lives that were changed as they heard the Word of God and looked on as the sunlight passed through the stained glass windows? Were they disobedient to the Word? Is Dr. Sweet right? Is this an indication of more to come?

The point: God commands obedience from His people, His church. Justice, righteousness, caring for the oppressed, the widow, the fatherless, are commands. They are not just ministry options. When His people "transition their culture" and are obedient to His Word, they will care for the orphan. And through the care for the orphan they will have a lasting impact on the "kings" and "servants" around them.

What would the National Historical Register look like someday if every church in America did wake-up and get it? Would it be filled with listings of theaters, school gyms and community centers? Places that couldn't be torn down because the people that rented the space and met there made a significant contribution to society and changed the world. They fought the battle against HIV/AIDS, poverty, oppression, terrorism, ignorance and they rescued every child. They changed every community with a message that turned lives around.

My hope is that the future days of coincidence are filled with quotes from authors that state that churches are waking up and people are providing a "continuum of care" for every child. That the Bible verse for that day is Matthew 25:21 "His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." The email is about a place that people need to experience, where people drink in the Word of God. And the point is that God is pleased with His church because we are obedient to His Word.

Day of "Coincidence." Part 1

Have you ever had one of those days where too many things happen for them just to be a coincidence? The other day I had one of those days, which seems to happen more often than not. A quote from an author, a Bible verse and an email all converged at once to make a reoccurring point.

When I finished all the thoughts it was too long, so I had to split it into two parts. Here is the quote and the Bible verse.

The Quote:

"Western Christianity went to sleep in a modern world governed by the gods of reason and observation. It is awakening to a postmodern world open to revelation and hungry for experience. Unless churches can transition their cultures they stand the real risk of becoming museum churches, nostalgic testimonies to a culture that is no more." (Leonard Sweet, Postmodern Pilgrims)

I heard Dr. Sweet make a similar statement, or prediction at a conference last year. The point he was trying to make was that the American church needs to wake up or it run's the risk of becoming like the great churches in Europe. The church there has become so irrelevant to the culture, that the great cathedrals are empty, or in many cases only museums.  

The Bible Verse:

The Bible reading schedule I have been using was compiled over 100 years ago and the reading the day of coincidence was Jeremiah 22:

" 3 Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people.5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation."

The Hebrew word translated here for desolation could also be translated as ruins, or waste.

Do you hear the familiar ring? The church that fails to be obedient to what God commands, runs the risk of becoming a desolation, ruins or waste. "A culture that is no more."

Are there any examples like this in America? In your neighborhood?

Check out Part 2 for the email and the point.