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Fresh Fire
 Missionaries, Ken and Cathie Metz discussed fresh vision with Pastor Ovideo concerning the next season of ministry in Peru.
It makes one ponder and pray, when you've come to the end of your present revelation for ministry. You wonder what it all means. You ask a lot of questions and search for where God wants to lead from here. No doubt it is a time of transition. It may mean transitioning to a new location. It could mean shifting into a whole new model of ministry. It can also mean that one season is over and a new one is about to begin. The new season will require new revelation, fresh vision. This is where Ken and Cathie Metz and their Peruvian ministry team find themselves. Over the past six years the Metzes have been serving in Huancayo, Peru, a city of over a quarter million people in the high plains of the Andes at 11,000 feet. They have been working to unify the church of Jesus Christ in Huancayo and Peru for spiritual transformation. They have been successful in bringing pastors in various cities together, across denominational lines to pray and work together to make the Church stronger and impact those cities for Christ. They have established cells of intercessors, organized city prayer events and marches for Jesus. They have made inroads into the government, the educational system and law enforcement. They have prayed with officials and have seen men and women in high positions come to Christ and influencing their communities and nation. However, in their new season God is revealing a broad new vision. "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old." Matthew 13:52 Brother Fernando led worship and Pastor Pedro led in prayer for the Metz ministry team where the fresh vision was shared and confirmed by the team. The new vision calls for a multi-dimensional ministry center in Huancayo. It will consist of a new wineskin church. Its contemporary style will represent an alternative to the more traditional churches in the area. The relational and apostolic model is aimed at reaching the young people in the city. It will be an Antioch type church (Acts 13) where worship, prayer and fasting, the Presence of God and spiritual equipping were prominent, while possessing an export mentality. It will serve as a reproducible model to be established in other ripe areas throughout Peru to reap a harvest among the emerging generation. The church will offer leaders and believers of other churches, helpful ministry resources and a practical model of new wineskin ministry. Further edges of the ministry center will include a House of Prayer for continuous intercession, a counseling center and an addiction recovery ministry. Ken and Cathie have laid good foundations in the community for these spiritually social ministries. Their ministry team represents people primed to lead in key positions for the development of the ministry center. They will begin services in the new church this fall as the first phase of the fresh vision. Key leaders, Graciela (prayer minister) and her son, Yul (youth leader) stand with Dallas Elder. Welcome to These Ministries! We are blessed to welcome these new ministers and ministries to our Grace Covenant family. Freshfire Church  We are pleased to welcome pastors Curtis and
Ruth Ann Dunning back into our network.
They served with us a few years ago and were led in a  different
direction for a time. This summer they contacted us with the vision to plant a
new church in St. Joseph, MO and the desire to be under our ministry
covering. In July they launched Freshfire Church. They have a great start and much
favor. In the three months they have had
over 50 first time visitors and have about 50 in attendance. Their open hands of welcome are connecting
people with the heart of God.Church Foundations
October 29-31, Oakdale, CA The West Coast Ministry Training Conference will be held at Living Hope Christian Fellowship and will feature daily equipping workshops and evening ministry services. Workshops include:
Costs are as follows: Planting/Pioneering Resources Seminar- $60 Ministry Training Conference- $150 Individual Workshops- $60 Per day rate- $60 *Register by Oct. 14 by contacting our office.
MSI Pre-Conference Seminar: Church Planting/Ministry Pioneering Resources (Fresno) October 28-Wednesday 9am-3pm "The business guru Peter Drucker said that he had pondered the relative difficulties of various careers and came to the conclusion that church planting is the hardest job on Earth and that pastoring is the second toughest job." Steve Sjogren & Rob Lewin, Community of Kindness
This one day seminar focuses on equipping pastors, missionaries, para-church leaders and core group members for their church planting and ministry pioneering efforts. MSI is committed to the ongoing effort of encouraging, enriching and equipping those whose purpose is pioneering new works of ministry. We are building an environment of support with practical helps for these strategic Kingdom endeavors. There is a unique tool belt necessary for pioneers. Specific equipping relationships and resources are key components. "Relationships make leaders; wise leaders will also create learning relationships. This is not easy for most church planters, who tend to be free spirits and perhaps mavericks. But the best church planters (pioneers) combine innovation with learning and become leaders under accountability." Ed Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches. TOP TEN REASONS CHURCH PLANTS STALL by Dallas Elder
10. Lack of a clearly defined vision. It is difficult to progress forward if there is a lack
of clear direction. People are looking for leaders to declare and define the
pathway for establishing the new work.
Most people will not connect to a group where the vision is sketchy or
keeps changing. 9.
Disoriented and overwhelmed leader. Church planting is a significant Kingdom task. There seems to be so much to do and there is
a myriad of opinions from other people. Then there are the disorienting and
derailing fronts of spiritual assault.
It can be an emotional and spiritual roller coaster. It is important to
keep focus, keep on the vision path, keep taking the steps, avoiding detours
and work lapses. 8. Focus on the fringe issues. While revival, prophetic ministry,
healing ministry, social agendas, etc. are worthy causes, they are secondary
issues in a church plant. The primary
pursuit has to be making disciples. God
calls forth new works to expand the Kingdom.
The Kingdom
of God only expands by
new believers being enfolded into a discipling church. While the initial church planting core group
will be believers, the primary goal of every church plant has to be to make new
disciples. Primary focus on secondary
issues will blunt the impact of the work even though the secondary stresses may
be important textures in the overall fabric of the church. 7. Inability to deal with problem
persons. "A new church can be a magnet that
attracts disgruntled Christians who have a history of conflict in other
churches. My observation over the years
tell me that more new churches fold from an inability to confront disruptive
people than from any other cause." Ralph
Moore, Starting a New Church 6. Sowing lapses. Consistent sowing will ultimately
result in a harvest. Distractions, disappointments and discouragement can cause
huge gaps and lapses in outreach and sowing Kingdom ministry into the
community. Leaders must keep motivated
and ever modeling evangelistic efforts. There are certainly times when ministry
will be stronger than others but consistent sowing will keep the church always
engaged with lost and hurting people.
The consistent connection will assure a continual flow of new people
into the new work. "Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will
succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well." Ecclesiastes 11: 6 (Last five reasons will be featured in the next issue) Corporate
Call to: Days of Prayer and Fasting-Nov. 1-21
Each
year we invite the leaders and believers of our GC ministries to join together
in a season of corporate prayer and fasting.
Prayer coupled with fasting is a key personal spiritual discipline
practiced by Jesus and the saints of the Scriptures, but we also see Biblical
examples of the corporate call for groups to collectively humble themselves and
hunger after God. "Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast
for all of Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help
from the Lord." II Chr. 20:3-4 Furthermore, the prophet Ezra declared a
corporate fast as did Queen Esther and the prophet Joel. In Acts 13, the church of Antioch
was in a season of fasting and prayer.
The spiritual benefits of fasting are many:
We
invite you and those involved in your ministry to share with us in this
strategic time in all the ways that work for you. Some may do one day a week, some one meal a
day. Some may fast a portion or the
entire time. Our prayer is for broad
participation throughout our ministry family around the world through this
season. Our effort will open our
ministry wineskin for more of His Spirit resulting in more of His glory on the
earth. Kingdom Growth Points This column offers resources which will help your ministry grow as you expand your edge of the Kingdom of God.
To leaders: "It is your role to lead the whole church or ministry into this vision of corporate witness. If you don't set the pace, cast the vision, clarify the mission and help people contribute to the witness of your church, very few people will ever come to know Christ through your church. In positive terms, likely the most strategic and transforming thing you can do as a leader is to help your church define, strategize and implement a vision for corporate witness in your community." Source: Rick Richardson, Re-imaging Evangelism "We do not use people to fulfill vision. We use vision to fulfill people." Larry Cochran-GO International Grace
Covenant Ministry Conference 2010 February 2-5 Proactively Plan Now! We cannot overstate the importance of joining with us for our annual ministry conference in Kansas City, MO. It is our ministry family re-union and God shows up in huge ways to inspire us, encourage us and connect us in Kingdom synergy. We encourage you to identify key leaders and young people who need to be a part of this year's conference. Pray ahead and plan for God's provision. Invite guest ministers in need of a relational, apostolic fellowship. There is no cost for the conference only the personal expenses of lodging, meals and travel. |
Steve Youngblood is the founder of this para-church
ministry with its office in Kirksville,
MO. His ministry is apostolic encouragement and
equipping to the various churches he relates to in the Body of Christ. He instructs churches and leaders to
establish strong foundations upon which to build their ministries. He also serves to help launch new
churches. His Eagle's Nest ministry is a
discipleship and leadership training program for young adults. Steve attended
the Grace Covenant Ministry Conference in Kansas
City last February and taught a workshop at our MSI
conference in May. He believes that
relationship, connection and covering are essential for accountability, balance
and fruitfulness in ministry. Check out
his website: www.ChurchFoundations.com
MSI