August 2011 Newsletter

AUGUST 2011

A WORLD AWAY Photo Essay from the Philippines

+ PHILIPPINES REACHED THAT + WE'VE AGE BUT WE ARE NOT RETIRING!

+ ISRAEL STILL HAPPENING + AUGUST DAILY PRAYER WATCH www.everyhome.org.au

A WORLD AWAY It is the faces of the people that best reflect the impact of the Gospel on the island nation of the Philippines. Whether the weathered expression of an elderly woman who has worked in the fields all her life, or the group of wide-eyed children listening to a village preacher talk about Jesus, lives are being changed this very day due to the tireless efforts of Every Home for Christ workers in the region. As EHC supports the local pastors in evangelism, it creates a relationship and a partnership that has endured for 50 years.

What greater joy can the Church have than knowing that there are foot soldiers who uncompromisingly present the hope of Christ to those who have not heard. How pleased the Lord must be that the souls behind these faces are being reached with the Good News a world away in the Philippines.

The Philippines

Every Home for Christ workers are partnering together with local indigenous pastors in the Philippines rural Quezon province, a region made up primarily of coconut plantations where fishing is also a large part of the local economy.

What is the most common reaction to the Gospel here? Those who receive a gospel presentation and literature usually drop everything they’re doing and read the messages in their entirety. It seems they realize what they are receiving is a gift worth understanding—it is the truth of the Lord.

By working in cooperation with the local church, Every Home for Christ Philippines has increased its effectiveness in ministry to both adults and children. Sometimes EHC simply provides training and literature to use for distribution and follow-up. Other times, they join the local church for larger events. One outreach to children provides an opportunity to draw entire families to the gathering. The local pastor’s wife, who has a great heart for the

children, led them in song and told Bible stories in a Vacation Bible School-type setting, while the parents sat and listened nearby. Pastor Sam Evangelista, EHC’s National Director, even got on his knees to serve every child in attendance a hearty bowl of soup. When EHC partners with local believers, the outreaches are strengthened and the Lord is glorified! Please continue to pray for all of EHC’s mid-year programs, including those of EHC Philippines.

65th Anniversary Every Home for Christ

We've reached that age... but we are not retiring!

By Denys Blackmore It’s true. We’ve reached that age. EHC turns 65 this year.

We’re going to celebrate, of course; but we are certainly not going to retire! This unique ministry, founded in Canada in 1946, has grown into one of the most far reaching Gospel ministries of our generation. In 65 eventful years EHC workers have delivered the Good News of Jesus to over 1.4 billion homes in 204 nations. And by God’s grace the work continues with more energy and determination than ever.

Why are we not retiring? There are three compelling reasons: We have a work to continue.We have a message to communicate. And we have a world to reach.

We have a work to continue.

Our “job” is the same one that Jesus gave to His very first followers 2,000 years ago: To go into all the world, proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples among all peoples. Traditionally we call this “The Great Commission” (even though that phrase is not in the Bible). It is “great” because of its scope. It is a “commission” because Jesus gave it, not as a suggestion, but as a mandate. It is the main thing that we must pursue as Christ’s Church today.

Each generation is responsible to reach its own generation. We can’t proclaim the Gospel and make disciples retroactively, nor can we evangelise people yet to be born. Our focus is right here, right now,

making the Gospel present to every person possible in every place possible.

As we fulfill this task let us be encouraged in knowing that our Lord Jesus would not have called us to a job we cannot do. The task is doable. It can be done. Together, we can present Christ to every home!

We have a message to communicate.

Our message is not just any message. It is The Message—the one and only lifetransforming Good News about the one and only way of salvation, Jesus Christ. He came to this earth, God in human flesh, 100% deity and 100% humanity in one person. He lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, and then he rose again, triumphant over sin’s curse. To all who believe and receive Him, He offers the gift of His very life— eternal, abundant, and full of hope.

Every person who trusts in Him is called to be His witness, to testify of His lifegiving truth. The very last words that Jesus spoke to His followers, moments before He returned to heaven, were these: “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.”

Like our fellow believers throughout the centuries, we are Christ’s witnesses. Empowered

by the Holy Spirit, we declare the message than can change a life and redeem it for eternity.

We have a world to reach.

In order to fulfill Christ’s commission we must go to a vast number of places—even to the “uttermost” places on earth. However, our calling is not to travel but to testify, to bear witness for Jesus. The world we must reach is a world of people. We must tell them the Good News that can liberate their souls from spiritual bondage. We must confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

And we must never be ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

From the day EHC was founded we have been compelled by the “all” and “every” factors—going into all the world, telling the Good News to every person, and making disciples among every people group.

Researchers estimate that approximately two billion people have yet to hear the Gospel even one time. Countless people have never even heard the name of Jesus.

We must tell them! There is no alternative.

We are so grateful for those who have partnered with us over these 65 years. Our prayer is for an even greater number of partners who will pray and give so that the greatest number of people possible will hear about Jesus.

In his old life, he kidnapped and raped 11 girls and this is the reason he is in jail but after receiving the "Fathers Love Letter", a gospel tract, God reached his soul and now he has repented of his sins and is being baptised.

Every Home for Christ

Australia: PO Box 168 Penshurst NSW 2222 New Zealand: PO Box 31-260 Milford North Shore City 0741 www.everyhome.org.au

Telephone: (02) 9570 8211 Facsimile: (02) 9570 4738 Telephone: Free call 0800 900 200 Facsimile: 0061 2 9570 4738 ehc@everyhome.org.au

A Legacy of Changed Lives The far-reaching ministry of Every Home for Christ began in an unlikely place with an unlikely founder. The year was 1946, just months after the end of World War II. Jack McAlister, a 22-yearold pastor in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, felt his heart gripped with a passion for world evangelisation. Stricken with polio as a youngster, Jack knew his limitations. He had been rejected for military service and was well aware that no missionary agency would commission him for foreign work. “But even though I couldn’t go,” Jack once said, “I could certainly send.” And what Jack sent were “paper missionaries” in the form of gospel literature.

The ambitious young pastor began a radio program and called it the Tract Club of the Air. He captivated his listeners with the challenge of world missions and invited them to join him in a literature evangelism campaign.

The first goal was to amass and send one million gospel tracts to various nations. That goal was quickly met and the ministry began to grow rapidly. Five years later, in 1951, the organisation adopted a new name: World Literature Crusade (WLC).

WLC maintained a strong presence in Canada but decided to establish its international offices in the U.S. in the early 1950s. Through radio programs and television specials broadcast throughout North America, WLC became an increasingly influential force in world missions. In 1953 WLC launched its “Every Home” method of saturation evangelism, equipping nationals in their respective countries to present a printed message of the Gospel systematically, home-byhome. This strategy became the ministry’s hallmark and led to another name change: In 1986 World Literature Crusade became Every Home for Christ.

EHC’s international office, now located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has been under the leadership of Dick Eastman the International President since 1988. Canada EHC has been led

by Denys Blackmore since 1989. Eric Leach has led Australia & New Zealand since 1978 and Dean Llewelyn leads the United Kingdom as Chairman.

Above all, the legacy of WLC and EHC is one of changed lives—men and women and boys and girls transformed by the power of Christ. Over 1.4 billion homes have been visited in person by EHC workers who have delivered over 3 billion pieces of gospel literature. And best of all, 93 million people have responded to indicate their decision for Christ or to request more information about knowing Him. And those are just the ones we know about! Only eternity will reveal the true count. May God continue to give a great harvest!

- By Denys Blackmore

FOR THE REWARD OF THE LAMB (Are You Taking a Harvest to Heaven?)

Nearly every time I speak at a church or conference, I begin my message with two questions:

So, how big will your harvest be when you enter heaven?

How many here are on your way to heaven?

As we consider the great need in the nations for people to experience Christ, we can easily become spiritually paralyzed—especially when we hear the Lord say, “You give them something to eat.”

We think—what can I do? The need is just too great. Yet we know God commanded each of us to “go into all the world” and “make disciples” of all nations, which for many is a daunting prospect.

Of course, nearly everybody raises his or her hand.

But then I ask the follow-up question.

How many want to take a lot of people with you?

Naturally, I receive the same response. Then, I share with those present how they can do just that by becoming involved in a ministry like Every Home for Christ.

These questions obviously are on my mind every day as I pray for the nations, asking God to draw multitudes into His kingdom. I think of John’s description of such a great multitude, depicted in Revelation 7:9.

Picture it: As far as the eye can see, people from the ends of the earth will gather before the throne to worship the King of Kings. Our languages and skin tones will be beautifully diverse, but our hearts, minds and spirits will be perfectly one. How I long to see the Church come together in this way, to hear this most stunning symphony, unmatched by anything heard this side of eternity.

We are confident that God will have a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. That is a guarantee.

What is sometimes less evident is the huge role you and I can play in this unfolding story.

Remember the story of the loaves and the fish? In Luke 9:10-17, we find the account of a hungry multitude, desperate for food. Jesus, seeing their great need, was moved with compassion and said to His disciples, “You give them something to eat.”

The disciples recognised the magnitude of the task, and they probably felt rather overwhelmed.

Even so, with the help of an unnamed young boy, they brought Jesus what little they had: five loaves of bread and two fish.

You know the rest of the story. God multiplied these meagre rations into a feast that fed all 5,000 people.

He turned an ordinary gift into something miraculous.

But what if I told you that this year, you could easily reach 5,000 people in some faraway land with the Good News of Jesus? (Next year you could do the same, and then the next!)

This month, Every Home for Christ have done a new calculation for the Feed 5000 project now named Reach 5000. We’ve done a few calculations and discovered something incredible.

With a monthly gift of $35, you can reach 5,000 people with the Good News, right where they live, in one year.

Whether you are a businessperson, a mother, a grandfather, a teacher, a scientist or a student, you can participate directly in helping complete the Great Commission. Every Home for Christ is currently active in almost 100 nations, any of which are available to “adopt” for you to help proclaim the Gospel to those who have never heard. And this may surprise you—on average as many as 200 (or possibly more) of those 5,000 may respond to the salvation message and become new followers of Jesus. Where else could you begin gathering such a wonderful harvest for heaven?

We are excited about EHC’s new Reach 5000 program because we know that God will multiply our loaves and fish, and together we will see Christ glorified in scores of under-evangelized nations. I am convinced that when we join together in unity as the saints before the throne, we will see the worthy Lamb receive His reward—the worship of vast multitudes because of the faithfulness of friends like you. Please, don’t go to heaven without your harvest!

REACH5000.com YOUR HANDS. OUR FEET. Your Dollars Put to Work: $1=3 homes reached 3 homes=3 families of 4 to 12 people* $35/month=420 people/month 12 months @ 420 people = 5,040 people

*4 people/home is Global Statistical Average provided by EHC statistics for 2011.

Argentina Francisco Fernandez has been a cab driver for 33 years.

He gives each passenger a gospel tract.

In 1992, he had a deep experience with God and as a result, stopped working with his taxi on Sundays. " I stopped working with my taxi so I could go to church", he explains. And six years ago, he adopted a habit that changed his life: he gives to each of his passengers the tracts that he gets from the Buenos Aires office of Every Home for Christ.

When asked why he gives out Bible literature, his city traffic. His smile, his calm when he talks, the eyes fill with tears. "I like giving, I always liked look in his eyes match the message of the giving. It is such a joy." literature he gives out to 30, 40 or 50 people a His big dark eyes share peace in the midst of the day, depending on how the work day goes.

Israel Tourwith Every Home for Christ and it's not too late for you to come!

12-28th October or 6th November with Jordon & Egypt FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT....

Australia Freephone: 1800 807 172 Email: ehc@everyhome.org.au New Zealand Freephone: 0800 900 200 Email: ehc@everyhome.org.au United Kingdom Phone: 020 8940 1873 Email: admin@ehcuk.com