N o v e mb er
2012
O ur M ission :
ACCTS in action To assist in the development of Christian leaders in the armed forces of the world and in the establishment and growth of military Christian fellowships.
Not by Might or Power, but by His Spirit!
Outgoing AMCF president General Lee, Pil Sup; former AMCF president Major General Clay Buckingham, and current AMCF president General Srilal Weerasooriya
“Not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit” was how outgoing AMCF president General Lee, Pil Sup described his service to God through the AMCF - and that verse from Zechariah aptly describes ACCTS’ work around the world, too. God’s Spirit is doing great things among the world’s armed forces and we are blessed to be a part of it! Staff members and international guests all shared stories from their ministries around the globe, ranging from nations where military Christians are common and accepted to nations where military Christians are threatened with persecution. Many military Christian fellowships are growing, while some are stagnant or floundering - but God’s Spirit is moving in the 147 nations with MCFs as well as those without fellowships. During this staff meeting, ACCTS
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Praying for General and Mrs. Lee
Praying for General and Mrs. Weerasooriya and Mrs. at the presidential turnover ceremony
General and Mrs. Lee and Clara Buckingham looking over AMCF’ s gift to the Lees -- a book of thankyou notes and photos from military Christians around the world.
Not by Might or Power, but by His Spirit! continued from page 1
hosted a dinner and the AMCF presidential turnover ceremony, as General Lee, Pil Sup of Korea passed the presidential responsibility to General Srilal Weerasooriya of Sri Lanka. General Lee, Pil Sup shared leadership guidance with the international and U.S. guests, stating that when God gives us a mission, He also gives us wisdom and power to meet that challenge. We need to safeguard the scriptures, to be strong and courageous, and not become discouraged, because God will be with us wherever we go. General and Mrs. Lee, Major General and Mrs. Buckingham (a former AMCF president and wife), and the directors of AMCF’s principal supporting organizations (ACCTS, MMI, and MSO) and their wives laid hands on General Srilal Weerasooriya and his wife Dilhani as General Lee commissioned General Weerasooriya in prayer. The remainder of the staff meeting included international briefings, the first of which was by the AMCF 2014 World Conference director Klaas Steyn (South Africa) and program director Rhett Parkinson (UK). They envision the World Conference as a training event that will equip, develop, and inspire military Christians, especially the younger generation, to dynamically carry Christ forward into the world’s armed forces. The conference is being developed as an outward-focused, mission-oriented program. Jos McCabe of our partner organization Military Ministry International (U.K.) and MG Yoon and LtCol Kim of the Korean Mission Support Organization also briefed the staff on their work and our ongoing partnerships. ACCTS’ director Phil Exner led the final staff meeting sessions, dealing with our desire to bring in staff members with a heart for military ministry and continue inspiring indigenous military Christians in every nation to which God leads us. We deeply appreciate your continued prayers and support as we move into 2013 and beyond.
ACCTS IN ACTION • Page 2 • November 2012
Welcome Mills! ACCTS welcomes Lt Col (USAF, Ret.) Dean and Deena Mills to our staff! They are our new Academy Exploration program coordinators, inspiring cadets, midshipmen and young officers to catch the vision for international military ministry by taking them on mission trips and visiting international military academies. Dean began his walk with the Lord in 1980 as a cadet at the Air Force Academy. Deena renewed her walk with Christ that same year, and both got involved with Officers’ Christian Fellowship. Dean retired after a 22-year career in the Air Force, during which they served God together in the military community. Dean and Deena joined the ACCTS board of directors in 2005. They became heavily involved with the OCF ministry team at the Air Force Academy and with ACCTS’ Rocky Mountain High-Interaction programs during two tours of duty and post- retirement in Colorado Springs.
Polish AMCF 15th Anniversary The president of the French MCF, Michael Jacquet and his wife Flerizia
International soldier photos courtesy USDOD.
The Military Christian Fellowship of Poland, Korneliusz, celebrated its 15th anniversary in September, with participants from the Polish military forces, border guards and police attending as well as delegates from France, Great Britain, Moldova, Sweden, Russia, and the United States. The conference included the induction of several new MCF members, and ACCTS’ deputy director Bernhard Kaltenbach and Dick Barnes (together with MMI coworker Rainer Thorun and AMCF vice president Torbjorn Bostrom) were made honorary members of the MCF in recognition of their service to and encouragement of the fellowship. One highlight of the conference was a worship service on Sunday morning at a local church, which consisted of a blessing for both military members and students. Rainer Thorun of MMI reports: “By inviting international guests, the Polish MCF has expressed how much they consider themselves as part of the family of AMCF.” Polish participants
Military Bishop Wola - Poland, MCF of leader Eduard Rosca - Moldova, and the AMCF vice president for Northeast Europe Torbjorn Bostrom - Sweden.
ACCTS IN ACTION • Page 3 • November 2012
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Staff Meeting Snapshots
New AMCF President General and Mrs. Weerasooriya and Military Ministry International (U.K.) team leader Jos and Ruth McCabe
ACCTS staff and international guests praying for General and Mrs. Weerasooriya
LtCol. Kim, Sa-mook; MGen. Yoon, Yeo Il; General Weerasooriya; MGen. Kim, Young-duk and Pastor Hur.
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ACCTS Prayer Reminder November 2012
“It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast.” -- W. J. Cameron Military prayer breakfast photo courtesy US Army
Note: Staff member names are in bold print. 1 Pray with ACCTS staff, Dean and Deena Mills as they visit East Coast military academies this week to discuss next year’s ACCTS Academy Exploration programs with military Christians. 2 AMCF’s new president, General Weerasooriya, asks us to pray for the three main categories of military Christian fellowships. Today, please join us in praying for the first category --- MCFs that are well-established, such as the ones in Brazil, South Korea, the U.S. and the U.K. Pray that they will follow God’s will in all their endeavors and maintain a missional concern for other nations’ MCFs. 3 Today, please pray for military Christian fellowships that are established but lack official recognition or support (which is often needed to minister effectively and openly). Many of these MCFs can be found in South Asia and other developing countries. Christians are generally a drastic minority in countries in this category. 4 Finally, General Weerasooriya asks us to pray for MCFs and military Christians who are persecuted or oppressed. These are often in Communist, formerly Communist, or Islamic countries where national policies do not permit, much less encourage, Christian organizations to function. These MCFs experience great difficulty in maintaining their existence due to the reality of persecution. 5 From today until November 16th our partner organization, IAEC, will conduct a chaplain training event in Guatemala at the request of military Christians there. Pray that the leaders and participants in this training event ACCTS prayer reminder • November 2012
(including Don Jukam) will be open to learning how to express their faith through love (Galatians 5:6). 6 ELECTION DAY (USA) Pray for the United States today as its citizens elect a president, members of congress, and other civic leaders. 7 Pray for wisdom for all who have been elected in the U.S., and praise God for His loving hand over our world and its future: “For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.” -- Psalm 22:28 (ESV) 8 The chaplaincy in Liberia began rebuilding in 2006 after a long civil war. Now there are 12 chaplains who are, among other job responsibilities, often working to reconcile tribal factions. Pray for the chaplains and other military Christians in Liberia as they follow Christ and serve their nation. 9 An ACCTS coworker asks for prayers for U.S. cadets and midshipmen in ROTC and at the academies - particularly, pray that the Christians among them will be good witnesses to their peers and those they meet. 10 Praise God for 20 law enforcement officers in Panama who are now working as chaplains. Pray that military Christians, including these chaplains, will help reconcile their nations’ armed forces personnel to Christ and His hope. 11 Many ACCTS staff members send out emails or emailed newsletters (such as Doris Waldrop Mincks’ Thoughts to Ponder for military wives) to military Christians and MCF leaders worldwide. Pray that these messages will encourage, comfort, and motivate all who read them.
12 VETERANS DAY (OBSERVED - USA) Praise God and take a moment to pray for all those you know who serve or have served in the armed forces of your nation. 13 Praise God for the rapid growth of the MCF in Nepal, and ask that all their work for Christ be done in a spirit of love for their coworkers, family, and friends. 14 The tiny African nation of Cape Verde Islands has a very small military Christian fellowship. Please pray with its members and ministry as they seek to stay strong in Christ. 15 Pakistan’s MCF -- Benaiah -- is named after the chief of staff in King Solomon’s army (mentioned in 2 Samuel). The MCF meets regularly in Lahore. Pray for God’s hand of protection and His Spirit of wisdom to be on all these Christians.
24 The continent of Africa has six nations without military Christian fellowships. Pray that indigenous military Christians will take up the challenge to form groups in their own nations so that their armed forces personnel may know Christ. 25 The Middle East region has the largest percentage of nations without military Christian fellowships. Praise God for the six nations that do have MCFs, but pray that indigenous military Christians will be raised up by God, in His timing, to create ways for military Christians to fellowship together and encourage each other in these “difficult-access” countries. 26 The Pacific region of our world has nine nations with MCFs but six without. Pray that Christ’s name will be fully proclaimed and that military Christian fellowships will begin in those six nations.
16 Micronesia is composed of four small state-islands. Pray that military Christians in these states will be able to start meeting for prayer and encouragement.
28 Praise God that 25 Asian nations have MCFs. Please pray that Christ will empower indigenous Christians to begin MCFs in those five nations without one.
17 Central African Republic has had a military chaplaincy for over 25 years. They currently have approximately 25 chaplains -- pray for ACCTS and our partner organizations as we work to give these chaplains and other military Christians much-needed training.
29 In the Americas (which includes Caribbean nations) every nation has a military Christian fellowship. Praise God for the individuals in these nations who had the vision to start these groups, and pray that all these groups will grow and strengthen.
18 Military Christians around the world have been encouraged to donate one day’s salary toward the 2014 AMCF World Conference, to be held in South Africa. Praise God that military Christians in some of the poorest nations believe in this conference so much that they have already done so! Please pray that God will lead others to sponsor international participants to attend this event.
30 Many military Christian fellowships around the world use the Christmas season as an opportunity to reach out to their coworkers and others. Pray that all their outreaches will be blessed by God and that they will be known for the spirit of love they extend to others at this time of Christ’s coming to earth.
19 Pray with our ministry partners, Military Ministry International - United Kingdom and Military Support Organization - South Korea, as they discern God’s agenda for their ministry, especially as they reach the next generation. 21 Pray with Vic and Marsha Grazier as they host a Thanksgiving dinner for international military students and their families who are at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. 22 THANKSGIVING DAY (USA) “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” - 2 Corinthians 9:15 23 Military Christian fellowships aren’t “just” groups of Christians meeting together for Christian fellowship they are also dynamic, outreach-oriented groups that are changing their armed forces by sharing Christ’s redemptive power and hope. With that in mind, we are praying region by region for nations without MCFs. Today we are praying for Europe, where there are currently 29 European nations with military Christian fellowship and 19 without. Ask for God’s blessings on all those nations, and for Him to lead military Christians to start MCFs in the 19 that need them. ACCTS prayer reminder • November 2012
“If I have enjoyed the hospitality of the Host of this universe, Who daily spreads a table in my sight, surely I cannot do less than acknowledge my dependence.” -- G. A. Johnston Ross