Every Home Journal - Winter 2019

EVERY HOME WINTER 2019

| RUSSIA

| CAMBODIA

|

C R E AT I V E A C C E S S

CRAZY FAITH Men and women of faith risk it all for the sake of Jesus

TAKING THE GOSPEL ACROSS FROZEN RIVERS IN SIBERIA REBUILDING THE CHURCH FROM THE ASHES OF THE KHMER ROUGE

Every Person Matters.

TO THE LAST HOME

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you. — 2 Thessalonians 3:1

CONTENTS

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07 // FROM THE PRESIDENT – DICK EASTMAN 08 // FRONT LINE NEWS 10 // IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER – RUSSIA They’re a band of misfits: tech pioneers and recovered addicts, Baptists and former prison inmates. Despite their differences, they have one important thing in common.

20 // FEAR NOT – CREATIVE ACCESS We can’t tell you his name or country, but he’s been working behind closed doors for decades — and it’s about time you hear his story.

28 // FROM THE ASHES OF THE KHMER ROUGE – CAMBODIA Following the genocide, less than 200 believers lived in Cambodia. Heng Cheng was one of them.

34 // ANATOMY OF AN EHC LEADER 38 // A LIVING ROOM AND A TENT ON CAPITOL HILL – USA Praying from the heart of our nation.

International President | DICK EASTMAN Executive Director | TIM MIDDLEBROOK

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Editors | JONO HALL, ISAAC REICHENBACH Writers | JASON HERSHEY, JAMES HOLT, TANNER PEAKE, JOSHUA SKAGGS Copy Editor | EVELYN EVANS Designers | DAVE BATES, DREW EMMERT Photographer | DANIELLE SCHMIDT

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The Every Home quarterly journal is published to share what God is doing on the front lines of global missions through Every Home for Christ. We aim to communicate stories and testimonies with honesty and integrity. It is an honor to be messengers of this good news, and we pray this publication is an encouragement. Thank you for your partnership in the Great Commission.

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Did something in this issue inspire or encourage you? We'd love to hear from you: write to info@ehc.org

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EVERY HOME FOR CHRIST PO Box 64000 Colorado Springs, CO 80962 1-800-423-5054 ehc.org | info@ehc.org social: @everyhomeintl

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WHAT WE DO: Currently active in more than 150 nations around the world, we serve the Church to mobilize and equip indigenous missionaries to systematically share the Gospel with every family in every home in every nation. Connect with us online at ehc.org

Scripture taken from the New King James VersionŽ. Copyright Š 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

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Pray for more “Crazy Ones"

There are currently over 50 nations that still need an Every Home work. Most of these are “Creative Access” nations, dangerous countries where we must work around spiritual, social and governmental obstacles. Please join us in prayer for God to send us brothers and sisters of “crazy” faith to launch and lead the ministry in these nations.

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” — Matthew 19:26

FROM TH E P R E S I D E N T

Faith Beyond Understanding I recall one of the first passages of Scripture I memorized as a newly converted young man: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5, KJV). This verse is important because it reminds us that human reason is a deadly “faith-killer.”

When we look at the world through the lens of our own understanding, it’s easy to see obstacles to the Gospel: a growing population, hostile governments, difficult terrain and, sadly, few laborers. The idea of reaching every home seems impossible. Some might even say it’s “crazy.”

Thankfully, there are also people who look at the world through the lens of God’s Word. Like Caleb and Joshua, they see past the giants to glimpse the Promised Land (Numbers 14:8). Instead of obstacles, they see God’s power and goodness. They see answers to prayer and a Church that loves the lost. Most importantly, they see that the prospect of going “to the last home” is something that can be done.

José Seisdedos, one of EHC’s most successful and experienced leaders, calls this person the “crazy man.”

When EHC initiates a plan to saturate a nation with the Gospel, the first thing we look for is a leader who has no doubt it can be done and will work with passion to see it accomplished. “If someone tells me it cannot be done,” José says, “I simply know he is not the one who is going to do it!”

As we advance the OIKOS Initiative, I am filled with gratitude for the “crazy ones” that God has brought to

our team. You’ll meet a few of them in the pages that follow. These are the men and women who step out in faith every day, despite the obstacles, to take the Gospel to every home in their nations. I am humbled to call these people my friends, and I’m inspired by their dramatic and unshakable faith — a faith that sees beyond human understanding.

My prayer for you, as you read this issue of Every Home, is that such a faith will grow within your own heart. Our brothers and sisters on the front lines of the harvest covet your prayers and support. They need to know that you stand beside them and say in confident, faith-filled agreement: “Yes, it can be done.”

For the harvest,

Dick Eastman International President

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FRONT LINE NEWS

EHC Global Leadership Team

2019 OIKOS Leadership Summit SEPTEMBER 16-19, 2019

Our annual OIKOS Leadership Summit is the one time of year when our Global Leadership Team can gather from the mission field for visioncasting, spiritual renewal and personal fellowship.

This year, 36 leaders and their spouses attended the September event in Colorado Springs.

We placed special emphasis on honoring families, who are often deeply invested in the work of sharing the Gospel. In light of this, special breakout sessions were held so ministry leaders’ spouses could share their stories and strategies for laboring in the harvest.

The event closed with a banquet to celebrate the first year of the OIKOS Initiative. Incredible stories were shared about challenges and victories that have happened in the last year — stories of advance against all odds across the regions of the world.

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CALLING The 2020 watchword and prophetic theme for Year Two of the OIKOS Initiative: "Calling"

At Every Home for Christ, we are called...

1. to love the Lord.

2. to serve the Church.

3. to reach the lost.

LOOK WHAT GOD IS DOING! These few testimonies below are taken from hundreds we receive monthly through prayerwatchlive.org

AFRICA Phil Wickham

Zambia — The village of Moomba once made sacrifices and worshiped at an ancestral altar. But after hearing the Gospel, the chief repented and burned the altar down.

ASIA

We Love: Colorado SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2019

EncounterLife held a special event in September called We Love: Colorado. Over 3,000 believers from across our state gathered to seek God’s heart for the lost in their communities. Their rallying cry: “God so loved… So we love!”

Inspirational teaching was shared by Erwin McManus, Dick Eastman and Samuel Rodriguez. Worship was led by Jeremy Camp, Phil Wickham and Amanda Lindsey Cook.

The event emphasized a spirit of unity in the Body of Christ. Hundreds of churches from across the denominational spectrum joined together with the common goal of sharing the Gospel. A session in Spanish empowered believers from the Hispanic community, Colorado’s largest minority group, and a youth session encouraged students to take the message of Jesus back to their campuses.

Every attendee went home with a free outreach kit, and thousands made the commitment to shine a light where they live. We expect that We Love: Colorado will continue to bear fruit for the Kingdom into the coming years.

EncounterLife is the U.S. initiative of Every Home for Christ. To learn more, visit EncounterLife.com

SEPTEMBER 12

SEPTEMBER 30

Myanmar — EHC Pioneer Missionaries shared the Gospel with a Buddhist family struggling with alcoholism and drugs. Two sisters came to Christ, and today they are serving in outreach to their community.

MENACA

AUGUST 9

Lebanon — A Syrian refugee named Maram accepted Jesus after meeting a Pioneer Missionary. At first, her family resisted her new faith, but now they have all been baptized. Today they lead a Christ Group for fellow refugees.

EURASIA

AUGUST 5

Croatia — EHC Croatia recently organized a camp for 40 Pioneer Missionaries in the coastal city of Zadar.

They were able to share the Gospel in the surrounding area and on two nearby islands that have no churches.

AMERICAS

AUGUST 19

Mexico — An elderly man named Jorge left a lifetime of alcohol and drug addiction to follow Jesus. He was then publicly baptized in the ocean near his home.

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In the Eye of the Beholder

by Tanner Peake V.P. of International Ministries

I

want to show you something, but I don’t know how to make it visible. It took me years to see it, and even then, I couldn’t find an easy label. Now I recognize it everywhere I go, a familiar quality in the gaze of the men and women I visit around the world.

It’s the twinkle in their eyes.

I realize how sentimental that language might sound. But this “twinkle” has led our leaders to undergo long journeys, hunger, heartache, loss and even death. It has also led them to Kingdom exploits that I can only marvel at. Our leaders have grit, and you can see it in their eyes. It’s passionate commitment. It’s a certain faithful intentionality that will ensure that no person is left behind — no matter where they live, even on the margins of society.

I understand that I have a position of privilege: my role gives me a unique vantage point, allowing me to hear firsthand a steady stream of stories from men and women within this ministry who have abandoned all to take the Gospel to their communities and nations.

In the last couple months alone, I heard firsthand from one of our directors who has been electrocuted five times for preaching the Gospel; I knelt in prayer beside another one of our directors whose staff have recently been “lost,” most likely kidnapped by extremists while evangelizing in their nation. I heard stories of men and women climbing one of the highest mountains in the world to reach a single village with the Good News of Jesus; and I heard of women in Africa who have given their whole lives to reaching Muslim women and discipling them in secret. Each of these stories has a common denominator — each starts with someone who holds the conviction that every person matters to Jesus, so they leave their homes and risk their safety to go. These are our leaders around the world, and this deep conviction is where the “twinkle” comes from.

“This is a group of misfits. It’s like the first half of a bad joke: four guys walk into a bar… ”

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I want to take you to Russia to meet four men who recently reminded me what a follower of Jesus looks like. They all have that “twinkle.”

They could not be more different from each other, but they are all united by their passion for the Gospel. Together, they oversee the four main regions of EHC work in Russia. I recently went to a gathering of all of the Russian Pioneer Missionaries — the first time they had come together in one place — and what a time we had!

There’s the man we call “Big Sergey”: tall and quiet and wise — a teddy-bear apostle.

There’s “Little Sergey”: a former drug addict with a tenacious energy to reach the “least of these.” There’s Artem, a young progressive who is pioneering evangelism apps and 3D technology. And finally there’s Dmitry, a Baptist conservative with an uncompromising love for the lost.

They have a twinkle in their eyes and a conviction that the Russian people need Jesus.

If you were to sit across the table from these men — maybe even share a meal with them — you would be attracted to their faith. They are normal, down-to-earth followers of Jesus. Yet, despite being so dissimilar from one another, these men and their spouses, along with their teams, are taking the Gospel to the entirety of Russia. They are not just ministry professionals.

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They have a twinkle in their eyes and a conviction that the Russian people need Jesus.

Most people don’t realize just how expansive Russia actually is. This, along with numerous social and governmental restrictions, means that Russia is incredibly difficult to reach with the Gospel. To attend the meeting in Siberia, nearly every one of our missionaries had to travel through Moscow — across the 11 time zones of the nation. Geographically, homes are spread across vast distances. Many villages cannot even be reached by road. Socially, Russia is beset by drug addiction and has one of the highest suicide rates on the planet.

These are the challenges that the EHC team in Russia faces. To complete the OIKOS Initiative in Russia, they will need to take the Gospel to every single home in their nation by the end of 2038.

In this endeavor, good methodology is a critical component. The Russia team — like all EHC leaders — will need to measure stats and budget resources. They will need to chart neighborhoods and mobilize volunteers. Even so, methodology alone won’t guarantee that we are able to achieve the vision that the Lord has put before us.

Something more is needed. It’s the one thing they already have, and it’s the one thing that Every Home for Christ can’t give them — the twinkle in their eyes. I see it in the way they respond to people when they’re “off the clock.”

SWIFT SCALE The SWIFT Scale predicts how swiftly the Gospel might go forth to every home in a nation. We developed this tool by compiling and analyzing data on the following three indicators: 1. Accessibility — Geography and infrastructure affecting the Gospel’s advance 2. Labor — Prevalence of evangelical believers and strength of the local Church 3. Hostility — Degree of cultural and governmental opposition to the Gospel The SWIFT Scale provides a dynamic view of opportunities for the Gospel’s advance and gives insight into obstacles to the completion of the Great Commission in our generation. Russia is rated a 2.5 on the SWIFT Scale, ranking it as one of the most difficult nations on the planet to reach with the Gospel.

Russia 1 Least Swift

10 Most Swift 13

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A few years back, “Little Sergey” and his whole family was in a car accident. None of them was seriously injured, but “Little Sergey” spent some time in the hospital. By the end of his short stay, he had led three elderly women to the Lord. It’s as if he couldn’t help himself.

His whole team is like that: They all have the twinkle. A Pioneer Missionary named Yura recently picked up a hitchhiker while on his way to an outreach. The woman was a drug dealer whose husband was in jail and whose children had been removed from her custody. Yura shared the Gospel, gave her gospel literature and prayed with her.

In the coming months, the Gospel changed this woman’s life.

She got clean and welcomed her children back home. When her husband completed his prison sentence, he wanted to follow the God who had saved his wife. His probation officer was stunned, as visit after visit revealed enduring change. The family started a Christ Group in their home, and they continue to gather to this day.

Followers of Jesus have always been a ragtag group, united not by personality traits or even shared interests but by Jesus’ loving rescue. When He walked the earth, crowds of former prostitutes and tax collectors and even demon possessed people were caught up in His wake. In our day, this same crowd might include addicts and Wall Street bankers, the religious and the mentally ill. They might look a lot like our Russia team — a group of misfits and ragamuffins who are united by their passion for Jesus and their love for the lost.

When asked about his heart for Russia, “Little Sergey” doesn’t talk about numbers and figures; he talks about his morning commute: “I ride the bus and watch the people, and I see them being so busy with life — they are lost in life — and I have this compassion in my heart. I want to be a light in the midst of all this mess.”

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TEEN CHALLENGE Addiction and suicide are prevalent in Russia. As Pioneer Missionaries visit homes with the Gospel, they often encounter people who need further support after they give their lives to Jesus. This is where ministry partnerships prove invaluable — like our strong partnership with Teen Challenge.

Founded by David Wilkerson in 1960, Teen Challenge is a worldwide organization that provides support for people who struggle with substance abuse and self-destructive behavior. Many EHC workers have found freedom through Teen Challenge, and they want others to experience the same. Every year, EHC Russia partners with Teen Challenge to help hundreds of people find healing and freedom.

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Believers everywhere are rising up to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and that’s what gives me hope that OIKOS is not just a charming daydream.

“Big Sergey” is the same. He often travels to Buryatia, a Siberian region where temperatures routinely drop to 20 below. He drives across frozen rivers and lakes to reach distant villages. Why? Because he loves people. He’s seen again and again how readily people respond to that kind of love.

“They open their doors and they invite you in. They prepare the table, and sometimes they even invite the team to spend the night.”

As our Russia team goes from city to city and village to village on their way to reach every home in the nation, they are compelled by enduring devotion. If they received no recognition, they would keep going. Funding could stop, but they wouldn’t. They have that indefinable quality that compels them to stay the course, no matter what.

They’ve beheld Jesus, and the truth of the encounter is found in their eyes — truth in the eye of the beholder.

As I write this, I hope that I am addressing a kindred spirit. I hope you have the twinkle in your eyes. Because this quality is not only present in Siberia — I’ve seen it here too. Believers everywhere are rising up to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth, and that’s what gives me hope that OIKOS is not just a charming daydream.

The twinkle in our eyes is real, and it compels us to give our lives to Jesus. May we never lose it.

RUSSIA Current EHC Ministries: 4

142 MILLION Homes to be Reached: 49 MILLION Homes Reached in 2018 : 15,922,329 Responses to the Gospel in 2018: 244,685 Total Population:

Estimated Total Cost to Reach Every Home: $16+

MILLION 17

"To know and experience the love of God and freely give it away should be the goal and motivation of every believer." — Jesse Engle V.P. of Prayer and Ministry Partnerships

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PIONEER MISSIONARY KYI THAR HLA P R AY S W I T H A M A N I N M YA N M A R .

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FEAR NOT 20

IF YOU SAW EPHRAIM WALKING THE STREETS, IT’S UNLIKELY THAT YOU WOULD NOTICE ANYTHING UNUSUAL ABOUT HIM. He’s a Middle Eastern man in his fifties, standing at average height, with glasses and thinning hair. He is softspoken, meeting your eyes shyly or even looking at the floor. But if you walked with Ephraim a little longer, you would discover a man who is unlike any person you have ever known. You would discover that he is fearless — truly and utterly fearless — and how that quality has come at a high price.

Imprisoned 38 times. Electrocuted five times. Poisoned twice. To become a man who lives without fear, Ephraim has suffered in ways that most of us can’t imagine. But he doesn’t want to dwell on that.

“When we face many difficulties, we say very little about it,” he says.

Ephraim considers persecution a normal part of the Christian life, and in his home nation, that is certainly true.

His nation is rated in the top 10 of Open Doors’ World Watch List. While the blasphemy laws there do not explicitly target Christianity, they have an outsized impact on believers.

Ephraim and his team are opposed by religious factions and extremist groups that turn local governments and police against them. They risk imprisonment, torture and even death every time they share their faith. But Ephraim believes the greatest threat is an internal one.

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They risk imprisonment, torture and even death every time they share their faith.

“They can put you in fear,” he warns. “I have seen so many missionaries running because of fear.”

While Ephraim trusts God to preserve his life until the appointed day, he understands that fear has the potential to paralyze Christians and render them ineffective. His life’s work depends on his ability to overcome fear — and to train his team to do the same. Not everyone is up to the challenge.

“Because of the fear and because of the rumors,” Ephraim says, “people think that it is not possible to work in . But I think that it is possible. The Bible does not believe in impossible things.”

Where others have fled, Ephraim has doubled down on his calling to the people of his nation. As EHC Ministry Director, he leads a team of 22 EHC Pioneer Missionaries and mobilizes hundreds of volunteers to reach every home in his nation with the Gospel by 2038 They faithfully go forth despite strong opposition.

The question is — why? Why do Ephraim and his team stay when so many flee?

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MENACA

(Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia)

Countries: 29 Current EHC Ministries: 18

904,187,000 Homes to be Reached: 164,134,383 Homes Reached in 2018: 5,326,817 Responses to the Gospel in 2018: 267,011 Total Population:

It’s tempting to consider Ephraim as a man with a different nature from ours. His testimony is easier to swallow if we regard him as some kind of anomaly, as if God gave him an impartation of courage that He didn’t give the rest of us.

But such a simplification cheapens the nature of Ephraim’s courage, while also letting us off the hook for our own fearful tendencies. If we grapple with Ephraim’s story in an honest way, we must ask ourselves what he believes about God that makes him face risk head-on. What makes him so fearless?

Ephraim grew up in a Muslim household, the son of a wealthy politician. He heard Jesus’ name for the first time at age 20, when he broke his arm in a traffic accident and a Korean nurse prayed for him. As she prayed, he felt his entire body begin to tingle, and he recognized the presence of something beyond himself. When he returned home, he asked everyone to tell him who Jesus was, but his parents chastised him for the question. When he approached a local Muslim leader, the man poisoned him and locked him in a room to die.

There, he had an encounter with God that would shape the rest of his life. He saw a bright light and heard a voice relaying words that he would later find in Luke 10:19: “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.” He jumped through a first-story window to escape confinement, and he ran away from home. Having forfeited his family’s inheritance by leaving Islam, he wandered the streets for years and preached the Gospel from city to city.

He changed his name to reflect his conversion, becoming the first person in his nation to legally convert to a Christian name. (Ephraim is a pseudonym; we are withholding his name and country due to security concerns.) Through the years, Ephraim increased his influence in various regions, and in 2011, he launched Every Home for Christ’s work in his nation.

Today, Ephraim sees a shift happening. He believes that his Middle Eastern nation is in the midst of a great revival. When he was young, no one knew who Jesus was.

Today, Ephraim sees a shift happening. He believes that his Middle Eastern nation is in the midst of a great revival. When he was young, no one knew who Jesus was. Now, people ask him directly.

Now, people ask him directly. They want to know more.

Since they began the work, he and his team have reached 7.8 million homes with the Gospel, and 583,841 people have responded to the Gospel.

He rattles off stories as if there are an infinite number of lives being transformed by Jesus. Earlier this summer, his team rescued a young Muslim woman who was about to be sold into slavery. This fall, during a time of intense flooding, EHC responded by providing food, medicine and the Gospel. During a recent outreach in a major city, Ephraim shared the Gospel with a government hitman, who converted to Christianity along with his whole family.

To reach this hitman, Ephraim had to undergo physical abuse and death threats.

Death threats are common in Ephraim’s line of work, but he does not necessarily consider them persecution.

When he talks about the numerous death threats he receives every week, he is sure to clarify, “It’s a routine matter for us. We don’t take this that seriously.”

He is adept at calculating risks and strategizing accordingly. He knows when to be cautious and when to make a bold move. Wherever he goes, risk is unavoidable.

He says, “If we do not take these risks, the Gospel cannot be preached.”

In 2014, Ephraim was baptizing new believers when local security agents blindfolded him and took him away.

When they removed the blindfold he was in a dark room with several men. They beat and electrocuted him and finally threw him out on the streets. He forgot the way home. He couldn’t recall his own name. Thankfully, a local believer recognized him and took him in.

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Wherever he goes, risk is unavoidable. He says, “If we do not take these risks, the Gospel cannot be preached.”

When he recovered, Ephraim did the exact opposite of what anyone would expect. He returned to his captors with gifts and shared the Gospel with them. (When asked why he did this, Ephraim says simply, “No test, no testimony.”)

Whether the security agents were impressed by his boldness or simply baffled, they didn’t arrest him again.

This experience informed the way Ephraim coaches other believers when they face persecution.

A few years ago, he was out of the country attending a conference when he got a call and booked the fastest flight back. Six EHC Pioneer Missionaries had been imprisoned for sharing the Gospel on a military college campus. They were interrogated at length and badly beaten. Then they were blindfolded, tied to trees and told that they would be executed.

Ephraim contacted several connections and interceded for their release. For years, he has strategically befriended people of influence throughout the nation, many of whom are believers.

These political figures, social activists and public officials are a significant asset in his plan to reach his nation with the Gospel. Ephraim negotiated his team’s release and then checked them into a hospital for treatment and recovery. When he met with them, his encouragement was straightforward: “This has happened to me so many times. Now it has happened to you.”

This simple statement communicates Ephraim’s philosophy. He is eager to model God’s faithfulness, to say, I have been where you are, and God has carried me through. He reminds his team of the suffering of Christ and Paul, and then he shares his own suffering.

He believes that whatever the leader does the people will imitate.

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“When I suffer, the whole team suffers,” he says.

“When the team suffers, I suffer. So we all suffer, because we are part of one Body.”

Even so, not everyone is able to endure. Two members of the arrested team stopped working with Ephraim. They had families, and they couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them without a father and husband.

But four remained. Ephraim had several choices of what to do with these four. He could have withdrawn from certain regions, sheltering his team at the cost of the gospel witness they carried.

But this would allow fear a stronghold in their lives. He knew that, more than death, fear was their greatest enemy.

One year after his team was imprisoned, he hosted a discipleship event in the same city where they had been arrested. When his team arrived, they saw the faces of the men who had interrogated them in the crowd. Ephraim had contacted a highranking official he knew and arranged for them to attend. He handed each of his four team members a Bible and told them to deliver one to each of the men who had hurt them.

This was a risky gambit. He understood the terror this would trigger in his team — in fact, he knew it firsthand. But he also knew what kind of courage came on the other side of facing fear head-on. This is the path he had chosen for himself, and he wanted to lead his team in the same way. He looked on with relief and brotherly pride as his team took the Bibles to their former captors.

“When they handed over the Bibles to them, then they became bold,” he remembers.

This is a beautiful statement. It proves that the kind of fearlessness Ephraim displays can be instilled in others; it is not simply inherited.

But when we consider the implications of this moment, we should not avoid the sobriety it entails.

Becoming fearless is a deadly endeavor. It is as if Ephraim is saying, “They have completed boot camp; now to war.” For him, fearlessness is where the journey begins.

A WORD FROM EDITOR JONO HALL ABOUT CREATIVE ACCESS I was sitting in the OIKOS Leadership Summit a few weeks ago, hearing story after story of how God is moving through the EHC family globally. I was both inspired and grateful for all the ways God is helping us see His Good News go forth as we embark on the OIKOS Initiative. At the same time, I was also sad that we cannot share many of these stories with a wider audience.

The reason is that many of these stories come from “Creative Access Nations,” where church activities are greatly restricted and evangelism is, in many cases, illegal. In these places, the indigenous Body of Christ still says “yes” to the commands of Jesus in an extravagant way. Every Home for Christ is entirely composed of indigenous missions teams. When a Pioneer Missionary proclaims the Gospel and leaves behind gospel literature, they are making contact in nearly every situation with someone who is their fellow countryman.

We face many of our greatest challenges in Creative Access Nations. When the Gospel is outlawed or restricted by social, religious or governmental barriers, the Gospel needs more prayer to go forth — but it is hard to ask for prayer for missionary teams we don’t want to reveal. It is also in these nations that we often see the biggest supernatural breakthroughs.

It is for these reasons I am thankful for individuals like Brother Ephraim. I would ask you to open up your heart and World Prayer Map today and pray for the Body of Christ, especially in nations where the Gospel is difficult to proclaim, that the Lord would anoint the EHC family to see the Word of the Lord spread rapidly.

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What if...

we were able to reach every OIKOS in the world with the Gospel?

Together, we can! $1 reaches 3 homes

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From the Ashes of the Khmer Rouge Rebuilding the Church in Cambodia

by Jono Hall V.P. of Messaging and Mobilization

P

astor Heng Cheng turned toward me and shared how this school-turned-prison was a hard place for him to visit. We were coming to the end of our tour of Tuol Sleng, or S-21, the infamous torture prison of the Khmer Rouge in the middle of the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh.

“My brother was an evangelical pastor. He was killed in this place,” Heng Cheng said. “Many people would come here after [the genocide] to look through blackand-white photographs of the people who were killed to search for their loved ones. There were many thousands. That was when I discovered my brother had been killed.”

Tuol Sleng was the first stop on our visit to the EHC office in Cambodia. Heng Cheng, the EHC Ministry Director for Cambodia, wanted us to see a little of the history of his nation before we went to the office. The shocking revelation of this place (where Heng Cheng had actually gone to school before Pol Pot came to power) was a stark reminder of the dark days that Cambodia endured under the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist regime that ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1978. This place was one of over 150 torture HENG CHENG and interrogation prisons established throughout Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge, not including “the Killing Fields,” where up to 1 million were slaughtered. Walking around the prison with Heng Cheng brought the personal tragedy of what happened in those days even closer.

Cambodia, located on the Indochina Peninsula and home to some 16 million people, has a long, proud history. By percentage, it is still considered the most Buddhist nation in the world. Heng Cheng, however, came from a Christian family. Perhaps because of this, 41 of his 47 extended family members were killed between 1975 and 1978. The genocide, with an estimated death toll of close to 3 million people, did not target Christians in particular. As radical communists, the Khmer Rouge established a regime of fear that targeted anyone of the professional class, anyone educated, and anyone who was religious. Phnom Penh was emptied of people as the Khmer Rouge used terror and death to

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VICTIM PHOTOGRAPHS IN S -21

TUOL SLENG, OR S-21, THE I N FA M O U S T O R T U R E P R I S O N O F THE KHMER ROUGE, IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CAMBODIAN C A P I TA L P H N O M P E N H .

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CAMBODIAN TIMELINE

1975

THE KHMER ROUGE ENTER THE C A P I TA L , P H N O M P E N H , B E G I N N I N G A REIGN OF TERROR UNDER LEADER P O L P OT T H AT L E AV E S U P TO T H R E E MILLION PEOPLE DEAD THROUGH S TA R VAT I O N , E X E C U T I O N A N D OVERWORK.

1976

HENG CHENG ESCAPES TO VIETNAM.

1979

P H N O M P E N H FA L L S T O T H E V I E T N A M E S E , W H O I N S TA L L A N E W REGIME. CIVIL WAR BEGINS, PITTING T H E K H M E R R O U G E , N AT I O N A L I S T S A N D R OYA L I S T S A G A I N S T E A C H OTHER.

1983

HENG CHENG RETURNS TO CAMBODIA A N D S TA R T S M E E T I N G W I T H A S M A L L NUMBER OF BELIEVERS.

1985

HUN SEN, A FORMER KHMER ROUGE CADRE WHO DEFECTED AND WHOM HENG CHENG KNEW IN HIS VIETNAMESE EXILE, IS APPOINTED AS PRIME MINISTER OF CAMBODIA'S V I E T N A M - I N S TA L L E D G O V E R N M E N T.

1991

A P E A C E T R E AT Y I S S I G N E D TO E N D T H E C O N F L I C T. C A M BO D I A I S P L A C E D U N D E R U N I T E D N AT I O N S SUPERVISION UNTIL ELECTIONS ARE HELD. UN PEACEKEEPERS BEGIN O P E R AT I O N S A L M O S T F I V E M O N T H S L AT E R .

1993

A F T E R D E C A D E S O F U N R E S T, T H E F I R S T D E M O C R AT I C E L E C T I O N S A R E HELD, SPONSORED BY THE UN.

1994

THE KHMER ROUGE IS OUTLAWED. DICK EASTMAN VISITS CAMBODIA A N D A P P O I N TS PAU L E R K S A R S A S THE FIRST EHC MINISTRY DIRECTOR.

2011

CHAIRMAN OF THE EVANGELICAL FELLOWSHIP OF CAMBODIA HENG CHENG BECOMES EHC MINISTRY DIRECTOR.

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bring about a radical, ideological vision for the nation.

Cambodia would start again from “Year Zero,” with the population forced into communal farming efforts in the provinces.

Heng Cheng himself was a student in the mid-1970s, when the Khmer Rouge rolled into Phnom Penh. He kept a low profile, knowing if the Khmer Rouge caught him, he would be interrogated and killed. Moving between provinces to work on the newly established communal farms with other young people, he almost starved to death. But then the fateful day came on October 16, 1976, when the Khmer Rouge finally caught up with Heng Cheng and arrested him. Like many others, he was transported in the middle of the night to be executed.

In those moments, Heng Cheng considered his life. His family was Christian, but he had spent his teenage years in rebellion against this heritage. Now, knowing that his death was imminent, he prayed, “Lord, my whole family worships You, so I turn my heart to You now and ask, if You want me to live, that You will free me from this hell — and if, by some miracle, You get me out of this, I will serve You my whole life.”

Left: Dick Eastman and first EHC Ministry Director Paulerk Sars To p : R e f u g e e s f l e e to Vietnam.

Right: The Mekong R i v e r, w h i c h H e n g Cheng swam across.

“We had nothing... [but] we prayed even then that we could be used of God to see transformation in the nation...”

And then, the miracle happened. For whatever reason, on the banks of the wide and swiftly flowing Mekong River, he was released and was confronted with another decision: either escape across the river to Vietnam or face almost certain death at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. He chose to take the risk and swim across the river.

Heng Cheng’s exile in Vietnam was significant in his life, as he was saved in more ways than one. Although he did return to Cambodia briefly when Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were pushed back in 1979, his stay in Vietnam was extended, and it was in Saigon that he sincerely returned to the faith of his family. Thus, Heng Cheng’s calling to pastoral work began there, among the Vietnamese and exiled Cambodian community. In 1983, Heng Cheng finally returned to Phnom Penh to encourage the tiny Body of underground Cambodian believers.

The Khmer Rouge regime had nearly wiped out the Cambodian Church. The 10,000 to 20,000 believers who had lived in Cambodia before the genocide had been

reduced to under 200. Heng Cheng gathered together with those who were left.

“We had nothing,” Heng Cheng says. “No hymn books. No Bibles. But we were encouraged by the Word of God that we remembered in our hearts, and we prayed even then that we could be used of God to see transformation in the nation and the glory of God throughout the land.”

Although the Khmer Rouge had been pushed back, the administration that replaced it was also hostile to Christians. The small number of believers continued to be pursued by the authorities. Pastors were killed, and Christians were exiled throughout the 1980s. It was not until 1993, when the king returned under a new constitution, that the nation opened up to allow believers to worship more freely. In 1994, the EHC office opened in Phnom Penh under Paulerk Sars, the first Ministry Director. Paulerk was a national leader who had survived the Killing Fields of Pol Pot. He passed leadership to Heng Cheng in 2006 but remains a leader on the EHC team today.

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“From the horrific ashes of the Khmer Rouge and only a handful believers... the Cambodian Church now numbers close to half a million believers.”

The story of the Cambodian Church is a story of resurrection. From the horrific ashes of the Khmer Rouge and only a handful of believers meeting for more than a decade, the Cambodian Church now numbers close to half a million believers.

Every Home for Christ predominantly works in the provinces around Phnom Penh. Like so many EHC leaders, Heng Cheng has influence in many arenas. In addition to leading the EHC team, Heng Cheng is also the respected leader of the Evangelical Fellowship of Cambodia, which enables him to serve the national Church on an even greater level. In the capital, he is focused on seeing the Kingdom advance through business communities, advising the government on its religious policies, ministering to military leaders and raising up the next generation.

“The next generation of leaders in the Cambodian Church is important,” Heng Cheng says. “The Khmer Rouge all but obliterated one generation of leaders.

Now the young leaders who are entering the Church don’t have the memories, but it is important to remember where we have come from as a nation.”

For the last several years, Heng Cheng has advanced the vision of MK2021, or Mission Kampuchea 2021 (the local name for Every Home for Christ in Cambodia). This ministry works toward a future where there will be a “group of Jesus’ disciples in every village throughout Cambodia by 2021.” Many of the churches and Christian ministries have participated in this vision, and what has already been achieved is impressive. Heng Cheng is excited about the synergy of the MK2021 and the global OIKOS Initiative of Every Home for Christ.

In 2012, the former leader of the S-21 prison, a fearsome man called “Duch,” was convicted of

32

crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Unlike the other Khmer Rouge leaders, Duch accepted his guilt. When he was taken to the prison during the trial, he reportedly collapsed and said with tears, “I ask for your forgiveness. I know that you cannot forgive me, but I ask you to leave me the hope that you might.” It is also reported that Duch has become a Christian in prison. Heng Cheng met with him and gave him a Bible to encourage him. He said of Duch, “Only God knows if he has become a follower of Jesus, but one thing is sure: that the Gospel can transform even the most hardened Khmer Rouge killer.”

Heng Cheng was quick to admit the world was changing rapidly, and he said this was the reason he would come back to the former prisons and the Killing Fields of Cambodia. “It is important that we never forget the dark days,” he says. “It can never happen again — but I am hopeful for the days ahead.”

Heng Cheng is a perfect example of the leaders of faith that Every Home for Christ is looking for as we move ahead with the OIKOS Initiative. He is a picture of what is possible when the Gospel breaks in — a picture of light in the midst of the darkness.

To p : H e n g C h e n g b a p t i z e s m e m b e r s o f t h e C a m b o d i a n m i l i t a r y.

Bottom: Cambodian believers meet in a Christ Group for discipleship in 1995.

C A MBODIA

CHURCHES This map represents local churches throughout Cambodia. These are tracked as part of EHC Cambodia's initiative of working toward a future where there will be a “group of Jesus’ disciples in every village throughout Cambodia by 2021.”

P R AY FO R : •

EHC Pioneer Missionaries throughout the nation of Cambodia

•

The new generation of Christian leaders in the nation

•

Secret believers – In many nations, new Christians face a unique challenge: If they overtly renounce the culture they have come from, they will face immediate exclusion from the communities they live in.

Many want to see their friends and family also come to Christ, therefore these young believers need wisdom in how to both grow in faith and remain a witness in their communities.

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ANATOMY OF AN EHC LEADER The mind of Christ renewed daily by the Word

A twinkle in the eye when they think of the love of God for every lost person

Open ears that hear the gentle whisper of the Lord

A mouth that proclaims salvation day after day and declares the glory of God among the nations (Psalm 96:2)

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Men and women of faith risk it all for the sake of Jesus.

“Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?”

—Proverbs 20:6 (NIV)

Heart of a volunteer obeying Jesus above all

Joyful countenance of one who brings Good News

Love for the Word of God and obedience to the Scriptures

A groan of compassion in their gut for the sheep without a Shepherd Willing hands to serve the Church

Knees that are calloused from kneeling in prayer (Daniel 6:10)

Beautiful feet that walk any distance to bring the Gospel of peace (Isaiah 52:7)

35

One person can impact the world.

For more than 70 years, Every Home for Christ has connected people to eternal Kingdom impact. People like you help reach over 300,000 families every day with the Gospel around the world! Your financial stewardship today can continue growing a Kingdom legacy well beyond your lifetime.

Contact Debbie, our planned giving expert: 1-800-423-5054 | ehclegacy.org | debbie@ehc.org Gift Annuities | Non-Cash Gifts | Will and Estate Planning

Remember when Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes?

What if...

we could do that with Bibles?

12/3/19

ehc.org/multiply

A LIVING ROOM AND A TENT ON CAPITOL HILL

by Jason Hershey

38

AS EVE RY HO ME FO R C H R IST MA R C H ES FO RWARD WIT H T H E O IKOS IN IT IAT IVE TO RE ACH E VERY H O M E IN A MER ICA , FRO M JANUA RY 1, 2 0 2 0 , WE WIL L BE ESTABLISHIN G 24 /7 PR AY ER F RO M CAP ITO L HILL FO R T H E H O LY S PIR IT TO SEND FO RTH L A BO R ER S , O PEN D O O R S , AND RE VEA L JES U S BY H IS S PIR IT.

39

Jason Hershey

As newlyweds, my wife, Kimberlee, and I were led by the Lord to get up in the middle of the night from 2 to 3 am simply to seek His face for 40 nights. We would set our alarms for 1:45 am and then make the short drive to the prayer chapel at the YWAM training base where we were on staff. Without telling anyone about our nightly prayer times, we began praying that God would wake people up and send them to the prayer chapel to join us. On the 21st night watch, three guys stumbled in.

A look of shock hit their faces. We were YWAM staff.

They were YWAM students. We had essentially just caught them red-handed after curfew!

They reported, “We can’t explain it, but for the last three weeks our whole dorm room has been awakened at 2 am, and we can’t go back to sleep until 3 am. We finally decided that if we are awake anyway, why not go to the chapel to pray?” The DNA of my faith was altered in an instant. God answers prayer! I thought. This changes everything.

My entire life is now devoted to this belief. I currently have the joy of serving two amazing houses of prayer in Washington, D.C. — David’s Tent DC and the American Center for Prayer and Revival (ACPR). These two beacons of intercessory worship and prayer have both been fathered by Every Home for Christ.

The ACPR is a red brick condominium that stands regally across the street from the Supreme Court. Every Home for

40

Christ purchased this condo in 2015 to create a place of intercession for the United States to be transformed by the power of Jesus. This consecrated living room feels like the Father’s house on Capitol Hill. When you walk into the room, there is just a sense of, “Aaah, I’m home!” Often I unconsciously exhale as I sit down in this living room to pray, and I feel like, “It’s all going to be okay!”

Both of these prayer hubs are symbolic of God’s heart.

David’s Tent meets in an outdoor wedding tent that is clearly visible and open to the public as a reflection of God’s desire to dwell in our midst. The ACPR is a living room in a residential condo, representing our heart to stand in the gap so that every living room — every home — would be filled with the revelation of Jesus. As such, it is a launching point, mobilizing thousands to prayer walk the city, circling strategic locations in Washington, D.C. It is also a beautiful place of unity, as governmental officials pray alongside church leaders and ministries arriving for

EST. 2012 24/7 PRAYER SINCE 9/11/2015

NATIONAL MALL

EST. 2015 24/7 PRAYER STARTING ON 1/1/2020

US CAPITOL

US SUPREME COURT LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

At the heart of the National Mall, David’s Tent has gathered over 3,000 worship teams from all 50 states to pray and worship day and night — 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It’s a place where many hear the Gospel, get free Bibles, are ministered to and receive Jesus for the first time. EHC has made prayer maps to mobilize believers to pray while in Washington, D.C., and Engagers (gospel booklets) for those who don’t yet know the Lord.

specific intercessory assignments from around the United States.

I am stirred with faith that this living room on Capitol Hill will soon burn with heartfelt prayer 24/7, in concert with the tent on the Mall. We will kick off 24/7 prayer at the ACPR, starting January 1, 2020. The ACPR living room is a place to stand in the gap for all the homes in the United States. As Every Home for Christ marches forward with the OIKOS Initiative to reach every home in America, we desire to pray from Capitol Hill for the Holy Spirit to empower the equipping and sending of laborers, the opening of doors, and for Jesus to be revealed by the Holy Spirit.

We join the prayers of the Apostle Paul, who saw Jesus revealed so dramatically on the road to Damascus that he fell to the ground. Paul,

who had firsthand experience with the Spirit of revelation, wrote this prayer, canonized forever in the Bible: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Ephesians 1:17).

We believe that Jesus wants to reveal Himself to every person on Earth. He stands at the door and knocks, wanting to enter every home in America, from your house to the White House, to every dorm room and prison cell. We go with Him, knocking on every door and inviting His presence and mercy in.

The Lamb is worthy of it all!

Please come and join us in person for a prayer retreat at the ACPR. For more information or to sign up to pray at the ACPR, please email us at info@acpr.org

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Welcome Home.

We are messengers of hope to a broken world.

Our tongues speak the languages of a thousand homelands. Our skin is black, white and every

shade in between. Our feet walk deserts, climb mountains and cross tundra — all to reach one place. It’s the place at the heart of every

people and nation, the place where people laugh and cry and spend their days. In a word, home.

We believe that the Great Commission is for all

of us. We believe that prayer changes everything.

We lose sleep over the lost and celebrate with

the one who returns. Some of us influence leaders, while others are beaten and thrown in prison.

Together, whether we live or die, we look to the coming day when a thunderous crowd from every tribe, tongue, people and nation will worship Jesus.

We won’t stop until every home is reached and

every ear has heard His wonderful name — because Jesus is worthy.

1995 A BELIEVER HOLDS HER KHMER BIBLE WHICH SHE RECEIVED FROM EHC CAMBODIA.

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