Trailblazing Newsletter - Winter 2018

WINTE R 2018

The newsletter of Josh McDowell Ministry

INSIDE Page 2 Tears of joy for Sasha and Olive Page 3 Gulf Partnership Outreach — How it works Page 3 A time-sensitive ministry opportunity for YOU!

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

— Isaiah 6:8 (KJV)

Last summer, our Gulf Partnership Outreach volunteers shared the gospel with so many from the Gulf region of the Middle East who are searching for the truth.

Coming face to face with Jesus

How God is using you to reach truth seekers from the Middle East Last summer, our volunteer teams gathered in England, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and other Western European cities for our annual Gulf Partnership Outreach.

2001 West Plano Parkway, Suite 2400 Plano, TX 75075

facebook.com/JMMinistry @josh_mcdowell

Their mission: to share the gospel with visitors from the Middle East.

Your gifts are helping introduce people to Jesus Armed with Christ-centered books and

other resources you’ve helped provide, these teams approached tens of thousands of people with the truth about Jesus.

“I met two men from [a closed country in the Gulf region],” shared Aaron, a Gulf Partnership Outreach volunteer.

“They were quite open . . . so I was encouraged to share the gospel with them and answer their questions.”

KEEP READING . . . to see how your gifts are transforming lives in the Middle East > > > >

Coming face to face with Jesus The two men were skeptical and told Aaron that according to their religion, Jesus was never crucified and didn´t die. But after much discussion the men replied, “We are now convinced with what you just shared.”

They accepted the Christ-centered books Aaron offered and promised to read them with an open mind.

Your gifts even reached a hardened heart

(Continued from page 1)

from [the same country as the two men] came and started aggressively and negatively taking part in the conversation.” All the commotion caused a crowd of people to stop to see what all the fuss was about.

To calm her, Aaron told her that the message he shared with the two men was a message for her too!

“She started to listen very carefully to me when I shared the whole message of salvation with her,” said Aaron. “She promised to read the books I gave her.”

“But as we were talking,” said Aaron, “a woman

Tears of joy for Sasha and Olive In Switzerland, our team approached two women from a Middle Eastern country, Sasha and Olive, who were sitting on a bench by the lake. After conversing with the women for a while, they were able to share about the unconditional love of Christ, forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

Sasha and Olive listened carefully as one of our volunteers taught them how to pray and accept Jesus as their personal Savior.

With tears dripping down their faces, both women prayed to receive Jesus.

Afterwards, they gave our volunteer their mobile phone numbers for follow-up. Praise to God who touched these two hearts!

Please join us in prayer that our teams will be able to follow up and disciple Sasha, Olive and others reached through the Gulf Partnership Outreach.

Prayer requests Please join us in prayer: • For the funding needed to provide the requested resources.

• For a successful training time in Europe prior to distribution of resources.

• For protection for every person who distributes these materials.

• For the work of the Holy Spirit, to use every resource distributed.

• For the follow-up plan for those who return to their home countries.

GULF PARTNERSHIP OUTREACH — How it works 1

COMING TO FAITH IN CHRIST Many people are coming to Christ in closed countries where it is dangerous. They grow in their faith quietly through books and resources.

3

2

PLANTING SEEDS

A RIPE HARVEST

Coming to Europe allows new believers from closed countries to practice sharing their faith in a safe environment. Using your gifts of books and resources, they are equipped to reach out with the gospel to other visitors from the Middle East.

Each year, thousands of people from the Middle East travel to European cities for work, vacation or other purposes. Here, the freedom of religion allows them to connect with our partners and ask questions about faith.

Books on SD card were just what this truth seeker needed In Italy, Mark, one of our volunteers, set up a table to display all the Christcentered materials he had available.

A young man visiting from the Middle East walked up and picked up a Bible. He started paging through it and immediately asked about translations. This allowed Mark to explain how the Bible is translated into various languages. He was also able to share the gospel with him.

“It’s much clearer when you can read in your own language,” Mark said. It was as if a lightbulb went on in the man’s head! He had never seen these kind of books in Arabic.

Nothing is impossible for God Right now, truth seekers in the Middle East are opening their hearts to the gospel like never before.

You and I have an incredible window of opportunity to share the truth . . .

Mark told the man the books were a gift, and he could take them with him. But sensing some hesitation, Mark quickly offered the man a SD card loaded with Christcentered resources including More Than a Carpenter and Undaunted. The man smiled, and said, “Yes! It could be trouble for me taking actual books back to my home country. But this is great! Thank you!”

Thank you for your generous support of the Gulf Partnership Outreach. Your gifts are making their way into closed countries!

Names and images may have been changed for security purposes.

4

h From Jos

This summer, our Gulf Partnership Outreach teams will head to strategic cities in Europe. Their mission: to share Christ with thousands of people vacationing from the Middle East — people who would be impossible to reach within the borders of their own countries.

This strategic initiative is so unique because it allows us to equip believers from closed countries to share their faith in a safe environment. It enables us to share the gospel with men and women from unreachable regions. And it allows us to develop ongoing discipleship relationships with those who receive our resources.

Together we can provide the materials our staff and volunteers need for this summer’s outreach.

Thank you for helping us share God’s truth with those who long to know and walk with Him!

5

Until the whole world hears,

DISCIPLING NEW BELIEVERS Throughout the summer and then through longdistance technologies (via email and chat rooms), our teams develop ongoing relationships with these new believers and disciple them in their faith.

RAISING UP WORKERS Because they accepted Christ during their time in Europe, many new believers return during subsequent summers to participate in the Gulf Partnership Outreach and help tell even more people about Jesus.

YOU can reach people for Christ in the Middle East But you’ll need to act now — before the March 31 deadline!

Every $3.72 you send provides one resource!

It’s that time of year again . . . this summer’s Gulf Partnership Outreach teams are already preparing for this year’s activities.

We need your help to produce the requested resources and ship them to various European cities in time for distribution beginning in May.

Each resource costs just $3.72 on average. We need your help to raise $290,904 by March 31 for: • 33,300 copies of More Than a Carpenter • 25,000 copies of The Deity of Christ • 16,600 copies of Undaunted on DVD • 3,300 SD cards loaded with Josh’s e-books

“I want to tell you something that all Josh McDowell books are considered strong weapons and a source of power used in our Gulf Partnership Outreach in Austria. That is why I am praying for Josh and for the whole team as well.”

— Staff in Europe

THREE EASY WAYS TO GIVE NOW Give by mail: Return your gift with the enclosed reply form in the envelope provided.

Give by telephone: You can also give your gift by calling 1-855-833-6897.

Give online: Make an immediate impact by giving securely on our website at give.cru.org/GulfPartnershipOutreach.