IF Publication - Issue 1 by Parkway Church

IF a reflection of Faith Initiatives

Issue 1 | March 2015

WHY BENEVOLENCE? P. 12

WHERE THE SPIRIT LEADS P. 16

THE HEARTBEAT OF THE CHURCH P. 07

Published in March 2015 Parkway Church 10940 S. Nicholson Road Oak Creek, WI 53154 1 414 571 2680 4u@theoakcreekchurch.com www.theoakcreekchurch.com

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WHAT IS IF? IT IS WHAT HAPPENS IF WE GIVE

Publishing this magazine is groundbreaking for Parkway. Its conception happened when I received a copy of the fourth issue of SENT, a magazine, published by Tabernacle of Joy, our sister church in Singapore. SENT is an acronym for “Save Every Nation Today,” and the publication was filled with articles that spoke of TJ’s passion and dedication to spreading the gospel throughout Asia. I felt that our own magazine would be a wonderful way to share our passion and vision to bless others. From the very first service Parkway held in 1972 in the basement of a home, we have been involved in giving. Our first offering was not used to purchase something we needed as a new church. Instead, we wanted to invest it in Foreign Missions. We knew we were being good stewards and that God would bless us in ways money could not. Since that time, our vision has grown to include many other ways to invest in people’s lives, including an orphanage, a home for unwed mothers, a boys’ ranch, global disaster relief - to mention just a few. We have also felt the need to assist people in our own community. Faith Initiatives (FI) is the name of our involvement in providing this financial and material help. We’ve decided to use the reverse of FI to name our magazine. Here’s why: FI becomes IF when we look at our vison of giving in a mirror. IF is a word we use when describing a possibility that is conditional. As you read through these pages and look at the pictures, it is our hope that your heart will get an image of all that can be accomplished IF we will be good stewards with the blessings God has given to us. IF we invest with charity in the lives of others, God will give back to us a joy and satisfaction that can’t be purchased with any amount of money. In addition to looking at the giving initiatives we have been supporting, we want to use our IF magazine to let you know about our vision to help members of our own church and community. It is our hope to give financial assistance to the people immediately around us as well as support for our members who want to go on mission trips. Prayerfully God will use this magazine to show us WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF WE GIVE.

Pastor Anthony

2013 VS 2014 CHURCHES & PREACHING POINTS

34,491

35,561

2013 VS 2014 COUNTRIES & TERRITORIES IMPACTED

201

206

+ 1,070

NATIONAL MINISTERS

SOULS REACHED

21,485

+ 890

22,375

2,517,496

2,732,717

+ 215,221

WATER BAPTISMS

108,993

126,664

+ 17,671

2013 VS 2014 BIBLE SCHOOLS

369

+ 44

413

BIBLE SCHOOL GRADUATES

1,116

1,596

+ 480

IN THE PAST YEAR:

206

COUNTRIES IMPACTED * Each unit represents 50

OVER 2 +6

MILLION SOULS REACHED

+32,717

* Each unit represents 450,000

GLOBAL MISSIONS FACTS 2012-2013 VS 2013-2014

IN THE PAST YEAR:

123,480

126,664 WATER BAPTISMS IN JESUS NAME

* Each unit represents 21,000

+664

RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT

+1,480 * Each unit represents 30,500

“Every time you give to missions, you are reaching souls”

THE HEARTBEAT OF THE CHURCH Written by Gerald McLean

The heartbeat of the New Testament Church was souls. The Book of Acts records many testimonies of healings, deliverance, and even people being raised from the dead, but the only numbers it concerns itself with are the number of souls that were won into the Kingdom of God. In Acts 2, 120 were filled with the Holy Spirit. Later, in the same chapter, 3,000 were added to the Church. In Acts 4, 5,000 more believed and responded to the Gospel. In Acts 19, twelve were baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. The pattern was well established. Even as Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, His disciples took seriously the business of soul winning. Can we do less? The heartbeat of the Twenty-first Century Church must also be souls. When you support Global Missions, you are literally buying into the most essential Christian discipline: soul winning. Your dollars are absolutely critical to the spread of the Gospel worldwide. We know this from first-hand experience.

In 2001, the United Pentecostal Church in Nigeria was officially represented by one Church with seventy constituents. By the end of 2013, that one Church had multiplied into 118 Churches and 10,511 constituents! The Gospel had been taken into seventeen of the thirty-six Nigerian states, and one Nigerian pastor even opened a Church in New York. The evangelistic spirit of the Church has propelled it into phenomenal growth. The Nigerian Church’s ten-year plan, inaugurated in 2012, included a goal of 15% annual growth across the board; 15% more Churches, members, and ministers.

The expectation was that by December 31, 2021 the Church would have 40,000 national constituents. In just the second year of the plan, the Church has already reached the benchmark for 2015 with an average growth rate of 35% over the last two years!

How was this possible? Your giving. It frees the missionary to focus on souls, not finance. Without you there would be either no Church or a very small Church in Nigeria. With your support over these last eighteen years, God is giving us the land.

Recently you put a roof on the new auditorium for the Nigerian Headquarters Church. It will seat 1,200 people. But this Church building will not only serve as a sanctuary; it is our intention to expand the Bible school by using the auditorium to teach ministerial students. We can increase our enrollment from fifty students to 200 by utilizing the auditorium for one of our classes. Think of it: instead of graduating twenty to twenty-five pastors each year, we will be able to graduate 100! The increased enrollment will allow us to train and send more pastors into the Lord’s vineyard for service. The potential for growth is exponential and growth equals souls – the heartbeat of the Church.

Every time you give to missions, you are reaching souls. You are helping to fulfill the Great Commission. Although you many not literally “go into all the world” your sacrificial giving will help take the Gospel to the whole world. You will never make a more important investment in your life than to invest in souls. This investment is not only for time but for eternity.

“It began to s pread, until it became part o our culture to f , as Bro. Yont s said, ‘give o biggest gift to ur Jesus.’”

THE IMPACT NORTH AMERICAN MISSIONS HAS MADE WITH CHRISTMAS FOR CHRIST There was a time in the United Pentecostal Church when the perception of missions was something done overseas. There was no “Home Mission Division” in the manual. Then a large banner in the December 1952 issue of the Pentecostal Herald read: New Home Missionary Policy Adopted by The United Pentecostal Church. The article read, “A great program under the name of Home Missionary was recently adopted at the 28th Annual Conference of the United Pentecostal Church which convened in October at Little Rock, Arkansas. The missionary zeal that has for so many years affected the progressiveness of foreign Pentecostal activities will now have its effect upon the work throughout the United States and Canada.” There was no real funding mechanism for the new endeavor until 1966, when Wisconsin church planter Jack Yonts and his family decided something had to be done. Jack Yonts told his wife, “There’s something wrong about Christmas. We’re missing something.” They sat down with their four children, two of them very small – to tell them they wanted to put some of the Christmas money that would be spent on gifts in a missions fund to assist missionaries. Jack Yonts told the story: And my wife said, “Well you can have mine.” And I said, “Well they can have mine.” And my two older kids said, “We’ll give half of ours.” So, that’s what we did. That year we had a thousand dollars from this small church.” It began to spread, until it became part of our culture to, as Bro. Yonts said, “give our biggest gift to Jesus.” Now Christmas for Christ is an annual offering received by churches all across North America, and continues to assist church planters in fulfilling Christ’s mandate.

The first national offering in 1967 was $109,113.34. In 2013, churches and individuals across North America gave sacrificially to raise a record offering of over $3 Million! Forty percent of Christmas for Christ remains in the districts. With the remainder, North American Missions continues to assist missionaries across the continent. Every penny of the increase the last two years has been allocated directly to church planters! Since its humble beginnings in 1967, Christmas for Christ has raised almost $70,000,000 to help plant new churches. To date CFC allocations have been made to help hundreds of church planters. Not only has Christmas for Christ planted churches, but these churches have paid a huge return on the investment. For example, in 1978 Wayne Huntley, missionary to Raleigh, North Carolina, received a CFC allocation of $31,200.00. From 1999 to 2009, the church in Raleigh gave back $303,860.25 to Christmas for Christ!

The years marched by, and Home Missions was changed to North American Missions in 2011. Bro Yonts passed away in December 2014. Yet, the mission to reach our world remains, and the method of Christmas for Christ continues to make an impact. An offering to Christmas for Christ remains one of the strongest returns on investment of any contribution made into the United Pentecostal Church. Provided by North American Missions

NEW BEGINNINGS Written by Thomas M. Velie

Four years after adopting our oldest daughter in 1982, we began working with Steve and Evelyn Drury, the co-founders of New Beginnings. Their work with the fatherless and our passionate belief that “every child deserves a forever family” are rooted in James 1:27 - “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” The Drurys’ call to adoption and the founding of New Beginnings began when pastors from across the apostolic fellowship called them for help regarding young women in their churches who were experiencing unplanned pregnancy situations. Because of their stature in the area of professional orphan care, they were able to establish an organization that continues to grow twenty-eight years later.

Adoption directly addresses the worldwide plagues of abortion and fatherlessness. Yet when faced with unplanned pregnancies, our youth often hear the voices of the world promoting abortion rather than the voice of the Church, which often remains silent while the pro-choice drumbeat is incessant. Jeremy Guzman was the first child adopted after New Beginnings became licensed in 1986. He now serves as the music minister in Bentonville, Arkansas, and recently served as the music coordinator for North American Youth Congress 2014. Consider the question: what if Jeremy Guzman had never been born? The awareness of the message of hope and a new beginning for birth mothers, including the availability of adoption services through New Beginnings, must be heard.

“Adoption directly addresses the worldwide plagues of abortion and fatherlessness.” An estimated 153 million children around the world are fatherless or motherless, and an estimated 20 million children are legally available for adoption worldwide. The church, through international adoption offered by New Beginnings and through our nationwide adoption network, could bring children of all ethnicities into our families and into God’s family. Today, New Beginnings is known by “One Name, Many Services.” These services are available nationwide and include:

• Free adoption counseling for the birth mother and her family in unplanned pregnancy situations • Free maternity care for birth mothers • Domestic adoption services for families • Home study services or guidance on acquiring a home study for adoptive families • International adoptions from Poland, Taiwan, China, and other countries through our own programs or partner/agency programs (New Beginnings is Hague Accredited by the Council on Accreditation) • Orphan care to the New Beginnings of Nepal Children’s Home, where 100% of the funding for this home that currently cares for eleven precious children Thomas M. Velie is an ordained minister of the UPCI and serves as president of New Beginnings.

“One Name, Many Services.”

WHY BENEVOLENCE? Charity at Home Written by Joshua Beaugrand

Benevolence is a term that’s been around for years. It’s been used by the church primarily as a means to provide assistance to those in need both within and without the church community. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines benevolence as a disposition to do good or an act of kindness toward others. God, in His Word, also has some things to say regarding benevolent giving in both the Old and New Testaments.

In Isaiah 1:15-17 (KJV) we read, “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” We see here how the treatment of the poor was regarded as a heart condition of God’s people. When they neglected to consider the needs of those around them, their hearts were not as God desired.

Similarly, in the New Testament we find many Scriptures relating to treatment of the poor and less fortunate as well. Jesus used the topic of giving often as a test of one’s true faith. This “type” of giving is not the tithe, it is a giving that stretches and molds our faith; it is a sacrificial type of giving. In the account of the rich young ruler, whom Jesus commanded to give all he had to the poor, we find this

put his faith, or lack thereof, to the test, and revealed where his heart truly was. His heart was set on the things of this world and not on the things of Christ’s Kingdom.

Throughout the New Testament Scriptures we clearly see that Jesus used the subject of giving to expose false faith. This must cause us to look at ourselves and ask, “Am I giving sacrificially? Are we willing to give to a point of total dependence on God? Do I trust Him enough to invest in His Kingdom?”

There are many advantages to giving to a benevolence fund. The only real advantage that matters is the fact that we are building up our faith in the One who redeemed us. It forces us to rely on His redemptive power when we give sacrificially. It also will reveal to those receiving the assistance the true compassion of God’s people. They will realize that there are people who care more about the well-being of others than simply themselves. For those of us who know the grace that was imparted to us, we should in turn naturally show grace to others, especially those in need. The Parkway Benevolence Fund is an opportunity to give to the cause of imparting grace on individuals who need it most. Join with us as we invest in Christ’s Kingdom through benevolence. Will you be a part of the work of God’s people in 2015?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;When they neglected to consider the needs of those around them, their hearts were not as God desired.â&#x20AC;?

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY The church of Jesus Christ stands as a lighthouse - a safe harbor where weary souls can find rest and redemption. Far too many are quick to point out the flaws of the church, yet it is often this very entity that brings stability, support, and strength to the community.

While the church is known for its support of a wide variety of faith based initiatives on both national and international levels, meeting these needs can become so all-encompassing that the local church forgets the importance of serving their own community. This oversight leaves many Christians absent from the list of volunteers who are serving and giving back within their communities.

Six years ago, our congregation realized that we, like so many other churches, had neglected the community in which we live. As a result, we purposefully began to identify community groups that would become the recipients of our annual fund raising efforts. The first group we focused on was the Oak Creek Fire Department. We wanted to give

back to the civil servants who spend their days unselfishly running into fires and other dangerous situations while we are running out of them. This financial gift was used to purchase necessary training equipment for the OCFD. The next few years found us adopting our local Salvation Army Chapter, assisting our local V.F.W. in building a home for displaced veterans, and a local elementary school in replacing outdated playground equipment. The last two years, we adopted “Royal Family Kids,” an organization dedicated to supporting foster children in the Greater Milwaukee Area as the recipient of this same fund raising effort. We, as a local church, not only gave to this organization financial gifts but a significant number of our members volunteered time to be an active part in the lives of these foster children. Over the past six years, we have learned the value of serving and giving back to our community and it has been a great opportunity to live out our purpose, “To Know Christ and to Show Christ.” Written by Eileen Falkey

TUPELO CHILDREN’S MANSION The mission of Tupelo Children’s Mansion is to offer hope through the love of Jesus Christ to orphaned or disadvantaged children by providing their physical, spiritual, emotional, social, and educational needs, contributing to their health, security, and happiness, and equipping them to lead productive lives. Founded in 1953, in Tupelo, Mississippi, the Mansion is recognized as one of the oldest and most trusted organizations of its kind. Their beautiful campus spans 40 acres with 27 buildings, including: residence halls and staff housing, a Christian school, gymnasium, and an on-campus church.

Their caregivers, including social workers and counselors, have the experience, training, and educational background to properly care for the children. The other dedicated staff support departments of administration, sponsor relations, food service, maintenance, and other services.

A former TCM resident wrote: “Fourteen years ago I arrived at Tupelo Children’s Mansion - a scared, hurt, and broken 15-year-old. My childhood was marked by abandonment, rejection, and self-loathing - leaving me confused, angry, and unable to connect with my family. I am so thankful that the Mansion took me in when I found myself in such a desperate situation. I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity I had to live at the Mansion, where I learned that ‘with God all things are possible’ and that ‘He will never leave me nor forsake me.’ Because of God’s grace and mercy, I’m right where I need to be, serving in the Sunday School at my local church and teaching my own children about God’s love.” Partnered with you, Tupelo Children’s Mansion will continue to make a difference in the lives of many precious children.

Edited by Anne Ney

WHERE THE SPIRIT LEADS Paul wrote in Romans 8:14 that those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God. It is a wonderful thing to know that our Heavenly Father wants to direct our lives, even when we don’t know where the destination might be. Not everyone is called to a distant land, but God will always direct us toward helping people to experience His marvelous salvation. It has been said about foreign missions, “Some give by going, and others go by giving.” I was led to do the former, to give by going.

I was in a wonderful church where I heard the gospel message and experienced new birth when God led me to a foreign mission field. God’s plan was for me to leave Parkway and travel to Greece as an AIM (Associates in Missions) worker. I was schooled at Parkway to teach Bible studies, but my time in Athens would teach me how to reach people from different countries and cultures; some having no knowledge of Jesus. God blessed the work as we ministered to Filipino domestic workers, men working in the shipping lines, people from other parts of the world, as well as the Grecian locals. The church was truly international, and rightly named Crossroads. After two years in Greece, God led me to Asia. God spoke to me about going to Singapore, and I couldn’t stop crying over the thought of going there. I was blessed to minister there for nine years. By the grace of God I was able to assist in the formation of several churches. Those works continue to grow and mightily impact their region.

The Alive Community Church pastored by Bobby Mathew is currently about 250 strong. It sponsors Bagiou Evangelistic Academy of Ministries which helps minister in the Northern Luzon region in the Philippines. It also provides food for an Apostolic AIDS

Written by Genny Miller

orphanage in Northeast India, and support for missionaries and local pastors in China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. ACC gives about $60,000 in missions support and about $30,000 for ministry travel expenses. They are led to carry out the Great Commission!

The Joy Fellowship that serves Filipinos in Singapore currently has four morning services every Sunday in different locations. As of December 2014, the total Filipino Joy Fellowship membership is over 1,500. In 2014, 456 were baptized and nearly 600 were filled with the Holy Spirit, after which many returned to the Philippines to evangelize in their homeland.

The Tabernacle of Joy church has 250 Singaporean nationals and is a progressive revival church. Their members are very involved in outreach and missions. They no longer rely on foreign missionaries, but send their own missionaries beyond their own borders. They also give generously to disaster relief and provide translated literature to surrounding countries. TOJ is currently operating their own Purpose Institute (Bible College) and working on setting up PI in China to prepare men and women to plant new churches. From Singapore God led me to China, and for the next thirteen years I continued to see God’s hand at work. Previously locked doors were opened, and thousands were baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. Everywhere I went people were hungry for God and truth. Existing works embraced apostolic truth and many new works were established that continue to expand into many provinces. They are excited, productive, and burdened for others to be saved. They aren’t afraid of work, persecution, or the devil.

You may never be led to go, but you can be led to give. Your prayers and finances can reach around the world to souls who are waiting for salvation. Jesus is counting on you!

FROM HIM, TO THEM, THROUGH US

COMPASSION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL 55 Reviews

The mission of Compassion Services is to offer help and hope to people living in desperate situations around the world. They seek to be the hands and feet of Christ by helping to provide the physical and spiritual needs of those who are suffering. “Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God means that we must care for orphans and widows in their troubles.” - James 1:27

For more than 30 years Compassion Services International has been assisting those living in desperate situations around the world. CSI seeks to help to alleviate suffering by providing food, medicine and other relief assistance while sharing the love of Jesus. The areas in which they focus their efforts are emergency relief, humanitarian efforts, and medical missions.

One of the most challenging crises of recent months has been the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The Ebola virus is fatal to 90% of those infected. As the disease spread and people were forced to stay in their homes, CSI workers courageously provided access to food, clean water, and medication. They truly operate from this perspective,

“The purpose of the human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.” Albert Schweitzer

Edited by Pastor Tim Peters December 10, 2014

I have been in Haiti with CSI. They are all about serving those in need! There are no denimskirt Role: Volunteer

6 figure incomes for executives or any such foolishness. They put together teams of willing health professionals who finance their own way. Donations made to them go to providing direct needs such as medicines for those served.

October 26, 2014 Hands down the best charity group of this kind out there. Getting your money where it can do the most good for fellow man. This is not a hype based organization, but a service oriented effort making a real difference. Keep up

jamesskellstrom Role: Donor

the good work.

October 23, 2014

Ceetcha Role: General Member of Public

CSI is an organization that helps a wide diversity of people. They help on international and national levels. Whenever there is a natural disaster CSI is there to help. They communicate a need and follow up with newsletters showing how they were able to help.

* Actual Reviews 19

TEAM KENYA’S MISSION Written by Dana Glodoski

In 2008, I walked off the plane on my first visit to Malawi, a land-locked nation in southeast Africa, and immediately fell in love with the country, the people, the sites, smells, sounds, and the culture that surrounded me. I had been warned prior to travel that once you visit Africa, you leave a part of your heart there. I could not agree more. Because part of my heart is there, I have since visited Meru, Kenya, another large African nation to the north, on two occasions. This year, I will again visit Meru to teach and provide medical care to those in need. Each visit brings new experiences and a desire to learn more, to give more, and to love more. I have personally been involved in rescuing abandoned babies from the street, traveling to villages to educate and empower women to be more godly, laying hands on leaders in prayer for direction in their lives and in turn, the lives they affect. Alongside my ability to travel and see new parts of the world, I have been blessed with two pastors that taught me how to support missionaries locally and abroad through prayer and finances. But actually being able to serve in Africa opens your eyes to groups of individuals that are desperate for whatever help you can provide - whether it be educational opportunities, medical help, or spiritual support. One of the amazing things about the people of Africa is their deep love for God and faith in Him, regardless of how little they have or hopeless their lives seem to be. During our visit in July 2015 with twenty other young individuals, we will be partnering with Ripples International. Established in 2000, this organization provides a gamut of services to their community. Their great work includes: 1. The creation of The New Start Center that provides care for abandoned babies and children up to three years of age. As volunteers, we will be there to assist

in the daily care of those children, providing support to a tireless and dedicated staff. 2. The establishment of the main office was built to be a pediatric hospital. It is in need of primary providers and is currently functioning as an HIV testing site that provides education, support, and counseling, along with prenatal care for expectant mothers. 3. The formation of the Brenda Boone Center (aka Tunami Center) provides care for girls age 4 through 17 years who have experienced sexual and physical abuse or are at risk. 4. The support of about twenty-three hundred school-age children that are financially sustained by Ripples to attend school. 5. An active involvement in empowering and educating women to avoid patterns of abuse and neglect.

As representatives of Parkway Church, we will start the trip off by teaching the entire staff of Ripples a From Grace to Glory Bible study. The remainder of the week will be spent serving in the abovementioned locations showing Christ through service opportunities. We will then be ending the week with a Holy Ghost Crusade with an expected attendance of anywhere from five hundred to one thousand individuals. This will not only open all of our eyes to the needs of other cultures, but will also give us the opportunity to be Christ’s hands and feet - to be servants to many that may feel as though they’ve been forgotten. It is our prayer that we, as chaperones alongside these students, will return as changed individuals, ready to serve our community with fresh eyes and a willingness and passion for those that are in need. In preparation for this God-inspired journey, we have been meeting monthly in prayer and fasting seeking God’s guidance.

May each of us leave a part of our hearts with these beautiful people. May we come home with eyes that can see the hurting, and ears that can hear the faintest cries for help. Thank you, in advance, for your help in supporting our mission.

OUR GOAL Your willingness to give allows missionaries to focus more on souls than finances. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we make that happen.

North American Missions (Home Missions)

Benevolence $15,000

$29,417 Christmas for Christ

New Beginnings / Tupelo $6,242

Foreign Missions (67 Missionaries)

$75,391

Special Missions $23,950

Adopted Missionary WI Campgrounds Mothers Memorial

Total Goal for Missions Giving in 2015

$150,000

Lighthouse Ranch for Boys

Save Our Children Sheaves for Christ Spirit of Freedom

I WOULD PLEDGE IF... I ONLY HAD THE MEANS TO GIVE

HERE’S

6 WAYS TO HELP YOU CREATE THE MEANS TO GIVE Stock Investments

TAX RETURNS

The average tax return for 2013 was $2,985.00. You can give a return to God.

Kingdom Investments

INVESTMENTS

No investment yields returns like God’s Kingdom, yielding gains for eternity. FEBRUARY 2015 MFEBRUARY T W TH F 2015 S

DISPOSABLE ASSETS Things that are no longer treasured or useful can be turned into a monetary gift.

BUDGET REDUCTION Reducing expenses can mean giving up something you don’t need to meet the needs of others.

MONTHLY GIVING

Systematic giving takes a smaller amount every week or month, and adds up to a generous gift. Inher

itanc

UNEXPECTED PROVISION When God trusts us to give, He provides resources we never expected.

TO KNOW CHRIST AND TO SHOW CHRIST