March 2006 Newsletter

The following link will take you to our March 2006 newsletter: http://hqmail.agmd.org/~Wayne.Brown/TheBrownFamilyChroniclesv2n3.pdf

Now Booking – The GodMan Teams

The GodMan is now in use throughout Latin American, Africa, Asia/Pacific, and Europe. We are adding countries regularly. The Affect Destiny Teams at Book of Hope are now ready to start booking trips where the focus is on using The GodMan as a key component of our ministry. These trips will give your church team the joy of doing The GodMan with national church teams in their culture. Please contact us if your church is interested in being a part of this new ministry work or contact Affect Destiny Teams at 954-784-1111.

Hitting A Milestone

We hit another milestone today. As I was driving down the Florida Turnpike, returning from one of nine sectional councils that are taking place in the Pen-FL district, I was passing the time by making follow-up calls to churches we have previously visited. One of these calls went to a church plant on the west coast of Florida. As with many church plants, this one has experienced some ups and downs that, given its size and newness, made for some challenging days over the past eight months.

As those eight months passed, the pastor and I have talked on several occasions. We have shared the struggles that each of us has faced. And we have agreed to lift each other up in prayer. Today's call was a two-sized praise report. Pastor asked about our progress. I was able to share how God had already opened the doors to allow me to travel to Peru to assist in the training of our national ministry team in that country. I also shared how God was opening the doors for us to transition from itineration into full-time ministry with Book of Hope. How that transition was going to make two trips to Eastern Europe possible over the next few months. But how we were going to have to step out in faith concerning our budget in order to see those trips come about.

Pastor was sincerely excited for me. I then asked how things were going at the church and he began to share his own praise report. He shared how God was prospering their work and opening doors to minister to more children in their community. He shared how blessed he felt to have many people praying for his ministry.

Pastor then dropped the big news. He shared that the as the blessings have been rising, he has been focused on reestablishing his missions commitments. Then he said that he would be adding us as new missionaries starting with next month's missions check to AGWM.

I cannot begin to express in writing how excited I was. You see, this commitment from a new church was the commitment that put us over the $4,000 mark. I work from goals and this has been a significant goal for us. Does that mean it is time to relax? No way! However, it does show that church size and church age are not everything to be looked at. In many parts of the district, it is our small churches and our new churches who are stepping up and stepping out in faith with us. That does not mean the big and established churches have not been there for us. They have and they make up the bulk of our budget. Nevertheless, tremendous blessings can flow out from anywhere. We simply have to trust God, do the work He has given us, and know that He will provide for all our needs, even from some untraditional places.

February 2006 Newsletter

The following link will take you to our February 2006 newsletter:
http://hqmail.agmd.org/~Wayne.Brown/TheBrownFamilyChroniclesv2n2.pdf

Be Strong and Courageous

Throughout the Bible, we can find passages where one person is admonishing another to "be strong and courageous.” Why are they making such a statement? Where does their confidence come from? We find such a statement in First Chronicles 28:20. In this passage, David is instructing Solomon on a very difficult task. He tells Solomon to be strong and courageous. He tells him not to be afraid or discouraged. Where does David get his confidence? The passage goes on to tell us the answer. It reads, "...for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you..."

The Lord God, the God of David, the greatest king of all time, is with you. These words came to my mind yesterday as I talked with an old friend on the telephone. I was driving from our home in Tamarac to a church service in Plant City. As I frequently do, I spent that time in prayer, praise, and meditation on the Lord. As I was driving through some of Florida's undeveloped landscape on the Ronald Reagan Parkway, the Holy Spirit began to burden my heart for an old friend.

Ken and I have known each other from my early days at Publix. He was part of a workplace Bible study that I participated in early in my career. He and I were on the same senior management team later in my career. Several years ago, Ken's wife, Debra, was diagnosed with cancer. Ken and I prayed over that situation and believed God for a complete and total healing. They have remained on my prayer list since then, but now the Holy Spirit was bringing them to the forefront.

I called Ken as I continued to drive through central Florida. We talked for quite a while, discussing life at Publix, the prospects for a higher stock price, and about Debra. It was while Ken was telling me about Debra's current struggles that the verse form First Chronicles came to my memory. I have preached this verse many times and was planning to preach it again that night. However, Ken's attitude put it in a new light.

Ken is living out the concept of being "strong and courageous.” Ken is a walking and talking example of someone who is not "afraid or discouraged.” How can he be this way in the face of all that he and Debra are going through? It is simple, because the Lord God, the God of David, the God of Wayne, and the God of Ken and Debra, is with him.

Ken's attitude reflects the attitude of Christ when He faced His greatest challenges. Is he struggling? Yes, every day. However, he knows where his strength comes from. It was my privilege to pray with Ken and for Debra as I continued my drive. When the call ended, I felt blessed. It is a blessing to have a friend like Ken, who shows how to live a life that is an example of being "strong and courageous.” I hope his example is one that I can follow whenever difficult days come my way.

Jeremy and Ashley West

Jeremy and Ashley West are Missionary Associates with the Assemblies of God World Missions. They work with Book of Hope International to train and equip believers around the world in effectively reaching children in their communities for Christ. They are an awesome couple whom we met at School of Missions in the summer of 2005. They have completed their itineration and are on the field. You can keep up with their work on their blog at http://www.westwithjesus.blogspot.com.

January 2006 Newsletter

The following link will take you to our January 2006 newsletter: http://hqmail.agmd.org/~Wayne.Brown/TheBrownFamilyChroniclesv2n1.pdf

The GodMan Movie Ministry Resource Kit is NOW AVAILABLE for Churches!

The GodMan Movie Ministry Resource Kit is NOW AVAILABLE for Churches! Specifically designed to create a powerful outreach event, this kit provides everything your church will need to impact students in your community.

Your Event Package includes:

• The GodMan DVD Movie with Promotional Trailer
• A Promotional CD that lets you create custom posters, flyers, tickets, postcards, bulletins, and eBlasts, and
• 220 copies of the Children’s Animation Edition Book of Hope.

All of this for $299.00 plus free shipping!

For more info on how you can order for your church or ministry, please call:
1.877.798.HOPE

info@bookofhope.com
http://www.bookofhope.com/

The Value of One Soul

Missionaries in the Assemblies of God have a somewhat unique obligation. They must raise all of their own support. While there are some general funds to help offset expenses incurred in the application and training processes, the budget of a missionary must be secured by the missionary.

In the process of meeting their financial obligations, AG missionaries go church to church. They sometimes preach for a full service, but other times are given a smaller window in which to present their call and vision for ministry. It is very easy for the itinerating missionary to become overly focused on the objective of raising support. Sometimes, this focus comes at the expense of hearing from God and maintaining a focus on Him. Yes, missionaries have this problem, just like everyone else.

For several months now, God has blessed us with an abundance of offering support. It has allowed us to meet our day-to-day cash flow needs. Additionally, it has enabled us to build up a cash reserve that is required by the Assemblies of God World Missions. We have truly been blessed in this area throughout the second half of 2005. However, that has changed in a big way as we have entered 2006.

Although the month of January is only a little more than half complete, it has already presented significant challenges. For the first time in many months, we had two service slots that remained unfilled. No service means no offering. Twice this month, Rebecca or Tammy have been sick on service days. This has prevented them from traveling with me. Frankly, the best part of the family gets left behind when that happens. Every service we have had this month has involved a significant commute. In many cases, our gasoline expenses were greater than the offerings we received -- eating into those cash reserves we had started to build. It has been a troubling start to the new year.

I was sharing these troubles with a friend at Book of Hope and he helped me to put it into prospective. His take on it reflected the words of wisdom that one of the Pastor's I've met with this month shared. God will frequently take us through a season of fire, pruning, and testing in order to refine, reshape, and prove us. These times are difficult. However, if we remain faithful to His call and His purpose for our lives, He will give us the ability to see it through.

The difficulties of this month all faded away last night. No, there was no huge offering that wiped away all our deficits. However, there were five lost souls who's names were written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Five individuals who made a decision to accept Christ as their Lord, as their personal Savior. Was it great preaching on my part? No way. On my best days I am only a so-so preacher. What made the difference? God gave me a word for this church. He told me to minimize my focus on our ministry and maximize my focus on His message.

In the end, just like every other service this month, I spent more than I received. However, at least on this one very special Wednesday, it wasn't about an offering. It wasn't about a budget. It wasn't about a target date for completing itineration. It was all about the power of God's word to deliver someone out of the darkness of sin and into the light of His eternal love and grace. It was about the value of one soul. A value that goes beyond any economic measure.

No Fear

Today was another great day in the life of Rebecca. It did not start the way she wished, as the clock went off at 3:00AM. And there may have been a few times during the day when she was not totally happy. However, all in all, it was a day of adventure that she truly enjoyed. Today was the day that we flew to Chicago for two services this weekend. Rebecca has flown before and always enjoys the experience. Today was no exception.

Rebecca is the type of person who simply looks certain fears in the face and laughs at them. We saw that today during our flight. There was a point in the flight when the pilot had just turned off the seatbelt sign and said it was safe to get up. In less than a minute we hit some very serious turbulence. While those all around us were "white knuckled" as they grasped their seats and arm rests, Rebecca was looking to Dad and then to Mom and laughing. Where others saw fear, she saw excitement.

In First John 4:18, we get a little bit of insight into the source of Rebecca's attitude. In the King James Version, it reads "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." Rebecca, setting there between Mom and Dad, two people who love her dearly, and knowing Jesus in her heart, was able to look at an event that was inducing fear in all those around her and laugh it off. God continually amazes me at the life lessons that I am learning from a 13-year-old child who cannot walk or talk, but who is at perfect peace with her Lord and about her life.