our virtual world

8/6/2019 Our Virtual World

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Latin AmericaLook at What God is Doing


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Nowhere is the concept of change more evident than in

the area of technology. During my lifetime, we have

seen massive changes in technology. When I was a boy,

AM Radio was the rage. FM hadnt even been heard of. While

there was some talk of a device called a computer, pictures of it

revealed a mass of cables and dials the size of a house, and with

less computing power than many of todays wristwatches.

Today, worldwide, instant communication is standard.

Emails span the globe in an instant and news from remote regions

of the world are available at the blink of an eye. Voiceover IPallows conversation between people separated by vast distances.

It would seem that anything is possible.

I write this from a 777 over the Atlantic Ocean. Im plugged into power. A map on a screen shows

our exact position and our time of arrival. Ill email this when I land in London in a few hours via a

wireless Internet network. Truly, the world is getting smaller by the minute.

But has communication really improved? Have we become closer or more distant? While

communication is possible with virtually anyone in the world, it seems like our relationships have grown

thinner. Many people will live their entire lives next to neighbors that they will never meet. Can we call

this an improvement?

At EE, weve been laboring to come up with tools that allow the new generation to become an

asset to the Church, utilizing connections and conversations that lead to truly signicant and eternal

matters. XEE is a great example of how modern communication tools can be harnessed to create

opportunities for connection.

We believe that the Gospel is the great hope of every generation, including this one. The Gospel is

trans-generational and trans-cultural. It is absolutely relevant to our global culture today. Our challenge

is to bring it into todays vernacular and train a whole generation of witnesses, using todays tools, to

create lasting connections to communicate timeless truth. This is our great task and our purest joy!All change brings opportunity. Lets pray that we can harness this new world of opportunity to

bring the Gospel to the very ends of the earth during this generation.

God Bless,

John Sorensen

President, Evangelism Explosion International

The Times, They Are a Changin

Rev. John B. Sorensen

D E A R F R I E N D SThe Of f i ce o f the P re s i den t


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XPLORE

Our Virtual WorldNew Levels of Technology

Bring Untapped Potential

In This Issue

Encompassing the GlobeEE Vice Presidents Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

ExpansionLatin America.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

ExcitementNorth America Hispanic Ministry.. . . . . . . . . . . .10

EternityA Simple Bequest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

ExperiencesTestimonies rom People in the Field . . . . . . . . . .17

Equipping in ActionChurch Profle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

EE NewsAround Our World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

EndeavorsRussia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

EE AnswermanDiscover How to Handle the Tough Questions . . . . .22

17

8

22

Also in this Issue

Visible Results 16XEE Website Back

S u m m e r 2 0 0 8Evangelism Explosion International

Every Nation Equipping Every

People Group and Every AgeGroup to Witness to Every Person.

Content Development:Gerry Kump

Mike Ferraguti

Writing/Editing:Mike Ferraguti

Proofng: Joy Levins

Graphic Design:Lance W Mericle

Multiply 2008 is published quarterly by Evangelism Explosion International

o Fort Lauderdale, Florida All rights reserved including the right o reproduction inwhole or in part in any orm without written permission

Evangelism Explosion InternationalP.O. Box 23820 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33307

12


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Encompassing the Globe

Covering every corner of the world

EE continental vice presidents have vast regions to cover with the Gospel o Jesus Christ. Yet,

ollowing Dr. Kennedys challenge or them to plant EE in every nation on earth, they accomplished that

mission in 1996. They continue to press on, taking the Gospel arther and arther.

Ken Silva

VP North AmericaGeorge Verzea

VP Europe

Nickolay Revtov

VP Eurasia

Tom Mangham

VP Asia

Woody Lajara

VP Latin AmericaRon Tyler

Sr. VP Global Ministries

Acting VP Africa

Rod Story

Sr. VP Global Innovations

Acting VP Oceania


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Dr. Cecilio N. Lajara (Woody)

During the spring, a clinic was held in a Baptist camp in

the Amazon forest. The pastors had come for their annual

meeting. One pastor was 30 days by boat from his home. It

is quite common for the people in the Amazon to sleep in

hammocks at night, so the lodging was a big room (ceiling

and oor, no walls) with hooks for the hammocks they had

brought with them.

Enthusiasm was high. Pastors were eager to return

home to implement evangelism training. An 81-year-old man

participated in the clinic! One of the pastors, Pastor Raidno,

asked for prayer for his 100-year-old church to embrace the

training ministry. Six days later, he sent an email reporting

that, in the rst week following the clinic, he had personally

led 11 people to Jesus Christ! He had already scheduled the

beginning of the training in his church.

The executive director for the Amazonian Baptist

Convention hopes to hold another four EE clinics to traintheir other pastors and missionaries in the Amazon.

Dr. Ken Silva

Praise to Godten people are in the process of joining our

North America Field Sta as missionary candidates!

Our goal is to double the number of eld sta in NorthAmerica in the next two years. This will take us from 55 to 110.

Our prayer is to double the number of churches using

EE from 1,500 to 3,000, double the number trained from

16,000 to 32,000 and double the number of professions of

faith in Christ from 722,000 to 1.4 million!

Rev. George VerzeaOvidiu is a Christian who has a deep love for God, for His

Word, and for lost people. He is a leader in his church and,

for years, had a burning desire to share the Gospel, but he

didnt have the courage and didnt see anyone else sharing

their faith.

Two weeks ago, he took part in an EE leadership

training clinic in Iasi, Romania. Following his rst on-the-job

training experience, he approached Rev. George Verzea and

said, George, for many years I was obsessed with the need

to share the Gospel, but I was afraid and I didnt know how

to share it. Now, EE gives me a very simple and clear way to

share the Gospel, with determination and faith.

Ovidiu will use EE to begin to train others how they

can share their faith with the lost, showing them what he has

learned in EE.

Dr. Nickolay Revtov

During an EE clinic in Dzhezkagan City, Kazakhstan, God

showed His strong and healing hand in a very special way.

During on-the-job training, clinicians faced a very troubling

reality. For a variety reasons, a large number of young people

in Dzhezkagan City are committing suicide. There are also ahigh number of violent deaths.

EE trainers and trainees visited Valencia and her

family who were in dire need of Gods care. Forty days earlier,

Valencias 18-year-old grandson committed suicide. When

her husband found out what had happened, he suered

a stroke. He was later diagnosed with having cancer in his

NCOMPASSING THE GLOBE Reports rom our Vice Presidents

Latin America


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lymphoid system. Valencia went into depression with no

way out.

This was a challenging situation for the EE team. They

shared the Gospel with Valencia and prayed for her family.

The news about Jesus, the Comforter, touched her soul

deeply. She was hopeless, but found hope in her Savior. She

asked Jesus to come into her life.

Rev. Rod Story

The D. James and Anne Kennedy International Training

Center for World Evangelism in Fiji continues to equip

leaders from around the world. The Center will facilitate

greater opportunities to train Christian leaders from Third

World countries.

Richard and Sandra Harvey have accepted a full-time

position to assist at the Fiji center. They have just returned

from their rst Implementation Field Workers training

course in Fiji. They worked with 24 wonderful Christianleaders from many nations such as Cambodia, Vietnam,

Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, East Malaysia,

Fiji, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Indonesia, and the Philippinesa

wonderful mix of nationalities.

All participants were committed to making Christ

known in their country and around the world. Everyone

enjoyed the fellowship and learning from each other. By the

end of the ve-week training the phrase World Christian

took on a new and wonderful meaning. The wide range

of academic abilities, ministry experiences, and cultural

dierences created challenges. But the Lord enabled the

teaching team to achieve their objectives.

Rev. Tom ManghamYanadi is the name of a tribal group in India. Most of these

villagers are snake and rat worshippers.

David, an EE trainer, shared the Gospel with a witch

doctor from the tribe named Subharaidu. Subharaidu made

a profession of faith in Christ and began telling his tribe

about Jesus Christ. Within three months, many of these

animal worshippers professed Jesus as their Savior. More

than 40 of them were baptized. A number of these new

converts were trained in EE and a church has been planted.

The spiritual darkness in India is evident by the

millions of people who worship animals there. Please

continue to pray that more tribal people will have the

opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Ron Tyler

The U.S. Department of StateBureau of Consular Aairs

discourages American citizens from travel to the Democratic

Republic of Congo. With an important Kids EE clinic in

Kinshasa, EE representative, Elise Stimpson, felt the calling

to go irresistible.

There were bumps in the road including lost luggage,

yet Elise called the training a wonderful ministry experience.

There were twenty-seven participants representing fteendierent churches.

The Gospel was shared with more than 100 children

many of whom made professions of faith in Christ. Said Elise

The Lord opens hearts and changes lives. What a joy to be a

little part of what He is doing!

Africa


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XPANSION

Twenty-ve years ago, Woody Lajara, EE Vice

President for Latin America, translated the EE

materials into Spanish. Since then, the ministry

has taken root and blossomed throughout Latin America

including South America, Mexico, Central America, Spain,and the Caribbean.

Five years ago, recalls Woody, I was in the seaside city

of Barranquilla, Colombia (South America). I was sitting in

a park bench when I was approached by two young people

with tracts who wanted to share with me.

Woody said to them, This is good what you are doing.

He then asked, Can I help you enhance your presentation?

The young lady agreed. So Woody asked them the two

EE diagnostic questions and they answered with works

answers. After Woody presented the Gospel, they both

professed Christ on their knees.

Later that day, the father of the young woman, a pastor,

visited Woody and, joyful about his daughters decision,

exclaimed I cant believe what happened to my daughter.


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Immediately, Woody modeled an on-the-job training

experience with that pastor outside of his hotel. Two more

people professed Christ as Savior. The pastor was ecstatic

and asked Woody to come and train his congregation.

Instead, Woody encouraged the

pastor to get equipped during an

EE clinic and then train his ownpeople. The pastor signed up.

The pastor brought six lay

leaders with him to an EE clinic.

At that time, their church had

600 members. Today, at this

same church in Barranquilla,

Woody says, there are 3,000

members. It has become a very

strong EE clinic base.

Their youth ministry has also experienced incredible

growth. Three hundred youth are involved in Youth EE.

The Basques of northern Spain

The Basques are clearly a distinct ethnic group in

their native region of northern Spain. They are culturally

and especially linguistically distinct from their surrounding

neighbors. Many Basques, especially in Spain, are stronglynationalist, identifying far more rmly as Basques than

as citizens of any existing state. Indeed, the only question

would seem to be whether the term ethnic group is too

weak, and whether one should favor the term nation. The

majority of Basques are fervent Roman Catholics.

Awhile back, Woody taught a clinic in Vitoria of

northern Spain, with a large Basque population. A woman

named Maria attended the clinic. Her husband was a

cardiologist. Woody has had a recent history of heart

problems. When the cardiologist learned of this, he told

Woody that he would take care

of him during the clinic. Woody

remarked, Please, let me takecare of you rst. He then asked

the doctor the two EE diagnostic

questions and shared the Gospel

with him. The doctor invited

Woody to their home for dinner

and more conversation.

While they dined, the

doctors son approached him and

asked his father for money. The

son had a history of drug-related problems. Upon seeing

Woody, he asked, Who are you? Woody explained. Soon

after, Woody had opportunity to share the Gospel with the

doctors son. In tears, the son professed Christ as Savior

on his knees. The father was stunned and asked Woody,

What did you do? My son is crying. This is the rst time

Ive seen him cry. And hes talking about Jesus Christ.

Shortly after, the father prayed with Woody as he professedChrist as his Savior.

Maria has since told Woody that, following the

clinic, 50 people in Vitoria have made professions of faith

in Christ. The Gospel is now spreading among the Basques

of northern Spain, and throughout the Latin America

countries, including Cuba.

LATIN AMERICAfactsThe rst EE clinic was

conducted in 1983 in Sao

Paulo. Today: 2,500 churches

have been involved in EE

training.

Latin America Population More than 500 millionProfessions of Faith since 1983 Millions

From left: Woody Lajara; Will Rodriguez, EE Director of N.A.

Hispanic Ministries; and Pablo Mendez, Director for Latin America


10/24

After serving as the EE Caribbean Regional Director

for six years, Will Rodrguez is now in charge of

the growing Hispanic ministry in North America,

a position he assumed in March

2006.

In October 2006, Will and

14 EE Hispanic leaders gatheredat a Vision for the Future

conference with Rev. John B.

Sorensen, then EE Executive

Vice President. The support,

commitment, and ideas shared

by the attendees, representing

the USA and Canada, brought

fresh concepts in clinic nances,

planning, workshops, seminars, and other areas. During a

second meeting of the leaders in May, 2007, they focused on

developing clinic teachers to serve in dierent parts of North

America and abroad.

Since he started, through March 2008, 11 EE Hispanic

clinics have been conducted across North America training

155 pastors and leaders. They represented more than 100

dierent churches. More than 70 percent of those churches

are new to EE. During clinic on-the-job training, the

Gospel was shared with 459 people and 80 percent made

professions of faith in Christ.

They also conducted 31 Spanish

Share Your Faith Workshops where more

than 1,250 believers from 136 churches,

more than half of them new to EE, havebeen trained to share Christ. Some clinic

administration seminars are taking place

to prepare new churches to become EE

clinic bases.

Will, with his wife, Tatita, are

excited about what God is doing among

Hispanics in North America. Nothing

can stop the work of God, Will says. We

have 12 steady EE Hispanic leaders planning the ministry fo

the upcoming years. We have ten clinic-base churches with

clinics planned for this year and more than 132 churches

actively involved in EE. This conrms that our labor is not in

vain in the Lord.

For all of our leaders, it is wonderful for them to serv

the Lord in His harvest through Evangelism Explosion, Wi

says. We are secure in Christs everlasting love.

XCITEMENT

Equipping Our Growing Hispanic Communities


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TERNITY

A Simple BequestJoe and Anna have been faithful supporters of Evangelism

Explosion. They believe it is important to support and

encourage the EE mission.

Joe: Several years ago, Anna and I decided to become part

of the Evangelism Explosion mission. We believe that EE is

truly helping lead people to Christ and equipping others to

do the same. We think that it is important to partner with

them to make a dierence. For that reason, Anna and I have

made gifts over the years to help others.

Anna: We wanted to do more than to just make gifts.

Joe and I have been careful over the years and have

accumulated some resources. We plan to be generous with

family, but we also have the ability to be generous with

charity. After talking it over, we decided to leave a bequest

in our will. Our attorney took the simple language available

from Evangelism Explosion and included a nice bequest.

We are delighted that we will be helping spread the Gospel

through EE.

You also may want to make it easy and convenient to

have a bequest included in your will. The language below

shows how a bequest can very easily be included in your

will.

You may feel free to give this article to your attorney.

If you have any questions, please call John Fisher at

954-229-2037 or email at: [email protected]

Example bequest languageplease feel free tochange the numbers or percentages as you desire.

1 Bequest o cash

I bequeath the sum of $10,000 to Evangelism Explosion

International, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

2 Bequest o a percent o the estate

I devise and bequeath 20 percent of the remainder and

residue of property owned at my death, whether real or

personal, and wherever located to Evangelism Explosion

International, Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

3 Contingent Bequest

If my brother John Doe survives me, I devise and bequeath

20 percent of the remainder and residue of property owned

at my death, whether real or personal, and wherever

located to John Doe. If John Doe does not survive me,

then I devise and bequeath 20 percent of my residuary

estate, whether real or personal property and wherever

located to Evangelism Explosion International, Inc., of Fort

Lauderdale, FL.


12/24

Lately there has been much discussion

about the internet, its virtual world,

and its impact for younger generations

who are so attracted to it, specically

Generation X and Millennials. Is it goodor bad? We know the value, but is there a

dark side?

Its clear from the following statistics gathered at https://breeze5.umn.edu/

didyouknow/ and Cyber Dialogue that current generational changes are like

nothing we could have ever imagined. Fifteen years ago, these stats would have

been perceived as outlandish, even mind blowing:


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One of eight married couples met online last year

The number of text messages emailed every day

exceeds the population of the planet

2.7 billion searches are performed on Google

each month

47 million laptops were bought worldwide last year

The average entertainment user spends $323 a

year online

51 percent of U.S. households say they are likely to

shop for their next car online

N

ot so long ago, in the early 90s people actually visited

a library for information, licked a stamp to send mail,

called their bank to check their balance, and checkedthe newspaper for baseball box scores. Then came www, the

superhighway, and things called browsers. Internet insanity has

transformed modern life. We make travel arrangements, shop,

stay in close touch with friends and family members half way

across the world, and pay our bills by simply tapping our ngertips

to a keyboard. Today, the internet is how we live, work, and play.

Its bad when we dont get our morning coee x, but it can be

even worse if our email is down.

Years ago, it would have been unthinkable to sit in your

living room and view a live satellite picture of your home beaming

from your computer monitor.

Consider the new words added to our lexicon. Words like

spam, blog, cyberspace, bandwidth, login, and download are just

a few. With email and live chat sessions, the internet has spawned

an entire language unto itself, as basic as :) for happy, and as

obscure as P911 for Parent Alert. The current number of people

on the web is one billion and growing.The web gives us a myriad of conveniences and tools, but

it has also introduced a host of age-inappropriate information,

internet fraud, and stolen identities. Unfortunately, its an arena

where sexual predators focus much of their dirty work. Yes,

the web can be wonderful, but there are bad people out there

exploiting it.

Younger generations are taking the web to the next level.

Its called virtual life. If you dont know what it means, youre


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showing your age. Today, literally hundreds of thousands of people

live, associate, and do honest-to-goodness business with honest-

to-goodness careers without leaving the connes of their laptops.

Interactive is the buzzword and kids are cyberbabbling with

each other for hours-on-end daily. An issue is that it can go largely

unnoticed by parents because they are typically far less technologicallysavvy than their children.

One site in particular, secondlife.com, has residents who

journey into cyberspace creating their own communities as humans

called avatars with imaginary lives. But are they really imaginary? It

all sounds like some odd mutation from the movie, The Matrix. Its

nothing new to Gen X and Millennials. Virtual reality sites began back

in 2003. Now theres a plethora of them like Facebook, Friendster,

Orkut, and MySpace.

How popular are these sites? A statistic from breeze5 states that

if MySpace were a country it would be the 11th largest country in the

world!

This is not foreign to Christians who have jumped into the

virtual pool with Christian social networking sites such as Dittytalk,

MyPraize, Xianz, Cmatch 5loaves, YourChristianSpace, Christianster,

and Battle Cry.

Virtual life. It boggles the minds of people who are baby

boomers and older. At secondlife, people create their own fakenames, fake identities, fake residences, buy their own fake stu

(and try to organize it in virtual folders), and many of them conduct

actual business for U.S. dollars. They are buying and selling in virtual

environments using real American currency!

By networking online, you can really become anyone you want

to. You can pretend youre a superhero if its something you always

dreamed of. Talk about power to the people! Who would ever know

the truth?

Rick Bond, Vice President for Youth EE, says that these virtual

worlds give kids more control over exactly what other people see and

know about them whether its information thats honest, or not. They

feel safer in the virtual world than in the real world, Rick says. When

it gets as big as MySpace, it goes beyond fad. So were in the process of

carefully studying the implications of virtual reality for the Church.

The popular Facebook site allows you connect with people worldwide |

More unusual is the SecondLife sightwhich has thousands of residents whologin to move around in a simulatedworld to interact with others. Residecreate the way they appear and canbuild, buy, and own parcels of land. Sochurches have established a presencein SecondLife as a way to connect andoffset the darker aspects of the site. |

For young people thecan be whoever theywant to be. And it ca

be very addicting.


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Are these just sophisticated video games? Or are

people searching, hoping for something better, like the

perfect life, or something bigger than lifeonline? Is it a

passing fad, like the game Pong from the 70s? Should the

Church be alarmed?

Many detractors believe such online communities

are of the devil. Others say that these create opportunities

to reach captive audiences with the Gospel. One church

marketing site said this, If churches, or Christians in

general, want to interact with the world and tell them

about Jesus, its not going to happen on a sanitized,

sanctied, Christian version of a popular social networking

site.

But if people adopt that approach, they have to step

carefully. One teen at YourChristianSpace said she avoidsthe secular networking sites. Every time I would visit, I

would get hit on by some 50-year-old man, she said. So I

stopped going.

Rick wrestles with generational issues daily in his

pursuit to reach the

younger generations.

One of the ways kids

cope with the harsh

realities of life is to

participate in these

fantasy worlds, Rick

says. For young people,

they can be whoever they

want to be. And it can be

very addicting.

It only takes one

attempt to get yourson or daughter o the

computer to understand

the A word. According

to a generational study

by Jenna Reith, 13 to 18-

year-olds spend an average of six hours per day in front of a

screen (including television, movies, and computer).

Addiction is just one issue that raises alarm. The

virtual world can become, for youth, a safe substitute

for real relationships, Rick says. And, in their minds,

these relationships are every bit as real to them as real

relationships are to us.

To the youth of today, the virtual world is a whole

society, a culture that becomes very powerful and attractive.

Psychologists say that our deepest needs are to have love

and acceptance. With that in mind, kids perceive that the

virtual world is meeting those

needs better than the real thing. So

we can understand the addiction.

Technology has made this

possible, Rick exclaims. Im not

sure in our civilized history if there

is any precedent for this trend.

Rod Story is EEs

Senior Vice President for Global

Innovations. He has worked

diligently to help develop XEE,

a unique new EE product aimed

at younger generations. Rod saysthat for some kids, virtual life is an

escape. But is an escape all bad?

With most parents trailing their

kids with a schedule and clipboard

screaming, My child cannot waste

time! maybe an escape is good.

But what about an internet escape? There are

thousands of kids around us that are disillusioned with real

To the youth of today, the virtualworld is a whole society, a culturethat becomes very powerful andattractive. Psychologists say that

our deepest needs are to havelove and acceptance. With that in

mind, kids perceive that the virtuaworld is meeting those needs

better than the real thing.


16/24

life, or do not understand the complexities of real life, and

therefore seek an escape, Rod says. It becomes dicult to

connect with them. The potential danger is that many young

people could be drawn into an escape from reality, rather than

attempt to deal with it.

Is this any dierent from the introduction of

television in the 60s? Were alarms raised then? We have

learned that if the family has strong relationships and a

system of teaching its values in place (verbally or non-

verbally), the media, generally, has minimal impact on the

child. However, if there is a vacuum in the family in this

area, the media and peers ll the void.

In an article for the Center for Generational Studies,

Robert W. Wendover, states that since the majority ofhuman communication is non-verbal today, one has to

wonder how their ability to empathize, encourage, persuade

and resolve dierences will evolve over time. Further, what

impact will this have on society and the children they raise?

Is the technology that connects them to the world

the same technology that cuts them o from the social

interactions that have historically prepared young people

for the transition into adulthood?

How does the Body of Christ connect with them?

The answers to these questions certainly vary and can

be as individual as each of our unique personalities. But

understanding their particular generational topography

may be a good place to start.

An article from the CBS evening news in December

of 2006 points out that youth pastors have to nd new and

creative ways to enter the world of the teenager.

According to the article, youth minister, Lincoln

Skinner, uses every high-tech tool he can nd to pull kids in.

His high schoolers have a MySpace webpage, where Lincoln

drops in with messages about upcoming events.

We are always on MySpace. We always have our iPods.

We always have our cell phones, says Dylan, a youth groupmember.

The fact is, for sheer excitement, impact, and crazy

convenience, nothing quite compares with the introduction

of the worldwideweb. For all of its good, and all of its

bad, the impact of the internet for the Christian Church

becomes a love/hate relationship.

2007 Accomplishments

Number of leadership training clinics

1,100

Number of believers equipped

More than 225,000

Number of professions in Christ

5.1 million

15-year Estimates

2000 to 2015

Number of leadership training clinics

More than 20,000

Number of believers equipped

More than 4.5 million

Number of professions in Christ

More than 100 million

Reaching Every Person with the Gospel


17/24

How can a few words change a life? For Matt

Moett, it was a simple invitation from his pastor

in May of 1999. Matt, how about joining me at

an EE clinic in Campbell River, British Columbia? asked Dr.

Ken Silva, who was Matts pastor at River Oak Grace Church

in Oakdale, CA.

EE clinics are intensive ve-day events. Giving up,

essentially, one week, is a tough assignment for anyone.

At rst, Matt was apprehensive. I did not know muchabout EE at the time, Matt says. It seemed like so much to

memorize.

The invitation from Ken came at a critical time in the

Moetts lives. God was taking us through some radical

changes, Matt says. I had just left my career of 18 years. My

wife and I were looking for what God was going to change in

our lives. Matt discussed attending the clinic with his wife

and decided to go.

Even before arriving at the clinic, Matt had an

awakening of sorts. I had an opportunity to share my

faith with the person sitting next to me on the plane ride,

Matt recalls, but realized that I was not able to present the

Gospel. Matt called the experience ironic that he was on

his way to an EE clinic, but didnt know how to lead anyone

to Christ.

Three days later, following a few days of EE training,

Matt found himself at the door of a home in Campbell Rive

It was his rst on-the-job witnessing experience. I was

able to share the Good News and a young woman made a

profession of faith in Christ. He was hooked.

Two years later, he joined 18 other EE trainers from

across the United States, who traveled to Lilongwe, Malawi

in Africa to equip 165 English-speaking African students at

the African Bible College. I had no idea where Malawi was,remembers Matt.

At most EE clinics, a trainer will have two others in

their charge. This clinic was especially challenging in that

each trainer was assigned not two, but ten students. All of

the students worked hard and, by clinics end, had learned

the EE outline.

All of my students were sharing the Good News in

their native language of Chichewa, Matt says. Here I was

more than 10,000 miles from home standing on the dirt

roads of an African village in Lilongwe. I, too, wanted to

share, so I prayed that God would send someone my way

who could speak English.

Within minutes Matt spotted a man running toward

him. His rst thoughts were to run away, but instead, he

stayed. Are you the one who is telling people about Jesus?

XPERIENCES


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the man asked. Matt responded positively, and the man,

named Andrew, exclaimed that he wanted to know about

this Jesus. I have been looking for your team for the past

three days, said Andrew.

Matt shared the Gospel with Andrew and Andrews

response was, Yes, thats it! On a street in Malawi, God

had, once again, gripped Matts heart for sharing the GoodNews.

After returning to his home

church in Oakdale, Matt realized

that EE was a life-calling to

train others. In 2003, Matt

returned to the African

Bible College in Malawi,

this time with his wife.

He re-connected with

many of the students

he met during his rst

trip. He and his wife

participated in village

outreaches where many

people gave their hearts to

Christ. But he discovered a hole

in the hearts of the students who hehad helped train. Yes, EE was a tool so

simple and easy to understand, they said. But no

one stayed to teach us how to implement EE. Matt and his

wife agreed that they needed to return to the African Bible

College and assist the students in implementing the EE

ministry.

While meeting with the director of the college, they

were given a second life-altering invitation, much dierent

from Dr. Silvas invitation to join him at a clinic. Come join

us full-time on sta here, said the director.

Their acceptance of the oer was immediate. Yet,

there were issues to work through. Before heading to Africa,

Matts mom was diagnosed with cancer, and their oldest

daughter was pregnant with their rst grandson. Talk

about reasons to stay home, exclaims Matt.

They still had little doubt that God wanted them in

Malawi. The most dicult task was telling their then 14-

year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. To our surprise, says

Matt, our kids were all for it.

Then came the tough assignment of resigning their

jobs and support raising. Within six months, God hadblessed us with enough support to go, says Matt.

We sold our house, cars, and anything

else that we did not need in Africa,

and loaded everything else on a

container to ship to Malawi.

Matt remembers praying

to God about his sacrice

of giving up his material

goods. God responded

that it wouldnt be a

sacrice, Matt says. We

have been blessed in

so many ways since that

time.

All of the details were

falling into place, that is, until

they learned later that their containerof goods was lost at sea. But that did little

to dampen the enthusiasm of this missionary family

following the call of God.

Today, the Moetts begin their fourth year of teaching

at the African Bible College. God is expanding their

responsibilities as they begin to develop EE on a national

basis in Malawi.

We look forward to seeing God continue to shape us

and lead us in the equipping of Christian leaders all over the

Malawi nation, Matt says.

Make your missionary dream come true.

Contact Shirley Beattie:

[email protected]

Today, the Moffetsbegin their fourthyear of teaching at

the African BibleCollege


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20/24

Putting the van in Evangelism

Glasgow Elim Church in Glasgow, Scotland, is

reaching out to its community in a creative way.

It rst took answered prayer from God for a strategy

on how to engage their community with servant evangelism.

Near the church are a number of bakeries. Each day, it

has become tradition for people to lunch at the bakeries. One

of the more popular items for sale are delicious, old-fashioned

rolls. One of the bakeries alone sells 1,000 of these bread rolls

every day. Many of the blue collar workers eat the rolls in

their vans while sitting beside the road and dump the trash

out their windows.Glasgow Elims idea was literally a bunch of rubbish!

They oered to dispose of the garbage before the workers

could litter it. They not only asked the workers for their

rubbish, but also gave away car air fresheners that included a

sticker with the church address, phone number, and web site

address.

Everyday, said one church member, we would knock

on the windows of the vans, ask if the drivers had any rubbish

they wanted us to get rid of, oer to clean their cab, and give

them a free air freshener.

During this leisurely time for the workers, church

members also share the Gospel using EE.

One of the recent professions of faith in Christ came

from a couple desperate to improve their lives. The man was

trying to overcome his addiction to methamphetamine and

had been involved in armed robbery, said a church member.

He was living with his girl friend and her son.After sharing the Gospel, the couple agreed that they

wanted Jesus to work on their insides, in their hearts.

Its a trashy concept, and a wonderfully unique way to

share the love of Jesus!

Equipping 100,000 Kids to Witness

It is estimated that over 500,000 children ages 6-14 live

in Christian hostels and orphanages in India. Most of

these children attend secular schools near their living

facilities and the children living in hostels periodically visit

their non-Christian families. This is a mission eld for the

Kids EE training.

Kids EE has three key objectives: 1) Clarify the

Gospel for children at a time in their lives when they are

asking questions about what faith in Jesus means, 2) win

children to saving faith in Jesus at a time when theyre most

receptive to receiving Him as Savior, and 3) train children tobecome witnesses for Jesus Christ at a time when they are

establishing habits for a lifetime.

Those who have implemented Kids EE tell us of the

joy they have in seeing children respond to it. It is such a

gift to give this tool to our children, one certied Kids EE

Teacher has shared. Others have said, Its just amazing to

watch them share the Gospel during on-the-job training.

The Kids EE supplemental teaching materials are

printed in eight major Indian languages. The new Kids EE

World Manual has also been translated in these languages.

Three special Kids Clinic Teacher Seminars and

model clinics are being planned to prepare additional

teachers for this task. These seminars/clinics were

scheduled in Chennai from January 16-21, in Bangalore from

January 23-28 and in Calcutta from January 30-February 4.

The Lord has opened doors and made the training

materials, sta, and other resources available to accomplishthis goal. The only thing lacking is His funds to carry it out.

Please keep this in your prayers.

NEWS


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Khabarovsk is a city near the Pacic Ocean in

eastern Siberia. Between 1930 and 1950, Siberiabecame Stalins prison. Stalin sent those whom

he considered dangerous or a threat to his power to Siberian

cities. Recently, Nickolay Revtov, EE Vice President for

Eurasia, traveled there.

Jews from all Soviet Union territories were sent to this

wasteland that Stalin named the Jewish

Autonomous Republic. Due to the

severe climate, various diseases, and

poor living conditions, many Jews died

here.

Today, even though most of

the Jews have departed, the Russian

authorities still call this area, Jewish

Autonomous Republic.

The EE Director here is Igor Olkhov. We came to

Khabarovsk to train church leaders in EE so that they, in turn,

can train other Christians, Nickolay says. Our goal is to fulllthe Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ to take the

Gospel to lost people.

God blessed the clinic. The on-the-job training was

successful. 95 people heard the Gospel and 23 of them

professed faith in Christ.

Even in the vast corners of the Soviet Union, the Gospel

is spreading. Within the harsh realities of life in Siberia, people

are hearing the Good News and are being transformed forChrist. The Gospel through Evangelism Explosion moves

forward.

Russia occupies eleven time zones. When Nickolay

travels from Ukraine to the USA, he crosses seven of them. It

is an amazing land. God blessed this land with vast mineral

resources41 percent of all worldwide

resources. Sadly, in the last century, more than

100 million people, more than in any other

country, lost their lives from revolution, wars,

and the genocide of Stalin. In light of the

spiritual poverty there, Nickolay questions,

Is Gods blessing upon Russia? Evangelical

Christians make up just 0.2-0.3 percent of the

population.

Last year, in European Russia and the Far East, 16

EE leadership clinics were conducted and more than 320

church leaders were equipped. They, in turn, have equippedmore than 1,300 church members. As a result, more than

5,700 people received Gods gift of eternal life! It is just the

beginning, exclaims Nickolay. We praise the Lord for this.

I cannot fully explain what the Russian soul is, any

more than Tolstoy or Dostoevsky could, Nickolay says, but I

know for sure that any Russian soul needs Jesus very much!

NDEAVORS


22/24

All of the worlds religions can be gathered

into two camps. Into the rst camp are the

religions that claim that you have to DO

something to get to God/

Heaven. One accurate

denition of the word

religion is this: mansattempt to make himself

right before God.

Some religions

believe that if their

followers go to church

on Sundays and do good

works, they will get to

Heaven based on those

actions. Others believe

that getting to God is about

how many times one prays

each day, or practicing

ceremonial washings.

Therefore, each good work

is another rung climbed up

the ladder to Heaven.

True Christianitystands alone because

salvation to the Christian is not based on what he/she

can DO. Its based on what has been DONE, namely

Christs death on the cross that has paid the penalty

for our sin. Christianity is not about religion but

about relationship, specically, trusting alone in Jesus

Christ for eternal life.

It is sin that becomes the central issue. None of

the good works done can wash away sin. The Bible is

clear: For the one who

obeys the whole law

but fails in one point

has become guilty of allof it (James 2:10). We

all fall into that camp.

Some may

respond, Fine, then

Ill trust in Christ for

my salvation, and

since I do not have to

DO anything, Ill live

anyway I please.

For someone

to respond in this

manner, only illustrates

that they never

truly made a sincere

profession of faith in

Jesus Christ. Sincerely

trusting in Christ alonefor ones salvation

brings true life change, repentance. Does it mean that a

believer never sins again? No. But it does mean that the

sanctication process, being made closer to the image

of Christ, begins.

ANSWERMAN

What to Do When You Get, There are many ways

to God. Jesus isnt the only way.


23/24

Dr. Ken SilvaVP North America

Field workers needed acrossthe United States

Together, we can change the world!

Those words stated years ago as a challenge to the people o Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

by the late Dr. D. James Kennedy had ar reaching implicationsmany o which none o us

dreamed God would bring about. However, those words are still just as true today as they were

then. Evangelism Explosion is launching a Strategic American Initiative aimed at placing feld

workers into every community and region in the United States. This task is one that is necessary

or us to turn our country around through the local church. You have read in this issue o Multiply

the God-sized vision and exciting things going on at EE. We can now oer XEE and other

avenues to churches that may no longer look at EE as relevant. This will also allow us to connect

with younger pastors looking or a way to reach the X and Y generations and to disciple their

church amilies. We pray that you will consider supporting this initiative both with your fnances

and possibly with your lie-by becoming a North American Field Worker somewhereand

together, we can change the world!


24/24

This is our new website to help you share the Gospel. Put the abovelink at the bottom of your email and youll have a relevant, relationalGospel presentation for others to experience. For more information

about XEE, go to xee.info.

our virtual world

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