In This Issue

• Update from Lebanon
• Congo vision trip POSTPONED
• Global Ministry Summit
• Short term mission trips
• Urbana
• Employee position available
• Godsightings
• The last ReachGlobal issue

Update from Lebanon

The following are two journal entries from the Evangelical Free Church of Lebanon leader who has stayed in Beirut to lead his church in the midst of chaos and war.

I am sending you some pictures that I took from my balcony on August 6 when the Israeli Jet bombs were falling on the Southern part of Beirut. Also, I was able to penetrate that same area on Aug.15 and took some shots of the damage that resulted from the bombs that I saw falling. The damage reminded me of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

As of today, Thursday, August 17, the picture has changed. The Lebanese Phoenician spirit is known by overcoming quickly the tragedies and the crisis. You may know about the myth of the Phoenix bird who arises from the ashes of death to live again. This is our Lebanese spirit that keeps us going despite the many set-backs. A whole re-construction spirit is on the move as soon as the cease fire came into effect. Private entrepreneurs have volunteered to re-construct on their own expense some of the 75 bridges that were knocked down over 34 days of war. The fuel was back in the gas stations overnight, the Beirut International Airport is scheduled to re-open on Wednesday, August 23, and the Beirut Stock Exchange is picking up again.

It is true that we Lebanese are great risk takers. What is the sense of life if you do not take risks, and especially if you take them with Jesus. I think our Lord was a great risk taker. How then can we explain His achievement of such a great work of salvation on the Cross when you and me were still far away. He took the risk for us "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

There is still the risk of a flare up in the future. The politics in this part of the world is never black and white. Given the complexity and the inter-mingling of ethnicity and religion in Lebanon and the region, many issues remain in gray area and in progress until new developments reshape them and put them in focus.

We, the Lebanese people, are predestined to live between two difficult neighbors, Israel and Syria, who do not hide their animosity towards us. Can we change that? Do we have an option? We will continue to struggle because of the geography. Also, The Lebanese Christian Church is predestined as well to live in the Islamic World. Can we change that? I think yes and no. Yes, because we are called to make a change wherever we are irrespective of how difficult the field is that we are in. I hope that you believe, like I believe, that Jesus died for the Arabs and for the Muslims as well. It took Peter some time to understand that Jesus opened the door to the Gentiles when he thought that only the Jews were God's chosen people. We are the ones who will continue to carry the testimony of Jesus Christ our Lord to the Muslim World around us. And no, because this part of the world will remain Muslim.

Many of the displaced have started to move back to their towns and villages in the South. How long will they remain back home before they are uprooted again? We don't know for sure. How long will this cease fire last? We don't know for sure. Many of those we helped have invited us to visit them in their villages. We will see how can we re-think our way of helping them in this new phase of the crisis. Many are under shock when they will see their houses transformed into rubbles.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Greetings,
Joseph

from August 27:

We are now in the era of the cease fire and "Cessation of Hostilities." Most of the displaced have returned to their villages. Can you imagine a million people uprooted from their routine farm work and the quietness of their villages? For days these people have stayed in public shools and at relatives. After one month they are going back to their villages to find that the home they invested all their savings to build and the farm that was the only source of income were swept away by the most sophisticated bombs. Think if this were you or me who were returning to face these hard facts of reality.

As a church committed already to a church planting movement in the South we have decided, with your help, to move into phase 2 of our relief work. Phase 2 of relief work will then consist of reintegrating the returning people into their communities. We will be helping some of the people in their communities return back to where we already have a church planting program among them, to help them in their distress and basic necessities to restart their lives from the ashes of the war.

Phase 2 will consist not only of food supply but of furniture, mattresses, beds, tents, heaters, and construction needs. The basic needs for individuals and communities are small generators, pumps, drinking water needs etc. We need to bear in mind that these displaced, who now have returned, have lost all their savings in loosing their home and farm. They have no work, they have lost their tools and equipment, which makes them unable to provide for their families. No self sustaining income will be foreseen in the near future. We need to sort out ways and means of helping them out to become self providers again as quickly as possible. As Church Planters, we want to establish long term commitments with these communities and people in real crisis. We need to cater for their needs and stand beside them in this critical time of disaster. Remember the winter season is at hand. As of September 15, the weather will become cooler and people need desperately a minimum affordable shelter for their children and cattle if there is still any in the mangers.

At the beginning of this week we have commissioned two of our people to visit the villages that we are interested in helping, to identify and assess the needs and report to us. As of next week, we will be moving there to be on site for effective help and assistance.

I will be briefing you as the phase 2 of the relief work will progress. As we were already into church planting before this war happened, we pray that God's work will blossom out of the helping hand we are undertaking with your assistance into more souls to come to know Christ as their Savior. We look at this relief work as a fundamental part of the church planting in which we are already involved. Please pray with us that God will grant us wisdom as the windows of opportunities coming with pain and hurt will flourish in seeing souls responding to God's word in these times of sorrow and loss.

Last Sunday the church was packed. I pray for real change in lives of the believers and a matured commitment. We are planning a three-day church retreat at our camp site on September 1-3 for the spiritual refreshing of the believers. There is a heavy air on the city of Beirut. People are devastated by the aftermath of this war. Many think as you may have heard on the news that another round of war is expected...this time on a regional scale.

Pray that our Lord will guide us in our family decisions too.
Loving thoughts to you.
Joseph

Congo vision trip POSTPONED

Global Ministry Summit

EFC Fullerton is hosting a Global Ministry Summit for any church or individual interested in learning about how to get involved with international missions. The following seminars and topics will be covered:

• International mission partnerships
• How to lead as a new church missions leader
• Marketing your missions program
• Local church trends in global ministry
• Building your church's missions emphasis from its unique DNA

Short term mission trips

Urbana

Every three years InterVarsity Christian Fellowship hosts a large missions conference called “Urbana,” historically held in Urbana-Champaign, IL. This year is a conference year, but the location has been moved to St. Louis, MO to accomodate the growing number of people who desire to attend. The EFCA International Mission will be sending a team of representatives equipped to speak with conference attendees who are interested in pursuing short or longer term opportunities in missions. There have been many changes within the structure of the EFCA IM, and we are excited about the kinds of opportunities these changes allow us to present.

In the near future, there will be a link on the EFCA website (www.efca.org) which will allow people to register for the conference. We will inform you via this newsletter when registration is open via the efca website.  By registering for Urbana through the EFCA website $20 of every registration comes back to the EFCA.

If you are not already sending a group from your church to St. Louis for Urbana this year, please consider doing so. The conference begins on the evening of December 27, and closes with a midnight service on December 31. If you are sending a group, please make them aware that the EFCA will be exhibiting. We would love to see them and answer any questions they might have about missions. There will be a special gift for delegates who mention that they are from an Evangelical Free church! We look forward to seeing you there.

Employee position available

The EFCA International Mission has a position available as a Candidate Coach on the Assimilation Team reporting to the Director of Assimilation.

The primary responsibilities would include:

1. advising, tracking, assessing & evaluating potential missionary candidates through phone calls, visits and review of completed materials to ensure a healthy fit with the EFCA IM.
2. coaching and consulting with candidates as they go through the acceptance process, support raising process and pre-field training process.
3. working with on-field leaders to ensure the best ministry & team fit based on skills, gifting & temperament; as well as ensuring a mentor/coach is assigned to the new missionaries upon deployment to the field.
4. Assisting with pre-field training as necessary.

Key Requirements include:

1. Committed personal relationship with Jesus Christ
2. Alignment with and commitment to the mission and values of the EFCA
3. Ability to communicate clearly and accurately
4. Cross-cultural missionary experience
5. Ability to exercise good judgment and make difficult decisions when necessary
6. Ability to travel
7. Ability to organize and keep good records

Please send inquiries with resume to:
Gene Van Den Bosch
Director of Assimilation
EFCA International Mission
genevdb@efca.org

Godsightings

The last ReachGlobal issue

The last ReachGlobal issue that went out on August 1, 2006 included an FAQ for churches interested in participating in Lebanon relief work. This issue mainly focused on questions we received from local churches about getting involved. The following questions were included with answers:

• What is the greatest need in Beirut?
• Is the EFC of Lebanon safe?
• What is TouchGlobal's role in this relief effort?
• Is the Free Church of Lebanon held accountable to the EFCA?
• Is there a place to store the supplies that are purchased?
• Are the banks secure?
• Who is held accountable for the wired funds?
• How are the funds being used to purchase supplies and advance the gospel?
• How can we pray for the church in Lebanon?
• Are those managing the money in Lebanon trustworthy?

If you or your church are interested in donating time and/or resources to Lebanon relief and would like to know the answers to the above questions, please email im@efca.org with "Lebanon Relief" in the subject line. We will email you the last ReachGlobal.

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This issue is archived at http://www.efca.org/mailer/archive/efcaimnews/10.php