The synergy of combined passions...

As a teenager, through God's grace and godly influences, I had a passion to know God and to serve Him. God gave me a burden for the lost, and at the age of 13 I began to share my faith on a regular basis.

Another great passion/interest I had was basketball. I loved to play basketball and found great joy and fulfillment in playing.

It was a great day in my life when I realized that these two could be combined.

Through the years, basketball has opened many doors for ministry.

Basketball gave me opportunities to share my faith. Basketball gave me opportunities to develop relationships and to have a positive impact in many lives. I ended up going to the urban playgrounds of Chicagoland. Through basketball I started several Bible Clubs and eventually a church. (Tonight I visited that church and was thrilled to see the gynasium filled with kids for a halloween alternative activity - this special night was made possible, initially through the vehicle of basketball.)

On one occasion I was able to play a 6'8" All-American (high school) basketball player at an urban playground. Earlier my friend and I had read about him in the newspaper. We went to his house and shared God's love and he trusted Christ as his savior. He came to church was baptized and became a good friend. I even got into the locker room of the Chicago Bulls because his brother played on the team. Anyway, God blessed my fade-away jumpshot that day and I beat him by two points (sorry for adding that part, with 45 year old knees, I like to reminisce on the good old days)- it drew such a crowd that my friends and I were able to share our faith with over 100 kids. Through providing opportunities to play basketball, we have had hundreds of kids make decisions to follow Christ. One young man that was influenced by one of our basketball Bible Clubs is now a minister in New Jersey. He also serves as my boss - the President of the Board of Directors of Reconciliation Resource Ministries.

Our passions, our interests, our talents, etc. can be used of God in a powerful way!

These interests can give you a large, listening audience to share your faith with. Your interests and passions can give you an opportunity to develop a meaningful relationship with a person that does not know Jesus!

What are your passions, talents, and interests? ... What are your hobbies, what activiteis do you look forward to? ...

Every day millions of people who need Jesus log on to the Interent and search for information about their passions and interests. It is also becoming a vehicle for people to search for community and friendship. We know that ultimately they are searching for God... Let's be what they are searching for and then give them the GOOD NEWS. ALTHOUGH WE ARE SINNERS, UNABLE TO HELP OURSELVES - CHRIST DIED FOR US AND PROVIDED A WONDERFUL WAY OF SALVATION. Inner peace can be found! That inner void can be filled.

We here at RRM want to empower you to combine your passions.

Your passion for God along with whatever life passions you may have. We are developing community groups of like-minded individuals with different skills and gifts, to unite and to share their faith in effective ways... Stay tuned... Please pray...

We are also praying for God to touch individual hearts to support this effort. Ultimately we know it is God who will provide. Pray and see if He wants you to be part of this endeavor, either financially or by participating with one of our focus groups (or better yet by both!).

PS: Added bonuses of combining your passions are that it is great fun and that you develop deep, lifelong friendships with your co-workers for the Lord.

More info can be found at: http://christcares.internetminister.org/guide.html

Gutenburg goes to church

Imagine if... Guttenburg attended church the Sunday after he invented the printing press. He was overwhelmed with inner excitement about his goal of making the Bible available to the common man. After the service he walked up to the minister... "Guess what, I've come up with a way to copy books quickly and inexpensively...I was thinking of starting with the Bible."

"Why would you do that?", was the reply. A book would be so impersonal...if someone wants to learn about God they should come to church and listen to us...that's the way it has been done for as long as anyone can remember!

Why, if you start printing Bibles, anyone could read them and who knows what doctrines uneducated people would come up with...By the way, this printing press could be used to print evil books - a tool of the devil, we want no part of this... and please don't ask us for money to print Bibles to distribute all over the world. We only give money to our traditional missionaries who do things like us...are you serious? You want us to invest God's money for you to play with your printing press in your basement?...

We are part of an new communication revolution. The basic ways people communicate... how people get information... how people are entertained... how people find friends and connect with community... the Internet is changing everything.

The Internet is a powerful medium that can be used for evil or good. "All that is neccessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing". The cults, false religions, pornographers, and those with worldly values are using the Internet in powerful ways to get their message out.

Most American Christians fail to see the potential of using the Internet to get the GOOD NEWS out. There are only a small handful of Internet missionaries that have been able to raise enough funds to work full time in this strategic ministry.

Most American Christians have not personally shared their faith with anyone this past year because of a perceived lack of opportunity.

Most American Christians have forgotton how lost this world is. Most have a close network of Christian friends from their church and don't even realize that America is fast becoming a pagen nation. Euorpe, the land that birthed the reformation is vastly post-Christian. Billions who live in countries like China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, North Korea, etc. have never heard a clear presentation of the GOOD NEWS.

The time is short, the need is great, we must rally the troops!

With your computer you can publish the GOOD NEWS to the uttermost parts of the world! We want to inspire you and train you to share your faith. We want to team you up with a like minded community group to encourage you and empower you to share your faith in a powerful way... Please pray for us...

"I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest"...

Web Evangelism Guide

Soon Reconciliation Resource Ministries will be diving into the world of Internet Evangelism. This Blog will serve as a place to refine our ideas as well as a way to enlist and train volunteers. If the Lord has you crossing our path by reading this blog we would deeply appreciate your prayers and ideas. We are still a few weeks away from promoting this blog and our ministry website.

If you are interested in Internet Evangelism, please keep in touch.

For those who are new to this I want to introduce you to a few great resources.

First I recommend that you sign up for the bi-monthly e-newsletter:

The Web Evangelism Guide at:

bulletin-subscribe@web-evangelism.com

This is a wonderful resource that will inspire you with fresh ideas and will keep you up to date with the latest in Web Evangelism.

Second visit and study:

www.Web-Evangelism.com our personalized versison is found at:

www.InternetMinistry.info

This is an absolutely the best site for learning about Web Evangelism. I had the privilege of meeting the site's founder, Tony Whittaker, a few years back at the Internet Evangelism Coalition's IEC Annual Meeting. You will notice when you visit his site, his name and picture is not plastered all over the place. He is a brilliant and humble servant that just wants the world to turn to Jesus. Years ago when I first thought about Internet Evangelism, I came across his newsletter. The Lord used it to help inspire me. For those who will be helping us in our endeavors and those who are just interested in getting the Gospel out to this lost world, you will be much better equipped by studying these two resources.

Let me know what you think...

National Porn Sunday

National Porn Sunday was yesterday. The purpose was to draw attention to the temptations of the dark side of the Internet. No one made of flesh is immune to the temptaions of the flesh. Scriptures teach us that we should follow Joseph's example and "flee youthful lusts". We are to make no provisions for the flesh... a good first step to protect yourself and your family is to get a good Internet Filter and accountability program.

I reccomend Bsafe, it is also reccommended by NEW MAN MAGAZINE, Campus Crusade, Dave Ramsey, Josh McDowell, and others. It's advantage is that everything goes through their servers so there is no clever work arounds. If you would like, the accountability software will send all your Internet history to an accountability friend. A free trial of the software is available here:

FREE TRIAL OF BSAFE INTERNET FILTER

They also have an inexpensive virus protection and email solution.
By trying this awesome product through my link here, you also help me in my efforts to be supported as a missionary.

You may send a copy of this post to a friend by clicking the "envelope" at the bottom of this post, or you can copy and paste the folowing link:
www.bsafeonline.com/?106290
to include in an email to your friends.

For about the same price as Norton AntiVirus or Mcafee you can get their top-of-the-line Antivirus protection, plus the Internet Filter, plus the accountability software!

_______


National Porn Sunday was sponsored by www.xxxchurch.com . Churches across the country addressed this seldom talked about issue. They have many good resources on their website and they also have a fee accountability software package.

India needs YOU!!!

This is amazing... I still haven't shared this blog with hardly anyone. I'm just writing out the vision that I believe God has given me. Today, I sat down to write a blog on how God can use Internet Ministry to share the gospel in India. First, I checked my email and somehow a pastor from India saw my blog on Internet Evangelism and wrote me:

"I PRAISE PRAISE "'GOD"'THAT YOUR GREAT INTREST TO HAVE THE FELLOWSHIP TOWARDS EVANGELISM,I CAN RAISE FUND FOR YOU BUT HOW CAN I HELP U? SUGGEST ME & INVOLVE ME ALONG WITH U SO THAT IN INDIA WILL BE BLESSED TROGH OUR FELLOWSHIP.THANK U FROM INDIA," PASTOR...(I'm not sure if I can share his name)

WOW! Thank you pastor, and thank you LORD, it's great to get a word of confirmation.

INDIA has nearly 1 Billion people who don't know the Lord...
INDIA has almost 1 Billion people who don't know Jesus...
INDIA has about 1 Billion people who are like sheep without a shepherd...weary, scattered, without direction, fearful without a protector and hope for the future...
INDIA has nearly 1 Billion people who God loves more that we could ever understand...
INDIA has almost 1 Billion people who woke up this morning without the "peace that passeth all understanding"...
INDIA has about 1 Billion people...1,000,000,000!!!...each one precious...each one with a void that can only be filled by God. Can we compehend this? ... Who cares?... Do you care?... Do I care?...

India's population is about 1.06 Billion. 80% are Hindu, 12.5% Muslim, and only about 2.5% Christian. Since 1975, India has allowed very few missionary visas and has expelled many foriegn missionaries. Those few who are left face increasing persecution and violence from religious extremists..."How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? and how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" We need to pray for India. Will you pray for India today? Will you pray for the billion lost souls tomorrow? Prayer always preceeds revival...

Let's pray and let's get involved. You can make a difference! Like those in the parable of the good Sameritan, we are confronted with the pain, the suffering, the need... We can choose to turn up the noise of our busy life and forget...to keep working on our personal to do lists... to live this day like yesterday and the day before... OR we can choose to PAUSE..., ..., PAUSE..., try to comprehend the pain... allow God to touch our hearts with HIS compassion... take time out of our busy schedules to demonstrate the love of God... and like the Good Samaratan invest financially into the kingdom of God... There are many wonderful Christian organizations and national churches ministering to India... Here is how you can team up with us...

OUR INTERNET MINISTRY IDEAS FOR INDIA:

Strategy # 1. Empower national pastors and ministers for both Internet ministry and conventional church/evangelism ministry.

At the Internet Evangelism Coalition Convention the Lord placed across my path Pastor K.I. Jacob, an national Indian Pastor. (He is in the US for a few weeks and I'd be happy to put you in touch with him). We prayed and began the process of coming up with a strategy.

First we can support a national pastor for about $60 dollars a month. We would want him to work part time with our Internet evangelism efforts along with their local mission. With over 18 different languages and 1650 dialects they'll know best how to contexualize the efforts. There would also be a need to provide a computer and internet connection. In much of India an Internet connection is rare and sought after. Besides developing and maintaining evangelistic sites, It could be used to train and disciple believers. Another important function would be to train poor children (English, education, trades) during the day. This will not only meet a great social need, it will also open doors to minister spiritually. As a side benefit, they also feel if poor children are receiving quality help it will greatly reduce the religious persecution and violence. I'm sure there are also many other India pastors that would like to partner with us in this manner.

I am praying that the Lord will touch a church or individual to commit $150 a month for at least a year to immediately start a test program with pastor Jacob's ministry. (Reconciliation Resource Ministries - designated "India Project", 223 W. Memorial Drive, Chicago Heights, IL. 60411)

www.IndiaMinistry.org This will be the place where we will be developing the community of those who wish to reach out in love to India. For now, if you'd like to help, please leave a post and send me an email at: WebEvangelist@gmail.com . We need help in so many ways...I don't have time to list right now. We also need to explore what resources are already in place that we can partner with.

www.FreeEnglishLessons.in This has tremendous potential. Please see my previous post on Internet ministry to China to get further information.

www.MumbaiIndia.in , www.CalcuttaIndia.in , www.DelhiIn.in . City portal sites have great potential, I'll share this in more detail in a later post. These three are a good starting point, they're HUGE. Metro Mumbai has about 18 million almost tied with Mexcico City as the world's second largest metro city.

www.BangaloreIndia.in , and www.HyderabadIndia.in . These are strategic cities... I'll share my ideas for them at a later time. These cities are centers of hope, hope of a much higher level of lifestyle for millions of young people. These are centers for IT and accounting outsourcing as well as call centers for huge American companies. There is also awesome talent there that could be tapped into for our Internet ministry projects. According to the Indianexpress, India wil now be the back end for all the new .org's.

www.GoodNewsForIndia.in . We need help in developing this as an evangelistic and discipleship site for the various language groups of India.

www.MobileIndia.in . Mobile phone useage is exploding in India. It will also be the only way millions will be able to access the internet. We need to think ahead. Besides developing some sites designed to be mobile friendly, we could offer various services such as Java and Flash games, a "joke of the day" etc. there will be great demand and many opportunities to provide a service to someone who would normally be antaginistic towards a Christian.

I need someone to make a designated donation of $65 US dollars so we can buy and secure www.IndiaChildren.In, www.IndiaTeens.org, www.IndiaFamily.in, (See the Chinese Internet Ministry post for how they can be used for the kingdom). also www.Bollywood.org.

Finally, my favorite: www.Touchables.in . In India they have the caste system. At the bottom are about 300 million know as the "untouchables". They are ostracized and have little chance of having anything but a life of poverty.

Aren't you glad for Jesus, the friend of sinners?
Jesus who TOUCHED those with leprosy, who were cast out, dispised and regulated to poverty.
Jesus, who lifted up the woman caught in adultry.
Jesus, who had time for children.
Jesus who touched the eyes of the blind man and cared for him who could not walk.

Oh I know the "untouchables' in general are not going to be surfing the Internet. Yet somehow, God can use this to give them hope. Maybe by raising awearness and mobilizing an army of prayer warriors. Maybe by providing materials and training for national pastors as they share the GOOD NEWS.

Spend a day, knocking on American suburban doors... invite them to church... ask them if they are interested in receiving God's awesome gift of salvation... Then hear the words of the LORD, "COME for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. I have...therefore I cannot come...Then the Master being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind....GO...and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

We offer hope. We offer unconditional acceptance. We offer value, though unworthy, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. I believed God is going to raise up mighty men and women of God from the so called "untouchables". We are all untouchables, without strength, without beauty, unable to help ourself. Our righteousness is as filthy rags before the Lord. Yet for some reason, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He bound up our broken heart. He brought beauty into the ashes of our life. Instead of mourning, He gave us the oil of gladness. Instead of a spirit of despair, He gave us a garment of praise. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ!

Only God deserves the glory and the first step to God is being poor in spirit and deeply humble. And for that reason... not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...and the LOWLY things of this world, and the things that are DESPISED, has God chosen...That no flesh should glory in His presence. It is not excellency of speech or enticing/clever words that bring souls into the kingdom but demonstration of the Spirit and of Power. That way, our faith will not be in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. Oh we have GOOD NEWS for the "untouchables". When Jesus proclaimed His public ministry, His first words were, "The Spirit of God is upon me, Because He has annointed me to preach the gospel to the poor...".

What will you do today?


PS (10/10/05) - 20,ooo die in an earthquake in the area and It's not the lead story for the Sunday Chicago Times... The Suntimes did have an article on Bangalore... they also stated that 800 million people in India survive on less than $2 a day...