Category Archives: Herald of Truth

Hither and yon

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OK, so the blog has been neglected a bit. And may be neglected some more. Here’s what’s going on:

  • Last week was the campaign on Long Island for Hope For Life ministries (Herald of Truth). We had worked for quite a while organizing this campaign, motivating and training the churches to carry out an evangelistic effort. It was great to see the congregations working together in this concerted effort and to see them excited about reaching out.
  • I had to leave the campaign early. My mom fell a week ago Sunday and broke her hip. She’s now in a facility for physical rehabilitation.
  • Tomorrow, Carolina and I leave on a trip to the Holy Land. A generous, anonymous benefactor offered to pay my way, the Texas International Bible Institute (organizers of the trip) offered Carolina a partial scholarship, and we were able to use air miles and hotel points to defray the rest of the costs. There’s still some expense involved, but it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Special thanks to Hope For Life Ministries for letting me take the time off, to my sisters for coming to be with Mother, and to TIBI and the donor for making this possible.

I’ll definitely post some about the trip, though I’m not sure that will happen during the trip.

New seminar (under development)

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drawingAs part of my work with Hope For Life/Herald of Truth, I’m developing a new seminar for churches. I’ve been doing the “Christ and Culture” seminar for several years and would like to have something else to offer as well.

I want to do something that will address a need felt by many churches and do it in a practical way. I’ve decided to focus on how to get church members’ focus outside the building in order to get outsiders in. I want to look at analyzing the community in general, the neighborhood around the church, and each member’s immediate neighbors. I plan to talk about how a church can make itself more open and inviting to outsiders. I want to look at the topics of evangelism and discipleship.

What do you think? What topics do you think your congregation would want to see addressed? What items do you yourself see as important?

I’ve got a working title, but would definitely be open to suggestions on that as well.

Image courtesy MorgueFile.com

Visiting Yazoo City

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hflThis past Sunday, I was privileged to present a Hope For Life/Herald of Truth presentation at the Yazoo City Church of Christ in Mississippi. I had spoken with the preacher at that church, Trey Henry, about the possibility when I saw him at the Harding Lectures. He was gracious enough to speak with the other church leaders and arrange for the visit.

We think it important to let people know what we are doing in our ministry. That’s why we’re willing to visit churches at no cost to the congregation. If people are going to support us, they need to know what we’re doing with the money they give us. That goes for those who are already supporting and those who are merely considering it.

Hope to get to visit your church sometime!

November 2014 Trip to Honduras

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Preaching at BaxterThe weekend before Thanksgiving, Steve Ridgell and I traveled to Honduras for a Hope For Life/Herald of Truth campaign. I mentioned a few months ago the passing of Rigoberto Vargas, who was not only our Central American field representative, but was also in charge of our Honduras campaign. We missed Rigo in a lot of ways on this trip.

Leopoldo Villacorta stepped up and tried to handle the things that Rigoberto would have done. Not having worked with us on a campaign before, there were many things that he didn’t know about how we carry out a campaign. Yet God worked in the midst of our miscues; 14 people were baptized into Christ during the time we were there.

IMG_2700The Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa was a great help. Not only did they loan us their amphitheater for a combined service on Sunday, but dozens of their students canvassed the neighborhoods of Tegucigalpa, distributing literature and inviting people to the campaign. Local Christians did the same, inviting friends and neighbors to be a part. And the harvest came as a result of many people working together.

As often is the case during such events, I remembered Jesus’ words to his disciples:

“Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (John 4:36–38)

That’s how it is for all of us who do campaign work. We get to enjoy seeing a time of harvest, but that harvest comes after much labor by many different workers.

Baja Missions Conference

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Baja Missions Conference

This past weekend I had the privilege of speaking at the Baja Missions Conference which was held at the City of Children in Ensenada, Mexico. I spoke several times to different groups, including the students at the Baja Bible Institute, area preachers and their wives, and American supporters of the work in Baja.

I never heard an exact count, but there were about 60 people from the States and the same number or more from Mexico. The focus of the weekend was “Relationships.” I spoke on a variety of topics, from family relationships to the relationship between supporting churches and mission churches.

I’d never been to Baja, and it was a great few days that I spent there. As always, I’m glad to have gone and glad to be home.