In simplicity and Godly sincerity

Since around the end of last year, the Lord had been speaking to me through His Word that He was going to mix things up in 2021; like for me to keep preparing for the work of the ministry and all that, but to also lace up my new cool Hoka running shoes so we can do some running together.  Well, the race is on, has been on since January 1, 2021.   Let’s take a look at the route where we have been running together since the beginning of the year.  Make no doubt about it – Jesus is my pacer.

Calvary Chapel Cap-Haitien school beauty in my arms

In simplicity

I just got back from a 16-day missions trip to Haiti on March 16.  Oh, what a refreshing time I had.  The first leg of the trip was spent on the northern coast of Haiti in beautiful Cap-Hatien.  Promise Child, Frontline Missions and Cross to Light ministries joined hands in registering 18 orphans into the Promise Child orphan support program  along with providing help, support and manje (food) for the 75 school wide eyed and smiling children at the school at Calvary Chapel Cap-Hatien.  I could go on…  I love kids.

5 mighty students and our able interpreter Pastor Watson

Godly sincerity

The second leg of my trip was teaching five smart young adult men at the Cross to Light Bible Training Center in Port-au-Prince where I have taught many times in the past.  These guys have so got it!  I was privileged to teach them almost three years ago when they started their discipleship program and now just this past week when they’re approaching graduation.  4-5 hour daily classes in 2 Corinthians was such a blessing for all of us.  Digging and digging into the Word of God is where it’s at.  You have to take it slow because each verse and lesson is being translated to the students.  Thank you my dear interpreter Pastor Watson.  And mési to my students, Michelot, Franzy, Matthew, Samuel and Benjie. Sorry for my spelling.   I enjoyed every minute with each of you.

Incidentally, starting Tuesday, March 30, I will be teaching the students a weekly two-hour class through the book of Romans via Skype.  Man, am I looking forward to that.  The cool thing is I can do it and not get bit up by their mosquitos now.  Now that is refreshing!

In my time in Haiti, I got to meet up with old friends I had not seen in a couple years and made some new ones as well.  At the Sunday service at Calvary Chapel Port-au-Prince this past Sunday, the Lord gave me a verse which I believe is my new life verse (I have a small handful). 

“Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”  (Romans 12:16)

Our Lord Jesus speaks to me loud and clear through His Word and the beautiful eyes and smiles of His children in Haiti.  My lécole

Pastor Watson and his wife Jane

Viva Mexico!

I went on a cool weekend mission’s trip in January with Frontline Missions to Tijuana and in the hills of Ensenada.  The Holy Spirit so fell down on a small group of us during an evening Saturday Bible study.  It was real to see so many hearts humbled by God’s Spirit through His holy and piercing Word.  We spent the weekend putting up a fence for a young ladies restoration home, goofing around with a bunch of kids (guess where I was?) and serving breakfast to forty kids at an orphanage.  Quick trip with tons of grace and love freely poured out by the Lord.  Wow, I totally encourage any of you who have never gone on a weekend mission’s trip to do it.  Get away and get blessed.  It is sooooo easy.  God is a simple loving God who just wants to bless others through us.  Wait, maybe it’s the other way around?  Whatever…

A Voice of Refugee (VOR)  English class about multiplication

Ok, four or five English class students is cool.  I can see their pics nice and big on my Zoom screen and we can interact pretty easily.  I can scribble all I want with my cool Apple pencil while I see the reaction of the students.  Fine.  But now the entire state of New York is in my class – 16-17 students!  5×3!  19 a couple days ago! Ha!  You know, you just have to adapt and make doggone sure you call on each student to participate in an exercise.  I love it!  It’s just blessings x 3.  We’re nearing the end of the winter semester.  I teach now Monday through Thursdays and do food deliveries on Thursdays.  Dear ladies from Israel, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan join in.  I love their colorful hijabs (Muslim head coverings).  Food and shopping  are our favorite subjects – girls are girls no matter where you are from.  

Shopping – hot teaching English lesson topic!

Morning CCSG devos

We’re rounding the bend quite quickly doing 15-20 minutes devotions on 2 Corinthians.  It makes those of us teaching so accountable to make sure we are teaching the simple Word of God, verse by verse.  It’s called expository teaching, a fancy word that simply means we break down the scripture(s) into little chunks as the Lord leads.  I’m learning so much more about God’s word in preparing for these usually weekly devos.  Hey, it’s “live” on Calvary Chapel Saving Grace’s Facebook site so there’s no turning back.  The hardest thing is pressing the “Start Live Video” button.  Noooooo!!!!

Ministries

In January, a handful of us youthful interns ran a CCSG School of Missions table at the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference which was held at the Costa Mesa campus this year.  It was great because the Lord had each of us “bump” into other mission-minded people which led a couple of our interns to speak at a couple of churches about our School of Missions. Cool!  Spread the Word.  I bumped into friends I had not seen in a while.  The cool deal about the Missions Conference is we are all like-minded, you know?  Jesus has all of us there for one reason – to build each other up so we will get our running shoes on and go out and tell the world about Jesus and His Gospel.

I so love the Life Group that I’ve been going to on Wednesday nights.  We don’t take breaks.  Actually the only break we take is the breaking bread each time we meet.  Sometimes our hearts get broken as well as each of us go there because we know it’s where the Holy Spirit wants to do a little bit of heart surgery. I know this sounds corny but let me tell you, it’s true.  Ask anyone of us.  I think Heidi needs to get more Kleenex boxes though.

I’ve been heading up the Welcome Ministry at church for a few months now.  Upstairs, downstairs, we have smiles and greetings to share with everyone and even those poor souls who have not had their morning cup of coffee – God forbid!  It is important for everyone going to church to be welcomed properly so when they do go into the sanctuary their attitude, their temperament, is ready to hear the mighty Word of God through Worship and the Message.  Smile!

As you can see, the Lord is doing new things, leading me down new paths and trails so far this year. It’s really exciting. I’m taking more steps of faith, not as much concerned about making mistakes. I just want to grow in the Lord, get closer to Him and go out and help others to get to know him as well.

I want to thank all who have offered up prayers and provided financial support for me in my calling to serve the Lord in missions.  Please continue praying for me and also partnering with financially.  If you would like to support me financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, or you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Jim Needham support” in the memo section and mail it to:   Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.

You know as we keep running our races, staying the course, keeping our hearts, minds and bodies focused on Jesus, we need to remember what Paul was telling the crazy mixed up Corinthian church. His goal, his mission was just to present them with the Gospel. That’s it – the simple Word of God,  “in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.”  That’s what I want to continue to do.  Just make it simple.

Praise Reports
Thanking the Lord for making me flexible, side stepping roadblocks and taking steps of faith.

 For the lovely ladies in my VOR English classes that through the grace of God they are learning the English language and getting to know Jesus more and more.

For allowing me to go to Haiti not just to serve but to fall more in love with everyone there.

Prayer Requests
That I would do a good job in managing my time. The Lord is leading me in a lot of new things now.

That the Lord would continue to help me teach my English classes so no one is left out; that I am attentive to all the students. I had 19 yesterday.

Would you pray for our SGWM missionaries around the world?  Most of them are having a very difficult time in every way.  Thank you.

If you’d like to get my monthly updates sent directly to your email inbox, just click on the following link:  Jim Needham Updates.    You can reach me at jneedham@sgwm.com.

The Lord continue to bless each and everyone of you and your families now and as we start a new year together.

Jim Needham

The Greatest Gift of All

 Merry Christmas to you all!  The celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is probably already starting.  Praise the Lord!  Let our praises go forth now, early, whenever; time to thank our Father  for the greatest gift of all, His Son.  I like the psalmist shouting out in Psalm 96:12, “Let the field be joyful and all that is in it.  Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice.”  Nature breaks forth in praise every day.  We should too.

Classes to grow by

All of us missionary interns are keeping very busy. It’s such a blessing to watch the Lord work in all of our lives here on the home front, getting us ready to serve Him wherever and whenever He calls us.  We just finished a Tuesday evening class on Discipleship. Our Wednesday afternoon class just started an overview of the book of Romans.  Overview – does Pastor Trent know what that word means?  Love it!  It’s my favorite book in the Bible because the Lord showed me so clearly what grace really is and that our puny self-centered works don’t amount to a hill of beans.  Let’s pray Pastor Trent spends many clsss sessions in this wonderful gem of a book.

Missions Sunday Bible study, fellowship and potluck

In addition to our weekday missions classes, Pastor Trent and his wife Debbie open up their home twice a month after Sunday church for a missions Bible study, fellowship and potluck.  This is open to anyone with a heart for missions and again we are so privileged to join together in one accord and share how our Lord has been stirring our hearts to serve in the mission field.  On occasion some of our own Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM) missionaries on furlough join us and give updates on the real deal. A lot of life changing seeds have been planted in souls during these fellowships.  I know.  I have my own little garden growing inside me that germinated right inside this home a year or so ago. Love how the Lord works.

Students to love on

I’m still zoom teaching my Monday thru Wednesday English classes and loving every second of it for Voice of Refugees (VOR).  See VOR here  It’s developed into quite an international venue for sure.  Two of our students are zooming from the Middle East – one from Libya and another from Egypt while my partner in crime, Teacher Assistant, Autumn, is zooming from London, England enjoying her evening cup of tea.  “Good evening to all of you!” we greet each other as I finish my morning coffee.  The students are truly remarkable.  Our new colloquial phrase is, “Hey, what’s new?” Yea, the grammar and vocabulary are important for sure, but my number one focus is for  the students  to speak English as much as they can. Converse.  Chit chat. We have a ball.  Just recently after a class I  got to share my testimony to all the zoom VOR students.  We share the Lord whenever we get a chance.
  
VOR food deliveries


In the last couple months or so, I started serving at the VOR offices on Thursdays in food packaging and deliveries to refugee families in Orange County.  Now this is really cool because in addition to working behind the scenes getting all the food ready in boxes and stuff, we get to go out and actually see “in person” the families on our “route.” (Zoom teaching does have its limits.)  Over the last several weeks I have developed friendships with some of these families and it is such a blessing to be with them, if just for a few minutes.  Everyone is so loving.  “Come in and have coffee.”  I seem to not get my “route” done until it gets dark.  Ha!  What can I say?

VOR food going out weekly to over 200 refugee families
VOR food deliveries

Oh, one more thing.  On Saturday, December 12, VOR did a drive-thru toy outreach at our offices in Anaheim.  Talk about the Christmas spirit!  We had over 100 families with 200 kids drive through all day.  It was totally organized, so many people came out to volunteer as the cars kept rolling in.  We made the best of this different Christmas season.  All I know is I saw a lot of smiley happy kids that day. 

Devos to learn from

We’re rounding the bend teaching the book of 1st Corinthians on our Facebook page; 15-20 minute devotions as we go through the entire book, verse by verse.  Now this is something else.  I’ve been doing around one a week so I am like eating up the word of God making sure I am properly prepared to speak the truth.  Talk about being held accountable.  I am so thankful for this opportunity because I am learning so much of what God has go say to all of us. The Lord is revealing Himself more and more as I dig into His word.  In Hebrews 4:12, the author says, “For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword…”.  Keep cutting away Lord and don’t stop! I pray that just one person gets blessed by God’s word on the other end.  We’re on Christmas break now.  Come join us on Calvary Chapel Saving Grace Facebook page every weekday at 9:00 am PST.  We’ll be kicking off the new year on January 4, 2021 with 1 Corinthians 14:20-33.

Smiles to worship with

Welcome to Calvary Chapel Saving Grace!  Wow – I was given the opportunity to head up the Welcome Ministry at church around the time we opened up our doors a few weeks ago. Isn’t that cool!  Corral together a team of glistening pearly whites to start the Lord’s day (ah, every day’s the Lord’s day, right?) is just another privilege the Lord has blessed me with.  I gotta get a bigger cup  I want to thank all of you who have served in this ministry.  We do all have a lot of fun.  Isn’t that the way it’s supposed be?  Mucho gracias Pastor Tim for this  opportunity.  

Goals to strive for

In the beginning of September I made a goal to run so many miles by the end of the year.  I was running (and walking) every day except Sundays. Boy, was I ever “buffeting my body” (1 Corinthians 9:27) because I completed this goal before Thanksgiving!  Time to raise the bar.  We need to create goals in a lot of things we do so we can continue to go forward and grow more and more with the Lord.

I had a cool treat near end of October.  Our church had a visiting missionary from Jordan come stay with us for a couple weeks.  He has been serving there for over a couple years now.  I noticed he had a pair of running shoes on – actually they were just ugly worn out tennies –  but I used them as a conversation point that led him to accept my invitation to run a 5K race with me in Long Beach that Saturday.  We had a lot of fun, talked most of the time about him serving in Jordan and my heart to teach English and tell others about Jesus.  Well, we actually did pretty good – 3rd place out of 9 runners.  Hey, I FINALLY got to run with someone from church.  One more thing off my bucket list. Yeah!  Thanks Phil. We did it!

I want to thank all who have offered up prayers and provided financial support for me this year in my calling to serve the Lord in missions.  Please continue praying for me and also partnering with financially.  You know you can run with me too, really.   If you would like to support me financially either on an ongoing basis or through a one-time donation, you can do so by clicking the “Become A Financial Partner” button below, or you can mail a check written out to Saving Grace World Missions with “Jim Needham support” in the memo section and mail it to:   Saving Grace World Missions, 17451 Bastanchury Rd., Suite 203, Yorba Linda, CA 92886-1873.

Yes, this has been a bizarre and for some of you a scary, sickly year.  But we must continue to put our faith in our Lord Jesus to carry us through this season.  Get alone with Him every single morning before you start your day.  Believe me, I am learning more and more this is the most important thing I need to do.  He so wants to have our company. Right? 

Praise Reports
How the Lord is stirring my heart for the students and everyone I serve with at Voice of Refugees (VOR)

How the Lord is moving in my heart more and more, one day at a time, to tell people about my Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ. 

How the Lord is creating a desire in my heart to kick back in the morning and listen for that still quiet voice.  Sometimes I hear Him outside too with the birds!

Prayer Requests
Patience, what can I say?  I am getting better at it by His grace.

That I will learn more about His love for me. He really loves us so so much. 

That the Lord would continue to stir my heart for those who have not heard of Jesus Christ by providing for their spiritual (prayer) and physical (go there !!!) needs.

Would you pray for our SGWM missionaries around the world?  Most of them are having a very difficult time in every way.  Thank you.

If you’d like to get my monthly updates sent directly to your email inbox, just click on the following link:  Jim Needham Updates.    You can reach me at jneedham@sgwm.com.


The Lord continue to bless each and everyone of you and your families now and as we start a new year together.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Jim Needham

New Beginnings…

New Beginnings – “The new has come”  (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV)
Right at the start of this morning’s run around the neighborhood (not above – I wish!), I kept turning around marveling as the sun slowly crept up over the mountains in the east. After so many days of gloomy sunrises due to the fires and all, God gave us a doozy sendoff this morning.  Dynamite stuff.  I instantly flashed on the gorgeous sunrise I was blessed to witness at the Dead Sea a few years ago (now the above pic).  “Oh Lord,” I said this morning,  “How did you ever come up with this morning’s golden ball lighting up our skies? It’s so beautiful!”   And the clouds this morning – there were thousands of teeny ones all over sky – all over!  It was truly panoramic.  Definitely a breakout morning for me.

New Days

You know it’s hasn’t been just in the skies or in the air like it was this morning.  I’ve been experiencing the Lord making “new” things appear all over the place lately, starting around Labor Day week. It’s weird.  I’m doing mostly the same stuff as before but they’re all taking on a new, fresh look.  Remember your first day in grade school?  New pencils, new notebook, new shoes and socks?  Well, I’m still wearing the same old dumpy clothes but I’m sooo ready for new adventures and surprises this semester.  And I bet Jesus has a few more on His fingertips ready to pop out at me any second.  He does that, right? Can’t wait!  Let’s take a look at some of the sort of ‘newbies’ I’ve been blessed with so far during this long hot summer.   

New Mornings Facebook devos – 
It’s nervous, exciting and responsible all rolled up into one, to be given the privilege and responsibility to teach a 20 minute morning devotion.  I’ve been doing these pretty much once a week; keeps me on my toes.  I pray the “congregants” are being blessed by God’s Word.  I know I am by studying and preparing for the messages.  It’s definitely a learning process for me. The cool thing is in our new intern classes (see Missionary Internship program below) we are learning to let the Holy Spirit do the preaching.  Yes, study, do your homework, but when you’re in front of your iPhone camera and ready to rock and roll, just preach the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you.  What I have to say, my personal opinion, really doesn’t amount to a hill of beans anyway, right?  Try not to go off onto rabbit trails.  Ha!  I really think I am doing a pretty good job in that area because we only have 20 minutes to teach.  I finished the book of Mark on Friday, September 25, at 9:00 am, on our Calvary Chapel Saving Grace’s live video Facebook page.  So why don’t you grab a cup of coffee and join me as we begin the book of 1 Corinthians?

Church Inside Soon!
God willing, we will be resuming church upstairs in the Sanctuary before too long.  How cool is that!  I think we about ran out of chairs at our September 20th Sunday morning outdoor courtyard service.  Standing room only to hear the Word of God – now that’s is what the Lord wants to see. The ground level courtyard has been so pretty during the spring and summer months and many volunteers have worked real hard to get church setup outside early in the morning. I think we are all looking forward to going back inside the Sanctuary.  Praise the Lord!         

New Afternoons 

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Missionary Internship program
We kicked off our 2nd year of the Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM) Missionary Internship Program a couple weeks ago. The class is on Wedneday afternoons.  It looks like the focus this year will be on learning and then applying probably the two most important tenets in Christian living- preaching the Word of God and discipling.  Our pastor teachers are giving it to us straight – all followers/disciples of Jesus Christ must be biblically equipped to preach the Word no matter where we serve, next door or across the sea. Guys or gals, we need to be able to share the gospel and make disciples.  Jesus Himself gave us our marching orders:  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).  But there’s more!  We finished our Homiletics 101 class last year; now we’re doing H102. Homiletics is the art of preaching a sermon – a homily.  Our audience?  CCSG pastors!  We all received their “loving” criticism last term; we expect a lot more of the same this semester as well.  And lastly we’re  reading a new series of books from the “classic preachers” like John Calvin on how to preach the Word as well as selected audio Bible Studies. Man are we ever getting into the Word! Let’s do it!

Voice of Refugee (VOR) teaching English classes

I started teaching the new Fall semester ESL (teaching English as a second language) zoom classes with Voice of Refugees the day after Labor Day. VOR is really going forward in many ways to reach these dear families.  In addition to the Mon-Wed afternoon English classes, we are now offering  new evening classes, such as 1-on-1 Academic Tutoring, Conversational English, Citizenship and even a bi-monthly Friday @ the Movies. We teachers are flavoring up our curriculum while spicing things up with new interactive websites attempting to keep our students engaged.  I think it’s working.  And anyways, I know my students love spice.  I do too. Rice and chicken and pasta.  Food is our vocab!

New Evenings

Life Group:  We haven’t come up for air yet!  Our dedicated Wednesday night sold out Christian soldiers have been marching forward throughout this summer. I think we did have a two-week break somewhere.  We even had a movie night outside munching burgers and chips (even me, thanks Jeff) while getting pumped up watching Free Burma Rangers on a poolside big screen. The good life!  But really, if you are looking to share God’s Word, receive and give out intercessory prayer along with sweet fellowship, CCSG Life Groups are where it’s at. We all so need this. On Sunday mornings, there’s a sign-up sheet outside the high school room for all the available Life Groups and their locations. Get plugged in.

Growth Group:  Now these GG’s are where the rubber meets the road.  Guys and gals have their own GG’s respectively.  Those of you guys who want a more enriching walk with the Lord, learn how to become real followers/disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, please get a hold of me. We all need to grow spiritually – together. I want to start up a brand new growth group.  No age requirement.  No dress code.  Just bring your bibles and yourselves.  The only thing is we will have to host it at one of your houses because I live in Kansas with Dorothy and Toto.  If you think I am using this newsletter as a platform to solicit/pressure you into joining my new Growth Group, well you bet I am!  I don’t want to take any of you away from your existing Growth Groups; I just want to present to those of you who are not engaged in one, that this is a great opportunity to get involved, get plugged in, for us to grow closer in the Lord together. Dates, times, syllabuses are TBD.  I know it will be a Bible study geared around discipleship. Shoot me an email, text, or call.  I’m praying for you.  Gotcha!

10/40 Window Care Teams
My heart is still in the 10/40 window.  I pray the Lord in His timing will open up a door for me to teach English there. For over a year I’ve been attending a Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM) care team for a couple of missionary families in the 10/40 window.  I head up a care team for our 24 pastors in that area of the world. Their needs and the needs of all of our missionaries around the world are many.  I know you know that. Intercessory prayer for them is vital. Get a hold of me or our church office if you would like to join one of our care teams. The missionaries and their families and sheep will be blessed and you will too.  Thanks.  

Good Night

All done for the day.  Kick back with a bowl of cereal.  And then before I turn off the lights, I think, “you know, all Jesus desires from me each day is I stay close to Him.”  That’s all. 

It can start in the morning like it did today by thanking Him for the morning sun. Oh, and a real treat is to watch the birds fly 2-by-2 or 100-by-100 across the cloud covered blue skies and thank Him for that too.  I think Jesus is, really, a simple kind of guy.  I say this in the most respectable way.  I pray He continues to make me simple too.  Paul made himself simple when He encountered the brainiest people on the planet in Corinth: 

“For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).  Nothing more. Nothing less.

New Goals
I’ve been running a lot more lately.  I’ve set a goal on how many miles I want to run and walk by the end of the year.  Goals are good (“press toward the goal ” Phil. 2:12-14). Competition is good too with the right attitude  (“run with endurance the race” Heb. 12:1). I would like to ask each of you to continue to pray for me, that I would continue to seek the Lord and His calling for me to serve Him here and abroad. And please if you are led to support me financially, that would be a great blessing as well.  Just click on the Become a Financial Partner button below. You can do this through a one-time donation or monthly reoccurring donation. Come on, put on your running shoes and run with me!  I’ll slow down – ha!  Thank you again for your prayers and financial support.  

Praise Report
That all my family and friends here stateside are in good health.

That our church, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, will be moving church inside soon. The Lord willing.

That the Lord is doing new things in my heart keeping the fire of the Holy Spirit burning bright.  Love it!

Prayer Requests
For the safety, well-being, strength and good health for all of our SGWM missionaries serving all over the world.  This is so needed and will also be an ongoing prayer request as well.

That Jesus will continue to teach me His Word so I can preach the Gospel – simply.

That I become more flexible and creative while teaching my Zoom English classes.  I see the Lord doing new things which is exciting.  Keep it going Lord!

That I would continue to learn and prepare for the mission field so when He gives my marching orders I will be as ready as can be. 

If you’d like to get my monthly updates sent directly to your email inbox, just click on the following link:  Jim Needham Updates.    You can reach me at jneedham@sgwm.com.  The Lord bless all of you.

Jim Needham

For Such a Time as This

Ok, this is it. I got it! You can get your own pic on a paper cutout displayed in the new Dodger Stadium Pavilion Home Run Seats for only $299! There are other less expensive options higher up in the nosebleed seats. What a deal! Do we have any takers? Play ball!

Man, for such a time as this…. Babe Ruth must rolling in his grave right now.  Paper cutouts?  

Hey, I thought I’d take your mind off things for a second before we dive into what the Lord has been doing in my live during  this past month.  Let’s play ball… 

Teaching Calvary Chapel Saving Grace Morning Devotions

I started teaching a 20-minute morning devotion ‘live’ on our church Facebook. What a privilege and responsibility. So much studying as I want to make sure I teach the Lord’s Word accurately. We’re going through the book of Mark. This apostle is so on the GO! I mean the Lord is. One teaching and one healing after another after another. Didn’t anyone eat or sleep during those three years of ministry? Slow down Lord; my cardio isn’t what it used to be! CCSG pastors from all over the world and we SGWM missionary interns are doing the teachings Monday through Friday at 9:00 am. PST.  Check it out.  Grab your coffee and get into the word!

Teaching Mark 6:30-44 – Feeding of the 5,000

Internship Discipleship Class

Pastor Mike is doing a short Discipleship class for us interns who are still stateside (half the missionary interns are serving at the Calvary School of Missions (CSOM) in Mexico (see prayer request below). For me this has been a very convicting class.  I know I have been and am being discipled by our church – that is what the Saving Grace World Missions (SGWM) Internship program is all about, getting us ready to serve out in the mission field.  In this class, we are learning this discipleship thing is a two-way street. We, as Spirit filled believers should be discipled throughout our entire lives by someone and at the same time we should be discipling others.  This “spiritual handshake,” you can call it, is simply a response to Jesus’ command, “Follow Me” in the Gospel accounts.  Are we truly following Jesus?  Are we being groomed by the Holy Spirit to be “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19)?  I told you it’s convicting.  

L-R Jerusha, Me, Rebekah, James

On a Personal Note… 

On a personal note, I know for a lot of you, being a grandparent is probably a long ways off.  Too bad. Enjoy pulling your hair out?  Well,  as some of you know I’ve been super blessed with a wonderful family  (see cool pics). My three kids each have two kids of their own, ranging from 17 yrs to 1.  You know I loved being a dad, still do. My kids were always well behaved, I think…  Hey, it was ALL God’s grace as I made every mistake in the book (patience and humility always seemed to be an arm’s length away).  Now they’re all grown up and have their own kiddos.  I love being a Papa.  It is soooo cool.  The best!  I love sipping pretend tea with Storyanne and romping with the boys in the pool or guzzling down Chai boba with the older ones.  Being retired and no longer chasing the American Dream, my life is now simply – simple.  So fulfilling   And during our Thursday afternoon Discipleship class, Pastor Mike said being a grandparent could be a calling/ministry.  I like that. 

On a side note, I do have to  restrain myself at times at church and in ministry from being goofy and acting like a kid.  Next to the Bible my favorite book is probably Peter Pan.  I guess it comes with being a Papa. 

Korryn and Mackenzie
Storyanne and Marvel
Skylar and Carter

Laughing, learning, praying in Jesus name  

Am I ever loving teaching English to my refugee gals at Voice of Refugees (VOR)!  Zoom, duh. It’s ok.  It just makes making relationships harder.  I’m finding myself yelling at my screen, “Speak English with your husbands or daughters! They speak perfect English.” Over the last couple weeks or so, right in the middle of class, one of my gals said, “I’d like you to meet my husband Mohammad.”  We introduce ourselves and I hear this guy speak fluent English. Hello? “He’s your teacher!” I scream at my screen.  They can see the smile on my face.  Just last Wednesday, one of my gals said it was her anniversary. Wow!  Now that was an open door if I ever saw one.  We went over each of the 8 gals’ anniversary dates and how many years they were married.  That alone was a good conversation and math exercise.  Then I talked a couple minutes on the sanctity of marriage.  I drew a triangle on our shared virtual whiteboard and went over husband, wife and Jesus.  It was a blessing.  One of my dear ones missed class for a couple days.  I felt led to lead my students in prayer for the sick gal, who we all know.  I ended it with “In Jesus name, Amen.”  I felt good not shortchanging the Lord.  All I can say, I so love getting to know these gals.  We laugh.  I even show them my toast with mangos and bananas sometimes before we start the lesson (late breakfast).  We are building up quite a vocabulary – mostly food and the different beaches in Orange County!  Love it!  Love them.

Sooo done!

Keep your commitments

I want to share something that happened last Saturday.  Over a year ago I made an agreement with the Lord that I would not run long distances anymore. Bad knees. Goodbye half and full marathons.  Well, last Saturday, August 1, I thought I got the ok from Him for me to run a half marathon race at Huntington Beach – knowing full well the agreement I had made with Him in June, 2019.  Doesn’t make sense, right?  I’ll spare you the details.  Well, around mile five after walking up the Huntington Beach steps from the bike path to the pier, I felt a lot of pain (normal pain you just deal with it) in my right knee.  I limped to a bench and prayed – and repented – for disobeying Him.  Ha!  It took the injury/pain for me to realize I was wrong all along. I was not even half way done with no phone and no debit card to call for help.  No more than 30 seconds after I continued running (more like hobbling) did I run into two of my usher buddies from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.  Talk about grace!  We did hugs and I immediately cried out for intercessory prayer – pleeeeeze!  We fellowshipped for a good 20 minutes and had a great time.  I then continued on my race and took my time (had no choice) and finished.  It was not easy.  Prayer works at the beach!

I learned my lesson.  The important thing wasn’t that the Lord wanted me to no longer run long distances to save my knees.  The important thing was that I broke my agreement with Him.  You don’t do that.  Always do what you say you will do.  Keep your commitments.  The Lord knows what we should do and not do. 

Well, I’m still running my race.  Ha, ok, short races for sure.  And in closing, as I always say, come run with me. Nothing is more enjoyable for a runner than to have someone run alongside of them, even all the way to the finish line.  It’s so true. So please partner with me financially, by clicking on the Become a Partner Financial button below. You can do this through a one-time donation or monthly reoccurring donation. Thank you so much for your financial and prayerful support.

Praise Report
That all my family and friends here stateside stay in good health

That our church, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, can continue to enjoy our Sunday service outside.  So great to be amongst the brethren.

That the Lord is building closer relationships between myself and my VOR students

Prayer Requests
That the Lord would, of course, put an end to COVID and in turn open up the schools so my grandkids can attend real school.  My oldest one is graduating from high school this coming year; my youngest one is entering pre-preschool or whatever you call it.

That the Lord would bring out more people to church on Sunday.  As long as we are coviding our service, this will be an ongoing prayer request.

That the CSOM team in Mexico would finish strong in all that they do.  They are winding up their 6-weeks on August 17.

For the safety, well-being, strength, and good health for all of our SGWM missionaries serving all over the world.  This is so needed and will also be an ongoing prayer request as well.

Praise report and prayer request:  Last  month I asked for prayer for the  opportunity to teach more hours for VOR.  There may be an opportunity coming up this fall for more hours as our zoom classes will most likely continue for the remainder of the year.  Pray our Lord’s will.  Exciting!

That I continue to be steadfast in my Bible studies in the teaching of God’s word.

If you’d like to get my monthly updates sent directly to your email inbox, just click on the following link:  Jim Needham Updates. You can reach me at jneedham@sgwm.com.  The Lord bless all of you.

Jim Needham