New Vision, Same Calling

I wanted to let you know what the Lord has been doing and the doors that He is opening. Like Paul said, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries 1 Cor 16:9

It’s been just over a year since the Lord has brought us back to the states. This last year our family has been going through a time of breaking, of really pressing in and seeking the Lord for His heart, and a time of drawing close to Him like never before. It has intensified somewhat in the last three to five months. As you know, when the Lord takes you through these times with Him, it can be overwhelming. There’s been a lot of tears, a lot of tears, but also times of rejoicing and praise, with much needed comfort mixed in. 

The Lord has answered our prayers to be part of a living, healthy, loving church. We have been driving the hour drive, one way, every week to attend Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, our sending church. After 15 years on the mission field, the fellowship and teaching is so needed to refresh our hearts and souls. 

Pastor Trent, who pastors Calvary Chapel Saving Grace, has asked us to take a bigger role in Saving Grace World MIssions. He has asked us to take part in a two fold ministry, and we’re really excited about it. 

1) Saving Grace World Missions wants us to focus on and start Pastors Colleges that will train and raise up pastors in areas that would be normally closed to western missionaries.

You may already know, I have been teaching, via Skype, through the Book of John at a Saving Grace World Missions Pastor’s College in south Asia. I could never actually go to this area of the world, but through contacts on the ground and current technologies, I and five other pastors are discipling a group of guys. We are raising them up and in a short time sending them out to start churches to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to an unreached people group. Through this ministry, 20 churches have already been planted. After sending these guys out we continue to have contact with them to help them through the ins and outs of ministry. In other words, we continue in life long discipleship and partnership in the work of the ministry. 

The Lord is opening doors for us to also start a Pastor’s College in the Middle East. This would require me to travel there for months at a time to get it established and to teach there. It is also a potentially dangerous area and things have to be done discreetly, but the result of this work will also be discipling and raising up pastors who will take the message of the cross to a people who have never heard of the love, forgiveness of sins and eternal life offered by our Savior. We could never go to these people and share that message with them, so we’ll raise up those who can.

We also have requests by people in other areas of the the 10/40 widow to came and start Pastor’s Colleges there too.

Pastor Trent has asked us to come alongside Pastor Mike, the SGWM director, and help him with discipling a new generation of missionaries here in the states and send them out. He wants Tina and I to be part of pouring into and discipling these young men and women who have a heart to serve God on foreign mission fields and pass on to them what we have learned in 15 years of living abroad as missionaries.

He has also asked us to help with providing missionary care for approximately 65 missionaries and missionary families that are with SGWM. So many missionaries today feel forgotten. We know first hand the struggle missionaries go through and hope to comfort and strengthen missionaries in the field. It’s a much needed work.
 
2) Pastor Trent has also asked me to begin networking with other churches to help them develop a missions mindset. To come alongside those pastors who have thought they were too small of a church to take part in foreign missions and show them how they can do it. I will also be taking pastors on vision tours to the areas we can travel to and get them engaged in discipling and raising up national pastors who will take the Gospel to areas we can’t. 
 
This is really exciting. The idea of helping other churches fulfill the great commission, introducing other pastors to the guys on the front lines, connecting them with young pastors they can disciple and see bear fruit for the Kingdom in areas we could never go. It’s amazingly cool
 
You might have noticed repeated words and phrases like unreached people and places we could never go. And that’s because that is what it is all about, getting the Gospel of Jesus Christ out to those who have never heard it. It may seem like it is too big of a work, but we serve a big God and His heart is for everyone everywhere to hear about His Son, to hear about the work of the cross and the free gift or eternal life.

Like many churches today, Calvary Chapel Saving Grace and Saving Grace World Missions can not afford to give us a salary, we have to raise support. It seems like we are at a critical time. I would like to be completely transparent with you. There are job opportunities for us that will provide for our needs financially, but effectively close the doors on this ministry opportunity, and maybe ministry in general.

I’m sharing this with you, to ask you to prayerfully consider joining us in the ministry through your prayers and financial support. 

Like the prophet Isiah recorded in Is 6:8, “I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then said I, “Here am I, send me.” That’s my heart, I want to go! Lord send me! I want to see God raise up men and women to take the Gospel places we could never go. It’s something we can do together to fulfill the Great Commission.

Through out the Bible there are stories of those who go to the front lines and fight and those who are behind them in support, Exodus 17:8-13, for example. We see Joshua fighting while Moses, Aaron and Hur are praying and supporting in the rear.

Also Romans 10:13-15, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How shall the call on Him whom they have not believed? And how shall the believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel, who bring glad tidings of good things!”

The Bible paints the picture of those who go and those who serve as senders, and they both share in the fruit. 1 Samuel 30:24, “…But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.”

If the Lord leads you and puts it on your heart to team up with us in raising up pastors who will go places and share the love of Christ with people who are unreached, literally unreached, you can go to our web page, www.sgwm.com/barrow and click the button that says “Become a Financial Partner.” 

We understand that you may not be in a position to contribute to the ministry financially at this time, but would you stand with us and commit to praying and asking the Lord to lead, guide and provide? That He would make a way for us. He is the Way Maker!

If you have any questions about what our plans are, feel free to drop us a note.

As always, we are so thankful for you, for your friendship, prayers, love. We pray God blesses you and meets you in a special way, and that He would reveal the depth of His love for you.

Thanks again for standing with us.

God bless,

Gary and Tina

“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” Mat 9:37-38

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS, Below are a few pictures of one of the Pastor’s Colleges that is being established in south Asia and some of the new construction that is under way. This is a restricted area, completely off limits for any of us to travel to, and yet God’d word is not chained by restrictions of evil men. Praise the LORD!