Dear Partner in the Great Commission,

The Gospel is truly good news, for it changes lives and nations. Our family, scattered all around the world, are going everywhere, doing good, and watching a good God do a great work in the lives of people that they touch. The Great Commission is not difficult.  We have a good God, who loves to do good things in people’s lives, and He chooses us to demonstrate His goodness.

Galatians 6: 10 says, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." Enjoy these wonderful updates that are taking place through yo ur partnership with our FCF family around the world.

South Africa

Mike and Laura Young, FCF Relational Representatives in South Africa, share some wonderful testimonies of the manifestation of God’s power. Recently they planted a church in Johannesburg, and Mike writes: “It’s going well and achieving what it was established to do! We’re enjoying ourselves and learning a whole lot as we go. It’s wonderful to see God’s hand moving powerfully, changing lives, giving direction, and empowering people in ministry. In the coming weeks we’ll have some lovely new folk joining us and we look forward to that. It’s been nice, too, to get good reports from outsiders who have heard about our fellowship. Good confirmation!

Mike also shares some wonderful testimonies of his recent ministry in Pretoria: “I was blessed to be able to minister a series for three nights in a church in Pretoria. I took along my trusty screen and projector and did it audio-visual style, which was very successful. The congregation had notebooks out and studiously documented what was presented. After the first night, the pastor asked me to pray for his legs, as one was shorter. I measured them, and sure enough one was indeed. While he was explaining that he had been born like that and had battled to walk as a child, his leg suddenly grew to the same length as the other. He was delighted. The Lord showed me that the next meeting was going to be exciting, and it was. I was the only person who didn’t end up on the floor under the anointing. The highlight for me was another miracle. An elder had heard of the wonder of the pastor’s leg and asked me to pray for him. I measured his legs, and there was a two-inch difference. He explained that he’d been in a car accident and the doctors had removed two inches of crushed bone from his right leg. As he explained all this, his leg suddenly grew two inches. No prayer, no commanding – it just grew! Isn’t God amazing?

Dear Faithful Partner,

It is my joy to share what God is doing in and through the family of FCF worldwide. Here are three testimonies that came into the office this month. I am continually awed by the diversity of the grace and gifts that God has endowed our family with: the supernatural gifts in our missionaries are touching lives and changing the eternal destiny of those they labor among; our national ministers whose faith and passion for Christ are changing their nations; and our credentialed ministers whose partnership and commitment to the “Great Commitment” are abounding in a rich and abundant harvest in nations like Ethiopia.  I know you will be as blessed and encouraged by these testimonies as I was.

KENYA

FCF Missionary Carla Porter, founder of Living Faith International Ministries, shares about the outreaches and the impact the ministry is having in the lives of the precious orphans and vulnerable children God has brought to this ministry.

Because they are part of Living Faith International Ministries, the children at this orphanage are well-fed, born again, confident, loved, well-mannered, and excellent students.

She writes, “When we look at the Godly impact on these children, it is certainly worth the investment. I was actively involved in the process of transferring 'Our Home' in Nairobi to our ministry. I saw the condition of the orphanage when it was managed by the former group. The children wore rags. They were malnourished, disease-ridden, and joyless. The fear and hopelessness in their eyes and the smell of sickness in their bodies and the filth in the rooms in which they were sleeping were terrible. The caretaker in the compound drank and brought in women in front of these little ones. What devastation to their lives! Now, almost a year later, these same children are born again, full of confidence, have a sense of being loved, are well-mannered, and doing very well in school. They are happy. I could say so much more about their spiritual, physical, and emotional progress. To anyone who has known what it is like to be rejected and without basic needs such as food, what it is like to be an orphaned little girl raped by several men, what it is like to be a sick child with no one to see to provide much-needed medical attention—this  is heartbreaking. But then to be led to people who love and care for you, it feels like heaven on earth!”

Greetings Beloved Partners,

What joy to report on the activity of the Gospel among members of our global family! The reports for this month show the rich harvest that is taking place through the giving of partners like you and the labor of faithful servants. I rejoice in knowing that our family is so far reaching and that we share in the rewards. I am reminded of the scripture in Proverbs 11:25, “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” Good news is refreshing. It waters our souls and encourages our hearts.

Albania

FCF Missionary Julie Shelley is doing a tremendous work in Albania with the Roma Gypsy community and with a local church in the city of Elbasan.

She writes, “We have just completed an Alpha discipleship course with some youth from the community. We used it as evangelism to teach basic Christian principles to youth who are interested in church, but who are not yet Christian. It went very well. In the Roma School, things are going great. I have spent a lot of time teaching the girls math, and they are doing FABULOUS! I have also begun to learn small poems with them. As they learn a verse in the poem, they each read it out loud. Albanian is a phonetic language, and once you know the alphabet you can read very easily. But I struggled in teaching the girls to read because story times seemed to bore them. However, I have seen their attitudes change with the introduction of learning small poems. I am now hopeful that as the work continues with them in the future, they will not only memorize and know how to read their poems, but I hope that they will be inspired to also write poetry, among other things. These things seem small, but God is transforming lives through evangelism and practical work. I am amazed every day at what He has done here in Albania.”

Dear FCF Family,

This month we have had so many good reports came in that it was hard to decide what to share. Our God is doing marvelous things through our FCF family around the world. How exciting it is when we receive these reports in our office, the evidence that the anointing on and DNA of FCF is reaching far places in the world! What began in Tulsa so many years ago continues to spread globally. Here is a small glimpse of "helping you fulfill the vision and call God has given" in the words of our global family.

Romania

FCF Minister Ovidiu Starlici writes, "In the beginning of 2012 we started to see the answers to our prayers. We had prayed for the village of Satu Nou, that is about 3 km from Halchiu. People started coming from this village to our church, and we can say that now we have 12 people coming to all our church services. This is a village where there is no evangelical church!

"Last year we invested as much as we could in the younger generation. We did our Saturday program in the village park to reach other kids. We went with the youth for picnics and visited other churches. We started a soccer team with the village youth who were not attending our church and put them in a Christian league. We also started a prayer meeting with pastors from different churches. This is something new and unbelievable for our country. The number is growing every week with more than 500 people in the same room praying and singing. It is splendid. Even the mayor of Brasov has come to the meeting."

January 2013 Partner Report

As we begin this New Year, I am filled with joy because I have some exciting news to share. Second Corinthians 8:11 says, “But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.”

My exciting news is this: Together we completed our 2012 Missions’ Projects, completing a much-needed church building in Chennai, India, and purchasing a four-wheel drive vehicle for our representative in Peru. Praise God! He gets all the glory for their completion and for all the wonderful things that will be accomplished as a result.

There is a certain amount of joy that comes when you complete a job or task on your to-do list. There is much more joy, Holy Ghost joy, when we see the completion of a faith project because we trusted in God, worked together, and shared our means. We all long to hear the Lord say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” I can hear Him speaking those words over this awesome accomplishment.

Dear Family,
This year we have seen an abundance of fruit in the nations of the world and in the lives of people. The Leadership Summits that FCF has conducted around the world have ministered inspiration and encouragement to many pastors and their churches. This seed will grow and bear fruit that glorifies the Lord Jesus and will bring many into the kingdom.

We have family members all over the world who go where we cannot go and share with people we will never meet. Yet when they go, we go with them. In November, our family invested financial seed to help Rev. Garfield Deans (FCF Jamaica) travel to Cuba. FCF is a sending family, and we are going into the world by helping to send our Jamaican family to share the Word of God in Cuba. That's exciting!

Greetings, Co-laborer with Christ!

What joy it is to share reports about all the marvelous things the Lord is doing around the world!

I just returned from our annual Leadership Summit in Nagaland, northern India. I was blessed to have FCF Minister Lynette McCleland traveling with me. The ministry of the Word and Spirit was powerful in each service. I was personally blessed to minister the ordination service. The altar was full of candidates, and the supernatural ministry of the Spirit of God was powerful. We challenged the Bible School students and the young people about the call of God, and what joy to see them respond to the Spirit of God!

My husband, Bob, was in Nepal during October where he ministered at the FCF Leadership Summit. One minister traveled from Bhutan because he desired to know more about FCF.  Rev. D.K. Daniel has an open door into Bhutan for FCF. Be praying with us about this opportunity and how we can serve the Body of Christ there.

Dear Faithful Partner,

When it comes to evangelizing the world, it may seem that our impact is insignificant or the task too vast and large. As our International Ambassador, I have the opportunity to hear the reports and see the pictures. I am filled with joy as I share the reports with you. We are touching lives, and change is taking place in the hearts of people and in communities all over the world. As we partner with the Holy Spirit and with one another, the task is not too big.

“God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for Himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of His name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with His, and, for the sake of His name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join His global purpose.” — John Piper

The Holy Spirit moved powerfully in the lives of those who attended the Kenyan Summit.

FCF Kenya Leadership Summit
FCF Pastors Daniel and Jane Muiruri from Eldoret, Kenya, attended the summit. They shared, “We are very happy and glad to inform you that we have returned from our annual FCF conference here in Kenya at Ruiru, where we had Rev. Lonnie Hilton as our guest speaker. We were greatly ministered to, and our lives remain not the same. We were moved from one glory to another. Rev. Hilton spoke powerfully to our lives, and we were greatly encouraged, inspired, and recharged in our lives and ministries. We had a very wonderful time in the very presence of God, and God moved so powerfully and mightily. He revealed deep things of the Spirit to our spirits, and we have moved to another level, and we are indeed very grateful to the Lord for such an opportunity and privilege to sit under the very powerful ministry of such very dear and anointed men of God. I travelled with 15 pastors from Eldoret (about 350 kilometers) to attend the conference, and we thank God for this, and for being part of the FCF family. We have continued to benefit and to enjoy the very rich blessings of being divinely connected with the FCF family, and we are very grateful and very thankful that my wife and I are part of this very wonderful family.”

Dear FCF Family Member and Partner,

Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!"

July and August are busy months for our FCF family members, as they are participating in Leadership Summits and conducting outreach. The good reports are flooding into the office. Here are just a few of those reports from this summer’s activities.

JAMAICA YOUTH CAMP in St. Ann

Rev. Garfield Deans, President of FCF Jamaica, shared, “Jamaica Youth Camp 2012 was held in Monegue, St. Ann (30 minutes outside of Ocho Rios) from July 16-20 under the theme Be Strong and of a Good Courage. We had just over 40 young people attending, and they were in for a treat as the Holy Spirit showed up big time. Different speakers and Gospel artists shared in different sessions, as they were led by the Spirit of the Lord to challenge and motivate the young people to be strong and of a good courage in the things of God. There were rich impartations from the Holy Spirit through the different sessions, and the youngsters were inspired to new levels of excellence in God. We had ten campers receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, and another ten received Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.”

We taught on Spirit-filled ministry, and God showed up in remarkable ways

FCF MEXICO CONFERENCE in Nezahualcoyotl

Relational Representative Virgil Stokes from Tucson, Arizona, and Eric Sonera, FCF missionary in Costa Rica, met in Nezahualcoyotl with Pastor Roberto Milian for the annual Congreso. Rev. Stokes reports, “Don Roberto changed the format to be more of a regional meeting than an attempt to reach out nationally. Instead of renting a hall, he put up a tent in the street in front of his house. The whole neighborhood had to give approval for such a thing, as it blocked the road for four days. The morning sessions were for pastors and leaders. We taught from our Bible School material on the subject of Spirit-Filled Ministry. For this meeting we emphasized ministerial ethics and following the flow of the Spirit in our services. The results were amazing. In years past, we did well to have twenty attendees in the mornings, with maybe five churches represented. This year on the first day we had ten churches and two para-church outreach groups represented by about fifty in attendance. It grew to seventy by Saturday, adding several more churches to the mix. God showed up in remarkable ways.”

Dear Partners,

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”—1 Corinthians 15:58

Paul told the Corinthians to stand firm and let nothing move them. It is easy to see only the negative things that are happening and to be moved by them. But the Lord is doing wonderful things in and through His people. Here are just a few good reports about all that is happening in our family worldwide.

Elbasan, Albania
In July I took a team to Elbasan, Albania, where we worked with FCF ministers Irfan and Vera Toska, pastors of Resurrection Church. The team performed an evangelistic skit titled “Freedom Skit” and did children’s ministry. We traveled to two villages in the mountains to share the Word and to pray and minister in some of the homes. While in these villages, we invited the children to our special children’s event held at the church. The children from the neighborhood around the church also attended. Many of them came from Muslim homes.

These smiles made the investment of our time and money worthwhile.		Some of the girls proudly display the crafts they made.

As the team arrived at the church, our hearts were moved when we saw a crowd of kids cheering our arrival. They were so happy that someone took the time to invest in them. Normally, I am not involved in children’s ministry. It was much fun to share the Word, make crafts, and play games with the children. The experience changed our lives. Just the smiles on the children’s faces were enough for us to know that the good seed we planted will change lives, homes, and a nation.