Central Baptist Church of Mazabuka

Bi-Weekly Prayer Report for the period 9th to 22nd February 2009
No. 54

•    Baptism and new members’ Class: This has now commenced. The first one was attended by 11 people. A few more are expected to join in as the class progresses. The objective is to prepare the attendees for baptism and church membership. A number who will be attending are still spiritually undefined and we intend to use this opportunity to have personal interviews with them and more accurately explain the gospel message to them. Do pray with us that those who are Christians will be prepared for membership and those who are not will discover their true spiritual status and come to Christ for salvation.
•    Thursday Bible Study: This is another new meeting which has now commenced. We had the first meeting on 19th February and it was attended by 7 people. The first topic we are looking at is the parable of the sower. The objective is to assist those who are just professing faith and those who are coming into church from various spiritual backgrounds to examine themselves with regards to the genuineness of their profession of faith. We would like this class to consolidate the new members’ class. We would also like it to be a forum to which we can invite those people we are counseling but who do not attend our church. Being a mid week meeting, a number of people might face difficulties with attending; so join us in praying for the establishment of this bible study and that it will be used of the Lord to bless many in our land.
•    Couples Meeting: Our second meeting for marrieds (first in the New Year) was held on 14th February and was attended by 7 full couples and 2 married ladies. We were looking at the subject of preparing for retirement. We tried to show from the scriptures that God is continually providing for our needs during our days of formal employment but He expects us to manage these provisions well so that we at the same time prepare for the future. We used the story of Joseph in Egypt. God revealed there would be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. When put in charge Joseph used the 7 years of plenty to adequately prepare for the 7 years of famine. This is the type of wisdom we need to employ in our family lives. Our next meeting is scheduled for 18th April. Do pray for these meetings especially as we seek to use them as a forum for evangelism as well as for biblical counseling in our town.
•    Monet: He is a young man who has been in our midst for a while now. He has just passed his Grade 9 exams to go into Grade 10. Since he has been having problems with support issues from his relatives in town, his family has decided that he goes to continue pursuing his school in the town of Chirundu. He is a Christian and was settling well in our midst. Pray for him that he might settle well in the town of Chirundu and that he might find meaningful fellowship there.
•    School leavers Meetings: We last held meetings for school leavers sometime last year. They were disrupted after the death and funeral of our late president. There after it became difficult to gather the school leavers. But since another stream of school leavers has been added to the previous one, we would like to revive these meetings. We are planning to hold one on the afternoon of 12th March which is Youth day and a holiday in Zambia. Pray with us that everything goes well and for the establishment and continuity of this ministry.

Walker Update - Asia

We arrived in Asia this morning and have been working all day to be ready for the CTC (Come Together through Conflict) course we'll be teaching 3 times, beginning Monday.

Please pray for the participants, that they will be ready to apply God's Word.  Let's pray that God's Spirit will encourage, convict and empower us.

Pray for Jean and I.  We need strength for these weeks.  We'll teach Mon-Fri 1/2 days; then on Saturday fly to another city.  Then again the next week.

Pray for those we train to teach CTC after we leave, that they can catch on quickly and that we can give them the attention they need.

Thanks for standing with us in this.
Roland

Update from the Macks - South Africa

Received this update early this morning from Dr. Mack:

Have just had smash + grab protection put on our car. Also purchased pepper spray for Carol. But what a joy to serve Him. Had more than 50 young spiritually hungry adults in our home again last night. GSM classes this week with over 60 students - we'll be doing 44 hours of Christian Life Issues where we discuss theology and apply it to life and counseling/ministry.

About Smash & Grab Incident - Macks

Here are a couple of updates from Dr. Mack regarding a recent incident they were involved in:

Dear Loved Ones in Christ,

To our wonderful God of grace and mercy we give thanks for His kind providence in protecting us from serious harm in the recent instances of mugging and theft and smash and grab incidents we recently experienced. It was and is of great comfort to know that He is always alert on our behalf. Though our situation is not nearly as precarious as was the situation of John Paton when he went to the New Hebrides Island as a missionary we still find encouragement in the words he wrote when he was facing an attack by a large group of headhunting neighbors, "I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how the attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the Hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the Universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul.... My God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in His hands, and felt immortal till my work was done" (Autobiography of John Paton [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1965,94], p. 117).

To God be the glory that by His grace we can leave all in His hands and trust Him implicitly. "For of Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To whom be the glory forever"( Romans 11:36). Thanks again for your interest and prayers.

For His sake,
Wayne and Carol


Dear Loved Ones in Christ,

We have received so many notes of encouragement (via Email) that we wanted to send a note to our beloved friends who have supported us and shown an interest in our ministry. We give thanks to them and especially to our wonderful God of grace and mercy for His kind providence in protecting us from serious harm in the recent instances of mugging and theft and smash and grab incidents we recently experienced. We had to replace the window and it prompted us to have smash and grab protection put on all our car windows. Should have done it previously, but.... (Incidentally, one African pastor told us that these incidents now qualify us for really being considered African in that we have now experienced what many Africans have experienced.) Anyway as we experience a little bit of what many Africans have experienced it was and is of great comfort to know that He is always alert on our behalf. Though our situation is not nearly as precarious as was the situation of John Paton when he went to the New Hebrides Island as a missionary we still find encouragement in the words he wrote when he was facing an attack by a large group of headhunting neighbors, "I knew not, for one brief hour, when or how the attack might be made; and yet, with my trembling hand clasped in the Hand once nailed on Calvary, and now swaying the scepter of the Universe, calmness and peace and resignation abode in my soul.... My God had placed me there, and would protect me till my allotted task was finished. Looking up in unceasing prayer to our dear Lord Jesus, I left all in His hands, and felt immortal till my work was done" (Autobiography of John Paton [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, reprinted 1965,94], p. 117).

To God be the glory that by His grace we can do just that – leave all in His hands. "For of Him and to Him and through Him are all things. To whom be the glory forever"( Romans 11:36). Thanks again for your interest and prayers.

For His sake,
Wayne and Carol

Mack Update - February - South Africa

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want to begin this praise and prayer letter by doing something different than I have done in any of my previous letters. I want to begin by reminding you of some truths written by the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:1 – 4. I mention these verses because the truths found in them explain what drives us in our ministry for Christ in South Africa and also they will provide for you some information about how to pray for us as we minister in South Africa. I also begin this newsletter this way because I hope the contents of these verses will be a challenge to you as you live your life in this world. Paul writes, “Since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

I see in these verses some challenging, heart searching commands with far reaching implications for the way we live and minister: keep seeking the things above, set your minds on things above, don’t set your minds on the things that are on earth. I also see in these verses some challenging declarations which explain why we should and can obey the commands: you have been raised up with Christ, Christ is seated at the right hand of God, you have died, your life is hidden with Christ in God, Christ is our life, Christ will be revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory.  In other words, we can and should obey the imperatives (the commands) because of the indicatives (what has happened to Christ and us, what will happen to Christ and us). How can we do anything but obey the commands of verse 2 because of the truths what has happened to Christ and us and will happen to Christ and us as described in verses 1, 3 and 4.

I have spent some time meditating on the meaning and relevance of the imperatives and the indicatives in these verses and I encourage you to do the same and while you do that we would also pray for us that we would really obey the commands of these verses. Ask yourself: What does it mean to seek those things which are above or to set your mind on those things? Can you honestly say that you are doing that? Is there evidence in your life that you are continuously doing those things? 

Then having done that with the imperatives, do the same with the indicatives. Ask yourself: what does it mean to be raised with Christ? What difference should that fact make in your life? Does your life reflect the fact that you have been raised with Christ? How does your life manifest this fact? What does the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of God mean? What difference should the fact that Christ is seated at the right hand of God make in your life? Does your life really reflect the fact that you are identified with Christ who has been raised and is now seated at the right hand of God? How does your life manifest this fact? Go on to ask similar questions about the other declarations found in these verses. And as you apply the truths in these verses to yourself by asking these questions, we urge you to pray for us that we would be constantly encouraged by the glorious truths found in these verses to: “keep seeking the things above” and keep setting our minds “on things above” in our lives and ministries in South Africa. That would certainly be one of the main prayer requests we would pass on to you.

Now a few specific praise items from recent days

• God has moved the authorities in South Africa to grant us a three-year extension of our visa for ministering here in South Africa;
• Our daughter Beth was married to Pastor Sybrand DeSwardt on January 17 and serves with him in the ministry of and through the Lynwood Baptist Church in Pretoria;
• We were able to preach a series of what amounted to 15 sermons Grace Fellowship Church with the title of Making the Maximum Impact for Christ based on an exposition of I Corinthians 13: 1 – 7;
• We had the privilege of joining with our son Joshua in preaching at Jeffrey’s Bay Bible Church;
• We enjoyed spending a few days of holiday with Josh and his family at Jeffrey’s Bay on the Indian Ocean in a house provided by some friends of ours;
• Our class sessions at Grace School of Ministry went well with almost 60 students from many countries in Africa and even some from Europe;
• We have completed a 50-page booklet called God’s Plan For In Law Relations, which will be published by P & R Publishers;
• We have begun with the help of Deborah Howard to write a new book which will turn my series on Making An Impact for Christ into print form (P & R has already indicated they will publish it;
• Carol and I have been experiencing good health (and that’s a real praise for two people who are as active as we are at more than 73 years of age);
• Carol has had many opportunities to counsel and teach women (she is presently doing two Bible classes with two different groups of women);
• For  our faithful financial and prayer supporters: for the most part, the churches and people who support us with finances and prayer  and occasional Emails have continued (and we even picked up two new supporters in the last few months to replace those who have dropped off);
• For the many opportunities to counsel pastors and other people;
• For ministry opportunities (preaching and teaching) that come to us from many places;
• For what God is doing at Grace Fellowship Church - many new members, salvation of people through the personal efforts of pastors and people, several people were recently baptized, native language class has been developed to discuss the sermons with people  who attend but whose first language is not English; Leadership Class with many men faithfully attending; many Bible Classes; numerous black people are attending the services which is a relatively new thing for the church; evangelistic outreach and Bible studies to black settlements in Stinkwater and Mamelodi and Sunnyside; regular food and clothing ministry for refugees and poverty stricken people with food and clothing being donated and distributed by people in the church; many young adults becoming involved and excited about spiritual things and volunteering for various ministries;
• For two men (Philip Krugel and Dries Visser) who have volunteered to supervise and promote the distribution of ministry resources I have developed (they have some good ideas about how to do this and have already registered the web site for www.mackministries.org.za);For Charles Busby who continues to supervise and distribute ministry resources I have developed  in the USA through www.mackministries.org;
• For the faithful support and assistance of GMI and the people there who handle the administrative  detail work concerning our finances and medical insurance.

Prayer Requests for near future:

• God’s sustained blessing and direction on the items previously mentioned under the praise section;
• For finances of the church and the people as people here have been affected by the economic down turn that the rest of the world is experiencing;
• Strategic planning meetings of elders as we consider and plan about our ministry in Africa – for wisdom, what we should do and not do, what we should do better and how to do it, for continued unity and harmony, for developing additional elders, etc. for shepherding responsibilities as the church grows, for developing skilled disciplers and counselor;
• For the salvation of people in South Africa and the establishment of solid Biblical churches
• Regular counseling, preaching and teaching opportunities;
• Impact of Grace School of Ministry on pastors/elders from many parts of Africa and even other countries – through the teaching and fellowship of Grace School of Ministry and our Shepherd’s conferences God can impact 100’s of churches and thousands of people;
• For the development and impact of our resource ministry on pastors, churches and people through solid, practical, Biblical literature, CD's and DVD’s;
• Preaching at Family camp in Sassolburg and other places in near future;
• Preparation and fulfilling the details for a ministry to Zambian churches in April;
• Continued health and strength to fulfill various ministries (mosquitoes love me and we will be ministering in two malaria mosquito countries in the near future);
• Preparation of various kinds (preaching, administration, promotion, etc.) and enrollment for our three Shepherd’s conferences;
• For protection and safety and boldness of God’s people in a land where there is much crime and unrest.

If after all that you are still reading, thanks so much for your perseverance and interest. Now please pray and praise and reflect on Colossians 3:1 -4.

Mack Update from January - South Africa

This is the Mack's January newsletter...
Plans seem to be moving forward for the transmitting of classes to other parts of Africa by way of electronic media. There are some men in South Africa who see the importance of this and are working on making it a reality. This would broaden our outreach considerably without me leaving Pretoria. In addition to the regular teaching at GSM we will be ministering at a family camp in March and then for a couple of weeks in Zambia in April and then at three Shepherd's conferences in May and then at a pastor's conference in Mozambique in June. We have been asked to come to Tanzania to teach pastors there - 47 of them signed a petition asking me to come and I was also asked to come to Maritius and to Japan to do some teaching. Opportunities are many, but trainers are few and my schedule is full. So there are many invitations I just have to refuse. It's not that I am that exceptional; it's just that there are so few here who have the training or experience that God has given me. Please pray for skilled, well-trained, experienced, capable and zealous help - at my next birthday I will be 74. This kind of help is critical in that right now I carry the lion's share of the teaching at GSM.

Please pray for funds to provide scholarships for students who come from a distance to GSM (books and transportation and food must be provided) and also for the funds to pay for the equipment that will be needed to transmit our courses to other parts of Africa and also for the funds that will make it possible for us to send teaching DVD's and other materials to pastors and ministries who are requesting this material in other parts of Africa and even overseas. Also please pray for Beth at this time. As of January 17 she is now a married woman. She married one of our GSM students who as a pastor is paid a minimal salary as are many other African pastors. The plans are that she will continue in much the same ministry and also add helping her husband in his ministry and us at GSM with her expertise gained while working in our TMC program. Her husband now pastors a church 10 minutes from us. Her help at GSM will be a great asset to us in dealing with students and in the promotion and administrative aspects.

Thanks for your interest and prayers and support. Our God is able (Ephesians 3:20; Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26). So we are confidently hopeful.

BCLR Missions Conference Schedule

Missions Conference
February 27 - March 1
Guest Speaker: Carlos Montoya
Siguatepeque, Honduras
 

Friday night
Chili Fundraiser Dinner at 5:15 p.m.
Worship Service with Special Children’s Program at 7:00 p.m.
 

Saturday Morning at 9:00 a.m.
Men’s Breakfast with Carlos Montoya
and missionary partners
 

Saturday Noon
Ladies’ Luncheon with BCLR Missionaries
Special Guest: Carlos Montoya
 

Sunday
Combined Equipping Hour
AM and PM Worship Services
 

BCLR Missionary Updates from:

Aaron & Lindsay Hefner

Herb & Ruth Lyon
Kirk & Jennifer P.

Rodney & Pam Kinch