Making a difference in the lives of others has always been the driving force in our ministry and in our marriage. Since the time that God brought us together as teenagers (and new believers), we have opened ourselves up to serve God in any way that He directs us. For more than 40 years now, our Lord has used us in ways that have amazed and awed us. He has taken us to six continents and more than 40 countries and given us the undeserved honor of ministering in the lives of others.  One such instance is recounted below:

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Bangalore is an overcrowded city with a sea of faces in every direction. Alan was tasked with teaching area pastors the Book of Romans at a one-day seminar. Afterwards, he would travel by bus all night to teach again in another city. At each place, over one hundred pastors would show up to attend these workshops. At the end of each session there would be a time for pastors to ask questions. After several questions dealing with the deep doctrinal truths they had just explored, one pastor asked a surprising question. Through his interpreter he said, “How often can a husband beat his wife?” The interpreter looked at me with surprise before he repeated this question. At first, Alan was angry that a pastor would even think of asking such a thing, but the wagging heads of agreement in the room confirmed that most of the men wanted to know the answer as well.  The Holy Spirit quickly dispelled Alan’s outrage and gave him the words to say. He asked him to read Ephesians 5:25, which the pastor willingly did. Alan then repeated the passage, “Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.” Pausing for a moment, Alan asked, “How often does Christ beat His church?” The pastor quickly  responded, “He never beats His church.” Alan replied, “That is how often a husband should beat his wife.”

 

This event illustrated to us that there is a desperate need for pastors and church leaders to be trained with the basic principles and truths of God’s Word. The duty of the pastor is to “equip the saints” (Eph. 4:12), yet the equipper must be equipped to carry out this vital responsibility. This is why training pastors and church leaders is the primary purpose of Living Faith Ministries International.

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At times, God would redirect us to places we had not intended to go, learning new strategies in mission efforts along the way. This story better explains this truth:

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We held our passports in our hands but knew that we would not be allowed into Belarus, our original destination, because of improperly submitted documents from our partners overseas. Our plane tickets were already purchased and we were to leave in 2 days. It included a stopover in Poland. Rather than fretting over our missed opportunity to minister in Belarus, we decided to proceed to Poland and see where the Lord took us. The day before we flew out, we made a call to a mission agency, explained our situation, and asked if there was any work in Poland that we could help with. They said they would check it out and “get back to us.”

 

The morning of our flight, we sat at our departing gate at the Atlanta airport when our cell phone rang. The missionary in Poland seemed bewildered. Who were we and how did we know that they had an emergency need? After reassuring him as to our credentials and qualifications, he shared that their mission held an annual camp for Polish families who wanted to practice their English-language skills. The adults met in groups for discussions in English, using the Bible as the primary subject of the discussions. In addition to the American volunteers who lead each group, local Polish believers came to be a part of the camp and share their own testimonies during the discussion. While the parents were busy in conversation classes, the children were led in a VBS-style program.  Just the day before, (the day we had learned that we wouldn’t be getting a visa for Belarus), one of the volunteer couples from America had received word of a death in the family and were returning home. They desperately needed a replacement teacher who was familiar with the Bible to take over the adult class. They also needed someone who was experienced with kids to work in the children’s camp. We couldn’t help but smile, knowing that this described us exactly.

 

After a grueling day of traveling that included planes, trains, and automobiles, we arrived at 11:15 PM to get some needed, precious sleep before we started at 7:00 the next morning. After introducing ourselves to everyone (since no one there knew that we were coming) we broke up into groups. Using the Bible as our text for learning English, Alan stated that it was a comfort to know that he had eternal life. Anna, a young lady that had not been exposed to much Bible knowledge, was offended by what she considered to be arrogance. “You cannot be sure that you deserve to go to heaven,” she argued. “We must just live the best we can and hope that it is enough.” Alan apologized for offending her, then gently and lovingly led her to the passage in I John 5 that says, “These things I have written unto you that you may know that you have eternal life.” Reading the passage in her own language, Anna began to cry. “I can be sure that I am going to heaven?” After sharing more of the Gospel with her, Anna made a profession of faith, eager to take this new message of hope home to her family. We were right where God wanted us.

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It is experiences like these that have shaped the objectives and strategies that we incorporate into Living Faith Ministries International.