His Story Ministries

The Work of the Spirit in Salvation

There are times that in our zeal to see people come to Christ, we have a tendency to forget that salvation is still a work of the Spirit of God in the heart of someone who puts in their faith in the message of the gospel. We are always looking for “foolproof” methodology to use on people who are not saved.

We must remember that the message of the gospel is “foolishness” to those who do not believe. Without the work of the Spirit of God in our hearts we will not believe. As Donald Bloesch states, “We do not fully understand the gospel until our inward eyes are opened by the Spirit of God to discern the depth of meaning contained in the gospel.”

What does this mean for us as believers who want others to come to Christ? My interpretation is that any proclamation of the gospel, whether it is by printed page, preaching in a church, one on one witnessing or at a special outreach MUST be saturated with an appropriate prayer covering.

On more than one occasion the Apostle Paul asked the churches that were under his care to pray for open doors and boldness in proclaiming the message. Because so much of my ministry has been focused on reaching students at school, one of my dreams is to see at least two people praying for each school in the USA on a regular basis.

While I appreciate the special events pray focus such as SYATP, National Day of Prayer and the new Cry Out America, I believe the students of America would be better served over the long haul by a company of parents, grandparents and other concerned adults who would commit to pray for schools on a regular basis.

A mighty Prayer Force.

September 4, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Proper Focus

When my youngest daughter was 12 she went with me to a regional Teen Talent (now Fine Arts Festival) and Bible Quiz competition. There were several hundred students at the same motel, so she wanted to stay and swim while I went to eat with the other District Youth Directors. (D-CAP as it was called then)

On the way back to the motel, I stopped at McDonalds to get her something to eat. It was dark when I arrived, but I could hear the students still playing in the pool. The lighting was dim, but I started in direction of the pool. I was focused on finding my daughter in the pool. In fact I was so focused that I failed to see the “kiddie pool” that was between me and the regular pool. Consequently, I walked right into the middle of the kiddie pool.

Of course the students all got a good laugh out of that. “Did you enjoy your swim?”

There are times when it is not “healthy” to be narrow in your focus. You don’t always see everything you need to see. Have we in youth ministry been so focused on those students 12-18 that we have failed to see the larger picture of what happens before they get to “my youth ministry” and what happens to them after they leave? Is that one of the reasons we lose so many students when they graduate from high school?

Over the last several years many churches changed the name of youth pastor to “pastor of student ministries”. Unfortunately, for most it is only a name change and not a focus change. Isn’t a second grader a student too? Isn’t a sophomore in college a student? If we are about student ministry, maybe we need to include ALL students under a certain age. (For years the bylaws of the National Youth Department stated it was for youth up to their early twenties)

I wonder what kind of disciples could be produced if the “pastor of student ministries” was the pastor from the time a person entered the first grade until they either graduated from college, dropped out of college or went full time in the work force. Can you imagine the type of continuity of vision and purpose a student would experience?

Maybe it’s time that we in youth ministry expand our focus beyond the 6 years that a student is in the “youth ministry” or is that being to kingdom minded?

Blessings!

Cecil

August 7, 2008 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Students Reaching Students

Every week anywhere from 70 to 120 students sign up to be missionaries to their middle school, junior high school or high school. These students make a 5-fold commitment to Pray, Live, Tell, Serve and Give.

In my opinion those are commitments that any Christian should make as part of their commitment to be a follower of Jesus.

Each of these students receive 5 copies of the Book of Hope to give to their unsaved friends. His Story Ministries mails the books direct to the campus missionaries house. Those students are instructed to select 5 people who do not know Christ, pray for them on a regular basis and to give them a copy of the Book of Hope.

We receive many testimonies from these students about their friends coming to know Christ as a result of receiving the Book of Hope.

Thanks to each of you who support this ministry with prayer and finances. You are a valuable part of this process and partnership.

You can now make donations online to the ministry. Just click on “partners” then “donate” Your donation will be processed through PayPal and you will receive a receipt from His Story Ministries.

July 19, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Why Pass Out Bibles?

Those involved in ministry have probably asked themselves the question more than once, “Why am I doing this?”

So here is my question, “Why am I involved in a minstry that is basically involved in passing out portions of the Bible to students? Does it do any good?”

Rather than respond with a pragmatic answer (sharing testimonies of which I have many to share) to my own question, I will respond with a foundational answer–the why is because I believe in the transformational power of God’s Word. There is nothing else that can change lives like the gospel.

But will kids read the Bible? Jesus told the story of a farmer who sowed seed. Unfortunately, 75% of the places the farmer sowed were not conducive enough to produce a harvest. Yet interestingly Jesus did not condemn the farmer for being careless or not being more selective, He simply rejoiced in the truth that some of the seed fell on good ground and produced a harvest. (Matt 13:3-9)

My job is not to get people to respond to the gospel, my job is to sow the seed of the gospel. The Holy Spirit is the one that gets people to respond. Without Him working, no one can come to Christ.

So, I will keep passing out Bibles and getting others to join me.

July 10, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Double Standards?

The bulk of our democratic system is based upon the premise that adolescents are not mature enough to make some decisions. Consider that adolescents cannot vote, they cannot legally purchase alcohol and they cannot drive until they reach a certain age. Many states have laws that keep adolescents under 18 from purchasing tobacco products as well.

We have a juvenille court system that treats young offenders differently than older offenders under the premise that the young people are not mature enough to understand the implications of their wrong behavior.

I find it interesting though that in this same culture for some reason we think adolescents are mature enough to make their own decisions about sexual involvement. Schools can pass out condoms, 13 year old girls can get abortions without their parent’s knowledge and young people can be taught sex education classes that most of us would find offensive. Isn’t this a double standard? I mean, what we are saying is that a kid is mature enough to make a decision about the sexuality but not mature enough to vote.

Let me make it clear that I am not upset at the young people. I am upset at adults that don’t have the backbone to take a stand on an issue that has more affect on teenagers than the right to vote. Just my musings.

July 2, 2008 | Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Thirsty?

A few days ago I was in a meeting of our district presbyters. For the devotion the Superintendent had invited a Baptist pastor to share how he had been baptized in the Holy Spirit.

This pastor’s testimony was extremely refreshing. He simply related how he was hungry and thirsty for God. He kept seeking God, he checked the Word and became convinced that God had more for him. On a Sunday afternoon while he was seeking God, he was gloriously baptized in the Holy Spirit. There is no way I can communicate the spirit with which this pastor spoke. While he was speaking I felt I also received a fresh baptism in the Holy Spirit. His hunger and thirst for God just “oozed” all over him. He was like a “kid with a new toy.”

Why don’t we see more of that? Has God changed? Or is it that we are not hungry and thirsty for God? He that hungers and thirsts…will be filled.

Lord, I am thirsty! Lord, send me a fresh touch of your Spirit.

Blessings

Cecil

June 26, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

The youth camp went great. The very first night, I told the campers I was an old man and gave them my age. I felt like it would be better to address the issue than to keep them guessing. We had incredible services and great interaction with the campers. One of the staff workers told me he overheard two campers talking and one said to another, “for an old man he sure preaches with a lot of energy.”

My translation of that is, “I believe what I preach and preach what I believe” It is called passion. That is why I always endeavor to preach God’s Word. Blessings!

June 19, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Youth Camp

I am privileged to be speaking at a youth camp this week. It is exciting to see that students are hungry for God. Did I practice what I “preached” on my last comments? Yes! Core beliefs will be demonstrated by actions. So basically this week, I will be preaching the Word to these campers.

It is the only thing that will last and it is the only thing that will change their lives

June 3, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »

Core Beliefs

My core beliefs will determine my course of action. To say it in reverse, my actions will demonstrate my core beliefs. One of my core beliefs is the power of God’s Word. For that reason, I promote the usage of God’s Word in the evangelism of youth and children.

If I only approach ministry to people based on their felt needs, I will never minister to their real needs. I believe God’s Word will not only minister to their felt needs, it will uncover needs they did not know they had.

How many people do you know that say, their felt need is sin in their lives? We must face the fact that there are a lot of people sinning and having fun doing it. Yet I so believe in the power of God’s Word, that the Word will not only uncover the sin in their lives, but will also give them power to overcome sin as they seek forgiveness from Christ.

No wonder the Apostle Paul said that he was not ashamed of the gospel (the Word) for it was the power of God unto salvation.

Cecil

May 28, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments »