“We’ve never heard this kind of teaching before!” The speaker was an older deacon in the local church. The setting was Putao in far northern Myanmar.  The teaching of this MTM Bible School was on two important subjects for the deeper Christian life; “Know Christ and make Him Known,” a study on Holy Spirit inspired church growth and evangelism from the book of Acts, and “the Godly Family.” Important, even critical subjects for the church to examine, if we wish to grow and prosper.  Yet this church leader claimed to have never heard them taught.

As we asked more questions, we quickly learned that the churches in Putao have been weakened by decades of inner-church conflict and have splintered and divided over many issues. Sadly, many members have heard very little of the deeper Christian Life coming across their pulpits. Instead, they have been hearing extremely basic teachings on salvation, and then just a bunch of “religiosity” aimed at proving their superiority over the neighboring churches. There has also been much division over racial/tribal/language group lines, which has been a further hinderance to the free spread of the gospel. Brother Raymond addressed this problem very specifically in teaching on Holy Ghost inspired outreach & missions. We must not allow pride to hinder the work of Jesus!

As we taught on these subjects, brother Isaac, the native Lisu national organizer of this event, helped tremendously by his fervent translation into Burmese, and by aiding in the presentations.  Many times, he would already be teaching when we arrived in the mornings, and often we would stop while he explained a particularly tricky concept to an audience that he understood so much better than we did. What a blessing he is as he seeks to serve his brothers and sisters of Myanmar, by zealously spreading deeper Christian teaching everywhere he can! 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL PHOTO ALBUM!!

This event, a two-week MTM Bible school in rural Myanmar, was very close to his heart, and he thanked us (the teaching team) heartily for coming. Brother Raymond and sister Naomi were joined by myself (Steve) and my wife Shana for this event.  It was a great blessing to me personally, to witness the earnestness of the attendees in taking notes and following along in the scriptures. They really seemed to connect and to be hungry for more.

Part way through the first week, we were asked to consider doing evening classes as well, so during the second week we held a night class which was very well attended by many married folks! The actual Bible School daily attendance was divided between young people and older folks, including several pastors.

Please remember the believers in Myanmar and especially Putao, that they would earnestly study God’s Word, and pursue a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, that would overflow and shine out to a hungry world around them! Pray that they would develop a vision for Godly Family life that actually works, and that leads their dear children to Jesus rather than the gods of this world. Many dear believers there came and thanked us for sharing, and we encouraged them to open their Bibles and let the Spirit speak deeply into their own hearts.

Putao is a place of incredible natural beauty, set in a large open valley in the midst of high mountains bordering the stunning Himalayan Mountain Range.  Pray that through a spiritual awakening and revival in the church, it could also become a place of faith and beauty for the local & global Kingdom of Christ!

There were many expressions of thankfulness conveyed from the GBS students unto us as teachers for coming to teach the Word of God. But in reality, they were actually thanking YOU for sending us! We could not have done what we did without YOUR prayers and financial support. Thank you for giving unto the Lord and may the LORD reward YOU openly for your support of the MTM ministry. Also, do remember brother Isaac and his wife Rachel in your prayers, as they seek to encourage the believers of Myanmar to a deeper Life in Christ Jesus.

Editor’s Note; The above article was written by Steve and Shana Simmons who are members of Lighthouse Chapel Christian Fellowship of Richland Center, Wisconsin. Together with their three children, they support the church’s ministry and outreach in any way they can, with a special emphasis on foreign missions. They served for four and a half years as field administrators at Gospel to Haiti, located in Allegre, west Haiti. A very special thank you to both of you for faithfully serving the Lord with MTM in preaching & teaching God’s word.

The post Religiosity Hinders the Work of Jesus appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

MTM says, “Thank You”!!! 

Your prayers and love offerings in this past year has allowed us to do among the nations what Jesus commanded in Matt. 28:19 & 20, “Teaching the Nations to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

Year after year, testimonies abound that your investment is impacting the Kingdom of God…by commitments that are made, ministries that are started, churches that are planted among the unreached. And lives that are changed, and souls that are saved at the MTM leadership conferences, Bible Schools, youth meetings, and night revivals!

L-R: Pastor Santosh, Raymond Burkholder, Pastor Benjamin.

Since attending an MTM conference in June 2017, Pastor Santosh has quit his government job to evangelize unreached villages.  He has plant 2 new churches with a total of 41 new believers in Christ.  Pastor Benjamin has planted more than 80 churches in one of the worlds largest slums, located in Mumbai India.  He is begging MTM to build a Bible Institute facility in India and conduct two pastoral leadership trainings yearly.  

THANK YOU & CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT MTM

Requests for Pastoral Leadership Conferences, Youth Empowerment Meetings, and extended Bible Schools continue to provide Gospel opportunities for MTM that we could not accommodate without your partnership. Your encouragement communicates to us, and those we serve, how much you carry the burden of Christ in Luke 10:2, where He said unto them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.”

Again, a very special thank you, to you as individuals, families, churches, and guest teachers who support this ministry.

To God Be The Glory!!!

The post  “As Workers Together With God in 2018” appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

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MTM Conference @ Chandigarh, PB, INDIA
October 22-26, 2018

Hallelujah! Jamasiki! (Praise the Lord!) The services began with vibrant worship that had a beautiful Indian twist to it. In October 2018, Debbie and I took the opportunity to join Raymond Burkholder and his wife, Naomi, at Chandigarh, India for a 5-day Leadership Conference. More than half of the 40 to 45 attendees were youth. Raymond challenged them to “Know the Lord, and Make Him Known, and I spoke on “Shepherd Leadership.” We had one evening revival service which ended up being mostly youth. The place was packed, with standing room only.  There was an amazing response as the Spirit of God brought many to salvation (approximately 13 first time commitments) as well as many rededications to a deeper walk with God.

Allen Yoder praying over the attendees!!

The last day of the conference, we prayed over many individuals who were willing to be sent forth in the name of Jesus and commit themselves sacrificially to the furtherance of the Kingdom. Pray that they can be faithful to their commitments and bring change to the world in which they live. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This world should become a better place because we’ve been here under the influence of the Holy Spirit. That’s why we were born and this is what MTM is all about.

Editor’s Note; The above testimony was written by Allen & Debbie Yoder from Berlin, Ohio. They have served the Lord on the domestic and foreign fields and presently are serving as pastor of a small congregation in Ohio. May the Lord reward you openly for your labor of love in serving Him as well as the delegates who attended the Chandigarh conference. Thank you & God bless you.

Spiritual Emphasis Week @ HBCS Palampur, HP, INDIA
October 29-November 3, 2018

Nestled on a hillside in northwestern India, with the Himalayan mountains in the background, lies Berachah Bible College (HBCS).  Under the direction of Dr. Sam Abraham, the group of approximately 60 students here have been given the opportunity to receive sound, biblical teaching in a well-disciplined Christ centered environment. MTM annually serves this Bible college as an extension teaching program.

Gaylord Barkman teaching on the Life of Jesus Christ.

I & Josh Slabaugh had the opportunity and privilege to join MTM for their 2018 Spiritual Emphasis Week at HBCS in the month of October. The students received the Word with eager and open hearts. I have been deeply impacted by this Godly group of young Indian men and women who are preparing to take the good news of Jesus in their home communities and beyond.

The students come from various states throughout India for a 3-year program. Their life experiences vary but one thing they each have in common is living in a culture heavily influenced by Hinduism. This religion holds to the belief that there are 330 million gods, and Hindus live in constant fear of the spirits. While small number of them are from Christian homes, the majority are first generation believers whose families are Hindu.  Some had been deeply affected by the dark evil powers but are now set free and experiencing the life-changing freedom that Jesus Christ brings.

I asked several students what their plans are after graduation. Without hesitating, each replied that they want to do ministry in their home area when they return. Pray with me, that as these dear young people grow in their knowledge of God’s Word, their faith will also increase! May God’s kingdom grow and advance as these “lights” are dispersed among the dark land of India!

I am grateful to MTM and Raymond Burkholder for giving Josh & I the opportunity to join them in this special experience in making disciples of all Nations.

Editor’s Note; The above testimony was written by Gaylord Barkman & Josh Slabaugh. Gaylord Barkman is originally from Holmes county, Ohio, but is presently serving in the pastoral role of the IGo Bible Institute in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Josh Slabaugh is originally from New Holland, Pa, and is presently serving MTM as the Internet Technology technician. A very special thank you to both of you dear brothers for serving the Lord through MTM. Your labor of love was much appreciated.

MTM Conference @ Gangtok, SK, INDIA
November 3-9, 2018

Gangtok, India is located in the foothills of the Himalayas, one of the most beautiful areas in the world! I felt very blessed to have the opportunity to join Raymond and Naomi Burkholder and MTM for a four-day conference in this picturesque city.

The topic of the week was “Leadership Priorities”. Approximately 80 dear souls gathered from day to day, drinking in the truths that were taught from God’s Word. As it turned out, most of them were emerging leaders rather than pastors but nevertheless there was still a great desire to learn from God’s Word. As the week went on, we got deeper and deeper into the Word.

The city of Gangtok was preparing for “Diwali”, or “Festival of Lights”. This is a Hindu festival, and it is celebrated annually. It is one of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, and it symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” Lights were being put up in the city, and at night it was beautiful! A bit of humor was realized when our auditorium was darkened as the power went out right before one of our sessions was to start. Of course, this made the projector unusable, so we improvised (necessary in India!). It was a blessing to be able to share about the true Light, realized through our Lord Jesus Christ alone.

The conference was conducted Monday through Thursday. Very early Friday morning, we left our hotel at 4:30 AM to drive up the mountain to a lookout. We wanted to see Mount Kangchenjunga as the morning sun hit it. At 28,169’, it is the 3rd highest peak in the world at only 866 feet less than Mount Everest.

Mount Kanchanjunga at 5:00 AM with the morning sun’s glory upon it.  

It lies on the border with India and Nepal. We were blessed with little to no haze, which is often present. We had a beautiful view of the mountain and took many photos. It was another affirmation of the marvelous creation of our Lord, and as the morning sun rose and lit up the mountain peaks, we were again reminded of the true Light. We serve an awesome God!

Brother Markus was a wonderful host and organizer. We deeply appreciate his hard work in pulling this conference together. May the Lord bless him and his family as they serve Him in north India!

Editor’s Note; The preceding testimony was written by Tom Graber. Tom & his family are from Ephrata, Pa and Tom serves as a deacon at the Pleasant Valley Mennonite church in the Ephrata community of PA. Tom will be moving his family to Ghana, Africa, for a term of missionary service with PALM ministries in the very near future. Thank you brother Tom for your sacrifice and labor of love unto the Lord.

Wedding of Bappi & Evalina @ Cuttack, OR, India

What an honor and privilege to be an invited wedding guest to officiate in this very special marriage ceremony of Ambram Ganta (better known as Bappi) and Evalina Bergen. In many ways you really have not been to a wedding until you have been to an Indian Christian wedding. The joy, excitement, food, selfies and celebration are way over the top indeed. Perhaps it is a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb…I really am not sure. But Naomi & I counted it a great joy & privilege to be special invited wedding guests to this unique cross-cultural marriage ceremony.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEW COUPLE!!  Along with Raymond & Naomi Burkholder.

Since Bappi does not have a father he began calling me Uncle perhaps approx. 8 years ago and in the process of time I became like a Spiritual father to him. Since that time whenever I traveled to his region of India (Odisha state) for pastors’ conferences, youth conferences as well as Bible schools I had the privilege to mentor him and speak into his life. Thank you Bappi for this great honor and privilege. It only seemed proper that Naomi & I would be part of Bappi & Evalina’s very special day. We most certainly counted it a great joy and blessing. Blessed be God indeed and thank you again brother Bappi ~ Raymond & Naomi Burkholder

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM ALL CONFERENCES AND THE WEDDING!!

The post MTM – Ministry To the Max appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

The Lord has been so good to us, as we have been able to experience a little of the work of teaching pastors in Eastern Nepal.

Representatives of 85 churches gathered in a very rural setting near Birtamode, in a building that had recently been completed for worship. The people were very gracious and appreciative, and received us well.

If someone were to ask you how to preach, what would you say? That was just one of many soul-searching questions Brother Lowell Miller asked and answered from the pulpit. Our life is part of the message we are preaching. Kamal our translator, faithfully took English and delivered it into Nepalese.

It has been a wonderful experience for Rochelle and myself, to see their faith, their zeal, and their love for the Lord. It appears that the government here is only partially patient with meetings like this, and the people do not know how long gatherings like this may be tolerated. Please pray for them.

We flew to Kathmandu, and then took another flight on to Bhadrapur.  Pastor Deepak received us there, and was a very kind host on our entire stay.

Brother Merle and Sister Judy Flory were wonderful leaders and associates on this trip, and paved the way for every labor we were asked to participate in. Their interest in souls, and in reaching out to others, is felt in every heart they have touched. We give praise to God for their efforts in this part of the world.

Where would you fit yourself in this description? Like the Great Harvest Jesus spoke of…some are observing, some are sitting, some are standing, and a few are working…and others are just going on with life as normal. Lu 10:2, Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.

There are many gods that receive honor in this land. We rejoice to have been able to teach from the Bible about the true God; His love; His ways, and the promises that have been given to those who worship and serve Him.

The people here seem to be greatly moved, both by the care and love that is being shown to them by MTM, and by the simple, yet deeper teachings that are being presented by those who come and minister to them.

Please pray for the further opening of doors to the people of these lands. God is working here!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ENTIRE PHOTO ALBUM!!

Editors note: The above article was written by MTM guest teacher, Brother Lowell Miller. Lowell and his wife Rochelle, live near New Paris, Ohio. Lowell gives pastoral leadership to their local congregation along with other leadership responsibilities.  A big thank you to Lowell and Rochelle for serving the Lord so selflessly with MTM in Nepal. 

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO GENEROUSLY SUPPORT THIS MINISTRY, BOTH IN PRAYER & FINANCES!!  1Co 3:7  So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

A partial quote from our native coordinator, Pastor Deepak:

“We have no words enough to appreciate you and your team for whatever you did with your godly life and teaching in the conference that it was a huge blessing to our Nepali pastors and leaders”.

The post PLEASE COME BACK BEFORE THE DOOR CLOSES!! appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Sumatra, Indonesia

the largest unevangelized island on earth

 The following article was written by MTM guest teacher, Bro. Samuel Bucher, from Palmer, Alaska:

Arriving in Indonesia, we deeply felt our dependency on God as we experienced city life, strange languages, dangerous traffic patterns.  The cultural differences from America was amazing.

Our coordinator, Richard, did an excellent job, planning ministry events, being interpreter, provider of transportation, exchanging currency, and many other roles, including being a delightful Christian Brother.

Brother Samuel Bucher passionately delivered “Rules for Godliness” to the Bible School.

Edward, another gracious, sincere brother assisted us as interpreter, and was also a very helpful Brother in many ways.

Two days included teaching at a Bible College on the topic “Rules for Godliness”, and “Servant Leadership” and in the afternoon we participated in teaching English at a language learning center.

We made home visits to the elderly and sick to pray with them and be an encouragement, as well as attending a Bible Study and Prayer meeting Wednesday and Thursday evening, contributing, as requested, to the services.

Several other evenings we participated in the Servant Leadership conference, and I taught on “Lessons from the Book of Philippians.”

We had the opportunity to go to another school and teach Servant Leadership to a group of teachers.  We also made a visit to a sick elder in the hospital to pray for him and to seek his encouragement.

My son, Isaiah, gave testimony and devotionals from the Word, as requested and also helped at the language learning center.

Black tea plantations stretch from hill to hill and are a tourist attraction. The MTM team thanks all of you for standing with us in the fields of harvest.

Sightseeing was interspersed throughout the week.

I believe a great open door of opportunity is before the believers of Indonesia, and I desire to continue to pray and give myself to help them serve the Lord Jesus and advance the Kingdom of God.

I am grateful that God directed MTM to invite me as guest teacher.  I am grateful to Merle and Judy for “shepherding” us through the experience. I am grateful for the financial support, thoughts and prayers on our behalf for this ministry trip.

Samuel Bucher

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ENTIRE PHOTO ALBUM

Editors note: A big thank you from MTM to Samuel and Isaiah Bucher along with their Alaskan Brethren for supporting these Indonesian Leadership Conferences.  May God’s blessings rest on all of you who partner with MTM to inspire and equip native church leaders to reach their own unreached for Christ. 

The post Inspiring Leaders to Lead Like Jesus appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

The meaning of the word abounding has the idea of ever overflowing and increasing. Lord willing, Raymond and Naomi Burkholder will be abounding in the work of the LORD in India for all but one full month, October 20^th thru November 19^th . This MTM ministry adventure will include three different pastoral leadership conferences and a wedding, in four different states of India (see map for details and dates).

Abounding Work of The Lord in INDIA

Praise the Lord for guest teachers who are willing to give of their time and resources to travel overseas and aboundingly serve the Lord with MTM! PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE MINISTRY WORKERS!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PRAYERFULLY SUPPORT THIS MINISTRY

The post Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

INDIA 

• A country of 33 million Hindu gods.
• A country with a population of 1.34 billion people (only China has slightly more).
• A country where idols & images are worshiped.
• A country where there are 229 different languages
• A country where there are 1,514 gospel unreached people groups
• A country where only 1 in 100 marriages end in divorce, one of the lowest rates in all the world

Maharashtra State alone has 11 million people in 43,665 villages and only 1%, of the total population are considered Christian (and this would include Catholic)

All India and Maharashtra desperately in need of the LIGHT of JESUS CHRIST.

All India and especially Maharashtra, SO GREAT A NEED FOR SPIRITUAL DISCIPLESHIP & TRAINING

WHAT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY?

September 18-28, 2018 MTM in partnership with Fruitful Ministries hosted a two-week Bible Institute for pastors and emerging leaders in the state of Maharashtra, India. This state is the 3rd largest state in India, with 38 districts and each district having its own dialect. Many of these districts were represented at the Bible school. There are 38,000 unreached villages in Maharashtra state.

Fifty students were invited to the Bible school. Many more who wanted to come were turned away. Several of them traveled up to 15 hours by train to attend. One pastor went home over the weekend only to have his shoes stolen while on the train. The students were filled with the “ZEAL OF THE LORD”; their faces glowing from an inner peace. They were hungry for the Word of God. They took notes, followed along in their Bibles, and listened eagerly with rapt attention.

It was evident though that they lacked Bible knowledge.  The stories we know so well were unfamiliar to many.

At least 13 of them did not even own a Bible. The need for teaching is oh so overwhelming! Raymond taught on ‘Worldwide Evangelism’ and I taught on ‘Knowing God’.

Those attending left fully committed to going forth and planting churches for Jesus. They were aware of the spiritual needy around them. One pastor knew that within a 40-kilometer radius of his church, there were 150 unreached villages. We were challenged by the commitment of the pastors to go and win others for Jesus. Commitments were made to go plant new churches in the next few years. These dear saints have so little of this world’s goods, yet they go boldly in the Name of Jesus. Many of them have already planted new churches.

One year ago (June 2017) Pastor Santosh attended an MTM conference at Khandala (Maharashtra State) and was inspired by the teaching to evangelize his own unreached villages. Since that conference he has quit his government job to evangelize unreached villages. God has granted him staggering success and he has planted two new churches among unreached villages. The one church has 16 new believers & the other one has 25 new believers. BLESSED BE GOD INDEED!!!

Revival sermons were preached one evening each week. The Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way. A lost Hindu soul that came with her Christian sister found the Lord and many of the students renewed their zeal to serve Him fully (click here to see the photo album) . What a time of rejoicing in the Lord! The presentation of certificates climaxed the two weeks. Praise, worship, skits and testimonies inspired everyone. A time of group games, and other games like video games such as WoW, since we find out we can buy wotlk classic gold for this game online. With a tremendous BOLT of lightning, BOOM of thunder and a REFRESHING rain, God pronounced His blessing on the Bible school!

Jesus raised up 12 men of leadership in 3 ½ years. Barnabas raised up 4 men of leadership in 4 years’ time. HOW MANY MEN OF EVANGELISTIC LEADERSHIP WILL YOU RAISE UP?

The burden of the local Bible school committee is to raise up leaders that are self-supporting. They have a deep concern for unreached souls of the Maharashtra region of India.

It was a blessing to be able to teach these hungry souls deeper things of the Word. May His Kingdom be enlarged, glorified, and lifted up because of it. We left knowing that teaching and training among the church leaders is desperately needed! Their cry to us was, “When will you come again?  WHEN?”  Pray for willing workers. The LORD OF THE HARVEST is calling. So great, so great a need!

Editor’s Note; Tim & Mary Alyce Lauver are from Mifflintown, Pa. Tim has pastored at Crossroad Mennonite church in Richfield, Pa for 30+ years. A very special thank you to Tim & Mary Alyce Lauver as well as the Cross Roads Mennonite Church for sending Pastor Tim to serve the Lord through MTM. Your sponsorship and their labor of love for the Lord & the students in attendance at MBI was greatly appreciated. May the Lord reward each of you openly.

Click Here for A Photo Album With Captions of Maharashtra Bible Institute

The post The Staggering Needs of Maharashtra State of India!! appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Throughout our time in India, the concept of raising up leaders, next generation leaders, to continue the work of God was often in the forefront of what was talked about as a team and what was also taught as we ministered at Church Sakyong, in West Sikkim, India.

The MTM Ministry Team L-R; Pastor Enos (Interpreter), Raymond, Michael, Kyran & Raygan (Mike’s sons), Choukie (Ps Nugo’s wife), Ps Nugo, Chokel (Ps Nugo’s son), & Subba (our driver).

There were three generations of Burkholder’s that were part of the MTM team that travelled to India.  Raymond (my father), myself, and my 2 oldest sons.  Pastor Nugo, from Bhutan, was the coordinator who organized the conference.  Pastor Nugo’s wife, Choukie, and their 18-year-old son, Chokel, were along as well.  Chokel is a gifted worship leader who led worship at the youth conference.

It was a beautiful experience to have my father coach and mentor me in cross-culture ministry and then to also see Pastor Nugo mentor and coach his son in the work of the conference as well.  Naturally, there was mentoring and teaching that I was passing on to my sons throughout this whole time.

Pastor Nugo, the coordinator with which MTM was partnering, was also being very intentional about raising up other leaders who can continue to lead well after the conference and after we are departed from India.  Pastor James is the pastor of the church where the conference was held.  Pastor Enos is part of a leadership team that provides leadership to many house churches in the state of Sikkim.  Pastor Nugo placed them as the leaders of the conference and coached and mentored them on how to run the event.  Pastor Nugo is a gifted interpreter, yet he had Pastor James and Enos do the interpreting as part of the goal of equipping them to better lead their people.  Pastor Manoj is also a local church leader who assisted with the interpreting for Dad and me.

Pastor Nugo Is Very Intentional in Raising Up Leaders Who Will Continue to Lead Well

 Our theme for the conference was Pursuing the Heart of God.  Raymond shared a series of sessions on David and I shared from the life of Joseph from the Old Testament.   As we both shared our sessions, we were struck by the overlap in our material from the life of David and the life of Joseph.  Even though we hadn’t strategized or planned it, we were blessed how God had orchestrated our sessions to minister to the attendees ‘line upon line and precept upon precept’.

We were also blessed to see God at work and move in the lives of those present.  Dad gave an invitation after his one session on being an empty vessel that God can fill and use.  About 75% of the church was at the altar pouring their hearts out to God in brokenness and surrender.  Pastor James, the leader of the church, came to my father during the invitation and asked him to pray with him as it is his desire be an empty vessel that God can use in the leading God’s church.

Special prayer for Pastor James who serves as the lead pastor at the Sakyong Church

North west Sikkim state of India is a beautiful land of rugged mountains and snow-covered peaks as well as many waterfalls.  It was a common experience to be driving on a mountain road and pass right next to a rushing waterfall.  As it was beautiful to see the water cascading over the rocks, it was also wonderful to see and be a part of the cascading work of passing along leadership and empowering others to rise up and lead like Jesus. It was invigorating to observe Pastor Nugo and my father as they intentionally worked to equip others to lead well in their roles.  And simultaneously challenging the youth attending the conference to pursue the heart of God, as God needs them to follow in the footsteps of their leaders.

The Majestic Kanchenjunga Himalayan Region of North West Sikkim State of India (see photo album for more info in regard to these mountains)

There was an average attendance of 65 youth and others at the conference from this remote geographical region of the world. I invite you to pray for them that God would continue the work in their hearts that was started at the conference.  Please lift up Pastor James and Pastor Enos in prayer as well as they provide leadership in their respective areas.

It is my prayer that the work of empowering and equipping others in the growing of the Kingdom of God would continue in West Sikkim, India.  Most of all, it is my heart’s desire that the Lamb that was slain receive all the honor and glory for the work of MTM and Pastor Nugo in India.

Editor’s Note; The above article was written by Michael Burkholder (the editor’s son). Michael & his wife Laura and their five boys live at Bowmansville, PA.USA. Michael is one of the pastoral team at Faith Mennonite Fellowship church which is also Raymond & Naomi Burkholder’ USA home church. A very special thank you to the Faith Mennonite Fellowship Church congregation for sending Michael & Laura & their family (five sons) to Thailand to visit their parents. Another big thank you for prayerfully sponsoring this India conference by sending Michael to stand beside his father in teaching the gospel among all nation. Also, a much appreciated thank you from MTM for financially sponsoring the India youth conference. It indeed was very special to have a part of our family with us in serving the Lord here in Asia. 

 CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE ENTIRE PHOTO ALBUM!!

The post Intentionally Mentoring Next Generation Leaders appeared first on Macedonian Teaching Ministry.

Where in Southeast Asia is Vietnam?

Vietnam Today

The gospel first came to Vietnam in the early 1900s but it really did not gain much attention until during the Vietnam war. Numerous Vietnamese Christian brothers have told me they are grateful for the American army chaplains who first brought the gospel to their specific regions of Vietnam. If this is true, it most certainly is a good side of a war that appeared to be lost & unnecessary. God truly is a God who can transform tragedy into triumph! Blessed be God!

Today Vietnam has a population of 96 million people made up of 118 different ethnic people groups. Only 2.23% of the population are evangelical Christians (Joshua Project Statistics). Therefore, Vietnam is largely a gospel unreached nation.

Testimony!!

Thank you so much for your coming and training our local leaders.

Praise God for such a wonderful conference we had with pastor Raymond and MTM team. The subject they taught is Servant Leadership. It is a very important and timely subject. 

Our leaders are very much encouraged and build up in the faith. They took it seriously to hear Pastor Raymond and MTM guest teacher, Roy Ulrich. Many  of them this is the first time to hear such a subject.

We need more training like this. We give thanks to God for  MTM and precious teaching like this. This not only biblical but also practical.

The above paragraph is written by David, who coordinated the conference for MTM.

MTM to Vietnam

The Lord opened the door for MTM to commence a pastoral leadership conference June 26-28 in DaNang, Vietnam. DaNang is centrally located just south of where the former border was located between North & South Vietnam. It was in this region where some of the most intense fighting of the Vietnam war took place.

What a joy and a privilege to meet with 30-35 Vietnamese, good soldiers of Jesus Christ who have a heart to follow their commander in chief, JESUS CHRIST to fight another war for the souls of men of their own country. Some attendees came from as far away as 650 kilometers (400+ miles), others came from 400 kilometers away (250 miles), still others came from 180 kilometers away (100+ miles), and others in attendance were more local to the area. Of those people, there were 4 primary groups of people represented, each having different language dialects, yet all understood the Vietnamese national language that our interpreter translated our messages into.

Meeting within the inner room

In the book of Acts we find the early church waiting in an upper room for the promised Holy Spirit to come and fill them and empower them to be a witness for Jesus Christ. In Vietnam morning by morning the 30-35 attendees all squeezed into a very small (11X16 feet) inner room within a larger public coffee shop. And there with all the doors closed and locked the Lord once again truly visited his disciples. The Spirit of the Lord’s empowerment came forth from the Word of God to be a dynamic witness for Jesus Christ in this basically gospel unreached nation of Vietnam today.

The attendees holding up their Bibles, and holding up Jesus Christ in a dark country!

Brother Raymond taught on Leadership Priorities and I (Roy Ulrich) shared a variety of messages on Lessons from the Life of Christ, God’s Divine Order of Authority, and Husband and Wife Relationships. The people were very attentive and hungry for the truth of God’s word. They responded with a loud amen and nodding their heads in affirmation to the truths being shared.

The conference ended with an invitation to commit to a deeper walk with God. It seemed that every soul in attendance responded. Brother Raymond and I went around to each person praying over them and for them as they too cried out to God in supplication and in weeping to give themselves in a deeper and fuller way to the work of furthering the kingdom of Christ in Vietnam. What a beautiful time of worship it truly was. May the Lord Jesus build his church in Vietnam!

Editor’s Note; The above article was written by the MTM teaching team (Raymond & Roy). Roy & Nancy Ulrich traveled all the way from Ephrata, PA to serve the Lord with MTM as a guest teacher. Brother Roy serves as one of the ministering elders at JOY Christian fellowship at Ephrata, PA. Thank you Roy & Nany for giving of yourselves to serve the Lord with MTM. May the Lord reward you openly for your faithful ministry of God’s Word unto the Vietnamese Leaders.

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We become all things to all people for the sake of the gospel (I Corinthians 9:22-23)

So, wading through the water we splash and finally we arrive at the village (we were told these are despised slum people) and they are sitting under a strung tarp waiting for us, thirsty to hear the word of God. THIS VILLAGE HAS NO WATER (no bore hole or well). They must walk 2-3 kilometers for physical water. But oh, they were so thirsty to hear all about living water (the word of God).

Ministering the Gospel at Konalova Village

Only 37 adults live in this small village. A native evangelist named Prem (see photo album) has been reaching out to these marginalized minority tribal people and 20 adult souls have chosen to drink of the well of living water (Jesus Christ). Blessed be God.

Thank You for Coming to Our Village and Please Help Us

Finally, Living Water

And so it was at the pastoral Bible conference as well at Chinthaluru village. Daily 160 pastors and emerging leaders gathered to drink of the Word of God. Likewise, they were so thirsty to hear the Word of God. Their thirst and responsiveness to the Word was tremendously invigorating for Glenn Martin & I daily as we ministered the Word of God. There was also much need for physical water as daily the temperatures were 100+ degrees and we sweated profusely. The electrical power was more off than on and the generator had this nasty habit of simply quitting and then all the fans would stop…more sweat indeed!

But nevertheless, as Jesus Christ was exalted repeatedly in Glenn’s topic of “Two Kingdom Principals” and my topic of “Leadership Priorities”, they would raise or clap their hands in response to receiving the truth of God’s Word. On one occasion as Glenn completed his teaching, the people just spontaneously responded by coming forth to the alter in response to their needy souls. Blessed be God.

Pastor Abraham Samul is overseeing a large group of pastors who are committed to taking the gospel to the unreached tribal villages of this region. These MTM conferences are a means to empower, facilitate and rejuvenate them through the teaching of God’s Word as well as raising up more evangelist He can send out to reach the remaining unreached villages.

I surrender All, Here Am I Send Me

Pastor Abraham Samuel has shared many testimonies that after previous MTM conferences brothers rose up with a new vision and went forth targeting unreached peoples & villages and planted NEW churches among them. Blessed be God and may the Lord do it again and again.

A very special think you to Glenn & Grace Martin for giving of their time and resources to serve the Lord through MTM. Your labor of love was much appreciated and our prayer is that the Lord will reward you openly.

The MTM Vision

It is the goal of MTM to provide a reproducible, and sustainable model to train and send out native men of leadership who will evangelize, make disciples, and plant churches among their own native unreached people groups.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORT MTM,
Raymond Burkholder
MTM Director

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