Congratulations Stacey!

praydreamgo — Mon, 02 May 2011 20:53:42 +0000

Drum roll please…..we’re excited to announce that out of over 700 entries for the Global Christian Quiz iPad giveaway, Stacey Kensinger of Martinsburg Grace Brethren Church is our grand prize winner! Congratulations Stacey and thanks to everyone who took the Global Christian Quiz!

John Ward congratulates Stacey!

Reaching Ethnic America… an invitation

praydreamgo — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 09:31:34 +0000

Did you know that most of us live in neighborhoods today where there is a myriad of ethnic or people groups? With the influx of immigrants and refugees to the United States, we as Christ followers have a mission field right where we live.

Here is a personal invitation for those attending Grace Brethren Fellowship of Churches National Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, to learn how to “see the nations and to reach out to the nations right where you live.”

http://gbim.org/component/content/article/43-info/641-reaching-ethnic-america

George Verwer and Operation Mobilisation

praydreamgo — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:45:25 +0000

While in university George Verwer and some of his friends became burdened for the spiritual needs of Mexico. Summer vacations were spent distributing Spanish gospels of John. In his hometown of New York city George also shared the gospel in the streets and door-to-door and saw many give their lives to God. George eventually went to Moody Bible Institute where he met his wife Drena and they along with some friends went to Spain in 1960. All kinds of evangelistic work was started there mainly underground because of the Franco dictatorship during that time. George made an effort to bring bibles into Russia during this period but was expelled when he was discovered and accused of spying. This led George to spend time in prayer seeking God’s will as to how to spread the gospel world-wide. He dropped the name of his ministry from Spread the Light to Operation Mobilisation with the purpose of mobilising Christian mission training and action and service around the world. For the past 40 years, George has had a pioneering effect on world missions around the world, notably among short-term missions, mission ships and distribution of Christian literature. Today, over 4,000 people are involved in the work of OM in over 80 countries. George handed the international leadership of OM to Peter Maiden, but he and his wife continue to travel to challenge and encourage the church around the world into evangelism and world missions.

Take a few minutes and listen to this very inspiring interview with George Verwer who was the 2009 recipient of the Lifetime of Service Award presented by The Mission Exchange.

http://www.themissionexchange.org/VerwerInterview/

Next Steps.. What is God asking you to do?

praydreamgo — Sat, 29 May 2010 21:27:54 +0000

Jen Hart, GBIM short-term missionary is asking herself this question as she comes to the end of her term in Cambodia. She shares how she is facing some “giants”, and learning to trust God to provide for her next steps.

“In Numbers 13 God sent Caleb and the spies to explore Canaan. God was showing them the splendor He had planned for them. They were on a short-term spy trip to taste and see what God wanted to give them. During this trip they saw the cost of the land – giants that they would have to overcome. God di not expect them to overcome these giants alone. He wanted them to trust Him to overcome the giants. These giants hindered them from seeing the goodness of God’s plan and from trusting in God’s power. Caleb knew God would conquer the giants, because God was giving them the land; however, the other were too afraid to trust God.

This story has encouraged me to consider what God has put in front of me. What giants am I not willing to trust God to conquer. This year I have seen costs of serving here and now I have to decide if I am willing to pay the cost and face the giants. I have seen that the romanticism of living in Cambodia is not always glorious and there are giants. I have seen that on my roughest days I can trust God and He will provide in His creative way. God puts giants in our path to show His power as he conquers.

God gives vision and desires. We can’t let our understanding of physical reality scare us away from God’s will and the spiritual reality. I know there are bills to be paid and matters to settle, but I trust God provide. I know there will be good days and bad days and hard times ahead, but God wants me to trust Him to overcome the giants with me.

God has shown me He provides, and I trust that He will continue to provide for the next steps. I am open and willing to follow and above all I want to be obedient. I can not see the whole picture, but I will move forward with what I have been given.

Currently, I am talking with GBIM about what the next steps are to return to Cambodia… Please pray for this process.”

Psalm 119: 33-40.

PrayDreamGo Sponsoring Recalibrate @ Moody Bible Institute

praydreamgo — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:06:46 +0000

We hope to see you at Moody next week for this exciting event. RSVP and share the invite using the facebook event.

A Tribute to Pastor Plaster

praydreamgo — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 22:18:45 +0000

Dave Plaster talking with students.

Contributed by an anonymous writer in response the tragic death of Dave Plaster the Mentor.

A word that you have been reading a lot recently is that Dave was a Mentor. Just take some time to look at the family blog that traced his last weeks here on earth. Dozens of times, maybe hundreds of times, that word is used in tribute to his far reaching influence.

One day I was sitting with a student and we got to talking about I don’t remember what. He mentioned that Dave was his mentor while he was at Grace College. “Oh”, I said, “you mean you had him as a teacher in one of his many classes.” “No”, he replied, “one time a week I went into his office and we sat and shared and prayed together.” What blew me away was that this student would confess his sins to Dave, and Dave would confess his sins to the student. He told me that Dave was totally transparent with him. Well…that blew me away. Think about this. Dr. David Plaster, Academic Dean and Vice President of Grace Schools, sitting in his office confessing his sins to a student.

Time after time the word mentor comes up in reference to Dave Plaster as someone shares with me the thing (or person) that had the greatest influence in their lives during their time on campus at Grace. A lot of these students are now leaders and put them all together and you have a tremendous mosaic of men who are now the legacy of a good man.

This morning, after receiving the call of his passing, I was sitting and reflecting on my potential legacy. I like to strategize. I like to teach. I really love church-planting. But, strategies are forgotten, class notes get lost in files, and churches are not eternal. But the men, and I am writing this to men, that we mentor are eternal. We have the privilege of marking the lives of many men. Dave Plaster will be remembered above all else for being a 2 Timothy 2:2 man. That is what I want my legacy to be as well.

Your Secret Name Launch Party March 15th!

praydreamgo — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:39:43 +0000

We are excited to announce our sponsorship of the Your Secret Name Launch Party on March 15th. Kary Oberbrunner is a friend of praydreamgo and is hosting a interactive event to mark the launch of his new book Your Secret Name due out in September 2010. We are giving a full-on endorsement of this book as a recommended read for those of you who are on the praydreamgo journey.

Your Secret Name

We encourage you to join the event to be entered to win a host of prizes including a praydreamgo prize pack complete with a hoodie. This is just one of many prizes that will be offered to attendees that day. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity. Visit the site to register today… http://www.yoursecretname.com/ More details about this epic book to follow.

Ready to be Mentored in Prayer? Join the Global Prayer Walk!

praydreamgo — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:49:55 +0000

By Dave Guiles

Executive Director GBIM

Our first Global Prayer Walk is off to a strong start! So far hundreds of people from coast to coast are mobilizing themselves to intercede during March and April for our ministries around the world!

In case you’ve missed the invitation, it’s not too late to join. Simply grab your Global Ministries Prayer Guide and start interceding with us. For sixty-two days our journey will open our eyes to the diverse needs of our world as we travel to more than thirty countries.

But here’s an additional tool to encourage our prayer-walkers. Tom Julien and Roger Peugh, well-known for their lifestyles and teaching on prayer, have agreed to mentor us during our journey. Each day during March and April, they’ll send us a short, inspirational thought to expand our understanding and deepen our commitment to pray. And Ron Guiles, our PrayNow Coordinator, will include fresh prayer needs from our global team.

Interested in being mentored for prayer? Then sign up for a daily e-mail through http://www.gbim.org/pray-news/global-prayer-walk.

Already a member of the PrayNow team? No need to sign up again. We’ll automatically send daily Global Prayer Walk e-mails to your address.

My personal prayer for you is that the Global Prayer Walk will serve to open your eyes and move hearts to appreciate the amazing ministries you partner with around the globe!

Grace College Students Fund Road Repair in Cambodia

praydreamgo — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:24:55 +0000

GBIM missionaries Ken and Becky Good report the following story. “It hasn’t been easy to live in Otaky, Cambodia. During the rainy season the only road through the village has been almost impassible, making it difficult for kids to go to school, adults to go to work and even for Cambodia Ministry Partner Chhay Chhoem and his team to bring kids together to study the Bible.

“Four years ago, the villagers began saving to fix the road. But as they saved, the price of repairs kept rising. So, last week, they decided to go ahead and fix as much of the road as they had money for, even though they had only collected enough for 7 of the needed 10 truck loads of red dirt ($150 per truck with grading and rolling). When Chhay arrived at the village and saw the road repair in progress, he called to ask if there was any way GBIM missionaries could help.”
Very recently Grace College students had given a gift ear-marked for development projects. The missionaries quickly agreed that this was an ideal opportunity to encourage the believers and at the same time enhance the Christian testimony in the village by a tangible display of the love of Christ.
Time will tell what impact the completed road may have on the spread of the Gospel in Otaky. In the meantime, the villagers are very thankful for their new road.

Heather’s African Mission Exploration

praydreamgo — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:24:08 +0000

The brightness of dawn warmed my face as my team and I exited the plane in the Bangui airport. It was surreal. Years of dreaming about being in Africa, and now I was standing in a mass of brightly clad Central Africans awaiting the start of a breathtaking adventure with God. When I stepped off the plane that day, I had no idea all of the things that I would learn and experience. I didn’t know all the stories that I would hear of God’s power in the lives of Africans. I didn’t know I would be stretched to trust God in a different way than I ever had before. I didn’t know I would fall in love with the African family that I stayed with for a week. I didn’t know that when I stepped back on that plane a month later, my heart would never completely leave.

As I allow my mind to wander back to that trip last July with the Mission Exploration Team, I am overwhelmed with the amount of experiences that my team and I lived together. When we met together for the first time, we realized something. We were about as different as people could be. Our common factor was that we loved God and we were all on this trip to get a realistic picture of what it would be like to serve as a missionary in Africa. Throughout the weeks we bonded together in a powerful way. We overcome jet lag together, learned Sango together, listened to African speakers together, worshiped together, helped teach ESL classes together, visited orphans together, hurt over poverty together, visited hospitals together, ate in African homes together, cleared a field with machetes together, lived in the bush together, and left Africa bonded together in a way that rarely ever happens in life.

When I stepped back into America after that month, I came home with many things. I now have an African family that calls me their daughter and who I still have contact with four months later. I support an African Muslim girl named Rubio who was in danger of dying from the treatable disease of Tuberculous. I partner with my teammates to write a teenage girl named Princess who longed for an “American friend”. I am blessed with teammates and leaders (Mike & Myra Taylor) that I still exchange stories with, I hang-out with, and I encourage to pursue a life on-mission.

Heather Speckman, a Grace College student, was one of 6 young adults who participated in the 2009 team to the Central African Republic. Mission Exploration Teams are one example of how Grace Brethren International Missions is investing in future missionary workers and leaders.

Mission Exploration Teams are offered over the summer months and are from 4-6 weeks in length. These trips are in four regions across the world; Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. While on these trips you will be given cross-cultural exposure, hands-on ministry in conjunction with GBIM missionaries. If this story has peaked your interest and you would like to receive more information please contact John Ward (jward@gbim.org) or visit this MET Page at gbim.org.