EVANGELISM, DISCIPLESHIP & MISSIONS (EDM)

BY   F A I T H    S H A I B U It's January and the break for the holiday is over, resumption for the next semester commences. I decided I would take the bus down from Karu where I reside to Lokoja where I attend school on monday of the next week. My name is Sandrine, an undergraduate at Kogi State university. I'm 21, the first born of a family of five. My mum as usual have started her preparation for what I will be needing in school before my departure. In her eagerness, I know deep down she is already missing me and wished I could stay longer. Monday morning arrived so quickly and daddy woke me up to get ready so I can get to the park early. “Sandrine” “Yes dad!” I responded sluggishly. He is not like mum. African men are not supposed to be emotional. So he put up a class act. It was like he was indifferent. But I know dad, as the eldest kid, he loves to have me around, especially that I look like his mum. He feels she incarnated me...

D a v i d   P a m   M c Q u e l   The work of the kingdom of God is basically done in words, but accompanied with actions. In we do only actions, lots of actions yet not accompanied by the gospel of salvation through Christ Jesus, we basically end up doing merely humanitarian acts that win the applause of the world and not necessarily noticed by God. Every action we do must be tied to witnessing the love of Christ. If I do good works yet do not point the beneficiaries to Christ, they will end up praising me as a good man, hence the glory comes to me and not Christ. Jesus in his last instructions said in Mark 16, "15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." The work He left behind for them was preach with words. They were to tell the world about Jesus. While the disciples where under apprenticeship, Jesus s...

By David Pam McQuel Jesus expects us to receive missionaries because if you are a Christian, you are automatically involved in evangelism and missions. "We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God's messenger. Accepting someone's help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I've called you into, but don't be overwhelmed by it. It's best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won't lose out on a thing." The Message Bible Who is a missionary? Even though we are all called by the Lord and sent to the mission field of evangelism, there are different levels of engagement for every one. The entire field of evangelism is the scope of...

By David Pam McQuel The Cost of Missions Missions is the advannced stage of evangelism. After the gospel reached Jerusalem, Jesus instructed His disciples to take the gospel to the other cultures to the ends of the earth. However, it has been by no means an easy task. Men have given up a lot to take the gospel to all creation. The impact of the gospel worldwide has been everincreasing. So has the demands for taking the gospel everywhere. The only thing that has changed significantly is the cowardice and indifference of those who claim to know Christ. Scripture outlined the price for carrying out this magnificent assignment. In this first part we treat a few and we end it the next blog. Death Seeking God means seeking Him with all. The most precious thing to any man is his life. The most influential period of the church are seasons when believers were willing to give God their lives. Matthew 10:34 'Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did no...

By David McQuel It is amazing how many Christians are indifferent to missions. Looking closer, i notice that it is borne out of limited information on the place and need for Christian missions today. In fact, someone even dare say that the time of missionaries has passed. To assume that the gospel is already preached everywhere because there are three churches in your village is a capital deception. To help, here are Seven things you should know as a Christian regarding the kingdom and missions. 1. Jesus envisioned a missionary Church not a corporate church Matthew 28:19 «Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." The only pursuit that Jesus left for the Church was missions. It was going to be the core and foundation of the life and effort of the ...

By David Pam McQuel A lot has changed about Christianity today from its initial conception. In as much as diversity and differences of understanding is a good thing and biblical, unity of the faith is ultimate. Paul said ministry gifts placed in church are for our edification and growth.  Ephesians 4:11 "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; And when we get matured to tne measure of the stature of Christ, it will show in "14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth i...

By David Pam McQuel "According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor..." Philippians 1:20-22 NKJV In mid 1991 I was 20 years and a few months old, already two years in full time ministry, serving in a small church holding in a primary school. It was quiet a great moment in my life. The future was unsure but the hunger for God in my heart was beyond boiling point. My Senior Pastor then, was a great evangelist. He went to minister in a crusade and came back with some new friends for me, they were on fire for God. This three girls were in Junior high school and aged between 15 and 16. A revival had broken in their village, Where behind the famous Shere Hills Tourist site, through the three and the whole...

By IDOABASI IKPO “Whoever goes to war at his own expense” 1 Corinthians 9:7a) “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent” (Romans 10:13-15a Emphasis mine). According to All Nation English Dictionary, cause is defined as an aim for which a person or a group works. A cause is an aim or principle which a group of people supports or is fighting for. If you say that something is in a good cause or for a good cause, you mean that it is worth doing or giving to. Funding is money which a government or organization or an individual provides for a particular purpose. A fund is an amount of money that is collected or saved for a particular purpose. When a person or organization funds something, they provide money for it. As followers of Jesus, do we believe in H...

By David Pam McQuel One fundamental difference between God's language, which is scriptural language and human language which is the root of modern day vocabulary is the word, Heart. And this basic word cuts across all nations and cultures. In biological terms, the heart is the organ on the left thoracic cavity with tubes connecting all parts of the body for the circulation of blood. In a layman's explanation, with an extremely accurate  coordination, through the arteries and veins, oxygenated and dioxigenated blood circulates in the body to supply oxygen, food nutrients and medicinal properties as well as evacuate waste products from the body thereby keeping the body working normally. Surprisingly, this biological heart does NOT appear in the bible. However, in Bible language the heart is the most prominent part of a man's existence. It is the centre of everything he is and does. The heart is the SPIRIT of man. Take Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard you...

Years ago I had an interesting chat with an aged man who expressed his excitement when he saw how some of us young people yielded to God and were serving God with so much energy. It was something he would love to do, it was something his heart would love to but his body could not carry. Jesus, after his resurrection, talking to Peter, said in John 21:18 "Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” There are two phases to life that Jesus was bringing forth to Peter to shed light on a very important truth. There is the daylight of life when Peter is in control of his life. Then, he can do what he wants and go where he wishes to. He can chose what he wants and have the freedom to be who he wants. But there comes a time when he has no control of the most basic things like dressing up and taking...

Winnie has had a lot going on lately for her. She got a better job, which brought along a new social class and relationships, friends on a higher level of life which also meant better parties with expensive perfumes and wines! She recently got herself a beautiful house, well furnished with exotic paintings and luxurious flower pots. Her driving lessons are well advanced in a few months she'll have her nice car, and the game is just beginning! Everything seems so right. Finally, every "I" is being dotted and every "t" is being crossed and nothing could be better. Except that the emptiness in her inner man just increases by the day. She is more lonely and sometimes in the midst of those parties and loud music, she is all alone. Even more scary is her new friend Jelani. Last weekend Winnie tried opening up about that shallowness and Jelani told her she was on drugs to overcome hers. She wasn't pushy but she pretended that drugs had sorted hers out. Wi...

The ministry of Jesus is very unique in many ways. Not just because He is God, but because of its  extraordinary harmony and effectiveness. This ministry is one that started with not only illiterates, but ignorant men. They were not educated. They did not belong to the priesthood of Aaron, so concerning the Law, they were ignorant men. None of them was idle. Everyone had to give up something. Some gave up generational occupation, some gave up their only means of livelihood most certainly, all gave up their families and the ambitions of youth. It cost everyone something that defined them, to follow Jesus. Another feature of this ministry was that there was no promise of renumeration. Jesus never promised any of his disciples wages or allowances. There was no payroll. It was an odd call. A call to work without a guarantee of financial benefit. None of them was expecting a prestigious position or an award. The call was to give up everything and just follow. They were...