"I have but one passion - it is He, it is He alone. The world is the field and the field is the world; and henceforth that country shall be my home where I can most be used in winning souls for Christ."
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Discipleship Begins
Venancio knew about 3 different families in the village, two of which were believers and one Catholic. It was too cold for us to show the Jesus film outside, so we invited several different families to a Bible study at one of the believers' homes. We visited the Catholic family for a good while, talking. Outside of this home was a miniature chapel - I suppose you would call it - made of concrete. Inside it were colored, blinking lights and beautiful decorations. It housed a statue of the Virgin Mary. The "chapel" was made of concrete, while the house comprised wood and corrugated metal. The "chapel" had fancy decorations and electricity, while the inside of the house was left in the dark. We couldn't even see the people we were talking to until one of the daughters finally brought in an old, battery-powered lantern.
Though I'm still trying to get my Spanish back in practice, I was able to catch most of the conversation and was a bit surprised, yet very encouraged, by what I heard. While Venancio was inviting them to Bible study he said, "I know 2009 was a bad year for us all, but we are expecting a better year in 2010." And the man of the house spoke up, I think arguing. "No, this year is not going to be better. All of humanity is dying. It is colder here than it has ever been. There are storms and natural disasters more than there have ever been. We are in a financial crisis. We are in a health crisis. We are in a violence crisis." It seemed to me like the perspective of a pessimistic old villager who is fed up with the world. I was waiting for Venancio to respond when the man continued. "And where is the church? What are they doing to help? Why do we have so many children starving in Africa and India, people dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, why don't they help them?" All of this is coming from a man who obviously is a devout Catholic, ensuring that the statue of Mary has a better lodging than his own family. "What is wrong with the Pope? He is supposed to be the representation of Christ on this earth, but he does not follow the steps of Jesus. He just sits there with his big, tall crown on, made of pure gold, while the poor people of the world starve. Jesus went to the poor. He helped them, talked to them, healed them, ate with them. If he is supposed to be the representation of Jesus, he is not doing his job!" So I finally spoke up. "But that's not his job. That's our job. That is our responsibility as Christians. Jesus said that we are supposed to be the light to the world. And that's why we're here today."
Please pray for this family. As I talked to Venancio later, he was as encouraged as I was. He said, "You see??? God is working in him, in his mind! He is preparing his heart." The family didn't come to Bible study, but pray that as we continue to work there, we will show them the true representation of Christ on this earth.
So we began the Bible study - the first one in this village. Along with Venancio, Abby, and me, we had four people - a lady, her 16/17 year-old daughter, her 11/12 year-old son, and the man whose house we were in. By the end of the service, three more people had joined us. We sang a few Spanish choruses (all back to back in the same key - mas o menos) and I played along on someone's old, out-of-tune guitar. Then we shared praises and things we were thankful for during this past year. After prayer, Venancio preached on Luke 13:6-9 and the parable of the fig tree. He did such a great job of explaining how we are called as Christians to bear fruit. He explained how Christ intercedes on our behalf to the Father, always wanting to give us one more chance, another opportunity. He explained how a life not spiritually cared for will not spiritually bear fruit. And from there he shared his goal for this Bible study to begin the process of discipleship. We handed out some very basic Bible study materials that we will be going through each week and assigned everyone the first chapter to read before our meeting next Tuesday or Thursday. Venancio explained the Great Commission to "make disciples" of all people and that today is the day that discipleship begins.
It was such a neat opportunity to be here at the very beginning of the growth process for these very new Christians and the start of the church body on Isla Mujeres.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Culture of Confusion
The city of Cancun itself is a mix of rich and poor, American and Mexican, healthy and hungry, tourist and native. It is a melting pot of people and cultures. In that way it is similar to many cities in the U.S. - New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit. But that same trend seems to be present in their religion. We are living and working with a non-denominational mission run by Baptist missionaries. Down our street to the east is a Presbyterian church. Across the street is a small Christian bookstore. Down our street to the west is a Baptist church. Across the street from there is a Pentecostal church. Beside the Baptist church is an Adventist church. And behind it is a large Catholic church. In town yesterday, we walked near another Catholic church and I went in. They were holding a service for the baptism of a young lady - maybe 16 or 17 - who had apparently converted to Catholicism. Catholicism here is so ingrained in this culture that many people here think to be Mexican is to be Catholic. Some Mexicans who have never set foot in a church will tell us that they are Christians. As I was standing outside the church, a woman approached me claiming to be a Jehovah's Witness and asking if I was as well. Thus, my initial perception of this area of Mexico is a culture of religious confusion.
However, there is at least one light shining brightly in this city (on our street, in fact!). Iglesia Bautista Cristo Te Ama, or Jesus Loves You Baptist Church, both knows and is preaching clearly the Word of God. This morning we visited this church of about 150 people with Ricardo and Devora, a dear couple that we are living and working with here. Pastor Martin Lemos was not afraid to speak out against the doctrinal errors being taught in the church right behind us! The message was a continuation of a series on salvation and focused today on Ephesians 2:8-10, how we are saved by faith alone and not by works of our own righteousness. The passage was preached along with James chapter 2 to show that while faith alone saves, good works prove the existence and validity of that faith. Examples were shown in Hebrews 11 of the great men and women of the faith whose good works accompanied their faith and proved it to be real. At the end of the sermon, Pastor Martin didn't simply close the service; he made the application very clear: "If you are one of those who say that you believe in Jesus, but you still go on living the same way you were before, your faith is dead. To believe in Jesus is not enough, for even the demons believe and tremble - James 2:19. Unless the faith you claim has changed the way you live, your faith is dead." I was so encouraged to hear a brother speaking the truth to his people - faithfully preaching the Word.
Other parts of the service included sharing prayer requests and praise reports, announcements, welcoming visitors (including us), singing hymns and choruses (led by the youth group), meeting and greeting the people, Bible reading and prayer. We will be back there for the evening service in about 4 hours and we're looking forward to getting to know these dear brothers and sisters better.
So as we minister, please pray that we will be able to keep doctrinal clarity in our preaching and be able to "speak the truth in love" to this very confused people.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
How Do We Discern God's Plans for Our Life? - PRAYER REQUEST
What has God shown us up to this point?
1. He has called us to serve Him for the rest of our lives on the mission field.
2. He has directed us to Mexico for a year of on-field missions training.
3. He has burdened us to reach the unreached people of the world.
My mind if often overwhelmed by the possibilities of where we could serve; the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few...........
- In a highly evangelized country like Mexico, there remain people groups who have never heard of Jesus Christ and some who do not even have a Bible in their native language.
- The religion of Islam is now the fastest growing religion in the world. On the surface, Islam often teaches principles strikingly similar to Christianity, declaring itself a religion of peace (while truly bringing peace to no one), and therefore deceiving many into thinking that Muslims and Christians serve the same God, only by different names.
- China, while being under the oppression of Communist leaders and closed to the gospel, now boasts not only the world's largest population, but is very near to surpassing the United States as the world's #1 sending country for evangelical missionaries.
- Europe continues on as one of the world's most cold and spiritually dead regions of the world, where missionaries may well spend years of faithful service before seeing a single soul won for Christ.
- The continent of Africa is rocked by the effects of AIDS, while sex-trafficking continues to increase, the number of orphans multiplies exponentially, and people starve or die of malnutrition every day.
- The Middle East is a boiling kettle of anger, hatred, and religious fanaticism ready to erupt at any moment into the devastation of its own people and the people of Israel.
Yet in the midst of these chaotic, last days of our earth, there remains great hope........
- The Wycliffe Bible Translators are on pace to have the Bible translated into every known world language by the year 2025, a mere 15 years away.
- God's sovereign election of Muslims to salvation is coming to pass by the millions. Old men are dreaming dreams and young men are seeing visions of Jesus Christ, just as the Bible prophesied would happen in "the last days".
- The underground of church of China is growing in spite of persecution with an estimated 10,000 people per day turning to Jesus.
- Institutions like Moffat Bible College in Kijabe, Kenya are training national pastors from all over Africa to take the gospel back to their different tribes who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Gospel for Asia is sending out tens of thousands of native missionaries to go into those parts of the 10/40 window which have never been reached with the message of salvation in Jesus Christ.
- Operation Mobilization is pushing forward with the Near East Initiative to reach out to Muslims and share with them the true Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- The Joshua Fund is raising money to provide finances, Bible, material resources, bomb shelters, tons of food, hospitals, medical personnel, gospel materials in Arabic and in Hebrew, in an effort to bless God's chosen people of Israel and protect them in the coming wars with neighboring countries.
So the question, then, to a young missionary couple is: Where does God want us to serve?
If this were a secular business and a mere career choice, the answer could be more simply found. We go where we could be the most comfortable. Or we go where we would most like to live. Maybe we go where we can have the greatest adventure. Or we may go where we would feel the most safe. But in this calling - this spiritual warfare - the choice is not our to make. Our commanding Officer will tell us where to go.
So what must we do to discern God's direction for our life? How does He guide us into His will?
- We must stay in close fellowship with God in order to clearly hear His voice.
- We must keep our eyes open to the opportunities the Lord brings across our path.
- We must listen to the counsel of those godly counselors God has placed in our life.
- We must follow each step that God shows us - walk through every door God opens.
Please pray for us. This is a decision that could easily be made by our emotions. This is a decision that could easily be affected by our fears. This is a decision that could determine the course of our lives. And this is a decision that could change the world!
Please pray for us!
"Find out where God is working and go and join Him there." - Henry Blackaby
Monday, December 7, 2009
Commissioning Service
- Stone #1: Divine Purpose (I Sam.17:46) - "...that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,"
- Stone #2: Divine Presence (I Sam.17:47) - "...For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand."
- Stone #3: Divine Position (I Sam.17:45) - "...I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts..."
- Stone #4: Divine Power (I Sam.17:37a) - "...The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear..."
- Stone #5: Divine Promise (I Sam.17:37b) - "...he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
A few notable quotations from the sermon:
"A fanatic is one who won't change his mind and won't change the subject."
"The true test of your character is what it takes to stop you."
"If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. So stand anyway." - John R. Rice
"You must go through the lion and the bear to get to the giant."
At the end of the service, we gathered together with the church leadership, the mission committee, and the rest of the church body to pray. We closed the service by singing together, "Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus". It was a very challenging, yet encouraging way to leave our home church for the work God is calling us into.
Thank you, Pastor Steve, for your impact on our lives!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Travel Plans
For all of you at Cornerstone, it has been an honor and a true joy to minister with you for the past 4 1/2 years. We can't wait to get back from Mexico and share with you how the Lord has been working. We hope to see many of you this next week before we leave. To everyone at Millbrook, we are looking forward to being back with you all for about 2 weeks before we leave and would also like to catch up with many of you while we are there. God bless you all and thank you for your many prayers and investment in us.
Oh, and one more thing. Some dear people in our church have been making up some prayer cards for us to give to our supporters. We will be getting those to you very shortly with information on how to stay in touch with us and how to pray specifically for us. We love you all!
- Jonathan & Abby
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Watching God Provide
Abby and I have done about everything we believe we can to wait on, pray for, and pursue the finances to get us to Mexico. We've been sitting at 45% of our full-time budget for almost a year now. So in an effort to adjust our plans and be active in trying to get to the mission field, we sat down and recalculated a smaller budget that we could be able to live on during our first year of missions training in Mexico. We called up our financial planner and missions committee chairman to get together and get their advice on our new budget. Can we go? Can we go?
I so appreciate the counsel of those two men. They strike that balance well; they walk the tightrope. We have faith that God will provide. But we also want to be wise and wait for the Lord to provide. The conclusion of our meeting - we will wait to leave until the Lord provides another $700 per month. We felt that was the right balance. It was being a good steward of our finances and also going out on faith.
I began to prepare myself for the next step. We wait. We keep praying. Maybe we could call up some people who could help. Maybe the Lord knows we're not ready to go yet. Whatever that step is, we'll do it. But as always, God showed up.
"God is never in a hurry, but He's always on time." - Unknown
Within hours of the meeting, we began hearing from people who had committed to support us, but weren't sure how much yet. One family, two families, three, people from Millbrook, people from Cornerstone - by the end of the day another $425 per month had come in. The next day another $150; as of today we are $45 away from that $700 extra per month, with one family who has committed to give the rest of whatever we lack. Bottom line, we have watched, God has provided!
Now I can only imagine what He'll do once we get to Mexico. Thank you to everyone who supports us. You are a blessing - probably more than you know.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Ministry Update
The Lord has been doing a lot in our lives this past year, so we wanted to write all of you to catch you up. Since we last wrote, Abby and I have been married and we’re now living in Morton, Illinois for a few more months before heading to the mission field. We’re both waiting tables at Cracker Barrel to keep the bills paid and save a little for our future needs and I’ve also been leading music at Cornerstone.
Our plans have been adjusting a bit as the Lord has been revealing His plans for us. We will be spending our first year on the mission field at Mexico School of Missions in the Yucatán Peninsula near Cancun. You may remember from our first letter that our initial plan was to go to Jiménez, Chihuahua, Mexico to work with our missionaries Randy & Gwen Ashcraft. Well since that time, the Lord has been leading the Ashcrafts to move on to another mission field. So we believe that the Lord would have us dedicate our first year to missions training. At the School of Missions, Abby and I will be able to further our understanding of the language, work with church groups coming from the States on missions trips, minister to children, run vacation Bible school programs, assist national pastors in local church plants, and participate in evangelism. We are so excited to have the opportunity to receive training while being on the field and immersed in the culture the Lord has called us to.
The school year there starts in mid January and goes through August. We are planning to move to Mexico this coming January and get settled in before classes begin. It has been such a blessing to watch how the Lord has provided our prayer and financial support thus far. We have about 50 percent of our full-time budget of $4000/month already committed. The Lord has always been faithful to provide for us, so we know He will continue to do so as we get closer to leaving.
After our year of training, we will be determining where the Lord would have us to move long-term for church planting. We are open to anywhere He leads and feel called to the Spanish-speaking people of the world. Whether the Lord should direct us to another area of Mexico, Central or South America, or even a region of Spain, we will follow His leading.
Please be in prayer for these two things: 1.) That the Lord will continue to bring in our monthly financial support, and 2.) That we will be sensitive to His leading for our long-term ministry. These are our greatest needs right now.
If the Lord should lead you to support us financially, please send your one-time gift or monthly support pledge to our church address below and mark your gift for “St.Clair’s Mexico Support”. If you would like to receive our e-newsletter with prayer and praise updates, please email me at jonstclair14@gmail.com and I will add your email address to our database. We look forward to sharing with you the things that the Lord is accomplishing through our lives and your prayers. Thank you to all of you who already support us and pray for us faithfully. We are grateful to God for each of you and love you dearly. ¡Que Dios les bendiga!
In His Service,
Jonathan & Abby St.Clair
Cornerstone Baptist Church
c/o Ed Hauter, Missions Committee
P.O. Box 924
Morton, IL 61550