St. Louis, MO – 9/3/2010

With the amount of information exploding via internet and other publications, sometimes people just want to have the basics at hand to help them in their walk with the Lord.

In order to serve our mission partners, we are now publishing a new series of easy to digest materials that help people go and grow.

The first installment in this series focuses on Rosh Ha Shannah, beginning on September 8th and Yom Kippur, ten days later.

We invite you to please print these and share them and forward them to your Christian friends far and wide. We are doing this as a service of our mission and do not charge for these.

Your gifts of mission support are welcome to help sustain our growing mission work.

Thank you.

Yours in Y’shua -

Steve Cohen

Click here to get the document

Click here to support the mission now

Found this on YouTube and re-posted a few times by various individuals on Facebook. Pen, along with his partner Teller, are famous for their magic and also for their opinions about religion. Here Pen is commenting on his positive feelings about a man who gently but directly witnessed to him and gave him a pocket testament after one of his performances. He comments on his opinion of the importance of witnessing as an act of love if you really believe, and contrasts it with his perception of the silence of those who believe Jesus is the only way to the Father, and yet do not witness (he uses the term proselytize)  because they are afraid of “offending” the other person.  Interesting.

Please keep Pen in your prayers that the Holy Spirit will open his heart to the truth of the scriptures.

Faith Sharing Update

“Grandmom? What happens if somebody doesn’t know that Jesus loves them?”, asked Gavin. Pastor Black had just made an important point in his message on the Sunday that we visited at St. Paul, Glen Burnie MD and Gavin heard it. God invites us to share with others. He gives us the words to speak. And sometimes, we even get a holy nudge that moves us into sharing. The words are simple: “Jesus loves me.” The message is transforming. And the messenger – that would you and me – are blessed by God to be a blessing to others.

Today, I am remembering in prayer the 556,062 faith sharing conversations that members of Southeastern District congregations and schools have reported. It is my fervent hope that as the Holy Spirit continues the work of nurturing and growing faith in these lives that they will come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

I look forward to hearing from you, please send me an email about the many ways you are sharing Jesus with others. A few of my favorite summer reports follow.

St. John’s Lutheran Church of Conover has sent out two more short-term mission teams. These teams traveled to Deering and Arctic Village, Alaska, to lead Vacation Bible School programs in these two remote, native villages. The villages they flew to are in the extreme northern parts of Alaska and are only accessible by plane. LAMP (Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots) was the co-sponsor of their trip.

St. Matthew, BelAir MD shares about Bob and Shirley who have worshipped with the congregation for the past six years. They watched the tremendous efforts of the church to help the victims of the Haiti and Chilean earthquakes and, as a result, were led to join the congregation.

Sharing a Cross, Rev. Rick Hase: While on vacation this summer in Ocean City, MD with my wife Donna we decided to go to visit the Outlets in Delaware. After shopping on this very hot day we were hungry and ready for a change of pace and so we headed to Crabby Dick’s Crab House. There at Crabby Dick’s we met Miriam, from Eastern Europe who served as our server that evening. During the course of the next two hours there was a lot of sharing once I ask about her home and her surprise that I recognized her accent. As I tried to get up she reached down and quickly helped me up showing her strength. I put my hand into my pocket pulling out my best looking Olive Wood Cross which I gave her explain that it was from the Holy Land and meant to remind her that Jesus Christ had come into this world for her and that he loved her and had died on the cross for her sin so that so might have eternal life. There was great joy in her eyes as I explained the cross to her and she said that she was a Christian and that this cross would mean a great deal to her being the highlight of her life in the United States. We then spent about 20 more minutes sharing our faith with each other before I told her about our Savior.

Mission Development Academy 4 About to Begin

Mission Development Academy begins a new season on September 11. If your congregation is interested in beginning a new ministry, taking the lead on starting a new mission, or developing a new mission outlook; then you may want to enroll in MDA. The purpose of MDA is to help a congregational team to understand the mission challenges and to develop the mission mindset needed to reach out with the Gospel. A session includes nine 3-hour Saturday morning webinars (9-noon) and a retreat. Session topics include:

· Ministry in the Emerging Culture
· Living in Vibrant Relationship with Jesus
· Focus on God’s Business
· Outreach, Evangelism, and Personal Sharing
· Local Demographics

If you are interested in learning more, contact Tina Jasion, Program Director of the Mission Development Academy.

Looking for Help in Developing a Congregational Evangelism Team?

Meet David and Deanna Allen and Marian Parker who are volunteers with The 72R–Partners-On The Road. The 72 is a ministry of LCMS World Missions, with a primary goal of equipping LCMS members for effective outreach ministry. David, Deanna, and Marian are The72 field representatives to the Southeastern District, and members of Redeemer, Fredericksburg, VA.

The 72 sends teams to partner with congregations, evangelism leaders, and staff members to accomplish specific outreach goals that have been identified by the congregation. Areas where The 72 can assist in equipping, encouraging and exciting your members include:

expressing their faith anywhere in a natural and non-confrontational manner
* discovering and using their spiritual gifts in ministry
* recognizing and reaching out to potential inactives
* beginning a small group ministry
* being outreach focused in all areas of ministry
* being able to visit neighborhoods asking for needs and prayer concerns
* reaching out to the community through “Side Door” events
* discovering ways to assimilate guests and members into the congregation
*
If you would like to find more information about this ministry, you can visit The 72′s Web site or contact Dave and Deanna directly.

Three Bible Class Resources:

Big Ways, Little Ways: 30 Ways – Big and Small – to Tell Others About Jesus

This booklet from Creative Communications for the Parish is a very friendly and a helpful tool. It begins with Jesus who died for our sins so that we may be forgiven, live in God’s love, be there for one another, and someday enjoy eternity. That’s it. That’s what we want to share with others. This little booklet has 29 suggestions for activities that one may do to share the Good News. From “wearing the Good News” to “remembering your Godchild” to “looking and listening for an opportunity”, these simple actions of faith will encourage you to share Jesus.

Mission from the Cross

If you are looking for a good Bible study for a Fall class, you might consider Mission from the Cross – Lay Reader’s Edition by Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz. This book provides a contemporary look at mission, including crucial topics such as cultural anthropology, communication styles and linguistics, strategic and ecumenical issues, and much more related to what mission is and how mission is accomplished. In speaking of mission and our involvement in mission, Dr. Schulz writes: “All Christians are involved in mission after having received the good news of their reconciliation with God through Christ. They have the desire of sharing that wonderful news with others without selfishly protecting and withholding it from people who live estranged from God. Mission is the measure of the Church’s health.” Dr. Schulz is Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Pastoral Ministry and Missions at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne IN.

Faith Talks: An Interactive Workshop for Sharing the Gospel

The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) is pleased to offer a new resource for faith sharing. Faith Talk is an interactive faith-sharing guide and outreach training program. Faith Talk leads participants through a process of recognizing personal opportunities for faith-sharing, effective listening, and celebrating the encounters which God provides. The goal of Faith Talk is that each individual will be compelled to share the Gospel, pray for and recognize opportunities to do so, and then confidently live and speak the faith.

Mission U and Lutheran Hour Ministries

Where will you find brand-new materials to strengthen your daily witness? The answer is Mission U. this new online project from Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) features a 21st century university theme with detailed curriculum, seminar-style presentations, expert speakers, in-class and on-line student interaction, and take-home study resources and practice. A course catalog of curriculum options gives congregations choices from which to tailor their own mission strategies.

Mission U originated as a joint partnership of the SED and LHM and is now taking on a new life. To learn more about Mission U, contact Sarah Guldalian or visit the website.

Final note: Tending the Flame DVDs of Reggie McNeal’s presentations are available for a donation of $5.00. Email Cathy Long if interested.

Sally Hiller
Executive Director for Congregational Outreach
Southeastern District, LCMS

Prayer Notes August 24, 2010

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ. Colossians 4: 2-3.

Dear Mission Prayer Partners,

It was only a moment but it happened – a Gospel connection. My husband and I were at Wendy’s for lunch. Once we received our meal, we bowed our heads and said out loud (not too loudly) the table prayer. We didn’t think much about it, we always give thanks before we eat. But someone else noticed it and she was moved to come to our table and mention that touched her that we would stop to say a prayer. Her eyes filled with tears and I asked her if we could pray for her. She leaned over and whispered “My husband has been dead for almost a year and I miss him.” I held her hand and in silent prayer, listed her up for strength and peace. She left thanking us for being unafraid to pray at Wendy’s.

Just a moment, an unintentional witness that touched the heart of another. It is for moments such as those that we are in constant prayer, asking God to somehow work through our imperfect witness so that another may be connected (again) with Him.

Do not grow weary, keep on praying. Our constant prayers for the sake of mission is opening doors for missionaries, new ministries, and new relationships. Keep on praying, you never know who will catch you.

During these next weeks, remember Circuit 4′s Mission Committee as they continue to work on a new African Immigrant Outreach effort in the Bowie-Crofton (MD) area. They are asking for specific prayers that the details with the hosting congregation will soon be completed, a mission developer is raised up, and that hearts will be opened as news about this new outreach is shared within the community.

Our Prayer Goals for 2010
Let us join our hearts and voices as we pray for:

Those who do not know Jesus Christ and the joy of His salvation for them.
The work of mission outreach teams, missionaries, and outreach efforts that will make a Gospel difference in our communities.
Boldness in each of our lives that we will regularly share the Good News of Jesus with others.
The continued growth in prayer partners for mission. (Our goal is 3000 pray-ers and a prayer team for each new mission.)
For 750,000 recorded faith-sharing events.
For the work and the people of the Convention of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod.

Thank you for your mission prayers, they are making an eternal difference.

Closing Headline
10:02 am Prayers for the Harvest and Workers
Don’t forget to set your cell phones alarm/alert to 10:02 a.m. and pray for the Harvest and Workers. Luke 10:2 Jesus told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”



Shalom!

Wow! What a Summer.  the Lord has provided many opportunities for
mission. I have been blogging regularly at www.aohe-dc.org but
newsletters have fallen between the cracks.  I have now caught up.  You
can read the newsletters by going to the blog and then to the
newsletters page, or by clicking on the links provided below.

May Newsletter

June Newsletter

July Newsletter

I seek your prayers, your participation, and your support.

In His name

Jerry Lucas
Mission Advocate, Apple of His Eye-DC
PO Box 351
Mount Vernon, Virginia 22121

www.aohe-dc.org
www.appleofhiseye.org
jerry@aohe-dc.org
On Twitter: @aohe_dc
On Facebook: aohe-dc

August 5, 2010

This communication is sent by Joseph B. Davis of AIM-SED to share notices and information from AIM Congregations and Ministry Partners.   There are some wonderful things happening in AIM that I would like you to be aware.

AIM UPCOMING EVENTS

1.   AIM AWARENESS MONTH- SATURDAY and SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18-19, 2010

2        Bethany AIM- Global Miracle Prayer Line -every night @ 9pm – 10pm.  Please note the new telephone #:  805-360-1000   pin. 559429 #.   You all are welcome to dial in and experience the wonderful working power of God. If you are unable to join us live on the line, there is still an opportunity to submit your prayer request(s).  Simply go to http://www.lucasjs.com/sedcongregationsablaze/?pageid=1460 and fill out the form and click submit. Thanks for your participation.

3. New Hope International Lutheran Church, 13611 Laurel-Bowie Road, Laurel, MD 20708

It is our greatest pleasure to extend to you and your entire congregation this invitation to participate in our Church anniversary this year, slated for Sunday, August 15, 2010 @ 4:00 p.m.

The THEME for this year’s anniversary is, “LORD, BUILD YOUR CHURCH!” (Matthew 16:18). And what a privilege to have Bishop Darlington Johnson, Senior Pastor, Bethel World Outreach, Silver Spring, MD, to serve as our guest speaker for this year’s celebration. Bishop Johnson is a global conference speaker who is passionate about advancing God’s mission through church planting. He brings to us a wealth of ministry experience and great insights for God’s kingdom strategy in the 21st century. There are also two special Gospel musical ministries to be featured during our Anniversary Celebration service::  The Ambassadors of Shepherd’s House, Philadelphia, PA; and Worship Minister/Pastor Elenora Mouphouet of Judah’s Generation, Baltimore, MD.

During the program, a free-will offering will be lifted and proceeds will go towards our Building Project. Please be our guest as we enjoy this wonderful moment of God’s faithfulness towards us for the past six years. Don’t forget to please put aside a gift to support our Building project. Refreshment will be served following the service, therefore please plan to stay with us a little longer.

Thanks in advance for honoring this invitation and we look forward to seeing you and the entire church family soon.

For His glory,

Minister John Stemn,
CHAIRMAN, PLANNING COMMITTEE
ATTESTED BY: Rev. J. Orlando Flahn, SENIOR PASTOR
“Bringing New Hope to the Nations”

Prayers:

1. AIM/SED-LCMS MINISTRY
2. VARIOUS AIM MINISTRIES AND PATNERS IN MINSTRY
3. LCMS-MISSOURI SYNOD
4. RELATIVES, FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
5. OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD
6. HAITI

I encourage you to please read your email regularly.  Please note that my email has changed. The new one is davis301@clear.net. Please direct all questions, concerns and announcements to davis301@clear.net

Joseph B. Davis
Secretary General AIM-SED/LCMS

Thank you all for your prayers and your support of this year’s Tending the Flame. It was a powerful, exciting, and uplifting event.

This morning at the prayer breakfast, Dr. Jonathan Blanke who teaches at the Japan Lutheran Seminary was with us to share the incredible work of this mission. Dr. Blanke is set and supported through LCMS World Mission. You can follow his story through the LCMS World Mission.

Directors of Christian Education Jennifer Hills and Barb Haar served as emcees throughout the weekend. They facilitated the Prayer Breakfast leading a time of prayer for mission both globally and locally.

The weekend was wrapped up with a celebration of the Lord’s Supper that gathered us as one family in Christ and sent us out as one District in mission. President Jon Diefenthaler was the preacher and he reminded us that “Mission is not a church project. Mission is not just a priority. It is a 24/7 way of life in which we get to be blessing people.”  He also said that for much of the people outside the church, scripted outreach is like junk mail and they won’t even open it. That is why we must be the church in the midst of life – sharing the One who life was given for the world.

There are so many people who assisted in making this event possible. Justin Gaines was the videographer who captured the event. Watch for a video summary. Andrew Kassouf and Joel Armes developed and led a wonderful teen event. Sirpa Quinn, Cathy Long, and Cindy Haupt from SED staff were ever present and helpful. Donna Lucas was put to work in a host of areas. And as people walked by and offered to help – we put them to work. Thank you all.

Nest year’s theme will address family and multi-generational mission and outreach opportunities. We look forward to welcoming Mary Manz Simon, Joel Dietrich, Victor Belton, Marilyn Sharpe, and Dien Taylor on July 29-31 in Richmond. And, lest I forget, Echelon will be back for the teen program and our very capable Child Ministry team has promised to return.  Mark the date – July 29-31, 2011.

And now, as God has blessed you, may you bless others in His name.

Sally Hiller
Tending the Flame
July 30-Aug.1
Holiday Inn Koger Center
Richmond VA

“Blessed to be a blessing.” The call of Abraham in Genesis 12 is our call today. We know the story, we live in the full confidence of the promise of Christ who has given us everything through his own sacrifice. We, who have been blessed by God, are the “blessing people.” What opportunities today will we have to bless another – to be the church to another?

This theme carried through Reggie McNeal’s presentations as well as others. Esther Johnson, a sophomore at Concordia-Nebraska and a member at Ascension, Landover Hills MD shared the story of how after she had to return to her home country of Liberia without the hope of remaining in the U.S. for college, her high school principal remembered her. And through that action, an answer to prayer, the door was opened for her to return and attend Concordia where she could be study to become a Lutheran teacher and share the Gospel message with children in her home country.

Joe Murchinson, a member of Our Savior, Laurel MD, founded Side by Side a non-profit group working with students and families in partnership with the local school. He shared the story of how the local faith community came together to be the church to a family in crisis.

The stories of being the church filled the day. Ed Reich, Messiah Charlotte NC, brought greetings from the Lutheran Laymen’s League and described the wonderful partnership LLL has with the District. Sarah Guldalian, Lutheran Hour Ministry, told of the new resources available for congregations and teens. She shared that the new Mission U, through LHM, was given birth through the SED Mission U program last year.

Conference gatherers had ample opportunity to attend workshops – more than 50 were offered. The workshops included topics such as developing a congregational prayer team, how to use demographics to understand who is living next door to the church, how to raise healthy young boys, sharing the faith, what the Bible has to say about sharing the faith, welcoming your neighbor – and the list goes on.

A special event in the Conference was the evening Festival of Mission and Music. Random Calling (St. Stephen’s music team) started this event and Echelon (a Christian music ministry who worked with the teen program) continued with music interspersed  presentations from SED missionaries. We heard about the new work being done in Baltimore, Northern Virginia, Richmond, Conover-Hickory, Bowie, and through the compassionate outreach of the Lutheran Mission Society. We were blessed with the ministry of the Liturgical Dance Team from Resurrection, Richmond VA. At the end, LCEF Vice President Steve Heemann and his assistant, Cindy Haupt, shared a bit about the partnership LCEF has with congregations and investors. And in a special drawing, Rev. Ken Fuehler became the recipient of a Kindle.

So much flooded the day – this is to give you a glimpse of what took place. I’ll send one more report – after Sunday’s prayer breakfast and worship service.

Sally Hiller
Tending the Flame
July 30-Aug.1
Holiday Inn Koger Center
Richmond VA

Bringing you greetings from Tending the Flame where more than 450 adults, children, and youth have gathered under the theme of Living Letters. Friday has been a full day with three workshop opportunities in addition to an evening mass event.

Random Calling, the music team at St. Stephen’s, Hickory NC opened the mass event with a time of music that shaped the evening. Rev. Dave Guelzow, pastor at St. Stephen’s and Chaplain for the event gathered us around the Living Letters theme of 2 Corinthians 3:1-3: “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the livingGod, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

Picking up of that phrase God has “written on our hearts,” we have a calling, both Pastor Guelzow and Reggie McNeal encouraged us be Living Letters.

Teacher Marlys-Jean Natonick (Our Savior, Rehoboth Beach and St. John’s, Dover) shared her experience of teaching a conversational English class in China and the opportunities it presented to engage students in a conversation about faith – about the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Deb Posey and Sylvia Shives brought greetings from LWML and highlighted the ways that LWML supports ministry with the District through its mites as well as through wonderful resources.

President Diefenthaler, greeting the assembly noted that we are “one District together in mission” and that we must address the challenge of being the church – being the hands and feet of Jesus so that the 75% who do not know will come to know Jesus as Lord.

Tending the Flame
July 30-Aug.1
Holiday Inn Koger Center
Richmond VA

Living Letters in Motion!

The District office is filled with the activity of preparing materials, gathering supplies, and packing boxes for this weekend’s event.

A few final notes for you:
* Registration begins at 11:00 on Friday morning.
* Dress is business casual.
* An offering will be received on Sunday morning. The ministry will be announced at the Conference.
* Workshop schedule is posted on the website. Agenda & Workshops
* A special lunch session with President Diefenthaler has been scheduled. The topic is a sharing of the actions of the LCMS Convention.

The Child Ministry Team gathered last week to prepare sessions. Laura Kmitch and Martha Spinosa return to the program. Esther Johnson, new this year is a sophomore at Concordia – Nebraska and desires to be a Lutheran educator.

Don’t forget the bookstore. LVS will once again provide wonderful resources for congregation, family, and personal use.Check out their assortment of books and gift ideas.

LCEF Booth – Be certain to check out the resources at the LCEF booth and speak with Steve about stewardship ministry.
Don’t forget to register for a spectacular door prize.

Echelon  – Fresh from the National Youth Gathering, Echelon joins the teen program to lead the music and to share their faith story.

Teens will participate in a local servant event on Saturday.

Plan to Visit the Lutheran Malaria Initiative Table

Many wonderful displays will be available for your browsing. Be certain to check out LMI.