Greetings from beautiful Colorado Springs, Colorado. While Global Infusion has been moving (literally) across the country to our new location as a base for our ministry, our work to reach the world has not stopped. This month, we are sending a team to our site in Ghana, West Africa. I am very excited about this team because they will be training 40 village Pastors, leaders, and their spouses.
If you have been following what Global Infusion has been doing over the years, you will know that this type of team is very specialized, and plays a very important role in the expansion of God’s kingdom. One phrase I always teach our teams and leaders is: “Short term strengthens the long term.” What this means is, that the focus of each one of our “missions” is to help, enhance, grow, and encourage the vision of our contacts. They are the ones who consistently live and minister among the people they are trying to both reach and disciple. We do everything in our power to further and increase their impact, both geographically and spiritually.
Our goal as a ministry is not to create a vacuum every time one of our teams leave a country. We are always happy to receive great reports about what our team members have accomplished, but it becomes counter-productive to leave a place after starting something we (or our contacts) cannot finish. Our goal is not to make people dependent on us. We must operate strategically, in such a way that the indigenous people we work with are stronger when we leave, not weaker.
Team Ghana will be facilitating an extensive conference using training materials that they have used and seen results with in their own church. They will be focusing on sharing their discipleship and evangelism strategies with men and women who reach their villages every day, but rarely have access to furthering education. The team is made up of Pastors and lay leaders who have lived and breathed what they are about to teach.
Think of it as taking the Great Commission to the Great Commission. Teaching people how to not only evangelize and disciple those who find Christ, but showing them how to continue that pattern themselves, long after the team is gone.
If we are to win this world for Jesus, we must do two things. First, rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit, and His power. Second, we have to be very intelligent in determining strategy to expand God’s kingdom if we are going to be effective as Christians. We cannot let false religions and cults influence people the way they have been doing over the past few years. Those demonic spirits need to be broken so that people can hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:13-15)
