SPEAKER_01 0:00

Well good morning again. Thank you guys so much for being here today. Um for those of you that I haven't had the chance to meet, my name is Nathan. I'm one of the pastors here at Church of the Grimmo, and I'm typically down at our Social Circle campus. Um but um the Social Circle is actually joining us this morning through our live stream so that they can hear this conversation as well. Um Pastor Musty's actually on vacation this week, and so uh he is not here. So if you do not like me or this conversation, come back next week and um it may be better. Um but this is um a really a great treat for me this morning to have my friends Bobby and Man Bullard here with us. Um I first met them um, I guess a little over a year ago. Um we had an extended conversation at Journeys End of all places, and uh we were able to just uh connect on just a heart level almost immediately, and just their passion and love for the Lord, um, but then their really heart for the world as well to see uh people come to know Jesus is really remarkable, and I'm hoping that comes through in our conversation uh this morning. And so um I I want to I know uh we have already prayed this morning, but I would love for us just to pray before we kind of jump into this conversation again. Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, we're so thankful for who you are, and Lord, even just the opportunity we have to gather and to sit in a room like this this morning is just a gift. And uh Lord, we do not take lightly, um, Lord, just opening up your word and talking about what you're doing around the world. Um so Lord, help us to honor you. Help us, as we sang just a moment ago, Lord, help us to give you all the glory and honor for what you're doing. And Lord, we pray, uh, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would just come and be in our midst. Uh, Lord, that he would open up our ears and our minds to be able to hear from you. And Lord, that you would give us ears to hear, but then also hearts to obey whatever it is you're calling us to do. Um, and so, Lord Jesus, would you move mightily in our midst this morning as we look to you? And it's in your name we pray. In the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, I want to uh introduce you guys to Bobby and Nan Bullard, and uh, as I said, good friends of ours now. And uh tell us a little bit about just how you guys got connected, who you are, where you got connected, how Pym started, all that kind of stuff.

unknown 2:20

All right.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Um, the ministry, as you it's great to have the intro because it took care of a lot of the base information, but I'll kind of add to that that the we were asked several times uh to take over the ministry as the Tom and Lucy were getting older, and and we didn't feel called. And the the scripture that talks about your Jerusalem and then your Judea and then your Samaria and to the ends of the earth was what Jesus proclaimed for us to do in Acts 1.8 when we receive the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. And so that area was of Jerusalem was very focused because we have five kids and they all are they love the Lord, and I'm very thankful that God had us focus for a long time on our Jerusalem because the Lord is really using them now, and they are a big part of partners in ministry as well, as they are so the and then the Judea, which is the area around us, and then there's the Samaria, which is the you know, the Jews had a real problem with Samaritans, but Jesus is saying, go to those people, those are the people I love, and and so God is calling all of us in our American culture now to go to those that are all around us in our local area and extended. But with partners in ministry, eight years ago, we were called to go to the out to the unreached and uncontacted people groups, and we just kept getting connected with them through an organization called Renew World Outreach. You might have seen videos of people seeing the Jesus film in the middle of the jungle or India in this video, and they asked me to be on their board right about the time that I asked them to be on our board. Uh, and and what that did is it connected us to missionaries that were going to areas where the gospel had not even been heard one time. And so when we saw the impact, and also saw we used the word EROI, which is eternal return on investment, just the amount of money it took to support those missionaries was just a very little bit of money, but the fruit was just incredible. Um, I don't I don't know if those numbers are gonna come up, but it is just last year alone, we're now it's no longer five hubs, now it's 16 hubs. And to be able to see the areas where they're reaching and the things that they're doing, it's just mind-boggling for us. We're just a you know, I'm a land planner and Nan's.

SPEAKER_03 5:14

I'm a retired teacher.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Yeah. And and so that God has called us to this at this time in our life and to be able to make that impact is just it's just been beyond our belief as to what's happening. But as I said, there you by the year 2033, the Bible is going to be translated into every known language. That's what all the the groups of the biblical groups together are trying to make that happen. And our goal is joining with churches like this church to see that happen so that there's enough fun to send these indigenous people out to their unreached groups. So you want to add to that?

SPEAKER_03 5:58

Yeah, I just wanted to say, as far as um the niche that we feel like the Lord has given us, there are a lot of organizations that cover buildings for missionaries and training schools, or uh they send the equipment from Renew. Um, but we were in we were in a car with some of our missionary friends several years ago, and I was in the backseat with um the wife, and I was just saying, um, Olivia, what is it that y'all really need? You know, what is it that you it is is always lacking for you guys as missionaries? And she said, Well, honestly, we have to I have to stop doing the work God's called me to do, go back over into the United States and work for a while so we have enough just to support our family. And that really hit home for us, and so as the Lord has shifted our focus even from Western missionaries overseas, of course, there's always a Western connection, but sometimes by the time we get to a hub, they have been discipling people for decades, and there's just a huge training school there, and but they they get to a point where like, oh gosh, we don't have enough money to send these guys out. We can send them out for a short time, but then they've got to come back to the city and work and so they can go back out again. So it's kind of this back and forth thing. And we thought, wow, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could get behind these indigenous peoples? And whereas it takes thousands of dollars to send a Western missionary overseas, we realize that if we're paying for the needs of these indigenous missionaries, they don't have the same comfort level we have for one thing, or expenses that we have. But some of them need, like I think on the video he mentioned, money for gas for their boats so they can go up the you know the Amazon River to these villages that take days and days and days to get to, and they don't have to come back um quicker than they need to. They can really be led by the Spirit and stay and move on, even walk, you know, into the jungle and know that their families are taken care of. And so that's that's really our purpose and why the Lord um has kind of called us to that. That's a long that's great.

SPEAKER_01 8:18

That's great. I love it. And I I was as you were talking too, uh, I was thinking, I didn't introduce my wife, by the way. This is my wife Caitlin. Um I figured I needed to do that. She might get in trouble later on, so I'll I'll go ahead and introduce her too. So she's gonna help uh talk through this as well. Um so you mentioned, Bobby, I think you mentioned about hubs. Um give me an example, I mean, like I think when we had lunch last year, it was 13 hubs, right? And now it's 16, so we've added a few. So what is a hub? Like, what are what is the purpose behind those?

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Well, uh Thursday night uh we we have we have a prayer call and it's every other month. One month it's the because of the time zones, it's more the Asia, Far East, and and Americas. And then the other time it's the Middle East and Africa. And uh Nathan happened to be on there, and for the first time, our latest hub, which was in Nepal, the missionary showed up. So I was like, there he is, because we have a meeting coming up. We had we have other team members that help us, so they we saw their applications, we met with them. Um but what that individual is doing is it's a small one, but he has trained four Nepalis to go out to the villages around his training school, and so we support not him and his wife, but we support those four people so that they can go out. And then he they send back the information of what happens and how much money they sent them. We right now have two of the hubs are right at the 50 limit. We want to maximize 50 missionaries. The one in India is in Karnataka, which is the place where there's the largest concentration of unreached people groups in the world. And if you know about India lately, they've just had a no conversion law. And so we if we go there as we experienced a few months ago. A few months ago. A few months ago. I I I made the mistake of giving the Indian immigration guy my phone because it had my permit on it, and he leaves for 20 minutes and comes back and says, You go home.

SPEAKER_03 10:40

He figured out who we were.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

And so then the Western missionary is not going to get into those areas. And so, but in Karnataka, if you look at the state of Karnataka, it first of all, it's one of the no conversion law areas. If you try to convert a Hindu, they will put you in prison up to three in some areas and up to 10 years in some areas. So it's a very, very strict um situation. But our missionaries are there and they are scattered throughout Karnataka. We have 50 there. The other hub where we have have 50 is in Africa, and it's in the area of Issiola, which is right between the very radical in Kenya. Well, they have Kenya, uh, Nigeria, and Uganda. And y'all have heard about Nigeria lately. It's been they've been just killing the Christians. And but the the Christians that we have there, it's their goal to bring those Muslims to Jesus. And same thing in Karnataka, it's their goal to bring those Hindus to Jesus. And of the 50 missionaries that we have in Karnataka, 47 of them are from Hindu background. And that is a big no-no in Hinduism, but they are Christians now and they are reaching their villages, and it is just I just cannot tell you how exciting it is to see the Word of God, the name of Jesus, to be proclaimed in these areas, and just to be able to see meet these people. And I'm convinced when we're when we get to heaven, we'll be surprised who who gets the rewards. Because it just looking at these people, they have nothing but they have so much joy. The idea and the ability to reach the unreached people in their area, they are just beyond thrilled at the idea. And for us to be able to connect to them and for Church of the Grove to be able to connect with us is just it, we are just so deeply, deeply honored for what y'all are doing. And the the money that the church is giving, I can just tell you, the money that goes out has a incredible return on investment. So that's kind of a long description of a hundred.

SPEAKER_03 13:04

Yeah. First of all, I want to say thank you for having us here. I don't think we we we said that. Um it's an honor to be in worship with you. And I think I was mentioned to Caitlin uh this morning, we get the opportunity because of these visiting these various hubs in different parts of the world, to hear our brothers and sisters in Christ worshiping. And the the worship may sound different. Sometimes it's a little chaotic or it are different because they don't have beat or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_01 13:32

And then other places listen, we have a hard time clapping on beat if that's well.

SPEAKER_00 13:39

Oh, and there are some, especially in Africa.

SPEAKER_03 13:42

Oh, they're amazing.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Yeah, they're really good.

SPEAKER_03 13:44

Yeah, but I would say it is the same spirit, it is the same joy of connecting with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, uh, worshiping the Father. And and we felt that here this morning, and I just want to say thank you for just being connected with the Lord like you are and having the same heart. I feel the same spirit here. But I just I wanted to say about um maybe vetting the hubs might be a good time to talk about that a little bit. It takes a while to vet these hubs because when you're going into a a training school, first of all, uh we're hoping they've been doing 2 Timothy 2.2 for a while. You know, they've passed on what they've learned to reliable men who are then training others, but it takes a while to kind of sift through that and figure out are they really preaching the gospel or is it some weird thing, syncretistic? Sometimes you'd be surprised overseas, sometimes they're because they're afraid of persecution, they introduce the syncretistic theology that's just not good. Can you explain that for those who have not been the Bible fellow? What's that?

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Just a syncretism.

SPEAKER_03 14:59

Oh, yeah, yeah. That means like a Hindu, if they're trying to convert a Hindu, they there I have no problem, we have no problem with contextualization. When you're in a new area, you're a foreigner, you try to dress like they are. Paul talks about that, you know, when you're in Rome because Roman. He doesn't he doesn't mean that you compromise the truth of the gospel. But here's an example in some Muslim areas, because they're afraid of persecution, there are Christians who think they're doing a good thing by kind of combining things in the Quran with the Bible, and they don't even talk about the Trinity in any way. There's no reference to father-son relationship, and I'm sorry, but that's just where we're gonna draw a line in the sand. We're not gonna change the word of God. So a lot of times if we kind of get a sense that something is off, we have to go much deeper and really look at the curriculum they're using. And um, and we do that anyway, but I'm just saying microscopically and get into it. And then a lot of times we're as we're uh delving into um you know what they're teaching, you just become very humbled because you think, who am I? This is a work of the Holy Spirit, and it's obvious that the word of God is and the truth is being preached here. And I'm like, Lord, you've put me in a very um you know, important place for us to to to be. It's it's a not important place. That sounds pretentious, I don't mean that. We feel the weight of the responsibility, I guess that's the way to say it. Because when you're a pastor, you know what you say from the pulpit matters to the Lord. What we're okaying, we have a responsibility to make sure we're funding the word of God going forth and so that people are hearing the truth correctly. And so that takes time. And so sometimes I'm kind of amazed that we've gone from five to sixteen in the time we have, but that has been over time and being in places where we really vet carefully. Does that make sense? Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Well, and I think that there's I mean, you're right, it is such a weighty thing that when you teach the word of God, um, you're spiritually responsible for for what other people are hearing. And so just to hear that um is is really beautiful, just that you're making sure that the word that those close-handed issues are stay there and um that you're standing on on truth. That's beautiful. Well, and I um I think a lot of times we can get kind of wrapped up in the of course we want to know all the information about what you guys do, but Nan, especially um, I just feel like what connected us the first time that we met was just the tenderness of your heart toward toward people and the way that you um are so passionate about people hearing about Jesus and coming to know him. And so um we we connected on that, but I I would love to kind of shift and and talk about like more than what you want us to know about who we're partnering with with him. Like, what do you want our church today to feel about um the work that's going on across the world with partners in ministry? I know that's not not a light one for sure, but I mean, you know, I think a lot of times, you know, as a teacher, we think, you know, we tell people they absorb so much, but I think when when people can experience from us um something, then that hits a little bit deeper and stays. And so is there something that you would want our church to feel or to experience?

SPEAKER_03 18:35

I think I think what I'm you know, obviously we'll share this in more detail, but because of life uh experiences here lately, we already felt this urgency that time is running down. Uh you can see it in our society, you can see it across the world, that you know, there's birth pains. Uh there's there's a lot of um the evil is darker. Um but glory to God, there are people, there are diamonds that are out there that the Lord is revealing to us. And I'm talking about people who are doing the work of the kingdom and they're doing it well, and they have passion, and they are like I said, I I remember talking to this lady who had been um confiance, is who I'm talking about, who is now serving in the DR Congo, which you know Ebola is they're having problems with that now, but she's ministering in the prisons and has how many how many churches in the thousands. Thousands now of small groups, and you know, these are listening groups, so they're listening to the Bible, they're oral learners, they don't have the word of God. But there's this, if you look at this graph of translation of the Bible over time, it's taken, it used to take decades for the Bible to be translated because you had to, a Western missionary had to go, they had to learn the language, they had to phonetically put it into um writing, then they had to teach the people how to read it, then they had to figure out how to print it. So all of that took a long time. Now, because of the phones we have, because of the technology we have, if you look at a graph, translation is like this, and then suddenly in the last three or five years, it's going up like that. So, this reality of 2033, the Bible being translated, translation is now oral for most of these tribes that we're reaching. And so it's happening very quickly, and when the word of God gets in the hands of someone and they hear it for the first time in their language, their heart language, they realize this isn't the Western missionaries uh story, but this is my story. Jesus died for me personally because it's in my language and I understand it. A lot of them have a second language that they've learned, but when they hear it in their heart language, it's incredible. And we've had the opportunity to see just somebody listening to the truth for the first time and tears, you know, just fall down. You go, yes, this is what it's about. But time is short, and we have a very short time, and so we just feel this urgency to do the work um that the Lord's called us to do because we know that you know we could be gone tomorrow or in a week. Um Jesus could break open the sky tomorrow or today. And we have a lot that a lot of people that still haven't heard the word, but there is a scripture Matthew 24 14. Yeah, I got it. We got it.

SPEAKER_01 21:56

Yeah, 24 14 says uh this good news of the kingdom. Will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

SPEAKER_03 22:07

So I guess our our heart is we're re we're trying to reach as many people with the gospel, but it also is important that we're doing it in our Jerusalem. And that's one thing I really connected with you over was that your heart for the lost right here in your city, in your community, is there, and and uh that's definitely my heart too. I want to be Miss Land when I grow up.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

That's my goal. I said I want to be you when I grow up. Um yeah, I think and I think something that's really beautiful um that that maybe is an encouragement and challenge to us. I mean, really hubs and everything that you guys are doing through partners in ministry, it's it's about um deep investment and then multiplication. Um and so, like what is there something from kind of that model that you would use to encourage um, like you were saying, us here um in our own Jerusalem Samaria? I mean, what is um maybe something that you've seen some fruit from that model that has been maybe a story or two that has been um, like you said, more fruit for the return on the investment that would encourage us to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 23:19

I don't think I finished that story. I kind of went, woo, there. But anyway, she we we were basically uh vetting her, right? And I said, I I just really want to understand. She spent two years after she she was a witch doctor, mean lady, beat men uh regularly. She was scared, feared in her community because she had spiritual power too. She was uh calling on the spirits of darkness to um to curse people, and it was just awful. So when she came to the Lord, it was like a Paul conversion. She was just turned one, you know, 360, not 360, 180. I'll get it right. Sorry. Uh and and um and so then they uh trained her for two years in what's called the T for T, which is um I think it's training for trainers, yeah. And um and so I just wanted to go through that because I I with her and see what she was doing and how she was implementing it. And in the middle of that, we did it like via Zoom that time, because we already knew we'd already vetted the hub leader. This was his first person that he trusted to send out and and wanted us to get behind and support. And uh what was our feeling, Bobby, after that conversation?

SPEAKER_00 24:41

Well, we got off the phone and I went, Who are we to vet her and just to see what she was doing and the team behind her and how uh you know the people that are coming alongside her, and and the neat thing is the leadership of your churches got to meet Don uh Don Ludmore Don Lovemore Foster, who's the hub. And so they got to meet him in person when he was here. He tried to come now, but Ebola has gone crazy over there. And uh, but it it was it's just over and over, like when when we were in uh last time we were in Zambia, and we were supposed to meet this missionary, and and you hear things like this guy has started 18 churches, uh his name was Kelvin, and he was one of the five missionaries that we were vetting at the time. Yeah, they call him madman. And we got to meet this guy, he's just just flowing with the love of Jesus. I mean, just overwhelmed. And since he became uh a Christian, he's just like a Paul. He's gonna bring as many people to Jesus as he can. And before we had even gotten back, he had already started four more churches. And uh when we went to one of the revivals that when we were there, we ended up sleeping in a tent out in the middle of the jungle in Zambia. And uh, it was just one of the most glorious experiences. All these people were just uh they had recently encountered a relationship with Jesus, and their lives were completely 110% turned around. And just to be able to see that, experience that, and somehow give it to you guys to just get to see what you're doing and what is happening. And we believe that that the Lord has called us and we call more people to partner, that there are so many more coming through anew, and there's so many more. Each of the we we hadn't met with our team on Tuesday, and we've got a full slate of more missionaries. We're up to 260 right now, but they there's they're vetted, they're being in the process of being vetted, and it's just it what the Lord is doing is astounding.

SPEAKER_03 27:05

Yeah, I wanted to come back to your question. As far as um, you know, for me, my my my life first is in him I live and move and have my being. And what that means for me is I want to walk in the spirit when I'm in the grocery store, when I'm in the classroom, when I was teaching, wherever I am, I want to invite the Holy Spirit. He's in me, so when I walk into a place, I'm bringing the Holy Spirit there. That's good. So I'm not on the defensive ever, I'm on the offensive, but I have a choice of whether to be connected that way. And I'll be honest, there are days when I'm I'm just distracted and I don't think, and then the Holy Spirit reminds me, hey, I'm a part of this, you know, I'm here with you. Um, but I would say that when you practice that day in and day out, you begin to be in line with what the Holy Spirit is doing, and then he'll start highlighting people. Hey, that person needs a word from of encouragement. That person needs prayer over there. Go and be in it, and it takes some courage to do that because you kind of look foolish sometimes. But you start operating that way, and then who before you know it, you have someone that you can meet with for coffee on a regular basis, and you can start sharing the word with this person and finding out where they are with Jesus. They may already have a relationship, and what God's trying to do is do the iron-sharpened iron thing where you're both mutually sharing your life story and your experience in the Word of God. Um but how that can, if you're really listening, I think He'll also invite you into small group study. And who knows if there's a point where then you can encourage those people to start another group. And basically what you have is discipleship that's going generationally from not necessarily older to younger, but just spreading, multiplication, like you were saying. So that that would be what I would encourage. I guess that answers your question.

SPEAKER_01 29:21

Yeah, that's really good. Um I think you know, Bobby, you quoted this verse at the beginning, but you know, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you'll be my witnesses there it is in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth. And like you guys talking about the the you know, the pastor that's going, hey, I started four churches today, um, you know, in the middle of you know the brush somewhere else or in the bush somewhere else. Like I think sometimes, especially here in America, like we can we can overcomplicate things that aren't meant to be overcomplicated. And just the simplicity of this verse that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and y'all are seeing this firsthand all around the world. Um, and so what like what's maybe a challenge for our church? I want to come back and I want to talk about renew for a second, but like what's a challenge for like our people? And you kind of started to allude to that a little bit just a second ago with your answer, but like for us to walk in that power and like how can we join in on the mission um that God has for us?

SPEAKER_00 30:26

There's a I I guess when you said that a song came to mind. Was you know, when you're talking about theology and Christian theology, the the idea that God is omnipresent, he's everywhere all the time. And there's a song that says, Lord, let us be aware of your presence. And and so when you're aware that when you're going out, you're not just going to journeys in. There are people right there that need to experience Jesus. And there, you know, there is no other name given to men by which we must be saved. And there are so many people who haven't heard, and there's so many people who who are just dying or thirsting for just to hear, and for us to begin to come, and it does, it takes you out of your comfort zone. When we travel, we have these little books. There's a little book that's a condensed version of the four gospels, and it's just such a powerful little book, it's made out of leather, but we we give those things out constantly, and we give them out here too. But it's just amazing what stepping outside of your comfort zone and and and sharing with someone what a difference it makes. And so I would just encourage, you know, the Lord is is always primarily concerned about you and your relationship with him and that you love him. It says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. What he's primarily interested in is that you develop a love relationship with him as your creator. But then right after that, he just after that is love your neighbor as yourself. And your neighbor is your spouse, your kids, your family, the person in Journeys In, everywhere you go, the gas station, and just to be aware of his presence and aware of what he has for you to do.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

That's good. And speaking of some of y'all's really good friends, y'all mentioned Renew Ministries. Um, me and Caitlin were fortunate enough, I guess, to go to the gala, was it two years ago, maybe? And we got to tour around their offices. And I don't think probably no one in this room probably even knows what renew ministries is because I didn't know what they were before I showed up. Um, but talk about people that are being empowered by the Holy Spirit that are doing incredible things for the kingdom in very unique ways. Share just a little bit about Renew and y'all's partnership and what they do, if y'all would.

unknown 33:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

Yeah. Um, years ago they asked me to be on the board, and it was one of the biggest honors of my life. And what is happening in the body of Christ now that you may not be aware of, is that different groups all over the world are coming together under this idea of the Bible going out in every language. So, what this right here in Stone Mountain, there's a place called Renew World Outreach, and it's a group of mostly um young, mostly young people. There's some Georgia Tech graduates, a lot of it further than there.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

Well, they could be making a whole lot more money probably somewhere else, but they're giving their gifts to the Lord. And uh it's incredible what they're doing. They're staying kind of ahead of the curve, aren't they?

SPEAKER_00 33:52

As far as Yeah, they have invented devices that are I mean, they're solar-powered projectors that go out in the middle of the jungle. They are tiny, but you could show for 500 to 2,000 people they have this thing called a light stream. If I turned it on right here, everyone in this room would be able to look at it like it's the like it is a Wi-Fi. But what it is is a local Wi-Fi. And you you click on it, oh, there's Wi-Fi. You click on it, and it has the Jesus film and all kinds of materials in the indigenous language of where they are. And then there's the solar-powered audio Bibles, which are being produced in in thousands to go all over the world. Every time we go visit, we bring these things. Sometimes we have a little trouble with them. Uh the governments don't particularly like us bringing it up.

SPEAKER_03 34:43

I'm really glad India officials didn't find what was in our suitcases because we might get to jail.

SPEAKER_00 34:49

But we got kicked out and we went over into Thailand, and by the time we got to Bangkok, there was already a guy there ready to pick it up and bring it into India. So it got in there.

SPEAKER_03 34:59

It got we were supposed to.

SPEAKER_00 35:00

So, but but back to Renew is that it in the world, the the largest groups like the IMB in touch uh in touch ministries, um, all a crew, all these ministries are coming together to use this technology to reach these unreached people groups. And the impact is is mind-boggling. The millions of people that are now able to, they've never seen a movie in their life. The first thing they see is the Jesus film. And there's been uh uh we were sitting at the the the briefing, and he said the guy sitting next to me, he said, Yeah, I was sitting there, and all of a sudden the tribal guy saw the Pharisees coming to arrest Jesus, and they took the spear and jammed it through through the screen because they thought it was real. That they'd never seen a film in their life.

SPEAKER_03 35:56

And it really gives them context of what a who a Pharisee is. You know, he may not understand it fully, but they know he's the bad guy. And and so then you you can give them word the word of God in their language, and suddenly they've got context because they've seen it on the Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:12

We sat there, it it was it was in near Issiola, this tribe, uh a subsection of the Messai tribe, uh, and and this guy comes up and and he starts saying, Do you realize that this Bible says that not a sparrow falls to the ground without God knowing that? And and that God cares for us more than every sparrow that falls. And the guy leans over to me and says, That was the town drunk a week ago.

SPEAKER_03 36:43

And he's come to Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

And he's come to Jesus being so excited about the word of God. The word of God makes an incredible difference in these places. When they start listening to it, they are uh like we were with an Irani and our our 15th hub was in Iran, and and they were just saying that the when they start hearing it in their in their native Farsi language and they start getting the word of God, uh the guys that were at the conference we were at last week, they said, I had, I had, uh, was she memorized, Matthew? The whole the it is the word of God is so precious to them. And so renew being able to provide it and provide the the other tools and how the whole body of Christ is coming together. Because John 17, John 17, it says, Is it 20? Jesus said, or God, or Jesus said, Father, I pray that they will be one as we are one. And he says it four times in the same scripture. And at the end, he says, so that all men will be brought to me. And so, and Nathan can probably quote it exact, but it it is the concept that Jesus said it, he he's saying it to the Father, but he's really saying it to everybody to understand, hey, get together, unify, and reach my people together. And then all men will come to me. There's something about unifying that shifts in the in the in the atmosphere, in the spiritual atmosphere, when the body of Christ comes together, amazing things happen.

SPEAKER_03 38:22

Yeah, and we've really seen since we've been with partners, even publishing houses that used to be very protective of their Bibles and their versions or whatever, they're opening and just sharing that in ways that have never so all of these different groups are coming together for such a time as this, and I think that's part of the urgency everybody's feeling. But you guys are a part of that, and we want to encourage you that your prayers avail much, and that is a way that you as a church body can support the missionaries that are out there that we're supporting. Um, you know, we we usually publish once a year a um a list, or well, we have an impact report if you'd like to. There are some out on the table, I think, is where they are. And um, but if someone wants names, you can, you know, you can call us and we can give you some names specifically to pray for. I can't pronounce most of them myself, but uh the Lord knows. And um, so we just want to encourage you to do that. You can be a part of the prayer calls that are the first uh Thursday of every month. Um one time it's at 12:30 noon or 12:30 middle of the day, so that um we can reach uh or we can listen to which group is that? That's the African.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

And there are also other opportunities, and I'd mention this to Nathan and Caitlin that some of our hubs do have areas where the young people can come and they can work there, they can see missions, they can actually try to build a house if you want, the small house. They can go out to the city. There's connections that we have with these 16 hubs to get your church tangibly involved in the ministries. If that's, you know, if you guys want to, and of course, we're not gonna send you to some of the areas. Yeah, we'll be careful not to the safer areas.

unknown 40:23

Yeah, not to a dangerous place.

SPEAKER_01 40:25

Um they mentioned that we had a leadership meeting and they were a part of that uh couple, I mean, I guess it was last year, end of last year, and um uh Don was there, and um one thing that was remarkable to me is that he was saying in that meeting, he said, I'm playing uh for a million salvations through his ministry and his influence over his lifetime, um which just is mind-boggling to think of a number like that. Um I I don't even know if y'all have records on this, but I mean, do y'all have any ballpark idea of how many people have come to know the Lord through the Partners in Ministry missionaries? That number is probably exceedingly high.

SPEAKER_03 41:06

We I guess that's uh not really something we focused on, but then someone encouraged us, you know, to do a yearly kind of impact report so you know everybody can see what is happening because it's an encouragement to see what's going on.

SPEAKER_00 41:20

Yeah, la last year there or the year before there were over 400,000 presentations of the gospel in the and these are in the unreached people groups, and there were over 40,000 people that came to the Lord. Last year it was really similar. The impact report is in the lobby.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

Yeah, I wish I I'm not real good with remembering numbers. But you know, I I think you know the Lord knows, and and I I just know that probably there's no way to count. I think those are probably conservative numbers because there's just really no with the way it's multiplying, there's really no way to get all those numbers.

SPEAKER_01 41:58

Yeah, that's great. Um well one of the things um that uh you guys had um you know, which kind of illustrates the point about the idea of no one knows the the time, our time is short here on earth. Um Bobby and Nan had a um grandson um who tragically passed away uh when was that in December or December 29th. December, yeah. Um do y'all want to share just a little bit about that and what that looks like now?

SPEAKER_00 42:31

Yeah, um it was it was interesting. I was talking to somebody last night who came to visit, and uh and I was feeling like on Christmas uh we had our family time together, and I don't know why, but I really felt led that the that the Lord was just needed to share with the family that he's near to the brokenhearted. And so just that idea of being near to God just because your heart was broken, just was and again, we have a lot of tragedies with with the missionaries. It's it's it's tough. I mean, we we had um in in the area of Manipur, hundreds of them were killed and they're murdered for their for just for simply being a Christian in that area. But about a few days later, Elijah was just having the every five-year-old at Christmas time is playing with their toys. Elijah's their grandson. Elijah's Elijah's grandson, yeah. Not Elijah, the Bible. But uh he he was just having the greatest, you know, just the greatest Christmas. And he he was a sweet boy that just loved Jesus at a five year old age. And it was just it was stunning to us and so encouraging to us as a parent, as grandparents.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Well even uh I guess it was at Thanksgiving. You know, he'd received Jesus at at Easter before. But we were having a family worship time, and you could just tell he was being moved by the Holy Spirit. And after we finished, and I think we were moving on to have our meal together, he just stood up on the ottoman and said, Hey guys, and you could just tell, I have something to say. He was just so full, and he just said, I love you guys. But you know, it's that love that's so pure, and and and to lose that in such a tra it I'll go ahead and say it. He just the Sunday before he died, he had a uh a um Tool and Liv's node that was huge, and you know, he's busy being a five-year-old. He probably had a sore throat and really didn't tell anybody, but um they took him into the urgent care and they said, Well, we can't wait on, we're not gonna wait, we're closing around and wait on the strep test, but here's the medication, get it filled in the morning. Well, in the middle of the night, he became very, very ill and was throwing up. And by the time they got him to the emergency room, we're pretty sure he was septic at that time and in a lot of pain. And um, you know, things sometimes just don't move very quickly in the ER, but they tried to resuscitate him four or five times, finally air flighted him to uh chowa, and he died when he was there. And, you know, that just doesn't happen. We thought, oh, he's gonna go to the hospital and get you know fluids and he's gonna be okay, but we realized as the day was passing that um he wasn't gonna make it. We even prayed in the at Choa, several of us, even some friends, came and we asked the Lord to raise him from the dead, and um we prayed in faith. We know we serve an awesome God, but the answer was no, and we all felt like it was just his time to go. We found out later that he was born on 451 and he died on 451. And we're like, wow. And somebody had the thought to look at the scriptures. There's only one verse in the Bible, and it's um John 451, and it's the story There's only one verse.

SPEAKER_00 46:25

There's only one 451.

SPEAKER_03 46:28

Chapter 451 in the Bible, and that's John 451, which is the story of the official whose son is sick, and he comes to Jesus and asks him to heal him. And he's amazed at this man's faith. And he says, Go home, your son is healed. And he's heading back to his house, and the servant comes and says, Your son is alive. And he asks him what time, and he's and he realized it was the time that Jesus spoke. Well, two things there. The Lord showed us through that time is important. The Lord has ordered a day for us to be born and a day to die. We don't know when that time is, and we need to make the most of it. And then number two is we already knew he was in heaven, but for my daughter and my son-in-law, and for us, he's alive was huge for us. But it has made it very clear, God's made it very clear to us that uh we're on a mission and we're gonna keep pushing forward while we have the time that we have here on earth.

SPEAKER_00 47:40

Yeah, one of the things I some of you may know Vicki Schlinder, she is with the social circle, and the day after she was just stunned. They're very, very close friends of ours. And she said that God felt like God told her that she just needed to go spend more time in the prison ministry. So she did. She spent like five extra hours each day, and then out of that there were at least two people that came to Jesus because she spent the extra time.

SPEAKER_02 48:12

You know, um, I just was thinking about this like talking about I've gotten to go with Miss Vicky um every Wednesday since May to the to the to yeah, we haven't talked about this yet. Um but to to do ministry with the ladies in the jail from Walt County. And um there's a precious lady a few years younger than me, um, who was in and out of jail multiple times. And Miss Vicky shared Jesus with her, and it was Laura, and she came to know Jesus. Um she was said to come be baptized at church on Mother's Day. And she um she died ten days after she um was released from jail because there were just things that were um demons that still but but I say that to say that like there is abundant fruit um from this story of emergency that came from Elijah's life and death. That um I want I mean she came to know Jesus and Vicky believes that she is in heaven with Jesus because she knew him before she she died. And so um, I just think that it that's such a beautiful picture of the way that the Lord redeems even the most broken things.

SPEAKER_03 49:41

That is so be so beautiful, and we've heard story after story and um had opportunities to uh to share and um and comfort because uh the we we know that we stand on a rock who is Jesus, and when the wind and the waves come, we can still stand. We may not have every answer, you may not have the answer to the things that you're struggling with, but he's there, and we have felt in the middle of some of the worst pain I've ever felt, we have felt the presence of the Lord so close, and that scripture that the Lord gave Bobby was just for us, and we didn't have any idea uh in what way it would be, but I just wanted to say he's there with you in the midst of whatever you're going through. He's still a good God, and we can trust him. Yeah, and we're gonna have the answers one day. But that's okay.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Thank you guys for sharing that. And I I think the there's I think a few takeaways. I feel like maybe the Holy Spirit's just kind of bringing to light this morning. Uh, first, I think is just the the urgency piece of this. Um, one, if you are unsure maybe about where you stand with the Lord, um, man, we would love to have a conversation with you. Uh, we'd love to walk you through that and um and show you the way of Jesus. Um, and so that's maybe a step for some people in here. I think for uh some, maybe you're walking through hard and difficult seasons. I know some of your stories, and I know some of the uh people in the room, you are brokenhearted this morning, and you feel maybe alone, you feel like the Lord's maybe abandoned you. And let this story be a story of comfort that the Lord uses our brokenness to accomplish greater things. Um, and so maybe that's just a word that you needed to hear this morning. And then um, I think for all of us in the room, um, I think there's a sense of urgency of the mission that the Lord is calling us on. Um, the whole reason we started Church of the Grove was to reach people far from God and to lead them to become followers of Jesus. And that's not just here in Walton County, but this is uh all around the world. We want to be a church that is geared towards spreading the good news of Jesus and having people walk in the abundant life that He alone offers. And so you can join in on that mission. Um, whether that's praying or giving or going, um, there's something for all of us to do. And sometimes that means we go overseas and we do trips like Bobby and Nan are talking about, but sometimes it's it's just knocking on our next door's neighbor, next door neighbor's door and uh just talking to them or inviting them over for dinner or just being the light of Jesus in your daily uh interactions. And so there's a step I think for all of us to take this morning. And so I'm gonna pray for us, but I want to pray also for Bobby and Nan and for partners in ministry, and then we'll kind of respond to whatever the Lord uh has for you this morning. Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for uh Bobby and Nan. Lord, I thank you so much for just their hearts for you. Uh Lord, I thank you for just the way that they love you. It's so evident and clear, Lord, that they have hearts that are just uh tender and humble towards you. And Lord, we just thank you uh for the gift it is for them to be with us here this morning and just how you're using them. Um, Lord, it just shows us um, I mean, Bobby and Ann are impressive people, but Lord, you're more impressive God and just how you use just uh our simple yeses. And uh, Lord, we thank you for the impact that Partners in Ministry and Renew is having all around the world and seeing hundreds and thousands of people come to know you because of the work that's being done. And Lord, we pray that you would continue to give them the wisdom and the discernment that they need to be able to spread your truth, uh, Lord, to be able to know how to manage an organization that is quickly growing and they would be able to vet the right missionaries to be put in place. So we pray that you would rise up more workers for the harvest to be able to take your message to the most unreached people groups in this world. And Lord, we pray that as we send out more, Lord, that you would provide an abundant harvest, Lord, uh to see multitudes come to know you and to be a part of your kingdom. And so, Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus, God the Father, Lord, would you just bless everything that they touch and do? And in the name of Jesus, Lord, we pray all of that, Lord, and just your power. And Lord Jesus, we do also pray for just the people sitting in this room this morning or maybe down at social circle, Lord, that are listening along, Lord, who maybe are just feeling prompted this morning that maybe they need to just get right with the Lord and just try to figure out where they truly stand with Him, that the time is short. And so, Lord, would you help them this morning to take that step of faith? And if that's where you need to go this morning, uh man, like I said, we'd love to have a conversation with you after this. For those that are walking in brokenness and just are hurting this morning, whatever it might be, Lord, right now, just in this moment, Lord, would you just show yourself to them? Lord, we hold true to your word, Lord, that you uh blessed are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted. And so, Lord, this morning, Lord, would you just comfort the brokenhearted? Lord, would you let them see that there's a bigger plan and purpose in their grief and in their pain than maybe what they see right now. And then, Lord Jesus, the work is great. The mission is overwhelming, even there's people that are just blocks away from here that desperately need the good news of Jesus, and there are people on the other side of the planet who have never even heard your name. And Lord, you are choosing us. The people in this room, the people down at Social Circle this morning, you are choosing us to carry out the mission. There's not a plan B. And so, Lord, would you just give us a heart for the nations? Would you give us a heart for the lost people? Lord, would you give us a heart to see your word proclaimed boldly to the people around us and around the world? And Lord, right now, just in this moment, Lord, would you just give us a very clear picture of what the next step is for us? Is it to knock on our next door day next door neighbor's door? Is it to go? Is it to pray? Is it to serve? Is it to give? Whatever it is, Lord, would you just make it very clear right now, Lord? The time is short, the work is great, and so, Holy Spirit, would you use us like only you can? And we pray all this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Our band's gonna uh lead us uh just in a time of response, and just feel free to move. If you want prayer, we have some people up front that would love to pray for you uh up here in social circle, up here in Walnut Grove or in Social Circle, and so just come, Holy Spirit, now