All Things Are Possible For Those Who Believe!
It is one thing to say we believe, but do we really know we believe? And if we know we believe we will see it in how we live our lives each day. Jesus told us that one day He would return. Could that promise be just around the corner? It’s going to come like a thief in the night—are you ready? Are you ready for His return? Do you really believe that one day He will return? Now would be a good time to be ready. To those who truly believe, we long for His return. Be honest with yourself—take a real good look at this world, at America, and what is unfolding before our very eyes. Everything I see tells me, “BE READY.” Now is not the time to be political, to choose one party or the other. Now is the time to embrace truth. Darkness wants to engulf this world and the good old USA. Are you ready? Do you like what you see? Do you see truth or the lie? Jesus said, as He talked about the end times, “Watch out that no one deceives you.” Be ready, understand the times in which we live. For it is the truth of God and His word that will truly set us free.
In my last newsletter I told you that I had some exciting news to share with you. Well, now is the time. For a number of years I have had the privilege of doing ministry work in Uganda. Planting churches, building churches, doing leadership training with pastors and so much more. It has been such an honor for me to watch the power of the Holy Spirit bring truth and hope to the wonderful people of Uganda. It is a privilege to work side by side with them as God uses them to impact their country with the message of the empty tomb. God has done so much more than I thought or dreamed, and now He is taking it one step further. We are in the midst of building the Empty Tomb Ministry Center in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda. I guess you could say that all things are possible for those who believe. We have assembled a seven member leadership team from Uganda to help facilitate and lead the vision that God placed in our hearts. And now it is time to step out in faith and build something for the Kingdom of God.
A number of months ago, I felt the Holy Spirit had placed a very clear vision in my heart. It is a vision of building something beyond what I could do myself. It is a vision that could touch the lives of many people in Uganda. I have always had a heart to help build leaders who could build leaders. Leadership is such an important part of serving God, touching lives and building for the future. As I prayed about the vision, I knew I could not do this alone. It amazes me that God would bring a team of people who would be willing to buy into the vision and build something bigger than themselves. After working many years in Uganda and establishing many wonderful relationships, it wasn’t hard to find some gifted, talented, and visionary leaders among my sphere of friends. As I shared the vision with them, God made it very clear that this was a group that could get this job done. Now I had the team and the next step was to trust God for the resources needed to start building the ministry center. My point person on our team is Pastor Grace Ather. I have known Grace for many years and she was so excited about this vision that she had a piece of property in the capital that she was willing to donate toward our crazy idea. As we continued to pray about all the details that needed to be worked out, it became very clear to all of us that we needed to take this next step of faith and trust that God would provide the funds to see this through.
You are probably asking yourself right now, “What will Empty Tomb Ministry Center look like and what types of ministries will call ETMC home?” As you can see, the project is off to a great start. We have broken ground, laid the foundation, and are now getting ready for the roof. This has happened very quickly because God provided three special gifts to help us get where we are today. I don’t have the space in this newsletter to share with you the story of how these gifts have come to help us get this far; all I can say is that all things are possible for those who believe. God has richly blessed us with the first $15,000 of this project, and it will probably take us another $15,000 to complete this vision and get us up and running. From the beginning, our goal and plan has been to build as the funds were provided. We would take one phase at a time and trust God to provide what was needed to get us to the next phase. And so far, He has done just that.
Various ministries will call ETMC home when the building project is completed. Our vision is big because our God is big! Our ministry umbrella in Uganda is called Entrust Christian Ministries; everything we do will be under Entrust, and it is now an established ministry in that country. This name came from the Apostle Paul as written to his spiritual son, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:1-2. Paul wrote, “You then my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Our goal is about making disciples and equipping them for their call and destiny in their lives. This ministry center is going to do just that. It will one day be home to a church, a pre-school, a youth center, a place to do leadership training, not only in the capital, but a place where we can gather the pastors from the villages and equip them to do the same. It will be a house of prayer where people gather to pray and worship God. This will be the very first ministry in this building. As you can see we have a big vision for all that God is going to do in this new ministry center. The team on the ground in Uganda is very excited and ready to go to work. I am now in the process of putting together a leadership training notebook for all our leaders and future leaders, and we believe this will be an important tool for them as they grow in their faith and their leadership.
I have this great idea! Why don’t you prayerfully consider being a part of building this ministry center with us? You can own a piece of the rock. Your name will be etched in Heaven as a part of impacting the lives of the people of Uganda. There are so many wonderful benefits of joining us on this journey. It won’t take much of your time, you don’t have to travel all that way, and you won’t even have to lift a hammer—only a pen or your fingers to push a couple keys on your computer. We are halfway there, and you can help get us across the finish line. Your gift is tax-deductible and your reward is in Heaven. So many of you have been a part of ETM over the years as we have done our best to impact the world with the message of the empty tomb. I want to thank each of you again for how you have supported ETM in so many different ways. Let’s not stand on what we have done in the past, let’s press forward and do more to touch this world with the love, power, and grace of Jesus Christ. He died for us, so why don’t we live for Him? I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart as you prayerfully consider this big vision.
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
The foundation is such an important part of any building.
The foundation is ready as we build for eternity.
With the foundation in place, Empty Tomb Ministry Center is ready for the walls.
As the walls start to go up, one of the main rooms is ready for the metal roof. As of the printing of this newsletter, this is where we are in the building process.