CMF's Latest Updates

Mexico City team purchases facility for outreach

2009-03-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

Steve and Kay Carpenter (Mexico City) recently shared the welcome news that the CMF Mexico team's offer to purchase the Eagles school facility in Mexico City has been accepted. "We have prayed together for some time regarding this opportunity and now the Lord has shown us His favor," wrote Steve.

The school building, built in the 1990's and located in the same neighborhood where the team is planting a church, is owned by Medical Teams International and is currently also the site of the Mexico City Christian Academy. The CMF team has been renting the school for meetings of the Eagles Christian Church and other special activities, and made an offer to purchase it in November.

The building will continue to serve the Academy, but it will now also be the home of ALAS, a Mexican non-profit foundation formed as an outreach arm of the Eagles Christian Church. It will also serve as a community center, as a site for adult education classes, children's programs, and many other activities. The spacious facility has 10 classrooms, a cafeteria, library, shop, office complex, and an apartment for the maintenance/security man and his family.

"We want to express our thankfulness to everyone who made a commitment pray for us and this opportunity and to everyone who made a financial commitment," said Steve. "Our faithfulness has been rewarded."

Contributions are still being requested to complete the purchase of this valuable ministry tool. For more information please visit the Carpenter's website at www.sknbc.com, or email StevePalich@cmfi.org.

Good news from Maasai churches

2009-03-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

Lynn Cazier (Maasai, Kenya) shared a very encouraging report following a recent meeting of the Maasai church leaders. All of the Maasai churches are organized into 15 regional clusters for fellowship and oversight, and each cluster sent its representatives to the meeting. Many of the clusters reported church growth, new church plants of less than a year old, and baptisms of new converts into Christ. At last count there are a total of 92 churches in the 15 clusters, up from 75 churches just two years ago.

LCC team arrives in UK

2009-03-10T05:52:00.000-07:00

Nineteen students and staff from Lincoln Christian College, Lincoln, Ill., arrived in Nottingham, England, this week for a week-long mission experience with David and Teresa Fittro and CMF team. The group will be working primarily in a local school, engaging with the students. This is an annual event and, according to David Fittro, always spiritually challenging. "We have always seen individuals who excel and others who struggle," said David. "They will daily face students who want to argue and debate about things that are very precious to the LCC team. The team is walking onto the battlefield in our local school."

After their long days in the classrooms discussing faith with "students who largely have none," the LCC team will be working with the missionaries in prayer walks, youth outreach through clubs and activities, and in encouraging the local churches.

"When teams have been here in the past, we have always seen a new milestone in our work," said David. "Please pray that God uses this team to make Christ known to the youth, parents and teachers in our community."

Agape Church has record attendance

2009-02-25T08:15:00.000-08:00

Agape Christian Church in Long Beach (Lakewood), California, enjoyed a record attendance of 147 at its Feb. 22 service, reports its founding pastor, CMF missionary Fernando Soto. The church was planted in 2007 in partnership with Parkcrest Christian Church. Soto had previously planted another church of more than 100 at Downey First Christian Church in the late 1990’s. He left that church in the hands of an Hispanic pastor in 2006, taking a core group of 5-6 families to plant the new Long Beach church.

Soto uses Marriage Encounter weekends as a primary outreach tool for the church, and credits the events with increasing the church’s attendance over the past two years. Sixteen couples participated in the most recent event, which was the 19th one he has led since 1999. “It made me feel old when I realized that four of the couples were children of past participants,” Soto said. In the final worship time, five couples committed their lives and marriages to Christ.

Missionaries Caught in Flooding

2009-02-10T10:35:00.000-08:00

A city in Southeast Asia where 5 members of CMF’s Marketplace Ministries team live and work was hit this past weekend with severe flooding. One of the couples had 17 inches of dirty water and mud in their downstairs living areas, which made for substantial, tiring clean-up efforts. However, friends and colleagues assisted in the cleaning, and fortunately, “our frig and freezer started right up after sitting (unplugged) in 17 inches of water for over 12 hours!” The team asks for your prayers that the worst of this wet season is behind them.

Atheist speaks out for missionaries

2009-01-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

"As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God," says British writer and former conservative Member of Parliament Matthew Parry in an intriguing article in the UK edition of The Times Online. He makes a solid case for his belief that missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem, which he says is the "crushing passivity of the people's mindset." A veteran missionary to Africa in the CMF office brought this article to our attention, calling it a "good assessment of what is going on in Africa." Read it for yourself here.

Pray for rain

2009-01-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Dan and Connie Crum (Nairobi, Kenya) wrote last week to report that drought conditions in their area are worsening by the day. "Our water is being rationed and the power was off today," said Connie. People living in the nearby slums have water only three days per week. The Crums urgently request our prayers for a some drenching showers of life-saving rain.

Good news in Kenya

2008-12-18T05:53:00.000-08:00

Gary and Judy Woods (now in Arusha, Tanzania) recently shared some particularly uplifting and encouraging news. About two weeks ago Gary received a phone call from one of the church leaders from the area where they formerly lived and worked in Kenya. The caller invited the Woods to be special guests at an upcoming service in which 65-70 people would be baptized into Christ! "Praise God that the work that we were a part of for so many years is bearing good fruit," writes Gary.

Did We Accomplish Our Purpose?

2008-12-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

by Doug Priest, 2008 NMC President

The 2008 NMC is now history, and a few days of rest provide opportunity to reflect on the time in Tulsa, asking important evaluative questions about whether we accomplished our purposes.

There are so many purposes of a missionary convention: inspiration, reflection, learning, promotion, recruitment, listening, waiting upon the Lord. This year our major goal was to help expand an abbreviated definition of mission that conveys the impression that mission is only about evangelism and church planting – important tasks to be sure, but not the only tasks of mission as evidenced by Christ’s holistic ministry on earth. The 2008 program was set with this primary purpose in mind.

Our other purpose was to convey that everybody could be involved somehow in God’s mission. We came away from the convention feeling these purposes were fully understood through the major sessions, the workshops, and the other activities. Though we were not able to participate in the youth sessions, their helpful emphasis on service through construction and the packing of baskets for folks in need surely brought home the intent to Get Your Hands Dirty to the youth and their leaders.

We are deeply indebted to all of those who made the convention happen, who went about their tasks with little fanfare and who performed exceptionally well. We thanked different groups of people in each major session at the convention, but we likely overlooked some people who deserve recognition.

This year in Tulsa we had a great group of college-aged students and we look forward in the years ahead to coming up with programming that intentionally involves them more than we were able to achieve this year. Students will come if they feel there is something in the trip for them, and they look forward to events targeted specifically for them.

We were blessed last year in Cincinnati by Marsha’s exceptional leadership and program. We look forward with eager anticipation to Peoria in 2009 with Rick guiding our path. Let us all commit anew to making this next year the best ever National Missionary Convention.

Thailand update

2008-12-10T06:39:00.000-08:00

Andy and Jen May (Globalscope Bangkok) report that tensions are easing in their city as the airports have reopened and are operating once again. There has been no further violence and the exchange students were able to fly out to the U.S. as planned. The team asks for prayers for the continuing political difficulties. The current government has been dissolved and a new one is in the process of being formed.

Thanksgiving "a hit" in England

2008-12-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

Robert and Natalie Braden and Kevin and Leah Miller, members of the Globalscope-England campus ministry team, wrote this week to tell us about their amazing Thanksgiving celebration with 95 new friends in Birmingham, England. The event at Canvas, the ministry house in Birmingham, was a first for the team, which just opened this new field a few months ago. The team decorated the banquet room in autumn decor (imported from the U.S.) and asked the students to dress up in "smart casual" to help make it a special night. Leah Miller was in charge of the food, and she and her team of chefs dished out full plates of turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and pecan pie to the ravenous crowd of students. During the evening some of the students were asked to share what they were thankful for, and more than a few said "Canvas." One student, Pete, added, "I'm thankful for all of the friends I've met around here, for this place. I'm thankful for the future friends I'll meet. I think some of you are here, actually. Come find me after. We can be friends." Another student, Michael, reminded everyone, "It's great to be thankful for things, but remember to be most thankful for the things that don't fade away."

These 95 British students, of course, had never celebrated Thanksgiving before, so this was a whole new experience for them. "This is all seems wildly traditional for us Americans who have been to dozens of Thanksgiving banquets in our day, but this was huge for them," wrote the Bradens. "They treated this as the highest honor. It was incredible! Students had a blast! It was a great night of food and fun. It was so rewarding to watch them go through the things they were thankful for, seeing the thought and meaning behind each carefully chosen word. It was just amazing."

Protests in Thailand

2008-12-01T07:58:00.000-08:00

Andy and Jen May and Michal Ruth Penwell, members of the
Globalscope-Thailand team, have written recently to share updates on the deteriorating political situation in Bangkok. Political protests have been occurring fairly regularly in the city over the past year, and they have escalated in the past couple of weeks. Prime Minister Samak was dismissed from office in September for violating conflict of interest law, and PM Somchai, brother-in-law of the prime minister was forced out of the office by the coup in 2006 (PM Thaksin), took his place. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has become more agitated, calling Somchai a "puppet prime minister." Last week PAD and hundreds of protestors forced two major Bangkok airports to close. The BBC news estimates close to 100,000 people are stranded in the city as a result of the closures.

The team members stress that they are not in any personal danger, but are using caution and staying away from the protests. They ask for prayers for the Thai government and people, and for a peaceful resolution so that the aiports will open again soon. The exchange students who are currently in Bangkok are scheduled to fly home soon to be with their families for Christmas. Above all, the team asks for prayer for opportunities to "be light" in these difficult circumstances.

Mobile clinic opens doors in Tanzania

2008-11-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

CMF’s Tanzania team is working to put “hands and feet” to the Gospel and bring about whole life transformation for the people they serve. Their new mobile medical clinic is one project they are using to effectively meet this goal, according to a recent report from Scott and Annelle Price.

The people living in the Maasai area of Matale had not received immunizations for 10 years. So in February, the CMF team collaborated with the government clinic to offer mobile medical clinics to the people in their villages. As of September, 3,660 children have received important immunizations, 54 women have received prenatal care, 290 children have been treated for eye infections and 447 have attended health education classes.

The Maasai church planters of Matale participate in the clinics so they can reinforce the health education presented in the clinics; as a result, doors are opening for the Gospel. One new area in which immunizations were offered has even requested the CMF team to help start a church. The team is considering how and when they can do this.

Nairobi Reflections 2008

2008-10-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

Keith Ham, leader of the Nairobi Urban Poor Outreach team (NUPO) in Kenya, recently took a break from his hectic schedule to look back over a year of unbelievable blessings and amazing growth for the team’s ministries. Here are a few of the highlights he shared with their supporters:

• At the end of 2007 four Hope Centers had been opened: Pangani, Kosovo, Bondeni, and the Academy (boarding school) in Joska. More than 1,200 families attended a huge Christmas celebration and took home food baskets. The HIV/AIDS outreach delivered Christmas hope and joy to many of those house-bound with AIDS, and the microenterprise department was in full swing, making regular loans to small businesses. “Everything about the faithfulness of God was all around us,” said Keith.

• However, 2008 began with a jolt of ethnic violence, the like of which had only been hinted at during all the Hams’ years in Kenya. They were “up country” at the time of the outbreaks, and returned to a Nairobi that was fraught with torment and pain.

• A supporting church had committed together to have a “Different Kind of Christmas” by encouraging its members to share some of their holiday funds with the Bondeni Hope Center. The church more than doubled its goal of $60,000. When it became apparent that the NUPO team would need to offer emergency food to the internally displaced people in Mathare due to the ethnic violence, the church sent the money immediately so the team could begin offering help. Another church raised $50,000 for food and shelter on one Sunday. With the help of these churches and others, the team never ran out of money to feed people and help many families move out of the refugee camps into ‘safe” dwellings. The team was even able to pay a few months rent for these families and help them furnish their homes.

• During this difficult time period the team was amazed at the people’s incredible openness to the Gospel. Every single day people were turning to Christ. Two more churches were planted, and ‘seed’ Bible studies established for the next churches to be planted.

• Two more new Hope Centers opened in 2008: Madoya and Mathare North. Plans are underway to open two more in early 2009. At last count, there are more than 2,3000 children attending school, receiving spiritual nurturing, food and clothing and giving the team access to their families through the Hope Centers.

• God continues to bring short-term teams of people who want to be involved on all levels of the work here: evangelism, leadership training, construction, working with children, medical clinics, etc. Two families have affiliated with CMF as permanent members of the team and another family is on the way.

• The HIV/AIDS program has also grown tremendously in 2008. The ministry is focusing on post-test clubs, where the members provide spiritual support and physical encouragement to one another. Hospice care is also available for those who are close to death.

• The micro-enterprise loan ministry now has more than 500 clients who have taken out small business loans. All the new business owners belong to accountability groups where members help one another with their challenges, both physical and spiritual.

Come “Get Your Hands Dirty!”

2008-10-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

CMF Executive Director Doug Priest is serving as president of the 2008 National Missionary Convention, which opens in just three weeks in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Main speakers for the event, which runs from Thursday evening, Nov. 20, through Sunday morning, Nov. 23, include Florence Muindi, Mark Moore, Doug Priest, Ash Barker and Fernando Soto. Dozens of interesting and challenging workshops will be available, as well as a huge display area featuring hundreds of organizations and ministries, including CMF. Look for us under the big blue banner with the CMF logo and stop by and say hello! For more information about registration, housing, and a complete list of workshops and other events visit the NMC website.

New field opens in Germany

2008-10-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

After several years of planning, CMF Globalscope opened a new field in late September with the arrival of Beth Jarvis and Chris and Stef Coleman in Tuebingen, Germany.

The three will spend their first months in Germany studying at the Goethe Institute, an intensive language school, and interacting with German people and culture. After the class work is completed, they will begin their ministry to students at the University of Tuebingen, a prestigious, well-known university. Their plans include completing some renovations on a building that they are sharing with the European Evangelistic Society so they can open a campus house. The house will serve as a base for getting together with students, holding Bible studies, starting small groups and building relationships.

Beth Jarvis, 27, is the team leader. Beth is a graduate of Atlanta Christian College and recently completed her master’s degree at Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tenn. Chris Coleman, 25, graduated from Georgia Tech and his wife, Stef , 23, is a graduate of Agnes Scott College. The Colemans spent one year in classes at Emmanuel School of Religion. The three will be joined soon by an additional three teammates: Chandler Creel, who plans to leave in 2-3 weeks; Tyler Crawford and Lindsay Hunter, who are still raising support.

Maasai churches report good news

2008-09-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Dan Crum, leader of CMF’s Maasai team in Africa, recently shared the latest report from a meeting of the Maasai Advisory Committee, and it was full of encouraging news about the Community Christian churches there.

There are now 85 churches in 15 geographical clusters in Maasailand, 10 more than at the last report. Around 150-200 baptisms have been performed in the last six months alone.

The cluster of churches in the Elangata Enterit area is undergoing a significant revival. There are now seven churches there. This had been a very resistant, slow-growth area, so this news is particularly welcome. Several of the new and revived churches are still small and struggling, yet they are meeting consistently and are shepherded by the current leaders. Elders that were ordained several years ago are being referred to as leaders of these small churches. The Olepishet church is doing particularly well, and runs about 100 people, up from about 20 only six years ago.

Women’s events continue to be very popular in Maasailand. Nearly 200 women attended a conference at Olchurrai in August, and about 200 are expected at next month’s women’s conference at Miton.

About 2,000 people attended a five-day, area-wide fellowship held in Tumpelian in the area of Siria last month. It was well-received by the area councillors and chiefs; even the Chairman of the TransMara County Council (a local government representative) attended. Some chiefs, councillors and laibons (traditional African spiritual guides) gave their lives to Christ.

One of the outcomes of the gathering in Siria was that people agreed that a church building should be constructed for Ole Kimanu, one of the four elders of Siria who was ordained in 2000. Kimanu is a simple, friendly man, full of faith, who is very evangelistic and well respected. He was not interested in the church when it first began in Tumpelian; his testimony is a good account of how God is working in Africa, just with Africans.

News from Bangkok

2008-09-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Michal Ruth Penwell (Globalscope Thailand) wrote today to share an update about the political situation in Thailand and its effect on the team's ministry and daily lives. Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has declared a state of emergency in the capital city of Bangkok after clashes with the supporters of the People's
Alliance for democracy (PAD) left at least one person dead and dozens injured in the worst violence seen in Bangkok in 16 years. This situation is rooted in a bloodless coup by the military in Sept. 2006, when Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was removed from office. Thaksin and his wife were tried in Bangkok in July 2008, but fled into exile in the UK. PAD supporters say the new government is a front for Thaksin.

Meanwhile, the CMF's team's ministry activities have continued regularly and they anticipate that they will continue without problems. Living north of Bangkok has helped the team members avoid the crowds of protesters, but PAD did hold a small public meeting on the campus of the university on Monday.

"The students in the ministry are concerned about the situation, but talk very little about it," writes Michal Ruth. "Most people would rather not become involved. We feel safe and will continue to remain away from the demonstrations. We also hope that we can show an attitude of respect and peace. We do appreciate your prayers for Thailand, our ministry and our students."

Grapevine Goes "Green"

2008-08-14T05:48:00.000-07:00

The CMF Globalscope team in Bangkok, Thailand, recently used a "Go Green" theme for a series of studies at their Grapevine campus ministry. Team leader Greg Coley asked his friend Bank, a Thai "tree-hugger," to give the students some simple suggestions on how they can be better stewards of God's creation. Bank, who is very serious about his commitment to the environment, jumped in and organized a tree-planting day in association with Thammasat University. The event was scheduled for 8-8-08, at 8:88 a.m. (or 9:28 a.m.) and Bank had 888 trees ready to be planted. The Globalscope team showed up that day expecting to have to work very hard to plant 888 trees, but about 100 Thais showed up to help, as well. It was a good job, well done, and provided our Grapevine team with great exposure in the campus community.

Persecuted Christians

2008-08-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

The three remaining members of CMF's team in Eritrea (which previously numbered seven Marketplace Ministries workers) left the country this spring as the political situation and living conditions drastically deteriorated. David and Marsha Van Wagenen, who were leaders of that team prior to their own expulsion from the country, have asked for prayer for the four Christian pastors in prison in Eritrea, but they have had no further news of their situation. The UN has officially closed the peacekeeping mission to Eritrea and Ethiopia, and there is still tension and hostility between the two countries. David writes: "We continue to pray for the many believers who are detained there in difficult circumstances, and for their suffering families."

Service Center Nears Completion

2008-08-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Construction of the new CMF Ethiopia Ministries Service Center, to which many individuals and churches have given so generously, is nearing the point where the missionaries will be able to move in with office and mission equipment. Team leader David Van Wagenen reports that the rate of progress on this large project has been amazing. Team members Adrian and Jennifer Fehl supervised the construction and organized the many work teams who came from the U.S. to lend their hands and backs to the project. David says the team praises God for giving safety to the workers during the construction and asks for prayers for God's provision of the final funding needed for its completion.

Eastsiders Serve in Nairobi

2008-08-12T10:41:00.000-07:00

Forty-five members of Eastside Christian Church, Fullerton, Calif., recently returned from Kenya, where they served with CMF missionaries Keith & Kathy Ham and Wallace & Mary Kamau in the slums of Nairobi. Some team members presented dramas, preached and used EvangeCubes to share the gospel with people on the streets of Nairobi, while medical teams made home visits to Kenyans afflicted with HIV/AIDS. Prayer teams visited and prayed with people in their homes, while a fourth group helped install simple skylights in the roofs of the tin shanties where many of the people live. Tammy Leatherby, a trip leader, has put together an excellent website with details about the trip and personal reflections from the team members about their experiences. Take a look.

Church Relaunch in Mexico City

2008-07-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

La Comunidad Cristiana: El Camino (Community Christian: The Way) celebrated their "Relanzamiento" or "Relaunch" this past weekend. This once-struggling young church in southern Mexico City rejoiced as more than 70 people came to the new larger location and stayed for a Mexican style potluck dinner. The church celebrated two rebirths through baptism and are excited to see what God has in store for the church in the future.

The Joys and Struggles of Life in Turkana

2008-07-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord with us that 13 more people dedicated themselves to following Jesus on Sunday and were baptized. This brings to over 60 the number of new Christians in the last 2 months.

Please pray for us for wisdom as Turkana are facing more severe times. The prices for basic commodities have increased dramatically in the last 6 months. This drastically affects their ability to feed their families. With a disease called Lomol killing over 50% of the herds in the last year, people are struggling.

Please continue to lift in prayer those who have recently come to Christ as well as the daily struggles of all Turkana.

New Church Plant in Brazil

2008-07-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

Over 100 people attended the inaugural worship service of CMF's fourth partnership church plant in Brazil. Several U.S. churches partnered with CMF’s original church plant, Flamboyant Christian Community, Campinas, to plant four churches in the State of Sao Paulo. Churches have been planted in Paulinha, Pedrera, Piracicaba, and now Americana.

Thanks to these partnering churches:
• Central Christian Church of the East Valley, Mesa, AZ
• Christ Church of the Valley, Peoria, AZ
• East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, IN
• First Christian Church, Phoenix, AZ
• Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, MD
• University Christian Church, Manhattan, KS

Praise God for this great beginning and pray for the continued growth and impact of this church on the city of Americana.