Feb' 19 Update: 1st Trip of the Year
Tina and I just returned for our first trip of 2019 in the Northern region of the Philippines. We want to thank you for your prayers which the Lord answered greatly by giving us a fruitful and encouraging time of ministry there.
Module 5 in the Books
During the first week of the trip, I taught the 5th module to pastors and church leaders in Baguio City. Since it is the second to last module, it includes a review of the exegetical process for the different types of biblical genre that we have covered in the first four modules. The prophetic genre has proven the most difficult for the men, so we spent more time reviewing the study process for it by working through the book of Habakkuk together.
Pastors in the Baguio Cohort Reviewing the Prophetic Books
Speaking of difficult, a number of the men indicated how much they wanted to quit when preparing to preach their prophetic passages from Zechariah and Revelation for this module. Several of them told me, “This is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be.” (Did you notice in the picture above one of the pastors scratching his head?) But praise the Lord for the perseverance of these men as all of them stuck with it. In fact, only a couple of men have dropped from this cohort since it began back in February 2017. Please continue to pray for them as they have only one module left to complete the program.
Serving in Local Church
One of the great joys of this training ministry is the opportunity that we have to fellowship with and minister to the local churches within the Philippines. Not only do I spend time training the pastors and church leaders during the week, but I also have the privilege of preaching to their flocks on the weekends. The commitment to prayer and the desire for the Word that I see among these congregations continue to be such an encouraging example to me.
Preaching the Sunday morning service at Guiding Light Christian Church in Baguio City.
One of the highlights of this trip was the opportunity the Lord gave both Tina and I to teach at a marriage conference for Guiding Light. Though it was a packed schedule (right after I finished teaching Module 5 we drove to the conference on Friday afternoon where I preached two messages that night, did a Q&A, and then preached three messages the following morning before lunch), Tina and I were greatly encouraged by the desire of these couples to have marriages that honor Christ.
Tina and I being put on the spot during the marriage conference Q&A.
The following week we had the privilege of speaking at the couples’ banquet for Higher Rock Christian Church in Quezon City. Tina spoke to the women and I spoke to the men on the topic of how to love your spouse. After the teaching the couples, we spent time together going through the discussion questions we had given in response to the messages. We were greatly encouraged by the humble and teachable response. Again, we thank you for your prayers for this trip. Here are a few things you could be praying for in the coming month.
Specific Prayer Requests:
Please pray for our preparation for our next trip in early April. I will be starting training in a new area (Cagayan de Oro) as well as continuing training of the second cohort in Cebu.
Pray for Tina for this next trip as she will again be coming with me (praise the Lord!) during the Cebu portion of the trip. She will be the keynote speaker at the women’s conference for Living Word Christian Church in Cebu. The expected attendance is over 1000 women. Please pray for her preparation these next couple of weeks.
Your prayers for my son, Daniel, and daughter, Carissa, would be appreciated as they are both graduating from college this coming June and are seeking full-time employment.
Also, please continue to pray for God’s provision of additional support. We are still short by about $1000/month.
If You Wish to Support Us
If the Lord leads you to support this ministry, you can do so online or by check.
Credit Card: go to our GMI link. Note that GMI covers all online expenses so that 100% of your donation goes to our support.
Check: make it payable to “GMI” and write “Tim Carns” on the memo line. Then mail it to Grace Ministries International, 13248 Roscoe Blvd., Sun Valley, CA 91352.