Below I have listed some of our ministries that if not funded will cease after October of this year 2009. We are praying that the Lord would lead many of our supporters to take more ownership of these projects and store up their treasures in heaven as they continue invest in the Kingdom work among the Kurds and Turks. (I also encourage you to read the article I have written on Biblical Missional Prayer (found below) so you can catch a glimpse of what your money and prayers are going to. This article will also help you pray in a more focused way.)
I. Zacchaeus Projects’ Monthly Medical Mission to T. Province:
A. Expenses:
1. Medicine
2. Travel for Dr. Mujdeci plus one.
3. Vehicle Repairs.
Total Monthly Cost: $1,500
Total Yearly Cost: $18,000.00
B. Achievements:
1. Unreached area of “T.” no longer unreached.
2. Continued trust built with the community.
3. Successful model to use for other villages.
4. Physical needs met.
5. Spiritual needs being met. Gospel shared with several villages.
6. First church being formed among the Zaza Kurds.
7. Opened doors to bring Athletes for Action to do sports programs.
8. Opened doors to help the schools with providing books.
C. Current Financial Status:
1. Able to continue trips until October 2009.
II. Bible Correspondence Outreach by Beytel Church West/European and Asian Beytel in Istanbul: (Led by pastor A. of Beytel Asia and pastor E. of Beytel Europe.)
A. Expenses:
1. Books and materials.
2. Travel for two.
3. Shipping
4. Tea and snacks.
Total Cost per month in Istanbul: $1,000.00
Total Yearly Cost: $12,000.00
B. Achievements and potential achievements:
1. People emailed, called and information sent about Christianity weekly.
2. Every week at least 3 people visited. (Potential of 12 people to be visited a week).
3. Several come to faith and baptized as a result.
4. Growth of Beytel Churches.
C. Financial Status:
Currently we have $300.00 per month to be able to do this in Istanbul.
III. Christian Resource Projects: 1. Prophecies of the Last Prophet. 2. May the Evil Eye Not Harm You.
A. Expenses:
1. Publishing
2. Distribution
Total Cost of Prophecies book 1,500 copies: $4,500.00
Total Cost of Evil Eye book 2nd Edition 2,000 copies: $4,500.00
Total needed to publish and distribute these books: $9,000.00
B. Achievements:
1. 1,500 copies of the Evil Eye book distributed in 1½ years.
2. These distributed to over 50 provinces.
3. Missionaries and Turkish Evangelists use the material for personal evangelism.
4. Turkish believers learned the truth concerning folk Islamic practices that were previously thought as true.
5. Several have been saved out of the Folk Islamic lifestyle and come to Christ as a result of reading this.
6. Seminars we have given concerning the prophecies of Christ have been well received and our evangelistic approach of using the prophecies has been successful.
C. Current Financial Status:
1. Need funding for these so they can be published by November of 2009.
J. of G.E.S.
If you feel led to support any of these projects or even one month of the projects or one of the Christian book projects to publish please send your donations to:
Donations can be made online through New Horizons Foundation: http://newhorizonsfoundation.net/index.php?option=com_dtdonate&Itemid=5
More detailed information about EFT transfers:
EFT Bank transfer Credit/Debit Card Donations. The 15th of every month donations to Gateway can be electronically withdrawn. One can decide in giving if their electronic gift will be a one time gift or monthly. The transaction date for monthly gifts is on the 15th of every month. What is needed is the credit/debit card information (Name, Expiration date, Card Number). If the transfer will be made from a Bank account; a routing number and account number will be needed. Remember the project of the donation is Gateway Missions.
Checks can be made out to:
New Horizons Foundation Inc. (FBO Gateway Missions)
Send to:
New Horizons Foundation, Inc., 4570 Hilton Parkway, Suite 203 Colorado Springs, CO 80907
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Twitter: @gatewayedu
Biblical Missional Prayer
5 Focused New Testament Prayers for the Church
By Yakup Korkmaz
July 27th, 2009
On a road in Eastern Turkey on one of our first missionary journeys among the Kurds my Turkish colleague and I had decided not to pick up any hitchhikers. The reason being that many travelers in that area may be members of the PKK or part of the Workers Party of Kurdistan. This is a political terrorist party which seeks Kurdish autonomy in Turkey and the surrounding countries. We did not want to be identified with such a people even if only to drop them off at their next destination. Before our frequent trips to villages in the Kurdish regions we fast and pray and while traveling we are in constant worship and prayer. Almost every province and village in the Kurdish regions of Turkey is virtually unreached. Meaning that they have never met a Christian or seen a Bible much less heard the mystery of the Gospel proclaimed. Our burden is to see that the Gospel is preached in every village in every province. This task is daunting. We were heading to several of these unreached villages that we had contacts in on this particular trip when on the side of the road there was a man who waved us down. I was going to pass on but as a good missionary I submitted to the suggestion of the national that we should pick this man up (despite our previous conversation not to do this). He was a Kurdish man going to his village, a place that was 10 miles off of the main road. We decided to go off our path and take him to his destination. The man enjoyed our company and invited us to stay in his village for a while. We sat and had tea with around 15 men from the village; they were of course curious as to why we were out in their remote village. After meeting the mayor, teachers and other town officials we were then introduced to some other youths, had lunch with them and we sensed a spiritual openness among them and spent all day until late in the evening explaining fully the Gospel. We camped there in our vehicle that night and spent the next morning with our new friends. Later, on the return from the other villages, we stopped and stayed another night. On this one trip we planted the seeds of the Gospel in over 8 provinces in several villages to scores of people, individuals, families and religious and political leaders alike. These areas are now open to us anytime to visit, sow seeds and water what we have already sown (which we continue to do). This is what Paul spoke about to the churches as he gave a report in Acts after his first missionary journey. “…they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27b).
Missionaries seek open doors to preach in areas that are unreached. They desire, sometimes with impatience, to see the Gospel speed ahead and honored where it goes and they wish for more workers/ambassadors to join in the ministry of reconciliation.
Biblical Missional Prayer
My Turkish colleague says, “prayer is the missionaries’ ammunition”. When the missionary asks the church to pray for him or her, the missionary is asking for logistical support to complete the task of breaking new ground in the enemy’s territory. The prayers of the church greatly aid missions. Paul requested of the Corinthian church, “You also must help us by prayer,..” (2 Cor. 1:11). In fact the Bible is very clear on how to pray in detail for the missionary and the missions field. This article’s purpose is to alert and challenge the church to what I call Biblical Missional Prayer.
Accomplishment of the Task Revealed
The church must focus its prayers and giving so that the task may be completed. The fulfillment of the task is seen in the book of Revelation.
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" (Rev. 7:9-10).
Our task among the Kurdish people seems too much to bear as there are scores of confederacies and over 500 tribes or clans, not to mention extended families which reach into the tens of thousands. These are found in Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am fully convinced that representatives of not just the confederacies, but the tribes and smaller clans will be those surrounding the throne crying out with a loud voice, “Xilasîyê Xwedêyê me ye yê ku li ser text rûniştiye û Berx e.” (Rev. 7:10b in Kurmanji). In Turkey we have over 25 million Kurdish speakers and in Syria there are over 3 million.
Five Focused New Testament Prayers For the Church
1. Laborers
After being in Turkey two years I sat down with one of our board members and we prayed specifically for three national workers that we could partner with. Five years later we have seven national workers and four foreign families that we work with. Currently our prayer is for 100 national missionaries in 1 year so we may begin to complete the task. (Desiring by September 2010 to see this happen.)
Jesus knew the importance of needing workers and even before He sent out the twelve on any mission trip He asked them to pray for missionaries. “Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Mat..9:37-38). Going from province to province in the East I have looked out and seen thousands of villages and wept because of the lack of workers actually going out to these unreached areas. I have felt the burden of the Kurds on my shoulders and have wondered how we could possibly reach every village in every province. This task is impossible for us, so I have been praying to the Lord of the harvest to send out the laborers. Pray with the missionary for more laborers because the harvest is vast and the laborers are few. In Turkey currently 73 million unreached with only 1,500 Christians!
2. Open Doors
Sitting in a tea house in Istanbul with my mother one afternoon, I overheard our waiter teaching tourists how to say “thank you” and “have a good day”, unknown to them he was teaching them Kurdish not Turkish. I called him over and asked him where he was from and what his name in Kurdish was, he learned that I was an American and was shocked that I knew his language. He had every waiter and even the owner of the teahouse come over so that they could hear the foreigner speak Kurdish (Kurmanji). Our tea was free that day too because he said, “we don’t charge Kurds”. I began visiting him on a regular basis and he invited me to come to his village; our first meeting was in September and I was in his village by the end of November. His Eastern Kurdish province is the poorest in Turkey and I was the first Christian ever to visit his village. From this visit I was able to share the Gospel with many in his family, meet everyone in the village and leave a Bible for the family which they accepted. We have since visited that village often and from that we have now visited three other surrounding villages which were previously unreached. Now we have open doors in this unreached province.
Paul as he imitated Christ is the missionary’s example to follow. Paul asked for prayer from the Church at Colossae (which happens to be in modern day Turkey) for open doors so that he could preach the Gospel and make it clear to the hearer. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison--that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Col. 4:2-4)
I have seen several doors opened throughout our ministry but I know that there are thousands more to be opened. Pray with the missionary for continual open doors.
3. Honor and Speed of the Word
Another very poor village on the very Eastern border of Turkey is home to about 60 xane (Kurdish residences). We recently have done a Zacchaeus projects’ medical mission to this village. Two girls in this village had a severe genetic disease that looked something like leprosy. Their father, like many Kurdish fathers, had never read the Bible and when my pastor and I shared the Gospel with him in detail he asked if the next time we visited his village we could bring a Bible so he could read it. We happened to have a Bible with us and he was overjoyed and said that he would read it this summer (09’). He and many others look forward to our further trips to his village.
Paul also asked the Thessalonian church to pray specifically for his ministry in this way:
“Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” (2 Thes. 3:1-2). The Word of God sped through Thessalonica swiftly and was honored by many and because they understood the importance of the Word of God they would be faithful prayer warriors for Paul’s ministry. By your prayers missionaries can advance the Word of God even to the point that it would go forth rapidly and as it goes be honored and glorified.
The second half of Paul’s request for prayer because of wicked and evil men is something that we also understand well. Recently one man deceived us and threatened us saying that if we come into his province again he would be waiting with his guns and kill us. I told him that he doesn’t own that province but that God does and we will come anytime we wish. Pray also that missionaries would be delivered from evil men who would oppose.
4. Battle with Demonic Forces
There have been many occasions where we have had to come face to face with the spiritual forces of evil that are mentioned in Ephesians 6:12. These are very real and very evil but because our focus is on glorifying God I will not go into the details of such encounters only to mention that in Jesus’ name and by the authority given by Him we send them away.
Paul also knew this and asked the church in Ephesus to pray concerning these daily battles that are sometimes fierce. The demonic world seeks to destroy missionaries and their work by inciting discouragement, fear, disunity and tempting them to moral failure, just to name a few. Paul requested the church to “Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request there is. For the same reason be alert with every kind of effort and request for all the saints.” (Eph. 6:18).
5. Boldness in Preaching
In the 2nd poorest province in Turkey, my Turkish colleague and I were again (also with an intern from our NUT school) out in a very remote village. We loaded up our vehicle with around 15 Kurds who needed a ride (again usurping our own law to not give rides to strangers) and took them to a place that again no Christians had ever visited. We were invited to stay for dinner and it just so happened that right before dinner my Turkish colleague became violently ill and spent the next hour or so puking outside. Dinner was served and I was alone sitting on the floor with about 20 Kurdish men and in the room adjacent several Kurdish women were sitting listening in on our conversation. After dinner one man asked me, “Now that you have learned our language, why do you not become a Muslim?” I replied, “I can never become a Muslim”. After that you could hear a pin drop in the room and all eyes were on me. I took the opportunity to explain in great detail that I had much sin and needed a savior, the one that was promised to come in the Old and New Testaments and then explained the prophecies of the Messiah and finished up with saying Jesus the Messiah is all I need and there is no further need for any other prophet i.e. Muhammad and no need for a new book i.e. the Qur’an. The salvation we need is in Christ. This sparked much discussion among the men and I longed to know what the women thought in the other room.
These opportunities arise often for the missionary and they must speak the Gospel boldly. Paul also being in such tense situations knew that when the opportunity presented itself he needed to be bold and present the Gospel well. That is why he also asked for prayer from the church.
“Pray also for me, so that, when I open my mouth, the right words will be given to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel, for whose sake I am an ambassador in chains, desiring to declare it as boldly as I should.” (Eph.6:19-20).
Pray for missionaries that they would be bold and use the right words when these opportunities arise.
The Church Responds to Prayer or Not
After the three martyrdoms in Turkey in April of 2007 there were some immediate needs of the families that were involved, who happened to be personal friends of mine. I remember being at the prayer meeting of a certain missions company that had a team of 10 missionaries in one area. I was visiting with my wife and we joined their prayer time. The needs of those involved were called to attention because some of the missionaries knew them as well. The team meant well and prayed with all sincerity as they asked God to “provide” for the needs of the people affected by the event. However, there response ended with a simple prayer and they were not prompted to be involved in the answer to that prayer through giving. I looked at my wife and said, why are we praying about this? Everyone should open up their wallets and give what they have immediately. Everyone knew the needs and God uses us to provide for the needs of our brothers and sisters not only to pray for provision. Maybe through prayer God will tell us the amount to give but God calls us to action and not just to prayer. I realize that many are not mature in the practice of their faith but we should be challenged to be mature followers of Christ responding to the needs with not only our prayers but also our good deeds.
John the apostle understood this principle and stated: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (I John 3:18).
In this process of Biblical Missional Prayer the completion of the circle is that the church must be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of these prayers. You’re praying for God to send more laborers but are you the laborer whom God is sending? You are praying for the Word of God to spread rapidly but are you the conduit that God will use to purchase Bibles, Christian materials or send those called as missionaries? You’re praying for the missionaries’ boldness in preaching that he may present the Gospel in every situation with the right words, yet are you bold for the Gospel in the situations that God has called you too?
Yakup Korkmaz is a Pseudonym for “J.” Of G.E.S.
To learn about NUT School, Zaccheaus Projects, Beytel Church and Christian Resource projects of Gateway Educational Services:
www.gatewayeducation.org
Facebook: gateway educational
Twitter: @gatewayedu
Email: gatewayeducationalservices@hotmail.com
Fifty-eight years ago, God reached into the small farming town of Mark, Iowa, population 35, and saved a teenager named Boyd. Boyd was the only child of a highway worker and part-time farmer. Little did the people of that community know that God would use this event to impact thousands of lives over 3 generations.
That young man was Boyd Lyons, who eventually became a missionary to the Philippines! A legacy of preachers and missionaries began on that Sunday.
Both sons of Boyd Lyons are Gospel preachers: Rev. Edward Lyons - Pastor, High Street Baptist Church, Springfield, MO and Rev. Greg Lyons, Missionary.
Recently, I and my two sons, Missionaries Luke Lyons and Cory Lyons visited Mark Baptist Church. Luke Lyons spoke in the same church where his grandfather was saved and called to preach! Along with Mark Baptist Church's current pastor, Rev. Gary Axtell, the 3 missionaries prayed and thanked God for His mighty work which began in that simple service many years ago. A teenage boy was sitting listening to the Gospel being preached and God began a great work for His glory.
Since that time, over 100 churches have been planted. Through the joint ministry efforts from this legacy, over 100,000 souls have come to Christ. Three Bible Institutes have been established, training over 2,500 students through the years. Many preachers have been prepared for ministry through the extended ministry of Dr. J. Boyd Lyons and the generation of preachers he began. Praise God for His amazing work!