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October 1978 Newsletter
COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia
Volume 6, Issue 10 October, 1978
THE REAL PURPOSE OF OUR WORK
It seems that we usually write about projects or ministries, but seldom about the reason we have come to Colombia. We invest your money in certain ministries that we feel will advance the Lord's church here. So as to keep you informed, we write about these ministries. Yet it is of the utmost importance to remember (and report on) the outcome; the final result of these ministries. The purpose of our work here in Colombia is to announce the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ. The result of this preaching is that some of those that hear will repent of their sins and find the peace that passes all understanding. To strengthen and nurture these new Christians we organize New Non-Denominational congregations patterned after the church of the first century. With that in mind let us move on to view the progress.
Ten years ago in this area there were few churches of any kind. Mark Stringer started working with a small group of believers that remained from a mission that had left the country due to financial problems. From that small nucleus the work has grown to include 14 organized churches with their own leaders. There are 100 other workers where there are at least a few faithful to the Lord and where we are making a concerted effort to evangelize and organize a new congregation. Some of them may fizzle, but we anticipate that the majority will become churches. At the present time there are twenty-three men enrolled and studying in our Bible Institute by extension.
MAP
Enclosed in this issue is a map that will give you a general idea as to the general location of the churches and of the route that the evangelism has taken. The arrow indicates that the original contact was started from that local congregation. The newly trained leaders often do much of the evangelistic work. We encourage every Christian to win one and every church to start one and every evangelist to train one in every year. These men are usually working at their jobs while they are doing this. We help financially only in rare cases. The money that you give goes to train leaders and make new contacts through radio, correspondence courses, etc.
This is a team effort. I work together with the other missionaries in the country in planning and carrying out the evangelistic program. You too are part of the team. Without the churches that started supporting us during the last furlough as well as all of churches and individuals that had supported us from the beginning. This would not have been possible. We are also grateful to the churches that have increased their support during the recent months. This has enabled us to begin new (and often expensive) forms of outreach. The radio program is a good example of this. With radio time, give-aways, and correspondence, the average bill runs over $200 per month. That is more than we received as work support during the last term. These new ministries have multiplied our outreach many fold. For the first time in the history of the work here we have more contacts than we can follow up. We have planted, and continue to do so. The Lord has given the increase. And you have provided the "fuel" that has kept things rolling.
What of the future? It is bright. We are hoping to have new recruits coming to Colombia in the immediate future. We have plans to put the radio program on stations in several other cities. We want to reach into Bogota and start several churches there. We have the entire country in our vision. We have even been toying with the idea of opening up the Venezuelan field. With all of this going on we desperately need your continued support. If your income has increased and you are considering raising your missions outreach, consider Colombia. Your dollars will go directly to the establishment of new churches in areas that are so oppresses by darkness.