Character and Cross-cultural Ministry

Saul was a head taller than his peers, but his downfall as a leader was his lack of character. As Israel's first king, Saul seemed to have a promising beginning. His powerful display of leadership in defending the people of Jabesh Gilead against the Ammonties won the support of all of Israel, putting to rest the doubts that some had expressed about his kingship.

However, it wasn't long before Saul's lack of faith, the foundation of true character, was revealed. As pressure mounted and the Philistine forces assembled with superior numbers to fight the Israelites at Gilgal, Saul disobeyed God's command by taking matters into his own hands. "You acted foolishly", Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people..." (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

In ministry, our faith, our character, and our obedience to Christ are the foundation of our service. In other words, our service to Christ begins to crumble quickly if our hearts are not in submission to our Lord. It is easy to appear strong or spiritual on the outside, but blessing in ministry comes over time with genuine character and faith. Saul learned this the hard way. Relying on his own strength, he felt that he had a better way to do things than the way the Lord had prescribed. Instead, his lack of character brought about the eventual collapse of his reign over Israel. In his place God chose "a man after his own heart."

This weekend Adelante Missions Institute will hold its first Saturday Seminar on the topic of Character and Cross-cultural ministry. Kirk Ogden, Executive Director of South America Mission, will be leading this interactive seminar to challenge and equip Mission Adelante volunteers, supporters and anyone who wishes to come to build their ministry on a solid foundation of faith and character. All are welcome to attend. The Seminar will be held from 9:00-11:30 on Saturday at Mission Adelante. The cost is $15 at the door, and a continental breakfast will be served. Please let us know if you are planning to attend by e-mailing morganh@missionadelante.org.

In other news:

• A group of twenty-five or so teens and parents from Christ Community Church spent several hours doing projects at our facility on Saturday morning. We're so grateful for groups like theirs that are willing to pitch in to help us keep the building in good condition!
• Megan McDermott has nailed down the dates for a three-day soccer clinic for neighborhood kids this summer presented by a former professional soccer player and Christian.
• Megan M. and volunteer Brooke Coon attended a gang awareness and prevention seminar presented by the KCK police department last week. They found it very informative and relevant to the neighborhood in which we minister, and are eager to share their knowledge with our community.

Prayer needs:

• Praise God with us! Jarrett Meek's neurosurgeon is not recommending surgery following the improvement of Jarrett's symptoms. They will wait and see if the cervical disc extrusion will heal on it's own.
• Please pray for the preparation and God's provision of funding for our first missions training trip to Costa Rica in May.
• Pray for immigrant individuals that have recently shared spiritual conversations with Mission Adelante staff. Pray that God would continue to reveal Himself to them.
• Continue to help us ask God to bring candidates to Mission Adelante for the summer internship.

Current needs:

• Two vacuums to keep our facility clean.
• Dishes, silverware, glasses, mugs, serving plates and platters, pitchers, and a colander, now that we have a kitchen in our facility!
• Brown paper grocery bags for resource distribution. If you're a routine volunteer, would you request "paper" the next time you're at the grocery store, and then bring those bags with you when you come here?

Important dates:

• Monday, March 15 - Thursday March 18: Spring break. No regularly scheduled Hispanic or Bhutanese ministry programs, with the exception of Spanish Class on Monday evening, which will meet at it's normal time.