God Showed Up and We’re Heading Back on the Streets!!!

My head is still spinning and I’m still in shock (in a good way) about how God Showed Up and answered prayer. Jesus saved our ministry to the Lost in a powerful way. What I’m about to share with you is 100% true, and it’s not something that happens every day.

About two months ago, I started to let people know that we were struggling financially.

We sought financial counselling from a number of people who each concluded that our budget was not extravagant, that we had made significant cuts in spending, and that the solution was for our donation level to be higher.

My leadership at Open Air Campaigners put me on 3-month assignment to spend my time seeking out new donations, and we’d reassess in January. If things hadn’t improved, there was a chance that we could have had to leave the Mission Field, an option I didn’t want because I believe God is using the Missionary work to reach the Lost with the Gospel.

The goal assigned to me was to see our monthly donations increase by $2,500 per month. That’s a big number, and I admit that I wondered if and how God would come through.

God came through!

It can be very challenging to have people commit to monthly recurring giving. It’s typically the case that more people stop giving than start. That $2,500 figure was looming and seemed unreachable.

Here’s miracle #1: after 4 weeks, God had arranged for $1,000 in new monthly donations! That’s outstanding!!! And He did it the way He always does, by putting our Missionary work on the hearts of Christians who give generously because they want the Lost to hear the gospel message, because “[the gospel] is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).

Here’s miracle #2: $1,000 raised, and $1,500 more to go. That’s still a huge number. Are you sitting down? By the end of the second month, we had an extra $1,500 in monthly commitments and had met our goal for the first time in the five years that we’ve been serving Jesus full-time. $2,500 in recurring monthly donations raised in under 2 months. That just doesn’t happen. But apparently it does when God wants us on the streets pleading with Muslims and Atheists, and College Students, and Skeptics, and Cultists, and Children, and everyone about the only “name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

It is very unusual for Missionary support to be raised this quickly. But God demonstrated to me, my wife, my kids, and our Church, that He is sovereign.

Here’s miracle #3: I am ashamed to admit that since leaving my job with Fidelity Investments, and starting work with Open Air Campaigners in 2010, I had accumulated a sizeable amount of debt. When your monthly support is $2,500 too low, it doesn’t take long for that to add up. Actually, it snow-balls up!

My Pastor and I worked on a plan for me to be out of debt in 3 years. Miracle #3 is that, because of the generous “one-time” donations that have come in, our debt has been completely wiped out! I am in awe. I want to cry. I really want to praise God for being so kind and to remove this burden!

God came through big-time. God even used this as a witness to my unsaved Mum who hates Jesus. My Mum already thinks it’s “strange” that I’d leave my “respectable well-paying” job at Fidelity Investments to be a Missionary and work in bad neighborhoods in Boston. She has a curious fascination that people donate so that I can do this. As a Jewish woman, she’s never heard of anything like this. She says that people who give money must “really believe what they believe.”

My Mum knew that I was on deputation and was very concerned for me. I recently got to tell her that in less than two months, we received all the monthly pledges we need and enough one-time gifts to wipe out our debt immediately. Then she said, my unsaved Mother said, “Well, I suppose you’re going to tell me that Jesus arranged all this?”

So I said, “Mum, of course. Jesus arranges everything that happens. Please suggest how else this could have happened?”

And she said, “I don’t have an explanation.”

Thank you for reading all of this. I can’t help but praise God and share what great things He has done!

But please allow me to be clear about something important. God is good and kind and generous, and He used money to make it clear that He wants my family and I to continue serving Him as Missionaries. But even if He hadn’t, God would still be good and kind and generous. I really feel uncomfortable talking about money because there are plenty of false teachers who manipulate and twist the Scriptures to say that God’s favor is determined by how much money you have. This is sometimes called the “Health/Wealth Gospel” or the “Prosperity Gospel.” I stand on God’s Word and against the Health/Wealth/Prosperity “gospel” because it is unbiblical and it hurts people.

It’s true that God blessed our ministry with a much-needed inflow of finances, but that’s no guarantee that He will always do that, and it’s certainly not a condemnation against other important Missionary works that are currently under-funded. The Apostle Paul said it well when he wrote, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content… I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

Thankfully, Open Air Campaigners has a policy that ensures that my income stay modest, so there will be no private jets or mansions in my budget.

I also want to say that these miracles are a testimony to God’s grace. I’m far from a perfect Missionary. God is improving me all the time. I don’t believe that He showed this unusual kindness because I’m so deserving. He showed such unusual kindness because it glorifies Him to give to those who don’t deserve it. “We have this treasure [of the gospel] in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

I always share in my Evangelism seminars that God uses “a nobody to tell everybody about Somebody who can save anybody.” We’re the “nobody” in this equation. But God uses us, broken us, to tell everybody about Jesus. And Jesus certainly is “Somebody” very special and mighty.

Those are the miracles I wanted to share with you! I am excited. My family is excited. People at my Church are excited. I hope this excites you too and reminds you that “our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3).

What Now?

Please continue to pray for us. The work we do is exactly what the devil hates. We go to people who might not otherwise hear the saving plan of our Great God and Savior. Spiritual attack is real, and I plead for your prayers.

When Paul asked for prayers, he said, “Pray that I may proclaim [the gospel] clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:4). I ask for that prayer for me and my team. I also ask for prayer for continued good health, and continued favor with the authorities. Please pray that my marriage will be strong and that I’ll be a good Daddy to my kids. If my family suffers, then I’m a failure.

It is obvious that God wants us back on the streets and subways and beaches and neighborhoods and housing projects and everywhere else we go, so with His help, that’s what I plan to do.

If you currently donate to our ministry, please continue to do so. We depend on “daily bread” and there are always expenses that come up. I can’t thank you and God enough for your generous partnership, whether you give $10 per month, or $100 per month, or any amount.

If you’ve given one-time or occasionally, your donations are critical for buying Bibles, gospel tracts, gasoline, everything we need to be effective “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

If you have wanted to give to our ministry, please don’t not do it because we’ve reached our fundraising goal. There are always expenses that are unplanned and everything that comes in helps someone who is Lost hear the gospel in a Biblical, loving, compassionate, urgent nature. Sadly, there are always people who have to end their commitment to help fund the ministry for one reason or another. And not everyone actually fulfills their financial pledge every month. So your giving is critical and makes a big difference.

Can You Please Help Us Serve the Church Better?

Ephesians 4:11-12 teaches us that two of the purposes that God gives Evangelists are:

• to equip the saints
• to build up the body of Christ

Quite frankly, I could get a lot better at this part of my calling. It’s not that I’m unwilling to serve, but it’s hard to get an invitation.

The great thing about solid Bible-believing Churches is that they typically are strong in discernment, and that’s great! That means that they don’t let just anybody come and teach their people. But that can be frustrating as well, because it’s difficult for me to get an opportunity to serve in Local Churches.

I want to equip the saints. I want to build up the body of Christ! You can help by vouching for us and introducing us to your Pastor or Missions Committee.

All the Churches that I have a relationship with started when one of the members of the Church personally introduced us to their Pastor or Mission Committee and gave their approval for our Ministry Work and Doctrine.

If your church is not in a position to support us financially at this time, that’s 100% okay because I’m not asking for money. I just want to build up the believers to help them be more effective Evangelists for Jesus! It’s an honor for me to be a “cheerleader for evangelism” and help the body of Christ be more successful at reaching our lost world with the message they so desperately need.

I made a simple-to-read brochure intended to help you introduce us to your Church. Would you prayerfully consider printing it out (double-sided) and fold it in thirds, and give it to your Pastor and tell him about us? Personal recommendations from Christians like you are the best way to introduce us to Churches! You “vouching for us” to your Pastor or Missions Committee gives us a chance to build the Body of Christ up for evangelism at your Church!

Please open the brochure by clicking on the graphic below…

I want to serve your Church through:

• Letting Christians know that Evangelism is a blessing we “get to do,” not “have to do.”
• Teaching an “Evangelism Crash Course”
• Teaching Sunday School.
• Providing Pulpit Supply.
• Sharing the Gospel at your Outreaches.
• Running an Evangelism Seminar.
• Teaching on a Variety of Subjects.
• Short-Term Mission Trips.
• Providing 1-on-1 Discipleship/Instruction.
• Speaking at Your Mission Conference or VBS.
• Conducting Effective Kids Ministry.
• Inviting you to join us on the streets/beach/subways to see effective Open-Air and 1-on-1 Evangelism.
• However else I can be a help…

Also, you are welcome to share a short video that shows what we do to serve Jesus by reaching those who don’t yet know Him as Savior. The video is at: http://movie.Luke-15.org. Or you can watch it below…

We love you and thank God for you! Please contact us anytime and let us know how we can pray for you!

And please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be blessed by it!

For Christ and His gospel,

Mark, Shelby, Vivienne, Juliana, Caleb, and Gabriella