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News from the Churches Thessaloniki, Greece African and Filipino group • It is a good thing that a picture paints a thousand words, so I don’t have to say too much. Glad Tidings International Fellowship just celebrated our 11 th anniversary on the last Sunday of January. What a celebration indeed – we sure give our great God all the glory and praise! Jimmy Martin, IBC general secretary, spoke simply and powerfully, and people clearly understood the message. More than 100 were in attendance, with approximately 25 unbelievers present, and more than 20 different nationalities represented. Except for Jimmy, English was the people’s second language. His Texas accent was very well received and understood. And the food? Fantastic! Psalm 150 says: “Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” We take this Psalm literally at GTIF. Since all of us present have breath, and with plenty of Africans, our church was/is never a quiet place! The whole celebration lasted more than five hours. Some of you might say, “You can’t be serious?,” but when the five hours were over, some of the folks said: “You can’t be serious.” Mind you, some of our folks are used to five-hour services back in their native land and expect the speaker to preach not less than two hours! Seriously mate! Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. May the Lord bless you abundantly. • Ernie Gutierrez Lagos, Portugal • As we look back one year to March 2009 when we moved into our new building so much has happened. We praise God for His faithfulness and provision in orchestrating our move – perfect timing as usual. The building was completely renovated by the Mormon church before they left it. We just walked in, bought chairs and a sound system – job done. God is so good! We seem to have been in this building forever, it so feels like home. It is getting used more each month which is so good to see. As most international churches, we have seen some move on for various reasons, but God has added to us, giving the church a slightly different flavor and outlook. We have seen fruit from our outreach to the poor and homeless. Two are now going through rehab and growing so much in their new-found faith. We have better links to the local council and are praying that they will help us with a proper night shelter in the future. The work with the orphanage goes on and again these children bless us so much as they come, week by week. Mums and Tots continues to grow as we see more families join us each week. As a church we have studied the book of Daniel, and some are now starting to work through the letter to the Ephesian church. We also have seen our first “Freedom in Christ” course and were greatly blessed by this. As with many churches, it has been tough financially this last year as so many are out of work or struggling with exchange rates, but God again has been faithful to meet all our needs. In January we held our annual church weekend at the Hotel Garbe, with approximately 70 people attending. The teaching by Dave Fellingham on the Holy Spirit was so good. Over the last year we have seen more than a dozen people baptized. We praise God for these. As I look back to the birth of ICC some seven years ago, it is amazing to see what God has done and is going to do in the future. • David Chester The men of ICC, Lagos, prepare Christmas lunch. ICC, Lagos, serves Christmas lunch to the homeless. 14 | Highlights 05/2010
News from the Churches Paris, France and Madrid, Spain Paris and Madrid Meet in Normandy • You never know where a lunch at an IBC meeting will lead you. In the case of my lunch with Tim Melton, associate Men from Paris and Madrid discuss the teaching in small groups. pastor in Madrid, it led to a wonderful weekend together in Normandy! We were attending the IBC Annual Meeting in Jurbise, Belgium, in October 2009, and over lunch I asked Tim if he would be interested in speaking at our church’s annual men’s retreat. After we discussed it for a while, he asked if he could bring some men from his church as well. What a great idea! And why hadn’t we thought of teaming up with another IBC church for our men’s retreat before? So Tim, along with nine other men from Immanuel Baptist Church, Madrid, joined 30 men from Emmanuel International Church, Paris, up on the Normandy coast. Tim spoke to our group of more than 15 nationalities about the importance of seeing what God is teaching us in each moment and complicated situation in our lives. The group enjoyed the worship, the teaching, and the opportunity to visit the famous beaches of WWII, near the retreat center. The Paris men are now asking if we won’t be off to Madrid for a retreat together next year! It’s wonderful to have such a great family of churches to be able to dream of these possibilities … maybe over lunch! • Brian Kirby San José, Costa Rica • After the Haiti earthquake, the International Baptist Church, San José, Costa Rica, was able to have four of our missionaries representing different organizations go into Haiti to help minister and give aid. We were able to get first-hand information from them as to what was going on in Haiti. Our church responded by giving more than $6,000 for Haiti relief which was then given to three organizations represented by these missionaries. Most of the Haitians we know did not lose any family members, but one former attender who has since returned to Haiti lost his brother. We continue to pray for this devastated country, and we continue to have people from our church working to bring relief in that part of the world. It seems that nearly every Sunday over the last several months there has been something exciting and different in our worship services. For example, in February, we had our annual Mission’s Fest where we highlighted various ministries that we are connected with as a church. In March, we were able to have an acapella choir from Yale University called “Living Water” sing in our service. We enjoyed once again our International Day which included a parade of flags, Scripture read in various languages, and many of our people wearing their native costumes. On another Sunday we had the Arab Presentation Team inform us about God’s activity in the Muslim world as they gave a dramatic presentation called “Behind the Veil.” We have experienced some of our highest attendance in both worship and Sunday School. We ask for prayer that God will provide the space and the leaders which will allow us to continue to reach others and see them become disciples. • Paul Dreessen Frankfurt, Germany • At the end of February, Bethel International Baptist Church, Frankfurt, Germany, said a fond farewell to our pastor of 13 years, Doyle Searcy, and the following Sunday we welcomed him back as “guest preacher” as his flight home was scheduled for 11 March! We know that the decision to go was not an easy one for Doyle to make, but eventually he realized that God was bringing his ministry in Germany to an end. On 31 January, Doyle reached the milestone of 50 years in the ministry, and we as a congregation were privileged to celebrate this special anniversary with him before he left. Our pastor leaving was the culmination of many changes to the leadership at Bethel, following the earlier departure of two deacons through job transfers in Photo by Judith Lynn Maxwell the summer of 2008 and the death of our Chairman of Deacons Fred Wallstead last summer. Fred and his wife Inke, who has moved to Berlin to be with her daughter, left a large hole in our midst, and Jimmy Martin (r) presents Doyle Searcy with a certificate of appreciation. we would like to acknowledge the significant contribution that they both made to Bethel. Needless to say, we are experiencing a real transition stage. On a positive note, on 21 February five people, including a family of four, were baptized and another person the following week. Over the last few months, several people have come forward for membership, and we recently held an extraordinary business meeting for our members and regulars, with approximately 30 people attending. We are confident that God has a plan for our church and its future, and there is a real sense of ‘family’ as we come together to seek His will. • Debbie Charter 15 | Highlights 05/2010
Page 1 and 2: Highlights Volume 48, Issue 1 Publi
Page 3 and 4: IBC gospel through the popular Alph
Page 5 and 6: Executive Council Plans Ministries
Page 7 and 8: ken 2010 the children’s program p
Page 9 and 10: “Give Yourself Away” at Singles
Page 11 and 12: In Response to the Haitian Tragedy
Page 13: News from the Churches Freiburg, Ge

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