Tuesday, April 7, 2015

New Life

by Joy Casey

Easter. A time of great celebration, yes… but also a time to meditate on why Jesus came to earth and what his death accomplished. The central purpose of Christ’s life and death was to reconcile people to God, and the last instruction from Jesus to His followers was to make sharing the Gospel our central purpose.
 
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Adoption Ministry 1:27 brings humanitarian aid to some of the poorest people in Ethiopia. Many attend the churches that we partner with, but more and more we are reaching out to those who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. In fact, two of our project areas primarily serve a major unreached people group!
 
The case manager of each project area visits each “adopted” family once a month and he (or she) assesses needs and helps problem-solve. Many times, the pastor or an elder from our partner church goes visiting with the case manager. Every visit culminates in prayer. Over time, the widow being cared for starts asking questions about Jesus, and over and over our case managers hear variations of, “Never in my life have I been made to feel important to anyone. You are different. You show me kindness and respect that I have never experienced before .”
 
The other day news came that an entire family was baptized along with four other single moms we serve. The case manager was ecstatic reporting the amazing transformation of one of the families.
 
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When we took “A” into our program, her husband had recently abandoned his family and she and her three children were devastated and without hope. “A” eventually became a Christ-follower and her two teenage daughters shortly followed with a decision of their own.
 
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About nine months ago, her husband returned to his family and the exemplary change he saw in his wife and daughters challenged him to seek Jesus and he, too, became a believer.
 
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Every story of conversion and baptism is unique and we are joining the angels in heaven rejoicing! These stories, culminating in baptism and ongoing discipleship under the auspices of the local church, are the central purpose of our ministry in Ethiopia and how we are fulfilliing Christ’s command to GO INTO ALL THE WORLD… meeting needs, teaching, and baptizing.

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Would you too like to be part of bringing new life to someone in Ethiopia?  Visit our website to find out how your $50/month will change someone's future!



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