Earthquake in Chile

Many of you have probably heard about the 7.7 earthquake that rocked northern Chile earlier today. Some of you have asked about how my in-laws are doing. While the epicenter was only about 105 miles north of the city where my in-laws live (Antofagasta), there was very little damage in the city and to the homes of the people in the church. Although we have not been able to get through to them, my brother-in-law, Tim Chapman, who is a missionary in Peru, said that my in-laws are doing fine (as well as everyone in the church). We praise the Lord for his protection.

You can read up on the earthquake on CNN (where several of the first pictures of the earthquake are from Antofagasta), MSNBC, FOXNEWS, etc.

Times like these remind us of the story of the two men who built houses, one on the sand and the other on the rock. The ground on which Antofagasta is built is very stony. Several major earthquakes have struck the region (including an 8.0 in 1995) and brought about relatively little damage. In contrast, the 6.9 earthquake that hit San Francisco caused much destruction and many deaths. Remember that an 8.0 earthquake is many times stronger than a 6.9 earthquake. (While 7.0 earthquake has the same energy that an explosion involving 32 million tons of TNT, an 8.0 earthquake is the equivalent of 1 billion tons 0f TNT.) In spite of being hit by a much larger earthquake, the city on the rock stood firm.

Thank you for your prayers and concern.

Student Global Impact

A few years ago, the Lord allowed me to be part of Student Global Impact, a missions conference for college age young people. The teaching, both practical and philosophical, was designed to help motivate and prepare a new army of missionaries for God's service. At the conference, the excitement and energy of the young people stirred my heart. Many young people are spiritually encouraged as the interact with other missions-minded young people from all over the US.

Years ago, student missionary groups were one of the engines that drove the missions movement in the US. Student Global Impact has the potential to be such an engine. I hope that many of you would consider attending or encouraging young people to attend SGI.

This year's conference will be held January2-4, 2008. You can get more information by going to the SGI website or by watching the following video.

Curso Intensivo

The mini-module that we did in Saltillo went very very well. We were hoping for about 20 pastors. The first day we had about 15 pastors. The second and third day the number rose to about 22-23 men. We were excited not only about the attendance but at the wonderful spirit that was felt during those few days. We had a wonderful time interacting with godly men who manifested a tremendous thirst for sound teaching. Several times we had men comment on how they had never heard this kind of teaching. They mentioned that they were used to going to conferences but this was a different depth of teaching. We praise the Lord for the opportunity to make an impact on about 20 pastors who will in turn make a difference in the lives of hundreds of God's people throughout Saltillo and northern Mexico.

During the course we announced the creation of the Instituto de Ministerio Cristiano (the Institute of Christian Ministry). The Institute will have several different facets. The first one is a correspondence facet that will allow pastors who cannot attend the university to continue their preparation. University classes will be videotaped and sent to pastors. They will have quizzes and tests on the materials read and presented on video. Men signing up for this program will also have to physically attend at least one of the mini-courses. This will also allow some of the credits to be transferred in to the university, should they choose to attend the university.

Another facet will be similar to a three-year associates degree for men that do not have the academic background or the resources (time or money) to study the full college program. We have seen many pastors that were academically unable to attend (because they lack high school degrees) or handle the full load of classes (many pastor and work full-time jobs as well!). This program will be a little bit lighter but will allow them to work towards a degree.

The third facet will involve training lay people for ministry in local church ministry. We have a burden to provide training for our own students and other church members who want more instruction. Pray for wisdom and growth in this new ministry.