Dear friend,
Thank you for praying! My time in the USA was incredibly fruitful. Jill and I had a fantastic time at the ‘Inhabit Conference’ in Chicago. We were inspired, and it was so good to mix with other like-minded people from predominantly smaller churches, all dedicated to reaching their communities for Christ. One of my takeaways from the conference is that God isa creative God, and when we listen to Him, He gives us amazingly creative ways to meet the physical and spiritual needs around us.
One line from the conference that really struck a chord with me was this: ‘…we must never covet or copy.’ This was said in regard to looking at other churches and ministries. Our temptation is to copy someone else because it works for them, but the reality is our community is different from another community.
When we look at the ministry of Jesus, there were so many different ways He met people at their point of need, from turning water into wine (His first miracle) to healing Malchus’ ear in the Garden of Gethsemane(His last miracle, if you don’t count His resurrection).
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God is always working, always calling people to Himself, and this was the theme of my sermon at ‘The Gathering’ in Colorado Springs. The whole week there was an amazing time.
The Global Leadership Team (GLT) spent two days together, updating each other on the ministries of our World Offices or Regional areas. We spent time praying for each other and looking at opportunities to work together to share resources so we can, together, share Jesus, give hope, and transform communities around the world.
Just before, I mentioned God being a creative God, and one of the greatest things to see is when people use their God-given gifts and abilities to serve Him. We are blessed here in the RBNZ team to have Bob, our Technical Director. He has created special software that allows us to translate any English radio scripts into all the major Ghanaian languages.
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When I demonstrated this to the GLT in Colorado Springs, people were amazed, especially those familiar with the Twi language. One speaker, about 30 seconds into me playing the translated and voiced script, said, ‘Russell, Russell, you must stop it now!’ I immediately thought, ‘Oh no, is the translation that bad?’ and so I asked him, ‘What’s wrong?’ He said, ‘Russell, I have goose bumps; this is amazing!’
This new software that Bob has created, using AI, is ground breaking and will have very positive ramifications for our ministry in Ghana.
Reach Beyond has four core values: Bold Faith, Life-giving Community, Empowered Partnerships, and Strategic Innovation. Reach Beyond New Zealand is leading the way in this area, and we can only do it because of your support through prayer, finance, and encouraging words. Thank you.
Please remember, I have some great video footage of our timein the villages in Ghana that I would love to show to your church or homegroup. It is such a privilege to tell the stories of lives changed and of allthe other wonderful things happening here in New Zealand and around the world,as the ministry of Reach Beyond New Zealand fulfils its mission of SharingJesus, Giving Hope, and Transforming Communities.
Russell Grainger
CEO, Reach Beyond New Zealand
Reach Beyond is an international mission organisation with specialised skills in media, healthcare and community development. We’re passionate about reaching the unreached with the Gospel.
© Reach Beyond NZ, 2022
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