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Dear pastor and congregation, Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Today is my 51st Birthday. That means that if the Lord tarries and I am in good health still then I have at least 14 years of active ministry. I began my ministry in Sidon, Lebanon 23 years ago. In my 11 years in Lebanon I established two churches and salvaged an already existing one in Beirut, Lebanon from being taken over by the Charismatics. Both churches in Lebanon are doing well. One of them, the second one I planted in the security zone is doing exceptionally well as they are planting there second mission church in a town, called Ebl Saki, 50 miles from where they are now. The first mission Church they established is in another town, called Hasbayya, 12 miles from them. I have been serving in Jerusalem for 13 years and I am just about to announce to you a church established in Jerusalem, Israel. We came back from our furlough 19 months ago. We raised funds to purchase a smaller condo which we could afford of which we still owe $ 52,500.-. The condo is located in an apartment complex. We found when remodeling that we could not hold church services there. So we let it out for $ 700.-per month and with that income we wanted to find a place to hold church services. Believe me when I tell you it was a miracle the way God provided two ground floor warehouses for us to rent as a church facility. Nobody would ever give us the time of day to even rent a small place for church and here a man who lives in Australia allowed us to rent two small warehouses at an important corner for $ 800.-. My congregation will supplement $ 100.- per month for the rent from our offerings. But this is not all. Above the warehouses, there is a large empty apartment. So we rented it for our residence and the landlord allowed me to open a door in the wall of the stairs to have internal access to the church. So I will have my office downstairs in the church facilities where I can go down to pray and read my Bible and study without having to go outside or leave the building; which is a vital safety measure for me and my family. Repairing the warehouses by tearing down walls and tiling the floor and electricity and painting the walls and water supplies for the bathrooms and other remodelings cost money. We had three contractors look at the place and the lowest bid with good terms was U.S. $14,225.-. We do not have this money. We have in the church account $ 4,800.- that we want to use to purchase pews and pulpit and communion table. We also need a simple sound system and a conditioning system. My plea to you is one: " God's hand is on this place ". The set up that we have is beyond the dreams of me or any of my congregation. The way The Lord Jesus allowed things to happen is beyond our expectation. 1- The location sits on a tripod between the Jews, Catholics, and Moslems. They are all within a one mile radius. See enclosed pictures sheet that shows the premises, the work that needs to be done, and the location with its surroundings with tremendous opportunities for soul winning, visitation, and reaping souls for Christ. 2- The day I went to see the landlord to sign a five year lease, The Lord allowed one of our supporting pastors, my best man at my wedding, Dr. John Waldrip, to be visiting for three days to witness this miracle and his presence played an important role . See his enclosed letter. 3- After two weeks the day we started looking for contractors, God allowed another one of our supporting pastors, Dr. Larry Chappell to witness the wall breaking and see the potential and the possibilities and to be a witness to testify to you validity and the importance of this project. See his enclosed letter. The urgency of the hour requires me to ask you to help us. We are planning the opening service on January 8th, 2006 where we are going to announce the birth of the " FIRST BAPTIST BIBLE CHURCH "- " BEIT HANINAH BRANCH "- So for those of you who have invested in us for 13 years or more or less now it is time for you to reap what you have sowed. By the grace of God, in 24 years of service in the Middle East we will have established 5 churches. My wife and I sit back and watch and see that we are only spectators. God is still on the throne. Christ is still fulfilling the Great Commission and we are only co-labourers with God. My pastor in Brussels, Missionary Tommy Duniho, told me repeatedly that there is always a direct relationship between doctrinal compromise and financial abundance and between Doctrinal Purity and Financial Scarcity. I fall in the second category! I need your help. Please pray with us. Now is the right time. Now is the time to help. And now is the hour of travail before the birth. There are heavy expenses and we need your help. It is a golden opportunity. We are here representing you!
Please bear with me and send your contribution with the indication: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: (Phil. 1:6)
From the Land of the Prophets,
C.M.C. |
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