As we’ve shared with you recently, BrookLink’s facilitator team had a summer of extensive travel. You helped send six members of our training team and affiliates from Europe to Africa to South Asia. The stories they shared upon their return were inspirational, and we want to share them with you!
"...for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation." Revelation 5:9
In June, BrookLink was invited to return again to Ethiopia to minister in the Kale Heywet churches. Pastor Timothy Ryder of Waukesha, Wisconsin and Pastor Ian Lawson of Alberta, Canada traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to lead church leaders through three days of training.
Everyone has a story. When meeting people for the first time I am eager to learn their story. Good stories grab our imagination, invite us in and broaden our understanding! Did you know that over 70% of the Bible was written in story form?
It is my hope this letter finds you in good health and experiencing the abiding joy of relationship with our God and Father during the Lenten season. As we enter springtime, our hearts delight in extended daylight, rebirth and growth. At BrookLink we are humbled and thrilled to be celebrating ten years in ministry and are steadfastly focused on why this ministry was created a decade ago.
In the final days of 2018, my hope and prayer is that you will know the nearness of Jesus Christ and how he entered the world in humble fashion “to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). At BrookLink, we count it a privilege to know this same Jesus, and to be involved in equipping pastors across the world and at home to proclaim Him too!
As my wife, Terry, got off the plane from West Africa in Detroit, Michigan, I was boarding a plane for East Africa in Chicago, Illinois. We spent Thanksgiving Day apart this year. But don’t feel too sorry for us. We were on Kingdom business and following His lead. Last month we talked about why we do what we do at BrookLink. Strengthening the church is WHAT BrookLink is all about. We were invited and available, so off we went.
I am humbled and blown away by your response to #GivingTuesday. Your dollars have allowed BrookLink to serve and minster to thousands of church leaders and pastors around the world and here at home for the past 10 years. Without your support, this work would not be possible. I am writing today to update you on what has been going on for the past couple of weeks.
Your generosity is astounding! Our fundraising goal for #GivingTuesday was $5,000 and with your help, we were able to raise just over $13,000! And let's not forget the group of faithful donors who pledged to match up to $5,000 bringing the overall #GivingTuesday total to over $18,000. Thank you for helping strengthen churches around the world!
Did you know that Armenia is a landlocked Christian country in the Middle East surrounded by non-Christian neighbors? This summer while in Armenia, we were thanking the Lord for the 350 pastors and church leaders from different denominational traditions that we were privileged to train and equip.