In Psalm 27:14, David implores us to:

“Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!”

The 17th-century theologian John Trapp remarked on this passage, “Many of the Lord’s promises bear a long date; but they are sure and infallible. Wait, therefore.”

Last weekend’s first in-person training was the culmination of a long wait.

Beginning with an exploratory trip to Puerto Rico in 2019, followed by a site visit to our Santo Domingo office in 2022, Raydel’s training was years in the making. Still, we trust in God’s providence and celebrate His provision of this opportunity to serve the body of Christ in Puerto Rico.

Thank you for your continued prayer and financial support, which is how the Lord has chosen to strengthen and sustain this ministry.

Please join us in praying for the nation of Haiti, as the depths of human depravity are tragically on full display.

In many ways, we see the embodiment of the following quote by the late theologian Francis Schaeffer (1976):

“Here is a simple but profound truth: If there are no absolutes by which to judge society, the society is absolute. Society is left with one man or an elite filling the vacuum left by the loss of the Christian consensus which originally gave us form and freedom.”

Romans 13:1-5 informs us that civil authorities are to function as instruments of God’s wrath on wrongdoers and for the benefit of society by punishing evil and rewarding good.

Proverbs 29:2 states, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”

Therefore, we pray for a national leadership that would be faithful to the mandate of being “God’s servant for good.” (Romans 13:4)

We pray for the transforming power of the Gospel to be faithfully proclaimed, recognizing that “the law of God has wider function than the promotion of conviction, which leads to salvation. Where it is heard and known, it acts as a restraint on sin. It speaks to the conscience of the unregenerate” (Murray, as cited by MacArthur, 2016).

We pray for the Haitian evangelical Church, sent into the world to represent Christ and serve as the last barrier between the moral implosion and utter chaos.

Finally, as Widmy’s update below attests, we can praise God that Christ’s Church is still at work for His purposes even amid the turmoil.

References

Schaeffer, F. A. (1976). How then shall we live?: The rise and decline of western thought and culture. Crossway.

MacArthur, J. (2016, June 5). Who is God’s Candidate?, Part 1. Grace to You. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-489/who-is-gods-candidate-part-1

Theologian J.P. Moreland said, 

“Saint Paul tells us that the church — not the university, the media, or the public schools — is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). But you would never know it by actually examining our local church practices week by week or by observing the goals and objectives set by many parachurch ministries.”

I’m happy to say, “Not so with Empowering Action,” as it exists to serve Christ by equipping the global Church for greater biblical fidelity and ministry effectiveness.

Moreland continues…

“New Testament ministry is decentralized, and the function of pastors-teachers is to equip others to do the ministry. If we were more serious about this approach, we would do a better job of providing theological, biblical, philosophical, psychological, and other forms of training in our churches because without it, the ministers (that is, the members of the church) would not be adequately equipped to do the ministry.”

We strive to model this theology-driven methodology as our staff mobilizes over 700 volunteers monthly to minister to more than 5,000 persons across our four programs.

We are excited that we will host our first in-person training in Puerto Rico next month after last week’s meeting with Efŕain Burgos of La Red de Multiplicacion and Liga Biblica of Puerto Rico.

Please pray for this trip and our ongoing efforts in Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to serve Christ’s Church by “establishing and exhorting” in the faith. (1 Thess. 3:2)

If you are like me, regardless of how much you enjoy Christmas, there comes a point where a house full of decorations gets old. However, one thing that never gets old for me about the holidays is experiencing the generosity of year-end donations to EA, as it represents:

• the reality of our continued service together in equipping Christ’s Church,
• obedient trust in the Lord to provide for the giver’s future needs, apart from that which was donated,
• and hearts in proper alignment with Christ-centered priorities.

King David cautioned in Psalm 62:10, “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them.”
 
One bible scholar highlighted three ways in which we can set our hearts on riches:

• To take excessive pleasure in our possessions, making them the source of joy in our lives;
• To place our hope and security in our accumulated wealth;
• To grow proud and arrogant because of our prosperity.

He cautioned,

“As a king, David ended up being a very wealthy man, though most of his earlier years were lived in deep poverty. David knew what it was to see riches increase, and he knew the foolishness of setting one’s heart on them. It is possible to hold great wealth without trusting in those riches, but it is not easy.”
 
Thank you for entrusting us with some of the provisions the Lord has supplied you (Phil. 4:19). As a result, by God’s grace, we raised $144,093 of our $200,000 goal.
 
Please continue praying for His provision, protection, and direction in 2024!
 
Carey and I would also appreciate your prayers for our eldest Audrey who left this past week for her semester in Spain as part of her Spanish major at Geneva College.

As we look forward to zealously pursuing the Lord in 2024, let us encourage and equip ourselves by gleaning four critical concepts from Philippians 4:

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:10-13)

1. Beware our human inclination in the coming year. Paul had to learn contentment, as it does not come naturally to man and is counter to culture. 
2. Prioritize being a practitioner, not an academic, of your faith in the days ahead. John Owen said, “The apostle does not say, I have heard, that in every estate I should be content: but, I have learned…Paul was a practitioner. Christians hear much, but I fear, learn little.”
3. Prepare yourself now for God’s 2024 classroom. Warren Wiersbe states, “How did Paul learn? Surely in God’s classroom, the curriculum offering such classes as Discipline 101 and Tribulation 102; classes in which Paul had ample experience” (2 Cor. 11:26).
4. Rely on Christ. Paul depended on the power of Christ at work in his life to faithfully pursue God’s will and walk (Jn 15:16). As we labor FOR Christ this year, let us do so IN Christ’s strength.

Happy New Year!

As we head into the final days of 2023 and EA’s 11th year of ministry, I was reflecting this morning on Paul’s words to the church in Philippi regarding God’s provision:

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. (Phil. 4:10)

Ten years had passed since Paul had established the church in that city. The Philippians had generously supported Paul when he left Philippi to minister in the Macedonian cities of Thessalonica and Berea (Acts 17:1-13) and moved south into Achaia, ministering in Athens and Corinth (Acts 17:14-18:18).

Throughout the years, the Philippian church had remained concerned about Paul and his ministry, but the distance had hindered their ability to minister to him. The late theologian John Walvoord explains how the arrival of Epaphroditus with their financial support (Phil. 4:18) immensely encouraged the imprisoned apostle:

“The fact that they had gone to such effort to send him an offering by the hand of one of their beloved brethren in the church at Philippi touched Paul’s heart and gave him great encouragement in the lonely hours of his imprisonment.”

Thank you for being so supportive throughout the years! And please know that any gifts toward our year-end matching campaign will, like the Apostle Paul, greatly encourage your ministry partners pictured below.

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus, we find the following encouragement regarding the practical implications of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Like the most spectacular Christmas sunrise, Christ’s first coming shed the light of the grace of God’s salvation in a sin-darkened world.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

Charles Spurgeon commented on how we currently live between the two advents of Christ:

“To use an ecclesiastical term, we stand between two Epiphanies: the first is the manifestation of the Son of God in human flesh in dishonor and weakness; the second is the manifestation of the same Son of God in all his power and glory…We have everything to hope for in the last appearing, and we have now to wait with patient hope throughout that weary interval which intervenes….In this description of our position is the very best argument for a holy life.”

May this Christmas celebration give us gratitude for God’s grace and motivation for our sanctification!

Years ago at the outset of Empowering Action I read the following quote by the late theologian Warren Wiersbe that I have returned to again and again throughout the subsequent 11 years of EA’s ministry:

“The Lord is planning to work through us in the lives of people and places we know nothing about today; but if we walk in His will, we shall share in the blessing.”

December has been filled with blessings for Carey and I:

• A wonderful reunion-like atmosphere at the EA Christmas Party;
• An historic and emotional retreat in the Dominican Republic with the Cuban pastors and their wives who serve as regional connectors and minister sacrificially amid the most difficult of circumstances;
• Our staff Christmas party in Santo Domingo which included our traditional time of prayer and thanksgiving for the Lord’s grace in allowing us to serve His Church for another year;
• Returning to learn how many of you had already partnered with us financially in our year-end campaign;
• Finally, being contacted last night by a generous EA supporter offering to match all donations up to our $100,000 goal.

Reflecting on the above blessings, I was drawn to the Psalmist’s exhortation to trust God exclusively, worship him explicitly, and thank Him abundantly.

“I love the Lord, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live…Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” (Psalm 116:1-2, 7)

It may surprise you that Jesus said more about money than anyone else in the Bible and more about money than any other subject.

Why?

Jesus recognized that an individual’s attitude towards money is a manifestation of the spiritual condition of their heart. In fact, in Luke 19:1-10 Jesus judged the authenticity of Zacchaeus’ repentance and salvation upon his eagerness to part with his money for the glory of God and the betterment of others. The evidence of Zacchaeus’ transformation was his attitude toward money.

In the video below, Pastor Widmy describes the encouraging developments of our Savings Group program within Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which equips churches to impact their communities through biblical principles and practices regarding work and finances.

Your year-end financial support enables such efforts in 2024 to serve Christ’s Church, whom we celebrate, this Christmas season.

The life of the local church relies upon the Word of God (Matthew 4:4). To that end, equipping church leaders for greater biblical fidelity is foundational to our ministry, as a leader ignorant of God’s truth is ill-equipped for spiritual combat and faithful shepherding.

As our 11^th year of ministry comes to a close, we thought you would enjoy this update from Raydel on the exponential growth and impact of our K2:42 Church Network Development ministry, which was made possible by God’s grace through your financial giving.

Your year-end financial support enables such efforts in 2024 to serve Christ’s Church, whom we celebrate this Christmas season.