Tag: podcast

Thoughts along the way

Episode 19: Presence

No one, I am convinced, will follow Jesus very long without tribulation. It is His way of demonstrating His presence.

-K.P. Yohannan, Revolution in World Missions

We hear the words of Christ echo throughout the corridors of history:  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

We follow the one who has all authority in heaven and Earth and who has promised that he is with us always! 

As we walk with Christ through the good and bad in life we walk with confidence that he is with us. In the good times we delight in his blessings, when tribulation defines our path we rest assured that his presence makes all things bearable. 

Although we constantly give thanks to him in the good times, we draw close to him during hardships of life. 

When we look forward in life we often see only confusion, a path not clear, full of terrifying obstacles. When we pause and look back we see exactly how Christ lead us through difficult situations in the past. Likewise, when we face tribulation, we can take courage that he has always made his presence known in the past and will certainly walk with us in every situation, even to the end of the age. 

May we be filled with a clear sense of His companionship today! May our tribulation be defined not by our suffering but by His presence. 

Have you heard our cultural insight about food? If not, click here!

with love,AE4CC7DA-43B8-4EB7-BAB4-3FE9CA162129 The Downings

Thoughts along the way

Episode 18: Realizations

 

Most Christians would like to send their recruits to Bible college for five years. I would like to send them to hell for five minutes. That would do more than anything else to prepare them for a lifetime of compassionate ministry. -William Booth

There are three very important realizations that each follower of Christ has. The first is when we realize just who we are in contrast to our Holy God. This is when we realize our sinfulness and desperate need for Salvation. We usually have this realization just before we become Christians. The second realization is the ghastly reality that there is a Hell and the natural human condition leads us there. At this realization we are usually driven to make sure our friends and family know of Christ’s salvation. The third realization is that we are called to do something about the horrible reality that multitudes of people step out of this lost and dying world each day without seeking salvation from the consequences of their sin. These multitudes have no hope. They will spend Eternity in Hell. 

The hope that each Christian experiences when we begin following is the very same hope that we are to proclaim to the world! Every Christian is called to make known the Good News! Every Christian can take motivation from the ghastly reality of Hell, the sad destiny of mankind and the hope that only the Words of Jesus can offer! 

May we be quick to realize that the very hope that we hold dear is the only hope for the multitudes of lost and dying souls. May we be even quicker to share the hope that we have! 

With much love, C7277E17-6D98-457E-AFCC-1E3289BD0CA8The Downings

Thoughts along the way

Episode 17: Smelting

 

Have Asians rejected Christ? Not really. In most cases they have rejected only the trappings of Western culture that have fastened themselves onto the Gospel.

-K.P. Yohannan, Revolution in World Missions

The work of missionaries is particularly essential to the Church. Not simply becuase every Christian is commanded into missions through the great commission in some way but becuase of the inheritant smelting of the Gospel message as it travels into new cultures. We who are missionaries can not afford to give a Gospel wrapped up in our home culture no matter how wonderful our home culture might be. We dare not give even aspects of our home culture in place of the Gospel or perhaps more commonly in addition to the Gospel. It is impartive that we separate the trappings of our culture and deliver only the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ. Only His message contain the Words of Life!

The words of Christ reach people in every culture, they even fundamentally change cultures but only when we give the words of Christ unwrapped from the message of our culture.

Friend, if you are a believer in Christ you are a believer because you heard the words of Christ. Let us carefully read the Bible and consistently breathe the Words of life into our lost and dying world!

May we do the hard work of objectivity looking at the Gospel and then at our culture and follow the Gospel when the two diverge. May we give Jesus only!

With much love, AE4CC7DA-43B8-4EB7-BAB4-3FE9CA162129The Downings

Ministry Story, Thoughts along the way

Ministry Story: La Pradera

 

We had two wonderful experiences recently.

We had the joy of worshiping with a new church plant in La Pradera. The church is a work born of the heart of the Rodriguez sisters, some of our pioneering church planters in the Ecuadorian Church of God. This dedicated family definitely has a missionary vision for their country. They have tirelessly worked to establish the gospel in several places.

La Pradera is a new neighborhood north of the El Caldron section of Quito. The church is located on the street named Jesús del Gran Poder (Jesus of Grand Power), an apt name for a church address. Please pray with us as this new work shines the Gospel light in this neighborhood. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”

We were impressed that this work included the children in every aspect of the service. The church was very warm and welcoming.

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A lovely time of worship.

Timothy had the honor of preaching over a section in 1John. By an act of the Holy Spirit one of the church leaders read a section of Proverbs during the opening of the worship service that prepared everyone’s heart for the sermon God had given to Timothy.

After church we had the opportunity to travel across town and eat with brother Alejandro Choez and his family. Brother Choez used to serve as the pastor at the Santa Clara Church. Pastor Choez and the Santa Clara Church played a significant role in forming our thoughts and feelings about Ecuador. One of Timothy’s first mission trips to Ecuador was to the Santa Clara church. He joined with a church group from Greenville Tennessee lead by Sister Roma Lee and helped with a construction project on the lower level of the church building. It was a great encouragement to relive some of our shared memories.

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Brother Alejandro and family.

One of the great joys of ministry in Ecuador is the encouragement we both give and receive as we walk alongside our brothers and sisters here on the Equator

with much love, ff7ede2e-fa12-4cbb-9c20-5456d1070373The Downings

If you would like to donate to the building project in Pisambilla mentioned in this podcast we invite you to click here and find out more. 

Cultural Insight, Thoughts along the way

Cultural Insight 6: Church

The Gospel message is the same in every epoch and in every culture. Our Christian experience flows from the Gospel but when our culture is added to the mix the two coalesce into a unique experience that we call church. Although our theological understanding of Church remains constant across borders our experience changes drastically. In today’s Cultural Insight we explore some of the differences between the North American church and the church in Ecuador from our perspective.

With much love,ff7ede2e-fa12-4cbb-9c20-5456d1070373 The Downings

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Thoughts along the way

Episode 16: Where

Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter. -Charles Spurgeon

Missionary. What do you think of when you hear the word missionary? Missions, primarily, is not about men and women giving their lives away for a moral or humanitarian cause. Rather, missions are primarily about the proclamation of a specific message with a specific content. We see this message written large in every sermon recorded in the book of Acts. The redemption of the world through the death and resurrection of our incarnate God, Jesus Christ. 

If you tell someone of the love, salvation and redemption of Jesus Christ you are speaking missionary words. If you proclaim “God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not parish but Have everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him” you are proclaiming the missionary message. 

But where should you proclaim your missionary message? Jesus actually gives us clear instructions as to where we are to be missionaries. 

In Acts Chapter one Jesus tells his original disciples that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. In other words where they lived, where they were comfortable, across cultural lines and to the furthest parts of the earth. 

We, His current disciples are called likewise. Although we tend to think of only the furthest parts of the earth as being the realm of missionaries, the truth is that all Christians are responsible for each area of witness. We must take care to witness in each of the realms that Christ sent His disciples. 

May we loudly proclaim the missionary message to all whom we meet. May we go in person, and where we cannot go in person may we go in purse!

With much love,09c1071c-468b-42a1-a9eb-8f1a3f66360a The Downings

If you enjoyed this post we know you will like this one as well!

 

 

Cultural Insight, Thoughts along the way

Cultural Insight 5: Venezuela

As we witness the fall of yet another socialist country in real-time, what are the implications for Venezuela’s neighbors? How are Venezuelans treated in Ecuador? How can we pray? This Cultural insight is ripped right from the headlines. We invite you to click on the player below for a short sharable insight into what is going on in Ecuador.

 

 

With much love,AE4CC7DA-43B8-4EB7-BAB4-3FE9CA162129 The Downings

We encourage you to click here to check out our Mission!

Thoughts along the way

Episode 15: Concentric Waves

 

The primacy of missions is written in large letters across the pages of the whole Bible. All the apostles gave themselves to missions, and only the sword could cut short their path to the uttermost part of the earth.

-George W. Peters

Like concentric waves of water when a stone is thrown into a placid pond the Gospel of Jesus Christ travels from its origin to the uttermost parts of the earth! In the Church there is much discussion about evangelism and discipleship. Which should be our main focus, which should be primary? In reality we miss the mark when we argue about such things. Love is primary! When we love properly we Evangelize those who need it and we disciple those who need it. 

When we love like Christ loved we focus on the needs of those around us not on the false argument over the theological supremacy of missions or discipleship. 

In reality missions and discipleship walk hand in hand to the ends of the earth. They are two theologies that can not be separated. One can not be elevated over the other. After all Jesus said Go and make disciples! 

May we love like Christ loves, may we see with his eyes and may we meet the needs of those we encounter.

With much love, ff7ede2e-fa12-4cbb-9c20-5456d1070373the Downings

Friends, as our budget has expanded we are falling significantly short. We need your partnership now more than ever. Would you consider a one time donation to our ministry? We invite you to click here to find out more about partnership with us. 

Ministry Story, Thoughts along the way

Ministry Story: Quevedo

 

The humidity was thick but the joy was palpable as we walked through the doors of the Quevedo church.

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The building that houses the Quevedo Church!

Quevedo is one of the most important agricultural centers of Ecuador and is the geographical point where all major roads in the region (including the Pan-American highway) intersect. The area surrounding Quevedo mainly produce bananas, corn, rice, and soybeans. The soils in the region generate excellent harvests year-round. Many banana producers complement their banana plantations with fields that produce corn, soy and rice during the rainy season.

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We had the privilege of traveling with Brother Patricio and Sister Irma (The President and First Lady of the National Committee of the Church of God in Ecuador) to encourage the believers in Quevedo.

The church in Quevedo if full of friendly faces and dedicated believers. They are firmly planted in the thriving agriculture community. They are a light in a dark place as well. We could not help but notice a large number of brothels and night clubs in the area.

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What a wonderful group of believers!

 

Please pray for our brothers and sisters as they shine the light in the darkness and witness for Christ.

With much love,ff7ede2e-fa12-4cbb-9c20-5456d1070373 The Downings

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Cultural Insight, Thoughts along the way

Cultural Insight 4: Class

Why is the USA called the land of opportunity? Do you know the difference between a class based and classless society? This cultural insight podcast sheds some light on this subject.

 

What does the sign say in our featured photo? “We are looking to hire a woman to work at our hotdog stand.” In Ecuador employers can hire based on sex, color or any other criteria they choose.

With much love, AE4CC7DA-43B8-4EB7-BAB4-3FE9CA162129The Downings

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