Important Ministry Update

Last month, the Vice President of Dayspring Bible College, Dr. Phil Stringer, and I were privileged to go to West Africa and visit the na-tions of Ghana and Togo. Before we left, we had hundreds of copies of our book, Evangelism Made Simple, printed there, so we could give it to pastors, evangelists, and church workers.

The goal of our trip was to spread the clear, simple gospel message and to share the most effective methods of witnessing. How we were able to do this was to have “Evangelism Made Simple Conferences” in both Ghana and Togo. We had hundreds of men and women in the ministry attend these conferences. All of the attendees were given the book. Those in Togo received a copy translated in French.

We received a ton of feedback from those who attended the  conference.

 

Many realized, in one form or another, they would be able to share the gos- pel more clearly. After the conference, Pastor Joseph Akakpo from Togo said, “Our eyes got opened! We had been mixing discipleship verses with evan- gelism verses, which is not the same. It is different.”

Pastor Solomon said,“I am telling you tonight, I don’t know what to say. Something happened in my mind. For twenty-three years of ministry, I used to preach the gospel in a different way. This is such a big difference in my life.” I encourage you to watch our “Africa Evangelism Conference 2017” video on YouTube and listen to everything these two preachers said.

Victory In Grace was also able to give to some of the missionaries in this region. These churches are now equipped to lead thousands to Christ through the clear gospel. Only because of dona- tions by people like you, was it possi- ble for hundreds of copies of our book to be printed in Africa, for Dr. Stringer and me to go and preach there, and for those missionaries to receive some funds.

While we are very excited to see all that God will do through this mission trip, that was not the only place Vic- tory In Grace was able to reach. We also had Pastor Mark Julian and his wife, Courtney, go on a mission trip to China! While there, Pastor Mark and Courtney were able to encourage the contacts we have there and be a light in that country. God did incredible things on both trips. Please keep us in your prayers and consider giving to VIG Missions.

Jim Scudder Jr.

Question & Answer

Question — What about repentance?

Answer —Many people misuse this term. If you asked someone fora definition of repent, they would probably tell you it means to ask forgiveness, to feel regret or sorrow, or to exhibit penitence.

Before I give my answer, let me point out something. God repents more than men in the Old Testament. For example: Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Jonah 3:9 10

How can God, Who never sins, have to feel sorry or turn from sin?

When repent is used in the Bible, it carries a different meaning than the definition we are accustomed to. The term in the New Testament is derived from the Greek word metanoia, which means a change of mind.

Biblical repentance is a decision, not a feeling. Although many people feel sorrow when they realize they are sinners in need of a Savior, the feeling is not what saves. We are saved when we decide to place our trust in Christ’s death, shed blood, burial, and resurrection.

It is our job to make the gospel message as clear as pos- sible. When we use words like“repent,” we are taking away the clarity of the message of grace because most people immediately assume“repent”means to turn from their sins. This would add works to the gospel of grace. God’s gift of salvation is simple to receive. All we must do is place our trust in His finished work on Calvary.

 Reaching the World

Recently, I had the privilege of traveling to visit our missionaries in the Philippines. There are so many things I would like to share from that trip, but here are a few highlights.

• We visited Asia Baptist Bible College and a couple Dayspring graduates that work there: Pastor Keith and Rebecca Birginal.

• While visiting different churches and a pastor’s conference, we handed out Evangelism Made Simple books (that were printed in the Philippines) to hundreds of pastors!

• My book, Why Life Hurts, was translated into Tagalog and handed out to many pastors as well.

• We also had many copies of Dr. Phil Stringer’s book, The Faithful Baptist Witness, printed in the Philippines.

• We met with some pastors that VIG helped a few years ago when they were hit by Typhoon Haiyan.

• We visited Dayspring graduates, Pastor Matt and Rina Wolff, and their church, Bible Baptist Church of Bahay Pare.

• We visited Dayspring Bible Baptist Church, which is pastored by another Dayspring graduate, Pastor Edwin Samson.

• We went to Pastor Resty Rivera’s church, and while we were there, they renamed their church Dayspring Bible Baptist Church as a surprise for us!

• We provided many physical needs for our missionaries and their churches.

• We saw many people trust Christ as their Savior!

Pastor Jim Scudder Jr.