IDER, Alabama — Having spent much time in prayer about the many obstacles that the Ider Church of God faces in its work of ministry, not the least of which includes a need for more dedicated ministry space, I went to the Alabama State Campmeeting seeking an answer from God. I felt impressed that if I went expecting Him to speak to me through this week of ministry, I would return with the answers that I needed. He did not disappoint me.
On the first night of the meeting, I spent some time conversing with one of the missionaries that our church already supports. Directly after speaking with him, I felt the Spirit of the Lord impress upon me this simple thought: “What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!” At that moment, something was birthed inside my heart. I returned to my church at the end of the week with a new vision: Build or plant a church in another nation as a seed planted, expecting a harvest to be returned.
It was an ambitious plan. By leadership of the Holy Ghost, we would launch a double-edged campaign. First, I asked each individual in the church to commit to a faith promise that would extend beyond the present level of missions giving, a personal seed for a personal harvest. Then, I asked the church to commit to raising the funds, by planting a seed of labor, to build or plant a church in a needed area somewhere around the world. The Ider Church of God excitedly accepted the challenge, and we began to pray for God’s direction.
Our primary prayer was that God would lead us to that missionary or leader that had been praying, who had a vision from God, but lacked the funding to make it happen. It was during this time of seeking the Lord that I called R. Terrell Brinson, the Alabama State Missions Representative.
As I shared my heart with Brother Brinson, he asked me what area of the world we felt led to do this work. My response was Central America, an area that has long held a special place in my heart. You see, my only child is Latina, born an orphan in the Nation of Guatemala. Brother Brinson began to get excited on the phone as he informed me that the Lord must have brought us together, because part of his work in Cleveland is serving as liaison to the Church of God in Central America. He told me that he would have information for us in a matter of days.
A few days later, I received a call from Brother Brinson, and he shared with me the parameters of a desired church plant in the third largest city in Ecuador, a city called Cuenca. Brother Ramirez, the Regional Overseer for the Church of God in Central America, had been much in prayer for the opportunity to plant a church there, a city of nearly 500,000 people, but without a single Church of God congregation. Brother Brinson and I rejoiced over the phone as we realized that God had brought us together, answering both our prayers, and Brother Ramirez’s. I asked how much we would need to plant the church, and the answer was $10,000, an amount that we had ballparked in our discussions with the church.
Brother Brinson came on September 11th to kick off our “Building the Kingdom” campaign, and left our church inspired to work diligently for this worthy cause. Immediately, funds began to pour in, including matching funds from within our own community. Unbelievably, we will likely more than double our original goal by the time we complete this project, and that is from what is being done within our church. There are others who are also helping to raise funds for this church plant, and we are believing that something positively glorious is going to happen in Cuenca, Ecuador. We are so excited that the Lord chose to plant this vision in our hearts, and we are expecting a harvest: First in Cuenca, then in Ider, Alabama.
Jonathan Lambert
Senior Pastor, Ider Church of God
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