Global Outreach Website

Aug 11

We are writing to let you know that we will fly to Warsaw, Poland today with a team to help facilitate a Life on Life Missional Discipleship (LOLMD) clinic and to ask if you would be willing to be part of our prayer team? We would be most grateful to have you join us as we go. Information regarding the trip is below:

TRIP PURPOSE:

To facilitate a LOLMD Clinic and to help our partners develop a strategic plan for building a movement of LOLMD in Poland over the next several years.

TEAM: Ken Branscombe (Leader), Weylene Branscombe, Bill Wood, Debby Wood, Dwight Johnson, Virginia Johnson, Ryan Stringfield, Pamela Stringfield, Bill Bahr and Carolyn Bahr

TRIP VERSES:

Team Verses:

2 Timothy 2:1-2:  You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us

John 17:23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

TRIP ITINERARY:

Thursday, August 11 -Leave Atlanta for Warsaw

Specific for today:

The Stringfields and the Bahrs are flying through Paris. The workers at Charles De Gaul airport and Air France are known for losing luggage, going on strike, etc. Please pray that the ministry supplies and our luggage arrives safely,  that the Lord provides upgrades and/or open seats so we can sleep on the plane, and that the strike that is being called for by the air traffic controllers in Germany will not take place and we will make it to Warsaw.

Friday, August 12 -              Arrive in Warsaw, recover from jet lag

Saturday, August 13 -         Drive to Ostr?da, LOLMD Clinic begins

Sunday, August 14 -                        LOLMD Clinic

Monday, August 15 -           LOLMD Clinic

Tuesday, August 16 -          LOLMD Clinic

Wednesday, August 17 -LOLMD Clinic

Thursday, August 18 -LOLMD Clinic

Friday, August 19 -              LOLMD Clinic

Saturday, August 20 -LOLMD Clinic Ends, Debrief with Core Leadership Team, Drive toWarsaw

Sunday, August 21 -                        Take train to Krakow, visit Aushweitz, Johnsons return to U.S.

Monday, August 22 - Return to Warsaw via train

Tuesday, August 23 -          Bahrs/Stringfields go to Paris and the Branscombes/Woods return to Atlanta

Thursday, August 25 - Bahrs/Stringfields return to Atlanta

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1.  Abide (John 15:1-14)That we would abide deeply with Him as we love and serve one another and the nationals

2.  JOY!!!!  - That the joy of the Lord would be our strength! 

3.  Humility (Philippians 2:1-11)  Walk in humility and dependence

4.  Experience Life-On-Life with Poles as we pray, play, facilitate clinic (1 Thessalonians 2:8)
5.  Wisdom and Discernment (Proverbs 2:1-9, 3:1-8) to know how to love, serve, equip well

6.  Health (3 John 1:2)
7.  Endurance (Hebrews 10:36)  Energy and strength
8.  Safety (Psalm 62:6-8)  particularly we travel to and from Warsaw

9.  Unity (Ephesians 4:1-6/John 17)  As we pray, work and serve together

As always, thank you for your continued love and support. We need you and are so grateful for your joining with us!

Carolyn, for the team

Jun 27

We are a team of 6 trying out what could be an annual joint venture between Global Outreach, Community Outreach and Live, Work, Play.  Pray for us to have eyes to see what could be, and to discern where the Lord might could use Perimeter further in refugee ministry. Thanks! 

Jun 20

Dear tz team!

Your team has arrived on AMS and all are well, tired and so grateful for an inspiring and challenging time!  We all left part of our hearts in Tanzania.  We are so appreciative of your sending us and for your most evident prayers.

See you soon!!!!

--Mama Kathy

May 23

Family & friends are welcome to join us Tuesday night June 7th at 8pm in Fellowship hall EFGH at Perimeter Church.  The church\'s prayer team will be praying over/commissioning us before we head to Tanzania! 

Nov 19

GO Value: Mobilization

By Crystal Stamberg  

This week is the eighth of ten blog entries on the values of Global Outreach.

We believe that God calls each believer to be engaged in mission.  Therefore, we will seek through partnership to mobilize the whole church, to take the whole gospel, to the whole city.

The name we use at Perimeter \"Non-Resident Missionary Teams.\" They live in NE Atlanta, but have a passion for a targeted geographical region or people group, and view themselves as missionaries to that region or people group. They have face-to-face interaction with our partners in the field at least annually. They build a passionate team of lay people who have been on a GO Journey and been infected with the indigenous partner\'s vision. They help execute an agreed-upon strategy to accomplish something on the field far greater than our partner, or Perimeter Church, could ever accomplish alone. They become givers, senders, prayer warriors, informed advocates and GO-ers all rolled up into one. They coordinate GO Journeys at the request of and in support of our indigenous partners. 

As the liaison between the Western church and the partner, our NRMTs have definitely increased both our capacity and our partner\'s capacity to reach far greater heights and depths of global impact than was even conceivable prior to the emergence of this new kind of missionary. 

Oct 04

We believe that, for long-term reproducibility, ministries should receive their primary financial support from sources within their culture.

We\'ve been impacted through the years by Steve Saint and Daniel Rickett\'s teachings on the dangers of creating dependency.  From Dan Rickett\'s book on  Building Strategic Relationships, we learned:

In a healthy relationship, both sides recognize their responsibilities and work to fulfill them.  Each has a clear picture of what each has to offer and what each stands to gain.  Each maintains its independence and capacity to instruct, correct, and refuse the other.  Each honors and upholds the unique and divine calling of the other.  Each makes a distinctive and complementary contribution to the partnership.  Therefore it is important in partnership to not only give but to receive, to not only teach but to learn, and to not only lead but to follow. 

By contrast, the seeds of unhealthy dependency are planted when the only deal struck is the one-way flow of resources, whether that be money or personnel.  If the accent is on the exchange of money or personnel and not on the complementary contributions each partner makes, the importance of reciprocity is easily overlooked.  If resources are shared more for the benefit of one partner than for the purpose of ministering more effectively to others, the receiving partner\'s responsibility is effectively sidelined.  If one partner maintains control over the decision making process, the other partner cannot exercise responsibility of a co-laborer.   If one partner\'s contributions are valued more highly than the others\', it is impossible to establish true reciprocity. 

Five Sure Ways to Create Unhealthy Dependency -

1. Make an alliance with a lone ranger (rather than a ministry that has a local board of directors)

2. Send money directly to individuals (rather than an organization with a governing structure and accounting system that administers funds in an auditable and defensible manner)

3. Finance pastors and local churches (easily stifles local initiative by creating the assumption that believers need only rely on distant benefactors rather than learn to give sacrificially)

4. Give resources based only on need (Needs have to be defined and boundaries set so that you can actually see  results. Needs alone are insatiable.)

5. Underwrite 100% of a ministry\'s needs  (The best antidote is to subsidize a strategic initiative or program, rather than to fund the entire ministry.)

Sep 29

This week is the fourth of ten blog entries on the values of Global Outreach. We believe ministry is most effectively done by trained national leadership within their own culture.   

What do packing all your possessions in a coffin, taking a month-long boat ride, and trail-blazing Anglos have in common with missions in the 21st century? Answer: absolutely nothing! In today’s world of cell phones, internet cafés, and jet planes, numerous realities have emerged, among them globalization, aviation, accessibility of ideas and expertise, and the shift of Christianity’s center of gravity from the Northern to the Southern hemisphere. The day of the Western pioneer-type missionary is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.

Even global corporations have discovered that, at a fraction of the cost of sending a western employee to live and work overseas, they can outsource jobs to people in other countries who interact well with the indigenous people.  While there is still a place for strategic career missionaries, someone other than a “westerner” is many times better suited for the task of evangelism in a non-western setting. Consider how they know the language, the culture, and the needs so well.

A few of the indigenous leaders that Perimeter is privileged to partner include:

• Osni Ferreira & Jonathan Santos – Brazil (partner for 2 years)


• Andrzej and Lucas Bajenski – Poland (partner for 5 years)


• Nitin Sardar – India (partner for 13 years)


• Hermann Alb – Guatemala (partner for 20 years)

Kingdom Value is created in the empowerment of indigenous leaders in a city.  They already have the cultural and relational capital to take Perimeter’s unique strengths (Life-on-Life Missional Discipleship and Collaborative Church-based Community Transformation) and multiply them in their  own city and abroad in ways we could not. “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned… strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith.”  Acts 14:21-22a

Our role is one of facilitation; that is, coming alongside God’s indigenous church and helping build her capacity to bring Kingdom transformation to her particular sphere of influence and beyond. This will require a proclivity for such things as partnering, brokering, team building, collaboration and strategic thinking.   You can practice those skills on a GO Journey.  After that, you can serve on a Non-Resident Missionary Team or meet with GO about mid-term and long-term opportunities overseas. 

Sep 13

There will be a redemptive change when an individual, family, community, city, and culture are being brought under the influence of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Perimeter\'s own ministry plan outlines how a community demonstrates a life transforming encounter with the Kingdom of God when:

• Its people, in ever increasing numbers across ethnic and socioeconomic boundaries, are becoming members of Christ\'s body the Church, and becoming passionately committed to Him engaging in Word and Deed ministry;

• Its believers\' lifestyles are becoming increasingly marked by high moral standards, practicing
indiscriminate love, demonstrating spiritual integrity in all their relationships, living by faith in Christ attempting faith oriented goals, and speaking the truth regardless of the consequences;

• Its churches (all denominations) increasingly work together in the unity of the Spirit, as the Body of Christ, ministering to the needs of the community, working for mercy and justice and reconciliation for the powerless;

• Its educational, judicial, political, business, entertainment and social structures increasingly
reflect conformity with the Word of God.

Global city transformation requires the making of missional disciples to provide the leadership to transform their own churches and city, and reproduce it in other cities. This results in the multiplication of churches with an external focus to meet the societal needs of the city by living the gospel in the channels of cultural influence.

This begs the question, when do we know transformation is happening? Crime & corruption diminish throughout the community. Volunteer Social Services increase as Christians recognize their responsibilities to heal and undergird the community. Restored hope and joy leads to a decline in divorce, bankruptcy, drug abuse and suicide. Overwhelmed by the goodness of God, grateful Christians take the embers of revival into surrounding communities and nations. Unlikely alliances are being formed between believers and non-believers for the betterment of the city. Political leaders publicly acknowledge their sin and dependence on God. New Godly laws, curricula, and business practices are put into effect and talked about in the media. The natural environment is being restored to its original life-nurturing state. Economic conditions improve and lead to a discernable lessening of poverty. There is significant change in entertainment and vices as Kingdom values are integrated into the rhythm of daily life!

May this happen in our partner cities and our own!

Aug 20

This is the second of ten blog entries on the values of Global Outreach.

Last week, we looked at prayer as a consistent ministry activity within Global Outreach.  As a church that sends 40+ short-term mission teams out to 12 different countries throughout the year, it is imperative that we explore how to pray for GO Journey teams while they are on the field. My favorite John Piper quote relates to this:

Prayer is the walkie-talkie on the battlefield of the world. It calls in for the accurate location of the target of the Word. It calls in to ask for the protection of air cover. It calls in to ask for fire power to blast open a way for the tanks of the Word of God. It calls in the miracle of healing for the wounded soldiers. It calls in supplies for the forces....It is a wartime walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom to increase the comforts of the saints.

At times, GO Journey teams post specific prayer requests on their blog for intercessors back home.  Check them out by clicking \"Journey Blog\" in the top right of this screen.  Most likely they\'ll be concerned about: 

                • Health issues

                • Not feeling spiritual enough to be used by God

                • Leaving family members behind

                • Fear of the unknown/ traveling to a new place

An elder at our church, Larry Smith, has taught me to pray the things that the GO Journey teams request, but also pray for what they may not think to ask for:

                • that they would see this time as a time to depend 100% on God.

                • that they would place the needs of others over their own needs.

                • that they would be yielded to God 100%.

                • that God would use them in a mighty way.

                • that God would give them the words to speak when needed.

                • that the name of Jesus would be exalted.

                • that they would be able to speak words of healing to the sick.

                • for protection from the evil one.

                • that they would not fall into any temptation.

                • that they would have traveling mercies.

                • that God would reveal to them where and how to minister

                • that God would open their ears to His voice

                • that God would unite the team in daily prayer  

Aug 13

We believe it is God who changes the hearts of people;

therefore prayer should be the most consistent ministry activity.

John Piper has been quoted as saying \"Prayer IS the work of missions.\"  Yet, our partners seem to do it far better and more often.  You could say that we plan more than we pray, but our partners pray more than they plan!  

This is one area that being in reciprocal partnerships has truly influenced us, although we still have a long way to go.  The GO staff prays every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning from 9:15-10:00. There are always so many things to pray for our partners, missionaries, GO Journey teams, and lay teams here at Perimeter.  Several of the Non-Resident Missionary Teams physically gather on a monthly basis for prayer, including China, Thailand, India, and Tanzania.  We’ve recently set up monthly prayer times with Arab Peninsula and with Dublin partners over Skype. Jeremiah 29:7 says to seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. 

Prayer has long been a central part of our GO Journeys, as many of you have experienced.  We encourage the teams to engage in prayer before the short-term mission and while on the field.  Early on, in training related to support-raising, GO Journey participants get in a posture of prayer (kneel if they can) and pray over the whole process.  It’s not their work that will ultimately bring in the necessary support, but the Holy Spirit who will lead people to join them as financial and prayer supporters or “senders.”  On the Tuesday night before departure, each GO Journey team is prayed over/commissioned by the Perimeter prayer team. This is such a special time for the friends and family who are able to come.  On the field, we provide GO Journals with morning and evening meditations and a prayer-walking exercise.  It’s exciting to pray on-site with insight!

In next week’s blog, we will explore how to pray for GO Journey teams while they are on the field.

Aug 05

Less than 1% of the people in Ireland are Christ-followers (\"Christian\" doesn\'t have the most helpful connotation in Ireland).  One of their most strategic groups – Evangelical Alliance of Ireland www.evangelical.ie – has organized people across denominations with the vision of \"making the Kingdom of God unavoidable in every sphere of Irish life.\"  We\'ve been challenged and encouraged by the balanced emphasis they have on ministry in word and deed, all in the context of our relationship with our Savior.  EAI is undergoing organizational changes this month, and we were asked to help them think through the move from paid staff to volunteers.  For 2 weeks (Aug 22-Sept 6), we’ll be helping to overhaul their website, developing a plan and procedures for volunteers, etc.  Equally important to us are the relationships that God has graced us with in Dublin.  After Crystal returns on the 6th, there’ll be several key people to re-connect with before I come back to Atlanta on 9/11. If you would be willing to pray for us on this trip, keep checking back for periodic prayer requests and pictures from Dublin.   

--Jonathan

Aug 03

The team doesn\'t have internet access but they wanted you to know they made it safely and that the Compassion in Action projects are going well!