Divine Opportunity

by John O’Malley

You followed the divine invitation to be right where you are in ministry. You did not know what all God had for you from the moment you submitted to His will for you. But you trusted, and he’s been faithful.

None ever had a full indication of how God would show Himself strong in their lives.

Like the three fishers of fish in the Gospels, God said, I want you to follow Me. Their obedience to follow God gave them three distinct views during their three-year ministry with Christ. Their obedience gave them an opportunity to walk with God, an opportunity to watch God, and an opportunity to work with God.

Your obedience to God’s direction for your life is identical to the three fishermen who became fishers of men. You sensed God’s nudging, and you heeded. Then God continued His work in you.

His direction gave you an opportunity to walk with God. In your life and ministry, you are walking with God. You have His presence, His promises, and His protection, no matter what you face. You have His guarantee of His expected outcome as you walk with Him — a fisher of men.

Right now, because you followed, you watch God in your ministry. Today, He is working in your heart, in the life of your family, and in the homes of your people.

Surely, the disciples took moments to reflect on the things God was doing in them.

If you have not recently taken time to reflect on watching God do His work in you, I urge you to look around and discover or rediscover what He is doing around you, in you, and with you.

As with the three fishers of men, God’s invitation to follow Him was an opportunity to work with God. These fishers worked with each other. They worked within the fishing community. These men knew a camaraderie in life, but now, this calling – His calling – to take on another occupation changed their lives. They would work with God. The same God Who spoke the world into existence will now let them work with Him.

Remember, wherever you serve, God is working. He is always working out His plan.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

200 Hundred Miles Over the Mountains

by John O’Malley

I purchased several books from eBay. The seller included a free book which became more valuable to me than the books I bought. The booklet is A Foreign Missionary Workers’ Manual*.

I read this selection, and I thought of you this month where you are. I thought about the global sickness and fatigue from the pandemic, the challenges you face, the sufferings you have endured while preaching the Gospel in the place you serve.

I drew strength from a selection in the manual entitled: Onward Christian Soldiers.

A fourteen-year-old Japanese girl who had only recently found the Lord came into the missionary telling of her desire to take the message of salvation to her loved ones at home.

On inquiry, the missionary found that her home was two hundred miles away over the mountains and that the girl had no other way to cover the distance than to walk. She insisted, however, upon going and was anxious the missionary lady should accompany her.

They started, and even after a steady tramp for a long distance, the Japanese girl did not care to stop. “We must hurry,” she would say, “they might die before we get there.”

Many more weary miles were placed behind them, and noticing that the girl’s feet were bleeding and sore, the missionary insisted that the convert should go no further, without rest.

Resting but briefly, they continued the journey until finally both travelers fell exhausted on the mountainside. At the missionary’s statement, “We cannot go any farther,” the girl looked up and said, “Can’t you sing ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers?’”

The song finished, the little girl asked, “Missionary do you think that the people in America will think that I love Jesus as much as they do?” At last, the home was reached, the story was told, and the family joyfully found the Lord.

Do you, an American, love Jesus as much as the Japanese girl?

I saw these lessons from this fourteen-year-old girl:
1.   I must not lose my passion for souls.
2.   No distance is too great when it comes to delivering the Gospel.
3.   When I feel I cannot go on, I can.
4.   The people I serve have much to teach me about my walk, faith, and passion for the Gospel.

Do you have a lesson that sticks out to you? Please email me and tell me what lessons you drew from this illustration.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

*A Foreign Missionary Workers’ Manual
The Pilgrim House
Indianapolis, Indiana
Published in 1947

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

A Place to Remember

by John O’Malley

Recently, I led a team of people on a See The Harvest trip to Boston and the greater New England area. We visited several ministries, met with a dozen pastors, and delivered the Gospel in public and private settings.

As I met with the spiritual leaders in this area, they reminded me of our duty to get the Gospel to the regions beyond and the regions close at hand. I saw the vacuum of the Gospel in the region.

In your place of service, you regularly see what happens to society and culture where a Gospel vacuum exists. Yes, America, especially the areas we went to, needs the Gospel.

Where you are, the people need the Gospel.

Thank you for being where you are doing what you do. You serve in unreached places amongst an untold people. Thank you for serving the cause of the Gospel.

As I met with these church planters, they reminded me of the emotional toll the ministry can take when serving in isolation or remote from other servants. These men and their wives serve the Lord in a place where few may even remember they are there.

God remembers the place He called you. God remembers your service to Him done, perhaps in isolation, in a place where Christ is not named. You are not alone.

You are seen by the all-seeing God. You are known by the all-knowing God. You are valued by the all-loving God.

Please remember your service to Christ matters. You matter to us at World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions. You make the difference between Heaven and Hell for your community.

As we enter the last third of the year, be faithful, be strong, and be true to God’s calling.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

When Do Our Feet Become Beautiful?

by John O’Malley

Dear Missions Family,

While reading a commentary on Romans, I thought to share this account from Donald Grey Barnhouse, onetime pastor of the Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. He was told a story by a missionary in western Africa. The account illustrates the heart of one gripped by a passion for spreading the gospel.

“It seems that an African man who had become a radiant Christian believer was also afflicted by the dreaded elephantiasis disease. This loathsome condition hardens and enlarges the flesh of the lower legs and feet so that they often appear as solid columns of flesh from the knees down, sometimes twelve to fifteen inches in diameter. It is a painful and restrictive condition, making simple walking a laborious challenge. But the man was so appreciative of the grace of God that had come into his life that he thought nothing of the pain of his condition. He went from hut to hut in his west African village, sharing the good news of the gospel, knowing that none could believe unless they heard the gospel. He shuffled and hobbled on his afflicted limbs day after day until all had heard the good news.

Once he had evangelized his entire village, he began a painful, daily trek to a village two miles distant, not being able to bear the thought that some were there who had not heard the gospel of the grace of God. He would start early in the morning and walk to the nearby village, go from hut to hut, then walk home. This process he repeated until every hut in that village had received the good news of the gospel.

With no one else to tell about Christ, he asked his pastor and the missionary about going to the next closest village, a larger village located ten miles from his own. They both discouraged him from considering the journey, given his condition. But one day, his relatives awoke to find him gone. It was not until later that the full story came out, related by the inhabitants of the distant village.

It took him until noon to traverse the ten-mile distance to the village, and when he arrived, his leathery stumps were bloody and swollen. Not wasting time even to eat, he spent the rest of the day in the village going from hut to hut telling people about the grace of God. The sun was setting when he set out for his own village. Somehow he made it through the pitch-black jungle, falling upon the missionary’s porch at midnight. The missionary, who was also a doctor, summoned help and they lifted the poor, semi-conscious man into the dispensary. The doctor related later how his own tears mingled with the salve with which he bathed the beautiful feet of this wounded gospel messenger. Without counting the cost to himself, this man lived out the word of the apostle Paul in Romans 10:14-16. Feet that in the eyes of the world could best be described as horrific had become the beautiful feet of one who brings the good news.”

When I read this account, I thought of you and your work in the gospel.

Thank you for going to the next village. Thank you for going the extra mile for the sake of the Gospel and His name’s sake. Thank you for bringing the gospel to where Christ is not named.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

If I Never Tell You Why

by John O’Malley

“Could you thank Me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why?”

Dear Missions Family,

I read this account while studying for a series of lectures on PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Below is the testimony of a missionary, Dr. Helen Roseveare.

“Dr. Helen Roseveare is no stranger to terror. This medical missionary lived in the Congo for over 12 years. Then one day she experienced the trauma of her life. During a time of severe disunity between the blacks and the whites, a civil uprising erupted.

Why? Oh God, why? The why in life is the most common question of all…especially during a time of terror.

During a 10 week siege, thousands of black natives were butchered. As a result, the whites became enemies of the blacks, and 27 missionaries were slaughtered. The remaining missionaries were taken captive, and on one horrific night Dr. Helen Roseveare was flung to the ground, kicked, beaten and raped; her teeth broken, her ribs bruised, her mouth and her nose severely gashed.

On the night of her rape, she couldn’t understand why all this was happening to her. She literally wanted to die because she knew the brutality that fellow missionaries had experienced. Yet God quietly spoke to her, “Could you thank Me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why?”

Helen thought, God, I thank You. I haven’t a clue why or how, but I’ll take it from You that You know what You’re doing, that You can never make a mistake. You cannot fail. Your promise must stand true. So, God I’ll thank You for trusting me with this even though I haven’t any idea how anybody could ever be helped by it.

Soon afterward, Helen received the death sentence along with the other missionaries. As they were herded away in a group, she had to lean against others to walk because her body had been so brutalized.

When the leader of the rebels spotted her, he asked, “Who made you in that mess?”

She answered, “One of your lot.”

The rebel leader responded, “You’re a liar.”

She said, “I’ll name him for you.”

So, the rebel leader called a People’s Court. However, before they assembled he instructed the tribesmen to yell, “She’s a liar….She’s a liar!” after her testimony.

The time came for her trial. She truthfully told this large assembly the details of the assault. Then something miraculous happened. When she finished, the voices of 800 men were heard weeping. They recognized that this was their doctor speaking. She had birthed their babies, cared for their cuts, and nursed their wounds. Yet, to their dismay, one of their own had raped her.

To her amazement, over the weeks and months that ensued, a spiritual breakthrough occurred for the first time in 12 years—a breakthrough that had never occurred before. People were saved…hearts were touched because finally they identified with her suffering. Even the Greeks in the area wanted to know how to come into this relationship with Jesus Christ, and they were saved.

Later, back in her native country of England, Helen was a frequent guest speaker. One evening she was led by the Lord to take the rare opportunity to refer to her rape. There were two girls still left in the auditorium after she had finished speaking. One girl asked, “Can you speak to my sister? Five weeks ago she was raped…for five weeks she has not spoken a word to anyone.”

The other girl ran, sobbing uncontrollably, and flung her arms around Helen. For three hours this young victim of rape talked nonstop about the incident. Ultimately, the two who had shared the same experience parted—both with peace in their hearts. What made the difference? The young girl simply said, “No one ever told me that I could thank Him for trusting me with the experience even if He didn’t tell me why.”

Helen’s lesson reminds us we can thank God for the experience even if He never tells us why. Yes, God brought you where you are. He brought you to a place knowing your life’s baggage and scars. God owes no explanation to His children. God is always working out His plan through us.

When heavy-hearted and lost in your thoughts of life’s difficulties, remember this, God has a plan.

“Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.”
—part of a poem given to Helen Roseveare as a teenager

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

Spotlights, Fanfare, and Missions

by John O’Malley

When you were on deputation, there may have been churches which heralded you. Perhaps they gave you gifts, served you, or made you feel like you were the best thing since crunchy peanut butter.

Then, one day, deputation ended, and you got to the field.

The people on your field of service do not know you. They know nothing of your effort to get there. They know even less of the church members sacrificing every day at jobs they may not prefer. They know nothing of the people working to earn enough money to make ends meet and give in the promised offering at their church for you to be in your place of service.

When a missionary feels they deserve spotlights and fanfare, they have lost sight of servanthood.

If a church treats you well, it is grace. If a church treats you poorly, it is a grace as well. Remember, none of us deserve anything.

I am troubled when I see a missionary go to a church meeting and expect spotlights and fanfare. World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions missionaries are expected to be servants everywhere we go.

Remember, when we are visiting a church, we are not spectators; we are servants! We serve our Lord, we serve the pastor and his wife, and we serve the membership. When you go to a church, offer to help; do not seek to be helped. Offer to serve; do not look to be served. Try to be a blessing; do not wait, yearn, or expect the spotlights and fanfare.

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

Let us look like Christ wherever we are ministering. We are here to minister and give our lives for the Gospel’s sake and the sake of our Lord.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

I Serve Others – Seeing: May 2021

by John O’Malley

The phrase, I Serve Others, captures all we want to do for the Lord at WWNTBM. Over the next few months, I will write on the values we hold dear in the phrase, I Serve Others. We have already looked at the words inspire, open, tender, helper, edify, and reliable.

The phrase I Serve Others, the subject of my writing over the past year, shares the core values of being part of World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions. The last word in our acrostic phrase is Seeing.

When Hagar sat waiting at the intersection of despair and hopelessness, she learned a valuable trait of God. She learned God saw her and her son.

Hagar, though in a complicated situation and a misunderstood context, found God saw her. God could see through the cultural complications. God could see her amid her moral conflicts. God could see the fruit of her womb and Abraham’s seed, though she felt alone and outcast.

God sees. In every way, the all-seeing-God saw us in Eden, Bethlehem, Calvary, and is everywhere present with us. Yes, God sees us!

God sees you in your place of service when you feel alone. God sees you when you have made a mess of life and ministry. God sees you when you are afraid. God sees you when you wonder how you are going to make it. God sees.

In your place of ministry, you recognize people long for recognition. They need to believe they matter to someone. Your ministry helps the lost know they are found. You take the hurting to where they find healing. You teach the hopeless where to find hope. You comfort those who believe they are unseen and tell them they are seen.

Ministry is helping people know God sees them. Just as God sees, God wants us to see others. God expects us to take the love He’s displayed and act on His love. (1 John 3:18)

I want your interactions with staff and leadership to let you know we see you. We see you when you are hurting. We see you when you are in conflict. We see you when you are alone. Our staff focuses on your communication. We want every response and reply to let you know: we see you and will assist.

Today, look around your life and ministry. Who around you seems to feel unseen? What can you do to speak into their life words of comfort and consolation to let them know God sees them? What can you do to assure them you are there for them and you see them?

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

P.S.: Please remember to submit your tribute to Pastor Wingard here.
P.S.S.: Please make sure you are listening to the Uplift Podcast.

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

How Will You Remember Pastor Bill Wingard?

By John O’Malley

Thirty years ago, my father passed away. A few months after his death, our son John, then three, said, “Dad, tell me stories about Grandpa; I think I am forgetting him.”

John’s words touched my heart. His words reminded me of Solomon, another son who wrote under inspiration. When Solomon wrote of memories, he said, “The memory of the just is blessed: But the name of the wicked shall rot.” (Proverbs 10:7)

Memories. They are precious. Memories are the thoughts we play in the theatre of our minds. Memories help us see yesterday, help us get through today, and keep our eyes fixed on tomorrow.

When we replay memories, our memories keep our dear ones near to our hearts after they’ve left us.

Rehearsing memories helps us process our grief. When we recall such memories, we remind ourselves of our goodly heritage.

The death of Pastor Wingard on March 12, 2021, brings this thought to the forefront: I do not want a generation of missionaries ever to forget the Founder of our missions agency.

At Pastor Wingard’s funeral, I shared my tribute. I will share it below.

I want to hear your tribute. I want to read your tribute. I want our tributes shared, so people will know our heritage, understand our history, and serve their generation by the will of God. (Acts 13:36)

On our website, you can post your tribute and your pictures. We want Pastor Wingard’s family to read and see your tributes. The missions office will publish these tributes in a book for Mrs. Wingard and give one to each of their children to have for their families.

Please click this link and share your testimony of memorable moments you had with Pastor Wingard. Please share any photos you have. We want these books to be special. Your tribute and photo will ensure the stories which made World Wide will not be lost because we did not tell them.

If you have any complications posting your tribute, you may email your tribute to Rebekah Tolley, and she will get it posted for you.

MY TRIBUTE:

I feel pity for a world where people will live and die without Pastor Bill Wingard’s inspiration and influence in their generation.

Today I share my memories with you. They are memories which remind me of his character, his attributes, and his noblest intentions to be like Christ.

For many of us here, we know he would blush at this attention paid him. Yet, we are here today with hearts full of memories.

My Memories:
I have four thoughts which summarize my 28-year relationship with this dear man of God. I saw him and learned:

  1. He Loved — flawlessly
  2. He Taught — biblically
  3. He Prayed — sincerely
  4. He Led — graciously.

1. He Loved — Flawlessly
We met for the first time in June of 1993. In Pastor Wingard, I met a gentle soul and a Christian gentleman. He spoke words of encouragement in my hour of need. He took our family in and loved us.

Pastor Wingard made room for us and gave us a place to belong.

My son said, “Dad, Pastor Wingard always treated me like one of his grandkids; he fully accepted me into the family.” As John’s dad, I cannot tell you how many times over these nearly three decades Pastor asked me, “How’s my little buddy,” and after John married, “and how is his wife?” Most recently, he asked’ “How is little John?”

Many times, Pastor would say to me, “Here’s some money. Take your family to get some ice cream. Take time to rest.”

He loved God’s servants.

He loved the discouraged preachers, displaced preachers, and preachers hurt by the ministry.

If you were a preacher’s kid, you knew He loved preacher’s kids.

In any given service at Calvary, you will see many reclaimed men, women, and children. Why? Because Dr. Wingard stopped like the Good Samaritan to love the broken, to lift the beaten, and to look for the bruised so he could help them.

He loved those who served him in restaurants. He would leave handwritten notes on the back of the receipt. He was careful to love the lost and leave tracts with them.

He just loved. I never saw him as perfect. I just knew I wanted to love others like him.

2. He Taught — Biblically
He taught everywhere. If you only knew the man in the pulpit, you missed his greatest teaching and preaching. He taught intentionally and unintentionally wherever he went.

Years ago, Dr. Wingard and I rode together to Virginia Beach. We were going to see a missionary who faced brain surgery. In the car, he taught me about the seasons of the ministry. I sat mesmerized as I heard a gentle teacher speak from his heart what he learned. He did not come across as bold; he was rather meek. He spoke as a fellow-student sharing what he learned.

He taught each year in our annual Family Fellowship Week. He taught with conviction. He spoke with compassion. His obvious devotion to the Lord made me say, “I want to be a better Christian.”

He taught more than his outline.

He showed more than he intended.

He committed himself to faithful men who would be able to teach others also.

He preached with fervor. I remember a Family Fellowship Week in Shelby at Faith Baptist Church, my home church, a few years ago. Dr. Wingard was fixated on Christ; he titled the message, Our Wonderful Savior. Click here to listen to the message.

He spoke of focusing on the Whom of our lives, not the what of our lives. He spoke with such compassion and conviction. We learned from him, and we loved him for it.

He taught me for 28 years as I worked with him. He advised me on how to lead in difficulty.

He listened before he spoke. He listened with empathy and compassion. He would think of all sides of a matter and speak with clarity as he gave the directive, decision, or leadership I needed.

He taught:

  • In matters of moral failures, show grace.
  • In matters of someone’s doctrinal compromise, show conviction. He would say of the person who changed positions, “Brother John, we settled this a long time ago; this is not who we are as a mission.”
  • In matters of preference, show compassion.
  • In matters of an opponent’s obstinance, show mercy and gave them a wide berth.
  • In matters of battle, know which hills are worth dying on and let God fight your battles.

When I saw something and formed a definite opinion, he urged me, “Brother John, always give to another man the same liberty you reserve for yourself.”

He taught us to love God, love people, and smile. I will miss his smile.
As Kipling said, “He could talk with crowds and never lose his virtue. He could walk with kings and never lost the common touch.”

He taught everyone is worth reaching and reclaiming. He taught Bible-preaching is paramount.

He just taught. I never saw him as perfect. I just knew I wanted to teach others like him.

3. He prayed — Sincerely
I cannot tell you the number of times I watched him pray. The location did not matter. He prayed on sidewalks, elevators, on the phone, in the car, in a parking lot, in hospital rooms, his office, and the aisles of a church.

You know, if you ever mentioned a prayer request, he prayed. Right then. Right there. When he dropped to one knee or put his hand on your shoulder, you knew he had a direct connection to God. When his head bowed, he opened a portal to God, and you knew his prayer was not hindered.

He never prayed to appear pious. He was quite the opposite. He was sincere and only wanted to tell God what was on your heart.

I listened to him pray many times. I loved the simplicity and sincerity of his prayers.

He just prayed. I never saw him as perfect. I just knew I wanted to pray for others like him.

4. He led — Graciously

He led World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions. He wanted to assist churches in getting their missionaries to the field.

He led as a shepherd with oversight and love.

He led as a husband with gentleness. I preached on a Wednesday night in January 2021 and walked into church to his office with him and Mrs. Arlie. Pastor noticed Mrs. Arlie’s hair needed a little teasing out. He stopped right there and teased out her hair. I was so moved by his graciousness and love.

He led as a father and grandfather: his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren are a tribute to this patriarch.

Watching his leadership for almost three decades, I learned:

He led with love, grace, and mercy.
He led by exhortation and scriptural example.
He led by conviction and a godly character.
He led by principle and with purity.

He just led. I never saw him as perfect. I just knew I wanted to lead like him.

He loved, taught, prayed, and led. 

In preparing this tribute, I recalled a line from Pastor Phineas Gurley’s sermon at President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral.

“He is dead; but the God in whom he trusted lives, and He can guide and strengthen his successor as He guided and strengthened him. 

He is dead; but the memory of his virtues, of his wise and patriotic counsels and labors, of his calm and steady faith in God lives; these are precious, and will be a power for good.”

–Dr. Phineas Gurley of Abraham Lincoln at Lincoln’s funeral

My last time with Pastor Wingard was in February 2021. It was just his son, Billy, Brother Whetstone, Pastor Wingard, and me. Seated in his reclining chair, he asked us to wait a moment. He wanted to stand and hug us both goodbye. He spent great energy and withstood sharp pain, but he stood.

I felt in my heart, “This is as a king bowing to his subjects.” He hugged Brother Whetstone. He hugged me. He did not just hug my body, he hugged my heart.

My mother said at my father’s funeral as she walked past his casket and patted it, “I will meet you in the morning.”

Pastor Wingard, I will meet you in the morning.

I Serve Others – Reliable: March 2021

by John O’Malley

The phrase, I Serve Others, captures all we want to do for the Lord at WWNTBM. Over the next few months, I will write on the values we hold dear in the phrase, I Serve Others. We have already looked at the words inspire, open, tender, helper, and edify.

This month, I am continuing our core values phrase “I Serve Others” series. The second R in I Serve Others stands for Reliable.

The sense of the word reliable is to be consistently good in quality or performance. Someone who is able to be trusted is counted as reliable. The Bible word for reliable is faithful.

1 Samuel 2, while Eli was High Priest and his two sons polluted their office in the temple, God told Eli what would happen to his sons. God also said He would raise up someone who was faithful. The sense of the word faithful in this text is someone who is reliable.

In 1 Samuel 2:35, God explained what He wanted in His servants. He said He wanted reliable people to serve. He wanted people who would know His mind and heart. The servant He chose would do what was in the heart and mind of God. God promised He too would be faithful or reliable to the servant He would raise up.

I want to consider two things this month about the core value of being reliable. First, consider with me God’s reliability to us. Then I want you to evaluate your reliability in your service to Him.

Consider God’s faithfulness or reliability:

  • God Himself is faithful — he does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
  • God’s Word is faithful — He’s given a more sure word of prophecy.
  • God’s presence is reliable — He’s promised never to leave us nor forsake us
  • God’s power is reliable — He shows Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward Him.
  • God’s justice is reliable — He is the Judge of the whole earth Who will do right.

Consider our faithfulness or reliability:

  • Do the people to whom I bring the Gospel find me reliable in my witness?
  • Does my family find me reliable in my promises and availability?
  • Do my supporting churches find me reliable in communication and connecting with them?
  • Does my spouse see me as reliable in my biblical mandate for my responsibility in our marriage?
  • Does everyone with whom I interact see my word as reliable?

We are at our best when we are faithful or reliable to our Master, in our ministries, and in our marriages.

At the missions office, we desire to be reliable to you. We want to honor your requests. We want to be reliable to pray for you when you share with us your heart’s burden. We want to be reliable to be considerate and compassionate when you face challenges.

I believe in the work you are doing for Christ. I want to see you accomplish God’s goals for you and the people to whom He called you.

Let us be reliable.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.

I Serve Others – Edify: February 2021

by John O’Malley

The phrase, I Serve Others, captures all we want to do for the Lord at WWNTBM. Over the next few months, I will write on the values we hold dear in the phrase, I Serve Others. We have already looked at the words inspire, open, tender, and helper.

Demolition is easier than construction. When a worker demolishes, they approach the job site and see their goal is to tear down what they see. Swinging a sledgehammer does not require accuracy; one just needs to make sure they leave nothing standing.

Paul wrote in Ephesians that God gave leaders to the church. He gave these leaders to His church to do three distinct actions. Leaders are for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edification of the saints.

We all work with people. God assigned us to a people. The passage in Ephesians 4 discloses the three tasks of all leaders. Our task is to bring people in our care to a state of completion. We are to perform the tasks assigned to us. We are to edify people.

The people we serve, like ourselves, are an incomplete construction project. Our role as a leader is to add to the building progress in the lives of those around us. Every time you connect with people in your ministry, you are to add to the building of their lives for the glory of God.

Our calling is to build people up and help them become what God intended. If we are out of calibration with God and His Word, we easily can become leaders who demolish. We can demolish with our words, tone, and spirit. We can criticize and complain about these incomplete projects around us.

As a missionary, fulfilling our God-given roles as an evangelist and pastor and teacher, we must consciously choose to edify. We must build people up. The world is busy tearing people down. When people come to your place of ministry, the place where you carry out the work God gives you to do, make sure they edify each person.

When you call the office, our goal is to edify you. We want to build you up. Like you, we all are incomplete building projects. Our staff wants to add value to your life by adding hope, courage, and compassion in the work you are doing for Christ.

I preface the “I Serve Others” phrase with the words, “We are at our best when…” I want to be at my best, always. I want to build others with my words. I want to treat others as Christ treats me. I want to edify everyone.

Is God pleased with your task of edifying others? How are we doing at the home office with edifying you? How can we improve? “I serve others” is not a slogan; it is our mission. In fact, as servants of the Lord, God intends and expects us to edify.

Yours for the harvest,
John O’Malley

If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. O’Malley here to let him know.