Thanksgiving: Multiplying Movement

Mike with Argentinian Evangelist Luis Palau

I was grateful to get to sit at Luis Palau’s table for lunch at a recent missions conference. The Luis Palau organization has been a GMO partner ministry for several years now. Some of our Online Missionaries come from their organization, including, I was surprised to hear, his own daughter-in-law.) He jokingly called me “Mr. Sinner” and told us his testimony: a Shell Oil executive named Rogers worked to plant churches in his home country, reaching his parents for Christ. He plans to share the full story in an upcoming autobiography, “Thank you, Mr. Rogers.”
Imagine the scene when this obscure businessman stands before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Mr. Rogers’ investment has paid enormous dividends: estimates are that Luis Palau has shared the gospel with over 22 million people.

In the last few days, Joss Matto has been reporting on his work. It took them two weeks to visit them all and pass out the 762 Bibles they were given—but now they are asking for more! With 27 new believers’ classes, more than 900 people, most of them former Muslims, as he was. He needs 700 more Bibles.

Joss calls his original Online Missionary, Diana, his “spiritual mother.” A tireless disciple-maker, Diana has shared her faith with over a thousand people online and has contacts on every continent. Reaching Joss has really shown her what God can do when she sows broadly. It was always true. But knowing by experience that the one you reach could be the next Joss Matto… the next Luis Palau… that has a way of reminding a person not to give up, because we’ll reap eventually. (Galatians 6:9)

A harvest of people giving thanks to the Lord at the end of time might sound something like Joss and his new church. His Swahili-speaking new Online Missionary and partner in Bible distribution, Emmy, provides this translation for their video message: “Thank you, Jesus for the Bibles! It is Your Word! We will read it! And live according to what it says! Thank you for these Bibles!

“Thank you Diana! Thank you Mike! And thank you sister Emmy for your time, money to make these Bibles available! Dear Lord, please bless Diana from America, Mike from America and sister Emmy for thinking of us. God bless them abundantly.We will take care of these Bibles!”

We are so thankful to God for YOU!

Love, in Christ,