July 15, 2003
FSM #400
—May 2003
Action FSM #20
(Editor's note: Family members in Burma and China use pen names for their contributions to the FSM.)
Copyright © 2003 by The Family
Every day around the world multitudes are moved and changed by the Words of truth and life to be found in Activated. My Words are spirit and life! They have power to transform hearts and minds, and they never return void! And when they are shaped into the powerful spiritual weapon of Activated and released upon receptive hearts and minds, they do wondrous things not just in the lives of those they first touch, but in the lives of others whom these people touch. They do not just change one person—they change the world!
—Jesus (ML #3436:106)
By Maria, Colombia
Anybody can do it
Our Home is a very ordinary Home. It's mostly made up of a small group of dedicated young people. My husband and I are the only FGAs. None of us excel in any particular field, including the field of witnessing and follow-up. We don't know how to speak eloquently; we don't know how to lead large crowds or how to give seminars. But thanks to the Lord and the power of the keys, we presently have a solid and fruitful work made up of loyal and dedicated Active members. We give regular Word classes to different groups of sheep, have a group of faithful supporters who help us to keep going on with our work without financial pressure, benefit from good provisioning, and have found acceptance for the Family in religious and political circles.
A key to the success we enjoy today in our Home's fruitful witnessing is that we've never stopped going out daily to sow the seed, be it to pass out tracts or posters, sell our beautiful tools, or promote Conéctate (Activated). Half of our time on any witnessing outing is dedicated to spreading the seed and to looking for new sheep, and the other half is to secure our ground through doing follow-up. We always visit our newly met friends (most of them we meet through tool distribution or provisioning) who for some reason can't come to the Word classes that we hold in our Home or in our friends' houses.
Most of the follow-up is done by our on-fire young people. Originally my husband and I were the ones taking care of the follow-up while the young people concentrated on the distribution of the material, which they thoroughly enjoyed—knocking on new doors and looking for the sheep. However, the increased numbers as the days went by inspired us to extend the ministry of follow-up to all the members in the Home. Today each of us has a responsibility and is involved in making it work—be it hearing from the Lord for our sheep, having talk times with them, helping lead meetings, or being partners for our Active members on their witnessing outings.
The participation of all Home members in the witnessing and follow-up has been a key in building what is today a solid and growing church.
We have six meetings a week to feed our different groups of sheep. Two of these meetings are held in friends' houses and are geared toward high-class people who, due to current political insecurities and tensions in our city, can't move around that freely. Most of these people are faithful donors or provisioning contacts whom we have been visiting on and off for awhile in their homes or their offices, to feed them the Word, share testimonies, sing, etc. As time passed, they spread the word to their relatives and close friends that we were ministering the Word to them, and now those sporadic visits have become weekly Word classes.
The other four meetings are held in our Home. Two are "GP," and everyone—sheep new and old—can come, and people can invite friends or relatives that they want us to meet. The other two are to feed and train the Active members. When people start coming regularly to the Word classes, showing a sincere interest in knowing more about our work and wanting to participate, we invite them to participate in our discipleship program (to be trained to be an Active member of the Family). These people have already gone over the 12 Foundation Stones classes and have participated in witnessing and retreats by the time they start this course.
[Editor: As mentioned in "2003, Here We Come!" (ML #3438, GN 1021), WS is currently working on a set of classes that will make up a discipleship course for those who have completed the 12 Foundation Stones. Please pray for those working on this set of classes.]
"The 12"
As I write this I'm transported back in time to the early days when we met with the 12 men and women that had just graduated from the discipleship course for the first time. I can't help but cry and laugh at the same time, remembering the experiences and moments we went through with each of them. Each is a real brother and sister in the Lord and we have grown to respect and love them dearly.
When we selected this group of 12 for our discipleship training course, we talked to them about what the program would entail, and asked them to pray and consider it before they started the program. All of them took it seriously, and took up the challenge. We based most of the classes from the Letters in the Babes Basic Course, and spread it out a bit with additions of anecdotes from Dad, videos, Bible classes, etc.
We also included DFO versions of the Loving Jesus revelation, the Law of Love, and other of our more radical doctrines and beliefs. It's amazing how much they wanted and loved the most radical Words of David. "My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27). We also use the New Wine versions of the MLs a lot, and they're terrific to support the classes we're giving.
One of our Active members is "Jorge Gym"—he runs a gym, so that's his nickname. Two of our young people going office to office went into his gym and witnessed to everyone there, but Jorge wasn't in at that time. When he came back he heard from the others who work there about these wonderful young people that talked about Jesus, real happiness, and freedom in the spirit. Our girls had left some posters and tracts at the gym, which he read, and soon he was eager to meet us personally. He heard about our meetings, and he was there knocking at our door at the very next one, looking for answers.
Because of his hunger for real love and truth, Jorge had visited and participated in all types of groups, meetings, and philosophies that he came across.
When he started reading the Word, it was love at first sight! He loved the Words of David and the Family spirit so much, and soon he was coming to every meeting, every activity, always eager for more.
When offered the discipleship course, he said, "At last, heavy meat!" Because of his deep searching background and his appetite for things of the spirit world and new truths, he just loves the radical messages straight from Heaven. He has easily received all our beliefs on communication with Heaven, spirit helpers, prophecy, Loving Jesus, the Endtime, etc. He is quite a witness, and wherever he goes he talks about Jesus and stands up for the truth. He is one crazy crusader.
After the discipleship course we give our Active members a questionnaire—fashioned after the one we received with the "Conviction vs. Compromise" series. In that questionnaire we challenge them to take some time to pray about and reflect on the questions posed. When they have finished pondering those questions (we suggest they take a few days to do so), they either go ahead toward signing on for the next step, or decline from going on to the Active member commitment (though they can continue as a close and active friend). The last page is a symbolic spiritual contract where they have to sign and declare that they accept the challenge to be a Family member, a David's Mighty Man, and do their part to keep faithful to His call as an Active Family member. At the end of the contract there is a space for them to share which ministries they'd like to participate in, leaving room for them to create or promote new ones if they have the burden and the time.
Once each Active member turns in his or her questionnaire, we get ready for a simple but significant graduation ceremony. At our last graduation ceremony we sang a few soft Loving Jesus songs and songs on yieldedness, and then read portions of Letters on commitment, discipleship, and sacrificial love. Then we anointed the members with oil one by one, as a sign of the spiritual anointing they were receiving from the Lord to be Active members. They also repeated a short prayer of commitment that we had prepared.
We closed with praise and prophecy time, and the culmination of the event was all of us standing up, arm in arm, singing the "Song of Victory" a few times, because they like it so much. We are still the Revolution for Jesus—and we want the whole world to know! These Active members are partakers of the spirit of David, and love what makes us different from other churches or groups.
Bernardo and Adriana: Overcoming churchy background
Active members Bernardo and Adriana are a very sweet couple. They come from a very churchy background. We first met them during a church meeting where we were invited to sing. After singing a few songs we gave our personal testimonies of how we live for Jesus in full-time service in our church—the Family. After the gathering we had quite a few people gather around, interested in our mission, Adriana and Bernardo among them. The whole time we were at that church, their eyes were fixed on us and they were drinking in everything we were sharing.
They called us soon after that first meeting, and we invited them to come to our next GP meeting. The topic was our prayer life and developing a more constant and spontaneous way of talking to Jesus. We ended the meeting with the phone-call-to-Jesus-type of prayer. We used a cellular phone and passed it around to whoever wanted to talk to Jesus, which people like a lot, as it's fun and different—though it's quite a bottle-breaker for churchy people who can have the tendency to think that prayer always has to be a very solemn and serious moment.
We weren't going to pass the phone to Adriana or Bernardo as they were newcomers, and we didn't want to put them on the spot. But to our surprise, when we were saying goodbye to Jesus and getting ready to hang up the call, Adriana stood up and said, "Wait! I really want to talk to Jesus too, please!" It was so special to hear her beautiful and sincere prayer expressing how much she liked the meeting and how she felt she had arrived "home."
Since then, Bernardo and Adriana have become dedicated church members of the revolutionary new church, the Family! They had their battles and trials when they decided to drop out from their church and join the Family in heart and spirit, as everyone started to tell them "who these guys really were"—the You Know Who! It didn't faze them, though, and when they started the Active members' discipleship course, their commitment to serve the Lord in the Family got more serious. They're convinced that they've found their place. They are in charge of our "Little Night Angels" program of ministering to the homeless. Many of the homeless here are educated middle-class people who, due to the rough economic situation, now find themselves on the streets. Bernardo also has the gift of healing, God bless him.
Jorge and the sauna
Jorge, our Active member who owns a gym, was feeling quite frustrated and worried one Friday afternoon while fixing some pipes in his sauna that weren't working. Jorge made the sauna himself, and being a very good handyman, he likes to do the repairs himself too. Weekends are the busiest time at the gym, and he really wanted to sort out the problem with the sauna right away—but he was having a hard time. When he arrived at the gym early Saturday morning, he felt pressured to work on fixing it right away before people started coming, but he decided—as he usually does each morning before starting work—to put his time with Jesus first.
He said, "Jesus, I'm going to take time with You and Your Word. You've promised that You'll take care of our problems while we do that, so I claim the keys to the Kingdom. Give me peace while I read, knowing that You'll take care of the sauna problem."
After praying and reading for a while, he headed to the sauna to continue the repair job. But, as he started to check things, he saw that everything was already fixed and working perfectly fine. He was in total awe!
Alejandro's miracle
Alejandro, a young lawyer, has been a faithful Active member for some time now. He's been suffering on and off from painful backaches from improperly lifting heavy weights in the past.
During one of our meetings he couldn't stand the pain anymore, and almost started to cry. He had to lie on the floor, as he couldn't sit on the couch. We prayed desperately over his back, claiming the power of the keys. When we finished praying, we helped Alejandro stand up, and he started to jump and move around, thrilled that he felt no pain whatsoever and could do movements that he hadn't been able to for quite awhile. He told us that, while we were praying, he felt a warm feeling going through his back. A few weeks have passed and Alejandro continues to enjoy a strong back, with no pain whatsoever.
Keys vs. demons
The relatives of a young woman who is regularly coming to our Word meetings heard about the miracles the Lord has been doing through the power of united prayer. They decided to invite us to their home. Their dad was in such a state of depression that he pretty much lived in his bed and bedroom and had not gone out of the house for more than six months. He had lost all will to live. Others in the family were also sick or emotionally disturbed in various ways, and had problems between them. They felt that there was some type of bad spirit on their property causing them trouble. The Lord showed us to spend a day in prayer and fasting, and then return to pray for this family.
When we returned on our second visit, there was a crowd of about 15 people waiting for us. We read some parts of the Activated mag on healing and went on to ask each of them if they believed that Jesus was able to deliver them and their property from the physical and spiritual sicknesses they were experiencing. They all said yes, and we then proceeded to pray for them. We claimed the power of the keys, and in the power of the keys cast out the demons that were bothering them.
The Lord answered beautifully, and immediately people started to feel the Lord's liberating and peaceful feeling taking over. Their attitudes and faces changed, as they started to hug each other, forgive each other, and cry for joy together. Our friend's father, who had been oppressed with a depressing and suicidal spirit and hadn't left his house in over six months, went out with his family the very next day! His relatives testify that he is a new person!
Using the keys is the "cool" thing to do in our Home, and we're activating their power in everything we do, big or small. The Word says that we are going to be known as the "people of the keys," and around here that is coming to pass.
By Johnny (of Sunny), Taiwan
Being a foreigner, I would have to say that two vital factors in my being able to be a part of shepherding our Active members and friends, are 1) I can communicate in Chinese, and 2) I work in teamwork with Sunny, my national mate, who can communicate more deeply than I can.
A step-by-step difference
I met Yolanda about two years ago when she bought a couple of CDs. She seemed open, even though she made it clear that she was a Buddhist, and had an extensive Buddhist background, having even lived in a monastery for some time when she was little. Little by little, she opened up to the lit I sent, and after a few more visits agreed to help us monthly! In spite of being Buddhist, she was still open to the Word I would share with her when we'd have Word classes together.
About a year later, she asked me if she could believe in Jesus and still believe in Buddha. I felt led to ask her to try Jesus for a while, and see what He could do for her. After she went through some difficult times, she wanted to know more about Jesus in earnest. Next, she quit doing her bai bai to the Buddhist gods in front of her boutique; before she would always ask for their blessing on her business.
More recently, she was faced with a decision about whether to open a new branch of her boutique or not, in what area, etc. She asked me for counsel, and as we read the Word together, we went over hearing from the Lord and following His leading. Since she had felt sort of in a cloud, she decided not to go ahead yet, even though her business partners were asking her when she was going to decide. Finally, when she suddenly got an inspiration one night to do something different than what she had been planning, she felt it was the Lord, and went ahead with it, and the Lord blessed it!
A few months later, after a Word class, she shared that she felt that she wasn't sure how to "serve" God while still working. I shared with her that the next step could be tithing, which is God's financial requirement, and she wouldn't have to feel like she wasn't doing enough, etc. She's been tithing for about three months!
She shared that since she began tithing, things have seemed to go better for her business! She is learning that when things are looking up for her, instead of her feeling that she's pretty great, to thank the Lord for helping her to prosper! She also has learned that the Lord is the One Who blesses, and He doesn't like her to be proud. She also is quite the leader type—a guru of sorts—so a lot of her customers often share their troubles with her. She's started talking to them about the Lord.
Yolanda recently committed herself to having weekly Bible studies, as she knows she needs to get stronger in the Word and her faith. She is very bold about sharing her faith with others and has helped three of her friends to get Activated as well!
More blessed to give
Rejoice originally was followed up on and ministered to by the Club team in Taichung as well as the Garden Home. God bless Amber, Noah and Lily, Jimmy, Tim and Hannah, for their faithfulness to feed her. She had already known the Family for one year when she came to us in Taipei. As she was only 22 we incorporated her into our youth ministry, and got her help in ministering to the sheep that would attend.
At the time she'd also been attending a church of a friend of hers from school, so she wasn't completely "with us" as far as her faith went. We, nevertheless, continued teaching her the Word, required memorization from her, etc. When the tithing issue came up (she was working here), she asked if she could tithe half to us and half to her friend's church where she had been attending.
Sunny and I took her situation to the Lord, as we wanted to bring her along in our particular doctrines, but felt we couldn't as long as she was still fellowshipping at this church. The Lord told us to encourage her to go ahead and tithe all to her church, as there would probably be problems with one group criticizing the other, if she tried to continue to go to us and to them (of course, meaning the churches wouldn't like us). It was a real challenge for her!
She then went home and apparently thought a lot about things, and came back and told us that the Lord had told her to instead to fellowship and learn about the Lord with us totally. She particularly appreciated the fact that the Family had been faithful to give her training in witnessing and helping other people, whereas the church was mainly into singing songs, fellowshipping, but without much service for God.
Since then, Rejoice has grown even more, and we have been able to share our meatier doctrines with her, including our past FFing, Law of Love, etc. When she choked on these a bit, she went and prayed about it (thank the Lord for the Word we have on teaching our sheep to hear from the Lord directly), and the Lord told her, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." The Lord was showing her that the main point of these doctrines is that of giving to others unselfishly.
She has continued to tithe not only 10 percent but 20 percent of her income to our Home. She comes to our Home twice a week for Word classes, as well as goes to the club every Sunday for our witnessing and feeding the sheep. Now she is praying about joining the Family full time.
A foundation in the Word
Rick and Sue are a Presbyterian couple that we met at the vegetable market in Taichung and that used to help us with vegetables. They have appreciated our lit, which we have been mailing to them for about eight years now. As they are older, we haven't felt led to ask them to "choose" between the church and us, but have simply fed them the Word.
Rick particularly has been very receptive to our training all this time, as he is a first-generation Christian. He is a labor-leader and has a lot of common sense. When I shared with him about the Law of Love a couple of years ago, he said, "This is no problem. I understand this, as I used to be a pretty wild teen." He wasn't so sure about his wife, though, as she is more conservative and old-fashioned. Overall they've appreciated our work and have been monthly supporters over the years.
Recently, Sue got involved with a charismatic group and jumped in with both feet, finding out that she was quite spiritually sensitive, etc. Problems came, however, as she didn't have the foundation in the Word, and she didn't have the knowledge or wisdom to discern spirits, and she was also entertaining the wrong spirits. She would prophesy, saying, "I am the Lord!" or telling people "Your husband needs to forsake all!"
It sort of freaked everyone out, especially when she'd see snakes and spirits. They asked us for counsel at this time, as different friends and relatives were really getting worried. The Enemy was getting in, as she had a lot of spiritual pride, wanting to be a famous evangelist, but at the same time was neglecting her kids.
Thank the Lord, Rick had his feet on the ground, and when he would call us for counsel, we were able to encourage him to take control and follow his leadings, which were right. They later both visited our Home, when Sue herself was desperate and knew something was wrong, as she was becoming very fearful, etc. We were able to pray over her, rebuking any bad spirits, and gave her some classes on humility and pride, discerning of spirits, etc.
She received this input very well, and since then has been much more humble, yielded to her husband, staying away from "divining of spirits," etc., and they have been doing much better. During this crisis time the Lord showed us to be encouraging, positive, and supportive. They have since committed to giving us half of their tithe, which has been a great help! They've also been very supportive of our Activated push, and bought 20 subscriptions, which they have then used to sign up various ones whom they want to feed.
By Mary (of Jonathan), Tanzania
During an Activated class we came to a section on tithing. Although it didn't seem very appropriate, as the sheep were students who barely had their bus fares to make it to class, after shooting up a short prayer, the Lord told me to read it, as tithing is a Biblical principle and had nothing to do with "what one could afford."
One precious sheep shared how it is such a difficult thing for Africans to understand, as they have so little money and always have needs. So I shared what the Lord had told me and challenged him that he could get a little jar and just faithfully put aside 10% of everything he got, even if it was only 20 cents. The next week at class he was astounded at how the Lord had honored him. He had gone home that night and taken a jar and every time he got even $1, he put aside 10 percent. Only a few days later he got a place in a training course that he had given up hope for, and now he is expecting the Lord's continued blessing.
A business lady who is activated and really "acts" on the Word she is given, was so turned on and excited about this testimony. A few days later she came to the Home with a surprise pizza and cake for my birthday and gave us a check for $450—her tithe of the profits of a small enterprise that she had started. She said that it has been a real struggle to get this business going, but when she prayed about it, the Lord showed her that she had not been tithing the small profits she had made over the past year. "Now," she says, "I expect God's blessing!"
By Phillip and Cassie, China
One of our sheep started to tithe this month—a victory indeed. She has been coming quite regularly for Bible studies, and each time she came she had asked us how she could be a help as we give her quite a lot of materials for free. We told her to give us some time to pray about her request, and when we did the Lord led us to teach her about the principles and benefits of tithing.
When we explained tithing to her, she had many questions, one being what if the folks she gave her tithe to abused the tithe. We told her that it's not really our place to judge how the recipient uses the tithe, but that we're only responsible to tithe. We explained that God blesses the one who tithes and the recipient of the tithe is accountable to the Lord as to how he or she uses the funds. She was quite happy with this explanation and then gave us her first tithe.
By Gary, China
We had a class a few months ago on tithing, and afterwards one of our sheep started to tithe. She got the point right away that she wasn't giving it to us but to the Lord. It takes repetition for some to get it. So I had another Word class with one of our sheep who also attended our last tithing class, and this time she got it and readily committed herself to tithing.
We have Word to back up the concept of tithing, so we can use it as a springboard when we're explaining tithing to our friends. That way they know it's the Word, and that they are tithing because it's what the Word instructs us to do.
[Editor: You can find a class and explanation on tithing in 12 Foundation Stones course, Classes 5b and 12b.]
By Gentleness, Ukraine
Slavik and Tanya have been coming over faithfully for weekly Bible studies. One time they were very interested in the subject of tithing and had a lot of questions about it, which we answered with the Word. They also felt that they might not be able to "afford" it. We didn't want to pressure them, but shared from our personal experience how we've found that we cannot afford not to tithe.
After our last Bible study with them, Tanya quietly handed Joanie their tithe and said, "We want to bring God into our finances." We are so proud of them! They've become our most hungry sheep, and are eagerly lapping up everything we give them.
During one of their visits Slavik told us that they had just received their new issue of Activated, and he mentioned how he especially liked the article about how to react in troublous times, and that he had read it three times in a row.
We're very inspired to see the Lord fulfilling His Word and slowly building a support base via Activated.
By Johnny Servant, Taiwan
It's so inspiring to share the meat of the Word through classes. Thank the Lord for leading and guiding us to do so more and more, step by step. As a result, we have three to four people tithing as Active members.
By Elimelech, Venezuela
After William subscribed to Activated, he began absorbing the magazines so readily that he asked me for another book he could have to feed on the Word. At the time I didn't have other books, but I had a Treasures, so I gave him one. He started little by little reading and telling me about everything he was reading, and not only reading but really absorbing the Word. Then one day out of the blue he said, "Listen, I read all about tithing, and the Lord gave me the desire to tithe. I am promising my tithe to the Lord from now on!"
Not only that, but he has since become very active in his witnessing and is subscribing new people to Conéctate (Activated), and witnessing at every chance he gets.
By Esther SGA (Taiwan)
One fine day in the fall of 2001, I was out witnessing with Taiwanese Maggie in downtown Taipei and we needed to get to a follow-up appointment quickly. We stopped to pray for the Lord to provide a ride and then proceeded to try to flag down a taxi to provision a lift, but to no avail. As we waited for more taxis to show up, a car pulled up in front of us with an interesting load of passengers. The driver was a Buddhist monk accompanied by two smiling Buddhist nuns. Maggie and I looked at each other, wondering if perhaps this was the ride the Lord had for us, and then asked them if they were headed in the direction we needed to go. They were in fact going the opposite way, but very willingly offered to take us to our destination.
We sat in the back seat with the only one of the three who could speak English, and what a precious sheep she turned out to be! Cherry (her English name) explained to us how she became interested in Buddhism when she was a college student and decided to drop her studies to become a Buddhist nun. She is very dedicated and sincere in her beliefs, and yet we could see there was a deep sadness in her eyes. She seemed very lonely and desperate for love and friendship, and was most appreciative of our interest in her. Upon arriving at our follow-up spot, we thanked them all profusely and exchanged phone numbers, promising to keep in touch.
A few weeks later Cherry invited us to eat lunch with her, at a vegetarian restaurant, of course. After we chatted a bit, she started to open up to us and share how miserable she had been in her cloistered life in the Buddhist temple where she serves. She related instances where her fellow nuns were unkind and downright mean to her. She is the youngest there, and apparently the older nuns were envious of the attention she was getting from the monks. She is quite spunky and outgoing, so she must've been a welcome addition to mundane temple life, ha.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she confessed she's considered giving up being a nun, because she felt so unloved and unappreciated by the very people—her fellow nuns—who she felt should have welcomed her with open arms. Maggie and I each gave her a big hug, as we tried to comfort her and told her we loved her and would be happy to be her family. At this, her face lit up, and smiling through her tears, she thanked us over and over.
We invited her to come to our Home to visit us, which she did some time later, on Christmas Day. When she arrived at our house, she was a bit shy at first at the sight of so many foreigners and visitors, but soon warmed up as she was hugged and warmly greeted by the Home members and the kids. She commented, "Everyone in your Family is so loving, even to strangers and Buddhist nuns!"
Maggie and I had a chance to witness to her in depth about the Lord's love and how He wants to be her best friend—that special Someone Who will always love her and be with her. She agreed to pray with us to receive Jesus in her heart, and as she repeated the prayer, tears rolled down her cheeks. Afterwards she hugged us and said, "Thank you for giving me Jesus and His love on Christmas!" I got teary-eyed as well.
We showed her the Jesus film (based on the Gospel of Luke), which she really liked. She had very little idea of what Jesus' ministry had been on Earth, and Who He really was, etc.
As the months went by, we kept in touch, visiting her and sending her lit via e-mail, calling her, etc. She was quite busy at the time preparing to visit Tibet, where she then remained for quite some time. We prayed for her and kept in touch. Then this year, she called on my birthday and asked if she could come over to visit as she wanted to bring me a birthday present.
As I waited for her at the bus stop and shot up a prayer, the Lord told me to get her activated. I wondered how that would go over. Oh me of little faith!
Just then the bus pulled up, and from it descended a smiling Cherry who rushed over to where I was standing and hugged me, to the surprise of the people around us. The sight of a "holy" Buddhist nun hugging a foreign girl while animatedly chatting in English in the middle of the street is not a common sight here!
Cherry went on to tell me about her experiences while staying in Tibet. She was deeply affected by the poverty and filth, the lack of education the children receive, the hardships and difficult living conditions the people endure, and most of all the persecution the Tibetans suffer under the Chinese government. That was a good opportunity to bring up the Endtime and signs of the times. I showed her Countdown to Armageddon and explained how Bible prophecies are being fulfilled, and she was fascinated!
Cherry is very educated, as she has a lot of time on her hands to read, research, study, and meditate. Her English is pretty good and she is now studying German as she plans to move to Germany. She mentioned how she was a bit afraid to launch out on her own like that into a new situation and especially in a foreign country. "I am afraid not all foreigners are as nice and loving as you and your Family are," she admitted. When I mentioned I could try to put her in contact with Family members in Germany, she squealed with delight.
I then proceeded to introduce the Chinese Activated magazines to her, and she readily agreed to subscribe right then and there. As she leafed through the mag, she said, "This magazine is really good! It will help me learn more about Jesus and the Bible. Everyone should have this! Thank you for putting this together for our people to know Jesus!"
I got a call from her a few days later and she went on and on about the Activated mag (which she had thoroughly read), telling me how much she had liked it and how much it's helped her understand Jesus and His love.
Soon after, Cherry invited me to her home for a scrumptious Chinese New Year banquet. She had just received Activated mag #2 in the mail and told me she really liked it. We prayed together for the meal, and she added a wholehearted "amen" at the end. She asked me if she could join me the next time I go to visit my missionary parents in Africa, as she'd love to see what it's like to be a missionary in a foreign country.
Cherry told me she would love to take me to her temple in Hualien to meet the other nuns and monks there. She said that many of the nuns are very unhappy and question their choice of lifestyle. She went through such a low period in her life prior to meeting us, even considering suicide, so she now wants to share her newfound happiness with her fellow sisters.
By Daniel Endtime, India
The last two months have seen incredible growth in the Activated vision. The amazing thing is not the numbers, but how close our brand-new sheep are coming to the Lord and the Family. In my years of serving the Lord I've never seen anybody grow so fast. It must be the power of the keys and the era of action taking effect. Instead of partying on Saturday night, our sheep beg us to come and give them Bible classes. They are bringing their friends over for the classes, and "fight" over who gets to host the class. They want their parents and family to learn about the Lord too.
They are so won over by the Word and the classes that each one is making commitments to change in different ways, such as in their behavior and working interactions with others. They have a lot of questions about working with others. It's so nice that we have so much Word to give them on the subject. They love the Activated mags, and treasure and collect them.
We invited one of the girls to come for a Loving Jesus night. She loved it and called us over and over again to tell us how much she enjoyed it. She started tithing without us even telling her about it. All her friends are noticing the change the Word is having in her life, and want to know how and why. She is taking this opportunity to witness to her friends, and is personally building a church of believers.
We give Activated mags to everyone we meet, even on business. People love them and are always eager to get the next one.
Before all this began we were concerned that our Bible studies weren't growing much. We did have a group of people who we were giving classes to, but attendance was off and on because they were busy. We were getting a bit discouraged, so we prayed desperately for the Lord to help us have a breakthrough in this area. In answer to our prayers, over the last few months the Lord has been bringing us so many sheep that we can hardly keep up with them all. They call at all hours of the day and night asking for prayer, counsel, and prophecies concerning the heavy things they are going through in their lives.
This has always been my vision. I myself was a catacomber for awhile before I joined and I wanted to have a catacomb church. As long as we are witnessing we keep winning. When it is the Lord's time, He will bring in His special sheep for us to take care of. It also encourages me to keep praying for new sheep and more growth. As we continue to witness, the Lord continues to multiply His fold, and we just have to be faithful to do our part.
By Phoebe Helper, USA
We have a small group of Active members; each one is so precious and they're coming along well. They have their ups and downs and they count on us for everything as far as counseling. They call on a regular basis asking for prayer.
The other day Len came over by himself, just to talk. He mentioned that he had been going to Bible studies at his church, but he was thinking of stopping because he wasn't learning with them. He went on to say that with us, the Family, he could learn step by step. "I feel like I'm really growing now," he said, "and I want to keep learning with you." He now faithfully comes every week for Bible studies.
It is so encouraging to see even one soul changed and challenged to become more like Jesus. It's worth it all.
Everyone in our Home is involved in some way, but we have to give all the glory to Jesus. Our wonderful Husband is with us every step of the way, helping us along, as we're learning.
By Praise Starlight, India
We have a strong group of Active members who have been faithful for a number of years and have been growing and also helping us to witness to other people and bring them in. We started a Church of Love at our house three years ago and it has been very fruitful in teaching people and giving them classes. Now our Church of Love flock has grown and developed into quite an exciting group of solid Active members.
Besides this group we also have many small groups of Active members who we meet in their homes and have classes with. This has increased from once a week to four times a week and is steadily growing. We have groups of five to six people who we have classes with each day. The groups are all over the city and, each one is growing and making steady progress.
By Marty Steadfast, Taiwan
The reaction of our friends and contacts to Activated in Chinese has been very positive. The mag sells itself, being so well done and professional in quality. People also find the price acceptable, and not too high.
There's been a noticeable increase of interest lately; you could say that people are getting activated in the spirit. The Lord is moving! We went for a long while previously with few sheep to feed, but recently we've experienced new and hungry sheep knocking on our door for fellowship and teaching.
It's challenging to fit the sheep in, and it's causing us to take a better look at all we do, but the Lord is helping us adjust and make time. It's requiring a shake-up and reevaluation of our priorities, first of all in keeping the Lord in first place, and next in feeding the sheep. It's a struggle to shake free from the old ways and routines, but rewarding to know we're investing in fruit that remains. So thank God for the Activated vision!
By Ben and Aneta, Botswana
The Lord's been so good to us and we have so much to be thankful for. On the Activated front we are approaching companies to take the mags in bulk (100 at a time), and the response has been good. However, we know it's always best to get people to subscribe so that they can receive the feeding even when we don't get to see them. So we've taken it a step further, and we ask the companies to take subscriptions for the whole year. The way it works is that they give us a committed order of say one hundred per month, and that makes it 1,200 Activated mags for the year. They then pay us in advance, with 12 checks, one for each month. This gets the financial side of things out of the way as there is constant income each and every month, and all we need to do is concentrate on feeding the sheep. (Isn't that why we joined the Family?)
We did a survey in System shops, and the other Christian magazines are nowhere near the quality of Activated! We have friends who are sending the mags as far as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa, and India. This has been helping us to feed the sheep and get the mags into places we can't go, while at the same time helping us to look at the larger vision of raising our yearly budget instead of only working on a monthly one.
The most encouraging thing is that no one leaves the Home without a mag. Our vision is to make this Home an Activated Home—a way of life! We want to eat, sleep, breathe, walk, talk, and run with the Activated vision!
By Andrew Heart, India
One week into last month we had only gotten four Activated mags out. The previous two months we had met our budget, but "just made it" (most of our monthly budget is usually raised by getting out the tools). We'd also fallen very short of our normal goal of 50 Activated subscriptions a month. We had reached only 72 Activated subscriptions in the last two months so we planned to reach the balance of 78 this month.
We had decided to do this alongside our tool outreach, but we decided to take a step of faith and use our second week of tool distribution to focus on Activated. It wasn't easy for carnal-minded me, but we all made the effort, and in that one week we reached 55 new Activated subscriptions!
The next week our three teams all went on the road and we got out 91 videos, all truly by His mercy and miracle-working power of the keys. At the end of the month we'd gotten out 91 Activated subscriptions and 119 videos, and we still had one more day of outreach to go. It really boosted our faith.
Even as I write this, we are a little short on our budget, but the Lord did supply a lot in a short time, and to me it was a lesson to put Activated first and then He will do the miraculous supplying.
By Gideon Pilgrim, USA
We received a phone call from Cassie at the U.S. Activated desk, and she gave us the number of a man in our city who had e-mailed them and asked to be put in touch with any Family members in the area. When no one had contacted him after a few days, he e-mailed again, more urgently asking why no one had called! God bless Cassie, who immediately gave us a call and suggested we visit him and also sent us his e-mail address.
It turns out this man's name is Jimmy Hendrix (believe it or not!), and he had reached a point in his life, at 52, where he knew the only thing worth doing was giving his life in service to the Lord. He is a retired Marine who had seen the world. His children were grown and gone. He was recently divorced. He had many material possessions that had not satisfied him.
While reading the Bible and praying about what was in store for his future, he came across the passage where Jesus was talking to the wealthy young man who was asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. After going through the many laws, which the man had been faithful in keeping, Jesus then told him, "One thing thou lackest, Go and sell all that thou hast, give to the poor, and come follow Me." Jim felt this was the challenge Jesus was now presenting him with! That's when he decided to contact the Family, which he had read about on the Web site, and see if there was a place of service for him.
We met him out, invited him over, and he immediately asked, "When can I move in? Where do I sleep?"
The Lord brought the Letter "For God's Sake, Follow God" to mind. We knew we had to pray and get something from the Lord! The Lord gave a beautiful prophecy how this was indeed His sheep and that He had brought him to our door, and that He would be doing more like this because we are in the era of action!
This of course drove us to the Charter as well, to make sure we knew what we were supposed to be doing. We downloaded and printed all the parts of the Charter that a new disciple needed to read before joining, and gave him that as well as a Treasures, and several other things for him to read. We talked with him about Family life, Dad, Maria, Peter, persecutions, and everything we could, and he just drank it all in, saying, "Yes, this is where I want to be!"
So, the Lord inspired us to invite him to go on a road trip, which he eagerly agreed to. The Lord just brought him to us! It was nothing of ourselves!
By Maria Creation, Japan
I don't always have the time to follow up on some people, but I'm very thankful for the Activated desk that faithfully sends out the Activated mailings. It is working and helping their spiritual growth, and many of them have started coming to me for counsel. It's also nice to know that the Word through Activated is influencing their life. It makes me want to study as well so I can give them the answers they need!
By Micah and Mary, Taiwan
When Chinese Activated came out, we were just sending out a request letter to all our main friends to raise support for a trip to help our daughter have an operation in the States, so it was a real test of faith to trust the Lord that He could help us do both—get the needed funds and also set aside the funds for our friends to get Activated. We told the Lord that anyone who sent in a gift, we would send a subscription to, and trust our precious Husband to bring in the funds. Well, in the beginning, the funds were trickling in, and it seemed crazy to sometimes take over half of the gift towards our trip and give the gift senders a subscription by faith, but then we would receive other gifts in the mail, which more than made up for the seeming sacrifice.
Practically speaking, it seemed impossible, but the Lord blessed beyond measure when we put the feeding of our sheep first! We are so thankful that all our friends on the field are receiving their magazines!
By James Livingstone, Japan
Tatsuki lives about an hour's drive from us, so we don't see him so often, but a few days ago I visited him and found he's really getting fed from his Activated mailings. I was also able to meet his wife, who is a local politician. As I was witnessing to her, her husband kept quoting things he'd learned from the Activated mags, the Bible, and from How to Be Happy Anyhow, which he has nearly completely memorized! His wife received the Lord, and our friend is learning how to witness to others through what he's read and studied in Activated.
By Joan, Ukraine
We went to follow up on four of our Activated subscribers. One of the ladies is paying for each magazine as we bring it to her, and while at the beginning she was not sure if she wanted the mag, when we visited her she asked if we have the next issue for her. On our following appointment she had the latest issue on her desk.
All our subscribers commented how inspiring it is for them to read the mags, how it helps them in their lives, and they're also sharing it with others. Another lady started giving us bigger donations since she got Activated, and faithfully carries the mag in her bag to read in her spare time. After she's read the whole mag, she then lends it to her friends to read. Activated is working in people's lives!f
By Ruthie Pioneer, Ukraine
We are happy to see how the Activated magazines in Ukrainian and Russian are changing the lives of the sheep right in front of our eyes. One of our Activated sheep frequently lets us know how the Word is changing her life. She shares each magazine issue with one of her relatives, and recently showed it to her mother, who is a Christian in one of the churches here. Her mom was saved with the Family, but is fellowshipping with a local church. Her mother is very appreciative of the Family for leading her to the Lord. She was happy to see the Activated magazines in Ukrainian, as now she can take it to the members of her church in the village that she regularly goes to. She wants to feed the sheep there with our material, as it is easy to understand.
Another one of our sheep who gets her regular feeding from Activated is growing very fast. Recently we were short of personnel and needed some help with our CTP at the local children's hospital, and she offered her help. She was very happy to have a part in bringing others some encouragement and salvation. We were able to go with her, and three of our kids. She worked with our kids to prepare the presents for the event. We were able to pray in every room for the salvation and healing of the kids, and we distributed literature to all the kids and some of the parents.
Besides that, she is learning lessons on prayer, as originally she didn't see the big need to use it in her life. Now she's changing and starting to see the power of prayer.
By Abner Christmas, Japan
One of our Activated members has greatly changed after one year of receiving the mag. She has changed from being a schizophrenic woman with no job, no husband, no faith, to a happy, hard-working girl with a good job, a new husband, and she's faithful to read the Word and pray daily. She used to call daily to unload all her problems. Now she is changed and is growing in the Lord and is helping us in little ways. She has a ways to go, but is making great progress!
By Rejoice (of John), USA
Marelle, who works at a rescue mission where we sing every month, subscribes to Activated. People see her with Activated and they ask her about it, and so she passes the Mag of the Month around for lots of people to read. She knows a woman who used to be a fan of Jeremy Spencer and Fleetwood Mac, and she gave her the July Activated issue with Jeremy's testimony in it. This woman has a gift for singing and songwriting, but she lacked the faith to use it, but after she read Jeremy's testimony she went home so inspired and wrote four songs, "all inspired by the Lord," as she put it!
We also give the Activated mag to a man who works at one of our meat provisioning contacts. Last time we went, we gave him the latest issue and he commented, "These magazines are great! My wife and I read them all the time." His wife is an evangelist and she loves using the mags for her witnessing and sermons.
By Dulce, Brazil
The children really enjoy distributing the Contato mags. They first give tracts and then give posters and mags to whoever gives a donation. This month they want to get out 1,000 mags. They also enjoy choosing the right mag for the right person according to the person's needs.
By Oleg Francesco, Ukraine
My mom subscribed to Activated and loves reading the Word, and has become a strong believer through it. She bought all the Russian Memory Book tapes and loves to memorize the verses. The last time I saw her she was asking about "Mottos for Success," which previously she'd said was a little expensive, but now she wants to use it to witness to people. She's already persuaded a friend to buy the "Mottos" as well as the Russian Memory Book tapes.
She leads a home church group at her apartment, and every time she gets a new Activated mag she uses it in her class. A couple of weeks ago they read together about prophecy and hearing from Heaven. After reading it they decided to hear from God, and to their amazement a few of them got similar messages from the Lord. They were so excited!
Also, six months ago a couple that has known the Family for almost 10 years decided to subscribe to Activated. After they started receiving the mag, they both have been asking regularly how they can join. It's amazing to see how Jesus uses the super Activated mag!
By Joshua, Lydia, and Victoria, Ukraine
We have weekly Activated meetings in downtown Kiev, where we also host a conversational club. We advertise our club in local newspapers, and because it's free of charge people are very interested, especially as Ukrainians love meeting foreigners and fellowshipping with them. (We also have other Family members in our area participate in this ministry.) We have doctors, teachers, and students show up, also for the English practice, and it's been a wonderful way to promote the Activated mag.
Misha is a bodyguard for a private company, and he recently began attending our fellowships. He told us how thankful he is to be able to be a member of our club, and how his life changed after he met the Family.
Eugenie, who is a young manager at a pharmaceutical company, has also been coming faithfully to our Activated meetings. He finds our meetings very inspiring and uplifting, and recently told us, "I've visited many places where I could practice my English, but only your club can offer something better than that—live fellowship, spiritual feeding, and fascinating reading materials that are helping me. I feel so inspired and recharged in my soul after each meeting. I would like to be able to attend these meetings for as long as they'll continue. I appreciate the effort you guys make to run this club. You are very special people!"
By Joy, Michael, Peace, and Simon, The Gambia
We held our first "Active wedding" here in the Gambia, as two of our Active members decided to get married. We organized a beautiful wedding, with the Lord's help, and our Home decorators and musicians. The Lord used the ceremony as a great witness to many of their friends. Later during the barbecue and dancing, we had the chance to witness more deeply to those attending.
By Sunny Servant, Taiwan
During the time of the Chinese Moon Festival, the Lord told us to have an Activated meeting at our Home with a barbeque and fellowship afterwards. It turned out to be quite fruitful! Three visitors wanted to subscribe to Activated, and two of our friends sponsored subscriptions so their friends and relatives could get Activated, and they paid for all 20 subscriptions right on the spot!
By Christine (of Patrick), USA
We took three of our Active members to Seattle for fellowship this month. It was very inspiring for us all, but even more powerful for our members to meet other CM Family. Chandra really connected with the SGA moms and had such a great time. Kelly, who has known us for years, kept saying upon his return, "I had a really nice time! I had a really nice time! That was really nice! We need to do that more often!"
Robert, who was visiting us from Colorado, also enjoyed his time. He told us that he learned so much from the fellowship and that it was life changing and so strengthening for him. In fact, he decided that he needed to help us financially and just sent us a check for $200! The inspiration of these fellowships is so worth the effort, for both our sheep and us.
By Sunny (of Johnny), Taiwan
Making Activated a goal in the Home has been a real help, and at the end of the day, everyone's asking each other, "How many Activated subscriptions did you get out today?" Even the kids are interested in it! Generating this kind of camaraderie of spirit helps a lot, and we need to keep it up!
There are a few people that I sent a free first issue to, who didn't subscribe right away. I prayed about it and the Lord told me to keep encouraging them to subscribe. Some people had said they would subscribe, but were slow in doing so. So I prayed for them and reminded them again and again. And eventually they subscribed! I didn't remind them in an offensive way, but I kept at it, like the Lord told me to, and the Lord and prayer power did the rest.
When we first decided to send out mag #1 free to all our friends and contacts, it seemed like a sacrifice, but it was definitely an investment worth our while. I don't have many people on my mailing list, but most of them signed up! For example, I sent one mag to my brother who is in the States. It costs a bit to send via airmail, and I had to wait for quite a while for an answer, but eventually he not only subscribed, but also sent me a check that covered far more than the subscription fee!
By Gideon Newheart, Norway
Working with the CGO board has been a blessing and inspiration for me, as I am constantly impressed by all of the initiative and dedication I witness in my brothers and sisters.
On occasion, in my position as a board member I am asked for any tips and ideas on how to get started with the Activated vision. Personally, I don't think I could say anything that hasn't already been covered in the GNs and FSMs. They are just full of good counsel and testimonies. The wonderful promises of the Lord in these pubs, plus the thrill of witnessing His Words, are a constant inspiration to me.
I do have a few suggestions that I have personally found useful over the years. Perhaps they can be of some use to others as well. They are as follows:
*Get activated yourself! Order several copies of each publication available. Each Home should have several copies of each book, booklet, CD, etc. But don't stop there, read them! Read them together as a Home, so that you can become familiar with them. These are the powerful tools the Lord has given us and we need to become familiar with them.
Any good salesman or any serious soldier is personally aware of all the different aspects of their materials; their business or their life depends on it. Know what you have so you can most effectively use it!
*Order the Activated Mag of the Month for distribution. As a Home, order a quantity of the new mag and have it sent to you automatically. Use them in your witnessing; send them out with thank-you letters to your friends and contacts. Be sure to write a little note with each mag you send out and let them know that the magazine is available for subscription, and then follow it up with a phone call.
Any salesman worth his salt would do nothing less, and neither should we. At the very least we know that our contacts are getting fed. I have found that I have been able to witness much deeper since feeding the contacts like this, and we have certainly seen the good fruit of it in increased finances, more provisioning, and a deeper, more personal relationship with our friends and contacts.
*Order a quantity of brochures and flyers. There are some available for nearly all of our wonderful tools. Slip them into thank-you letters, follow-up mail, personal letters to outside friends, etc. Make them aware of our products.
*Advertise Activated, and quote them in your newsletters. I usually highlight a different book, or booklet, with each of my newsletters; sometimes I quote an article from Activated. I write the thumbnail from the back of the booklet, or pull a good quote from it and let them know the booklet is available to buy.
*Put your Activated desk's Web site address in your newsletters. I do this so that anyone who gets the newsletter can buy any of our products at any time.
I have a standing offer of a free one-year paid subscription to the Activated magazine to anyone who helps our work with a gift of 1,000 Nok (approx. US$140), or more. When it comes time for renewal, 90 percent of the subscribers renew for a second year (usually with a generous gift once again).
These are just a few ideas, and I know it is only scratching the surface, but it does begin with our getting the Word in (to ourselves first) before we can get it out to others. The renewed emphasis of drinking more deeply from the Water of Life can give us the power and extra boost in the Spirit to incorporate more Word in our witness. What better way to do it than with Activated?
Sent in by the Chile Activated desk
In our area the amount of Activated subscriptions is still pretty low, so an idea that was presented to us recently was for each Home to set a goal of one new Activated subscription per week. Overall this would mean roughly 20 new subscriptions a week for our area. While this figure may sound low in areas like India and Brazil, in other places where Activated subscriptions have not taken off at the same rate, or for Homes in any country who have not yet caught the Activated fever, it could be a good goal to start with. It's realistically attainable by any Home, and a first step to a greater witness and even more subscriptions!
[BOX:]
(Dad speaking:) Small beginnings can bring forth great results if you step out by faith to obey what the Lord is asking of you—in this case, getting Activated subscriptions. Give it your best shot by putting your faith into action. Call on the Lord for His help, and avail yourself of His unlimited key power.
You may think one subscription a week is hardly a drop in the bucket, and you may question whether that is going to make a difference and change the world. Or you may feel discouraged, because you read of other fields or Homes who are going forward full-force with Activated while you're still struggling to get it inching forward in your Home or with your sheep. Don't let the Enemy get you down. Set your sights on a goal that is reachable for you and your Home today, even if it's just one new subscription a week—that one subscription has the ability to change someone's life. In time your faith will grow, and you can set higher goals.
Pray and ask the Lord to show you what you can do personally and as a Home to move forward with the Activated vision. He knows what is possible, and He can also do the impossible through you, so get His Activated plan for you today. Then call on the keys and get out there and do it! Give the Lord a chance and watch Him work! Hallelujah! (End of message from Dad.)
[END OF BOX.]
By Christina, Taiwan
I don't have a long list of people I've gotten activated, like other of my Home members who have been in Taiwan for a while now and who basically speak the language. However, I have tried to do my part with what little Chinese I know and with the talents and wonderful tools the Lord has given us. I also teach my two boys at home, so I only go out for one full day of witnessing a week (other than night singing, and Sundays with the young people at the Club, personal witnessing, etc.).
I started off by visiting my good friends who are already monthly supporters, or other friends whom I visit occasionally, and got them to subscribe.
I then went through the cards I have collected over the last year and a half while here (on which I had written the date I met them, what tools they got, and whether they speak English). I then called up certain ones whom the Lord laid on my heart. They would usually remember me, even though some I hadn't seen in a year or so. I would explain to them that we have this beautiful international magazine from our group that is now in Chinese. I tell them it is about faith, hope and love, and it's a motivational magazine. Then I explain that it is only a certain amount for one year, 12 issues. I mention that I am going into Taipei to visit some friends and want to stop by to see them for a few minutes to show them the mag, and see if they would like to get it. Of those people who agree to my visiting them, almost all of them get a subscription.
I am really sold on using the telephone to explain the mag and get an appointment. Even if they can't make an appointment, but they are open for me to try again, I keep their card in a special envelope and try again and keep trying until I get an answer. I try to make it a goal to get someone activated every time I go out. (Sometimes a few people get the subscription, but usually it ends up being one to two or maybe three a day.)
I must confess that I haven't pushed the mag first, before the tools. However, if they don't want the tools, I have offered the mag and asked if they wanted to give a donation for the publication and/or for our work, and that works quite well. I explain that after they read the mag and like it, they can send in the subscription form for a year's subscription.
At present, I have already approached my friends whom I have met and ministered to over the last year and a half of my time here; however, I still have other people's business cards I can go through, and can call those people too. I always keep current cards of those I meet while out, and who get something from us. A couple of weeks or a month after meeting them, I try to call them again and offer them the subscription.
Sometimes I offer the mag (and subscription) with the tools. A few times someone has gotten a subscription on the spot. Other times I give the first mag for free to people who seem sheepy or get tools. But I've found it more effective to start by introducing the mag to them over the phone and telling them in advance about the mag (and the low price), and then visiting them and showing it to them and challenging them on the spot. There is a "magic" about it when the mag is the whole purpose of the visit, and they are prepared already about the price—which is not exorbitant. I have met people on outreach who told me that other people come by to sell magazine subscriptions and that they charge a lot.
Since my team gets around on foot, my son and I try to provision taxis to get to some places. I give the taxi drivers a poster and often ask them if they would like a mag (as they are giving me a free ride!) and they often say yes. One taxi driver put the mag (along with a poster and a PR brochure) into the back pocket of the rider's seat, so his customers could take a look at it.
By Joy Jane (of Tim), Ukraine
We have families that we follow up on, and every time we go to see them, they usually have lots of questions and we have a fruitful time. On the other hand, we have been somewhat disappointed that they themselves do not take more initiative to get closer to the Lord and us. We prayed about getting them together on Sunday for Bible classes and, having received the "go ahead" from the Lord, we tried to do it, but they couldn't come for different reasons like being very busy at work, financial difficulties, etc.
It made us seek more guidance from the Lord on what to do in this situation. During our next outreach meeting we brought it before the Lord and He showed us a few things to do:
*Follow up more regularly. Since we take care of children and do translations and layout for the Ukrainian Activated, we're only able to spend part of our time witnessing and doing follow-up. The Lord showed us that it was one of the reasons why people do not show so much initiative and hunger, and that if we start doing follow-up more regularly, the fruits will follow.
*Take time to prepare for classes and feed the attendees more deeply.
*Be an instant witness wherever we go so that the Lord can bring in new people to our fold.
*Reevaluate our flock and see where people stand. We prayed about people that we had on our list and we saw that some of them became our good friends, but didn't want to move any further in their walk with the Lord, so we decided to just keep in touch with them and not spend our time socializing.
*Designate one witnessing day a week to win new people for our fold. The Lord told us to devote one day for follow-up and one day for witnessing each week so that we can do both—feeding the people that we have and bringing in new people to our fold.
By Johnny (of Sunny), Taiwan
Here are a few tips that I've found helpful in getting people to subscribe to Activated:
*Use prior mailing lists of sheep whom you've already been feeding and ministering to. In my case, I had a mailing list of about 60 people, some newly added, some regulars for as long as seven years. I started by sending all of them the first Activated mag. I also had about 30 addresses of all our fruit and vegetable contacts, and did the same with them. The result: About 50 friends and contacts getting activated, including four market contacts.
*After the initial mailing to friends, I called or met each one and challenged them to subscribe.
By Micah and Mary, Taiwan
The Chinese Activated mag sells itself! We put it in people's hands, and they see it, leaf through it, and love it! The fact that it is bilingual with quite a few English articles too is a huge plus in this country, where almost everyone or their kids wants to learn English! (God bless our dear translators and those who work on the layout! It is truly anointed!)
One way we had of getting people to subscribe was to look at all of our "pretty pictures." I'm talking about the stacks of name cards we have from doing outreach over a period of years. We focused in on certain people who already know us and had received tools, or who have had frequent contact with us. We even had some people surprise us, as we didn't know them so well, but they really got interested in the magazine.
Another way we were able to get out a lot was just by being sold on it and enthusiastic about it ourselves first. We had an inspiring three-day meeting to kick off Activated, and we really got into it. We would ask each outreach team when they got home from outreach, "How many subs did you get?" This kind of enthusiasm was contagious and we all caught it!
As a Home we also set goals. We first tried for a hundred subs and got them. Then we wanted to go for 150, and so on. I think setting goals and hitting them is a great way to get that inspiration up to a high level, and it gives you that extra oomph you need to get out there and keep pushing!
We went to see one man whom we had only met once, and although he was a bit rascally, he did end up subscribing to the mag. When we e-mailed him later, he had moved to the U.S. and was very thankful for the magazine! He wrote me the most heartfelt letter, saying how he had gone away from his former faith in Jesus, but was now coming back! He was so thankful when I offered to help him notify the Activated desk, so he could continue receiving the magazines there too!
We offered the mags to our English class and all of our students subscribed, even some people we hardly had the faith for. It was like "follow the leader," and they all followed. It taught us to not discount anyone.
[BOX:]
Sent in by a Middle East team
[Editor: In Muslim countries the Family primarily uses Motivated. However, these suggestions are good and can be adapted and applied to the distribution of Activated.]
*E-mail flyers to friends and companies to advertise our tools for the holidays. Follow up on your e-mail by calling them, in case the e-mail got purged or considered as spam mail.
*Offer "Mottos" to hotels with the idea of them placing one in each hotel room.
*Send an e-mail ad to all our friends and contacts advertising Motivated (or Activated) and ask them to purchase these as a meaningful holiday gift for friends and employees. Make a special offer if a large number of copies are ordered.
*When doing shows at universities and high schools, ask permission from the management to give out Motivated to all the students.
*Put copies of Motivated in hair salons and doctor's offices with a sign encouraging people to take one for free.
[END OF BOX.]
[QUOTES INCLUDED IN MAG:]
Activated is your greatest task yet, and it will bring with it the greatest joy and fulfillment yet. At every step you take to fulfill the potential of this program you will hear My Words echoing in your hearts: "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord!"
—Jesus (ML #3436:105)
Claim the power of the keys and the full firepower of the Spirit as you distribute these mags, for they are mighty to the tearing down of the Enemy's strongholds and the building of My Kingdom in the hearts and souls of the recipients!
—Jesus (ML #3436:107)
(End of file.)