June 17 – July 1

This weekend kicked off the first of 6 Proclaim tours this summer, a very exciting and innovative evangelistic music tour in the South of France. Read more

The Blue Door Band from California was in Peru with a 12-member Proclaim! team February 13-27. As people were attracted to the band’s pop, jazz and Latin music at daily outreach events, they heard the good news and had the opportunity to connect personally with the team and with local churches.

THE BLUE DOOR BAND – LISTEN HERE  (Click on Videos at the site)

Proclaim! International as a community of missionaries has taken a historic step forward.

From the inception of Proclaim in 2000 we determined that we were going to be a mission led by missionaries, trusting the Holy Spirit in each other, and seeking God’s leading together. And what a time of blessing and growth we have had in the past 15 years under the leadership of our founding co-directors, John Bowers, Bob McIntyre, and Bob Johnson. New Proclaim national ministries have been established and are growing in Croatia, France, Germany, Peru, and Belarus, and new or ongoing partnerships for evangelism and training are increasing.

As we grow we are always looking for ways that God is leading us to adapt and advance the ministry as good stewards, and a critical aspect of that responsibility is preparing new leaders. Even well before Bob Johnson was promoted to heaven over three years ago, the Co-directors were actively planning strategies for developing new leadership.

Now after a lengthy process of prayer, discussion and discernment, with thankfulness we begin 2016 with four new Co-directors who have been decisively led by God, recommended by the International Council, and affirmed by the Proclaim Community. They represent the whole of the Community, come from four different national backgrounds, and are all experienced leaders in Proclaim. Each has a depth of understanding of our structure, values and ministries through service on the International Council and significant interaction with many of the Proclaim ministries.

Previous Co-directors Bob and John are not leaving or retiring, but continuing in leadership of Proclaim’s US ministries and involvement in other worldwide Proclaim efforts. In John’s words,

Bob and I are full of confident joy that we have come to this place at the right time. A time for the community to advance new leaders and for us to continue to serve as the Lord leads us in new roles and ministry responsibilities in Proclaim. So we have, as Bob Johnson used to say, expectant faith, as Proclaim! moves forward with our new Co-directors who will lead us in the years to come.

 

Kim Peterson, Latin America Ministry Coordinator

Recently I played in the orchestra at a local church for their Royal Wedding musical. I got a text late the night before asking if I could substitute for their sax player in this production. I said “yes” and am very glad I did. It was a powerful play that creatively and emotively told the gospel story. I cried during it, even though I was sight reading and needed to keep a clear head, focused on playing the music. There were over 20 in the orchestra, a choir of about a hundred, and about 20 actors.

All the effort and expense to reach the community with the gospel reminded me of the effort and expense God invested and continues to invest in us. Serving God well can’t be done “economically.” We serve him lavishly and sacrificially. When we do that, the power of God’s love is displayed. Audiences sense it and feel it, and many come to understand and live it.

Our Proclaim team is going to Chile next month, sacrificially and lavishly, because we are going to love Chileans like God loves us. As we continue to work hard to prepare, we are going to see more and more God’s awesome love and truth displayed in and through us.

We do this for our Lavish Lord.

The Sunrise Church four who are part of the team

 

January 25-February 2 Proclaim members Kim Peterson and Jeff Aslesen return to the Island of Hispañola and the Dominican Republic where Columbus first set foot in the New World. They will work with believers there to help people place their faith’s footing on the Rock of Ages and discover the New Life.

Kim says:

This is the Carnaval season in the D.R. a dark, dangerous and disappointing time where people look for what they long for in places where their needs can’t be satisfied. We will spend this week in La Vega, Dominican Republic, reaching out to seekers and rallying Christians to join the rescue party. We will be calling out through music and the Word to invite people to eat the only True Bread that satisfies. From Monday to Saturday we’ll be in churches, on the street, and in a jazz club. On Sunday we participate in the kick-off event of Unidos Por El (United By Him). This is the first event of an entire month of February activities sponsored by UPE which offer Living Water to the thirsty of LaVega, D.R.

 

Here is one of the songs in Spanish that Kim wrote for this outreach:

Lyrics in English:

God answered prayer! Our entire team met weekly for over a month before the Gala for prayer, planning, updating, and encouragement.  Board members invited many guests and helped with planning, and one member took the event photos you see here.

Staff members all helped with various aspects of the evening, under the leadership of Patty Sullivan who coordinated the event.

We were concerned about the lower than usual number of guests signed up as the date approached, but prayed that God would be glorified and the evening would be a blessing to those who came.

From all we experienced and heard from others, it is evident that God answered. We made every effort to get an on-time start, and even with a shorter than optimal set up time everything was ready to go right on the dot.

We were thrilled that table hosts and guests took their commitments seriously and almost all of the people who had registered were actually there! And thanks to a few additional guests, every place was filled. That was a specific prayer request and God answered decisively.

The program went very well. Everyone loved the performance of the Switzerland Dance School team! Even some problems with the rented stage did not phase the girls who dealt with the conditions that couldn’t be changed like the professionals (and servants) they are.

They did an amazing job of demonstrating how effective this kind of approach is in ministry with their performance that included samples of pieces they used last year with Proclaim in Peru.

The dance team’s involvement and other aspects of Proclaim’s ministry were well communicated by Proclaim Co-director John Bowers, Dance Company Director Stacey Dumdei, and Proclaim Latin America Ministry Coordinator Kim Peterson. And an excellent video production by Russ and Marj Speiser explained the satellite broadcast ministry into North Africa and the Middle East that they head.

Many of the guests had seen the Chinese orchestra Proclaim brought to the US in March to perform at university and cultural events, including 3 venues in Jacksonville. We were excited to be able to share followup stories indicating changes spiritually in a couple of their members since their time here.

As for contributions . . . besides all the other profitable aspects of the evening, we were blessed to receive financial gifts and pledges greater than the amount that we received last year when we had a significantly higher attendance.

We trust that God is continuing to use the Gala in people’s lives. And please continue to pray for additional finances for Proclaim as ministry opportunities abound. If you are able to add to the funds for these ministries, you can donate at the secure link below:

DONATE ONLINE

Photos by Jeff Westcott Photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas marks a beginning. The dawn of redemption. The commencement of the life of the Savior. The opening of the door to the Kingdom. The first coming which guarantees the second. The beginning of the end of the reign of death, pain sorrow and fear. It is the starting blocks for the race of enduring faith. Christmas is the opening movement to the great opus that leads to a cross, an empty grave, a triumphant return, a throne, a shining city and eternal joy.

Remember this as you “put away” Christmas. The birth is a start, not the finish – savor the promise of things to come.

John Bowers – Co-director

That’s what John Denver would have been singing if he had been at the Proclaim! International Gathering on the Mediterranean coast of Spain at the end of November!

The surroundings were stunning as far as the eye could see. What a setting for singing the glory of the God of all creation. And with a mission full of gifted and devoted musicians we were led into heartfelt praise and worship daily.

 

Tim Lusk from Jacksonville, a fellow missionary and kindred spirit, challenged and encouraged us from the word each day to unity in Christ with family and our mission community. And he and his wife Allison blessed all of us simply by their presence and interaction with us during the week.

There were 33 of us from 6 countries where Proclaim has ministry. One of the goals of our time together is catching up on the latest developments in colleagues’ ministries, in scheduled reporting times or just around the dinner table or a cup of coffee. One of the satisfying and very practical outcomes of that is seeing our community members find ways to work together and contribute to each others’ ministries.

Of course there is always time left free for just spending time together. These people have too much fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THE GATHERING