| Dear Antonina,
I am writing today with good news. Last year we asked you to help us translate Living Truth into Spanish. Once translated, your support enabled us to begin broadcasting in Latin America. Today, we air in 26 Spanish-speaking countries.
Yet, in many ways, our work is just beginning.
As a supporter of Living Truth, you already know that we are focused on bringing the Living Word of God WORLDWIDE, supporting pastors, church leaders and believers. In each language and each nation, our prayer is to make disciples – not just bring the Bible – but to make disciples.
Many Christian leaders consider disciple-making the greatest challenge facing the Church today. In Latin America the Church is growing extremely fast. While we celebrate the remarkable work of the Holy Spirit, we recognize that now is the time to teach these new Christians so that they can grow in their walk with Christ.
Failure to shape their worldview and lifestyle through Biblical teaching will cause many to fall away into unbelief or false teaching.
In places where the Church is growing rapidly, there is a crisis of leadership. Men and women are following the call of God, but they lack the resources they need to be trained. Solid Scriptural teaching is lacking in many regions. The church is growing very rapidly.
Today we are asking you to join us as we expand into Spanish-speaking countries. Whether you give $100 or $10,000, your gift will be used for Bible teaching and discipleship ministry throughout Latin America.
This summer I visited Chile and Colombia. I want to tell you that my spirit was filled with joy as I walked alongside church leaders in each of these nations. Yet, the incredible need broke my heart.
In my home, on my bookshelves, I have hundreds of resources. I have the privilege of reading the writings of great men and women of God as they encourage, teach and admonish.
This is not the case in all countries.
In both countries we visited, Christian leaders struggled to make do with a tattered copy of the Scriptures.
I would like to walk through both countries, quickly giving you a glimpse of their need.
The nation of Chile is in the midst of transformation. The political movement from dictatorship to a democracy is opening many doors. The country and its people are moving on from a scarred past. In the 1970’s and 80’s, the country was deeply affected by Pinochet’s reign of terror. As many as 80,000 people were tortured or murdered. Many others ‘disappeared’ or were forced to leave the country.
Today, Chile is plagued by social problems. Young girls have struggles and one out of every seven is a mother before she is fourteen. Crime, drug abuse and materialism are all on the rise. Poverty is widespread.
Democratic structures have grown strong, but much progress is still needed for a fair, just and prosperous Chile to emerge. Forgiveness and grace are essential for this to happen. Chile needs the Gospel.
Evangelical Christians used to be persecuted in Chile. Now, they’re in a position to play a pivotal role in Chilean society. Christians are participating in government and there is even an official Evangelical public holiday. Today Chile is very open to the Gospel.
Andres Carrasco is a man with a calling. He’s walking the length of Chile, knocking on every radio station door, asking them to broadcast Living Truth. You see, he understands that many of the people are illiterate or have no access to a Bible. Through the radio broadcasts, they can hear the Word of God regularly. He knows the power of the Scriptures. For a long time he prayed that there would be something that would help disciple new Christians. Living Truth was an answer to his prayers.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Europeans believed that somewhere in the New World there was a place of immense wealth known as El Dorado. It supposedly had unlimited gold.
Spanish explorers heard stories about a tribe of natives high in the Andes Mountains in what is now Colombia. When a new chieftain rose to power, his rule began with a ceremony at Lake Guatavita.
To this day, people go to the lake to immerse themselves to appease the Guatavita gods. New believers blend ancient myths with Christianity instead of looking to Christ alone. The result is an idolatrous religious practice full of fear and uncertainty.
Some pastors in present day Guatavita look to Living Truth to help them open the eyes of people who are enslaved to these kinds of myths and legends.
Julio Duarte and his wife, Vicki Garcia have faced many hardships while trying to bring the Truth to the people of Zipaquira, in the Andes Mountains. Here, we see the influence of myth and tradition.
Julio and Vicki were ready to give up before Living Truth offered much needed resources for their growing church.
Making Desciples
At the time of Christ, when Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, there were an estimated 200 million people alive on planet earth.
Today, the World Bank reports a global population of almost seven billion people.
Yet, in spite of the massive population increase, our world has become a village.
Through television, radio and internet, we are able to reach millions of people. In fact, every Sunday morning the Living Truth broadcast is seen in 40 countries of the world.
You could never do that back in earlier centuries.
We have been given the responsibility to go into the world and preach the gospel, but notice go into all the world, not just go to the world. This is not megaphone evangelism where you go and just shout it to people.
Go into the world – that is incarnational. We are to go into the communities and the lives of the people to which we are to take this gospel.
Evangelism today has many facets. Television is useful where people have access to a broadcast signal and the resources to buy a television set. Books, CDs and DVDs can be used in Bible study groups. Solar powered audio players are in much demand by people who cannot read. A web site is a resource for videos, transcripts, daily devotionals and study guides for literally millions of Spanish-speaking populations.
I ask you to join us in our Bible teaching and discipling ministry.
Please use the form enclosed to send your special gift. We cannot go, personally, to every man, woman and child. But we can take the Good News, the Word of God to equip men and women whom God has called, giving them solid Biblical resources to use in their ministries.
We are a part of a global work that God has orchestrated. Join us by sending your gift today.
Yours in Christ,
 Charles Price
Living Truth/The Peoples Church
P.S. I am grateful for your support. For God is opening many doors, giving us an opportunity to work together for the glory of Jesus Christ. |
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