AM MAILBAG: GOOD CHURCHES HARD TO FIND WORLD-WIDE

The following email exchange concerns the lyrics of my song Missing You. As a pastor I chose to ask this reader of Apprising Ministries if I could use their letters below. And I’m going to present some of the following email exchange for a couple of reasons. In my opinion it serves to illustrate one of the ways God is using Internet ministries to minister to people all over the world.

For example, here I am with a local church of 6-10 members in a small rural city in NH and yet through its outreach AM I have the undeserved privilege to serve and encourage someone on another continent. Prayerfully this will also serve to be an encouragement to those in our AM family who have been faithfully helping to support this needed work as to how God is using this labor in the Lord in ways we would never have envisioned when we began three years ago.

As I was telling two different pastors on the phone today it remains my hope that AM will also one day be able to help network pastors in need of churches with those meeting in homes and praying for God to send them a genuine pastor-teacher. The people on my AM Update mailing list hear more about this but there’s a whole lot more to my various labors in the Lord than what I write at Apprising. Our IPU Unit (intercessory prayer) continues to grow but there’s always room for more people to pray for the requests I send them via email.

We are also in need of people willing to help to support this growing work financially, which you can find out how to do here. And I also agree with my brother pastors, who both talked about this separately, that God has grown weary of many “established” church denominations. Men and women, from what we’re hearing the Lord is really using the Internet to spread the actual faith once for all delivered to the saints in a similar fashion to the way He once used believers meeting in homes.

And the following will also serve to show you that the shortage of good churches is indeed spreading world-wide:

It’s beautiful, but it’s not completely true or possible. I would die for having even the slightest possibility to have a church to go on Sundays. I live in a small town in Spain where there is no church. Our family is the only Christian family in a town of 6000 people. There is no church we can go to. Nobody wants to come here. Nobody cares. We are all alone, drinking every word from the on-line sermon every Sunday. Nobody except myself is going to teach my children why His grace is amazing.

There is a purpose-driven-church 100 kms. from here. We’ve already tried there. Once I asked them why there was no preaching and only singing at that service, and they answered me that my duty was going home and reading my Bible, and studying it. There are more than 8000 towns in Spain with no Christian church at all.

And every year more “missionaries” come … and stay in Madrid area (where there are more than 500 churches) or near the coast and the beaches because “the Lord calls them all to go there”. Strange, isn’t it? I only wanted you to know that I’d love so much having a church to go. But it’s something beyond this life for us. And I can tell you it’s really painful.

God bless you and your work.

AM Reader

Hello,

Thank you very much for contacting Apprising Ministries. I do know what you mean and it is true that the song is really about someone who had wandered away from a good church. Sadly, I am getting letters similar to yours from all over the world and good churches are growing quite scarce.

As a matter a fact I’d like to publish your letter as another example of what I’m hearing. One of the things I hope will happen is that AM will one day be able to find pastors willing to relocate to areas like yours which need good churches.

Also if you’d like to be placed on the email list we’ve putting together please let us know. The goal is to keep people informed as soon I hope to follow the Lord’s lead to begin moving out into speaking and spreading the word about the dangers related to the Emerging postevangelical rebellion against Sola Scriptura.

Some of the other subjects I’ll cover would be issues related to Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism and the evangelical reversal of the Reformation with their embracing of the apostate Roman Catholicism as a legitimate expression of the Christian faith.

May the Lord richly bless you and keep you close as that Day seems to be fast approaching.

For Christ’s honor I labor,

Pastor Ken Silva

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your kind and quick reply. I came to know your ministry through Slice of Laodicea, and I appreciate it very much. Of course you can include my little letter where you think it´s OK. I’ll be checking your site often, as I regularly do.

Thank you for your work and your kind answer. I’ve felt a compassionate encouragement especially when I read the closing of your letter. I shivered with joy when I thought of that Day which seems to be fast approaching.

May our Loved One keep you close to Him too.

AM Reader