Dear Friends,
Jan and I (and kids) have just returned from a week in a cabin up along the Black River in Wisconsin. We had a chance to take a canoe trip, hike a little, and generally de-stress. We have also taken a month off from our regular Radio Antioch meetings. We have used this time to rest and re-group, and also to seek the Lord.
I feel that the Lord is taking us in a slightly different direction. Two years ago we were instructed to begin the Radio Antioch podcast, with bi-monthly meetings. Pastor Jeff at the Christian Life Fellowship was gracious enough to lend us their building twice a month. We had some amazing times of worship and fellowship. What began as a simple internet blog and audio podcast grew to include video and live streaming broadcasts. About a year ago, we felt that the Lord was showing us to take what we were doing and enable other ministries to do the same things. Radio Antioch began to morph as we signed contracts to augment our internet servers by tying into several much larger computer and content-delivery networks. We now are connected to servers in 23 cities on three continents. We also are enabling streaming ministry for several major ministries, and lately a growing number of local churches. A recent conference held by one of these ministries had over 6000 connections over the three-day event. At full capacity, the Radio Antioch systems can service over a million simultaneous viewers.
Recently, I have begun feeling that the Lord was nudging us in a new direction. I love the bi-monthly meetings, but I believe that the Lord is showing us that they have served their purpose in teaching us HOW to do this. Our next assignment is to take the things we have learned TO the Body of Christ. This has been difficult for me personally, as I love to teach and very much enjoy the teaching time, as well as the great worship and fellowship. In praying about this, I feel that the Lord will be opening doors for us to preach here and there, and for me to just trust Him with that aspect of the ministry. In letting go of the regular meetings, I have two Sunday invitations in the next month, so the Lord is already opening doors. I plan on continuing to put out a podcast once in a while, maybe once a month, using material recorded at these future meetings. These will appear on our regular blog and ministry Email as before.
I would like to take this time to thank all of the amazing volunteers that have made the Bi-monthly meetings possible. Your amazing and selfless service has blessed many and birthed a new ministry that will have global impact. We plan to do a thank-you fellowship for our volunteers sometime soon, stay tuned for details!
I would also ask each of you to keep us in prayer. I have begun taking steps to expand the Radio Antioch services and make it a truly powerful resource for the body of Christ. Thanks also for our faithful financial supporters. We encourage you to continue to support what we are doing. For the next few months, our costs will be going up as we focus on the new direction. We do expect the revenues from services to increase as new ministries work with us to get the Gospel out. Funds from our ministry clients have gone up dramatically in the last month, and we are now are receiving about 50% of the operating costs of the network from fees. The remaining expense is covered by our ministry budget and our faithful supporters. If you are not already one of our monthly supporters, please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly partner with us. You can click the “make a donation” button on our website or on any of our emails.
Let’s talk about Africa for a moment…With the help of a number of you, repairs and upgrades to the church in Wandago are now underway and nearing completion. Bishop Nicholas Ongamo has been sending us regular updates. We continue to pay the monthly salary of Pastor Patrick in Wandago as part of our missionary outreach. I am also praying about another trip to Africa. This is difficult as we move in new directions, but I am confident the Lord will show us the perfect timing.
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support.
In His Service,
Dave
