Dear Prayer Warriors, When I began this blog on thankfulness, I initially intended it to be a single posting. Now it has grown into four and I realize that I am just scraping the surface. I will end, therefore, in this last posting on thankfulness, with the subject of being thankful for those who have served sacrificially with GCI and, in doing so, honoring them. You see, when we are thankful for those to whom we minister and with whom we minister, we also bring them recognition and honor. One example of this can be seen in Paul’s letters to the churches. Notice how his prayers of thanksgiving also include honor and recognition. Colossians 1:3-4 “We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;” 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 “We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,”
The recognition which comes from thanksgiving is both a duty and an honor. Take note of the exhortation of God the Holy Spirit in 1 Timothy 5:17 “The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.” God the Holy Spirit here is instructing Timothy, the senior pastor, to insure that he is not only thankful for but, also, publicly recognizes the elders who serve under his leadership. (I have, on more than one occasion, pointed out to leaders that this passage, when taught in their church or organization, is not an exhortation for them but an exhortation for the leader to recognize those who serve with him. A senior pastor or director cannot use this passage to convict his followers for not recognizing and blessing him but as a wake-up call for him to evaluate how he is recognizing and thanking those who minister under his leadership.)
Public prayers of thanksgiving, along with honor and rewards associated with it, are the responsibility of all in leadership positions. All those in leadership positions should have a page in their prayer notebook of the names of those who made their ministry possible, as well as those who serve with them in the ministry in support roles. This single page and spiritual discipline will go a long way in protecting anyone involved in the ministry from the sins of pride and/or bitterness. I know this has been true in my case and, over the years, this page has continued to grow. Names on a thanksgiving page are never removed but new ones are continually added.
There is a long history of God the Holy Spirit insuring both thankfulness and recognition. Notice the statement in 2 Samuel 23:8 “These are the names of the mighty men…” In more than one chapter of the Bible, David--as well as other leaders-- list those who have served in their ministry and give thanks for their service.
In light of this, I would first like to recognize those men who faithfully and sacrificially serve on the Board of Directors of Grace Community International. GCI is a working Board and each man has a responsibility which he carries out and without which this ministry would not be possible. Their names and pictures are in my prayer notebook. Every day I thank God for their service and pray that the Lord would bless and empower their ministry.
(You will notice that with some of the names are links to the ministries they have with GCI. Let me encourage you to take the time to copy and paste these links and then to add them to your “favorites” or “bookmark” them for future reference.)
Pam Stephens – A special thankyou goes out to Pam Stephens, wife of Board member Rob Stephens, who has served sacrificially in the GCI office with Eleanor. Pam has done the deposits and accounting while we are on the mission field. She is having to step down in preparation for their move and will be sorely missed. Words cannot express the ministry she has had and the blessings she has brought to GCI.
Jon Bucher – Jon gave up the management of the Christian Facilitators Website to take over the management of the GCI website. He does this on a strictly volunteer basis. He has singlehandedly transformed the website into a ministry library and resource ministry visited and used by scores of people throughout the world. http://gciweb.org/
Kurt Diederich – Missionary to Cameroon, Military minister in the US, soon to be missionary in France. Not only is Kurt’s family an excellent example of the application of the Scriptural principles of the Family Discipleship and Marriage Covenant seminars, every ministry situation in which Kurt finds himself he has used to open doors for the ministry of GCI.
Dr. Rusty Lacy – Rusty’s passion for Scripture memory has been applied to the GCI website. Because of Dr. Lacy we are able to offer Scripture Memory packets at no cost in four languages. In addition, Dr. Lacy has been on mission trips with GCI in Belarus and Kenya. http://gciweb.org/2011/04/scripture-memory/
Dan McCollum – Dan spends countless hours using his skill as a computer programmer to tweak and facilitate the GCI accounting and mailing system. He created a “turn-key” program with Microsoft Access at no cost and has maintained this over the years. This system would easily have cost us thousands of dollars were it not for his sacrificial heart. In addition, Dan and his wife Judy have engaged in teaching and evangelism ministries with GCI in Kenya, Cameroon and Zambia.
Dr. Stanley Mukolwe – Dr. Mukolwe represents GCI in Kenya and east Africa, teaching in churches, conferences, TV and Christian radio stations. He has published a number of books and articles on child raising and hosted innumerable conferences. I say with confidence that Dr. Mukolwe is the James Dobson of Africa. http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=gci&subsetcat=speaker&subsetitem=Dr%2E+Mukolwe
Rich Smith – Rich uses his lifelong career as an electrical engineer to bring solid and practical advice to GCI from a businessman’s perspective. He is a gifted teacher. Along with his wife, Kathy, he has ministered in Kenya and Cameroon with GCI, teaching on practical discipleship and the family. http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=gci&subsetcat=speaker&subsetitem=Mr%2E+Richard+Smith
Capt. Rob Stephens – Rob has been an invaluable sounding board for the website, the practical ministry of GCI and for opening doors for the ministry. He has traveled and taught with GCI in Belarus and Kenya. He uses his expertise in the commercial airlines field to guide and advise us on travels and has come to our aid in more than one sticky situation.
Dan Clark – Dan left the board as an active member when he went to Montana as a Home Missionary for the Baptists. He felt it was too far to be a realistic participant. Even so he has hosted a number of ministry events through his church and city wide ministry in Helena, MT. http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?sourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=gci&subsetcat=series&subsetitem=Big+Sky+Baptist+MCS+2015
Former Board Members and Volunteers
Kelly Cook – Kelly was one of the originators of the design of the GCI website and rotated off the board when the website was fully up and running. He continues to be an advisor for the practical running of the website. I appreciate the fact that, whenever I am in the country, I can call on Kelly and he will take time out to meet with me and solve problems.
Mike Daily – Has rotated off the website to emphasize his ministry to the youth in his church in Albuquerque, NM. Mike continues to minister with us, attending the occasional board meeting as an consultant.. Mike contributes postings to the teen and youth sections of the website. He has developed high school curriculums which are used all over the world and presented at no cost. He has ministered with GCI in Kenya and Zambia. http://gciweb.org/2011/04/youth-bible-study-materials-michael-r-daily/
Liz Izaguirre – Liz has spent countless hours with the audio postings of sermons and seminars. She is also involved with facilitating our weekly blog. http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=gci In addition she helped in the design and publishing of the Lord Teach Us To Pray Workbook. http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Teach-Us-Pray-Daily-ebook/dp/B00VAL0YJK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436630861&sr=8-1&keywords=Lord+Teach+Us+To+Pray+Mahon&pebp=1436630867617&perid=0A3WGDZ7GV5JDJS6W113
Megan Mahon – Megan has used her creative skills in art and design to facilitate the bookmark and prayer card ministry of GCI. These are available in three languages and have blessed people all over the world.
Mark Brooks – Mark and Rowena have attended countless packing parties. In addition, Mark has been a guest at a number of board meetings, where he uses his expertise in banking and finance to advice GCI on the latest innovations for our receipting department. Mark has also traveled to Belarus with us a missionary.
In addition, I would like to take time to recognize some of the many Macedonian Call hosts. These men, in particular, have promoted GCI in their native countries. Although we minister in over 27 countries of the world, there are certain hosts who have us return over and over again. In fact, if you are not supporting national pastors or ministers as part of your giving program, if you will contact me I will tell you how you can give to one of these ministers who serve in such a sacrificial and devoted manner. Dr. Stanley Mukolwe – Kenya Udobong Idemetor – South Africa and Nigeria Rev. Oleg Volkov – St. Petersburg, Russia Rev. Ravil Kunakaev – Tyumen, Russia (Siberia) Rev. Taniform Peters - Cameroon Nelson Musipa - Zambia
At the close of the thanksgiving section of my prayer notebook, I have this verse. It was given to me on a notecard by missionary John Crawford (now with the Lord) and has been a great blessing to me over the years. Psalms 116:7 “Return to your rest , O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”
No matter life’s circumstances, I find in my prayer notebook a bounty of thanksgiving reminders. In fact, instead of worrying, fretting and spending the day getting bitter--I could easily spend the day in thanksgiving.
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Director – Grace Community Int. Grace Community International goes mobile! The Grace Community International free app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is now available on the App Store. Listen to sermons and workshops delivered at conferences around the world. Keep up-to-date with Rev. Mahon's blog. View Grace Community International's ministry photo albums. Search "Grace Community International" on the App Store today!
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