January Update 2016

Greetings from North Carolina in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  We're pleased to share with you what the Lord has been doing in our lives and ministry.

Family: In December, the children continued with their home schooling, and enjoyed mild weather, which on some days was just like summer and other days like fall or spring.

They enjoyed a nice break from school for eight days at the end of December, and so did Jennifer.

In December, Joseph accidentally slipped and fell down a few, bare-wooden steps in our home. He slid down on the left side of his back down the steps until he reached the landing. Afterward he was in a lot of pain in his back and elbow. So we prayed over him and iced his wounds, read Psalm 91, and sent him off to bed. We thank the Lord that he didn't suffer any serious injuries. The next morning he felt fine, and aside from some abrasions on his back, he was back to normal. Praise the Lord that he was healed.

More photos.    

Ministry: This month we would like to cast some vision of what it is we are now doing, since we no longer live overseas. One of the things we learned as graduate students of missiology in the early to mid-1990's, was that there was such a thing as non-residential missionaries. These are missionaries who do not live in the target country they are seeking to reach. This approach is sometimes used to reach restricted nations that do not allow Christian missionary activity. So in the old days, such non-residential missionaries might reside in one country, such as France, and travel periodically to closed countries in North Africa, for example.

We are currently doing the same thing, as non-residential missionaries. This means we don't live in the target nations that we are ministering to, but we are nevertheless touching those nations for Christ from our base in America via the internet. It gives us the ability to reach places around the world that we would otherwise never be able to go, due to restrictive laws that prohibit missionaries, and due to the lack of financial resources.

Short-term trips are still possible, as the Lord leads and provides for them, to places such as South Africa, where Len has been invited, and Malaysia to meet with a Burmese pastor from Myanmar. And any short-term missions trips on Len's part can accomplish a similar purpose as those taken by non-residential missionaries who live in foreign countries other than that of their target people group. We don't need to live in Europe in order to be missionaries.

Literature Missionaries
The Lord continues to use our online Christian literature ministry in many nations worldwide. With your help, Doulos Missions International (DMI) continues to make disciples, instruct, and encourage laborers throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, North America, and other parts of the world from our base in the US. Through online Christian literature, available through our many blogs listed on Writing for the Master, we provide instruction for disciples and leaders, which is accessed and viewed in many nations worldwide.

In fact, many of those are restricted nations, where the government prevents Christians from obtaining Bibles or other Christian literature. Restricted countries also include those where laws or circumstances sanctioned by the government lead to Christians being harassed, imprisoned, killed or deprived of freedom or possessions. We have also been serving those in hostile nations, which includes those where Christians are victims of violence because of their witness. We also receive visits from nations that were formerly oppressed by communism.  All glory be to Jesus Christ forever and ever!

This sort of work is known in the field of missiology as Special Ministries, and is not as widely known about or understood by most Christians. Many people still think that in order to be effective as missionaries, we must permanently reside in a foreign country. However, that is a romanticized myth that is not true. In fact, that is "old-school" thinking. To use an analogy, since the gasoline engine now exists, why would we still rely on the steam engine? Or since jet aircraft exist, why would we still rely on propeller planes for transatlantic travel? There is still a need for residential missionaries in certain, select cases. But it is a very costly and slow approach. Moreover, someone has said that even if half of all the foreign missionaries were to return home to the West, it wouldn't make a bit of difference. In fact, in some cases, foreign missionaries are doing more harm than good.

We need to update the Church's understanding into the 21st century, regarding the current, innovative approaches the Lord has placed in our hands to complete the Great Commission. It is critical that the Church catches this vision, and strongly supports it. Therefore, we would like to present the following information, in order to cast this vision.

First of all, in countries closed to conventional missionary work, Christian literature still plays a large role in sharing the gospel. This includes journalism, writing, distribution, articles, booklets, tracts, etc. The problem is that there are too few literature missionaries.

Theological Education by Extension (TEE)
One type of Special Ministry that uses literature is known as "Theological Education by Extension" (TEE).  It is one of the most significant missiological advancements of the late twentieth century. The typical pattern of residential missionaries and Bible colleges historically used by the West for training Christian workers proved to be too costly, slow, and sometimes inappropriate. In fact, it was not necessarily suitable for the ministry in other parts of the world, where the Church was rapidly growing.

TEE was initially utilized as a means of training pastors that remained in active ministry in Latin America. It has since spread rapidly around the world and taken on various forms. Now there are distance-learning courses ranging from “basic” to degree-earning, which are often supplemented by itinerant lecturers, videos, audio recordings, Internet, and various courses on biblical, pastoral, and social concern. 

This is what we are currently doing through our online, Doulos Training School (DTS). Through our DTS, we are making disciples of five students attending in four different countries. In addition to the written, course material that Len has produced, there is a strong emphasis on the practical aspects of becoming a disciple, which are a requirement for all our DTS students. Moreover, Len continues to produce his monthly publication, Old News That's Still Fresh, containing his latest articles, which he sends out to pastors, elders, and laborers across the world, as well as here in the States. This, too, is a sort of TEE ministry.

The Use of the Internet
The Internet has changed the way the world communicates, making it a powerful tool that has great significance for evangelism. Web growth around the world is phenomenal -- it is no longer just for rich western nations. This includes mobile access to the web via phones and mobile devices. The Internet also enables Christian workers and organizations to network together and to rapidly share information in ways that were never previously possible. Moreover, Skype and other providers of streamed, instant audio or video have also revolutionized international communications.

Online Evangelism
DMI is also conducting online evangelism, which is cutting-edge outreach. It operates in several main ways, including evangelistic web pages accessible by anyone on the worldwide web, one-on-one personal interaction by email, and videos posted online.

Since the Internet is accessible relatively freely in restricted nations, this allows outreach to groups such as Muslims in the Middle East, giving them the opportunity to consider the claims of Christ in a way that is both non-threatening and anonymous.

Regrettably, there are relatively few Christian organizations producing websites. The reason being that, unlike printed literature or video, it is not financially viable.  Since there is nothing to sell to the target audience, there is no way to recoup expenses necessary to produce the materials and websites. This is why your financial support is so vital to this ministry.

Doulos Missions International is effectively using online evangelism, and our works are even being translated into other languages. The way the Lord is using online evangelism to effectively reach many people with the gospel can be compared to the way He has in the past used radio ministry and printed literature distribution, except the Internet is probably more accessible now and exponentially more rapid as a means of distribution.

Incidentally, some people in foreign countries are distributing Len's articles by hand. For example, a brother in South Africa is distributing DVDs containing these articles, and another brother in Tanzania is distributing printed copies. Others have taken the initiative to create entire web pages with links to Len's articles, in order to direct more traffic to them. They have caught the vision!

Online Counseling and Discipleship
Finally, we also routinely provide free, online counseling and discipleship to those who contact us from around the world with their questions and personal issues, which they are requesting help with. Their feedback and testimonies to us afterward indicate to us that the Lord is using this wonderfully to help people be set free and grow in their walk with Jesus Christ, so that they may stand firm in all the will of God, mature, and fully assured. There is lots of good fruit coming out of it.

Making Disciples that Make Disciples
We are making disciples that make disciples. This sort of multiplication is the goal of all the means we are employing, which we have just outlined. This is the goal of the Great Commission, which the Lord gave to us (Matt 28:19-20).

Support for Special Ministries
Hopefully we have helped to convey the urgent need for this type of Special Ministry and the need for more people to support it, just as they once primarily supported residential missionaries. To those of you who are faithfully supporting us, we are very grateful, and want to thank you. Please pray that the Lord will raise up more financial partners for this important work, so that it may continue, "...so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Co 9:22b).

Doulos Training School (DTS) Update

Emmanuel and Deji

We'd like to close with a quick update on our DTS. One of our new DTS students, Emmanuel, shared a brief testimony with Len that he received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which he called the tsunami of the Holy Spirit. He was thinking it would take six months to a year to receive, but the day after he wrote on his application to enroll in our DTS that he was seeking the Holy Spirit baptism, he received marvelously.  Praise the Lord.

We are also pleased to report that Emmanuel and Deji have joined up in Lagos, Nigeria to start a new Life Transformation Group. This is a key development, since the LTG is where most of the discipleship growth takes place, as well as multiplication. They also plan to do evangelism together, as well. Please pray that the Lord would direct them, as they are currently praying about a very strategic gospel outreach. Please also pray that all of our other DTS students would find partners with which to start an LTG, too.

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal 6:14)

Source: Much of the information herein about Special Ministries is adapted from Operation World, 21st Century Edition, Patrick Johnstone and Jason Mandryk, Paternoster Publishing, copyright 2001, pp. 696-700

Resources:  This month we would like to suggest some articles Len has recently written called Overcomers in This Life, The Afflictions of the Righteous, Whatever You Do, Do All Like This, Bowing Low in Worship, Judging Revelations, Visions, and Prophecies, The Origin of Sin, Satan, and Secular Music, The Rise and Fall of Lucifer the Musician, and Eudoxia Varga Testimony of Heaven and Hell. All of Len's latest articles are available at Old News That's Still Fresh - January 2016. Len's entire collection of his most popular blogs are at Writing for the Master.

In closing, we have much to praise God for, and many opportunities for you to join us in prayer.

Praise the Lord with us for the many answers to prayer:

1. For enabling us to be non-residential missionaries conducting Special Ministries.
2. For the Lord's leading, guidance, and help operating the Doulos Training School (DTS), and for the progress they are making.
3. For helping Deji and Emmanuel to start an LTG together.
4. For Emmanuel's baptism with the Holy Spirit.
5. For protecting Joseph when he fell down the stairs.
6. For the nice break that Jennifer and the children had from school.
7. For the opportunities the Lord has given us to be a witness to people locally along the way.
8. For the lives being touched for Christ around the world through our writing ministry.
9. For the words of encouragement we have received from the people being touched. 

Next steps and prayer needs:

1. For the Lord to heal Len from lower spine and sciatic trouble, causing chronic pain. 
2. For the Lord to assist us with the Doulos Training School (DTS), as well as develop through it many disciples who make disciples, resulting in multiplication for His glory. And special blessings upon the disciples, as they study to show themselves approved.
3. For the Lord to direct them, as they are currently praying about a very strategic gospel outreach.
4. For the Lord to deliver Kyle from evil. He is the young man suffering from mental illness and demon possession.
5. For the Lord to place military people in our path who are ready for the gospel, and who will later be used by the Lord to reach many others for Christ here and in the uttermost parts of the earth.
6.  For the Lord to fulfill His purposes for Len, and that He would help Len by opening doors for ministry and giving him courage, that whenever he speaks, words may be given him so that he will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.
7. For the Lord to send his angels with Len’s written messages to those who need them, and for an open heaven over them when they receive his messages. 
8. For the Lord to move mountains to raise up new faith partners, and to provide for all our needs -- not only ours personally, but also those of the ministry, so that all His purposes for it would be fulfilled.

Thank you so much for your partnership in this ministry.

with love from all of us,

The Lacroixs

There are two ways to donate to Doulos Missions International. You may either send a check or money order by mail to:
Doulos Missions International
PO Box 5526
Manchester, NH 03108-5526

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