A modern day scene from Acts

We have watched God do many amazing things throughout the 13 years of Love In Action International Ministries, and He continues to amaze. What happened Tuesday here in the Philippines was nothing short of a miracle. It was a true revival as the Holy Spirit moved mightily among a people who do not believe in Jesus Christ.

 It was like a scene from Acts. We simply preached Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the grave and His love for everyone. Through the love of Christ, the Holy Spirit touches hearts and like in Acts 9:31, the church was multiplied. "And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied."

I won't mention the exact area or any names to protect the people, because their decision to accept and worship Jesus can put their lives in danger. The people I am referring to are Muslims who live in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Philippines (ARMM).

On Tuesday, we traveled inside the ARMM. It's a place that many are afraid to travel, even Filipinos. I'm not saying that to say we are brave; far from it. The point is, everyone needs to hear about Jesus, even those in dangerous places. They all need a chance to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And, when the Lord tells you to go places, you can be assured He is with you and protects you. We never felt threatened and never were in any danger. It was as if the Lord put us in stealth mode and got us in the area and back out without being noticed, though we didn't try to hide.

About 60 Muslims were in the service, and that alone is amazing as usually hearing the Word of God is an insult to those who practice Islam. One of the men in the service included a Islamic Imam, which is the equivalent of a pastor in their religion. He is a very important leader. He said he was searching for something and maybe he can find it in Jesus Christ.

The people soaked up every word we told them as Martha shared John 3:16 and told them of the love of Jesus. Then I preached a message on salvation and explained how Jesus was crucified and raised from the dead. I explained God's love for them through His Son Jesus Christ, who is the only way to God.

They marveled at how much God could love them and how much we loved them and showed that by traveling such a long distance from the USA to tell them about Jesus.

After the service, a Muslim walked up to Martha and me and quoted John 3:16 and said he loves Jesus. They were so thankful that we came, and smiles were on all of their faces. Such wasn't the case when we first arrived. Only Jesus could touch hearts like that and bring peace to a people living in an area consumed by hatred and turmoil.

Another person walked up to us and told us about his wife who was in a bad accident and still suffered from a head injury. He asked us to pray for her. We asked if we could pray for her right then, and  he allowed us to pray with him in the name of Jesus Christ. He said he loves Jesus.

A tremendous move of the Holy Spirit occurred after we left. The people went back inside of the structure where we met and started crying tears of joy as they fell on their knees and worshiped Jesus. Can you imagine that? All of those people, mostly Muslim (there were some Christians there), on their knees before almighty God crying and worshiping Jesus.

Our indigenous pastor friend said he has never heard of anything like that, and he has been preaching in the ARMM for a while. God is truly awesome. We were all overwhelmed by the power of God and thanked Him for touching the hearts of the people and drawing them to Him. Praise God!

We are praying that the Imam will turn the mosque where he serves into a Christian church. I pray the next time I am in that area I can hear him preach a sermon about salvation only through Jesus Christ.
God is doing a great work among the Muslims here in the Philippines. Many are making decisions to follow Jesus, and it's so humbling to be part of it. It is truly amazing to see.

I wish I had at least a couple of months to stay over here. There is so much work to be done, and for Americans to preach the Gospel is very effective. As we have seen from last year's trip, we are seeing a lot of fruit that remains. Our pastor friend says the people talk about us being there with their families and others in their communities and it really is effective. They realize that for us to make such a long journey to tell them about Jesus, there really must be something about this Jesus. As we all know, there is.

Jesus radically changed my life, and He is doing the same thing to many others here in the Philippines.

Please continue to pray for those we reach out to and for us.

Hungry, thirsty for God’s Word

These precious people in Molave, Philippines are hungry for the Word of God. Look at how many are taking notes as LIA Pastor Ken Tuck preaches.122 people accepted Jesus during this service. Praise God! They begged for more preaching afterward.

Our time in the Philippines has been amazing once again. The hunger of the people for God’s Word makes me want to extend my time here. But, since my job wouldn’t like that, I can’t do that, but I praise God we have another week left.

One of the towns we visited is called Molave. The pastor of the Shiloh Bible Baptist Church in Molave is Dandy Begafria. He does a wonderful job of reaching his community, and God has given him favor with officials in the community. I was blessed to preach to the community at a municipal building. I was amazed as I looked out and saw how many people were taking notes and hanging on to every word. That encouraged me.

After the message, Pastor Dandy gave the invitation to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and 122 made decisions to follow Christ. Praise God! Afterward, they begged to hear more of God’s Word. They hungered for God’s Word. They are thirsty.

In another small mountain village we ministered to people from that village as well as some who walked four hours from a mountain village to hear God’s Word. That means, they walked 8 miles round-trip to hear the Word of God. That blew us away. Their village is inaccessible by vehicle or motorcycle, so they have to walk or ride horses to go anywhere. One of those people who walked to the service was a precious elderly woman. She wouldn’t stop hugging Martha, Mama Tuck and me.

The people here can’t believe we flew 22 hours to tell them about Jesus and to encourage Christians. The people are so open to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And, what is also exciting is seeing people who decided to follow Jesus last year when we were here who are still following Jesus and are active members of their churches. That’s producing fruit that remains for the glory of God!

God is doing incredible things here in the Philippines, and it’s so humbling to be part of it. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Love In Action in 3 nations this week

When Mike Shroades and I started Love In Action International Ministries 13 years ago, we had talked about how great it would be having outreaches in different areas at the same time. We talked about having outreaches in Atlanta and Los Angeles or in New York and Enterprise (LIA started in Enterprise before moving it to Dothan). And, we have had ministry going on at the same time in places like Dothan and Atlanta, but our dreams were so much smaller than God's vision for us.

Since then, Love In Action has had weeks where we were sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the same time in Dothan, Ecuador and Philippines. And, since we have LIA Philippines, which is made up of indigenous pastors and missionaries, every day of the year we are doing ministry in Dothan and the Philippines. Over the next two weeks, Love In Action will be in three countries at the same time - U.S., Philippines and Haiti.

I'm here in Manila, Philippines, with Martha and Mama Tuck as I write this blog. Our awesome leaders and volunteers back home in Dothan are keeping the ministry going strong there. This week, the newest members of the LIA team, Give Us Hope Mission, will be in Haiti ministering to the children and adults in Montrouis, Haiti. Wow! God is so awesome!

Carrying out Jesus' Great Commission is what we're about - going and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world and making disciples. I like what the Rev. Billy Graham said, "There should never be any doubt in the mind of any Christian that the Lord has given us an order. To fail to heed this command is deliberate disobedience and sin. We are told to go to the entire world with the Gospel. If there were no other reason for going to the end of the earth and proclaiming the Gospel and winning souls, the command of Christ would be enough."

That's why we do what we do - sharing the Gospel of Christ to win souls and make disciples. That's what Jesus said to do. The purpose for all of us who follow Jesus is to make God's glory known to the world. Obeying the Great Commission accomplishes that.

It is so exciting what God is doing through Love In Action. For the past three years, He has led us to work hard on raising up strong leaders. Many of our current leaders are those we reached out to when they were homeless or in the community corrections work release program. To see how they are sold out to Christ and doing a great job leading different areas of the ministry is awesome. We know God will continue to raise up leaders as He expands the ministry.

God is awesome and worthy of all of our praise. And, we thank Him for everyone who prays for LIA and who give financially. We couldn't do it all without you. Together we are reaching the world for Jesus Christ.

Please keep all of us in your prayers as we continue serving Jesus and reaching the lost in Dothan, Haiti and Philippines.

We have the land!

Last week I wrote about an incredible opportunity that God had given us. The opportunity was to purchase land on a Philippine island where there are no Christian churches, only Muslim mosques; a chance to build the very first Christian church.

I asked for help, and you responded. Earlier this past week the land was secured and it is pictured above. Praise God! Thank you, thank you, thank you. This be will where a church will be built, and it will serve as home base to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout that island.

As I mentioned last week, due to safety reasons, I cannot name the island or our indigenous pastor who is sharing the Gospel on this island.. This is a very dangerous island and people's lives would be at risk if I said who and where.I posted this photo, because this is a very familiar view of land in the Philippines. There are coconut trees everywhere, but I wanted to show you the photo of the actual land that you helped purchase.

Thank you again for helping us spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to people who don't know Jesus, and many who have never heard of Him.

It is still hard to believe we can purchase land and build churches so cheaply in the Philippines. But, that's what we can do in Third World nations. And, it helps when people aren't looking for elaborate buildings. When you live in a bamboo hut with thatch roofing, your expectations of a church building are a lot different than here in the U.S. I like that. The emphasis is not on the building, but on leading people to Jesus and making disciples.

We have more opportunities to plant churches in the Philippines and soon in Myanmar and Haiti. We are going to start a church plant account. As people give for planting churches, we will use it specifically for that purpose. It would be nice to have the money already when opportunities arise, so we can go ahead and plant the church.

If you would like to give to planting churches in the Philippines, Myanmar and Haiti, when you write a check, make it out to Love In Action and in the note put "Church Plant." You can mail your church plant donation to: Love In Action, P.O. Box 85, Dothan, AL 36302. Or, click here and give online.

Thank you again. Because of your giving, thousands of people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus will have that opportunity now and become followers of Jesus Christ.


Thank you for joining us in carrying out the Great Commission, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20

A church plant where there is no church

When Love In Action International Ministries co-founder Mike Shroades and I began this ministry 13 years ago, we knew God had a great plans for LIA. However, we never dreamed of the global impact He would make through Love In Action in Third World nations.

We have always been about the Great Commission Jesus gives all of His followers in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember I am with you always, to the end of the age."

When Jesus said "all nations," He was referring to people groups. So, reaching unreached people groups is a key part of our global mission. There are an estimated 7,165 unreached people groups in the world, totally 2.87 billion people. That's nearly 3 billion people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We can't sit back and be still when nearly 42 percent of the people in the world have never heard about Jesus.

In the Philippines, there are more than 4.6 million people, comprising of 32 people groups, who have never heard about Jesus, and another 220,000 people (16 people groups) who have heard mention of Him, but not reached. We have been amazed by everything God is accomplishing through Love In Action in the Philippines. Our indigenous pastors/missionaries work nonstop reaching the people in their areas, many of whom have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To date, we have reached six of the 48 unreached people groups and have seen thousands surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. Now, we have another amazing opportunity, but we need your help through prayer and finances.

We have the opportunity to purchase land on an island where there are no Christian churches, only Muslim mosques. This will be the very first Christian church, and there is a real hunger there. On our pastor's first visit, 662 people surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, and they are now begging for a place to gather.

Due to safety reasons, I cannot name the island or the pastor. This is a very dangerous island and people's lives would be at risk if I said who and where. However, a person in authority on this island, who recently gave his life to Jesus, is helping our pastor arrange this land purchase.

So what's the cost of this land purchase to plant the very first Christian church in an unreached area? Just $1,250. I am giving $250 toward this awesome opportunity. If just four more of you will give $250 the land can be bought. Can you help? Will you help? Any amount you are able to help with will be very much appreciated.

Donations can be mailed to: Love In Action International Ministries, P.O. Box 85, Dothan, AL 36302. Note on your donation that it's for "Philippine Church Plant." Or, you can donate online by clicking here and then clicking on the "Make a Donation" button.

The time to act is now. These people need to know about Jesus, and we have a wonderful opportunity to plant a church and have a home base on an island with nearly 400,000 people.

This is just one of many amazing opportunities to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Asia. Please continue to pray for LIA, our indigenous pastors and missionaries, and for the lost souls who need to hear about Jesus Christ.