“Get Real!” Partners
There are those of us who are asking the question with insistence as to if we (the church) have let go of our moorings and are drifting in uncharted seas. We must provide some over-all logic, some strong, not easily broken frame within which we can purposefully equip our people to become the priesthood of the believer as they were at the start of the Gentile church. This strategy must be diverse, while being one of unity. The body of Christ is made up of Jew and Gentile of many colors, shapes, backgrounds, life-experiences and culture.
My life, specifically since 1979 to the present, has prepared me for such a time as this. I have often, during the course of my spiritual journey, wondered why God chose to lead me down the path I have experienced. The last five years (as of 2009) has made that purpose quite clear.
God has blessed me with a burden to encourage the church by equipping the believer for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4), and to provide specifically tangible tools whereby seeking individuals can impact their worlds with the truth of God’s word. Those “Get Real!” ministry tools are given in this packet, and in a section on my webpage called: “Get Real!” Equipping.
My book, Get Real! RU Relevant, will be available in the near future. In approximately 150ish pages I will answer three important questions to which every person struggles:
1. Who Am I?
2. What Is My Purpose?
3. What Happens When I Die?
I know that there have been many books recently written on purpose, but… I have been disappointed with a large majority of those books. They tend to be very shallow, and only cover what we should (if we had been equipped by the church in the first place) already know to be true. I don’t want to give you “regurgitated Christianity;” on the contrary, I am passionate about exposing believers, and unbelievers alike, to truths that have been hidden in God’s Word. By hidden I mean that we have been entrapped by traditionalism to the point we have lost our (purpose) moorings along the way.
Each chapter of Get Real! RU Relevant will provide a mooring on which you can establish a basis for purpose. I believe the Holy Spirit, Word of God, local church and individual believers (as part of the local church, in whatever form/structure it may take) must work in harmony if we are to impact our worlds in a relevant fashion.
The book, Get Real! RU Relevant, and the ministry of V2T (Vision 20 Twenty) is concerned with winning people to Christ and equipping the believer for relevant ministry OUTSIDE the four walls of the church building. The Bible tells us, no it commands us, to go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, and to reconcile the Word of God to the world. According to Barna.org, in 2009, only 2% of Christians led, at least, one person to Christ the previous year. Even more disturbing, only 8% of Pastors led, at least, one person to Christ. Also, not a single county in the USA reported growth due to salvations. If there was growth, it was due to church transfer (lateral growth); only 10% (and this is generous) of church growth in America is a result of fulfilling our mission… seeking and saving that which is lost, and discipling them to join us in the purpose of our existence on this earth.
We must reverse that trend! What follows is my invitation for you to join the V2T and become a “Get Real!” Partner. Please diligently pray about joining V2T in its mission to strengthen the body of Christ by equipping the believer with tangible tools for impacting their worlds for Christ. If not you… who, and if not now… when?
Support Information
I have been impressed to ask God’s people, with the permission of their church leaders, if they would chose to support V2T ministries with a gift of $25 a month of long-term support as an equipping evangelist. Our financial needs can be met with only 65 “Get Real!” Partners who support us on a monthly basis.
The following is what your support will allow us to accomplish when we can devote our full-time attention to the ministry of V2t.
àOnline equipping modules. Two are currently available, and I would like to make the other modules ready for online use also. The administration of this is an incredible undertaking. It is one on one interaction through facebook and email correspondence.
àWriting ministry. I love putting into writing tools that encourage Christians to participate in God’s plan for reaching our worlds for Christ. I have one book published, and have many more in the works. My only limitation is time. Here are some titles:
1. Secrets of the Spiritual Matrix: [Free in pdf format upon request] This non-fiction, fiction, memoire book details the actual fall of Lucifer in the ancient past, and follows him through the history of mankind as he as attempting to destroy or counterfeit the Kingdom. The book details the 8 dispensations (stewardship of time) of man and culminates with five friends (future events explained through a fictional story) making their way through the Tribulation only to find themselves caught in the greatest struggle in the universe: The battle between God and Satan, and the eternal souls of men are at stake.
2. Get Real! RU Relevant: Will be completed in the near future. This will be the “poster child for the “Get Real! equipping ministry.
3. Kingdom of Heaven Chronicles: This is a three part fictional series (I’ve already plotted it out) that is a cross between James Bond, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (in a good way). It will teach, in story form with fictional characters, what happened when Lucifer rebelled against God in the ancient past. We will follow the friends (college age mainly) on their quest to retrieve a stone of fire from Cetus in the first book: The Ruins of Rahab. The only way to retrieve a prized amulet (needed to save the world from Lucifer) is to participate in an ancient sporting event called – The Galactic Cup (it is a wild ride in a game called Pok-A-Tok) – that’s all I can tell you now). The 2nd through 3rd books continue the adventure as Lucifer (I can’t tell you how) unleashed his minions upon the friends in our modern world. This is a major undertaking and I need time to be able to complete the task.
You’re monthly support will enable me to reach people inside and outside the church with God’s message of hope.
4. FFF — Fantastic Family Fun: I am currently writing a family devotional series, using the 16 keys of how to study the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. It will be multiple volumes, and I will use to stories of the Bible to teach parents how to teach their children to study the Bible. It will have a story section, and then be followed by a user friendly section on how to rightly divide what the story means… historically (what happened), doctrinally (who He is talking About), and devotionally (who He is talking TO). In this way our parents and children will learn how to rightly divide the Word of truth in their own homes. This will strengthen the church by strengthening the families of that particular church.
…and many more stored in my cerebrum.
àSpeaking Ministry: With the $25 a month support of the “Get Real!,” Partners, I will not need to charge any speaking fees. In fact, I would rather not. I want God to use what He has given me to be a blessing to the local church. All I will need is a bed to sleep in, a home-cooked meal with the family I’m staying with and transportation. All materials and my time are absolutely FREE!
àMission’s Trips: A goal of mine is to allow any “Get Real!” Partner, who has gone through the 1st two equipping modules, to join me on a mission’s trip to encourage a seeking missionary somewhere in the world. We may do a “service project,” but our main goal will be to give the missionary and his people the tools he can use to equip his people to become powerful ambassadors for Christ. While a pastor I received, at least, 5 calls a week from missionaries who were frustrated and wanted to quit. They didn’t know what to do, and they were asking for my help. I recently had an indigenous missionary from Kenya invite me to his country in order to share these tools with his people. With your help this, and more, can be possible.
Initial Presentation To Churches…
The initial presentation of the V2T ministry will always be in the form of the John Fifteen Factor. And I ask you, as a “Get Real!”, Partner to participate. I am challenging Christians to come up with a “hit list” of, at least, 5 people who don’t know Christ, and live within ministering distance from your home.
Prayer and Fasting
Once a commitment to the John Fifteen Factor is made, I would ask that you pray every day for those on your list, and fast once per week. Fasting comes in many forms. It is basically giving up something you enjoy, for a period of time, in order to let God know how serious you are about your prayer request. Each time you have a “craving” for what you gave up for the day; it is a reminder to seek God’s face in respect to your “hit list.”
Loving Accountability
Your church leaders will provide a monthly JFF fellowship in order to encourage each person who made a JFF commitment. There will be food, fellowship and a time of prayer for each person on your “hit lists.” Testimonies will be given as to how God is working in the lives of those involved in JFF, and those who are being prayed for by the group. It will be a tremendous source of encouragement when people start sharing testimonies as to how people on their “hit lists” have come to know Christ.
Can I Count On Your Support?
I know the economic times are tough; I lost my secular job on March 26th, 2009. God is providing income through officiating High School sports; I am very thankful, but it is not income that I can count on regularly. The summer months have no sports and weather also impacts whether a game is played, or not. My degree is in Pastoral Theology… so, secular jobs are in very limited supply for someone like me.
I would be honored if you would, if financially able, support the ministry of V2T by sending a regular support check of $25 a month for long-term support. An extra benefit is that you will receive, free of charge, any book that is published through V2T in the future as a “Get Real!” Partner. You will also receive our monthly newsletter called: “Get Real!.” It will keep you updated on what God is accomplishing through the ministry of V2T around the world.
Support Information:
Mailing Address:
[1117 Well Spring Drive
Charlotte, N.C. 28262]
Phone:
[704.509.6792]
Payable:
[Mark Harrell]
When to send support:
[Preferably by the 2nd week of the month.]
