L.A.M.P., Inc.Latin America Mission Project

January - February - March 2003

News from the Phillips Family

Mission and ministry

News from Eagle Pass, Texas.

This month (March) we celebrated the birth of FIVE new brothers and sisters in Christ! The Lord has added30 people to our number in the past 25 months as a united congregation. We are thrilled to see peopleentering the Kingdom and finding salvation in Jesus!

Eric Magda Paloma Rosie Tania

On Leadership

As a missionary, I believe it is my job is to work myself out of a Job, leaving the local leadership in myplace. This way I free myself to be used of the Lord in other places where He sees the need to send me. (Onthe next page, you can read more about how this has worked effectively in the past!) This happens bypraying for and raising up leaders.

I've been striving to prepare the local leadership here in Eagle Pass to continue with the task of leading thiscongregation to be self sufficient in reaching the community and the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Presently we have three Elders (including myself) and five young men who are serving as Lay Leaders.There are some that will soon be ready to serve as elders.

Recently we (the Elders and Lay Leaders) attended a two-day conference in Corpus Christi, TX. It wasabout the Purpose Driven Church (Rick Warren's model of church growth) and how to transition to thatstyle. It was an exciting time for all of us as we began to see how God could work in churches that arehealthy and balanced. I believe this was one more step in the process of raising up the local leadership to alevel that will be needed for them to continue leading a growing, dynamic, relevant congregation long afterwe've moved on.

Read exciting news about Colombia on the next page!

Mission News from Colombia

One AWESOME Story of victory.... As ministers of the gospel, and especially as missionaries, our job isnot only to share the gospel and establish a local church, but also to prepare others to DO the work. Muchlike a relay race, our job is to pass on the baton to the local people. If we've done our job right, the onestaking the baton will do the same in the future.

Five years ago 1 invited two young men to work with us in Ibague, Colombia, Fredy and Gamaliel. Gamalielmoved on, and has assisted with the start of two churches since then. Fredy stayed on in Ibague and took onthe task of raising up other leaders. He also established a Drama ministry. He eventually transitioned toanother city. Those he had prepared, before moving, continued with the local ministry.

Recently, the Ibague church sent these young men to plant a new church! This group of people trained byFredy are working in a small 'pueblo' on the outskirts of Ibague. After starting a Family Group and drawingattention through public Drama presentations, they are now establishing the church. Recently they had 80children and 30 adults in attendance!

The local church we were involved in planting four years ago has become self-governing and self-propagating. The bottom line is that the gospel continues to make great advances in Colombia. This isbecause God continues to work. But we had the privilege of participating in helping things along. And youhad the privilege of being an important part of that too through your prayers and financial support.

Future goals for the work In Colombia

We pray you continue to have faith in us, and in the work we believe the Lord wants us to carry out. Ourcurrent work with Colombia has been in the form of spiritual, emotional and educational support for Fredyand Gamaliel. Yet, there is a need to be more involved, and to provide additional support and supplies forour Colombian coworkers.

I dream of the day when 1 can travel to Colombia on an annual basis to offer training and furtherdevelopment to these two men, as well as other National leaders. The seminar on the Laws of Leadership(by John Maxwell) was a great success in 2001, and was very encouraging to all involved. I've been askedwhen I'll be able to go again, to provide more training.

I am also planning for the day when we can officially make Gamaliel and Fredy missionaries of LAMP.They are church planters. Gamaliel is currently planting a new church. Fr^y is helping a local church thathas struggled for many years due to a lack of sufficient leaders. He's working to raise up new leaders amongthe youth, establish a Drama ministry, and incorporate small groups in order to encourage evangelism andchurch growth. Both Fredy's and Gamaliel's ministries are going well.

Neither one of these young men can look to the Colombian churches for their financial needs. Colombia is ina time of economic crisis. On average, it has taken about seven years for local churches to grow to the pointwhere they can support one full-time pastor. Gamaliel currently receives financial support through anothermissionary, but this is for a limited time. Fredy receives financial support from a church in the U.S., but thistoo is for a limited time. And he receives $100.00 a month from LAMP to assist with housing.

Please pray with us that the Lord will provide the financial means so these dreams may become reality.

Remember, support checks should be made to L.A.M.P., Inc. and sent to(NEW) 2056 S. Miller St., Shelbyville, IN 46176. PHONE 317-398-0285

Latin America Mission Project

Dearfriends,This summer God blessed us with a wonderful trip to Colombia. Throughout the entiretime we saw the hand of God working in our lives to protect us, and to use us to His glory.We are glad to be able to share with you some of the details of the trip, so you too cangive thanks to God. It is our prayer that after you've finished reading this letter you'll beinspired and encouraged. Because, just like you, we are on afaith adventure, seeing Godwork in wonderful ways!

COLOMBIA REVISITED

The first blessing we experienced was the way inwhich God provided for us to make this trip.After asking God to reveal His will concerning thetiming of travel. He responded by providing thefinancial support to fly the whole family toColombia and back. We thank Him, as well as thebelievers who worship at the Town and CountryChristian Church in Shelbyville, IN., throughwhom He provided.

The second blessing we experienced was thepeace He placed in our hearts concerning travel.Although the situation in Colombia is violent wewere completely at peace about this ministryopportunity. We believed God had invited us togo at this specific time, so we were also confidentof His protection.

Besides the desire to visit

with Nancy's family, we hadthree goals in mind for thistime in Colombia. One was

to distribute and sell our

personal belongings that wehad gathered over the yearswhile ministering there. Wealso wanted to bring homesome of our personalbelongings, such as ourphoto albums, etc.[L^oal Accomplished!

^dellin

*Bogota

COLOMBIA

A second goal was to sell the Toyota Hilux (fourdoor truck) the mission had purchased while wewere living and working in Ibague. It was mydeep desire to sell it to one of the ColombianChristian ministers so it could continue being usedto support the work. Although that would meanselling it for less that it's actual value (to make itaffordable to a Colombian minister) the goal setby the mission board was to get at least $5,000.00out of it.

[ ̂oal Accomplished!

The third goal was to share John Maxwell's "TheLaws of Leadership" video course with theChristian leaders and lay-leaders in the churchesthroughout Colombia. We believed the church tobe at a critical point in it's growth, where thereneeded to be further training in this area.

Barranquilla

-Bucaramanga

VillavicencioSouth

America

I was able to present thevideo in six cities (see map),to the leaders of more than

ten churches, to over three

hundred people, in the spanof six week's time, by thestrength and grace of God.He protected me throughoutmy travels and gave memany blessings, and inspiredmany to give great thanks toHim!

[>LGoal Accomplished!(Continued on page 2)

Here is an excerpt from a letter written by veteranmissionary Mark Stringer in Colombia Reportnewsletter.

Dear friends:

Last year Steve went to a conference onleadership taught by John Maxwell. Heappreciated it so much that he brought theteaching on video with him and is teaching it in allour churches.... The response has beenoverwhelmingly enthusiastic. The ministers, familygroup leaders and their assistants are all beingblessed.

If this newsletter goes to anyone who shared sothat Steve could bring us this wonderfulleadership training course, we want to assure youthat your investment is bringing marvelousblessings to the churches here in Colombia.- Mark Stringer (July 2001 Colombia Report).

We, along with Mark, are excited about what theLord is doing in the lives of the church leaders inColombia. Sharing these principles with them wasa dream I had since attending my first Maxwellconference in the fall of 1999 on "The 21

Irrefutable Laws of Leadership".

Thanks also goes out to EQUIP for providing theleadership training materials (already translated) inthe form of DVD and teacher/student workbooks.

Plus the blessing of books made available at agreatly reduced price! www.equiporg.org

I Praise the Lord for his promise found in Psalm37:4 "DeHght yourself in the Lord and-He-wiligive you the desires of your heart". His word istrue and His promises are real!

We also thank the Lord for the blessing of a sweetreunion with our family in Colombia. After nearlythree years apart we were able to spend qualitytime together. We were also introduced to threenew nephews among the family.

Once back in Houston (after a long drive fromMiami) we began to look for another vehicle. Formany months I had been concerned about the needfor a newer vehicle than the '90 Dodge van wehave.

To make a long story short, God has provided a1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette mini-van with 68,000miles on it. Now we have a vehicle with greatsafety features, front and rear A/C (to keep thekids cool in the HOT south Texas weather), and itgets better gas mileage than the Dodge. The otherplus was the fact that it had one owner who tookexcellent care to maintain it. Once again this goesto show, God is good and worthy of great praise!

MY PURPOSE

As a missionary it is my purpose to allow God towork in my life, in a cross-cultural setting, in sucha way as to lead people to their full potential inChrist.

[ ] For the non-christian: To help him/her come toa saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through theshowing of His love and the sharing of Hismessage of hope. (Matthew 28:18-20)

[ ] For the new Christian: To assist in the processof spiritual growth, helping him/her come tomaturity in the faith.

[ ] For all Christians: To encourage serviceprompted by love, through the discovery ofSpiritual gifts, as well as providing opportunitiesto use them to God's glory. (Ephesians 4:12)

[ ] For the congregation of believers: 1) Toprepare leaders who will one day take my place; 2)to teach and model the responsability of eachbeliever to share the hope we have in Christ Jesuswith non-christians; 3) To promote the carryingout of the great commission locally, nationally andintematioimliy.

We thank God for giving us the privilege ofworking in Eagle Pass, Texas, among the Hispanic(Spanish speaking) population. We haveopportunities to realize cross-cultural ministry ineach area of the purpose statement above.

We cannot stress enough our need for you tosurround us with your prayers. Thank you fortaking the time to pray for us daily! In thespiritual battle for souls, this is a 'front-lines'ministry.

Contact us! lampinc@svs.net

December 2003

Dear Family and Friends, *XOI*

iT Please receive this letter with the Christmas wish that God bless you and yourloved ones at this time of year while we remember His greatest blessing to all , ij*mankind... Jesus! 5

I*

Since beginning our service as missionaries, it has been our custom towork three and a half years 'on the field' and then take a year of 'statesideservice' known as furlough. This year of stateside service allows us to recharge ^

^ our spiritual batteries, pray concerning our next term of service, study to be|C prepared for our next term, report to our supporting churches, and contact new churches and

individuals.

X In June of this year we completed otor three and a half year term of service in Eagle Pass,Texas. After seeking advice from many trusted sources, and obtaining approval from our mission ^board, we decided it was time to take our furlough. In late September we moved to Katy, Texas.

iT For the first time since being married (15 years - yea!) we live close to my (Steve's) family!*X now live two miles from my parents' home. This has allowed us to have a very special time'.X with my parents and sisters, who also live in Kaiy. I've mentioned to them - usually after a

Sunday afternoon dinner - that it is SO nice to visit with them without having to fly to another ^|T country, or without the seven hour drive we used to endure while living on the border. What a

blessing the Lord has given us!*X Of course, the change has been somewhat drastic for the children. They attended a schoolJJ' on the border with less than 100 students fi-om pre-K through 6th grade. Now they attend a grade ^

school and a middle school with more than a thousand students in each! Thankfully, the Lord is^ helping them to adapt well to the change. *X«X We also have more than just Mexican and American neighbors. We have people Hving on*X -our street and neighborhood from China, Colombia, Afiica, India, England-and Ireland!- WeJive in __ _

a truly international neighborhood. What a great experience for the children, allowing them to ^leam about other people, places and cultures without having to leave the country. You will find §£

X very little prejudice in this part of Texas! ',1»X As has been the case with every furlough, we are now in prayer concerning our service for

the next term. God has been faithful to lead us to areas where He desired to use us, because we ^have humbly sought His will each time. We don't presume to determine what we will do for Him, ^in His name. Rather, our method has been to ask Him where He would have us go to Join Him in

^ what He's already doing. Every time He has taken us to people and places where we have beenX effectively used for His glory and for the building up of the Kingdom.X Through the years you have been a partner with us in our missionary service. You have ^

held us up in prayer. You have financially given, sometimes sacrificially, of your hard earned ^^ dollars. You have called or written on occasion. You have allowed the gospel to go forth through ^|C our obedience to the Lord's call to serve as missionaries. We thank you for faithfully obe5dng the

Lord's call on your life to support our efforts.X We invite you to pray specifically for us over the holidays. We desire to foUow God's

leading, and we are seeking clarity in His high calling for our next place of service. We have ^Is indications that it will be in Colombia. Yet, we seek the Lord's confirmation in this matter. Will ^

you take a moment right now to offer up a prayer on our behalf? XiX Included with this letter is a picture of our family. Please hang it where you will be X*X reminded to pray. It is of extreme importance for us to be heavily supported in prayer in these JJ.

next few months. Our decision should be made by the end of January. Preparations need to be ^i'* made to begin our next term of'on-the-field service'in June. (CIs Again, may God bless you this holiday season. May He remind you that all of our desiresX can be met, not in the things of this world, rather in a deep abiding relationship with his Son, X{l Jesus Christ. HE is the reason for the season!

^ I(s (s ̂ s ,% ts iv ts

Latin America Mission Project

Seven plus One Equals SixNot bad math, good fruit!

We are excited to announce the birth of a new

congregation in Eagle Pass! You may have readin our past newsletters and/or Praise and Prayerupdates that in Eagle Pass, a city of around 25,000people, there were seven different ChristianChurches / Churches of Christ. We are happy toannounce that with the birth of this new

congregation there are NOT EIGHT, rather SIXChristian Churches!

How can that be? Since arriving here, theLord impressed upon our hearts the great need forunity among the churches. Most have beenstruggling and have few members to meet theministry needs and demands of a dynamiccongregation. We began to teach and encouragethe idea of "Unity".

We soon found out the word "unity' wasnot one to be played with. "Others," I was told,"had come with the same vision and were quicklyfrustrated and left defeated." The idea, I

perceived was that, "'outsiders' haven't hadsuccess, so don't get your hopes up."

(Continued on page 2)

The Praise Team

Ministry in ColombiaLeadership training

God has been good to us! Although the pastyear has been filled with challenges, we believe,have believed, and have had reaffirmed on variousoccasions that God has brought us to Eagle Passto carry out His purposes. One year into theministry here and we are rejoicing over the fi*uitsof our labor.

This has also been a time of preparation forour whole family. The children are doing great intheir education, Nancy is learning a great dealmore English, and I've been learning so muchabout leadership from Dr. John Maxwell. Afternearly nine years on the foreign mission field wewere ready for this! What a blessing it has been!

Last Sunday, one of the elders preached andmade a statement that sums up our ministry'smission. We are to serve where we are (locally)while having a vision for winning the world forChrist!

Besides serving Christ's church on a locallevel, the Lord has blessed us with constantcontact with His servant leaders in Colombia.

Over the course of this past year I've come tounderstand there is a great need for betterpreparation of the leaders in Colombia.

One brief example (among many) is thework in Ibague. In our effort to open newchurches in new cities, all of us missionaries havepulled out of that city, leaving it in the hands of alocal Colombian preacher. Now, less than a yearlater, the dynamic growth of the church has cometo a halt. In fact, many families are discouragedand have already left the church, with othersconsidering doing the same.

(Continued on page 2)

PLiCfs

(7+1=6 Continued)

So we just quit talking about the 'TJ" word.What the Lord impressed upon my heart was toquit 'talking' about unity and start being unity;doing things to bring us to common ground.

With the start of Family Groups we (thecongregation where I was asked to serve) beganworking with another congregation of believers.After about eight months of working together toshare the gospel with friends, family andneighbors, the Holy Spirit had time to work.

In December the leadership of eachcongregation presented the idea of joiningtogether not just Wednesday nights, but Sundaymornings as well! The desire was in all of us toform ONE body of believers to celebrate Jesus'love, and worship together.

January 14*^, we had our first Sundaymorning celebration service at the Cafeteria ofColegio Biblico with a combined attendance of72! We're also renting the cafeteria each Sundayfor the next 12 months to worship together in thisstrategic location! For this reason, I say werejoice with the birth of a new congregation,birthed out of "the U word" where there is

common vision among the leadership andmembers. And then there were six.

We are privileged to be a part of theseexciting ministries and we thank God for theopportunity. What allows us to make theseadvances in the Lord's kingdom? It is yourbelief in us as fellow servants, and theexpression of your belief through your prayersof faith and your generous financial gifts.

(Cont'umedfrom pg. I: Ministry ut Colombia}

Talking with the preacher, Benjamin, andwith two of the young leaders who serve with him,I've identified the lack of leadership skills to beone of the culprits. Upon mentioning my desire tomentor him and the others (for now over theInternet and phone, and this summer through aseminar on the subject) the preacher said he wouldbe very glad to receive all the help he can get inorder to better his leadership.

The Lord has impressed upon our hearts theneed to return to Colombia for a summer of

serving. The Lord has prepared me to "raise thelid" - the level of ability - of the Lord's churchleaders in Ibague, and other parts of the country.

We believe this will open the way, not onlyfor additional growth in the church, but formultiplying growth! By being more effectiveleaders, the church will benefit, and God'skingdom will reap, and keep, a greater harvest.

We ask you to pray for God's perfect timingfor this trip, as well as for our safety. Weencourage you to also pray for the Lord'sprovision!

Look us up at www.svs.net/lampincwrite us at lampinc(§svs.net

Worship Attendance of 72