Bring Others Into the Sunshine of God's Good News by Linda L. Linn - HTML preview

A Ad A A d d dd d d de e e en n n nd d du d u um u m m m

 

L L L Liiiis ss stttt o o offff C o C Ch C h ha h a a arrrra a a ac cc ctttte e errrrs e ss s ffffo o o orrrr

B B B Brrrriiiin n n ng g g O g O O Otttth h he h e errrrs e ss s IIIIn n ntttto n o o o tttth h h he e e S e S Su S u u un n ns n ss sh h h hiiiin n n ne e e e o o offff G o G G Go o od o d d d’’’’s ss s G G G Go o o oo o o od d d d N N N Ne e e ew w w ws ss s

The ages listed here are for when this story begins. Many parts of this list carries over from the other stories in the Sunshine Series.

No new girls names are listed for people on the ranch after the Fosters move there. Also no new names are listed for further graduate replacements on the ranch and farm, because it would get too confusing.

Oscar and Vera Yardley are in their 70’s and live on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City. Their foster girls are Emma and Nan who are 15 and are in the tenth grade, and Stella and Liz who are 16 and are in the eleventh grade.

Brad Decker is a journalist who just moved to Pine City. He is 20 years old.

Denji Suehiro is 23, and his wife, Sara, is 22. They live on Mercy Valley Ranch with their foster girls, Ruby, Irene, who are17 and are in seniors in high school. Lois, and Vicky are16 and are in eleventh grade. Denji works for Ben Clay as a foreman of one crew of the Master’s Builders and Sara works in Pine City as a secretary.

Evan and Candy Beckett are 21 and they live on Mercy Valley Ranch with their foster girls, Bonnie and Kate, who are 16, and in eleventh grade. Flora and Reba are 15, and are in tenth grade. Evan works for Ben Clay of the Master’s Builders as a construction worker. Candy does the baking needed each week day by the Serving Joyfully Restaurant.

Pastor Don and Anita Ross are in their 30’s and live in Pine City. Don is the pastor of Grace 'n' Faith Church #4, and earns their living by stocking shelves at the Local Grocery. Their children are Tim, who is 12 and has decided to use his full name, Timothy. He is in the seventh grade in middle school. His sister, Mary, is 11 and is in the accelerated study course in middle school. Anita is doing day care in a partner’s larger house to help earn her family’s living.

Ted and Julie Blake are both 32, and live on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City where Ted maintains the houses. Julie teaches and uses Kippy, a koala puppet, with third graders at the Grace ‘n’ Faith Christian Church School. Their foster girls are Lily, Violet, Iris, and Rose, who are all 12 years old and are fraternal quadruplets, who are in seventh grade in middle school.

William and Anna Beckett are in their 50’s, and live on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City. Their new foster girls are Nora and Kathy, who are 17 and are seniors in high school. Gina, and Helen are16 and are in the eleventh grade.

Jeff and Karen Spencer are in their late 40’s and live on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City. Jeff works with Ben as a foreman of the other crew of the Master’s Builders, building houses on the ranch. Karen works on the ranch. Their foster girls are Christi and Hanna, who are16 and are in the eleventh grade. Ellie and Lisa are 17 and are seniors.

Afta and Hana Suehiro are in their late 50’s. Afta is Tomo’s twin brother. They work at home on a computer based job for a company in another state. They live on Mercy Valley Ranch with their foster girls Dana and Wendy, who are 17 and are seniors in high school. Sylvie, and Kendra are 16 and are in the eleventh grade.

281

Nathan and Esther Mendoza are 34 years old and live and work on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City. Their foster girls are Lucia, Val, and the twins, Holly and Willow, who are all 13 and are in eighth grade.

Unice Logan is single and in her 40’s. She is the veterinarian and also a family nurse practitioner who lives and works full-time on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City.

Vern and Lora Jones are in their early 40’s. Vern is a pediatric dentist at Happy Smiles for Kids. Lora is the school nurse at the church school and also teaches Health and topics related to it there. They live in Pine City.

Frank and Becky Warner are a couple who attend Church #4, and who like to travel and drive on four-wheel drive roads. They both have jobs in Pine City where they live.

Felix and Sunny Lucero are 34 years old and live and work on Mercy Valley Truck Farm near Pine City. Their foster boys are Jose and Hugo, who are 17 and are seniors, and Pedro and Luis, who are 18. Felix and Sunny’s new boys will be Harold and Ken who are 14 when they get there. Then will be Keith and Rand, who are 14 about a year later.

Ben Clay is 26, He is a building contractor. Mindy, his wife, is 21 and teaches second grade at the church school. They are living in a four-season travel trailer on Mercy Valley Ranch where Ben and his crews are still building houses.

Walt and Betty Evans are in their 60’s and live in Pine City. They weren’t able to have children. Walt is the owner and boss of Evans Construction Company. Betty is a homemaker.

Roy and Sherry Foster are both 33 and live in Pine City. Roy works at Building and Home Supplies. Their identical twin girls are Hope and Joy, who are 12 and are in seventh grade now. Sherry is working at Discount Mart. When they move to the ranch their foster girls will be April and May who are twins and are 15, and Tina and Lina who are also twins and are 14.

Riley, who is 31, and Amelia O’Connor who is 25, live in Pine City. They have one boy, Mark, who is 3 years old, and twin girls named Lydia and Phoebe, who are 2 years old. Later, they will also have one foster boy, Luke, who is the same age as Mark. Riley works at a Christian company in the city and Amelia is now a homemaker and mother.

Matt and Fiona Anderson live in Pine City. Matt is 34 and works for Evans Construction Company. Fiona is 32 and is a homemaker and mother. Their children are Johnny, who is 6 years old and is in first grade, Patrick, who is 5 years old and is in kindergarten, and the twins, Faith, and Grace, who are 4 years old.

Patrick and Glenda O'Connor are in their early 50’s and have lived in Pine City all their lives. Patrick works at The Garden Shop. Glenda is a homemaker.

Tony, 34, and Maria, 32, Valdez, live in Pine City. He is the daytime manager at Fiesta Restaurante. She works as an accountant in Ruth Beckett’s CPA office.

Ruth Beckett lives in Pine City and is 38 years old and isn’t married. Ruth owns and manages a Beckett CPA office in Pine City.

Miss Beth Davis is in her late 40’s, isn’t married, and lives in Pine City. She is the principal of the Grace 'n' Faith Church Christian School. She also teaches History and Geography.

Miss Pam Green is 34 years old, and isn’t married. She lives in Pine City and teaches third graders at the church school.

Gary and Kim Beckett are 22. They live and work on Mercy Valley Farm with their foster boys, Ryan and Bruce, who are 14 and are in ninth grade. Tyler and Leo are 13 and are in eighth grade.

 

282

Ian and Yolanda Hopkins live on Mercy Valley Ranch near Pine City and both work at Discount Mart. Their new foster girls are Darla, and Rita, who are 17 and are seniors in high school. Edna, and Libby are 16 and are in the eleventh grade.

Clara and her husband are still serving Jesus as missionary nurses in another small city.

Jason Beckett, is 36 years old and is married to Dorcas. Jason and Dorcas have two sons, Barnabas, who is four and Daniel, who will go by his middle name, Joshua, and he is three. They live in Pine City. Jason owns and manages a separate Beckett CPA office in Pine City.

Ernest and Connie Clay are in their early 50’s and have lived in Pine City all their lives. They own and operate The Garden Shop.

Their foster girl will be Tanya, who is eleven and is in sixth grade.

Greg and Oralie Iverson are in their 30’s. Their son, Cory is 15 and is in eleventh grade a year early. They live on Mercy Valley Truck Farm where Greg and Oralie work. Their foster boys are Max, who is 12 and is in seventh grade, his brother Levi, who is 13 and is in eighth grade, and Kevin and Jack, who is now using his middle name, Daniel. They are 14 and are in ninth grade.

Tomo and Ami Suehiro are in their late 50’s and live in Pine City. They own and operate Ami's Japanese Restaurant and Tea Room. They have one foster girl at a time, who is a senior who dropped out of school. When a new one comes, she usually has help from the other girl for about a month. Their foster girls are not named in this novel.

Yoshi and Sakura Suehiro are 30 and live in Pine City. He works at his parents’ restaurant and Sakura is a mom and homemaker. Their first boy is Naoki, meaning truthful, and he is 3 years old. The twin boys are 2 years old and are named Haru, meaning born in the spring and sunlight, and Haruto, meaning spring and sunlight.

Mr. and Mrs. Makino are the parents of Sakura and Kosuke. They adopted Yuki, meaning excellent and hope, and Riku, meaning land and earth. Yuki is 3 years old, and Riku is 2 years old.

Kosuke and Aneko Makino are 31 and live in the Suehiro family home. He’s in the army but also works as a teacher in the Grace ‘n’ Faith Church School of Evangelism. She works in the family restaurant and also helps with her parent’s foster girl.

Van is Cory’s ministry partner in the public school. They have been in the same grade and working together since middle school.

Carlos and Jana Beckett are 22 and live on a cattle ranch with their foster boys, Mike and Alex, who are 16 and are eleventh grade. Eric and Lane are 15 and are in the tenth grade. Carlos works as a mechanic and does other jobs on the ranch and Jana is a receptionist for a doctor’s office in Pine City.

Ned, Roger, Seth, and Warren are boys who live on Mercy Valley Farm, and who also graduated from high school the same year as Cory did.

Larry and Jane Kelsey used to live in Pine City. They moved with some other church members to a city in a southern area to help plant a church there.

Stuart and Doris Baker live on Compassion Ranch near Pine City.

Ron Miller was a former student of Julie Blake in third grade.

 

H Ho H H o orrrrs o ss se e e n e n n na a a am m me m e e es ss s,,,, c cc co o o ollllo o orrrrs o ss s,,,, s ss siiiiz zz ze e es e ss s a a an a n n nd d d d b b brrrre b e e ee e ed e d d ds ss s o o o on n n M n M M Me e errrrc e cc cy yy y V V V Va a alllllllle a e e ey yy y R R R Ra a a an n n nc cc ch h h h

 

283

Horses are measured in hands, and a hand equals four inches.

Diamond and Comet are matching bay Morgan horses, 15.2 hands tall, and are brown with black manes and tails. They have the usual gaits of horses: walk, trot, and canter.

The rest are gaited horses that walk, plus some have a running walk, others have a single-foot. Since they don't trot, they are very smooth and comfortable to ride. They can also canter.

King and Queen are solid black Tennessee Walking Horses. King is 17 hands tall and Queen is 15 hands tall.

Patches is a brown and white pinto Tennessee Walking Horse, and is 16 hands tall.

Blaze and Star are palomino Tennessee Walking Horses, 15.2 hands tall.

Cocoa and Dark Cocoa are 14.1 hands tall, one is milk chocolate, the other is dark chocolate and both have flaxen manes and tails. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses.

Coffee is all dark brown. Tea is a lighter coppery color. They are 14 hands tall. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses.

Boots and Socks are light brown Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses horses, 12.2 hands tall.

More Patches is a brown and white pinto Tennessee Walking Horse and she is15 hands tall.

Arrow and Stripe are two more bay horses that are a little lighter brown than the Morgans. The white markings on their faces look like like their names. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses and are 14.3 hands tall.

Chili Powder and Paprika are reddish brown. Chili Powder has a narrow blaze and Paprika has a wider blaze and one white boot. They are 14 hands tall and are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses.

Cumin and Ginger are buckskin horses, named for their colors. They are Tennessee Walking Horses, 15 hands tall. Cumin is darker.

Lollipop and Flame are two more reddish brown horses. Their names go with their facial markings. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, and are 14.2 hands tall.

Goldenrod and Marigold are two more palominos. Goldenrod is a darker gold than the other and both are named for wildflowers. They are both 15 hands tall and are Tennessee Walking Horses.

Dapplie is a dark dapple gray Tennessee Walking Horse with black legs, mane and tail. He is 14.2 hands tall.

Roanie is a bay roan Tennessee Walking Horse with white hairs intermixed with the brown ones. In his case the white starts more in the middle and goes back to his tail. He is 15 hands tall.

Cloves is a dark bay horse with a blaze. He is 14.1 hands tall and so is Allspice, a dark bay horse with no white on his face. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses.

Prince and the new Princess are black horses and both are 14 hands tall. Princess has a small star, and Prince has a crown shaped one. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses.

Double Diamond and Serving Spoon are brown all over except for white facial markings that go with their names. They are Kentucky Mountain Saddle Horses, and are14 hands tall.

 

284

A A A Ad d dd d d d diiiittttiiiio o o on n n na a allll n a n n no o o otttte e e e ffffrrrro o o om m m tttth m h he h e e A e A A Au u u utttth h h ho o o orrrr,,,, L L Liiiin L n nd n d da d a a a L L L.... L L L Liiiin L n nn n n n n

This Idea List is after the I Can Do booklet, in “Be Like a Tree Planted By the Water In the Sunshine,” which is an associated book for this novel. It’s included here so you don’t have to download or buy the other book in order to get it.

““““T T T Th h h he e e e IIIId d de d e e ea a a a L L Liiiis L ss stttt””””

These are ministry ideas in addition to the ones already mentioned in the “I Can Do” booklet. I admit that I do not have enough suggestions to make Little Booklets for the ideas on the lists that might need them, so I have just made a list with some of the ideas expanded for ministry times. I tried to add details and other ideas so people could use them to try it themselves. You can add many more of your own, plus ideas from your small groups and other believing friends.

Remember, the guidelines in he “I Can Do” booklet. Choose as many as you can do with Jesus help. Make them part of your own lifestyle ministry.

If you are doing laundry at a Laundromat, be friendly and visit with the people there. Grab opportunities to plant seeds about the Good News. This works best when you are not in a hurry.

In a park or mall, notice people who are sitting alone on a bench looking despondent. Pray for them, ask Jesus what to do. Follow his leading and if you get to converse with them, be a good listener also.

You might be able to witness to another couple as you all walk together in the park. If they make fun of you at first, instead of reacting in anger, be gracious. Pretty soon the couple might start asking questions really wanting answers instead of ridiculing. If you answer questions and explain the gospel to them, they might accept Jesus as their Savior.

Take a trash bag to pick up trash as you walk along the paths in the park, praying for the people you see and looking for opportunities to start conversations about the gospel.

New believers, invite some of your friends to come see you be baptized and listen to your testimony. They will also hear the ones of other new believers and hopefully a salvation message also.

When shopping for groceries or in department stores, look for people who might need help or who look discouraged. For example do your grocery shopping and combine with your couple’s ministry.

As a couple you could offer to help carry purchases for someone to their car and look for an opportunity to share the Good News.

The next five ideas are from Patrick and Glenda in the fourth novel. Patrick suggested, “When we’re shopping for groceries or other things, we could put tracts up on public bulletin boards if the stores have them. Plus here’s another thing we could add to the list. I’ll be willing to stop doing yard work in order to carry on a conversation that might lead to a chance to plant gospel seeds.”

“Excellent,” declared Glenda, “and when we go walking and notice people in their front yards we could stop and chat for a while, since privacy fences are too high to allow neighbors to visit over the fence in the back or side yards.

Patrick added, “Precisely, and since my job at The Garden Shop is part of my lifestyle, I’ll ask Ernest if I can interrupt my task to talk to a customer if it’s appropriate.”

“Great,” she concurred, “and we can show pictures of our grandkids on our phones to people we stop and talk to, and have it lead into how thankful we are for our families and how good our God has been to us.”

When walking or jogging or running or biking for exercise, be looking for opportunities to plant gospel seeds.

 

285

Read big format books or tell flannelgraph stories about the Good News in a park or shopping mall to children. You could build a storytelling booth that folds down for transport.

You could plan to become friends and then witness and share the gospel with your coworkers. After you are friends, try to introduce the topic of dying, which is something most people dread. After they have each made it clear that they definitely do dread it, You could state, "This may surprise you, but one thing I can look forward to is dying." Then use Philippians 1, and a summary of the apostle Paul’s life before and after he met Jesus, to explain why he thinks dying would be gain. Include 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 also. Then tell them the Good News, and invite them to accept Jesus.

Or you could use the following scriptures one or two at a time and be ready to answer questions you coworkers might have. Romans 6:23, Hebrews 2:14b,15, John 3:36, John 14:1-6, John 11:25, 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, Philippians 1:21,23,24, 3:21a.

Wednesday after school Bible Story Groups are for younger children, and they need big books or flannelgraph stories. Bible Study Groups are for older children, and they need some videos that explain what the Bible is about. First you would need to go door to door in your neighborhood to find interested children and agreeing parents. The children like cookies and something to drink before they go home. Wednesday Bible study and story groups take perseverance and time. Be ready to help them pray to accept Jesus. Continue to pray for those who are doing that ministry, since prayer and encouragement to keep going are very helpful.

After School Places keep the kids off the streets or from being home alone when school lets out. It can include tutoring, or help with homework after they play a few active games to give them a break from school work. Decide what age level or mixed age group you would prefer.

You could get started by going door to door asking parents if they would like to have their children go to a neighborhood home after school where they could get some exercise, have time to do homework and get help with it, if needed, and also learn something about the Bible each day. It would be a good idea to talk to the parents at that time about a weekly fee they could afford to pay so the children will feel more obligated to keep coming. Try to have many ideas of things to do with the children, and get materials to use for doing this project. If you have children of your own, try to get them involved in helping with the ones that come.

Teach your children how to do evangelism in the public school. Each child should prepare and write his own story of how he received Jesus to be his own personal Savior. They should practice it and be ready to share it, plus learn other ways to share the Good News. Have them make friends with their classmates before sharing. Buy them New Testaments with a list of scriptures to use and maybe a diagram about how Jesus is the bridge to God.

When your children get to high school get them into a youth group with a leader who will obtain many copies of “The Life Book” from Gideons International, so they can give them to their friends in the high school. It can also be downloaded as a PDF file by going to the web site thelifebook.com and following their directions. But the little printed books might be more appealing.

Do RV travel evangelism for sightseers and have it be another ministry you could do as a couple or family. Turn your traveling into a ministry to serve Jesus. Choose state and national parks or monuments where you might be able to minister. Plan ahead and make reservations in campgrounds where you can have meetings at your campsite to sing hymns and share the Good News, answer questions, and invite people to accept Jesus. While you are hiking or going to view points be observant and take every opportunity to steer conversations to talk about God, The Creator, The Bible, Jesus…

Do travel evangelism as a business worker, like sales people, pilots, flight attendants, tour guides, army, navy, air force, and marine chaplains, others in the service, truck drivers, geologists, and teachers who teach English in foreign countries, plus many others. Always be ready to share your faith whenever you can.

Parents help your kids have a lemonade stand as a ministry where you only need to charge enough to pay your expenses. Choose a time that works best for you and your kids. Be ready with tracts, which are little

 

286

pamphlets that tell the Good News, to give if people want them. Your kids can answer questions and witness when it’s appropriate.

Have a yard sale with little pamphlets that tell the Good News available for people to take one free if they will read and think about it. Be ready to answer questions.

Raise one or more foster children. Teach them about the Bible and Jesus and the Good News so Jesus can save and restore them. Use “Keys for Kids for young children and “Unlocked” for teens. Both of them are devotionals. Read the book, “It Couldn’t Just Happen,” by Lawrence Richards, with them and talk about it.

Babysit with the children of a believing couple so they can go do couple’s ministries without having to take their little ones with them.

Do day care for families in your church or your neighborhoods who want to keep their preschool age little ones out of public preschools and have them learn Bible stories and songs and ways to get along with others. Some moms might team with another mom or older woman with no kids at home to do day care, which could be like a preschool, and they could use a bible based curriculum. They could rotate houses or just use the mom’s house who has kids of her own.

With two adults they could care for more children than two moms could by working alone and they could divide the money they earned. It would lessen the work each would have alone and give them a chance to take a little break when necessary during the day. This way the kids would never be left alone. They could team teach or each teach her own area of expertise.

Some couples might try out this idea, which is to pray for those people who go door to door to get people to join their religion. When the doorbell rings, be ready with an appropriate little pamphlet, to take with you out on the porch and say, “We'll listen to what you believe, if you will first read this pamphlet out loud to us and ask questions if you have any.”

Ask another family who has no relatives in your area to join you for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Make friends and when it’s appropriate, share the Good News with them.

If you have a dude ranch, or large farm or cattle ranch with homes for workers to live in change those homes into Caring Foster Homes.

Maybe even consider building more homes if you have the room and finances.

Open a Coffee or Tea Chat Room in your restaurant, or other appropriate business, where you can start conversations with people, get them talking about spiritual matters and answer their questions.

Try visiting an older lady or man in an assisted living apartment as a ministry you could do on weekends as a single person.

Practice singing together as a family and if you get good enough you might figure out a way to use it as a ministry. Learn new songs and some more scripture verses to use in ministry times. Use many scripture verses you already had memorized to tell the Good News and answer many of the questions people asked. Here are some verses to use.

Acts 16:31, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. John 3:36a, He who believes on Jesus, the Son, has everlasting life. Acts 4:12, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven among men by which we can be saved.

Romans 10:9, If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

Visit museums or zoos and be ready to share the Good News with others. If the museum has fossils be ready to tell what, and why you believe about how they were formed and also tell the Good News.

If there is an inside shopping mall, set up a nativity scene with tracts or people there to tell the real reason for the Christmas season.

287

Two couples who like to sing as a quartet for their ministry times could have music to accompany them on a small boombox. They could practice together and memorize scriptures that go with the songs. Then they could sing for people in the parks and start conversations about the songs and the Good News.

Do family ministry times together in the park or stores or in nursing homes.

Make friends with a Jewish person and later decide together to memorize scriptures out of the Old Testament, especially Psalms. Check each other as they are said and encourage each other, plus tell why the scripture is liked. Then show how some Old Testament scriptures go with New Testament ones about Jesus being the Messiah. Possible scriptures include: Psalm 33:6,8, 9, Psalm 32:1,2 with Romans 4:6-8, Matthew 26:23 goes with Psalm 41:9, Psalm 27:12b goes with Mark 14:56. There are several that go with Psalm 22: Matthew 27:39,43, Matthew 27:35, Matthew 27:46c, John 19:37b. Psalm 34:20 goes with John 19:36. Be ready to tell them the Good News when they are ready to listen.

Write creation story booklets for each age level, including preschool, elementary, middle, and high school. Each book would contain explanations and photographs of different parts of creation, proving that only God, the Master Designer, could be the Creator. Include the story of Jesus and the Good News in each one.

Practice guitars as a family and learn new songs to use in your ministry times inside the shopping mall or in city parks.

Do movie nights for unbelieving family or friends with videos like “The Jesus Film,” or “Magdalena,” or other videos that tell the Good News. Be sure to watch the video yourself first so you can answer questions about it. When you invite people, tell them what kind of movie it is, and entice them with the promise of all the popcorn they can eat. Just one family or a small group of people who are already friends will work best.

Find pictures of lighthouses you can show on a large computer monitor or display some from a calendar. Go to a place like in a park or an inside shopping mall where people can gather to look at the pictures. Sing or play a recording of the song “Jesus Is the Lighthouse.” Listen to their comments, answer questions, share the Good News and invite them to accept Jesus as their Savior. Do this as a team who works well together answering questions and presenting the gospel. Repeat the project for several weeks, but on different days and hours so you could reach people who might come at various other times.

S S S Stttta a arrrrtttt a a a a a h h h ho o o ou u us u ss se e e c e cc ch h h hu u urrrrc u cc ch h h o h o o orrrr p p plllla p a a an n ntttt a n a a c a cc ch h h hu u u urrrrc cc ch h h.... h

Maybe you’ve desired to start a house church, like the ones you can read about in the book of Acts in the Bible, or plant a church, either where you are living now, or in another city or town that needs one. If so, the little booklets and short books included in this volume could be used to teach the new believers who would result from your own ministry ideas or ones you could use from The Idea List, which is in this book.

Here is a short summary of how the church in the Sunshine Series of novels was started. The pastor’s goal or objective, was to teach believers to desire to live for Jesus because they love him and appreciate what he had done for them, and because lost people need him.

While the pastor was in seminary he heard a song called “Go Right Out,” sung by the Cathedrals. It’s message was that somebody ought to go tell the good news of salvation to the people who are lost in sin, so they can repent, confess their sins, and believe in Jesus to forgive them and give them eternal life.

He realized that every believer is one of those “somebodies.” So he teamed up with another believer and they brought in one more and then more, until they had enough for teams of two or more to continue bringing more in as believers. They grew until they had enough for a house church and then grew some more until they could rent a church for meetings on Saturdays. The church continued to grow and they collected enough money to build their own building. But the building was not his goal. His goal was to bring the wanderers in and have them become believers who were then taught how to live for Jesus and go out in teams of two or more to bring in more, who would continue the cycle.

Later, the church sent church planting groups of ten couples to cities they knew needed a good church. They did a great job.

288

H H H He e errrre e e e a e a a arrrre e e s e ss so o om o m m me e e e s ss stttte e e ep p p ps ss s tttth h ha h a atttt c a cc co o o ou u u ulllld d d d b b be b e e u e u us u ss se e ed e d d d tttto o o o p p plllla p a a an n ntttt a n a a a c cc ch h hu h u u urrrrc cc ch h h.... h

Choose a pastor and his wife who know and agree that they will have to support themselves with a job and be a pastor also, because that is the best way church plants can work. They will lead a group of about ten couples or families including his. Choose a city that needs a church like the one described in the first little booklet, called “Your New Life.” Then select the people who will volunteer to move there with him. Volunteers need to pray and wait for God's clear guidance and be committed.

They will become a small group that will learn and plan together. The group will take all of the little booklets and short books in PDF format to either make copies to give to people, or send as PDF files to their email’s so they can read them on their monitors and also they could make copies for themselves if they so desired.

The booklets and short books are a way to teach the new believers who result from their efforts. Then the new believers can go out and bring in more believers and continue the cycle of teaching them how to live for Jesus and go out and win more. As the cycle is repeated, the Good News is spread more rapidly. One couple might be able to get a church started, but it is much faster with a church plant group, led by a pastor and as many people as he wants to have in the group.

Those volunteers would sell their houses and get moved to the new city and get jobs. They would continue meeting as a small group in their homes, and start going out in teams of two or more to share the Good News and invite people to believe in Jesus as their Savior. As they would start to grow they would divide into more small groups and continue to meet in homes.

For united weekend services they would meet in a large home. When the congregation would get too big for a home, they would meet in a park if the weather would permit. For baptismal services they would use private home pools or even public swimming pools.

Other outreaches could be done, such as the Wednesday children's groups, workers who stock shelves being alert to catch and redirect shoplifters and gang members, and have Caring Foster Homes for those children who need them. The pastor and his congregation would be alert to other needs in the community and try to provide for those needs.

When there would be enough people, they could rent a sanctuary from another church for a unified Sunday or Saturday service, whichever day and time would be available. Then if it looked like the congregation was getting too large for that sanctuary, it would be time to consider other options like, renting a larger sanctuary, dividing into two groups and having two services, or sending church plants to other cities.

For families with preschool children in the group, women who don't work outside the home could do daycare using a Bible based preschool curriculum. As the congregations of the church would grow, and if there would be enough children later for kindergarten through third grades, other women could do daycare and use a good Bible based curriculum for each of those grades. This is also a good way to take care of children in the church while other parents are working. By doing this, no school buildings would need to be built.

All the people would need to continue to cooperate and work together to make the church plants operate the way they are intended to work. A summary of Philippians 2:2-5 says to, Be like-minded, … have love, be of one accord, of one mind. … Do nothing through strife or with boasting, but in humility, esteem others and care about them. Let the mind of Jesus be in you. And in John 17:21, Jesus prayed for all believers, that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

New believers would need to be taught in small groups, so members would need to volunteer and be trained to be facilitators of new believer small groups. Every person going with the church plant group would need to agree with the plans and be willing to work very hard. It would not be just moving to a different city and getting new jobs. It would be doing everything possible to make the church plant a success and see many people brought into the family of God. In essence, it would be a missionary project. The main reason to have church plants is to do as Jesus commissioned his followers to do in Matthew 28:19,20, Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you… I am with you always even unto the end of the world.

They would be very successful, because Jesus would be right there helping every person do his best to cooperate, encourage each other, and work together to win as many people to the Lord as possible. They would follow the instructions in Romans 15:5b,6, which says, Be like-minded toward one another

 

289

according to Christ Jesus, so that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

A A A Au u utttth u h h ho o orrrr’’’’s o ss s N N No N o otttte o e e es ss s ((((a a ag a g ga g a a aiiiin n n n))))

The following is also in the Authors Notes after the Introduction, but it’s included here again just in case somebody didn’t read it there.

My main reason for writing the fifth book in the Sunshine Series was to consolidate the Bible teachings in the other four books into one book for new believers and people who want to continue to grow and mature into honorable people. I also want to encourage people to do everything they can do to spread the Good News to as many people as possible while there’s still time before Jesus returns.

Have you ever desired to start a house church, like the ones you can read about in the book of Acts in the Bible, or plant a church, either where you are living now, or in another city or town that needs one? If so, the little booklets and short books included in this story could be used to teach the new believers who would result from your ministry ideas or ones you could use from the idea list included in the addendum of this book.

As the author, I hereby give permission for you to copy and print all five booklets, the two short books, and the idea list, in their entirety to give away free of charge to new believers or to others who might need to learn what is in them. They all work together to help new believers learn how to live for Jesus. I know these are just the beginning of all the things that people can learn about living lives that are worthy of our Savior, Jesus. But they are a start, and people can go on from here.

I have also consolidated the booklets and books in this fifth novel in the Sunshine Series, to make one separate volume. It is a shorter book, associated with this novel. The purpose for the sixth book in the series in to further consolidate the information of the five little booklets, the idea list, and two short books, and put them all into one volume in order to keep them together since they build upon each other. It will be easier for you to print instead of having to look through this whole novel and find where all the pages are, since they’re used as scenes in the novel. It will be available as an ebook or PDF file, from free-ebooks.net.

The PDF files would be easier to make prints from than the ebooks or a printed copy. But the printed copy will also be available to buy from thebookpatch.com in sizes of six by nine and / or eight and a half by eleven inches. Printed copies, of course cannot be free, but you would only pay for the cost of printing, tax, handling and shipping, since the retail price is only a dime more than the wholesale price. I did not do this project as a way I can make money.

You might want to give each booklet or short book separately to the new believers as you teach them, like is done in the Sunshine Series of novels, so the new believers wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. But they should be encouraged to keep and review all of them, because review is a good way to remember.

You may have noticed that the leader of the Grace ‘n’ Faith churches in the stories has no name listed. As it says in 2 Corinthians 4:7, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. The point of this, is to emphasize that it is NOT about a person. But it is about Jesus, who is the head of the church, and about the Holy Spirit in believers, who guides, gives gifts, edifies the church and glorifies Jesus.

The reason for planting churches is to win as many people to the Lord as possible. This is also the goal for the two or more member ministry teams, the public school missionaries, and other ideas in the books. Everything is to be done for Jesus and to bring him glory and everything is to be done in love as it says in chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians.

My purpose, motive, and goal, for all of the books in the Sunshine Series of books is to present the Good News to some who may not have heard them and to give believers ideas and encouragement about how they might serve Jesus to bring as many people as possible into his family. And besides that, the readers get to read many good scriptures, meet people who are genuinely nice as they live for Jesus, and enjoy various scenes of interest and romance.

 

Thanks to thebookpatch.com for printing this book!

 

290