OCTOBER 2007
“Mobilizing Families for God’s Kingdom Worldwide”
Dear Friends in Christ,
Greetings in the magnificent name of our Lord and Savior!
We are enjoying the changing colors of fall once again. As we look back over the last year and a half, much has happened! Although we have been sending regular Prayer Letters, we thought this would be a good month to restate our overall vision for Great Commission Families. So here is our ministry vision and summary!g a special gift at this time? Please feel no pressure, our goal is always to just make you aware of the need, God has not called everyone to meet it. Our request is just that you pray and see if the Lord would have you help.
Great Commission Families - "Mobilizing Families for God's Kingdom Worldwide"
Bernie & Linda Beall and their family have taken their 23 years of ministry experience with Campus Crusade for Christ in evangelism, discipleship and missions (i.e. win, build & send) and have changed their 'target audience' to families. From creating family-friendly evangelistic outings, hosting workshops for Dads and Moms, to facilitating international family mission trips, the Bealls are still trusting the Lord to raise up laborers for the harvest at home and abroad, . . . from families!
Every Christian family has 3 mission fields: The first is under their own roof. The second is where they already live. And the third is wherever in the world the Lord would take them. The Bealls are helping families, especially fathers, take the next appropriate step of faith for them to have greater involvement in the Great Commission as a family, beginning under their own roof.
Here are highlights from the last two months:
Winning: Inner Harbor Outreach - We went with several other families to the Baltimore Inner Harbor to do evangelistic presentations and hand out evangelistic fliers. We were encouraged by the families who went with us. It warmed our hearts to see the receptiveness of people, especially to the children. Two young men lingered longer to hear more about the Gospel. One claimed to be a Christian, and the other listened but made no commitment. Please pray for these young men as they contemplate giving their lives more fully to the Lord. Please also pray for the 500 individuals who received a Gospel flier about "Francis Scott Key and True Freedom." Seeds were sown, pray for the fruit to be yielded. Again, it was a blessing to see people take the fliers and walk along reading them thoughtfully.
The Razvi Family Children singing the National Anthem
at the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Someone passing by
“Are they the new Von Trapp Family?”
With amazing poise,
grace and passion, Daniel
recited the entirety of
Romans chapter 8.
It was a special delight to see how enthusiastic
the children were in giving Gospel fliers to people,
and how readily people were to gratefully take them.
Baker Park Outreach - We went as a family to a park in Frederick, MD to again give out Gospel fliers and seek to engage people in conversations about Christ. Interestingly, one of the families we met there is a neighbor from our housing development. We had a good conversation about the other Gospel materials we had handed out in our neighborhood at Easter. From India, the grandfather is a Christian, and the daughter- in-law is Sikh. Pray for more opportunities with this family.
Keysville Outreach - About a dozen families went with us for a Christian Heritage Bike Hike & Outreach in the Keysville, MD area. Bernie shared spiritual insights from the life of Frances Scott Key (FSK) and the providence of God in the writing of the Star- Spangled Banner. All along the way, our group went door-to-door with FSK Gospel fliers and an invitation to an evening program. It was a delight to see the long trail of families with children of all ages going into the town to share the gospel. Before we set off, our pastor's youngest son prayed a powerful prayer. Many seeds were sown. The Hendry Family (www.InHisImage.org) shared a dramatic presentation that evening. One family that came from the invitation that afternoon was a church going wife with a non-church going husband. He came a bit less than willingly. And he looked uncomfortable at times, but he heard the gospel clearly and seemed to enjoy the several conversations he had with different church families. Pray he comes to know our Savior.
The Daniel Cox Family: “This has been so
wonderful, especially for our children, to step
out in faith and share the gospel with people!”
Terra Rubra - Francis
Scott Key’s birthplace, and
the Star-Spangled Banner.
Stopping at an old mill,
Bernie shared some spiritual
lessons from early America.
Building: Boy Scout Troop 711 - Another opportunity presented itself to Bernie when he was asked to do another Gettysburg tour, this time with a local Boy Scout Troop. Weaving eight spiritual life lessons into re-telling the events of 1863, it was a powerful time of being reminded of the sacrifices made by soldiers, and the Christian testimony of many till the end. Bernie actually recorded this tour, and although the quality is not the best, let us know if you’d like a copy. A person could listen to this tape as they drive along in the car. The comments were very encouraging and we believe this Christian Boy Scout Troop was built up in Christ, right there in a National Park!
Sending: Family Missionaries Sent - With our somewhat extensive experience with missions and mission trips, we have been assisting a small, new missionary organization that is currently only working in South Korea. The Timothy & Boni Pent Family (www.PentFamily.com) is one family that has just returned to Korea to share, and live, a vision for family discipleship at the invitation of a large church there. Our role here has been to help the Pents biblically and practically in areas such as missionary vision, ministry perspectives, partner communication, and prayer. I’m sure we’ll write more in future letters, especially if & when our family gets to visit this fertile mission field for ourselves.
Our granddaughter, Abbi, turned one on October 4th!
The Home Front: Painting - Thoughts on the mundane activities of life: Seems like
anything we experience or do can have a spiritual lesson or application, if the Lord
opens our eyes to see. After being in our new home almost 2 years, I (Linda) was
finally able to do some painting. I found it interesting how the same color looks different
on different walls depending on the lighting, as well as what other colors are being
reflected onto it from other rooms. This reminded me of how our 'colors' show in a
similar fashion depending
on whether or not we are
allowing Christ's light to
shine on us, or whether
we are letting the reflection
of worldly things to
color us. May we all be
bright lights for His glory!
Dear faithful friends, may God bless you greatly to be a reflection of His love!
In Christ's Great Love,
Linda for the Bealls
“For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
~ II Corinthians 4:6 NASB