Dear Friends,
I want to share a testimony with you from an outreach that just recently took place in Marion, Illinois.
My family and I were in the area to visit 3ABN. During the week, I reached out to the elder of a local church who has partnered with Streams of Light. No outreach was initially planned for that particular weekend, but thanks to this elder, in just a few days they had everything ready for a distribution.
One family attending the outreach decided to visit homes near a golf course. They had been told that these multi-million dollar homes were harder territory to reach. The family departed to knock on doors, and found that in home after home, they were met by receptive people. Only one home declined the free gift being offered.
At one large home, a very receptive man opened the door, and they engaged him in conversation. After talking for a little while, they offered to pray with him and asked if he had a prayer request. He began to describe the growth of his company and the need to have a family-like atmosphere in the company again.
After prayer, one of the children in the family told the man about Hope Through Prophecy, a YouTube channel helping make prophecy easy to understand. The man readily subscribed to the channel, and the family went on their way. After they left, another child asked her parents why they had not offered Bible studies. The family quickly returned to his door.
When the man came to the door and heard about the offer for Bible studies, he readily requested online studies, indicating that his interest was a 10 out of 10. He also thanked the young girl for reminding her dad about offering studies. In talking with him further, the family then discovered that the man was a highly influential individual in the city. Please keep this man in your prayers.
Friends, this is just one of the many powerful experiences God’s people are encountering right now. God is opening up doors and helping willing missionaries to find people in their communities who are hungry for truth. Where one man is reached, countless more are still waiting for someone to knock on their door.
Oklahoma City Outreach
Multiplication of this work is much-needed, and I praise God for how He has led recently in multiplying our efforts. On June 15th, five of our staff visited five different churches in Oklahoma City to preach, train church members, and lead outreach efforts. In that one weekend, more than 165 church members went door-to-door and reached 3,299 families with precious truth. In one Sabbath, these churches gained 71 Bible study leads.
A Mini Mission Trip in Aztec, New Mexico
Another way in which God is leading is through mini mission trips organized by volunteers. Associate Evangelism Director Stephen Gutierrez recently joined one of these missions in Aztec, New Mexico, to lead outreach training for the group. Joining him and his family were a group of missionaries who traveled from Southern California on June 21 and spent Sabbath through mid-day on Tuesday going door-to-door. Thanks to Barry and Lisa Krall, the couple who coordinated the Aztec mission trip, volunteers were able to stay in church members’ homes and receive wonderful plant-based meals which allowed the missionaries to focus on their outreach efforts.
In just three days of outreach, 3,000 copies of The Great Controversy and health magazines were distributed, hundreds of people were prayed with, and more than 30 people committed to Bible study. I am told that these contacts were shared with two local Bible study coordinators who will handle the in-person and online Bible study requests through their partnership with the Voice of Prophecy. I am also told that dozens of testimonies were shared by this group of missionaries. On Wednesday, the local church received two calls from people requesting Bible studies as a result of packages of literature left at their doors. It is truly marvelous to see how God is working.
This short quote has been a great encouragement to those who are part of smaller congregations:
“Let no church think it is too small to exert an influence and do service in the great work for this time.” –The Review & Herald, March 13, 1888
God has much counsel for us. All who follow it and take up this work are promised a rich experience. I encourage all to consider prayerfully what next steps God is calling you to take.
What doors is He preparing to open next for you and for your church? All are needed to labor in the harvest of souls. I appeal to you today, friends, do all that you can to take up the work.
Oleg Lotca
President
Streams of Light International
