April 2024 - Local Missions Newsletter

"He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:9)

For over 40 years, Go Forth Ministry has taken the gospel out to the nations. Now, We believe it is time to focus on our own nation. God is giving us some exciting opportunities to do this.

If you are going to reach a people group, you must be able to speak their language. When a missionary goes to work overseas, he learns about the culture he is visiting in order to reach them in better, more personal ways. When Barnabas hosts church, he engages with his members as one Vietnamese to another, sharing cultural norms and values. When Go Forth Ministry looks toward the harvest field of young Americans, a creative and artistic group, we must speak the language of creators and artists if we want to make disciples.

That is what we are doing. After taking time to formulate a vision and know what we are up against, we are beginning to step out into cultural realms. The language of artists is their art, their creation and the creations of others; this is the dialect we are learning to speak. We want to work with artists on a creative level, providing them with expertise and wisdom that will slowly guide them to Christ.

The GFM creative team sits down to dream and explore a new direction.

In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer sowing seeds. Most Christians will know this parable, and there are many takeaways. This is one insight I have discovered: if the farmer wants his seeds to be healthy, he must cultivate healthy soil for them. This is our lesson as disciple-makers; we must create the “good-soil” environment for new seeds to grow. That is precisely what Go Forth’s new American mandate is about.

In an exciting turn of events, Go Forth Ministry is now supporting the production of a new show. My brother and I have had this vision of a sitcom-style show, about the two of us making music and trying to “hit it big.” We recently had a friend offer his film studio for free, where we can produce the whole thing. We have begun the writing/envisioning process, and now we are preparing to build sets, prepare production facilities, and the like. Our plan is to begin filming pilot episodes by Autumn; these videos will go out on YouTube to start.

Jaren and his brother David have played music ever since they were little. For some time, they have had thought of writing a show of their experiences. This show will feature the two brothers working together to create and perform the best Rock music they can muster, with a lot of amusing banter along the way.

This is an incredible chance for us to work with other artists and begin creating that environment for Truth, Beauty, and Christ Himself to come into young peoples’ hearts. This is step one, our first fruits. If we devote this work completely to God, trusting Him to do amazing things with the work of our hands, I believe this will be an influential gateway into the cultural realm.

Thank you for joining us on this journey in a new direction. We believe God will support us in every way we need, giving us the right resources and sending the right people. Your attention is always appreciated; you can rest assured knowing that your dedication to this work is helping us build the Kingdom of Heaven.

P.O. Box 626

Dalton, OH 44618

330-462-1029

goforthministry@gmail.com