Visions

Before Gerald and I met and were married, he was raising his four very young children by himself. He was a faithful member of a local church, and teaching the Royal Rangers boys group each week. One day he was taking a shower (about the only place he could be alone at the time!) when God gave him a very clear "open" vision that made a great impact on him, and has guided him in the ministry ever since. He saw a field with lots of babies at different stages of development - some were lying down; some were crawling; some were sitting up; others were trying to walk. Many seemed to go just so far and then appeared to weaken and die. Very few seemed to grow strong and healthy. He realized immediately that God was showing him the importance of not just "birthing" babies into the Kingdom, but of continuing to help them grow and mature to be strong, committed believers whom God could use to accomplish great things. As our ministry has grown and developed through the years, the Lord has brought increasing understanding as Gerald has seen the application of this vision to several different areas of ministry - to children and adults also!

In 1995, Gerald and I were attending language school in McAllen, TX, preparing to go to the mission field. Once each week, we had to attend a local Hispanic church service. We were not able to understand much at all, but one Sunday, in the middle of the sermon (which I understood to be about the 2nd coming of Jesus) the Lord asked me a question: “Do you really believe that I am coming back soon?” I replied: “Yes, Lord, without a doubt.” Then He asked me: “Do you think I could return in the next 7-10 years?” I answered: “Yes, Lord, I believe you could come back in the next 7-10 years.” Then he said to me: “Then look around at these children – if I DO come back in the next 7-10 years, NONE of them will be adults!” Immediately I had a picture in my mind of a great crowd of people at an evangelistic campaign (such as in Africa) and I knew that they would accept Christ, return to their villages and begin to start churches and share the Gospel. Then I saw Jesus Christ returning in the sky and all the believers rising up to meet Him. I saw thousands and thousands of those same new believers rising up into the sky, but they were ALL ADULTS!! The children were left behind on the earth because “NO-ONE HAD SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH THEM!”

We well understand that when a new church is started, it takes time to get a pastor, build a church, disciple the people, train leaders and begin to evangelize. In so many countries because there is no money, there are few resources and many difficulties, even persecution, it’s logical that children’s ministry is not very high on the list of priorities! But the truth is that CHILDREN ARE MORE OPEN TO RECEIVE THE GOSPEL THAN ADULTS! They believe what they are taught; they don’t have so many doubts, and are more ready to believe and pray in faith, trusting in God! How terrible it would be to go up into the sky to meet Jesus, yet see so many children left behind below!! We know there are different doctrines about children’s salvation, but the Bible tells us clearly what sin is in James 4:17 “To him who knows to do good and doesn’t do it, this is sin.” According to this verse, obviously there are many children who should know how to repent and receive forgiveness from God, and hence can learn about salvation! This vision stirred me deeply and immediately gave me a conviction that I should start focusing not so much on ministering to children, but more on training up other children's ministers with a similar burden. Back to top

I was at a Missions conference early in 1999 and was praying in the Spirit when the Lord gave me a very strong vision. I felt the Holy Spirit come upon me in a way that I never had before (or has happened since) and I could hardly speak afterwards as I tried to share what the Lord had shown me, because it was so strong and detailed. In the first part of the vision, I saw the engine of a car, and the Lord showed me that each part, big or very small, had been built and then perfected to be EXACTLY the right size and shape. It had been worked on carefully to make it perfectly smooth so that there would be no friction, and it had to measure exactly correctly so that it would fit perfectly. Each part had been worked on OUTSIDE of the car, and then one day, each part was brought to the car and set in its exact place, fitting in perfectly. It was only THEN that the engine could be started and the whole car could go down the road to accomplish its purpose.

I realized immediately that the Lord was saying that He had been working on each believer for years – molding and fashioning, strengthening and perfecting through all the trials and tribulations and experiences of that person’s life. Each believer, yielded to Him, was fashioned for a specific purpose. Then suddenly, at the appointed time, each person was being moved into his/her place in the Body of Christ. As each was able to perform his/her duty, without friction and without waste, and each was equally important no matter the position or task, the whole Church could move forward to accomplish God’s purpose in these End Times.

Then I saw a series of work situations: A man came to work on an assembly line in a factory and said, “Well, today is my last day – next week I’m taking my family to start mission work overseas”; then a woman in another work environment turned to her coworker and said, “I’m leaving work on Friday. The Lord has told me to spend my time in intercession, so I will stay at home and pray all day. We’re going to have to cut back our family expenses, but my husband and I know that it’s God’s will.” Finally another man spoke to his friend and said, ”I can’t meet you any more after work, I’ve started another job. The Lord told me to work two jobs, so that I can give all the income from my second job to help the poor and support a ministry.”

In my spirit, I KNEW that the Lord was showing me that He was mobilizing His Church, His army, to move forward and work together in complete unity to accomplish God’s purpose here in these End Times, before Jesus’ return. It was nothing planned as any man or denomination would plan it. It was simply each, individual believer recognizing what his call and purpose is, and being willing to obey it! No one understood the whole plan; there was no major “control” by any particular organization; each believer was content to do his/her part and trust that the Lord was in control! I felt SO EXCITED AND EXHILARATED!! It was such a different view of the Church to any I had ever heard preached before. I’m NOT saying that each believer acts independently, with no submission to a local church. God is a God of order, and we should all be accountable to one another, and work in conjunction with a local body of believers, but also we should recognize how the Lord is using others, and defer to them in those areas, rather than try to do and control everything in our own way or through our own group. I started to look around me expectantly from that time on, hoping to see any signs of this vision coming to pass, but I saw nothing for years and barely shared it with anyone.

But in the past year or so, (2006) I have begun to recognize “signs” of its beginning. I have learned of so many believers, in many different countries, who were led of the Lord to start new, “different” kinds of ministries at about that time, and it seems the Lord is bringing us together to network and encourage one another! It is all happening under the headship of Jesus Christ, and I can sense the excitement as it develops! Just as in Jesus’ day, there will be religious leaders who do not understand this because they are focused on what always “worked in the past”. We will have to make some decisions that are very difficult, maybe severing close ties, if we are to truly keep following the leading of the Holy Spirit. I have spoken with MANY faithful Christians in the past year or so, who have been going through these difficult situations, and I have seen the vision coming to pass as different ones yield themselves totally to God instead of man. Believers all around the world are beginning to recognize their own calling and respect the calling and direction of others, willing to work together as they follow Jesus as their Lord and guide. Truly I believe that God's army is moving forward - without church name or denomination, but known by its love and commitment to serve Jesus Christ. Back to top

One day in Mexico, the Lord gave me another very clear and challenging illustration of how children's ministry is often neglected. I was speaking to a small group of pastors and church leaders and asked them to imagine the following: A mother is preparing food for her family but there is very little to eat. When it is ready, she realizes that there is nowhere near enough for everyone, but she goes ahead and calls everyone to the table. They all come in hungry: her husband, 5 children, Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt with baby, and a couple of neighbor’s children (a typical Mexican situation!). The mother looks at everyone and then at the meager amount of food, and then suddenly she has an idea! She remembers that children LOVE to play outside, so she sends the children back outside to play, and divides the food up among the adults!

How many mothers would REALLY do this? Hopefully, especially as Christians, NONE of us! We usually sacrifice our own food to give to the children if necessary. Yet this very situation happens EVERY WEEK in churches around the world! There are not enough resources and so the children are allowed to “play outside” or sit in the congregation bored and not understanding the spiritual teaching, while the adults enjoy the spiritual food! If we truly believe we are living in the End Times, this MUST CHANGE! Back to top

Around the year 2000, we began to recognize that the Church was not just entering a New Millennium, but also a new season when great opportunities (and challenges!) bring the need for CHANGES in the way we have always done evangelism, discipleship and missions. As we began to speak of this in our children's ministry seminars and church meetings, the Lord gave me a very powerful vision in three parts: Part One - I saw a beautiful field of golden wheat ready to be harvested, and a group of happy laborers arriving with their tools, excited to reap the harvest. They all set out to work in the field, but they had their eyes fixed on the tall, golden, perfect wheat in the middle of the field, and so they trampled underfoot the short, stubby wheat directly in front of them.

I realized that many Christians today, when they think about evangelism and missions, tend to focus on reaching adults, thinking they can be more “useful” or “influential” in extending the Kingdom of God. Understandably, in the majority of churches around the world, Christians focus more on constructing a church building, supporting a full-time pastor, obtaining bibles and literature, and enduring persecution – adults understand these things better than children. However, the short, stubby wheat can also produce good flour and bread! Children are right there in front of us – the first to be attracted by an outdoor drama, music or clowns! Children learn EVERYTHING they see and hear (good and bad!) and they naturally tend to believe what they are told. Should we only focus on reaching the older, more “mature” harvest? (Which also often comes with hardened hearts, broken spirits and contaminated thoughts that need years of ministry to be overcome.) Or should we also focus specifically on the young, fresh harvest that is ready for reaping and eager to share its newly found knowledge?

Next, I saw how long the harvest was taking and how much work had to be put into it by the reapers. Then, suddenly some workers came in with combine-harvesters. They were able to sweep through the field and bring in the harvest so much quicker and more effectively. I recognized how missions is changing today. We are not limited to the methods of the past, but through new technology, books, videos, the Internet and better communications, the Gospel can be spread and the Bible taught in far more effective ways in this new millennium. If the laborers will use the new methods, the work can be accomplished far better.

Finally I saw that most of the laborers did not need to have studied for a college degree in agriculture; they did not need to understand all about the soil type, fertilizer, process of seed germination, or types of crop disease. The farmer had spent much time in studying and preparing for cultivating the crop, but the laborers only needed to understand the job of harvesting and to follow the guidance of their leader. As I pondered on this final part of the vision, I discovered a plan to help the local church (all over the world) develop a more effective method for reaching and teaching children about Jesus. It simply is based upon pastors and leaders who encourage their congregation to accept the responsibility of teaching their OWN children about God and the Bible (Deuteronomy 6:6,7) and then reach out to the children of neighbors, friends and family through a short, weekly home club.

The pastor, or children’s Sunday school teacher, can choose a Bible miracle each week; write down the Bible reference to the story; choose a suitable short memory verse that goes along with the theme of the miracle; prepare two or three simple questions or comments to provoke discussion; and maybe explain a simple game. All of this is then written down onto slips of paper and handed to each mother (or participating church member) as they leave the main weekly service. Then each mother prepares the teaching, chooses a suitable time to teach her children for half an hour each week, and starts her “club”. Every month or two there can be a short meeting in the church to encourage and train the mothers with ideas for new games, and hints on how to teach. As each mother grows in experience and confidence, she starts to invite other children to participate each week. Christianity is based on a personal relationship – where better to start than in the home? The parents discover that they are learning more about the Bible themselves, the children are learning and if each club has 8-10 children, it means that 5 or 6 times the number of children are being reached from that church, compared to before!! Back to top

This was a little different in that I did not see a "picture" or receive any special words, but I definitely experienced the Lord's touch, giving me a heavy new spiritual burden that directed us down a new road of ministry. After living and ministering for about 5 years in Mexico, when the Lord had led us to focus mainly on teaching workshops and seminars for children’s ministry all over Mexico, we went home to Texas for a visit. We were able to attend a huge missions conference - a new experience for us! There were literally hundreds of missionaries there, and one morning, during intercessory prayer, we were asked to pray for the nation in which we ministered. Missionaries were invited to take the microphone to lead a short prayer for that nation. As others went forward to pray for India, China and so on, I felt a strong urging of the Spirit to lead a prayer for the nation of “children” around the whole world. I overcame my fear of speaking before so many of my experienced peers and led the prayer. As I did, I felt that God had unloaded a heavy cloak of burden upon me to reach “the children of the world”. It was overwhelming – I thought: “we haven’t even begun properly to reach the children of Mexico yet, how can we reach the whole world?”

Just two weeks later, I was suddenly asked to teach the children whose mothers would be attending a National Women’s conference in Mexico, two months away. I was told there would be about 75 children, several helpers, and we would need to “take care of them” during the main sessions of the 2-day conference. The Lord had already taught us to carefully focus on teaching training seminars rather than just accept the MANY invitations from churches to “come and do children’s ministry for them”! So my initial reaction was “No!” Yet my mind would not rest and I found myself giving God many “valid” reasons for not accepting the invitation. Then, very quietly, the Lord asked me: “Can you imagine the potential of teaching the children of committed Christians who come from all over Mexico for the conference, about MISSIONS for 2 days?!!” Immediately I was filled with enthusiasm, and accepted! Time does not permit me to tell the whole of that incredible experience, which turned out to be a grueling challenge to teach 150 children, packed into two tiny, sweltering rooms with no fans or seats, and with only one helper! But as a result of that time of ministry, I was invited to teach a national children’s ministry seminar for 25 churches in Cuba, a year later!

Again, incredible obstacles reared up to prevent my visit to Cuba but God enabled me to fulfill His plans. My trip and my experiences with those precious, suffering believers there changed my life. I returned afterwards to Mexico no longer satisfied with “just” reaching the children of Mexico, but believing that somehow God would enable us to start reaching the children of the world. Little did I know that He would start by suddenly shutting the door for our ministry in Mexico, and within two months we had to pack up and move back home to live in the middle of the East Texas countryside! We spent a year trying to understand what God was doing! Everything we tried to do to promote the ministry, or even earn money to meet our needs, failed! No-one locally was interested in what we had to say, so we just shared our vision and passion to reach the children of the world on our website (that no-one knew about and we couldn’t afford to promote!). But when the vision and call are truly from God, and we remain committed and patient (most of the time!), He DOES bring it to pass! Over three years have passed since then and this website is a testimony to some of the amazing things God has done in and through us - all praise goes to HIM! Back to top

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