Blessed be the Name of the Lord Who rules in the heavens and over His Kingdom which is to come on the earth. We joyfully recognize and submit to His providence and sovereignty in our lives! Hallelujah!
What a joy the Lord has given us to be a part of the worldwide movement to evangelize the lost and train national leaders overseas. It all began in 1987 with itineration to nearly 300 churches throughout the United States—thousands of miles by plane and car accompanied by some powerful experiences in church/house services with God, His Word, and His People.
Following that tedious but gladsome process, in 1989 we began six years of ministry, training national leaders and having evangelistic crusades and meetings in nearly 40 countries of Eurasia—from Greenland and Iceland to India and Bangladesh, as well as countries that were part of the former Soviet Union and most of the Eastern bloc countries.
Especially significant was the breaking down of the Iron Curtain in 1989 just following our arrival in Europe! What grace was given by the Lord to be a part of the first wave of His worldwide Body of servants sent into these countries by God, following the Lamb, and empowered by His Spirit. Humbling and hilariously joyful!
In the past two years—in our conversations, in our newsletters, in our meetings in churches and with pastors, and in our correspondence—we have stated openly that we sensed a change would take place in our next phase of ministry. We have sensed the Wind blowing in our lives. In one of our newsletters, I recall stating, “We know the Source (of the Wind of the Spirit), but not the course.” With this impending change, both Carmen and I have sensed a deep peace given by the Spirit throughout our furlough.
We believe the time has come for this change in our lives, which has been validated by confirmations of the Spirit in many forms. Let me explain.
As many of you know, Reinhard Bonnke is an evangelist who has had evangelistic crusades throughout the world. Also, in the past 2 years, he has included with his evangelistic crusades country-wide “Minus to Plus” mailings to every home in a particular country.
This booklet on the Message of the Cross has had phenomenal response. In England alone, 75,000 sent their response cards for local church follow-up. In the German-speaking world of Europe, over 45,000 responses have been recorded and many are being added daily. These response cards are given to the local cooperating churches for follow-up, without being used by RBM for any follow-up or appeals.
In April 1998, just before Easter, 112 million of these booklets will be mailed to American households and 13 million to Canadian households. There is an expectation of 1 million respondents. Cooperating churches from local areas would then follow up. At least sixty thousand evangelical churches (they must sign an evangelical Statement of Faith) are being asked to be a part of the follow-up. Many Assemblies of God churches are already participating, as well as many other churches from various denominations.
The Assemblies of God (as well as many other movements cross-denominationally) has wholly endorsed this evangelistic endeavor. Let me cite just one quote from Rev. Thomas Trask, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, in a letter sent to Bro. Bonnke:
“…the distribution of the Minus to Plus booklet is a vision to reach the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This project has been proven to be a blessing in many nations throughout the world and is now being offered to our churches here in the States. The Assemblies of God believes in evangelism and a follow-up program for new converts. We are endorsing The Epic of Christ’s Cross … and pray that it will be the tool you need to ‘bring in the Gospel net’ to those who are lost and dying. May God help us in these last days to expend our efforts in seeking those who are lost and without hope. Please join me to this end.”
On the third week of February, to my surprise, I was given an unsolicited invitation to be the prayer coordinator for this massive evangelistic outreach here in America and Canada. This will involve making contact with and engaging as many individuals and prayer movements as possible here and abroad for intercessory prayer.
I conferred on February 19 with our District Superintendent, Rev. Donald Annas, and our Assistant Superintendent and World Missions Director, Rev. M. Earl Johnson, to seek their counsel. We received their approval and blessing. They stated that they would do what they could to facilitate the process, should we make that decision. The Northern California & Nevada District approves of this outreach endeavor.
On February 21, 1997, we talked by telephone with Loren Triplett, Director of the Division of Foreign Missions (DFM). We were asking for his counsel, and whether it would be possible for us to work with Reinhard Bonnke Ministries (RBM) and be “on loan” from DFM for a period of 12-14 months.
Bro. Triplett said that if we chose to follow this course, he would give us his blessing, endorsement, and prayers to follow the leading of the Lord. However, he said that DFM policy would not allow us to be under the auspices of DFM, nor could we be “on loan,” since this ministry assignment was domestic. He said that if we continued to sense that this is what the Lord would have us to do, we would have to resign from DFM. If we were to return to DFM in the future, we would have to reapply and renew our support base for future ministry. Also, any funds that are presently in our account would be given to other ministry projects approved by DFM.
We have prayed and sought other godly counsel from men of God. We believe the Lord has confirmed His leading for this time in our lives. Therefore, Carmen and I will be moving to Sacramento sometime in March (we are looking for housing) and will begin with this prayer coordination ministry on April 1. We will also be withdrawing from DFM as of April 1, 1997.
Of course, we are still ordained with the Assemblies of God. It is just that we are no longer working through DFM in overseas ministry. I still have nations on my heart. However, the form and place of ministry to the nations will be changing for now. There are many hundreds of nations (ethne in Greek) in America that will be receiving the Message of the Cross. We ask for your prayers and continued support for us as we make this transition.
Well, there you have it, as our “boyz” would say. I would be interested in hearing from you concerning this change: any revelations or comments, or just what you think about it. We continue to have you in our hearts and in our prayers.
We are trying to be as upfront and transparent as we know how to be. If you have any questions concerning our relationship with the Bonnke Ministries, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will let you know our new address and phone number in the Sacramento area when they are available. If you know of prayer networks, please let us know, either here in the States or abroard. I know several countries continue to pray for America. We NEED it!!
Blessings to you all…we are One in the Bonds of Love…to know Him and to make Him known in this world. The Wind blows. The Lamb leads us on. We must follow in His steps while it is day, “for the night cometh when no man can work.”
Onward then, valiant soldiers! The Crown awaits those who overcome! The Throne awaits the millions from “every tribe, tongue, people, and nation” that are yet to respond to this glorious Gospel in order to bring ultimate glory to God in exuberant worship to Him that sits upon the Throne and the Lamb. What a day that will be!! The end of all missions is worship!
Jesus is Lord! Maranatha!
Servants, pilgrims, & Homeward bound,
Reuben & Carmen Sequeira