Dear Friends of S.O.S. Ministries,
I am reminded recently of the charge Jesus gave His followers: "be fishers of men". The purpose of fishing is to catch a fish; the purpose of evangelism is to catch a soul. If this is true, then why as one man put it, instead of becoming "fishers of men" have we become "observers of the fish tank"? It is much safer and not as much work, to observe and examine what mankind is doing and believing, rather than to engage and evangelize mankind with the Gospel of truth. King Agrippa understood very well Paul's intentions of evangelizing; it was not to take note and observe the way King Agrippa was living or what he was believing; but rather it was to "persuade me to be a Christian". (Acts 26:28) The Lord continues to pour that Spirit into those who labor for the Gospel with S.O.S. Ministries. Here's how...
UPDATE on DOMESTIC IMPACT
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UPDATE on AFRICAN IMPACT - Nigeria
Just to show how hard African living can be - Shino (a new convert being trained by S.O.S. to be an elder), who lost his wife a month after he was saved also lost his mother. On March 2nd, his mother was not responding or breathing, and with no medical personnel in the family, she was presumed dead. While in the process of burying her, someone cried out, "She is breathing, she is alive!" Apparently, she had a stroke, and since there are no 911 calls, no ambulance, and no breathing her family declared her dead. How hard is life in Nigeria, this family almost accidently buried their mother alive! Unfortunately, several days later, the stroke took her life and she was buried. How difficult it must be for a newborn believer in Christ to have to bury his wife and mom in only six months!
Gathering Sunday for worship in Akankan continues to be powerful. Praise the Lord that representatives from four neighboring villages are now coming to pu
t themselves under the authority of God's Word. There is a small remnant still fighting the good fight. All those baptized are still coming and walking in the Lord. However, the stumbling blocks continue as well. Not just Islam, but the worship of the gods of Africa (Animism) is still luring people away from truth and faith in Christ. At the village's water source, we observed two broken pots used for sacri
ficing to the gods, calling on them to purify the water. They are doing this because we still have not found a company that has a strong enough drill bit to break through the bed-rock and give them fresh drinking water. The funds are there, but not the proper equipment. In spite of this, those who are truly in Christ are pressing on. When we preached on the Water of Life that Christ offers, the believers overwhelmingly cried out that they needed Christ more than they needed drinking water. 
When asked how we can pray for members of this new church plant, here were two replies: Owolabi asked for prayer that he would be able to preach God's Word, and that the Lord would make him stand in Him for the rest of his life. Amoke asked for prayer that the children would come to faith and that God would give her strength. |
Amazing Testimony in Makoko, the water village - S.O.S. has been praying and considering where the Lord would call us next to bring His Good News to the surrounding countries of Nigeria, specifically Benin and Ghana.
In those two countries they do not speak the main languages of Nigeria, but in French and their own dialect. Knowing this would be a concern, we were praying.Noah, the first known convert in Makoko, is being discipled by Gbenga. As I spoke with him and asked him to pray with S.O.S. regarding going into Ghana and Benin, he responded by saying, "I am from Ghana, I speak their language!" Come to find out, he migrated to Nigeria in search of a "better life", only to find a worse one in Makoko. But what he did find, rather what found him, was Jesus Christ! Please pray with us as he is being discipled in the ways of the Lord that if the Lord would will, He would send Noah back to his people to preach and plant churches in the Muslim dominated countries of Benin and Ghana. |
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Remarkable Salvation in Otere - After three years of preaching, without a single known covert, the Lord chose to open the eyes of eight Muslims and draw them to Himself. The day the team went into the village we split the men and women with children. Five of us directed our attention to the men, where we spent the next three hours "reasoning with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that Christ had to suffer and rise again." (Acts 17:2-3) There were a num
ber of distractions with the primary one coming from a father and son, who were bent on the greatest need Nigeria had was money, not Christ... imagine that, a 'prosperity gospel' Muslim! But even with their outbursts, at the end of the preaching, eight men got on their knees andcalled out to Jesus, "have mercy on us sinners through your blood". They made this confession in front of other Muslims, including the chief. This is extraordinary.
So be encouraged that our great God continues to save people out of the religion that has brought us Christians so much suffering. Immediately, the new believers vowed to come to a new believer's class that Gbenga and Dapo (S.O.S.'s indigenous leaders) will be teaching. Our dear friend, the chief, still has not confessed Christ.Please continue to pray for him and for our new brothers in Christ! |
UPDATE on ORPHANAGE MINISTRY - While I was in Jos, Nigeria, the other 16 members of the team were ministering in the orphanage. The report the team shared with me of the impact they had on these precious kids was not the hugs, or gifts, or |
tears cried saying good-bye. Rather, it was the glorious news that three of the older ones came to faith in Christ as a result of teaching the Bible. Remember, just because they are children of martyrs, the persecutor is not the only one in need of salvation! These orphans, who are of age, need to come to receive and believe in Christ and walk in His ways. Yes, we pray and wish they all could be adopted into a loving home,but praise God, He is adopting some into His family! They truly can call on Him as "Abba Father". Pray for their growth, comfort, and for-bearing with one another in such close living quarters.
UPDATE on MISSION to JOS, NIGERIA -
Our Ministry in Jos - to encourage the suffering saints and to preach to Muslims (regardless of those who fear man). In what has become an all too familiar storyline, just a few days before we arrived, there was yet another attack. Trying to escape the tyranny of the Muslims, 300 of our brothers and sisters were gathered to worship in the early morning hours on February 26th. The service was quickly interrupted by a car traveling at high speed. The bomb inside the car detonated just 50 feet away from the people. The scene was more graphic than what pictures can describe. There we stood in the rubble yet again. As the tears relentless flowed from my eyes, I understood why Jesus wept over Lazarus' death, I understood why Christ wept over Jerusalem missing their day of visitation (Luke 19:41,44).
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At the bomb blast site, I actually stumbled into the crater in the ground that was created by the car explosion. As I gazed around, comforting those still shaken by the devastation, I looked down and picked up a bulletin from that morning service, half burnt and barely recognizable. The sermon title was: UPDATE on BIGGEST NEED IN NIGERIA MISSION - Is for Gbenga, S.O.S.'s indigenous leader, to be full time relinquishing his tent-making job. It will take $450 a month for this to happen. Please pray the Lord would provide this. As one person put it, that is about the cost of a car payment in the USA.
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Grace to you,
Mike Schadt Founder S.O.S. Ministries |
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