Reformed Presbyterian Church

Next week, we will gather for a church supper at 6 p.m. on the Lord’s day evening. Please bring favorite foods to share. Drinks and tableware are provided. This is an opportunity to invite guests, and to get to know others. Come early to help set up.

A new Sabbath morning class using the Share Jesus Without Fear materials will begin July 27 during the Bible class hour. This is a four-week class, with each session designed for a full hour. John Clair will lead the class.

The program is not a slick human method to evangelize. Rather, it teaches Christians how to let the Bible speak the good news to our neighbors and friends. Please consider taking part in this unusual short course.

Update from the Hillmanns. A subtle shift of focus may be taking place at Wycliffe Bible Translators, potentially affecting our missionary family. Our pastor, Edwin P. Elliott, describes it:

“Not long ago Kent and Amber Hillmann, members of our congregation, and their sons Gage and Elliott, accepted a call to work through Wycliffe [Bible Translators] in aviation. The country where they were told they would work is especially close to us – we have a family from that country in our congregation. Now it appears Wycliffe may be withdrawing from the country.

“In the process, doctrinal problems have emerged. The note below reflects the struggle. I ask that you make this a matter of prayer. A small denomination like ours has limited options. … Confidence in God is our greatest asset and prayer is our most important tool.”

The Hillmanns write, “Please pray for us. I am not comfortable with the change that is being proposed [in Wycliffe’s doctrinal statement], and I’m not sure of the reason for being asked to make this change. It looks like it would take away from the necessity of regeneration, turning instead to a humanist (unbiblical) view, as well as glossing over the atonement of Christ. What it says at face value seems warm and fuzzy enough, but lacking doctrinal depth, which I don’t think we have liberty to lessen.

“We are being asked to replace [the current] doctrinal basis (which looks similar to the long-standing catechisms and confessions). This seven-point list has already been reduced from the 15-plus-point list it was 13 years ago; [at which time they] eliminated the doctrine of hell.”

Climbing up a steep, muddy road carved into a 3,000-foot cliff, I leaned forward toward the mountain as part of the bus went off the edge, and sighed with the other passengers in great relief as we started up again … three hours more to go.

Whew, what a ride! Have you ever had one of those moments? We did in Bolivia, climbing up Mount Chacaltaya. Gage and Elliott were young, roughly 5 and 3 years old. We had been sipping Coca Cola, hoping it would help with the 17,000-foot altitude. Suddenly the wide road turned into a narrow path on the edge of a cliff. I quietly sucked in my breath, not wanting to startle Kent who was driving, or the children. I think we waited a long while before telling the grandparents.

Maybe you haven’t been on a road like that, but you still know the feeling of anticipation. Sometimes I feel it when I am thanking God for His Word, knowing that others are still without the truth that has just instructed me. Sometimes I wonder, “Will we ever get to serve the Bibleless people with our occupation, or is it just a dream?” If it is God’s will, He will see it through.

We, as a family, are thankful for the heartfelt prayers and encouragement we receive from you. They are food and water for the journey. We were aiming to be in language school in September of 2008, then January 2009. It has been pushed back further due to family needs.

Currently our budget is shy 50 percent plus. Until we are fully funded, Kent will continue helicopter work. Please pray for us toward this end.

The boys have done well in school, both winning the Presidential Fitness award. We are enjoying summer break together. I am planning out next year’s school; something I enjoy. Kent’s family stayed with us and toured JAARS [the technical and logistics arm of Wycliffe Bible Translators]; they flew in a tail-dragger airplane and saw the JESUS movie dubbed. Y’all come!

Kent, Amber, Gage and Elliott Hillman, hillmanns@bibleless people.net; 928-420-0404; PO Box 248, Waxhaw, NC 28173. + Wycliffe Bible Translators, PO Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862; 800-WYCLIFFE.

There is a use for used clothing. Unwanted clothing, footwear, toys and other usable items that we collect here have been distributed through our mission contacts to needy people in the rural Water Valley, Miss., area for decades. If you have clean, intact items that need a new home, bundle them up and leave them in the front room of the church office (recently known as the Christian Observer office). Grace Elliott periodically sorts what is donated and ships suitable items to Louise Minor and Barbara Mitchell in Water Valley.

The Pregnancy Resource Centers have set their fall banquet date and speaker. Each fall, the local PRCs host a fundraising dinner with an interesting speaker, to raise support for the ministry of providing the good news, counseling and tangible aid to women with unexpected pregnancies. This year’s event will be Friday, Oct. 24, at the Westfields Marriott. Kirk Walden of LifeTrends will be the main speaker. LifeTrends is a communications and development business that supports the needs of crisis pregnancy centers nationwide.

To volunteer to help with the event, contact Penny White, pwhite.cn.events@comcast.net. + CareNet PRCs, www.carenetprcs.org. + Kirk Walden, www.lifetrendsonline.com.

Intriguing report from Germany – Bibles in the public schools? The International Bible Society, in a June mailing, reported that “education officials in Germany … have contacted IBS with a remarkable request. … They want Bibles distributed among students in their public schools.” No details were offered in the mailing as to the scope or official standing of the request.

IBS president Keith Danby commented, “We deal with cries for help all the time from places where Bible publication and distribution are completely illegal … But Germany? I was stunned.”

The dollar, the gallon, and the gospel. With the global rise in fuel prices and the decline of the value of the donated dollar, overseas missionary aviation confronts unprecedented challenges.

Wycliffe Associates’ Bruce Smith comments, “The cost of operating the aircraft or the helicopters that are serving the most remote locations continues to go up. That means more money goes to the gas companies, and less money goes to [the actual ministry].”

Mission Aviation Fellowship’s Dave Fyock says MAF is cutting other expenses 10 percent to cover the cost of fuel. “Long term, there are … [improved] engine designs coming out. The Kodiak 100 would be an example of a different aircraft that uses jet fuel instead of avgas. And jet fuel worldwide is about one-third the price of avgas.”

Interest in Christ is outstripping training programs in India. It can take up to two years to train a church planter in India, according to Mission India, based in Grand Rapids, Mich. Mission India’s Dave Stravers says, “We actually have almost 4,000 church planters on the waiting list, waiting for our training. So that’s the number one need – the training.” In addition, the ministry furnishes scriptures and a bicycle.

Through this approach, many have responded to the Gospel. But reaction to the rapid growth of the church has prompted anti-conversion laws in seven states. Governments in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are giving indirect support to militant Hindu nationalist groups and ignoring violence against Christians.

Even in other states, Christians may still be denied any civil protection. Mr. Stravers explains, “Often, [the church planters’] lives will be threatened; they’ll get beaten up; they’ll be warned to leave: ‘Don’t come back here again or we’ll kill you.’ This is a common form of intimidation, and the high success of the church planters is really attributed to the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in India.”