Greetings in the name of King Jesus! As 2021 draws to a close, we reflect back with gratitude on the many answered prayers and blessings of the past months. I will highlight just a few of those below (many more could be added).
1. On April 15 of the past year, we at last received the signature for our final inspection and our official occupancy permit for the new building. The building journey, from the planning stage to completion, took several years with many unexpected turns along the way. However, we are so thankful to the Lord for this new space where we can team together and daily focus in on the tasks at hand. We are also very grateful to the Lord for the gift of being able to build completely debt free. Many people —certainly hundreds— donated both funds and labor to make this happen. Thank you, God, for your provision!
2. Another answered request that we had been contemplating and praying about for a couple of years is the need for more help in the office. At the end of 2019 we made a list of 8 men that we felt may be an option for this role. However, God knew all along that the man He had prepared for this role would soon contact us. Jeff B reached out to us over a year ago to inquire about possibly working together, and this spring he and his family transitioned to State College so he could help serve here in with All-Nations. We have very much appreciated already, the gifts and experience he’s added to our team!
3. Another first for us this past year? Hosting a Bible translation forum here at the base where members attended both virtually and in person. We were able to use the recorded video lectures from the previous week’s biennial BT conference that’s hosted in Dallas, Texas. Our team members spearheading this (Aaron/Jeff) spent hours discussing, previewing, and planning the schedule for this event. When the three days actually arrived, everyone was pleased with the good attendance and interest. In addition to our group gathered here at the base, members Zoomed in from Western US, West Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, and Colombia.
4. A fourth area of growth that I would like to highlight from the past year is the establishment of a partner organization focused on community development. In the future, we envision this organization serving as a networking opportunity for our team members who have an interest in taking community development to another level. We have much to learn on this front as well as many others!
5. One final area I want to mention was the blessing of a core team of developers and reviewers that have committed together to work at preparing a church planting course for our team members and sending churches. This work has moved ahead steadily for the past eight months and we are just starting to contact the selected contributors (Phase 4 out of 7, “Delegate tasks: writing, interviewing, etc.”).
In conclusion, while speaking with one of our senior advisers yesterday he made a comment that caught my attention. He said that he’s coming to see the overarching message of the Bible as “The story of God, the story of man, and the revelation of the glory of God in redemption.”
This is why we continue to labor together. To God be the Glory, great things He has done!
—Joel Martin