| Equipping the Saints |
Somewhere in history the church got lost. Very lost. And confused. Confused about Who She is and what She is to be doing. In our current
age, the more people and the more money a local congregation has, the more successful most people view it as being. And, oh yes, you've
GOT to have a new multi-million dollar facility to go with that! But is that the Biblical model? Hardly! The success of a church should be
measured by how effectively they equip the believers for the work of ministry. In other words, how many ministries has YOUR ministry
birthed in the last year, not how many untrained, unanointed baby Christians do you have sitting in your pews? A truly effective local
church gives birth to other ministries, congregations, missionaries and all the Five-Fold Ministry offices. People sitting in pews do the
Kingdom no earthly good. Money sitting in the bank does no earthly good unless it is being spent to bring people to Christ all across the
world and to meet the needs of the people, especially them that are of the household of faith. And a multi-million dollar facility does no
good unless it being used to nurture and incubate new believers, ministers and ministries. As a glowing example of what we are talking about,
the Global Revival Network Bible College would like to take this opportunity to salute Dr. Fred Heath, an African-American Methodist
pastor and former District Superintendent who is now retired but formerly was the Senior Pastor of Ammons United Methodist Church in the
Walnut Hills area of Cincinnati. In the midst of absolute poverty, in one of the worst sections of the city, Dr. Heath took a disintegrating
UMC and revitalized it by turning it into a training center for Spirit-filled ministries, many of whom came from outside of the UMC. Despite
strong resistance from within his own denomination and with virtually no help from the outside, Dr. Heath made Ammons UMC one of the
finest developmental centers for the equipping of the saints that we have ever encountered. In fact, if not for Dr. Heath, the Global Revival
Network Bible College would not exist, for it was Dr. Heath who, according to the Biblical model, reached out to a middle-aged, middle-class
white couple trying to leave secular employment in Louisville, KY and go full-time in the ministry and enabled them to pass through an open
door in the Cincinnati area. Truly, Dr. Heath was Dr. Young's "Man From Macedonia". Any church with resources should be actively
striving to enable and equip ALL the saints, not just their own. And if multiple ministries will work together and share facilities, then the
work of the ministry, which is by far the most important thing, will go forward effectively and powerfully. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold how
good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity". This model and 1st Century paradigm should and will be an integral part
of the Final Great Awakening, as believers all over the world stop worrying about "us four and no more" and begin to reach out to ALL those
who call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, working hand in hand regardless of minor doctrinal differences or differences in mode of
worship or practice to help bring about true global revival.
age, the more people and the more money a local congregation has, the more successful most people view it as being. And, oh yes, you've
GOT to have a new multi-million dollar facility to go with that! But is that the Biblical model? Hardly! The success of a church should be
measured by how effectively they equip the believers for the work of ministry. In other words, how many ministries has YOUR ministry
birthed in the last year, not how many untrained, unanointed baby Christians do you have sitting in your pews? A truly effective local
church gives birth to other ministries, congregations, missionaries and all the Five-Fold Ministry offices. People sitting in pews do the
Kingdom no earthly good. Money sitting in the bank does no earthly good unless it is being spent to bring people to Christ all across the
world and to meet the needs of the people, especially them that are of the household of faith. And a multi-million dollar facility does no
good unless it being used to nurture and incubate new believers, ministers and ministries. As a glowing example of what we are talking about,
the Global Revival Network Bible College would like to take this opportunity to salute Dr. Fred Heath, an African-American Methodist
pastor and former District Superintendent who is now retired but formerly was the Senior Pastor of Ammons United Methodist Church in the
Walnut Hills area of Cincinnati. In the midst of absolute poverty, in one of the worst sections of the city, Dr. Heath took a disintegrating
UMC and revitalized it by turning it into a training center for Spirit-filled ministries, many of whom came from outside of the UMC. Despite
strong resistance from within his own denomination and with virtually no help from the outside, Dr. Heath made Ammons UMC one of the
finest developmental centers for the equipping of the saints that we have ever encountered. In fact, if not for Dr. Heath, the Global Revival
Network Bible College would not exist, for it was Dr. Heath who, according to the Biblical model, reached out to a middle-aged, middle-class
white couple trying to leave secular employment in Louisville, KY and go full-time in the ministry and enabled them to pass through an open
door in the Cincinnati area. Truly, Dr. Heath was Dr. Young's "Man From Macedonia". Any church with resources should be actively
striving to enable and equip ALL the saints, not just their own. And if multiple ministries will work together and share facilities, then the
work of the ministry, which is by far the most important thing, will go forward effectively and powerfully. Psalm 133:1 says, "Behold how
good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity". This model and 1st Century paradigm should and will be an integral part
of the Final Great Awakening, as believers all over the world stop worrying about "us four and no more" and begin to reach out to ALL those
who call on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, working hand in hand regardless of minor doctrinal differences or differences in mode of
worship or practice to help bring about true global revival.
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| Global Revival Network Bible College Preparing men and women of God for their critical role in the Final Great Awakening |