Dear Brothers and Sisters,
By the time you read this letter, we would have completed our transition to the Zone Structure with the formation of all the 13 State Associations and the leaders in place. This brings us to a very important phase in our country with almost 100 new leaders at various levels taking their positions to to reach out the love of Christ to the unreached. The culmination of all of this exercise will be the ALL-IN Conference a day before the National Convention where all members of the 13 State Cabinets will be trained on leadership effectiveness. At the National Convention in Bangalore between 7-9 September 2017 we expect each of us to re-commit ourselves with added fervor to fulfil the Great Commission.
The theme verse for this year ‘Standing firm in one spirit’ from Philippians 1:27 is very important for us to get exhorted by. We already had a series of State Conventions on this theme. New State Associations does not mean that we are divided but it means we have multiplied and hence the call to stand firm in one spirit is very appropriate.
If you have not yet registered for the National Convention I would urge you to do so. This would be a unique opportunity to meet with Gideons and Auxiliary members from various parts of the country, fellowship with them and commit to serve the Lord with them. It is also a great moment to jointly commit to stand firm in one spirit to fulfil those commitments.
So what do we commit to stand firm for?
To stand firm on our CALLING:
We are all called by the Lord to serve Him in this ministry. I am reminded of Isaiah 6:8. ‘….I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”. Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”This is indeed the story of all of us in the ministry. I would like to commend you all for responding to the calling to serve in this ministry. Particularly all those who have taken up leadership positions. You have responded to a call not just to serve but also to lead others to serve effectively.
Serving Him in His vineyard is a spiritual battle for all of us. While the calling can be exciting the journey can be ridden with challenges in the battlefield. The devil does not like what we do. We are in the mission of winning the lost away from the clutches of eternal death to bringing them into a relationship with God and eternal life. The devil will put all efforts to bring obstacles, frustrations, disappointments, sicknesses etc.
But we remind ourselves that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:2). More importantly this battle has already been won by the Lord Jesus on the cross and the victory has been given to us. The promise to King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:15 ‘….for the battle is not yours, but God’s’ is valid for us. So let us stand firm in authority and assurance of victory.
To stand firm with our CO-WORKERS:
Many armies in the world have the concept of ‘Battle Buddies’ where they stick together in the time of battle. They have a relationship thicker than that of brothers. They are accountable to each other and encourage each other.
These principles are Biblical. The Bible encourages us to pray for each other, support each other, love each other, forgive each other and stand by each other. These are principles for unity. In 1 Corinthians 12:26 the Bible gives us the principles of unity and working together where we are all compared to a body. ‘And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it’.
Our act of dwelling in unity is a delight to the Lord. Let us remind ourselves of Psalm 133:1 ‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!’ If our unity brings delight to the Lord, our disunity brings pain to Him. Can we make a commitment to work in love and unity with our co-workers laying aside all our hurts and complaints about each other? Let us stand firm in our accountability to each other.
To stand firm on our CORE VALUES:
This ministry has some foundational principles and core values. These are the essence of the why and how we do our ministry. While each of us come from different backgrounds our commitment to be part of this organization demands that we adhere to the core values of our organization. If we differ with these it is better to seek counsel from the leaders of the ministry and if we still have differences with the core values it is better to leave the association.
We have 8 core values which will be reiterated during our National Convention. I would like to recap the same below charging you to adhere to them as a member:
- An uncompromised belief that the Bible is the inspired, infallible and inerrant word of God.
- A singular focus on the objective of winning others for the Lord Jesus Christ.
- A membership consisting of Christian business and professional men.
- A complementing element of the association known as the auxiliary, which comprises the wives of the Gideons who meet the same spiritual qualifications.
- An ongoing emphasis on the importance of fulfilling the seven spiritual objectives.
- Funding our mission through the approved methods of personal contributions & bequests, Church offerings and the GideonCard Bible Program.
- Recognition of an international relationship with evangelical & protestant Churches as a prayer base, source for members and financial support.
- A simple, well defined and disciplined ministry that is carried out exclusively by the membership of the association under the authority and direction of the International Cabinet.
Let us stand firm in our adherence to our core values and not deviate from them.
More when we meet at the National Convention. Looking forward to fellowshipping with you there.
Yours in His vineyard.
