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UPDATE
August 29th, 2008
Dear Saints:
Do you know that if we add up
all the key countries that ICM operates in, being 8 out of 50 most
populated in the world, we cover 3.03 billion people or 45.4% of the
world’s population?
1 China 2 India 3 Indonesia 4 Philippines
5 Vietnam 6 Thailand 7
Myanmar 8 Malaysia
Our ICM Strategic Planning
Committee recently gave me some interesting statistics from a study
by CIA published in
The 2008 World Fact
book
World Birth/Death Rates (2008 est.)
Birth Rate: Death Rate:
20 births/1,000 population and 8 deaths/1,000 population
128.9 million births per year and 53.4 million deaths each year
353,015 births per day and 146,357 people deaths each day
14,709 births each hour and 6,098 people deaths each hour
245 births each minute and 102 people deaths each minute
4 births each second of every day and almost 2 deaths each second
Isn't it interesting that the world population increases by 128.9
million per year, but 53.4 million die at the same time, a net gain
of 75.5 million each year. God's promise to Abraham is that his
descendents will be “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the
sand on the seashore” Genesis 22:17. What a mass of humanity that is
brought into the world today! How can the many churches and
Christian organizations spread around the globe accomplish the work
of evangelism to the millions when so many are still unsaved?
Lucas Lim, our Strategic Planning Director, asked me with
trepidation, “Will ICM dare to strategically plan to evangelize
INDIA, INDONESIA, CHINA, and PHILIPPINES, state by state, province
by province, region by region and village by village? Can it be
done? Dare we dream of a master plan for the next 3 to 5 years?”
I believe what God has led ICM into is NO SMALL task before us. We
are already by agreement training leaders in Thailand and police
officers in the Philippines and by agreement we are committed to
train thousands of churches in Indonesia. Last week we signed a
Strategic Alliance Agreement with two leading organizations in India
to reach 100,000 villages by 2012. It was not by coincidence that
the founders of ICM claim as the basis of its existence God’s
promise in Psalm 2:8 "Ask of me, and I will make the nations your
inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession". I will focus on
India in this update.
Let me share an outline of the message I gave some years back to a
graduating class in Indonesia.
1. God is the Giver of worthwhile dreams
God Himself has a dream for mankind.
3 John 2: “I wish above all things that you would prosper, and
be in health, even as your soul prospers.”
2. We can limit God and destroy our dreams by
a) Feeling unworthy
We totally paralyze our success and productivity by our talk of
being unworthy.
b) Believing the worst
It is not mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it won’t matter.
Proverbs 23:7 “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he”
c) Dwelling on negativism
There is no such thing as a hopeless situation, but people can grow
hopeless about situations.
3. Keep our dreams in focus
Prov. 29:18 “where there is no vision (or dream), the people
perish”
1. Remember that God never gives us a dream without giving us the
ability and the opportunity to achieve it.
2. Be positive in our attitude.
3. Be enthusiastic about our dreams.
4. Be prepared to change.
Acronym for CHANGE:
5. Turn our failure into success.
4. Renew our Mind
Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good,
pleasing and perfect will”.
5. Turn our dreams into reality
Success is knowing what God wants you to do and doing it.
Mark 9:23 “Everything is possible for him who believes”
The size of your success will depend on the size of your dream.
Country Feature this month - INDIA
A Pilot Project:
A Partnership between ICM, VISION 2020 &
VISHWA VANI Network to train & empower native workers in the states
of ANDHRA PRADESH & GUJARAT.
VISION 2020 (“V 20/20”), an organization committed
to evangelize and disciple by 2020 all the people groups of India by
providing mature transformational leadership towards Vision 2020
(20% India Christian by 2020)
VISHWA VANI (“VV”), an organization proclaiming
Jesus in unreached places and has the vision to see the glorious
Gospel transform People, Social and Language Groups in India
PILOT PROJECT
We decided to launch the program through a pilot project involving
the states of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
Gujarat is the westernmost state of India. The population of the
Gujarat State was 50,671,017 as per the 2001 census data. Its
official and primary language is Gujarati. We will translate our
manuals in Gujarati language.
The State of Andhra Pradesh can be divided into three regions,
namely Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana and has 23
districts. Hyderabad is the capital and, along with the adjoining
twin city Secunderabad, is the largest city in the state. The main
ethnic group of Andhra Pradesh is the Telugu people. Our Book 1 is
already in use in the Telugu Language.
THE CHALLENGE
ICM’s operating principle in training is found in 2 Tim 2:2. Paul
was asking Timothy to impart to faithful men so that they can train
others. Four (4) generations are involved in this directive. They
are Paul, Timothy, faithful men and others. The level of training is
often illustrated in the chart below:
The church planters are generally the grass roots classified as T1
and T2. ICM trains Master Trainers who are the Timothys (T3) and
they pass the training to church leaders (T2) and small group
leaders (T1) who are the ones lacking adequate training, tools and
resources. Master trainers report to their co-ordinators who in turn
report to their CEO (often the Senior Pastor).
According to Dr David Bennett’s paper “if we desired to see 10
percent of the Indian population as followers of Jesus Christ,
incorporated into the multiplying local churches” by 2010, the need
for leaders will be as follows:
10,000,000 T1 Leaders
2,000,000 T2 Leaders
400,000 T3 Leaders
20,000 T4 Leaders
1000 T5 Leaders
If we desire to see 20 percent increase by 2020, it will be 200
million new Christians. The need for leaders in different levels
will be:
T1 20,000,000
T2 4,000,000
T3 800,000
T4 160,000
T5 32,600
In Dr Emil’s paper on God’s work in India presented to the Planning
Committee of Vision 2020 Bless India Gathering in YMCA, Delhi, 29-30
August 2005, he said:
“If at all Hindustan Times said 6.7 percent Indians are Christians
on 12 Jan, 05 and no one raised any objection thus far, the 6.7
percent can serve as a baseline for Vision 2020.
When the One-Man Commission appointed by the Government of India
says: Jabhua district in Madhya Pradesh has 80 percent Christians,
it is official and God’s doing.
If at all Indian Christian leaders are crossing over their
organizational/ denominational lines and coming together as in John
17, it is God’s doing!
If at all the scholars of other faith predict what India will be in
2050 and a national awareness of the future is taking place at all
levels, it is God’s doing.
If at all young people see dreams and claim India for Christ and
prepare themselves for it, it is God’s doing.
If at all an opportunity is arising to the Indian Church to assist
the Government in poverty alleviation (Government target. Aug
15,2017) transformation of extremists, Naxalites etc., (for eg. from
Lenin Nagar to Abraham Nagar in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh)
into citizens of character (for eg. the Malto Model and several
others), it is God’s doing.”
God is doing so much and is calling on us to do our part, how can we
refuse to follow? The Indian program is by far the most ambitious
and challenging to be undertaken thus far by ICM but we will not
fail our Lord in not responding.
There is so much to do but we do not want to be limited with human
and financial resources. Please pray and allow the Holy Spirit to
lead and direct you to help us with a strong financial gift for our
2008 program. Please send your gift to us at Suite 2040, 17300 North
Dallas Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75248, USA or 126A Rangoon Road,
Singapore 218404.
Please visit us at http://www.icmission.net. We love to hear from
you.
God Bless you.
David Vardy
Chairman
International Christian Mission
ICM Bible School in a Briefcase (UK)
E-Mail: david@davidvardy.com
Tel: (44) 1913-744-772
Cell: (44) 7774-131-171
Khoo Hin Hiong
President/Founder
International Christian Mission
E-Mail:
icm@pacific.net.sg
E-Mail:
icmglobal@gmail.com
Web-site:
www.icmission.net
Tel: (65) 6291-2477
Cell: (65) 81818-757
Fax: (65) 6292-0996
Edwin Marsden
Executive Vice President
International Christian Mission
E-Mail: icmklmsia@yahoo.com
E-Mail: edmarsden@gmail.com
Tel: (603) 2070-7790
Cell: (6012) 221-1662
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