November 18, 2015

[EAPTC Update] Newsletter (November 2015)

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Peoples on earth will be blessed. " (Gen. 12:3)

The Lord has been opening many more doors for us since the beginning of this year. It seems obvious that the Lord has extended the borders of EAPTC even to Asia now after sixteen years of operation mostly in Africa. EAPTC network of schools and churches are currently at work in 13 nations of Africa and Asia.

Willing to obey God’s voice for this season of our life, we’re preparing for our relocation to Philippines in April 2016 to team up with the International Graduate School of Leadership (IGSL), a 35-year-old ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International. In regard to our shift to Manila, the work is purely support-raising based (as it always has been) and requires burdensome effort again to raise funds for our living cost and other ministry expenses. What may strain us the most would be the one-time set-up/moving fund, which is to cover the housing rental, car purchase, etc. We’re estimating this cost to be around $15,000. Kindly pray and consider giving towards our relocation expense to minister with IGSL to training needs of 300 elite students coming from 20 different Asian countries for their graduate studies.

From Kenya to South Africa, the Holy Spirit is moving with power all over Africa through our 2,000+ graduates. Asia is also in our full radar, including three new Bible training centers now spread in the C-nation. While the work has been moving secretively due to fluctuating politics of its government in relation to religious freedom, I have seen some progress in our outreach effort to the C-nation. The first batch of the students is now 3/4 through out of the one-year training course, and the multiplication is already on. A number of students already took the same teaching to their churches and groups, and leaders are being replicated through satellite classes set in different regions of the country. Most of them are House Church leaders who do not have an access to formal ministerial training that is recognized by the nation’s ruling communist party. EAPTC is currently equipping over 50 church leaders who represent 4,000-5,000 members under their cares. We’re working with our coworkers on the ground to meet the spiritual and training needs of such vibrant preachers who will in turn cause revivals in House Churches all over the country.

Will you join us in what God is doing to raise up leaders and to plant churches in Africa and Asia with them? In this Thanksgiving and festive season, we hope you will prayerfully consider touching the lives of thousands by helping raise these gospel workers on the mission fields. If you’re interested to partner with EAPTC by finance, you can simply go to the [Donate] button on the left bar of this website and follow the instruction. If you wish to have a support pledge form sent to you, please write us. Also, if you want to join me for a teaching mission trip to Kenya and Tanzania in the coming January 2016, ask for the full information.

Thanks to your prayers and supports, we trust that Africa and Asia are becoming a better place!

Thankfully yours for Christ’s sake,

Dr. Paul Lee (& Eunice Jaeun)
EAPTC International

October 29, 2015

[Halloween Day 에 관하여] - 송재은 선교사

10 31일은 할로윈 데이입니다. 미국의 축제일이 요즘은 한국에서도 점점 대중들에게, 특히 어린 아이들에게 영향력을 행사하는 것을 있습니다백화점이나 TV에서 할로윈의 분위기를 쉽게 접할 있고, 더러는 아이들이 읽는 속에서도 할로윈과 관계된 자료들을 많이 있습니다. 성경적으로 자녀를 양육해야 하는 의무를 하나님으로부터 부여받은 우리 부모님들께 유행처럼 번지고 있는 할로윈에 대한 바른 이해와 그에 대처하는 그리스도인들의 자세에 대해 나누고자 합니다.

Halloween 유래는 유럽의 영국과 아일랜드 지방을 지배했던 켈트족의 시대까지 거슬러 올라갑니다당시 켈트족 성직자들은 새해가 시작되기 전날인 10 31일에 모닥불을 피우고 곡식이나 동물들을 제물로 바쳐 저승에서 돌아온 악령들을 달랬던 것입니다. 기독교가 유럽에 퍼지면서 9세기 중엽에 교황 그레고리 4세는 11 1일을 서유럽 지역에서 ‘모든 성자의 (All hallows Day) 지키도록 명령하였고 전날 (Hallows evening) 10 31일부터 죽은 사람들이나 악령을 기리는 대신 성인들이나 기독교 순교자들의 삶을 경축하는 날로 지키도록 하였습니다 할로윈은 켈트족의 전통과 카톨릭의 성인 숭배 사상 그리고 성경으로부터 이탈한 중세 카돌릭의 반성경적 형태 등이 뒤섞여져서 만들어진 풍습입니다 풍습은 카톨릭이 강했던 아일랜드 지역을 중심으로 유지되어 오다가 오늘날 미국의 할로윈의 기원이 것입니다. 아일랜드인들은 할로윈 귀신복장을 하고 집집마다 돌아다니며 이웃들에게 맛있는 음식을 달라고 하는 놀이를 계속해왔고, 이것이 변형되어 미국 할로윈의 대표적인 풍습이 것입니다.

기독교인들이 할로윈을 대수롭지 않게 생각하는 가장 이유는 할로윈을 단지 하나의 문화로 생각하기 때문입니다그냥 재미로 귀신놀이를 하는 것이 잘못된 것인지 아이들에게 알려주는 것도 쉽지 않습니다. 그러나 미국에서도 참된 그리스도인들은 자신들의 자녀들을 할로윈의 세속적인 문화로부터 지키려고 많은 노력을 합니다.

할로윈의 가장 위험은 어린이들에게 사탄, 귀신, 그리고 여러 악한 생각을 친구처럼 만들어 버린다는 것에 있습니다그리고 그것을 재미로 즐기는 동안 어린이들은 선과 악에 대한 개념을 혼동하게 됩니다요즘 어린이들에게는 “재미”가 선악의 기준이 되어 버렸습니다. 재미가 있으면 모든 것이 용납되고 재미가 없으면 아무리 옳은 것이라도 받아들여지지 않습니다. 데살로니가전서 5:21-22에서 사도 바울은 “범사에 헤아려 좋은 것을 취하고 악은 모든 모양이라도 버리라”로 말씀하십니다로마서 12:2에서 역시 바울 사도는 “너희는 세대를 본받지 말로 오직 마음을 새롭게 함으로 변화를 받아 하나님의 선하시고 기뻐하시고 온전하신 뜻이 무엇인지 분별하도록 하라”고 말씀하십니다.

오늘날 대중 매체의 발달로 우리의 자녀들은 세상의 문화에 거의 무방비 상태에 놓여 있습니다사실, 할로윈은 점점 자본주의적이고 상업적으로 발달하면서 어린이들에게 세속적인 사고방식을 집어넣고 있습니다. 그렇기 때문에 우리는 어린이들에게 더욱 하나님의 선하시고 기뻐하시고 온전하신 뜻을 가르칠 필요가 있는 것입니다예수님을 믿는다는 것은 반드시 재미있고 즐거움만 있는 것이 아니라 때로는 어려움도 당할 있음을 분명히 가르칠 책임이 우리에게 있습니다. 이번 기회에 우리 아이들에게 세상적인 즐거움보다도 하나님이 원하시는 것을 행할 있는 믿음을 가르쳐 있기를 간절히 바랍니다.

April 1, 2015

[EAPTC Update] Newsletter (April 2015)

Dear Friend,

" See, I am doing a new thing! ... " (Isa. 43:19)

Happy Easter! The vision now stretches its impact from Africa to Asia. Eunice and I were recently in Manila, Philippines, teaching at and having meetings with the International Graduate School of Leadership. While we were there, we felt the Lord’s leading to relocate to Philippines and serve with IGSL as resident faculty. What attracted us most there was the fact IGSL draws nearly 300 elite students each trimester from 20 Asian countries, many of which the gospel is critically hindered. These students are enrolled in transformative leadership programs of MA, MDiv, DMin and PhD. It seemed obvious that partnering with IGSL will be an extension of the EAPTC’s initial vision to raise Christ’s disciples on the Word and power to build God’s Church so that the lost millions may be led to our God’s presence. I’ll be teaching as professor of intercultural studies and Eunice in a children’s school within, if everything goes as planned. However, it will be support-raising, not paid positions (yes, we are still missionaries!) and will require us seek supports for our living costs in Philippines.

EAPTC Africa keeps marching on to cover the beloved continent with the message. Boma-Ngombe school in Tanzania finally got its school registration approved from the government. The school can now freely provide elementary to high school level educations in a superb Christian setting. However, construction is prolonged due to lack of funds and is still on the way both for the school site and church site, both of which, we pray, would serve as a base for EAPTC Tanzania. More conversions and baptisms continued as Lilongwe church in Malawi was preparing for 2015 Easter gathering of EAPTC national church leaders. Pastors and church leaders are joining from all corners of Malawi throughout this Passion Week for the time of recharge and fellowship.

Some of our supporters have dropped their regular giving to EAPTC while we were on our study leave. Would you kindly consider resuming your supports to EAPTC, or if you’ve never supported the works of EAPTC before, we encourage you to consider doing so. We believe this ministry is a good soil for your heartfelt donation to get stretched far to touch many lives in Africa and Asia. More people are destitute in these parts of the world and direly need to hear the gospel. Also, if you wish to help us raise support for teaching ministry at IGSL-Philippines, you can simply indicate “Philippines” on the memo of your check to EAPTC.

Alongside of raising supports for Philippines ministry, Eunice and I are still involved in leadership training in the Far East. The second intake of School of Mission in Korea is kicked off in Seoul. We trust and pray that the school will be more organized and better structured this time to recruit more upcoming Korean missionary candidates. Also, three Bible training centers that were set up in the C-nation last November are to have the second module classes convened in April and May. I’ll be travelling soon to those centers to teach and mentor, after which I’ll stop by Osaka, Japan for the Christian & Missionary Alliance (C&MA) Korea’s missions conference.

Your continuous prayers and financial giving keep us going toward this biblical mandate; to raise up preachers who will take good news from all nations to all nations (See Romans 10:14-15). Thank you for standing with us in this glorious adventure as you pray and participate.

Sincerely,

Paul Lee, Ph.D (& Eunice Jaeun)
Director, EAPTC International

P.S. We were asked by the Director for Development of Faith Academy to help them recruit their elementary school (2nd grade) and kindergarten teacher. Faith Academy is one of the oldest and finest missionary kid schools in the world situated in Philippines that has been running by qualified, support-raised teachers who possess hearts for MKs. We were told that some of the missionary kids have not been able to go to school due to lack of teachers at FA. If you know anyone interested in this precious calling, please let us know. We’ll happily link him or her to the FA personnel.