Florida ChoG Ministries Annual Mtg. 10/08

I was grateful for the opportunity to attend the ANNUAL STATE MEETING on Thursday, October 16, 2008 @ Orlando First Church of God. Keynote speaker was Jim Griffith; Denver, Colorado Author, Consultant, Congregational/ Pastor Coach (GriffithCoaching.com) on the topic "Common Mistakes that Pastor's Make and How to Avoid Them!" - relevant also for church leaders and missionaries.

Directly across the church foyer from my Côte d’Ivoire mission display was Dr. Steven Masood with his “Jesus to Muslims” (http://jesustomuslims.org/) display. Dr. Steven Masood (http://www.stevenmasood.org/) is an ex Muslim with more than two decades of experience of a Christian approach in Islam and outreach to Muslims.

A surprise blessing Thursday came from Dr. Masood in the form of DVD recordings of two presentation series at Village View Community Church in Summerfield, FL:

“A Christian Response to Muslims”
1: Islam and Post 9/11 USA. 2: Why are there 2 faces of Islam? 3: What do Muslims believe and practice? 4: Key Islamic Beliefs in comparison to Christianity. 5 How to respond to Spiritual questions Muslims ask. 6: Key Bridge points in ministering to Muslims.

“The Role of Women in Islam” - What the Qur’an and Muhammad say about the rights and responsibilities of Muslim women.

These DVD’s will be a valuable training in preparation for ministry in a country that has more Muslims than Christians: Muslim 38.6%, Christian 32.8% (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html). At the end of my October 2007 Ivory Coast Christian Education seminar, I asked participants what needs/questions they would like addressed in the future. One issue raised by several teachers was how to reach out to and communicate with parents of Muslim children attending their church.
The second DVD will be helpful toward gaining greater cultural understanding in anticipation of joining with missionaries LeAnn Sellers and Kay Critser in women’s ministry conferences.

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I also thank God for the generosity last year of Dr. Lestor Fleenor in the gift of his book, God Almighty!: His Word for Christians, Jews, And Moslems. (Available from Amazon.com and Christianbook.com.) It was my privilege to visit with Dr. Fleenor and his wife several days last year in West Africa and receive encouragement in missions from them.

Fifty-five to 60 percent of the world's population believe in a Supreme Power of the universe & refer to him either as Almighty God, Elohim Kabeer (in Hebrew), or Allah Akbar (in Arabic). These adherents from the three monotheistic world religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) are addressed in this book & asked to not only consider the concepts behind God's name but also to take a hard look at the practical implications of these concepts for their personal lives today. Makes an excellent small group study text with discussion questions at the end each chapter.