The Young Pigeons Ministry: Challenge #1

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Challenge #1 - Be a Soul Winner

Passage of Scripture (KJV): Matthew 4:18, 19

Matthew 4:18: And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Matthew 4:19: And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Challenge:

I was saved by the blood of Christ in 1996 because a friend of mine (named Francisco) took the time to pray with me, introduce me to Christ, and planted in my heart the seed of Salvation. If it wasn't for him, I would not have the joy in my heart that I enjoy now. Francisco was my soul-winner.

As we see in the Bible, Jesus commanded His disciples to follow Him, and assures them that He will make them fishers of men—meaning “soul-winners.” Notice that the first thing Jesus asked was “to follow Him.”

Have you ever made up your mind to follow Jesus, or are you still sitting in the pew hearing the Word of God, but not listening to His command? If you have made up your mind to follow Jesus, then you’re on the right track. If not, perhaps you want to ask yourself the question: “How long am I going to sit and wait?”

Keep in mind that following Jesus starts by accepting His free gift of Salvation—you need to be born again by confessing your sin to Jesus and accepting Him as your Saviour and Lord. If you have not accepted Christ as your Saviour and Lord yet, then I urge you to read my postings under Salvation 101 and accept Jesus with sincerity in your heart NOW. After Salvation, then you must be baptized if you truly want to follow Him; then others. Only if you can follow His every command, that you will be able to become fisher of men. It’s either you follow Him or you don’t; it’s either you believe Him or you don’t; it’s either you believe the Bible or you don’t. You should not follow Him on some things but not on some, because if you do—you only deceive yourself like a fool. The Bible says in Matthew 7:26: “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:“

TO ALL THE READERS OF THIS BLOGSPOT

Dear Readers:

Christian Greetings and Welcome to our site!

If this is your first time to visit - I am sure that it is not a coincidence that you are browsing this blogsite. Thank you for visiting.

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Come back and see us again in the near future!

In Christ,
Manny H. Moe, Th.B.
Founder, The Young Pigeons Ministry

My First Call to Ministry

It was about April, 2003 when I started working at Reston, VA (near Washington DC)—this was a few weeks after I got laid off at my other employer in Springfield, VA—I was staying at Homestead Village (a motel) on a weekly basis, as I used to go home on weekends. It was in my motel room that God gave me the burden to study the Bible in-depth; it was in my motel room that I started communicating with God about his plans in my life. As many days went by, day after day, my communication with God became louder and louder, which was very audible to me. I remembered communicating with Him everyday and every night, and as I drove home and back between Reston and Raleigh. His plans to me became more and more clear and authoritative.

In obedience to God, I started studying the Bible by myself using every self-teaching book I could find in the bookstore. I was full of desire to study the Bible systematically and programmatically. In fact, the best methodology I used to like very much and enjoy the best was Kay Arthur’s inductive method of studying the Bible. It taught me the simple fact that studying without self-application is useless. I thought it was the most brilliant and effective way of studying the Word of God as the system includes observation, interpretation, and application. It was that application methodology that carved my lifestyle toward God, which slowly changed the face of my character one change after the other. Now, I value those changes as I see the results in my own family. Praise God!

In my motel room, I asked God one night—this was around the beginning of June, 2003—to give me a job closer to my home and family because I didn’t like where I was, not only because of the horrendous traffic in the Reston area, but also the distance I traveled every weekend to drive home and back. Almost immediately, God heard my prayer. My old Boss from my old job in Charlotte sent me an email asking me to return to the job I quit from on May, 2002. That was amazing! However, I didn’t realize that God had a condition for me in taking my old job back—the fact that I found myself competing with others for one job that I badly needed—and that was to have a formal schooling to study the Word of God. His condition became very audible to me. Realizing that His condition was real, and that my agreement with His condition was the only way I could get my job back, I had no other choice but agreed to it. Almost immediately, I got the job. This time I got much better pay. Next thing I knew, I was heading back home.

As soon as I got to Charlotte, in July 2003—I started looking for a school to start my formal study of the Word of God. I considered many Christian Universities and Bible Colleges but God brought me to Carolina Bible College, a small college at Concord, NC (a few miles from Charlotte) where I finished my Bachelor degree in Theology, in July 2006. I am very proud to be a graduate of Carolina Bible College.

And now (2008), in spite of my busy schedule with my full-time job as an Engineer, my church, and my family -- my struggling continuance to a Master of Arts degree in Theology with Trinity College & Theological Seminary (located at Newburg, Indiana) is one way to show my humble obedience to God’s call to His Ministry. I may not be worth to be a servant of Christ, but I follow Him anyway. I will always follow Psalms 23:6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. Not certain what it is yet at this point, but one thing I am certain about is that God has a plan for me that only He would reveal to me in His time.

My Philosophy of Ministry

My philosophy of Ministry is very simple: it is my complete obedience to God’s overall plan in my life. Christ saved not only my life in July, 1996, but He also saved my soul in August 25, 1996. He made me realize that there was truth in the Bible that the Roman Catholic Church hid from my forefathers for many generations, and from me for the first 40 years of my life—and that is, the truth about Salvation, as explained by the Gospel of Christ. Finding Christ and knowing the real biblical truth set me free from the bondage of sin, hypocrisy, and heresy in the false and ritualistic religion of Roman Catholicism.

My philosophy of Ministry is based and anchored to this truth, that it will always be my very foundation the rest of my life, to spread the Gospel of Christ to the world. I know I’m not worth to do this job, I know it was not my choice to do this job, but I‘m doing it because God has called me.

My philosophy of Ministry is patterned to no other but the Ministry of my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

My philosophy of Ministry is always anchored to the Fundamental Independent Baptist heritage, giving emphasis on the Doctrines of Salvation and the Great Commission.

My philosophy of Ministry is always focused on reaching out to all kinds of people, in all ages. I believe in a simple principle that the success of any Ministry can be measured not by the huge number of followers, but by touching the heart of at least one lost soul and by bringing him into Salvation through faith in Christ.

My Doctrinal Statement

I believe that the 1611 King James Bible is the Word of God for the English speaking people, supernaturally inspired, so that it is inerrant and preserved by God and an authoritative standard for every age and every life. I do not believe in the accuracy of the New International Version (NIV).

I believe that God, out of His love for mankind, sent Christ into the world to save sinners (like me).

I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to eternal salvation.

I believe that Jesus Christ in the flesh was both God and man, that He was born of a virgin and that He lived a sinless life, in which He taught and wrought mighty works and wonders and signs exactly as revealed in the four Gospels, that He was crucified, died as a penalty for our sins and was bodily raised from the dead on the third for our justification. Later, He ascended to the Father's right hand where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers, and from whence He is coming again personally, bodily, and visibly.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ made a perfect atonement for sin through his death on the cross. By His shed blood we are redeemed from our sins. He became sin for us that we might be justified through faith in His shed blood.

I believe that once a person is saved he becomes a new creation in Christ. The goal of the Christian will be grow to in spiritual maturity through obedience to the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit.

I believe the church exists for the purpose of sharing the exciting message of Christ with our community and with the world. I also believe it is the responsibility of the church to develop mature disciples of Christ through joyful worship service and meaningful Bible studies.