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“The Metropolitan District has been hit with a powerful flood,” says Bruce Terpstra, district superintendent. “We have a flood of new church plants!” Terpstra, who couldn’t explain why this phenomenon is taking place, reports 20 church-planting proposals submitted to the district during the past six months, with 15 in progress.  
 
“The district has a strong DNA for church planting,” says Terpstra, “and one reason [for the increase] may be a new funding strategy of matching contributions from the local church.”  
 
Regardless of the reason, it is obvious that God is at work in the Metro District. One church started with an Alpha course dinner, attended by 101 people. The following week, 60 adults attended the dinner along with a table full of teens who showed interest in the Lord.  
 
Most new church plants are daughter churches, but one non-Alliance church asked the Metropolitan District for help. “They were planting a daughter church,” says Terpstra, “and had not done it before.” After meeting with district consultants, the mother church decided the daughter church should be an Alliance church, and the unique partnership is bearing fruit. 
 
“It seems like a week doesn’t go by without another opportunity washing up to our door to plant another church,” says Terpstra. “The only explanation that can be given for what is happening is that God has opened the floodgates.”  
 

Editor’s note: The Thailand Congress on Evangelism exists to glorify God by facilitating the establishment of a viable and indigenous church among the peoples of Thailand that impacts the world. During its recent gathering, Thai church leaders were inspired and equipped to be more effective in evangelism and church planting throughout the country’s 76 provinces. 
 
Earlier this month 3,000–4,000 Protestant church leaders, laypeople, and missionaries gathered from all over Thailand to consider how they can work together more effectively to see the Great Commission completed in Thailand. The Seventh Thailand Congress on Evangelism drew people from the three main bodies of the Protestant church in Thailand—the Church of Christ in Thailand, The Thailand Baptist Convention, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand—as well as many Alliance missionaries, church leaders, and laypeople.  
 
Two C&MA Bangkok church pastors and leaders, Ajarn Timothy Jeng and Ajarn Nok Yutasak, played key roles in this event and also spoke at the conference. An exhibition hall displayed the church growth and evangelistic tools utilized by various ministries. “These are significant events that galvanize the churches and spur them on,” says Richard Herring, C&MA regional director for Asia Pacific.  
 
A God-Sized Vision 
 
Those in attendance affirmed their vision to see a church established in every district of Thailand and for every village to have an opportunity to hear the gospel by the end of next year. Alliance missionaries are helping to see these goals achieved in the provinces of Nong Khai, Sakorn Nakon, Nakorn Panom, Surin, Bangkok, Mahachai, and Phuket.  
 
The last event of this nature occurred in 2004, which coincided with the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the Protestant Church in Thailand.  
 
Learn More 
 
Check out our Alliance work in Thailand. 
 
What You Can Do 
 
Praise God for the spirit of unity that exists among the various segments of the evangelical church in Thailand. Pray that the Alliance mission and the C&MA national church, the Gospel Church of Thailand, will be used by God to impact the country for His Kingdom.  
 
Pray also that the church will continue to grow in becoming self-supporting, self-propagating, and self-governing and that God’s Spirit will draw men, women, and children to Himself in greater ways in the days ahead. 
 
Donate now to support Alliance Great Commission Ministries.  
 
 

During a one-day dental clinic hosted by Compassion and Mercy Associates (CAMA), The Alliance’s relief arm, 12 people prayed to receive Jesus in Darhan, Mongolia. For the fourth year in a row, Dr. Bill Molpus, a retired Christian dentist from Mississippi, came to serve at the clinic with his assistant, Margaret Wiseman, who is from Wisconsin.  
 
A Busy Day 
 
As Dr. Molpus and his support team were busy pulling teeth, CAMA staff members worked behind the scenes with the registration process, checking blood pressure, praying for each patient, and sharing the gospel with those who were interested. By the end of the day, 87 patients had received treatment and 162 teeth had been removed.  
 
“Praise God for those who were moved from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God that day as they prayed to accept Christ as their Lord!” says  
Dr. Nghia Pham, who serves with The Alliance in Mongolia. 
 
Learn More 
 
Check out our Alliance work in Mongolia. 
 
What You Can Do 
 
Praise God for the 12 who received Jesus through the ministry of the dental clinic. Pray that they will grow in their faith and introduce others to Christ. 
 
Donate now to support Alliance Great Commission Ministries. 
 
 

In Brazil, 50 university students indicated that they wanted to receive Jesus at an evangelistic “Color Me Beautiful” seminar presented by Alliance missionary Jo Kiel. The event was organized by Mike and Ruth Davis who serve with The Alliance in Sao Paulo. 
 
In this dynamic ministry, Jo demonstrates the use of colors to accentuate outer beauty and introduces women to Jesus, the Master Painter, who can make them beautiful on the inside. “Who better than the Creator to be Lord of your life?” asks Jo, who has interacted with hundreds of women during seminars held at tennis clubs and other venues. Before she accepts an invitation to speak, she asks, “May I talk about God?” The answer is always yes, and doors continue to open into lives previously untouched by the good news. 
 
Not for Women Only 
 
This spring, Ruth and Jo hosted at least seven of these events and spoke to more than 200 people–”and not just women!” says Ruth. “Attendees responded warmly to the message of Christ and His desire to clean up [people's] lives.” At the university, the seminar was presented to cosmetology students with purple and green hair and “lots of tattoos,” Ruth says. “About 10 percent were guys. We came prepared with 80 packets of our information, which includes the Father’s Love Letter showing God’s attributes.”  
 
A total of more than 100 students attended the two sessions, and the classroom was packed. After the presentation, one young woman approached Jo in tears, saying she needed to hear this message. “Who would have thought we would have such liberty in a secular university?” asks Ruth. 
 
Future Opportunities 
 
God also opened doors to present the seminar in a government office building, in three gated communities, and in a group home for disadvantaged girls. A drawing is held after each presentation, during which Bibles and other Christian books, along with flowers and accessories, are given away. “I loved to see how precious the Bibles with pink covers were to the women who received them,” says Ruth. “Can you imagine doing this in a government building in the United States?”  
 
“We received so many invitations for the future that my head is spinning,” Ruth adds. The women have been asked to conduct the seminar at a beauty salon, a Christian bookstore, and other settings. In addition, the university where the first seminar was held has invited Jo back to hold a workshop.  
 
Learn More 
 
Check out our Alliance work in Brazil. 
 
Watch a video about Jo Kiel’s ministry to women. 
 
What You Can Do 
 
Praise God for open doors into the lives of Brazilians through this unconventional ministry approach. Pray that all who heard Christ’s message of inner beauty will fall in love with the Master Painter.  
 
Donate now to support Alliance Great Commission Ministries.  
 
 
 

“Chaplains tell me they sometimes feel separated from The Alliance,” says Robert Collins, retired lieutenant colonel (Army) and director for Alliance Military Chaplains Ministries. Collins is the professional and spiritual mentor for Alliance military chaplains whose deployment takes them around the world, including to the frontlines of war. “They have no Alliance churches close to where they are stationed, or they live in an area of the world where there is no Alliance fellowship.” 
 
Collins understands, having felt the isolation while he was in the military, and is working to change the situation. Alliance chaplains who have been stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait, have been telling the stories of God’s amazing work among troops for six years. Conversions and baptisms have taken place in places recorded in Genesis; Bible studies have sprung up throughout the many battalions.  
 
One Chaplain’s Mission 
 
In Kuwait, Alliance Chaplain and Army Captain Erik Gramling recently baptized several troops and attended the Lighthouse Church, where Alliance pastor Daniel Harstad is “on loan” from the Canadian C&MA. The church is part of the National Evangelical Church Compound in Kuwait City, where 10–20 thousand people from 73 multilingual congregations attend worship services each week.  
 
“The Compound was founded in the early 1900s by an American medical couple who were invited by the ruling family of Kuwait,” says Gramling. “The ministry is robust; many come to Christ.” 
 
Gramling also encouraged his German military congregation to give to the ministry of the Evangelical Alliance Church in Baghdad. In one Sunday offering they designated over $12,000.00 to the GCF for that project. 
 
A Global Vision 
 
Collins says, “The vision is larger than Alliance Military Chaplain Ministries. I believe we bring our Alliance chaplain family closer to the true reality—we are Alliance—and we have a vision that is larger than are own ministries. It is a worldwide vision to take the whole gospel to the whole world!”  
 
What you can do 
 
Pray for Alliance military and institutional chaplains as they serve in hard places. 
 
Learn more 
 
Read stories from Alliance chaplains. 
 
Donate now to support Alliance Great Commission Ministries. 
 
 
 

The Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines (CAMACOP) held its 50th General Assembly April 22–26, 2009, in Mactan Island, Cebu. The theme was “Living in God’s Holiness.” Dr. Gary Benedict, president of the U.S C&MA, was the devotional speaker. Other speakers included Dr. Ben De Jesus, former president of the Alliance World Fellowship; Dr. Rodrigo Tano; former president of CAMACOP and the Alliance Biblical Seminary; Dr. Joe Dalino, former president of CAMACOP, and Dr. Joy Tira, representing the Canada C&MA and Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. 
 
Slow Beginnings 
 
The first Alliance missionaries arrived in the Philippines in 1902. Progress was slow; after 20 years, there were less than 500 baptized believers and three churches. Pioneer missionary Robert A. Jaffray was sent to the Philippines to determine if the field should be closed. When he arrived, Jaffray didn’t see struggling churches without growth; he saw what God could do.  
 
“I believe that the Philippine field can be the largest field of The Alliance,” Jaffray said. He also said that the churches would never grow without a school to train pastors. To that end, the Ebenezer Bible Institute was started as a center for training Filipino Christian leaders. 
 
A Vibrant Fellowship 
 
Today, CAMACOP is a vibrant, autonomous, missionary-sending church. It is one of the largest evangelical groups in the country with more than 2,400 churches and 392,000-plus inclusive members. At the recent General Assembly, registered delegates totaled 1,154. Rev. Reniel Joel Nebab was reelected to a second term as president/bishop of CAMACOP. A ground-breaking moment included CAMACOP’s approval of the ordination of women.  
 
What You Can Do 
 
Praise God for the growth of CAMACOP. Pray that these churches will continue to be beacons of light to a world that needs Jesus. 
 
Donate now to give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries. 
 
Learn More 
 
Check out Alliance ministry in the Philippines. 
 
Watch a video of The Alliance’s history in the Philippines. 
 
 

Recently, the college ministry at Princeton Alliance Church (PAC) in Princeton, New Jersey, held a benefit concert for the Tia Ana Orphanage in El Salvador, where short-term missions teams regularly assist the national church with ministry. “God is using college students from the United States to provide love, care, and justice in a Central American community of faith,” says Matt Peace, director for the C&MA’s Short-Term Missions Office. “Approximately 500 college students gathered for a night of praise and worship, raising more than $15,000 for the orphans.” 
 
Tia Ana, who grew up in the streets of San Salvador, opened a home where destitute children receive love, food, clothing, and the knowledge of God. She wants the children to have what she didn’t as a child—the assurance of God’s love—and she relies on short-term teams to help meet spiritual and practical needs.  
 
Not Just Chump Change 
Matt Murphy, PAC pastor of young adults and coordinator of the event, was amazed at the outpouring of love by the concert-goers. “My heart broke when I saw young people giving. It wasn’t just chump change; some gave all the money they had,” says Murphy, who has received numerous daily requests for a repeat performance.  
 
“This event raised a lot of money for Tia Ana,” Murphy says, “but it did so much more to instill a vision to live for what Jesus was all about—the least of these.” 
 
To Learn More 
The Short-Term Missions Office conducts several trips each year, with permanent sites in strategic ministry locations. Find out how you can participate in a short-term missions trip.  
 
Check out concert and ministry pictures at Princetonalliance.org and refugeconcert.com 
 
What You Can Do 
Pray that God will bless PAC’s young people with increased faith and understanding of His plan for their lives. Also, pray that the Lord will continue to provide for Tia Ana’s compassionate ministry. 
 
Donate Now to give to Alliance Great Commission Ministries.  

A fire demolished a wall and part of the ceiling at Dalat International School in Malaysia, causing water and soot damage that essentially destroyed the classrooms. During his rounds the morning of April 18, a security guard noticed smoke coming from the roof. The fire department responded quickly, and all students and faculty are safe. However, all textbooks, computers, furnishings, student work, and personal effects in the classrooms were ruined.  
 
Investigators believe that an outlet shorted and sparked the fire, possibly the result of a rodent chewing on the wires inside the wall. Insurance adjusters have begun work on determining an estimate for replacing the damaged contents and structure, and a contractor has submitted a quote for rebuilding the classrooms. “It will take approximately four weeks to complete the work so that the classrooms can be used again,” said Karl Steinkamp, the school’s director, in a letter to parents.  
 
A plan was implemented to move two sections of the fifth grade into other classrooms so that classes could resume Monday morning, April 20. 
 
Steinkamp expressed gratitude for God’s protection and commended Dalat staff members for their professional and Christlike response to the crisis. He also thanked students and parents who gave up free time to help in the clean-up effort.  
 
“Dalat is a community, and it showed today in a way that makes me proud,” he wrote. “Please keep those most directly affected by [the fire] in your prayers in the coming weeks.” 
 
What You Can Do  
 
Praise God that the entire building was not destroyed and that the learning resource/special services and guidance areas were left untouched. Also, praise the Lord for sparing the student dormitories. Thank Him that this happened when no students or staff members were put in harm’s way. 
 
Pray for God’s mighty provision in replacing lost and damaged items as well as His comfort and peace. 
 
Learn More 
 
Read about Soeuth and Syna Lao, Alliance missionaries in Cambodia, whose child attends Dalat International School. 
 
Check out our Alliance work in the Asia Pacific region. 
 
 

A year ago, churches around the world joined together to participate in the fourth annual International Day of Prayer for the Isaan people of northeast Thailand. C&MA missionaries who serve among this unreached group challenged the Alliance family with the thought “What if His people prayed?”  
 
Because You Prayed 
 
“We are excited to report that many lives have been transformed because you prayed!” says Kathy Sappia, who serves with TEAM Isaan, an Alliance church-planting initiative in northeast Thailand. Five years ago when TEAM Isaan began ministry, there were virtually no known believers in this region of 22 million people. Today, there are at least 62 followers of Jesus among the Isaan, largely through the efforts of Alliance missionaries who minister in three Isaan prisons. Several churches are meeting in the prisons, and inmates who received Christ have been sharing Him in their home villages upon their release.  
 
“We hope you will join us for the fifth annual observance of the International Day of Prayer for the Isaan people on April 19, 2009,” says Kathy. For more information, visit www.isaan.org. 
 
What You Can Do 
 
Pray that God will raise up Christian leaders from among those coming to Christ inside and outside the prisons. Pray that new believers will continue to share Jesus with those around them and that they will be discipled in their faith. 
 
Donate to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to support God’s work around the world. 
 
Learn More  
 
Read more about TEAM Isaan in the July 2008 issue of alife. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Despite the worldwide economic downturn, church giving recently has doubled—and even tripled—in some Khmer Evangelical churches in Cambodia (The Khmer Evangelical Church is the C&MA national church in that country).  
 
“In light of the present financial crisis, the church families here were strongly convicted by the message of giving that has been preached in the churches,” says Alliance missionary Soeuth Lao, who serves in the border city of Poipet. “Although the actual number appears small (according to the local standard of living), the amount of giving received has been tripled in Santepheap Church and doubled in the Poipet Church.”  
 
The increase in giving is especially significant considering the extreme poverty in Cambodia. “Cambodia is set to be the country hardest hit this year by the global economic crisis in the Asia Pacific region,” the World Bank stated on April 7, 2009.*  
 
“We are encouraged by the tremendous response of God’s people and will continue to trust Him to meet all our needs,” says Soeuth. 
 
What You Can Do 
 
Praise God for the sacrificial giving of His people in Cambodia. Pray that He will supply their needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 
 
Donate to Alliance Great Commission Ministries to support the Lord’s work around the world. 
 
Learn More 
 
Check out our Alliance work in Cambodia. 
 
*reported in the Phnom Penh Post