Building a Church - Expanding My Christian Ministry

It's been a week or more since I last wrote anything on read.cash. Christmas was a blur as we were busy building up the ministry and raising funds for construction for a church on the beach. Several names for the church have crossed my mind but I have narrowed it down to three and am considering which one to choose.

Business management models

There are a host of these models to follow for any small business or corporation, and as a business major (one of my degrees), they work well providing there is good leadership at the helm.

Having said that, many churches utilize one or more of these business models to run their ministry. I have no real beef with that as long as Christ is glorified. However, Christianity is not a business and should not be run like one.

The early church didn't have nor did they use a business model. Christianity was built on spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. Faithful apostles and disciples of Jesus preached Jesus and a new life and hope for eternity.

The only real problem I have with using a business model is that if taken to extremes, the church becomes a commercial retail outlet. Those of us who read and/or study the Bible know how Jesus despised this very thing. He cleansed the Temple twice because of its use by dishonest retailers.

Property

The property for the building of an evangelical church has been decided upon. Again, it is on the beach in the Philippines.

Mind you, there are relatively few evangelical churches when compared to Catholic churches, which are fine, but the cults abound entrapping untold millions of people who are being led to eternal destruction.

Anyway, the paperwork, licenses, et cetera have been a nightmare. Anyone familiar with the country which I proudly call home is acutely aware of how slow things work when it comes to taxation, licensing, building permits and all that jazz.

And I refuse to pay bribes to speed up the process. The nerve of some people! But I suppose it works for some but I want no part of it. At least I have an excellent attorney to shield me from unscrupulous individuals.

Newsletters

I finally broke down and bought Microsoft 365. It's a good deal at $60 a year for the personal version. I can add it to 5 devices. it comes with 1 terabyte of cloud and Publisher, where I am making my newsletters.

Right now we are in a fundraising stage hence newsletters to those in like ministries will be sent out this week. My longtime Texas friend @AceyDeucey will be arriving in mid-January to help with the construction. He will also be going to Hong Kong to meet with a few interested people and for some R&R.

Disappointments

Aside from the corruption, two other major disappointments have beset the ministry. Satan does not want to give up! The first disappointment was an old friend from Detroit, Michigan. He's a US millionaire who promised to fund the entire building construction and furnish the church. Unfortunately, he fell away from the faith (hopefully for only a short while) and returned to his former ways of go-go bar frolicking.

The second disappointment came from one of the biggest Texas ranchers there is. This man has more money than he can spend in a lifetime. Though we have been in constant communication since 1993, and he has supported the ministry before, he declined to assist. I don't know why nor do I know his true circumstances.

Provision

When all is said and done, we will trust the Lord to provide. I hope and pray that your needs will be readily supplied as well, whatever they may be. I do ask that you pray for the ministry and funding. Thank you.