Nik Wallenda Takes Prayer Walks to New Heights, Literally

When we heard that a stunt man was coming to Niagara Falls to do a never seen before walk across Niagara Falls, more than a few had their doubts and most really didn't pay attention until the time drew nearer. But when the world began hearing Wallenda praising God while performing one of the most notable stunts in history, Christians around the world began rejoicing that millions of people were given another opportunity to hear about the good news of faith in Jesus. While Wallenda didn't actually preach or bow and pray, his faith in God and trust in Jesus was evident as he walked the line across two countries and made history while praising and thanking God all the way over. As prayer walks have gained momentum and become a popular church unifying tool, this I have to say topped them all. Thanks Nik for your prayers and faith to do the seemingly impossible and reminding us that with God all things are indeed possible.

Rebecca St. James' Patience

By Josh Maloni

     Rebecca St. James refused to settle.
     She refused to marry someone who wasn’t “the one.”
     A beautiful woman with financial security and fame, she could’ve put roots down with the first man who asked her out. It would’ve been easy for St. James to just give up, give in, and do what so many in the world would do in her situation.
     However, “I wanted to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God’s man for me,” she said. “What would be settling would be being with somebody who wasn’t God’s man for me, and I just was lonely, and just needed to do this because time was up and I’d waited long enough. I just think what God was telling me to do was trust His heart and then wait on His confirmation. And God did give me confirmation. It was awesome.”
     In April, St. James wed. Christian music’s most well known female singer – and its strongest advocate for purity – married former missionary Jacob Fink, who proposed to her on Christmas day.
     This new stage in St. James’ personal life was followed by a series of new chapters in her professional career. The 34-year-old Australian unveiled a new album, “I Will Praise You,” in the spring; she debuted a revamped website, www.rsjames.com, at the end of the summer; and in September she released a new book on relationships, “What Is He Thinking?”. James has served as a panelist on Fox News “Hannity,” hosted by conservative host Sean Hannity, and in August she performed at Kingdom Bound for the first time in five years.
     “My last birthday – a year ago – I really sensed that God was saying that this would be a year of fulfillment. I was really hoping and praying that it would be a year of fulfillment relationally – not necessarily vocationally,” St. James said, laughing. “But it’s really been both. Our relationship, my husband and I – this new season with Jacob – has really sprung me into a new season of ministry. (It’s) one that has balance, and I’m not on the road all the time. The events I’m doing, I really sense the Holy Spirit moving in a fresh way.
     “Our story is now also kind of expanding the reach of my purity message, because now I can say it’s worth the wait. You know, marriage is wonderful, and speak from that position, as well. It’s a really great new season.”

Western New York Ties

To be certain, St. James’ year has not been what she expected and better than what she could’ve imagined. 2011 has also been a year of change for the Middleport, N.Y.-based Yme? Ministry, an organization that has a history with the singer and author.
     Five years ago, an idea was birthed in Yme? to hold a Kingdom Bound-like event in Niagara County. Yme? booked St. James at Artpark, the Lewiston, N.Y., venue best known for its “Tuesday in the Park” rock concert series and numerous Buffalo Spree Magazine awards.
     In June 2007, St. James became the first Christian performer to headline a concert at Artpark in at least 10 years. Her concert drew about 1,500 people, and garnered local and national press coverage.
     “It was obviously the biggest show we’d ever done,” Yme? President Brian Yaiser said. His organization had previously done smaller-scale shows in more modest venues.
     Reflecting on the show four years later, Yaiser didn’t think of the big stage, or its bright lights, or the logistics of flying in a full band and equipment from Tennessee. Rather, he recalled, “The invitation that Rebecca gave to everyone and a pretty strong response of people going forward to accept the Lord.”
     Approximately 100 people participated in an altar call. Earlier in the day, Yme?, in conjunction with The Niagara Visionaries, dedicated Wheatfield, N.Y.’s, The Summit mall to Jesus. At that event, local and regional elected leaders joined mall owner Jim Anthony in public prayer.
     Publicist Mark Weber, of markinthecity.com, was the catalyst in uniting Yme? with the Niagara Visionaries, a group of creative thinkers with ties to the music, journalism, marketing and real estate industries.
     “For any good thing to happen in Western New York, people need to work together,” he said. Weber sensed an “open spirit of cooperation” that led to “great, positive change.”
     “It was wonderful to have people come together from so many different backgrounds,” he said.
     The night of the concert, Niagara County ministers were invited to join together at Artpark.
     “We started this event with a number of pastors going forward on stage,” Yaiser said. “The only criteria – it wasn’t whether or not they wear robes on Sunday morning or whether they wear a suit and tie or whether they wear a sports jacket or a golf shirt on Sunday morning. It all had everything to do with whether or not they acknowledge the cross as the beginning and the end of what’s needed in one’s life.”
     “That was incredibly important (as we went) forth, that we wouldn’t let our styles of ministry direct the event, (but) that we were truly unified at the foot of the cross,” he added.
     Following the St. James show, Yme? hosted a series of charity concerts for Western New York not-for-profits, and a pair of shows for the Romanian orphanage House of Hope.
     Now, Yaiser is poised to take Yme? in a different direction.
     “My heart is really for the troops – at the boot level,” he said.
     Yaiser’s daughter, Brooke, is in the armed forces, and his family has seen the positive impact of organizations such as the Wounded Warrior Project and Not Alone on the lives of the men and women protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks.

     Every day soldiers are asked to put their lives on the line. When necessary, they’re forced to take the life of a combatant. These situations, Yaiser said, can leave troops feeling guilty and unworthy of God’s love or mercy. The key, he said, is to teach them, “God forgave us; and He did that at the cross. We need to be able to forgive ourselves.
      “There’s so much pain out there for the warrior. I think we, as a society in this country, we don’t see the evil like some nations of the world do.”
     Yaiser was encouraged by a report he received from his daughter following her unit’s recent interaction with Billy Graham’s grandson, Will.
     “She said, ‘Dad, don’t you think for a minute that the Lord isn’t alive and well.’ Two hundred young men and women came forward to accept Christ in a boot camp – a boot camp,” he said.

“My heart – where you see Yme? Ministry going, for me, personally – would be to somehow come alongside these organizations,” Yaiser said.

St. James Stands Tall

When St. James returned to Kingdom Bound this summer, she discovered the impact her concert had on the Artpark crowd, on Yme?, and in shining a spotlight on other Niagara County organizations such as Solid Rock Ministries and Harvest in the Park.

“No way – that’s awesome,” she said.

That St. James regularly deflects praise to her Lord and Savior doesn’t stop people from sharing stories of the impact of her ministry on their lives.

“I actually just spoke – like two days ago – to a man who was pastoring three churches in his local area in Illinois,” she said. “He came to a show of mine when I was pretty young, like, I think, late teens. And he ended up using (my) devotional book to lead other young people in growing in Jesus. And that devotional book, while he was leading the Bible study, it ministered to him, and made him get serious with God. Now he’s pastoring three churches, got a wife and a family, and he just said, ‘Thank you so much for having a spiritual legacy in my life.’

“Beautiful stories like that are very powerful for me.”

What’s powerful to others, Yaiser said, is watching St. James stay true to her Christian beliefs.

     “As an artist, (she’s) very talented, but there’s a lot of talented people out there,” he said. “When I see Rebecca St. James, and I see her post the concert that we did, and I see her on Fox, for example, being interviewed. These people who are standing in the gap in the gospel are under tremendous scrutiny. She still stands tall. She is a light.”
     Yaiser said St. James is steadfast in her approach. No matter the situation or circumstances, St. James refuses to give up or give in.
     “She stands tall for the gospel,” and not just at her concerts, where it’s comfortable, Yaiser said. “When I look at her now, that’s the thing I admire most. Yes, she had the heart to sing Christian music and so forth. But when you hear her in a setting being challenged by other people who are being interviewed on talk shows like ‘Hannity’ and so forth, she’s a rock.”
     Rebecca St. James’s latest offerings, album “I Will Praise You” and book “What Is He Thinking?”, are now available online and in Christian retail stores.

Mission: Reaching Israel with the Gospel of Jesus Christ

By Lou Perez

     Reaching the Jewish peoples for Christ is not a simple task. There are almost 13 million Jewish people in the world with beliefs and ideologies as diverse as Joseph’s coat.

Many are atheists, agnostics, and skeptics. Some embrace Eastern philosophies, liberal lifestyles, and western materialism. There are those who focus on following Jewish ethical and ritual laws to the letter, while others retrofit the ethics and traditions to keep up with modern times. Some believe that the Scriptures came from God, while others aren’t so sure. There are even Jews in the orthodox religion who are atheists. I know it’s difficult to believe such a disparity, but in Jewish religion, as Richard Robinson so eloquently puts it, “Judaism is a religion of deed, not creed”. In other words, personal beliefs are not as important as following the traditions and rituals.

So how do we reach the Jewish people when each tread with their own unique gait?

Some Challenges and Myths: Among many hurdles to reaching the Jewish people, there are challenges and myths Christians must navigate when sharing the gospel.

One of the first challenges to reaching Jewish people is that to many, Christianity does not square with what it has done to Jews in its name throughout history. Events like the crusades immediately come to mind when some think of Christianity.

Another obstacle to Jewish people hearing the Gospel is the idea that believing in Jesus will somehow make them less “Jewish”, thus losing their cultural identity - That Believing in Jesus is strictly for the gentiles. This is not to mention the social consequences believing in Jesus would engender among the Jewish culture. Paul called the idea of Jesus a “stumbling block” to the Jews.

There are many other challenges that can be mentioned, but let’s talk about some myths that must be dispelled so that we can better reach the Jewish people. Jonathan Bernis gives three:

The first myth is that Jewish people have their own custom-made salvation and don’t need Jesus. Some might debate this in favor of a custom salvation, but let’s remember Paul’s words in Romans 1:16, “The Gospel is to the Jew first”. Also Peter’s words, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 ESV.

A second myth is that Jewish people have a greater knowledge and understanding of what they Bible says than we do – Yet it is believed that “Only about 10% of the Jewish community is actually involved in the study of Scripture”.  This tells us that most Jewish people have never really read the Bible.

The third myth is that all Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. The fact is that many Jews have no idea who Jesus really is.  Most are conditioned when they hear the name Jesus, what comes to mind is “the God Christians serve”, not the true Jewish Messiah.    Many Jewish people do not know the simple fact that that “Christ” is simply the Greek word for Messiah. 

Being sensitive to these hurdles will give us sensitivity when sharing the Gospel with Jewish people. So how should we share?
Connect before you seek to convert. It is human nature to zealously bring people to our side before we have earned the right to be heard. It has been well said that “Counsel not asked for is not well received”.  The title of a book recently written by John Maxwell also bears this out, “Everyone communicates but not everyone connects”.  When we are connected with someone, the question, “How did you come to your faith?” will naturally come up at some point, opening a door.

We should beware of our “Christianize” (words that only Christians understand). There are “Christian subculture” words we use that, to the average Jewish person, you may as well be speaking in code. Veteran Jewish Christians insist on using the term Messiah over Christ or even Joshua. This is closer to the language Jewish people understand.

Tell them your story.   You don’t have to be a theologian to win souls. People can argue with your theology, but they cannot invalidate your story. As the saying goes, "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument".  “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,” Revelation 12:11.

Show them how the Old Testament is totally interconnected with the New Testament though messianic prophecies. To do this, we must read and understand the Old Testament. It says in Acts 28:23 that the apostles “explained the kingdom of God from the law of Moses”. There are over 300 messianic prophecies that can be used to share with our Jewish friends.

Affirm that you believe in the Jewish Messiah. Acknowledge that you cannot be saved without Him. It’s important to note that Jesus is not just the God of Christians, but the God of all. A Jewish person may view converting to Jesus and converting to Christianity as one and the same. But these are two entirely different things. One is a personal thing, and the other cultural. In America especially, a person can be a convert to the Christian culture without really belonging to Jesus. On the other hand a Jewish person can convert to Christ without having to convert to Christian culture.  When I came to Christ at the age of thirteen, I did not have to give up my Hispanic cultural heritage to be saved, only my sin.

 

Lou and Louisa Perez both grew up in New York City and met in the first Church Lou pastored in Schenectady, NY. In 1999 they started Destiny Christian Church in Niagara Falls with the vision of taking Church outside the four walls. Find out more at www.destinychristianniagara.com.