His Marvelous Work Still Amazes Me...
 

As I look back on how God has developed and used EOM during the last 22 and half years, I am especially thankful for so many of you who have faithfully supported us in our efforts to fulfill God’s calling in our lives. I have seen God using our ministry in marvelous ways to reach out to the most dispersed Ethiopians around the world. By the grace of God we have been able to surpass many of the goals we have set for 2004. I would like to share with you briefly what has been accomplished this year.

We continued to produce Amharic materials to meet the growing demand for Christian literature. We have printed several thousand copies of “Mirror of Life” (Bi-monthly Bible study), as well as several thousand books and tracts.

Our radio ministry, a 7-day-a-week broadcast in Amharic, proved to be one of the best and most effective tools to uniquely reach out to millions of Ethiopians who are widely scattered throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa as well as in Ethiopia.

Monthly, several thousands of taped sermons on different subjects were produced and distributed in many countries around the world.

Our branch office in Addis Ababa has been very effective in helping us coordinate follow-up ministry and distribution of our materials inside Ethiopia. This year they printed our latest book entitled “Show Me Your Tongue” and sold several thousand copies in Ethiopia.

The fruit of our 2004 summer evangelistic outreach in Beirut and United Arab Emirates has been remarkably successful. God empowered us to challenge non-believers to commit their lives to God. As a result we saw some making first-time commitments to Christ, and many believers received encouragement and spiritual renewal at our meetings. We also had an opportunity to conduct a one-day leadership seminar for church leaders in the United Arab Emirates. It indeed was an incredible summer of ministry for EOM. We are very grateful and continue to thank God for all of you who faithfully supported us for many years in the past. Many Ethiopians around the world would not have heard the Word of God had it not been for your loving and generous support. Every day there are letters of appreciation coming from all over the world, expressing gratitude for the teaching and encouragement received from the tapes, Bible Study materials, books, and etc.

     One of the highlights of EOM’s ministry this year was the opportunity I had to go back to Ethiopia for the first time in thirteen years and see firsthand what God is doing and hear testimonies about the impact that EOM had made in many lives there. On September 1, 2004, I flew to Addis Ababa. Since many of you prayed for my safety and for a successful trip, I want you to know that your prayers have been answered and everything went very smoothly as planned. Since I was well informed about the horrid economical and political conditions of the country, I was not surprised by what I saw and heard. I was so happy and excited to be back in my home country and see some of my close relatives that I haven’t seen for many years. The first test of “kitfo” (an Ethiopian delicacy) which I have been anxious to eat for a long time gave me an upset stomach for a couple of days. However, it didn’t minimize my efforts to minister to God’s people, who were anxiously waiting to hear me preach and teach. God, in His divine provision, bestowed upon me an incredible strength to preach almost every day for the entire month of September.

     I had amazing ministry opportunities in almost every denominational church in Ethiopia. A few days after my arrival in Addis, church leaders from various denominations were calling to schedule me to preach and teach at their churches. Christians who have come to know the Lord through the ministry of EOM when they were at different refugee camps and countries were so thrilled to see me again in Ethiopia. Those who heard me through cassette messages and radio, and those who read my books but never saw me in person, were calling from every corner of town to meet me. I was overwhelmed and humbled when I heard the expression of their love and how much they appreciate EOM’s ministry. Within a day or two of my arrival in Addis, I already had a dozen invitations, and I ended up preaching almost every single day, two times on weekends, to congregations numbering in the thousands.
 

Continued ...

Praise:
   For the impact of this ministry’s effort in the life of thousands of Ethiopians.
   For the many Ethiopians who crossed the line of faith in Lebanon and UAE as a result of this summer’s evangelistic mission. For the many other believers who recommitted their lives to walk closer with the Lord and be a light to those around them for the glory of our Lord.
   For continued prayer and financial support we receive from friends and partners.  Please pray for God’s blessings upon these committed servants whom the Lord knows by name.
   For the wonderful opportunity God has given us to minister through radio. Thousands of Ethiopians continue to be impacted by the teachings of God's word over our daily radio broadcast and through the tape ministry.
 

Please Pray...
  For more people to tune in to a special one-hour programming we will be broadcasting on Ethiopian Christmas day (January 7). Pray that the Lord open the hearts of the thousands of Ethiopians who will be listening to the program invite Christ into their heart.
  Continue praying for the gospel to be preached among Ethiopians who have never heard about Jesus Christ. Pray specially for many to tune in for the special Ethiopian Christmas day one full hour broadcast that many will open their hearts to the gospel. Dr. Melese will present a salvation message in relation to the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. As you well know, our radio broadcast has been a very effective tool in proclaiming the gospel of Christ and encouraging believers living in many countries. Pray also that many in the remote parts of Ethiopia get access to short-wave radios.
  For Christians who are being persecuted in Eritrea (former province of Ethiopia in the north). Christian literature or tapes are still banned from reaching believers in Eritrea. Pray that God’s grace be abundant for Christians in Eritrea so that they may grow stronger in their adversities.
  For the Bible believing churches in Ethiopia to press forward in proclaiming the gospel and stand together in strengthening believers as they face various challenges including the rise of Islamic activities and false teachers as described in 2 Peter 2:1.

His Marvelous Work Still Amazes Me... Continued

   The first concern strongly expressed by many by many of them was the misuse of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the lack of order in their worship services. They acknowledged that this has been a stumbling block for new people and for some mature believers who have been walking with the Lord for a long time especially those who are educated. Local church leaders either did not know how to handle it or chose to remain silent due to fear of ex-communication from the pulpit or to avoid being labeled an “enemy of the Holy Spirit.” However, recently some concerned and courageous denominational church leaders felt that it was time to break the silence and do something to improve the situation. In the past, with few exceptions, EOM was the only voice that openly and courageously addressed this issue. We are happy now to see some Ethiopian church leaders are making the effort to get together and look for viable solutions to this problem.

     The second concern the church leaders shared with me is a leadership question. It is truly the thrill of a lifetime for me to see how powerfully God’s Spirit is moving among Ethiopians. New souls have been coming to the kingdom of God daily in thousands. Many new churches have been planted in areas where there were none before. We praise the Lord for that! Though churches are growing numerically, church leaders admit that many believers show little or no growth in their spiritual life. For some their growth has been curtailed due to internal conflict and lack of proper leadership. Christians are not adequately nurtured or well equipped for ministry. God has put a burden on our hearts to help these churches prevail for Christ by providing leadership training and mentoring to the existing and emerging leaders.

     The Ethiopian church has a serious problem of understanding the church structure and how pastoral leadership functions biblically. There is tension among the leaders between those who accept and reject pastoral leadership. To address this problem I recently prepared a 2-volume book on church life and its administration. The first volume (about 450 pages) is ready for print. Many of the church leaders who have had the chance to read the manuscript of this volume believe that it could answer some of the questions that many raise in regard to church structure as well as pastoral leadership function today.

     Due to continued political barriers to freely travel in and out of Ethiopia, EOM was mainly focusing on Ethiopians who had left their homeland and scattered around the world. EOM’s branch office in Addis has remained for many years as only a major distribution and reproduction point of our ministry. Now, seeing the possibility for us to freely travel in and out of Ethiopia, the EOM Board recently took time to discuss how EOM could grow its ministry within Ethiopia. Seeing the overwhelming invitations from churches for our ministry, and the enormous need for leadership training, EOM is considering to take some important steps by faith to establish a Leadership Training and Resource Center in Ethiopia. This has been our long-term dream for a number of years. In our recent meeting, the Board suggested that I should go back to Ethiopia at the beginning of the New Year to meet with various church leaders and explore ways to establish the center.

     Due to the enormous hardships Ethiopians have experienced during the last 30 years, some of you might be aware that a great number of Ethiopian population suffer from one or another kind of emotional problems. Therefore, the need for Christian counselors among Ethiopians who know the culture and the language to thoroughly help these most needy people is highly essential. Here we believe EOM can play an important role in training Christian counselors. The establishment of The Leadership Training and Resource Center in Ethiopia is very crucial in the lives of the people and the Ethiopian church. Therefore, we are looking forward to the coming year anticipating the marvelous and exciting things that God will do through our ministry in this new venture. We will try to report to you the progress of our new vision in the near future. We thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement and faithfulness for many years in our effort to accomplish God’s purpose in our lives. Please pray for us and continue to support us financially.