The video is about the ship ministry, which has been running for 25 years. It highlights how the ship is a place for people to develop their talents and skills in music and other areas, and how it can be used to build the kingdom of God. The speaker emphasizes the importance of mature faith and experience in evangelism and street preaching, which many people gain during their time on the ship. The video also mentions the need for ship ministry mobilizers to represent the vision and share videos and literature about the ship ministry.

This is a special cassette in which I'm sharing about the ministry of the O.M. ships Lagos II and Doulas. I've just returned from Doulas in Cyprus. I must confess those four or five days on the ship there were times of great blessing and times in which my own vision for the ship ministry has been rekindled. And I'm sharing this burden that's on my heart while that visit is still fresh upon my mind. I'd like to first of all just pray, Lord you know my heart, especially as we think of these 25 years of ship ministry within O.M. We are extremely grateful. Yet we know this vision has to be, in a sense, born again and again in our hearts and our minds that we can have the commitment and the faith and the energy and the passion and the love to go forward in this challenging year that lies ahead of us. Lord, I really pray for each one who somehow takes the time to listen to this cassette that they will, yes, hear my voice, but somehow, God, they may hear your voice and they may capture something of this challenge to reach the world with the gospel in our generation and to see the church throughout the world coming into greater reality and integrity and maturity so that day by day we can operate together in building your kingdom in the power of your Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I share with what's on my heart right now with a conviction that if people would take even a short time to attempt to understand the ministry of the ships that many more would get involved in praying, in telling others, in giving, and in going. At this particular time of the ships ministry and the history of the ships ministry, we really need some new people to join the ships and to get involved with us both short term and longer term. We're well aware that there are so many challenges coming to Christian young people across the world today. We're aware that in many ways the priority is to see church planters raised up who will go out among the most unreached people of the world to see men and women won to Christ and then of course to see them gathered into churches and worshiping and multiplying. We're convinced however that it takes time to train and prepare someone for church planting ministry especially among the unreached. We're convinced it takes time and it takes training to prepare anyone for their lifetime ministry whether it's back in their home country in marketplace ministry or what some people call full-time ministry or whether it's out on the mission field in some forgotten place where the church may hardly exist. And that's one of many reasons why I would like you, those of you who are hearing this message, to consider the possibility of actually spending a year or two on one of our ships. A lot of people apply to get involved in the ship ministry when it's in a sense a little bit late. They're already married and they have a family and the ship is extremely limited in terms of space as to how many families and how many married couples they are able to accept. I however would urge you whatever your particular situation is to not at least hesitate to write and in a sense push the door. If that door closes then you have to leave that in the hands of the Lord. We however at this time especially need single men and women who are willing to get involved in this on-the-job training evangelistic church renewal thrust that takes place based on the two ships. Dulas which at this very moment is headed back toward India and Lagos II that I was able to recently visit in southern France when the two ships were together which in fact right now is in Vigo, Spain and will soon be sailing to Belfast. I think it's really exciting that Lagos II is going to be around Europe for the next year. It's going to be in a number of British ports and I hope that some of you who hear this message will at least go and visit the ship if it's anywhere within range. This summer there may come some special opportunities on at least one of the ships for people to work for a few weeks in one way or the other and that information you can find out by writing to either your own local OM office or to the ship's office in Germany. But my bigger concern is for young men and women who would really seek the Lord and really pray about the possibility of joining the ship for a year or two. I believe this is such a tremendous training program whether you're planning to go into what some people call full-time Christian ministry or not. We've had many people many thousands of people go through the ship training time serving on the ship whatever way you want to describe it and they are working today around the world in dozens of countries in all kinds of different ministries. Most of those people look back on their time aboard the ships in the ship ministry as a time of laying a solid foundation in their lives. That doesn't mean because they necessarily found it easy and probably you will not find it easy living on a ship with over 250 people as it is with DULAS or 170, 180 people this includes the children on Lagos too. Why do I consider being on the ship such a tremendous training experience? I can assure you I'm not saying that just to get you to join OM. There I try to evaluate all the aspects of OM's ministry. I don't like to get into comparing but it is interesting that quite a few of the people who are serving long term in other important aspects of OM's worldwide ministry got their start in one of the programs on the ships. So there is a sense where people who are thinking even longer term within OM or some other mission agency would do well to consider the positive factors of a time of training and on the job exposure and spiritual growth on either one of the two ships. I believe today so many people have a ghetto mentality. So many people can't see beyond their own country. Sometimes beyond their own church and when you end up living on a ship with people of a couple of dozen nationalities that in itself is a tremendous stretch, training, exposure, life-giving kind of experience. It's so easy for us just to get caught up with people in our own culture and in the end of the day that can be a hindrance even in our own countries because most of our countries are becoming more multi-ethnic, multi-national and we need to learn how to live with these people, reach out to the people and understand them. Even today my neighbor in a little shop around the corner, a Hindu man was telling me about the temple that he and his organization are building somewhere outside of London and almost asking me to make a donation toward that temple. This man is not living in India, this man is living across the lane from me and I need to learn, though I've been in this kind of work a long time, how to relate to people like that, of other cultures, other backgrounds. Yes, who I long to see come to Christ but I need to learn just the basics of relating to them in the first place and that isn't always so easy. Another thing that makes the ship such an excellent preparation and training experience is the fact that you go to a number of countries during your time actually on on board. The ship is in port for a good part of the time so even if you may have a fear of seasickness, which many people never get, other people get over it quite quickly, you'll discover that on these particular ships you are generally in port ministering to people, serving people or working in some capacity on the ship in teamwork so that the task of evangelism and church renewal and other ministries can all go on simultaneously. It's not easy to decide even if you're planning to go into some kind of missionary work which country, which place, even which organization. We had the joy when I was on the ship in Cyprus a few days ago of having a last minute visit from a dear Christian leader from Greece and as he was sharing I just thought what a tremendous opportunity it is for us to hear from men of God. This particular brother's name was Costas Makris and some of you know about him and his ministry. Often people, pastors, missionaries, come to even stay on the ship for a few days. I heard that last year the famous founder of the Red Sea Mission Team, Lionel Gurney, in his sunset years spent many months aboard the ship. So the opportunity for exposure to different nations, different Christian leaders, different ministries, as well as living among people from all over the world is a fantastic situation for learning, for growing, and becoming more mature. I had to confess after a short time in Mexico and then some time in Spain that in some ways as a young missionary I was an ugly American. There were things that I had to unlearn. I had to learn to listen much more to people of different cultures. I had to come to face that some of the things I thought were were sinful weren't necessarily sinful and worldly. As I saw people from different cultures and then of course different denominations have different emphases and it was a phenomenal experience in my own life that enabled me I believe to press on in the ministry God was giving me and of course this is before God ever gave me the vision and the idea concerning ships. Another reason I believe it's so valuable for people to have an opportunity for this kind of ministry is because often so much of our education today is highly academic. We need that academic emphasis but we also need practical training. Many theological colleges, seminaries, and other colleges are confessing and acknowledging this more than ever. After a couple of years of any kind of academic study to be thrown into something that is obviously work and ministry oriented as a ship ministry I believe often brings a needed balance and a needed dimension into people's lives. I think of Lindsay Brown who I first met at Oxford University many years ago. When he finished at Oxford and got his degree he ended up on the ship Lagos, our first ship. He told me during that year or maybe it was at the end of the year that much of his time he was just down in the holds moving books around and yet he testified that this was a phenomenal character building experience. Preparing for his becoming a leader in the work of UCCF and then of IFES and today is the international secretary of IFES and I'm sure some of you know him. I could give story after story of people from all walks of life who have ended up on these ships for a year or two and have found it such a powerful life changing experience. Now of course when some people first come depending on their expectations they may be disappointed. They may discover that people, even people in Christian leadership, have their warts, have their problems, have their failures. I'm convinced that even when things aren't going as well as we would like on the ships and sometimes that's the case it's still such an ideal place as almost daily you're in the Word of God as there are constant times of of prayer. It's an ideal place to learn what spiritual warfare is all about, what Christian living is all about, in some ways what living in general is all about. It's a challenge. It will be difficulties. Our faith will be tested. It does seem to me that sometimes when we're young and even when we're not so young our faith is not been tested. It's textbook faith. It's something that's been handed down to us by our parents or we've heard over the pulpit year after year or maybe we've sung these tremendous choruses, faith is a victory, Jesus is Lord, onward Christian soldiers, be bold, be brave, but in fact these things are not a dynamic pulsating reality in our lives. That's a serious situation. That's why I believe many people over the years have written to me after reading some of my books especially Hunger for Reality and acknowledged that spiritual schizophrenia was creeping into their own lives. To get involved in the ministry of the ships is to take a plunge into active frontline spiritual warfare. Another factor in all this however that I believe has really helped a lot of people is that often when you come into the ship ministry you are not immediately pushed into evangelism beyond what you feel you are able to handle. Oftentimes you are given a job in the book exhibition, in the pantry or galley, in the engine room or on the deck in which you're basically doing hard physical serving and the evangelism comes in a lower dosage as you're able to find time as you volunteer for one-day trips or to take meetings on a Sunday. Soon you might be just giving your testimony. Six months later you might be asked to give a message in a meeting. People who have talent in the area of music and mime and other skills along that line find the ship often an outstanding place to develop those skills and to see how they can be used in building the kingdom and ministering to the church. We have had a lot of people come to the ship who have not been that mature in their faith. They weren't great skilled talented evangelists, street preachers but two years later they left the ship with at least some experience in those areas and usually that includes some classroom type of approach. There are study programs, there are small groups, there are seminars and there's just so much happening. It's hard of course on one in one message to share it all with you. Just before leaving the ship I went up to the library and I was just so impressed with this small but amazing and adequate library and I know that quite a few of those who are on the ship spend time in the library listening to tapes, studying books, following up on some of the messages they may have heard from someone. I think I must have ministered personally about seven or eight times to the staff and crew during my brief visit to the ship and then others are regularly coming to the ship. People of different backgrounds, different parts of OM and people outside of OM, pastors and teachers to share, to teach and many of them are also available of course to meet with people on a personal basis. The whole challenge of pastoral care is something that we're very concerned about in OM at this time, not just on the ships but in every aspect of OM. I think we've seen pastoral care on the ships from the very, very beginning but we feel God is putting in our heart to improve in that area. We know that sometimes people come with unrealistic expectation but in our teaching and on our tapes we try to deal with that kind of difficulty. It's very, very challenging. Another reason I believe this ship ministry has such potential for preparing and training people is because we actually do get in evangelism. Thousands and tens of thousands of people, most of whom don't know Jesus, come flocking to the exhibition or come to one of our film shows or into the coffee bar and this endless opportunities for evangelism. Let me just say that often unless you on the ship are taking the initiative you will miss out on some of those opportunities. We're trying to accept people as mature young adults who are going to develop initiative in the area of prayer, the area of evangelism, the area of serving and of course the area of hard work because no ship is going to continue sailing safely unless there's a group of people willing to work hard. The emphasis on prayer, the nights of prayer, the prayer emphasis days also I believe can be a life-changing experience especially for those that really want to learn and really want to grow. Generally these days everyone who comes on the ship is given a copy but one way or the other gets a copy of the book Operation World and they often spend time going through that book praying for the nations of the world. There's the constant focus and challenge even when the ship is not in an area of the world that is so unreached because the ships go all over the world there is the constant challenge to emphasize the unreached. We don't believe the ship is God's great answer to world evangelists. The ship and the ship ministry is just a tiny part of what God is doing in the world today but isn't it wonderful to be a tiny part of what God is doing? For 25 years we've seen answers to prayer even in crisis moments like the terrorist attack in the Philippines a number of years ago when two of our crew members, two women, were taken to heaven through a hand grenade attack. Even when we lost Lagos our first ship after 17 years in ministry and God protected in his mercy and sovereignty all of the people from any injury at that time. These are life experiences. This is how we grow. This is how we become mature and people who are attempting to be mature in Christ in hot house experiences sometimes overly protected back in their little hometown, though we know Satan can break into those situations as well, I believe are often missing this kind of stretching experience that especially leads us to becoming world Christians. Our first burden isn't to get everybody out in the 1040 window or among the unreached people of a particular part of the world. Our first burden is to see people coming into the fullness that is in the Lord Jesus Christ by the power and the reality of his Holy Spirit and of his Holy Word. We want to see people become more Christ-like. We know that begins at conversion. We know that continues through many different experiences but we're reminded of the words of our Lord who said, if any man come after me let him deny self, take up the cross and follow me. Another major positive factor about this ministry is that it's so involved with literature. Both these ships represent the two largest floating book exhibitions in the world, both educational and Christian books. They get a lot of good publicity. Some of the books are on a real, a real bargains. As we saw in Cyprus, people just flock carrying away arms full of books. Of course this means a lot of extra work for the staff and crew. We've seen sometimes how one country closes, which is what happened, Tunisia closed, and another country like Cyprus just opens up last minute. Again, this can be a test of faith. Again, it exposes us to the different ways that God works in the midst of this great task we have of trying in the power of God to take the gospel to every person in the world. People fail to understand that a good part of the ministry of the ships is for God's people. With the ships, unlike some of our land teams, we don't only go to the more unreached parts of the world. We are limited to the ports of the world. And we go to countries where sometimes a church is relatively strong, like Brazil. When we come into that situation, our greater emphasis is training believers, working with young people, helping the church in evangelism, working toward greater biblical maturity and reality and renewal within the church. Some of the speakers would be coming from that country. It's not a matter of us importing some great OM challenge from across the waves. We work together with the church. Teams go ahead in advance and prepare with the churches and, of course, with the government. One of the challenges I would share with you is the need we have for people who will go into that kind of advance work, that kind of preparation work, sometimes referred to as lineup, going ahead with a small team ahead of the ship to the port to prepare the way. It's another very stretching ministry and challenging experience, and generally, of course, people have to have some experience on the ship first before they have the privilege and the challenge of getting into lineup. I might mention also at this point that the ship ministry is not just short term. Quite a few people have spent 10 years of their lives on the ships because when they got into it, they saw this was something that they could really throw themselves into. However, we discovered with all the other challenges within OM and around the world right now, it's not so easy to get people to go longer term in the ship ministry, and that's a specific burden of prayer. For some of you who are listening to this cassette and will mainly be involved in prayer and perhaps in financial support, would you pray specifically for people who will, in a sense, take long term ownership of this project and get involved with us to keep the whole project going? If it had not been for long term engineers, long term deck officers, as well as captains, and of course, the chief engineer, this project would have never succeeded over these past 25 years. I wonder if you know any seamen or people with particular skills in connection with ships that you could contact on our behalf, maybe even share this cassette tape. That can be a ministry in itself. We have videos presenting the ship ministry. We have more materials than ever. In fact, a new full color book has come out, like a souvenir book with tremendous photos. We need ship ministry mobilizers. People, maybe you've been on the ships before, maybe you've just heard about the challenge, who will, in a sense, unofficially represent this vision, sharing videos, sharing literature in our ship office and most of our other offices. And I personally, right here in the International Coordinating Team in London, would be happy to supply you with materials that you could use in helping spread this vision. It wasn't easy to get the ship ministry started. It was four or five years of prayer, looking for crew members, finding finance, getting people to take ownership of this vision, before we got that first ship, which we actually purchased for only $170,000. An amazing story. The vision of the ships needs to be reborn. We have looked very critically at the ship ministry over the last couple of years. We have made changes. We are very aware of needed improvements. But at the same time, through discernment and study and feedback from all kinds of people, we are convinced that the ship ministry is as much on the cutting edge in world evangelism and teaching and training as perhaps anything could be. And we just give God all the praise. And we humble ourselves that somehow we may be even more faithful in doing God's will and doing God's work. I wish there was more time to share with you some of the things that have happened in various ports of the world. Though I only get to the ships about once or twice a year, each one of the ships, I'm constantly listening to port reports. I'm constantly reading other reports that come in. And it is absolutely amazing what's happened in the last couple of years in Latin America and in the West Indies with Lagos too. In South Africa, where we had that tremendous refit and conversion of the doulos with a new electrical system. And then over to Mozambique and up into the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. And of course, the things that have happened all over the Far East, even in places like Japan. It's just amazing. I hope you will be willing to write in and get some more material. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions because we want people to know as much about this ministry as possible before they commit themselves. Often people come on an OM summer campaign, like Love Europe or something similar, before they make the longer term commitment to go on the ships, which may start six months later at one of our January conferences, which is going on right now over in the Netherlands. This gives people the opportunity to get a greater feel of OM, of the vision, and of what God is doing. We at OM are linked with a movement known as AD2000 and beyond. We have a major consultation on world evangelism in Korea in May with some 4,000 coming together. Somehow in God's providence, I've been asked and have taken on the responsibility of being chairman of the track for the mobilization of new missionaries. We're crying out to the Lord together for the whole body of Christ, whether they're linked with AD2000 or not, to see another 200,000 workers raised up in the next five or few more years. Humanly speaking, that's impossible. But certainly in the ship ministry and in the rest of OM ministry in general, we are committed to the mobilization of new missionaries. That has to involve also training as well as recruiting and many other aspects of preparation. This is an exciting challenge, and we believe the people coming into the ship ministry in the next few years are to be a part of this great mobilization thrust as we share this vision from port to port and as we share this vision with churches all over the world. Some of you may be aware, because it's important to understand this, that the faster growing missionary sending fields, in some ways it's still small, are places like Korea and Singapore and Southern Africa and Brazil and Argentina and the Philippines. That's why we're seeing a total internationalization and globalization of the world missionary team. The privilege of being on the ship working with a truly international team, with all the strengths and yes, some weaknesses that brings, is the experience of a lifetime that I long for more people to be able to have. We're wanting people not to just drift into the ship ministry, and I don't think that happens much. We want people to sense that God is leading them. On the other hand, we've learned that you can't steer a ship that is not moving. And if you in your Christian life are not at least moving toward discovering God's will, toward that which is going to enable you to be a more mature and world Christian, not worldly by the way, but world Christian, then I don't think you are necessarily going to find God's will for your life. Isn't it better to have a little more training, a little more exposure, a little more experience, and yes, a little more maturity before you make some of the big final decisions in your life about who you're going to marry, about what your job is going to be for the next 20 years, and other things along that line. I know some people don't like to hear this, but I fear, I fear that many young men and women today are missing God's best for their life. And I believe this is one of the reasons the Lord has raised up fellowships like Operation Mobilization. Men and women who are serious about the Word of God. Men and women who want to lay aside the differences because we do have differences, in order to major on the major emphasis of the Word of God. In order to really focus on the Lord Himself and give extra time in the Word of God to discern His plan and His purpose for our lives. I think one of the greatest things that happens in the ship ministry is people giving their lives to Jesus Christ. Those who come into this ministry often have the first opportunity in their life to lead another person to Christ. Others may not have that actual experience, but they have the experience of sharing their faith with many people of all different nationalities and religions. That generally gets them a little more interested in studying some of these religions and trying to understand, for example, Muslims and how Muslims think. Because one of our greatest burdens through our whole ministry is to see the gospel going out to what is described as the Muslim world. In bringing this to a close, I also want to just give this challenge to those of you who are listening to this tape and you already sense you're in God's right place and that He's not necessarily leading you to the ship. I might just insert here that the ship isn't just for young people. Older people come, people taking early retirement, but all of that takes correspondence. It takes a coming together. OM is a relationship centered movement. Sometimes things don't go quite as fast as some people would like as we get to know one another. And because we've been a little cautious in some of those areas, we also have some basic rules and regulations that, of course, are absolutely essential when living together on a ship. We haven't had too many people leave totally disappointed or dissatisfied, and that's a great encouragement, especially as we meet them in different parts of the world. But I do want to say a word to those of you who perhaps have this vision, you've caught a little bit of what I've attempted to share, and you'd like to get involved financially. We have a phenomenal need to see more people raised up who will give regularly. We believe in this ministry, it's God's ministry, and we believe that God is going to put it on the hearts of more people. In connection with Operation Fuel, in connection with helping us buy Christian literature as well as the education literature, which of course is partly a tent-making project, people who will help in other aspects. It looks like an expensive ministry, but when you multiply the total expense by the number of people trained, the number of people sharing their faith, much less the number of people being reached with the gospel, it is not an expensive ministry. Of course, it is a big ministry. OM didn't start big, and maybe some of you, when we were back in the days of only three of us or 50 or 100 or 200, perhaps you would have been more interested in supporting us. We know once a movement is bigger, with both the positives and the negatives of that, people sometimes just don't get involved financially. Maybe they don't think their gift is significant enough, because maybe they heard that every once in a while we get larger gifts. The fact is, a high percentage of all of the finance that comes into the ship ministry is largely smaller gifts. Every person on the ship, they have to raise their own support from the captain to the newest recruit, and that is a major factor in keeping the whole ship ministry going forward. We of course also need people who will work in our home offices. All the home offices of OM around the world have as one of their tasks supporting the ship ministry. So as you work for other aspects of OM, that flows into what God is doing for the ships. We need people also who are willing to work in our ship coordinating office in Mosbach. Dale Roton is the coordinator of the ship ministry, with Berndt Gulker of Germany, working as his associate. They have a small team there in Mosbach, and they're actually, especially Dale, many times away or on the ships, who are going the extra mile again and again to keep this ministry flowing. Some of you know the name of Mike Poynter, our overall marine superintendent over both ships, who's been in this project from almost the earliest days, perhaps 23, 24 years ago. Without people like Mike, and Carol Ann, his wife, I don't know where this ministry would be. Without chief engineers like Elon on Logos 2, and Johannes on the Dulos. People like Dave Thomas, who spent over 20 years in this ministry, now helping to coordinate the work here in the British Isles. Without such people, there's many more I would love to name. This kind of ministry doesn't happen. It doesn't go forward. It's teamwork. Would you consider becoming part of this team? Would you pray, push some doors, write to us for more information, try to visit the ship, and see if God is not wanting you to get us involved, get involved in this ministry? I don't want to paint any false pictures. There will be the disappointments. There'll be probably some heartaches. Learning how to live together with different people of different personality, different backgrounds, is no simple, easy affair. And yet, as you learn how to live with others, as you allow the Spirit of God to knock some of the rough edges off your life, you may discover that's a valuable, a valuable preparation, whether you're headed into missions, or you're headed into marriage. Sometimes both. I've often said to people, the preparation we need for missions is similar to the preparation we need for marriage, because it involves hard work, it involves living together, it involves many, many, many beautiful, challenging situations. The Bible says, Satan is a roaring lion, seeketh whom he may devour. And no doubt, if you make a decision to begin to move toward an evangelistic opportunity, toward this kind of challenge I've been sharing, Satan will counter-attack. Satan often tries to tell people they're not worthy enough. They don't know the Bible enough. They're not spiritual enough. Or they've had some failure in their life. How could they, if they failed at home, ever serve God overseas? What's subtle? Intimidation. Life includes failure right through to the end, including the most mature man or woman of God. The bigger mistakes in mission work are not being made by the new recruits. The bigger mistakes are often being made by those of us who've been out in the work a long time. It's better for us to get people when they're young, and to be able to see them molded and conformed into greater Christ-likeness and biblical maturity. We're not expecting people to come to the ship with their whole act together, with all of their emotional problems sorted out. We're expecting people to come who want to grow, who are willing to be team players, who are willing to go the extra mile, and who, above all else in life, want to focus on the Lord Jesus and on the task He's given to take the gospel to every person in the world. I believe the next five years may be the most challenging, stretching and challenging years of the ship ministry. But right now, we are short of people. One of the reasons I'm sharing this is because Dale Roton and I, when we had supper together some weeks ago after the EBE board, it's EBE that owns and operates Lagos II, it's GBA in Germany that owns and operates Dulos, Dale shared with me that one of the problems they're having right now is a shortage of people. When there's a shortage of people, the stress increases. Certain things just cannot be accomplished, especially in terms of the outward ministry on shore. Keep in mind, the ship is not just one or two or three ministries. It's about 10 different ministries. I haven't taken much time to talk about the conference ministry. I haven't taken time to talk much about things like the open air ministry, the international nights, the literature distribution that goes and takes place on shore, the church visitation ministry. So much is happening at once when that ship sails in and backed by prayer, tens of thousands of praying people around the world. That's what brings the cutting edge breakthroughs. I'm just so excited about what God is doing on Dulos and Lagos II. When I came back from Dulos and having time with different people, including George Barathon, who's standing in as director, I had lunch with the regular director of Dulos, Mike Hay, and also his wife, Anne, who are just temporarily having a break here in London. God has raised up this brother. God has raised up Peter Nichols and his wife and family to lead Lagos II. You can write to these people, and maybe in God's timing, you'll soon be working with them for the accomplishment of his great purposes across the whole world. Let's pray together. Dear God, I just thank you for this chance to just open my heart. I thank you, Lord, for what you're doing through these two ships, even right now, as I'm sharing. And I pray that somehow this message I've shared will be circulated, will be listened to in cars and in homes, and copies will be made by others, and it will go out and get into the hands of the right people, the people that you want to pray, the people who you want to give, people who you want to go. You know our burden. We commit it to you, and we pray specifically in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I hope we'll hear from you. You can write to me personally at Fox 17, Bromley Kent in England, BR13JP, or you can write to any OM office, or contact them by phone, or better yet, go and visit them. It takes time to process applicants. There often need to be interviews. There often need to be little get-togethers, weekend conferences, where you go through such things as how to raise your support. That's a big mountain. We now have books, like People Raising, and Friend Raising, that I'd be happy to send any of you who are having difficulty understanding the challenge of raising support, and this kind of living by faith. We believe the man working in a factory has to live by faith. But in this kind of living by faith, this way that we have chosen, many other faith interdenominational missions have chosen, we've got to see finance come in, in answer to prayer. We believe, however, we've got to get out there and clearly communicate what the need is, what the vision is, be willing to answer the hard questions. It's so exciting when people are actually sent out by their home church, as it was in Acts 13. That's the ideal way. We want to work together with your church, and answer the questions they may have, in order that this can be a united thrust of your church. We like to think of the first ownership of any missionary being his own home church. In some countries that's rather complex, but that's the ideal. And if you have this vision and this burden to get involved with us, after prayer and sharing with close, intimate friends, you need to be sharing this with your church leaders. And often, and OM sometimes is very small in certain countries, but often we can help in terms of working with your church and actually seeing this happen. It's not easy to become a missionary, even a short-term missionary, in our day. A summer, well that's much easier. Even that, some people find a real battle. But we're talking one or two years. And I hope that you will, as it says in Luke 14, count the cost, and then go into this with serious commitment. And through teamwork and prayer, I believe we can make it happen together. God bless you. We hope to hear from you.