East Mountain – Cape Town, South Africa

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

This is just one of the many ministries that I have the privilege of working alongside at United World Mission. They are literally changing how the church is looking and serving all over Africa!

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East Mountain is a UWM ministry dedicated to developing Christian Leaders for global missional service. We accomplish this by inviting future and current pastors, missionaries, biblical scholars and para-church leaders to participate in relationally driven, community-centric, multi-cultural learning environments. Programs seek to integrate development in the areas of spiritual formation, theological education and practical leadership skills.

THE NEED

The need for leadership development in churches, mission organizations and theological institutions has never been more evident. Some of the current realities show that:

  • Eighty-five percent of churches in the world are led by men and women who have no formal training in theology or ministry.
  • If every Christian training institute in the world operated at 120 percent capacity, less than 10 percent of the unequipped leaders would be trained.
  • Eight out of ten nationals who come to the west to receive training never return home.
  • Leaders from every non-Western region say their number one need is leadership training

East Mountain leadership’s experiences in the local church, on the mission field and in the seminary confirm this picture of the great need for for Leadership Development.

OUR UNIQUE APPROACH

  • Holistic Development – integrated development in the areas of spiritual formation, biblical theology and practical competency.
  • Community Centric – all training occurs in the context of a Biblical Community rather than a classroom or institutional setting.
  • Partnership – East Mountain leverages the programs of existing partner organizations to deliver world-class theological training and real world ministry internships.
  • Shared Influence The East Mountain community is multi-cultural and teaching responsibilities are shared by Africans and Western Christians.

THE IMPACT WE MAKE

East Mountain impacts leaders, organizations and communities.

  • Leaders – Future and current leaders are developed for more effective Christian service.
  • Organizations – Churches, Mission agencies, Seminaries and Non-profits who send and receive East Mountain participants benefit from the influence of equipped leaders.
  • Communities – East Mountain participants are people of influence who go back to their home contexts and to bear fruit through relationships in their homes, neighborhoods, workplace and cities.
  • Capetown, South Africa – We also impact the Capetown context by serving in partnership with churches and non-profits seeking to bless the city in a multitude of ways.

For more visit http://eastmountain.tv/

What is a mobilizer?

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

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For anyone that knows Spanky Rouse or anyone of the Rouse House for that matter, you know our heart and passion for missions is a huge part of who we are. Lara and I have been on lots of mission trips and involve in mission projects all around the world for the past 12 years. We spent a few years being missionaries, we’ve financially supported missionaries, and now we are recruiting and coaching potential missionaries. With this next step in life and missions as a mobilizer at United World Mission I have to ask am I really making a big difference in the Great Commission?

Three weeks after being at UWM I was asked to lead our weekly prayer time and focus on mobilization. This pushed and encouraged me to begin studying the role of mobilization in global mission. At that time (4 weeks) I found myself seating in my office sending emails, reading information, making phone calls, and meeting with missional leaders from all over the world, but what difference am I playing in the Great Commission, global missions?

So I decided to spend some time studying the bible, talking to God about this role of mobilizing, and of course when you don’t know what else to do…Googled it. I found an amazing website, mobilization.org, that has a devotional notebook that is centered around this idea of mobilization. It points out the importance and significance of a mobilizer in fueling missions around the world. So most of my insight and information is going to come from there. Jesus talked in parables and so do I:

To mobilize is to awaken excite inspire provoke stimulate galvanize and encourage groups of people towards a specific action. In the English language the word mobilize is traditionally a military term. It refers to the process of moving resources soldiers weapons and supplies towards the battlefield. Without wartime mobilization, soldiers would never make it to the battlefield, battles could not be fought, and wars cannot be one.
Mobilization is critical to the act of making more in most armies, for every soldier who fights on the front lines, about 10 more personnel are needed to support that one soldier with supplies tactics technology communication and medical care. Mobilization is about much more than getting the soldiers to the front line, fully equipped with everything they need to execute the battle plan. It involves thousands of people laboring behind the scenes, who are offering support and resources to soldiers.

The ultimate job of a mission mobilizer is to engage, equip, and connect believers and churches worldwide to the most strategic role in fulfilling the great commission.

In short what do I do?

I have the amazing privilege and huge responsibility of making good relationships with individuals, churches, and other organizations for the purpose of engaging them, equipping them, and connecting them with the worked God has started and plans to complete all over this world. More specifically I am doing this with ministries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. I get to meet and talk with people that believe that God has put a passion or conviction in their heart to “go” and make a difference through teaching the bible, loving children at risk, evangelize the world, plant churches, meet physical needs, train Christian leaders, and so much more. After meeting with these people I get to connect them with the best opportunities in 45 different countries. These people that are answering the call are going overseas to serve the Lord anywhere from a few weeks to the rest of their lives. I absolutely love coaching these individuals through this exciting time in their lives and helping them figure out what/how/when/where God wants to use them!

So, I feel that this role of the mobilizer is so much more than an office job. I feel like I am playing a very significant role in fulfilling the Great Commission. The bible is very clear that some of us are the sower and some are the reaper, we all have a role to play in this world knowing Him. I get to be a life line for the field ministries/missionaries and a stepping stone for those trying to reach the mission field. It could be either my one family going or it could be us mobilizing hundreds of families to go. I love what God has given me to do for this season of my life!

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

 

John 17:18

You May Be the Only Jesus Some People Ever See by Richard & Reneé Stearns, from He Walks Among Us
Meet Richard Stearns 

The Hands and Feet of Christ

“As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” — Jesus in John 17:18
As followers of Christ, we bear the responsibility of demonstrating to the world what Jesus might look like were He to walk the earth today. Those who will never enter the door of a church or read a Bible or hear a sermon can still know Jesus by watching us! I’m not sure I always give others the right impression, but I met someone who does.
Tseghe, a fourteen-year-old Ethiopian girl, was abducted by a stranger as she walked to school.
Because the man lacked money to pay the bride price, he simply stole Tseghe from the side of the road, intending to make her his wife. He took her shoes so she couldn’t run and marched her miles from her home to a shack where he bound and assaulted her.
Although everyone in the village heard what had happened, no one came to her aid. “She’s damaged goods,” they said. “Leave well enough alone. That’s just the way things are. If you can’t afford a bride, you just take one.”
But Tseghe’s grandmother was determined to find her, and she recruited Esatu, a World Vision staff member, to help. When Esatu first went to the police, they refused to act. But he persisted, and over the course of the next several days, Tseghe was found and returned home.
I asked the older woman what Esatu’s efforts had meant to her. “It would have been enough,” she said, “if he had just come alongside me and been my friend, but he did so much more.”
In that instant, my mind flashed to another desert in another country and a stable in a town called Bethlehem. Looking at the Creator of the universe lying helpless in a manger, some might say it would have been enough had Jesus simply come alongside us to be our Friend. But of course, that wasn’t enough at all, because more than a friend to walk beside us, more than an example to follow, what we really needed was a Savior.
Esatu had already done plenty. He’d worked hard to provide for the needs of the community, and rescuing Tseghe wasn’t his responsibility. But that thought never crossed his mind.
When Esatu came to the aid of a young girl and her desperate grandmother, he was just doing what Jesus would have done if He had been there on that terrible day.
And in a way, Jesus was. Esatu’s hands were Jesus’ hands; Esatu’s heart was Jesus’ heart. When wicked men sought to steal away a young girl’s dignity and hope for the future, Jesus came to Tseghe’s rescue in the person of a man named Esatu.
Is there someone you know who needs Jesus, someone to whom you can demonstrate through your friendship, your encouragement, your wise counsel, the love of the Savior? Look at the people around you. You just might be the only Jesus they will ever see.

Excerpted with permission from He Walks Among Us by Richard and Reneé Stearns, copyright Thomas Nelson.

To know more about the Rouse House and the ministry we are apart of please sign up for our monthly newsletter by emailing spankyr@go28.org. 
Please consider joining our financial support team? You can send contributions to: United World Mission, PO Box 602002, Charlotte NC 28260-2002 and write ACCT# 11084 in the memo line. Further info about on-line giving and other programs see United World Mission. Thank you to our present supporters that allow us to impact the many lives across the planet.
Again, THANKS! We are looking for 10 new partners about to give $50 to $100 per month. Our Goal is $600 a month or $7,000 annually. THANK YOU for investing in this Kingdom work!

What’s up next

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

God is continuing to lead us in exciting directions and showing us his power. Big things are on the horizon! A new season of ministry begins tomorrow.

Earlier this year Lara and I were talking about life and missions. We have been blessed over the 3 plus years to be apart of a God size movement here at Ridge Church in Matthews, NC and we wouldn’t trade it for anything! We have seen God use us to build this ministry outreach called Intersect, which serves a local low-income school and neighborhood called Piney Grove. Unbelievable stories of impact and life change have come out of this project. We have also been able to help facilitate many community groups and other small groups where participates have gained monumental relationships and a deeper understanding about a relationship with God. We have been able to walk with many couples and individuals through counseling, critical circumstances in life, helped through crucial times of discipleship, connected others with in the body of Christ, and loved on hundreds during our 3 plus years on staff here at Ridge Church.

Earlier this summer I began looking for ways Ridge Church, as well as the Rouse House, could serve in missions internationally. Being missionaries at heart we have been feeling the itching to travel and see how God can use us even more. In the early part of July I meet with a mission organization that is based out of Charlotte to talk about opportunities for Ridge Church. At the end of the meeting I was offered a job! Little did I know at this time it would be what I think could be a dream job for me. I couldn’t write the job description any better my self.  Not really in the pursuit of a new job or ministry I took things slow and waited on God to show me what his clear plan was for my family and me. Day after day it seemed that he was moving us in this new direction which is back into full time missions. Worried that I wouldn’t be able to play a role in leadership at Ridge Church or this ministry to Piney Grove I told this organization I would only consider the job if they would allow me to continue some of my ministry at church too. There response was wonderful, “that’s what we would expect you to do. Of course you should keep doing that too.” This is just another one of those moments I call “finger prints of God”. There has be many of them during this process of decreeing if this is the right direction.

After 7 weeks of prayer, asking others for wisdom, conversations with my family, and interviews I accepted the position with United World Mission as a Mobilizer/Coach. My primary role will be to help those who feel that call on their life to missions. I get the privilege of helping individuals and families figure out what exactly God is leading them to do, how, when, and where in the world He wants to use them. I will also work with local churches on the east coast with their international missions needs and with a wide variety of projects worldwide that delight our God. The Rouse House will remain based out of Charlotte and serving in a much smaller way but still making a huge impact through Ridge Church. We are SO excited to see how God has put together these plans and that he still has much for the Rouse House to do!

Tomorrow I start my new adventure in God’s story and he will continue to write a story of faith in me. Lord let us have a faith and love that will change the world!

Colssians 1:4-5

4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel

Please consider joining our financial support team? You can send contributions to: United World Mission, PO Box 602002, Charlotte NC 28260-2002 and write ACCT# 11084 in the memo line. Further info about on-line giving and other programs see United World Mission. Thank you to our present supporters that allow us to impact the many lives across the planet.

Again, THANKS! We are looking for 10 new partners about to give $50 to $100 per month. Our Goal is $600 a month or $7,000 annually. THANK YOU for investing in this Kingdom work!

A year later…

Posted on by Spanky Rouse
Last year about this time a group of 50-60 people gathered at Ridge Church, well what is now Ridge Church, to begin a 30 day fast (click on the link to read more from our pastor Chris Brown). That weekday night this place was just a building under construction and a group of people coming together humbly to ask for God to do what only He can do. We were praying not for the finish product of this really nice facility called Ridge Church but for the people we, Ridge Church, knew God was wanting us to love, serve, and lead to His son Jesus. If the carpets, stage, and walls were torn out you would see those names and groups of people wrote on the concrete floors still today.

Our prayers from that 30 day fast last May:
1. God, Please renew and increase our passion for your mission in this generation. Luke 19:10

2. God, Please give us favor and increase our influence to reach and serve those no one is reaching. 1 Chronicles 4:10
3. God, Please provide for this mission in undeniable and miraculous ways. Luke 11:13
 
I read back over these three prayers today and say to my self, “who wouldn’t want to be apart of a movement where this is what we, THE CHURCH, are seeking God for!!!” This is a group of people that I am so proud to stand and serve beside.
  • We have seen God provide in miraculous ways, just come visit and you will see what all He has given to us and blessed us with.  
  • He has granted us favor and influence over many more in our community as we continue to serve those in our community and city. 
  • And the passion for this mission is greater today than it was that day a year ago as we, Ridge Church, are constantly seeking ways to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus. As we pursue this mission lives are being changed radically week after week! We just baptized 7 this week alone!
My prayer today is the same as it was that evening as we stood in this unfinished warehouse, “God do what you only can do with us” Will you please continue to pray for the Rouse House and Ridge Church as we purse our loving Father and the mission He has created us for? 

Christmas Store 2012

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

I know its been forever since I have posted anything but here is a good way to stat the new year.

About a year and a half ago the Lord lead the Rouse House in a slightly different direction. We began building what is now Here There and Everywhere through our extremely supportive church (Ridge Church) and pastor (Chris Brown). Over this past year God has done great things and has allowed us and Ridge to give and serve the community of Piney Grove more than we could have imagined.

One of the highlights for us through out the year is an event we do for multiple needy families at Piney Grove Elementary called the Christmas Store. It is our version of blessing families with the necessities and wants during the Christmas holiday with the purpose of bringing hope into their hearts and homes. This year we were able to help some struggling families and single moms in bigger ways than we would have even planned: power bills were taken care of, a single mom’s gas was turned back on so so her 4 children could take showers and have heat, cars that were not running are now working well, and eviction notices have been stopped. A pinnacle for me was when I recieved a call from a struggling single mom that attended our Christmas store. She share how she wants to teach her children more about Jesus and what we believe because they have never known church people that cared so much like we did. She said that her children are asking questions about us and Ridge Church because, “there is something special about those people that helped us out. Why would they do this for us when we don’t even go to their church?”

For Lara and I we found ourselves most proud when we heard a mom talk about how amazing all of this is and that this is just what people at Piney Grove have come to expect from us and Ridge Church.  All of the time, energy, effort, planning, prayer, and sacrifice we have put into this project is starting to show some lasting fruit, and it is good fruit! Take moment to watch for yourselves what a few families said in their own words. Christmas Store 2012

Thank you to all of you who have and are currently supporting Lara and I along with Ridge Church as we strive to make a difference for His Glory Here There and Everywhere!

I don’t even know her name…

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Catalyst conference. This is a life changing experience for everyone who attends, so go! God spoke, God moved, God revealed, and I am left wondering how am I going to respond to it all. I will definitely write a couple other blogs on all of the things I feel He revealed and spoke to me about but for today I want to just begin sharing a new passion that is burdening my heart to a level that scares me to death.

Sexual abuse and trafficking. This horrible act on humans especially little girls and young woman is the second largest money making industry in our world today. I can hardly hold it together when I think about this while I just sit here. I simply googled it and found pages of statistics and I hope that these don’t sit well with you but overwhelm you to a point of action.

  • 2.5 million people world wide are enslaved at this very moment
  • 1.2 million of these victims are children, usually girls ages 7-19
  • 95% of these victims are physically abused regularly
  • Estimated global profits from human trafficking is $31.6 billion annually
  • In the US there is over 100,000 sex slaves, most of these are children
  • The average age of a person that is victimized by sex trafficking is 9 years old
  • In Charlotte, NC as of today 15 people have been identified as victims of sexually trafficking and 8 of them were children.
  • the average life span after entering sex trafficking is only 7 years
I had no idea…this is a BIG deal! Little girls all over this world and right here in my city are facing this nightmare day after day and night after night. What are we going to do about it? THIS CAN”T GO ON! “Is there a little girl out there right now praying for me to come rescue her?” is what keeps running through my head and pounding on my heart.
Just now thinking about her, them, tears are puddling on the keyboard of my computer. I don’t even know her name, there names, but I know God has created me to rescue, love, and be apart of His redemption in their lives. Now learning about this how could I go on with my life and not stand up and do something. What? I don’t know but I have to keep trying to figure out what I can and should do.
James 2:14-26, Unless your faith is accompanied with works it is fake, dead, nothing. So what are you, me, going to do to be Christ to those who are needy, poor, hopeless, homeless, helpless, thirsty, and praying for a miracle…praying for YOU to come be their miracle.

Providential Relationships Are The Real Miracle

Posted on by Spanky Rouse
I remember the immediate anxiety that filled my heart when God whispered to me and Lara that we were to raise support…for those of you that aren’t familiar with this term “support”, it means to fund raise for your personal income instead of the typical salary based income…so that we could serve in a full time in ministry. That was almost 5 years ago and yes it still scares the life out of me some days.

Lara and I were driving home one night a couple of weeks ago and we began talking about how crazy it is that the Lord has and currently is providing for us and our family through the financial support of other people. Literally we live off the generosity of others! Believe me we completely recognize the favor of God and His constant blessings but think about it, your entire income depending on the generosity of others and their obedience to the command in Scripture to give. I can sense the anxiousness rising up in me just thinking about it now.

As we drove home that night, Lara and I talked about how insane we must be, but we found ourselves remembering the miracles God has performed for us and the weeks, months, and years He has provided greatly for us through a relatively small group of people in a less than stealer economy //Truth: He is always faithful in providing the ‘mana’ for the day. It’s still so stinking hard to live by faith many, many days!  And we find our selves praying, “God, can’t there be an easier way, maybe the lottery?!?!”…but for me there is that thing deep down inside that I know is the Spirit of God saying, “I’ll take care of it, all of it. Stay focused, eyes on Me(God). Secured and safe salary or not I got this under control”

We have been able to experience God’s presence and His provisions for us in a way that I am sure we would have in no other way been able to intimately know of. The biggest ‘win’ for the Rouse House in support/fundraising is having the privilege to be the recipients of some truly gracious people. Many who have sacrificed greatly, done without so we may not have to, and given in joy in ways that honestly seem like a miracle directly from God Himself. Our lives and our children’s are being impacted in such ways that we will never forget and that will shape our faith inside of so we may fully become who our Heavenly Father wants us to be. Providential relationships, life is no good with out them!

Two things make a relationship providential: when we hear from God through someone and when we see God in someone. When either of those things happens, our faith gets bigger. Isn’t it true that when we see God’s faithfulness in someone else’s life, it is easier to trust him with ours? That’s the power of a divinely ordained relationship. – Andy Stanley

Thank you to all of you who have been the miracles makers and answers to our prayers! 

Give and Serve…1 year

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

One year ago last week we began a partnership that would change and impact many people, many families, a school, a church and possibly an entire community. The very first event or service project we at Ridge Church,  did with Piney Grove Elementary was give away 650 book bags ( Read more about last years Book bag give away )  filled with school supplies at the schools open house in 2011. This was an awesome time being able to provide for the needs of so many families as well as give us at Ridge Church the opportunity to begin relationships with parents, students, teachers, and school staff.

This year at Piney Grove’s Open House Ridge Church did more than just bring a bunch of school supplies. We brought the fun! Our goal was to remove the excuses parents may have to not come to open house, and bring some excitement about school to the minds of the children. We know that if parents and teachers can start off the year well and meet face to face, which may not always be the case, there may be a better opportunity to have a successful year. So, at open house we had hundreds and hundreds of pizzas for dinner, cotton candy and snow cones for the kids (and many adults, yum yum), games, candy, and plenty of smiling faces to welcome everyone back to school.

Families were having so much fun…maybe because they were eating as much pizza as possible before they had to leave…that they stayed and hung out. It really felt like a community festival not a elementary school’s open house. Some of the school staff said they have never seen families have such a good time at school nor a church that would do all of this voluntarily. I had a couple of the school administrational staff come to me saying, “why?…thank you!”

I had a special opportunity to talk with the principal of the school and after a big hug and the fighting back of tears she said,”I can not believe all that you guys keep doing for the school and the families here. Every time you come out you amaze me! Last year when we talked and you told me all of the plans you guys had for Piney Grove I…well it seemed really good but…”

Me, “you didn’t believe us, I knew it and I am glad you didn’t because we got to show you.”

Principal, “your right I didn’t and you have proven a lot. I know now that this message you guys want to preach at your church, well you show it and I could believe something like that now after watching you guys this past year.”

Wow! What an impact a year can make on a community by a group of people simply giving and serving. Can’t wait to see what is in store for this year! God is at work but sometimes it takes a lot longer for us to see Him working…but He is working.

Give and Serve…1 year

Posted on by Spanky Rouse
One year ago last week we began a partnership that would change and impact many people, many families, a school, a church and possibly an entire community. The very first event or service project we at Ridge Church,  did with Piney Grove Elementary was give away 650 book bags filled with school supplies at the schools open house in 2011. This was an awesome time being able to provide for the needs of so many families as well as give us at Ridge Church the opportunity to begin relationships with parents, students, teachers, and school staff.

Leading up to this years open house I began thinking of other ways we may be able to better leverage our resources, people, time, and influence at Piney Grove. I just wasn’t sure giving away 650 book bags was the answer for this year even though it was a huge success last year. I thought about the Christmas Store (clik on the link to read more about what we did at Christmas) project where 14 families at Piney Grove had Christmas provided for them. One of our main goals with the Christmas Store was to empower or enable the parents to be the heroes in their own homes and not Ridge Church. This lead me to begin thinking maybe we could empower or enable the teachers to be the heroes in their classrooms. So this year we gave all school supplies that people at Ridge had donated, to the school so they could then allow the teachers to give them to the children in their class that most needed them. That’s exactly what happened too.

By helping the teachers give and serve to these children that are in most need, maybe just maybe we helped begin a relationship between teacher and student that will benefit these students for a year or maybe a life time. Hopefully these students will be able to trust and respect their teachers a little more. Hopefully these students will enjoy coming to school because they love their teachers. Hopefully these classrooms will be a safe place for these children. Hopefully these teachers will have more influence and opportunity to teach an unguarded child. Hopefully this can be the year that will begin a child’s journey to success in this life.

The simple act of serving a person and giving to meet their need, sometimes goes way beyond that moment. Sometimes it can be the one thing that changes the direction of a life. We never know what impact our simple acts of kindness can do for another.