Prayers & News:
News

•  It is with great pleasure that I report to you the acceptance of Rebecca Nehrt with the assistance of her husband Rev. Dr. Jeffery Nehrt to take over the business manager/ treasurer duties of OAFC. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Thank you Rebecca and Pastor Nehrt.
• Summer Training is July 17-23rd, 2014 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Midwest City, OK and registration is open on the website. 
• We've purchased a new van for our Travel teams to more confidently go out and share the Gospel. Look for it soon at a church near you.
• The new 5th edition of the OAFC Songbook has finished production. We're planning to distribute them to local groups at Summer Training. (Everyone who comes to Training gets a songbook).
• We're making room in our archives by digitizing our files. We're purchasing a commercial document scanner and will be working on this project for the next few months.
• Executive Director Matthew Tassey and wife Veronica are going to be bringing our new baby to Training, so come and see. (She'll only be a month old, so cute!)

Prayers of Supplication

• That God would guide and bless our Summer Training preparations and conference.
• That God would bless our local groups with weekends, youth, and leaders.
• That people would be receptive to the Gospel.
• May God strengthen each of us as we work through life's challenge in the death of Chelsea Jean Schofield our 18 year old ambassador. We in Ongoing Ambassadors For Christ particularly in the SE Illinois group who knew Chelsea were proud to have known and worked with her as she witnessed her faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus with us and with total strangers. Her smile, friendly nature and God given talent in playing guitar and singing praises to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, her Creator were greatly appreciated. We in OAFC are assured of heaven when we die because of what Jesus has done in the suffering, dying and rising again in victory of Jesus for all of our sins. We morn this accidental loss of Chelsea and fondly remember her love for us and for her Savior.   

Prayers of Thanksgiving

• That God provided new business/financial managers in Rebecca and Pastor Jeffery Nehrt
• That God continues to provide for OAFC's financial needs through our supporters.
• Memorial was made by Brenda Drefs in memory of Anita Reimnitz. 
• That God blessed the production of the new OAFC Songbook and we give thanks to the CID LWML for their grant which provided the funding for this project.
• That the Oklahoma District so graciously received us for Summer Training.
• That God has given us many great leaders and volunteers to serve OAFC.

2014 Objectives

1. Sustain and grow our current groups
2. Add more local groups across the country
3. Equip youth and adults for witnessing in a cyber-based culture
4. Recruit a new Business and Financial Manager

Should Christians Apologize for Jesus?

Paul says in 1 Corinthians that the word of the cross if folly to the Greek and a stumbling block - a scandal - to the Jews. In today's world, we see politicians, leaders, businessmen, athletes, and activists continually apologizing for every little thing they may have done to cause offense or scandal. Christians can be tempted in such a world to apologize for a Gospel that clearly says there is no other way to salvation except through faith in Christ - that is, all who don't believe in Christ do not receive salvation; are condemned. But should we apologize for the words of Jesus?

At this year's Summer Training, we're going through the book of 1st Peter, and in chapter 3 the Apostle best known for putting his foot in his mouth throughout the ministry of Jesus, Peter, says that we are to "be prepared to give an answer/defense for the hope that is within you." And that word for "defense" is actually the Greek word Apologia. Literally, it's "be prepared to give an apology for the hope that is within you." So is the Apostle Peter calling on Christians to apologize for the rather tactless, non-Politically-Correct, statements of Jesus? Well, no. Of course not.

In the Greek, Apologia means to make a defense against the prosecution. It means that whenever someone attacks or criticizes your faith in the Jesus who made such extreme statements, that you are prepared to defend him against such arguments. That's why we call doing just that Apologetics - answering the criticisms against the Bible, Jesus, even the Church. We don't apologize in such a way that we belittle Christ and his words and works, but we make an Apology so that we defend the words of our Lord. That's Apologetics.

In OAFC, we encourage Apologetics in one of two ways. We primarily train youth in the Bible and the consistency and Apologetics of the Bible, itself. So, through our different witnessing methods, we train youth and adults to defend the words of Christ with solid biblical teachings from Scripture. That's why the AH method is so solid and needed; it's a clear answer to the questions about what's in the Bible.

The other way of Apologetics is to use that which is outside of the Bible, like science and man's logic, to answer questions about why one should even read the Bible in the first place. We don't train youth to use these arguments at the door during our Witness Survey because that's not what the Survey is about. Yet youth are encouraged to delve deeper into this form of Apologetics through some of our Dramas and in using such in their everyday lives.

Both are important forms of Apologetics: the Biblical and the Extra-Biblical. Let me close with my favorite Biblical Apologetic: the empty tomb.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 - written 20-30 years after the resurrection of Christ - that he saw the risen Jesus and that he was not alone. He says that over 500 others saw the resurrected Jesus, too, and were willing to testify to what they saw, since most of them were still alive and able to be subpoenaed into court. If 3 witnesses agreed on the witness stand, you could believe it. If 10, there'd be no room for doubt. If 500 witnesses, one after the other marched into court, sat in the witness stand, and attested the exact same thing - that they'd seen the marks of the nails and spear in the resurrected Jesus - you would be laughed out of the court if you still refused to believe. So we know from the witnesses that Jesus appeared after his death to enough people to discount any type of stolen body or mass hallucination or any other naturalistic attempt to deny it. So he is risen, and risen, indeed! Alleluia! And since he died and rose again, God has made him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2), and given him authority over all the earth to judge all things. His resurrection proves that he is God and that what he said is true. And he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14). So, if you desire eternal life according to the promises of Jesus in a place with no more pain or suffering or death, you must believe that he is your Lord and Savior. Let me show you how...

For God so loved ______ that he gave his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer, die, and rise in victory for _____, so that, believing in Jesus as the Savior from sin, _____ shall not perish, but _____ shall have everlasting life. 

This is God's promise to you and He cannot lie, as he says in Titus 1:2. If I promised that to you, I could be lying. But God, who cannot lie promised. And He promised eternal life to all who believe in Jesus as they're Savior. Isn't it great to know that Jesus died and rose again to guarantee this promise to you?

Sound familiar? That's Apologetics.

The Church is the Root of Missions

As we prepare to gather for Summer Training July 17-23rd in Midwest City, OK, let's look again at our theme PROCLAIM! from the letter of the Apostle Peter to Christians scattered throughout the world. Especially in light of gathering in local churches for our Training, let's look at what Peter has to say about the Church and Mission.

Peter says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you... Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God... And this word is the good news that was preached to you" (1 Peter 1:3-4, 23, 25). The only place we find this phrase "born again" in all of Scripture is in John 3 - Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus - and here in 1 Peter. In John 3:3, 5-6, Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," and again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Jesus is talking about Baptism here - the birth of water and the Spirit. Since Peter is quoting Jesus (there's no one else who says this, so he must be quoting Jesus), that's what Peter is referring to. And Paul speaks the exact same in Titus 3:4-8: "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things..."

The Church instituted by Jesus - that is, the place where those who stand in the office of the Apostles proclaim their witness and administer the Sacraments that proclaim the voice of Jesus to the congregation gathered by the Word of God in Christ - is the place of mission. Again and again throughout his letter, Peter will return to the Baptism we received through the hands of the elders and shepherds leading the Church (1 Peter 5:1-2). And that Baptism is never about leaving a person alone in their faith. We don't want to preach the Gospel to someone and just leave them on their own. Baptism unites us into the body of Christ, as a congregation of believers united around he who is our head. That means that in our witness and evangelism, we should always seek to connect people to the local congregation - a branch of the Church living in the vine who is Jesus (John 15:5) - where they can be fed and strengthened continually in Word and Sacrament as part of a body - not as a lone Christian.

That's why we insist on working with local congregations in our witness training in OAFC. We know that anyone can go out and PROCLAIM! to anyone, anywhere, about the Gospel. We know that everyone, no matter where they are, can believe - even if it's their last hours, lonely on a cross like the man next to Jesus. But we also know that the standard and expectation of Christ is bringing people into the Church. So OAFC always seeks to work with local congregations to connect the people with whom we share the Gospel to local congregations for Word and Sacrament ministry. 

That's also why we in OAFC are so very grateful to congregations who open their doors to this ministry for the opportunity to give youth a place to grow in their faith and to share the Gospel. So we give a big Thank You to all of the congregations and members who have opened their doors and houses and neighborhoods to OAFC youth and adults over the years - because you've helped in the sharing of the Gospel as Jesus intended and also helped to instill in youth the love of the Church and the knowledge that the Church is the root of all missions. God bless. you as you and we PROCLAIM!