Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Christmas Greetings and Ministry Projections for 2013

Dave and Debbie Johnson
Assemblies of God Missionaries to the Philippines
AGWM Acct. 2256006

Winter Newsletter 2012-2013

Dear Friends,
Merry Christmas and
Warm New Year’s Greetings
to all of you
with Joy and Deep Appreciation
for your love,
your prayers,
your sacrifice on our behalf


In the next day or two, we are going to attempt a pictorial newsletter recapping 2011. Since this attempt is at the limits of Dave’s technical capability, we will do it as a separate document…just in case it comes out looking, well, interesting . . .

In this edition, along with our Christmas greetings, we would like to share with you our vision and activities for the coming year. But first, we need to take care of a bit of business.

A Quick Appeal and Thanks to those of you who responded to our latest appeal to help erase our financial deficit.  We are very thankful for this. While the deficit has lowered, it now still stands at about $2,500.00 so if you can help in any way, we would certainly appreciate hearing from you.  Here’s how you can give
·        Online at www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com or
·        By mail to AGWM 1145 Boonville Ave. Springfield MO 65802 USA, designated for Dave and Debbie Johnson, AGWM acct no. 2256006.

To know what you are supporting, please keep reading. To read our past newsletters, please visit www.drdavejohnson.blogspot.com.

The New Year in Preview

Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) (see www.apts.edu)
The first two months will be focused on our teaching and publishing responsibilities at APTS. Debbie will be teaching a block course designed to train those who will teach English as a second language. God is using people in this capacity to share the gospel all over the world. Those who have signed up for Debbie’s course come from several different nations in the Asia Pacific region. She has a masters degree in this field and is getting excited about the course. After teaching the course in February, she will likely have to return a couple of months later to supervise an internship program for these students.

Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies and the APTS Press
While Debbie is doing that Dave will put on his publisher’s hat as the managing editor of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies and the director of the APTS Press, which publishes academic books. Dave’s second edition of this highly respected journal will be going to press about this time and he also plans to invest time planning future editions. Also, a couple of months before inviting Dave to direct the Press, the APTS leadership accepted Dave’s dissertation for publication, meaning that the first book he will publish as the director of the Press is his own! The book is at the printer now and will be out in early January. We will have a picture of it in the coming pictorial newsletter and it will be available through www.daveanddebbiejohnson.com sometime after the first of the year.

Throughout these publications, Dave is being given the wonderful opportunity to serve the Pentecostal/Charismatic community in the Asia Pacific region and beyond. Please pray that the Lord will anoint Dave to bring God’s a message of wisdom for the harvesters and workers of His kingdom in Asia.

Ministry in the Bicol Region
Much of Debbie’s preparing for APTS teaching and Dave’s publishing responsibilities can be done from our home in metro Legaspi, the capital of the Bicol region, thanks to the Internet. For most of our time in Legaspi, however, we will be focused on our ministry here in the Bicol region.

Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
As we reported in our latest newsletter, we experienced a powerful moving of the Holy Spirit when evangelists Bill and Beth Juoni were with us last August. Our hearts are on fire to see this continue. In November, we held follow up seminar/revival meetings in several of the areas, and God met us in those meetings. We will continue in this type of ministry beginning in March and throughout the year as the Lord leads. For a long time we, especially Debbie, have been praying for revival and God has given us a prophetic word that it is coming. Has it started? We don’t know. Are we ready? We don’t know that either, but we continue to prepare our hearts and prepare our pastors and church leaders. Oh God, let the fire fall!

Training on the gifts of the Spirit during our seminars for pastors and leaders of house churches has been fruitful and we praise God for the outpourings of the Holy Spirit on several of our services lately where a number of people were used in tongues, interpretation and prophecies.  A pastor who had suffered with a neck injury after an automobile accident for over a year reported a sudden instant healing in one of the meetings.  We praise God for what He is doing.

We believe that another part of our response to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit since last August is more writing. Bill Juoni and Dave will be teaming up to write a book for Filipino believers on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which we hope to have ready by June or so.

Training for Pastors and House Church leaders
We have been blessed to travel around our district during this last year and train pastors and house church leaders in a number of key areas:  personal spiritual disciples, goal setting, love and respect mentoring, and conflict resolution and relationship strengthening.  We continue to also have a burden to further equip pastors for ministry in non formal setting and will be exploring potential opportunities in the months ahead.

Other opportunities
We continue to pray for God’s guidance on our priorities for 2013. Please pray for us that God would give us clear eyesight to see his plan and respond according.

Other opportunities will likely include hosting a couple of teams from the States and other foreign guests as the Lord sends them our way. Dave is also incubating a dream for another book. We will keep you posted if that dream starts becoming a reality.

Prayer Points
·        That we would walk in holiness and purity before God.
·        That we would love well.
·        That we would see God’s vision for our activities clearly and respond in a way pleasing to him.
·        That God would resource the vision

From our hearts to your homes, we wish all of you and your families a Blessed Christmas and healthy and prosperous New Year, trusting always in the Lord who holds the universe and each one of His beloved children in His hands.

Dave and Debbie Johnson



Sunday, December 9, 2012

Family Ties

Thirty-seven years ago I left home to join the Navy--the first bird to permanently leave the nest. When I arrived home from basic training for my first furlough. my family gave me a hero's welcome and even wanted me to wear my dress uniform to church, regardless of the low rank revealed on my sleeve. Since then I have come and left again more times than I can count. While I always wanted to see my friends, early on I realized that most friends are in our lives for only a season. Few stay for a lifetime.

Not so with family although, even then, some things have changed over the years. My brothers married and started their own families. My mom has since gone to be with Lord and my dad later remarried. What has never changed, no matter how far the distance between us nor the fact that I no longer attend the church in the denomination of my parents, is that our family ties remain as close as ever.  And whenever Debbie and I do go home, they still give us a hero's welcome.

Morale of the story? Invest time with your family.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Freedom Isn't Free

Seventy-one years ago today, December 8, 1941, only eighteen hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Imperial forces of Japan invaded the Philippines, which was an American colony at the time. For five months, badly outmanned, outgunned and outgeneralled the American and Filipino forces battled their invaders, their blood mixing together in the Filipino soil. Holding out as long as possible on Coreigdor Island at the mouth of Manila Bay, they were forced to surrender in May, 1942.

Two and a half years later, Allied Forces under the command General Douglas MacArthur stormed the beaches of the Philippines, linked up with Filipino guerilla fighters and once again spilled their blood in liberating the Philippines from the hated invader.

Freedom isn't free.

But as evil as political domination by the enemy was and as wonderful as liberation can be, there is among mankind a much deeper problem. Sin. Alienation from God that leads to alienation among humans. The remedy for this could only be made by God himself, who loved us enough to shed the blood of his own Son on the Cross. In him, there is true freedom. To understand this better feel free to drop me a line or, better yet, read the Bible. It will set you free.