10 Years In Ethiopia: Franklin Vineyard
Later in 2008, not long after the original group went, we sent a team of four to go and check it out: Tim, Jon, my son Mark, and me. We saw great need there and wanted to help in this land that is tied to the book of Acts. So every year, except one, we […]
A Missions Photography Field Guide
If you’re not a photographer, you may have had the disappointing experience of discovering that the photos you snapped on a trip abroad turned out any number of ways: dark and grainy, overexposed, oddly angled, or they simply failed to capture the spirit of a particular moment. The truth is that even professional photographers have […]
VM Monthly Series: Discerning A Local Church’s Work In Global Missions (November 2018)
Click here to read Part 1 from Luke and the Red Bluff Vineyard at Vineyard Missions’ blog. In the Vineyard, our process of discerning God’s will is grounded in the prayer, “Come Holy Spirit.” We regularly invite the Spirit of God to lead us and empower us to live in a way that witnesses to […]
South Sudan At Seven Years Old
South Sudan found its name and independence in 2011. Freedom of any kind is a sense of hope and promise, but the world’s newest country is also one of its least developed – anywhere you look. There are no precise population figures, but in 2014, the World Bank estimated there were 11.91 million South Sudanese, […]
Discerning A Local Church’s Work In Global Missions
Vineyard Missions has asked me to share how our church, the Red Bluff Vineyard, is discerning and working toward joining a Missions Partnership. Our goal is to spend the next two years (or less) exploring where God is calling us, who God is calling us to, and how to best engage in global missions! I […]
At Home Or Abroad, Posture Is Everything
In Mozambique, most places we visit lack running water, restrooms, etc. But Mozambicans understand the need for hygiene, so the custom is to offer a pitcher of water and a basin to wash your hands. The water is usually warmed over an open fire. Before any meal, when you enter a home, or even sometimes […]
We Praise The African Way | Cultural Context
On a recent trip, I had the opportunity to experience worship and ministry “the African way,” as I visited three countries in eight days, witnessing the manifold ways Kingdom values are being contextualized in the various cultures of Africa. First stop was Cameroon. The Cameroonian team leader shared a small two bedroom apartment. For those […]
Senegalese Man Healed And Walks Away
So I prayed a second time. When I asked how he was doing again, he just walked away. A few hours later he came running up to me with a huge grin, exclaiming that he was completely healed. He said, “I didn’t mean to be rude when I walked away, but I was so touched […]
First-Time Cross-Cultural Church Planting As Grandparents: The Chilcott Story
Let’s Rewind The Story To The Beginning, The Real Miracle. We had never been to Puerto Rico before, but as we flew the first time into San Juan for a short-term missions trip, as I looked out of the airplane window, suddenly I saw this picture or vision of planting churches in Puerto Rico, setting […]
Missions Highlight: Leader Care In Ethiopia
Working In The Context Of Teams We spent the first two days with the two key members of our emerging movement coordinating team. These are the guys who form the backbone of our developing national leadership team. When raising up a movement, we always want to work in the context of teams. It is from […]
