asian greenhouse

SMART Goals for the New Year!

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 01:41:00 -0000

Everyone wants to get things done. The acronym SMART can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition for goal setting:

S - specific, significant, stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

When you next run a project take a moment to consider whether your goals are SMART goals.

"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organised their energies around a goal." - American philanthropist Elbert Hubbard:

Source: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.html

Prayer Requests for January 2012

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:46:56 -0000

Praising the Lord for: *1296 teens attending our our camping & outreach ministries in 2011. 175 teens made professions of faith this last year!!! * 108 college-age students have attended SYME, our discipleship training school. 13 young adults made professions for Christ and 9 are presently attending WOLBI in NY and 8 in Jeju. * WOLBI Jeju's first graduation this past August. * 250 teens pre-registered for winter camp over one month ago. * New missionaries onthe field: Joe & Joann Min (new camp director), Jake & Crystal Morse (discipling future missionaries to serve in LCM), and Seo (media man at WOLBI, Jeju). * Public school Bible student ministries. We have seen great interest and more student's lives being transformed thru this growing ministry. * Faithful prayer and financial partners, like MBC, which helps make a ministry in Asia like this possible. Praying for: * Wisdom to be faithful and fruitful inthe work (Col 1:9-10) * Protection fromthe enemy's devices ...

Two Kingdoms

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:40:00 -0000

Augustine in his book, The City of God tells about two kingdoms: Here’s a three minute preview of this Sunday's message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zU5-gjef9A
I've just began sharing an 8 week series called Speed Dial. This Sunday at at Exciting Dae Kwang church in Pyongtaek, we will plan to take a closer look at the second petition in the Lord’s Prayer as given in Matthew 6.
The Big idea of this message is that when Jesus shared a pattern for prayer In the second petition of the prayer we he said to pray: "Your Kingdom come" we are NOT to pray for God's kingdom to come into existence, but for it to come into dominance. I certainly didn't grow up with a habit praying like this. How about you? Perhaps it's time to call unto the Lord asking that His values be predominate in our life personally, our family, our church and in the world.

Prayer Request for September 2011

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:54:04 -0000

Praising God for: * Teens and camp staff who made commitments at summer camps. * Pastor Andy Hadaway, Rudy Vaughan & Jeremy Rodgers, guest speakers in our summer camps. * Korean disciple and friend, Gene Jung, sent a team recently to help beautify WOLBI Jeju campus. * 31 First year graduates from the Bible Institute in Jeju with a second year class to begin in one week. Praying for: • Curriculum editor to help leverage the growth of Bible clubs in Korea. • Volunteer teachers for two months during the year at SYME and or 16 days in January or 21 days in July & Aug in Winter & Summer Camps. • Encourage our missionary family and interns through prayers and support. • Missionary for Busan & curriculum & media developer. • Housing and support for our growing missionary

Suicide rate in Korea remains highest in the world

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 10:44:02 -0000

Korea's suicide rate was the highest among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2009 with an average of over 42 people here taking their own lives daily, a government report said Monday, September 5, 2011. The number of people who committed suicide reached 15,413 in 2009, becoming the number one cause of death for people aged between 10 and 40 years old here, according to the report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The second most frequent cause of death for people in that age bracket was traffic accidents, followed by cancer. The total represents 28.4 deaths by suicide for every 100,000 people, the highest among all 33 OECD member countries. "The government will soon open up suicide-prevention centers throughout the country to help lower the suicide rate that has become a serious social problem," a ministry official said. A new legislation on suicide prevention passed the National Assembly in March. Suicide wa...

Summer Camp Korea Testimony - Week 4

Wed, 3 Aug 2011 07:22:00 -0000

Word of Life Camp is a unique environment provides a place for teens to experiencing change. We thank the Lord for the work He has done in the past four summer camp in Korea and covet your prayers as we go into our last camp next week. The upcoming camp is our 5th and largest teen camp this summer. A person's testimony is powerful and the testimony below from one of the female campers last week is no exception.

Hi, my name is Cho Se Won. I'm from Masan Korea and I'm 18 years old. I came to camp with my sister. I grew up in a Christian home with my parents, sister and grandmother. When I first came to camp I just wanted to learn English. The camp was way better than what i had expected. I was praying that I would be used as an instrument for God's glory. And I was wondering what would be the best way to glorify god through my life. but it seemed like I couldn't get an answer. At camp i asked my counselor and Pastor...

Summer Camp Korea Testimony - Week #1

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 07:30:40 -0000

Last week I received the following note from a high school student who came to Korea to serve in our first week of camp. This student came to us as a MK (missionary kid) from the Philippine Islands. Hi Mr. Mike! I hope the rest of the camps are going well. I would just like to thank you for allowing me to be a Junior Counselor at the Word of Life E-Camp in Busan. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I enjoyed interacting with the campers a lot and witnessing their fire and love for God grow throughout the camp. The personal relationships I developed with the girls in my cabin were wonderful. It was nice being able to encourage their walk with Christ, pray for them, listen to their concerns/burderns and simply having fun hanging out with them. Their "hunger" to know more about Christ grew day by day and that was such a blessing to witness. This camp really helped me step out of my comfort zone and humble myself. I've had trouble getting to know people and pushing my shyness...

Prayer Request for July 2011

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:50:40 -0000

Praising God for: *Praise!! 22 students who trusted Christ at the past three STORM meetings. *Praise!! 3 public school Student Bible clubs running in Seoul along with 3 church Student clubs seeking to adopt these clubs. *Praise!! God's provision of a used ministry van for us. *Praising God upcoming summer camps! Praying for: WOLBI Jeju students who are presently in Israel for 10 days. PRAY for wisdom & discretion in coordinating summer camps with student and staff coming from Jeju, PI, mainland Korea and USA. We're planning 5 camps (most ever) in 4 different locations. PRAY for Joe Min as he takes on more responsibility as our new camp director. PRAY for our family to walk in truth and be protected from the enemy. Upcoming ministry opportunties for Mike: July 3rd - Mike speaking at Central Baptist Church on the Southside of Seoul. July 4-8 - Mike flies with three others to Jeju to train WOLBI Jeju students in Camp Counselor Training. July 9th - Mike & pastor Andy...

Exciting Dae Kwang Church

Sat, 14 May 2011 11:29:00 -0000

Exciting Dae Kwang Church is a brand new English service that began a couple of weeks ago on the South end of Pyongtaek, Korea. This picture was taken on the first Sunday of May. We have just begun a series on the book of Acts. Acts teaches us how to experience a stimulating, exciting life and how to make our lives count for God's glory. Appropriate book for Exciting Dae Kwang Church. For those living in Korea with out a church home you are most welcome to attend. The Sunday morning worship is at 9:00 am. Below is the GPS directions in Korean.

Exciting Dae Kwang Church - 경기도 평택시 비전동 115-7

7 Reasons to Read the Bible Everyday

Sun, 8 May 2011 06:36:54 -0000

Bible reading is more than a pleasant pastime. It can become a daily habit that will change your life and accelerate your relationship with God and your spiritual growth. God's Word holds out the promise of rich benefits for those who spend time reading it and taking its truths to heart. Here are just seven of the many ways your life can be better as you make the Bible your daily reading companion. All seven come from Psalm 119—a magnificent song of praise for God's Word. 1.The Bible will help keep you from sin. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (verse 11). 2.The Bible will lift your burdens. "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word" (verse 28). 3.The Bible will guide your steps. "Your word is a lamp to my feed and a light for my path" (verse 105). 4.The Bible will bring you joy. "Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart" (verse 111). 5.The Bible will lead you to wisdom. "The unfolding...

Loving the imperfect church

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:48:53 -0000

Some missionary friends of ours in Korea were in the US for their daughter's wedding near Boston, MA. Alicia and I were also in the US at the time visiting our mission HQ in upstate, NY. Not only had i known this family for a number of years, Alicia had a discipleship role in the bride's life so as a family we decided to drive to MA to this church for the wedding. We used Map Quest as a guide to help us locate the church. However, even though the directions had help navigate us at our destination the church was no where in site. So after circling the neighborhood several times we stopped and asked for directions but it seemed no one in the area had heard of this church. After a few more attempts of looking earnestly for the church we found it tucked away off the road with no sign. When we told our missionary friend about our trouble so asked the pastor of the church what happened to the sign. The pastor explained, “I took it down for the winter, so it wouldn’t become weathered.” ...

what is your vision?

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 04:37:00 -0000

"What is your vision" is a question i asked some of students today at our discipleship training school. Each day among the 40 plus students students eat their meals together in a room with a table where some 8-10 typically can easily sit together. I don't always ask this question, while eating lunch, but occasionally i find it's a helpful way to get to know where a student is going at least intending to go (ie sign post). The first person responded . . . "I plan to be a missionary to Israel". The rest of the students responded with "wow". This student also assured me when i asked that she plans to go to WOLBI Jeju which includes a trip to Israel.

Continuing around the table, the second - third and fourth person mentioned that they wanted to go into business. (ie accounting, foreign trade ect.). One said his dad died when he was 4 yrs old and that his mom wants him to be a pastor but he wants to earn a lot of money to help support Christian work. Two of these students also men...

Word of Life Korea prayer requests for May 2011

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:27:26 -0000

Word of Life Korea Prayer Requests for May 2011 Praise: We have three public school Bible clubs in Seoul (evangelistic outreach) along with newly established local church Bible Clubs! Pray for wisdom and fruit that would abound. Praise: Mike was able to travel to the second largest city of Busan (3.6million people) and connect with several pastors and leaders in the area, air two radio broadcasts on a local Christian station and nail down a summer camp location for our Busan camps. Pray - Mike, Peter and Jack meeting with 40 Korean pastors during the next 40 days. Pray - Friend Day at SYME (School of Youth Ministries in English) our discipleship training school in Korea on May 7th. Pray - Wisdom in teaching and providing the leadership needed for a new English Worship service at a Korean church in Pyongtaek that begins in May. Pray - Funds needed to finailize the last half of the restoration from a fire our school had in one of its dorms as well as funds to run camp...

Almost Half of Korean Parents Want To Send Children Overseas for Study

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:16:16 -0000

A report in today’s Korea Times about a recent survey by the National Statistical office reports problems with the education in Korea. This is especially interesting in light of how the US president has often uplifted the Korean education system as a model for education in the US. According to a survey of 42,000 people over 15 years old from 20,000 families nationwide, 48.3 percent of those over 30 with children wanted to send them overseas to study. Among the mostly high-paid professionals or office workers, about half wanted overseas education from elementary school level. The survey also questioned why parents wanted to send their children overseas. A majority responded that they wanted their children to have an international sense of living, but 27.3 percent said they did not like the Korean education system; 16.6 percent wanted their children to learn in a liberal atmosphere; and 13.1 percent wanted them to learn a foreign language

Six Prayers To Increase Your Outreach IQ

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 07:23:14 -0000

Normally it is thought that one’s IQ is a fairly static number, that it can’t be increased, but not in the case of Outreach IQ. When it comes to outreach you can increase your level of intelligence. It’s a matter of doing some practical things—prayerful things. Prayer is the lifeblood of all vital outreach. You can pray without doing outreach, but you can’t do outreach without prayer. You can pray without doing outreach, but you can’t do outreach without prayer. It is easy to fall into the trap of being busy in outreach activities without walking in a spirit of prayer. Such a routine will only stir up lots of activity but little lasting fruit. Operating in this mode won’t yield the results we seek. God communicates with us all the time. The only hold up is on our end—the receiving end of things. As we pray we are able to hear his voice clearly. There are certain prayers that bear more fruit than others. Some prayers are easy to answer. They are the kinds that express his ...

21 Questions Leaders need to think about

Wed, 2 Mar 2011 14:03:47 -0000

21 leadership questions taken from the book of James that EVERY leader/potential leader needs to think about/pray through was posted recently on Perry Noble's blog and seemed worthy of passing on to fellow leaders today. #1 – Do I understand who I am? James 1:1 – notice James didn’t identify himself as the brother of Jesus…but rather His servant! WOW! #2 – Do I understand that ministry IS NOT easy? James 1:2-4 (when the writer BEGINS with these verses that’s a big time sign!) #3 – Do I understand that I should spend more time on my face before God rather than worshipping the FACEBOOK God when seeking direction? James 1:5 #4 – Do you think that James is trying to get a point across…it’s not going to be easy…but we are called to be “in it to win it!” James 1:12 #5 – Do I understand it’s not IF I am tempted, but when…and IF I give into it then something WILL die? James 1:13-15 #6 – Do I understand that I am NOT THAT GOOD…that everything is a gift? James 1:16-18 ...

Asia Pop Quiz

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:23:38 -0000

National Geographic recently posted Pop Quiz: Asia. The first question asks where Buddhism originated and allows you to select one of the four countries: Click on Asia Quiz below to answer 10 questions to test your knowledge of the world's largest and most populous continent. Asia Quiz - http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/asia-quiz/?source=email_inside Source: National

Muslim Demographics Exaggerated

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 06:44:20 -0000

World Magazine recently published the report below this paragraph. It shouldn't surprise anyone that what may seem like an alarming video posted even on youtube can be as fickle as the evening news. And now the rest of the story as reported in World Magazine .. Are you among the millions who watched the "Muslim Demographics" video? It launched a thousand online and church discussions, but a new report from the Pew Forum gives a more measured take on the growth of the world's Muslim population. The controversial video, first posted on YouTube in March 2009 and viewed over 12 million times since, sounded an alarm over declining Christian fertility rates: It predicted that Islam would become the world's dominant religion in five to seven years. Some denounced the video as racist. Others, even if they saw the video as a well-intentioned attempt to spur evangelism, merely found it alarmist and exaggerated, delivered as it was with an ominous soundtrack and a stream of dubious researc...

S. Koreans among world's heaviest drinkers

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 06:09:15 -0000

South Koreans drank more than twice the global average for alcohol consumption in 2005, according to a report from the World Health Organization published last week. The London-based daily The Economist reported it online in a world map format Feb. 14. The image, which shows each country's 2003-05 average of alcohol consumption per person aged 15 or over, indicates South Korea in bright red, in the highest of six categories (12.5 liters or more per person). South Koreans drank the equivalent of 14.8 liters of pure alcohol per person aged 15 or over in 2005, said the report. The global average was 6.1 liters, less than half that. Spirits were overwhelmingly South Koreans' favorite beverage. They drank 9.6 liters' worth per person in 2005, more than in any other country. Thus spirits accounted for a staggering 81 percent of South Koreans' drinking, followed by beer at 18% percent. Wine and other alcoholic beverages together comprised less than 2 percent of Koreans' drinking. ...

Word of Life Korea Prayer Requests - February 2011

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 02:09:11 -0000

Word of Life Korea Prayer Request for February 2011 Pray - Fruit to remain from 83 salvation decisions recorded last month from three teen camps. We are thankful for the commitment of camp counselors and LCM ministry interns who provides A/S (after service) with like-minded church leaders for campers who made a decision for Christ at a Winter Camp. Pray - More LCM (local church ministries) missionaries to fill in the gaps. Particularly need - a curriculum development team, Bible club area reps, and a camp team to work under our future camping director Joe Min. Pray - Peter Chae who is coordinating Source One Youth Leadership Trainings starting this month in three churches. Pray - Missionary families who are in need of support. Pray - Protection from the evil one (John 17) in our marriage and home. Pray - Discipleship Training School is in need of volunteer teachers. Next Friend day is March 5th. Pray - Wisdom in staff development and helping more students and l...

The Mentor Leader

Sun, 6 Feb 2011 04:58:31 -0000

Tony Dungy is known for leading the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl victory on February 4, 2007 as well as the book Quiet Strength. One of the stories that Tony shared in his book, The Mentor Leader, that resonated with me was when his father took him to watch a basketball game and his father told him to watch the basketball coach as he was a great coach. After going to the game he was surprised to see a coach who rarely got out of his seat, seemingly had little expression and hardly said a word to his players. The players played a great game but at the time he didn't understand how his dad could view the coach so highly since he didn't see the coach "coaching". Later he discovered that good coached prepare their players in practice so well that they they are ready to execute or play the game as a team on their own with out a lot of coaching from the bench. The axiom that Tony's dad repeated to his son that night simply says "When you are the teacher, you talk when you teach. Y...

Teen Role Models

Tue, 1 Feb 2011 04:33:05 -0000

One of the reasons we encourage camp counselors to follow-up each camper after camp is the fact that it has a powerful influence on the campers life. Check out a recent study done in the US by George Barna below. Teens are emulating the people they know best. More than two out of three teens identify people they know personally as their primary role model. Many parents and youthworkers fret about the role models of the next generation. Yet, one reason to remain hopeful about the development of young people is their reliance upon the people they know best: friends, relatives, teachers, pastors, and coaches. At the same time, that reality underscores the insistence of many parents that they influence the people with whom their child associates, in order to be sure that their kids are surrounded by people modeling positive values and life choices. Source: George Barna Group http://www.barna.org/teens-next-gen-articles/467-teen-role-models

If you were certain God is with you how would your life be different? click on the link to talk given this week to Korean teens.

Fri, 28 Jan 2011 02:07:14 -0000

How would your life be different tomorrow if you were certain God was with you? If you were confident God is with you how would your life be different? If my older brothers sold me into slavery, if I was thrown into prison for doing the right thing, if I did my best to help others while in prison and then they forgot me I would likely be very angry. And I would easily question where God would be in the midst of this situation. Our natural response to difficult or uncertainties in life is to wonder where God is in this. Question. What is the hardest thing you have ever had to go through? I've discovered that what ever we are going through presently seems to be the hardest thing that we've ever gone through. But after we get over this challenge another challenge pops up and it seems like the biggest mountain or hurdle we've ever had to face. The reality is that life is full of challenges and uncertainties. But one thing is absolutely certain and this is what Joseph embraced in ...

3 Questions for Christmas

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 02:31:49 -0000

3 QUESTIONS 1) Can I trust Him? Yes I can, for He is the faithful witness. 2) Does He have the power to help me? Yes He does, for He is the firstborn from the dead. 3) Will He take care of my future? Yes He will, for He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Source: Ray Pritchard, founder of Keep Believing Ministries and a guest lecture at WOLBI (Word of Life Bible Institute) on Jeju Island in S Korea. The above three questions come from a Christmas sermon given entitled Three Questions for

Korean QT Diary '11

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:10:00 -0000

Our 2011 Korean QT Diary is available. This one-year diary is a helpful for students and adults to not only read the Bible but to make personal application. Besides the daily digging deeper sections there is also an easy to ready overview of each selected book during the year.

This year, as recommended from Korean pastors, the QT diary is divided into two books, January - June and July - December. This change is all about keeping our relationship with God fresh and vibrant. A number of volunteers have come to the LCM office to help put these together so orders can be filled for those making requests before the New Year.

It's exciting to see how God uses simple tools, like this, to bring His family closer to Himself. Last week, after returning from a radio interview in Seoul, a church just south of Seoul which has been using this diary for the past 3 years said that they began with 8 students and 2 leaders are now ordering for 50 students and 10 leaders wh...

Interactive Christmas cards

Tue, 7 Dec 2010 08:07:00 -0000

This week we are asking our children why Jesus was born as a baby and why we celebrate Christmas. It's been another opportunity to share how our greatest problem is our sin problem and how that Jesus came to be our Savior as recorded in Luke 2.

Recently, a couple web sites were sent to me via email of paperless Christmas cards. I like ones which invite participation. Check it out for yourself and please let me know if you have any other recommendations.

Interactive Christmas card

Paperless Christmas from some some British Christians