Monday, March 17, 2008

Ministry Update

Hello friends!

I'm excited to tell you that there are some things going on! I am still seeking full time employment as an associate pastor, but in the mean while my wife and I have talked it over and I am going to scale back my hours at the job I'm at now and see if we can't make something really happen with this ministry.

So here are some things that are going to be happening with the ministry of Reformation In Progress....

1. We are considering a name change.

My desire as an apologist is to equip the body of Christ with what they need to affirm their faith and defend it against competing worldviews and religions. I unashamedly hold to the doctrines of grace, but I still wish to partner with churches who are not 5 point Calvinist's. The name Reformation In Progress I'm afraid scares some people away before they even give the ministry a second look. So, though I'm certainly not going to change my convictions or teachings, I though a name change would at least help me get into churches that disagree with Calvinism so that I can partner with them in teaching things like defending the trinity, witnessing to Mormon's, etc.

So here is the name I've been considering most strongly: Nail Mark Ministries. Why? Because of what Thomas says in John 20:25.

" But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

The heart beat of this ministry is to give people what they need through plain reason, Scripture and other evidence, to be able to fall down before Jesus' feet and proclaim "My Lord and my God!" just as Thomas did.

Feel free to leave your thoughts about the idea for this name.

2. We are going to be building a new web site.

I am hiring a very computer savvy individual to build the ministry a new site. Once completed we will have a lot more flexibility with what we can do online as a ministry. The blog will be on the same web site as all the articles and resources that are now on www.reformationapologetics.com. There will no longer be a need for two separate sites. We will eventually have an online store. You will be able to download Mp3's and there will be a forum for apologetic and theological discussions. And more. My hope is that when it is all done it will function very similarly to www.aomin.org.

3. As soon as possible we are going to become an officially non-profit organization.

This will allow donations to the ministry to be tax deductible.

4. I will be actively pursuing opportunities to speak in churches about how to defend the Christian faith.

I have done some work in this area already, but I will be coming up with some materials so that I can lead training workshops in churches that will walk people through Scripture, relevant history and evidence so that they can become prepared to give a reason for the hope that is within them.

None of this of course will happen over night, but I am excited as I am going to be turning more of my attention back to this ministry as I wait for God to take me and my family wherever He wants us to go.

I appreciate your prayers, idea's and suggestions as we continue to work towards the above mentioned plans and goals. We need to raise some money (hopefully by speaking at a few churches in the near future) in order to pay for the expenses that come along with setting up a non-profit status, so be praying for that as well.

I will be blogging more regularly starting this next week I think! Can you feel the excitement? Yeah buddy!

Serving Christ our Lord,

Jacob Allee

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