L.I.T. Has Provided Me with the Perfect Program to Implement the Training in Honduras by Tim Setliff

When I became aware of L.I.T. Ministries, I realized how important it was to disciple children and teach them how to walk with Jesus. L.I.T. has provided me with the perfect program to implement the training. Maria and I are using the resources to disciple children in our ministry. We work with 23 local churches in our area. We provide teacher training, lessons, and materials for their children's Sunday school classes. In our next training class, we will introduce the pastors and teachers to L.I.T. Ministries. We are believing God to do amazing things in Honduras.

Sometimes Obedience Comes at a Cost by Dr. Clint May

I am showing my age here. Remember cassette tapes? You had to rewind the tape to the beginning to play an album from the start. Then there were CDs, and now we have digital music right on our phones. I want to rewind to when I went full-time with L.I.T. so you will know where we were and where the Lord has brought this ministry. Sorry that this is a little long, but it helps you understand the journey on which the Lord is taking us.

On April 12, 2014, I attended an evening worship service at my church. The pastor said to read Psalm 27:4 and then write down what comes to mind. The verse says, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.”

The first thought that came to mind was, “Do you trust Me with your life? Do you believe I can do mighty work? Are you willing to take a step of faith and fully submit to My authority?” At the time, I was overwhelmed. I was a full-time children’s pastor working with a growing ministry beyond my church (L.I.T. Ministries) and working on my doctorate.

On June 22, 2014, I stepped down from my full-time position as a children’s minister and went full-time with L.I.T. The Lord made it clear that it was His will for me. Not to do so would be an act of disobedience to His calling. It did not make sense at the time. The money was not there, but we trusted the Lord and took the step of faith He called us to. He has provided for Vicki and me all the way.

In the Spring of 2015, my former pastor and mentor, Dr. Sam Douglas, invited me to a DCPI (Dynamic Church Planting International) conference in Stephenville, Texas. I was praying for wisdom for a model for training leaders internationally.

On the first day, one of the leaders shared twelve biblical principles of ministry. He said, “The first biblical principle is the Boss Principle. The ministry you have is not yours; it is Christ’s. Your assignment this evening is to hit a knee and ask the Lord for His vision for His ministry.”

That evening, I hit my knee in the hotel room and said, “Lord, I surrender. What do You want me to do?” At 3:00 a.m., I woke up. I sensed God speaking in my heart: “I want you to stop and wait on Me. This is not your ministry. It is My Ministry.” It was a freeing moment. It allowed me to say, “Lord, what is next?” He became the Boss of L.I.T.

For the next five months, I waited on the Lord. Then, He led me to write a training manual for discipling and equipping children for ministry. Based on my experience with L.I.T. at my church and on mission trips with kids, I wrote our Empowering The Next Generation training handbook over the next two months. Then in 2016, we began training leaders in the United States.

We felt led by the Lord to videotape the training. On January 16-18, 2017, we recorded the training at Willow Park Baptist Church. Experienced leaders participated in the original recording, which we uploaded online and made it available for free for anyone who wanted to go through it.

Fast-forward. While discerning the Lord’s will for L.I.T., doors began to open worldwide. Interestingly, we did not have any international work happening before 2015.

The handbook has now been translated into twelve languages, and we have trained leaders in thirteen African countries as well as India, Pakistan, Brazil, Honduras, Mexico, and many more. There is no way of tracking the number of leaders and the countries that have gone through it. It is all the Lord’s doing.

We have trained an estimated 5,161 leaders worldwide. We have trained leaders in more than 3,150 churches worldwide. Our goal is to reach kids to disciple and equip them to be missionaries of the Gospel of Christ. There is a potential of reaching millions of children globally with the Gospel.

It is HIS ministry. Praise the Lord for what He has done! We see the Father working worldwide, and we are moving the ministry to join where He is working.

In the United States, there is a church on almost every corner. There is a plethora of resources available here. Overseas, they have little to no resources and truly very little training. We invested a lot of money to grow the ministry here. All the while, thousands of leaders and children have nothing but genuinely need what we have to offer.

Fast forward. We are joining the church internationally to take part in fulfilling the Great Commission. This is the end of the story—the end of the ages. “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Where Do We Go from Here? (Notes from our Board of Directors meeting)

1. Recognize the open doors the Lord has given us.
2. Embrace His direction wholeheartedly.
3. Raise funds to cover our operating budget fully!
4. Prayerfully look at opportunities and evaluate what ministries we will fund internationally.
5. Continue our work in the U.S. to fund our international work.
6. Develop a team to evaluate our resources to see if we need to redesign or reset what we are doing.
7. Raise $80,000 to secure the budget. To invite individuals and families to partner with us monthly. To raise an additional $6,700 per month in monthly donations.

Prayer Points

Praises

• We have raised $10,700 towards our goal of $80,000.
• For the doors of opportunities worldwide

Prayer Requests

• Pray that we will raise the remaining $69,300 within the next 100 days. Pray for the Lord to move this mountain. Once we raise the full month's operating needs, all funds from resources and mission trips can be invested in international work and other ministry needs.
• Pray for wisdom and discernment to choose which open doors to walk through.
• Pray for our upcoming mission trips this summer.