Bettie Colson

December 2011 Report!

2012-01-01T12:19:00.000-05:00

Here are some ministry highlights from December 2011!

Average Church Attendance: 7,000 (at the church I partner with)
Services or Meetings Held: 21
Youth Ministered To: 30
Disciples Being Trained: 28 (in music ministry)
Discipleship Sessions: 24
New Births: Church Services: 46
Ministry Victories: The Live School translation project wasn't going as fast as planned but I found possibly eight more people to help via the Intermissions network here. Now we can make the deadline but I will be working really hard to keep up with them!
Goal for the Next Months: The Live School translation project, help with seminar in January for pastors about dealing with domestic violence, more connections to work with other churches' worship ministries for the next year, Scripture memory songs project, hospital visitation ministry to begin in January (awaiting approval from hospital), possible opportunity to give seminars in Nicaragua next year, more blogs - I really feel the Lord wants me to write more. People are actually following me on Twitter, can you imagine?

Ladies Retreat in Cuidad Hidalgo, Mexico!

2011-12-05T16:14:00.000-05:00

Back home again! The ladies' retreat in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico was a great experience, glad to help my friend Tracy, saw many ladies blessed and 4 that received Jesus as Lord!

November 2011 Report!

2011-12-01T12:38:00.000-05:00

Here are some ministry highlights from November 2011!

Goal for the Next Months: Translations project for Live School.
Average Church Attendance: 7,000 (at the church I partner with)
Services or Meetings Held: 25
Youth Ministered To: 55
Disciples Being Trained: 35
Discipleship Sessions: 52
New Births: Church Services: 35
Ministry Victories: We began the translation of the Live School curriculum with the deadline of finishing within eight months, help with seminar in January for pastors about dealing with domestic violence, Scripture memory songs recording project, developing leaders for music ministry in church, help with youth outreach on Sundays - teaching English to draw them in, make improvements to recording studio in the new location.

False Evidence Appearing True!

2011-11-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing True. God has not given us a spirit of fear! Be bold!

Worship!

2011-11-15T16:55:00.000-05:00

Gary Cooper in Guatemala!

2011-11-15T16:48:00.006-05:00

So good to see Gary Cooper here in Guatemala and hear him teach on the book of Acts. Looking forward to more at the seminar at Enseñanza De Agua Viva.

Qué bueno ver a Gary Cooper y escucharle enseñar sobre el libro de Hechos. Anticipando más en el seminario de Enseñanza de Agua Viva.

October 2011 Update!

2011-11-01T16:00:00.000-04:00

Goal for the Next Months: Translation project for Live School!

Average Church Attendance: 7,000

Services or Meetings Held: 20

Youth Ministered To: 37

Disciples Being Trained: 38

Discipleship Sessions: 53

New Births: Church Services: 28

Ministry Victories: I moved the music school to a new location that is more convenient, secure, and costs half as much as the other one.

Additional Goals: A) Hospital visitation ministry - pediatric ward - to minister to the children and mothers and donate needed items, B) get permission to begin jail ministry, C) youth outreach in the Cantel village on Saturdays with other missionary friends, D) scripture memory songs recording project.

Specific Needs: More translators for the Live School project.

Comments and Suggestions: I have really been encouraged by newsletters, etc., from other LWM missionaries!

September 2011 Update!

2011-10-01T15:56:00.000-04:00

Goal for the Next Months: Translation project for Live School!

Average Church Attendance: 7,000

Services or Meetings Held: 21

Youth Ministered To: 43

Disciples Being Trained: 42

Discipleship Sessions: 58

New Births: Church Services: 33

Ministry Victories: I have formed a team of 7 translators to work on the Live School project.

Additional Goals: New opportunity: hospital visitation ministry to begin in November! More mentor relationships with women going through family problems. Finalize the schedules for jail ministry, obtain approval from the authorities. Help with a youth outreach for 3 months teaching free English classes. New recording project of scripture memory songs.

Specific Needs: Creativity and wise use of time.

How To Be Ruled By Peace!

2011-09-19T21:37:00.010-04:00

By Bettie Colson
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." (Col 3:15-16)

What does the word rule mean, noun or verb? As a noun it means a prescribed guide for conduct or action; a standard of judgment. As a verb, it means to exert control, direction or influence on someone. We must allow the peace of God to guide our conduct and actions; we must permit this peace to control, direct, and influence our decisions. This means that we can trust the peace of God to guide us in all of our decisions and activities. As we pray for guidance, this peace surpasses our understanding and reason and guards our hearts (Phil. 4: 6-7). Whenever we are faced with the choice of following either our reasoning or the peace within us, the peace of God must be our guide.

The next verse gives us the means for establishing these rules in our hearts; we also must permit the Word of Christ to dwell in our heart in abundance. This does not happen automatically; but here we have an easy and pleasant way to allow this Word to penetrate our heart and stay in our thoughts. Using music – whether it be songs we learn or melodies we make up – we can give the Word an opportunity to fill our thoughts and be available to us at the moment that we need to make even the smallest decision.

Both the peace and the melodies are to be a shared experience: one body; one another. Each part of the body of believers has something that another part needs. This is one of the most important functions of our meeting together: the mutual building up of the body, strengthening the weaker parts. Considering this, it becomes more obvious that “church music” – however we want to label it – has a much more important function than just attracting people to our meetings, and even more than just expressing our worship to God. (Biblically, worship should be expressed in other forms as well. )

Let us keep this in mind as we choose what background music to have in our minds as we go through the day. Our Father wants to guide every step we take, and He has given us the means to know His will in every moment.

June 2011 Report!

2011-07-01T14:57:00.000-04:00

Here are some ministry highlights from June 2011!

Average Church Attendance: 7,000 (at the church I partner with)
Services or Meetings Held: 17
Youth Ministered To: 32
Disciples Being Trained: 34 (in music ministry)
Discipleship Sessions: 54
New Births: Church Services: 32
Ministry Victories: I was finally able to talk to the director of the women's jail and soon will begin ministering to the women either weekly or twice a month!
Goal for the Next Months: Form a team for the jail ministry, develop more individual relationships with the women in the public defender's office, begin helping with an orphanage where I have made donations, recording projects for beginning Christian songwriters.

April 2011 Update!

2011-05-01T18:27:00.000-04:00

Goal for the Next Months: Begin jail outreach.

Average Church Attendance: 7,000

Services or Meetings Held: 16

Youth Ministered To: 34

Disciples Being Trained: 35

Discipleship Sessions: 41

New Births: Church Services: 29

Development Comments: Donated a refrigerator and gas stove to an orphanage.

Ministry Victories: Ministering in the women's public defender's office is going well, the group is growing, and I have been mentoring some of the women individually.

Additional Goals: Work with a short term group coming in July, women's conference in June, raise funds for trip in August to MA and IN, look into ways to minister to HIV/AIDS victims, working with other missionaries on a program for training Guatemalans to send them out as missionaries.

Specific Needs: Compassion and prayer.

Comments and Suggestions: My physical therapist says that with one more month of therapy my hand should be working normally. Thank God! Now I can drive again.

Rock Solid!

2011-04-10T17:28:00.010-04:00

By Bettie Colson
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name we cast out demons, and in Your name we did many mighty works?’ And then I will confess to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you who work iniquity!’ Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, I will compare him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock: and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and fell against that house; and it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And its fall was great.” (Matthew 7:22-27)

The permanence of the house did not depend on its construction, but on the foundation. Prophecy, casting out demons and mighty works are good, like building a nice house; but if the foundation is not obedience to these words of Jesus He will not recognize them. “These” words that He refers to will build our foundation:

Rejoice in adversity and persecution
Let your light shine before men
Do and teach His commandments
Keep our relationships healthy
Keep our soul clean
Bless others generously
Never return evil for evil
Give, fast and pray in secret
Forgive
Keep our treasure in Heaven, do not serve money
Do not worry, seek God first
Do not judge
Ask, seek, knock
Treat others as we want to be treated

All of these commands from Jesus deal with our attitudes and motives. It would be possible to prophesy, cast out demons and do mighty works with a prideful motive, but that would cancel the value of the works. Jesus gives us these commands as a filter to make sure that what we do will be pleasing to God.

Are we putting more focus on our activity than on our heart?

March 2011 Update!

2011-04-01T17:58:00.000-04:00

Goal for the Next Months: Focus on effective ways to reach women outside the church.

Average Church Attendance: 7,000

Services or Meetings Held: 17

Youth Ministered To: 30

Disciples Being Trained: 34

Discipleship Sessions: 42

New Births: Church Services: 42

Ministry Victories: The worship workshop in Quiche was great. Another missionary drove (since I couldn't) and she ended up helping me minister and committed to participate in future workshops. Teamwork! Yay!

Additional Goals: Women's conference in June, participate in the "Joy in Jesus" missionary women's retreat in June, increase the number and effectiveness in discipleship of worship ministries, put into practice the leadership information I have been studying, work on getting permission to minister in the women's jail.

Specific Needs: I pray that more of the women I am ministering to in the public defender's office will respond to meet with me individually.

Comments and Suggestions: I had a bit of a slump in activity this month due to my injury but God is using the time to reveal Himself to me.

March 2011 Newsletter!

2011-03-19T14:51:00.001-04:00

Click on the images below to see them larger.

February 2011 Update!

2011-03-01T15:38:00.001-05:00

Goal for the Next Months: Worship workshop in Quiche in March.

Average Church Attendance: 7,000

Services or Meetings Held: 24

Youth Ministered To: 32

Disciples Being Trained: 34

Discipleship Sessions: 40

New Births: Church Services: 38

Ministry Victories: I began working this month with women who are victims of abuse. The group was successful and I am beginning to develop individual relationships with some of them.

Additional Goals: Participate in the "Joy in Jesus" missionary women's retreat in June, continue discipling music ministries, work on getting permission to minister in the women's jail, develop recording studio to help Christian songwriters with limited resources.

Specific Needs: To find those that God has called to help me and those that He has called me to help - teamwork.

January 2011 Update!

2011-02-01T16:09:00.001-05:00

Goal for the Next Months: Develop ministry to women going through situations of domestic violence.

Services or Meetings Held: 26

Youth Ministered To: 30

Disciples Being Trained: 32

Discipleship Sessions: 42

Ministry Victories: In February I start a self-help group working with the government office of women's rights with victims of domestic violence. The government workers can't talk about God but I have complete freedom to minister there.

Additional Goals: Intermissions Conference in February (retreat for missionaries in Guatemala), distribute more publicly for the hotline for women, continue discipling music ministries, work on getting permission to minister in the women's jail, prepare for a worship workshop in Quiche in March.

Specific Needs: Favor, connections, boldness to obey God fully.

Authentic or Imitation?

2010-12-22T13:08:00.003-05:00

By Bettie Colson
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Here in Guatemala you see many products with the Nike logo, but many of them (most of them sold on the streets) are not authentic. Why would people put the Nike logo on their products? Because the original Nike products have a reputation for good quality, and for that reason have a higher value. These people desire to give their products an image of quality to be able to sell more of them and at a higher price than the unbranded products of equal quality. There would be no reason to steal the Nike logo if the original product did not have a proven higher value.

We can apply this same principle to Christianity. Not everyone that calls themselves “Christian” is necessarily authentic. The reason that they would like to appear as such would be the proven quality and value of the real thing. Instead, they produce a cheap imitation, without the investment and sacrifice that would be part of authentic Christianity.

The reputation of the authentic Nike products is not damaged by the poor quality of the imitations. If anything, the constant illegal use of the logo strengthens their good reputation; if their products weren’t so good, they wouldn’t be worth imitating. However, when it comes to false Christians, many form their opinion of the Gospel based on the imitation, and use them as an excuse to reject God. (It would be foolish to use that excuse to denegrate Nike products!)

How can one know the difference? For either sports products or Christianity, the answer lies in the origin. Where was the t-shirt produced? What is the origin of the claim of the person who gives themselves the Christian “ logo”?

“Consequently, by their fruits you shall know them.” (Matt. 7:20)

“Examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Or do you not yourselves perceive that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are disapproved?” (2 Cor. 13:5)

“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God…” (1Pet. 4:17)

November Update!

2010-12-01T18:38:00.003-05:00

Bettie's November 2010 Update:
Goal for the Next Months: Continue to work with worship ministries in churches.
Disciples Being Trained: 60
Discipleship Sessions: 22
Development Comments: Supplied a gas stove and tank to pastors of a church for their community feeding program.
Ministry Victories: I participated in an excellent seminar for pastors and leaders about HIV/AIDS. I will contribute to further outreach.
Additional Goals: I plan to investigate ways to incorporate music eduction into reaching kids and youth. I also plan to prepare my disciples for music ministry and grow the music school. Another goal is to develop a hotline ministry to women. I'm continuing to distribute publicity.
Specific Needs: I would like more opportunities to use my gifts in ways that show God's love to people who aren't likely to go to church.

October Newsletter!

2010-10-08T11:41:00.009-04:00

Click on the images below to see them larger!

Raquel Turns 7!

2010-10-08T10:20:00.003-04:00

My granddaughter, Raquel is seven years old today. Hard to believe that the years have gone so fast!

Granddaughter #3!

2010-09-28T17:22:00.007-04:00

Sarah Rebekah Alemán Colson - born September 28, 2010 at 3:45am, 6.5 lbs, 21 inches. Granddaughter #3!

New Worship Photo!

2010-09-08T17:28:00.001-04:00

A new worship ministry photo!

Breathing In and Out.

2010-08-02T18:15:00.012-04:00

By Bettie Colson
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves [merely] as your servants (slaves) for Jesus' sake. 2 Corinthians 4:5 (Amplified)

Breathing in: we receive Jesus as Savior. Breathing out: we commit our life to Him as Lord.

If we only offer salvation to people without the lordship of Jesus, we would make it easy and attractive to receive something for nothing. It is true that salvation is a free gift, but the lordship of Jesus is the relationship that is necessary to receive the gift.

Marriage has been given to us as an illustration of the mystery of Christ and the Church; when we understand marriage the way that God established it, we can understand the relationship of Christ to the Church. The husband loves and the wife follows. It would be wrong for a wife to desire all of the benefits of marriage without the responsibility of following her husband. It would be equally wrong for a husband to enjoy the benefits of marriage without the responsibility of loving his wife. The love of the husband is to be as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her to save and cleanse her. God’s love for us saves us, cleanses us and draws us to Him.

In the same way, we must not offer salvation without lordship. The very act of giving ourselves to Him to follow Him in every area of life gives us the power to walk in obedience to His word. If we only offer salvation to people without stressing the lordship of Jesus, we offer them a powerless life of constant defeat. As they learn about how to walk with Him, they will lack the power to do what they have learned and be frustrated by their inability to overcome the desires of the flesh.

Confessing the lordship of Jesus is a commitment. According to the Bible it is the only way to be truly saved. It is erroneous to offer salvation without communicating also the necessity of His lordship in every area of life. It may take longer to “win souls” in this way but our motive must never be simply numbers. If our “converts” do not commit themselves to the lordship of Jesus they will never be true disciples of His. If anything, they would be our disciples, but only committed to us as men.

This is why some ministries become kingdoms of men rather than part of the Kingdom of God. Many unbelievers rightly perceive this intention as a mere attempt to change their religion; to have them join our religious “club”. The danger in this is that we vaccinate both groups of people against the true Gospel. Those who reject our intentions of adding them into our “club” are less likely to be receptive to the salvation and lordship of Jesus later on. Those who respond to a commitment-free “salvation” may feel like they are “in” and never feel the need to make the commitment that truly insures their salvation.

We receive the gift of eternal life. We must give our old life to be able to receive the new one. This is why it is a new birth, a new creation – old things have passed away. Our old life that we had – being our own lord and deciding our own way – has passed away.

We must breathe in and out. We receive salvation; we give ourselves to follow Him as Lord. We cannot live by only breathing in.

Worship Workshop in Totonicapan!

2010-07-16T17:20:00.003-04:00

A few of the participants in a worship workshop today in Totonicapán.

Anniversary Event in Santa Cruz!

2010-07-07T16:23:00.002-04:00

I participated in an anniversary event yesterday at a high school in Santa Cruz, Quiche.