packards' progress: spring 2014 newsletter

8/12/2019 Packards' Progress: Spring 2014 Newsletter

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Pa

ckards

Progre

ss

Looking forward to what God has for us next...

Exciting new things ahead!

About two years ago, when we

were praying about where God

wanted us to staff with the School of

Biblical Studies, we both felt like

God gave us the word Titus. Titus

is not only a book of the Bible, it is a

YWAM program available to

graduates of the School of Biblical

Studies (more about that on page

2!). As God gave us this word in

2012, we felt like it was something

for the future. As we came to YWAMTurner Valley in the Summer of

2012, we continued to talk about

Titus, and what Gods word meant

for us. We knew we wanted to

complete the Titus program, but we

were not sure where and when. We

also wondered if YWAM Turner

Valley had ever thought about

having Titus run from their campus.

We thought Titus would be a great

fit for this base, which has such a

strong and well-respected Biblical

Studies program, and a heart tosend people out to the nations.

Fast forward a few months - the

scene is the dining room at YWAM

Turner Valley. We overhear our

campuss director, Andrae, say that

the Leadership Team here has been

praying for Titus to be planted in

Turner Valley for years! We hear

how leaders from other YWAM

locations have stated that Titus

would be an excellent fit here. Thatday we cornered Andrae and told

him of our desire to take the Titus

program, and of our interest to see

Titus come to YWAM Turner Valley.

This first conversation happened

about a year ago; now, our plans

for Titus are picking up serious

steam. We are planning to take the

Titus program this Fall, and wed

love to tell you more about that, and

what going forward in bringing Titus

to YWAM Turner Valley will looklike. While the details are still

coming together, more and more we

feel that God has led us to YWAM

Turner Valley for this purpose, and

our time in missions has brought us

to this exciting season of partnering

with God in this new thing.

In addition to filling you in on

what the Titus Project is all about, we

invite you to pray for us and learn

about our current ministry with SBS;please continue reading for more!

Table of Contents

What is Titus? and Other Q & A 2Prayer Requests & Financial Update 3Current Ministry (SBS 2013/14) 4

Michael & Helen Packard, missionariesserving as Bible teachers with YWAMTurner Valleys School of Biblical Studies.

Spring 2014


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Frequently Asked

Questions:1. Why do you want to take theTitus program, and why plant itin Turner Valley?

The Titus Project is anopportunity to equip believersaround the world with the toolsto study the Word of God! Thiscombines our love of Bible studywith our love of outreach, butmore importantly, we feel it willallow us to have greater impactfor Gods Kingdom. Planting theTitus Project in Turner Valley willgive our SBS graduates anopportunity to apply their nine

months of hard work, by takingGods Truth to the nations.

2. Why do you need to takeTitus? Havent you already beenteaching the Bible for the lastfew years?Though weve been teaching inSBS for a while now, we havenot been equipped to teachcross-culturally, or to oralcommunicators. Taking the TitusProject ourselves will give us afoundation for helping others togrow as communicators. Inaddition, it is a requirement of

YWAM that one must completea school before staffing thatschool, let alone pioneering it!

3. When would you plant theprogram in Turner Valley?We are very eager to plant Titus

at YWAM Turner Valley, but weand the Leadership Team herewant this to be done well, whichcan take time. In addition totaking the Titus Project, we willalso staff a Titus Project at alocation other than TurnerValley before planting the

program here. We will keep youupdated as these plans unfurl!

What is Titus?The Titus Project is an international YWAM ministry and outreach program

that aims to bring Bible training and discipleship in the Word of God to placesaround the world where little training or resources are available. The program isspecifically for those who have graduated from the School of Biblical Studies, andis comprised of three weeks of training, eight weeks of outreach, and one week ofdebriefing. The Titus Project equips SBS graduates to pass along tools for Biblestudy to the body of Christ around the world. The need is great. 85% of churchesaround the world are led by pastors with no training. In the 10-40 window (thearea of the world between 10 degrees and 40 degrees north latitude, including

North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia) over 5 million pastors have no access toany formal Bible teaching. On outreach, Titus Project participants provide trainingfor pastors, church leaders, church planters, and the body of Christ by teachingthe Inductive Bible Study method, allowing Gods people to study His Truth forthemselves, and then pass that Truth along to others.

In the three-week training phase, we will learn how to prepare and present alecture with illustrations, how to address learning styles, how to reach oralcommunicators (for those who cannot read or do not have the Bible in their ownlanguage), how to minister cross-culturally, and how to teach through a translatorIn the two-month outreach phase, this learning will be put into action as we willhave the opportunity to provide Inductive Bible Study seminars, present overviewsof the Bible, and give sermons/topical teachings as needed.

Where/when will you take the Titus program?Excellent question! We are planning to take the Titus program in the Fall of

this year. We will likely do the three-week lecture phase of the school in Tijuana,Mexico, either beginning at the end of September or mid-October. Our two-monthoutreach will likely be to the Spanish-speaking world, though we dont have anexact location as of yet. Because this will be the first year the YWAM Tijuanacampus offers the Titus program, there are still some details to iron out, so wedask that youd be praying for us and for those operating Titus in Mexico.

Titus will equip us for teaching cross-culturally, andwill allow us to bring Bible teaching and Biblestudy methods to those in other parts of the world!


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We are so excited about all God has in store for us,especially as we begin this new journey with the Titus

Project. We want this to be Gods project, not done in our

own strength;please pray for us, especially in thefollowing areas:

1. Patience. There are many details up in the air rightnow, many of them out of our hands. While we plan to

do Titus in Mexico this Fall, Titus in North America iscurrently in a stage of transition, so we are very much ina waiting game, as Titus leaders process through whatis Gods best for the program. Pray that well have thepatience to wait as decisions are made by others, andpray for guidance for those making important decisions.

2. Trust. Embarking on a new journey requires trust inGod - trust that were hearing from Him, trust that werewalking in the direction He has for us, trust forprovision. Pray that well trust the Lord as we walk inobedience to Him.

3. Growth. While starting Titus here in Turner Valley isstill a somewhat distant reality, we recognize that wehave a lot of growing to do if we are going to bepioneering a school (yikes!). Pray that God will grow usinto servant-hearted leaders. Pray that God willincrease our love for Him, our heart for the nations, andour desire to expand His Kingdom.

4. Gods timing. In addition to taking Titus ourselves,we will need to staff the Titus Project at another locationother than YWAM Turner Valley before we can pioneerand lead the program here. This extends the timeline asto when Titus will operate out of our current location.Please pray with us as we trust in Gods timing,particularly in regards to when the first Titus Project will

run in Turner Valley, and what season of the year is thebest fit for this program in this location.

5. Provision. Taking Titus in the Fall and traveling toOntario this year will likely cost in the neighbourhoodof $10,000 (see Financial Needs Update below). Praythat God will provide exactly what we need, whetherits more or less than this estimate. Please also continueto pray that our monthly support would increase,enabling us to save towards outreach each year. Alsopray that we would have creative and successfulfundraising ideas, if that is an avenue through whichGod wants to provide for us!

Tax-Deductible Giving:1. All cheques should be madepayable to YWAM or Youth With A

Mission (BC Society) - do notwrite ournames on the cheque.

2. Write a separate note designatingsupport for Michael & Helen Packard.

3. Place cheque and separate note inenvelope addressed to:

4. Contact us! Wed really love to hearfrom you!

Interested in monthly support? Email usat [email protected]. Wewill forward you a short form to fillout, to which you attach a voidcheque, and then mail to the aboveaddress. Its a quick process, and wedbe happy to walk you through it!

YWAM Project Funding OfficePO Box 57100 RPO East HastingsVancouver BC V5K 5G6

Prayer Requests

Financial Needs UpdateWe are thrilled to report that in the last few months, our support hasincreased significantly! Thanks to new supporters and continued

commitments to support our ministry, we are currently receiving $975each month! We are praising God for His faithfulness; this is by far thehighest our support has been since we began YWAM in 2011.

As we approach the incredible opportunity of participating in the TitusProject, and beginning the process of bringing the program to YWAMTurner Valley, our need to trust in God for finances grows. Taking Titus inthe Fall will cost approximately $7800, and flights to Tijuana, Mexico(where we will train for the first three weeks of the school), will costapproximately $500 for each of us. In addition, it is very important for usto connect with family and friends in Ontario this year. Flying there willlikely cost $600 each. Altogether, we are anticipating that we will need

approximately $10,000 by September (not including visas for Mexico ortravel insurance). This is a daunting number! Please pray with us - thatGod would provide, and that we would trust in Him for that provision.

Beginning this journey with Titus means that we will be going on outreachevery year. This is a leap of faith, as we are not able to save a great dealeach month towards off-setting the costs of such a commitment. God hascalled us to the nations; pray with us that He would provide for us to go!

If you are interested in giving a tax-deductible donation towards ourministry, please refer to the pink box at left for more information.

Titus 1:1 - to further the faith ofGods elect and their knowledgeof the truth which accords withgodliness.


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SBS Staff & Students,2013/2014.

SBS 2013/2104We are over half-way through this years SBS, and it has been avery busy five and a half months! Michael taught Psalms, 1Corinthians, Hebrews, 1 John, and 1 & 2 Samuels. Helen taughtTitus, 2 Corinthians, 1 Timothy, and a Women in Ministry lecture inthe Fall/early Winter, and taught Exodus in late-January.Throughout the Winter, the students are studying the Old

Testaments historical narratives and wisdom literature. They willbegin their study of the prophets in April. When April rolls around,there will be a lot of change in our SBS staff body; one of our staffmembers will be stepping out of SBS to stay home with his childrenas his wife prepares to lead another YWAM school running inTurner Valley this summer. Another one of our staff will be taking aDirected Reading Course, meaning he will be a correspondencestudent for the last three months of SBS. Yet another one of ourstaff will be going on outreach to Togo and France, as she has adesire to grow SBS in the French-speaking world, and wants toconnect with those who are already involved in French Bible study.With three staff absent, and there being many prophetic books to

cover (not to mention grading!), we are anticipating a very busySpring. Michael will be teaching 1 & 2 Chronicles, Micah, andDaniel; Helen will be teaching Hosea and Ezekiel.

Please be in prayer for us as an SBS staff as we continue to teachthrough the Bible, and as we transition into a busier schedule witha smaller staff. Please also be in prayer for our students as theycontinue to pour hours into their study of the Old Testament.

Other MinistryIn addition to our roles as staff with SBS,weve been taking on some other ministryopportunities. Michael is working a half-dayin Facilities, helping our Facilities Director,Evan, who is single-handedly responsible formaintaining our campus. Michael spendsFriday afternoons plumbing, laying flooring,

and doing various other tasks to help withthe upkeep of our campus. Michael is nowalso the SBS representative on YWAMTurner Valleys Ministry Team; the MinistryTeam is responsible for the day-to-dayaspects of operating our campus.

For the last year, Helen has been involvedwith a local ministry called A Frozen Mealor Two (AFMOT). This ministry was startedby Christina, a fellow SBS staff. AFMOTprovides frozen home-cooked meals forpeople in the community in crisis. Helen is

mostly involved with planning and cookingthese meals. Helen is also involved in a newinitiative to develop a SBS CorrespondenceCourse for pastors and lay-people in SEAsia who cannot take SBS themselves.Helen has recently written the coursesworkbook for the book of Titus. This courseis being pioneered by the Shan Project inNorthern Thailand.

Thank you for being a part of Packards progress! Please continue to pray for us as we partner with God in Equipping our generation with a world-changing knowledge of the Bible.

packards' progress: spring 2014 newsletter

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