Co:Mission Expands It's Partnerships;

Joan and I spent a couple weeks on the road seeking to build partnerships for the great commission with churches here in the U.S..   A vital aspect of Co:Mission Ministry is to work with pastors and churches to fulfill the great commission. 

In the past few weeks, we have had the opportunity to sit down with five different churches and many pastors.  I am so encouraged to see in every man a heart to make a difference for God’s glory.  However, I also see the stress they feel in making it happen.   Having pastored for so many years, I know the burdens these men of God are under.  What a privilege it was to listen and pray with each of them.  May I encourage each of us to lift up the arms of our pastors.  Pray for them and be a friend.   It is very lonely at the top.  

Another aspect of our trip was the mission’s conference Co:Mission Ministry was asked to lead at Cross Point Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.  What a joy it was to spend time with our dear friends, Dave and Kara Guinn and to see how God is using them in their new ministry.  God ministered in a wonderful way as the Church unveiled its Great Commission Ministry plan.  We will be partnering with them in Haiti next April.

We also had the opportunity to train eighteen new leaders in mission’s ministry.  Thank you Pastor’s Randal and Dave for your leadership and heart for the kingdom.  

The month of September was very special for both Joan and I as we spent quality time with so many dear friends in ministry.  Relationships have been rekindled and I believe many hearts greatly encouraged.   The goals of  September were to build partnerships in the U.S. and establish our Harvest Prayer Ministry.  We come to the end of the month and can say, “ Lord; you have been so faithful once again!”

As you pray for Co:Mission Ministry pray for our partnering churches by name.

August Gate

Cross Point Church

Dorrisville Baptist Church

Eagle Pointe Community

Eldorado First Baptist Church

Harrisburg First Baptist Church

Little Chapel Church

Until the Nations Hear:

Mark and Joan

A God moment in Haiti:

Jesus informed us that we will know them by their fruits.  I often wonder when sharing the Gospel, through a translator, in another culture, if they get it.  When you see the fruit you know they do!

Matt and I were frustrated to say the least.  We were sorting out what appeared to be thousands of parts to a house church we were building in Haiti.  It  quickly became evident we did not have enough parts and some appeared to be miss- numbered.  We finally decided the best way to redeem the time was to share Jesus with the twelve on lookers.  These were high-school age boys.   Why not?  Nothing else seemed to be working at the moment. 

The boys quickly got engaged.  The translator seemed relieved that he wasn’t  having to carry heavy medal anymore.  Matt, our lead contractor on the project still looked bewildered.  But God began to work.  You could sense the hopefulness in the air.  These boys were not only open but also eager to hear what we had to share.  To the praise and glory of God,  ten of the twelve turned from their sin and put their faith in Jesus. 

What an awesome moment!  However, it doesn’t stop there.  The next day while I was sharing the gospel in their community, two of the boys followed along wherever I went.   In the background,  I noticed someone  speaking broken English as I would share the gospel with people.   It happened to be two of the young men who had given their lives to Christ the day before.  I inquired as to what  he and his friend were doing.  They told me they were practicing  so that one day in the future they could become translators to tell people about Jesus.   They followed me for the next two days.  Their names were Jackson and Louvin.  A few posts ago I told you about giving up my translator so two guys could have the privilege of leading a woman to Christ.  Now I was without a translator and standing before ten people.  Struggling to communicate Jackson spoke up.  “I will try to tell them”,  he said.   And that he did.   As I spoke,  Jackson translated the gospel and God did a work not only in him but  also in the ten who heard. 

The apostle John in his third epistle said,  “I have no greater joy than to hear that  my children walk in truth.”  Although these were not my birth children they were spiritual children walking in the truth of their newfound faith.

May God get all the glory!  I can’t wait to see what He does with these two new young soldiers of His.  In case you were wondering, we did finally figure out the numbering system and found all the parts to the home we were building.  As we put first things first , somehow, God took care of the rest.

God is Faithful!

Today I want to give testimony of God’s faithfulness in Haiti.   A core value of Co:Mission Ministry is walking with the expectation that God is always at work.  God can do more in a moment than I can do in a lifetime.  He is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we could ask or even think up, Ephesians 3:20.  I want all of us who participate in this ministry to experience this as we walk by faith. 

While waiting for our team from Texas to arrive in front  of the Port au Prince airport God spoke to my heart that He was wanting to work.   There were five  very rough looking Haitian men standing close to Matt and I.  The Spirit prompted me to share the gospel with them.  We faced two challenges.  One, our translator at the time was not really qualified to translate  the plan of salvation due to limited vocabulary.   Two, we have a strong conviction in Co:Mission ministry to see all who receive Christ also have proper follow-up. 

As I reluctantly but obediently began sharing with our disinterested Haitian friends, God showed up.  First,  we watched their countenances change before our eyes as God opened their hearts to want to hear the Gospel.  Secondly, while struggling with the translation two Haitian brothers showed up like angels excited that American missionaries were there sharing Christ.  As God would have it they were the only people around who were bi-lingual.  To our knowledge, they were the only believers around as well.  These guys made sure the gospel was clear to our new friends as we took the lead to share.  There in front of the Port au Prince airport all five men gave their lives to Christ. 

However, God was not finished yet.  It just so happened that the two “angels” who appeared took it upon themselves to invite these new believers to their church nearby and committed to follow-up our new brothers in Christ.  God is so faithful!

Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all the things you and I need will be taken care of.  May the earth and all His people declare His glory.

Sharing the Gospel

As Co:Mission Ministry finds God’s unique purpose in His awesome kingdom Joan and I are learning a lot.  We  continue to be overwhelmed in our hearts with the responsibility of helping to lead the Church to lead with the Gospel.

Years ago I memorized a definition of successful witnessing given by Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ; taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.  It seems we are taking the initiative to share a lot these days on the mission field, however, little sharing of Christ seems to be happening.  We seem to have bought the lie that people coming to Christ are a by-product of our ministry and not the purpose of our mission. 

While in Haiti I had the privilege of working with seven young people all eager to learn on the mission field.  They arrived in Haiti with a passion to work and make a difference.   They were not quiet sure how to share their faith but hoping their lives would count and communicate Christ’s love. 

Wanting them to have the experience of leading others to Christ I gave two young men access to my translator one day.  They came back rejoicing that a woman was interested in giving her life to the Lord.  I asked them if they had led her to follow Christ.  They indicated that could happen later but she was very interested in becoming a Christian.  I instructed them to immediately go back to her house and lead her to faith in Christ.  I only wish everyone reading this could have been there when these young men returned.  They had stepped past their comfort and lead this women to turn from her sin and put her faith in Christ.  They were literally skipping back almost floating above the dusty road beneath their feet.  Why in the name of missions do we find it so hard to take the initiative to lead people to the saving knowledge of Christ?  Proverbs 11:30 reminds us that he who wins souls is wise.  Romans 1:16 tells us that the gospel is the power of God for salvation.  Paul encourages us with the fact that God has placed this life-changing message in clay pots, that is, He entrusts the gospel message into our lives and expects us to share it.

I hear of testimonies today of hundreds coming to Christ through dreams and visions.  God can and does do miracles to draw others to Himself.  Every conversion from sin to salvation is a miracle.  I want it to be said; it is a privilege to carry out the mandate of winning souls by taking the initiative to intentionally lead others to Christ.

As Mark Driscoll shares “when it comes to the gospel we tend to be gun collectors and not hunters”.  Though we love the gospel we treat it like a gun  from our gun collection.   We admire it but never take aim and shoot.  We love the Gospel but seldom call others to respond to it. 

We want to encourage all of you to get out your gospel gun, polish it up and take aim and fire to the glory of God.  Remember to leave the results to Him.  Rejection may come but probably won’t.  You may do it less than perfect but God won’t miss your heart.  Take the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.

Co:Mission Ministry in Haiti

When we step out in faith God always shows His faithfulness.  I have heard this, preached this and have even tried to live this but the trip to Haiti was a stretch of my faith.  So many details had to fall into place that unfortunately or fortunately I had no control over.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)  I will take the next several days to share the details of how God came through in so many ways but today I want to give you an overview of what God did.

Island of La Gonove:

After three hours of  taxi and boat rides, no one speaking English, and wondering where in the world my contact was we finally arrived to explore opportunities for ministry on La Gonove.  La Gonove is an Island of three hundred thousand people and very few churches.  While ministering on the Island we worked in four distinct communities bringing encouragement to the believers and sharing the gospel with unbelievers.  Pastor Benies was our main contact and he was located on the far side of the Island in a mountainous region called Mapou Village.  We worked in Fregade, Palma and Las Titans as well.  During our time we were able to train twenty-seven leaders in church planting and saw twenty-four others give their lives to Christ.  Again, our main purpose on the Island was to explore future possibilities for church planting and the possibility of creating partnerships with churches in the U.S..   May the Lord give wisdom as we consider our future work on La Gonove.

On the Mainland:

Our time began by praying earnestly that our ride would be there to take us from the port.  Only forty-five minutes late, praise God our ride arrived.  While on the Island there was little to eat and nothing but hot bottled water to drink.  When we saw a Coke stand God spoke to our hearts about getting a couple cold ones!  From there, Pastor Rigaud, the precious man of God we worked with on the mainland, took over and was a wonderful help.  We began locating the unassembled homes provided by our good friends at Agriboard.  We were greatly encouraged to see the pastor’s home in Cabera completed by our partners from California.  [Thanks HOPE and Come Over Ministries for a job well done!]  Cabera  is the area where we launched a new church plant the last time we were in Haiti.  The ministry is being led by Pastor McGraw and has over eighty new disciples growing in the Lord. What a testimony of God’s faithfulness.  From there we went on to locate the other unassembled homes provided by Agriboard.  With many parts scattered into about ten different areas we set out  prayerfully to organize the remainder of the homes.  The young man traveling with me, Matthew Sirmans, took it all in stride and graciously took over the building process.  What a blessing he was both on the Island and building the homes!  We were able to sort things out and begin the process of building and pass off the finishing to a team God provided from Texas.  I can’t say enough about the faithfulness of our God.  We are beginning a  new ministry in Jerusalem  where hundreds of thousands have settled since the earthquake hit Port au Prince over a year ago. It will be led by Pastor Midace pictured below.   With no churches in that area, this church plant has enormous potential.  By the grace of God, Pastor Regaud  and I believe we can see over three thousand being discipled in the next couple  of years.  From there we visited another area we had launched a new work last visit.   In La Saline we were informed that  the ministry was growing and over two hundred are actively being discipled in Christ.  Our team from Texas is scheduled to finish that building this week.

William Carey said, "Expect great things from God… Attempt great things for God!"  In the midst of overwhelming opposition God accomplished so much for His glory.  In the end, we will see four new churches.  Thirty-three leaders were trained in Church planting.   Forty-four new believers came to faith in Christ and about four hundred and fifty  are being discipled.   The labor is never easy but always worth it. 

Joan and I want to thank you for praying for this ministry and us.  Thank you for partnering with us to fulfill the great commission and planting churches around the globe.

                                             Our Haiti Team

               Pastor McGraw's wife and children from Church plant in Cabaret

                                  Mamas making mud pies for their children

                       The faces of some of the many children on the Island

                     Pastor Midace and his family from Jerusalem Church Plant

                             A few of the precious children in Haiti

                            Matthew building the house in Jerusalem

                     The Texas team building the pastor's home in Jerusalem

                                Mark sharing the gospel on the Mainland

                                Mark with Pastor Midace and his translator

                                             A home  in Jerusalem

Heading to Haiti

Island of La Gonave

As I head to Haiti I want to share with you prayer requests for the trip and the pressing needs that Co:Mission Ministry has.  Joan and I are very encouraged with how God is working in this ministry already and specifically how He put this trip together.  I will be leaving St. Louis on August 2^nd and heading to South Florida.  I will meet up with a young man Matthew Sirmans who I am mentoring in missions.  We will head to Haiti on August 3^rd.  We will begin our work on the Island of La Gonave.  Our purpose will be to prepare the leadership for future house church plants.  We will be meeting with community leaders and perspective pastors.  We are looking to start ten churches on the Island in the next twelve months. 

Pray for safety in travel.

Pray for Matthew Sirmans since this is his first over seas mission experience.

Pray for our teaching times as we build into the new pastors. 

Pray for my health as I am battling a sinus infection.

Pray that we know the right villages to approach to start the house churches.

Pray that we can rest in the evenings because sleeping could be very interesting on the Island.

Work in the Mainland

On the 8^th of August we will travel back to the mainland.  Our purpose will be to establish three house churches and build those houses.  We will meet up with a team we put together from Texas.  Seven college students will meet us for the purpose of building the houses.  My purpose will be to train the pastors, assure the building goes well and launch the churches.  We will be doing a great deal of evangelism to strengthen the work in each of the areas.

Matt and I will return on August 12^th.  Our building team will return on August 23^rd.

Pray for the many logistics involved in building these homes in Haiti.  (Foundations, Materials, Tools, Enough workers etc…)

Pray for the pastors who will be equipped and left to lead these new house churches.   (Their names: Margera, Midace, Janic)

Pray for the team from Texas as they give sacrificially and work tirelessly to get these homes together. 

Pray for our evangelism efforts that many come to Christ.

Pray for the launching of these house churches and their impact in the communities they will dwell.  Pray for hundreds to become true Disciples of Christ.  (Community names are: La Saline, Canaan, Cabaret and if time allows La Plaines and Arcahaie)

Immediate Needs for Co:Mission Ministry

As God is opening many doors for Co:Mission Ministry we have some big needs.  We are already working with three churches to help create partnerships globally.

We need help as we put together our prayer ministry coordination, web-sight development, budgets, databases, brochure etc…

 We need help with the many flights we are taking to establish ministries in other countries around the world.  If any of you have flight miles you could donate it would be very helpful.

We need start up funds and partners who will give generously to help launch this ministry into the harvest fields God has called us to.

We need prayer partners who will stand in the gap and passionately pray for Co:Mission Ministry.

We praise God for you and your prayers, love and support as we work diligently to launch a ministry that will impact countless lives.  Thank you for your wilingness to be involved with us.

Until the nations hear,

Mark and Joan

God is doing much!

It has been a while since I last wrote on this blog.  Over the past several weeks much has happened.  The Lord has provided housing in a beautiful condominium in downtown St. Louis.  The location could not be better and Joan has truly made this place home.   We are in and settled.  Joan and I are renewing some awesome friendships and loving being grandparents.  After many drafts we now have a copy of a ministry plan that has been prayed over and well thought through.   It is attached to this writing of a Journey to Freedom. 

Please take time and read through the details of Co:Mission Ministry and hold this ministry up in prayer.  Joan and I are watching this ministry get much bigger than anticipated and doors are opening in so many ways.  We hope many of you will partner with us in prayer, going and giving as together we advance God’s Kingdom  through Co:Mission Ministry. 

We had hoped that through this ministry we could be involved in mentoring young men and women who had hearts for ministry.  If what we are experiencing now is just the beginning we are totally overwhelmed. 

When we began this blog we wanted to focus on freedom.  Freedom in Christ to fulfill His purpose for your life is awesome.  It involves trust, hope, love, patience and personal discipline.  Every one of these characteristics goes into walking boldly with Jesus.  Staying close and clean to Him has taken on a much deeper meaning and has become a moment-by-moment reality.   “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” 2 Corinthians 3:17.  I believe God looks at the bondages in our lives and weeps.  He sees us as sheep without a shepherd.  He sees the beauty of freedom and longs for us to experience it.  He wants to see you and I free to do all He created us to do.  Joan and I are beginning to know the reality of that freedom deeper than ever before.  We love you and pray for so many of you by name.

Thank you for your love and prayers for us.  Enjoy reading the ministry plan.

Until the nations hear;

Mark

Journey Home

The Haumschilt’ s have returned to St. Louis with all our belongings.  Our trip down to South Florida and back gave us many wonderful memories and much exhaustion.   Praying with friends in South Florida ministered to our hearts so much.  Saying goodbye is always hard but in the Lord goodbye is never permanent.   At every stop along the route we were encouraged and blessed.   Every night we stayed up late talking and sharing with wonderful family and friends.  We praise God so much for each of you! We hope to keep in touch for prayer and by God’s grace we hope to do ministry on the mission field together through the future work of Great Co: Mission Ministry.   

Now that we are home we plan to really focus on the work of Great Co: Mission Ministry.  Our first priority is the development of prayer partners.  James tells us “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”.  As I stated on our last blog we value your prayers.  As we seek to do God’s work God’s way we want to be pure before Him and completely yielded to His will.  We have already had over forty friends who are committed to praying with us for God to do a great work in and through this mission ministry.  Thank you prayer partners.  You will notice updated prayer requests on this blog.   This is such a strategic time to stand in the gap and pray as this ministry is formulated.  In Hebrews God invites us to come boldly to His throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  He explains in 1 John 5:14-15 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him”.   Oh the joy and freedom that comes when we want to do the work and will of God.  I believe God truly knows and hears our hearts as our souls long to do what is pleasing to the Father.  As we pray to the Lord of the Harvest He will give direction and resources to fulfill His purpose.  Let’s be sure to ask in faith without any doubting.  I pray that God will use every one of us every day to bring fourth His glory. 

Finally, in the next few weeks the ministry plan will be in place and the ministry of Great Co: Mission ministry will be under way.  We really want clarity for this ministry so when people read the vision they will run with the message and mission.  (Habakkuk 2:2) Quite simply, we are more than ever commited to fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission to the church.  We believe He has called us to be a conduet to produce partnerships that will have global impact for God’s glory.  These words are not stated lightly.  Together we can do something awesome as we strive in God’s grace.  We may be weak but He is unbelievably strong. 

P.S. Our Grandson will be born this week.  It is so good to be on this Journey of Freedom with family by our side.

Partners in Prayer

These past three months have been times that have reminded us of the need for extended periods in God’s Word and desperate times in prayer.  God has shown us so much and we now find ourselves getting into the real grind of transition.  Transitions are always a challenge but God has been very present through this one.  Joan and I are enjoying the Lord and each other, as we trust Him for the days ahead.  Transitioning can put us face down and in total need of trust.  I can only imagine the challenges the nation of Israel faced as God moved them from Egypt to the promise land over forty years.  I am writing to you today for your help.  We need friends who can commit to partner with us in prayer as we embrace the ministry and life God has for us.

Our days are filled with getting established in St. Louis and setting direction for the missions ministry God has put on our hearts.  This is like a dream come true!  Having the opportunity to focus fully on making disciples through missions and global church planting, not to mention being close to the kids and grand kids, is a real blessing. With so many decisions to be made we want God’s best.  We want to know that every decision is covered in prayer.  Your willingness to pray with us and for us would be greatly appreciated! 

Isaiah 62:6 explains to us how God appointed intercessors for the work He was doing in Jerusalem.  We are asking Him to do the same through all of us as He begins this new work through us.  If you would send us a note to affirm your praying with us we would be greatly encouraged.  Simply e-mail mhaumschilt@gmail.com.  We know when God wants to do something big he breaks and builds into that individual.  Then He calls them to prayer.  The breaking has been happening and now we want to invite you to be a partner in praying with us.  Let us know how we can also pray for you.  We will want to keep in touch so we can share specifics of what to pray for and hopefully encourage you of how our Father is answering prayers every step of the way.

 We love you all so much and look forward to partnering to fulfill God’s great commission to make disciples of all nations as Jesus commanded and equipped us to do. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Let us know of your prayers and how we can pray for you!

Love You,

Mark and Joan

Brokeness

A. W. Tozer has been quoted to say, “When God wants to use a man greatly, He must first hurt him deeply”.  Brokenness seems to be part of the Journey to Freedom as well.  In 2 Corinthians 12:9 God promises us that His grace is always sufficient.  However, to know that grace and it’s life changing power I must first come to the end of me.  Jesus told us in John 15 that “apart from me you can do nothing”.  These past few months have been a wake up call to how empty I am with out Jesus. 

In these recent days of transitioning from Pastoring to International Church Planting we have found ourselves in the position of dependence on family and friends.   So many have been testimonies to us of the grace of God.  I guess we best know grace when we feel our weakness.  In verse 10 of 2 Corinthians 12 Paul tells me that when I am weak, then I am strong.  It is as if he is telling us to celebrate our weakness.  He advises us to boast about just how weak we really are.   We have been from South Florida to San Diego to St. Louis to Lake of the Ozarks and back.  We have slept in six different homes in four locations and our dog Tobie has found himself a bit confused at times.      

However, it is in times like these that you come back to those things that are most important in your life; the Lord and your family. Our times with our children have been amazing.  Joan and I were able to spend Easter with all the kids and spouses and yes, did I mention the most important member of the family, Allie, our 18-month-old granddaughter!  It has been many years since we had such an awesome blessing at a holiday time.  What a precious time of openness and sharing.  Joan has been able to help Heather get ready for our soon and coming grandson; Chaim Joshua.   Heather is so ready to have what promises to be a “big” baby boy.   Celebrating the things that really count and stopping long enough to enjoy the moments has kept us saying, “ thank you God for all you have given to us”. 

Jacob, one of our patriarchs of the faith teaches about the need for brokenness.  He wanted the blessing of God.  To gain the blessing he first experienced the breaking.  After wrestling with God all-night and unwilling to let go, Jacob pleads for the blessing of God.  God touches his hip and changes him forever.  He would be the one through whom God would call a nation and a Messiah.  His children and their faith were to be a testimony to the world of the nature and character of God.  When God broke Jacob we believe not only his name changed but also his character.  He was no longer a deceiver but a warrior.  His name was changed to identify a chosen people.  Thousands of years later his descendants still bear his name; Israel.  “When God wants to use a man greatly He must first hurt him deeply”.  To be honest we have known some deep pain these past months!  We know however, as Paul proclaims, “these momentary light afflictions are producing for us an eternal weight of glory.  He also encouraged us with the promise that “God works all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes”.  A dislocated hip commemorated the breaking of Jacob.  He probably never walked the same as a result.  Brokenness really does change you.  It can leave you complaining and wanting or thankful and useful.  As for me and my house we choose  thankful and useful.  May God get the glory through these open and empty vessels.

Mark and Joan.