ACCTSin actionTo assist in the development of Christian leaders in the armed forces of the world and in the establishment and growth of military Christian fellowships.Our MissiOn:

NOVEMBER 2015

Military Christians in Japan, with help from Mission Support Organization (South Korea) and ACCTS, hosted

an East Asia Interaction leadership program in September. Over thirty people participated, including military believers from Mongolia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and two Central Asian republics. The AMCF vice president for the region, LTG (Ret.) Lee, Kap Jin, and MSO staff members BG Choi and BG Yoon taught on military Christian fellowship (MCF) growth, Christian leadership, and AMCF’s mission. ACCTS staff members Jim Greshel, Rick Ryles, and Melissa Ryles led devotions and daily worship, as well as teaching several sessions.

Praise God for the very active ministries of the MCFs in East Asia, and pray that Interaction participants will help those ministries increase as a result of what they learned in September.

Japanese MCF HOsts interaCtiOn

ACCTS IN ACTION • PAge 2 • NOvember 2015

Calendar

ACCTS staff member Jim Greshel passed away on 1 October. A godly, faithful man, Jim gave many years of service to God, his country, and military ministry. He was in Japan two weeks before he died, encour-aging and ministering to military believers there. He also put a great deal of work into the AMCF Reference Manual, which has been a resource for military Christians world-wide. He kept his faith reservoir filled, as was seen at his passing when an open Bible was found next to him. He was known for his cheerful, encouraging, and hard-working personality. At his family’s request, a memorial fund has been es-tablished in his name. Gifts may be sent to ACCTS at PO Box 27239, Denver, CO 80227 with a notation that they are for the Greshel Memo-rial Fund.

Jim Greshel with the Lord

1-5 November Brazil MCF conference. Staff participating: Rajah, Exners, McDonald1-22 November Mongolia/China Mission Trip: Ed Ward13-18 November Nepal MCF Celebration/Mission Trip: R. Ryles 19-21 November India Mission Trip: R. Ryles 27-28 November Korean MCF Visit: R. Ryles

Praise God for the military Christian fellowship of Belarus, “Vera I Chest” (Faith and Honor), which hosted a five-day reconciliation event with members of Germany’s Brandenburger Reservisten.

ACCTS IN ACTION • PAge 3 • NOvember 2015

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In my years with ACCTS, I’ve re-alized that there are only a small number of people who under-

stand the need for military ministry. Many civilians, particularly those with no military experience, don’t understand that it is more difficult to gain access to soldiers and offi-cers because they live in barracks or on bases. They don’t understand that it is more difficult because this people group – the military – relocates often and is deployed frequently. They don’t understand that this people group has power that many other people don’t, while at the same time dealing with enor-mous stress factors brought on by

their service to their country. They don’t realize that this people group, in many nations, often has no easy access to a church, or chapel, or fellowship.

I’ve been blessed to have worked alongside all of ACCTS’ executive directors, each of whom helped many people, including me, develop a heart for military ministry. I learned how to be passionate about military ministry from our founder, Buck Buxton. Dell McDonald taught me to focus on people, and invite others to help us make a difference through ACCTS. Cal Dunlap taught me the importance of prayer and compassion, and now Phil Exner is teaching me the importance of generously giving my best to God and to those ACCTS ministers to.

As we come to the end of the year, I want to share our passion for military ministry with you. I want to invite you to join us, to pray for us, and to give generously to ACCTS’ outreach to military Christians in over 150 nations. If you have not given to ACCTS this year, would you consider an end-of-year gift to our work? If you already give, would you consider given an extra donation? And, if you haven’t told someone about ACCTS’ ministry yet, would you share our passion for military souls with them?

Since 1972, we have only been able to minister to men and women in the world’s armed forces be-cause of God’s grace and people like you who share our commitment to this work. Please prayerfully consider how God wants you to share in ACCTS’ work in the last two months of this year – and into the next year. Military people are often overlooked in the mission field, but with your help we can reach more and more of them for Christ and His Kingdom.

In Christ,

Bernhard KaltenbachDeputy Director

P.S. There are several ways to give to ACCTS – you can mail in your gift, or go to our website (www.accts.org), click on “donate”, and give by credit card or electronic fund transfer.

The Overlooked People Group

Association forChristian ConferencesTeaching and Service PO Box 27239Denver, CO 80227-0239 Phone: 1-800-487-8108Fax: 303-986-4710Email: accts@accts.org Web: www.accts.org

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Our MissiOn:

Our COre Values: wBiblically-based wSpirit-led wPrayer-centered wPeople-focused

Photo courtesy Creative Commons license, Jim Sorbie

With Thanksgiving upon us, we are grateful for the sup-port of Christians in the U.S. and around the globe who pray for our military ministry and who donate their time or money to allow us to continue this ministry. With your help, God is leading members of the world’s armed forces into a deeper knowledge of Christ and his redemption for their lives, their nations, and our world. Thank you!

“The heart must be alive with gracious gratitude, or the leaf cannot long be green with living holiness.”-- Charles Spurgeon, Flowers from a Puritan’s Garden

ACCTS prAyer reminder • november 2015

1 The Brazilian military Christian fellowship (UM-CEB), the largest MCF in the world, is hosting a conference which runs from 1-5 November. Pray that all who attend will be led by the Holy Spirit as they learn how to share Christ and encourage oth-ers in their faith.

2 Staff member Gina Rajah of Brazil has been very involved in preparations for the Brazilian MCF conference. Pray for her this week, as well as Phil Exner, Sue Exner, and Dell McDonald as they min-ister to conference participants.

3 Pray for the international military student min-istry of staff members Vic and Marsha Grazier in the Wright-Patterson AFB area. Pray also as they attend Vic’s 50th reunion at the Air Force Acad-emy. Please pray for in-depth conversations with his classmates and their wives.

4 Please pray for staff member Ed Ward as he ministers in Mongolia and China through Novem-ber 22nd.

5 The Brazilian MCF conference ends today. Pray that all who attended will continue to listen to the Holy Spirit and bring glory to God in their lives.

6 Pray for comfort and peace for the family of staff member Jim Greshel, who passed away in Octo-ber.

7 Pray that ACCTS will close out the calendar year in a fiscally strong position. Praise God with us for those who support our work financially and prayerfully!

8 Pray with military Christians in the U.S. as they minister to soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries, or other war-related situations. Pray also for a retreat from 8-14 November in Colorado that ministers to soldiers who have been deployed in war zones.

9 There are two Welcome Home Initiative week-ends this month – one from the 9th to the 11th, and one from the 12th to the 14th. Pray that these retreats for wounded warriors will be used by God

ACCTS Prayer ReminderNovember 2015

“All of the Christian life is grounded in two important theological truths: God is good; and, God acts power-fully in the world for good. Prayer is based in the conviction that God is concerned to hear us; and, that he is able to respond and answer.”-- Tim Earhart, in the blog “Exploring Church Ministry”

to lead all participants to peace and healing. Pray for staff member Noel Dawes as he leads and co-leads these events.

10 Pray for military Christians in Sri Lanka, includ-ing AMCF President General Srilal Weerasooriya, as they follow Christ’s path and share His path with others.

11 Veteran’s Day (USA) As the U.S. commemorates Veteran’s Day and honors all who have served in the armed forces, pray for our nation.

12 Yesterday was Poland’s Independence Day celebration. Praise God with us, and pray for, the strong group of military Christians in this Eastern European nation.

13 Praise God for the MCF of Nepal, which cel-ebrates its tenth anniversary this month! Praise Him for their expansion into all regions of their country, and pray with its members as they con-tinue to rebuild their homes and lives after the devastating earthquakes.

14 Today, ask for God’s mercy and grace to be felt strongly by military believers in Sierre Leone. Praise God for the religious tolerance in this pri-marily Muslim nation.

15 Praise God for military believers in Japan and the conference they recently hosted (see news-letter for details). Pray that their MCF will grow strong spiritually as well as numerically.

16 Today is Revolution Day in Mexico. Pray that military Christians in this nation will form strong fellowship groups to encourage each other as well as others in their armed forces.

17 Today, please pray for all who work in our sister ministry, Military Ministries International, in the United Kingdom.

18 Praise God, and pray for, the recently organized military Christian fellowship in Burundi!

19 Pray with military Christians in India, and pray for staff member Rick Ryles as he meets with some of them this week.

20 Pray for military believers in your nation and others, asking that God lead them in a proper un-derstanding of who they are in Christ.

21 Pray for all who work in and minister with our sister ministry in South Korea, Mission Support Organization.

22 The holiday season brings many ministry op-portunities for military believers in the U.S. and around the world. Today, pray that Christians in your nation will be led to invite others to holiday events that will focus their minds on Christ and His redemption.

23 Pray for unity among military Christians world-wide, despite the wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, and church traditions they represent.

24 Pray for military personnel who are stationed away from their families. Pray that they will have Christians in their lives to encourage them and draw them to Christ.

25 Pray for God’s guidance for Christians in Hon-duras, and pray that military believers in particular will remain strong in their faith.

26 Thanksgiving Day (USA) “And you will say in that day: ‘Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.’” – Isaiah 12:4-5

27 Pray with military Christians in South Korea as they conduct an English camp today and tomor-row.

28 Today is Albania’s Independence Day. Praise God for military believers in this nation, and pray for all their ministries to their coworkers.

29 In many church traditions around the world, today is the first Sunday of Advent. Please spend some time in prayer today, waiting expectantly on the Lord as He guides His church.

30 Today is a holiday -- Bonafacio Day – in the Philippines. Please join us in prayer for the military believers in this nation and ask God to guide them and give them strength as they follow Him.

ACCTS prAyer reminder • november 2015