Friday, March 25, 2011

T. Pope has returned to the States

Ladies and Gentlemen, friends and family, I am back in the good ole United States of America. It is good to be on this soil. We landed here this morning and I am both refreshed and exhausted. It is crazy to think that yesterday morning, I was speaking to over 250 young men at Durban High School in South Africa. Yet, it has proven true yet again that the Lord brings us rest and refreshment so that when He sends us into the Valley, we have ample rigor to face the day with the power and Passion of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13-29).

I am blessed and thankful to have had the opportunity to serve the Lord in the ways that He has allowed me to serve, and I count it a privilege to be able to have you as a partner in that ministry.

Each day, we were (and are continually) blown away by the responses of the youth with which we interacted. It was overwhelming to see God's hand move so mightily and to be reminded of how BIG He is and how so incredibly small we are...I am. I beg of you to continue to pray for me, and the team with which I served. As those of you who have encountered missions know, it bears a lot of the same after effects as mourning the loss of a loved one. The most important time is the next few weeks/months of debriefing as the Lord continues to test and prove His perfect will in our lives as we have worshiped, fellowshipped, and enjoyed community in the name of Jesus and for His sake. I ask you to pray for Hansell Smith, Katie Campell, Grant Campbell, Taylor Wallace, Glen and Marian Campbell, Emily Campbell, Deb and Barry Austwick, and the Van Vuuren family. Thank you SO much.

I am putting together a testimonial video with some footage of our travels and pictures. Thank you so much again for ALL of your support, love, and encouragement.

Lastly, the Lord has spoken very clearly and specifically for me to take some time off from speaking, preaching, and teaching. So I am taking the month of April as a sabbatical from itinerant preaching. The only engagements that I will attend are those to which I previously committed. I ask you to pray for me in that time as I focus ALL of my attention on true worship, my wife, and my three children. Thank you again for your support, friendship, and wisdom. Grace and Peace!

Sunday, March 20, 2011

T. Pope is in South Africa

What up fam?! We are here in South Africa getting to share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Durban. We arrived last Saturday and hit the ground running. We were at Olive Tree Church on Sunday morning and planning Sunday afternoon. Starting early Monday and Tuesday morning, we went to Durban Girl's College and facilitated a Courage retreat from roughly 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. On Wednesday, we facilitated a Courage retreat at a Township school near Durban and then I got to run a basketball clinic and share my testimony with a few students. Several gave their lives to the Lord. It seems that every where we go, we are getting GREAT responses and people are HUNGRY for Gospel Truth. Thursday we went into downtown Durban to Addington Primary, an inner-city school, to facilitate a Courage Retreat with over 200 students. Then we went to iMfolozi as a team to enjoy a little down time and see some indigenous wildlife.

We were up at 4:30 a.m. to go on our tour Friday morning, and let me just say, God's creation here is AWESOME!!!! We saw a chameleon, laughing hyena, indigenous birds, a martial eagle, water buffalo, babboons, an African elephant, a warthog, a wildebeest, giraffes, zebras, and rhino. It was absolutely amazing. We have spent some time at the beach, overlooking the Indian Ocean and I have just been taken by the Lord's beauty revealed through creation (Psalm 19; Romans 1).

Friday night, the Lord gave me the opportunity to preach at Westville Baptist Church to about 200 youth. Several made decisions to follow Jesus and others made the decision to recommit their lives to the Lord. It was AWESOME!!!! The Lord is truly working here in RSA and I'm loving seeing His hand move.

Saturday morning, we were up at 5:45 and headed to the beach for a surfing lesson from the Dad of our host family. It was AMAAAAAAZING!!!!

We sent 3 of our teammates home yesterday (Saturday) and are using today (Sunday) and tomorrow as refreshment days (Tomorrow is a national holiday). On Tuesday we will do a Courage Retreat at Clifton Boy's School, Wednesday at Durban High School (all boys), and Thursday I'll speak in the morning at DHS to 10th grade boys and then head to the Durban airport to come home.

Though my time here has been physically exhausting, it has been SOOOOO spiritually refreshing. For those of you who are praying, have prayed, and will continue to pray, THANK YOU!!!!!!! I love you. Grace and Peace.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Breakaway 2011 featuring Timotheus Pope – Part 5: The Plot

Breakaway 2011 featuring Timotheus Pope – Part 5: The Plot from Timotheus Pope on Vimeo.

Timotheus Pope teams up with the Cornerstone Ministry of The Falls Church to challenge teenage students to fervently pursue God's heart, turning from the lies of Hollywood. This message is the fifth of five messages presented at Rockbridge Younglife Camp where Breakaway occurred. In this one, T. Pope finishes out talking about the Plot for the Christian. What now? Where did we go after salvation? What do we do? How shall we then live? Timotheus Pope answers these questions using Romans 12:1-2. Enjoy!!!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Breakaway 2011 featuring Timotheus Pope – Part 4: The Protagonist

Breakaway 2011 featuring Timotheus Pope – Part 4: The Protagonist from Timotheus Pope on Vimeo.

Description: Timotheus Pope teams up with the Cornerstone Ministry of The Falls Church to challenge teenage students to fervently pursue God's heart, turning from the lies of Hollywood. This message is the fourth of five messages presented at Rockbridge Younglife Camp where Breakaway occurred. In this one, T. Pope talks about The Protagonist from 1 Peter 2:21-25. Every story has its hero, and the Hero of the Scriptures is Jesus Christ. Listen in to see how our Hero saved the day!!! Enjoy!!!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Breakaway 2011 featuring Timotheus Pope – Part 3: The Pretenders

Breakaway 2011 featuring Timotheus Pope – Part 3: The Pretenders from Timotheus Pope on Vimeo.

Timotheus Pope teams up with the Cornerstone Ministry of The Falls Church to challenge teenage students to fervently pursue God's heart, turning from the lies of Hollywood. This message is the third of five messages presented at Rockbridge Younglife Camp where Breakaway occurred. In this one, T. Pope talks about The Pretenders from the combination of the Synoptic Gospel texts regarding the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30), specifically, the reality that no one is good, but God and if we are not perfectly living out God’s good, then we are lost without God in this world, and our “good” is only pretending. Enjoy!!!