Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Isn't amazing how you can read a verse many times over the years and then the Lord opens your understanding to insights you never saw before. Well that happened to me this morning from Psalms 5:12: "Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield." (NIV) I had never thought of "God's favor" as a shield of protection...and I have been chewing on it all day.
Last week the Lord laid on my heart an old Wesley hymn:
Soldiers of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong in the strength which God supplies through His eternal Son.
Strong in the Lord of hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.
Click here to read the entire hymn...it's loaded!
The Spiritual Battle in and for our culture is intensifying to a new level in the days just ahead and it is time to armor up. In the fall of 2010 an Omaha ordinance was introduced that would have made LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) people a protected class in employment. There are plans to re-introduce it in the next few weeks under the title "Equal Employment Ordinance." My concern is not that a person has the freedom to live this lifestyle in our country, but that this ordinance is part of a larger agenda strategy that will eventually circumvent our 1st Amendment freedoms to live our faith outside our church communities. In a few years we could be where Canada is right now, where if a person speaks or quotes certain Bible verses through any form of media outside their church or home it is "Hate Speech" ...against the law and punishable.
I am part of a team of leaders who have been preparing to oppose this ordinance in ways that we believe are Biblically redemptive. In the 2010 battle over this ordinance I was offended as many who claimed to be Christ followers bludgeoned the city council with Bible verses and clearly demonstrated a hate-filled extreme of Christianity. My Bible says we wrestle not against flesh and blood...people are not my enemy...Satan is my enemy. A pastor who is part of the group in favor of this ordinance made a statement that I am in agreement with: "Did you know that before most LGBT persons can really hear that God loves them, they must first hear that God does not hate them."
As we move into this local battle in the weeks ahead those of us leading need the Body of Christ to stand strong with us in prayer and action. Sheryl and I have already come under significant spiritual oppression in our health, finances and emotions. Part of putting on God's armor is when we each take up the Sword of the Spirit and pray into the Spiritual realm, praying for each other for protection, wisdom, grace, provision, favor, and more...
One of the realities of communication in these days is that no email is completely secure. If you are ready to put on your Spiritual Armor and join us in this battle through prayer and/or action then send me a personal and I will add you to a more private email list which will also give you access to the documents and resources we have assembled for this campaign. I have a special email account for this purpose: pastordavidnathan@gmail.com
We had planned to be back in Tijuana in February but because of this ordinance will reschedule a trip in March or April...pastors and friends there have committed to mobilizing prayer for us and Omaha in February.
More than ever we appreciate the privilege of serving the Lord as our vocation…and that would not be possible without your partnership. Together we are able to do what none of us could do alone. Our support has been down the last two months and Sheryl and I are facing some higher medical bills in February. Would you take a few moments to pray for us and about helping with our support? Our information is just to the right.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Thank You so much for partnering with us
through prayer, support, time and encouraging friendship!
through prayer, support, time and encouraging friendship!
More than ever we appreciate the privilege of serving the Lord as our vocation…and that would not be possible without your partnership. Together we are able to do what none of us could do alone.
Here is a brief slideshow of family and ministry pictures from 2011
Like many others at this time we are facing some significant needs.
Would you take a few moments to pray for us and about a year end gift?
Donation information is in the column just to the right.
Your prayers, love, support and friendship are appreciated more than we can fully express.
We pray you will enjoy a Wonderful Christmas and know God’s Blessing and Providential Grace in 2012.
Dave & Sheryl
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tijuana Ministry Fall Trip
We had a wonderful trip to Tijuana at the end of October where the Lord opened up a new work in the oceanside city of Rosarito in addition to our work in Tijuana.
Please click on the Report link just below to read the report...Then on the video to see the slideshow in YouTube
Tijuana Ministry Trip Report
Click on YouTube Icon to see full screen in YouTube.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Update from Tijuana
Dave reporting this time...Sheryl is currently sitting down by the pool working on her notes for the women's conference tomorrow.
We just got back from an amazing teaching & ministry time with about 20 pastors & spouses in one of the poorest and gang active areas of Tijuana. The lady pastor who's church we met at is the one in this picture below taken in February of 2010 as we were ministering to her about a month after her teenage son (and ministry helper) was caught in gang cross-fire in front of their church and killed. Today, in this pastor's prayer group she leads, we saw some of the wonderful fruit of her faithfulness and sacrifice.
We just got back from an amazing teaching & ministry time with about 20 pastors & spouses in one of the poorest and gang active areas of Tijuana. The lady pastor who's church we met at is the one in this picture below taken in February of 2010 as we were ministering to her about a month after her teenage son (and ministry helper) was caught in gang cross-fire in front of their church and killed. Today, in this pastor's prayer group she leads, we saw some of the wonderful fruit of her faithfulness and sacrifice.
I always come back from groups like this humbled by their faith and commitment in the face of unbelievable hardship ...there is something almost indescribable about worshiping in these churches...many with dirt floors...if I could just take their joyous faith and sacrifice and import it back to Omaha...
Not only did God move mightily as we ministered to them but when they prayed over us we were broken to tears...Our meetings with pastors/wives so far this trip have had some of the strongest anointings both in speaking and in ministry we have ever had down here...we are feeling so firmly supported in prayer, Thank You So Much.
Tonight Steve and I will be in a totally different environment as we minister to a home group near our hotel in Rosarito...also tonight the weekend party noise starts on the beach and I am already feeling that spirit from my hotel room...Sheryl and Mary will be at a local church here in Rosarito that worships and prays into the heavenlies every Friday night...no preaching...just worship and warfare prayer.
Tomorrow morning, Sheryl and Mary do the women's conference she shared about in yesterday's update and Steve and I will be ministering to another key Tijuana pastors group we have a long-term relationship with. Tomorrow night I have been asked to speak at a large youth rally and our team will be ministering...I am believing God to speak His Destiny into their generation in Tijuana.
Blessings, Dave for the team
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Greetings from Rosarito Mexico.....actually Rosarito, Baja California!
We're enjoying a little down time this morning, so thought we'd get an update out to you. It's been an interesting week thus far for us, as we're working primarily in an area that's new to us, getting acquainted with a new community and meeting many new pastor friends here.
Rather than staying in Tijuana, we're staying this entire week in a beach town called Rosarito at the invitation of a pastors alliance and then driving back into Tijuana for our scheduled meetings there. We're finding it to be a very interesting community. You might ask, "How so?" The first thing thing we discerned was a very different kind of spiritual heaviness over the entire town, whose population is about 90,000. They are located approximately 30 minutes south and a little east of Tijuana right on the ocean...which means that it's very much a "party" community and this weekend it will get very noisy with their main beach day/night club right next door. What is over this area is a very different feel from the spiritual activity in Tijuana proper. It feels much more like something that is assigned to block a move of God here....not oppressive in a heavy way....much more solid spiritual resistance. However, there are some very interesting things going on here!
The history here has been one of extremely active involvement with the occult and witchcraft. Without going into great detail, I've had some in-depth conversation about this with the pastor God has moved here to begin to mobilize some things. He is particularly anointed with a Psalmist/Worship anointing, and leads a meeting every Friday evening (which Mary and I are begging to attend!) that is ONLY worship, warfare, and a subsequent victory/praise celebration! I believe God has called him here to stand in the face of the satanic worship which is very much a part of the community. Just south of where we are, there is a satanic temple that is connected in several ways with the satanic worship center in San Francisco....ponder on that for awhile.... Pastor Fernando Pina tells me that there are a number of active covens in the area. Additionally, there are three pastoral alliances in this city who have never been able to come together to work on pretty much anything! He has just recently been elected as the president of one of those alliances, and is called of God to try to bring them together for the sake of the Kingdom.
Dave taught yesterday morning, and the Lord gave favor and anointing with them. His presentation was a clear, concise overview of how to penetrate the city, and what it will cost them. The 12 pastors present were very much on board and looking forward to additional time with us on future trips. They normally pray for 2-3 hrs. together weekly for Rosarito, but gave us that time to share. At the end, we spent a significant time in prayer, and we had opportunity to minister personally to the pastors and wives who were present. Wow! It's hard to put into words the depth of the anointing that the Lord sent during that time....haven't felt anything that strong for several years!! God is definitely doing something significant here that is in the infancy stages. And we will definitely continue to work in this community, as there is a very clear sense that it might be what Ed Silvoso calls an "igniter" city for this whole area of Mexico, including Tijuana.
We're staying in a lovely hotel here directly on the oceanfront....and I do mean directly! We can walk out the end of the game room right onto a pier about half a mile out into the ocean. It's really rather breathtaking! Our rooms face the ocean, and we can look out the walkout doors onto a tiny patio (about 2 feet wide!) to watch the surf, the beach, and the awesome sunsets over the ocean....well, we would if we were here! The gigantic sun was just turning red as we left yesterday evening. As I write this, I'm watching the surf rolling in with the tide and wondering when the surfers will begin to appear! Jesus felt led of the Lord this time that we needed to have some downtime just to enjoy and rest, so we have breaks of several hours at a time built into the week....like little mini-sabbaths. We can walk directly out of the hotel onto miles of sandy beach, and I think Dave, Mary, Steve, Jesus, and his son have just gone down to rent horses to ride on the beach. I've opted to skip that part for the present, as I'm thinking I need to be able to stand and walk on Saturday!! They also are equipped with 4-wheelers for driving on the beach, too, so who knows!? If they're anywhere near as much fun as jet-skis, I may take a spin!! An amazing thing that God did is to make all the connections for us through a man in Pastor Fernando's church who is on the executive staff at this huge hotel, to get 1-bedroom suites for us at $29/night!! Yes, you heard me correctly! It's a bit of a drive for our "taxi", but still works well for him, and allows us to stay right here in the community long enough to get somewhat acquainted.
Last night, Steve spoke on "Hearing God" in a church where we've all ministered many times. We have made wonderful relationships within the congregation there, and have watched as their children have grown from babies into toddlers, and eventually into teenagers serving the Lord in their own right. We've had opportunity over the years to pray over many of them, and to encourage them on a regular basis. Steve did a great job, and again, the Lord gave great favor and words of encouragement for the people.
This afternoon, there is tentatively planned a meeting with Pastor Fernando, Jesús, Dave, and Steve, with the local police officials here in Rosarito to share with them some things about the cooperative efforts of Omaha 360, and pose some thoughtful challenges to them about how they can begin to partner with the faith community here to effect change in their own city. Please pray for great favor with that, if you read this in time. We're two hours behind you, and we're hoping that meeting will take place about 4:00 p.m. PST (6:00 PM Omaha Time). It will be a first penetration for the faith community into the government/law enforcement agencies.
Tomorrow we meet with a pastors' cell group led by Pastora Conchita. You may remember that we ministered to her a couple of years ago when her son had recently been shot and died in her arms just outside her home in the street. God has so transformed her that I did not recognize her when we once again met last April! Now she leads an entire group of pastors, and we have the privilege of sharing with them in the morning. Tomorrow evening, Dave and Steve will be attending another small group....and Mary and I are hoping to get to go to the worship/warfare time at Pastor Fernando's church.
Saturday morning, Dave and Steve will go to Pastor Raphael's cell group of pastors (which I'll sorely miss being there!), but Mary and I will be at a women's retreat, where I'm scheduled to speak to somewhere around 75-100 pastor's wives, and women pastors. That will be quite a challenge, as they have given me barely any information to work with....including no timeframe, no number of sessions, and barely any topic...."We are queens!" I still need to finish fleshing that teaching time out, so am thankful for the time to sit in the breezy sunshine on the pier and work on it this afternoon. Saturday evening Dave will be speaking to a large youth rally and the team will be ministering.
The rest of the schedule we are keeping flexible for connecting to local pastors, their families and churches. Dave will be speaking to the Pastoral Alliance in Tijuana on Monday evening just before "dashing" across the border for a 6:40 AM flight home . Please pray for anointing and continued favor for him.
We are so thankful for all the sacrifice and provision that has been made to allow us to be here, including the way that the Lord has reduced expenses for us this time, while providing a beautiful, restful place for us to recuperate between times. I believe that may be because of the significant contact with the witchcraft and what's in the spiritual realms here. He's watching and guarding over us, and aside from Steve having a bout of "Montezuma's Revenge" the first night, we've all been sleeping well and experiencing good health and energy, and lots of spiritual energy. It is also true, however, that we are still about $500 short of covering what we had hoped to raise for expenses for the trip. What this means in practical terms is that we will be limited in what we will be able to pass on to bless the pastors here with dinners, personal financial gifts, etc. If God moves on your heart to help with that, you can still send contributions to Christ For the City or online in the column to the right... designate "Gehrls-Tijuana" then emial us so that we can plan accordingly over the next few days. Thanks so much for your love, your care, and your prayers for us as we minister here.
More to come....
The flight down was long and fairly uneventful, except for a rather bumpy landing in San Diego...going through Chicago adds about 2 hours in the plane. We weren't able this time to connect with the CFCI Base people in San Diego/Ocean Beach, due to a little different schedule. Pastor Jesús & Rosa Rodríguez picked us up at the airport, and we headed almost immediately for the border crossing. There is a great deal of construction going on at this, the primary border crossing in the southwest. There are two smaller crossings a few miles from here, but then one must go to Juarez area and cross into Texas. Therefore, you can imagine the density of the traffic using this crossing daily, as many Mexicans work in San Diego and must make the crossing on a daily basis. The typical wait in the lines at the border is now 3-4 hours....yes, in your vehicle! Many of the regular crossing lanes are now closed for reconstruction. A new pedestrian crossing has been constructed over the checkpoint into Mexico, which allows a great deal more foot traffic, but even the wait in the lines there is over 1 1/2 hrs. long. From our perspective this is all rather interesting as the route heading into the border from Mexico is lined with little shops and all kinds of vendors working through the vehicles selling everything you can imagine, and providing all kinds of entertainment.....for a donation, of course! Every kind of food and drink is available, including my personal favorite...the very decadent sugar and cinnamon deep-fried churros! But, bearing in mind that we're never doing the driving!!
Rather than staying in Tijuana, we're staying this entire week in a beach town called Rosarito at the invitation of a pastors alliance and then driving back into Tijuana for our scheduled meetings there. We're finding it to be a very interesting community. You might ask, "How so?" The first thing thing we discerned was a very different kind of spiritual heaviness over the entire town, whose population is about 90,000. They are located approximately 30 minutes south and a little east of Tijuana right on the ocean...which means that it's very much a "party" community and this weekend it will get very noisy with their main beach day/night club right next door. What is over this area is a very different feel from the spiritual activity in Tijuana proper. It feels much more like something that is assigned to block a move of God here....not oppressive in a heavy way....much more solid spiritual resistance. However, there are some very interesting things going on here!
The history here has been one of extremely active involvement with the occult and witchcraft. Without going into great detail, I've had some in-depth conversation about this with the pastor God has moved here to begin to mobilize some things. He is particularly anointed with a Psalmist/Worship anointing, and leads a meeting every Friday evening (which Mary and I are begging to attend!) that is ONLY worship, warfare, and a subsequent victory/praise celebration! I believe God has called him here to stand in the face of the satanic worship which is very much a part of the community. Just south of where we are, there is a satanic temple that is connected in several ways with the satanic worship center in San Francisco....ponder on that for awhile.... Pastor Fernando Pina tells me that there are a number of active covens in the area. Additionally, there are three pastoral alliances in this city who have never been able to come together to work on pretty much anything! He has just recently been elected as the president of one of those alliances, and is called of God to try to bring them together for the sake of the Kingdom.
Dave taught yesterday morning, and the Lord gave favor and anointing with them. His presentation was a clear, concise overview of how to penetrate the city, and what it will cost them. The 12 pastors present were very much on board and looking forward to additional time with us on future trips. They normally pray for 2-3 hrs. together weekly for Rosarito, but gave us that time to share. At the end, we spent a significant time in prayer, and we had opportunity to minister personally to the pastors and wives who were present. Wow! It's hard to put into words the depth of the anointing that the Lord sent during that time....haven't felt anything that strong for several years!! God is definitely doing something significant here that is in the infancy stages. And we will definitely continue to work in this community, as there is a very clear sense that it might be what Ed Silvoso calls an "igniter" city for this whole area of Mexico, including Tijuana.
We're staying in a lovely hotel here directly on the oceanfront....and I do mean directly! We can walk out the end of the game room right onto a pier about half a mile out into the ocean. It's really rather breathtaking! Our rooms face the ocean, and we can look out the walkout doors onto a tiny patio (about 2 feet wide!) to watch the surf, the beach, and the awesome sunsets over the ocean....well, we would if we were here! The gigantic sun was just turning red as we left yesterday evening. As I write this, I'm watching the surf rolling in with the tide and wondering when the surfers will begin to appear! Jesus felt led of the Lord this time that we needed to have some downtime just to enjoy and rest, so we have breaks of several hours at a time built into the week....like little mini-sabbaths. We can walk directly out of the hotel onto miles of sandy beach, and I think Dave, Mary, Steve, Jesus, and his son have just gone down to rent horses to ride on the beach. I've opted to skip that part for the present, as I'm thinking I need to be able to stand and walk on Saturday!! They also are equipped with 4-wheelers for driving on the beach, too, so who knows!? If they're anywhere near as much fun as jet-skis, I may take a spin!! An amazing thing that God did is to make all the connections for us through a man in Pastor Fernando's church who is on the executive staff at this huge hotel, to get 1-bedroom suites for us at $29/night!! Yes, you heard me correctly! It's a bit of a drive for our "taxi", but still works well for him, and allows us to stay right here in the community long enough to get somewhat acquainted.
Last night, Steve spoke on "Hearing God" in a church where we've all ministered many times. We have made wonderful relationships within the congregation there, and have watched as their children have grown from babies into toddlers, and eventually into teenagers serving the Lord in their own right. We've had opportunity over the years to pray over many of them, and to encourage them on a regular basis. Steve did a great job, and again, the Lord gave great favor and words of encouragement for the people.
This afternoon, there is tentatively planned a meeting with Pastor Fernando, Jesús, Dave, and Steve, with the local police officials here in Rosarito to share with them some things about the cooperative efforts of Omaha 360, and pose some thoughtful challenges to them about how they can begin to partner with the faith community here to effect change in their own city. Please pray for great favor with that, if you read this in time. We're two hours behind you, and we're hoping that meeting will take place about 4:00 p.m. PST (6:00 PM Omaha Time). It will be a first penetration for the faith community into the government/law enforcement agencies.
Tomorrow we meet with a pastors' cell group led by Pastora Conchita. You may remember that we ministered to her a couple of years ago when her son had recently been shot and died in her arms just outside her home in the street. God has so transformed her that I did not recognize her when we once again met last April! Now she leads an entire group of pastors, and we have the privilege of sharing with them in the morning. Tomorrow evening, Dave and Steve will be attending another small group....and Mary and I are hoping to get to go to the worship/warfare time at Pastor Fernando's church.
Saturday morning, Dave and Steve will go to Pastor Raphael's cell group of pastors (which I'll sorely miss being there!), but Mary and I will be at a women's retreat, where I'm scheduled to speak to somewhere around 75-100 pastor's wives, and women pastors. That will be quite a challenge, as they have given me barely any information to work with....including no timeframe, no number of sessions, and barely any topic...."We are queens!" I still need to finish fleshing that teaching time out, so am thankful for the time to sit in the breezy sunshine on the pier and work on it this afternoon. Saturday evening Dave will be speaking to a large youth rally and the team will be ministering.
The rest of the schedule we are keeping flexible for connecting to local pastors, their families and churches. Dave will be speaking to the Pastoral Alliance in Tijuana on Monday evening just before "dashing" across the border for a 6:40 AM flight home . Please pray for anointing and continued favor for him.
We are so thankful for all the sacrifice and provision that has been made to allow us to be here, including the way that the Lord has reduced expenses for us this time, while providing a beautiful, restful place for us to recuperate between times. I believe that may be because of the significant contact with the witchcraft and what's in the spiritual realms here. He's watching and guarding over us, and aside from Steve having a bout of "Montezuma's Revenge" the first night, we've all been sleeping well and experiencing good health and energy, and lots of spiritual energy. It is also true, however, that we are still about $500 short of covering what we had hoped to raise for expenses for the trip. What this means in practical terms is that we will be limited in what we will be able to pass on to bless the pastors here with dinners, personal financial gifts, etc. If God moves on your heart to help with that, you can still send contributions to Christ For the City or online in the column to the right... designate "Gehrls-Tijuana" then emial us so that we can plan accordingly over the next few days. Thanks so much for your love, your care, and your prayers for us as we minister here.
More to come....
Sheryl for the Team
Thursday, October 6, 2011
We are excited and anticipating our next trip to come along side Pastor Jesús & Rosa Rodriguez and care for pastors, ministry leaders, government officials and their families in Tijuana, Mexico
GOALS & ACTIVITIES ON THIS TRIP
- Dave will be speaking to at least four pastors’ cell groups and the team will be ministering.
- Sheryl will be speaking and ministering at a women’s retreat Friday evening & Saturday.
- Our team will be ministering personally to several pastoral marriages and/or families in crisis.
- Steve will be speaking and ministering at several churches.
- On every trip our team teaches and ministers to the staff at our CFCI orphanages.
- Dave will be speaking at the monthly meeting of the Tijuana Pastoral Alliance and we will be meeting privately with core leaders.
- Dave will be doing follow-up and support relating to Step Up To Life and FreshStart initiatives and planning for future team trips.
Prayer
We will be sending Ministry & Prayer Updates during the trip to our ministry partners, if you have not received these updates on previous trips and would like to, please send Dave an email at dave@cfci.org
Finance
Please consider providing a financial contribution for this mission trip. Our cost will include: airfare, lodging, local travel, meals, and several meals with local leaders. We also like to leave a generous gift with Pastor Jesús & Rosa Rodriguez. Gehrls’ Support: Tax deductible gifts may be sent to CFCI, PO Box 390395, Omaha, NE 68139-0395
(Click on picture of child, then follow instructions at top of page…on the review page designate Gehrls-Tijuana)
Rifes’ Support: Tax deductible gifts may be sent to Carpenters Touch, 8834 Sprague Circle, Omaha, NE, 68134.
Dave & Sheryl Gehrls, Steve & Mary Rife
Monday, July 25, 2011
Omaha 360
"Stop The Violence" Community PrayerWalk
Tuesday, July 26th ~ 6:00 -7:00 PM
at 42nd & Bedford
Meet at the parking lot east of the JNJ store
Meet at the parking lot east of the JNJ store
The Omaha 360 Violence Intervention and Prevention Network has been requested by OPD and the Gang Unit to focus our PrayerWalks again in the 42nd & Bedford area.
Following a series of PrayerWalks in 2008-2009 this neighborhood saw some measurable peace for a while but is again a hotspot of mostly gang related violence with frequent gunfire, several homicides and shootings that have included several innocent children.
Lasting peace in this neighborhood requires a strong and sustained local presence on these streets. Turning Point and local churches are working to organize strong Adopt-A-Block groups in this area and partner with neighborhood associations.
Tuesday night join us in coming alongside the churches, neighborhood groups and caring families of this neighborhood:
- Letting them know they are not alone in the battle against violence
- Helping give a strong, visible message to this neighborhood that the righteous are taking back their streets…block by block.
Join with area pastors and believers from all over Omaha as we stand together as one body…the body of Christ working together to help “Stop The Violence.”
Bring the kids. They make great prayerwalkers... We will also have police presence in the area during the prayerwalk.
The owner of the J-N-J Grocery said he will bring out cold bottled water and some snacks to thank us for coming!
Please forward this email to your Christian friends and announce in meetings.
For more Information Contact
Dave Gehrls (dave@cfci.org
Gail Ross gail@turningpointomaha.
Femi Awodele (femi@christiancouples.org)
Bruce Williams pastorbruce@hogcf.org
Femi Awodele (femi@christiancouples.org)
Willie Barney (wilbunited@aol.com)
John Ewing (johnewing@co.douglas.ne.us)
Please forward this email to your Christian friends and announce in meetings.
For more Information Contact
Dave Gehrls (dave@cfci.org
Gail Ross gail@turningpointomaha.
Femi Awodele (femi@christiancouples.org)
Bruce Williams pastorbruce@hogcf.org
Femi Awodele (femi@christiancouples.org)
Willie Barney (wilbunited@aol.com)
John Ewing (johnewing@co.douglas.ne.us)
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