CharisMatters

Imagine being a teen-ager in a land where the only way to get to the next town is by dogsled, snowmobile or airplane, a land where subzero temperatures are normal, and where your future is limited to the obstacles of Arctic weather. A mere walk outside your village could be your last.

Arctic missionary Kayy Gordon, featured in Charisma’s December 2000 cover story, looks
into the eyes of hopeless Arctic youth often and delivers the only answer there is to their distress–Jesus Christ.

Incidents of drug abuse and suicides among Inuit, or Eskimo, youth and adults in the Canadian Arctic are rising. Fortunately, the success of Kayy’s missions organization, Glad Tidings Arctic Missions, is growing. Glad Tidings Pentecostal churches are springing up all across the frozen north. But the needs are competing with Glad Tidings’ limited resources, and Kayy needs financial help to reach the Inuit.

“The drug and suicide problem is a major concern,” Kayy said. “If we had the funds, we could conduct several youth rallies across the Arctic and reap a great harvest of distressed young people. We are still declaring, ‘They shall be the Lord’s.'”

t almost every evangelism crusade where Kayy preaches, teen-agers flood the altars and even very young children are touched by the power of the Holy Spirit. Many weep uncontrollably, and their hopelessness transforms into the joyful assurance of salvation and the abundant life in Jesus.

In Yellowknife, the capital of the Arctic, Glad Tidings needs funds to build a church. Yellowknife is the modern hub of Arctic activity, home to 20,000 in the Northwest Territory. Glad Tidings’ church there, pastored by Lynn Patterson, is growing fast, but rising real estate prices, due to a mining and tourism boom, caused the church’s landlord to seek higher renters–and Glad Tidings must move. A new building would cost $800,000 because of the inaccessibility of the Arctic.

Donations for these worthy causes may be sent to Christian Life Missions, Attention: Arctic Mission, P.O. Box 952248, Lake Mary, FL, 32795-2248. E-mail Kayy at [email protected].
–Billy Bruce

Before Jesus, After Jesus:

Jim Drennen Learned Jesus Was His Paycheck

Jim Drennen had a dream of being famous ever since he began piano and voice lessons at age 8. His “dream” came true even though God had a different plan.

Drennen toured, playing keyboards and singing backup vocals, for high-profile acts such as Vassar Clements, Melanie and country superstar Johnny Paycheck. Abusing drugs and seeking fame, Drennen lived life in the fast lane.

He appeared on popular variety shows such as American Bandstand, Midnight Special, and The Mike Douglas Show. His main touring success was with Paycheck–the outlawish cowboy who sometimes had the law on his trail.
But at a small Baptist church in Vista, Calif., a pastor shared with Drennen that he, too, had played with a famous group. At one concert, the sound system broke down, and the kids started stomping and screaming. The Lord told the pastor that the crowd’s reaction is the sound of hell itself and that his music was leading people to death, not life.

The Holy Spirit convicted Drennen, and he accepted the Lord. From that day, he gave his life–and music–to Jesus. Today Drennen is music pastor at Calvary Christian Center Assembly of God in Ormond Beach, Fla., and director of Calvary Christian school’s band program.

“What can God do with a professional road musician who’s lost on drugs and searching for fame? Turn his life around and use him for the kingdom,” Drennen said.
–Billy Bruce

Billboard Campaign Fights Abortion With Best Alternative

A California church has won public approval for a bold pro-life stand that extends a hand rather than pointing a finger. The Church of Glad Tidings in Yuba City paid for billboard advertisements around town that proclaimed: “Don’t end your pregnancy. We’ll take your child.”

Lou Binninger, the church’s community liaison, said that there had been a positive response to the billboards, which were featured by local media. The large signs simply featuring the church’s name and phone number quickly prompted two inquiries from expectant mothers, but more from couples who wish to adopt.

“We see [the campaign] as an alternative to abortion,” Binninger said. “One, the child will get a new home, and two, the woman won’t have to go through a surgical procedure she might later regret.”

The ads were posted at four different sites around Yuba City, and switched to new locations each month during the 90-day campaign that cost around $2,500. The independent charismatic church, which has a membership of around 900, has been involved in pro-life ministry for years.

Members have cared for babies born to women in prison and have supported the local crisis pregnancy counseling center.
–Andy Butcher

Mr. T. Fights the Antichrist?

The movie Judgment, the latest installment in the end-times series from Cloud Ten Pictures, features a famous cancer survivor fighting the Antichrist. The film, budgeted at $11 million, stars Mr. T, formerly of the A-Team–minus his gold jewelry but loaded with the treasure of faith.

In Judgment, a one-world government is led by Lucifer, the Antichrist, the self-proclaimed messiah. A small band of Christians, led by Mr. T, are trying to show the world that all is not as it seems.

Judgment is Mr. T’s first Christian film. “My time is very expensive,” said the 48-year-old actor, who has been battling
cancer for the last five years. “If I never make another dollar or be on TV again, all I ever wanted to do is done,” Mr. T said.

Mr. T is working on a new book tentatively titled Cancer Saved My Life, which describes how cancer has strengthened his faith. Judgment, recently released on video and DVD, is the fourth in the ongoing series by Cloud Ten, whose previous movies include Left Behind: The Movie.

–Margaret Feinberg

The June List

No. 1 Christian Hardback: The Prayer of Jabez, Bruce Wilkinson (Multnomah)
No. 1 Paperback: The Power of a Praying Wife, Stormie Omartian (Harvest House)
No 1 fiction book: The Birthright, Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn (Bethany House)
No. 1 CD: Songs 4 Worship: Shout to the Lord, Various Artists(Time-Life)