Morocco and Tunisia

This coffee shop in Tunisia offers customers a swipe of roll-on deodorant. How kind!

Whew! The dialect of Arabic in North Africa is very different from the Middle East! But the main problem is that I just don't know the Arabic language well enough, in general, to communicate with Moroccans and Tunisians at the level of family counseling. I need to first improve my Egyptian Arabic. Also, North African believers are already gathering in smaller, private churches due to persecution. It seems to me that God would get more glory if I invest more of my time encouraging believers in Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon to embrace reproducible, biblical principles for gathering. Pray that God will give me discernment regarding when/if I should return to Morocco and Tunisia. Pray for the opportunity that I now have to serve 60+ missionaries and a few English-speaking North Africans online in family ministry and counseling.

One of the Tunisian leaders simplified his Arabic for me. When he was a teen, he and 3 of his friends began asking a lot of questions about their religion. This led them to meet a young lady who was already a believer. God saved all 4 of these friends together, making the discipleship process much easier. One of them is now married to that young lady! Please pray for this leader who wants to connect me with a few younger, believing fathers who speak English well and can train other parents.

Are You A Good Person?

Did you know that Hudson Taylor, pioneer missionary to China, was saved by reading a gospel tract? How can giving someone a small piece of paper bring that person to faith in Christ? Because the gospel itself "is the power of God for salvation" (Romans 1:16).

For the past 20 years, I have tried to develop the habit of not missing an opportunity to hand this gospel tract to anyone that I interact with. I usually say, "Here is something to read when you have time." There is also this 6-minute video version of the same tract. I am now trying to develop the habit of giving it to believers also, encouraging them to develop the habit of sharing the gospel also. But let us not use gospel tracts as an excuse for not engaging others in gospel conversations. Whenever I think I might see the person again, I usually say with a smile, "I'm going to ask you what you think of this message the next time I see you."

A Lebanese man in full-time ministry wrote to me, “I kept the copy of Shepherding A Child’s Heart that you gave me and bought more copies that I gave to my friends.” In the past week, I have visited brothers in Nazareth and in 3 cities in Jordan. I am now in Egypt and will go to Beirut next week. Please pray that those who have completed this parenting questionnaire will follow through on their personal commitments to learn and promote biblical parenting.

Change In Sudan

Protests in Khartoum, where we lived for 2 yrs, led to the ousting of Sudan's dictator in early May.

A few days a year, we get to be with all 8 of our children at the same time. Easter was one of those days! Kendra and Trent are busy photographing (now videoing) weddings. Sam recently qualified for NAIA track nationals in Gulf Shores, AL where we will vacation next month. Anna is rowing and wrapping up her classes. Max turns 18 this week & is pursuing a different full-time job. Heidi just purchased her flight to visit friends in Jordan in July. Petra finds joy in household chores and serving each of us. Henry is really into rollerskating. Nehemiah is really into fishing. My wife is really into teaching at a classical school, walking, eating healthy, Sam’s track meets, and looking forward to moving nearby. Please pray that it would be soon. Details coming later.

Please pray for the following....
1) an Egyptian in full-time ministry who is struggling to parent his 2 young sons.
2) my Iraqi neighbor with young children who is open to faith conversation.
3) an Egyptian pastor whose wife is beginning a homeschooling group in Cairo.
4) a Syrian engaged to a Lebanese girl who wants to serve in children's ministry in Lebanon.
5) Sudanese refugee church leaders deciding whether or not to return to Sudan and when.
6) accreditation options for the homeschooling group in Alexandria, Egypt.
7) two street preachers in our house church as Derby & other events approach.

"Can Anything Good Come Out of Nazareth?"

Most of my meetings are at the Nazareth Baptist School, established in 1937.

I am writing from Nazareth, Israel where Jesus grew up. Nazareth is the largest predominately-Arab city in Israel. Approximately 1% of them would consider themselves to be born-again or "evangelical". Someone once said about Jesus, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Would you pray now that reproducible churches of gospel-centered families would come out of Nazareth into Galilee, the Holy Land, and throughout the Middle East?

Thanks for praying for my family while I was away. We video chat daily while I am away or else I miss too much happening there. Thanks also for praying for the 5 North African brothers whom I met with at a conference at the beginning of this trip. I am seeing God's hand of grace in each one of those Kingdom-building relationships. Brothers from Morocco have invited me to promote biblical parenting there. They asked if I would speak at a gathering of parents from their network of churches. I suggested that they identify several couples that I could invest in over the next few years who would eventually begin modeling, promoting, and teaching biblical parenting in their churches themselves. Would you join me in asking for wisdom regarding the timing of when to begin visiting new countries? I also have been invited by a house church planter in northern Iraq to train Syrian and Iraqi parents who are new believers.

North Africa

On my way to the Middle East next month, I will attend a gathering that focuses on Kingdom expansion in North Africa. Would you pray for these brothers below whom I met last year and have continued a relationship with online, as well as new brothers whom I will meet?

1) two Moroccan brothers who want to promote biblical parenting among the churches they serve.
2) a Libyan brother who is discerning whether or not to return to Libya now that his family is more accepting of his faith in Christ.
3) a Tunisian brother also interested in promoting biblical parenting among churches there.
4) a Moroccan brother asking for prayer for his marriage.
5) an Algerian brother who will not attend but is asking for prayer for his health & his weight.

Winter activities for our kids include street hockey with neighborhood kids, basketball & chess club, attending a church with neighborhood kids on Wednesday nights (date night!), roller skating, and spending time with older siblings. Pray for my wife as she juggles all of this while I am overseas.

Smaller, Participatory Churches

Our current house church

Since we began house churching in 2005, it has been challenging. Not just because we have moved 13 times since then and have attended 8 different house churches, but also because these churches have functioned more like a family than a worship service and... as we all know... relationships are messy, challenging, sanctifying..... and worth every minute of it. The primary reasons we model and promote smaller, participatory churches are 1) Kingdom expansion through churches that are more reproducible, 2) more thorough discipleship through participation, 3) knowing & loving one another more thoroughly, and 4) stewarding financial resources more strategically. Read more here.

Currently, we meet weekly with approximately 15 other adults to eat the Lord's Supper together as a full meal, teach one another from the 5 chapters of the Bible that each of us have studied over the past week, then the men share prayer requests & pray together while the women do the same. We recently met to finalize elders then discuss giving, church discipline, speaking limitations for women, authority, and reproducing another church soon. Sound messy? It is. You are welcome to visit. We alternate between Sunday morning and evening. Pray for our church but also for my Arab brothers with whom I am also having this conversation daily.

I send a few specific prayer requests each week via text or email. Email me at kizfam@gmail.com if you are willing to pray with us.

Please delete 502 712 1988 and use 502 445 4985 to text or call me.

Recent Trip to Jordan, Egypt, & Lebanon

It was a privilege to teach on biblical parenting at Heliopolis Community Church in Cairo. Sermon here. 

It has been a good trip to Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon. I'm on the way home now. Let me tell you about one guy I sat with. I was visiting a school for Syrian refugee kids from Muslim families founded by a wonderful ministry in Lebanon. When I asked the principal if there are any male teachers, she introduced me to the only one. Emad is about 30 yrs old and started teaching the Arabic class 2 weeks ago with no classroom experience. We talked about the difference between discipline and punishment when dealing with the students and looked at Hebrews 12 together. His dad died in the civil war when he was 1 yr old. Though he has been saved for the past 8 years, he says that he has never had a spiritual father in his life. When he told me that he prays in tongues over each classroom every morning, we talked about the gift of tongues while affirming our unity in the gospel. Later I sent him this article about tongues to consider. Though many of the mothers of the Syrian students attend the weekly church service, very few dads do. Emad is praying for a partner to go with him to visit the fathers in their homes. Would you pray with him for such a partner, as well as for a spiritual father in his life?

When I found out that the booklet Help! He Is Struggling With Pornography has been translated into Arabic, I bought a bunch of them while in Egypt and gave one to each of the brothers whom I met with on this trip. Egypt has one of the highest percentages of porn viewers in the world. I explained to my friends how I have asked 3 older Christian men if I may confess to them if I entertain a lustful thought beyond a few seconds. Repenting of the sin of lust immediately makes it much easier to resist the temptation. Pray that these brothers would walk in purity and help other brothers do the same.