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December 17, 2022

Why We Publish: Part 1

“When I visit the homes of new church attendees,” Madu* said, “I often learn that some of the only ‘Christian literature’ that they own was published by false teachers.”  

“The African Christian book market is flooded by the titles of false teachers,” he explained, “and it has been that way for many years. Even in Christian bookstores, the shelves are dominated by such books. Many people in our communities are unaware that these authors are false teachers, and they would not think twice about buying their books.” 

 

Why Publishing Matters in Missions 

Let’s face it. Parts of the Bible are hard to understand.

The apostle Peter even thought so (2 Pet 3:16), despite spending years in Jesus’ inner circle (Mark 5:37). For that reason, it should not surprise us to read that a foreigner like the Ethiopian eunuch also had a hard time understanding the word on his own (Acts 8:30–31). As we look out among the nations today, the situation is much the same, and just like the Ethiopian eunuch was blessed with understanding from Philip (Acts 8:35), we can all find tremendous help from someone showing us what the Bible means. “If we are going to outmatch these false teachers when it comes to their strategy of cultural penetration,” Mark went on, “a casual or passive approach simply won’t do. It won’t be effective.”

The problem, however, is that reliable guides like Philip can be hard to find. 

In many countries, it’s often the false teachers who stand ready to offer their “assistance.”  

Madu’s testimony illustrates that the evangelistic strategies of false teachers go well beyond “razzle dazzle” crusades. Many people don’t realize that false teachers are deeply invested in foreign publishing. These teachers see the strategic importance of books, and so, in Madu’s words, they do what they can to “dominate” the bookshelves, get books into people’s homes, and distort the Bible quietly. 

So while faithful Christian campaigns labor away to provide Bibles across the waking world (and praise God for them), we have to realize that the enemies of God are also laboring to provide the world with books that distort those Bibles (2 Pet 3:16).  

 


Would you consider partnering with us financially to support our indigenous publishing efforts? Donate HERE


 

 Here’s How False Teachers Work the Field:

TMAI President Mark Tatlock was able to speak with a pastor who once worked for a renowned prosperity preacher. Having been saved out of that movement, this pastor was willing to reveal insider information regarding the false teacher’s “playbook” for international publishing. Mark summarizes the conversation below: 

“These false teaching ministries have a very well-defined strategy to penetrate a country with their doctrine and gain a foothold of loyalty to their movement,” he began. “They don’t just load up shipping containers with books and send them around the world; they create their own markets, sometimes from the ground up. They have a far more proactive and industrious strategy than you might think.”  

It begins with groundwork: 

“The ministry will identify local bookstores and publishers to cooperate with. Upon making deals, they can secure spots for their books on the shelves that everyday people might come to when they’re searching for someone to help them understand the Bible.” 

They also recruit local pastors: 

“They’ll also send an advance team into a new country, identify several key denominational leaders in the region, gather them together, and then promise to invest in their ministries with books and printed resources if they consent to the offer. In many cases, these targeted pastors live in poorer and developing countries, so the temptation for them to agree to this kind of support is high.” 

“They eventually direct that network of pastors to drive their people to get these books, whether for money or for free. In doing this, the local church leaders help to make sure that false teachers gain name recognition in their communities.” 

From there, the public campaigns can begin: 

“Eventually, when there’s enough interest in the local community, a huge crusade is announced and they fly the preacher in to speak at a large stadium, where they continue to push the content aggressively to a large audience, perhaps 10 or 50 thousand people. Before you know it, thousands of people are swept up into false teaching, sometimes unaware that they are actually listening to distortions of the true gospel.”

“This is the level of strategy that we’re up against.”

 

Here’s How TMAI Is Responding:

When we encounter clever schemes like these, we remember that God is not mocked (Gal 6:7). Peter says that these teachers distort the Scriptures “to their own destruction” (2 Pet 3:16), and we know that amidst their evils, our Good Shepherd is still saving His sheep—even from the midst of these wolves (John 10:27–28).  “We must look for every legitimate opportunity to maximize our own in-country network and get the best theological tools into the hands of local church leaders. We obviously don’t want to mimic these false teaching ministries, but we must continue to cultivate a proactive posture toward resourcing the global church.” 

One encouraging example of this comes from TMAI’s regional director for Africa who recently informed us that several men who worked at a false teaching “church” have come to know the transforming love of the Lord Jesus Christ. According to him, this “church” was even more heretical than mainstream prosperity preaching churches, and yet, even there, Christ had people to save. Today, those men know that their sins have been completely washed away by the blood of Jesus, and they now attend a biblical church pastored by a TMAI graduate.

We must always trust the Lord to save His people through His word (Rom 10:17). And in that posture of dependence, we want to pursue our God-given opportunities to put the word before them and help them understand it.  

We see that one of the largest gaps in training on the mission field today is in the supply chain of resources that clearly explain the whole counsel of God.  

In this absence of good and godly books, we see that the field is not left unattended and neutral. False teachers are working aggressively to cultivate it with their own content, and they spend millions to make sure the nations know their names. 

That’s why TMAI is deepening its investment into indigenous publishing. We want to help our schools continue to publish and distribute godly books that help people know the name of Jesus. Alongside preaching, publishing remains a powerful way to counter the lies being printed on today’s mission field. And as a ministry that resources the global church, we cannot sit idly by. 

“If we are going to outmatch these false teachers when it comes to their strategy of cultural penetration,” Mark went on, “a casual or passive approach simply won’t do. It won’t be effective.” 

“Instead, we must look for every legitimate opportunity to maximize our own in-country network and get the best theological tools into the hands of local church leaders. We obviously don’t want to mimic these false teaching ministries, but we must continue to cultivate a proactive posture toward resourcing the global church.” 

As we look ahead to 2023, please consider supporting TMAI’s Publishing Fund to help bring godly books to believers around the world. 

 


To learn more and to partner with us financially, click HERE 


 

* Name changed for privacy.

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Santiago Armel

Since the Lord saved him, Santiago has had a passion to evangelize and teach others the word of God. He and his wife, Juliana, ministered to students in universities in Cali, Colombia. In 2015, he and his family came to Los Angeles to study at The Master’s Seminary. After receiving his Master of Divinity and Theology degrees, he and returned to Cali to plant a church in 2021. Since that time, Santiago has been working to develop a training ministry, and has helped host conferences, preaching workshops, and introductory classes on theology and hermeneutics. Juliana has also helped establish the women’s ministry at their church and is now investing in the wives of other church leaders as well. Please pray that Santiago and Juliana would remain faithful to Christ and His word to the end, and for the salvation of souls in Colombia.

John MacArthur

Dr. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church, as well as an author, conference speaker, chancellor emeritus of The Master’s University and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry.

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Thinking Biblically about Poverty and Spirituality (French)

Growing God’s Way (Spanish)

Intelligent Design (Spanish)

The Gospel of the King (Russian)

Reformation of the Heart (Russian)

Christian Andresen

Q&A Participant
Christian and his wife Sheryl moved back to Germany over twenty years ago and started the European Bible Training Center (EBTC) in Berlin to train up nationals for pastoral and missionary work and strengthen the local churches. As president of the ever-growing EBTC, Christian oversees the school in Berlin and its extensions in Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as its publishing ministry. He also serves as one of the pastors at Eckstein Gemeinde Berlin, a four-year-old church plant at the heart of Berlin, and is eager to invest in church-planting ministries across Europe through his role as Regional Shepherd at Grace Ministries International. Christian and Sheryl have four wonderful grown-up children and several grandchildren.

 

Carlos Montoya  

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He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He then studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, receiving his MABS in 1989, and married his bride Lori the same year. After several years, Carlos felt the need to study the original languages, leading him to attend The Master’s Seminary, graduating in 1999. The Montoya family moved to Honduras in 2001. He and Lori have 7 children and 5 grandchildren. 

 

Dave Beakley

Q&A Participant
David and his wife Carol were raised in Arizona, and after following David’s career in High Tech manufacturing, the Lord called David to ministry and he graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2002. Just six weeks after graduating, David, Carol, and their four children were sent out by Grace Community Church as missionaries to South Africa, where David served as a lecturer at Christ Seminary in the city of Polokwane. During that time, David eventually was selected by the nationals to serve as the Academic Dean as well as an elder at Christ Baptist Church. He also earned his PhD at the University of Potchefstroom in 2014. His wife Carol also serves in Christ Baptist Church teaching various women’s Bible Studies and discipling women. The children were all raised in South Africa and are now living as adults in the USA. Currently, David is the Senior Pastor (teaching pastor) of Christ Baptist Church, the Academic Dean of Christ Seminary, teaches various courses in Christ Seminary, and he also serves as the TMAI African Regional Coordinator and the GMI Regional Missions Shepherd for Africa. He and his family have been serving in South Africa for over 18 years.

 

Greg White

Q&A Participant
Greg White was sent out by Grace Community Church in 1992 to serve the Evangelical churches of Ukraine. Over the past 28 years he has had the privilege to be a part of 2 church plants and the start and development of 2 seminaries. Greg is pastor of Grace Bible Church, Chief Academic Officer of Grace Bible Seminary in Kyiv, Ukraine, Regional Pastor of Eurasia for Grace Ministries International and Liaison & Consultant, Eurasia for The Master’s Academy International. Beside his administrative responsibilities, Greg also is a professor in the area of New Testament at Grace Bible Seminary and the European Bible Center, Berlin, Germany. Greg is married to Hue Chon and has 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren who live in Southern California.

Dave Beakley

Q&A Participant
David and his wife Carol were raised in Arizona, and after following David’s career in High Tech manufacturing, the Lord called David to ministry and he graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2002. Six weeks after graduating, David, Carol, and their four children were sent out by Grace Community Church as missionaries to South Africa. David was eventually selected by South Africans to serve as the Academic Dean of Christ Seminary, as well as an elder at Christ Baptist Church. He then earned his PhD at the University of Potchefstroom in 2014. His wife Carol also serves in Christ Baptist Church teaching various women’s Bible Studies and discipling women. He also serves as the TMAI African Regional Coordinator and the GMI Regional Missions Shepherd for Africa. 

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Seminar Title | The Gospel of the King: The Influence of the Doctrine of Christ’s Kingship on Various Aspects of Christian Life and Theology
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Ruben Videira graduated from The Master’s Seminary with his M.Div. in 2011 and Th.M. in 2014. The same year he moved to León, Spain, with his family, to serve at the Evangelical Church of Leon and the Berea Seminary. At the seminary he serves as the Academic Dean and professor of Hermeneutics, Bible Exposition and Theology, and at the church his ministry focuses on preaching and discipling. He has been married to Jenn since 2010, and the Lord has blessed them with Oliver (2013), Eden (2015), Caleb (2016), and Zoe (2018).

 

Premend Choy

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Premend Choy lives in Lautoka, Fiji. Born and raised a Hindu, but in his teenage years God worked to bring the life-changing effect of the glorious Gospel through the ministry of Lovu Bible Church. He currently serves as the teaching pastor of Lovu Bible Church and his desire is to see a conservative church planted in every town in Fiji.

Premend also serves as the new president of the College of Theology and Evangelism Fiji [CTEF], which he joined 27 years ago. The ministry is committed to developing godly leaders in Fiji and across Oceania. CTEF was founded by Narayan Nair in 1974. Premend is a graduate of CTEF and The Master´s Seminary. He is married to Ashwin and they are blessed with 2 daughters.

Joshua Mack

Seminar Title | A Case Study from South Africa: Towards a Certain Church
Joshua and his family recently moved back to the United States after serving for 14 years in South Africa, where they planted Living Hope Church, began the African Bible Training Center, and started the
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Seminar Title | Biblical Counseling in Europe
Nick Kalena has been serving in Berlin, Germany, for six years. He moved with his wife, Jodi, and their six children from Mission Viejo, CA, in the summer of 2014 to work for the European Bible Training Center. Since then he has been serving in and is now the director of the EBTC’s Biblical Counseling Program. Alongside of EBTC ministry, he joined a church planting team in 2016 that started the Eckstein Gemeinde Berlin. One year later, Nick and the two church planters from the planting team were ordained as elders.  Nick’s ministry focus at the EBTC and at the Eckstein Gemeinde is counseling and discipleship. He enjoys bringing people to God’s Word to help them grow in their knowledge of the Son of God. 

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David is married to Esther (Eti), and they have three children.