International Fellowship Of Christian Assemblies IFCA http://www.ifcaministry.com IFCA is global pentecostal missionary outreach Sat, 03 Dec 2011 20:17:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Who We Are http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/12/03/who-we-are/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/12/03/who-we-are/#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 20:14:32 +0000 admin http://www.ifcaministry.com/?p=1611

The International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies is a body of churches comprised of saved and Spirit baptized believers, from every background and culture. Our purpose is to fulfill the Great Commission by preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, evangelizing the lost at home and abroad under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit. Members embrace the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with the initial evidence of speaking in tongues according to Act 2:4

Contact us if you have questions.

]]> http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/12/03/who-we-are/feed/ 0 IFCA Prayer Summit http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/09/25/ifca-prayer-summit/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/09/25/ifca-prayer-summit/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:29:08 +0000 admin http://www.ifcaministry.com/?p=1533
IFCA Prayer Summit
Double Tree Resort/Willow valley Lancaster, PA.
November 9-11, 2011

All IFCA Pastors and credential holders with their spouses and church members are invited to attend our third annual prayer summit in Lancaster, PA. We are at a time in church history when prayer has become a necessity for the people of God. Whatever God is going to do in our near future, it is going to come to pass only through prayer. We are urging all our pastors, credential holders and church members to sacrifice their time and make an extra endeavor to be present at this prayer summit.

The Schedule
Wednesday, November 9 7:00p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Prayer
Thursday, November 10 9:00 a.m. – noon Prayer
noon-1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Prayer
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Prayer
Friday, November 11 9:00 a.m. – noon Prayer
noon Checkout

The deadline to guarantee a room at the Double Tree Motel at a rate of 87.00 (single or double); $97 (triple); $107 (quad) per night—plus tax—is October 5.
Contact us if you have questions or to register.

]]> http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/09/25/ifca-prayer-summit/feed/ 0 Bro Carmine Saginario http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/08/08/bro-carmine-saginario/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/08/08/bro-carmine-saginario/#comments Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:39:28 +0000 admin http://www.ifcaministry.com/?p=1476 Bro. Sag
Bro. Carmine Saginario, General Overseer
from 1975-1984.
He is with Jesus and will be sorely missed.

Carmine wore many hats during his life including pastor, assistant pastor, youth leader, evangelist, denominational leader, public school and Bible college teacher and mentor (assisting many to develop into ministers and Christian leaders).
]]> http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/08/08/bro-carmine-saginario/feed/ 0 Looking at the Past, Learning for the Present http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/02/11/looking-at-the-past-learning-for-the-present/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/02/11/looking-at-the-past-learning-for-the-present/#comments Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:56:01 +0000 admin http://www.ifcaministry.com/?p=1265 – by Rev. John Lathrop

He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it…(2 Kings 18:4).

In First Corinthians 10, the apostle Paul writes that as believers in Jesus we should learn from the experiences of the people of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament. The above-mentioned Scripture from Second Kings 18 is one such text from which we can learn. This Scripture records an event that took place in the southern kingdom of Judah during the time of the kings. This was a turbulent time spiritually; at times the people were zealous for the Lord, and at other times they were not. The spiritual temperature of the people was in some measure dependent on the spirituality of the king at that time. At this particular time Hezekiah was king. He was a godly man who sought to do what was right in God’s sight. Under his leadership a number of religious reforms were introduced. We are told that “he removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles” (2 Kings 18:4). The breaking of the bronze snake was also a part of his religious reform. In order to better understand the significance of this act, we need to go further back in Israelite history.
The bronze snake dates back to the time of Moses; we find it mentioned in Numbers 21. At that time the Israelites were grumbling and complaining against God and against Moses. They accused God and Moses of bringing them out of Egypt to die in the desert. They also complained that there was no water and no bread, and they spoke with displeasure of God’s gracious provision of manna (Num. 21:4-5). Because of their sinful behavior, the Lord sent venomous snakes among the people to bite them, and many Israelites died as a result of the snake bites (Num. 21:6). Once this began to happen, the people went to Moses, acknowledged that they had sinned, and asked Moses to petition the Lord to take the snakes away from them (Num. 21:7). Interestingly enough, the Lord did not take the snakes away, but He did do something else. The Lord instructed Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole; if anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he or she would live (Num. 21:8).
There are a number of significant things about the bronze snake that we should note at this point. First, the bronze snake was God’s idea. The people had asked for the removal of the snakes (Num. 21:7), not for a bronze snake. Neither Moses nor the people could say that they had come up with the idea of the bronze snake; the bronze snake was totally God’s idea. Second, the bronze snake was crafted by Moses. Moses was a man of God, one of the most recognized and revered leaders in Israelite history. He made what God had ordered. Third, the bronze snake was used by God to bless His people at this one particular point in time. Specifically, it was used by God to spare people’s lives. This is the object that Hezekiah smashed. What was he thinking? Didn’t he know the history of the bronze snake?
Yes, I believe that Hezekiah knew the history of the snake. What Hezekiah was thinking was—idolatry. Everything that the king did away with in Second Kings 18:4 had to do with idolatry. We can certainly understand that the high places, sacred stones, and Asherah poles were idolatrous, and we would approve of their destruction. But what does the bronze snake have to do with idolatry?
Many years transpired between the time of Moses and the time of the kings. The Israelites had kept the bronze snake, crafted by Moses, from the time of its creation in Numbers 21 until the time of Second Kings 18. Not only had they kept the snake, but, as Second Kings 18:4 tells us, they were burning incense to it. Herein was the problem: the Israelites took something from the past that was ordained of God, that was brought into being at the hands of a man of God, that God used to bless His people; they brought it into the present and gave it a place that God never intended it to have. They actually came to the place where they confused the bronze snake with God Himself! They were burning incense to the snake; they were worshipping it! There is a word of warning here for us. History is good, and we need to recognize its importance and learn from it, as Paul reminds us in First Corinthians 10, but we also need to be on our guard that we do not let history become a snare to us. We need to be careful that we do not try to bring into the present something that God intended only for the past. We also need to be careful that we do not honor something that God blessed in the past to the point where we blur the distinction between the method, or tool, that God used and God Himself. If we fall prey to either of these things, we can become guilty of idolatry. Because the method, or tool, has such a close connection to God in our minds, it may, at times, be difficult for us to discern the idolatry. If we become aware that we have made something into an idol, we need to do what Hezekiah did; we need to get rid of the idol (see also 1 John 5:21). Let us not hold on to it and be held back. As time marches on, let us move forward with God, the living God, worshipping and honoring Him alone—and let us be found walking in obedience to His Word and His Spirit.

]]> http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/02/11/looking-at-the-past-learning-for-the-present/feed/ 0 The Next Generation http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/02/11/the-next-generation/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/02/11/the-next-generation/#comments Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:50:32 +0000 admin http://www.ifcaministry.com/?p=1258

–Rev John Lathrop

I brought you up out of Egypt, and I led you for forty years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites. I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazirites from among your young men. Is this not true, people of Israel? declares the Lord. But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy (Amos 2:10-12).

This is a very interesting portion of Scripture; in it the Lord, through the prophet Amos, speaks to His people Israel and reminds them of what He has done for the nation. In verse 10 the Lord says that He brought them out of Egypt. They needed a Savior; they needed freedom from their oppressors, and the Lord was their deliverer. In the Book of Exodus, Moses provides us with a rather detailed account of how the Lord delivered His people (Exod. 7–12). This event was a very significant moment in the life of the nation. However, the Lord’s activity in the life of His people did not end with the Exodus. After He delivered them from Egyptian bondage, the Lord stayed with Israel; He led them for forty years in the desert. He led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exod. 13:21-22). During the course of this time, He also fed them; He provided them with manna to eat the whole time that they were in the desert (Exod. 16:35). The Lord stayed with His people even though at times they were less than grateful. Scripture tells us in a number of places about their complaints and their sins (Exod. 16:2-8; 17:1-7; 32:1-35). God stayed with His people because He wanted to bring them into an inheritance; His leading was purposeful and intentional. He brought them out to bring them in (Deut. 6:23). In verse 11, the Lord also says that He raised up prophets and Nazarites from among their young people. All of the emphasis thus far has been on what God had done.
In verse 12, the emphasis changes. Now the Lord speaks about what Israel did with reference to His work of raising up prophets and Nazirites from among their young people. He says that Israel made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. God had called and raised up spiritually dedicated and gifted people and the larger community, the community of God’s people, had shut them down. The Nazirite vow dates back to the time of Moses; it was a voluntary vow, and we find a record of what it entailed in Numbers 6. Nazirites were not to drink wine or other fermented drinks or eat grapes or raisins; they were not to partake of anything that came from the grapevine (Num. 6:3-4). They were also not to cut their hair while they were under a Nazirite vow, nor were they to go near a dead body, even if a close family member died (Num. 6:5-8). God raised up people with this special consecration and dedication, and the Israelites had made them drink wine. In other words, they compromised them; they caused them to break their special dedication. God also raised up prophets, inspired speakers who had His Word, His message, and the people told the prophets not to deliver the Word of the Lord. How awful! How could they, the people of God, do such a thing? Why would they do such a thing? I think that there are a couple of possible explanations as to why Israel put down what God had raised up.
One reason why Israel may have undermined the Nazirites and prophets is because of unbelief. The text says that God raised these consecrated and gifted individuals up from the sons of the people. The nation may not have received them because they were young or because they were known. “We know where they are from; we know their families; we know their sins and their shortcomings. Surely God would not call them!” This ties in with what Jesus said in the New Testament. He said that a prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own house (Matt. 13:57). Israel may also have resisted the Nazirites and prophets that God raised up because consecrated and gifted people like them make others uncomfortable. The dedication and zeal of a Nazirite or prophet could be very convicting to a people who know that they are not following the Lord as they should (they definitely do not want to hear from the prophet what God thinks of them). In an attempt to ease their own sense of guilt, they undermined the spirituality of the committed. These are a couple of possible explanations of why Israel treated the Nazirites and prophets as they did.
We need to ask ourselves, have we done, or are we now doing, the same thing? As God is raising up a new generation of spiritually dedicated and gifted people, are we discouraging those that God is calling? Don’t dismiss this idea too quickly. Do we fail to believe that God could use our sons or daughters or other young people who are in our churches? Or are we compromising them by encouraging them to continue in their faith but at the same time urging them not to become too fanatical: “Don’t go crazy with this.” How many future apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and missionaries will never answer the call of God because they have not been encouraged by the church? In the twenty-first century we have an additional reason for discouraging them; serving the Lord doesn’t tie in with the American dream. “Don’t go that way; you can’t make any money serving the Lord!” May the Lord help us to recognize who He is calling, and may we do everything that we can to help them on their way to answer the call and follow through with it. God’s way is the best way for them, and every generation needs good Christian leaders. May what the Lord said to Israel in this text never be said of us.

]]> http://www.ifcaministry.com/2011/02/11/the-next-generation/feed/ 0 Letter From Our General Overseer http://www.ifcaministry.com/2010/08/07/go/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2010/08/07/go/#comments Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:24:15 +0000 admin http://www.ifcane.org/?p=180
July 19, 2010
Greetings fellow-laborers in the IFCA:
I trust that my communique finds you all well and rejoicing in the bountiful goodness of our God. We just concluded our annual convention in Cincinnati, Ohio and I want to report that it was wonderful. Although we experienced the lowest enrolment of all time, the Spirit of God moved mightily and inspired our speaker Bro. Bob Ely to challenge us deeply by His word. Lives were changed and I do not believe one of us left the way we came. God is so good. We also learned that the July 4th weekend was not a good choice, so we will not be doing that again. We have decided to stay within the 1st week of August for our conventions from here on; of course, we will be flexible if we need to be.
Let me take this opportunity to remind you to put the dates for next year’s convention at Richmond Hts., Ohio in your calendar.
The dates will be from Wednesday the 3rd of August through Saturday the 6th of August. Our speaker will be Dr. Mark Rutland, the President of Oral Roberts University. Please do not miss this promising time together. Furthermore, I also want to announce the up coming prayer summit at Willow Valley Resort in Lancaster, PA. The prayer summit will begin on Wednesday night the 10th of November at 7:00 p.m. and finish on Friday morning the 12th of November at 11 :00 a.m. We have a great time of prayer and fellowship together; please make every effort to be there. Further information will be forthcoming from headquarters.
I want to encourage you with the words from Judges, chapter 6:14 which says, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: Have not I sent you?” Here the angel of the Lord is identified as the Lord Himself (“Jehovah” in the Hebrew). This coincides with the firm declaration given at this time to Gideon. It was so compelling that Gideon addressed the speaker in v15 as the Lord God. In this second declaration made to Gideon, he was commissioned by the Lord “to go.”The basis of that commission is contained in the words “in this thy might.” This has reference to the promise the Lord gave in v12 when He said,” .. The Lord is with thee … “The might of Gideon proceeded from the reality of God’s presence being with him. Gideon was sent by God to deliver the nation of Israel from their enemies, even though Gideon had just given numerous excuses why it couldn’t be him. The Hebrew word used here for “save” Heb “yasha” (Yaw-shah) places emphasis upon “deliverance from danger and distresses.” God heard the excuses made by Gideon, but realized that the assurance of His sovereignty and presence would enable Gideon to lead His people to victory. In that last phrase of v14, “Have not I sent thee?” the Lord calls on Gideon to recognize that it’s the Lord Himself that has commissioned Him. When we recognize that God’s plan originates with God Himself, it becomes a primary source of faith and motivation in our lives. Along with discernment of the plan for our lives and ministry, we must come to recognize that plan is from God the creator and sustainer of the universe, Himself; Jim Elliott once said, “Rest in this-it is His business to lead, command, impel. send, call, or whatever you want to call it. It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond or what have you.”
In closing, ( would like to make an appeal to each one of our IFCA Churches and Credential holders. We have once again run up a deficit at National Convention. We do not have the final figures yet, but it will be in the region of $23,000 to $26,000 dollars. Would you please be prayerful about helping Headquarters alleviate this expense? If each of the churches could send us a gift of $500 or $1,000, we would be able to meet this debt. After this year, we will not be looking at such astronomical figures anymore, as we have resolved to do things differently and more economically. We are not suggesting we have all the solutions, but we will be making changes until we find a method that works and suits the IFCA for the future. May God bless you all in your endeavors.
Please remember that I am full time at Headquarters and am available for ministry in your fellowships. Do not hesitate to give me a call if I can be of assistance in blessing you.
Yours in His Srvic
Mike Player
General Overseer

]]> http://www.ifcaministry.com/2010/08/07/go/feed/ 0 Adopt a Book http://www.ifcaministry.com/2010/07/20/99/ http://www.ifcaministry.com/2010/07/20/99/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:39:08 +0000 admin http://www.ifcane.org/?p=99 The Adopt-A-Book Program, which will supply good study materials to 30 IFCA missionaries and National Pastors, will soon become part of the IFCA Mission’s Department. This program began in New England. As of this writing the books that we have commitments for are:

A Time for Holy Fire-by Michael Brown

Revival Fire-by Eddie Hyatt

The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament-by Craig Keener.

The Beginner’s Guide to Spiritual Gifts-by Sam Storms

Jots & Tittles-by John King (IFCA author)

Soul Baptism-by Lucian Gandolfo (IFCA author)

Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers Then and Now-by John Lathrop (IFCA author)

Dissapointment With God-Philip Yancey

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