Stay on Mission – 17th October 2017

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1. Matthew 13: 1-9 The parable of the sower.
‘That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other see fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
I begin a short series based on what I guess is one of the best-known of Jesus’ parables. Often called ‘The Parable of the Sower’. I find it interesting that whilst Jesus Himself refers to this as the parable of the Sower, it could just as easily be called ‘The Parable of the Soils’ or the Parable of the ‘Seed’.
Over the next few articles I will look a little more at the Sower, the Seed and the Soils but, by way of introduction, I wanted to point out that this parable, as with so many others that Jesus told, is about the Kingdom of God. Specifically, this parable is aimed at being fruitful! If we are going to Join Jesus in His Mission, being fruitful will be a key outcome!
In Johns’ Gospel, Jesus said: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8) When I am speaking at a gathering I often ask those gathered if they are disciples of Jesus, frequently there is a large chorus of ‘Yes’. I then encourage them to ask themselves the question ‘are you bearing fruit?’ This is an important question because Jesus is pretty clear on what it means to be a disciple. If we are not bearing fruit we are not His disciple! We may be hugely involved in church activities but if we are not bearing fruit, this makes no difference.
So, what is the ‘fruit’ that we should bear. I think there are two aspects to this and they are inter-connected. Like two sides of the same coin:
1. The Fruit of Christ-likeness: ‘And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ 2 Corinthians 3:18
2. The Fruit of Disciple Making – Jesus commands His disciples to make disciples!
3. As you consider these challenging words, take a few moments to pray and ask the Lord to help you to ‘let you hear’ what He is saying to you today.

Jesus – Friend of Sinners!

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Richard Tumwesigye recently updated from Uganda on Facebook:

In Matthew 9:9-13, we see Jesus eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. There has been a burden on my heart to start a rehabilitation home where we can care and share with the children of these friends of Jesus; the ladies, who earn their bread as commercial prostitutes, that we, as The Rooftop , reach out to with the gospel and love of Jesus in partnership with Teen Challenge and Freedom Centre Cathedral. Every time we meet with these ladies, my heart melts for these little ones. Their mothers do this commercial prostitution in the same houses they share with their children. Imagine what these little ones are exposed to at an early stage! They are being raised in unhealthy and immoral environment. I trust we can do something practically through the ministry of Jesus Christ.

I strongly believe that, if these children are a given the opportunity to be raised in good and healthy environment, they can become great women and men of God. I have shared this idea with their mothers who are more than ready to entrust them to us and even partner with us where possible to raise them as God desires. If you feel touched to be part of this project. Please inbox me. God bless you.

Great Response in Bradenton Florida.

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Update From Dennis Pethers, International Pioneer.

I just spent a great day with the people of First Baptist Church, Bradenton Florida. It was so good  to speak at the morning, and then specially arranged evening, gathering and to encourage the church to Join Jesus in His Mission by living out and sharing the gospel with people who are beyond the walls of the church. At the end of the evening gathering the entire congregation responded to the invitation to come to the front of the building, stand on the platform, turn around and look out beyond the walls of the church building. They then cried out to God for those people that they see in the places where they live and work—they asked God to help them to see these people as He sees them. It was great, afterwards, to talk with so many people who had received a fresh vision of God’s heart for the lost.  Praise God!!

Leaders gather in Washington D.C.

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John Whaley, The Rooftop U.S National Pioneer writes:

Washington D.C.: Ever since our first visit to Washington D.C., God has granted us favor with pastors and leaders as we prepare for the D.C. Citywide Rooftop Encounter on May 16, 2018. There is a clear burden and desire on the hearts of everyone I have met with to see the church awakened to God’s heart for the lost and a breakout of a gospel movement across the city. In June, I had the opportunity to take several leaders to the top of the National Museum of the Bible while under construction to pray over the city. God also opened the door for me to spend time with the Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Dr. Barry Black. God is at work!

Poster For Multi-City Rooftop Encounter released.

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The Poster for The Rooftop Multi-City Encounter has now been released. Click on the link to view.

The Encounter will be taking places in up to 20 cities across the world on 20th May 2018 (Pentecost Sunday). Cities include London, Washington DC, and Cape Town.

People ‘Join Jesus in His Mission’ in Kenya.

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Praise be to God almighty for what He has done. It was on Sunday 17/9/17 at youth service when I was sharing the message of hope from the book of 2nd Kings 3-20,James 1:2-4 and Romans 8:28 among other related scriptures on how to overcome the spirit of Defeat/fear in relation to sharing the word of God and pursuing our visions and dreams and take courage no matter the challenges that may come our way . Towards the end of the sermon, a group of youth from the crowd came forward and gave their lives to Christ. After the service five people joined the rooftop ministry ambassadors and will participate in the forthcoming 23rd. 09.2017 The Rooftop ministry ambassadors evangelism mission at South Coast, Kwale County of Kenya. To God be the Glory.

Boniface Ojode (National Pioneer – Kenya).

The Rooftop goes West in Uganda.

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Richard Tumwesigye, the National Pioneer, Uganda.

A recent update from Richard:

“Casting the vision and mission of The Rooftop International Ministries to the pastors and leaders in Mbarara Western Uganda. It was a success. Thank you Pr. Bukenya Everest and Kigula Daniel Pastor for the mobilisation. Victory belongs to Jesus!!

Stay On Mission – 3rd September 2017

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Stay on Mission
The Gospel Story

If you and I were sitting down over lunch and I asked you, “What is the Gospel?”, what would you say?
Hopefully, you would give an answer similar to this one…The Gospel is the story of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. And that is true because in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Paul tells us that very thing.
But does that mean that the Gospel Story is solely a New Testament story. Not at all.
The Gospel Story is the larger story of Scripture, declaring to us this grand narrative of a God who is on mission from the beginning to redeem and rescue mankind from the curse of sin. It is a story that begins in Genesis and weaves its way throughout the entire Old Testament, revealing to all of us why Christ came, why He died on the cross and why He rose again.
Remember Jesus’ encounter with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection? In Luke 24, we are told that Jesus (withholding His identity) drew near to these two men as they made their way to Emmaus, discussing with them the recent events concerning Jesus’ death and His possible resurrection.
They were obviously still confused about all that occurred and were questioning why it all had happened.
Notice how Jesus responds beginning in verse 25:
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
In other words, Jesus shared with them The Gospel Story beginning with Moses…which is another way of saying, beginning with Genesis. And then He walked them through the writings of all the Prophets, revealing to them how ALL the Scriptures pointed to Him and why the recent events they were discussing had to take place.
At The Rooftop, we are committed to helping Christians understand how to engage the culture in which we live with the Gospel. But to do that effectively, it is imperative that we understand that the Gospel is more than just the New Testament story about Jesus…The Gospel Story is the story of the Bible. And it is a story that speaks into the everyday stuff of life.
It is a story that begins with Creation, tells of the Fall of man into sin, reveals to us God’s amazing plan to Rescue us from sin, and ends with the wonderful story of Restoration as God makes all things new.
Creation…Fall…Rescue…Restoration. That is the Gospel Story. And that is the story we will look at over the next few weeks.

John Whaley

Rooftop US Pioneer

The Rooftop Core Values

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By John Whaley – US National Pioneer

Last month, Dennis Pethers and I sat down at a dining room table and defined the Core Values of The Rooftop . These are the values that drive us as a ministry. These are the values that define who we are and what we are most passionate about as we “Join Jesus in His Mission”.

Core Value #1       Proclamation of the Gospel

We believe that the gospel must be proclaimed in ways that are biblical and relevant to people wherever they are.

We are living in a new reality where an increasing number of people no longer attend church. If they are to hear the Good News, then we have to go to where they are.  We have to engage them in conversation and tell them our story and His story. Joining Jesus in His Mission involves doing what Jesus did when He was on the earth…engaging those He was among.

Core Value #2     Partnership wherever possible

We will actively seek to partner with churches and ministries for the expansion of the Kingdom.

In Philippians 1, Paul commended the church in Philippi for their partnership in the Gospel. Paul understood, as we do, that the expansion of the Kingdom takes place as churches and ministries work together in proclaiming the Gospel to all the nations. Therefore, we actively seek to partner with those who have a passion to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

Core Value #3     Pursuit of God’s Kingdom

We are a Kingdom First movement; The Rooftop is His ministry, not ours.

In Matthew 6:31, Jesus taught us to “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.” We seek first the Kingdom by recognizing that He is Lord of our lives and Lord of this ministry. The Rooftop is His ministry. We are simply joining Him in His mission of awakening churches to His heart for lost people and equipping them to engage those they are among who are far from God.

Core Value #4     Passion for Jesus and the lost

We join Jesus in His mission because our passion is to see lost people experience God’s love and forgiveness.

In Luke 19:10, Jesus clearly defined why He came. He came “to seek and to save the lost.” Jesus was passionate about engaging people and telling them how they could experience God’s love and the forgiveness of sin. As His followers, we too are passionate to see those who are far from Him come to know Him. We are passionate about engaging them with our story and His story. That is why we do what we do. Everyday we have the opportunity to live out the greatest adventure on earth…Joining Jesus in His Mission and watching Him transform lives.

The Rooftop Defined

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By John Whaley – US National Pioneer

As I speak to various people about The Rooftop , they often ask the question “What is The Rooftop ?  Is it a prayer movement, an evangelism movement, a discipleship movement, or a renewal movement?”  My response is always the same – Yes!  It is all of the above.

The Rooftop  is a prayer movement. At the core of all we do is leading God’s people to Encounter God’s heart for lost people. We are continually amazed at how God uses The Rooftop Encounter to align the heart of His people to His heart. When you and I begin diligently seeking God, asking Him to give us a fresh vision of His heart for lost people, God begins to move. Our perspectives begin to change…much like Peter’s perspective changed after his Rooftop Encounter in Acts 10.

The Rooftop is an evangelism movement. As we move from The Rooftop Encounter to living life where we are, it is imperative that we understand how to Engage those we are among who are far from God. The Rooftop is committed to helping churches understand how to move beyond the walls of their buildings and engage the lost we live among every day.

The Rooftop is a discipleship movement. The Kingdom of God is expanded by making disciples. As we work with churches across America and in other nations, we continually focus on how to disciple the new believer and the veteran believer in engaging a lost world.

The Rooftop is a renewal movement. We have discovered that churches who embrace The Rooftop process experience spiritual renewal. As God begins to give them His eyes to see lost people around them the way He sees them…as they begin engaging those they live among who are far from God…as they begin sharing their story and His story…as they begin making disciples, something happens. God shows up, transforming lives and churches!

So…what is The Rooftop ? It is a movement of God equipping churches and leaders to Encounter God’s heart for lost people, Engage those they are among who are far from God, and Expand the Kingdom through relationship-based disciple making.