Guy Duininck shares with us truths distinguishing the grace that ”authorizes” us for ministry from God’s saving grace and even His strengthening grace — both of which are foundational for ministry, yet they are separate and distinct endowments.

Finally, this month marks the Renners’ 20th year of living and ministering in the former Soviet Union. In 1991, Rick and Denise, along with their three young sons, packed up everything they owned and moved to Latvia when Communism was still at the helm of political affairs. Despite numerous and ongoing hardships, as a family they held fast. Today we celebrate not only their fruitfulness, but also God’s faithfulness to equip them and to supply whatever was needed to obey His call upon their lives. We will continue this celebration through RENNER Ministries’ venues of our weekly emails, our Facebook page, our teaching letters, and our website. (IMPART is also now on Facebook at facebook.com/impartnow.) Please contact renner@renner.org if you’d like more information on how to be connected with the ministry via email or our monthly mailings.

October is also Minister Appreciation Month, so we want to express our heartfelt thanks to all the pastors and ministers who faithfully feed and care for the flock of God. For every

sacrifice and every investment you’ve made by sowing your own life into others for the Kingdom of God, a sure reward awaits you both in this life and throughout eternity to come.

Right now you may not be where you want to be in your life or ministry. But if you’ve persevered, you are closer to your goal today than you were yesterday. Furthermore, as you persevere, you’ll be even closer tomorrow. God is faithful to strengthen you in the midst of difficulties and to make you stand so that, ultimately, you will hear those coveted words, ”Well done, good and faithful servant.”

At IMPART, we appreciate you. We’re praying for you, and we’re here for you.

Be blessed!

Andrell CorbinMass Communications Specialist RENNER Ministries, USA

”Perseverance is the space marker between those who cross the finish line

and those who also ran.”

How To Ensure That What You Build Continues

I believe that any kind of success or longevity is based on foundation. Whether you’re talking about marriage, friendships, or vocations and callings, the key to long-term success is having a great foundation. Even in the world of construction, having the right kind of foundation

is crucial to a building’s longevity or endurability — its capacity to weather storms and remain standing strong.

My wife and I have served God in ministry for more than 30 years in the Philippines. And as we’ve

stayed on our course and built the ministry He called us to — through child-raising, life-

threatening sicknesses, and the challenges

Paul and Shoddy Chase have lived and ministered in the Philippines for 31 years, their ministry taking them all over the nation with the Good News of Jesus Christ. During the first 11 years, they conducted evangelistic campaigns, oversaw two orphanages, and operated a Bible school from which hundreds of graduates have launched into ministry across the country. Their elementary Christian school for street kids fed and educated 175 children per year, and their pastors’ meetings ministered to more than 5,000 pastors nationwide. In 1991 the Chases moved with their three children to Manila and began a Bible study with three local people. That ”small beginning” developed into New Life Christian Center, which 20 years later has a membership of more than 5,000. Since the church’s inception, more than 35 additional New Life churches have been established nationwide. The Chases work with a network of pastors and leaders from 700 churches in the Philippines to maintain ongoing outreaches that are touching their generation. Two such collaborative

efforts include an outreach with Metro Ministries that ministers to 20,000 street kids every week and an outreach that distributes aid to the needy and also provides medical and dental clinics. The Chases’ New Life School of Ministry continues to train ministers from across the nation. In addition, Paul travels throughout Asia, evangelizing and teaching pastors and ministers how to demonstrate compassion in action in their cities, towns, and villages.

of ministry and life that inevitably come — there have been a few simple questions we’ve regularly asked ourselves along the way. We keep these five questions before us as a ministry mainstay to help us evaluate not only the effectiveness of our ministry, but also the quality of our lives and the lives of our family.

Question #1: ‘Why Am I Doing This?’

We must each ask the question: Why am I really doing this, and who am I doing it for? To leave your own nation, culture, comfort, family, and ”all things familiar” — to go to the other side of the world for the benefit of others — is not something you do because you’re such

PAUL CHASE | GEMS FOR MINISTERS

a wonderful person. If we would be real honest, we’d realize and admit that in and of ourselves, we’re just not that nice! We may have some wonderful traits, but when it comes to giving our lives away, our motivation comes back to who Jesus is in our lives.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19,20

Longevity takes time!

5IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 20114 IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011

I believe this passage is about more than just keeping ourselves sexually pure. We are not our own, and the fact is that who we are in Him and what we do for Him is all by the grace of God. That constant realization must be the bedrock of a believer’s life, especially a minister’s life.

Building Your Ministry or Changing Your World?

The books of the Bible we read were written by those who gave their lives for who they loved and what they believed in. They weren’t trying to build their ministries — they were trying to change their world. Being known was not the goal; making Him known was.

know it didn’t get there by itself! Similarly, where we go in life and what we achieve has much to do with our relationships and friendships — with those who can speak into our lives and those we can be real with. These are the ones who know the truth about us and still like us! They are people we’re not expending all of our energy on to try to impress.

Get a Life — and Esteem the Lives of Others

We all need help at times, and we all need people around us we can trust and feel safe with. Actually, the entire Body of Christ should be ”safe” and trustworthy, but not everyone has arrived at this place of character development. So when you have trustworthy people that you get to share life with, be sure to honor and esteem that. Laugh and have fun together. Refuse to be boring. Get a life!

I don’t believe there’s anything more valuable than knowing you’re in the right place, doing the right things at the right time with the right heart. Having this assurance gives you freedom and peace. I encourage you to look at your life and check out how you relate to people. Are you:

• honoring those who have gone before you?• celebrating those around you?• encouraging those who are coming behind

you?

If you’re not doing these things consistently, you’re missing a great key to fruitfulness and longevity. And if you’re married and you’ve not yet begun to honor, celebrate, and encourage the gift in your spouse, you’re cutting yourself off from one of the greatest assets you have going for you.

Question #5: ‘Am I Living Life Well?’

To walk in passion for what we do — consistently, over the long haul — takes absolutely knowing our call and purpose. Life is short. We need to live it well — on purpose and with purpose.

When you know what God has called you to do and you’re committed to fulfilling it to His

Question #2: ‘Am I Willing To Pay the Price?’

Faithfulness is a major key to longevity in ministry or any worthwhile endeavor. What does that mean? It means being faithful in the little, the unglamorous, the hard, and the inconvenient. It means remaining faithful at your God-given post when it seems at times to cost more than you see coming back.

Our value system should not be based on the applause or approval of man but on that of Heaven. The decisions we make need to be born out of our hearts, not our heads — out of a true God-given desire, not just a good idea. But to do something that will last — and speak not only to your generation, but also to the next — will cost you. There’s a price you’ll have to be willing to pay, because opposition will come: against you, your family, your marriage, your finances, your health, your vision, and your friends. But out of it all, God will deliver you if you remain faithful and teachable. These two characteristics must work together if you want to endure and grow stronger instead of weakening under the pressure because you’re simply trying to ”hold on.”

Question #3: ‘Am I Teachable and Yielded?’

Of course we know — but it bears repeating often — that to last, and to do it with joy, we must constantly feed on God’s Word and pray.

And with that, we must be teachable and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit — learning to be dependent on Him. Without this discipline and mindset, you could perhaps accomplish some wonderful things. But over time, you’ll find yourself out of place and position, unprepared for all that’s to come.

Understand this: Every endeavor you begin will not be finished or be realized in its fullness in your generation. What we’re doing is not really about us but about generations to come. Yet our faithfulness and yieldedness are crucial. We must run our race and finish our course, because our steadfast obedience allows the coming generation to move even faster upon solid ground without having to restore, replace, or renew what we neglected.

Question #4: ‘Am I Attending to Family and Other Relationships?’

It’s vital to your enduring success that you as a minister maintain the balance between wanting to touch the world and keeping in touch with your family! You cannot give everything away to others and have nothing left for those in your home. Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household, not the saving of the world. Many today are trying to save the world and are neglecting their household. Longevity in ministry is broken and shattered by weakness and instability in the home.

In the Body of Christ today, there are too many wounded wives and neglected children in the shadow of well-known husbands and dads. You may be well-known, but without healthy and intimate relationships in the home, that kind of superficial success never lasts. The strength of a ministry that’s imbalanced in this way will continue to fade as the joy to do what is needful eventually subsides. Approving crowds will never substitute for a broken heart. The strength of pretending crumbles quickly, and hiding private pain usually turns to public destruction.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that we enjoy the success we have today because of our relationships. Think about it: If you see a turtle sitting on the top of a fencepost, you

6 IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011 7IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011

I believe this passage is about more than just keeping ourselves sexually pure. We are not our own, and the fact is that who we are in Him and what we do for Him is all by the grace of God. That constant realization must be the bedrock of a believer’s life, especially a minister’s life.

Building Your Ministry or Changing Your World?

The books of the Bible we read were written by those who gave their lives for who they loved and what they believed in. They weren’t trying to build their ministries — they were trying to change their world. Being known was not the goal; making Him known was.

know it didn’t get there by itself! Similarly, where we go in life and what we achieve has much to do with our relationships and friendships — with those who can speak into our lives and those we can be real with. These are the ones who know the truth about us and still like us! They are people we’re not expending all of our energy on to try to impress.

Get a Life — and Esteem the Lives of Others

We all need help at times, and we all need people around us we can trust and feel safe with. Actually, the entire Body of Christ should be ”safe” and trustworthy, but not everyone has arrived at this place of character development. So when you have trustworthy people that you get to share life with, be sure to honor and esteem that. Laugh and have fun together. Refuse to be boring. Get a life!

I don’t believe there’s anything more valuable than knowing you’re in the right place, doing the right things at the right time with the right heart. Having this assurance gives you freedom and peace. I encourage you to look at your life and check out how you relate to people. Are you:

• honoring those who have gone before you?• celebrating those around you?• encouraging those who are coming behind

you?

If you’re not doing these things consistently, you’re missing a great key to fruitfulness and longevity. And if you’re married and you’ve not yet begun to honor, celebrate, and encourage the gift in your spouse, you’re cutting yourself off from one of the greatest assets you have going for you.

Question #5: ‘Am I Living Life Well?’

To walk in passion for what we do — consistently, over the long haul — takes absolutely knowing our call and purpose. Life is short. We need to live it well — on purpose and with purpose.

When you know what God has called you to do and you’re committed to fulfilling it to His

Question #2: ‘Am I Willing To Pay the Price?’

Faithfulness is a major key to longevity in ministry or any worthwhile endeavor. What does that mean? It means being faithful in the little, the unglamorous, the hard, and the inconvenient. It means remaining faithful at your God-given post when it seems at times to cost more than you see coming back.

Our value system should not be based on the applause or approval of man but on that of Heaven. The decisions we make need to be born out of our hearts, not our heads — out of a true God-given desire, not just a good idea. But to do something that will last — and speak not only to your generation, but also to the next — will cost you. There’s a price you’ll have to be willing to pay, because opposition will come: against you, your family, your marriage, your finances, your health, your vision, and your friends. But out of it all, God will deliver you if you remain faithful and teachable. These two characteristics must work together if you want to endure and grow stronger instead of weakening under the pressure because you’re simply trying to ”hold on.”

Question #3: ‘Am I Teachable and Yielded?’

Of course we know — but it bears repeating often — that to last, and to do it with joy, we must constantly feed on God’s Word and pray.

And with that, we must be teachable and open to the leading of the Holy Spirit — learning to be dependent on Him. Without this discipline and mindset, you could perhaps accomplish some wonderful things. But over time, you’ll find yourself out of place and position, unprepared for all that’s to come.

Understand this: Every endeavor you begin will not be finished or be realized in its fullness in your generation. What we’re doing is not really about us but about generations to come. Yet our faithfulness and yieldedness are crucial. We must run our race and finish our course, because our steadfast obedience allows the coming generation to move even faster upon solid ground without having to restore, replace, or renew what we neglected.

Question #4: ‘Am I Attending to Family and Other Relationships?’

It’s vital to your enduring success that you as a minister maintain the balance between wanting to touch the world and keeping in touch with your family! You cannot give everything away to others and have nothing left for those in your home. Noah prepared an ark for the saving of his household, not the saving of the world. Many today are trying to save the world and are neglecting their household. Longevity in ministry is broken and shattered by weakness and instability in the home.

In the Body of Christ today, there are too many wounded wives and neglected children in the shadow of well-known husbands and dads. You may be well-known, but without healthy and intimate relationships in the home, that kind of superficial success never lasts. The strength of a ministry that’s imbalanced in this way will continue to fade as the joy to do what is needful eventually subsides. Approving crowds will never substitute for a broken heart. The strength of pretending crumbles quickly, and hiding private pain usually turns to public destruction.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that we enjoy the success we have today because of our relationships. Think about it: If you see a turtle sitting on the top of a fencepost, you

6 IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011 7IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011

Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life shall be many.... Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Proverbs 4:10,13 Amplified

The Bible is called the Word of Life. There’s not another book like it in the world that can teach us how to live out the full number of our days in the blessing of God. By taking hold of His instructions, we can experience longevity, which means of great age; long life; great span of life; length of days. And not only that, the Bible also teaches us how to live a good life — to have a life worth living!

Whether we live long and strong, or short and weak, is up to us. It depends on what we do with the Word God speaks to us. It also depends on what we do in our natural lives. No one can expect to live out the full number of his or her days as a glutton, a drunk, or by

eating only junk food. Research and studies about longevity have proven that to be true. Not surprisingly, God already knew that, and His Word addresses those issues (and others) so we can live long, productive lives!

Who Lives Long?Keith Moore, pastor of Faith Life

Church in Branson, Missouri, has studied the subject of longevity for years. In addition to studying what the Word says about it, he has collected published accounts of people who have lived long. He discovered that most people who live long lives have certain traits in common, such as serving God, walking

Editor’s Note: The following article was published in the Believer’s Voice of Victory magazine in January 2005. You can purchase Gloria Copeland’s new book Live Long, Finish Strong: The Divine Secret to Living Healthy, Happy, and Healed at the kcm.org online store.

Taking Hold of Life — How To Enjoy Strength of Days and Length of Days

glory, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to see it through His way. And you know it’s not in your own strength or mental ability but by His grace. So you give yourself to His calling and you remove from yourself the option of giving up. You continue your present course until that grace lifts and direction comes for a new direction. But until then, you reach forward in your current station, doing all you know to do to succeed in God and to honor Him with your life.

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 4:7

I like to paraphrase this verse and make it my personal declaration: ”I will fight a good fight. I will finish my course. I will keep the faith” — because one day I want to hear, ”Well done, good and FAITHFUL servant,” not, ”Well, you’re done”!

Setting Worthier GoalsFaithfulness — not success — must be our

goal as ministers and believers. We should be careful not to trade the long-term plan of God for what appears as short-term success. It takes time to see the will of God come to pass in a nation. It takes time to plow, to plant, to protect, and to harvest. I realize I’m stating the obvious, but longevity takes time! And those who are willing to give their all to the plan of God for their lives are the ones who will achieve longevity and fruitfulness in ministry.

I commend the Renner family on 20 years of living and giving their lives away in the former Soviet Union. We don’t see missionaries or apostolic gifts going permanently to the nations as much as we have in the past. The convenience of travel now allows people to fly in, stay awhile, and then fly out. But when you move to a nation and settle there, you allow the people and the nation into your heart. You come to love them — and they know it. Then you can really give yourself to them. And it’s a joy, not a burden.

When people receive you, they receive what you bring to touch their lives. It’s more than just the message — it’s the blending of the messenger with the message. Then year by year goes by, and before you know it, half your life has been spent in another part of the world. The Renners have crossed over into the ”one-percent group” of those who have gone to the nations of the world and stayed to pour out their lives. What a blessing Rick and Denise Renner are — and how blessed are the people there to be loved by them and their family!

Gloria Copeland | Faith Fundamentals

9IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 20118 IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011

October

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Issue #51

A Service Network for Pastors and Minis-

OCTOBER 2011

this issueq REACHING FORWARD | ANDRELL CORBIN 3q LONGEVITY TAKES TIME! | PAUL CHASE 5q TAKING HOLD OF LIFE | GLORIA COPELAND 9q ‘HAVE YOU HEARD OF MY GRACE?’| GUY DUININCK 14q YOU CAN PERSEVERE | RICK RENNER 18

We’re CloserToday Than Yesterday

ReachingForward

impartShared Vision for Excellence in Ministry | Mentoring | Synergy in Problem-Solving www.impartnow.com

Issue #51

A Service Network for Pastors and Ministers

OCTOBER 2011

this issueq REACHING FORWARD | ANDRELL CORBIN 3

q LONGEVITY TAKES TIME! | PAUL CHASE 5

q TAKING HOLD OF LIFE | GLORIA COPELAND 9

q ‘HAVE YOU HEARD OF MY GRACE?’| GUY DUININCK 14

q YOU CAN PERSEVERE | RICK RENNER 18

We’re CloserToday Than Yesterday

ReachingForward

impartShared Vision for Excellence in Ministry | Mentoring | Synergy in Problem-Solving www.impartnow.com

Reaching Forward � We’re Closer Today Than Yesterday

It seems that one key to success in ministry is to just keep showing up, no matter what. If you’ve been in ministry — or in pursuit of some worthy ideal — for any length of time, you already know that perseverance is crucial. You have to

persevere not only to produce the desired results, but you also you need to keep on producing. Perseverance is the space marker between those who cross the finish line and those who ”also ran.” But the goal is to complete one’s assignment and to finish one’s course so in that day when every believer’s works and the motivation for them will be tested by fire, the gold of enduring fruitfulness will remain to lay at the Master’s feet.

In this month’s issue of IMPART, we’d like to address ”staying power” — what it takes to keep on keeping on when circumstances, people, problems and perhaps even your own mind are screaming, ”Give up!” We’ve all been there. In fact, the Bible promises that you’ll experience setbacks and even some stumbles. So that isn’t really the issue — what matters is how you choose to respond to them. Your response — and your response only — will determine your ultimate destination, as well as your state of heart and mind when you get there.

Our authors this October are all individuals whose lives and ministries embody staying

October Issue2011

5 Longevity Takes Time!PAUL CHASEThis article contains five questions every leader should answer periodically to keep him and his ministry or organization stable and on course. These five ministry mainstays will ensure longevity and fruitfulness as your fulfill your life’s work.

9 Taking Hold of LifeGLORIA COPELANDGod desires that our longevity consist of living strong — full of health and vitality and possessing the wisdom of God and His direction for our life so that our course is clear and our victory sure. In this article, Gloria Copeland shows you how to ”eat from the tree of life” and take home the victor’s crown of a long, productive, and happy life!

14 ‘Have You Heard of My Grace?’GUY DUININCKPaul magnified God’s ministry grace that helped him successfully accomplish what God had called him to do. In this article, Guy distinguishes between saving grace and ministry grace — one grace sets you in place; the other sets you in motion!

18 You Can Persevere!RICK RENNERWhat was it about the apostle Paul that caused him to rise up after every hardship and challenge? It was more than positive thinking. Paul possessed an unstoppable spirit and a fierce determination to walk out God’s revealed plan by God’s bestowed grace — and he set an example that we can follow too.

”None of these things move me”

(Acts 20:24).

inside this issue

© Rick Renner Ministries 2011 | Designed & Produced by Zoe Life Creative Media ZoeLifeCreative.com | design@zoelifecreative.com

power and fruitfulness against the odds. Paul Chase and his wife just marked their 31st year living and ministering in the Philippines. They moved there fresh from Bible school in 1980. In those first months, Paul nearly died from eating ”dumplings” the villagers fed them. He later learned he’d been served pig blood clots. But they persevered. After ten years of evangelism, teaching, and raising up national ministers, they launched a church that they’ve pastored for the past 21 years. His message to you is one born of experience that’s been proven time and time again.

We also bring you the proven experience and wisdom of Gloria Copeland, who has served God in the ministry with her husband for more than 40 years and has taught the Word of God across continents. This month she teaches us crucial truths for living not just a long life, but also for living a strong life that honors God.

IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 20112 IMPART MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2011