The Year in Review

We continue to thank God for all He is doing at Koinonia House and the Koinonia Institute. We see His hand at work in everything we do: the responses to our materials, the dedication of the staff and volunteers—everything. We praise and acknowledge Him in all things. Now that the “holiday rush” is over, we pause and take stock of what was accomplished in 2009.

The Koinonia Institute

Our membership in KI continues to grow at the rate of 7% per month! Over 800 people have received their Bronze medal-lion. What that means to us is that over 800 people have studied through an overview of the whole Bible in the form of Learn the Bible in 24 Hours, laying down the foundation of the Biblical perspective they will be working on for the rest of their life.

They have also completed a study called Spiritual Disciplines, designed to lay out practical steps we can take to deepen our relationship with our Loving Father, and they have gone through Prophecy 101, a foundation for understanding the prophetic times we appear to be plunging toward.

Due to the generous support from our donors, we now can make the Institute available for free to all children whose parents are members. It is our belief that there is no greater need in the family today than to disciple our children. So we are in-vesting in the future of the church by doing all that we can to make the tools available to parents who hear the call of Deuteronomy Chapter 6.

Publications

This year we published new versions of our expositional commentaries on Ruth & Esther, Hosea, Ezekiel, and Ephesians, as well as 1 & 2 Peter. These studies are now available on DVD, in addition to audioCD, MP3, and audio download. In 2009 we published two volumes of Strategic Trends – 2009, as well as an update of Twilight’s Last Gleaming? and the Strategic Perspectives conference sets from both our 4th Annual International Meeting in Coeur d’Alene and the regional one in Franklin, TN. In addition, we also published DVDs on The Case for Mecca, by Avi Lipkin, and Through He-brew Eyes, by Amir Tsarfati.

Perhaps one of the biggest events this past year was the publication of our new book, The Kingdom, Power and Glory, by Nan and me. As a call to accountability in our “Laodicean Age,” the response has been most gratifying. In support of our book, we also published related briefing packs on Thy Kingdom Come, Inheritance & Rewards, and The Whole Counsel of God.

An unexpected encouragement was received from our brothers and sisters in China, since they are deeply indebted to the writings of Dr. Timothy Lin (a well known scholar who, among other things, was on the translation team for the NASB), and they regard our book as a welcome English paraphrase to his teachings!

International Growth

In accordance to our calling (Acts 1:8), we are thrilled that so many international opportunities are opening to us. KI now has students in over 45 countries, making our dream of having a global community of believers studying and encouraging each other in their pursuit of God a continually growing reality.

As you may know, our foundational Koinonia International Trust (KIT), was established in New Zealand long ago. We now have the opportunity to establish a “Leadership Training Center” and an executive retreat in the center of the North Island of New Zealand which should prove to be a key resource for our serving the South Pacific. Although there are still contingencies pending, we believe these should resolved before March, and we will be sharing with you ministry opportunities and ways you might participate in them over the coming months.

Our operations in Portsmouth, U.K., serve as our advanced video editing center. As you may know, each year we have produced a commentary there: Colossians this past year, and Galatians in the previous year. The team under Ron Matsen (who is also now one of our Board members) has achieved fabulous results far beyond just Europe: our continuing visibility through “God TV” and others has resulted in a worldwide awareness for KI. We plan to replicate their training pro-grams through internships in New Zealand and Coeur d’Alene. We also anticipate exploiting video conferencing techniques throughout all of our operations worldwide.

Grist for the Rumor Mill

Some premature rumors have circulated that “Chuck and Nan are moving to New Zealand.” There is no intention to abandon Coeur d’Alene! Nan and I do truly enjoy New Zea-land and have undertaken extensive multicity tours there annually for many years, typically covering over a dozen cities in both Australia and New Zealand each year.

There is a small residence on 40 acres of the New Zealand site that we intend to develop as a “second home,” and we may attempt to take advantage of the fact that, in the Southern Hemisphere, our winters are their summers! However, as long as we are physically able to travel, I don’t see us living “12 months of the year” in any one place! Nan and I are more likely to be categorized as a “PTs”: professional tourists, or permanent transients.

After we establish our operations in New Zealand, we also intend to pursue a full-time KI presence in Israel, probably in the Galilee. This would then provide us four key bases to operate from: Israel, Coeur d’Alene, Portsmouth, and New Zea-land. (There may be several more on our distant horizon: it’s my private suspicion that God may also soon be opening opportunities in Africa and in China, but right now we have our hands full with our more immediate challenges!)

All of you—through prayer and donations—have a vested interest in the work being done through this ministry. As such, we will endeavor to keep you fully informed as the Lord more clearly unfolds the future before us. The opportunities opening before us are unprecedented, and we covet your prayers and support in 2010.