LOJ Ministries

City With Foundations Volume #1 | Issue #1 | City With Foundations

Lion Of Judah LOJ Ministries seeks to strengthen Christians & churches around the world to infuse their communities with the transformative Gospel of Christ. We do this through the two arms of our organization: Hebrews4 & the Ozie Lee Project.

Hebrews4 equips & builds up Christians through the Word that is Christ: For the word of God is living & active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul & of spirit…”

The Ozie Lee Project facilitates global & domestic missions. In this we empower churches here & abroad to suffuse the Gospel throughout cities & villages in a holistic way. Our faith is not relegated to a specific area of life, rather it permeates all of life calling us into a particular kind of life, that is a Christ-centered one.

Inside This Issue PG. 2

Our upcoming trip to Nepal & our Summer 2019. Thoughts from our president.

PG. 3

Hebrews4’s The “Upper Room.”The latest from Hebrews4.org

PG. 4

Our new offices. How you can support us through prayer.

2 Volume #1 | Issue #1 | City With Foundations

Nepal 2019

The cover picture is a shot of Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.

A team from LOJ Ministries’ Ozie Lee Project will be heading to Nepal this winter in January. During the trip, our team will be working with Blue Ripple, a Nepali organization that trains local pastors in outreach & church planting.

We will be holding multiple workshops focusing on everything from leadership development to world religions & apologetics. The goal of the trip is to deepen our relationship with our partner, support the indigenous ministries they are involved in, & research further opportunities for LOJ to support.

Our team will be leaving on January 4th from Washington D.C. Please be in prayer for them as they prepare to serve &encourage.

President’s ThoughtsLife is a precarious venture. It is littered with pitfalls & successes, pain & joy. So many of Jesus’ words offered comfort to those who were oppressed, marginalized, & worn down by the world. He calls out to those who have recognized, like the writer of Ecclesiastes, not just the vanity of man-centered endeavors, but also the toll it takes on body & soul. It is why Matthew 11:28-30 brings a tear to the eyes of the person who sees in Christ her true comforter & healer.

When we walk away from a lukewarm faith & understanding of Christ & the Gospel we are no longer Laodiceans. Instead, we do realize that we are wretched, & one can only ask God, “Who am I that you love me?” The psalmist pondered the same question in Psalm 8:4–5.

We understand that the Almighty Creator of the universe, God the Father, gave His son over to death that we might have life. That the holy & righteous Lord of Glory Jesus the Christ handed over His life to the grave that we might be brought forth from our tombs. That the Spirit that brings life & light brought Christ back to life that we might have life eternal in Him. The Lord of Light has come near to those who are far off in darkness, those whom the world looks down upon, & He has brought the Kingdom with Him.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”

Isaiah 52:7

Summer Missions

This coming Summer 2019 Dr. Chris Gnanakan & Vic Stanley Jr. will both be traveling to several countries around the world & throughout the United States ministering to pastors, Christian leaders, unbelievers, & many others.

Starting in May they will travel together to Spain to work with missions leaders. Dr. G will head from Spain to China while Vic comes back to the States. In June they will join each other in Cambodia & also spend some time in Thailand. From there Vic is looking to head to Kenya to work with some of our partners in Nairobi.

Throughout their travels they will be joined by teams from the Ozie Lee Project, Liberty University students, teams from American churches, missionaries, & various individuals that have a heart for missions.

3 Volume #1 | Issue #1 | City With Foundations

Upper Room LOJ ministries is focused on equipping the saints to be missional witnesses in the world, wherever that may be. This is why we have our weekly Upper Room discipleship group. Here is where we detect/discern the gifts & calling of Christian students in a community setting based on the Word of God. Then, we help develop the gifts of the believer so he or she will be prepared for where God would have him or her go. Finally, we work to get students deployed onto the mission field, whether that be around the world or across the street!

In order to build a sense of fellowship & community, we engage three practices based off of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together : Prayer, Scripture reading, & singing hymns. We have different activities for the group. We may learn about & pray for an unreached people group, listen to a missionary share their story & experiences, or have a teaching based on our 3D’s (detect, develop, deploy). All of this is designed so believers can be discipled & prepared to spread the Gospel & make disciples of all nations!

Hebrews4.org

Hebrews4.org is LOJ’s blog. We have several contributors whose content is focused on practical theology, how we live out our faith in everyday life. We recently published a series on the Beatitudes that features 9 different writers each givng insight to a particular Beatitude as found in Matthew 5. Dave Lenehan’s Weekly Thoughts is another mainstay on Hebrews4. Dave Lenehan provides weekly devotionals to encourage believers in their faith. We encourage you to check out the blog!

Our Staff We have been blessed to have several people join the LOJ family.

Katy Weber. Katy is the Executive Administrator for LOJ, she works closely with our president Vic Stanley Jr. She has been key in helping get things off the ground. She loves missions.

Mark Stengler. Mark is finishing up a degree in Biblical Studies. He leads the Upper Room as the Director of Teaching. He has a passion for Evangelism & Apologetics.

Samantha Buck. Sam is a student at Liberty University studying Criminal & Developmental Psychology. She is the Admin for Upper Room & our assistant office manager. Sam enjoys serving others just as Christ Himself took the form of a servant.

Myke Barron. Myke assists Vic with logistics for our overseas missions work. He served as a missions pastor in Texas for 8 years. Myke & his wife Holly feel called to serve churches & Christian organizations by providing strategy, expertise, & wisdom in areas where they are in need.

If you would like to support us through giving please visit: www.OLPMissions.org

Mail checks to: LOJ Ministries P.O. Box 4261 Lynchburg, VA 24502

4 Volume #1 | Issue #1 | City With Foundations

Prayer LOJ Ministries is in its beginning stages of growth & we are asking for prayer as we make decisions, develop structures, & create procedures/policies. Please pray for wisdom in this crucial season & for faith in the Lord’s timing & will.

LOJ is working to hire multiple personnel. These will be key players that contribute both spiritually & foundationally to the ministry as a whole. We ask for prayer in wisdom & selection, & that the Lord would open the doors for individuals who believe in & care for the vision & values of our organization beyond the daily tasks.

Being in the early stages of development, we are currently asking the Lord to provide funding for our needs. These span our ministries, administrative needs, operations, etc. We have faith in what God is doing in our lives, & we would love for you to join us in prayer for the Lord’s provision. We ask you to pray about the possibility of partnering with us financially & in so doing, joining us in fulfilling the commission that He has issued to us all in making disciples for His name.

Missionaries

There are several missionaries we support & work with. For security reasons some of their names cannot be revealed. We ask that you join us in lifting them up in prayer.

• Cassie who is currently being trained to head permanently onto the missions field. She will be working in caring for other missionaries as well as training them.

• Our friends who work in Muslim countries & train missionaries to do ministry in those countries.

• Our friends Miguel & Faithe who lead a sports outreach ministry in Peru.

• Dr. Gnanakan (Dr. G) who serves as Christar’s Director of Leadership Development & sits on LOJ’s Board of Trustees.

• Vic Stanley Jr. LOJ’s president. He will be leading teams overseas as well as leading LOJ here in the States.

New Offices

LOJ Ministries has recently moved into a new office space in the Wyndhurst community in Lynchburg, VA. We have just finished moving in & furnishing the space & now need only to add a few finishing touches. It is currently being used for multiple purposes including board meetings, small groups such as Upper Room, as well as our day to day administrative work. We want to thank all those who donated furniture & supplies.

We would like to extend our deep heartfelt gratitude & appreciation to Lewis Thomas & the Reber-Thomas family for gifting Dr. G & LOJ Ministries this Wyndhurst office space. Lewis’ kindness & generosity have been a blessing to us. It would be very difficult to run our operations without having this space to work, meet, & pray. May God bless him & his family & all that they do to serve Christ.