Spread of the Recovery

The Lord's move in the local churches is going on across the globe, and His interests and the hearts of seeking ones are being satisfied daily, as the participants in the Lord's recovery cooperate with Him to distribute literature and to speak and dispense Christ to carry out God's economy for the spreading of God and the increase of Christ. The following report received recently in the churches speaks of His move today in detail.

In the Lord’s recovery there is only one work—the work of the one New Testament ministry, which is based on the teaching of the apostles. This one work is carried out by the one Body of Christ through the intimate fellowship and coordination of the churches, the ministry, and the work. As the ministry of the age has reached the Lord’s children in diverse places through the work in the Lord’s recovery, a consistent pattern has emerged. If we consider the effect of the mass distribution of literature in the former Soviet Union and the radio broadcasts in London and Mexico City, it is clear that the advance of the ministry into new areas creates an immediate response among the seeking ones. This in turn results in a growing need for co-workers to harvest the Lord’s loving seekers into His recovery. Without the faithful laborers to coordinate with the spread of the ministry through various means, our work cannot continue.

In 1991, as the doors into the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe opened, the Lord burdened Brother Lee to establish the Lord’s Move to Europe (LME) to facilitate the practical support and care for the co-workers who migrated for the Lord’s unprecedented move in that part of the earth. Since that time, under LME’s oversight there have been four major migrations of co-workers, to the former Soviet Union (1991), to Eastern Europe and Israel (2000), to London (2001), and to Mexico City (2002). At present there are more than 300 co-workers laboring in 34 countries in five regions. Under the Lord's abundant blessing, the labor of the workers in coordination with the Living Stream ministry has resulted in approximately 180 local churches and thousands of saints being raised up. A summary of this work and its fruit is shown in the following table.

*Most of these churches existed before the migrations, but the number of saints has increased significantly.

New ground and new opportunities to spread the recovery appear nearly every day, but inevitably it is the shortage of workers that limits our ability to respond to these openings. For example, many of us have heard of the dramatic response to the ministry in the United Kingdom. The radio program Life-study of the Bible has aired daily in London for two and a half years, drawing many seekers into contact with the ministry. Because of the laborers now laboring in London, many of these new ones have been gained. The church in London has more than doubled in the past two years. In addition, as a result of the radio broadcast and the 9,000 New Testament Recovery Versions that have been distributed throughout the UK, the mailing list of new contacts in the UK now numbers over 11,000. How many more of these could be gained if the support for more co-workers was available?

Another example is the recent migration of a number of saints to Israel, which has resulted in the first genuine local church to stand for the testimony of the Lord in the Land of Emmanuel in nearly 2000 years. In Israel, as in so many places, it has been the spread of the ministry, followed up by the faithful labor of co-workers, that has produced a lasting testimony.

As the Lord works throughout the world to reap the hungry believers into the move of His economy, the need for training also grows. The seeking ones, like all of us, must be perfected unto the work of the ministry--to do the work of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers--unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Brother Lee expressed his strong burden that all the saints be perfected through training:

"To the present moment, I have not yet discharged my burden in the matter of training. We need to be trained for the practice of the church life...To be trained is to have the rich supply of Christ ministered to us that we may grow, and it is to be equipped that we may be skillful in speaking, in contacting new ones, in shepherding, and in preaching and teaching...The way to perfect the saints is to feed them so that they may grow and to train them so that that they may learn certain skills....I am extremely burdened that we all grow in life and that we all receive training in order to function. We are here to be absolute with the Lord.....The Lord needs a people who are willing to grow, to be trained, and to be disciplined....In these days I bear I bear a very heavy burden concerning the perfecting of the saints." (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 353, 358, 360, 351)

To meet the need of perfecting through training, full-time trainings have been established in Moscow (1992), London (1997), and Mexico City (2002) with LME's continued support. Through these trainings hundreds of seeking ones who have been perfected in life, truth, and service to become functioning members of the Body. The number of trainees who have passed through the three trainings is shown in the table below.

Training Centers Trainees Graduates Full-timers

Moscow 641 384 108

London 60 38 28

Mexico City 35 6 1

TOTALS 736 428 137

These trainings have been greatly blessed by the Lord and used by Him to uplift and strengthen His testimony in the churches and to raise up additional full-time workers. Approximately one-third of the graduates have gone on to serve the Lord full-time in their respective regions.

The perfecting of the saints through training requires both trainers and adequate training facilities. To meet the increasing demand in Europe, a training facility has recently been acquired. in the countryside just outside of London. This property, called Heckfield Place, will soon house the expanding Full-time Training in London, which serves all Europe. May the Lord bless this property for the sake of his move in Europe, using it for the care and shepherding of His seekers, the perfecting of the saints, and the building up of His Body.

In Mexico City the need for co-workers and a facility is also pressing. Work continues on a new training center well located for the Lord's move there. However, the need for many more laborers throughout Latin America is critical.

As we review the history of the Lord's recovery over the past decade, the importance of the Lord's Move to Europe cannot be underestimated. Without support for saints to serve in all of these places, our work cannot endure. At present, the need for the financial support of LME in all of its endeavors is between 3.5 and 4 million dollars per year. Giving by the saints in recent years has averaged around 3 million dollars per year. Of this amount, the majority has been supplied by the churches from which the co-workers have migrated. However, a significant fraction, about 40% has come from the giving of other churches and saints around the world. This underscores the crucial need of the continued regular and faithful giving of the churches and the saints to support the Lord's move through LME.

What the Lord has done and is doing through His Body for the spreading of His testimony around the globe is truly worthy of our praise. As the Lord has entrusted us with the propagation of the divine truths in the New Testament ministry for His recovery and restoration, let us look to Him in faith to meet every need in carrying out this great commission.

Those burdened to give to the Lord's Move to Europe can do so either by check or by bank wire transfer. Checks can be mailed to: The Church in Anaheim/LME P.O. Box 9107 Anaheim, CA 92812.

Wire transfers can be sent to: United California Bank, Branch 211 619 South Brookhurst Street Anaheim, CA 92804. Telephone: 714- 533-8440 Routing #122003516 Beneficiary: The Church in Anaheim/LME Account #2119-02778