Ken MacGillivray

Pray for us!

January 8, 2020 by Ken MacGillivray

Jesus accomplishes His mission through us. That’s His plan, and that’s our privilege. I’m currently reading the book 30 Years that Changed the World with a friend and PPI board member. The author (Michael Green) highlights the power, joy and worldwide impact of the early church recorded in the book of Acts. And he argues (correctly) that the Lord intends for His church today to experience the same power, joy and impact.

That’s our desire as we encourage, train and resource church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries. Our Savior is risen from the dead, exalted to Heaven and leading His Church until He comes again. Why should we not experience the power, joy and worldwide impact here and now? I’m convinced from Scripture that we can and we should.

But this kind comes by prayer and gospel labor. So THANK YOU for praying for PPI as we labor in the gospel! Your prayers are a great gift to us. Here are specific ways you can pray for us this week and next:

PLEASE PRAY FOR

Rena as she completes and mails PPI’s year-end giving statements – and in general administrates PPI as a growing organization. It’s a job!
Me (Ken) as I finalize the wording, assignments and other details of our Course 1 workbook for our pastors conference in February.
Pastor Esau as he translates the workbook into Creole – that the Lord will give him clarity and the right words.
Our electronic exchange of the workbook text between Esau and me. (Internet is spotty in Haiti.)
Church leaders in Cap Haitien – and all over Haiti – who will hear about our February conference. Esau and Jasmin will print and begin distributing conference flyers this week. We usually fill up fast!
Our next U.S. mission team meeting this Saturday. Among other things, we’ll do some training in the Thompson Bible.
PPI’s first Volunteer Workday next Friday (Jan 17). We’ll package and label 600 packets of over-the-counter meds! And prep PPI envelopes if time. 🙂
Rena and I as we continue to balance pastoral ministry at First Baptist – Bad Axe and our development of Partnership of Pastors. We desire to do both with our whole hearts for the Lord.

Thank you for lifting up PPI to our Father’s throne of grace. This is how the Lord Jesus accomplishes His mission through us – prayer and gospel labor!

Have Meds, Will Travel!

January 2, 2020 by Ken MacGillivray

Head-ache, fever, infection, upset stomach, diarrhea and irritated eyes – these are common maladies in Haiti. But medicines are scarce, even basic over-the-counter meds that our families use every day. That’s why Partnership of Pastors has committed to providing needed OTC meds to Haitian believers. THANK YOU for your special donations to help us purchase OTC meds for our February trip! You can still donate HERE.

Over the past two weeks, we have purchased several over-the-counter medicines needed in Haiti. In February, we will take:

2400 tablets – Ibuprofen
1060 tablets – Antacid
900 chewable multivitamins for children (gummies melt!)
825 multivitamins for women
825 multivitamins for men
480 cider vinegar tablets
200 containers of Refresh eye drops
126 capsules of 24-hour acid reducer
15 tubes of Neosporin

To help as many as possible, we’ll put together around 600 packages of meds using small- and medium-sized Ziplock bags. Each package will have a label in Creole identifying the med, what it’s for, and the proper dosage for adults and (if appropriate) children. Our U.S. mission team will carry all these meds when we fly to Haiti on February 21.

Would you help us package and label these medicines? Be part of our first PPI Volunteer Workday on Friday, January 17, from 6:00-9:00pm at our house (465 Mayflower Dr, Saginaw, MI). Come when you can and leave when you need to! Let us know HERE if you can come or if you have questions. Let’s make this new year happier for more brothers and sisters in Christ whose basic needs consistently go unmet!

2019 – What a Year!

December 27, 2019 by Ken MacGillivray

A Quick Sketch

Some years stand out in all our lives. This year – 2019 – is definitely one of those years for us! Here’s a quick sketch:

April 15 – Ken’s last day as Associate Senior Pastor at Hopevale Church after 15 years of ministry there.
May 15 – After prayer and counsel, we make the decision to “take a big swing” at developing Partnership of Pastors International.
June 16 – We begin an interim pastorate at First Baptist Church in Bad Axe.
September 15 – We officially launch Partnership of Pastors International!
October 12-20 – Ken participates in a church leaders training conference in Africa with friend and mentor Chuck Ballard.
December 26 – With PPI development gaining momentum, we are working toward our next 2-3 pastors training conferences in 2020!

THANK YOU for praying for us! THANK YOU for encouraging us! THANK YOU for partnering with us in encouraging, training and resourcing church leaders in Haiti and other developing countries.

WHAT’S AHEAD in 2020?

So what’s ahead for us in 2020? A lot!

First official meeting of the PPI Board of Directors
Offer 2 (possibly 3) pastors training conferences
Write, translate and print at least 2 pastors training courses
Share PPI’s vision and strategy with many more individuals and churches!
Continue shepherding the wonderful congregation of First Baptist, assisting in search for their next pastor
Celebrate Ken’s grandmother’s 100th birthday in June!
A special week in August together with our kids and extended family
Devote full-time for 3-4 months to developing church and individual partnerships
Participate in a Sonscape ministry couples retreat in Colorado in early October

YOUR TOP 5 FAQs

1. Are you developing Partnership of Pastors OR pastoring a church in Bad Axe?

Both for now! I committed to 26-28 hours a week at First Baptist Church to allow me definite work days to develop Partnership of Pastors International (PPI). I am the interim (“in between”) pastor at First Baptist and anticipate serving there for 6-9 months more as we work together toward onboarding FBC’s next permanent pastor.

2. What will you do when your interim pastorate at First Baptist ends?

After saying some hard good-byes (we love our congregation in Bad Axe!), we anticipate devoting 3-4 months to full-time partner development with churches and individuals. That will involve a lot of travel, conversations and presentations of Partnership of Pastors vision and strategy.

After those 3-4 months, we’ll likely need to secure another interim pastor position at another church in our area.

3. Are you being paid by Partnership of Pastors?

No, not yet. That’s one of the reasons we accepted an interim pastor position. In fact, we’re one of the regular contributors to PPI! As we develop financial partnerships, we will begin to draw an appropriate salary from the ministry as decided by the PPI Board of Directors.

4. Do you plan to pastor a church once PPI is fully funded?

Probably not. To develop and lead pastoral training the way I’m convinced it’s needed in countries like Haiti, I won’t have time to shepherd a church well. But we’re not making a final decision on that right now. For now, we don’t want to limit the Kingdom potential of PPI by committing to a full-time pastoral position before taking our best swing at developing PPI. That will be our focus for the next 2-3 years.

5. What’s the best way to give to PPI?

You can give a number of ways to PPI, but the BEST way may be to set up a monthly donation in your credit union or bank’s online Bill Pay. It’s easy to do, and it’s free to you and free to us! Mailing a check cost you a 55 cent stamp, and donating through our website costs us about 2.5% of your gift. Bill Pay is best. And please pray for us!

Do you have a question about PPI or about us that we didn’t answer? Ask it HERE. We’d love to hear from you!

Happy New Year!

Best Christmas Ever

December 2, 2019 by Ken MacGillivray

Are you ready for it? The Christmas season, I mean. Thanksgiving’s just a few days past, and the lights, bells, trees and store displays have all but swallowed it. Do you feel it? The hurry, the stress and – can we be honest – the futility of our American take on God becoming Man.

Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” More blessed – joy, purpose, satisfaction. That sounds like a great gift to give your family and yourself this Christmas.

Want a tangible way to remember this Christmas? To be “more blessed” with joy and purpose?

Give a gift for over-the-counter meds and vitamins for Haitian families. Simple meds such as Tylenol, Imodium, Neosporin, Tums are scarce, prohibitively expensive and so needed in Haiti. As are vitamins for children and adults. GIVE HERE

Help church leaders receive training. We’ll be in Cap Haitien, a city of 250,000 in February, to provide week-long training to 100 church leaders. Let’s help Haitian believers experience well trained pastors and well organized churches. HELP HERE

Purchase Creole Bibles for Haitian Christians. How many Bibles do we have around our houses? Most Haitian believers have none. Not one. Zero. Bibles like meds are scarce and expensive – about $10 US the equivalent of two weeks of food in Haiti. PROVIDE BIBLES HERE

Here’s my CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE: Tithe what you typically spend on Christmas. Yes, tithe. Set aside 10% of what you spend on the holiday for gifts, decorations, special meals, all of it. And give that 10% to brothers and sisters in Christ whose basic needs consistently go unmet – whether through Partnership of Pastors or other front-line organizations benefiting the poor. Make this the best Christmas ever for all the right reasons!

Trapped in Port-au-Prince

November 1, 2019 by Ken MacGillivray

Friends, we have 300 Creole Bibles trapped in Haiti’s capital city! Will you pray that we can get these Bibles out of Port-au-Prince to pastors and churches in Ouanaminthe? We purchased the 300 Bibles from the Haitian Bible Society (HBS) in late September. Since then, HBS has not been able to ship the Bibles to Pastor Esau in Ouanaminthe because of the social unrest in the capital city. We’re working with HBS on safe alternatives in order to get these 300 Creole Bibles into the hands of pastors and churches in Ouanaminthe. They’re so needed! CLICK HERE to hear a Haitian pastor explain why. Thank you for praying that God will open a door to us for His Word (Col 4:2). We’ll keep you updated.

Pray for us!

Have Meds, Will Travel!