Category Archives: Bible

by | 5 Apr 2024 · 5:08 pm

April 2024 Newsletter

KAREN AND LATIN AMERICA, SPAIN, INDIA, AND THE GOOD OLD USA!

Praise God for His provision and ministry direction in February and March!

As you know, in my ministry I train leaders to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to sexual abuse. I do this through 4 different organizations: the safety team of our mission board WorldVenture, ESEPA Seminary in Costa Rica, the Child Safety and Protection Network (CSPN), and my own Levanta La Voz.

Thank you to Paradise Bible Fellowship Church for the provision and opportunity to do a one-day workshop to train your staff and volunteers in February. It was a joy to spread the word for the first time in our sending denomination and with the community that has welcomed us so warmly!

Thank you to Woodlyn Baptist Church for their generous donation that made it possible for me to complete my March ministry trip to Spain with CSPN. CSPN provides child safety training for international Christian workers: missionaries and staff of Christian schools overseas. This unique demographic is more vulnerable and has unusually complicated response situations, so it is a challenge for us to invent appropriate methods and get the training done. I do various projects with CSPN, several of which necessitated my involvement in their annual conference in Spain last month. I took a training which I will be teaching in July in Indianapolis, began working with the team that will revise the same training over the next year, and attended the conference. These photos show 3 other projects I worked on there: I recorded videos for a project I co-wrote that will provide safety training for thousands of Christian workers overseas, did a presentation at the conference on a monthly training I manage, and met various times with teammates from WorldVenture.

 

 

PLEASE PRAY!

Karen’s upcoming ministry at the Woodlyn Baptist Church ladies’ retreat April 26-28.

* Pray for Gary’s Spanish-language evangelistic/discipleship group in Chester PA, they meet every other Tuesday night. So far three non-Christians have come out!

* Gary is finishing the SUN edition of Bible Stories. Click LINK to see them in English. They are open-source, so download and use them as you like!

FINANCIAL PICTURE: Two new churches have picked us up for support! Thanks to Paradise Bible Fellowship Church (where we attend) and Stony Lane Baptist in Rhode Island. Will 20 individuals pray about supporting us at $50/month? JUST TAP HERE!

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by | 7 Feb 2024 · 2:20 pm

GARY IS A PROFESSOR! WILL HE “DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST”?

God willing, yes!

My dream?
Over the last 3-4 years I have had a very specific dream: to start an evangelistic/discipleship small group for Spanish-speaker, as a side ministry, once we were relocated in the US.      



North Chester Baptist in Chester PA has recently invited me to do this very thing. There are 9000 Hispanic people within a couple of miles of the church. After prayer and consideration, I said Yes, and we plan on starting February 13 under the banner: “Come and Get to Know Jesus!”
 
What is the plan? We will be meeting on Tuesday nights, every other week, for an hour, entirely in Spanish: to study selected passages from Mark’s Gospel; to meet the needs of people who come: from introducing them to the gospel for their very first time, to inviting believers to a deeper discipleship and Bible study.

 “Why, Gary, bring this up now? Why not wait until it’s actually up and running?”
 
Good question, and one I have mulled over.

A. I could wait a few months and give an “after” report on what is happening

B. I could tell you a couple of weeks “before” we start, and tell you what I hope will happen

Scenario A – would be a request that you give thanks to God.
Scenario B – would be a request that you pray for the group before it even exists
 
I opt to ask you to PRAY NOW, BEFOREHAND. And also give thanks later.
 
What is my hope? For people to come to know Christ; to bring their friends; to grow in Christ; to integrate members into North Chester or another church. And very specifically – I do not believe in mystical numbers, nor in “ordaining” reality. I am simply using the number 12 to give direction to my prayer: “Lord, in faith I ask that 12 people turn out.”
 
Will you talk with the Lord? And mention the number 12? Many thanks!
 
PLEASE PRAY!

  • Gary and Karen have just started a new academic year with ESEPA Bible College and Seminary
  • Karen will be attending an international conference on the theme of her work
  • Gary is now working on editing the New Testament for deaf non-readers – he’s up to Acts!

FINANCIAL PICTURE: Our major church donor has ended its support, but a couple of other churches are coming forward. Will 20 individuals pray about supporting us at $50/month? JUST TAP HERE!

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by | 30 Nov 2023 · 3:07 pm

Christmas 2023 Newsletter

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by | 2 Oct 2023 · 9:11 pm

October 2023 Newsletter

This month we focus on: Gary As Writer
 
It is hoped that ESEPA professors publish. And in between June and September, a bunch of Gary’s projects came to fruition: 

  • June and July – he put together a commentary on 1 Corinthians, in Spanish. It will be part of a historical background study Bible from his publisher in Barcelona, CLIE, probably in 2024. The footnotes he wrote are taken from ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman sources, to hear how the Bible sounded to its hearers in its original context. Here’s an example from 1 Cor 12:2, “when you were gentiles you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak.” Gary’s note: “In the Gentile world, it was widely believed that the gods could communicate with human beings through their oracles. The pythoness/prophetess could speak in a trance, perhaps triggered by inhaling the hallucinogens that wafted into the sanctuary. The sounds she made were to be interpreted or rendered into poetry by the priests of the temple. Some idols had a built-in ‘acoustic tube’: the speaker would hide himself and make a message come out of the statue’s mouth. In Judaism this was considered demonic magic or just trickery. Jews commonly pointed out that idolatrous statues could not walk or talk or do things, and they often employed harsh sarcasm to make their point.
  • In August, Gary finished editing the Old Testament in the new language of SUN. The entire Bible – plus a SUN catechism that he wrote – are now available worldwide. You can see both of them here! SUN – Bible In Every Language
  • In September, he began to edit the 2nd edition of the New Testament in SUN. Since he is most familiar with 1-2 Thessalonians, that is where he began.
  • On September 25, Gary’s new book on the Holy Spirit was published in Spanish: The Gift of the Holy Spirit and his Power in the Church. It consists of 15 essays that he wrote over decades. He dedicated it to Ruth Edwards, his thesis supervisor at Aberdeen University back in the mid-80s. So it’s time for book promotion and also looking for someone to publish it in English. Check out this announcement: El Espíritu Santo y su poder en la Iglesia | Gary Shogren (Spot 1 min) – YouTube
  • In September: another of Gary’s books is shortly to come out from CLIE. This book was a new direction for him: he analyzes about 40 myths and rumors that Christians believe and pass along to their friends, without checking their veracity. For example: did you ever hear the one about how the Soviet drilled a hole so deep that they reached hell? Or the story about the massive computer named the Beast? Stay tuned for Myths that Christians Believe. And Circulate.
  • End of September: CLIE put out announcements for their NEW patristic study Bible, with footnotes taken from the first six centuries of the church. Gary wrote the notes for the Epistle of James. One example from James 1:1 – “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”. SERVANT. “James refers to himself as a servant, but we must remember that there are two kinds of servitude, voluntary and involuntary. The involuntary servant is a slave who fears punishment and therefore his service does not arise out of love. But the voluntary servant is really no different from a son.” HILARY OF ARLES, 5th century.

Gary says: Why do I write what I do? Half the time (the two study Bibles, for example) it’s because someone invited me to join their team. But typically (Myths; The Gift of the Holy Spirit) I wrote because I saw that these were areas where very little has been published in Spanish. It’s the same thing I always told myself years ago in the church softball league: “You don’t have to hit a home run; just try to put the ball where the fielders ain’t.” My heart’s desire too is to write as a pastor, not a know-it-all. So in the case of The Holy Spirit my goal was to encourage Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals to calmly consider the Bible text together, armed with sound hermeneutics and mutual respect.
 
Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a writer; in hindsight, I guess Lord planted the idea. At the keyboard, I feel I am talking with fellow believers. Thanks, Lord, for letting me do this task!

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by | 5 Aug 2023 · 7:26 pm

August 2023 Newsletter

Prayer requests

Health issues

· Karen’s full recovery from Covid without additional complications and that Gary doesn’t contract it

· Medical testing Karen has scheduled at the end of Aug

Karen’s ministry focus

· teaching her program at ESEPA Seminary through early October

· Zoom workshop with Spanish pastors in Costa Rica on Aug 28

Gary’s ministry focus:

· Finishing last book of SUN Old Testament consistency check

· ESEPA courses

Upcoming US speaking engagements

August 20—10:15am Gary will be preaching at Paradise Bible Fellowship Church (no ministry presentation)

August 27  – 10:30am at Christ E Free Church, Lehighton, PA

September 17—Calvary Baptist Church, Riverhead, NY

We still have Sept 10 and 24 available, so if you are interested in having us come give a ministry update, please let us know!

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by | 1 Oct 2022 · 8:24 pm

OCTOBER 2022 NEWSLETTER

FINANCIAL UPDATE

Since this is a short announcement, we’ll put it at the top: we are calculating our budget for the coming year. Due to inflation, etc., etc., we have a $1223/month shortfall in our pledged giving. We encourage our friends to be regular backers of our work. You can start at https://worldventure.com or call WorldVenture at (720) 283-2000 or write them at info@worldventure.com. We do not give away tote bags or mugs, but each new regular donor will get one of Gary’s books in the mail. Many thanks!

THIS MONTH, IT’S GARY’S TURN TO SHARE


Gary! You are a regular professor at ESEPA and just gave an online course on how to read ancient Greek manuscripts! And you are editing the Old Testament in SUN, for deaf non-readers! So, what do you do in your spare time?

GARY: Well, go to the gym. Read a lot, sometimes at the gym. Watch foreign movies while Karen teaches online. Do the New York Times crossword puzzle.

And importantly, I just finished a new book in Spanish:

MYTHS THAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE. AND CIRCULATE.

As a kid I was captivated by stories of pirate treasure, Bigfoot, UFOs. Years later, we visited Loch Ness. And one of my pet topics lately has been to either confirm or debunk those stories that get circulated among believers. So when my publisher in Spain asked, “What is the next book you want to publish with us?”, we hit upon that theme.
 
In the book I examine about 35 such stories. A few turned out to be true, but most were false rumors. Several have to do with Hebrew and Greek. Some have to do with the Bible. Some have to do with current events or the End Times.
 
Why is this book important just now?
 
First, because we are living in a crisis of truth, where we tend to accept a story if it agrees with what we already think. We then circulate them without determining if they are fact or fiction. Second, as Christians, we should be a model of telling the truth in love, of not bearing false witness. My book is not just to fact-check past or present myths, but to teach Christians how to value the truth, and how to be discerning when the next one lands in our In-Box.
 
Here are a few of my topics. Which do you think are True and which False?

  • The Soviets dug a well so deep that they broke through into hell and heard the screams of the damned.
  • “The Eye of the Needle” was a low gate in Jerusalem.
  • NASA proved Joshua’s account of how the sun stood still.
  • The Hubble spotted the New Jerusalem approaching the Earth.
  • There is a computer in Belgium called The Beast and it contains all your data (the picture that comes with that rumor is on the front cover of my book).
  • Archaeologists have found Egyptian chariots and horse skeletons under the Red Sea.
  • Christian pilots are always paired with non-Christian ones. “In case of Rapture.”

Each one is False, as I go to great lengths to demonstrate.
 
My publisher liked the book and said, “Why don’t we also publish it in English?” So possibly we will see that in a couple of years. In the meantime, go to my blog, openoureyeslord.com, and look up “myths” to see a few.

PRAYER:

  • Gary is planning to teach a course in Cuba in mid-October. Pray he gets his visa and travel plans settled
  • Pray that our support level comes up to 100%
  • Pray for Karen’s course from Levanta la Voz

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by | 7 Jun 2022 · 9:19 pm

June 2022 Newsletter

Karen: “I will never look at kazoos the same way again!”


Perhaps a bit of background on that one!

March and April were extremely busy for my ministry. One conferences after another, presenting material on all sorts of subjects and age level. .

When that combined with the involved spiritual warfare, travel, lack of time to regroup between events  – and most of our belongings still in boxes – it was an extraordinarily stressful time that left me feeling isolated, exhausted and disoriented.

Then came my last event, the spring women’s retreat of Woodlyn Baptist Church at Camp Sankanak. I didn’t have much to do except to give a very short ministry update and to be a small group leader. The 4 of us in our group enjoyed lively discussions comparing Bible passages in various translations and applying them to our lives.  Soon we all felt so comfortable together that one woman shared some personal concerns. The rest of us rallied around her with prayers and offers of help and it was a special time of ministry. It wasn’t until later that it dawned on each of us how perfectly suited that particular group of women had been to help our sister. It was a group so perfectly put together that only God could have done it. And that got us thinking.

Usually small groups are pre-organized. But this time it had been different: each small group leader was given a differently colored kazoo ahead of time (my kazoo was red).

During our first large group meeting everybody else picked a kazoo from a large bag without looking or understanding the significance of the different colors. The colored kazoos assigned us to groups. But obviously, it was God who grouped us together. So God used a bag full of kazoos to make sure we were all in the right place at the right time to be his voice and arms so he could love and help one of his precious daughters.

We will never look at kazoos the same way again. We will never look at God the same way again. Praise him!
 
Welcome to new newsletter friends from:
Faith BFC Harleysville women’s retreat
Woodlyn Baptist Church women’s retreat
North Chester Baptist Church
 
Upcoming Presentation:
June 12—Tasker Street Missionary Baptist Church morning service, 9am at 2010 Tasker Street, Philadelphia, PA, or online https://www.facebook.com/TSMBC2
 
Prayer Requests

  • Household focus: Finish and move into Karen’s home office, finish unpacking and organizing
  • Karen’s ministry focus: website and social media presence for recruiting new students
  • Gary’s ministry focus: doing the final edit of the SUN Old Testament for the deaf non-reader; giving ESEPA courses.

In April, all of the WorldVenture missionaries from the Americas got together in Orlando. A milestone, after years of COVID!


Blessings,
 

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by | 1 Mar 2022 · 9:35 pm

Extra, extra February newsletter!

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by | 2 Feb 2022 · 2:41 pm

FEBRUARY 2022 NEWSLETTER

This month we will catch up on three of Gary’s ministries.

One: Authoring a Catechism for the Deaf and Deafblind

I have now finished two years of work on the SUN Bible for Wycliffe Associates. This is a Bible translation for the Deaf and the Deafblind, written in an entirely new language that the blind can read with their fingers. The whole Bible is available, and one last step is that in 2022 I will be going through the entire Old Testament one more time, to make sure of its “consistency” – that is, the same symbol is used the same way every time. So far, I have done Genesis, half of Numbers, Ecclesiastes, and Jonah.

We have other materials too – for example, we now offer “Our Daily Bread” in SUN!

Plus: last summer I had one of those “Aha!” moments. It occurred to me that, since SUN is such a simplified code language, it would be an ideal medium for a CATECHISM, a short-cut to learning Basic Christianity. The deaf can see/the deafblind will read with their fingers, and they can even memorize them and write them back to their teacher.

Now, back in 1969, when I was preparing for baptism, we memorized a catechism. For those who haven’t used one, it traditionally has a question-and-answer format. Here we are, just after being baptized.

Continue reading →

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by | 30 Oct 2021 · 5:11 pm

EXTRA, EXTRA! SHOGRENS SPECIAL NEWSLETTER

Hello friends,We have some news for you that just can’t wait until our scheduled newsletter!

For some time, we have been asking for God’s guidance about when would be the right time to relocate back to the US and continue our missionary work from there. Now it’s obvious that God’s answer is NOW. We will permanently return to the Philadelphia area on November 15.

Please click here to see a VIDEO (click the link) that explains our decision in more detail, and we are also including the script of the video below.

We want to emphasize that:

We are not retiring.

We are not changing jobs.

We are not changing what we do,

But we are changing where we do it.

We will still be missionaries, supported by you, the churches and individuals that have been behind us financially and spiritually all this time.

We will continue to work full-time: we’ll both still teach at ESEPA Seminary (virtually, still, because of COVID), Gary will continue to write and to work on the SUN Bible translation for Wycliffe Associates, and Karen will continue to develop her ministry Levanta La Voz.

We have a few requests:

From here on, send all mail to our new address: 49 Germantown Avenue, Christiana, PA, 17509.

Please consider giving a special donation towards our moving expenses. As you might imagine, this will be a very costly transition. If God puts it on your heart to do so, you can donate through WorldVenture in several ways:

  • Send a check payable to WorldVenture, 20 Inverness Place, Englewood CO 80112. If you send a check, please do NOT write our name on the subject line of the check, but instead include a small note indicating that your donation is intended for the work of Gary and Karen Shogren, number 4000-055, as well as your own contact information.
  • OR Make a donation online at www.WorldVenture.com. Click on the following buttons beginning on the first page: How to Give, under Support World Venture click Give Now, select an amount, click Next, click on Select a Worker or Project, scroll down the list to find and click on our account 4000-055 Gary and Karen Shogren, click Next, and fill out the remainder of the form and information.
  • If you have any questions, please contact WorldVenture directly at 720-283-2000 or Giving@WorldVenture.com


Please pray that God will continue to smooth our way as we continue working full-time. Many blessings, Gary and Karen

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

When we first talked about moving to Costa Rica, we emphasized that we were not changing what we were doing (Gary was teaching in a seminary, and Karen was homeschooling the kids), but we were changing our location. Long before online education, there was more of a need for seminary professors outside the US, and God led us to work at ESEPA seminary in San José, Costa Rica.We have been serving there, face-to-face since 1998. During that time, Karen too joined the faculty and started an entirely new ministry training church leaders about the prevention and intervention of sexual abuse.

We have the same important message for you now, 23 years later: we are not changing what we do, but we are again changing the location from which we will do it. We are moving back to the United States, and will both continue teaching overseas, online, full-time.There are a variety of reasons why this is the smart decision:

Online education is becoming the norm worldwide – it reaches people far beyond what was possible in-person, it is cost-effective, and it is efficient

We now have been working exclusively online for a year and a half, and it has proven to be a game-changer for both of us, expanding our ministry scope and efficiency in ways we never could have imagined.

Gary is now doing all his teaching online, also conferences, as well as his writing and Bible translation work with Wycliffe AssociatesKaren’s work with her ministry Levanta La Voz has been exclusively online, and that allows people to be involved from all over the world

COVID is still a significant threat to in-person communication, and will continue to be so for quite some time, especially in underdeveloped countries

Costa Rica’s incidence of COVID is still very high and the new variant is now present. 1 in 10 Costa Ricans have had COVID.

We have been in quarantine for a year and a half. It does not look like that will change in the medium term.

Our living expenses will be cheaper for us back in the US, making it easier to maintain full missionary support during this time of economic uncertainty.

Our employers are convinced that allowing us to work from the US will be a benefit to everyone. WorldVenture (our mission agency) and ESEPA Seminary (the organization to whom we are seconded) have given us the go-ahead to move back to the US and continue working with them.

We will be in Costa Rica until Nov 15.

From then on, we will continue to work full-time from Pennsylvania, training Costa Rican church leaders and leaders in all other countries of the world, writing resources for them, and being involved in the Bible translation efforts of Wycliffe Associates. With both of us continuing to work full-time, we expect that God will use us to have an even greater impact on the world in the future!

To sum up:

We are not retiring! Just relocating.

We look to be financed by our donors for the long-term.

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