Our Saviour Lutheran Church
Our Saviour Lutheran Church
Dallas Christian Ministry Monthly Food Drive
Dallas Christian Ministry is currently requesting the following items but desperately needs ALL non-perishable donations:
They also need clean, used grocery bags, hygiene and monetary donations. New coats and blankets are also accepted. You can now donate online as well as other ways, just visit their website. You can also contact them M & W from 11a-4p at 704-922-1236.
Monthly Mission Emphasis
In addition to collecting non-perishable items for the Dallas Christian Ministry, each month OSLC emphasizes a different ministry with opportunities with which the congregation can engage through prayer, service, and giving. Each organization bears witness to the love and mercy of God.
The mission emphasis for June is JAARS. For more about this mission emphasis, visit their website (https://www.jaars.org/). JAAR's mission is to reduce barriers, ease burdens and deliver God’s Word. They do that by training, equipping, deploying and sustaining individuals, teams and stations to aid in the work of proclaiming the gospel to the whole creation. This month be encouraged to pray for JAARS as part of the world wide mission to take the Word of God unto the uttermost parts of the world, as Jesus commanded his followers. It is an opportunity for a visit to see for yourself all that is available there in Waxhaw, NC. All the donations they receive go towards missionary work, supplies and equipment. All staff raise their own support. Consider contributing support this mission during the month of June. Each Sunday in June there is an opportunity for giving to JAARS through our church (denote JAARS on the subject line of your check).
JAARS Day – An opportunity to visit – a great family trip
Spend a day at our headquarters in Waxhaw, North Carolina! Ride in a helicopter or a five-seat plane. See how people get Internet in the rainforest. Record your voice into the JESUS film. You’ll get an up-close look at Bible translation—and why it relies on practical support like boats, 4WDs, and software.
Our museums take a close look at the heart of our work—language, culture, and Bible translation. Come trace the history of writing. Or study a Mexican president who deeply valued minority languages. Want to bring your class, club, or church group? We’ll give you a guided tour. Just contact us at least a few days in advance. Every JAARS Day is different. In the past, we’ve hosted a NASCAR team, motorcyclists, a 5K run, and other mission organizations.
Book a Group Tour online or call 704-843-6066 - Make a Day of It. Pack a picnic, or buy lunch here. Drop by historic downtown Waxhaw for coffee, antique shopping, or a walking tour. Hike or camp at Cane Creek Park or Andrew Jackson State Park. You’re also welcome to stay in our on-site housing.
Hours Monday–Saturday (Closed major holidays)
9 a.m.–noon, 1–4 p.m.
Contact: www.jaars.org
Location: 6409 Davis Road Waxhaw NC 28173
The Bible is the best tool we have for becoming more like Christ. First, it’s an incredible guide—a lamp for our feet (Ps 119:105). And second, the Holy Spirit can speak through it to change our hearts and minds (Rom 12:2). With God’s Word, entire communities can find freedom from sin, fear, selfishness, and destructive behaviors.
JAARS staff has many qualified personnel who give training at their center in Waxhaw. Also they travel to give on the job training to missionaries, and also to those who are preparing to enter the missions field. In February, John Pepper, traveled to Cote d’Ivoire to provide rider safety and maintenance training for eight translation team members who will be using motorcycles to accomplish their daily work. They sincerely thank everyone who prayed and gave, which provided the needed resources to meet their transportation needs. Now these Bible translators have access to more independent travel within their project areas.
Museum of the Alphabet
Where did writing begin? And who created our alphabets? Trace the history of writing systems, from the ancient world to today. See maps, paintings, and sculptures. Take quizzes. Examine a copy of the Rosetta Stone, a 150-year-old Torah scroll, and a handmade lyre. (Music is a language, too!) You can also print your name in Arabic, Assyrian, Hebrew, and Punjabi (as well as other languages.) Displays include: replica of Gutenberg's Printing Press, and cuneiform archeology display. Enjoy the beautiful drawings in each room from floor to ceiling and sculptures created by various missionaries.
Mexico-Cárdenas Museum
Absorb yourself in Mexican culture with folk art, photos, artifacts, and clothing. Along the way, you’ll learn about Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico’s president from 1934 to 1940. He was close friends with our founder, Cameron Townsend, who led early efforts to study Mexican languages. He even gave Townsend a 1938 Chevrolet; see it parked right in the museum.
Why is JAARS a working arm of Bible translation?
Bible translation is about giving people the best resource for knowing God—in a language that speaks to their minds and hearts. That’s the simple answer. Translation impacts people in many ways, and it looks different for every community. Practical, day-to-day support can make Bible translation possible. We at JAARS have believed that and helped to provide that support for 60 years.
That's why we help our partners get the support they need most, whether that’s Internet access, lifejackets, 4WD, motorcycles, motorboats, or a flight to a remote village. First, we identify their top needs and research solutions. Then we make it easy for people like you to help. And for every project, we share updates and photos on our website as work moves forward. Learn more about how you can get involved.
Another goal is helping people understand and relate to God more deeply. You don’t need a Bible to be a Christian, of course. But without one, it’s a lot harder to grasp certain concepts—or to hang onto your faith during tough times. Scriptures let people study and reflect for themselves, truly owning and growing in their relationship with God. A few examples are listed below:
1) A former shaman in Vanuatu was sent out as a missionary—before he really understood the gospel. What did he tell people? “You have to work hard to get into heaven.” Then he joined a Bible translation team. After working on Galatians, he finally understood: “There’s nothing we can do to be saved. [We’re saved through] the blood of Jesus.” Grace - not works.
2) Sivini was a ruthless killer. His village was in an all-out war with the Kamano-Kafe, a neighboring group in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. By chance, he wound up at a Bible translation workshop—right alongside his enemies. As they studied Cain and Abel, he saw the faces of people he had killed. Sivini repented on the spot, and later told his people not to retaliate when they were attacked.
3) "I wondered if they weren’t just preaching their own ideas. ... But as soon as I learned to read in Lama and could then read God’s Word myself, I was convinced they were teaching the truth. When I read and meditate on God’s Word, I understand it just like they do." Angèle Akonda (a woman who attended a literacy class in Togo).
4) Koti People - God is in the business of redeeming and transforming humanity. He takes special delight in doing this where all seems hopeless and impossible. From a hilltop near the coastal town of Anfoche, Mozambique, one can see the entire area comprising the homeland of the Koti people. The view takes in Angoche town, the beautiful Indian Ocean coastline and numerous offshore islands on which many other Koti live and work as fishermen. In all, there are about 64,000 speakers of EKoti, the language of the Koti. More than 500 years ago, two languages, Kiswahile and Makhuwa, fused through speakers' intermarriage and coastal trading around Angoche to create EKoti, a whole new language distinct from both of its linguistic ‘parents.’
For hundreds of years, the slave trade thrived in Angoche. The Koti became middlemen in the trade, capturing neighboring Makhuwa people and selling them to Arab and Persian slave merchants. Some Koti even sold their own difficult children into slavery. A serious degradation of the value of human life spread through Koti culture over time. The practice of throw-away marriages became common – marriages discarded as easily and thoughtlessly as a soiled piece of clothing. Communication of the Good News would have to be relevant to these key elements of Koti culture, or have little impact. "Today married, tomorrow divorced" was the mindset for most Koti people in Mozambique. But the Bible is teaching people to commit to their marriages instead.
5) After hearing what the Bible says about caring for widows, a Cameroonian couple gave back the land they’d taken from a brother’s widow and children. Lives were transformed.