** This personal letter by Dennis Petersen is intended to provide some background for understanding the times we are living in now. In light of the Lord’s providential guidance in his own life and the opportunities and challenges that lay before us, the question is really: “what adventurous journey awaits as we walk in the works that God has prepared for us to accomplish (as noted in Ephesians 2:10)?”
Dear Friend, If you have not yet read the brief letter I recently sent by email to invite you to join my personal team of prayer supporters, you can see it at the end of this background letter (below).
Why am I continuing the mission of creation teaching?
Do you remember that scripture, “to whom much is given, much is required?”
When I began to realize back in the 1970s that the Lord was supernaturally guiding my steps to accomplish things that I would never have attempted in my own plans, He jolted me with the scripture in Proverbs 16:9, “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”
I planned to continue a thoroughly enjoyable career in the museum profession as a trained history museum curator and administrator. When the Holy Spirit sovereignly opened the opportunity for me to detour for a year to study the Bible full time in Canada, I had no idea that would begin a whole new life to influence many people for Christ through apologetics teaching, writing, and preaching ministry.
The Lord miraculously opened doors for me to publish my book, “Unlocking The Mysteries of Creation” in 1986 after teaching in Bible college for 4 years, pastoring for 5 years and sharing seminars in dozens of churches on the topic of ‘Science and the Bible.’ For the next 20+ years God used me for His glory to communicate foundational faith-building truths that have inspired many to confidently champion a world view that respects the inerrancy of the Holy Bible and the sovereign providence of God.
I’ve grown to realize that all this investment of God’s direction in my life is for the purpose of fulfilling His command to His disciples to “Disciple the nations.”
So what is God leading me to do at this later stage in life?
For many years I have worked hard to depend on God’s provision through the work of my hands in publishing books, teaching seminars and a few ‘tent-making enterprises’ along the way. Pursuing contributors has been something I’ve avoided, even though he has supernaturally moved on the hearts of several voluntary friends at key points in this ministry to provide extraordinarily what I could not have done by my own efforts.
A Godly friend sent me a note once saying, “A Problem is the beginning of an opportunity.”
The problems that many of us face today are complex. Economic supply is only part of the challenge. I’m learning a lot about building relationships and helping others to achieve the priorities and dreams of their lives. God steered me into the weekly radio ministry called “Reclaiming Your Legacy” (www.ReclaimYourLegacy.com) in 2010. That made me dig deeper into His Word. Many insights are helping listeners be more relatable to others. The mission of Philippians 2:3-4 to tend to the interests of others continually stretches my own insights from God’s wisdom.
We are members of God’s “family” … We are called to be more involved in the team that he wants us to reach out to. None of us can do the work of God alone. We need others. We need to link up with ‘gifts’ and ‘callings’ that we don’t personally have. That way God gets the glory and honor for His orchestrating all of us into the symphony of His awesome works.
So, now I’m appealing to friends like you who might have a heart to help me in some small or big way to accomplish more than I could ever do by myself.
Again… here are some of the projects that are waiting for resources to be done. All it takes is time, resources (supplies or money) and people (skills and connections).
- A new eBook and printed version of Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation
- Internet-based information and infrastructure to expand the outreach of the information into many languages for world distribution online.
- Practical ways to help believers in communities everywhere to invite others to “come see God’s awesome works.”
Are there two ways of trusting God’s providence for a vision of ministry or mission?
Some people are passive. Others are active. Some people lean on the promises of God to rescue them. Others stretch themselves by planning a “roadmap” or a “blueprint” of what they sense God wants them to do. Both of them are right. Both of them need to learn lessons from each other.
Let’s count the costs of the mission that lies before us.
When we add up the basic costs of daily and yearly expenses to operate a ministry, even when we work from our home with no frills, we have to be realistic and share the needs with those who are open to at least pray and even give their “widows mite” if they are so led to do by God.
Just to maintain a website properly and produce the videos, blogs and eBooks that God has put on our hearts to produce, requires a long list of basic operating expenses like running any business. Before we can expand by contracting others to help on a regular or intermittent basis, I estimate that we need to create a minimum additional $3,000 a month. This is on top of what I receive from Social Security, since I have no investments and no retirement fund. If 30 friends gave $100 a month, that would meet the need. If a hundred people gave $30 a month, then that would meet the same goal.
At our current state I am actively waiting on God to direct my path to the most productive use of my time. The opportunities for local employment are limited to hourly low skills jobs with little pay, or demanding sales jobs, requiring major time and energy plus passion for things that are of little interest to me. A brighter option is to invest time in my side-business of helping others reach their goals using online shopping and healthier choices while saving money in their monthly family budgets. When a hundred more of my friends take a few minutes to see for themselves how much they can benefit by being my customer, everybody wins. That would lay a financial foundation that frees my time to do more ministry, more speaking, more writing, more video production and all the things that go into the mission that God has put on my heart. When you see the advantages, I guarantee you will think of others you know who will benefit.
Changing times demand different strategies to accomplish our missions.
I used to think that inspiring and entertaining instruction by appealing to people’s “sense of wonder” was the best way to teach creation topics. I honestly assumed that Christians desired to be equipped for witnessing and teaching their children, and that was enough. I enjoyed all the brisk appreciation and positive interaction that came by that approach in teaching seminars over three decades. It’s what the Lord has enabled me to do pretty effectively.
There’s a problem.
It’s painfully obvious that we’ve not achieved enough growing support in the Christian community to where evangelical pastors wholeheartedly embrace the mission to disciple their families regularly in basic apologetics topics.
To the contrary, the church’s potential to be preserving ‘salt’ to the world and ‘light’ to expose darkness has been marginalized. Why? The growing intimidation of “political correctness” and media entertainment does not prepare warriors to actually engage the decadent culture and stand up for holiness and righteousness.
Consider some observations by my African missionary friend, Peter Hammond.
The Greatest Threat
The single greatest threat to Christian civilization has proved to be secular humanist, state-controlled, education.
What is often called education today is more accurately indoctrination.
Instead of teaching children how to think critically, all too many schools today are teaching children what to think. Politically correct brain-washing in state schools is at the root of much of the wickedness prevalent throughout our societies today. People vote as they do because of how they have been educated, entertained and informed (or misinformed) by the news media.
Our Priority
Therefore, our greatest focus needs to be on making disciples of all nations, teaching obedience to all things that the Lord has commanded – comprehensively fulfilling the Great Commission in education, the entertainment industry and through the news media.
Strategic Focus
Home Education is the single most strategic step any family can take.
Just protecting our family from the vile Hollywood poison by throwing out the TV and keeping our children from being indoctrinated by secular humanist state schools is already a tremendous step forward. Providing Bible-based, Christ-centered school textbooks for home educators is most strategic.
Supporting and producing alternative God-honoring films, music, books and magazines is vital.
Providing alternative sources of information through Desk Top Publishing, the Internet, social media and community Christian radio stations is critical.
A World War of Worldviews
Education is the most strategic battlefield in this world war of worldviews. Home Education is the single most important and strategic priority for every family. We need to be aware of division and divisiveness amongst fellow Bible-believing Christians. We also need to beware of paralysis by analysis.
Faith needs to lead to action.
We have all been indoctrinated and deceived, to a great extent, by the news media, entertainment industry and secular humanist state-controlled schools.
Re-evaluate Everything
We all need to re-think everything that we have assumed, in the light of Scripture and clear facts. Where our views have been influenced by God-hating, blaspheming Hollywood, we need to go back to primary source documents, eye witnesses and Scripture to ascertain what is real and what is not. Satan is deceiving the nations. Most Christians are distracted and deceived.
Counter Attack
We need to have a plan, network, get back to door-to-door, personal one-on-one Evangelism. Praise God for Evangelism Explosion of Dr. James Kennedy, Way of the Master of Ray Comfort, Answers in Genesis, The Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter of Ken Ham, Home Education textbook providers, Missions that are on the ground, in the front line, serving the persecuted Church, working for Reformation and praying for Revival worldwide.
War on the Womb
Some participants pointed out that as far back as 1963 prayer was outlawed from American state schools. In 1973 abortion was legalized in America. Every day more babies are killed through abortion in America than Americans died at the hands of Islamic terrorism on the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre and Washington fifteen years ago. We need to remind people of the 9/11 that occurs every single day through the abortion holocaust.
A Vision of Victory
Those who say that there is no hope have given in to an un-Biblical pessimism. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world. We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus Who loved us. Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. The day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. We need to seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
God Judges Nations
It is possible that we are living in an age of judgment, when God will bring down the wicked nations that are at this time rejecting God’s Law, promoting perversion and murdering babies. We need to take note of what Augustine wrote in The City of God. When the Roman Empire began to fall, many were horrified and saw this as the end of their world. Augustine put things into perspective, pointing out that there are cities that men build and there is a Kingdom which God is building. Men build men’s cities and men destroy men’s cities. But God is building a Kingdom which can never be destroyed. We must seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things will be added unto us.
First things first. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Scenarios That Could Change the World
There is a real possibility that God could allow an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) nuclear device to knock out the technology on which our modern society depends so heavily. Even a solar flare could trigger and EMP that “unplugs” much of existing technology. This may not be a bad thing. Technology is not necessarily evil. Technology is neutral. Martin Luther used the printing press to advance the Gospel. We should use technology to advance the Gospel. However, much of technology today is being used for evil.
Preparedness
The Swiss Military has a plan of surviving an EMP that knocks out all telecommunications in Europe. If some rogue state would do that, the Swiss have a plan of de-centralization, local initiative and preparedness, utilizing pre-digital technology to maintain order and protection of their communities. We must do all that we can and we must trust God to do all that we cannot. God will not do our duties. We cannot do God’s job! Nehemiah provides a Biblical model of involving all the men to be vigilant, organized, armed and trained. It is essential to plan and prepare for church, community and family protection.
Can you and I find one willing servant, even a timid “Gideon,” who will volunteer to be used of God? Jesus found 12.
In the last few years I’ve become increasingly alerted to the fact that the evangelical church needs a serious infusion of Godly motivation for our Lord’s desire to ‘disciple this nation.’ Since the great depression and World War 2, this nation, beginning with Christian families and the pastors who lead them, have departed far from the disciplines and Christian priorities of our forefathers. Alexis de’Tocqueville observed in early America that Christian zeal in the churches explained the success of the new country. He wrote that “if America ceases to be good it will cease to be great.” Today he would have to confess that his observation was prophetic. The “salt” has lost its ability to be a preserving influence in a rotting culture. Christians have not let their lights shine in the world of education. Entertainment has become the ‘idol’ of generations of families. Spheres of influence in our culture have been abandoned to secularists while Christians ‘fiddled’ with trivial interests.
But alas, the government school system has achieved its mission of captivating 90% of the Christian families of “we the ‘sheeple’ of the u.s. of a.” The fact that our public school kids are not allowed to even consider our Godly heritage, much less the Bible that inspired the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence (‘We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created… etc… etc…”) should be reason enough for churches to discover their imperative mission.
If we don’t allow God to use us to transform the ‘media’ deceived families of our church communities, what hope do we have of discipling our nation in the next generation? The answer is “None.” Let’s get real and face up to it.
May God give us all wisdom and favor to do what it takes to stop the madness that has nearly destroyed what reformers of past generations lived and died to produce.
Appeal letter sharing projects to pray for and support – Sept. 2016
Dear Friend,
It’s been far too long since we connected… We’ve got some catching up to do and I’ll give you some links to do that… but first…
- Imagine if a local pastor asked you and me if we’d like to use a building he’s not using to create a museum about Biblical worldview topics like creation to reach out to your community?
- Imagine if a local team of committed believers asked you and me to help them create a children’s program about creation for a new educational center (museum) to reach their community?
- Imagine if a Christian publisher offered to help you and me to create a dynamic new version of my Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation book for eBook distribution as well as hard copy?
- Imagine if a producer asked you and me if we could create a series of YouTube-type videos to be posted online in conjunction with a viral promotion with social media to help school kids and home schooled kids have a long string of short visual topics to learn how to talk about reasons supporting biblical creation?
These are the kinds of opportunities that are showing up and I’m asking God if He has the people in my little part of the world to provide the prayer and financial support to enable us to actually accomplish these tasks. If so, it’s all and only because Jesus is “My Creator King.” And He’s the Lord of my life. (I love that song – you can watch and hear it here if you want.)
Will you explore the ideas with me? You are God’s ‘hands’ and ‘feet’ in this adventure with me. I just want His best for everyone as He gives me strength.
My book, Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation, continues to sell through distributors in North America, in China and Russia. It seems wise that the way to see a revised new version get translated to other languages would be to create it in eBook format for web distribution.
And there are other projects that I’ve wanted to launch.
In today’s changing world, I am so aware that what we do must be undergirded with prayer, adequate funding, and qualified team partners to assure the expected results are actually achieved. That’s why I’m writing to you today.
I began 6 years ago to broadcast a weekly radio show in Sacramento called “Reclaiming Your Legacy.” Now, it’s time for me to not only ‘reclaim’ but Re-Launch a timely new version of Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation that can expand even beyond the 30 years of my book in print, reaching over 300,000 households.
With your help and others, the Lord is able to do far beyond what we can even imagine.
Will you prayerfully consider helping me with a couple of simple projects to reach out to parents, teachers and young future leaders?
- Project 1 – Create a new and updated ONLINE version of Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation in short, bite-sized segments with a series of eBooks as well as hard-copy.
- Project 2 – Create a series of short FREE ONLINE videos that demonstrate how to use the content of what we’ve taught in training students to really see the ‘lights go on.’
- Project 3 – Seek, invite, call and train a team of equipped trainers to strategically train students with the best simple creation apologetics tools available today, where they live, while giving them practical and proven ways to support their ministry costs whether they are bi-vocational career professionals or have the ability to be a full time missionary.
…then we can consider…
- Project 4 – Create a pilot ministry location or work with an existing model ministry that can show others how to effectively adapt a creation-based apologetics, discovery center type outreach… even if it’s just a room in an existing school, library, business or church… with educational outreach programs and events offered throughout the year.
- Project 5 – Help leaders establish discovery-center-type educational ministries in communities wherever the Lord leads to supplement what is needed by the churches to fully train up disciples for Jesus Christ.
Several basic things are needed in order to launch these initiatives successfully.
- First… prayer from saints like you whose hearts resonate with the vision and mission of this project that will no doubt out-live each of us.
- Second… Web-based communication tools to provide the platform for students and leaders to access the content created.
- Third… ongoing financial support to pay the bills and sustain the communications efforts needed to expand to a growing audience.
And here’s a refreshing change of strategy to help meet the material needs!
Can you imagine joining with a Godly ministry team where you’re not only trained to reach out with excellent knowledge-based content, but also given the practical business tools to accomplish more by helping others with real-world daily needs? That will be ‘unwrapped’ on the new website as we make progress with the first 3 projects listed above. I think you’re going to be delighted with what you see.
These Perilous Times
When I think of all the ‘storms’ that are frightening people in today’s world, I am reminded that we are enabled to refuse fear when we realize that our Lord has given us the resources, wisdom and opportunities to BE the ‘light of the world’ that confidently overcomes the dark works of the enemy. But we need a ‘roadmap’ of where to go, what to do, and how to get there to do the job.
Do you believe that rebuilding the ‘age old foundations’ (Isaiah 58:12) of core Biblical truth is essential for the next generation? Sure you do. But too many ‘distracted’ believers seem to have lost the sense of urgency of the trans-generational vision of ‘teaching faithful men who can teach others also’ as Paul directed Timothy (in 2 Timothy 2:2). Let’s do some things to enable more “soldiers” to be equipped for the battles ahead.
Which of America’s forefathers do you suppose wrote this?
“No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service.”
- See the end of this letter for the answer and the rest of the quote.
Will you please pray?
When you finish this letter in the next minute, please pray something like this:
“Gracious Father, pour your anointing Spirit of insight and grace on Dennis Petersen to lead this project. Guide him to accomplish your plan to communicate your truth and wisdom to all who will hear your life-changing Word through this ministry, using Internet technology to reach more people. Provide the resources needed according to your abundance and give me your clear leading and grace to do my part. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.”
How do you expect to fund these projects?
To rally the budget support from friends like you whom God gives a heart to champion this mission, we will begin a prayer team aiming to start with at least 100 ‘member friends.’ That will provide monthly support as God supplies. This is the foundation for the projects to move forward. Even when the economy is in the pits, can we believe God to enable us to budget a few dollars to display life-changing realities of the Creator’s Awesome Works? Do we believe that kids are open to see what can turn heads and hearts from the whacked imaginations of secularism and evolution? Let’s pray that the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ shines on them? (here’s a great song about that)
As our website gets back online, I’ll be giving you convenient ways to help these projects financially. For now you can talk to me on the phone and write to me personally anytime. Let’s arrange a speaking engagement at your church too.
I am personally working on a supplemental business project to bring income through helping clients save money on their monthly home budget. (Yes, you read that right.) In these tough economic times, many people don’t have money to contribute, but they can easily see the sense of saving money on their normal family expenses. You’ve simply got to discover how doing that can help supply charitable funding. You likely know someone who might be able to help me with this project. Let me know when would be good to talk it over with you and them. Just call me at 530-626-5215.
If you want to read or watch me talk about the background story, bringing us up to date, you can read it at this web page now or watch it when I get the help to post an online video.
I hope we get to talk with each other soon. If you call me I’ll call you back as soon as possible. Please pray that the Lord will help me budget my time wisely so we can enhance and enrich the lives of many people worldwide through this little work that He alone began in our hearts.
Blessed to be your fellow bond-servant in Jesus,
Dennis Petersen
530-626-5215
Here is the rest of that quote at the start of this email…
“No one should fear to undertake any task in the name of our Savior, if it is just and if the intention is purely for His holy service.”
“The working out of all things has been assigned to each person by our Lord, but it all happens according to His sovereign will even though He gives advice. He lacks nothing that it is in the power of men to give him. Oh what a gracious Lord, who desires that people should perform for Him those things for which He holds Himself responsible! Day and night moment by moment, everyone should express to Him their most devoted gratitude.”
Christopher Columbus in his book “Book of Prophecies.”
As quoted in Catherine Millard’s “The Rewriting of America’s History.”
Final Note:
If you want to see one of my favorite inspirational videos made by my good friend Jim Tetlow (who is now with the Lord), you won’t be disappointed when watching even one chapter at this link: click here now.
“Before the mountains were brought forth or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2.
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.