Helpology.org Christian Ministry Aims to ‘Help. Love. Jesus.’,

NASHVILLE, TN (ANS) -- Can a Christian web site help save souls? One site -- www.Helpology.org -- believes it can and is a Christian ministry on a revolutionary mission to lead people to Jesus.

Dave Christian is an award-winning, former U.S. Marine sergeant, Iraq War veteran, and founder ofwww.Helpology.org

The foundational Scripture verse of www.Helpology.org is, “Our help is in the name of the LORD ...” (Psalm 124:8 NKJV). The ministry's mission is to, “Glorify God as we ‘help. love. Jesus,’ and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible by prayerfully answering The Question: Lord Jesus, ‘What's the most helpful & simplest way that works?’ (James 1:5 NKJV).”

The web site lists “FREE Top Help” with many no-cost resources, including: www.211us.org; American HeritageSeries (www.american-heritage-series.com); Apologetics Index (www.apologeticsindex.org); www.BibleGateway.com;www.ChristianAnswers.net; www.FreeBibles.net;www.GenerousLife.org; 

GotQuestions?org (www.gotquestions.org); Helpology TV (http://bit.ly/sRJKfE); JESUS Film Project (www.jesusfilm.org); One Year Bible Online (www.oneyearbibleonline.com); Rock Music Exposed (http://bit.ly/svaSto); Setting Captives Free(www.settingcaptivesfree.com); and Top 100 Tools for Learning 2011 (http://c4lpt.co.uk/top-100-tools-for-learning-2011).

Logo

Helpology features a purposeful, Christ-centered logo - a red, white, and blue heart with a white cross in its center. The heart symbolizes God the Father's love, and the cross is for God the Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, living in our hearts once we're saved by faith in His Holy Name. White is for God the Holy Spirit living in our hearts and surrounding us with His Love. Red is for the Blood of Jesus, which washes away our sins, when we turn from our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ alone. And blue is for the water of baptism, which is an outward sign of an inward change.

The following verses describe the biblical meaning of the logo: “...God has sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts ...” (Galatians 4:6 NKJV). “... the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit ...” (Romans 5:5 NKJV). “...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith ... being rooted and grounded in love ...” (Ephesians 3:17-18 NKJV).

When you donate to the www.Helpology.org ministry, you help create Christian jobs, and 10% of all proceeds are given to various evangelical Christian ministries to help share the Good News of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible to help fulfill the Great Commission commanded by Jesus.

www.Helpology.org was founded by Dave Christian, a Bible-believing, Evangelical Christian. Christian's vision is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by creating the most helpful service of all time. For more information, visit www.helpology.org.

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

‘Just as I Am’

Memories of Billy Graham on the occasion of his 93rd birthday


By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


LAKE FOREST, CA (ANS) -- The date was Thursday, August 22, 1996, and Billy Graham, dressed in blue jeans and a blue denim jacket that had been given to him some 20 years earlier by Johnny Cash, settled into his rocking chair on the porch of his Montreat, North Carolina, log cabin home, as a cat nonchalantly strolled in front him and we all smiled.

Billy Graham on the porch of his home

I had joined a group of journalists for a media event and I was there to ask him some questions for the re-launch of Plain Truth magazine, which had recently changed into an Evangelical publication. We were driven there in a convoy of vehicles through the tiny vacation preserve of Montreat, and up a winding road to a pair of brown metal gates which were quickly opened.


Before the questioning began, Mr. Graham had shown a group of us around his modest 10-room house that he and his wife Ruth had built out of old logs and timber, and I marveled that such a well-known figure lived, along with his wife, Ruth, in such humble surroundings.


Billy began by saying, “We have lived here for most of our married life. We lived down the mountain for three or four years and then Ruth built this shortly after we were married.


“There were two small farms here at the urging of the Mountain Retreat Association. The people [here] grew corn for bootlegging and so they wanted me to have it. We went to the bank and bought whole place for $4,000 -- 150 acres. The FBI came here in the middle fifties when I was getting a lot of threats and so they said I should have a fence around the place. So a Mr. Pugh from Philadelphia built the fence.”


I had heard there was once a sign that warned visitors about the “vicious dogs” let loose at night, and that there was a misspelled sign that was typical of Mr. Graham’s sense of humor which read: “Trespassers will be eaten.” However, I didn’t see any “vicious dogs” or even the famous sign.


A. Larry Ross, Billy Graham’s long serving media man, was in charge of the proceedings and when it came my turn to ask my questions, I began by asking Mr. Graham: “What do you consider the ‘plain truth’ of the Gospel and what are your thoughts on the new millennium?”

Dan Wooding chats with Billy and Ruth Graham after the media event

He replied, “I think the world right now, because of technology, is changing very rapidly. I think the next war will almost be a push-button war; a technological war; and I pray that God will spare us, but if we continue on throughout the world with the wickedness that is prevalent in the world, God may allow us to hurt ourselves or destroy ourselves and the greatest need is repentance of our sins and a turning to God.”


I then said, “So this would be your message to everyone at Charlotte [where he was about to have a crusade] and around that the world, that this is what we need to do [repent and turn to God] before we have a total catastrophe.”


Billy Graham then smiled and said something to me that I will never forget: “You are a good preacher, so why don’t you go ahead...”


Everyone laughed and I still ponder about the time that Billy Graham had told me that I was a “good preacher” but I have never had the courage to include that in my bio.


My start in journalist began with Billy Graham’s newspaper


It was back in 1968 that I got my first job in journalism, and it came about after meeting Dr. J. D. Douglas, the then editor of Billy Graham’s British newspaper, The Christian, who has since passed away. I had been freelancing for the paper for about a year when I heard that he was going to me a speaker at a writer’s conference at Hildenborough Hall, Kent, that was put on by David Winter, a well-known British editor and broadcaster.

Staff of The Christian

So I traveled from my home in Birmingham, England, to pitch him for a job. He sat there quietly as I overwhelmed him with reasons  why he needed to hire me and he finally, in a bid to shut me up, agreed for me to travel to Camden Town to be interviewed by J. Eric Mayer, the deputy editor of The Christian. There Eric gave me a job with this newspaper that the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association had bought.
I will never forget one of my early days at the paper especially when Dr. Douglas called me into his office and asked me to “head off to St. Paul’s Cathedral” to interview Mrs. Coretta Scott King, who was due to speak at her husband’s memorial service there.


It was many months after the murder of her husband on April 4, 1968, when Dr. King was killed by a bullet from the gun of James Earl Ray, as he was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.


We talked in the home of Canon John Collins of St. Paul’s Cathedral just before Mrs. King was about to become the first woman to preach at a statutory service at the massive cathedral.
As I watched her four children scamper around the house -- just like any other children of their age – I thought of the pain they must all have been through.


I looked at Mrs. King and asked if she was worried about suffering the same fate as her husband.


“I have lived with the threat so long now I hardly think about it,” she said her eyes ablaze. “I must do what I must do!”


She glanced across the room at her four children, and added, “My children are with me in this.”
Shortly after the interview, Mrs. King stood in the same carved pulpit in St. Paul's Cathedral where her husband preached five years earlier.


“Many despair at all the evil and unrest and disorder in the world today,” she preached, “but I see a new social order and I see the dawn of a new day.”


Mrs. King continued with the work of her late husband until her death on January 30, 2006 at the age of 78. She worked tirelessly for racial equality after he was assassinated and fought successfully for a national holiday in memory of him. She also founded The King Center in Atlanta to preserve his legacy.


Sadly, after a wonderful year at The Christian where I eventually became its Chief Reporter, the decision was taken to close the paper, and I moved on – into a job with a secular weekly newspaper in London, and from there to two of Britain’s top selling tabloids, the Sunday People and the Sunday Mirror. I also became a London correspondent with the National Enquirer.

Dan chats with Mr. Graham in Germany

Shortly after the closure of The Christian, I blotted my copybook, I thought, for good, when I was invited to special event in London's West End, where Billy was to speak with stars of the various shows after they had closed for the evening.


He strode around the room greeting people and when he came to me, he warmly held out his hand and said, “Hi there. I’m Billy Graham. What is your name?”


Without thinking, I blurted out, “My name is Dan Wooding, Mr. Graham. You may remember that you fired me some months ago when I was with The Christian.”


Billy mumbled something about it being a very "sad affair" and he was sorry that this had happened and then moved on.


My career continued until in 1982, when I moved to Southern California, with my wife Norma, and our two sons, to start a new life across "The Pond" and Norma and I eventually began ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times), as a ministry to help persecuted Christians around the world..


I never dreamed I would ever work with Billy Graham again, especially after my comments to him. But it all changed during a period of my life when I was rather ashamed of my tawdry tabloid career in London’s Fleet Street and my time as a correspondent for the National Enquirer, and I had all but given up on my journalism.


As ASSIST began to grow, I had decided to concentrate on running the ministry. After all, wasn’t that more spiritual than being a journalist? 

Or so I thought at the time!


But it all changed when I received a phone call from A. Larry Ross, Billy Graham’s press officer, in which he said, “Dan, you know that Mr. Graham has been going to Russia for years now.”


“Yes, and we are running a pen pal ministry with new believers there,” I cut in, thinking that he wanted to know more about our Bridge of Friendship Russia program. (This is now being run by ASSIST Canada).


Larry said politely that he thought that was “very interesting” and then added, “Mr. Graham has been invited to Moscow to hold a crusade there. It will be the first time that he can openly invite people to receive Christ.”


He paused for a moment, and then said, “We’d like you to come and join our media team and use your journalistic skills to report on this historic Mission to Moscow.”


I felt all the air being sucked out of my lungs when he then said, “We feel your tabloid skills could be used to portray what is going to happen there. When could you get on a plane to Moscow?”
I stammered my thanks and said that I would be honored to go and so he said arrangements would be made for my air ticket and visa and he would like me there “as soon as possible.”


When I put the receiver down, Norma looked at me in a strange way. 

“What’s up?” she asked. “You have gone as pale as milk.”


“Larry Ross wants me to fly to Moscow to join his media team and use my journalistic skills,” I said trying to take in what was being asked of me. 


I also recalled how, one day after I had moved to America, someone had told me that I really couldn’t write and I believed that. I had figured that my tabloid past had been a complete waste of time and could not be used by the Lord.


Norma smiled and said pointedly, “It’s a good thing that Billy Graham doesn’t know that you can't write….” I smiled weakly in response.

Within a few days, the tickets and the visa had come through and I drove to Los Angeles International Airport to fly to Moscow, via Frankfurt, Germany.


When I arrived on a freezing October day in 1992, I was surprised to be asked to lead the morning Bible study for the Billy Graham team, and then for three wonderful weeks, I had the privilege of meeting with Mr. Graham and working with Larry Ross on the many news releases about what I called “A Miracle in Moscow.”

The media team in Moscow

Mr. Graham’s historic Moscow crusade was held in the indoor Olympic Stadium which, twelve years earlier, had been the site of the Moscow Olympic Games that the United States had boycotted, was quite incredible.


What a crusade it was to report on! Each night eager Muscovites filled the 38,000-seat stadium to hear Billy. On the first evening inquirers coming forward signed 10,641 cards of commitment; on the second evening 12,628 signed. On the closing Sunday afternoon 50,000 persons had jammed into the stadium, and apparently the fire people didn’t limit them. Another 30,000 stood outside in the freezing cold where a huge television screen with audio echoed what was happening inside.


The number of decision cards signed was 19,417.


When I got home, I then knew that I had to start up my journalistic career and so I began the ASSIST News Service as a first step.


I had finally realized that God can use even an ex-tabloid journalist to spread the word about what He is doing in His World.


And it all began with a phone call, and three incredible weeks in the Russian capital with an American evangelist. It truly was “A Miracle in Moscow.”


Following this, I had the opportunity to work again with Larry Ross on other Billy Graham’s crusades in Germany and Puerto Rico and attending the funerals of Pat Nixon and a year later, Richard Nixon and talking with Mr. Graham after them. He had preached at both funeral services.


I also wrote the cover story about Billy and Franklin Graham for the Saturday Evening Post.
Now, on Monday, November 7, 2011, Billy Graham turns 93, and this also followed the release of his 30th book, “Nearing Home,” through which he shares personal autobiographical reflections and wisdom on growing old.


“All my life I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in my latter years,” Mr. Graham wrote. “I wanted to share some of the things I have learned about this stage in life with others, as the aging process is something most of us will experience.”


While working on the book consumed much of his focus during the previous year, Mr. Graham still found time to spend with family members at his home on Montreat, NC, sharing his life and thoughts with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as he encourages others to do with their own families.


All, I can say is “Happy Birthday Billy Graham. You are truly the real thing and a true follower and ambassador for Jesus Christ.”


Note to the broadcast media from Dan Wooding. I would be happy to talk on air about my experiences with Billy Graham on the occasion of his 93rd birthday. Just send me an e-mail atassistnews@aol.com.

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Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.

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The Burning Bush catches fire

Mission Network News: "USA (STM/MNN) ― Centuries ago, the hearth was the place where the family congregated for light, warmth and food. It has come to represent the status of a man's home, family and health.

Evangelist Sammy Tippit says for a man, these are the most valuable items he possesses. Not only does he need to protect them, but also to nurture them so that he can experience the quality of life that God intended."

Read more...

Another's Faith Becomes Their Own

After witnessing the strong devotion others have for Jesus, many people have come to know firsthand the amazing grace and love found in Christ.

Experiencing a God who Changes Everything

Shaunak Gupta heard about Jesus Christ when he was just a boy, but the seeds of faith didn’t take root in his heart until he was grown and married.

After witnessing a miraculous healing upon his mother, Shaunak finally started to understand Christ. When he experienced healing for himself, after a developing pain in his leg suddenly vanished, Shaunak knew the God he heard about as a child was truly the real God. He decided then to commit his life to live for Christ.

His wife, Guna, grew up in the traditional faith and had never even heard about Christ. Jesus was foreign to her. But as she watched her husband pour over Scripture and draw closer to God in his prayer life, things started to change in their family—and Guna took notice.

Soon, the values and teachings of the Christian faith became deeply embedded within her. She found herself praying to Jesus and was surprised to see herself changing.

“There was complete peace and serenity in my family,” she said. “Only the true living God could bring about these changes.”

Witnessing the Lord’s provision and the way He kept their family healthy and away from harm helped solidify Guna’s faith in Christ. She and Shaunak helped cultivate the faith within their own children, and they, too, are now active members in a local Gospel for Asia-supported missionary’s church.

A Perplexing Devotion

In a similar way, Devansh Singh watched as his son’s wife, Sadaf, faithfully prayed to Jesus Christ. He wasn’t a believer and would only pray to his gods and goddesses during certain months out of the year. But Sadaf prayed for everything. It didn’t matter what time of year it was, Sadaf constantly sought the face of her God.

This sort of lifestyle caught Devansh off guard; he was astonished yet perplexed by her devotion. Soon, her love for Christ began to rub off on her father-in-law, and he slowly began praying to Jesus.

After noticing how the Lord answered his prayers, Devansh set his faith completely on Christ and began a new chapter in his life.

Through his newly found relationship with Jesus, more family members began to surrender their lives to Christ. Now, he, Sadaf and the rest of their family worship the Lord in the local GFA-supported church.

Leading by Example

Living in a culture resistant to the Good News of Christ can make it difficult for missionaries to be effective in sharing the love of Christ. But, just like in the life of Shaunak and Sadaf, one of the greatest ways to reach people comes when believers live out their faith.

• Two sisters’ sudden change in demeanor surprises their mother.

A Professor Professes Christ in Libya

By Wayne Pederson
Special to ASSIST News Service


COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (ANS) -- As I've been watching the incredible events in Libya, I've been thinking about an amazing man I met last year.

The uprising in Libya

He was a university professor in Libya. Even more amazing, he was a devout follower of Jesus and a university professor in Libya. Amazing, because by his estimate, there are only about 4,500 Christian believers in Libya. Most Christians have been either deported or put in prison.

95% of Libyans will never meet a real follower of Jesus. So as a Christian professor, he was a bit of an oddity among students and faculty.

Most people in that part of the world get their impression of Americans from American television and movies, such as Baywatch and Dallas. They think most Americans are rich, sex-obsessed alcoholics. And their impression is that American and Christian are synonymous.

Well, when the authorities discovered that my newfound friend was a Christian, he was immediately removed from his faculty position and plans were made for his deportation.

Cast of Friends

His loyal students and faculty friends, knowing he was a Christian, wanted to give him a Christian gift as a going away present. What do you give a Christian? Something American, right? They presented him with a DVD set of the TV series, Friends.

We chuckle at the irony, but it's really sad. Much of the world thinks of Christianity as an American religion. And they associate Christianity with American culture, which is, this is an understatement, greatly flawed.

So how can we effectively communicate Christ when our image is so tragically associated with Hollywood. We need to present Jesus of Nazareth, a mid-Eastern man who changed, and is changing, the world.

As long as we associate Jesus with American entertainment, or American politics, we create barriers to the real Jesus. Jesus is the God of the nations. The Savior of the world

Hopefully with the change in government, followers of Jesus will have freedom to live out their lives as Jesus commanded. But whatever happens politically, we know that in the end, Jesus prevails. Every tongue, every tribe, every nation, will worship and confess that He is Lord!

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Wayne Pederson is the President of HCJB Global (www.hcjb.org). As a longtime media professional, Wayne Pederson has a passion for reaching the lost through technology tools. In past roles, Wayne focused on media ministry in local communities through his years with Northwestern College Radio and Moody Broadcasting. He has also taken a national stage, serving with National Religious Broadcasters, Christian Music Broadcasters and Mission America. Wayne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Radio/TV Speech from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Theology from Free Lutheran Theological Seminary in Minneapolis. He has served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern College and Bethel University. Wayne is a founding member of Need Him Ministries and serves on the board of National Religious Broadcasters. Wayne is married to Norma Pederson, and together they minister around the world to HCJB Global staff and partners. Wayne and Norma have two children, Christy and Michelle. T hey also are proud to have nine grandchildren. His e-mail address is: wpederson@hcjb.org

Things a Dad Would Do: Giving Gang Members a Hope and a Future

After serving more than three years in the California Youth Authority (a state jail for youth), Maravilla tired of gangs and crime. Christian counselors at Hope Now helped Maravilla find a job. On June 29, at a busy street corner near Fresno’s juvenile detention center, I watched Maravilla spot two teenage boys buying drugs from a local dealer on a weekday morning. He hopped out of the van—and extended a Hope Now for Youth card.


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Students Bring Hope to Those in Despair

Ukraine (MNN) ― The city of Donetsk, Ukraine is home to more than four million people. It was once one of the crown jewels of the country, under communism.
During that time, both Donetsk and Kiev were well-maintained to show off communism's success stories to dignitaries. However, after communism fell, so did the city. Many people in Donetsk live well below the poverty line, and unemployment in the region has reached catastrophic levels.
The economic crisis was compounded by rampant alcohol and drug abuse which made child neglect and abandonment in the region skyrocket. The evidence is everywhere. Grocery store shelves show that alcohol is readily available, and kiosks line the streets, filled with similar wares. The resulting family breakdown accounts for the high number of children in state and private orphanages.
Russian Ministries School Without Walls (SWW) students want to counter that hopeless message. They're trying to muster their resources in order to open a second rehab center for drug addicts and alcoholics.
The SWW training equips future leaders for evangelism and church-planting-- the base of Russian Ministries programs and services. It's also the largest network of non-formal schools in the former Soviet Union (FSU), with 1,956 students studying in 65 locations.
Where the two-year SWW program has finished, local churches have continued instruction. Graduates create ways for the local church to implement more sacrificial forms of ministry. They help organize and run evangelistic camps for children and youth and participate in social projects like special rehabilitation houses.
Their goal is to see Donetsk restored to its former glory, but this time, with an eternal perspective.