Webinar Report from Toledo, Ohio

 
On Aug 15, 2010, at 6:20 PM, Don Roork wrote: 
 Dear Mike and Vernon,  Pam and I want to again express our sincere appreciation to both of you for your diligent service to the Body of Christ in presenting the recent Freedom From Addiction “Advanced” and “Basic” webinars.  The training you gave us was absolutely vital in helping us to prepare and present the material in a Sunday School class at Calvary Assembly of God church, and the Lord tremendously blessed the people attending class. Special thanks to Brian Westphalen from Freedom in Christ Ministries for suggesting we “contact Mike Quarles” when we asked him for help on leading a class on freedom from addiction.  This was truly a “God thing!”   Below are some highlights and challenges:  HIGHLIGHTS ·         The class schedule is attached ·        Our counseling Pastor came into the class once and covered “Addiction…Idolatry of the Heart.” ·         49 different people came to class, and our average attendance was 26. ·         We scanned some of the “Helicopter View” illustrations from Bill Gillham’s book “Lifetime Guarantee” and “What God Wishes Christians Knew About Christianity” that have been very meaningful to me in illustrating how we’ve been crucified in Christ and have become new creatures in Christ Jesus. ·         The class evaluations overwhelmingly gave appreciation for the PowerPoint slides and Biblical truth presented.  I’m quite certain many of the class attendees had not heard the message of grace presented as the material and webinars did so clearly.  The PowerPoint slides are terrific! ·         We had a great overall response! ·         A godly Christian couple, helped us throughout the summer leading the classes when we were out of town and providing support. ·         We handed out Vernon’s FreeNHim.org “In Adam,” “ Setting Your Mind,” and “Battle Blueprint” cards as rewards for attendance.  We “bribed” people today - that in order to get Vernon’s “Battle Blueprint” card, they had to complete the class evaluation (see attached). ·         Pam prepared Tombstone cards “Here Lies the Old ______” with scriptures to help class members remember that they are new creatures in Christ.· We recorded the webinars on our Olympus digital recorder (hope this is OK ) and then listened to them again before presenting each class.  Hearing Mike explain the slides a second time was really helpful!  Vernon’s comments were also supportive!  The Q & A was also useful ·         We met every other Wednesday night to add to the material presented on Sunday.  Many more women came on Wednesday night than men. ·  We could tell all kinds of stories. o   One woman with an alcohol addiction now has her kids back living with her. o   Over and over again, we heard testimonies that the message of being “dead to sin and alive to God and a new creature in Christ “ was setting people free. o   People are asking “Will this class be held again?”   CHALLENGES ·         We needed more time to discuss the material in that our Sunday School class is only 50 minutes.  A longer Sunday School class time would have helped us to not feel so rushed, and would have left more time for discussion. ·         Sadly, there was little time to have personal one on one discussions. ·         I felt the need, whether right or wrong, to somehow tie all the material together and provide a “Biblical thinking process” for people to use as a tool to believe the truth and win the battle in their minds.  We did walk attendees through Vernon’s “Setting Your Mind” card for this and also just walked people through key workbook pages and Romans 6 verse by verse in an effort to give a simple thinking process of Biblical truth for overcoming strongholds of addiction.  Lord willing, we’ll be covering another Freedom in Christ class in the future and will be able to walk people through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. ·         Four or five people mentioned in their evaluations that they wanted to have one on one counseling.  We don’t know how we’re going to handle this just yet with the pressure of our schedules.  Maybe we should just walk these people through the “Steps” one by one? ·         It is hard to measure the extent to which people had been set free from their addictions because we just haven’t had time for a lot of one on one discussions.  We do know that God’s Word won’t return void, and we did get many positive testimonies at the end of class today and throughout the summer.  ·         Pam and I are glad the class is over. We’ve both gone through the workbook over the past three and a half months, and as you know, it is “intense” to get through the material.  When people ask me how I’m doing I say, “I’m immersed in addiction” – but the Biblical truth has been glorious and has certainly given us a new measure of freedom!!   Mike and Vernon, thank you again for your ministry!!  The webinars were terrific and the Freedom From Addiction book, workbook and PowerPoint slides were invaluable and life changing.  After reading through this, we welcome your suggestions on how we might be more effective the next time we present the material.  Now that we’ve finished the class, I’ll now be taking devotional time to enjoy Ralph Harris’s book “Better Off Than You Think.”   May the Lord continue to use you both!!   Love in Christ,   Don and Pam Roork Toledo, Ohio   Would you recommend this class to your friends or family members? Why or why not? • Yes • Yes, I have already. • Yes, to receive freedom, peace, joy, LIFE in Jesus. • Yes, I have to my family. • Absolutely!!! This would be great even for those who don’t realize they have addictions. • Yes, I would, but if they aren’t ready to see what’s going on they won’t listen. • Yes, because if you listen you learn a lot. • Yes, because I believe they would find the answers they are looking for. • Yes, because I believe it helped me. • Yes, because of the truths learned. It is freedom for someone to know that who they are is not an addict in Christ. • Yes, this class is crucial to spiritual growth! • Yes, because battling the oppression of the world, flesh and Satan is the #1 reason that the church and saints are so defeated all the time. This information is crucial to a saint’s discipleship. The bible study of Romans chapter 6 was worth it. • Yes, everyone needs to understand how Christ can set you free. • Yes. • Yes, there is freedom and revelation of one’s self by God’s Holy Spirit. • Yes, it is full of truth and motivates you and gives you more opportunity to seek Him. Personal Testimony • This is the most relevant Sunday School class I have attended in 30 years. Most people battle addiction or fear or depression but have no place to speak about this and no teaching on these topics in church. The answer is to meditate and confess the truth of God’s Word and to deny the lies of the enemy. This class is giving me a better mental outlook and hope. Please continue this teaching. Thank you! • This is the most learning tool that I have ever attended. I can review and renew my life by reviewing past and understanding why I did things to myself. God has opened my eyes and my heart to the truth. I have become stronger in what I believe. I understand more now then I ever did before about the truth in God’s word. • I did not complete all the lessons, but did try to make all the classes and the special Wednesday night class. Over the time, the Lord helped me realize who I am in Christ and maintain that thought over the time from (?) class. I’ve seen the most important change in my relationship with my daughter. I was angry, tired of the problems and was not realizing who she also was in Christ. The Lord has helped me to soften my tone and voice and speak encouraging words to uplift. This past week marked a turning point in our relationship. A very small victory but the beginning. She is in church today and that is a milestone. They have not been here all summer. Praise God! - http://FreeNHim.org/shapeimage_1_link_0