3ABN had an interesting show that I tuned-in to, earlier today. The feature was an interview with one of the organizers of the Adventist ARME ( pronounced "army" ) program --essentially part Bible camp, part revival, and part Chatauqua. Adult believers of any age attend a week-long "Bible boot camp" where what is taught is how to apply Bible lessons to real-life organizing for one's faith. Sounds like the Adventists have their act together ; at least from the sound of it, the program works. . Of course, some of the attendees have kids. No problem. Bring them with you. There is a parallel "Heir Force" camp for the younger set, also with the goal of teaching the Bible and inner meaning for one's self, and teaching how to use the Bible in witnessing for Christ. . I'm not much for Adventist theology but am impressed at how they have developed a successful "educational" program. . Billy . . . . ______________________________ ArmeBibleCamp.com . . ARME Strategy . Mission: . ARME is dedicated to “Arming” God’s soldiers and seeking to bring about revival and reformation in four ways: By bringing people back to deep personal time in the Word, by bringing people back to their knees in prayer – individually and corporately, by a re-emphasis on God’s call to health of mind, body, and spirit, and lastly by equipping people through the power of the Holy Spirit to move forward in active evangelism in all areas of personal and public life. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. ” Luke 2:52 Also, based on Ephesians 6:10-11 and 2 Tim 2:15, ARME is made up of two words and stands for “ARM-ME with the armor of God that I (each of us individually) may experience a true Biblical revival and reformation founded upon a correct interpretation of scriptures and a deep genuine relationship with Christ.” “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Eph 6:10,11 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 MOTTO: Forward on our knees with Bible in arms! GOALS: 1. To host ARME Bible Camps or _Special Ops_ (http://www.armeministries.com/soldiers-in-service/) programs year round nationally and internationally, making this training feasible and accessible to thousands, thus preparing God’s people personally for His soon return. 2. To enlist soldiers to join the _Prayer Force_ (http://www.armeministries.com/soldiers-of-prayer/) , thus blanketing our world with united prayer, which will help usher in the Latter Rain through the power of the Holy Spirit. 3. To promote and support all aspects of the Biblical principles of the Seventh-day Adventist church (three angels messages, healthy lifestyle, medical missions, etc.) and their furtherance in the lives of God’s people – individually and corporately. 4. To inspire God’s people to band together in small _“Units”_ (http://www.armeministries.com/a-units/) to work in one-accord, practically and effectively in soul-winning and evangelism…and to implement strategies for outreach on a global level that will simultaneously affect thousands. 5. To work in unity and collaboration with the SDA church, and to support other active ministries in good standing with the SDA church, finishing the work and drawing souls to the eternal King and Commander of Heaven. . • An unwavering stand upon the Scripture as the foundation and authoritative test of all doctrines and teachings. “If they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isa. 8:20 • A respect for the Spirit of Prophecy as a divinely inspired source of instruction, comfort, and warning for our lives today. “Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” II Chron. 20:20 • A dependence upon God through Prayer as it is only through earnest prayer that we will experience the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives. “ How much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Luke 11:13 • A daily priority to be surrendered and ARMed with time in prayer and in God’s Word. “Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand.” Eph. 6:11 • A quest for biblical holiness of the inner life and purity of heart through Christ as it’s only in the heart, where only God can see, that real victories in our lives are won. It’s time we stop pretending to be Christians. We need to be Christians from the inside out, and we can only do this through Christ. “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” I Sam. 16:7 • An active ministry of evangelism and service for lost mankind as Christ has left us His example in working with others. Not for Himself, but for others He lived and thought and prayed. Matt. 20:28 • An attitude of joy & patience in all circumstances: For as we see the magnitude of God’s sacrifice for us, we realize that the discomforts, cramped quarters, irritations and other trials that we face here on this earth (or in ARME Bible boot camp) are actually a privilege to endure for Him. “ Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations…For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Jam. 1:2 & Phil. 4:11 • And finally, an attitude of seeking God’s glory & personal excellence in all that we do. We believe that we should give God our best in worship, study, work, in how we interact with our loved ones, and in how we care for His temple – our body: “Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do ALL to the glory of God.” I Cor. 10:31 ARME Ministries, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. While ARME embraces attendees of all faiths, ARME is a member of ASI (Adventist-laymen’s Services & Industries), and is a actively supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We promote the _Revival and Reformation_ (http://www.revivalandreformation.org/assets/41921) initiatives of the church, and are seeking to help lay the ground work for the Latter Rain to fall. History of Arme In the dark ages, people longed to have the freedom to study the Bible for themselves. They longed to be free to meet and publicly pray. As a result of the Reformation they finally had this privilege. However, many in Christianity and our church today have taken this freedom for granted and have grown passive spiritually. ARME Bible Camp was founded to help rekindle this lost passion for God’s Word and for prayer. In the beginning… (http://www.armeministries.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ivorbibleflames.jpg) It all began with a dream that God planted in Pastor Myers’ heart…a dream that began to take seed with one man’s fervent plea for personal mentoring in Bible study. This young man came to the Myers and asked if he could be allowed to come live in their home for a summer, only a summer, so that he could learn how Pastor Myers studied the Bible. Well, this wasn’t feasible or practical at the time…but it planted a seed…a seed that grew into a greater desire within Myers heart to start a Bible Study Training program or school. (By the way, for those that don’t know, Pastor Myers, along with his wife Atonte, are the founders of _Power of the Lamb Ministries_ (http://www.powerofthelamb.com/) , and travel worldwide sharing what God’s power has done in their lives. They have an amazing testimony, so if you haven’t heard it, you need to visit their personal ministry and learn more!) So the story continues. Not long after this man had approached Pastor Myers asking for mentoring, Pastor Myers shared his dream with another ministry minded professional. God was already at work, orchestrating events. During GYC 2008, with the help of this enthusiastic new friend (who happened to be Calvin Kim), a team of ministry-minded young professionals were brought together. They excitedly adopted Pastor Myers’ dream and vision and began developing just such a program: A short training program that would make Bible study even more practical and take people even deeper into the Word of God. (http://www.armeministries.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ARMEBoard2500px.jpg) (http://www.armeministries.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ARMEBoard2500px.jpg) There’s an old Chinese proverb that says: “Give a man a fish; feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for lifetime.” We now have a new ARME proverb. It goes like this: “Give a man a sermon; Feed him for a day. Teach a man to study; Feed him for a lifetime.” While we believe in the need for powerful preaching, in addition to giving people inspiration from the Bible, we wanted to really focus on teaching people how to find the inspiration for themselves in the Bible! ARME comes from the words ARM-ME, and this signifies how the mission will be accomplished: by “arming” and “equipping” each individual with practical tools necessary for deep Bible study and a powerful devotional life. Branches of ARME Develop As time has gone on, it’s become very obvious that God’s plans are even broader than our own, and He wants to not only equip men and woman for spiritual battle, but He wants to strengthen them for service. In addition to the emphasis on Bible study and united prayer, two more branches have been added to the ARME Ministry: MASH helps restore God’s call to biblical health of body and lifestyle. And Special Ops, through the A-Units Basic Training Program, Mini-Revivals, and more gives people tools to take home and be effective in personal evangelism; While, in the beginning, the team was completely novice at hosting large events, God has blessed and each camp seems to get more powerful and impacting. As we’ve watched people fall more in love with Jesus through His Word and prayer…we’ve been almost speechless at the beautiful ways we’ve seen God working in the lives of thousands of people, both young and old. Time and time again we’ve seen success when we worried there would be failure. We’ ve seen miracles when we just expected ordinary. God has been growing our faith, and we’ve been humbled, as we’ve been reminded that this isn’t about us, it’s about what the Holy Spirit is doing with all those that are truly seeking Him…and all those that are digging deep into His Word. As those that attend ARME have realized (and you really have to EXPERIENCE it for yourself to believe it), united prayer has been the power behind the effectiveness of this training program. (Read more about this on our Prayer Ministry page!) The Growing ARME Family We know Jesus is coming back soon, and we are asking for rain…the Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit, to enable us to finish the work! With this goal in mind, our prayer is to see God’s people unified, and united. And the key is unity with Christ. As inspiration writes: “The cause of division and discord in families and in the church [and it’ s ministries] is separation from Christ. To come near to Christ is to come near to one another. The secret of true unity in the church and in the family is not diplomacy, not management, not a superhuman effort to overcome difficulties—though there will be much of this to do—but union with Christ.” As we have sought unity in Christ, our ARME staff (mostly volunteer) have become an inseparable family. This is the spirit that we try to incorporate into every ARME Bible Camp. Since we are going to be “family” for eternity, we believe that we might as well start living like it now. One of the comments we frequently hear at camp is “This is a taste of heaven! We invite you to join us in praying for the Latter Rain, and if you can, join us as family for one of our future events as we press forward together, Forward on our Knees, Bible in Hand!
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