Jacque & Nick Economo Are Baptized (3rd & 4th from left)
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call. Acts 2:39
When Peter proclaimed God’s promise of salvation “for all who are far off” little did he know how many women would be rejoicing at the prospect of claiming this promise nearly 2,000 years later. It is exciting to see how God is working to bring the message to new women through our Women’s Day gatherings. This year the Chicago International Christian Church will sponsor our very first Women’s Day.
Earlier in March, I had the opportunity to speak in Los Angeles at the City of Angels International Christian Church for their 2008 Women’s Day. The theme of the event was “The Real Secret.” In Philippians 4:13 Paul shares the life-transforming secret of knowing Jesus – this is Paul’s secret to having contentment and strength regardless of his circumstances.
In Acts 17 Paul shares the message of knowing Jesus with prominent women in two different cities. The prominent women who seem to have everything quickly become believers because the message about Jesus is absolutely irresistible to them. Without the messengers these women would not have had the opportunity to hear the life-saving message about Jesus. As women we do not get to choose who will bring us the message about Jesus but we do get to decide how we will respond to this life-giving message.
A couple of months ago I started to get phone calls from Sarah Travis. Sarah is a member of our sister congregation in Portland, OR. She shared with me how she had been studying the Bible with her best friend Jacque Economo who lived in Illinois. Jacque turned around and began sharing what she was learning with her husband Nick. What a great reunion took place in Chicago on the day I flew back from LA to hear that Sarah had traveled from Portland to baptize her best friend into Christ. Her husband Nick was also baptized that day.
At one point when Valerie Williams and I were studying the Bible with Jacque I felt it was important to share how God had led us to Chicago and why after 25 years we were no longer a part of the ICOC fellowship of churches. Thirty years ago what is now the ICOC became an offshoot of the mainline churches of Christ, and today the International Christian churches are an offshoot of the ICOC fellowship of churches. While I do not think it is an issue of salvation to be affiliated with any of these churches, I do believe it is both necessary and inevitable for these “offshoots” to occur so that more people can be saved.
Valerie later filled me in on what this recent church history really meant to Jacque – very little at all. Nothing. Nada. Nil. Honestly I had felt the same way when Lisa Johnson studied the Bible with me back in 1980. I had very little interest in church history at that time. What was most important and crucial was simply the message about Jesus, how he was crucified and how I was going to respond. This message has a proven track record to change lives. When people get baptized, they begin a new life with Christ and as they grow and humble themselves to obey the teachings of Jesus taught by other disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) even more transformation takes place. This is evident in the Chemical Recovery (CR) ministry.
Lisa Fellis (right) Graduates From Chemical Recovery Ministry
In Chicago, Pat and Pam Boea powerfully lead this ministry which uses the teachings of Jesus to help people learn how to overcome their addictions and the sinful patterns of thinking associated with the use of such chemical substances. Recently, the entire church celebrated as Lisa Fellis became the very first graduate of our new CR ministry. Her graduation from CR represents progress and repentance in her thinking toward substances that she no longer needs to depend on now that she knows Jesus as her source of true strength (Philippians 4:13).
The message about Jesus is clear and continues to change the lives of women all over the world. The details of church history and how churches and offshoots of churches are inevitable are simply not important to most women. All of these details can simply seem like a big dramatic mess. In Acts 17, as the prominent women became believers I’m sure that the way they saw their messengers being treated was nothing short of a great mess! Imagine the drama of a Christian home being raided, of Jason being dragged out, of Paul being driven away to a different city and then hearing the stories of men and women being persecuted, burned alive, flogged and beaten.
Not only did the prominent women receive salvation but they immediately became a part of the church’s persecutions, too (Mark 10:27). God never gives us more than we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13), and persecution never stopped even the most prominent of women from joining the family of believers in the first century or today. I am thankful for all the bold and courageous women who came before me and for those whose lives serve as great examples today.
Elaine Morris (2nd from left) Is Restored To God
Upon my return from L.A., it was equally exciting to hear that Elaine Morris had been restored that same day. I have very much enjoyed getting to know her over the past few weeks, and I know that God is going to use her in a powerful way. Pray that God continues to use our relationships with other women and Women’s Days as tools to help them realize the promise of salvation for themselves and their children.
Theresa Broom
Categories: Articles, Women's Ministry
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