Across America: City #33

The Atlanta Police Department protects the 33rd largest city in America. This week we ask you to pray for the Atlanta Police Department and for Chief Richard Pennington.For the next 33 weeks Ten-Four Ministries will be contacting the police chiefs in the largest 50 cities in America and presenting them with The Gospel. This is an ongoing project called The Across America Project.

John Piper - Preach The Gospel

West Virginia State Police Donate Vests

The West Virginia State Police has donated more than 150 used bulletproof vests to a missionary in Oklahoma that will ship the vests to police departments across the country and around the world that are in need of the life-saving equipment.

By Kathryn Gregory
Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State Police has donated more than 150 used bulletproof vests to a missionary in Oklahoma that will ship the vests to police departments across the country and around the world that are in need of the life-saving equipment.

The Armor for God Project, which is run by Ten-Four Ministries, collects donated vests with expired warranties, refurbishes them and sends them to police departments that need them.

The State Police sent the Armor for God project 165 vests, 40 of them almost brand new and barely used by the officers they were issued too.

"Many of our officers who get a vest are detectives or work in headquarters and may not need the vest every day," said State Police spokesman Sgt. Michael Baylous.

Even if the vests are not worn often, police still get rid of them when the warranty expires after five years.

"The way we look at it, even though the warranty is expired, having a vest versus not having one increases the likelihood of survival," Baylous said.

"For the companies' liability, they put a warranty on the vest, but chances are probably, yes, that they will still continue to function even after that first five years."

When a vest is donated to the Armor For God project, the sending department signs a release form removing any liability it might have if the vests do not function properly.

The Armor for God Project began in 2008 after Muscle Shoals, Ala., police Lt. Clint Reck did some work in the Philippines and realized that many of the officers there did not have bulletproof vests.

Reck teamed up with his home church and sent 24 used vests to the Philippine National Police. The day after the vests were shipped to the station in the Philippines, an officer wearing one was shot point blank in the chest.

"A vest from small-town Alabama saved his life," said Capt. Travis Yates, Ten-Four Ministries' director and a police officer in Tulsa, Okla.

After hearing about the project, the West Virginia State Police decided to donate its used vests instead of dumping them in a landfill or sending them to state surplus for re-sale, which they have done in the past.

"This option sounded like a fantastic idea," Baylous said. "There are officers out there who don't have vests and need them. This is an opportunity for them to get the level of protection they need to perform their duties."

The vests could end up in small-town America, or in another country. When the project originally started, officers were not considering sending the vests to officers in America because they didn't realize there was a need for the vests in this country.

"We're the wealthiest country in the world and we didn't think there were officers here who weren't getting the proper equipment," Yates said.

The basic premise of the project now is to outfit every police department in the United States with vests if they can't afford them, Yates said. The project sends about three or four vests out a week.

So far, the ministry has faced only one problem, and that is officers wondering what the catch is.

"We have people who will ask us if we are really donating vests that cost $500 to $1,000 each for free to other people," Yates said.

But that is exactly what the organization does. Any money that the group receives in donations goes to the shipping and refurbishment of the vests.

Since it's connected directly with the Yates' ministry, it's a nonprofit organization.

The fact that the West Virginia State Police got on board might help other departments see that the organization isn't after anything else, Yates said.

"The West Virginia State Police is such a large organization, and when other departments see how much they have helped us out, it will put more people at ease for donations," he said.

In addition to shipping the vests around the globe, Ten-Four Ministries serves as spiritual support for law enforcement, including counseling services and providing basic needs and equipment to officers around the world.

"Along with these vests, those receiving them will get something much more important. The key to everlasting life. As these vests are given to those that need them to stay alive, pastors and missionaries we partner with present The Gospel of Jesus Christ to those officers," it says on the Web site.

However, the State Police did not become involved with the group for its religious ties.

"Personally, and not as a police spokesman, I think it's great if they are spreading the good news, but that is not why the department became involved in this," Baylous said. "We became involved because we want to assist our law enforcement brothers and sisters."

Courtesy: The Charleston Gazette, Original Link

Across America: City #34

The Albuquerque Police Department protects the 34th largest city in America. This week we ask you to pray for the Albuquerque Police Department and for Chief Ray Schultz.
For the next 33 weeks Ten-Four Ministries will be contacting the police chiefs in the largest 50 cities in America and presenting them with The Gospel. This is an ongoing project called The Across America Project.

Project Providing Protection For Officers

MUSCLE SHOALS - Muscle Shoals police Lt. Clint Reck expressed amazement as he looked at boxes filled with bullet-proof vests lining the floor and covering several tables - all of which will be heading to the Armor of God project.

"We started this in February, and I don't think anyone could have imagined it would have grown like it has," Reck said.

The project began in 2008 as Reck worked with his church, Parkway Baptist, of Tuscumbia, the city and the police department to send 24 used ballistic vests to the Philippine National Police Department in Manila. He soon realized that thousands of law enforcement personnel in the United States and worldwide are in need of bullet-proof vests. Reck and Ray Mahan, another member of the church, teamed with Capt. Travis Yates, of the Tulsa Police Department in Oklahoma, to form the Armor of God project.

"It started by word of mouth and people got excited about this and started getting involved," Mahan said. "We have had contacts one way or another from coast to coast."

Reck said the project has received donations of used vests from several agencies nationwide and daily receives calls from individuals or other departments wanting to participate. Donated vests, totaling more than 300 to date, have come from Alabama, New York, Georgia and West Virginia.

He said usually the only thing wrong with the vests donated to the project is that the warranty has expired.

"Tests have shown that the vests are good and continue to provide protection for up to 10 years or longer," he said. "Ideally, we wish every officer in every department could have a new vest. They are expensive, costing from $500 to $1,000. So that's not the case.

"When you're not wearing anything, the next best thing for an officer is to have these used ones," he said.

Used vests are cleaned, inspected and packaged to be shipped. Some vests that are out of warranty have never been worn. Reck said only sworn, certified officers can receive the vests. He verifies each request.

"I will not send anyone anything that I wouldn't wear," Reck said.

He said plans are to send more vests to the Philippines and give Northwest-Shoals Community College 12 vests. Officials with the Colbert-Lauderdale Baptist Association want to take vests with them when they take their mission trip to Honduras, he said.

Mahan said he constantly receives requests for information about the project.

"Almost every time I check my e-mail, I look at the inbox and there's a request or a donation," he said.

Reck said the first request was from a police officer's fiancee in upstate New York.

"She said the department he worked at was small and couldn't provide vests," Reck said. "She said he couldn't afford one and she was worried about his safety. We sent a vest the next day."

He said they have received e-mails from officers who say the vests "help their wives sleep better at night."

"When you give something to someone who can use it and know that it could save their life, it gives us a blessing," Mahan said.

Each vest is accompanied by a pamphlet about the Armor of God project and the gospel. "The individuals who get the free vests are also going to hear about the free gift of salvation," he said. "This project was put together with the help of the Lord, and through the help of the Lord, we've been able to help others."

Courtesy: Times Daily, Original Link

Lt. Reck Interviews Officer Saved

Last week we listed a video that identified the Philippine National Officer whose life was saved after he received a vest from The Armor Of God Project.

A few weeks ago, Muscle Shoals Police Lt. Clint Reck, the co-founder of the project went to the Philippines on a mission trip. He was able to meet the officer and recorded the interview below. What the video does not show is that after the interview, the officer stood up with tears in his eyes and gave Clint his badge as a symbol of thanks for what he and the Armor of God project did for him. In his discussions and in front of many officers, Clint did what this project is really about. He procaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Armor of God Project - Media Coverage

The Armor of God Project has been very busy in the last few weeks and it looks like God will permit us to continue this important project into the future. We are not only providing ballistic vests free of charge to officers that need them but we are giving them something, the only thing, that can really truly save their life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is a list of media reports on the project.

Across America - City #35

The Fresno Police Department protects the 35th largest city in America. This week we ask you to pray for the Fresno Police Department and for Chief Jerry Dyer.
For the next 34 weeks Ten-Four Ministries will be contacting the police chiefs in the largest 50 cities in America and presenting them with The Gospel. This is an ongoing project called The Across America Project.

Open-Air Preaching For LAPD

Death Is Not Dying

If you have not seen this video of a talk given by Rachel Barkley then I encourage you to watch it. Rachel is a wife and mother who is dying of cancer. The video is 55 minutes long but I promise you that it will be 55 minutes that you will not forget. It is a wonderful testimony for the Gospel and the sufficiency of God's grace in His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is obvious from Rachel's testimony and her book list that she has been sitting at the feet of some of the Lord's most faithful teachers.

You can watch the video here.

Treasuring Him

Meet The Officer Saved - Armor of God Project

We have often cited the first group of bullet-proof vests that were given out in the Armor of God Project and the Officer whose life was saved because he was wearing the vest. That officer has now been identified as Philippine Police Inpector Ricardo Dalmacia. Inspector Dalmacia recently spoke with us and we will soon have that interview online.

For now, we would like you to see the below video that has Inspector Dalmacia made with Task Force Tagaligtas, the Philippine Ministry that we partered with and have donated over 100 vests to date. The video is an overall promotion of the Philippine ministry but Inspector Dalmacia appears about two minutes into the video.

Go

"If you are ever going to be of any use in missions, it is because God is going to take you, and He is going to be faithful to break you, into a million pieces, and grind you into a weakness that you did not even know existed, and the greater the depth of that weakness and that brokenness, the more you will see His power. There are no great men and women of God. There are only tiny, broken, feeble weak men of a great and merciful God." – Paul Washer

Give Us Men Who Know The Truth

After 15 years, Haskell officer has a bullet-proof vest

TULSA — Jack Martin has been working in Haskell for 15 years as the department’s only reserve officer and the only officer without a bullet-proof vest.

That was until Monday when he received one as a donation.

"I’m tickled to death,” Martin told Tulsa police Capt. Travis Yates.

Yates presented Martin with a used vest donated by an Alabama police department in the "Vests for Life” program, sponsored by Ten-Four Ministries, a law enforcement spiritual organization. Haskell’s seven full-time police officers already have vests.

Martin’s wife, Joyce, was even more pleased. "I think it is fantastic,” she said, "he’s out there putting his life on the line.”

Jack Martin, an oil company maintenance electrician, has enjoyed working as a volunteer reserve officer on weekends for 15 years. The Muskogee County town of about 2,200 residents provides the uniform, but he had to buy his own 9 mm pistol.

Even though Haskell has mostly routine crime, such as traffic stops, domestic violence and drug busts, Joyce Martin said she feels better with her husband protected.

"I don’t ever want him to go out on a drug bust” without a vest,” she said.

Vests cost $500 to $1,000, weigh 4 to 7 pounds and have a manufacturer’s warranty of five years, Yates said. Vests are then retired, but can still do the job of saving a life.

The Tulsa Police Department retires a fifth of its vests each year. Not wanting them to fall into the wrong hands, Yates said some departments just store old vests, some burn them others put them in landfills.

Yates, who directs the program for Ten-Four Ministries, said it made its first shipment in August to the Philippines. Vests were given out one day, and the next day an officer’s life was saved in a shoot-out.

The organization since learned that many departments within the U.S. do not have vests for their officers, especially those in the smaller communities, which employ most of the nation’s lawmen.

The organization has distributed more than 400 vests, Yates said. Another 160 vests are being sent by the West Virginia state police and 150 from the Rochester, N.Y., police department.

Courtesy: The Daily Oklahoman
Original Link

Armor of God Project in Oklahoma

The Armor of God Project has been an unbelievable gift from a gracious and great God. I will admit to you that being able to participate in this project has been a great time and I am so humbled to have had the opportunity.

Until this week, I was involved in just about every aspect except being able to personally give a ballistic vest out. Most of the vests we give out are shipped to the officer after we confirm their employment but once in a while a Ten-Four Minstries member gets to personally participate. I had the honor this week.


The above photo is Haskell (OK) Police Officer Jack Martin. Jack heard about The Armor of God Projec and applied for a free vest. He has been working the streets for 15 years without one. I met Jack and his wife on Monday at my office. I listened to him tell me how he was the only officer at his agency that didn't have a vest. I listened to his wife break down in tears as she told me the fear she has when he goes to work and I watched Jack's big smile as I gave him a vest.


Above is Officer Martin and his wife as he is presented with a ballistic vest. Here is a link to an article that appeared in the Oklahoma City Newspaper about the event.

Mark Cahill On Evangelism

The Sinner's Prayer

An Inadequate Gospel

"A shallow gospel presentation that doesn't present the reality of eternal judgement, the reality of the Law of God, the reality of condemnation, eternal hell, does not warn of God's wrath, that does not crush the sinner under the weight of his violation of the Law of God, that does not make him stand before God guilty.
The gospel presentation that doesn't do that isn't a faithful gospel presentation. And then to tell somebody, "Welcome to the family," as if you knew. This is fantasy." John MacArthur



As you can see from the video, Pastor Rick Warren takes sort of a beating. Let me be clear about this. I do not believe that Pastor Warren is particularly a horrible person and I believe that he genuinely believes that he is doing a great service to the Christian community. While I applaud his efforts within society in regards to his social campaigns, we cannot overlook the damage that his best selling book has done within our churches and to Christians and to the lost.

I, like some of you, went through this class and read this book many years ago. I thought because my church was promoting it that it must be good. I vividly remember getting to the end of the book and thinking something was wrong. I can also tell you that as I write this today I can honestly tell you that when I read the book, I only thought I was a Christian. Reading this book only made me continue to feel comfort in an un-repentant, sinful, evil spirited person that I was. I needed one thing when I read that book many years ago. I needed the Gospel.

Instead, I got a soft message from a very popular book and a lot of church people telling me how solid and great it was. The Purpose Driven Life certainly wasn't the first bad book and it isn't the last but it is one that I will always remember because at a time that I was headed to hell. The last thing I needed was The Purpose Driven Life. I needed The Gospel.