No vem ber
2 014
ACCTS
in action
O ur M ission :
To assist in the development of Christian leaders in the armed forces of the
world and in the establishment and growth of military Christian fellowships.
Waterloo to World War II:
Cadets, Mids, and Recent Grads: Join Us in 2015!
Omaha Beach photo courtesy of Anton Blelousov, flickr.com
Waterloo to World War 2 (W2WW2) is ACCTS’ two-week
Christian leadership program designed for cadets, midshipmen, and recently-commissioned graduates who desire to integrate their faith with the leadership principles
they studied during their training.
W2WW2 includes visits to a wide variety of battlefields,
museums, cemeteries, and other historical and cultural
sites in Belgium and France. Participants will learn the
strategic, operational, and tactical background behind
many key engagements that shaped the history of Europe and examine how individual heroism, mistakes, actions or inaction often drove the outcome of key phases
of important battles and campaigns. Each site offers spir-
itual object lessons related to leadership, integrity, and
character.
The trip to Europe will be preceded by a day of instruction, preferably at the participants’ school, where they will
learn the background, outcome, and significance of the
events that took place, and will be presented with other
resources that can help to prepare them to more fully appreciate the sites they will visit, including maps, reading
material, and videos.
W2WW2 is a fast-paced, 14-day program led by ACCTS’
Director Phil Exner. It will be scheduled between the end
of the participants’ school year and the beginning of July.
continued on page 2
Waterloo to World War 2 (W2WW2)
continued from page 1
Waterloo battlefield photo courtesy Dennis Jarvis, flickr.com
Sites visited will include:
• Waterloo, where one can see every major significant geographic feature involved in the famous battle;
• Breendonk, a part of Belgium’s WWI defense network that was converted into a concentration camp during WW2;
• Bruges and the surrounding region;
• the Ypres and Passchendaele areas, to visit trenches, battlefields, and museums, related to
Flanders region;
• battlefield areas in Arras and the Somme, which included the worst single-day casualties of
the war;
• Compiègne, where the German WW1 and French WW2 surrenders were signed;
• the Meuse-Argonne and Marne sectors, where the American Expeditionary Force stopped
the final WW1 German offensive and counterattacked in the last months of the war; and,
• Omaha and Utah beaches and other important D-Day locations, including les Arromanches
and Point du Hoc.
The cost for the trip is $3,700, which includes airfare, lodging, food, transportation within Europe, and
all admission fees. For more information, email Bernhard Kaltenbach at [email protected] or phone
him at 1-800-487-8108. (We also need financial supporters who can help with other expenses for this
ministry. If you are interested in contributing, you can send your gift to ACCTS with a note that it is
for the Academy Ministries Battlefield Tour. Thank you!)
ACCTS IN ACTION • Page 2 • November 2014
Thanksgiving for
International Military
Students?
International soldier photos courtesy USDOD.
T
housands of international military
personnel come to the U.S. each year
to study, but many of them will never
have the opportunity to get to truly know
U.S. Christians or be invited into a U.S.
family’s home. What will Thanksgiving
be like for those men and women – will
they think the holiday is about the huge
parade they see on television? Will they
believe it is only a chance for U.S. families to eat lots of strange foods? Or will
they feel even more like an outsider as
they see families and friends gather for
the day while they sit in their room alone?
Photo courtesy Nick Kocharhook, flickr.com
ACCTS has many staff members, coworkers, and supporters who regularly interact with these important international military students throughout the year – but during the holidays, especially, their
willingness to include these men and women into their lives, their homes, and their family celebrations takes on even more importance. These holidays – or holy days, as they used to be known – are
wonderful opportunities to share Christ and the real meaning behind culturally-significant days such
as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Please pray with everyone who is involved in ministry to international military students, and pray about whether God would have you get involved in these ministries to
tomorrow’s military leaders.
Not too late!
Tweet, Tweet??
T
he long-anticipated leadership conference, AMCF’s Global Interaction, starts
on 30 November in South Africa. We’re
excited that participants from nearly 100
nations will attend. Many of those who
are attending can only do so because of
ACCTS donors, who helped provide partial
or full scholarships. However, there are still
financial needs associated with the conference – and there will be follow-up expenses as well, as AMCF and ACCTS coworkers
meet participants in their own nations and
encourage others in their national military
Christian fellowships. If you would still like
to donate to Global Interaction, please send
your gift to ACCTS with a note that it is for
“GI2014”. Thank you!
Photo courtesy Lori LaFargue, flickr.com
ACCTS is on Twitter and will be tweeting actively during Global Interaction. Please follow
us for updates and prayer needs!
ACCTS IN ACTION • Page 3 • November 2014
O ur C ore V alues : wBiblically-based wSpirit-led wPrayer-centered wPeople-focused
“To be grateful is
to recognize the
love of God in
everything He
has given us -and He has given
us everything.
Every breath we
draw is a gift of
His love, every
moment of
existence is a
grace, for it brings
with it immense
graces from Him.”
- Thomas Merton
(Thoughts on Solitude)
Photo courtesy Beverley Goodwin, Flickr.com
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Association for
Christian Conferences
Teaching and Service
PO Box 27239
Denver, CO 80227-0239
Phone: 1-800-487-8108
Fax: 303-986-4710
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.accts.org
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
LITTLETON, CO
PERMIT NO. 162
ACCTS Prayer Reminder
November 2014
“When we bless God for mercies,
we usually prolong them.
When we bless God for miseries,
we usually end them.
Praise is the honey of life which a
devout heart extracts
from every bloom of providence
and grace.”
-- C.H. Spurgeon
1 Please uphold in prayer ACCTS staff member
Ward Bursley as he ministers in Beijing and Taiyuan from 30 October- 17 November.
2 ACCTS staff members Dean and Deanna Mills
are planning our spring 2015 Academy Exploration trips, which introduce U.S. Christian cadets/
mids to their counterparts in other countries’ militaries. Pray for cadets and midshipmen to sign up
for the programs and for our sensitivity to the Holy
Spirit’s direction over the entire process.
3 Many prayer items this month will center on
AMCF’s Global Interaction 2014. ACCTS staff
members have been heavily involved in helping
plan and prepare for this leadership conference,
which we believe God will use to significantly impact military ministry around the world. Please join
us in prayer that God’s hand will guide this entire
event – before, during, and after the conference is
completed!
4 Pray for wisdom for ACCTS’ director Phil Exner
and staff member Sue Exner as they guide ACCTS
and are highly involved in preparations for Global
Interaction.
5 Today, pray for God’s guidance on Bernhard
Kaltenbach, ACCTS’ deputy director, and staff
member Cheryl Kaltenbach.
6 Pray with our staff members, including Vic and
ACCTS prayer reminder • November 2014
Marsha Grazier and Bill and Suzanne Lumpkin,
who minister to international military students in
the U.S. The holidays are especially busy times for
outreach.
7 Pray with Emanuela Haien, Harry Argo, and others as they plan for next year’s Interaction-Rocky
Mountain High leadership program for young
international military believers.
8 An ACCTS partner organization, Mission Support Organization in South Korea, will be helping
conference participants from their region of the
world in the days before Global Interaction. Pray
for wisdom for MSO leaders and those with whom
they work.
9 AMCF’s president General Srilal Weerasooriya
will be a speaker and leader at Global Interaction. Pray for God’s guidance on General and Mrs.
Weerasooriya during this busy time of preparation.
10 Our partner organization, Military Ministries
International (MMI) in the UK, has also been
extremely involved in Global Interaction. Pray for
their staff as they make last-minute arrangements
and help participants with situations that come up
right before the conference.
11 As people prepare to travel to South Africa for
Global Interaction later this month, pray that their
hearts will be attentive to the Holy Spirit and what
He wants them to learn, and experience, at the
leadership conference.
will be inspired with new ideas and gain new encouragement to carry on ministry to their peers in
their home nations.
12 Global Interaction speakers will be fine-tuning
what they will share at the conference. Pray that
they will also stay receptive to the Holy Spirit so
that they clearly present what He would have
them share.
23 Many spouses of active-duty and retired military personnel will attend Global Interaction. For
those who are already involved in military ministry, pray that they will gain more understanding
of ways to share Christ. For those who are not yet
involved, pray that the Holy Spirit will open their
eyes as to ministry possibilities in their nation.
13 The planning committee for Global Interaction
will be extremely busy right now during these last
two weeks of preparation. Uphold them in prayer,
asking that their hands be strengthened (Nehemiah 6:9) for the task at hand.
14 Pray with ACCTS staff members as they prepare for next year’s Chaplains Interaction program. Pray for God’s direction on a location and
who should be invited to attend.
15 Pray for ACCTS’ finances, and especially pray
that we will finish the calendar year in a strong
position.
16 Pray for those who are pursuing last-minute
visa approval for Global Interaction. Ask that God
give them favor in the eyes of those who are in the
approval process and that they will respond with
Christ-like grace to any frustrations and stresses
they encounter during the process.
17 Pray that the Holy Spirit would move mightily
today to prepare the hearts of those who will be
going to Global Interaction and fill them with a
sense of eager expectation.
18 Pray for divine protection of planners and participants from problems that would prevent them
from participating in the conference.
19 Today, please thank God with us for ACCTS’
supporters who have provided numerous full and
partial scholarships for Global Interaction participants!
20 Pray for the leaders and members of Moldova’s MCF, and ask in particular that the arrival and
distribution of digital Bibles provided by the Faith
Comes by Hearing ministry will be completed
without undue bureaucratic holdups.
21 Many leaders of military Christian fellowships
from around the world will attend Global Interaction. Pray that their hearts and minds will be open
to a fresh working of the Holy Spirit in their lives
and in the ministries of their MCFs, and that their
original vision may be renewed, broadened, and
strengthened.
22 Yesterday we prayed for the older, established leaders of MCFs. Today, please pray for the
younger military Christian fellowship members
who will attend Global Interaction. Pray that they
ACCTS prayer reminder • November 2014
24 Global Interaction’s theme is “Be Strong and
Courageous,” based on Joshua 1:7. Pray that this
verse will become a reality in the lives of all who
attend as they seek their strength daily in Christ.
25 Pray for a sense of calm, order, and peace in
the hearts of conference planners and workers as
they complete last-minute preparations for the arrival of participants.
26 Tomorrow is a day in the U.S. when we thank
God for all His blessings. Today, please take a
moment to thank God for the MCF of South Africa
and the vision they had to host AMCF’s onceevery-ten-year world conference.
27 Thanksgiving Day (USA) “Enter his gates with
thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give
thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4
28 Pray for Global Interaction’s Operations Response Cell members, who will respond to emergencies or needs of participants en route to the
conference. Ask that they have wisdom in dealing
with problems that may arise.
29 Please pray for safety for all who are traveling
today for tomorrow’s Global Interaction.
30 AMCF’s Global Interaction 2014 starts today!
Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide and lead every
part of this conference and all who participate.
For more information about
Global Interaction visit
www.amcf2014.org