2022 August Newsletter

Greetings from The Keystone Project and All Our Disciples in the Nations! 

“THERE WILL BE SIGNS IN SUN AND MOON AND STARS, AND ON EARTH DISMAY AMONG NATIONS, IN PERPLEXITY AT THE ROARING OF THE SEA AND THE WAVES, MEN FAINTING FROM FEAR AND THE EXPECTATION OF THE THINGS WHICH ARE COMING UPON THE WORLD; FOR THE POWERS OF THE HEAVENS WILL BE SHAKEN. THEN THEY WILL SEE THE SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY. BUT WHEN THESE THINGS BEGIN TO TAKE PLACE, STRAIGHTEN UP AND LIFT UP YOUR HEADS, BECAUSE YOUR REDEMPTION IS DRAWING NEAR… SO YOU ALSO, WHEN YOU SEE THESE THINGS HAPPENING, RECOGNIZE THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR. TRULY I SAY TO YOU, THIS GENERATION WILL NOT PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL THINGS TAKE PLACE. HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT MY WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY. BE ON GUARD, SO THAT YOUR HEARTS WILL NOT BE WEIGHTED DOWN WITH DISSIPATION AND DRUNKENNESS AND THE WORRIES OF LIFE, AND THAT DAY WILL NOT COME ON YOU SUDDENLY LIKE A TRAP; FOR IT WILL COME UPON ALL THOSE WHO DWELL ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. BUT KEEP ON THE ALERT AT ALL TIMES, PRAYING THAT YOU MAY HAVE STRENGTH TO ESCAPE

ALL THESE THINGS THAT ARE ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE, AND TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN.” (Luke 21:25-28, 31-36)

I came to Christ in 1972 by reading a book on Bible prophecy. Not every conclusion in the book came to pass, but the effect of it brought me to the Lord in a powerful way as I saw that the Bible is indeed the word of God and is true. At that time, Bible prophecy and teachings about the end times were very popular and stirred many people to faith. There were many books, sermons, and even movies produced on the topic. This created a sense of expectation and even urgency as we examined current events in the light of the end times. Many of us hoped to live to see the things Jesus, the prophets, and His apostles described as happening near the time of His return.

Well, here we are, witnesses to the things we believed but could not understand (e.g., “every eye shall see Him” – in 1972, the technology did not exist to make that possible, but now it does). What strikes me about this is the realization that God has chosen us – brothers and sisters, let me say that again – God has chosen us to carry the torch of the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ in these last days! We have been ordained and appointed and empowered and destined to finish the task given to those eleven apostles to whom Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). With their blood – their very lives – they laid their bones in the soil of the nations to pass the torch on to us. So many suffered and sacrificed to spread the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now it is our turn, and we get to lift that testimony before a world that is in “dismay and perplexity” and “fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world.” At all costs, we must maintain the integrity of that testimony and proclaim it with boldness and joy, knowing that our redemption is drawing near! This is not a time for us to be afraid or unbelieving but to seize the day that we have been chosen for and which has been prepared for us. Let us resolve to rise above the evil of these days and fulfill our appointed destiny to sing the song of the redeemed, making Christ known to all who are lost!

Updates

• Thank you for your prayers for the summer internship program. We enjoyed having the interns with us and were saddened to see them leave. But our hearts are filled with expectation that they will impact their families, classmates, and communities in a powerful way for the Lord Jesus.

• The Online Academy continues to grow and is impacting many people in the nations. Our greatest need is for more coaches. If you have completed a Keystone Project training program and are interested in coaching an online student or group, please contact us via our website. Currently, there are 117 students enrolled in the academy.

• Our mission to Florida and Indiana was very successful. It was a joy to see so many friends and supporters and make new connections with God’s people.

• We continue to volunteer with Feeding South Dakota by distributing food to the residents of the town. This is something we truly enjoy as we meet the great people of Keystone.

• God continues to provide for us in so many unexpected ways. The walk-in freezer is filled to the max with food. Several students at the April training made donations to the ministry. Though our support levels have dropped, we are still seeing God’s hand of provision and blessing upon us. I want to encourage you to help us. Even a small donation of ten dollars a month will move us forward in completing the mission God has given to us to make disciples of all the nations. You can easily give through our website, https://keystoneproject.org.

• Our next training is a month-long event from October 3-28. It will include translation into Spanish. We had hoped to also have it translated into French, but our French-speaking translator was denied her visa. This training, as are all our trainings, is at no cost to our students and incudes hotel rooms and food. The estimated cost for us is around $30,000, so we appreciate any support you can give towards the training ministry. You can also apply to attend the training on our website.

Prayer

• Pray for our disciples around the world, especially those living and working in dangerous areas of persecution or where they are affected by the pandemic. The COVID pandemic really hurt some of our supporting churches. Please pray for them to fully recover in health and membership.

• Pray for the financial success and growth of the hotel and The Keystone Project.

• Pray for our staff, who work so hard and have sacrificed so much to serve the Lord through the mission He has given to us.

• Pray for the team we are sending to Africa. They will be in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pray for much fruit to be born, safety in travel, and good health.

For God’s Glory, 

Richard W. Greene
President, The Keystone Project, Inc.

“In Route to Africa”

I’m just a few hours away from boarding my plane to Africa. Preparing for this trip has exposed me to God’s heart for the people groups of the world. We can find God’s image and glory in a unique way in each nation. Jesus gave His life for the lost and that which was lost; in other words, He gave His life to accomplish God’s redemptive purposes. There is much work to do in the nations and millions of souls that have yet to hear the gospel. There is no them, no tomorrow; we are the earthly vessels by which God has chosen to do mighty works in this hour. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 15:18-21, 

“For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And in this way, I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, so that I would not build on another person’s foundation; but just as it is written:

‘They who have not been told about Him will see, And they who have not heard will understand.’” 

Therefore, Jesus’ disciples are called to participate in fulling the Great Commission. There is no greater mission than to make disciples of all the nations. Some pray earnestly for the missionary work, others give generously for others to go, and others go to preach the gospel and to make disciples of all the nations. In this text, Paul realizes that he is the channel by which God is reaching the Gentiles. The Gentiles obeyed the gospel’s call through the Word of God, signs, and wonders. His aspiration was nothing less than to fully preach the gospel everywhere and anywhere where Christ was not known by name. He was guided by the prophetic awareness found in Isaiah 52:15, which revealed that God was at work in “many nations… For what they had not been told, they will see, and what they had not heard, they will understand.” 

Our training seeks to mobilize the Church through this vision and to multiply and equip the doers to accomplish this mission. Please pray that God will connect us to the right leaders, that we will enter a prepared work, and that we will speak boldly of the vision as we call many to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. You can visit our website to give to this mission; we genuinely appreciate your prayers and financial support. Together, we can do more. God bless!

David Saldivar,
Director of Global Operations

Indiana Training and New Dates for 2023

As the summer comes to a close, we are excited for all the training events coming up later this year and next year – especially after an impactful training recently held in Indiana. Over August 24-27, we conducted a Vision-Casting Training at a ministry called Indiana Dream Team (IDT), which is a Christian, alternative corrections facility. There were about 15 students attending this training, including some of the staff and residents at IDT and other locals from the area. 

Although this was a smaller class, they responded to the training with an overwhelming passion and enthusiasm to glorify God by making disciples. By the end of the first day, one student came up to her coaches and said, “I wanna go do this right now!” She could hardly contain the fire that God was stirring in her heart to go out into the streets and share Jesus with those who were lost, hurting, and broken. And in the course of the training, she was able to do just that, as a group of students and coaches went out on mission in their local community. God led them into one divine connection after another, as they gave food and water to those in need, prayed for individuals on the streets, led some of them to the Lord, and shared the powerful word of their testimonies, the Gospel of the Kingdom, and the love of Christ with all those they met. On their way back from the missional activity, that same student turned to her husband and said, “We’re doing this again!” She couldn’t wait to get back on the mission and continue meeting those that God was preparing for His Kingdom.

It was a tremendous blessing to spend this past week with these students, and we were greatly encouraged to see their passion for the mission as the Holy Spirit worked in their hearts. Please pray for IDT and all those who attended this training, that God would keep that fire burning more and more and that they would grow in the things they learned last week. Please also pray for us in Keystone as we shift gears now and prepare for our next month-long training coming up this October. After such an encouraging week, we are especially excited to see the students that God brings to this next training and the nations they represent. We still have room available for more students, and there is still time to register, especially for those who are residents of the US or Canada and for those who already have a US visa. To apply for this training, please fill out the “Training Application Form” on our website and select the International Leaders Training (Spanish Translation), October 3-28, 2022. We would love to have you join us!

If you need more time to apply for a visa, you are also welcome to register for one of our training events next year. We have recently made some necessary adjustments to our training dates in 2023. We wanted to share the new dates with you, so that you can plan accordingly if you are interested in attending one of these trainings as a student, joining us as a volunteer, or simply joining us in prayer. Here are the new dates below:

• February 20 – 24, 2023 (one week) – US/Canada/Native American Leaders Training
• March 13 – 31, 2023 (three weeks) – International Leaders Training (French and Spanish Translation)
• April 17 – 28, 2023 (two weeks) – US/Canada/Native American Leaders Training
• October 2 – 27, 2023 (four weeks) – International Leaders Training (French and Spanish Translation)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you in Keystone!

Dustin Stuckey,
Training Events Coordinator