A GOD GIVEN VISION BECOMES REALITY

Months before traveling to Mongolia for a second time, God gave two messages to share with the Mongolian Followers of Jesus. I had no way of knowing that these two messages would stand before me in bronze and stone, becoming a bold reality to the direction and guidance God had given.

1 ~ The Message of the Bow & Arrow

What good is a bow without an arrow? It isn't a very good club, it's not made to dig with, nor does it make a good walking staff or a shepherd's crook. What good is an arrow without a bow? Without the bow it can hardly be thrown from the hand, it's too thin and flimsy to be a good cane, and too short & stiff to be used for fishing. The Arrow was made to be SENT, and the Bow was made to SEND it! HOWEVER ~ The Bow and the Arrow have NO POWER in and of themselves. The Bow cannot draw itself, nor can the arrow place itself on the string.

Both must be taken up by their Master, to be wielded in His Mighty Hands.

Jesus Directs All!

Without their Master, the Bow and The Arrow would lay helplessly on the table. Without Him they will NEVER fulfill their purpose, but when they are surrendered into His Hands, they become mighty instruments for good.

It's the POWER of the Master's Hand which bends the Bow, equipping it to send the Arrow. It's The Master's Eye which directs the Arrow to it's intended target. It's the Master who prepares the sharp instrument of His Word, sharper than a double-edged sword, to be carried by the Arrow. The Bow & Arrow desperately need one another, but they need the equipping power of their Master & Lord most of all! Without Him they can do NOTHING!

This is at the core of our ministry. A guiding principle given by the Lord. Jesus showed us that we were called, as the Church in America, to be the Bow; sending our brothers and sisters in other countries to complete the work of the Gospel. These precious Arrows for Jesus feel the calling of God to go for Him. They want to be sent into the most remote areas left to be reached. Mongolians, Nepali, Pakistani, Buryadt, Tuvaan, Siberian/Russian ~ Native workers who are able to travel to places Western Christians cannot go. God has shown us His plan to complete His work; reaching every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Mat 24:14 "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."

A strategic partnership between Followers of Jesus on opposite sides of the world; both being used in the Hands of our Lord Jesus.

Joh 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

OUR STORY

2~ A Message of Unity

The second illustration. An illustration of individual weakness VS. strength in multiples.

I was blessed to grow up with an old horseman; Vern Hedman. He was my great-grandfather, good friend, and mentor. Granddad introduced me to Spanish braid-work, using thin rawhide and leather laces to create amazing horse tack; hacamores, romal-reins, quirts, and even stockwhips. By themselves these fine laces are very fragile; often only an eighth of an inch in width, split thin, and beveled on both back corners. That's finer than any boot lace, and they won't hold up to much pulling before they snap. HOWEVER. If you take 4,6,8,12,or ever 16 of these thin laces and put them together, you will have a tool which will serve many generations. I have braided bridles from my great-grandfather that are 144 years old. Once braided together these individual strands form an elegant pattern that can take many beautiful forms and designs. Each pattern and design reveals the Master's Hand; His unique mark on each creation.

The individual strands are braided around a CORE. Often that core has many strands of it's own (as seen in the picture below). We, The Body of Christ, and fitted together around our CORE; Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, which are ONE CORE WITHIN US. All that we are as new creations in Christ are formed around the new core, the new center of our life; God in us.

1Co 12:18-20 But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body.

How mighty is the Church of the Living God when He JOINS US together for His purposes? MIGHTY INDEED! There is nothing that cannot be done when we are fitted together with a heart of unity. Unified for the the purposes of Jesus! Unified for the advancement of HIS KINGDOM, not the kingdoms of men, their institutions, or their religious societies. Jesus brings us together to create a mighty instrument for good. When we are bound together in Christian Love, Joy, Peace, and Grace mountains will move. The world will be reached. Souls will be saved. The Family of God will be grown. Let us not look at the work of reaching the most remote People Groups as a daunting task that seems impossible - this is not the vision through the eyes of faith - but rather let us look at the miracle of God connecting us all together to make His net for the catch. He is bringing us together for the fulfillment of the harvest, so let us go forth in His Power, Provision, and Might. One little string or lace can easily be broken, but when we are braided together around the UNBREAKABLE CORE of the Great I AM, we cannot be broken. Not even death can separate us from the Love of God. Not even death can separate us from the Church - which is God's People, all the REDEEMED. We will be fitted into an eternal Family of God forever, with a hope and a future beyond this life or this world. Members of a Kingdom that will never pass away!

Eph 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, Eph 2:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, Eph 2:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, Eph 2:22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

OUR STORY

God Knows How to Speak To His People

Once I arrived in Mongolia, I had shared the message of the Bow and Arrow, as well as the calling of God to work together in a strategic ministry, with Pastor Darkhaa. He laughed. It wasn't the response I had expected. He shared, "This is a very old teaching Pastor Justin. Chinghis Khan's (Ghinghis Khan) mother taught her sons these things centuries ago, and there is a bronze statue in the center of the city where you are sitting that proclaims these truths."

In the city of Darkhaan there stands a very large bronze sculpture of Chinghis Khan's mother holding many arrows bound tightly together. She taught her sons the value of being unified; tightly bound together. As I gazed up at this monument I was amazed at the personal way that God speaks to His people. Months earlier the Lord had given these teaching to illustrate a strategic partnership with the Followers of Jesus in Mongolia. He knows how to speak to His People.

God called people in Montana to be "braided" together with people in Mongolia - Jesus being in the center. Bowman Ministries was formed through these illustrations and teachings which allowed us to operate as the Bow and the Mongolians to be sent as the Arrow; both empowered and directed by the Master's Hand.

Since our founding in 2015, Jesus has allowed us to send thousands of copies of His Word and the message of His Gospel to many different Remote Peoples. The very first shot fired, was to send a team to the heart of Buddhism. The city of Abba in Tibet. You can read more about this on our "History of Outreach" page. Please also look at our "Future Outreach" page for updates and prayer needs.

Thank you for letting share "Our Story" which is really God's Story - for apart from Him we can do nothing.