Dear Friend,

Lisa and I hope and pray that all is well in your world as you receive this. We seem to be in a time of waiting at the moment.

A time for waiting.

We are regularly fielding questions about the precise location where we will be opening the Bible college here in Dumfries. Folks want to know if we’ve found a building yet.

Unfortunately we cannot secure a location, or even so much as accept any student applications, until we receive approval to operate from the government of Scotland. It seems like a bit of a strange situation because Charis Bible College has been operating here in the United Kingdom for over 20 years now.

Yet there are somethings about the United Kingdom that don’t seem very united. The oversight of charities is one of those areas. Scotland is a separate legal jurisdiction for charities from the rest of the UK. Therefore the ministry has been working for the last few months on the approval process with the Scottish government to operate here in Scotland.

There is not much we can do in the natural to speed up that process. However we know as believers that we have access to the Courts of Heaven, where things are decided which affect what happens here on earth. So please join us in prayerful agreement that the application is approved quickly so that we can begin organizing the details necessary to open for classes this fall.

We fully believe and expect we will receive that approval any day now.

River Nith in Downtown Dumfries.

I told the head of the ministry here in the UK that I feel a bit like a racehorse in the starting gate. I’m banging around some just waiting for the gates to be thrown open so that I can start running.

Let me point out that several folks have expressed interest in attending the new Charis location in Dumfries this fall even though we cannot officially accept any student applications just yet. As soon as we get the approval back from the Scottish government we should have our first official registered students!!

Oh, and as an aside, most folks don’t realize that the first Charis Bible College was located in the UK. The school was founded in the USA as Colorado Bible College. That name didn’t seem to make much sense in England when they started the school there. So the school in England started as Charis instead. It was only after the school in the UK was up and running that the school in Colorado changed its name to Charis.

20th Anniversary of Charis UK

Even though we are waiting, it does not mean Lisa and I have been idle. Far from it. As I mentioned above, Charis Bible College has been in the UK for 20 years now. This past month Lisa and I made a trip down to England, to the headquarters of Andrew Wommack Ministries Europe, which oversees the Charis locations here in the UK.

We were there for the 20th anniversary celebration of Charis here in the UK. It was good to represent Scotland. Also it was good for everyone to see that even an organization that has been around for a couple decades is still growing into entirely new geographic regions.

Training at Charis Dewsbury

We also traveled to Dewsbury, England for a week of training with Dominic Burns, the director of the Chris Bible College there. There were a ton of details to learn about many things that Lisa and I knew about in the abstract, such as financial record keeping, and other less glamorous administrative stuff. All of that is critical for the successful operation of a school.

Students and Directors of both Charis Bible College Tempe and Dewsbury

It was a little like trying to drink from a fire hose! We’re grateful that we have the mind of Christ so we can trust that the Holy Spirit will bring all that info out from our memory when we need it next year.

Lisa and I were fortunate to be in Dewsbury at the same time as a mission team from the Charis Bible College location in Tempe, Arizona. It was an honor to meet those World Changers from the desert of the American southwest. Deanne Gissel, the director there in Arizona, is doing a great job discipling her students.

It was an opportune time for Lisa and I to be there. We were able to see what is involved in receiving a mission team in the school. This is especially important from a logistical and administrative perspective. Not only that, but the Dewsbury school was sending out a team of their own to Bulgaria the week after we were there. So we were able to see what all is required to send a mission team out as well as receive one.

Did I mention we covered a lot of information that week?

Chris and Lisa teaching in Dewsbury

Lisa and I also had an opportunity to share some with the students at Charis Bible College Dewsbury too.

We really appreciate Dominic giving us so much time to share his wisdom with us. He’s been the director there in Dewsbury for several years, and has learned quite a bit along the way. He, along with his wife Rachel and his entire volunteer staff, were all very gracious and quick to answer all our questions. It is incredibly encouraging to have other directors who are willing to pass along what they know to us as we start out.

Other Americans in Scotland

Connecting with American friends.

Lisa and I were also grateful for the opportunity to meet up with other American friends who were visiting Scotland. Robert Tomanek is a Charis graduate we met in Colorado. He travels to the Czech Republic on a regular basis. On his last trip he made it a point to spend a few days in Dumfries. It was a blessing to get a little time with Robert.

We also were blessed by a visit Mark and Carolyn Huffor. Mark did his first year at Charis in Colorado. Now he is in his second year at the Naples, Florida location. His wife Carolyn is originally from Scotland. They were on this side of the Atlantic visiting her family and drove down to Dumfries for an afternoon. We were blessed to have a few hours with them as well.

Next Moves

Charis Dewsbury is discipleing World Changers!

Unfortunately the visit we talked about in our previous newsletter by Mike and Carrie Pickett was canceled due to a significant change in their schedule. One of the things we are learning in ministry is that things have a tendency to change, sometimes with short notice. As Proverbs 16:9 says, we can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

The next big thing on our calendar is Andrew Wommack’s Grace and Faith Conference in Telford, England next month. It’s the largest conference Andrew Wommack hosts anywhere in the world.

The English schools currently hold their graduation ceremony on the Saturday of the conference. Lisa and I will be representing the new Charis Dumfries location. There will be a Charis Bible College interest meeting held during the conference.

Lisa and I were asked to be a part of that meeting last year even though we were still more than a year away from launching the school. Even with all the disclaimers that things were still very much in the planning stages then, we had a handful of folks interested in potentially attending school in Dumfries this coming fall.

We are very optimistic that we will see significantly more interest this year.

Then in June we will be traveling back to Colorado for a couple weeks. Each year Charis holds a few days of meetings in Colorado with the directors from all the 75 Charis locations throughout the world. That meeting is usually scheduled immediately before the Andrew Wommack’s Summer Family Bible Conference.

In addition to attending the meetings, Lisa and I will be connecting with some of our ministry partners as well as taking care of a few things that are much easier to accomplish in person in the States.

Financial Update

I was listening to a teaching this morning that was talking about financial partnership. I was reminded that whenever we partner with a ministry we then share in the anointing of that ministry. It separates us for the blessing of God. Whatever blessing God has for a ministry, the partners get it too, in every area.

Every worthwhile moment of ministry
happens only because of partnership.

Our mission here in Scotland is to show people the glory of the Lord so they are transformed into His image. We will equip people to go out and change their world by bringing the Kingdom of God to every situation. People who partner with NewCREEations in any capacity are blessed with the same anointing that God has placed on us as we disciple those in our assignment.

Friend, we encourage you to prayerfully consider partnering with NewCREEations financially. As you know, God provides finances supernaturally. At the same time, he always uses natural means to do so. In our case the supernatural "natural means" is through relationships with people who are connected to NewCREEations in some capacity and have a heart for Scotland.

The reality is that money is required for most all significant ministry activity. Fortunately Lisa and I know without a doubt that God will provide the money it will take to accomplish the assignment he has given us. Some people will be blessed by their choice to partner with us. Are you one of them?

We are equipped to receive multiple currencies in addition to US Dollars. You can partner securely online, just CLICK HERE. If you prefer to use a local currency other than US Dollars then click the appropriate flag on at that link. Or in the USA you can also mail checks to NewCREEations Ministries, 120 N. Elm Street, Woodland Park, Colorado, 80863. NewCREEations is a 501(c)3 approved ministry and all US partnerships are tax deductible.

We continue speak blessing over your life. As you move through this next month we sincerely believe that you will be growing more prosperous by every measure – in your health, in your relationships, in your finances, and in the personal freedom and peace you experience as you move deeper in your relationship with God.

Blessings,

Chris & Lisa Cree

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