What does church mean to you?

St.Vitus Cathedral Prague, Czech Republic

There is much talk today about the purpose of the church. Does the church exist to feed the poor, help the helpless, give shelter to the homeless; or, is it there to give the gospel message of salvation through Jesus to a lost and wayward world? Some believe that the church only helps those that are within her doors. If you are not a regular member, giving offerings and tithes, then there really is no help for you. I am not a person of extremes so I believe that the church should be somewhere in the middle of all that. 

I have had the privilege of teaching through the book of Ephesians for our Sunday night REVIVE Bible study meetings at our house. Ephesians 4 is most often quoted when people talk about "doing" church. 

Let's first look at Ephesians 4:11-12. Paul is saying that Jesus gave some of us the gifts to be leaders in a church. Their offices were apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teacher.

Why? Verse 12 gives us the reasons "for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." These people that Jesus chose for these positions were there to serve the people that Jesus had given to the church. David Guzik said "The purpose of these gifts of leadership is also clear. It is that saints (God’s people) might be equipped for the work of ministry (service), so that the body of Christ would be built up (expanded and strengthened)." 

Are you being built up at church? Is your pastor-teacher feeding you the whole counsel of God? There is a large responsibility that falls upon the leadership of the church, but the saints must also be responsible. They must come to church with open minds, hearts and Bibles ready to learn all that God has for them. Chuck Smith said about these verses “The primary purpose of the Church isn’t to convert sinners to Christianity, but to perfect (complete and mature) the saints for the ministry and edification of the Body.”

Why is it important to be built up in the Word of God at church? Paul tells us in verse 16 that only when the whole church is functioning together will we see true growth, both spiritually and numerically. It is when each person in the body of Christ comes together and uses the spiritual gifts that God has given them. Paul says "by which every part does its share." Are you doing your share? Are you serving at the church that you attend? Do you know what your spiritual gifts are that God has given you?

By doing all these things in the church, it will naturally flow over into our everyday life. Being a servant within the walls of the church will motivate you to be a servant in your own community. Jesus said that He did not come to be served but to serve others. Jesus is our example of ministry, being a servant. 

So, I believe that the church leaders are there to equip those in the body for service. Those in the body (and the church leadership) are to be serving those outside the church, the poor and destitute among the fallen world. But, their first concern is for their spiritual well-being and then for their physical needs. We are to be beacons of light to this fallen generation. We are to do good works so that when people see them they praise God in heaven. 

My hope is that whatever church you are attending, you are being taught the Word of God first and foremost. The Bible is God speaking to us, period. My hope is also that by learning about God and His love towards us, you will then be motivated by that love to good works for others. 

We must remember to keep the main thing - the main thing...Jesus. 

Grace and Peace, 

Bob, Suzanne and Bobby Scott

REVIVE - Pray for our new Bible Study

"Revive me according to Your Word" Psalm 119:25

So the day has come that we are starting our Bible study here in the Table View area. We are studying the book of Ephesians, we are worshiping the Lord through music and prayer...and of course there is food!

You can check out what we are doing here. 

We would appreciate any and all prayer for the study. Especially that Jesus would be magnified in all that we do and all that we say to one another. Pray that each person coming would have a deeper understanding of the Word of God and their relationship with Him. 

Above all we pray that the Lord would revive our hearts towards Him and His Word. As New Testament Christians we want to be Christ-like in all that we do (1 Thessalonians 1:6). We want to have a heart for those who are lost to this world and have compassion on those who are walking against God. Just as Jesus has compassion on those who are lost and going astray (Hebrews 5:2). 

We covet your prayers (James 5:16). 

Grace and Peace, 

Bob - Suzanne - Bobby 

What does God see?

We had a great time at Tamboerskloof Primary School yesterday. The teaching was on the human eye and how we are made in the image of God. We were explaining to them that God actually sees everything they do!

This was a wonderful message of encouragement for the kids to know that God watches over them. Though, some of the kids were a bit ashamed to know that God saw all they did.

That fact led us to be able to share the Gospel with the group. They were encouraged to know that if they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior that God only saw Jesus when He looked at them. This brought joy to the kids, to know that Jesus took the penalty of their sin upon the cross for them...just because He loves them.

We are consistently ministering to over 100 kids on a weekly basis at this primary school. God's hand is at work as we see more and more of these kids wanting to know more about Jesus. Please continue to pray that the Lord would draw many more kids to hear the weekly message. Also, that the Lord would soften the hearts of the kids so they can receive His message for them.

Grace and Peace,

Bob, Suzanne and Bobby

The Church is Only One Generation Away...

A great Christian leader said "The church is only one generation away from being extinct." What does this mean? Are we taking the time to teach our children about the Bible, God, Sin, Man, Jesus, etc? Are we simply entertaining them so we can get through the day?

The Bible speaks of a time like this, in Judges 2:8-10 "And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." Then in verse 11 the climax hits...the children served other Gods and did evil in the sight of the Lord.

In South Africa 38% of the population is under the age of 18 so we feel it is prudent to receive much training regarding ministry to kids.

One of the largest children's ministry organizations in the world is Child Evangelism Fellowship. They have operations all over Africa, including South Africa. When I inquired about a need in the area that we lived in, they told us that there was nobody doing work there. This was a surprise to us as they have so many operations all over South Africa. They said that were we live is a heavy English speaking area and they have really only trained Afrikaans's speaking people. This was a joy to hear!

I went to the training on a Saturday, it was all day from 8am to 6pm about 30-45 minutes away from where we live. I was the only non-Afrikaans speaking person in the class of about 50, so they had to do the whole thing in English! I apologized but they were more than happy to accommodate when I tried to recite Acts 1:8 in Afrikaans, needless to say I still need some work!

The training consisted of everything someone would need to know when training children. There were people there who were training 1000's of kids using this program. It is really amazing and I would encourage anyone looking for a great Bible based curriculum to take a look. I was blessed that I made the trip to meet and talk with such wonderful people.

This training will set in motion several outreaches we have been praying about in our area and will also give us a strong kid's ministry when we plant our church. Please pray for the kids, wherever you are. Pray that Godly men and women will take the time to teach them about God so they don't do evil in His sight.

Grace and Peace,

Bob, Suzanne and Bobby Scott

New Beginnings

Christmas 2007 in Kampala, Uganda with MAF missionaries Simon and Pam Wunderli and  with George and Luan Fellman

I chose this picture as it represents the first time that Suzanne and I traveled to Africa. It was over the Christmas season in 2007. I must say that we felt right at home thanks to some great friends and some good food. After our first trip 2007 we traveled one more time in April of 2008 and then moved here full time in January 2010 to follow the Lord's calling on our lives. 


Our new beginning now is planting a church in Cape Town, South Africa. We have had so many prayers answered over the past 2 1/2 months we have been here it causes us to stand in awe of such an awesome God. We also know that many of you are praying for us and with us. For that we are forever in your debt. Thank you for remembering us and our needs as you go on with your daily life. 


Now, the Lord has answered another one of our big prayers...we got furniture! Why is this such a big deal? Well, to have a home Bible study, it is much more convenient to have people sit on couches than on the floor scattered around the living room. Slowly and piece by piece the Lord is putting together our house and our lives. It is awesome to see what He does and how He does it. I must say that our new family here at Calvary Chapel Cape Town has been a huge blessing. We are never without anything as there are many people who are more than willing to help and stand at the ready. 

I do have a pretty big prayer request. We are praying about when and how to start our new Bible study. Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom and discernment for the things of Him. We know what it is we are to do, but we want to be on the Lord's timing...not our own. There is not one step that we want to take that is not ordained by the Lord. As Psalm 127 says "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." This is something that I will be talking about more in our next newsletter, but know that we don't want our labor to be in vain. 


Bobby is getting so big. He now weighs 27 pounds (12.2 kilos) and measures 30 inches (76.2 cm) long. As I write this he is working on going from 8 teeth to 14 in what seems overnight. He has been a bit cranky (as you can imagine) but he is soldiering on as best as he can. He walks everywhere now and seems to really like wearing our sandals on his hands. He is a joy from the Lord that keeps every day interesting and enjoyable. 


Grace and Peace, 


Bob, Suzanne and Bobby Scott 

Teaching Kids For Christ

We just wanted to keep everyone up to date with what is going on here in Cape Town. I know that we don't get to talk to most of you much, but know that we are praying for you all and remembering the good times we had visiting most of you in the States last year.

The church that we are working with, Calvary Chapel Cape Town, started a JOY club in one of the schools here. Basically what it is, we can go into the school from 2:30 - 3:30 on Tuesday and do a Bible teaching. It is completely voluntary on the child's part, but we do get to make announcements and hang up posters and speak at an assembly.

We didn't know what to expect on the first day, yesterday. Well, I must say that the Lord was working wonders. We had almost 100 kids show up for our first class!! What a huge blessing.

They had the opportunity to hear about David and Goliath and we got to talk to them about their fears. Now this class represented grades 1-7 so you can imagine the things we got to hear they were afraid of! Everything form snakes and spiders to "this girl sitting next to me." It was quite a treat.

We got to sing worship songs with them and also pray together. If you think about it, please pray that the Lord would use this in a mighty way for the kids. The school has a large Muslim population so this is a great inroad to share the Gospel and let our light so shine before men. Pray that the hearts of these precious kids would be turned towards the Lord.

That is it for now, more updates coming soon. Thanks for all your support and prayers, we would not be reaching the lost for the Lord without all of you.

Grace and Peace,

Bob, Suzanne and Bobby Scott

A Big Answer to Prayer

Bobby enjoying some avocado and tomatoes

First of all, I want to thank everyone who is praying for us and supporting us in so many ways. Please know that your prayers do change things.

We have been praying since we got here for a place to stay. We had some pretty specific prayer requests, but the Lord is faithful. Today we officially signed our lease to live in a home of our own! This is quite monumental because we have not had our own place in 4 years. I am sure that we are both going to think it is pretty quiet now. So, all are invited to come a stay when you have some time. We may put you to work though.

As you can see from the picture, Bobby is getting pretty big. He love avocados and tomatoes (along with whatever else we are eating at the time) He turns one on March 3rd, we can't believe how fast he has grown. He is walking around really good, preferring to walk more than crawl. Though, towards the end of the day he is pretty tired and crawls a lot.

We are still really busy with ministry. Suzanne had a weekend women's retreat that was in French Hoek. It is the chocolate country...go figure. I got to spend three uninterrupted days with Bobby and we had a blast!! He really is a blessing from the Lord.

I am still helping out with some ministries at the church. They run a discipleship training school throughout the year. They do teaching similar to a Bible College on one Saturday a month. I am going to teach on love this Saturday, should be a great time. The College ministry has also started up again for the new semester. I am involved with that as well. I got to teach a short sermon on Wednesday to the students. We have a couple dozen students that come out for 30 minutes of worship, fellowship and teaching. It is such a great ministry as we are reaching college students from all over Africa. So far, I am the only American.

Once again we want to thank you for all of your support on our behalf. We would not have been so blessed with this house had you all not been praying with us.

Grace and Peace,

Bob, Suzanne and Bobby Scott