“Baptism itself does not save you, but it is a symbol of what Christ has done in one’s life,” said Dr. Tegga Lendado, the Ethiopian pastor of RTN.  ”We do it to identify with Christ and with His body, the church.”

The seven candidates were immersed as several surrounding park visitors watched on.  It was not only their identification ceremony, but their first act of witnessing of the risen Savior.  Pastors Simon Tamang and Anuj Kumar conducted the baptisms.

Following the baptisms was a message on the reality of a risen Savior from Pastor Bill Johnson and a celebration of the Lord’s supper.

Pastor Bill Johnson claims, “I cannot think of a better way to have celebrated Easter than to have cultures coming together and baptizing as a fulfillment of the Great Commission.  Is this not what the risen Savior commanded us to do?”

RTN looks forward to seeing others embrace the true love and forgiveness of a risen Savior.

Reach the Nations Community Church celebrated its first come together service on February 5th.  House groups came together to celebrate the One who can bring the nations together.  That One is Jesus!  His name was praised through songs in 5 languages.  Attendance reached 45 as members celebrated the Lord’s Supper, Worship, and a brief message by Pastor Bill Johnson.  Pastors Tegga Lendado, Anuj Kumar, and Simon Tamang served the Lord’s supper and lead in prayer and worship.  The majority of the service happened in English and was translated into Hindi.

The message given was on Jesus’ prayer in the garden, “that they may be one…” (John 17:21).  Jesus said that the world would know that He was from the Father when His disciples act as one.  Such a prayer is desperate considering that the majority of the members are refugees and are in the country due to ethnic genocide, cleansing, political and religious persecution.  As RTN asks the Father to bring the nations together as one church, RTN hopes to be a testimony of Christ’s love and power in the world.  RTN seeks to enlist 200 prayer partners before Spring to support this effort.

The service was followed up by a fellowship meal that was as diverse as the crowd that gathered.  RTN looks forward to coming together every two weeks to celebrate the diversity and oneness but is limited to first Sundays at the moment due to a lack of space to meet in.  RTN has five house groups that meet throughout the city of Stone Mountain, Clarkston, and Snellville on Sundays and Wednesdays every week.

RTN has been able to share the Gospel with those who have never heard that live in the community.  As seeds begin to be reaped and sowed, the goal of RTN is to see every member being ready to make disciples and be available for ministry.  Seven teams are joining RTN between now and April and RTN members are being trained and prepared to respond.

RTN is looking forward to coming days when more and more nations gather together and worship the Savior of the World!

On the following day, Christmas was celebrated again at the Lakes Apartments where members of RTN celebrated a multicultural Christmas.    Songs, dances, the Christmas story, and plenty of food made for a great celebration.  A special visit from Santa added a surprise element as children were greeted with gifts!

Students from Troy University helped celebrate Christmas with us.  Amidst celebrating, the team hosted prayer walks, visitations, and a Christmas clothes giveaway that treated nearly 100 people.

RTN was grateful for the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior that brings the nations together.  Much thanks is given to all partners in ministry as RTN looks forward to a new year in excitement of what God will do!

Clarkston, GA is home to over 120 nationalities with over 52 language groups.  A mega-resettlement location for refugees, North Indian Creek Dr., separating Stone Mountain and Clarkston is the most ethnically diverse square mile in the United States.  Come join us as we reach the nations!

“We are so blessed to see God bringing the nations together for His name,” says Pastor Bill Johnson.  “Only Christ can do that.  Many that came have lost everything; family, home, land,  country and yet are still thankful.  Their faith is so strong.  This Thanksgiving shows that.”

Gathered at the feast were ethnic backgrounds of Ethiopian, Nepalese, Indian, Chin, Karen, Burmese, Eritria, African American and Caucasian Americans.  RTN is not only seeking to reach out to the refugee and international communities, but is seeking to be a light to every race of people in the community.

RTN is seeking to start two new Bible Study groups in the new year; an Amharic study (a common language of Eritrea and Ethiopia) and an advanced English Bible Study.  Between English and Hindi, four house groups exist already.  RTN seems to be developing into a church that is not only diverse in culture and ethnicity, but in age.  Because of that, RTN is planning to begin reaching out to younger generations such as youth and young adults as they seek God’s guidance.

As God continues to bless, RTN remains thankful.

“We are so thankful,” says Pastor Bill Johnson, “for the partners, the short-term teams, the prayers, and the support.  All of this would not be possible apart from it.  And of course, we are thankful for our great God.”

For that reason the leadership of RTN (Bill Johnson, Tegga Lendado, and Anuj Kumar) have hosted two vision casting meetings attended by potential core group members, volunteers, and partners with RTN. Between the two meetings 30 people have attended from 11 different nationalities. Among those in attendance were former IMB journeymen, missionaries from Mission to the World, former church pastors from Africa and South Asia, and many more.

The purpose of the meetings has been two fold. One, to communicate the vision of RTN and direction the ministry wishes to go. And two, to receive feedback from others leaders and believers about the vision. Subjects have included the various ministries, discipleship models, how RTN sees it’s call to missions, worship styles, and much more.

There has been alot of feedback from these meetings gained for sharpening the vision in regards to ministries needed, worship services, plans for leadership development and much more that has been very helpful to the vision.

“At first, it’s kind of like seeing with your glasses off. We know where we are headed but not quite everything is completely in focus,” said Bill Johnson, the church planter of RTN. “We are open to meeting and getting feedback as we try to do this as Biblically as possible.”

In hopes to begin meeting corporately starting in November at Truth Tabernacle of Praise, RTN will host one more vision cast for workers in the community, potential partners, and anyone wishing to serve and be a part of RTN. The date is not set at the moment but will be announced shortly. 
Anyone interested in hearing more should contact RTN at rtnatlanta@gmail.com

Lane Coursey, semester intern with RTN leads classes as volunteers provide help with conversation and child care.  Averaging about 25 adults and about that many children, the program has accelerated throughout the neighborhood.  Coursey graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health from Georgia College and State University over the summer and has attempted to merge Health and English education.  Her topics include everyday needs such as introductions, family names, basic verbs as well as topics about physical, mental, social, and emotional health.  RTN has recognized the need for health education due to an increase of diabetes, obesity, anxiety, depression, and social stress incoming refugees acquire in trying to adapt to their new home.

Alongside of ESL is a multi-cultural Bible Storying Study accompanied by pastors Bill Johnson, Tegga Lendado, and Anuj Kumar.  RTN believes in getting the gospel to the people in their heart languages so the need for pastors who speak those languages is crucial.  The Bible study is averaging more than the classes as more people come for prayer and Bible Study.  Students of the ESL classes are given a Bible in English to compare to one in their language as they learn.  The Bible Study has grown into two groups that meet together for prayer and singing and split for translation purposes.

RTN hopes to see more house groups emerge so as to see a Church Planting Movement across the city.  In the meantime, while RTN cannot meet every need of the community it does what it can.  Teaching English and teaching Christ seem to be a great start.

**RTN is looking for Bibles and volunteers for the ESL ministry.  If interested in participating in the ESL ministry please contact rtnatlatna@gmail.com. 

Every morning, this team was able to go prayer walking around the apartment complexes where they served during the days, which is always a big help. Prayer walking doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but it lays the foundation for the greatest results in RTN’s ministry.  In the afternoons and evenings, the people from Kershaw were given the opportunities to interact with the internationals, and many made lasting connections with the families with whom they came into contact.  On Thursday, July 21, in preparation for the block party the team brought an array of foods including vegetables, chicken, hot dogs, and rice.  At the end of the night, when the block party was finished, and the team was cleaning up the food, only one handful of rice was left.  Roughly two hundred people attended the block party, and because of that, many new contacts were made.  As a result of these contacts, some of the team members were invited into homes for longer visits and even meals.

“Where else can you drive four hours and eat in Nepal?” said Alan, one of the members of Kershaw 2nd Baptist after eating dinner with a Nepalese family.  This team made a lasting impact for God’s Kingdom in their one week in Clarkston, Georgia.  They learned valuable lessons about local missions, and they built relationships that will last.  RTN is grateful for the work that they did and their passion for reaching others for Christ.

“Prayer is a warfare weapon.” said Austin, an upcoming senior in the youth group of Ebenezer Baptist Church.  He, along with twelve other students and youth workers, drove two hours to Clarkston in order to assist in reaching out to the international refugees of the area.  ”The diversity and culture of the area is really cool,” continued Austin, “I like that you can stay in the country while feeling like you are going out of the country.”  The team did an excellent job of interacting with the children of the area. They came prepared with their youth praise band, who engaged the children with fun songs that they could dance to; stories that they acted out, and so much candy that they were struggling to get rid of it all.  Some of the students even brought along some magic tricks to perform for the children, and a few people from the group helped with the English as a Second Language ministry. Everyone who came did an excellent job at whatever they did.

On their first day out in Clarkston, after prayer walking, the students led a Backyard Bible Club. Not too long after

arriving at the apartment complex, the students learned the importance of flexibility on a mission trip.  Rain began to pour down, forcing the students, as well as some of the refugee children and parents, to find cover from the rain. As they waited for the rain to stop, the group shared the story of Noah and the ark.  The children stayed interested, and as soon as the story was over, the rain let up.  God provided a captive audience for the students of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

The next day, at another Backyard Bible Club, as the story began, some of the young men from the group noticed an older boy in the audience,who seemed uninterested in the story for the little children, so they pulled him aside.  After speaking to him for a while, they discovered that he was a Muslim. They were able to tell him about their God and then compare and contrast what they believed with what he believed. The boy was amazed to hear of the relationship a person can have with the God of the Bible as opposed to the impersonal god of the Koran.  He seemed genuinely interested in what the boys from Ebenezer Baptist Church believed, and though he did not pray to accept Christ that day, the seed was planted.  RTN is grateful to Ebenezer’s youth group for coming to serve, and the seeds they planted will be watered.  RTN looks forward to watching the seeds grow and blossom as the Lord’s work is done.