Questing Truth…Grasping My Calling

“…faith comes by hearing …the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

My hard drinking, shrewd father stringently thrust me into my own business at age nine as a paperboy in the violent streets of Chicago. I was soon immersed into a neighborhood gang and began mastering fighting and gambling. Fortunately, I was plucked from the street scene by responding to Christ. Jesus, the truth, led me out of the ghetto.

My “friends” wondered how I could make more money working than they could stealing and still attract a girlfriend, more lovely and loving than theirs. I brought Carol to the Lane Technical High School prom and proposed marriage as a junior at the University of Illinois We wedded just before I entered the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University in Chicago 53 years ago.

While working in advertising at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati, Ohio, God blessed us with the birth of our son, Fred, and our daughter, Kysa. Unfortunately, I was soon cursed with my commitment to seize the “…truths man had discovered in the two thousand years since the Bible was written!

Finding God’s Word

Serving as a marketing manager at Polaroid in Boston, MA., I was called to co-found an enterprise Salomon/North America, Inc. a ski equipment distributor in Peabody, MA. Materialistically this venture became a great success for Salomon’s owners and nearly all of the employees who became stockholders. However, personally it was a spiritual failure. My relationship with God, Carol, our son, Fred, our daughter, Kysa, our relatives and friends took a “nose dive”. For the eight years I persistently searched for new truths. Finally, I confessed to Carol that I was leading our family into a spiritual trap. She advised, “The one thing I know is that we must be in church together… often.”

By bringing my family to church, I received a regular diet of God’s word. I soon recognized Scripture as the authentic reality that revealed the deception of my “new truths.” In May 1982, my new Christian friend, Dan Jessen, encouraged me to join him at Billy Graham’s crusade in Boston. Both Carol and I ran forward to reaffirm our faith and dedicate all to our Lord Jesus. Subsequently, my friend confronted me with a provocative question, “Fred, why don’t you take all the time you are investing into other media…which, you know is not helping, and spend it by reading the Bible as if it was true?” This forced me to realize that I had naively given a presumption of truth to other authors while reading God’s word critically. I suddenly became as my son, Fred, stated, “A Bible addict”.

Hearing the Call to Serve

While prayerfully reading Scripture, I was called to be an evangelist. Carol and I quickly took Dr. Christy Wilson’s courses on evangelism, joined BGEA, CMBC, FCCI and the Gideons. To learn to pray, I joined a ladies prayer group. The ladies prompted me into a church mission trip to in 1985. In Cap Haitian my life flashed before me as God called me to “Go”! Immediately, I explained my calling and inability to be a foreign missionary to Dr. Bob Cooley, the president of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. His offer that I could not refuse was, “Why not serve men? You are ready to minister to any man in Boston. Use anything we have here to build your mission.”

My associations grew into a mission to Massachusetts men from the bar rooms to the board rooms. This included weekly businessmen’s meetings in my office, the distribution of thousands of Bibles and thousands of evangelistic encounters smothered in prayer. However, whenever I would read or hear the Scriptures command to “Go” at the end of the Gospels and the beginning of Acts, I experienced a Holy Spirit conviction that God had more for Carol and me. I repeatedly pleaded with God to keep us in Boston.

In February 1990, Carol and I signed up for Dr. Christy Wilson’s mission course. Just prior to the first class I told Christy how I was being bombarded by the “Go” Scriptures. He became very serious and said, “Why not missions?” To which I replied, “I don’t have time!” He then queried, “Do you have the Holy Spirit?” I slowly responded “Yes”. Christy then said “Do you know Acts 1:8?” As I began reciting the verse, he gave me a sermon on my power as a Christian. The Holy Spirit used Christy’s exhortation to convict me that I had been “cheating on” God ever since I was called to mission five years before. I repentantly prayed over Scripture till sleep came at about 10:30 pm. In the middle of that night, I was awoken. I knew that God wanted my complete attention. I prayed for hours sorrowfully repenting my disobedience. Then out of nothing came an audible male voice which I knew was of God. I heard the words “I want you to evangelize in Australia.” Like a kid I blurted “Who?” The voice responded, “The Aborigines.” I fearfully realized my total dependence on God and fervently pleaded for greater clarification. Receiving no further direction at 9:00 A.M. I accepted that His revelation was completed. It was time to talk to Carol and my mentors.

A.C.T.S. in Australia and Beyond

Our 30 years of answering God’s calling have “flown by.” Christian friends linked to church mission committees have worked together to build a most fruitful, compassionate evangelistic association on 3 continents. A.C.T.S., Inc. is a full participant in the growing awakening of non-Christian Australia. God is directing our prayerful actions to provide every Aboriginal child with Biblical resources in their school and or home by 12/31/22. Please join our prayer for a Christlike Australia to capture China for Jesus by 2030.

Since I received my call to evangelism, mission, Australia and the Aborigines by being alone with and paying full attention to God, massive, united action prayer has increasingly preceded every meaningful action. In addition, to seeking God’s counsel for our every step, we have encouraged up to 15,000 A.C.T.S. Action Prayer Partners to pray for our “family” of over 260 A.C.T.S. Volunteer Evangelists throughout Australia and southern China. We mobilize a massive united action prayer effort to break down the demonic strongholds in A.C.T.S. Volunteer Evangelist’s communities prior to helping them launch united evangelistic action aimed at the lost, and most neglected 4-14 year olds and their carers.

A.C.T.S. and our partners are experiencing responses to God in revival proportions wherever we prayerfully outreach together. We have launched an Action Prayer Blitz to bring revival throughout the outback in Australia and Asia. There is now a growing revival in every Aboriginal community….an Australian wide awakening. Prayerfully, we are slowly becoming part of His important transformation of the 330 million aboriginal people in China.

Please join us in Action Prayer by giving God the glory for His rolling, growing movement in these two great lands!