November - December Newsletter 2023

Seedtime and Harvest Ministries Inc.

8635 Callaghan Rd, San Antonio TX 78230-4429
e-mail: jptolman@yahoo.com web page: www.shmin.org

Nov/Dec 2023

As another year comes to a close, it is a good time to look back and see how effective we have been in the work that we have set out to do. Everything we do has to have a start and a finish. This lets us bring about change. In a recent meeting at the city ́s Pastor ́s Alliance, the comment was made to why we don’t do more evangelism as an alliance. The answer was easy, sure we can make this change, only we have to come to an agreement first. Fulfilling the prayer of Jesus in John 17 to become one is what takes work. Once we are one, very little is impossible to accomplish.

In our last newsletter we mentioned about the new school curriculum being used by the national school system and that how it destroys the morality that we preach, which is what is taught in the Bible. We continue in the courts asking for legal protection against the use of this material, not only in our school but in all the schools in the State. Our vision is not to just protect the children in the churches but to transform what is happening in our social environment, which also affects the church. We know that in the last days sin will increase, but as long as we are here, we must take a stand for what is right.

After over 25 years of working in home groups in the town of Santa Maria del Oro, we made the transition of renting a home to use as a church building. Over the years we have moved from house to house and the children ́s services have always been outdoors, rain or shine. A family from our Xalisco church, that have graduated for our Bible School, have now taken the work as a constant ministry each week. Francisco and Maria Luisa now have a group of over 25 children, and not one of them is from a Christian home. Every Monday they take the afternoon to travel 45 minutes to reach the town where they minister and teach, and then another 45 minutes to drive home. There are some towns that are very open to the gospel, but in this town it has been very difficult to break the spiritual chains that hold captive its inhabitants. Our battle is not only with flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places.

We also work with other churches doing evangelistic outreaches. In the month of August, we supervised 3 VBS, not as a church activity, but as an outreach. We ministered to a total of over 100 children. One of the outreaches was in a part of Tepic where we have no church. Our next step is to start a home group and children’s classes there to make the seed that we planted grow. Even as the world system tries to captivate and indoctrinate our children, we need to plant the Word of God in the hearts of all the children that we can.
We cannot do the work alone. As we form teams that work with us, we also can use people from other churches to open our eyes to different ways of doing the work of the Lord. This last month we participated in two different activities of evangelism with other churches in the city. In September we were part of a 3-day outdoor evangelistic campaign held in one of the city parks. There was a mighty manifestation of the presence of the Holy Spirit and many people received a touch of God in their lives. In November we had visiting pastors from Colombia with us along with their 4 children. Once again, they impacted lives with their testimony of a vision that they experienced of the Lord taking them to Hell and then to Heaven. The fear of God can only exist in our lives when we know that all that do not have their names written in the Book of Life will be sent to a place of torment for the eternity.

Finally, in the month of October Philip travelled to Guadalajara to preach at a fellowship meeting among the 5 pastors that we have in that city and some of their members. The city is so large that the travel time to between the churches is often over a 45-minute driving. Philip has met with the pastors several times throughout the year, but this is the first time in many years that they have been able to have a fellowship meeting with members of each church.

Please keep us in your prayers as the Lord continues to help our faith grow in the area of finances. We also pray that you will be blessed in this Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of our Savoir. We appreciate your monthly support and offerings.

Philip & Lucy, Tolman

Church Get Together In Guadalajara

 

 

Philip & Lucy with Grandchildren. October 2023 

September-October 2023 Newsletter

Sept/Oct 2023

Intense would be the word to describe these last two months of ministry here in Mexico. In August we started classes first in the Bible school and then at the end of the month in our Christian school. We did not have sufficient enrollment to open our middle school, but we had a good enrollment in our primary school. We had been told since last year that the schools in Mexico were going to get new textbooks and a new teaching curriculum. We didn’t know what the changes were going to be. It turns out that the new curriculum is propaganda about sexual inclusion. There are no longer textbooks for Math, Spanish or History. They are teaching sexual education starting at 3rd grade with same-sex marriages, you choose your sexual identity and many other antibiblical teachings.

In our school, we have gone to a complete Christian curriculum, even though we must pay for the textbooks. All the parents of our students, even though they are not Christians are in accord. The second thing that we have done is take our case to court here in Mexico since we have a lot of members who cannot bring their children to our school. We have opened over 35 legal cases in our State this month asking for the new books to be taken out of our schools. This has taken a lot of our time and finances as we try and change the direction that our society is turning. Each person has the right to live whatever lifestyle they choose but they don’t have the right to indoctrinate our children (and grandchildren) to live their choice of lifestyle. Please pray with us as we battle this case in court.

Speaking of differences, we are on the board of the pastor’s alliance in our State. We get together with pastors from different denominations and associations twice a month. We also hold 4 to 5 different activities a year together. One is a leadership seminar, as we had on the 12th of August this year. We had 160 pastors and leaders in attendance, and we were blessed with the teaching and the fellowship. We also hold a women’s conference which will be the last weekend of November this year. Last year they had an attendance of just over 200 women.

Transitions are necessary as life continues forward. We can hold on to positions too long or let them go too soon. Finding the right time has to be a God thing. On August 27th, we installed new pastors in the church we had started in the town of Compostela. Rafa and Karla have been on staff as assistant pastors for the last year and a half. Karla was almost born in the church as her parents were saved when she was 3 years old, and they are still part of the church 35 years later. We will continue to minister in the church 2-3 times a month and will be working alongside them in this time of transition. I look at the young ministers and wonder how they can do it, but then I remember that I was once one of them and by the grace of God I came through.

The church building project that we are doing is coming along fine. This is our fifth church plant in Tepic and as we mentioned in our previous newsletter, the property has been paid for and we have started construction on the first phase of the church. We have also been offered the property next to the one that we purchased, and we are looking into the possibility of acquiring it as well. Our plan was to be using the property for outdoor services by the middle of October, but the rains have put us a little behind schedule. The advantage of living in the subtropics is that outdoor services are feasible as long as you have a roof over your head.

Finally, on the family side, we have been blessed with two new family members this year, and two grandsons. Owen, the older, and Abraham Ashrey are a blessing to our extended family and a joy to their parents. Please keep us in your prayers as the Lord continues to help our faith grow in the area of finances and the monies that we need for the different projects that we are doing. We appreciate your monthly support above all.


Philip & Lucy Tolman

July-August 2023 Newsletter

Once again, we sit down to give you a report of what we have been achieving in the ministry that the Lord has given us to do. As I reflect over the 40+ years that I (Philip) have been in ministry in Mexico, I see the only constant in ministry is the message. Our way of doing services, evangelizing, communicating and the attention span of the congregation has all changed. It was 29 years ago that the Internet was introduced in Mexico, and it has changed the way we do everything. An example of this is that we no longer send letters by post and in our area of Mexico we no longer have postal service.

Another thing that has changed is our understanding of the Word of God. The Word is alive and must continue to reveal itself to us as long as we live. We know in part and as our knowledge grows so should our love for the brethren. On the 1st of July, we held a pastor´s council, as was held in Jerusalem in Acts 15. We had 21 pastors from the city participate (we invited over 100) and we talked about doctrine and points of conflict. Our purpose was not to convince each other of what we believe but to put aside our differences and work together in the kingdom work. I have found out that neither doctrine nor church standards save us. We are saved by the Grace of God and who God chooses to use is my brother and sister in the Lord. As we love each other and work together we see the power of God manifested in our churches.

\Going back to the 4th of June, the women pastors and pastor´s wives, along with Lucy, joined together to hold an afternoon café for evangelism. It was held in one of the major hotels in the city of Tepic and over 150 women from different churches in the city attended along with their guests. Once again, we must take the gospel message to where the people are. Our goal is to start as many people as we can on the path to Salvation and then help them stay focused as they walk the walk. In November this same team of pastors and pastor´s wives will be hosting their annual women´s conference. The purpose is to strengthen the ministries of the women in the different churches.

July marks the end of the 23rd school year of our Christian schools. The words out of Proverbs ring clearly: “Raise up a child in the way…” As we teach the children, we are changing culture and habits. Lucy made the statement a couple of days ago after coming back from teaching: “The students in the middle school nowadays have a very derogatory way of talking”. We now struggle more with their attitudes and vulgarities than ever before. In this last school year, we invested over $12,000 in our school students over and above their tuition. We are looking at raising even more for this next school year which starts in August. Our vision is to continue to train and implant in these lives the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As we talk about culture, one of the most important moments in a new convert's walk with God here in Mexico is their baptism. Almost all Mexican babies are baptized into the Catholic church shortly after birth. This is more cultural than religious. For an adult or a young person to decide to be “rebaptized” is a major step. We know that infant baptism has nothing to do with salvation but to break with that tradition is very difficult. We emphasize baptism very much as we realize that this is the breaking point of renouncing the old traditions and turning to serve God. This year we have been blessed to have had baptisms every month so far this year.

There is so much more that we could share with you as we continue working on our long-term projects such as the new church that is being built, our social plan SAMAO 2040 that has brought in over 15 new converts in the last 2 years, our bible program and much more.

Please keep us in your prayers as the Lord continues to help our faith grow in the area of finances and the monies that we need for the different projects that we are doing. We appreciate your monthly support.


Philip & Lucy Tolman

May-June 2023 Newsletter

We have entered our hottest month of the year as far as climate is concerned, and we are expecting also that the fire of the Holy Spirit will put a passion in our hearts with the same intensity. Seasons are necessary but we must have the full cycle. Our ministry name comes from Genesis 8:22 which states “While the earth remains, Seedtime and Harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”

In April we held our youth and family camps. As we do each year, we make our camp extreme in all the senses of the word. In the first place, it is a camp of sleeping on the ground in tents, cooking over campfires and bathing in the river. Secondly, there is no electricity, cell phones or sound equipment. On the spiritual side, there is always a strong spiritual manifestation of both the Spirit of God and demonic activity. This year we had a much stronger spiritual battle than other years and we wonder if the fulfillment of Revelations 9:2-4 could be the reason for this spiritual battle. We came out victorious and every person that attended had a very strong encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the churches that attended, their pastor was converted 23 years ago in one of our camp meetings and now oversees 4 churches.

As we make room for the new converts, we are in the process of buying properties and building. The church of Agustin and Damara, for which we raised money for their property last year, is starting the construction of their youth center on the 15th of May. This youth center will serve also as the church building in the first phase as they are looking to get out of the school building that they are renting and move onsite. The goal is to start having services in the new building by the end of October. They are believing that the $60,000 US that they need for this first stage of construction will be supplied so that they can be debt free.

In our Xalisco church, we are looking to purchase the property that is beside the church so we can double our capacity. The house next door has been abandoned for the last 4 years as not many people want the wall of their house up against an evangelical church auditorium. Please pray with us as we work towards this goal.

We continue with our two evangelism programs for winning new converts. Our plan SAMAO 2040 now has over 50 families signed up and being visited every month. We are now working on the plan in 3 communities, and we are having excellent results.

The Bible project we started in 2022 continues to grow. This last month we gave away 11 boxes of Bibles and we just purchased 18 more boxes for the next two months. We now have more churches participating as we received funds to be able to subsidize the Bibles even more than we were doing at the beginning of the project. The project is not only about giving out Bibles. It is about opening homes up for Bible studies and getting people converted.

Come and visit us! We would like you to see first-hand what we are doing and not only be a part of the financial aspect but also be part of the ministry. We pray that the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ will be upon you. your families, and your homes. We appreciate your monthly support.


Philip & Lucy, Tolman

March-April 2023 Newsletter

Stop Loving The World (William Greenhill) was a book given to us in January that has caused a readjusting of how we look at the church and the world. We have taught that love is directional. To be able to love something or someone you must stop loving other things or people that would steal that love. The Bible tells us that one cannot love God and love the world. The question is how do we define the difference between using the world and loving the world? In our leadership class, we are teaching this so that each leader can define this for themselves.

Baby Owen Tolman was born on the 10th of January, a healthy very big boy. Simri and Nathalie are adjusting to a total change in their home with the new arrival. On the 28th of January Vanessa, our youngest was married to Daniel Sanchez. There is a saying that the only constant in life is change. That has been the case in our lives these last few months.

In the first part of February, we made a short mission trip to Guatemala along with Stephen and his son-in-law Paco. We attended a mission conference for national missionaries from Central and South America. We were able to meet many people personally with whom we have been meeting together on Zoom every month. Zoom is a great tool, but it will never take the place of meeting one on one. The Zoom church just doesn’t exist because without the gathering together there just isn’t a church.

As a ministry that is church focused, one of our main efforts is our Bible School. We have gone through different stages and types of classes over the 35 years we have had it open, but one thing never changes; we are raising up church leaders. We started a new semester on February 4th with a total of 15 students coming for classes between first- and second-year students. One of the 6 classes offered this semester is Ecclesiology, which is the function of the local church body. Our goal is to raise up leaders to minister in the churches and to start new works. Pray for our students as they continue preparing themselves to fulfill God´s calling in their lives.

Apart from our focus on the church we are working on two different projects for evangelism aside from the one on one that is done by most of the church members. The first one is our Bible project to place one Bible in each home in the city of Tepic. We have now programmed our next 4 months of areas of the city that we are going to cover and each month a different church works the street blocks around their church building giving away Bibles to anyone that doesn´t have one.

Our second project is Plan SAMAO 2040 which we started in 2020. The project is to walk alongside each child that is born in that county for the next 20 years of their life if the parents sign up for the plan. We now have 44 families in the project as we work with them on both the social and spiritual areas of their lives.

Talking of change, as we are preparing for our annual youth and family camp we are faced with a new challenge. Easter week has always been, for Mexico, a religious holiday that gave the students 2 weeks of holidays and most businesses closed Wednesday night and reopened on the following Monday. Easter is no longer a stipulated holiday in Mexico. Even though the schools still have their two weeks of holidays, no one else gets time off. This has changed the focus of our camp as we now mostly have school-aged youth and not the older ones that work. Also, attendance at the family camp has dropped since there is no holiday. On April 3rd we start camp as we work to adjust to these changes and make the camps effective.

In 2023 we are believing for a time of exceptional growth. The message that we received from God for this year comes out of Haggai 1:8 and it tells us to dedicate time to build the house of the Lord so that He can be glorified. Last year we raised money to buy land for the church Agustin and Damara are pastoring. This year we are looking to buy the property beside the Xalisco church so that we can double our capacity.

Thank you church family for supporting us as we minister here in Mexico. The church property of Agustin and Damara in Tepic that we have been raising money for has been paid for. THANK YOU TO ALL who made this possible. We pray that the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ will be upon you. your families, and your homes. We appreciate your monthly support


Philip & Lucy Tolman

Baby Owen Tolman

Philip, Vanessa, Danny, Lucy

January/February 2023 Newsletter

As we start a New Year, we can look back at the good things that we experienced in 2022, leaving behind the trials and difficult times. The last two months of 2022 were filled with many opportunities to minister the Word outside of the regular church setting. The Christmas season is always a good time to share why the birth of our Saviour means a lot more than just celebrating Happy Holidays. The world wants to take Christ out of Christmas but without the birth of our Saviour there would be no Christmas. This is the message of hope that we share year-round.

As we finished our last newsletter, we are getting ready to have a march through part of the city of Tepic and a night of prayer in the town square. Two days before the event, the government officials cancelled our permit to use the town square for the night of prayer but after taking council, we decided to do the event anyway. I will not take you through all the details but in the end, we were not only given the permit to use the town square, but we also had a complete police escort for our march through the city. We had an excellent turnout from the churches and we so impacted the city that the local government has met with us in January we will be having breakfast with the mayor of the city of Tepic as pastors. Agustin and Damara and the worship team from their church did a great job with the singing and we even had a time of prayer and healing for the sick.

December was a time of “posadas” which are traditional Christmas parties in Mexico. Each church and each church group must have one so as pastors we attended over 10 church parties in a two-week period. They are a good time for fellowship, eating and sharing the Christmas story. They help with the breaking of bread part of the gospel that makes us family and not just church members.

The 10th of December we finished another semester at the Bible school. Four of our students graduated as they finished 3 years of study, which is 6 semesters of classes on Saturdays. We still have 16 students enrolled and there are now new students signed up for the start of classes on the 4th of February. The church will only grow through having leadership that is prepared to lead and teach. In 2023 we are believing in a time of exceptional growth. The message that we received from God for this year comes out of Haggai 1:8 and it tells us to dedicate time to build the house of the Lord so that He can be glorified. Last year we raised money to buy land for the church Agustin and Damara are pastoring. This year we are looking to buy the property beside the Xalisco church so that we can double in capacity.

On the family side, we are going through big changes. As we write this letter, Simri´s wife, Nathalie, is in labour and we are expecting baby Owen Tolman to be born before the 12th of January. On the 28th of January Vanessa, our youngest will be getting married to Daniel Sanchez. Now we will have an empty nest and we will be able to travel more together as we minister outside our local area.

Thank you church and church family for sending us offerings last year as we invested in the property that we need for the church of Agustin and Damara in Tepic. We pray that the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ will be upon you. your families, and your homes. We appreciate your monthly support. We have so much to be thankful for.


Philip & Lucy, Tolman

November-December 2022 Newsletter

Nov/Dec 2022

Writing a newsletter is not always easy. We want the newsletter to be interesting, exciting, and uplifting. There are sometimes in life when those things just don´t happen. That doesn´t mean that things didn´t happen, it´s just what happens are not exceptional events. Our ministry team continues ministering in 15 services a week, as well as holding Bible school classes every Saturday, home groups and special activities. Lucy continues to supervise our Christian schools, Monday through Friday but here are some of the EXTRA activities that we have organized and been part of these last month two months.

On September 27 we held our anniversary for the church in Compostela. The church was started 34 years ago in a home, and it continues to reach out and convert people to Christ. This present year we baptized 7 new people. We have as of January installed a young couple, Rafa and Karla, that are working with us as assistant pastors here and we have the goal of installing them as full-time pastors soon.

On Saturday the 1st of October we did another bible evangelism event with our goal to get a Bible into the home of every home in the city of Tepic. In 4 hours, we covered 16 city blocks and the following Saturday we had to go back to cover the remaining 8 that we had programmed. We gave away a total of almost 72 bibles in that area. Now the local church that we worked with will hold bible studies in the homes that invited them back.

Our next event was on the 22 of October with the youth of the Pastor´s Alliance of our city. Even as Christians we have certain needs that are common to everyone. One of our needs is to be able to dress up and be seen. Even as Christians it is part of our DNA. Throughout the years we had held a citywide youth Night of Talents. In this event, the youth from the different churches of our city presents a drama, a song, or a poem in front of the audience to see who has the best performance. It is a formal night, and everything is Christ-centered along with short videos that are shown between the performances. The last many years we had stopped doing this event but this year we made it happen. We had over 10 different churches do a presentation, and youth from many other churches attended the event.

November is a month jam-packed with special events. On Friday the 4th we held a conference on religious rights in Mexico that was attended by church leaders and government officials (and the press). We had over 170 pastors, priests, and religious leaders in attendance and we brought in a speaker that specializes in teaching about our rights as a church and our religious freedoms as Mexicans.

On Saturday the 5th we had a movie night in one of our churches with a double purpose. The first goal was to raise money for some sound equipment we need and our second goal, which is always present, was evangelism (needless to say, it was a Christian movie). We packed the church out and we sold all the goodies that you can buy in the theatres to raise money.

The next Friday and Saturday was the Pastor´s Alliance Annual ladies' conference in Tepic. Lucy is one of 3 lady pastors that organize this event every year. With over 200 ladies paying to attend, the theme of this year´s conference was “Know my Essence”. This year was a special time as the ladies got to know, through the Word who they are in Christ.

As you get this newsletter, we are getting ready on Saturday 19th to have a march through part of the city and a night of prayer in the town square in Tepic as we participate in a National Day of Prayer. Over 15 churches have signed up to participate in the event and we will have more by the time this event takes place this weekend. In our next newsletter, we will let you know the results of this event.

Thank you church and church family for standing alongside us as we endeavour to fulfill the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ as put on our lives. Also, we urgently need 180 people willing to give $250 each to invest in the property that we need to finish paying off for the church of Agustin and Damara in Tepic. Please help us make this church building a reality so that it can continue to grow and plant more churches.

We pray that the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ will be upon you. your families, and your homes. We have so much to be thankful for.

Philip, Lucy, & Vanessa Tolman