Greetings! We appreciate your support of the Providence Foundation.
We wanted to share with you a report on some of the things we did in 2018 in order to bring Godly transformation to America and the nations.
Washington Post Publishes Article on Providence Foundation’s Christian History Tours
In May the Washington Post published an article on the first page of the Metro Section presenting Stephen McDowell giving a Christian hist
ory tour of Washington, DC, to a group of students and parents from a Christian school in Mississippi. “In God we tour” is a primarily positive look at how America’s historic sites reveal her Christian foundations.
While a few contrary statements were presented, it was refreshing to have the liberal Post publish a truth of which most of the paper’s readers are likely ignorant; that is, inscribed upon our buildings, monuments, and national symbols is our nation’s faith in God.
The article generated many comments. Not surprisingly, many of them reflect the liberal, leftist views of the people who regularly read that newspaper. But perhaps some of the readers will begin to consider that there is a reason why our Founding Fathers spoke so often about God and why biblical passages and ideas can be found throughout the buildings and monuments in our nation’s capital.
You can read the article at: washingtonpost.com (search conservative Christian guide)
Working with Renewanation to Train Christian School Teachers
During the past year Stephen began working with Renewanation to promote biblical worldview education by writing articles for their magazine and training teachers at their annual worldview camps. One article on “A Nation at Risk” shows how textbooks have changed over the years from what was clearly a Christian content to what is now secular. This change reflects the secularization of American education and helps to explain why more and more Americans embrace non-biblical worldviews. As has been said, the philosophy of the school room in one generation is the philosophy of government in the next. Moreover, whoever controls the children controls the future of a nation.
To combat this u
nbiblical trend, we have since our beginning about 35 years ago sought to train teachers, principals, and parents in a biblical worldview. We have recently partnered with Renewanation to provide biblical worldview training to Christian school teachers throughout the country.
Over a two week period during the end of July and first of August, Stephen taught (along with other instructors) at three different Biblical Worldview Training Camps held at Renewanation’s newly built Manderley Camp near Pikeville, Tennessee. Over 300 teachers and administrators from dozens of schools in many states attended these intensive seminars. In addition to educators in Christian schools, a number of public school teachers also attended, desiring to implement some biblical ideas in their classrooms. For many of these teachers it was the first introduction to a biblical worldview of education. Stephen taught on the central role of the Bible in the foundation of America, how to educate in a biblical manner, and practical ways to implement a biblical philosophy and methodology in the classroom. Other instructors taught such topics as: the authority and sufficiency of the Bible, practical tools for biblical worldview integration, the lost purpose of education, creationism, the critical role of tex
tbooks, donor development, and more.
Many of the attendees expressed how the ideas they were learning were life-changing and when applied would make their classroom instruction more meaningful and exciting. One attendee wrote: “If you ever get the opportunity to hear Stephen McDowell speak on Biblical Worldview, please take full advantage! It’s refreshing to hear someone speak the truth with such clarity and conviction!”
We will be conducting similar training events next summer at Manderley Camp and perhaps in other cities before then. Please contact us if you or anyone you know are interested in attending.
Pastors’ Seminars
Since our beginning in 1984 we have worked to train pastors because they have such a great influence in equipping Christians to fulfill their Godly vocations. They are to be watchmen on the walls, warning of the dangers to society and teaching biblical principles for all spheres of life. In the past year we taught at numerous pastors’ conferences and gatherings, in the U.S. as well as in Colombia and Brazil.
Our book Watchmen on the Walls, Pastors Equipping Christians for Their Civil Duties was recently published in Colombia (Spanish) and Brazil (Portuguese). We also offer an online course via our Biblical Worldview University on “Watchmen on the Walls,” which is free for pastors. If you are a pastor or ministry leader contact us for how to access this course taught by Stephen McDowell, David Barton, and Mark Beliles.
International
Transformation of Colombia
God is doing something special in the nation of Colombia. Great revival has been occurring over the past few decades and God is now awakening His people to bring biblical transformation to all spheres of life.
Students at a YWAM school in Bucaramanga.
Between July 2017 and October 2018, Stephen McDowell visited Colombia six different times, spending about eleven weeks traveling throughout the country and teaching on biblical worldview and transformation. He traveled to 15 cities teaching thousands of leaders in the church, government, education, media, law, and business. Much of the time was spent training hundreds of pastors who desired to be equipped in biblical principles of government and economics for the purpose of training their congregations, believing this is vital for the future of the nation. In addition, Stephen consulted and taught the leaders of the newly formed political party Colombia Justa Libres.
These were not his first trips to Colombia. He had visited there four previous times prior to 2017, speaking at conferences, churches, and YWAM schools.
The Spanish version of our book Watchmen on the Walls was given to 1500 pastors at a nation-wide conference.
What has produced this great hunger in Colombian Christians for biblical transformation? In the past 40 years, the number of Christians in Colombia has risen from around 15,000 to over 8 million (20% of the population). This is a huge growth, but typical of other nations in the world. What is not typical of all the nations experiencing a great outpouring of God’s Spirit is the stunning increase, mostly in the past two years, in the number of pastors awakening to their civil duties and getting training so they can teach others. Exposure to ideas like we teach at the Providence Foundation (undergirded by much prayer) was instrumental in this awakening. Also contributing to this awakening was the action of their previous president.
Conference in Cali, Colombia with 200 pastors.
In the fall of 2016 Colombia voted to reject a peace plan that their former socialist President Santos negotiated with the rebels in hopes of ending 50 years of fighting. It was a bad deal, giving away land and permanent seats in the legislature, yet everyone thought it would be easily approved as the government and most of the media supported it. However, the people rejected it. The vote was as surprising as Brexit (where the English people chose to leave the European Union) and the election of Trump in America.
Unfortunately, after the vote Santos decided he would go through with the peace plan regardless of the will of the people. That action, coupled with a flood of people coming into the nation from Venezuela who are escaping the failure of that nation’s socialist leaders, has caused many pastors and Christians to awaken. Not wanting to become like Venezuela, and fearing that many people may fall for the false promises of socialist leaders (as happened in Venezuela), thousands of pastors begin attending biblical worldview training events in many cities.
In February 2018, Stephen spoke to a rally of Colombia Justa Libres held at Pastor Jhon Milton’s church in Cali. Due to the critical time in Colombia’s history, this pastor felt God called him to seek public office. He is now a senator.
At the first nationwide pastors gathering, the Spanish edition of our book, Watchmen on the Walls, Pastors Equipping Christians for Their Civil Duties, was published and given to each of the 1500 pastors in attendance. In the months following, Stephen taught at many of these pastors’ events including a three-day 2017 conference in Cali attended by two hundred pastors from 30 cities (see picture, top right).
One action of many of these church leaders was to support the formation of a new political party that would run candidates for the 2018 elections. During many of Stephen’s trips to Colombia he consulted with the founders of Colombia Justa Libres and taught at various rallies of their supporters and candidates (see picture at right).
To be officially recognized as a party and to obtain representation in the national senate,
Stephen with Hector Pardo (at right) and a former Miss Colombia (at left). Hector is a leading pastor in Colombia and the father of biblical transformation in his country. He recently founded an Institute for Biblical Thought with the mission of educating future leaders. Hector first invited Stephen to Colombia over 20 years ago to conduct some of the earliest biblical transformation seminars in the country. This picture is from a trip in 2015.
Colombia Justa Libres (CJL) needed to get 500,000 votes (out of about 15 million total) in the election that occurred on March 11, 2018. Initially it was announced they fell just short of that number. But when folks in CJL noticed some irregularities, they protested and upon review tens of thousands of uncounted votes were “found.” Therefore, they now are recognized as an official party with three members in the senate and one representative. One of the newly elected senators from CJL is Jhon Milton Rodriguez, who is a pastor of a large church in Cali. Jhon Milton had previously hosted a couple of training events where Stephen taught 2000 leaders of his church and 1500 Colombia Justa Libres constituents.
An important reason that CJL has had such success in such a short time is that many of the leading pastors in the nation were involved in the formation of CJL. Many of their churches sponsored biblical worldview training events to teach their members how to reason governmentally. (The American church could learn from their example.) The awakening of Christians and the rise of CJL is very significant for Colombia and for Christians obtaining a national voice in government.
Colombia Justa Libres is not the only avenue for Christian involvement in politics. There are numerous Christians in other political parties and many who serve in local, state, and national government. Stephen has taught seminars to many of them.
To help Christians in Colombia bring transformation, we have had many of our books and materials translated and published in Spanish. With new and prior efforts we now have in Spanish six books (Watchmen on the Walls, Liberating the Nations, The Ten Commandments and Modern Society, Crime and Punishment, Rendering to Caesar the Things that Are God’s, and In Search of Democracy), three articles, one course manual (Biblical Economics and Business), and 16 PowerPoint Presentations. (All of these resources are now available in electronic format on one memory disk. Some are available in print form in Colombia.) In addition, video recordings of Stephen’s in-depth teachings on government, economics, and education are being offered to folks throughout Latin American.
Left: A flyer promoting a conference on biblical transformation in Colombia. Pastor Eduardo Canas was a member of the advisory council during the formation of Colombia Justa Libres. Right: The church founded by Pastor Canas is one of many large churches where Stephen has spoken. His Bogota church has over 15,000 members. Canas and his team have founded hundreds of other churches throughout the nation.
The work 
of Christians in Colombia has just begun. Most Christians are very new to understanding the biblical role of government and need much more training. Understanding the need for continuing education has led many YWAM bases to offer schools of government. Medellin YWAM director Paulo Fillion conducted a number of these schools inviting Stephen and other Christian educators to teach in-depth lessons on government, economics, education, and biblical worldview. This school is now offered online.
Stephen and his interpreter in a church in Bogota.
Another group providing continuing education is the Transformation Institute. Rodrigo Tapia started the Institute in Brazil in 2010, inviting Stephen McDowell to conduct the inaugural classes. The Institute has now spread throughout Latin America, having an especially large influence in Colombia under the leadership of Augusto Bernal.
In August 2018 the Transformation Institute organized a series of conferences and seminars in six cities (Bogota, Medellin, San Andres, Buenaventura, Barbosa, Soacha). Stephen McDowell, Vishal Mangalwadi of India, and Rodrigo Tapia taught on biblical transformation at 17 different venues including: churches, conferences, pastors groups, the state legislature of Antioquia, Transformation Institute classes, and individual meetings with national and local government leaders.
A month later Stephen returned to Colombia to teach three different Transformation Institute schools, as well as in various churches and at other gatherings. In addition, he taught a group of local, state, and national leaders including Senator Maria Fernanda Cabal.
God is awakening His watchmen in Colombia. Christian leaders in the church, law, education, government, and business are seeking to bring God’s kingdom to the nation. They have just begun and much work remains. Continuing education is vital for them to succeed. Thankfully, many folks are carrying on the task. We are thankful we have been able to play a small part in this historic work and have plans for many future visits.
Brazil
During the end of August and beginning of September, Stephen traveled to Brazil at the invitation of Rodrigo Tapia and the Transfor
Vishal, Mark, and Stephen with leaders of the Gravatai police force.
mation Institute. We have been working with the Institute since its founding in 2010, when Stephen taught its inaugural classes. In multiple visits since then, Stephen has taught in nearly a dozen cities throughout the nation.
The 2018 trip began in the southern city of Gravatai where Stephen and Vishal Mangalwadi taught a two-day conference, at a pastors’ gathering, and at a YWAM base. They, along with Mark Beliles, conducted a half-day training event for the mayor, members of the police force, and over 100 members of the city government.
Vishal, Rodrigo, and Stephen then traveled to the northeastern coastal city of Sao Luis, where they conducted a multi-day conference
Vishal, Stephen, and Rodrigo with student organizers of a Truth and Transformation seminar held at UFMA University.
on transforming Brazil to hundreds of people, spoke at a pastors’ breakfast, and taught a two-day seminar to many students at Federal University of Maranhão (UFMA), the leading university in the area. These were attended by many pastors, lawyers, government officials, future leaders, and others desiring to see Brazil discipled. They also spoke at the largest churches in the area and while visiting a local Huguenot Museum learned that French Protestants played a part in the beginning of the city, erecting a cross for prayer when arriving in 1612 and writing laws based upon the Ten Commandments.
Two of our books (Liberating the Nations and Watchmen on the Walls) and six PowerPoint presentations are available in Portuguese.
Bolivia
In the summer of 2017 Stephen spent three days in Cochabamba, Bolivia, teaching biblical principles of societal transformation to pastors, government officials, educators, and business leaders. Those in attendance included a man and wife who founded and run a Christian school in La Paz. The wife, Cecilia, recently wrote us:
I would like you to know, that I shared your teachings with my teachers and students. The study of the law of God, of the Ten
Stephen and Vishal before speaking at a Transformation Institute conference in Brazil.
Commandments, opened my eyes to integral salvation and the essential subjects in a Christian education, we are also deepening this study with other authors. We are implanting these teachings very slowly but consistently in our Christian School, with my husband Oscar teaching the students in class and I teaching the teachers.
Now, we are starting a school of Christian leaders, where we will plan to teach biblical worldview, reasoning and fallacies, basic theology, history, and biblical designs. It is aimed at pastors and young Christian professionals. If you could help us it would be wonderful.
We are watching from Bolivia to your country, very happy of the changes that are happening, and with the hope that in Bolivia we can also see the hand of God one day and we can return to the biblical designs, which we know start with changed hearts.
I am sending you this letter to thank you and to tell you that the seeds that you planted here in Bolivia gave good results. Thank you, many congratulations and blessings from Bolivia.
Video Clips
Seven videos ranging from 2 to 15 minutes in length covering such subjects as socialism vs. biblical capitalism, Christians’ involvement in government, the role of the church in society, the Bible as the foundation of America, and the Christian nature of our historic sites are available to view o
n our website home page, YouTube, and Facebook (Providence Foundation). These are great introductions to many important and relevant topics.
New Books and Publications
This book examines the biblical doctrine of work and looks at dozens of Christians who
have led the advancement of mankind in all spheres of life, including: Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Christopher Columbus, Samuel Morse, George Washington Carver, John Locke, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Johann S. Bach, Daniel Webster, and many others.
- The Hand of Providence
Providence signifies the biblical doctrine of the overruling power of God that governs in the affairs of men. Providence is “the care and superintendence which God exercises over His creatures.” The Bible teaches that God moves providentially in the lives of men and nations to accomplish His purposes in history. Our providential purpose is a part of God’s overall purpose for mankind.
- Biblical Principles of Business, Exemplified in the Life of Cyrus Hall McCormick
Work and business are a part of God’s calling through which people can fulfill their divine mission and manifest G
od’s Kingdom on the earth. The primary way we will fulfill the creation commission to take dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28) and Jesus’ command to “occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13) is through our occupation or vocation. Cyrus McCormick understood his profession was a ministry from God. He not only invented the reaper, but he also built a new form of business—a new species of commercial organization—one based upon biblical principles.
- Memory Disk with Spanish Resources
With our extensive travels to Latin American in the past few years, we have begun to make our many books and PowerPoint presentations available in electronic format via memory disk. Our Spanish resources disk contains Spanish versions of 6 books, 3 articles, one course manual, and 14 PowerPoint Presentations.
- Providence Foundation Pen
Christian Heritage Week
Stephen wrote a series of American history lessons that will form the core of a project we are working on with David Barton and WallBuilders to provide teachers with resources to teach about the Christian heritage of America. We will be encouraging governors and legislators to set aside one week during the school year as Christian Heritage Week. The online resources we are developing will provide teachers all the information they will need to impart this important history to their students. We have special days, weeks, and months for all kinds of things but neglect the most important item for students to be learning; that is, God’s hand in our history.
Christian History Tours
Stephen and John McDowell conducted numerous tours of Washington, DC, and Virginia for various groups including the three annual week-long tours we do with Tim Wildmon and America Family Association. Stephen also conducted a tour for Chris
tian leaders organized by D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship. One of our board members, Bill Ostan, began conducting tours for the Providence Foundation and will continue to do so in the future.
Presentations, Interviews, and Articles
Seminars and presentations were given at numerous churches, schools, and social impact organizations in many states. Stephen was interviewed on a number of radio programs, plus he wrote a number of new articles for our regular emailers, with some being published by AFA and other groups. He was also asked to write articles on “God’s Providence in American History” and “Changing Textbooks Reveal the Secularization of American Education” for publication in the Revewanation Review. A number of new PowerPoint Presentations were produced including four on Christian education and biblical worldview. We reach tens of thousands of people each month via our bi-weekly email newsletter and almost daily Facebook posts.
Legislators’ Project
18 states have now been reached, with legislators in one or both houses having received this important book.
In January 2016, working with West Virginia State Senator Mike Azinger, we published a new book by Step
hen McDowell, The Bible: America’s Source of Law and Liberty. Representative (now Senator) Azinger distributed a copy to every member of the House and Senate in his state. This was so well received that we launched our Legislators’ Project with the goal of giving copies to all 7383 state legislators in the 50 states. Within a few months we had distributed so many copies we had to reprint the book.
Thanks to the generosity of our members and other donors, we have been able to give free copies of this book to legislators in one or both houses in eighteen states – West Virginia, Arizona, Missouri, Minnesota, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, Wyoming, Nebraska, California, Michigan, Oregon, Arkansas, Florida, New Mexico, Idaho, and Indiana. In each of these states we enlisted a legislator or government official to write a cover letter explaining why their colleagues needed to read this book. In his cover letter accompanying the book, Tennessee Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey encouraged the senators to read this book saying, “If this state and this nation is to survive into the next generation and beyond, we must all cherish and pass along this great history and heritage.”
Book Publishing and Sales
Since our founding in 1984, we have published about 40 different books, over 20 Biblical Worldview Courses, a dozen videos, and scores of audios and other resources. Over 300,000 of thes
e have been sold in the United States. Our books and materials have been translated into 18 different languages and distributed to one million people in about 100 countries.
We hear regularly from folks who have benefited from our books and materials, which always encourages us. One man wrote after reading our most recent book, Transforming Nations through Biblical Work, saying: “As in your other works, you present such clear facts and lucid portrait of our blessed Christian liberties in America! Well done!!”
Dave Meyer wrote in the spring 2018 edition of “Enjoying Everyday Life” (the magazine of Joyce Meyer Ministries): “It’s been over 20 years since a friend first gave me a copy of the book, America’s Providential History. I’ll never forget how God used it to open my eyes to all of the great and mighty things He did to establish this nation.” Ever since then Dave has taught about America’s Christian history and promoted our book at their conferences, selling about 100,000 copies.
On-Going Classes
- Monumental: Restoring America as the Land of Liberty
Many churches and groups continue to use our Monumental study (a 12-session course we put together with
Kirk Cameron) that teaches how to restore America as the land of liberty. West Virginia State Senator Mike Azinger has taught a number of Monumental courses at his local church. Stephen spoke to the class via phone at its concluding session in November just before Mike was reelected.
- God’s Blueprint for Life, Liberty, and Property: A Bible Study on the Ten Commandments
Thousands of individuals, groups, and ch
urches have been going through this study, and we have received much positive feedback. One woman said it was the best Bible study she had ever done. One man wrote, “This study of the Ten Commandments was a refreshing study of God’s Word. It is an important combatant in the war against lawlessness in America.”
- America’s Providential History has been used as a textbook for classes in homes, churches, and schools for nearly 30 years. It remains our biggest seller, with Joyce Meyer Ministries alone ordering 4000-5000 annually.
- The Threat of Islam to Liberty and Christianity –The Institute on the Constitution is one of many groups that uses our book as a regular part of their training courses.
- Contending for the Constitution – our book on the Constitution is regularly used as a textbook for classes at a number of schools including Liberty University.
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Your support has enabled us to accomplish the above items and more. Thank you so much! Your continued support will help us spread Christian liberty and truth among the nations and train others to transform the culture for Christ.
