Galkin Evangelistic Ministries

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Item Title	Item Description
End of the Year Testimonies	Whenever one finishes a season of life it is a good thing to pause and reflect on the goodness of God. As a team we are so thankful for God's provision and protection during this tour of ministry. Please watch this Galkin Digital Short and hear the team members testify of God's grace in their lives.
Forget or Remember?	Isn’t it easy to forget things? It seems like my brain tends to selectively “forget” things at times. Ella and I have been memorizing Psalm 103 and the phrase in verse 2 “and forget not all his benefits” caught my attention. How quickly do I forget His blessings and kindnesses to me in the midst of failure, questions about the future, trials, and daily life situations? Aaron and I have five big prayer requests that we have been constantly bringing before the Lord. It is tempting at times to doubt God’s knowledge of each need and desire as we continue to wait for His answer. A few weeks ago, I was listening to a friend recount all the ways that God had blessed their family in the midst of a hard circumstance. As I listened to her confidence in God’s past faithfulness, I was reminded to “remember”. Remembering what God has done in the past gives me greater faith to believe what He will do in the future. Great is His faithfulness! A few days ago, this passage came across my path: Psalm 105:3-4 Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; As I seek God’s face and remember his work on my behalf, I will grow in my trust of His wisdom for my life. He is a good Father who loves me and wants what is best for me. He is always up to something good in my life and I can’t wait to see how He intervenes in our requests for our good and His greatest glory! -Stephanie Coffey
Idolatry - Reba Snyder	Many times we think of idolatry as bowing down to or worshiping an object. I’ve never really thought of myself as an idol worshipper. Over the last few weeks though, the Lord has shown me I am an idolater and do indeed worship other gods. These idols appear slowly and subtly. I don’t begin my day consciously thinking, “I’m going to worship and pursue something other than God today.” Anything that steals my joy from Jesus is an idol in my life. Recently, the idol of comfort has robbed my joy. I began confusing desires in my life with needs and let these desires be something I thought about a lot. I began thinking about ways I could make life on the road a little easier. I began to struggle in my heart with asking the Lord for these desires I had. After all, He said to delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. God wants us to ask Him for things, right? This is truth, and God does want to answer our prayers and give good things to us, however, in my life God wanted to reveal my sin of idolatry. One morning, I was praying for our upcoming meetings that the Lord would fill the people’s hearts with Jesus. As I was praying these words, the Holy Spirit immediately convicted me of the hypocrisy of my own heart being filled with Jesus. I knew I had allowed these desires to have a wrong place in my heart. I knew God wanted me to give up everything to follow Him. If I loved Jesus as I ought, giving Him my life wouldn’t be a difficult task. If I loved Jesus as I ought, I would joyfully give Him everything because of my abundant love for Him. I knew this was not where I was at in my heart. God showed me my wickedness in allowing my desires to steal my joy and affection. He is teaching me each day that nothing is more important than the gospel. I must strive each day to let Christ own my affections. -Reba Snyder
Raising Up Parents - Aaron Coffey	Psalm 127:3 says, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb in his reward.” One of the biggest breakings going on in my life right now is over my daughter Ella. She is full of life, full of personality and fills our little family with so much fun. In the midst of it all, however, I can’t explain how deficient I feel in trying to properly train and raise my daughter. Our lives are so exposed and everyone sees so much of our parenting. We find ourselves constantly second guessing our decisions or anxious about how we are going to handle this situation or that. We are being tempted to make choices based on the fear of people and what they think of our children and our parenting. What this has all produced in Stephanie and me is a renewed dependence on our Heavenly Father. WE NEED HELP! We don’t know how to be good parents. We don’t know the perfect choice in every given situation. We don’t always know when to come down heavy or when to show mercy. We need God! We need God to raise our children through us. He actually loves Ella more than I do, and He is actually concerned for her soul more than I am. He actually knows the perfect blend of justice and mercy. He’s the only one who can help my little Ella. She doesn’t need me to fix her, she needs Jesus to fix her. Our prayer is a continual plea for mercy. Mercy for Ella’s soul (and Asher’s). Mercy for Ella’s future. Mercy for me that I can show my daughter the love of Jesus. Mercy for me and Steph that we will be God dependent parents instead of control-freaks who force our children into conformity without ever shepherding their hearts to love Jesus. It has been so comforting to see Ella’s spirit changing just in the last few months as we continue to work with her. But what is more encouraging is the way that my spirit is changing through all of this. Because God isn’t just helping us raise Ella - He’s still raising me! -Aaron Coffey
Thoughts on Speech - Elise Lafferty	I have a speech problem, and I am not talking about a speech impediment. If you are anything like me, you struggle with your tongue. It gets me into so much trouble! And for the life of me, I can’t seem to control it. I am always quick to make a snide remark, or tear someone down. As God convicts me over my sin, I try so hard to control my tongue, however, its not just about saying the wrong things, but about saying the right things. This is so hard! Over the past week, I’ve been studying Ephesians. Chapters 4-5 discuss our Christian walk, and they mention the tongue often. This passage has given me guidance in my struggle. The culmination for me was in Ephesians 5:1-2a “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love,” My speech will correct itself as I pursue God, and walk in His love. This means that I no longer have to worry about saying the right thing at the right time, I just have to focus on my relationship with my Father. -Elise Lafferty
The Idol of Self - Jared Mitchell	When I started traveling with the Galkin team in September, I had no idea what God was planning on teaching me this year. Before I came on the team I knew I would be in an intense spiritual atmosphere and have incredible opportunities to minister to people with the gospel. In many ways I felt I was spiritual enough for the challenge. I soon found out that the Lord wanted to break me and show me how much I wasn’t spiritual so that my eyes would be off myself and on Jesus. I realized how much I needed God to change me. Over and over the Lord has been breaking me over the idol of myself. Idolatry shows itself in my life in different areas: the fear of man, lack of discernment, lack of brotherly love, and many other ways. While traveling, the Lord has graciously humbled me by allowing me to stumble in each of these areas numerous times. I’ve realized how much I worship the “Jared idol” and how much I desperately need God to change me. A few weeks ago I was talking with one of the team members about an area in which the Lord was chastening me. My friend looked at me and said, “Jared, you need to embrace what God is doing in your life and ask Him to keep doing the same thing over and over so you will change!” My prayer is that I would dare not run from the Lord when He is refining me, but run to Him and seek for Him to change me. -Jared Mitchell
Fear of man - Stephen	This semester has already felt more intense than all of last semester. Don't ask me why, maybe just being on the east coast does something to your blood. Tighter spaces, less sky, sulfur water, and the winter weather all seem to play a small role. Our time here in southern Florida has been fast, but God has already done so much, not only in the churches that we have been in but also in my own heart. The team has been going through a book for team devotions on the topic of fear. From the first page to last chapter that I read this book has been an honest description of how I live the majority of life. Walking around thinking fearful thoughts, feeling fearful, and then speaking fearful words. This could make it sound like I'm living timidly, sure sometimes I'm not too confident and I do get nervous when I have to play music in front of people, but for me living in fear comes out in my life when I turn flippant and speak carelessly. It is easy for me to speak quick and sarcastically with my friends when I'm choosing fear over perfect love, or just choosing little effort in case of failure. One point from the book that has stuck with me is the idea that whatever you are fearing has control over you. To hear that is a bit scary for me. I don't like the idea that I would put myself in the place of letting something control me. Lately it has been difficult for me to know exactly how to conquer this sin when so much of my life is filled with it. One thought that I have had recently is that if I actually fear the Lord I can be controlled by him, instead of my fears. It is an encouraging thing when a phrase used so many times in the Bible is brought to a place of greater understanding. I still have much fear in my life, but through God's grace I don't have to be controlled by my fears if I choose to love and fear the Lord. -Stephen Pettit
South America trip by Reba	A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling with Steve Pettit and his team on a mission’s trip to South America. We began our trip in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela for one week. We had the opportunity to be involved in a youth conference of several churches in the area. Each night our services were packed. The team did special music in Spanish and English, and Bro. Steve preached a gospel message. We praise God many people were saved in these meetings! I believe a highlight for me in our time to Venezuela, was the fellowship with missionaries Phil and Pam Darling and fellowship with the dear people we met in their church. The Darlings were faithful missionaries to Venezuela for almost 30 years. I enjoyed spending time getting to know them and hearing the stories of God’s work in their lives through their years in Venezuela. After Venezuela, we flew to Lima, Peru. This was my third time to this city, and I was anxious to see the friends I had made there over the years. Our host was Tim Chapman. He traveled with Bro. Steve many years ago and is now an evangelist to Peruvian churches. The whole team enjoyed getting to know Tim and hearing about the “old days” on the Pettit team. While in Lima, we went to several Christian and public schools where we did music and preached. Also, we participated in a four night meeting in a local church. Many of my American and Peruvian friends I had made in the past came to see us at the meetings. It’s been a joy for me to see how God has worked in the lives of those Peruvians I first met four years ago. Many are still faithful in their churches and several of the young men are going on to pursue the ministry and become pastors. We ended our time in Peru with a quick trip to Cusco and Macchu Picchu. Finally, the last leg of our trip was in Santiago, Chile. In Santiago, we participated in another youth conference. These days were the highlights of my trip. During the day, we were able to give music lessons and workshops to many young people. It was a joy to build relationships with these believers. Many of them are very talented and burdened to use the abilities God has given them for the Lord. We participated in services at night, and the final night was a celebration of all the music we had worked on with the Chilean people in our conference. We were blessed by children’s choirs, a youth ensemble, and a large choir that joined our team in singing In Christ Alone in Spanish. God taught me many things over the three weeks spent in South America. I believe the greatest thing I was reminded of though, is how small a part I play in God’s work of the gospel across the world. The gospel is flourishing and bearing fruit all over the world. It was definitely a joy to see the effects of the gospel in South America. It is ONLY the gospel and God that changes lives. I am only a vessel. I must be faithful to the Lord in the work He’s given me to do every day. Every word I speak and decision I make must be made with the gospel in mind. I know I also fail at this every day, but I need God’s grace and wisdom every moment. Praise the Lord He’s promised to “lavish on us the exceeding riches of His grace” (Eph. 2) and to give us wisdom if we ask for it (James 1). Thank you for praying for our team as we ministered in South America. You were partnering with us for the gospel. -Reba Snyder
Compartmentalizing Christianity	I usually update this website with current update articles about the churches we visit and places we see, but I’ve never had the chance to write about what God is teaching me on team. When I was asked to join the team in July, I definitely felt inadequate. I looked at the Galkin Team as a group of people who had it all figured out spiritually and never really struggled with sin. The truth is that we all struggle on a daily basis, because we are all going through our sanctification process, just at different stages. My biggest struggle (if I can put it into simple terms) coming on the team was my tendency to compartmentalize my Christianity. I acted one way in front of a spiritual group of people, and then a totally different way in front of worldly people or lukewarm Christians. I understand the need to use discretion in different situations with people, but I was indulging in the flesh. With those who were fun and a little on edge I would allow my flesh (my old man) to control me; with those who were spiritual I would allow the fear of what they would think of me control me. I have to learn to be one person to everyone, which is a hard habit to break. I have not conquered this problem of compartmentalizing, but I have learned that I have to yield to the Holy Spirit in every situation and say no to my flesh. A book that is helping me realize the depravity of my sinful fear of man is “When People Are Big and God Is Small” by Edward Welch. Sin cannot be conquered on our own; it is only through the Holy Spirit, who is much stronger than any temptation we may face, that we find the willingness to say no to our flesh. -Laura Kennedy
Team Profile: Reba	We sat down with Reba Snyder, the music coordinator for the Galkin Team, and asked a few questions on camera about her heart for ministry and what the Lord is teaching her this year on team. Click the picture to view the first Galkin Digitial Short Team Profile, featuring Reba.
Does God Use Authority - Josh Roland	Does God really use authority? This question has always had the easy answer. Of course God uses authority! Who would ever say that God does not use authority? Growing up in a Christian home, it was always reinforced in my brain that God uses authority. God shows through all of Scripture that He ordains, and uses authority however He wants to. A time when this really gets tested is when I, desiring to walk with the Lord and willing to submit to the working of the Spirit of God on my life, find my heart set on something of which my authorities are not convinced. Fear comes in. “Do my authorities question my spiritual discernment?” “Do my authorities not think that I walk with God?” The temptation to get manipulative or forceful is strong because I believe the thing I desire is God’s will. “Why can my authorities not see that?” Imagine David, who knows God’s will regarding the throne of Israel. He knows that in the future he will be king. Now, typically God does not show us the future. In fact, He tells us to not be anxious for tomorrow, but instead to be thankful and prayerful for today. Here David knows the future, convinced of God’s will; yet his authority, Saul, does not see it this way, or at least is unwilling to submit himself to the plan of God. In this situation it might be wise for David to wait until the right opportunity shows up, then seize upon the moment and take the throne! This is exactly the situation we sometimes find ourselves in. We feel directly led by the Lord to do something, purchase something, start something, or go somewhere; however our authorities are not completely 100% there. So, we wait for the moment to explain ourselves better, or manipulate by seeking other authorities or leaders. We keep pounding our perspective until the very people we want to help lead us feel like we are set to go our own way and we won’t heed their instruction anyways. Now we have multiple issues clouding the problem. Fear, Pride, Selfishness, Deceit… Many sins can stem from trying to get one’s own way. David actually had multiple opportunities where even close friends, ones that “walk with God” suggested for him to take the throne, to take the apparent “God given” opportunity. Instead of taking the moment and forcing his way, or manipulating circumstances so that he could get what he wanted, he was patient. He did not seek for people to give him the advice that he wanted to hear; instead he faithfully depended on the Lord to lead in His perfect timing. The heart is what I really find the Lord is after. He wants to know that I trust Him completely. He wants to know that I will follow and wait for Him to lead. He wants me to really love Him more than the “gift that I desire.” I am finding that I actually need to have the attitude of David and wait; completely surrendered to “flee in the wilderness” until God either changes my authorities’ hearts, or completely changes the circumstances, or changes my heart. But God never works apart from authority. Will we surrender to the Lord all our heart’s desires?
Yielding Fruit - Aaron Coffey	Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. This summer we studied the wonderful qualities known as the fruit of the Spirit. As I studied throughout a period of several months I found myself nearly despondent over the lack this fruit in my life. As much as I wanted to love others, I found the ever present love of self to be always greater. Joy and peace seemed to be present at times when everything was good, but wait, true spirit-controlled joy and peace have nothing to do with circumstances. I want to be patient, but I’m simply not. Gentleness? No! Goodness? No! Faithful? When it’s convenient maybe – so, not really! Ok, meekness! I think I’m fairly meek. Meekness is sweet submission to God’s sovereign control in my life both in the area of circumstances as well as authorities. Ok, maybe not. Temperance…nope. I’m not spiritual at all! Isn’t it a wonderful thing that these are not the fruit of Aaron that I’m trying to work out of my life, but the fruit of the Spirit that He is working in me? One of the most comforting passages in Scripture to me is Hebrews 12. In this passage, God shows us His means of working out these fruits in our lives—which is the Father’s chastening. Chastening simply means the “rearing of a child”. This would obviously include everything from training and schooling, to rebuking and scourging. It’s all part of the process of Him working in me the peaceable fruit of righteousness. This summer was a blessed summer, because it was a time of chastening. God in His kindness did a work of training, teaching, disciplining, and encouraging. Much of it was very hard and even now still hurts. Yet if I understand God’s chastening, it should always be sweet. God is doing what only God can do….He’s being the perfect Father. I’m convinced, now more than ever, that God wants the fruit of the Spirit in my life even more than I do. So I should not be despondent or discouraged, because “he which hath begun a good work in you [me] will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Faith - by Stephanie	…… Check out the great size of those periods. It makes me think of the verse “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you”. (Matt. 17:20). FAITH. It must be easy to live by if you just need a little bit. …..Nope. I have been moved in asking the Lord to “increase my faith” (Luke 17:5). The last several weeks, I have become frustrated in certain areas of my life where I thought that if I did everything just so, I would get my desired results. Right? Isn’t there a “magic pill” that will make my life more convenient and easy if I follow some easy 1-2-3 steps? In the midst of parenting Ella and realizing that I have the selfish desire to be the perfect mom that produces the perfect child, I’ve ended up becoming somewhat frustrated. The desire to have a perfect marriage without problems. The desire to have a smooth and certain future. But alas, this is not the case….either the consistent mom, the angelic cherub of a child, the perfect marriage, or the concrete future. I thought that if I tried to do everything that the books say and follow the advice of all of those that had gone before, that things would turn out the way that I had planned. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work? If I am asking God for wisdom in training Ella, and yet I still wonder if I am doing the right thing, am I really believing that God is granting my request?
Dying Daily - by Caroline	I don’t really think I have a good concept of death. Having never lost someone very close to me, I don’t completely understand the realization that you will never see that person again in this life. When I truly contemplate on the word, it has a sobering effect. And yet, I throw around the word “death” so flippantly—mostly in regards to my flesh. I am willing to pray and to share that I desire to mortify (put to death) my flesh. But, I rarely, if ever, see the consistent death of my desires and lusts. Instead, my sinful desires, passions, and idols hide in secret, being fed by my apparent lack of understanding of the word death. Dead things don’t grow. They don’t appear suddenly in the form of bitterness, anger, selfishness, folly, laziness, and apathy. And yet, here is my heart, full of these sins, and in my self-idolatry I continue to feed my flesh instead of putting it to death.
A God of Perfect Plans - by Reba	A few weeks ago, I was listening to a preacher read poems on the book of Job. At the end of the poem, Job’s daughter asks Job why God allowed all the tragedies to happen in his life. He responded, “The Lord has made me drink the cup of His severity, that He might kindly show to me what I would be when only He remains in my calamity.” Throughout my life, God has consistently sent me through trials to test my faith and love for God. I thought I was fine with what God was doing with my life. However, the last few weeks, I have been struggling internally with believing God’s plan for me has been perfect. God has in love shown me the root of the problem is still present. The root of my struggles is unbelief. I dance back and forth across the line of walking by faith in God and living in fear and unbelief. I am not “grounded and settled” in the truth of the gospel (Col. 1:23).
The Joy and Privilege of Preaching the Gospel - Aaron Coffey	I was recently preaching at an evangelistic men’s function in Michigan where I was able to share the Gospel with a large number of unsaved men. One of the greatest blessings of the night however, came on the way home as the pastor drove me back to where I was staying. In the midst of talking theology and the importance of evangelism, he simply made a comment about what a privilege to simply have the opportunity to tell people about Jesus. I believe this with all my heart, but there was something about the passion, yet simplicity with which he said this, as well as other comments on the rest of the trip home. I found myself challenged by this man’s love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Have you ever been around someone who’s Gospel light just seems to shine so brightly? Their passion for souls and the glory of God occupy conversations, and you walk away just thankful that God would ever allow you the privilege of telling others the Good News. I believe I went to Michigan with a burden and truly excited to share the Gospel, but came away with a real challenge to enjoy every second of it—for the great privilege it is to be an ambassador for Christ. Posted by Aaron Coffey
God is Committed to Me - Stephanie Coffey	God is committed to me. This is a thought that has overwhelmed me lately. That the God of the universe is not just interested in my life and not just involved in my life, but He is committed to my life. In Romans 8:32 we are told, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” It’s kind of like being committed to and protecting an investment. If I had invested in something, I would be very careful to take care of it, to protect it and even to enhance or better it. And the more I had spent or invested in it the more precious it would be to me. The reason that I can be so assured of the commitment of God to my protection and enhancement is the amazing price he was willing to pay for me - the price of His own Son. If He would spare His own son, then why would He spare anything else to have me and keep for His own?
Am I My Own Savior? - Josh Roland	Am I liked? Am I needed? Everyone knows what it is like to ask these questions and ones similar to them. We all want to feel needed and accepted. The father wants to feel loved by his children. The college student wants to have the admiration of his teachers. The teenager wants the approval of his friends. However, the motivation does not just stop at the surface appearance of a desire to be liked or needed. There is something even deeper driving these questions. For me, it has been a painful and humbling experience to understand what really drives me.
Complete Surrender - Stephanie Coffey	A house. A better car. A baby. A bonus. A position. A dream. A desire. We all have things that we look to for satisfaction and fulfillment. But many times those things become the end in itself instead of a merciful blessing from the Lord. In the past two months, God has been patient with me as I have gone through three stages in my quest to obtain a heart’s desire.
Seeing God's Hand - Reba Snyder	“How did I get here?” I found myself asking this question two weeks ago as our team was fellowshipping over a meal. More specifically I meant, “How did I get on this team?” I looked back then over the last year at the sovereign hand of God and became overwhelmed with the way God clearly led me to this team. One year ago, this was definitely not a part of my plans. The path here was not easy. I struggled through the valley and even feared at some points that I would not make it through each day; but I did.
Tasting More of the Gospel - Will Galkin	With the leaves almost gone and the snow flurries starting to fly I think it is time to be done for the fall. I praise God for the way He has allowed us to minister in ten churches and one college. Ministry is a gift. This fall has been one of the most unique seasons of ministry. On the personal side the Coffeys were out for a couple of weeks having Ella. We then were out for a couple of weeks because of my need for surgery. With these God given circumstances there have been a number of spiritual lessons gained. The greatest of these lessons for me was the assurance that I am God's child. Rom 5:3-5 reminds us "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." How is it that through pain we actually find comfort regarding our position in Christ? Let me testify. I found myself in physical pain complaining about my circumstance only to be convicted by a specific passage of scripture that I was reading for my devotional time. Phrases like "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" or "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" cut through my self focus and caused me to thank God for these small trials. As I began to tell God that He could have whatever He wanted from me it dawned on me that I would not naturally say and mean those things if the Spirit of God did not dwell in me. What an assurance of my position in Jesus Christ.
Learning to Wait on the Lord - Galkin	After preaching the Sunday night service at Five Mile Baptist Church, Will was unable to sleep because of a pain in his stomach. Finally deciding to go to the Emergency Room he found out that he needed to have an appendectomy.

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