Point of View January 6, 2025 – Hour 1 : The Bucket Ministry

[00:00:04] Across America, Live, this is Point of View, Kirby Anderson.

[00:00:20] Thank you for joining me, it is the Monday edition of Point of View and over the next two hours, we're going to have one guest in the studio, one by phone, we're going to cover a lot of issues in the news and there is certainly a lot to talk about.

[00:00:31] If you'd like to join the conversation at any point, that number is 1-800-351-1212.

[00:00:37] Hope you've had a great weekend and we're going to get into some very important issues, but let's start off with news that has just broken over the last few hours.

[00:00:45] First of all, you had today the joint session of Congress which certified the vote from the Electoral College.

[00:00:52] As my commentaire today points out on counting the votes, it used to be that whenever you mentioned January 6 over the last four years,

[00:01:01] your mind went immediately to the riot that took place four years ago at the Capitol and all the things that have transpired since then.

[00:01:09] Today, much less controversy as you might imagine.

[00:01:14] This was a joint session of Congress which really is the final step before the inauguration of Donald Trump two weeks from today on January 20th.

[00:01:24] Before 2021, really if you get down to it, the constitutionally mandated responsibilities to count the electoral certifications really oftentimes took place less than an hour.

[00:01:36] We sometimes went without even any notice from the public.

[00:01:40] But of course, this time Washington D is under heightened security for a number of reasons.

[00:01:45] One was this vote.

[00:01:47] Number two is the state funeral for President Jimmy Carter.

[00:01:51] And then of course, as I've just alluded to, two weeks from today, the inauguration of Donald Trump.

[00:01:57] So again, it was not a wonderful, if you will, climate at least from the atmosphere.

[00:02:05] At the time, probably the heaviest snowfall was dumped on Washington, D.C. than you have seen in many years.

[00:02:14] But at least the atmosphere inside of the Capitol was much better.

[00:02:19] And again, we have all sorts of heightened security.

[00:02:23] Fortunately, none was needed for this particular event.

[00:02:26] But nevertheless, the D.C. mayor had a national security special event.

[00:02:31] All sorts of individuals associated with Secret Service, as well as D.C. police, about 4,000 additional officers from across the country.

[00:02:40] So that is an event that went without event.

[00:02:45] Very good.

[00:02:46] Let me also mention that the embattled Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced this morning that he will resign as the leader of the nation's ruling Liberal Party.

[00:03:00] Actually stepping aside before this general election, recognizing his chances of election or re-election were pretty slim.

[00:03:08] And he says he will remain in office in his post as Prime Minister until his successor is chosen.

[00:03:16] And so we'll see where that unfolds there, as well.

[00:03:20] Let's, if I can, point you then to a number of articles we're going to look at before we have our guest Christopher Beth in studio.

[00:03:26] And then we also have Jason Lovins next hour by phone.

[00:03:30] And then we'll get into some other issues as well.

[00:03:32] But this first article comes from Andrew Walker.

[00:03:36] He is an individual that works with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Convention.

[00:03:42] And as a result, the commission, I should say, is one that has really been watching this election.

[00:03:49] And his article has the very, I think, encouraging title, How Social Conservatives Can Make the Most of a Second Trump Administration.

[00:03:58] He points out that in American politics, sometimes people that are social conservatives feel as though our voices are silenced amid the cultural shifts and policy priorities in favor of progressivism.

[00:04:11] That certainly was the case over the last four years.

[00:04:13] But he does point out that you have, for example, J.D. Vance, by the way, one of the youngest vice presidents in her nation's history now, as he will be sworn in in two weeks, who is Catholic.

[00:04:24] You have the head of Office of Manage and Bunchment.

[00:04:27] That would be Russ Vought, who's been on the program with us, who is an evangelical and many others in the administration.

[00:04:34] And so in some respects, the idea of having a social conservative vision that would be articulated in the Trump administration would be such things as a commitment to human life, the priority, the family of political freedom, rule of law and the rest.

[00:04:50] And so he suggests that, first of all, when we talk about health care initiatives, these should be those which uphold life.

[00:04:58] When he talks about the issue of equality and justice, hopefully you would have a greater and stronger defense of religious liberty and free speech.

[00:05:09] When it comes to things like the family, which he calls the cornerstone of any thriving society, that should be elevated and protected.

[00:05:19] And even makes the case that when you look at this, these can be done through some economic policies, such as one that he mentions is eliminating the marriage penalties in the tax code.

[00:05:33] Actually, you are taxed differently if you're married than if you are two individuals living singly.

[00:05:40] Secondly, we should be prioritizing and making significant the issue of marriage.

[00:05:46] Second of all, expanding the child tax credit.

[00:05:49] Another one providing tax relief, he says, for such things as homeschooling, private schooling and things of that nature.

[00:05:56] Because he says these are really affirmations of the primary unit of society.

[00:06:01] Goes on to say that also when we look at the issue of education, now even when you talk about the possibility of eliminating the Department of Education, this would return authority to state and local governments.

[00:06:15] He believes that that would really reinvigorate kind of a family first conservatism.

[00:06:22] When we get to the judiciary, he says the same kind of things we've heard from Kelly Shackelford.

[00:06:27] That is that appointing conservative justices and judges certainly would be those who would be committed to understanding the Constitution in terms of what's called originalism.

[00:06:40] And that would be something that would uphold the rule of law and ensure that we wouldn't have the kind of legislative and sometimes even executive overreach that has been taking place.

[00:06:51] Well, he's not done because he also talks about besides just the whole issue of domestic policy, he argues that the administration could use its authority through certain regulatory procedures and measures to reduce the number of abortions in America.

[00:07:06] He also believes and is convinced that this administration will finally address the confusion surrounding gender and sexuality that has been foisted upon the American people in these last few years.

[00:07:22] And then finally, he says there is even a call, he believes, for justice and accountability that needs to be heard.

[00:07:28] One example of that that he gives is the need to investigate the anti-Christian bias in federal institutions and even to consider pardoning pro-life activists that have been prosecuted under FACE,

[00:07:45] which is the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, as a necessary step to reaffirm the place of religious convictions in the public sphere.

[00:07:55] He says, of course, to advance that is going to take quite a bit.

[00:07:58] And he suggests that maybe this administration even appoint a dedicated advisor for domestic social policy.

[00:08:06] And that would certainly be the case.

[00:08:08] And we are aware of things like that that are in the offing.

[00:08:12] But if you wanted to talk about, well, is it possible that many of the things that we are concerned about around this table,

[00:08:19] many of you as listeners are concerned about listening to Point of View,

[00:08:23] this is a very good piece by Andrew Walker that appeared in a number of venues,

[00:08:29] but again is written by an individual with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Conviction

[00:08:35] on how, again, social conservatives can make the most of a second Trump administration.

[00:08:42] That's going to begin two weeks from today.

[00:08:44] We'll take a break.

[00:08:45] Come back with more right after this.

[00:08:58] This is Viewpoints with Kirby Anderson.

[00:09:04] Today is January 6th.

[00:09:06] For the last four years, any time you said the words January 6th,

[00:09:09] your mind went to the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021,

[00:09:13] and resulted in more than $2 million in damage.

[00:09:16] This year, the date January 6th, 2025, will have less drama.

[00:09:20] As one commentator put it,

[00:09:22] Donald Trump's victory has made January 6th boring again.

[00:09:25] This date is when the joint session of Congress counts the Electoral College votes

[00:09:29] to formalize the election.

[00:09:31] There was some controversy eight years ago since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote

[00:09:36] while Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote.

[00:09:38] Some prominent Democrats and media personalities had encouraged the electors

[00:09:42] in some of the states to vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump.

[00:09:46] But the session that took place eight years ago had little controversy.

[00:09:50] But the 2016 election did highlight concerns about what is called a faithless elector.

[00:09:56] In the election, ten members of the Electoral College voted or attempted to vote for a candidate

[00:10:01] other than the one from which they were pledged.

[00:10:03] Three votes were invalidated under the state's faithless elector law.

[00:10:07] The remaining seven did not affect the election but illustrated a future problem.

[00:10:12] Perhaps the biggest controversy in Congress this January was the vote for Speaker of the House.

[00:10:17] In the past, voting for the Speaker and counting the Electoral College votes have been perfunctory.

[00:10:22] That either of these votes or tabulations as controversial points to the divided nation in which we live today.

[00:10:28] There are certain to be other controversies in Congress this session,

[00:10:32] but when Donald Trump won both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote,

[00:10:36] he made January 6th boring again.

[00:10:38] I'm Kirby Anderson, and that's my point of view.

[00:10:46] For a free booklet on a biblical view of Israel, go to viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:54] Viewpoints.info.com.

[00:10:58] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:11:04] Back once again, if you'd like to join the conversation, 1-800-351-1212.

[00:11:08] Or sit back and maybe get some of the articles we're talking about today.

[00:11:11] I might just mention again, my commentary is entitled Counting the Votes.

[00:11:16] And it has to do with, of course, what happens today, January 6th.

[00:11:20] And we were able to count the votes in Congress without any major hitch.

[00:11:23] And that is good news and a good illustration of the peaceful passing of power from one administration to the next.

[00:11:32] We will look ahead to what will take place two weeks from today with the inauguration of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

[00:11:39] And, of course, the implementation of many of those policies through his cabinet.

[00:11:43] We'll be watching, of course, some of the nominees and whether or not they're confirmed or whether or not those become controversial nominations.

[00:11:51] So we'll talk about that in due course.

[00:11:54] Let me just, before we get to our in-studio guest at the bottom of the hour, is to mention that there are two articles here.

[00:12:01] One that I've posted, one I did not because the second article, actually I'll make it in my first article, is relatively short.

[00:12:09] But they both, I think, illustrate why I think it is important for you to read widely.

[00:12:15] Why, if I can make this sound like I'm patting myself on the back, why you need to listen to point of view.

[00:12:21] Because sometimes the way in which the mainstream press covers these issues, or the way in which a politician makes a statement without being fact-checked, you could come to the wrong conclusion.

[00:12:36] And this whole idea of economic misperception is a concern.

[00:12:40] I'll get to that in just a minute.

[00:12:42] But let me go back to the massacre, the terrorist attack, the killing, whatever you want to refer to it, that happened on New Year's Day.

[00:12:52] And in New Orleans, Beckett Adams put it this way.

[00:12:56] He says, there's a thin line between being helpful and being unhelpful.

[00:13:01] When it comes to reporting on terrorist attacks, the press often chooses to be unhelpful, believing it's doing just the opposite.

[00:13:08] And the title of this piece, and I'm glad he wrote it because I've seen others write about it, and we've talked about it briefly.

[00:13:15] But the title of this piece, which I've not posted, but you can find it in a variety of different contexts,

[00:13:20] Inanimate Object Commits Heinous Crime.

[00:13:23] You maybe know what I'm getting to.

[00:13:25] That is, whenever you have one of these terrorist attacks.

[00:13:30] We've had them in Paris.

[00:13:31] We've had them in different places in Germany.

[00:13:35] We've had them sometimes in the United States and Wisconsin, all sorts of other places where we can talk about this.

[00:13:41] It is always referred to as a vehicle kills people.

[00:13:46] No, there was somebody driving it.

[00:13:48] And just to give you an idea, the BBC reports, for example, casualties feared after vehicle hits crowd.

[00:13:56] That's from the BBC.

[00:13:58] Let's take another one.

[00:13:59] CBS News reported fatalities in New Orleans as vehicle apparently slams into Bourbon Street crowd.

[00:14:08] Now, if you didn't know any more than that, you might, for example, think that there's a hill in New Orleans.

[00:14:16] There's not.

[00:14:17] And that this vehicle just came out of its parking gear and slammed into individuals.

[00:14:24] But, of course, we know that's not how it happened.

[00:14:27] And you could at least have said driver, could you not?

[00:14:32] But, no, it's always about a vehicle.

[00:14:34] And somehow we're supposed to think that this hill that does not exist in New Orleans is what caused this vehicle to slam into these individuals.

[00:14:44] Now, again, you can be a little bit fair and say in the fog of information, fog of war and the, say, fog of reporting,

[00:14:53] maybe we don't know all the facts.

[00:14:55] Maybe we don't know he was a terrorist.

[00:14:56] But we do know that somebody's driving them.

[00:14:58] But you go a little further down in this article, he reminds us only so well that the New York Times headline,

[00:15:06] which came out five hours after you already had claims being made, for example, by the New Orleans mayor,

[00:15:15] that this was a terrorist attack, you still have at least 10 killed after vehicle drives into crowd in New Orleans.

[00:15:23] I mean, at some point you have to say we go out of our way to not use words like terrorists until we can at least validate that was the case.

[00:15:35] An ISIS flag on the truck might have been a clear indication and a variety of others.

[00:15:42] But the fact is we seem to just go all out to hedge our bets.

[00:15:48] And even here, he gives some other examples.

[00:15:51] Even back in the 1990s, he quotes that the late Rush Limbaugh oftentimes hosted a segment on his radio program where he made fun of the press coverage of events that came from SUVs.

[00:16:03] For example, out of control SUV kills 16-year-old St. Paul girl, St. Paul teen killed by SUV remembered at her funeral, and on and on and on.

[00:16:13] And the bottom line is that we talked about it's an SUV because, after all, it's supposed to be a little bit unfriendly from an environmental point of view.

[00:16:22] But there was somebody driving it.

[00:16:24] And this bothers, I think, some of us that really want to try to have accurate information.

[00:16:30] But let me get to the other article I've posted, and we'll get into some others later on in the second hour.

[00:16:36] This one comes from Ireland Owens.

[00:16:38] And it's just, again, a reminder that during this whole campaign, and even now as he is leaving office, President Joe Biden has argued that the economy is quite good.

[00:16:51] And as a matter of fact, interestingly enough, we have had a statement by the president just the other day, now in the waning days of his administration,

[00:17:01] where President Biden argued that he is handing the Trump administration a robust labor market.

[00:17:08] E.J. Antony, who is at the Heritage Foundation, an economist, said,

[00:17:13] I'm sorry, but I think that the Biden administration's own data contradicts that narrative.

[00:17:18] Goes on to explain that if you look at the post-pandemic economic recovery, it isn't even as robust as President Biden argues.

[00:17:27] He says there are actually fewer native-born Americans working today than there were before the pandemic in 2019.

[00:17:34] If you want to look at any kind of net job growth, it's gone to foreign-born workers.

[00:17:39] And again, when somebody comes here from another country, whether certainly legally or even sometimes illegally, and they get a job, well, that's good for them.

[00:17:46] But the point is that we have never really completely recovered.

[00:17:52] And when you have the president making statements that I'm handing to Donald Trump a robust economy,

[00:17:59] well, you can kind of see where that's going to take you, because then as soon as the economy dips,

[00:18:04] and it could dip as early as February, we're going to be saying,

[00:18:07] see, this is what happens when Donald Trump took over because he was receiving a robust labor economy from Joe Biden.

[00:18:16] And that is not the case.

[00:18:18] There's another piece which we did talk about just the other day, and you can find that on the website as well,

[00:18:23] in which Douglas Carr actually posts all sorts of graphs to show the kind of economic misperception

[00:18:32] from both this administration and from much of the mainstream or so-called legacy media,

[00:18:39] I've oftentimes said that just as people say a picture is worth a thousand words,

[00:18:44] sometimes a graph is worth a thousand words.

[00:18:46] But let me give you two or three key points that come from ten pages of graphs and charts.

[00:18:53] The first shows that more American families were worse off than they were a year ago,

[00:18:59] and the group hurt the most were young adults, 18 to 35.

[00:19:05] The greater concern was they also found a real gap between those who have a high school degree

[00:19:11] and those who have a college degree.

[00:19:13] It shows that the financial situation for Americans with just a high school degree

[00:19:18] had fallen to its lowest point in 50 years.

[00:19:22] This is while this administration was telling you that the economy was doing fine.

[00:19:27] This is when the economy was being reported as quite in good shape by the mainstream media.

[00:19:34] You can look at the graph for yourself and see, indeed, that is not the case.

[00:19:38] One last issue, and of course, not only were we talking about the spendable income of individuals,

[00:19:45] but the long-term impact of inflation.

[00:19:48] And again, the graphs show very clearly that inflation over the last few years dropped average earnings for most Americans.

[00:19:58] And then even in one of the quotes that comes from the Brookings Institute,

[00:20:02] which is out of a left-of-center think tank, nevertheless said,

[00:20:05] the effects of rising prices have been even more pronounced for poor families, especially families of color.

[00:20:12] So the point I'm making is that just because a politician or a government official or a president says it,

[00:20:20] just because the press reports it doesn't necessarily make it true.

[00:20:25] And that's why I hope that you will take the time to look at some of the articles we post on Point of View,

[00:20:31] because you'll find that it isn't quite the way it was presented,

[00:20:35] not only during the campaign, but now even in the waning hours of the Biden administration.

[00:20:41] Well, let's take a break.

[00:20:42] And when we come back, we're going to have Christopher Beth in studio.

[00:20:45] Let me one more time, though, mention as I hold up here, for those of you watching online,

[00:20:49] our brochure for our trip to Greece, which takes place from May 17th to the 27th.

[00:20:55] And because of some circumstances that have unfolded, we do have some spaces available.

[00:21:01] So if you've been thinking, oh, that would have been good to go to, but I guess they don't have any room.

[00:21:06] Yes, we do.

[00:21:07] And this will be a chance to go to Athens and Corinth and Philippi and Ephesus and Patmos

[00:21:13] and also get to go to some of the Greek isles.

[00:21:15] I think you will really enjoy that.

[00:21:17] And if you'd like to know more, just feel free to give us a call.

[00:21:20] 800-347-5151.

[00:21:22] We'll send you a brochure or leave us an email.

[00:21:25] Again, 800-347-5151.

[00:21:28] We'll be right back.

[00:21:28] It almost seems like we live in a different world from many people in positions of authority.

[00:21:36] They say men can be women and women men.

[00:21:40] People are prosecuted differently or not at all, depending on their politics.

[00:21:45] Criminals are more valued and rewarded than law-abiding citizens.

[00:21:50] It's so overwhelming, so demoralizing.

[00:21:53] You feel like giving up.

[00:21:54] But we can't.

[00:21:56] We shouldn't.

[00:21:57] We must not.

[00:21:58] As Winston Churchill said to Britain in the darkest days of World War II,

[00:22:03] never give in.

[00:22:04] Never give in.

[00:22:05] Never, never, never.

[00:22:07] Never yield to force.

[00:22:09] Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

[00:22:13] And that's what we say to you today.

[00:22:15] This is not a time to give in, but to step up and join point of view in providing clarity in the chaos.

[00:22:23] We can't do it alone.

[00:22:24] But together, with God's help, we will overcome the darkness.

[00:22:30] Invest in biblical clarity today at pointofview.net or call 1-800-347-5151.

[00:22:39] Pointofview.net and 800-347-5151.

[00:22:47] Point of view will continue after this.

[00:22:51] You are listening to Point of View.

[00:23:02] The opinions expressed on Point of View do not necessarily reflect the views of the management or staff of this station.

[00:23:09] And now, here again, is Kirby Anderson.

[00:23:13] Back once again we have in studio with us Christopher Beck.

[00:23:17] Beth, and he is again with the Bucket Ministry.

[00:23:20] And if you might remember, we've interviewed him before and talked about back in 2015 began this ministry.

[00:23:27] But you almost have to go back 13 years to 2012 when he was making a trip in the Amazon and recognized how important clean water is.

[00:23:39] And we wanted to get him back in studio, first of all, to talk about the incredible impact he's been able to have in Nairobi, Kenya, in one of the slum areas.

[00:23:48] And how that's expanded in very significant ways.

[00:23:51] So, Christopher, welcome back to Point of View.

[00:23:53] Kirby, it's so great to be back with you.

[00:23:55] Thank you.

[00:23:55] I think, first of all, we maybe need to take you back to that Amazon River experience.

[00:24:00] Because that's really what began in your mind this whole idea of the Bucket Ministry, right?

[00:24:06] Indeed.

[00:24:07] Yeah, I really had no experience or really no desire to be involved in ministry or to be associated with the church.

[00:24:19] And I was a business consultant for 35 years and really thought I would go the rest of my life and retire at some point and go fishing a lot.

[00:24:32] I never thought at this point I'd be fishing for men.

[00:24:35] Yeah.

[00:24:35] So, in 2012, my daughter came home from high school and said she wanted to go on a mission trip to the Brazilian Amazon.

[00:24:44] So, my wife and I quickly looked at each other and we're like, oh, boy, what do we do with this?

[00:24:50] So, we hatched this plan.

[00:24:52] And we said, okay, if you raise all the money for it, then you can go, but one of us is going to have to come with you.

[00:25:00] And it was $3,500.

[00:25:02] And we thought, okay, she's not going to be able to do this.

[00:25:05] And literally, two weeks later, she had $3,500 raised.

[00:25:10] So, my wife Sherry and I, we decided at that point, well, she raised the money.

[00:25:15] One of us is going to have to go with her.

[00:25:17] So, that became my job.

[00:25:19] Right.

[00:25:19] But I only went to be her dad.

[00:25:21] I only went to bring her home.

[00:25:24] I did not go because I had a love or compassion for the Brazilian people.

[00:25:28] And if I'm being honest, I only started a relationship with Jesus a few years prior to that.

[00:25:35] So, I didn't even really fully understand that relationship with Jesus just yet.

[00:25:41] So, 2012, we go into the Brazilian Amazon and I'm just a chaperone.

[00:25:47] But when I got there, I saw things that I wasn't expecting.

[00:25:51] I saw people without hope.

[00:25:53] I saw people that woke up every day not knowing where their next meal was going to come from.

[00:26:00] And I saw people that drank from a river.

[00:26:04] And I never even, in my life, I never even considered that people did not have access to clean, safe drinking water.

[00:26:13] So, I saw this and I couldn't reconcile it.

[00:26:17] And I'd never even heard of a world water crisis.

[00:26:20] I mean, I've lived a privileged life compared to most of the world in the Dallas Metroplex here.

[00:26:26] And if I was thirsty, I went to my refrigerator, put the cup underneath the filter, and I got water.

[00:26:33] Or I bought a bottle of water and never even gave it a thought.

[00:26:37] But I saw people that they were drinking from the Amazon River.

[00:26:42] And they thought that was normal.

[00:26:45] And honestly, that changed me.

[00:26:48] And I heard from the Lord on that trip also.

[00:26:53] And he gave me very clear direction.

[00:26:55] And he said, help them.

[00:26:56] So, in that place in 2012 is where the bucket ministry was breathed into life.

[00:27:03] And that's also where I discovered why it was created.

[00:27:36] Yes.

[00:27:37] Children die of diarrheal disease.

[00:27:40] And you've had just this incredible success story here in a very significant slum outside of Nairobi, Kenya.

[00:27:49] It's been so successful, you're now going to another one.

[00:27:52] But give some of the background there.

[00:27:54] Because, again, through the efforts of about 100 local Kenyan missionaries,

[00:27:58] you now have a majority of those individuals that have access to what we take for granted every single day.

[00:28:05] Indeed.

[00:28:05] And let me address that first point you brought up, Kirby.

[00:28:08] And that is what you said about children and having access to clean water.

[00:28:14] So, the World Health Organization cites that every single day 700 kids perish from something we can fix.

[00:28:22] And that's access to clean, safe drinking water.

[00:28:25] So, that really becomes a focus for us.

[00:28:28] And we have been blessed to be called to this place in Nairobi, Kenya that you're referring to.

[00:28:37] It's called Kibera.

[00:28:38] And as Westerners, we would probably consider this place a slum.

[00:28:44] It probably has a little nicer description, and that would be informal settlement.

[00:28:50] But it is smack dab in the middle of Nairobi, Kenya.

[00:28:55] And Nairobi is 6 million people.

[00:28:58] And the Kibera slum is right in the middle of that.

[00:29:02] And this place is probably notorious as far as slums around the world.

[00:29:08] It's often considered one of the biggest.

[00:29:10] But I can tell you, as I have walked through many of these slum-like areas around the world,

[00:29:19] I don't know exactly what hell looks like.

[00:29:22] But I will tell you, I picture it looking like the Kibera slum.

[00:29:27] These poor people.

[00:29:28] And the average median income there for a family is $26.

[00:29:33] The average home size is about 8 by 8 dirt floors.

[00:29:37] And there's, in three square miles of this place, there's 81,777 homes.

[00:29:47] And how do we know that?

[00:29:49] Well, we counted every single one before we started that and put a GPS pinpoint on these homes.

[00:29:55] So, in this place, people are waking up without access to clean water.

[00:30:01] And they're waking up without hope.

[00:30:03] And God called us there in 2017.

[00:30:06] And if I'm going to be brutally honest with you, I will tell you, this place terrified me.

[00:30:12] I believe it.

[00:30:13] Not only the size, but the magnitude.

[00:30:16] It's not like just knocking on a few doors and telling them about Jesus and delivering clean water.

[00:30:22] When we were called there, God said to fix it.

[00:30:28] And so, what we did through a team of 100 indigenous missionaries and pastors, 100% of them are Kenyans.

[00:30:37] And 98% of them live in this place.

[00:30:42] What we did as a team is we went through systematically and delivered a life-saving Sawyer water filter to every single home.

[00:30:53] And we preached the gospel in every single home.

[00:30:57] And this took us about three years to complete this.

[00:31:01] So, we distributed 81,777 life-saving water filters.

[00:31:07] We did over 240,000 follow-up visitations in the homes.

[00:31:14] And we saw over 22,000 people, Kirby, that came to faith and said, yes, I want to follow Jesus and repented of their sins.

[00:31:24] Again, it's just incredible that, first of all, something as simple as a water filter.

[00:31:28] By the way, as somebody that backpacks, I'm familiar with some of these.

[00:31:31] And these particular ones last almost 20 years, don't they?

[00:31:35] So, it's not like you have to do it and then have to do it again.

[00:31:38] I mean, that's why you're thinking you may move on.

[00:31:40] But, again, when you go in and provide them for something that they can't provide for themselves,

[00:31:47] and you're not charging them, and you're doing it out of your love for Jesus Christ,

[00:31:53] I can see why that is such a great platform for evangelism because they're going,

[00:31:58] what makes you come to this God-forsaken place, if you might use the phrase for a minute,

[00:32:03] and come and provide that for us for free?

[00:32:06] What causes you to do that?

[00:32:08] And it's a natural lead right into the gospel, isn't it?

[00:32:11] It is.

[00:32:11] And what we use, and the tool that we use is the simple dirty water in the bucket.

[00:32:17] And how I always tell people is this dirty water has things in it that if I drink it,

[00:32:24] it's going to make me sick.

[00:32:25] If I keep drinking it, it's going to kill me.

[00:32:30] And the same for my family.

[00:32:32] And this reminds me of something that I've struggled with in my life,

[00:32:35] and that is the sin, the mistakes that I've made.

[00:32:40] But this filter, when that water runs through that filter,

[00:32:44] this filter restores it, it renews it.

[00:32:47] It redeems the water.

[00:32:49] And that's just like what Christ did on the cross for us.

[00:32:53] And that's where that visual from the filter becomes tangible.

[00:32:58] And people then will hear the gospel message,

[00:33:02] and it's up to them and it's up to the Lord if they're going to decide to follow at that point.

[00:33:09] Let's take a break.

[00:33:10] Christopher Beth with us, and we're talking about the bucket ministry.

[00:33:13] We have a picture of him.

[00:33:15] You can scroll down and see the link that we have there, thebucketministry.org.

[00:33:20] But again, it says we're more than clean water.

[00:33:23] I think you've already figured that out as well.

[00:33:25] So if you'd like to learn more about this organization, if you'd like to give,

[00:33:29] if you'd like to maybe meet the team, get involved,

[00:33:32] there are all sorts of ways to connect up.

[00:33:34] When we come back from the break, we're going to talk about some ways to connect up,

[00:33:37] and you will find some great material that we've posted in addition to that website.

[00:33:41] We'll be back right after this.

[00:33:55] You're listening to Point of View, your listener-supported source for truth.

[00:34:01] Back for a few more minutes with Christopher Beth.

[00:34:02] And again, we are talking about the bucket ministry.

[00:34:04] You can go to thebucketministry.org.

[00:34:06] We're going to talk about that in just a minute.

[00:34:08] But again, with the help of 100 local Kenyan missionaries, almost 82,000 Sawyer filters provided to the Kibera residents.

[00:34:20] And again, an incredible amount.

[00:34:22] The campaign completely finished.

[00:34:24] 21,000 professions of faith.

[00:34:27] 1,400 baptisms.

[00:34:29] The list goes on and on.

[00:34:31] And instead of saying, well, we're done and we'll leave, you said, well, now that we've been able to make an impact in this particular slum,

[00:34:40] you want to go to another one.

[00:34:41] Tell us more if you might.

[00:34:42] Yeah.

[00:34:43] And thank you, Kirby.

[00:34:44] It's interesting because when we first began this, we had no idea what God would do after.

[00:34:52] We just hoped we got to see the day when we finished it.

[00:34:56] But in this process, we got to see some amazing missionaries work.

[00:35:02] And these missionaries, because of the volume of that work, 81,000 homes and the amount of work that these missionaries did to finish it,

[00:35:12] these are the highest trained people in the world with using a water filter to introduce someone to the sweet gospel of Jesus Christ.

[00:35:22] No one in the world has done more than this team has.

[00:35:25] And we didn't want to see these people have to look for other work.

[00:35:31] So I started praying about two years ago and looking for the opportunity on what we would do when we finished.

[00:35:39] And we identified another slum that's about 20 minutes away from Kibera.

[00:35:44] It's called Cowangwari.

[00:35:46] And at the time, we thought it was a little bit smaller than Kibera.

[00:35:52] And now remember, Kibera is 81,000 homes, 408,000 people.

[00:35:58] So we identified Cowangwari as the place that we would move the team to, but we needed to count every home just like we started in Kibera.

[00:36:09] So we started counting with a team of 30.

[00:36:13] And that team, it took them over a year to count, knock on every door, talk to every resident, and put a GPS pinpoint on their home.

[00:36:23] And what we found out is there's actually 152,000 homes, nearly 700,000 people in this place.

[00:36:34] So we have accepted that invitation and that opportunity to serve this informal settlement or slum called Cowangwari in Nairobi, Kenya.

[00:36:46] And we just started that project a few days ago.

[00:36:49] So let's just mention again, we have a link to thebucketministry.org.

[00:36:54] And there are some ways in which people can participate with you.

[00:36:58] We've got a good friend that actually is a missionary to Kenya, working with some of the people in Kenya as well.

[00:37:03] But most of our listeners are never going to make it over to Nairobi, Kenya, never make it to that slum.

[00:37:08] But you have some ways in which people can get involved.

[00:37:12] You've got a kids' club.

[00:37:13] You have an opportunity to really learn a little bit more about what you're doing.

[00:37:17] And so how can people connect up with what you want to be doing now next?

[00:37:21] So probably the very best way, Kirby, is to go to the website, thebucketministry.org.

[00:37:27] And we have opportunities that hopefully appeal to a wide variety of people.

[00:37:34] So our first and largest ministry is our prayer ministry.

[00:37:38] And we see that that is how we are able to get anything done.

[00:37:43] So we are looking for prayer warriors, intercessors that would be willing to pray over the organization, the laborers in the field,

[00:37:51] and even pray over the donors that are allowing us to go to work with their resources.

[00:37:57] And then secondly, we have a way that people can join us on trips.

[00:38:03] We take anywhere from eight to ten trips per year into active mission fields and show people exactly where God is working.

[00:38:11] Henry Blackaby's famous quote, watch and see where God is working and join him in his work.

[00:38:19] And that's our entire expedition experiences designed around showing people where God's at work and how they can join him.

[00:38:28] And then we also obviously have giving is a big part of it.

[00:38:33] And it costs us about $50 per family to provide life-saving water for over 20 years and to preach the gospel in their home and disciple them if they come to believe.

[00:38:44] So giving is a big part of that.

[00:38:47] But lastly, storytelling is an even larger part.

[00:38:51] And like what we're doing today, we're telling stories.

[00:38:54] We're witnessing to what we have seen God do.

[00:38:58] And so we're looking for opportunities, networking opportunities to tell the story to more people.

[00:39:05] And so either by praying, giving, going, or storytelling are great ways to connect with us from the website.

[00:39:14] I might mention there's a contact us and perhaps that you were thinking this would be great to share at a missions conference or something that may be on evangelism.

[00:39:25] Again, you can go to the website pointofview.net and click on the picture there of Christopher Beth.

[00:39:30] Or you can go directly to thebucketministry.org.

[00:39:35] And again, one of the things you're saying is providing clean, safe drinking water, but also providing the living water.

[00:39:41] And if memory serves me correctly, isn't there a story about where somebody was coming for physical water and then ended up getting spiritual water of a woman at the well?

[00:39:51] And that, in some respects, is the perfect illustration of why you do what you do, isn't it?

[00:39:55] It is a great illustration, and we use that a lot when we have groups of recipients receiving their filter.

[00:40:04] And it's a great connection point where we can connect our work directly to Scripture.

[00:40:11] Well, the other thing I wanted to certainly say is not only is it biblical, but I think you also illustrate something we like to talk about.

[00:40:18] And that is people sometimes say, well, what can I do?

[00:40:21] And first of all, I always say you've got a pronoun problem.

[00:40:24] What can we do?

[00:40:25] But I think your story, Christopher, is a good illustration of somebody who says, you know, I'm just going to be a businessman.

[00:40:31] I was just going to try to have a comfortable life.

[00:40:34] And then somewhere along the line got a hold of me, but I kept thinking, well, what can I do?

[00:40:38] But it can be as simple as water filters that lead so many individuals to Christ.

[00:40:43] And I hope that that would be an encouragement to some of our listeners.

[00:40:46] I hope so, too, Kirby.

[00:40:48] And that's one thing I'm greatly passionate about is I saw this problem in the Amazon.

[00:40:54] And I had no background with how to solve this problem.

[00:40:59] And I absolutely didn't even know where to start.

[00:41:02] I'm just an ordinary, untrained, Acts 4.13 kind of guy.

[00:41:11] But there's a single step of obedience in just stepping out and say, I have no idea how to do this, but I want to help.

[00:41:21] And I think that's the key is through Scripture we see examples of ridiculously ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

[00:41:32] And I think for most of us, that first step is the hardest in just getting off the couch, checking in for the game.

[00:41:42] And I think that's probably the part of this I love seeing more than anything is I love seeing people check in and find their purpose.

[00:41:53] So, again, if people would like to contact you, again, thebucketministry.org.

[00:41:57] There's a place where you can give.

[00:41:58] There's a place where you can learn a little bit more.

[00:42:00] There's a place that can contact you.

[00:42:02] And you are not only, of course, the founder but the chief storyteller.

[00:42:07] So if you would like to have someone tell that story in your church or your community, I'm sure you'd be available as well.

[00:42:13] So it's good to connect up with you once again.

[00:42:16] And thank you for the success story.

[00:42:18] By the way, if you get there, you'll find all sorts of great material that gives you the entire story in case you would like to write it up or put it in some other kind of format.

[00:42:27] Of course, you can take some of this interview and even make it available to others that maybe need to hear this as well.

[00:42:33] Maybe there's a mission director or a pastor or others that need to know about this.

[00:42:37] You can simply go to the website pointofview.net and you will see a red button that says watch or listen.

[00:42:43] You can either send the video or the podcast so that they could be educated about this issue as well.

[00:42:48] So, Christopher, great to be with you.

[00:42:50] And we're going to take a break.

[00:42:51] When we come back, we have a lot more to cover right here on Point of View.

[00:42:54] But all of it is available at our website pointofview.net.

[00:42:57] Of course, that's the Bucket Ministry.

[00:42:59] All of it available.

[00:43:00] We'll be back right after these important messages.

[00:43:11] The Bible tells us not to worry.

[00:43:14] And yet there is a lot of worrying stuff in our world today.

[00:43:19] Thankfully, the Bible doesn't stop at telling us not to worry.

[00:43:23] God gives us a next step.

[00:43:26] He says we need to pray.

[00:43:28] But sometimes even knowing what to pray can be difficult.

[00:43:32] And that is why Point of View has relaunched our Pray for America movement,

[00:43:38] a series of weekly emails to guide you in prayer for our nation.

[00:43:43] Each week you'll receive a brief update about a current issue affecting Americans,

[00:43:48] along with a written prayer that you can easily share with others.

[00:43:54] We'll also include a short free resource for you in each email so you can learn more about the issue at hand.

[00:44:01] Will you commit to pray for America?

[00:44:05] Go to pointofview.net.

[00:44:08] Click on the Pray for America banner at the top of the page to subscribe.

[00:44:14] Again, that's pointofview.net.

[00:44:18] Click on the Pray for America banner.

[00:44:20] Let's pray together for God to make a difference in America.

[00:44:27] Point of View will continue after this.