Jeremiah 18 Show, Episode 1: Interview with Becky Ruland (p.1)
Welcome to Jeremiah 18 show with Nolan Windholtz. In this first episode you'll see and hear part 1 of Nolan's interview with Becky Ruland, Founder, President & CEO at International Networx, Inc.
Vision for 2016
I want to offer my sincere thanks for all the kindness that was given to me throughout the year in the form of prayers and financial gifts that allowed me to fulfill the call of God upon my life. I am truly humbled by your belief in me as I move forward with this important message to the Body of Christ.
I hope this season finds you blessed as we rejoice in the Celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus, Yahshua the Messiah. May the magnitude of His kingdom and His coming inspire us to godly living as we see His Kingdom manifest in the lives we touch everyday.
My ministry in the past twelve months has experienced many changes and I want to share with you what those changes are all about and some of my ideas for 2016.
A year ago i was still operating out of the Teen Challenge Facility near Bonifay Fl. At the time I was seeking the Lord about making Teen Challenge my life's calling as it was wonderful to witness the transforming work of Holy Spirit in the lives of so many young troubled teens. But that would not to be the case as I was laid off January first. Nevertheless I had a good attitude about the termination and I believe it was that "right heart" that opened for me a door back to Uganda, Africa and then later to the Nation of Ukraine.
While I enjoy ministering domestically, the Lord really shines on me as I travel abroad. Doors of ministry literally fly open as pastors enthusiastically invite me onto their platforms to deliver the Word of God through this dynamic visual ministry. In both Uganda and in Ukraine, I could have ministered everyday for a year; the invites were that frequent. In many cases several churches would combine their meetings in order to accommodate my ministry before I left the area. In America I am still mostly an "unheard of", but that's okay as I believe it is better to be where I'm called to be, and right now, that is abroad.
Today I have invitations to go to both Ecuador and Brazil in February. In the Spring I am ministering in Russia for four weeks before I return again to Ukraine. I will be in Ukraine for six weeks before returning to Uganda, Africa for another 5-6 weeks of ministry and building up the pottery business I began there.
2016 is also the year I will move forward with an ideal that the Lord gave me four years ago. Long before I was a Christian, I had ambitions of being a movie producer and director. That was my life ambition through my high-school years. Surrendering my life to Christ, while in college, saw all my selfish ambitions crash down as I devoted my life to serving Jesus and living for Him. While making movies was surrendered to God, the idea of making movies always stayed with me. Today I find myself surrounded by people who are capable to producing a movie pilot (a fourty five minute condensed version of a full length movie) in order to establish the overall theme/concept. You guessed it, the movie is centered around the idea of Jeremiah 18 where the Lord said "He is a potter and we are clay in His hands". And you guessed it again that I (Nolan) will have a major role to play in the story. As remarkable as the pottery visual is, somehow it has not been exploited in any modern movie since the 1990 movie "Ghost" with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. If you've not seen the movie, don't as it is not a godly movie, however nearly every time I do an art show, it never fails, someone will recall and mention that movie as they talk about the pottery scene. The pottery visual is powerful.
The title of my movie is "Thrown" as in throwing a piece of clay into a vessel. The story line will present most of the "spiritual nuggets" of truth that I teach while preaching the gospel with the potters wheel. A kick-starter account (separate from my ministry account) will be set up so that funds can be collected to cover the expenses of producing such a pilot. Once the pilot is produced we can then shop the idea to a movie house or decide to make the movie ourselves.
Recently I was blessed to hear Alex Kendrick speak at Panama City's First Baptist Church. Alex is the producer/director of many faith based films such as Courageous, Fireproof, Facing the Giants and most recently War Room. Alex gave an inspiring story of how a man with no movie experience, working with only volunteers and a tiny budget came to be America's most successful faith-based movie company.
This should fill my 2016 calendar. The movie pilot should be produced before I leave for Russia. I will be spending about four months outside the country and once I return I will hopefully be less of a production potter and more into full time ministry as we wait and see what the Lord has for the movie.
This is a lot for a man to do and it would simply be impossible without some financial covering. Any Christmas time donation would be used to help finalize my non-profit status and also the travel cost for my trip to South America and abroad.
Praise Report!
The Lord blessed me with the finances to help my Ugandan friend Pastor Timothy Christopher purchase a vehicle. I was introduced to Pastor Timothy three years ago on my first trip to Jinja Uganda. He is an assistant pastor at Jinja Christian Center where I have ministered many times. While he is known as Pastor Tim he is truly an evangelist who fearlessly preaches the gospel throughout the Bosoga region of Uganda. I have personally ministered in over seventy different churches in my travels in Uganda, half of those meetings were arranged and translated by Timothy. Last summer Timothy coordinated for me two open air crusades that saw many people come to know the Lord as well as experience the supernatural power of God who heals and delivers his children from oppression and demon-possession. Over the years Timothy has been a huge blessing to me, however vehicle transportation was always a problem while ministering throughout Uganda. We were constantly in need to borrow or rent a vehicle. Timothy has been praying for a vehicle to help him get around to the many churches he visits, thank God, now he has one. Having a vehicle will also empower Timothy to earn extra income throughout the week by working as a driver. Timothy and his wife Loise have two children.
In the season of thanksgiving to the Lord I have to give special thanks to the team of people who have joined themselves to the vision and purpose that God has given me. Special thanks to my dear brother Alexei and his lovely family. Alexei, his wife Svetlana and their two children are like family to me. Alexei, originally from Ukraine, coordinated my Ukrainian trip. He also handles my website, video production and graphic design. Alexei runs an AB Visual Arts Studio and will be producing the pilot project for the movie “Thrown”.
I believe its important to begin the New Year from a position of strength that comes from a humble heart before the Lord. You are a vital part in making this vision a reality. 2016 should be an exciting year as the Lord has reaffirmed His heart to me in “making disciples of all nations”. Please join with me in your end of year giving by including me with donations to Nolan Windholtz Ministry.
Sincerely,
Nolan