The Rev. Dr. Kenneth H. Balliet

According to the Rev. Kenneth Balliet, he and his wife's profession is not an ordinary one.

"We have been tent-makers forever and ever," Balliet said in a recent interview in his Williamsport home. A term taken from the Apostle Paul's model of missionary finance, a tentmaker was historically "someone that earned their living doing some other job so you can do mission work," he said.

The Balliets have performed multiple jobs and right now, they are "evangelists more than anything," they said.

"We do mission work when we can" and that can occur at anytime in anyplace, Balliet said.

The pair have taken trips to Mexico, Japan, Israel and many other countries to spread the word of the Lord. "We take them something they don't have," he said. "And as members of Lake Ministry, it's divine healing."

Accountability

"One of the big things people look for is accountability," Balliet said. To validate their mission work, the Balliets are state representatives for John G. Lake Ministries based out of Dallas and are accredited by ZOE International Ministries and Rod Parsley's World Harvest.

Balliet said they are involved with those organizations so they can be guided and "corrected" if necessary in their work. Being separate from any unique denomination means the pair "have the freedom" to travel where they want, distribute the materials they wish and stay for as long as they choose.

Lake Ministries follows the slogan "Equipping Christians to do the works of Christ." According to their Web site www.jglm.org, the group believes "any hindrance to the healing of any Christian is not of God," "sickness or disease can be overcome by a Christian if the Christian will exercise faith and power" and "all sickness and disease can be directly or indirectly traced back to satan and should be defeated whenever and wherever they are encountered."

The goal of ZOE Ministries is raising awareness "of modern Christian world missions and stirring up a passion to reach our world for Christ," according to its site www.gozoe.org. An evangelistic "invasion team" penetrates a city through evangelistic and miracle crusades, street evangelism, the use of the arts and mass Bible literature distribution.

A secular ministry team reaches out to the business, educational and government communities by joining those sectors. "We do this by providing services that are of interest to them while giving us the opportunity to share the gospel," the site said.

Rod Parsley's World Harvest Church began in 1977 and "has continually experienced amazing growth" and is focused on the needs of families, according to it's Web site, whc.rodparsley.com. The ministries include a Latin and metropolitan outreach, children and youth, special needs and music.

Going to the people.

Balliet, a highly-decorated Karate master, said he and his wife "go to where the people are. Whether it's a park, a school, a karate school, to talk to the people and bring them something."

Okinawa has been the destination for much of the couple's ministry. Whether it's serving as referee or competing, Balliet has made his faith known. On the back of his white jacket used for Karate - his gi - "Jesus is Lord" is emblazoned in large black letters.

The country near Japan has few Christians, Balliet said. Still, "they absolutely live the Bible, but they are 99 percent non-Christians."

Balliet said Okinawans live by the proverbial "Golden Rule" and treat others as they would want. "I don't know what you would do to get an Okinawan upset ... You can't help but love them."

He said the country is full of modest, proper "not snotty" individuals.

Balliet proclaims his faith on his back, while his wife the Rev. Margaret Balliet witnesses to the mothers and children who gather at karate events.

Many karate dojos, or schools of instruction, stick to the ancient Asian traditions which include an altar to pagan gods and prayer to them.

"Ninety-five percent of most martial artists have never been outside the United States," Balliet said, and having seen the altars in the media, have replicated them in their own environments.

"They don't think that they're bowing down to a false god," Balliet said. When people find out the historic symbolism of bowing at the altar, they are often shocked and appalled with their own behavior, Balliet said.

He uses his fame in the martial arts circuit to evangelize. "I ask the about the altar, and then I educate them," he said.

The past filled of unholy worship means that "a lot of ministries are adamantly against the martial arts," Balliet said. He called the martial arts world "the place where nobody else goes" in terms of ministry, comparing a karate school to a local bar.

For Balliet, karate came into his life before God. His father brought martial arts into his life more than 50 years ago.

"I believe I was born again as a Christian at age 7," he said. He recalled listening to "I believe" by Nat King Cole and reading the book of Revelations and committing his life to Christ at that time.

"In the beginning, my father didn't separate" martial arts and religion, Balliet said.

After becoming further entrenched in karate, he began to see how he could incorporate ministry. "At 16 years old I started to do that," he said.

Planting seeds

Lake Ministries began when Lake himself turned from studying medicine and began studying healing in a scientific way, the Margaret said.

"He was no one special," she said of the healing he reported. "It was something that all Christians should be doing."

It is through authority from Jesus Christ, not individual power, that prayer heals people, the Balliets said.

The couple serve as pathways of healing. "We provide healing, we don't heal. Only Jesus Christ can heal," Balliet said.

"The idea is to command, in the authority of the name of Jesus, the sickness to leave ... Cancer is a name and it must bow its knee to the name of Jesus Christ," he said.

The pair has seen "many, many healings" and are preparing to hold Divine Healing Technician trainings in their home.

"Every Christian has the authority in the name of Jesus Christ to heal, as long as they have the faith," Balliet said.