Praying Friends,
It is hard to believe that this month marks 4 years since the first Sunday service of Community Baptist Church. It has been amazing to watch the Lord build His church. I’m often asked how things are going and my answer is usually, “like a rollercoaster.” It’s been a while since I got on an actual rollercoaster but when I was a kid, what got me on the big scary roller coaster was the recognition that I would be securely strapped in and couldn’t fall out. It was designed by engineers who knew what they were doing. So, no matter how terrifying it may feel at the time, I would be perfectly secure. Church planting at times has been terrifying, there have been times when we didn’t know what was coming next, there have been ups and downs, and excruciatingly long waits to get to the top of the hill and then short jolts of excitement at break-neck speeds, but it has been awesome to be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride as we are reminded that the Lord is the one who is building His church.
We have seen real spiritual growth in those who have been recently saved and baptized. We have seen faithfulness to discipleship meetings, newly saved couples married, and newly saved parents striving to teach and share the gospel with their kids. We have learned that with every down there is an up and with every up there is a down. Although there has been encouraging growth, sinful choices by believers who “know better” has been discouraging at times. We would appreciate your prayers for one such situation.
At the end of this month we are looking forward to having a missions team of 18 people from People’s Baptist Church in Harrisonburg, VA. They are planning to do some work projects around the church and a significant amount of gospel literature distribution. Please pray for their safety as they travel, fruit as they labor, and a greater burden for missions to be developed in their lives.
Lindsey and I continue to make strides in learning Spanish. August will mark two years that we have been taking classes 5 days a week. We appreciate your prayers as this summer we hope to hit some milestones. Lindsey has been asked to speak at a Ladies Conference in Yonkers, NY in Spanish on June 15. Please pray for her as she is very nervous about this opportunity. In August, I have the opportunity to speak in Spanish at a teen camp in Arequipa, Peru. I will be preaching 7 times during the week. I usually need a week to recover after preaching in Spanish for only a few minutes, this will be a huge undertaking, but we are trusting the Lord to give strength. I am hopeful that spending so much time immersed in a Spanish speaking context will help some things to click with my Spanish acquisition.
Please pray for an additional opportunity for growth of our church’s ministry to Spanish speakers. I cannot give details now, but hope to share some in our next prayer letter. Please pray for wisdom in decision-making over the next couple of months regarding this opportunity.
Typically, a missionary returns from their field of service to report back to their churches in person. Often, this happens every 4-6 years. Our ministry is not in a place that we could leave for any extended period of time. However, we do want to make ourselves available to report to our supporters. We would be happy to do Zoom calls or send recorded videos updating your churches on the ministry here. We also want to make ourselves available to report on our ministry in person. If you are a pastor, and would be interested in having us come to report on the progress of our ministry for a missions conference, Sunday evening (if you are within 3 hrs of Boston), or Wednesday PM, we would be happy to do so. Please keep in mind that our availability is limited to being away from our church for one service per month (Sunday PM or Wednesday PM). We hope to be in and report to at least one church per month through the rest of 2024 and 2025. Please let me know if you would be interested in having us come and report on our ministry.
Thank you again, for your faithful prayer and support for our ministry!
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