Archive for the 'Uncategorized' Category

We are encouraged by what the Lord is doing in the folks of our congregation. At the same time, we long to see more nonbelievers coming to faith in Christ. We have visited quite a few folks and have seen a little openness to the Gospel. The kids in our youth group seem to be growing in their love for Jesus and in their desire to share the Gospel with the world. They organized a 30-hour famine to raise funds for several relief organizations and missions endeavors. They camped in our field and invited a missionary speaker to share with them about the need for the Gospel in Asia. We are also encouraged by one of our older men who has a real burden to help men avoid the pitfalls of family breakdowns, so we are working together to begin a men’s breakfast growth group. And finally, our little village is celebrating its 100^th anniversary this August, and we’ve been invited to be part of the celebration and hold our Sunday morning service in the park. We are asking the Lord to guide us and use us for His glory.  Terry & Jane Baskin

When you make a hospital visit you never know what you will find. Not long ago I went to visit the 92-year-old father of a lady in our church. His condition was tenuous from hour to hour. After waiting for the room to empty of his visitors, I was finally able to get around to the most important matter at hand: his personal faith. In our conversation the question was asked about his going to heaven. I then asked him if he would like to invite Christ into his heart. He responded with a very resounding YES! His son-in-law was there, so I asked him to lead this gentleman in the prayer of faith. There were many tears and the 92-year-old man thanked Jesus for coming into his heart. He later told one of these relatives that he could go now because he knew that he was going to heaven. What a way to make one of our last hospital visits as we retire from full-time ministry! John & Heather Kingrey

Kids’ Club is going great, and VBS is coming in June; we’ve had a great outreach to our kids in the area. Men’s Bible study is also going well, and men’s breakfast is always well attended. A man just joined our church membership and wants to help the church in every way possible. Steve & Shawna Matthews

My home church has been such a blessing to us. They found a map of our area and each person on the missions board took a few streets to pray for by name. They’re covering about 28 streets in all, I think. Only 2 weeks after they started praying, we had 14 new people start attending! What an answer to prayer and an incredible motivation to keep praying! We’re still seeing the happy faces of 12 of the new people. They are so excited to be a part of our church and we love having them here. James & Mary Bucci

We started a new C.E.F. Good News Club in the local elementary school. Some ladies from our church are heading it up and are greatly encouraged by the turnout. The school kids are excited about having a new club at school. There was quite the buzz among parents as they shared how their kids are learning about creation in a public school. However, we see few new families coming to church. The kids may be willing, but the parents are very busy. Please pray for today’s families and their priorities.  Dan & Connie Michaud

One of the men of the church called me to tell me he had just led his mother to Christ. He was so excited and said he couldn’t have led his mom to Christ if he hadn’t been in one-on-one discipleship. He went through the Pal Plan several years ago and was taught how to lead another person to Christ. We are rejoicing that the Lord used this man in his mother’s life.  Jon & Deb Hansen

In March we sent a team of 12 to Baja, Mexico, on a short-term mission trip. They joined two members of the church who were already there preparing ahead for the larger group.  As we have done for the past several years, the team built a house for a homeless family. In addition, they went on a variety of outreach opportunities, meeting both physical and spiritual needs of the people. Four members of the team had never been before, and one of these was a non-believing boy. The team came back excited, moved by what they had witnessed, and committed to reaching out more in the community here. Even the agnostic young man was more impacted than he’d planned on. In addition, he rode for 26 hours in both directions with a truck full of followers of Jesus Christ. Significant seeds planted!  Rob & Linda Dore

Mary is working with our children, including some of the Awana children who are unchurched, on a short Easter musical for presentation on Easter Sunday morning. We are anticipating that the parents/grandparents of some of these kids will attend that morning to hear their children, and that they’ll hear the gospel message clearly presented!  Sam & Mary Courts

Some things take a while to happen in rural America – especially in rural Idaho! An outlying community in our county (May, ID – population: not many) has long been in need of the light of the Gospel – literally. As one man who lives there told me recently (not entirely in jest), “If there’s a bright spot in Custer County, May is the farthest from it!” Several efforts have been made to minister there, but nothing has ever lasted. At the same time, May has been of particular concern to both our church and another church in town. And now, in HIS sovereign timing, God has opened the door to ministry there. Recently the other pastor and I began holding a Bible study in a little 4-table café owned by one of the women attending the study. We weren’t sure what to expect, but people have been attending and are so excited that someone wants to minister to their community. And while we don’t know if this particular attempt at ministry will be any longer lasting than previous endeavors, that’s not really our concern. For now, God is blessing and the light of His Word is dispelling some of the shadows in another rural community. Paul & Robbi Stroud

We finished the ‘Fundamentals of the Faith’ study with much benefit to those who attended. We know that people benefited by their own testimony, as well as by evidence that some want to get into the Word on their own. Also, some have expressed a desire for more studies similar to this one. Ashley & Janet Anderson