Archive for September, 2008

Progress is a small community in the Peace River area, about 20 miles from Dawson Creek along Highway 97 South. This is mostly rolling foothill country, covered with aspen trees. Farming and forestry are the main occupations, and there is one elementary school. The local tourist attractions include Bennett Dam in Hudson Hope, the NAR Museum in Dawson Creek, and nearby waterfalls. Pray that the building project we have undertaken here can continue to go forward and continue to be looked on with favor by people in the community, and most of all, that God will be glorified in all of this as more people hear about Jesus.

Sunsites is nestled at 4,500 ft in the high desert of Arizona, about 50 miles from the borders of Mexico and New Mexico. It’s rich in the Old West history with Fort Bowie, Tombstone, and Bisbee not far away. Sunsites is built around a golf course and serves as a retirement community for its 1500 residents, many of them being snowbirds. Pray for God to soften the hearts of the people here so that they can see their need for Christ.

Since a state prison is 50 miles from us, we’re also involved in a ministry there. Even though it’s been very fruitful with over 20 baptisms last year, pray for God to continue using us in a mighty way to open the hearts of these inmates to see their need for Christ.

Continue to pray for Sandy to regain her strength from her chemo treatments, along with God’s hand of mercy for her healing.

Oriskany is a small town at the base of the Shenandoah Valley in southwest Virginia. This is a scenic area surrounded by mountains. There used to be 2,000 people in the area with three churches, three gas stations, and stores. The iron-ore mines in the area folded in the 1920s. The jobs disappeared and so did the people; there are now less than 200 people in the area. There is our church and a post office, with no stores or gas stations. Our church is 104 years old with a mixture of retirees and those who drive 30-60 minutes to work in Roanoke and other towns. I (David) teach the Bible during Release Time to 2nd and 4th graders at three public elementary schools. Pray for them to grow strong in faith. Pray also that our church Bible studies and fellowship would help the people of our church to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.

We’re 18 miles north of Portland and 13 miles west of L.L. Bean’s flagship store in Freeport. The town has a postcard-like pastoral setting of rolling hills, fields, and forests, and once was a very thriving agricultural community. Now it’s a fast-growing, highly desirable bedroom community of southern Maine’s suburban sprawl. New Gloucester Bible Church has a mini-campus of three buildings and the parsonage on the very busy main highway through town. As we approach 50 years as a Village Missions Church in 2009, we praise God for His great faithfulness! Our challenge is to continue to reach and connect with an area that has gone from a quiet rural population to a hectic commuter’s crossroad population. Please pray that our high physical visibility and many ministry outreaches will attract people who need the Lord in their lives. Pray for the many unchurched teens who attend our large teen group, that they would be saved and impact their families for Christ.

Kaslo is a town of around 1,000 on the shores of Kootenay Lake. There are a lot of retirees here, who’ve either moved here or lived here all their lives. Many religious beliefs are represented. Logging and tourism are the main industries. Please pray that we might have a ministry with the young families in Kaslo. Praise God that the congregation individually does a lot of community volunteer work. Pray for the church as a whole to have at least one ministry in our community. Pray for strength/wisdom for church leadership and congregation to live as Christ would want us to, and for favour from villagers towards Christians and Kaslo Community Church.