Happy Birthday
This past Sunday, Faith Chapel in Flippin, (Johnny and Karen Shew), celebrated their first anniversary as a mission. They were victims of COVID-19, having to shut down after their first public meeting, yet they did not let that deter them as they continued doing everything they could. It is obvious God is blessing their efforts as they presently have 18 members and have been able to purchase and pay for a beautiful piece of ground they hope to begin building on soon. Vicki and I were privileged to be with them for their anniversary service and was honored to share the morning message.
After the service, we enjoyed a time of fellowship. During the fellowship, a young man saw us and came over, and after visiting for a while, he publicly accepted Christ as his savior. Please continue to pray for Johnny, Karen and the work in Flippin, especially Karen, having lost both her father and mother within the past month.
Update on meeting
Last Tuesday, the Advisory Committee, the missionaries and I met for our annual spring meeting. We welcomed Keith Lewis, our newest member, to the committee and look forward to working with him. We were blessed with everyone being able to make it, which is unusual for that many pastors to all be available at the same time.
With nine missionaries it was an all-day event with us starting at 8 a.m. and finishing at 5 p.m. We heard reports from our missionaries and prayed for each one. It goes without saying this has been a most difficult year for church planters. It is almost like having the clock turned back a year for some. Yet, as things begin to loosen up, the future is looking much better. I want to thank Immanuel Baptist Church in Greenbrier and their pastor, Tony Crocker, for hosting this year’s meeting. It was much easier to social distance in a larger venue.
Your Advisory Committee and missionaries and our churches are to be commended for their faithfulness to this work and the generosity of their giving.
From Our Missionaries
Arkansas Hispanic Missions: Michael Hight writes, “It was a pleasure to meet with the Advisory Committee this past week. They are always an encouraging group of men.
“Most of last year was hampered due to the COVID-19 restrictions, but activities are beginning to pick up again. We are looking forward to a ladies meeting on March 20 in Central Arkansas. It is my prayer that we will be able to have a Pastor’s and Laymen’s Conference this year as well.
“Please keep us in your prayers as we seek to encourage our Hispanic Mission’s work. Pray for God to raise up church planters that want to start new works. Our current mission projects are moving forward, and God is using our missionaries. Thank you for your support and prayers!”
Connection Point, Brookland: Chad White writes, “God’s work continues here at Connection Point. This past week, I had the opportunity to meet with the men of the State Missions Advisory Committee and share what God has been doing over the past six months. I always appreciate the encouragement and insight I receive from this group.
“Sunday was a pretty good day. Our in-person attendance was down a bit, and we had some technical issues with our streaming, however, we still had a good day. Almost everyone stayed to help stack chairs and clear the floor so we could have them rewaxed this coming week. God has blessed us with some great people who never shy away from work.
“We had our Men’s Breakfast on Saturday, and had a great turn-out and an awesome devotional. God has really blessed our Men’s Ministry over the past few months. It is very exciting to see these guys grow in the word and in their faith.”
The Mustard Seed, Cain: Jim Tollison writes, “We had another good day at the mission Sunday. We had a few of our folks out. I am sure they were bitten by the time-change bug.
“I enjoyed meeting with the BMA of Ark Advisory Committee in Greenbrier last Tuesday. They are always an encouragement to me and the folks at the mission. These guys do a good job.
“We are planning a special day at the mission on Easter Sunday. Ronnie and MaryLou Warren will present a special music program. We are fortunate that they could come again this year as they have always blessed our hearts in the past.
“Pray for all the contacts we have been making. God has some great things in store for this mission. May God Bless the BMA work around the world.”
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Thank God the Little Rock Food Bank provided food for the community last week. We also had the opportunity to bless 144 families with Farmers to Families’ Boxes full of food products. The community of Alexander was blessed through the Great Commission mission, with whom we were able to share part of the donations received.
“Monday was a very sad day for us. A good friend of the family, whom my children call Aunt Lupe, went to the presence of the Lord. Earlier in the morning her younger brother also died. Please join us in praying for this family as they had to bury two members of the family on the same day. That same Monday afternoon our beloved pet, Chispita, also died, after being with us for 14 years. Fernanda had come on Sunday, because she knew about Chispita’s delicate condition, we believed that she would die on Sunday, but she managed to survive until Monday. What a difficult Monday for us!
“Tuesday, we had the opportunity to meet with the Advisory Committee and enjoyed sharing with this beautiful group of men of God what God is doing in North Little Rock and in the lives of my family and in my own.
Friday, we had a prayer chain starting at midnight on Thursday and ending at midnight on Friday, members of the congregation had at least one hour during the day to talk with God, at the end of their hour each participant called those who they continued in the next hour, so that the chain did not break during the 24 hours.
“On Saturday morning I shared the theme ‘The Fast’ with the brothers of the El Faro church, who invited me to teach them on their day of fasting and prayer. In the afternoon we had discipleship meetings while the children received music classes. Later the worship group would rehearse the songs for the Sunday meeting.
“Sunday we shared about the contrast between men who follow the truth and those who stray from the truth based on Titus 1:10-2:2. Yesenia, who has been visiting us for a month, decided to receive Christ as her Lord and Savior and Jonatan, who was visiting us for the first time, did so also. We thank God for the lives of these two young people. I encourage you to pray that they confirm their faith and join a discipleship group.
“On Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went to visit the Great Commission Mission since they invited me to preach. We had an excellent time with the Lord, and four people decided to consecrate their lives to the Lord, renewing their vows of commitment to God.
“It has been a very active week with many nuances, and we are grateful to God for allowing us to serve Him. Blessings to all, and please continue to pray for us and the work that God has entrusted to us.”
Grace, Green Forest: Carter Pearce writes, “With the COVID-19 restrictions easing locally and across Arkansas, we are looking at ways to be more publicly involved. Green Forest is scheduling events on the square, in the park and even on the soccer fields. We look forward to ministering publicly again after about a year of focusing primarily on growing within our congregation.
“Outreach is vital to any ministry, but especially for a mission congregation. We have dwindled a bit in attendance and are praying for opportunities to meet new people and share the love of Christ with them. We believe the best way to share God’s love is through service — we serve others because Jesus served.
“Pray for us and other missionaries and pastors as we strive to adjust to cultural changes all around us. The message of Christ will never change, but methods for reaching our communities change constantly. As we pray for opportunities, we must be ready and willing to serve when those opportunities present themselves.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Life in Ebenezer on weekdays in the Berean Groups (cells) and on Sunday in our Celebration Service is the result of what happens in the homes.
“I thank God for each group in the home that allows us to carry out His Word. Last Monday in Chenal, we finished with the first book of the series, ‘New Life in Christ.’ For the next month we will be using the ‘Biblical Discovery Study’ method and then continue with the second book in the series.
“Conversing with other pastors, I see that at Ebenezer we are privileged. Other congregations have not been in the church building for a year, and they have only had online services or services from their cars in the parking lot. There are few times in Ebenezer we have stopped meeting, the month of lockdown due to the pandemic.
“Every week in Ebenezer we have met inside with the use of the masks, and social distancing. It is a blessing to have been able to do it. Keep praying with us that we can reactivate ministries like the one-on-one discipleship, youth ministry and children’s ministry. We are praying for God’s wisdom. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “Praise God! What a wonderful week we had at Faith Chapel! On Tuesday, I gave my annual report to the State Missions Advisory Committee and was pleased to report that after our first year in Flippin, we have 18 members and have had 4 baptisms!
“We had our first anniversary service Sunday, and Brother Paul came and preached a very encouraging message. Three of our members who were already very engaged in telling our community about Jesus, publicly renewed their commitments to being a better witness for Jesus! Again, Praise God!
“Then, while I was cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for our anniversary celebration, a young man came up to us and asked us to pray for someone in the neighborhood that had a death in the family last night. After we prayed, we talked and I asked if he was saved, he said, ‘No.’ I asked if he knew how to be saved, he said, ‘No.’ I asked if he wanted me to tell him how to be saved, and he said, ‘Yes!’ He got saved right there on our porch! Again, Praise God! He came back for the evening service, and said he wants to join us. We plan to baptize him next Sunday night! We are already starting next year’s report! Praise God!
Please continue to pray for us and our work in Flippin. God is answering your prayers in mighty ways!”
Not Alone, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “It was great seeing Bro. Paul and the State Missions Advisory Committee on Tuesday, where I gave our annual report.
“I am bouncing back from the allergies and a weak voice. Our kids are now dealing with a mixed case of allergies as well. I am praying we can get through some of the sleepless, cough-filled nights soon.
“We are working hard through this early planting stage. Many relationships are being forged, but now the effort will be to bring some of these people into conversations about either the gospel or coming to our fledgling church. The start of this church will be centralized within our Bible Studies as opposed to having a centralized preaching service.
“I talked with Stuart Estes about some ministry opportunities at the U of A, and these may work well into what I already have visioned.
“I met my neighbor across the street. He is a great guy in his 70s who is planning on retiring. He and his wife watch their great grandchild during the week. We are planning on hanging out with them soon. He loves to fish so it looks like I will need to learn a new hobby! We are looking for ways to bring our neighbors together, and it is hard during this time of COVID, but God is creating opportunities.
“Would you all please pray over two different things? A second vehicle and a centralized meeting place for this church. (We may need to rent a current business or coffee shop space, but our tithing footprint is currently small.)
“May God bless you all.”