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Women on Mission - May 2019

Prayer Focuses

Prayer Focus - Sub-Saharan African Peoples:  Many people in Mozambique make a decision to follow Christ, but for them, it just means coming to church every Sunday.  It is a religion and not Christianity.  Pray Ephesians 4:12, asking that    evangelical leadership will understand that their responsibility is to disciple people for the work of ministry.

Prayer Focus - North Carolina:  Patrick Ballard is a chaplain serving nursing homes in North Carolina through Mountaineer Ministries.  “I am a nursing home pastor serving 50 care centers in six counties of western North Carolina.  Please pray for our expansion to more memory care units and for more souls to be saved.  We need additional ministry partners as well.  Thank you for praying for me and my family.”

Prayer Focus - Montana:  Ray Willis is a church planting catalyst serving in Billings, Montana. “We are planning our summer outreach events for the week of June 22-28, 2019.  Please pray that God would provide teams to serve in a  mobile home community and to do light maintenance work at a local grade school.  We also need coaches for basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, and football camps and two cooks to cook lunch and dinner for 50 people for the week.  Please pray lives will be changed and new souls added to the kingdom through these outreaches.”

Prayer Focus - Southeast Asian Peoples: “So many places are ready to hear!" exclaims a believer who feels overwhelmed by the plentiful harvest.  New Khmer believers in Cambodia are hungry to learn the Word of God, but there are not enough Christian leaders to reach all the new church plants as frequently as they would like.  Pray that Khmer leaders will be trained well to disciple others who desire to disciple still others.

Prayer Focus - Sub-Saharan African People:  Missionaries at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zimbabwe are thanking God for a successful first session of the Seminary Wives Institute.  Fourteen women arrived eager to learn.  Pray they will be good stewards of what they learn as they partner in ministry with their husbands.  In Zimbabwe’s increasingly unstable economy, pray for God’s provision for fees throughout their studies.

Prayer Focus - American Peoples:  Migrant workers are flooding in by the busload from all over Mexico.  Pray for the Migrant Farm Workers Team that they will be able to make contact with those whom the Lord has prepared to hear His message.  Pray that the area churches will “catch the vision” to reach the nations on their doorstep.

Women on Mission will meet Monday, May 13th at 6:00 pm at the church.  All our ladies are invited to be with us for study, prayer, and fellowship.           

Spare Change - April 2019

                                                                        Ministry Update

The past three months have been pretty crazy.  We wrapped up the Upward basketball and cheerleading program the first part of March.  I would have to say that this was one of the most successful years in terms of outreach and connecting with families.  We know for sure that one child was saved.  We have had several families visit our church.  There have been a few of the middle school students begin to engage with our student ministry.  In one sense I am happy the season is over, if for no other reason to get some rest, but I will miss it and the opportunity for ministry.  Thank you to all the volunteers and coaches that put in countless hours to organize this league.  We could not have done it without you!

From there we move on to planning for Easter and even VBS!  Easter will be on us before we know it.  Our Easter weekend is a great way to connect people to our church.  They will be able to hear the gospel proclaimed and learn about the power of the  resurrection.  One of the highlights of the weekend is our Community Easter Egg Hunt.  We fill over 6,000 eggs and invite the entire community to come out.  This event is what we call a bridge event.  We simply try to connect with our community in a positive way.  It is something that you can invite friends and family to partake in that is casual and fun.  We hope to have a great turn out for the egg hunt.

Also, a lot of my time right now is focused on VBS.  Yes, VBS!  We actually start prepping for VBS in February.  We really ramp up in March and April.  Mostly getting volunteers lined out, supplies ordered, and having our leader training.  This year the theme is “In the Wild”.  We are going to look at  snapshots of the different ecosystems around the globe while looking at snapshots of the life of Jesus.  I can’t wait to see what God will do through our VBS this year.  As I wrote last month, VBS is the largest evangelistic push that most churches do all year.  We are going to keep the focus on connecting with families and proclaiming the gospel.

I have enjoyed the last three months as the pastor of children and missions.  It has been an adjustment, but it has been a delight to get to know the kids and their families even more.  We have a great group of kids and kids’ ministry volunteers.  Please pray for them, they don’t just provide childcare, they are pouring into your children the Word of God each week.

We also have had another big change the past few weeks.  Our Hispanic church planter, Leonid Marsan, came onsite at the end of February.  He and his family are currently living in our Charis House while they get set-up and adjust to life in Evansville.  Leonid is not sitting idle, he is getting out into the community and God is already beginning to work.  Leonid has been connected to several Hispanic individuals by God’s providence.  Please pray for him and his family as they begin this new work.  Also pray for them as they learn the culture and English language.  Our church family has been so welcoming to them already, I know you will make Oakhill feel like home.

God has also been doing some things in my life; reminding me that people, not programs are most important when it comes to ministry.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus, proclaim the gospel, reach out to our community, and make disciples.  If we keep those ideals first, then the programs will fall into their proper place.  Thank you for trusting me to be the pastor of children and missions, it is quickly becoming one of the greatest joys of my life.