SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS: Michael and Laura Beth Strong

God has been doing some very exciting things in Minneapolis. We have been able to celebrate as four men came forward with credible professions of faith to be baptized in obedience to the gospel. We have two (possibly three) others who are currently waiting to be baptized as soon as we can secure a baptismal again. We invite you to join us in praising God for His free gift of salvation and the desire at work in those who have come forward to dedicate their lives to following their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We also praise God for His gift of answering our prayers to add to the body. We had four other individuals commit to membership. Six others are in prayer about joining officially at the time of this email.

We disciple each new believer through specific core teachings in order to help them begin their lifelong journey of discipleship. A young man who is working with us, Isaiah, is preparing to start the New Believer Bible Studies with each of our baptized men and the four other new members of the church.

We were also able to go on a special spiritual retreat in March. The trip was planned to be a special time of fasting and prayer where the group would seek God to grow us in unity, in doctrine and to request He increase the desire for holiness in us as well as work in us to live out this desire.

Leading up to the trip, all nine men were assigned important basic truths to research and share with the group. Isaiah and I made ourselves available to the men to help those who had need research and put together a short teaching on it. All nine presentations worked out beautifully and we got to witness God work in the time to prepare our hearts for the start of what is to come. The group bonded and had a great time getting to know and serve each other. I can personally attest to leaving with a hunger for holiness and hope for what God will do on the next trip. There was so much growth from the first trip to the second that Isaiah and I ended up praising God for what He had done. All we can ask is, “More, God! More!”

In the coming weeks, we will be working with all of the men to disciple them. We will also be looking to help get a set of basic Bible study tools we can keep at FreedomWorks for the men to use as they commit themselves to the pursuit of Christ in serious Bible study. If you would like to give toward this project, please let me know. FreedomWorks has proven to be a fruitful partner in gospel missions. We have some great plans to serve the men at FreedomWorks in the future, including being a part of two major outreaches in June.

I want to share some exciting news with you. Laura Beth and I are excited to announce God is giving us another precious child! We lost a child right before the twins, so we have been pretty quiet about it because we wanted to wait until we knew for sure we wouldn’t lose this little blessing. Laura is now 20 weeks along and all the tests show a healthy baby. Please pray for her during her pregnancy. Thanks for all your prayers to this point.

We have another great need we would like to bring to you for prayer. We are looking to find a place to worship weekly. It would be helpful to have somewhere near the men at FreedomWorks (at least, that is my belief, but God may think otherwise). My prayer is to also have an office where I can meet privately with the men or in smaller groups to serve in the area of counseling. All of our guys are considered vulnerable people, and we want to be able to help them walk through the process of restoration while protecting their privacy. Will you join us in asking God to provide the right place for us to meet, have an office and worship? Will you join us in asking for the provision for that place when we find it?

We have quite a few outreach events coming up in the next few months — Easter Outreach, Salsa Cookoff Outreach, Mother’s Day Tea Party Outreach, FreedomWorks June Outreach and Extreme Tour Outreach. This is the most important time of year to connect due to the warmer weather. We are looking for partners to help us take advantage of this time through several strategic opportunities. Will you pray for us? Will you also pray about giving toward at least one of these events? You can also give toward our general fund. Visit the BMA Missions giving page (app.securegive.com/BMAMissions), click “Show All” and then find “Michael Strong.” (mike@nnccmpls.com)