SPOTLIGHT ON MISSIONS: Mike & Laura Beth Strong • Minneapolis, Minn.

      A lot has been going on in the last several months. So much so, I haven’t exactly had the time to share an update. I want to apologize. As partners in this ministry, I want you kept in the loop because we need your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us as we storm ahead. Here are some stories from some of the major events that have happened. I hope it helps you walk alongside us better.

      There has been a lot of growth over the last quarter which continues the trend we saw over the last year. We did a more thorough deep dive into some of the things we can measure and saw several areas God’s hand has been at work progressing things here:

         • Numerical Growth — 20.4% increase from Q1 2024

         • Financial Growth — 27% increase from Q1 2024

         • Skillset Growth — New Worship, Greeter and Contact Teams

         • Doctrinal Growth — Members have taken 101 and 201 classes

      We have seen spiritual growth in our people. That aligns with our big goal of “establishing a biblically faithful church who truly becomes the family of God Jesus died and shed His precious blood to make them.” Please remember that we are in a low-income, high-crime area of a major metropolitan city. This creates several challenges for us and extends the normal timeline of planting a church due to the financial challenges people face and the transient nature of the culture. Laura and I have had the same goal since the beginning — we want to love the “unlovable” (by society’s general view, not ours) and commit to the people the world thinks aren’t worth the cost of loving. We desire to reach out to and disciple all people without excluding the “lepers” of our community.

      We have big plans for the coming quarter and even more for the next 12 months. I am asking the Lord to provide all we need to accomplish them. We plan to work  on two core items to complete our calling this quarter and beyond:

      • Spiritual maturity, which produces stability

      • Overall health, which produces spiritual fruit, including evangelism

      We have three specific goals for the next few months:

         • Discipleship Process — We hope to revise, record and launch FMBC Class 301 and Class 401 and complete Good Soil Evangelism’s “The Story of Hope” with several groups and individuals.

         • Remove Cultural Roadblocks to Growth

         • Create New Relationships as We Expand into Surrounding Communities

      Please pray about the following items to partner with us in making an eternal impact:

      • New prayer partners to join the work

      • New financial partners to commit to finishing our current building project as well as support for purchasing some land and a trailer or building.

      • Wisdom and help from someone who has experience with planning for buying property in light of longer-term growth plans.

      If you would like to give a one-time gift or set up a recurring one, contact the BMAA office or visit tiny.cc/BMAGlobalStrong.

      God has given us a unique ministry. We serve in a hard part of a hard city. Overcoming the challenges of poverty, broken homes, incarceration, mental illness, physical illness and violent crime keeps some groups and individuals from coming to join us to serve here. I get that. But it doesn’t have to keep us from reaching the people of North Minneapolis together. Thanks for considering partnering with us.