All The News, Premium Content, Arkansas State Missions
STATE MISSIONS: On the Road Again
Paul White
I was privileged to share the ministry of State Missions and God’s Word in Arkadelphia on Sunday at Cornerstone Baptist Church. Seeing and visiting with former pastor Larry Newsom and brothers and sisters in Christ was a blessing. I would love to come and share your ministry of State Missions with you and your church family. While serving over 14 years as director, there are still at least half of the churches I have never been to. We love you, and thank you for your support.
Off and Running
Our newest mission project launched Sunday in the Cabot, Jacksonville area. Having recovered much from his recent illness, Michael Hight is, as he said, “back in the saddle again.” They had an incredible turnout, and we offer special thanks to our other Hispanic missions in the area for their attendance and support. Having had a great day with many guests, Michael says it is time to get to work. Please pray for this brand-new outreach.
State Missionary Committee Meeting
Thursday, Nov. 7, at 4 p.m., the State Missionary Committee will meet in the Ronald V. Mitchell Lecture Hall in the Watkins Building at Central Baptist College. I encourage your church to be represented at this meeting, as I will be sharing some possible changes to consider in our State Missions Department.
Advisory Committee Meeting
Let this serve as a reminder. I have asked for a meeting with this committee on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. We will meet in an upper room in the Watkins building.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Since July of this year, Henry has been congregating with us. He quickly joined the Sunday discipleship group at 9 a.m., enrolled in the Bible Institute classes and participated in every event or project developed in the church.
He is a handyman who has made himself available for the different jobs the church requires. We have been working on various projects for three Saturdays in the last month, which has allowed me to spend time with him and share our lives. I thank God for his life and ask for your prayers so he can fully understand his faith in Christ and dedicate his life to the achievements and purposes that Christ has for him.
“Sunday, we continued our series of studies in Eccl. 1:12-2:26. It is interesting to follow King Solomon’s experiments and his conclusions about the futility of daily tasks and human beings’ achievements. This is an interesting reflection for us, the Hispanic community in the United States, that spends a lot of time working and marginally enjoys their relationship with God and their family. Please pray that the studies in Ecclesiastes help spiritual growth and positively affect the church worldview.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Thank God everything is going well in our Discovery Bible Study (DBS). We continue studying John’s gospel and have already started chapter six. This week, we will open a new DBS in southwest Little Rock. Pray that it will be a light in that place.
“This week, we finished the workshop we gave on behalf of Novo (novo.org) to pastors and leaders from South America. Our association’s Theological Institute class is still running. We only have one class left and will finish on Nov. 12. Due to the elections, we will not have classes this week.
“We had an inspiring Sunday service. I am giving a series of sermons on Thanksgiving, and last Sunday, we talked about ‘having a life of contentment,’ with a biblical basis in the epistle of Philippians. We were also able to pray for the United States of America, as this Tuesday is an important election. We must humble ourselves and seek His face in prayer for His guidance.
“Sunday afternoon, a group of brethren from Ebenezer went to Jacksonville to support the new missionary work of El Faro 2. It was their first service, and several sister churches went to offer support, praying to God that the Word of God will attract the Hispanics in both Jacksonville and Cabot.
“Thank you, brethren, for your prayers and support. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “What a great week we had at Faith Chapel! We had a great number and a great time of worship! We had several who had been ailing from different things and were able to come Sunday morning, and it was just wonderful to have them back with us! All our regular kids were there as well, and it was such a blessing to watch our church love on each other! My heart was happy!
“We had a workday Saturday at the new building and had a great turnout! Our folks did a lot of work and enjoyed pizza for lunch. It won’t be long now before we are moved in. We tore up the parking lots with an excavator to install piping to get rid of the gutter runoff and prevent erosion and covered them back up with gravel. That was a major job, and our men did a fine job on it! We also moved in all our chairs and cleaned them up. We are still trying to finish up the trim and the AV equipment. We are also waiting on the counter and vanity tops. A forklift damaged some before they got to us, so we are waiting on them again, but we will be in soon.
“We had to have Mom at the hospital at 5:45 a.m. Monday for surgery. She has a malignant tumor in her colon, so by the time you read this, she will hopefully be recovering, Lord willing. If you would pray for her, we would certainly appreciate it. We thank you for all your prayers. We know God hears them, and we know that He answers.
“Thank you for your support as well. It is how we are able to do this, and we don’t take that for granted.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “We enjoyed wrapping up October with some fall festivities around the community. We spent time with the folks at our nursing facilities and adult day center, where the staff and residents enjoyed fall crafts, treats and worship time.
We were also able to give out treats and pamphlets on salvation to our neighborhood trick-or-treaters! We hope everyone had a good time! We are building strong relationships within our different ministries with the staff and members at the places we visit every week, and they have been asking for a Faith Journey t-shirt, so we are putting an order together to provide them with those as gifts during the holidays. Seeing them sporting the Faith Journey logo around town will be exciting!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “Autumn has arrived, a time that reminds us of our God's greatness and beauty and that we are close to completing two years as a mission. We are happy because, this week, three people repented of their sins and gave their lives to Christ — two are teenagers and the other is an older woman. The teenagers began to be discipled by Patty, joining another teenager who began her discipleship a month ago.
“Tuesday, we had our small group in Springdale at our sister Iris’ house and we had a very special time of prayer and accountability.
“Wednesday, in our small group in Pea Ridge, Diego, the husband of one of the sisters in our church is not a believer, but he has attended our meetings, and we continue to pray for God to save him.
“Saturday was our congregational devotional, and we spent time praying for all the sick, future leaders and the plans we have as a church for our second anniversary, Christmas and the 2025 agenda.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Up and down is the life of a church planter. Though our Woodbridge Connection Group was in full force, but it seemed to stagnate during the study, so the next day, I met with one of our other coaches to think through what we should do. I w
Our Garfield Connection Group was down, but they had an incredible time of sharing. The coaches said, ‘God knows who needs to be here.’ I love that attitude. The lackluster Woodbridge night and low attendance Garfield night were the down parts, but on Saturday, one coach family’s daughter turned one, and nearly all Epic Life showed up for the party. One of the kids asked what we would do at the party, and the mom said it would be just like our Connection Group except not doing a Bible study. I thought that was cool to hear. Each Connection Group is a party! Even better was to hear that all Epic Life was invited because ‘we’re family!’”
El Faro #2 Hispanic Mission, Cabot/Jacksonville: Michael Hight writes, “Yesterday we were finally able to have our first preview service. It was incredible! Our churches from Central Arkansas participated, and we had over 100 people present.
“I know the ‘real’ work starts now, but yesterday was a blessing from God that I truly wasn’t expecting. My grandson was having such a good time, he actually cried when he had to leave.
“Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to build relationships in this area of the state.”