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STATE MISSIONS: Winding Down
Paul White
Another fall, great weather and the local association meetings are coming to an end. I have truly enjoyed all the meetings I have been able to attend. Sunday, I was blessed to be with the Shiloh Baptist Church in McRae. They allowed me to share the work of our State Missions Department and to bring the morning message.
It was a pleasure to meet Pastor Rodger Cole and his wife. We enjoyed good services and a good meal afterward. It was my first time being there, and I hope it won’t be my last. What a great fellowship of brothers and sisters!
This Weekend
Friday night, we will be attending the Arkansas Prairie Association meeting at Forks of Lagrue in DeWitt. After the meeting, we will make our way down to attend the Howard Association meeting at Center Point Nashville on Saturday. After the afternoon service, we plan to drive over to Magnolia to spend the night and share missions and preach at Antioch East with Pastor Ron Owen.
Reflection
Having had the opportunity to attend several associational meetings, it is obvious to see that attendance continues to drop. As a result, some associations have difficulty transacting needed business for lack of a quorum. May our churches see the need of attending as there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “We had a health fair Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. We began with a prayer with all the volunteers from the different organizations present and, right at 10, people from the community began to arrive at the temple.
Their blood pressure was taken and they were offered tests for cholesterol, glucose, hepatitis and HIV, and the flu vaccine and the COVID booster were given. Organizations also participated that provided information on drug abuse, support in cases of domestic violence and English classes. My family’s dentist, Dr. Dan Ballenger, also participated in the fair, teaching attendees (especially the children) how to care for their teeth, and providing them with toothpaste and toothbrushes.
“Our church, in addition to hosting, also had a table to serve the community by providing them with environmental disinfectants, diapers, backpacks and other things. If they wished, they could leave us their names and telephone numbers in the list of participants.
“Sunday, I was blessed by the church with the celebration of Pastor’s Day. Serving God is a privilege, and I enjoy serving Him so much alongside my family that it has been a formidable team. I thank God for the lives of Sayra, Jose Carlos and Fernanda. I pray that God will keep them steadfast and that they will never stray from His path.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Our God is good and is always faithful. Last week, I asked you to pray that God would introduce me to people, and He introduced me to Herson. At a quinceañera (birthday celebration of a 15-year-old young lady), I was invited to meet a family and that family contacted me last week so that I could take the Word of God to their drug-addicted son.
I visited him and introduced him to the Bible. Herson did not make his decision to follow Christ, and only the power of God can break his chains of bondage. I ask you, ministry partners, to pray for this young man. What for man is impossible, through God all things are possible.
“We had an inspiring service at Ebenezer as we continue with our series of a panoramic view of the Bible. We have already finished the introduction, and next Sunday we will see everything that is the theme of creation.
“Thank you for your prayers. Keep praying for God to introduce me to people who have a spiritual thirst. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a very busy and productive week at Faith Chapel! We have been making plans and preparing to build a building, and there is a lot of work involved in that. This week, we had a dozer come in and take the trees out where the building will sit. We had to get the stumps and small limbs cut off so he could deck them up to be burned before he left.
We left the trunks and big limbs for some of our members to cut up as firewood. Racing a dozer with a chainsaw is a lot more work than it sounds like, but we finished at about the same time, and it all worked out. Boy, did we sleep well that night!
“Saturday, I got to perform a wedding ceremony for a couple that has been coming to church with us for a few months now, and that was indeed a blessing!
“Our numbers were a little down on Sunday. Three of our families with children were out, but we had some come that we hadn’t seen in a while and that is always good.
“If you go to our Facebook page, you can watch the drone footage of the baptism last week at Bull Shoals Lake. One of our members has a drone photography business, and he has blessed us twice now with his excellent skills.
“Thank you all for your support and prayers. Please continue because God is hearing and answering them.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “Faith Journey Mission was busy this week. I had the opportunity to help as one of the leaders at our local school in the Fields of Faith event. Fields of Faith reaches students every year in our local schools through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes program.
It is a combined effort with other area school districts to have one night of worship, all at the same time at different football fields, to bring the Word of God to students. It was a night of praise, worship and sharing of the gospel. It was amazing to see God working in these students’ lives.
“We continued through the book of Joshua in our Sunday evening meeting this week. Joshua 13 teaches us that our work isn’t done, even in our older years. God wants us to continue working to expand His kingdom. As Christians, we aren’t to grow comfortable with where we are in our walk after salvation. We must continue to grow in faith and share the message of salvation with those who are lost. That is what we are called to do while we are still able to do so during our time here on earth. Keep moving forward in faith and sharing God’s love this week.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “This week we were able to attend a conference organized by Answer in Genesis this year — ‘The Sanctity of Life’ and the conference ‘Eugenics, Abortion and Our Future’ by Joe Owen, director of Answer in Genesis in Spain.
Secularism through the various stages of life has been attacking Christianity, specifically attacking the authority behind the individual, the family, civil authority and the church. Every life has value because it has been uniquely designed in the image of God. Psalm 139:13-14 says we were fearfully and wonderfully made. No matter the naturalistic Evolutionary Worldview, Christians must defend the biblical worldview about the value of life. We must not only say we are pro-life, but we must do something for those women who suffer and are tempted not to have their babies.
“There are no excuses, church, we must get into that fight and not be indifferent. Every Christian in this world should weep with those who mourn. The church must recognize the intrinsic value of life, recognize that life begins at conception and that the ‘fetus’ has the same value as a baby, prepare for apologetics, commit to helping and supporting single mothers and families in need, and share the gospel with women who have had abortions.
“Monday, we shared the gospel and a woman in great need gave her life to Christ. We were also able to pray for a group of families who had different needs.
“Tuesday, we continued praying and sharing the gospel in Springdale. We had breakfast for siblings who are in need of Bible counseling on Wednesday and had a beautiful time.
“Thursday, we met with our large discipleship group. A total of 12 people arrived and, after a time of testimonials of thanksgiving, we sang and had the lesson, then had questions and at the end when we shared food. We usually meet on Fridays, but we changed the day this week due to our trip to the conference. We are preparing for our first service in November.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “This Sunday, we will have our second Worship Night. Though it is an opportunity for outreach, we focus our worship nights to be for our Connection Group members to have an opportunity to celebrate what God is doing and to corporately worship.
Pray with us that we can gather with that heart and visitors will come and experience it with us. “We have Facebook ads running throughout the week. Even if they don’t lead to direct attendance, the ads bring awareness to our event.
“I also had the chance to share about Epic Life at Prairie Oaks Baptist Church this past Sunday morning. I love the opportunity to share how God has worked in our lives to bring us to this point and how we’re approaching this mission in a way anyone can — just loving and caring for our neighbors. I’d love to share this with other congregations!”