STATE MISSIONS: God Continues to Move in Your State Missions Work
Spring is sprung and Summer is taking over. This time of the year people are getting out and making those excursions affecting attendance, so Pastors don’t panic, this too shall pass. With the last two years being mostly shut down by COVID, people are ready for some fresh air, but I want to remind those who will be absent not to forget that the needs of the church continue even when you cannot be there. Please send in your offering and then go enjoy your time with your family.
Fields Are White
There was a called Advisory Committee meeting this week to consider a new missionary. There will be more information coming soon. Remember to pray for all our men on the field. They are there representing you.
A Heart for Lost Souls
A very special thank you to the family of the late Lamar Lee for their donation of the family van to the State Missions department. (This is the second van they have gifted to missions. Their first one went to Buddy Johnson in Mexico.) It is a beautiful 2008 Chevrolet G1500 and has been garage kept its whole life with fewer than 80,000 miles driven. If you and your family would be interested in it, please contact me. The money received will go into our Revolving Loan Fund to help our missionaries.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, (5/29) “During the visits to the community, we met Russbel Herrera and Nolvin Rivera. Russbel expressed an interest in visiting us in the temple for Sunday meetings. Nolvin was visiting Russbel’s house and was not very interested. Pray for each of them and Russbel’s family as his wife just gave birth. We
also met Ada, who has already visited us. She informed us that she had decided to recongregate at her old church. We were very happy to see her interest in her relationship with God. Other houses did not open their doors to us, but we will continue visiting the community, hoping to find people interested in hearing the Word of God.
“On Saturday, we baptized four people, Justin (13), Marlon (22), Nicole (12) and Maira. We went to the Buffalo River, and it was a perfect day for baptisms and to enjoy nature. I will appreciate your prayers for these four members of the church.
(6/5) “As we entered summer vacation, youth group attendance increased. If they don’t go on vacation, we can count on some young people who don’t regularly attend the meetings on Wednesdays.
“This week we will have the last lesson of Course One of the Bible Institute, I am very excited since the brothers are willing to continue with Course 2.
“Fernanda and Jose Carlos closed their school year with great success and we are very grateful to God who allowed them to obtain excellent grades. Now their senior year awaits them at college and high school, respectively. Thank you for keeping my family in your prayers.”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, (5/29) “We had a great time of worship Sunday morning. We had a good number, with some return visitors.
“We are busy planning a joint VBS at our mother church, The Bridge in Mountain Home. The plans are coming together nicely and everyone is excited about it, especially the kids.
“We are also planning our 2nd annual Independence Day outreach event. We learned a lot from the one held last year and are so excited about that too. The main footpath to the city park is 2nd street, right in front of our mission, and last year we cooked hot dogs and fed passersby on their way to watch the amazing annual fireworks display. Our plans are the same this year, only we are hoping to be more organized and with more of our own laborers to the harvest.
“As a direct result of last year’s event, we have had professions of faith and baptized five new members, praise God! And this year, with our increased numbers, we are praying that we will reach at least twice that. Please join us in prayer that we will indeed reach the community, and that people will hear and respond to the gospel that we share with them, souls will be saved and lives changed.
“Thank you for your prayers for us, Faith Chapel, Flippin, and for those we are trying to reach. God is hearing them and answering.”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, (5/29) “Many of our leaders are out on vacation, so this was a quiet week for us. Even though it was a quiet week, DeAnna, the kids and I drove down to Tyler, Texas to see our college couple get married. It was an awesome wedding, and we were excited they wanted our kids to be the flower girls and ring bearers.
“There were so many counseling situations that occurred while I was away. I am thankful for Drew being able to step into one of them. I was able to set up a counseling meeting with a couple who is not currently part of The Table. Please pray for this meeting.
“Chris Driver (Missionary Care for Texas BMA and fellow church planter) and his wife and son met us in Tyler, Texas. We had a great time of fellowship and swapping stories of how God is using our plants. I am so thankful to see fellow planters and be able to have feedback and sounding boards for ideas and direction.
“Sunday was crazy. We were down all of our normal leadership which showed us how far we have come since last year when we weren’t even meeting on Sunday evenings. We still had a great service with people investing in people, sharing each other’s burdens and praying for one another. This is such an amazing community, and I am so thankful that God has allowed me to participate in its conception.
(6/5) There are plenty of vacations still happening. My wife was able to go visit her family last week and will be remaining there for two weeks.
“I attended the Good Soil Training in Conway. There was such a good turnout. I love to be with others who still believe that they can learn from one another.
“I have one larger trip this week with three unsaved individuals with whom I have been building relationships. Pray for that trip. Once this week is over, I will have traveled over 3,000 miles in three weeks. I am looking forward to life getting back to a normal routine.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, (5/29) “I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing Memorial Day. “Faith Journey remembered our fallen heroes with a time of reminiscing and prayer for those that made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live and worship in freedom. Thank you to all that serve and protect our freedom.
“We have created handouts that share the vision of Faith Journey, as well as information on where and when we currently meet. We will begin going into the community and passing them out to neighborhoods and businesses to help let people know we are here and are ready to share the gospel with them and be of service to them.
“This week I spoke on conflict in our weekly service. The Bible has many verses on the subject of conflict between each other and gives us instruction throughout the Bible on how to avoid or resolve conflict with others in our lives. We use the S.O.A.P. method when studying the Scripture. If you aren’t familiar with this method, it is as simple as reading the Scripture, making Observations about the scripture, and Applying those observations and the passages to our lives, then finally Praying that God uses that Scripture to show us what He wants us to learn and how to apply it to our lives. This method is a great way to get into the Scripture and learn about the lessons God wants to show you.
(6/5)“This week at Faith Journey we talked about Jer. 29:11 — “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you hope and a future.” We shared with one another how this Scripture applies to our lives and to the vision of Faith Journey. Each of us has a different testimony of how God has brought us to the place we are in life, and we can all agree that God has the plans worked out for His glory.
“We also spoke about how God is always for us. Romans 8:31 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” God is reminding us again that He is a Sovereign God and is faithful to us and our future. When planting a new church, these truths are even more apparent as we travel this road and see God’s hand at work by bringing people in who are wanting to build a relationship with Him and making opportunities to spread the gospel and grow the kingdom of Heaven.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, (5/29) “Meditating on Matt. 9:35-36 in my personal devotional, the Lord, through His Word, challenged me to imitate Him by going through the cities preaching the gospel, healing people from the greatest and most serious illness, that is sin, and having compassion on them, because they are sheep that do not have a shepherd.
“This week I was very productive in terms of the purpose of making connections with Hispanics in the area. We were able to attend a meeting of an organization called Hispanic Latino Connection in NWA and share with its president and her assistant. We arranged to meet again soon. We also continue to work with the Rodríguez family, and on Saturday a new family visited us in our home. They are South Americans and were very interested in what we shared with them.
“We continue to pray. Our intercession list is 25 people. We ask you to support us in prayer so that God prepares their hearts as good soil and the seed of the gospel produces the fruit of salvation.
(6/5) “This week I was meditating on Acts 10:42. God is sovereign in salvation, which tells us that we must preach the gospel and that our devotion to God must make us break all barriers, even racial ones, just as Peter went and brought the message to Cornelius and all his family who were Gentiles.
“This week by the grace of God we were visited by two families in our apartment. We presented the gospel to one family through a survey that says, ‘Are you good enough?’ They left meditating when they recognized that there is not a good one. We saw their faces of concern when they saw that the standard to measure us is the Word of God and the life of Jesus. We continue to strengthen our friendship with them.
“On Thursday a woman came to our apartment and gave her life to Christ. She promised to start discipleship next Thursday. We continue to pray for her husband.”
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Paul White
Arkansas State Missions Director Paul White pens a weekly column to inform the BMA of Arkansas concerning Arkansas Missions’ activity and includes individual reports from each church planter.
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