STATE MISSIONS: Special Meeting
This Thursday, Sept. 14, the Missionary Committee will be meeting at 10 a.m. at the El Faro Baptist Church (7002 Baseline Rd., Little Rock, Ark. 72209), a short distance from the BMA of Arkansas office. We will be considering Michael Hight as a candidate for full-time missionary to the Jacksonville area. Currently there are no Hispanic works in that area, and I am confident Michael is the perfect man for the job. Remember to mark your calendars and come and show your support for Michael and this new mission work. See you Thursday.
Local Association Meetings
It’s time to hit the road again. Thursday night, I was privileged to visit and share your State Missions work with the Mount Calvary Association in Searcy. Friday morning, I made a stop in Flippin to visit with Johnny Shew and see the progress they are making on their building. Leaving Johnny, I made my way to Bentonville, had lunch with Jake and continued to Bella Vista to meet with the Ozark Association. Leaving there that afternoon, I drove to Van Buren, spent the night, then drove to the town of Ozark to share the work with the United Association. This meeting was held at West Park, a former mission project.
I also want to thank Michael Hight for attending the Mount Vernon Association and Scott Small for attending the North Arkansas Association and sharing my report with them. It is always great to meet, greet and eat! I am looking forward to attending as many local association meetings as possible. Like Saturday, some meet at the same time, making it impossible to catch them all.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, (9/3) “With the outbreak of COVID-19, several families in the congregation have been affected, which is why we have re-enabled the transmission of the Sunday meeting via Zoom. Several families chose to stay at home. We hope this surge passes quickly.
“Sunday night, we talked about baptism with the candidates that came to Christ recently. We agreed to baptize them in one of our state’s lakes on Sunday, Sept. 24.
“Jose Carlos visited us this weekend. He is doing very well at college and tells us that he has identified with a group of Christian students, and former classmates from his school in North Little Rock, so the adaptation to the College has been easy.
“I invite you to pray for the candidates for baptism and for my son, Jose Carlos, in the new phase of his life as a university student.”
(9/10): “Last week, Sayra contacted people we have served previously, offering them tennis shoes for their children. Among them was Berseli, who has two children, ages 5 and 7. Later, Alfredo and Berseli arrived with their two children, who were very happy with their new tennis shoes. During the conversation, they shared with us that they had no chairs to sit in. We prayed with them, for their needs and invited them to our church meetings.
On Friday night, they came to our prayer meeting. After the meeting, we took them to the Fellowship Room and showed them six chairs we had for them. We very happily loaded them into the church van since they did not have space in their car and went to drop them off at their house. We were so absorbed in the conversation that we weren’t aware that it was 10:30 p.m. They were pleased with our presence and told us various anecdotes about what had happened to them. For our part, we told them the things God has done in our lives.
“On Sunday, they arrived at Sunday School. We hope they continue to attend our meetings and that they will be able to make their profession of faith in the future. Let’s pray for this family.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “I thank God for another year of life. On Sept. 1, I turned 54 years old, and it was a good opportunity to connect with God and with people.
“On Sunday, Sept. 3, after our church service, we went to the lake with a group of Venezuelans where I was also able to meet new people. I have been praying that God will present me with opportunities to connect with people so I can build bridges of friendship.
In the workshop that we have been taking in Ebenezer, we have been teaching about our ‘Oikos’ map, which consists of identifying the different groups or communities that are around us. One of those communities I am frequenting lately is the Venezuelan one. We are already a group of 20, and I am praying to have the opportunity to share the Word of God with them. I ask for your support in prayer so that God will allow me to make good transitions to spiritual things. Someone asked me a biblical question at one of those meetings, and it opened the opportunity to sow the Word of God.
“Pray for some sick people we have had in Ebenezer. The cases of COVID have been increasing and our congregation has not been exempt from them. Thank you for your support; to God be the glory!
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, (9/3): “We had a great week at Faith Chapel! The Lord blessed us with another cool week in August — we had two and they are rare in these parts and welcomed. I don’t remember ever having two cool weeks in August.
“We had a good number Sunday, even though some were out traveling for the holiday, and a few were sick. It was still a wonderful time of worship!
“Between a few doctor’s appointments for me and Mom and some very uncomfortable prep for a procedure, I wasn’t able to work on the new building as much as I wanted and take advantage of the cool weather, but the work went on even without me and progress is still being made. The wiring is almost complete, and we should begin the ductwork and setting the air handlers this week. The power company is supposed to install our outside lighting this week. It is already pretty visible, but that will make our building glow like a lighthouse on the hill, a lamp in the darkness. It seems like it is taking longer than it really is, but we know it will be finished in God’s timing. He is helping it along, and we will be in there when we need to be. Thank You, Lord!
“Thank you again for your prayers and support, we are so grateful for them, please continue! We thank God for you!”
(9/10): “We had another great week at Faith Chapel! The weather is beautiful, and God is so good! We had several out sick or traveling this week, but we still had a good number and a wonderful time of worship.
“I was able to attend the Mount Calvary Association annual meeting with Bro. Paul last Thursday. It was a blessed time for me, and it was a wonderful meeting with a great message delivered. The Mount Calvary Association has been faithfully helping to support us since we started, so I love to go and give them a report on our progress as a mission. I am humbled and was very surprised, but they not only voted to continue their support, but to increase the amount, too. We are so thankful for them, and for all of you who help support our mission, not only with your monetary gifts, but especially for your prayers. We could not do this without you allowing God to work through you and sharing His blessings with us! We are truly thankful to you all, and to Him! Please know that we renew our commitment to Him daily, to build His church here in Flippin!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, (9/3): “The lesson this week was on loyalty. We did a fun little get-to-know-you activity before we started the lesson. We paired up and shared stories about our fondest memories of a close friend and what the characteristics are of a true friend. Most of the things we look for in a friend were similar such as honesty, moral values, kindness and loyalty.
We learned that the Bible talks about the loyalty the Apostle John showed to our Savior during His final days. He was there for Jesus at several events during that time. John was with Him in the garden, and when Jesus was questioned. John stayed beside Christ as He was crucified and was the first apostle to the tomb after the resurrection. John also made sure Mary was cared for as well. John was a loyal friend and disciple to the end. We should all be so lucky to have that type of friend in our lives or better yet to be that type of loyal friend to those around us.
“We have had several families request prayer this week for various reasons. We believe our God wants to hear our prayers and He is faithful to answer His children when we seek His face and call on His name. Please lift up these unspoken requests with us. We may not know the situation, but we are certain the Lord does. Have a blessed week!”
(9/10): “The Lord’s presence could be felt in our service this week in a mighty way. We spoke on preparing our hearts to seek the Lord, and that is just what we did. We had several folks share their testimonies where they had prepared their hearts and the Lord blessed them in many ways because of their faithfulness.
“This week we were able to make a few contacts in the target area where we feel like the Lord is leading us to plant the church. I felt the Lord speaking to me on a particularly busy day, telling me to put Him first and He would bless my efforts. So that is just what I did and, let me tell you, that is exactly what happened. Within an hour that day, God had connected us with three different people that owned property in the area we are looking at. These people spent some time with us and, hopefully, these contacts will lead to future prospects in finding the land we are seeking. Please keep praying that the Lord will guide our efforts while seeking where to plant this church.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We were able to continue with our weekly Grace groups where we are discipling at Pea Ridge, in Rogers and Springdale. In our Rogers Grace group, we had two new people (a woman and her son) and they were very excited to hear and learn about the fruits of change in the lives of believers.
“On Sunday, our time of collective adoration was glorious. We were able to express our love and devotion to the Lord, remembering that He will return, and that every Christian must live with an eye on eternity because this world is temporary and a new heaven and new earth await us.
“We had three new visits which we attended, and they were to keep coming. At the end of the service, as we are celebrating the month of the Bible, we made a drama where a biblical archaeologist asks questions about the Bible. We continue to grow by the grace of the Lord, and we are very grateful for your prayers, support and love.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “The last couple of weeks have been incredible! We’ve had six new families attend! Two of those families came to the Woodbridge Connection Group, two came to the Downtown Connection Group and two came to our Monthly Collective Gathering! Two of those families learned about Epic Life through social media!
“Of the exciting things I could share from these past two weeks, what I want to tell you about is a way you can help us launch a true movement of disciple-making in Pea Ridge. By the way, we have had two more individuals also ask to be baptized! As I have researched missionaries around the world who have utilized Multiplication Movements like we are using, the common factor has been that a true move of God was where there was a strong prayer movement first. Amanda and I have come to realize our efforts are not enough, but since we need to be the boots on the ground in the field, we can’t be the chief prayer warriors. This conclusion led us to reach out to friends, Kevin and Jenna in Ohio, to lead a prayer network. Amazingly, God had already given them a vision for such a ministry. They will begin a weekly Zoom prayer meeting on our behalf starting Sept. 19. We would love for you to join this Prayer Collective. Even if you can’t make the call on the 19, we invite you to join the collective. You can join by scanning the QR code (below) or go to tiny.cc/EpicPrayer. Even if you can’t make the Zoom calls, we’d love for you to join the group so you can pray and get updates through email.”
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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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