STATE MISSIONS: Welcome Our Newest Missionary
We are happy to introduce you to our newest State Missions family. They will be starting on the field on Aug. 1, and will be working in the Pea Ridge Community.
For many years, Retired Missionary Larry Morrison and I have prayed for God to raise up someone with a burden for that area. Thank you, Lord, for answered prayer.
Winding down
Our 2022 Special Emphasis time is coming to an end. If your church has not yet given this year, please consider taking up a Special Emphasis offering in the near future. In fact, July 31 is designated as State Missions Day and is the time when most do so.
Upcoming Visit
Your Missionary Advisory Committee and I will be traveling to visit all our missionaries as mandated by the State Association on Aug. 1-2. I am grateful for those who serve on our committees and who are willing to give of their time and abilities to serve the association, our department and the missionaries. Please pray that we will have safe travel and that the visit be beneficial to all involved.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “It was nice to receive expressions of love from the congregation during the time of our isolation. Some families brought us food, which was very helpful and encouraging.
“On Saturday, we had a preparation meeting with the volunteers for Vacation Bible School. We are so thankful to God for the volunteers He has provided. Please help us by praying that this VBS will be a blessing for the community, that we can make new contacts and that the gospel will be shared in a clear way with the children and parents who accompany them.
“On Sunday, the meeting was face-to-face, and we enjoyed seeing each other again. We studied Proverbs 29. Two people visited us for the second time — Nayeli and Sergio. Please pray that they will continue to attend church. Nayeli Fernando’s young niece and Sergio made his profession of faith 15 days ago. (He is Rosa’s husband.) Now the family is complete.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Thank God, we had a good Celebration Service. Our service is very interactive, with songs, testimonies and thanksgiving and we were edified by the Word of God. We have a series of sermons on Bible characters. In this case, it was a summary of the life of King Solomon.
“At the moment, the Berean Groups (home groups) are on vacation. Every vacation season at Ebenezer, the attendance drops as many travel during this season. We have decided to give the Gospel Movements training. On Mondays, we give it in-person at our home; and on Wednesdays, we give it via Zoom for those who can’t make it in person.
“We already have a base group and, with this training of evangelism, discipleship and gospel movements, we want each participant to be a missionary in the context in which he/she lives. We have already given our first lesson, and we have 13 participants. They are now our missionaries and, in this first week, we are praying for God’s direction and to identify our context. Thank you for praying and for your support of missions. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great week at Faith Chapel. Most of our kids and their parents were back. Our dear sister who had neck surgery and her mother were back, and another dear sister who had been out for a while for different health and family reasons was back. Our brother who had to have his lower leg amputated received his prosthesis
this week and is planning to return next week. We also had several return visitors, including the man who was saved at our outreach and his wife.
“We are making progress on the plans for our building. After our evening service, it rained for the first time in over a month and a half, thank You, Lord! We had almost a half inch at our house. These are all answers to prayers, and we thank and praise God for hearing and answering them.
“We are still busy preparing for our shared VBS with our mother church, The Bridge, this Saturday, and we have a really good number of kids registered. Please join us in prayer for that. It would be wonderful if some children trusted in Jesus as a result of this VBS. We thank you for all your prayers for us, Flippin and our mission here! God is hearing and answering them according to His perfect will.”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “I have had a summer sinus infection. I was down for quite a few days and am finally feeling a bit better. Thankfully, it wasn’t COVID. I felt very disconnected this week since I had to cancel many of my meetings because of how bad I felt.
“Drew was able to meet with quite a few of our people, and he also led the Sunday service. I am so excited to know that he is turning out to be a great leader. Keep the mission’s unity in prayer and for constant wisdom.”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “I have had a summer sinus infection. I was down for quite a few days and am finally feeling a bit better. Thankfully, it wasn’t COVID. I felt very disconnected this week since I had to cancel many of my meetings because of how bad I felt.
“We studied Joshua 3, where the Israelites were on the shores of the Jordan River about to cross into the Promised Land. I couldn’t help but think that this is kind of where we are as a mission right now — on the edge of watching God do something miraculous with Faith Journey!
“We will be traveling this week to Landmark Baptist Church in England to speak at their Vacation Bible School. I am so excited to get to share with them the plans God has for me as a missionary for the BMA and for our mission at Faith Journey in Benton. I will also give a lesson and share my personal testimony with them. I’m praying that God will use this opportunity to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA: Roberto Marcelletti writes, “How wonderful it is to be able to read the Bible, keeping in mind the mission of God. The mission is not something that does not only appear in some isolated texts we can only find in the New Testament. This helps us to see the Bible as a book of missions and see God as the first and greatest
of the missionaries. He sent His Son on the greatest and most important mission of all — to save lost humanity.
“An example of how we can see a passage from a missionary perspective is in Genesis 18 and 19. We can see that the mission of the church is to bless the nations as promised to Abraham (mission), and how Israel fulfilled this mission, being a community that lived according to the ways of God in justice and righteousness. We also see how this community originated through the covenant that God made with Abraham (election). This was with the objective that Abraham and his people could bring blessing to all nations (mission) and then the mission was transmitted to His church by being a “light to the nations” through the verbal proclamation of the gospel and showing the gospel with their lives so that the nations of the world can know God and recognize him as Savior and Lord.
“This week in our mission, the Lord in His grace has surprised us because two families have joined the discipleship. We continue with our entry into the Hispanic community of the NWA through connections, texts, calls and sharing the gospel during the week. We have sown the seed and we have seen the fruit.
“On Saturday, we began discipleship with a woman we met at the community college at 6 p.m. and on Sunday at 4 p.m. we began discipleship with a married couple, and we had a great time — they left at 10 p.m. We are currently working with three families through discipleship — the reasons why we must study the character of Jesus and we conclude that Jesus is the Cornerstone on which all life must be built, the Father wants Christ to be formed in believers and to know Jesus is to know God. Thus, sharing these biblical principles, they left very encouraged and challenged when they saw the importance of knowing Jesus for humanity.”
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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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