NEW HOME...
We moved from the apartment we were staying in to a house on November 1. It was built in the early 1900s. The mother of one of our friends was born in this house! It's about 1200 sq. ft., but it has room for us to host Bible Studies and room for guests, so I absolutely love it! (Kelly would have been fine staying in the apartment, but he was willing to move for me... what a great guy!!!) We've had people over for dinner, and people are just stopping by for a visit... it's great!
THE TRUTH PROJECT...
We just started The Truth Project (Focus on the Family DVD study) last week... and we had 23 adults and 9 kids at our house! WOW! We expect more tonight, as many were out of town, had meetings, or were sick last week! :)
CHURCH GROWTH...
When we came up to Bishop for the first time (January 2008), there were 29 people... including kids... at church. Two weeks ago we had 55 (42 adults and 13 kids!).
CITY-WIDE MINISTRY...
It is exciting to see things happening here! The Bishop Ministerial Association (all Christian ministers) hosted a harvest festival on Haloween, and there were 1200 people there! Each church had a game booth, and a church booth. At Bishop Creek Community Church's church booth we passed out 50 comic books... ok, they were really the book of John... word for word... in comic book form. It was exciting! While some of the kids came up and only wanted candy, others came up and only wanted the book! WOW!
PASTOR'S WIVES...
I'm hoping to start up a consistent gathering for the pastor's wives. I have four ready to go already! (We will probably start with them and add more as time goes on.)
WOMEN'S STUDY...
A few women have been talking about the book "Love and Respect," so I'm praying about starting up a women's study that's connected to this. (Pray for curriculum, timing coordination, funds for child care,...)
LOVE & RESPECT...
We think doing LOVE & RESPECT as couples would be better, so we'll probably start that up in the Spring, after we finish The Truth Project (which is a 13 week study). Pray with us about these things!
HELPING OUT...
A few weeks ago we went up to Mammoth... Kelly had been asked to preach at a church up there. They are a new church looking for a pastor, and have asked Kelly to help with the process. We are going up again next week for Kelly to do a "mock interview" with them... to help them iron our the interviewing process. They have 8 people they are considering, but want to make sure they have their ducks in a row before they begin the interviews!
NEW FRIENDS...
We have become good friends with the pastor of the Southern Baptist church and his wife. They call us the mega-church... as they have just a handful attending each week. We've gone the last two weeks to encourage them, and last week we led worship for them. (They meet at 10am, and our church meets at 4pm... which allows us the flexibility to do these things.) Please pray for them as they pray about the Lord's direction. They are at the Southern Baptist Convention this week, so we're praying for that to be an encouraging time. They've been in Bishop almost a month longer than we have, and they have amazing hearts for the Lord, but it's tough to have the church so small.
NEW OFFICE...
The Southern Baptist Church building is actually the building Bishop Creek Community Church was looking at leasing in January, but the offer was pulled off the table by the previous pastor. (We have always met in the Seventh Day Adventist Church building.) We are trying to be an encouragement to them, and they are to us as well. The Southern Baptist pastor has allowed Kelly to use one of their storage rooms as an office! He told Kelly that they believe in our ministry up here, so they want him to have an office (he was working at home or at Starbucks or Looney Bean up until a couple weeks ago). This allows for more times of fellowship and encouragement between these two pastors as well. God is good!
RESOURCES..
Please also be praying about the finances of our church. We are thankful that the church has savings, but it's tough having to dip into it to help pay some bills out of it, rather than paying all bills out of what comes in each week. We don't want to ram money issues down anyone's throat. The reality is that the church has committed to having us here for a year, and if the money doesn't pick up, we may have to leave in July. The good news is... GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL! He will provide if He wants this church to continue!
STEWARDSHIP...
Please pray for Kelly as he teaches about stewardship, and as we offer up to the Lord the offerings given each week. Please pray for the families as they give... as you know these are tough times, and many have never heard about giving to a church. (This church has always had an offering box in the back, but never passed the plates until two weeks ago.)
SEVERAL FIRSTS IN MINISTRY...
In September we had our first child dedication! Then, in October we had our first baptism! Seven of our youth were baptized! WOW! How great is that! Since then, others have shown interest in getting baptized, and at least one of our attenders accepted Christ! WOO-HOO!
BIBLE NEED...
We're getting low on Bibles! What a good problem to have! This church has always encouraged people that want a Bible to take one home. We are getting low, and Kelly is preaching out of the ESV (English Standard Version), so we've been thinking about getting them for the church. Please pray that the Lord provides the resources needed to purchase pew and give-away Bibles at the best price! The ESV was just updated, so we want to make sure we also get the most updated version.
GROWING UP...
Bishop Creek Community Church was a church plant and just became a full Evangelical Free Church in 2008. On March 1 we will have our annual church business meeting. At that time we will vote on the church bylaws, membership, and elders. Please pray as the preparation of these things are worked out ahead of time. Kelly is currently preaching out of Colossians. Once he finishes that up he will start a series that covers the updated statement of faith of the Evangelical Free Church, which will help with establishing the membership, bylaws, and elders!
There is so much to tell, but I'll stop for now.
So many praises... and prayer requests! Our Lord is good, and we are excited to be serving Him!
Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and encouragement! We love you and are thankful for you!
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