Monday, April 28, 2008
Those of us who are involved in evangelism, know there are many opportunites to teach people the gospel. An opportunity that we might not think of is our bible camps. I learned just yesterday that a bible camp is being developed, probable not over 5 miles as the crow flies from where I live. It is called Camp Joy. Some brethren visited us at Howell last evening and told us about it. It sounded so interesting that we have invited them back next Sunday evening to conduct the evening service and better inform us about the opportunities in helping reach people thru the use of "Camp Joy". For more information about this good work, you can go to their web site at www.campjoyinc.com. Some of us are planning to ride out this Fri afternoon and see the camp. This could really be a great opportunity to help with our young people as well as other good works. On another note, I was talking with Russ Blackwell and received an email about an upcoming campaign with the Creekwood Church of Christ in Mobile, Al. Russ is an excellent teacher and teaches the "Safety Chain" method. If you and the congregation would like to learn this method you can contact Russ at judrus@gmail.com The campaign is going to be June 22-27 with preaching each evening. Larry Kilpatrick, who is a very good speaker will be preaching each evening. I really appreciate the Creekwood Church. We stayed at the church for the better part of 2 mos. helping in the aftermath of Katrina. David Sargent i s the minister there. I was at a church recently and when they sang the song, "Send the Light" they sang instead "Take the Light". I thought that was rather meaningful. I personally use the "Safety Chain Method" in most of my studies, it is easy to learn and it is easy for the student to read what the bible says about salvation in Christ. Good Night Don
Friday, April 25, 2008
Rosemary and I are looking forward, with great anticipation, to our next mission trip. We leave Mon. May 5th to go and work with the Hemly Rd. Church of Christ in Bayou La Batre, Al. Now it is always an honor and privilege to be asked to work and help churches, whether with the Sojourners or just an independent effort as this one will be, but we especially love going to Bayou La Batre to help the church there. The history of this church is nothing short of fascinating. It started as a result of many of us working the the BLB area after hurricane Katrina. This congregation has faced a lot of challenges, yet they have remained faithful in bringing the message of Jesus to the community of BLB. Many people have been baptized into Christ as a result of their efforts. They help with food, and other necessities, many people in the community. They make a great effort in working with young people, it is not unusual in some services for them to have more "young people"than they do adults. The continue to work on the building which is becoming an excellent facility from which the church can work. Many of you, thru your prayers and financial support have helped make this work what it is becoming today. Much of our work this time will be in working with potential members and studying and encouraging many of the new members. One principle that we employ in reaching people for the Lord is "When you go to where people are, you can take them where you are going". By this I mean when we visit someone we listen and try to determine what is important to them. ie. Jesus at the well, "water" . We then try and show them how a close walk with the Lord can help them in life. We do not try and attack their precepts, but rather try and "lead them in paths of righteousness for His name sake". Thank you for your help and prayers in our mission work. By the way. may I refer you to what I believe is an excellent newsletter on the internet. It is David Sargent's newsletter from the Creekwood Church of Christ in Mobile Ala. www.creekwoodcc.or There are alot of good things going on in the Church of Christ. Don
Monday, April 14, 2008
It is always good and a real joy when we can report good news in out reach. We were talking a couple of days ago with a member of the Cape Coral Church where we were involved in a sojourn this past Feb. The church asked us to come up with an idea as to how they could get the community involved with the church. The have gospel meetings and for the most part members of the church attend but few members of the community. We developed an idea for a "Super Saturday" which included a three hour vacation bible school and a community cook out. The VBS was well attended and then another large group of people showed up for the cook out. The results were nothing short of amazing. The next morning- - Sunday- - the church had over a 25 percent increase in attendance over the previous Sunday. Many people came who had never attended the church before. Something else that is also great is that they now have at least 5 on going bible studies -- just from that outreach effort. A "Super Saturday " can be done in many different ways, but I believe they can be an excellent way to get community involvement. We leave in three weeks to work with the Hemly Rd. Church in Bayou La Batre in a mission effort. We are going to have a "Super Saturday" there. We will go thru the community with flyers and pass them out to every house making as many personal contacts as possible, inviting them to the Community Sing and cook out for the next Sat. We will also be endeavoring to set up bible studys as we make our rounds in the community. I might say at the Howell Church, we are planning to have a "Super Saturday" with a VBS, cook out and hay ride. We believe this will really involve a lot of people with the church. We are also having a gospel meeting. Again we will go into the community, house to house with flyers inviting people not only to the "Super Saturday", but also to the gospel meeting. If you have ideas about outreach that can help, please send them to me and I will share them with others. Good Night Don
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Have you ever considered the ministry? May I suggest in your considerations of schools the Fla. School of Preaching in Lakeland, Fla. This past March I was privileged to preach in a meeting at the South Fla. Av. Congregation in Lakeland. This Church houses the school of preaching. I had an opportunity to set in on a couple of classes, hear a couple of professors and quite frankly was impressed with their sincerity, depth of study, and desire to tell the story of salvation in Jesus Christ. I was also most impressed with the attitude of the faculty. You can find out more on the web site www.fsop.net Received an email from "Big Mike" from Disaster Assistance. He has hurricane info on his blog site. http://www.mikesmissionupdates.blogspot.com Work continues to progress at the Howell Church of Christ on our fellowship building. Much of the electric wires have been pulled, we await the insulation, then the sheet rock and painting. In the mean time bricking is taking place so it won't be long before we can use it. We hope to put it to good use in outreach. The church at Howell is really growing. We are working hard to keep up with visitations and we constantly make every effort to help all who want to have an active and supportive part in the church's growth. It has been said, "People do not want to leave where they feel like they belong." Looking forward to our next mission trip- - Bayou La Batre, Al, first full week in May. This church is really active in outreach and esp. works hard with the young people in the community. We are looking forward to opportunities for bible studies and visitation and study with new members. Good Night Don
Thursday, April 03, 2008
As many of you know Henry and Agnes Pendegrass are in Lewistown, Montana working with a new congregation. Henry tells us that they have been averaging16 in attendance for worship, but on the 23rd of March, they had 26 in attendance. That is near the capacity of their present meeting place. The church has bought land and is in the process of building a meeting place. This is a young work and there are not many congregations of the church of Christ out there, but Henry and Agnes are very dedicated Christians and the church is growing there. The Montana State Lectureship is going to be in Belgrade Mt. this year. On another note, I am aware of another good work that needs a located preacher. The Key West Church of Christ. They have a very nice building, a nice fellowship hall and a beautiful preacher's house on a canal lot in Key West. I have found that Key West is a great place to engage people in bible study. In fact we were only able to be there a week back in Jan. and yet in that weeks time were able to baptize 5 people into Christ. Follow up is very important. We try to call all new converts, with whom we have had a part in teaching, at least once a month to be an encouragement to them. If you are interested in this work or might know someone who is, you can contact them at cbrewster@bellsouth.net Work on our fellowship hall continues, we have the roof on and the windows should be in this coming week. Everyone in the community is interested in the growth of the Howell church and several people that are not even members have stopped by to help on the building. Good Night Don
