wooster.outreach

Peters fly away

2009-06-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was priviliged to drive the Peters' family to the airport. We packed everything in their mini-SUV. Tom drove us briskly to the airport.

Tom charged me to park and to come inside after dropping them off at curbside check-in. He wanted to make sure that each piece of their luggage was under the fifty pound weight limit. Otherwise, I would have to take things back to the Mazda and transport it back to Smithville.

God answered our prayers. The luggage made it. One piece was 51 pounds, but the others were under 5o pounds. So the ticket agent approved them all.

As I was sent off with parking lot money, I marveled at how amazing God is. My friends were departing for ministry to the Central African Republic.

In twenty hours they would be arriving to serve the people of the Central African Republic. They were doing this as a family. Sue, J.P., and Mike were traveling with Tom. What a blessing to witness these fully-devoted followers seeking to serve God in Africa.

May God give their family a positive witness to the local Christians and to the unsaved in Bangui and beyond. I hope to get an update from them soon. We serve a mighty God on mission through us!

The Ant Got it Right

2009-01-05T04:05:00.000-08:00

photo by contraption

In the spectre of "chicken little" despair regarding the economy and the economic crisis, I am so glad that God's Word gives guidance. In our new series, "Surviving your own economic crisis," Pastor Bob offered five habits that will produce financial freedom in your life from the Bible.

These five habits shared yesterday, I adapted into my own words (you can hear yesterday's sermon here):

Keep good records

Prepare your budget

Start saving

Practice tithing

Engage contentment

Each habit is grounded in Scripture. Keep good records means know where your money comes from and where you spend it (Proverbs 27:23). Prepare your budget means plan for your spending (Proverbs 21:5). Start saving means prepare for the future (Proverbs 21:20). Practice tithing begins with giving to the church at least 10% of your income (Malachi 3:10). To engage contentment means pursing contentment (Hebrews 13:5).

The one illustration that sticks with me today is the ant. In Proverbs 6:6,8, the Bible says, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest."

The ant is diligent and wise preparing for the coming winter by storing food during the summer. National Geographic Kids has a great, short clip to illustrate ant power and diligence. (be sure to pause the video at the end or you'll see another clip about butterflies :).

As this new year begins, I know that God has prompted me to begin establishing a new pattern for the coming year. I need to keep better records and to stay within a budget.

Yes, even a pastor needs help. Doesn't everyone need help with finances?

Reflections of what God did through us

2008-12-31T23:55:00.000-08:00

photo by swamibu

~Each peron who is fully devoted to God is a diamond jewel~

At our recent staff meeting, we shared what we most appreciate about doing ministry at Wooster Grace. We desire to stay true to our mission: developing all people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ!

We launched our comments from the life of Hezekiah who was a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Hezekiah stated that he wanted to do what is right, good, and faithful (II Chronicles 31:20).

Therefore, the staff rehearsed many things God did in His church. I will share just a sample as we step into a new year.

One highlight for the year is creating consistent opportunities to reach out into the community. Second Saturdays was mentioned and its outreach through Sowing Hope. One person, Susan, is now attending the church regularly and desires to follow God. Praise to God's glorious grace!

photo by never cool in school

Another highlight is our volunteers. Without faithful people who give their time and sacrifice it for the sake of God's Kingdom, our church would be ineffective. Two guys were mentioned. One who dedicated his time off during his vacation to offer his expertise as an electrician to work on the parking lot lights is worthy of note. In addition, another man spent five hours acquiring a trailer to tow a car, using a blow torch, and helping another man in his time of need to move a vehicle. Both men did so willingly and offered to help some more if their services were needed in the future. Our God is an awesome God! His people are awesome in service.

That's what being fully devoted means. Act in service for others, not for yourself. Acts of service is one of the core values at Wooster Grace. What a great and mighty God we serve who moves in peoples' lives to bless others. Let's keep reaching out to others into 2009!

It's Never Too Late

2008-12-24T19:26:00.001-08:00

Pastor Ivanildo shared this Christmas Eve story with me just a few minutes ago (10:00pm on 12.24.08). One family in our church called our senior pastor Bob Fetterhoff to inquire if he could help a family or two with needs. He was compelled to do something.

Although we have already completed many of our outreach ministries for the Christmas season, he insisted on doing something to help. Pastor Ivanildo and his assistant, Juana made a few calls and discovered two families who could use some encouragement and some help with food.

One family (we will call them the Jonas family) is facing a broken family situation. The father Jonas was taken away from the family today and put in jail. He will be gone for awhile. The mother Jonas came to our 8pm Christmas Eve service with her eight children. She did not sign up for our Give-A-Christmas Outreach. But her name was kept by our staff as someone to reach out to if help were discovered.

Help came in the form of one Wooster Grace family. This Wooster Grace family came with two gift cards. When presented with a gift card, the mother Jonas couldn't believe how she was blessed in this incredible way. Glory to God in the highest!

It's never too late to help someone out. So, if God prompts you to do something in His name. Go do it! A blessing awaits someone out there. You could be the messenger of hope and love.

May God prompt you to do great things for His fame!

Christmas in Cleveland Slavic style

2008-12-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

Rich & Reida Barltey serve the Lord faithfully in the Slavic Village of Cleveland. Wooster Grace partners with them every Christmas to collect Christmas Boxes for distribution in the schools around Village Grace Mission Center.

Recently the city of Cleveland issued a Resolution of Appreciation for Village Grace. The resolution was certified and authorized on November 11, 2008 by the Cleveland City Council.

An exceprt from the certified copy of the resolution states, "BE IT RESOLVED, that Cleveland City Council proudly acknowledges the commitment that the Village Grace Mission Center has demonstrated in making a difference in the lives of the families in the Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood. This Council applauds the ministry's ourstanding efforts in fostering solutions for children, youth and families in our communities throughout the City of Cleveland, and further extends best wishes to everyone involved for much continues success in the future."

Way to go, God's fully devoted followers!

One great story from the Slavic Village Christmas Box Distribution, Rich tells involves two boys who received their boxes. Inside each one there is a five dollar bill. A small monetary gift for each child to spend in whatever way they'd like. But these boys chose a different way than normal.

Each boy put their monen into an envelope and gave it back to Rich. They said that they were blessed to have a Christmas box and they knew that others were less fortunate than themselves. So they decided to give their five dollars, ten dollars total so that more kids could receive a gift at Christmas.

That is the true essence of Christmas! Giving, not just receiving. As Christmas Day comes again, please seek to give as much or more than you receive. Anyone can do it!

Take God as your heavenly example, "For God so loved the world, that He GAVE His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16)."

Heavy Metal for the Lord

2008-12-23T16:34:00.000-08:00

My friend Matthias is a metallurgist. He trains men to learn the metal trade and to support their families in Moundou, Chad. Yes, I'm talking the middle of Africa.

Matthias returned to Moundou after a couple year hiatus. He wondered if the men he had trained were practicing their craft and improving their skills. He was not disappointed.

In his own words, "What a joy it has been to see their personal, spiritual and professional development. Most have had opportunities to do internships and various jobs to practice and expand their skills (Love In Action Newsletter Vol. 8 Issue 2 [Nov-Dec 2008], pg. 1)."

Praise God for faithful men who are able to train others also (II Timothy 2:2)!

Asia's Hope Cambodia

2008-12-22T15:18:00.000-08:00

Asia's Hope: Cambodia from Clay Productions on Vimeo.

Please check out this video from my friend, Josh Fronduti. He is an awesome videographer and unleashes his talent for the glory of God.

He took this video in Cambodia. Our church is also partnering with an orphanage in Battambang just like the one portrayed in the video above.

I can't wait to see how "our" kids grow and mature in their country as fully devoted followers of Jesus. Wooster Grace seeks to develop all people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ in all the nations of the world.

Sharing Christ's love with a decorated tree

2008-12-15T03:42:00.000-08:00

photo by superturtle

One couple delivered a Christmas tree to an international family. The Japanese couple was totally surprised and delighted to get a completely decorated tree; American style.

They invited the couple into their home for tea and snacks. Shoes were taken off at the door and placed with the toe of the shoes facing out the door. They sat on the floor around a rug and enjoyed sipping tea and sharing about what Christmas means.

Extended time to be with new friends in our community. Way to go Wooster Grace! You are grace in the neighborhood.

Second Saturdays at Wooster Grace

2008-12-14T15:22:00.000-08:00

Our church pursues our people to be IN the community as lights of Jesus' love. We constructed a monthly outreach on Second Saturdays to get our people out into the community.

We mobilized 112 people yesterday to do acts of service and kindness: nursing home visitation where teams sang Christmas carols, presented a free Christmas ornament, and offered to pray with residents; delivered gifts and decorated trees to families of single-moms and their children as well as the physically challenged and elderly; conducted home repairs for those who could not afford repair work or who need "helping hands" to fix things for them; and moved a family into a new home on short notice.

Many stories were shared about how our people were grace in the neighborhood. I can share a couple of stories now and one later this week.

At the nursing home one lady began crying as a family entered the room where she stays. The family noticed only a couple of Christmas cards on the window sill and no notes or pictures drawn by grandkids on the walls of her room like the other residents. The lady shared how her family has forgotten her.

The family spent time with her. Talked about her life and presented her with a Christmas ornament. She immediately released tears down her face. Tissues were provided and she kept crying.

Then the caroling team entered to share a few Christmas carols with her. She kept tearing up. She soooo appreciated the visit and the caroling. She commented, "This is the best day in my life in a long time."

Way to go Wooster Grace! You are grace in the neighborhood.

Christmas Sowing Hope-Style

2008-12-13T06:01:00.000-08:00

photo by futureshape

Sowing Hope celebrated Christmas in the downtown Wooster Recreation Center. Festive tables covered in green, holly decorated plates, cookies in yuletide tins, and a Christmas dinner with scalloped potatoes, green beans, and ham, together greeted our friends at the Towers.

With the help of the Wooster Grace choir and many volunteers, our church invited the residents around the towers with caroling. The night was frosted with icy roads and slippery walkways. Still our friends made their way across the street to the rec center.

Our program shared fun seasonal songs and reflective carols. Everyone sang with Pastor Randy and Allen Hodgdon. The choir and an ensemble sang for our friends to raucus applause. We even gave away gifts to those who were present: bibles, coloring stencils, stuffed animals, fragrant candles, an iron, and a mixer.

We had 84 people in attendance. Our senior pastor joined in our festivities. We served 81 people and provided another 43 meals, so we served 124 meals.

I got to meet Billy and Jessica, Eddie and Sabrina his daughter, Lisa and Kim. We ate together at the table.

One highlight occurred as we were preparing to close our program. A lady named Sandy from the Towers interrupted the closing with an impromptu thank you to our church, the volunteers, and the pastoral staff. She thanked the Sowing Hope team fr coming faithfully every Thursday this year to do crafts and to talk. She named those in attendance that she knew--Celeste Kern, Michelle Sorg, Mary Misner, and Connie Benchoff. We have many more who help out on this team.

It is one thing to serve faithfully and its another to receive a word of thanks. Praise God that we heard a word of gratitude in our faithful service. We direct these words of thanks to God, because He is the One who gave us hope so that we can sow hope in other people's lives. May the Lord continue to gain fame from our acts of kindness and friendship.

On Mission to West Virginia

2008-12-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

photo by tukanuk

This evening a team of fully devoted followers are traveling to Rosedale, WV. The Wooster Grace puppet team is reaching out to the Appalachian people.

The median income for the surrounding communities ranges from $24,000 to $26,000. About 20% of the families in the region are below the poverty line.

Our puppet team leaves tonight around 6pm to arrive at about midnight. Please pray for their safety; driving in the mountains. They will make Gospel presentations and return to Wooster on Saturday around 7pm.

The leaders are Pam Leonard, Jenise Woodward, Helena Falk, and Allison Steiner. The team shares the following:

Thanks for your willingness to give up a weekend at Christmas for those who are less fortunate. Be in prayer for safety traveling there and back and for the gospel to be heard.

One of their contacts in Rosedale, Patty McCumber and her family lost their home to a fire last Friday. The entire contents were lost. Nothing was salvaged. Yet the puppet team is gathering things to help the family in any way the team can.

Wow! How awesome for a multi-generational team to minister for God together and to truly seek to be God's source of help for a hurting family and an avenue for hope to everyone who hears the Gospel presentations.

Way to go! Puppet Team~you are Grace in the Neighborhood!

Encouraging our Missionary Partners

2008-12-05T08:27:00.000-08:00

As this Christmas season proceeds, please consider sending an encouraging note to those fully devoted followers who serve the Lord as missionaries in our communities here and abroad. You may send an email, a Christmas card, a postcard with a prayer of encouragement, or you may even give them a brief one-minute call by saying something like, "Hi, this is Larry from your home church. Our church wants you to know that we are glad that you are part of our missionary partnership which chooses to develop all people into fully devoted followers of Christ. I thank God that you are developing all people into fully devoted followers of Jesus in all the nations of the world. May you be encouraged with this brief call."

Please consider taking the time to encourage those who sacrifice time away from their families this Christmas by seeking to reach the world for Christ. Let them know that you care and think of them.

Catalyst Church reaching Kent, OH

2008-12-04T06:38:00.000-08:00

photo of Catalyst 125 newly renovated kids space

Wooster Grace seeks to develop fully devoted followers of Jesus everywhere. We partner with local and global ministries. One of our local partners is Jonathan Herron of Catalyst Church in Kent, OH.

Jonathan shared a link regarding what God is doing at Catalyst. Diane Smith from the Record-Courier of Portage County highlights the church's new office renovation, its education emphasis, the gallery space, and the new worship leader.

Jonathan is grateful for our prayers and encouragement. Please pray for Jonathan's recovery from back surgery. May God bring complete healing and determination for Jonathan to complete his rehab regimen.

REACHing NE Ohio College Campuses

2008-12-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

Ben & Sandie Dyke write:

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break! It was very relaxing and good
to reconnect with extended family. We also went to our annual Great Lakes
staff conference in Indianapolis. We enjoyed this as well as it was a
refreshing time in God’s word. We hope you continue to enjoy reading
about the happenings in our ministry to college students here in NE Ohio.

Please pray for them as they minister to college students amid the chaos of midterms, projects and papers due, flu season, and developing fully devoted followers of Jesus in all the campuses of NE Ohio. Pray specifically for the annual Christmas conference on Dec 27‐Jan 1, 2009! "Pray that our students would attend and that the Lord would speak to them and challenge them to live authentic lives for Christ."

If you'd like to receive their newsletter, then please contact them:

Ben & Sandie Dyke
Cleveland MetroCampus Crusade for Christ
330.338.5293
http://www.crusadecleveland.com/
http://www.benandsandiescru.com/

Sowing Hope Christmas Celebration

2008-12-02T06:18:00.000-08:00

photo by krisdecurtis

On Friday, December 12 at 6pm we are ministering to the families on the southside of Wooster. We are inviting them to a meal and a Christmas concert at the Wooster Community Center.

Please pray for God to speak through the lives of those who help serve food and who offer their voices and talents in music to direct people to consider the birth of Jesus, their Savior. May God bring all the logistics together to bring people to Himself.

Battambang Orphanage Moves Forward

2008-12-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

photo by fletchy182

Wooster Grace is moving ahead on launching our orphanage in Battambang, Cambodia. We are going to use a rented house as the initial site for housing the orphans. Then when our orphanage is completed, the orphans can move. We want to save as many of these orphan children as we can. May God bless our efforts as a church to develop fully devoted followers of Christ in all the nations of the world.

Pray for Thailand

2008-12-01T06:03:00.000-08:00

photo by mvi
Our friends in SE Asia ask you to pray for the ongoing protests in Bangkok, Thailand. The anti- government group has successfully blockaded and shut down the airports in Bangkok, and the police seem unwilling to help resolve the situation. Also, a pro-government group is amassing and mounting their own counter-protests. The situation is becoming very serious and sometimes violent, with no solution forthcoming. Especially pray for our friends who live in Thailand.

51 protesters wounded in Thailand explosions - Yahoo! News

2008-11-30T06:37:00.000-08:00

51 protesters wounded in Thailand explosions - Yahoo! News

As violence grows, please pray for our friends in Thailand. Keep in your prayers our fully devoted friends: Dave, Tutu, Christian and Bonnie who all serve the Lord in this volatile area.

May God protect and advance His kingdom amid hostile environments.

Thanksgiving for the nations

2008-11-27T17:59:00.001-08:00

by Mike Licht, Notionscapital.com

I returned from Wooster Grace where we served 65 people at the Internationals Thanksgiving Dinner. Most internationals in the Wooster area are unfamiliar with preparing Thanksgiving type food. So Celeste Hodgdon mobilized people from our church to provide an American Thanksgiving meal with all the fixin's.

Many were invited. Sixty-five joined us in the South Fellowship Hall. We ate a meal together. We had various nations represented: Brazil, Germany, Japan, China, Ecuador, Chile, Mexico, United States, and Navajo.

We even had international prepare and share typical dishes from their country of birth. I tasted marinated chicken in a soy sauce/ginger/pepper soak. I wolfed down fried rice. I savored German pastries and cookies. Everything was great!

I thank God that we could provide a meal for internationals to taste the foods of the season with new friends for this season in their lives. Most are involved with graduate school or work in town. Two families benefited from a immigration lottery so that they could be in the United States. I tried learning how to say thanks for coming in the various languages. I mimicked, got corrected, receive more laughs than compliments but I know that everyone was personally thanked. What a great team effort!

I saw the Hodgdon's with a digital camera. So if I can get their pictures, I will post some later. Overall, God is helping our church to develop all people from all the nations of the world into fully devoted followers of Jesus.

Reach out to the nations here in the US

2008-11-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

Which Direction Is New York? MTV

If you ever want to know how challenging it is to come to the United States, then check this MTV True Life Series episode. You will have a better understanding how difficult it is for the nations to come to our country.

"All over the world people dream of moving to the United States. Some come for freedom, some come for work; but all immigrants must face the harsh realities of a place that can feel very strange to them. In this episode of True Life, you'll meet two young people from different corners of the globe looking for a better life in America against difficult odds (Taken from MTV episode summaries)."

Each student decides to come to America; Bara from the Czech Republic and Timonthy from Burma. It intringues me that we have missionary partners who serve God in the Czech Republic (The Swains) and we have missionary partners serving in SE Asia (Kevin & Jill Kane; Steve & Deb Wise--Cambodia). I wonder what their take on this journey for these students would be.

Anyways, if you come to a place during Thanksgiving when you feel bored or need a change from festivities, then check out the segments on the link above.

Developing all people into fully devoted followers of Jesus in all the nations of the world! The nations even come to America. Who is near you that you may be able to reach out to for Christmas? Maybe God has placed an international family in your neighborhood, workplace, a place where you frequent regularly to shop or to visit, all may present opportunities to reach out to the nations.

Thanksgiving in Cambodia

2008-11-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Steve and Deb Wise, our missionary partners in Cambodia share from their newsletter what they are thankful for:

Happy Thanksgiving week! Since Thanksgiving isn't a Khmer holiday we will work most of the week as usual. However, we do have plans to get together with some CAMA missionary friends on Thursday evening and have a meal, complete with turkey and everything! We hope you have plans to be with friends and family. It's hard to be so far away from our families this time of year; that's what we will be missing the most come Thursday. The thing we'll miss second-most is all the football on TV. Ah, the sacrifices. :-) In spite of that, we have a lot to be thankful for, and we'd like you to praise the Father with us: (taken from Wise Weekly Newsletter--to subscribe email them at stevendeb@mac.com

Being so far from home is a challenge for our fully devoted followers who seek to develop more fully devoted followers in all the nations of the world. So I've taken only one of several requests the Wise's shared for your consideration. Take a moment to offer thanks to God and to offer a prayer to God on behalf of the Steve and Deb.

Praise God for a year of relatively good health. We are grateful for the strength He gives us to do our work every day. That being said, pray for Steve who feels like he's coming down with a cold. Also please keep Steve's Aunt Betty in mind, as she has one more week of radiation therapy to go, and is feeling quite sick from it.

As you stay up late the eve of Thanksgiving, remember those in SE Asia who will greet the sunrise at midnight. Say a prayer for them! They are truly fully devoted followers of Christ.

Sowing Hope Gives Thanks

2008-11-23T19:59:00.000-08:00

photo by bucklava

One of the ministries that we conduct regularly is the Sowing Hope ministry. We get to reach out to those families who are the hard-working poor on the southside of Wooster.

We invited many to attend a Thanksgiving Dinner at 5pm on Sun Nov 23. We seated 65 people (families with children, couples, and single adults). We sent five dinners home with those who stopped by and could not find a seat. Then the team decided to take dinners door-to-door so that we can share God's bounty with others. Thus, we delivered another 30 meals to the apartments at the South Towers. All together we served 100 meals.

My favorite story is little Macyn. She is a girl who wanted to help other children and their families out. Macyn brought her mom. Together they brought a dish to share and they served the plates to all the families.

A little girl wanted to help out by reaching out with God's love to those who may not have anything for Thanksgiving. That's the heart of outreach!

May the young be the examples to the older ones. As the Bible says in I Timothy 4:12a, "Let no one look down on your youthfulness..." or to put it another way, "And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeaner, by love , by faith, by intergrity."

Plasters of Paris

2008-11-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

photo by viZZZual.com

One thing I am learning to enjoy is a friend's sense of humor. Rob has a passion for people. People matter to the Rob & Nichole.

Rob & Nichole serve as our missionary partners in Paris, France. Though labeled a romantic city, Paris is spiritually dead.

Still, they have many contacts you can pray for; those who will join them for an American Thanksgiving Celebration. As they shared on their e-newsletter:

Thanksgiving Dinner in our Home in France! This Saturday (November) 23 people will be sharing with us a Thanksgiving celebration! We will share about being thankful for what God has done for us. Pray as we share to this audience of French who live in a culture where the concept of being thankful does not exist. We ordered our turkey from the butcher last week since normally turkeys are not ready until Christmas. We look forward to a great time as we share a holiday that is dear to us.

Rob states the challenging of sharing Christ with Parisians and how things are going in Paris on his blog. You can learn how to best join them in this mission by praying for them and sending them an occasional email encouragement note.

Grace Brethren International Missions offers a daily email update called PrayNow! which sends you prayer requests from the missionaries partnering with the Grace Brethren. You can email Ron Guiles to add your address to the daily email updates at rguiles@gbim.org.

Reach out, reach out, reach out

2008-11-21T10:08:00.000-08:00

One of my heroes of reaching out is George Swain. Both he and Cindy faithfully offer opportunities for people to come hear the Gospel.

In his latest Top Ten E-newsletter, George shared the following prayer request: Pray for the salvation of the people who received the 1,200 pieces of literature that George distributed last week.

If you don't receive George & Cindy Swain's Top Ten e-newsletter, then send an email to them.

For Christ at the University

2008-11-20T08:04:00.000-08:00

Annie Michaels is a fully devoted follower of Jesus! She faithfully follows God despite distractions. She is focused and does what God sets before her.

Please pray for her and her ministry to the college students at the College of Wooster. Thanksgiving and Christmas are opportunities to share your encouragement with Annie. May God provide encouragement to her in the near future.

Annie helped mobilize students to address slave trade issues on campus with The Price of Life campaign (Nov 10-14). The fellowship of Christians on campus raised awareness and sought to raise funds to adopt the many orphans and widows who constantly fight against the slave trade and who often are victims of the slave traders and slave system. May God continue to empower Christian studenst to bring up the Gospel even after the week of emphasis has concluded.

Touching Tomorrow

2008-11-19T05:01:00.000-08:00

by beru8ra

At Wooster Grace we have utilized missions funds designated from Touching Tomorrow to initiate church planting here in the U.S. One of the beneficiaries we partner with is Ron & Chery Boehm. Please pray for Ron & Chery as they facilitate church planting here in Ohio.

Wooster Grace partners with Ron & Chery Boehm as well as the Kent, Ohio church plant, CATALYST Church. Jonathan Herron leads this new church plant in Kent, Ohio. Please pray for Jon as he recovers from back surgery.

Ron is secunded to VisionOhio from the Grace Brethren Church of Columbus (Ohio). Currently he is assisting the development of 12 new churches in the following cities of Ohio:

Apple Creek

Ashland

Cleveland

Columbus

Englewood

Jerome

Kent

Mt. Sterling

New Albany

Plain City

Springboro

Springfield

To see how VisionOhio is contributing to each of these church planters, please visit VisionOhio's webpage here.

Fully Devoted followers to Africa

2008-11-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

If you haven't checked out the team sent to the Central African Republic, then please visit here. It is our passion to develop fully devoted followers in all nations of the world.

We have established a partnership with villages in Central Africa to address spiritual and physical needs. Wooster Grace reaches out to all people groups because people matter to God. Regardless of the ethnic makeup, each person matters to God.

More Campus Outreach

2008-10-22T14:29:00.001-07:00

Ben & Sandie Dyke serve as Campus Crusade for Christ in the Cleveland Metro area and in Northeast Ohio. We partner with them from Wooster Grace.

Pray for them as they share Christ with students. One encounter resulted in a new Christ-follower.

After an initial survey and follow-up, a staff member shared with a student how to know God personally. The student replied with this email (details removed for anonymity):

“I was thinking and pondering and I came up with something that you can pray for. I would like it if you would pray for me and my faith so that I can be 100% sure that heaven is my destination and that I can live my life the way God wants me too, because I have no clue what I am suppose to be doing or where he wants me. I am totally lost in my relationship and what little of one I have since I have started college. And that seems to be the least of my worries and it should not be that way. So where do I go from here? If you could let me know what you think, I would really appreciate it. I really appreciate all that you do for us and thanks for caring. Thanks once again for meeting with me.”

May God continue His work bringing one person at a time into a clear understanding of the commitment to follow Jesus. Way to go, Ben & Sandie!

Reaching the Campus

2008-10-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

My good friend Annie is my spiritual heroine. She has a passion for Christ and her friends. She dedicates her life to shine for Jesus. Please stop and pray for her as she seeks to disciple students on the college campus with Intervarsity.

African Christians Strategize to Fulfill the Great Commission

2008-10-19T16:42:00.000-07:00

African Christians Strategize to Fulfill the Great Commission Christianpost.com

Today we had the honor and the privilege to host Dr. Ngoumape from the Central African Republic. He is the Director of Leadership Training in the Central African Republic. He is responsible for the oversight of the Grace Brethren Seminary and four Bible Institutes, as well as various discipleship ministries. Currently visiting pastors and churches in the US, he shared opportunities for partnership in the task of training a new generation of leaders.

Dr. Ngoumape has a passion for the Church in the C.A.R. He wants strong, godly leadership. He knows there is a daunting task. With 2400 churches and only 900 trained pastors, the challenge is equipping new leaders right now.

I praise God for our church. We have been partnering with the Grace Brethren movement in the C.A.R. for over forty years. Now we get to be involved with the foundations for a new work of God among the emerging churches in the 21st century.

Please pray that we will use God's wisdom to discern how we can get involved. May God lead us to the best place where we can offer the greatest help for success and for the glory of God.

Cambodia: Thai troops retreat from disputed border - USATODAY.com

2008-10-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Cambodia: Thai troops retreat from disputed border - USATODAY.com

Please pray for Kevin and Jill as well as Dave, Savorn, and Tutu as tensions rise along the Cambodian and Thailand border. May God keep the peace and keep our friends safe.

Illuminated World | A Contemporary Bible Publication

2008-10-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

Illuminated World A Contemporary Bible Publication

Pastor Nick in the contemporary service preached a message about how the Church must reach the next generation.

I wonder if we may need to get people started reading "The Book." Then guide them to study the Bible as a textbook for discovering themselves and their need for God.

I made comments on my personal blog at www.daron.butler.blogspot.com regarding my thoughts on this unique, modern New Testament called, "The Book."

Six Thousands Words from Second Saturday

2008-09-17T13:12:00.000-07:00

Rain or Shine. Love your neighbor as yourself! Even when it means soaked shoes, wet hair, and drenched lower pant legs. Notice the smiles despite the rain. It really poured--you can see ripples on the driveway in one picture. May God get the glory for our efforts in reaching people with God's love every Second Saturday.

Demonstrate real faith in the real world

2008-09-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

Pastor Bob Fetterhoff challenged us to see reality in our world. The plight of children in our world is appalling. Our church shared this video to give you a raw look at the injustice in our world where we can make a difference.

1st video revised from Glenn Sewell on Vimeo.

Make your faith genuine. Make your faith real. Pastor Bob outlined what real faith is:

Real faith rests on the right foundation.

Real faith responds to the right example.

Real faith reacts with the right response.

I want to be building my faith on the right foundation where I understand the mercy of God; that I did not deserve God's grace. I desire to love by acting selflessly for the benefit of someone else. I long to be on-mission for God.

Psalm 140:12 says, "I know that the Lord qwill maintain the cause of the afflicted and justice for the poor." God is a father to the fatherless (orphans) and a defender of widows (Psalm 68:5).

I was convicted by the self-indulgent life I sometimes discover in my own life. I intend to be fully devoted to God. I must follow Jesus' example. Jesus served others. In fact, Jesus was humble, not proud; well-fed not overfed; and compassionate not unconcerned. So I need to venture into being more like Jesus.

Lastly, my faith needs to respond. Real faith is compassionate and pure (James 1:27). I need to show compassion and seek purity in my life. I must take care of the life of others as well as take care of my own life.

I praise God for our church's desire to partner with Asia's Hope. If you did not hear the interview with Pastor Dave Atkins, then you can listen to it here.

Dave Atkins Interview with Music from Glenn Sewell on Vimeo.

Overall, you can join us in reaching out to the least, the lost, and the last. Today the giving towards building the orphanage is growing. The total we are praying for to build the orphanage is $36,000. The goal of at least twenty orphans to sponsor means that over 60 people must commit to giving $35 a month to cover all of their needs.

You can keep praying. We are over $30,000 now. We have surpassed 60 sponsors too. So the Lord is moving among His people. May we wisely steward the gifts that come from over-and-above what each person already gives to our church in making fully devoted followers of Christ.

You can fulfill the purposes of God in your life. Make a difference today!

He Gets it! Love your neighbor.

2008-09-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

He Gets it!: Love your neighbor

The Bible says, "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,"and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 8:8-10)."

To obey what God is saying means that you need to get it--love your neighbor as yourself. One man in our Northeast Ohio District of Grace Brethren Churches gets this. I found his testimony on my friend's blog, Jim Brown, who is the lead pastor at the Grace Community Church in Goshen, IN. Pastor Jim posted a video where JeRod Cherrie is selling his superbowl ring to sponsor building one orphanage with Asia's Hope just like Wooster Grace is intending to do.

JeRod is one person who seeks to love others as himself. He wants to make a difference in a big way within his arena of influence. I am one person who strives to love my neighbors as myself. I want to make a difference in a small way within my area of influence.

In our neighborhood, the power is still out from Sunday's high winds. We are in the middle of Wooster, but the neighbors shared how historically the power is returned later than other grids in Wooster.

So there we all stood. In the cul-de-sac listening to the wind howl and bend the trees in our neighborhood. We met one another and got more acquainted.

Now last night, my wife called me to go home and invite a neighbor to supper whose wife is out of state. He is alone. And we wanted to invite him to my in-laws (they have power in their house ten minutes away). So I drive over to extend an invitation.

But you know what, at first I hesitated. You would think that a minister would not only know the verses above and its principle; but that he would immediately embrace and engage in reaching out to a neighbor. Yet honestly, I hesitated.

Praise God that I quickly denied the temptation to leave my neighbor, Richard alone. I felt that he probably would not come with me to supper. He is a loner and self-sufficient. But I prayed for God's help to go beyond my inconvenience and find Dick and invite him to join us for supper. When I located him, I invited him. He declined, but he was so appreciative. He was glad that I invited him.
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As I drove away, I thanked God for moving in my life to honor Him. At first I hesitated, but with God's help in prayer. I stopped offering rational excuses for not extending an invitation and I practiced what the Bible says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." God is working in me. He can work in you.

So owe no man anything, except love. Love your neighbor as yourself. You are one person who can intentionally love your neighbors as yourself. You can make a difference in a small way within your area of influence. Even if you hesitate, God can still use you. Take the initiative and reach out to your neighbors. Everyone is seeking to do reach out. You can too.

Soggy Feet are those who bring good news

2008-09-15T13:20:00.000-07:00

photo by dmbfreak41

Second Saturday launched with a deluge. I just wanted to spotlight comments from our people who became grace in the neighborhood during the morning of outreach.

"We had all positive responses with those that we talked to. It was fun to see their face light up when they realized it was a free gift"

"They were surprised we came in the rain."

"Most people answered the door. And were very appreciative!"

"One gentleman was surprised. He said, 'How much are the cookies?' When we said, "It is a gift." He called us, "Angels." He even wanted to give us the container back. He was so grateful."

These few reflections on the Second Saturday outreach show how people matter to us because every person matters to God. We want to offer opportunities for every person in our church to serve those in our community. The close neighbors to our church are Scottish Highlands and the Deer Creek Subdivision. Both received a free dozen home-made cookies from Wooster Grace.

May God be praised as we seek to bless those in our neighborhood. You can make a couple dozen cookies so that you can give a dozen and eat a dozen. Take the time to be grace-full in your community.

History of the125project on Vimeo

2008-09-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

History of the125project on Vimeo

It was my privilege to visit with Jon Herron and to meet and to pray at the 125. The Northeast Ohio District Missions of the Grace Brethren Churches help fund the transformation of the space into a useable and ministry advancing place for Catalyst.

Jon gave me a tour sharing how great God is. He fashioned a slideshow of the metamorphosis of the 125. You can view the presentation by clicking the link above.

I find it so encouraging to venture to Kent, OH and to actually walk into and to experience what God is doing in this Grace Brethren church. I could see the vibrant kid-friendly spaces and child-inviting colors, I could touch the countertops, rub my hand across the newly painted walls, and I could smell the new carpet as well as feel the "squishy," "spongy," knapped carpet throughout the 125 office areas. I praise God for His work in the lives of the family of believers at Catalyst who readily use the facility for discipling children and their families in this newly renovated space.

God is at work in Kent! He is building His church! Join in praying for Jon and the Catalyst church who are seeking to make God famous with the advancing of God's Kingdom in downtown Kent, OH. May God move forward His agenda in reaching new people for Christ and establishing all believers in this church to obey all that God has commanded (Matthew 28:20).

Triplehorns: Our Missionary Partners to Brazil

2008-09-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend our missionary partners from Brazil, the Triplehorns, will be here to reconnect with our church family and to introduce others who are new to our church to their work in Brazil. Bruce and Lisa began their journey to Brazil as missionaries here at Wooster Grace.

It is our passion that people we partner with reach out to others. Bruce and Lisa have dedicated their lives to make this happen in the country of Brazil.

We will be featuring Bruce & Lisa Triplehorn in our Adult Bible Fellowships (ABF). Each of the three hours we conduct our services Wooster Grace offers ways to connect with people who are on the journey of following God better. The ABF focuses everyone to seriously consider how the Bible practically impacts their daily life.

We have asked the Triplehorns to share in three ABFs this coming Sunday. They will also be back in our church in November (Nov 2 & 9). The times, ABF name, and Room number are as follows:

8:30 Faith & Fellowship Room 421

9:45 Common Ground Room 335

11:00 Internationals Fellowship Room 425

So, you are invited to join us for one of these hours to learn more about how we intend to disciple all people into fully devoted followers of Jesus on a worldwide basis. Come join us!

Pray for Catalyst Grace Brethren (Kent, OH)

2008-09-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Pastor Jon Herron shared with me that the Catalyst Church Offices where many gatherings can take place like Sunday morning Children's Ministries programming and childcare as well as team meetings is going to have its final city inspection, tomorrow, Wednesday, September 10 at 10am.

Please pray for the inspection to go well and for Catalyst Church to obtain the permission for occupancy. May God reach out to many families--both currently attending Catalyst and going to attend Catalyst in the future.

Fully-devoted to go to Africa

2008-09-09T13:27:00.000-07:00

Our church is preparing to send a small team of 4-5 people to work and to live in primitive conditions in the Central African Republic in November 2008. We are partnering with Integrated Community Development International for this trip. This missions team to the C.A.R. will consist of a team doing hard labor in a primitive camping situation, so you must be in good health.

Who can go:

Any adult who has a heart for God and desires to help their neighbors in the world

When you will go: November 4-21

Where you’ll go: Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR)

Why you should go:

To share God’s love with others around the world

To gain a greater vision for the lost around the world

To experience a cross-cultural ministry in a different part of the world

To work hard in a primitive camping environment

Requirements:

Be in good health

Receive the required medical shots and boosters prior to your trip

Submit a short-term missions application (subject to approval)

Obtain a passport and/or a visa

Commitment to attend meetings

Raise your support

Share your story within the church network

Cost: approximately $4000. Wooster Grace does provide some scholarships to defer part of the cost of our missions trips. Please submit your application right away! Applications can be found at the Outreach Ministry Table in our church.

First-time at the Fair

2008-09-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

by benimoto

I attended the Wayne County Fair for the first time this weekend. The many sights, sounds, and smells still fill my membranes and memories.

I came to make contact with those in my larger community. I greeted hundreds of people, invited them to visit our church booth, thanked them for stopping by, or cordially exit-greeted them as they walked on by our booth. Overall, I got a flood of data about the county where I now live.

One thing that encouraged me was the process of getting in people's way to get them to hear what I wanted to say--"you are invited to get a free picture of you and your friends/family here at the fair." I was practicing contact-making.

Contact-making is being personable, approachable, polite, and friendly. I am compelled to find people who need what we offer at Wooster Grace, who can offer their skills at Wooster Grace after connecting with us, and may be able to refer people to us because they know what we offer, or possibly collaborate on things within our community.

What we offer initially is a fun way to remember this year's fair. It is a FREE photo. Though most people will be perplexed that it is really free, we offer this FREE, no strings attached!

I am so proud to serve with a team of fully-devoted followers who will reach out to everyone in our community to invite them to get their picture taken at no charge. We have so much more to offer than most people realize. May God use how we make contact with others in our community so that God woos them to Himself through all our efforts.

Prayer for housing

2008-09-03T05:11:00.000-07:00

The Plasters are looking for an apartment in Paris. They have been searching the past six weeks and walked through five. Yesterday (Tue Sep 2)they scheduled to sign a lease. God answered their prayers, God answered my prayers for them.

Rob and Nichole want to live in a community to impact their community for Christ. Our emphasis for the year is Grace in the Neighborhood. Just like us, the Plasters want to show God's grace in the neighborhood in an apartment complex in Paris.

In their search for housing, I can relate. It is a unique journey searching and waiting for God's hand to provide.

My firsthand experience is to merely mouth the words of prayer and hope God answers. But recently I am discovering how great God is. His hand moves with prayer.

God wants me to share what is on my heart. He desires that I talk with Him. He longs to hear my heart's desires. He is a great God.

I was reading in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus shares how we need to be persistent and share with God what we really need (Luke 11:5-8). God will answer. He may not give you what you asked for, but He will answer. He will take care of your true needs. So don't be afraid to ask Him.

Listen and read what Jesus said, "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Luke 11:9-10).

God is good, all the time. So begin asking Him for things and situations to go favorably. Beg for relationships to be restored. Plead for finances to work out. Cry out to Him when health issues are overwhelming. Request for a new job to emerge with a little more pay and a lot more time with family. Pray. Ask. Seek. Knock. God can answer prayer. Just start praying.

The Fair

2008-09-02T05:35:00.000-07:00

This will be my first experience at the Wayne County Fair. I do not know what to expect.

But Pastor Bob Doerr shared how everyone can make a difference in people lives. Wooster Grace will be present at the Fair offering free pictures to anyone who would like to pose. The background is the Ohio State Horseshoe. The picture is set up as a monthly magazine layout where individuals or groups can create a keepsake from the fair or share it as a gift to family and friends.

There is no catch! We want to give this as a free gift to everyone. The main thing is to meet and to greet people. It's about the people.

One wise saying that I heard states: "There are only two things eternal on earth; God's Word and people." Love the Word and love people! Be consumed with the Bible and be involved with people.

The Bible says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said, "Do this and you will live (Luke 10:28)."

I can't wait to serve at the Fair. I intend to try to stay focused on the people rather than on my friends or on those I haven't seen in a long time. May God help us sacrifice time with and conversations with friends to meet and to greet potential new brothers and sisters in Christ.

Resourcing the under-resourced

2008-08-27T01:08:00.000-07:00

Connie Benchoff conducts ministry to our neighbors. One ministry she serves in is the Hand to Hand ministry where tangible donations can be given to help the under-resourced in our community.

Connie takes donations from our congregation and from around the county to give to the under-resourced. in the pictures below, she was able to bless D. Thanks to Jim Hawkins for his donation of a TV and my friend Paula who donated a bed for D.!

In Connie's words, "Praise HIM for continuing to use Sowing Hope & Hand to Hand to minister to under resourced people at the Towers. :-)"

May God use our resources to serve our neighbors, amen!

Who says we don't have fun?

2008-08-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

As I pray for every family to reach each neighborhood for Christ, I need a theme song to keep me going. In fact, "I need to take grace to the da neighborhood." I praise God for creative ministers who have fun and who seek to exhort and to encourage everyone to move forward in reaching out to our neighbors. You can reach out. Take to heart what the song is saying--you can take God's grace to your neighbors. Just go out your door and go over and say hello. Start with being friendly.

For those who want a hymn to ignite their motivation, listen to "We've a story to tell to the nations." Since 1896 this anthem has catalyze many Christ-followers to reach out to their neighbors. The lyrics of the third verse and refrain are provided below the video for you to sing with the tune. Henry Ernest Nichols wrote this hymn at a time when Sunday School was the weekly habit of most people in England and the United States. It is ironic that this song emerges at the same time that the modern Olympic games began in Greece.

GRACE In The Neighborhood (2008)

We've a Story To Tell to the Nations (1896)

Lyrics (from hymnsite.com):
We've a message to give to the nations, that the Lord who reigneth above hath sent us his Son to save us, and show us that God is love, and show us that God is love.

(Refrain)

For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright; and Christ's great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light.

Grace in the Neighborhood

2008-08-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

photo by anyalogic

Wooster Grace is about mission--reaching out to the hurting, reaching out to our neighbors, reaching out even with our feelings of inadequacy. With God's help, we can reach out because people matter to God. People matter to us!

One great moment this summer is our high school ministry team serving the children of Sowing Hope. Check out this great short video

You can make a difference one moment and one person at a time. Ask God to use your everyday routines and pathways to discover how you can share God's love in a real way with someone else. You can step out of your comfort zone and maybe begin a new friendship or initiate a new relationship with someone on your life pathways. One song that exemplifies this truth is Everyman by Casting Crowns.

There is hope for everyman! You can bring hope to everyperson on your path today and everyday.

As the opening lyrics state that God's hope and love can be shared with so many people around you and I. I trust you can begin asking God which one to speak to this week so that you may begin to show God's care in a real way.

photo by mitchgroff

"I'm the man with all I've ever wanted All the toys and playing games; I am the one who pours your coffee, corner booth each Saturday; I am your daughter's favorite teacher, I am the leader of the band; I sit behind you in the bleachers, I am every man; I'm the coach of every winning team and still a loser in my mind, I am the soldier in the Airborne facing giants one more time; I am the woman shamed and haunted by the cry of unborn life, I'm every broken man, nervous child, lonely wife (full lyrics here)"

Pictures: Teachers' Appreciation & Strongsville Team

2008-08-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

Three thousands words:

Our team served a meal to the Burbank Elementary School
Teacher Appreciation

Strongsville

Strongsville

Pray for China

2008-08-20T01:45:00.000-07:00

photo by galaygobi

I saw on the CNN ticker while viewing the Saddleback Civil Discussion that people carrying bibles into China were detained and their bibles confiscated (christianitytoday.uk report here).

Bob Fu, the China Aid Association president is trying to spread the Gospel and to plant churches in China. He gives a short summary of his mission in this YouTube interview (here). He desires to advance the cause of Christ in China. This interview was conducted at the Voice of the Martyrs Persecution conference in June 2008.

In addition, VOM sent out this prayer news. The Pastor Zhang “Bike” Mingxuan, known for traveling across China on a bicycle to evangelize, was arrested by Chinese police just two days before the Olympics began. Pastor Bike was the inspiration for the recent partnership between The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association to create the Olympic Prayer Band.

Pastor Bike, president of the Chinese House Church Alliance, rode his bike more than 10,000 miles, visiting 24 Chinese provinces to introduce nonbelievers to Jesus Christ. Armed with a Bible and his business card, which declared “Believe in Jesus, Earn Eternal Life,” Pastor Bike brought the gospel to thousands of people. He and other Chinese evangelists have been repeatedly harassed by Chinese officials during this Olympic year. Please pray for the release of Pastor Bike and his wife.

Keep praying for China!

Pray for the students

2008-08-19T00:26:00.000-07:00

photo by foxtongue

As the school year begins this week and next week. Please remember to pray for those missionaries and ministries with outreach to campuses:

Annie Michaels: InterVarsity--COW

Ben & Sandy Dyke: Campus Crusade--NE Ohio (Wayne College, ATI, & others)

Roxanne Weaver: Student Venture--Tallawanda HS; Oxford, Ohio

Linda Kline: Bible Release Time Classes--North Central S.D.

Wooster Christian School

Jonathan Herron: Catalyst--Kent, OH

George & Cindy Swain: Prague, Czech Republic

Kevin & Jill Kane: Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

Ask God to give them strength to launch Fall ministries, wisdom on where to concentrate their energies, and courage to pace themselves for the long-haul.

We appreciate our teachers!

2008-08-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

We just served lunch, encouraged Burbank Elementary School staff and teachers, and distributed appreciation gift bags. Our team did a great job serving them.

One teacher admitted that this kind of treatment was so different. She said, "We just don't know how to act."

Another teacher Mrs. Hershberger gave testimony that her colleagues eagerly anticipated this event. In her words, "Everyone was looking forward to this day!"

Mr. Froelich serves as principal. He shared in his remarks how great the food was, how wonderful the gifts were, and how encouraging the whole thing was for the start of the new year.

As they left and we packed up, we discovered that we forgot to take a picture of us. So we'll post a picture later.

God answers prayer

2008-08-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tim & Julie Hawkins provide this update on Gami, a Porto elder in the church who was gravely ill recently. God does answer prayer!

Yesterday I took Gami for a short walk. This was the same day that he was moved from intensive care to a regular room. And the first day the doctors told him that he was a miracle. Last week they never expected him to live. Only God could work and He did.

Continue to pray for Gami as he faces weeks of recovery. Pray for our church as we minister to his family and to the many that have been touched by his dramatic illness. Pray for Helena's family, that they will see God's hand in this and commit themselves completely to God

This was taken from the Hawkins' prayer update. Please email them at thawkins@gbim.org

Why should you pray?

2008-08-10T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Porto-Spain Missions Experience was a success!

This past Thursday, the team recapped and challenged us to consider how every believer must seek community. The Christ-follower community has two benefits: mutual ministry of encouragement and exhortation (one another) & communal outreach (they will know we are Christians by our love).

God helped each team member know more about Him and how God is working i nthe world through the relationships built within the team and within the whole group which included three missionary families (Hawkins, Plaster, Satterthwaite).

One team member described to me how we take for granted Christian friendships. He shared how Rob Plaster has great friends but now lacks a great friend who is a Christian. That could make life more challenging and foster loneliness or sadness. But our team came alongside our missionary partners and love them, ate with them, enjoyed this journey together.

Pastor Bob Doerr had a chance to hear the struggles of the missionary partners, to understand what they are going through, to pray with them, and now to pray for them. I forget that I can go about the "busyness" of ministry and forget those who we have partnered with in reaching the world for Christ.

Wooster Grace values people, especially those we partner with in reaching out to others. Stop. Say a pray for our missionary partners--or someone you know who is reaching out to others in another country. They need our prayers.

I loved the challenge Renee threw down. Why should I pray? Because our missionaries need us. They don't need our money--they need our prayers. They need to know that we are praying for them. She's right.

Don't know what to pray or how to pray--adapt this one from the Apostle Paul

(Ephesians 3:14-19):

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Pray for China

2008-08-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

photo by katherina

I did not watch the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, but I heard about it. On Saturday morning, the people in the restuarant were talking about it. In fact, one person said that it was the greatest she's ever seen--she has been watching since 1968.

I could not help but feel left out. But then I realized that I cannot be mesmerized by the stories of acrobats, moving type, giant firework footprints, the masse of humanity performing, or the pagentry. I need to pray.

Photo from Dr. Ray Pritchard

A sobering second look at China for prayer is needed. The underground church needs our prayers. One group has put together a 31-day prayer guide for your use. Wooster Grace has provided Olympic wristband prayer reminders for those who want to participate. You need to pray.

Pray for house church leaders as they seek to reach out within China. Ask God to give them significant impact in spite of government opposition and persecution when trying to help with the ongoing Sichuan earthquake relief efforts. Plead for God to provide protection from the Chinese government who is hostile towards Christ-followers disallowing any charity work by Christians.

Grace in the Neighborhood--Iraq

2008-08-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

photo of those typically needing medical help by james gordon

Thanks to Dan Green who provided this news update from the Iraqi clinic ministry. Please continue to pray for protection and safety of the clinic staff and patients that come for help.

Recently two bombs exploded in the neighborhood close to the clinic but thankfully no one was injured (similar news reports here). Patients still look for help at the clinic with over 290 coming in July.

One woman has requested a picture of Jesus and declared that she loved Him. Pray that her love would be in understanding what Jesus has done for her in taking away her sin and that she would have a true relationship with Him.

Pray for continued safety for staff and patients.
Pray for the woman who wanted a picture of Jesus, that she would truly know Him.
Pray for proper documents to be granted for the clinic to register with the government.
Praise the Lord that no one was injured in recent bombings.

Thanks for making a difference!

2008-08-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

photo by dplanet

Friends & Helpers Non-Profit Helping Others. Make a Difference Donate today!

I praise God for our church. Wooster Grace seeks to meet the needs of children in our area with a back-to-school backpack.

The above link is how one organization gains sponsors to donate back to school materials for a child or teen. Others around the country are seeking to make a difference in their communities.

Wooster Grace envisions a place where everyone hungers and is developed into mature Christians who are deployed for church-planting and compassion ministries around the world. This project is one of the many steps in developing all people into fully-devoted followers of Jesus.

Jesus had compassion. In Mark 14:3 Jesus is in the house of a well-known leper. He was reclining in Simon's house. Jesus went into the homes of anyone when invited.

Our backpack project interfaces our people with those who need someone to help out with school supplies and a backpack. I thank the Lord that we can share our surplus with those who have no surplus, thus honoring God in our acts of service in the community.

Please pray this week and next week as our people get to bless families, especially the children in those families with a gift of love and care--a backpack filled with school supplies to start a new year of education. May God truly be honored as we go into our neighborhoods and share His love.

Short-term missions makes a difference

2008-08-04T05:13:00.000-07:00

Short-term missions is an important value at Wooster Grace. Wooster Grace is proud of those who go on short-term missions.

Kaille grew up in our church. Her parents Mike & Kim have nurtured her towards following God.

Recently, Kaillie served God by securing a short-term missions internship with Sowing Hope for the summer. She has had a great time.

In her own words:

I've gotten really attached to one 8 year old little girl. She doesn't speak Thai very well because she is from the Karen (Kuh-rin) Hilltribe. They speak their own language. She and her brother came to Asia's Hope back in April. Since she can't speak thai, she has a very hard time listening, and doesn't pay attention. She's in the kindergarten class at the christian school so she can learn both Thai and english. She'll just draw and not participate in much. She's getting much better, but she's very very frustrated that she can't read her bible! She's a very smiley, playful, tickle-ish girl!! She and I are buddies. I don't want to leave this little girl!!!! One of the teenagers asked her in her native tongue if she wanted me to be her mother. She just looked up at me, giggled, smiled, and hugged me so tight. That was the moment I knew God was doing somethingmuch much deeper in my heart here. My love for these kids keeps growing every second I'm over here!!

And By The Way:
Our Four14 missions team returned yesterday from their missions trip to Portugal & Spain. Watch for pictures and a report. You can come hear their testimonies live at Four14 on Thursday, August 7 at 7pm. Come and check it out!

Kern & Brazilians "represent" at 300th Anniversary

2008-08-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

photo by will palmer

Wooster Grace is well represented at the 300th Anniversary of the Brethren movement. If you are intrigued about the deep roots of the Grace Brethren, then visit the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches blog this coming week to read about what is occurring in Schwarzenau, Germany (the birthplace of the Brethren Movement).

The FGBC selected our Pastor Steve Kern as a U.S. delegate for this historic gathering. Wooster Grace has helped partner with GBIM to assist two Brazilian delegates to attend the festivities in Germany. But please pray for all the 16 delegates to acquire visas to enter Germany. GBIM sees this as a educational experience where our international leaders get to visit the roots of the Grace Brethren movement.

Three good BMH books for your library regarding Grace Brethren history are:

Finding our Focus by Dr. David Plaster (BMH Books, Winona Lake, IN: 2003).

Our Heritage: Brethren Beliefs & Practices by Dr. Harold Etling (BMH Books, Winona Lake, IN: 1981).

Restoring the Household of Faith by Dr. Todd Scoles (BMH Books, Winona Lake, IN: 2008) to be released soon!

Actions in the name of the Lord

2008-08-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our puppet ministry team ministered to the Sowing Hope Kids this summer. Praise God for their perservance in stifling hot temperatures and gusty winds. Still, the children enjoyed the presentation anyways.

Pam Leonard said that this was the first time many on the team have performed for an audience. These older elementary and junior high students along with their student and adult leaders demonstrated God's love by sharing their gifts and talents through puppetry.

Wooster Grace values serving. We believe the Church consists of men, women and children serving for the glory of Christ. Therefore, we help people discover and employ their unique gifts to serve Him and others (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12&14; Philippians 2:1-11). Check out our values here.

Sharing a meal with our friends

2008-08-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

Five thousands words to praise God for our people demonstrating that every person matters to us and to God

Our people sponsor every children for School BackPack Project

2008-08-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

photo by bryankemp

Praise God for our people sponsoring all the children who need a back-to-school backpack. Every one of the seventy children sponsored will receive the following items, including, but not limited to: pencils, markers, binder, durable backpack. The Sowing Hope Kids are the ones we sponsor

Please pray for the Backpack Project.

Ask God to arrange the schedules of both families to deliver and to receive backpacks between August 11 and 16.

Pray for our Wooster Grace families as they verbalize why we do this: to demonstrate God's love to the family--"all people matter to God and each person matters to us."

Petition God to empower our Wooster Grace families to make a personal contact with each child, asking to read a brief Bible passage (like Matthew 19:13-15 where Jesus prays for and blesses the children) and to pray for the child and family.

Plead for God to open up opportunities to share the Gospel with the children and their families

Neighborhood Bible Clubs

2008-07-31T04:00:00.000-07:00

Seven thousand words about NBCs

Gathering the crowd

Discovering God's Word

Explaining the Gospel

Having fun!

Running the water-balloon gauntlet

Making the craft with a purpose

Getting a pie in the face

District Missions--Kent, OH

2008-07-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Wooster Grace values reaching out not only in our community but also in our district. The Northeast Ohio District of Grace Brethren Churches has a new church plant emerging in Kent, OH. The church plant pastor is Jonathan Herron. The name of the Grace Brethren Church is Catalyst.

On July 31, 2008, Catalyst will be officially recognized at National Conference as a Grace Brethren Church. Catalyst's was born from people sensing the need for a church that reached people far from God. Discovering that Portage County is the least-churched county in all of Ohio, its largest city-Kent-was quickly chosen as ground zero for this new movement. Catalyst is a start-from-stratch church plant. Wooster Grace is partnering with Catalyst through our NEO District to advance God's reach to those in the least-churched county in Ohio.

Presently, here is some encouraging news about the work God has called him to do--In His Own Words:

I just wanted to send a quick update from your friends in Kent! As of this past weekend, we have seen 10 baptisms via trine immersion in 2008. God is changing lives through our Grace Brethren church plant!

"I need to pray to receive Christ!"~taken from Jon's blog, posted Mon July 28.

An hour before Catalyst this morning (Sun July 27), 17-yr-old Shelby of Kent walked into The Kent Stage lobby and uttered those words to me.
We prayed together.
During worship, she stood up and was baptized as a brand new believer.
And she just started coming to Catalyst 2 weeks ago.
Only God.

Listen to her testimony here. (You will need to fast-forward the podcast to 20:00-24:00. You can hear her getting triune-baptized in the background!).

May God continue to build His Church through new church planting efforts in our district and around the world! You can check out the renovations being completed for next week in the Nursery/Toddler area here.

"(Jesus) told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Luke 10:2)."

Four14 completes the trek~Hallelujah!

2008-07-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

photo by james gordon

Heidi Biehler shared this report via email from RAD:

So the Spain team has completed their hike! They even got certificates of completion yesterday!

This morning they went to the Pilgrim’s mass at the Catholic church in Santiago; it’s a beautiful building! Today (Wed July 20)they are doing some tourism and just resting & refreshing from the exhausting hike. I talked to one of the team members this morning and she said she’s really tired. Tonight they are camping and tomorrow they are taking a bus to Porto Portugal. They have a couple days there, and fly out on Sunday.

I can't wait to hear their stories from the journey and how God spoke to them and through them to those on the hike.

Sowing Hope at Perkins

2008-07-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Volunteers Getting Ready

The Grill-azzs in the Mist

Sowing Hope ministered to the Perkins Apartment Complex in South Wooster with a summer barbeque. We invited the people of the apartments to enjoy hot dogs, hamburgers, and neighborly conversations.

Our volunteers did an incredible job. They helped get the food, put up the tent, take down the tent, grill the food, serve the food, and interact with the people. We shared God's love in a real way to everyone who could attend. Even those who did not venture out, definitely saw the crowd, smelled the food grillin', and heard the din of conversation.

Elise Rabatin, one of our Sowing Hope Interns, said that she met new children. Jacob Kern, the other Sowing Hope Intern, related that he met these kids last year, but had not got a chance to visit with them. Our other volunteers engaged in conversations with the adults and served them for a nice Monday evening grill in the neighborhood.

Two great highlights was the caricature artist and sno-cones. The line was dozens deep all night. He did an excellent job. He was invited and created pictures for free. What can you say about sno-cones!

But the greatest value is reaching out to others with the love of Jesus. We desire for everyone in our church to be on-mission for God! We pray that each person, each family will seek opportunities to redemptively relate to people in our community. Wow! What a great outreach! God's people are doing it again! I will post pictures later of the Towers barbeque when I get 'em.

Adopt-A-Classroom

2008-07-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

photo by lizmarie

Adopt-A-Classroom

We are not the only ones seeking to show appreciation to our teachers. Check out the above website. I am so thankful for Acme Sharing in sending me this link. I love their pitch for adoptaclassroom.

The average public school teacher ends up paying around $1,200 out of pocket for classroom supplies each year, and that is just so uncool.

Adopt a classroom is a non-profit website that lists the NEEDS of classrooms across the country. what about making a donation to this organization in honor of your own teacher?
or, if you think your teacher might fall into the category of having to shell out for your kids supplies, a gift certificate to LAKESHORE LEARNING is ideal.

Then you can present them with something very personal. we are writing dramatic and heartfelt cards. did i mention dramatic? and perhaps a small pampering kind of gift, like a pedicure.
just think of all the candles that don't have to live in a constant state of re-gift.

I praise God that we are doing this for the Burbank Elementary School. May God get the honor and the glory as we show appreciation to those who labor so hard and dedicate time, emotion, and even money to educate our children. "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16)."

Grace in the Neighborhood

2008-07-25T08:55:00.001-07:00

photo by yeesh23

Linda Kline shared with me an update on one of the four Neighborhood Bible Clubs being conducted this week in Wooster at the Vandergrifts.

Today is the last day. On Wednesday, forty-two kids came. On Thursday, thirty-five kids came.

With her three helpers, Linda Vandergrift was able to reach a lot of children with the Gospel through games, songs, crafts, and snacks.

Wooster Grace values equipping Christ-followers to be on-mission for God. We pray that each person in our church is redemptively involved within our communities in Wayne County. As Jesus declared, "I came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10)." Praise God for these heroes in the faith who obey God's truth and live on-mission for Him. Way to go, Christ-followers!

Four14 needs prayer

2008-07-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

photo by jule berlin

Day Two of the St. James Way continues. Please pray for the team as they trek. Heidi Biehler updated us at Four14 last night.

RAD asked us to pray for strength and stamina. The first leg of the journey took longer than expected but all made it pretty well.

Ask God to bring relief to Steven Starkey who is ill. Ask God to give His strength to Andy and Keith as well.

Pray that the team is not discouraged. They haven't seen too many people along the way to begin conversations yet. May God bring divine appointments.

God has provided good weather and the team is growing in the Lord. The team is reading Louie Giglio's book, "I am NOT but i know I AM." RAD loves the book. If you'd like to read along with them here is a scheduled.

7.25 Became
7.26 Big River
7.27 The Little Leader
7.28 Be Still
7.29 Furious Rest
7.30 Embracing Smallness
7.31 You can trust Him

Time to stop and praise the Lord!

2008-07-24T07:56:00.001-07:00

photo by hjl

Asia's Hope has great news. I received this email from Dave Atkins. You will be captured how God is working in those who are prepared to move forward when God moves.

Secure your seat belt. Get ready for an exhilarating ride! Our God is awesome!

In His own words~ Dave Atkins, Director of Sowing Hope

Hello, everyone!

It's 1:30 AM and I just got back to my hotel room...but I just gotta bless God! I just GOTTA tell you what God is doing now...

Just when you think God can't BLESS you any more...

A couple of weeks ago, we were BLESSED by God to receive a gift of over $40,000 from a man in Canada who sponsors one of our orphans at our big Doi Saket home near Chiangmai. He recently was married and asked all of his wedding guests to give a gift to Asia's Hope instead of he and his bride...he asked us for a proposal months ago. We suggested a computer/learning lab for the orphans. He agreed!

NOW, we will be starting to build that building soon...and by the fall, we will have it full of new computers and learning software...and books! PRAISE GOD!

So tonight, Joyce and I are on our way to Florida for the Grace Brethren Church's national conference...and we stopped off at Cedarville University for an event for 1,500 Grace Brethren teenagers called, "Momemtum". This used to be called, "Brethren National Youth Conference". It's a great conference and attracts kids from all over the country.

We stopped by because tonight's speaker, Pastor Jim Brown of Goshen, Indiana, pastors a church that already sponsors TWO orphan homes with us...one in Thailand and one in Cambodia. Pastor Jim, his wife, their 3 kids and their team from Goshen was JUST with me two weeks ago visiting those homes!

So, when I found out he was speaking to 1,500 teenagers tonight, I thought I'd set up a table outside...who knew what might happen...

What I DIDN'T know was that God was going to BLESS US TONIGHT - BIG TIME!!!
Pastor Jim delivered a marvelous sermon about the orphans, the widows and the poor. It was an amazing sermon and he challenged the students to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT - NOW! ( I had no idea he was going to challenge them to give an offering.)

He DID challenge them to give an offering with a goal of raising $15,000 to give to an organization called, "Feed My Starving Children". He told the teens that if whey could raise $15,000, they could feel 100,000 people for a whole YEAR! A great goal!

(This was not a part of anything Asia's Hope is doing, but that was OK with me. I was so excited to see these kids get involved in something to bless the poor.)

Well...as he challenged the kids, up front they came...bringing their ones and fives and tens, and twenties....and they were putting the totals up as the kids came. As they put up the running total of what had come in, the cheering started....$600....$1,200.....$1,800....and then...things got OUT OF CONTROL!

The total jumped to $3,600.....and $8,700....and then $12,000....and the cheering continued to get LOUDER!!!

Then $14,000....and then....over $15,000! In less than 5 minutes, the goal was reached!

Then Jim and the directors of the conference, Ed Lewis and Dave Rank, were huddling on the stage. Students kept bringing up money....

$16,000....$19,000.....$23,000....$27,000....more cheering.

All of the sudden, I see written on the big screen, "Dave Atkins come to the platform." So I got up and met them at the platform...

"How much is an orphan home to sponsor for a year?" they asked. I told them....and they anounced to the crowd, "Now, we're going to sponsor an orphan home in Cambodia for a year...we've got enough money to do that!" More cheering!

And the students kept coming... big lines now...waiting to give...the band started playing worship songs, "We bless you, Lord...we bless you...."

$36,000....$49,000....$67,000....CHEERING LOUDER!!!! LOUDER!!!!

They asked me, "Could we sponsor TWO homes? For TWO YEARS?" I said, "Sure,we'll do whatever you guys want to do!" Can we call them, "Momentum orphan homes? (that's the name of the conference) I said, "I don't care what we call them...lets just HELP THE ORPHANS!"

$75,000....$82,000.....$90,000.....FINALLY, when the last person was finished...

OVER $92,000!!!!!!!

They asked me to say a few words to the students. I thanked them for the kids and I told them what a difference they were making in the lives of these precious orphans in SE Asia. I told them they could come on teams and MINISTER with these children. I told them I was proud of them...I had a hard time keeping it together, I was so moved by God!

The leaders of the conference asked the kids to give MORE money over the next few days so they could completely SPONSOR TWO ORPHAN HOMES FOR TWO YEARS!!!!!!

After the meeting was over, I was MOBBED by nearly 100 students and leaders at our table wanting to know how they could GO and how they could GIVE and how they could be INVOLVED in helping orphans!

It was the most INCREDIBLE THING I've been a part of for a LONG, LONG TIME!

That's why I just got back to my hotel room...

Wow, this has been an incredible month for Asia's Hope!!!!

I am going to bed. I am not even sure HOW we're going to put all of this together...exactly. I don't think we need to know that tonight. Tonight, we just need to say,

"PRAISE GOD!!!!!"

...and say, "Goodnight." I just couldn't go to bed without telling you guys the good news!

Wow...what a GOD WE SERVE!!!!!!

Taking God's hope to Asia,

Dave

You can get a summary report of the event at fgbc blog. I still like how Dave describes it as it happens :) I want to thank Liz Cutler Gates who provides this link for you to read more about what happened at Momentum that night. Still, all the praise to God for His movement among His people!

Our friends arrive in Porto where the journey begins

2008-07-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

In her own words, please read an update from Heidi about the Four14 missions team as they prepare to begin the spiritual journey walking the St. James Way.

Good afternoon! I spoke with RAD earlier this afternoon on the phone. What a cool experience it was! (if you’ve never talked to someone in another country, I recommend it!)

photo by gaetan lee

Here’s a little update:

It took longer to get to Portugal than expected, due to a flight delay here in the states. Because of this, their luggage was behind schedule, and they got it this morning. They have had a lot of team time together the past couple days. Last night they had a “big dinner” (RAD’s words) with the Hawkins. Then today was beach day…lots of swimming! Tonight they are eating dinner with the Hawkins & Plasters, and are meeting people from the International Church. RAD said they have a nice place to stay, and that the team is connecting well with each other. As a team, they are reading a book by Louie Giglio, which they started today. Tomorrow they leave for the hike, by catching a train ride to the beginning location. Then on Thursday, they begin the hike! While they are in Portugal they are 5 hours ahead of us, and once in Spain, they are 6 hours ahead.

The InfoLine has been updated, too. J (ext. 723 or RAD)

Heidi-

Six thousand words

2008-07-22T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ministry has its sacrifice and its rewards

Jim & Stephanie Fish are Home!

2008-07-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

In their own words--

Hello All,

We are back and up and at 'em! What an experience! There is soooo much to share.

We want to thank you for your prayers, love and support. We apologize for not being able to keep in contact. Unfortunately, we did not have internet hardly at all. If it came up at all it would usually come up around 10 am for a couple hours, which of course we were out and about doing other things by then. I did try the one day, but by the time I got the email typed up and addresses in it booted us off again and we couldn't get it back at all for a few days. (Problems with SIL)

Electricity was another problem. We were VERY lucky if we would have it for 12 hours. At one point we went without for 36 hours and then it came on for only one hour and 20 min. It did come on a couple hours later again for a bit. It just made life a bit more interesting! And with the time difference it was very difficult to reach someone. And calling a cell phone was out of the question, which are mostly the numbers we had of people. From what I was hearing it was quite costly. I certainly wasn't doing that unless I had to. I just surrendered to the idea God had other things he wanted us to do with our time.

Sun goes down around 6 pm and a lot of times we would loose electric shortly after. It made eating dinner and keeping food and water bottles cold a challenge at times. The neighbors had a backup generator on their fridge so we could put meat in there if we had to. It would be nice to have a schedule as to when the electric would be on or off. However, they (powers that regulate) don't seem to see it that way.

It will be good to see you all and share what God is doing in CAR and in our lives through this experience! To share briefly, Jim and Tom worked hard to make repairs to the current "garage" door and worked at getting in the second at the ICDI orphan care mission center. This was difficult with the electricity going off and on. They were needing to weld and drill metal. They did have a back up generator, but it becomes quite costly to use. It becomes very time consuming. They had success overall. Steph helped Sue with her English classes, helped in the clinic, and observed the sewing class. Jim and Tom also helped in English the one day teaching the Africans the parts of their motorcycles in English. We went to some of the orphan care weekly groups. There are 8 groups which meet various time throughout the week. We had the privilege to meet our sponsored orphan and Tom and Sue's gals in home visits. We went to the Pygmy village, saw a water well repair, a Seminary graduation, a wake, visited the "markets" and artisan shops and had opportunity, of course, to eat CAR food in some of their homes. We celebrated the 4th of July at the GBIM center with grilled chicken and a "bonfire". No fireworks though. It was relaxing, especially since we were suffering from jetlag.

It was good to meet some of the missionaries from various denominations and see the GBIM guest center and new orphan care center/school. Their new facility is wonderful! We also met many ICDI workers who are from Africa. We had opportunity to hear them share what God has laid on their hearts.

In some ways words cannot really share what we experienced. We are still sorting through some of that. We have prayer requests that we will pass on soon too from many working there. Please continue to pray for the work of God's people in CAR, the Africans who live there and their government.

Love you all,

Stephanie and Jim

Homeward Bound or On the Field

2008-07-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

photo by chuuken haichiquo

People to pray for regarding missions:

Please pray for the High School Missions Team as they travel back to Wooster from San Francisco on Saturday.

Likewise, pray for Jim & Stephanie Fish as they return from the Central African Republic on Sunday.

Furthermore, pray for the Four14 team as they depart for Portugal & Spain on Sunday morning at 11am.

Keep in prayer Kallie Dravenstott who is serving with Asia's Hope in Thailand--ask the Lord to continue healing her ankle injury.

Pray for Kevin & Jill Kane as their daughter, Jenny gets married on Saturday. Ask God to help them discover time for rest and spiritual refreshment during the last month of time here in the states before departing for Cambodia at the end of August.

Pray for Bruce & Lisa Triplehorn who are presently in Norton, OH informing people about what God has done, is doing, and will do through them in Brazil. Ask God to help them raise the needed additional support.

Pray for George & Cindy Swain who are in Warsaw, IN visiting their new grandchild. Ask God to give them great family time and a restful vacation while in the states.

May God continue to help us develop all people into fully-devoted followers of Christ.

Is Your Church a Good Neighbor? | Outreach & Evangelism

2008-07-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

photo by bruce turner

Is Your Church a Good Neighbor? Outreach & Evangelism

I came across this article and the title caught my attention. Our next year of emphasis is "Grace in the Neighborhood!" I wonder if we can measure what we have done recently with the article's "measuring sticks."

A new way to look at the unchurched

2008-07-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

photo by david wiese

The way churches define who the "unchurched" are is needed a review, say the Ellison Research Group. They offer a unique perspective on who the "unchurched" may be. The results will make you think. Read the article here.

I haven't made my firm conclusions yet, but I do know that what I thought about the so-labeled is now morphing. If our target is the unchurched, then who are they in our community? I wonder where they are. I wonder if they know they are unchurched. I wonder what you think of this article~please post your comment below.

I want to thank my friend Walt Mueller for directing me to this article. Walt is the Director of The Center for Parent Youth Understanding.

The-Daily-Record.com - Residents come together to help build house for family in need

2008-07-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

photo by tukanuk

The-Daily-Record.com - Residents come together to help build house for family in need

I came across a family that is making a difference in our community. Pastor Steve Kern and Celeste seek to be fully-devoted followers who reach out to others in our community. Way to go, pastor Steve and Celeste.

Children are coming to Christ

2008-07-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

photo by Kara McCune

Linda Kline provided me a written report with the following facts:

So far two children have prayed to receive Christ!

6 clubs conducted in West Salem, Wooster, Dalton, & Ashland with 86 total children attending

5 clubs are being conducted next week (July 21-25) in Creston and Wooster (one in Scottish Highlands)

2 are scheduled for August in Wooster

Over twenty helpers, hosts, and teachers have minstered so far.

The Scottish Highlands group urgently needs one more helper, according to Linda Kline. If you know someone who could help, then please call Linda at 330-262-6787.

Linda shares how to pray for next week's clubs:

Pray for good contacts and canvasing as host families and neighbors hand out invitations

Pray for teacher and hostess' as they plan to utilize one another's spiritual gifts to minister as a team
Pray for thorough preparation and flexible organization.

The Host Homes next week are:

Linda Vandergrift 3467 Heyl Road (9:30am)
Fay Graham 207 Evergreen Drive, Creston (6:30pm)
Scottish Highlands Wooster (6:30pm)
Teri Lottes 1550 Christmas Run (1:00pm)
Christy Durham 6761 Weilersville Rd (evenings)

photo by hoyasmegan

San Fran Witnesses Go Homeless

2008-07-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

photo by Mark Coggins

Kim sent a link to the blog that is updating what is going on as Pastor Nick has time to write and to upload pictures. View page here. Please say a prayer for them re: pray for courage and safety in trusting God.

On Sunday our team joined for worship the First Baptist Church of San Francisco. The FBC also conduct a ministry called InnerChange where they seek to connect with the homeless and disenfranchised as well.

Pastor Nick shared how the Tenderloin district got it's name. You can read the answer here and get a snapshot of what area that our team is ministering in. In fact David Karner shared that it may be a place to avoid. But i praise God for our youth leaders and their commitment to provide safety and a great discipleship experience in the lives of students.

Youth With A Mission has a discipleship training center in the Tenderloin district. Our team is partnering with them as they create memorable and life-shaping ministry opportunities for them in San Fran. I love the idea of packing two lunches--one for you and another for someone else!

Pastor Nick mentions the Haight-Asbury district, or Hippie Hill where they conducted a "bucket brigade (see the July 14 post)." I wonder if we could add that concept to our Second Saturday ministry opportunities. I wonder what you think.

Photo of street mural in Haight by jay galvin

Junior Highers impact Cleveland

2008-07-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Josh Atkins had great things to say about the Junior High missions trip to Village Grace in inner city Cleveland. Twenty-one people comprised the team. I am posting several pictures of their departure.

Josh shared at staff meeting how the adult leaders were a great help. They guided the students in devotions, lead them in service projects, and interacted with them throughout every activity. Two leaders of the adult leaders, Mike & Denise Molter, were impressed with the character of the students on the trip. The students inspired them as adults.

Mike shared how neighborhood clean-up ministered to both our students and the community around Village Grace. I agree with those who pick up trash compulsively, "For most people, picking up trash is an unwanted chore." Read more how trash pickup impacts society here.

As the team picked up trash and removed debris, a very huge African American man walked through the lot. He stopped. He towered over the students and said, "Thank you very much, you don't know how much this helps our community." Rich Bartley informed the group how community care is one thing that gets overlook. In fact, many have given up trying to pick things up and throw things away. Yet this act of service by our kids demonstrated God's heart in a clear way.

Pastor Bob also shared at a district board meeting this past week, Rich spoke in appreciative words about how grateful Rich is that our church sends people to help in his ministry.

May God continue to help us develop fully-devoted followers of Jesus every day.

In My Own Words--Beth Sorg

2008-07-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

Beth Sorg shares the following:

We had more people than we expected. We even met quite a few people for the first time!

The weather predictions scared us, but God answered our prayers and it was sunny and hot a good majority of the time. We got to boat, swim, hike, play outdoor sports, and even have a campfire after the short 1 hour of rain that we had for the weekend.

We had wonderful food and lots of great fellowship. We enjoyed many fun workshops such as scrap booking, knitting, gardening, birds for kids, flower pounding, science and faith, american history, soccer, cooking, and the list goes on and on!

Forty-three people attended. Thirty of them were internationals. I was very happy about the great weather. I was expecting to have to improvise and stay indoors for the majority of the retreat, but God really awed me again and gave us beautiful weather!

We were able to have the camp fire thanks to Pastor Ivanildo's hard work finding some slightly dry wood and persistence in getting it lit. Pastor Ivanildo also shared about Jesus' miracles after we enjoyed some yummy s'mores. It was wonderful to see the Internationals interested in the stories and participating in the discussions.

God tells us in the bible directly to go and share the good news about Jesus. I believe that he has brought the world to us here in Wooster with the many International families. It is an awesome opportunity to serve the Lord, share about Him with others, and to befriend and love others for His glory! Many International people will return home to there own country eventually, and if we were able to share with them and help them have a personal relationship with Jesus, then they can take that home and continue to share it with others! What a great and powerful, yet simple way to share the gospel with the world!

Wooster Grace values reaching out. "We believe that lost people matter to God and ought to matter to us!" There is no better way than to gather lost people together, to love them, to eat with them, to share stories and stuff with them, and to share Christ with them. May God plant the seeds of the Gospel in many hearts!

We are all witnesses!

2008-07-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

photo by erik holmberg

The junior high team's itinerary:

Thursday: AM--Help at Cleveland Food Bank; PM--Clean up grounds at Village Grace; EVE--Park Ministry helping with games, bible stories, and refreshments.

Friday: AM--Play with children at Rainbow Babies @ University Hospital; PM--Intercultural experience at West Side Market; EVE--Attend Cleveland Indians game.
photo of west side market by craig hatfield

Saturday: AM--Distribute fliers for upcoming Village Grace community event; PM--Prepare for community cookout; EVE--Conduct community cookout.

Sunday: AM--Join church at Village Grace; return home by 12 noon.

The adult team consists of: Pastor Josh Atkins, Amber Atkins, Mike & Denise Molter, Andrew Simms.

The students on the team are: Mariah Cruise, Brett Ferrell, Erin Friday, Brett Hartman, Savannah Johnston, Nathan Kline, Michelle Landon, Ariel Larson, Evan McCory, Sara McCune, Emily Poulson, Nessa Shoup, Josh Tiano, Ellie Vandergriff, Joel Zook, Emily Ream, Aaron Richardson, Mitchell Buckwalter, Jenna Roberts, Wade Lawson, and Ellie Kauffman.

Please pray for God to allow them to galvanize team unity, to be wildly unselfish, to passionately serve the community, and to share God's love in a real way in all its forms so that fully-devoted followers of Christ emerge.

Triplehorns are in the USA!

2008-07-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

Bruce called me today to let me know that they are in Winona Lake at a GBIM for a missionary reunion. Those who are on home ministries gather together one-time during the summer.

He informed me that he would like to come to Wooster on the following weekends:

September 13-14

November 1-2

November 8-9

I intend to discover when we could have them in our church besides these weekends but they must contact new churches to come up with the needed funds required before returning to the field. I am so grateful for The Board, the Global Task Force, and Pastor Ivanildo. They all helped me increase our level of support for the Triplehorns for this year.

Bruce also praises God for Daniel's wife, Lorena, who has her papers in order to come to the United States to be with Daniel in Winona Lake, IN. She comes into O'Hare in Chicago tonight.

Daniel and Lorena got married about a year ago and have been separated the last seven months as newlyweds. She remained in Brazil to await the hopeful processing of documents to get into the country and Daniel studied at Grace College awaiting his bride. I don't know if I could do that!

Anyways, it will be great to see and to hear what God is doing in Bruce's heart and mind as he plans towards the future.

Three homes conduct NBCs in our community

2008-07-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

stockphoto by melb.

One in the morning, Two at night.

No, it's not a prescription from your doctor. It's when this week's NBC are being conducted. Linda Kline shared with me that there is one in Wooster (Kline home) this week, during the mornings, another in Ashland (Karcher home) in the evening, and the last one in Dalton (McCune home) in the evening.

As these clubs come to an end tomorrow, please pray for one or all of these requests that Linda included in her memo to me.

Ask God...

to give host families, teachers, and helpers wisdom to budget their time

to bring children who will be excited and bring their friends

to give clarity to the teachers as the Gospel is shared and children come to Christ

to have memorable fun

to have safety and good weather

to help in the follow-up of those children and adults who make decisions for Christ

to provide a foothold in neighborhoods where God can make Himself known in and through our church families in each community.

Kara McCune told me that her biggest request for the next two nights are to give us wisdom as we try to redirect the children's energy before the Gospel Lesson. Her kids love the Scripture songs. In fact, the day care provider inquired of the parents--what is going on at your house? Your kids sing this Bible verse song over and over again. The parents informed the day care center that their children attend an NBC.

Praise God for His word in song (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16)! As I reflect on what God is doing, I realize that this local outreach touches on one of our values at Wooster Grace--Relevance of the Word of God. May God bring new people to Christ as we've entrusted our people with God's Word to teach it to the world (Titus 1:3).

School Backpack Project 2008

2008-07-09T19:38:00.001-07:00

photo by georgeogoodman

This school year we are striving to help children in under-resourced families in our community by getting each child a new backpack stocked and filled with school supplies. Juana Hernandez is spearheading the endeavor again this August.

If someone would like to participate, she outlines the way to help out by giving four tips to serve a child in our community.

The main steps to follow

How to sign up to sponsor a child

What to do and to say when contacting the family

When to deliver the backpack and what to do and to say

With Janet Beaver's help, Juana has printed a brochure which details what you need to do. It is an insert in the Sunday programs. Since Juana is out of the office the next two weeks, then you can direct any questions to Silviana (ext. 246).

Village Grace (Cleveland)--July 9-13

2008-07-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

The junior high sent out more witnesses tonight. The group of parents, students, and team leaders gathered in the West parking lot for prayer before departing for Cleveland.

They will begin ministry on Thursday morning and go until Sunday morning after third service. Twenty-one students left with five adult leaders in four vans. All made it safe.

Village Grace is hosting our junior high team. Rich and Reida Bartley direct Village Grace. I will post a few pictures of the team departing after I ask DelAnn to download them from the digital camera.

Josh was wondering if any students were going. He shared with me how only a dozen or so signed up. But twenty-one went. He was also praying for adult leaders. Ten days ago, he had only Amber and himself. Then God prompted three adults to free up time to go. God is always working in people's lives. Pray that the team is unified, focused on serving others and not their own interests, and impact in the lives of the team and those they minister to. You can hear updates on the INFOline (330) 264-6983 ext. 723.

Sowing Hope

2008-07-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Schellin Park Carnival goes on amid a deluge. Pastor Ivanildo shares what happened this morning.

It was a blessing for me to be there at the opening day of our camp at the park with Sowing Hope kids. In spite of the rain, between 15-20 kids were there. I was specially impressed with the number of volunteers who showed up to serve on such a dreary day. A significant number was from Student Ministries (wow, what a blessing to see all those young people there!) but also some adults and some entire families.

Pastor Randy, as usual, did a great job with the music. On a day like this, Mr. Randy's music is the perfect medicine to wake up the soul and the kids were indeed wide awake by the time they were done singing. I was just blessed to be there.
Pastor Randy leading worship

Our interns, Elise and Jacob, by the way, are doing a tremendous job. I am so proud of the work they are doing.
Thanks everyone for helping. If you want to check it out, come to the Park from 9:30 to 11:30 tomorrow and Friday.
Pastor Ivanildo C. Trindade

Lois Engelhart & Jacob Kern getting on the same page

Way to go Outreach Team! Pastor Dave Lawson shared how amazing God is. He and his boys were coming into Wooster from the South. The rain was pouring; "rainin' cats 'n dogs." But when he got closer to Shellin Park, the rain tapered off and seemingly stopped. Wow! How amazing is God! Yeah, God!

New Authors Added

2008-07-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

photo by mike licht, notionscapital.com

In order to try to keep up with the many and great things Wooster Grace does reaching out to others in our community and in the world, I want to add new authors who will post items, pictures, announcements, and new information for all of us to know. The new authors are the outreach team members: Pastor Ivanildo, Juana Hernandez, Jeana Harley, and Beth Sorg.

In my short time here at Wooster Grace, I see that staff communication is always an on-going challenge. So I am experimenting with an outreach blog where we can post stuff so that we can keep the staff and volunteers connected to one another and informed of what they need to know.

A few things to offer as caveats for this experiment: This blog is not a substitute for personal interaction. I hope this blog becomes a tremendous asset in adding depth and richness to our communication as well as provide investment in one another's lives and offer bearing of one another's burdens.

Likewise, I want this blog to be a bridge between other ministry areas so that the rest of the pastoral and administrative staff is current on the latest news and events in the outreach area. I hope that this blog gives us the ability to document and share knowledge in an unprecedented way.

This is still an experiment focused on the pastoral staff and administrative staff. Pastor Bob encouraged me via email for everyone of us, "Let's all try to utilize and publicize this as a tool to get information to our people about how we're touching the community!"

We are doing great things for God! Pastor Ivanildo told me that Wooster Grace is the greatest secret of ministry in our community. May all we do truly honor God! May our Lord Jesus Christ get all the glory from the posts on this blog.

Your part: Please make a comment on the blog. At the end of each post (story), you will find who posted the item and an underlined part (0 comments). Click on the comments link. Then you can "leave your comment" by typing your remarks in th space provided. You are then given the option to offer your comment as anonymous or as an online I.D. If you choose the anonymous option, then please provide a tag at the end of your typed remarks; e.g. "this is a great blog! randy m." This helps everyone join the conversation and add to the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lastly, this blog is a tool--a tool to share the news of what God is doing through us to reach out to others. You are part of the story we are telling. This blog intends to capture stories, write them down, and pass them along for the encouragement of the body of Christ and to the glory of Jesus.

Correction

2008-07-09T12:13:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Pastor Ivanildo who helped me correct Marlon Oyer's first name to Marlin. I made the correction and reposted the Wooster Fireworks info again.

I want Smores!

2008-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

photo by sea of legs

Internationals Retreat--June 28, 2008

Beth Sorg shared with me before the weekend how she thought attendance may be down. She had only a few signed up. But to her surprise over forty internationals and Woosterites gathered for a weekend to remember.

I am going to post some pictures and have Beth give me a report to post later. She praises God that many families who attended the retreat got to hear about Jesus during the weekend.

One of the highlights for Beth was introducing the Internationals to smores! Many of them had never made 'em. All of them had never heard of them. I wonder if someone could come up with a way to create a bridge for the Gospel by using smores as the starting point. Share your attempt by making a comment.

Friends sharing a meal

Pastor Ivanildo mimics a young boy

Our internationals ministries is a segue for internationals to come into Wooster Grace. Over the past year, Jeff LeJuene has faithfully served as teacher for the Wooster Internationals class, which meets on Sunday mornings in their new room--Room 425. I praise God for Jeff's faithfulness!

Wooster Fireworks Outreach

2008-07-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Joann Ackerman helping kids enter the Inflatables

What does one tent, two inflatable games, 900 drinks, 21 coolers of ice, and many volunteers add up to?

Impact!

This was my first Wooster Fireworks Outreach. I was filled with excitement as we gathered at the church for preparation. Our set-up teams arrived, we took all the ice from the building, gathered for prayer, greeted the inflatable company rep, and proceeded to the Kinney Field.

I marveled at how many people came to serve. I am so proud of each of them. One family, the Mills Family, came to set up. Nate & Carol Mills brought their kids to help out. The kids helped pull the wagons to get ice in them. They proceeded to the site to help erect the tent. Then they joined us in prayer for the outreach. We challenged them to pray for us as they saw ice, felt ice, tasted ice or heard the word ice throughout the rest of the day.

Faye Rush & Linda Gelsinger under the tent

Another group of heroes are Helen Thompson and Linda Gelsinger. Both ladies are fairly new to Wooster Grace, but both signed up to help with outreach. Helen pulled a wagon filled with water, ice, and cold drinks around the soccer fields with a partner. Helen was so enthusiastic--she wanted to start passing out cold drinks right away at 4pm. I love her gungho attitude. Likewise, Linda arrived to man the table of literature. She not only sat at the table to await people to come into the tent, but she also went outside the tent to meet, greet, and to invite others to come into the tent. She had a couple of long conversations with people while she was there. The great thing is both Helen and Linda are suppose to be seniors 60-plus years old. Neither one acted their age--both served the Lord with passion and heart. I hope I have their stamina and their desire to reach people for Christ when I pass the 60-year mark.

Bill Buckwalter engaging in conversations

I could go on and share how Bill Buckwalter lets us use his tent, he comes early to get tables and chairs for under the tent, then stays talking with people. Even after we finished tearing down, some high school students arrived asking if there were any cold drinks left. Bill took the time to talk with the students for an extended time. Contacts he has made in the community with athletes who are very influential in high school.

Overall, I praise God for the hard work and the presence of our church WITH the people of Wooster on THEIR turf. As Jesus said, "Go!" I thank God for our church's core value of reach out. May God bring people closer to Him through this contact of people in our community.

Marlin Oyer engaging people

Pictures pending

2008-07-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

Linda Kline stopped me between ABFs to let me know that she is providing me pictures from the Internationals Retreat. She gave the pictures to Beth Sorg to put in my I-Share. Once I return I will post a few pictures.

Pastor Ivanildo also put some pictures from the Fireworks Outreach in my I-Share. I intend to post some of his pictures when I return to the office.
photo by ken blackwell

Betty Burke returned from Ecuador

2008-07-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

photo by jul89

I saw and visited briefly with Betty Burke yesterday in her ABF. I merely greeted her, shared that I needed to physically see her to verify that she is home safe, and I will touch base with her about her trip.

I asked about pictures and she informed me that she did not take a camera, only her camera phone. She hopes to get some pictures from her teammates and forward them to me.

Pictures from Asia's Hope Short Term Trip 2008

2008-07-06T06:04:00.000-07:00

Joyce Atkin's team leader, Sherrod Fields, sent me three pictures to post from their ministry in Thailand. Members of our Global Task Force will meet and debrief with Joyce. I hope to also discover some stories from her trip and post them for you. Praise God for sending people on mission for Him! May God send forth laborers into His harvest.

A child that was in one of the hill tribe villages in northern Thailand that we visited. These villages are very poor and this is where the children at the orphan homes in Thailand come from.

Children at one of the orphanages in Thailand

Children at one of the orphan homes

News from C.A.R.

2008-07-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

Just got off the phone this morning with Pastor Tom Peters from Bangui, Central African Republic. Technology is amazing!

In the early days of missionary work in Africa, news came via letter and it took months. Presently, news can come via cell phone and telephone on the ground immediately (when electricity cooperates). So I was excited to hear from Africa.

Tom shared how Jim & Stephanie Fish arrived safely, jumped right into helping with the clinic and assisting in completing the project for the boys. They say thanks for the prayers. Jim & Stephanie arrived on the ground in Bangui at 5:45pm Friday, July 4 (OH time). I do not know if their luggage and packages arrived with them. I'll let you know when I find out.

Tom was able to travel north into "bandit" territory to meet with some men to teach and to train men in community awareness, family health, and spiritual growth. He was surprised and encouraged to have over 100 people attend at Bossangua (I don't think I spelled that city correctly).

He is investigating the possibility of getting a team to help prepare the well drilling project funded by the Wooster GBC VBS. He is asking for discernment as they discover if this team is possibility due to bandit activity and tenuous safety issues. Still, Tom is psyched about investigating what could be done to impact a community for the Lord.

Finally, Pastor Tom appreciates our prayers. Without the prayer of God's people, God's work is idle. I believe that we must pause to pray for God's work to be done in the CAR. May God bless our efforts to impact one community at a time where every person is developing into fully-devoted followers of Jesus, here and in the Central African Republic.

After the Fireworks went out

2008-07-05T04:11:00.000-07:00

photo by sassy gardener

As the night crept in, I left the field in Wooster where we set up to serve our community. We served 900 drinks. We connected with numerous people. We mobilized many Christ-followers who came to serve God through setting up, through prayer, through pulling a wagon loaded with an ice chest filled with ice and cold beverages. We sent them out two-by-two or as families. We offered the cold beverages for free.

One of our fully-devoted followers of Christ shared with me how one man tried to give them a donation. They politely refused sharing that we do this so that we can share God's love in a real way.

We also moved children through two inflatable bouncy games. There were so many children--you couldn't count how many times they jumped. Their happy faces as they jumped were only countered by the sad faces as they left the line to go with their families to find a place to watch the imminent fireworks.

photo by navets

One of our fully-devoted followers of Christ shared how parents, grandparents, and older siblings reacted when they found out its free. Amazement! In fact, one of God's servants, informed each parent that all the child needed to say was, "May I please jump in your game." The answer was always a welcoming, "yes!"

I hope to post some pictures from Pastor Ivanildo's camera to add to the spectacle but also to add to the stories from Wooster Fireworks Outreach.

One more story. Rob Miller and I went to Wendy's to inquire about putting ice in our ice chests for our outreach to the community. And the manager graciously approved. I want to thank Wendy's for their help in offering cold drinks to our community. I'll have to compose a note and drop a note of thanks in the mail on Sunday.

I also want to remember to retain suggestions of some parents to provide glow sticks, coffee (after 8pm), signs that advertise Free Cold Drinks, and a banner that identifies our tent--as The Tent.

photo by .:t.e.mphotography:.

Rain, rain, go away

2008-07-03T12:42:00.001-07:00

photo by rhys jones photography

Tomorrow we get to conduct another outreach to the community of Wooster and Wayne County from 4-10pm on July 4th. We are hoping to conduct kids activities, games with prizes, and offering cold drinks to those who camp out and reserve their spot for the night's fireworks.

We are meeting at the church for set-up and pre-event meeting at 3:30pm. Then we will go over together to set up. We intend to conduct one hour shifts to do one of the following:

Facilitate inflatable games for children from 5-9pm

Handout water and pop from 5-8pm

Greet and meet people under the tent from 5-8pm

Tear down and clean-up at 9pm

Please take a moment to ask God to remove the rain and to allow us to share His love in a real way tomorrow with those who stop by to visit or with those we go out to visit all afternoon. May God help us sow seeds for the Gospel.

Making an impact in the community

2008-07-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here is some exciting news from the Daily Record as a precursor to Grace in the Neighborhood focus for this coming year.

Four14 Road Trip WV2008

2008-07-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Four14 Road Trip--Webster Springs, WV

Heidi Biehler shares what happened in her own words.

"We stayed at Mountain Marketplace Mission (MMM) in Webster Springs, West Virginia. The people who run the mission (and started it) are Rev. Gary and Lily Melton. Here’s a brief description of what we did: Friday- We arrived early in the morning (2 am) and unpacked. In the morning, after breakfast, we had devotion time, and then worked outside on projects all day long. We did those projects in groups of 2-4. It was really neat to see everyone working together so well. We were able to accomplish so much together. We definitely couldn’t have done as much if we had tried to accomplish things individually.Saturday- After breakfast we had devotion time again. We unpacked food from a semi’s trailer and loaded it into the mission’s warehouse. Then, we loaded the semi’s trailer with boxes of clothes and took them to another mission that was 2 hours away in Clarksburg (along with taking the bus). There, we unloaded the clothes and loaded the bus’s trailer with an organ and food to take back to MMM. It was neat to experience these two missions working together and sharing resources. Sunday- RAD preached a sermon on unselfishness, and then we packed up and left. We drove to Seneca Rocks, and climbed a mountain. After that we drove home.

This was a great trip. The team experienced a cross-cultural environment. You can read more here about the Appalachian culture.

Unloading food from the semi- we stacked it all in a food warehouse of the mission. They distribute bags of food every week

loading boxes (and boxes, and boxes, and boxes and…you get the idea) of clothes onto the semi to take to another mission

loading an organ into the trailer to take to the mission we stayed at…also loaded those boxes of food into the trailer

Andy, Angie, and Rachel weeding the garden and planting flowers for 6 hours

Sowing Hope is blooming

2008-07-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

photo by nightthree

Please read the latest news from Sowing Hope. Elise Rabatin did a great job getting the newsletter together and out.

I hope to get pictures from Jacob and Elise to post on a follow-up for VBS from the Sowing Hope Kids. You can see a great picture of Jacob and one of the kids in the newsletter. I would also like to get a few paragraphs from Jacob regarding the Sowing Hope mom who accepted Christ on Sunday. God is great and worthy of our praise!!

Way to go interns! You did a great job. Your hard work is not in vain in the Lord.

Bringing health to Iraq

2008-07-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

photo by bryce edwards

The Grace Community Health Center is the missions highlight this week. Ask God to help them reach more people in their community with health care so that seeds for the Gospel can be planted for future disciples to germinate and grow.

In an email from Dan Green, who helps facilitate the ministry from Columbus Grace Brethren Church, I received an update from the director.

"The spiritual battle goes on in Iraq and God is using the clinic to touch people for Jesus. Recently one of the local pastors was threatened and had to leave Baghdad for northern Iraq until things calm down. Our manager for the clinic was also threatened so pray that God will protect and use him in an unusual way as he lives and ministers under these difficult circumstances."

Let's keep our brothers and sisters in Christ in prayer today.

Receive Jesus

2008-06-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

One of the great things we do for the Sowing Hope kids is feed them lunch. A few of the children have parents who work second shift or parents who are absent in their kids lives, thus they don't get a good meal at all. So we share God's love in a real way. I take to heart Jesus' words in Matthew 18:5, " And whoever receives one such child in My name receives me."

boys will be boys

students of great potential

There is so much we can do for these kids. Pastor Ivanildo shared how one little girl Gabby screamed with glee on the bus, "I LOVE V-B-S!"