December Update

Merry Christmas! 

While the northern states are in a deep freeze, we get daytime highs in the 40s and 50s, complaining when it gets down to freezing overnight.  I saw 10 actual snowflakes last week on a cloudy afternoon, and frost on my car in the morning (photo to prove it)!

As I near the 6-month mark here in Kingman, I’ve been reflecting on all I’ve seen and learned.  I know from reading the Bible that when God works on us to make us more fit vessels for His service, the process can be uncomfortable or even painful.  I thought I was fine the way I was, but that’s because I was comparing myself to others, or to how far I’d come.  Being self-satisfied is not a Kingdom attitude.  It had to go.

God took someone who is an organized, logical planner and plunked her down in the middle of a dynamic, spontaneous bunch of people.  I had moments of panic.  They had moments of doubt.  Over time God helped us understand and appreciate each other, but it was a bumpy ride for a bit.  I learned better what it means to "lean on Jesus."  Lean hard.

I would describe our church culture as lively, caring, thirsty for God and His Word, rough around the edges and authentic.  Some have been healed of addiction to drugs or alcohol.  Some are being healed from broken relationships or specific areas of sin.  All are learning how to live in a way that pleases God 24x7.  Pastor Bob regularly challenges us to love one another not only in words, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:18).

Here’s an example.  One couple is celebrating daily the wife’s deliverance from alcohol three months ago.  Their friend had started coming to our church and had given up alcohol as he began pursuing God.  One day he hit a rough patch and posted something on Facebook which made this couple concerned.  That night they drove to every bar in town until they found him.  After a couple hours he was encouraged and ready to try again.  He later posted on Facebook a prayer of repentance and faith in Jesus, the Savior.

Another lady heard about overseas missions and knew that was unlikely for her, so she asked Pastor Bob, “Can’t I do something closer to home?”  She began looking and God put it on her heart to visit residents of a local nursing home weekly.  Several join her in these weekly rounds.  As a Christmas project, church members took home wrapped shoeboxes and filled them with practical gifts for the elderly residents.  We will deliver the shoeboxes this week and sing carols in the hallways.

I taught evangelism training at church this fall and several of those people join us when we go to Las Vegas once or twice a month.  We set up an Intelligence Test sign on a tripod in the pedestrian mall on Freemont Street.  Some people who stop to take the test stay to have a spiritual conversation.  We also pass out gospel tracts.  One woman who took the training believes God wants her to serve in this way, despite her natural shyness, and is looking for the next area of ministry God has for her, possibly in missions.  Another woman has been delivered from drug addiction and comes to share her testimony with others.  She’s not skilled yet, but is being obedient to the command of Jesus to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel.”

Please mention our church people in your prayers.  Some are never far from depression after a lifetime of listening to Satan’s lies.  Some are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table.  We’re thankful the church is able to help several families with Christmas food baskets and gifts for their children .  

I’ve been helping with the children’s ministry, teaching them traditional songs (This Little Light of Mine, Arky Arky, Father Abraham) and keeping a lid on the ever-present desire of the kids to wrestle each other.  Their teacher, Bridgette, has directed them in a short program telling the story of Christmas and singing carols.  Remember the part in Luke chapter two about the angel announcing the good news to the shepherds? “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God.”  I asked the kids if they knew what the “heavenly host” was.  One boy suggested it was the master of ceremonies in heaven.  :)

The kids’ Christmas program will be presented in the newly expanded sanctuary, now with seating for 99 people.  We’re praising the Lord for the donated labor and materials that made the remodel possible.  We were able to add a new sound system also.

Regarding a new church plant in Phoenix, Pastor Bob and I will begin contacting people in the area in early January to get an organizational meeting set up.  If the interest is there, I might move to Phoenix in the spring to help start that church.  We are seeking God’s will and hopeful of starting another strong congregation.  It would not be a result of any cleverness on our part, but we would boast in the Lord as the Apostle Paul says (1 Cor. 1:31).

I am raising additional support for the year 2014, to reach a fully-funded level.  I’m also continuing to sell XANGO nutritional supplements and my customers are helping to support me financially that way.  If you have any ongoing health challenges, please get in touch.  The website is www.MyMangosteen.com/Luke638.

We, the Church, are God’s hands and feet and voice.  Remember how many are lost without Him and offer them the Good News along with a bite to eat.  I wish you all a merry Christmas filled with the joy of our Savior Jesus.

Patty Petersen, ppetersen57@hotmail.com

November Update

Hello Friends!  Fall is in the air, even in sunny Arizona.  Jackets and gloves in the morning, short-sleeves by 3 pm.  And the hiking is still great in Hualapai Mountain Park.  I recently climbed a peak with hiking buddy LeAnn that required a scramble through bramble to reach the top, but we did it!

Church life is very full with Bible study on Wednesday nights (we finished Acts and will move on to 1 Corinthians this week), potluck and movies every other Friday night at Peet’s house (Drive Through History:  Holy Land with Dave Stotts), and one evangelism training completed with a new one coming up.  We’ve averaged once a month for the street evangelism in Las Vegas on Freemont Street.

 

 On the first Monday of the month the women’s group meets for food, fellowship and a look at famous women in the Bible.  The men’s group also meets monthly, for eating and studying the Bible in a manly manner.

Pastor Bob Peet believes in humor in the workplace.  I recently reminded him that we needed more paper towels, since he had a source in town for low-cost paper towels.  The next day I found a tower of towels on my desk (see photo).

In mid-October I traveled with Pastor Bob and Sandee to Riverside, CA, for meetings with Pacific Coast SDB churches.  Bob spoke about the success of starting this church with the key points of allowing God to put it together, having a building in which to meet (rather than a home), getting everything set up before the first service is held (children’s ministry, music worship team, etc.), promoting the church in the community through business cards, having a 6 pm service when lots of people can be there, and “bribing with food” referring to the frequent BBQ potlucks.

Riverside Seventh Day Baptist Church

 He also shared the hope of starting a new SDB church in Phoenix in early 2014.   One of our congregation recently moved there and is eager to get it started.  We are collecting contact information of those who might be interested.  If you have family and friends in the Phoenix area, please email me (ppetersen57@hotmail.com).  We’re praying about whether I should move there next to help that church get started.  Pastor Bob and the Pacific Coast pastors can help with pulpit supply for a time.  Please keep this in your prayers.

On Halloween we partnered with the local United Methodist Church to hand out candy to children from our car trunks, along with gospel tracts made for kids.  It was called “Trunk or Treat” and we gave out nearly 200 tracts.

We’ve been filling up the pews recently and were glad to receive permission from the city to knock down a few walls and enlarge the sanctuary (the building used to be a pet store), so that will happen in the next few weeks, giving us seating for up to 137.  When we applied for the permit a couple months ago, we needed $1,000 to pay the application fee.  Two different families in the church felt God leading them to donate the money, so we not only covered the fee but were ahead on the rent as well.  Praise God for His provision!

It’s been a blessing to see how God brings new people to the church.  Some see the sign when they drive by, and some respond to an invitation.  Many have not been comfortable in other churches but feel at home with us, especially when they hear Pastor Bob’s story of being a bar owner and motorcycle stunt driver before God got his attention.  Some have been delivered from demonic forces and addictions, and we support each other in prayer to continue to live in victory over darkness. 

 We take seriously the command of Jesus to “love one another as I have loved you.”  Recently a man came for worship and we learned he was living out of his truck and had serious health challenges.  After the service, a few people took up a quick collection and provided him with enough money for several nights in a hotel.  This past week a Christian brother who travels the country pulling a travel trailer spent several days helping us with odd jobs.  He goes where God leads, helping fellow Christians and sharing the gospel.

On the lighter side, I’m including a picture of my Monday class at the Senior Center, Beginning Line Dancing!  It’s a lot of fun and a good workout too.

I appreciate all your prayers – God is answering them!  I’m still raising more support, and working part-time selling XANGO nutritional supplements.  One way to support me financially is to become a customer.  The newest anti-aging drink, Ageless, is having outstanding results, including for me.  More energy, stronger muscles, improved circulation, and lots more.  www.MyMangosteen.com/Luke638.

I wish you all a very blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends.  Please reach out to those in need remembering that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

A New Church Begins

Hello Friends!

Here at last is an update from the northwest corner of the great state of Arizona where God is at work in a little church known as Kingdom of God.  I was invited by Pastor Bob Peet to join him in getting this new Seventh Day Baptist church started, so I prayed, and others prayed, with the result that I quit my job, loaded up a couple vans and moved from Boulder, CO, to Kingman, AZ, at the end of June this year.

The day I arrived the temperature hit 112, though the locals assure me that is unusually high.  Thank the Lord for air-conditioning!   Daily walks or bike rides had to be around 6 am or after 7 pm.

The first thing I helped with (housing and meals) was a concert of the touring Christian band, “Stained Glass”.  They sang at the church on July 3 to an enthusiastic crowd.  We appreciated the excellent worship music, and the testimonies of how God was transforming their lives.  We packed the little sanctuary.  We rent a building which looks like a castle and used to be a pet store, so one half is for the sanctuary and the other half is multi-purpose.

 

A few weeks later Pastor Bob took 3 of us to Freemont Street in Las Vegas for street evangelism (he's in the center of the photo).  The large IQ Test is a good way to get people’s attention and get them laughing.  Some stayed for a longer conversation and we shared the good news of the Savior.  One man told us he was glad we weren’t parading with signs and shouting condemnation at people.   We were glad no one shouted at us either!

I returned to Colorado for the annual SDB Conference in Colorado Springs in early August and taught the Way of the Master evangelism class during the week.  Three of us went to a park downtown one afternoon to pass out gospel tracts and meet people.  We had some good conversations, and prayed with a young homeless couple.   A local church was there also, doing sketch-board evangelism.

I had made a display board for Conference with pictures of the church building and activities, so people could see what we were up to.  It was Pastor Bob’s first Conference and he had a chance to meet lots of people and talk about how the church started with so many people – 100 at the first service in March and still averaging 50 to 60 weekly.   

He gives the credit to God for drawing people, but acknowledges he and others did a lot of inviting for weeks prior to starting, passing out business cards and flyers.  The local paper also published an interview with Pastor Bob and his wife, Sandee, mentioning the time the church meets, at 6 pm on Sabbath afternoon (see it here: Kingdom of God Article).  A 10:30 am service was added for those who prefer morning, but 6 pm remains the favorite.

The service is informal and lively, with a time of sharing praises and prayer requests, praying, worship through singing, and preaching the Word.  The worship band is terrific, with the special sound of a steel guitar giving it a country feel.  The children meet for children’s church during the 6 pm service.

One of Pastor Bob’s goals was to help people live for Christ 24x7, not just attend church and think they were good.  At our church, people are digging into their Bibles to find answers and stay connected to God during the week.  They are talking about Jesus to family and friends – pushing their comfort zone way out because they want to see others saved for all eternity and not bound for hell.  One lady started a ministry visiting the elderly at a nursing home each week, finding ways to show the love of Christ to them.  People are learning about keeping God’s commandments, including the Sabbath, out of gratitude for God’s salvation and goodness to us.  They are making changes to their lives as the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, and they are being freed from past addictions and bondage.  The church is doing well at following the command to “love one another” as we become family in Christ. 

In August I moved into an apartment just half a mile from the church.  I’m very grateful for a quiet, safe place to live, with friendly neighbors.  Moving away from Colorado after 26 years was a bigger adjustment than I expected, as was the change from working as a Business Analyst (IT work) to working on the staff of a church, learning about church planting as I go.  I’m thankful for the loving people of the Kingdom of God church, and for a nearby mountain park where I can hike among pine trees that remind me of home.  And I know prayers from all of you are making a major difference and I appreciate it very much.  God is taking good care of me!

Ongoing evangelism is core to this church, with regular trips to Las Vegas and to local events like the County Fair in September and the Fall Festival in October.  I’m teaching the 8-week Way of the Master course with 5 students set to finish this month.  On Halloween we’re joining a Methodist church to pass out candy and gospel tracts to children.

Please continue to pray for the church here to grow and for the people to grow spiritually.  We want to develop leaders so the reach of the church can expand further into the community, and also to help plant additional churches in Arizona.  I appreciate your prayers for me to be strong in the Lord, to learn and grow so I can pass along the lessons to other church planters eventually, and to be a blessing to all around me.   Please also pray for Pastor Bob for wisdom, as he is new to pastoring.

Thank you all for participating with me in prayer and with funding.  I’m at about one-half needed monthly support.  My long-term goal is to support myself in ministry through part-time direct selling for XANGO (nutritional supplements).  One way to support me financially is to become a customer, and see improvements in your health at the same time!  More info at www.MyMangosteen.com/Luke638.

More to come next month.  I look forward to the SDB Pacific Coast Association meetings in Riverside, CA, October 19^th, where Pastor Bob will share about the experience of planting this church.  Stay well and serve the Lord!