Howdy!
These desert landscapes are
just amazing. This photo was taken from an old wagon trail in Kingman. Besides the scenery, I’m
grateful for warm sunshine on my face, the friends God has sent me, and
the work He is doing to build His church of obedient followers here in Kingman. And I’m thankful for all of you supporting me
in prayer and with financial gifts.
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| Pastor Bob (in suit) at the anniversary BBQ. |
Sabbath March 1, 2014,
marked the one-year anniversary of the Kingdom of God church in Kingman,
AZ! There were about 100 people at the
evening service and we celebrated with an outdoor barbeque despite the
rain. Over the past year the church has
grown to about 80 in regular attendance (including children) between the two
services. Pastor Bob comments that he’s
never before experienced a church where people arrive half an hour early just
to visit and then hang around an hour afterward for the fellowship. He often reminds us we’re a church family,
and that is reinforced as we help each other during the week, keep people
in prayer and check up on them.
Please join us in praying for God to provide
the right people (soon) to fill teaching roles for children and youth. We lost a youth leader in September and have
not had a program since then. The
children’s Sabbath School has between 8 and 16 each week, with Bridget Sweeney
as the teacher and me as assistant. It
meets during the evening worship. My
favorite part is singing active songs like “Father Abraham”. We’d like to split into two classes to better
gear the activities by age group, and keep two teachers per class.
I was blessed to spend two weeks with family
and friends in Colorado over the holidays.
Though I’d driven it before, the scenery of northern Arizona, New
Mexico and southern Colorado blew me away all over again. Feeling awed by the night sky in a mountain
pass, I was reminded of Psalm 19, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God
and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” It was actually at night on the way back to
AZ that my Mazda 5 (God’s ministry car now) turned over 100,000 miles. I stopped and captured it with my camera. Lord willing, it will go another 100,000! |
| Gloria and me sharing the gospel in Las Vegas. |
I agreed to serve on the new Seventh Day Baptist
Church Planting Task Force (set up by the General Council) and we’ve had two
online meetings so far. Our purpose is
to steer the denomination toward more intentional church planting. My personal goal is to help as many church
plants as I can (over time) to have a firm foundation and go on to thrive and
multiply. I also want to encourage other
SDBs to be willing to “GO” to the places where new churches are starting and be
a part of that work of God. Does it hurt
to leave behind your church home, your family and friends? Yes, it does.
Is it a challenge to see your income drop substantially? Yes.
Do you feel like a fish out of water for awhile in the new
location? For sure. Did Jesus say we are to follow Him, deny
ourselves, and be willing to sacrifice the things we hold dear in order to obey
Him? Did the Apostle Paul say he counts
it all as loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus his
Lord? Do I want to hear God say to me
one day, “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Yes, yes, yes!
So, after all that about sacrificing, I have to
mention an unexpected blessing. In early
February my daughter, Ana, had a break in her job (sound tech on tour with a
live Disney show) and invited me to go with her to Disneyland, all expenses
paid. She used to work for Walt Disney
World and had four park passes left. I
took 3 days off and we drove to Anaheim, CA (about 4 hours). We had a fun and leisurely visit to the Disney parks. I thank the Lord for
special times like that with family; they help me recharge my batteries.
On our way out of southern California we
stopped for an hour in Moreno Valley where there is a great ministry happening
on a street corner. Last year God called
a man to begin setting up signs at a busy intersection, some with an offer to
pray and some just praising the Lord.
One sign gives their name, “God’s Chosen Street Ministry.” I met brother Ty when I was out walking last
October (in California for Pacific Coast church meetings). We’ve stayed connected on Facebook and I wanted
to see him again to take pictures and see if we can do something similar in
Kingman. It’s a very simple model – just
make large signs with inviting messages, smile at people, offer tracts to
motorists stopped for the light, and see whom God brings to you in need of
prayer or healing or salvation. As a
result of being on this corner regularly, a new church is starting with some of
the new believers. (Note – be sure to
set up on public land.)
Also in February Pastor Bob met with about six
people in Phoenix to help organize a new church. They plan to start worship services in
April. Please keep them in your
prayers. I believe God is leading me
elsewhere and I have begun contacting leaders of SDB church plants across the
country to introduce myself and learn about their ministries. Please pray for God’s clear direction in this
process. I'm training others here to take over the work I've been doing.
I’ll be attending the first-ever SDB Church
Planting Conference April 28 - May 4 in western New York state and look forward
to learning from guest speaker Jared Siebert.
Details are available at www.seventhdaybaptist.org
under the Blog for 1/24/2014. After that
I’ll be in Colorado for my son’s college graduation May 9. Lord willing, I’ll know by then where God is
sending me for the next place to serve. I will keep you posted!