Hello ministry partners!
The move to Maryland in mid-June went well, and
thank you for the sustained prayers. The
roadways were a bit dangerous during the three-day drive from Colorado whenever
the clouds got heavy and poured rain but, apart from that, I really enjoyed
driving through such beautiful country.
I especially appreciated the hospitality of Jean and Milton Jorgensen in
Kansas, and Dr. Ron and Chris Davis in Indiana as they hosted me overnight.
Western Maryland is hilly country (or
mountainous, since these are the Appalachians).
To my eyes, accustomed to dry western states, this is jungle
country! Lush green forests cover the ridges,
streams and rivers gush everywhere, and there’s an incredible variety of trees,
flowers and birds. Yes, it’s more humid here
but so far it’s not a problem for me.
That’s an answer to prayer too!
I’m grateful to be living near a state park
with hiking trails, as well as a cemetery where I can do daily walks. There are also a few good routes for biking
and I’ve found a friend I can ride with weekly.
A “rail trail” runs 150 miles northwest from Cumberland to Pittsburg,
PA, and a former canal towpath runs 185 miles south to Washington, DC.
The house I’m renting is less than 2 miles from
the church, and about 5 miles from downtown Cumberland. The owners had planted zucchini before I
moved in and I’m enjoying those now! I’m
grateful for the quiet location with songbirds, rabbits and lightning bugs, as
well as flowering bushes. My very own
Garden of Eden!
This part of the country is rich in history,
too. My first weekend here I took a tour
of the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, built in 1851, and got to go under the
sanctuary floor to see the partial walls of Fort Cumberland dating back to
1755. George Washington was a commander
there at age 21, during the French and Indian War.
The church folks have given me a warm welcome. Ron and Karen Higson are pastors of the Full
Gospel SDB Church. They explained that
the name “Full Gospel” refers to the “complete” gospel from Genesis to
Revelation, and they’re not Pentecostal, though they believe the Holy Spirit does
give gifts to believers today to carry out God’s work in the world. There are 20 or so attending worship each
week and they are eager to grow. |
| Pastor Ron Higson on the right, with Pastor Brent Hannah |
At the end of June the church hosted
Appalachian Association meetings with visitors from fellow churches in Ohio,
Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Many
were not aware of the work I’d been doing with SDB church planting in Arizona
and they were excited that I was serving in their Association. I’ve been invited to contact the churches
about workshops in evangelism and church planting. They also voted to give me a donation from
Association funds already designated for this type of work, and that was an
unexpected blessing.
In talking with Pastor Ron about the kinds of
evangelism we could do, we decided one of the first outreaches would be a booth
at the county Fair in early July. Nearly
everyone in the congregation worked a shift during the week, despite some fears
and trepidation. We gave out hundreds of
gospel tracts along with 11 Bibles. Our
“hook” that worked well was a sign with a brainteaser question, “How many of
each animal did Moses take on the ark?”
Most people answered, “Two”. Then
we asked if it was Moses who built the ark, and they would laugh as they
remembered it was Noah. From there we
continued the conversation, leading eventually to the gospel. Our workers found it was rewarding and
not so scary after all. We also made
friends with fellow believers who had booths and have kept in touch with them
for possible partnering in the future.
 |
| Visit with my Aunt Carolyn |
In mid-July I set off on a road trip to St.
Paul, Minnesota, for the annual SDB General Conference, stopping to visit
family in Youngstown, OH, and friends in Madison, WI. Driving home to Maryland I visited more
family in Wisconsin and Illinois, people I rarely see, and I’m so thankful for
those visits.
At Conference there was an emphasis on new
activity around SDB church planting and church renewal, including a recommendation
for the denomination to hire a person to be in charge of that ministry
area. There are actually over 20 new (or
relatively new) church plants currently in progress (contact me if you want the
list). The Task Force on Church Planting,
on which I serve, gave a presentation and also led a roundtable session in
which 50 people shared their hopes and ideas for starting new SDB churches.
 |
| Walking the Gospel Feet 5K with new friend, Linda Lyke. |
I also participated in the Gospel Feet 5K
walk/run early Wednesday morning at Conference.
The Missionary Society raised $2,600 for shoes for fellow SDBs in other
countries, and they’re continuing to take donations for that. www.sdbmissions.org
Speaking of ideas, one of the results of the
Church Planting Conference I attended in New York last April was a monthly
conference call to better network those involved in new churches and missions. I’ve been facilitating those meetings since
June and we’re up to 11 participants.
One of my favorite parts of the call is when we share what God is doing
locally and then pray for each other.
Please say a prayer for one young man in
particular. He stopped to browse the
table and said he attended a local church.
After we talked for a bit I felt led to give him a card promoting the
30-minute online “180 Movie”. (www.180movie.com) It’s a thought-provoking comparison of Nazi
Germany’s disregard for “inferior” human life with the disregard we have in
America for unwanted babies in the womb.
At that point he told me his girlfriend was pregnant and he was thinking
she should get an abortion for various reasons. I told him every life is
valuable to God and never a mistake, as well as how many families in the U.S.
are eager to adopt babies, even going overseas to do it. I encouraged him to watch the movie and pray
about it, and he said he would. Pray for
this new life!
Besides having the ministry table on the
downtown mall regularly, we are planning to participate in other events like an
upcoming block party for returning university students (town of
Frostburg). Please pray for these gospel
seeds to bear fruit and for our congregation and me to grow in “the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).
I’ll be a student again soon as I continue with
the CALLED program, Module 3, on “Practical Theology and Ministry”. And I’m officially a Maryland resident having
secured a driver’s license and Maryland license plates for my car. I had to buy new tires to pass the vehicle
inspection but God helped me find a place that charged $500 instead of $700
(what I was quoted at two shops), praise the Lord! Next up – working on health insurance.
I’m making new connections here through a
business networking group, as I share about good health through XANGO products,
and learn what services others offer.
One of the keys to growing a church is finding ways to serve the
community. As I’m out meeting people I
see many opportunities for this, and we’ll be seeking God’s direction to know
how He wants us to serve. More to come
on that!
Another prayer request, that God would provide
more financial supporters so I can cover health insurance, travel to General
Conference each year and to Colorado at Christmastime, and a little for
retirement savings. Thank you! To donate, contact the SDB Missionary Society
at (401) 596-4326 or office@sdbmissions.org.
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