Autumn Update 2016

Seattle Area SDB Church, Auburn WA

Greetings!

I hope you are enjoying this season of harvest and giving thanks. It’s been a busy and fruitful time here; praise the Lord! I so appreciate your prayers. Because of them we’re able to continue planting this church and ministering to people in our community in spite of many challenges. I’m learning lots from Pastor Ben Figueroa, who has planted several churches before. We believe God would have me continue serving here through 2017 and I look forward to deepening relationships with these disciples. Pastor Ben has also asked me to be an assistant pastor and I’m honored to support him in this way.  (Notes: I'm using initials rather than names for some individuals in this post for privacy. Click on any picture to enlarge it.)

In July we hosted our first church booth at the Algona Days fair (2 days). Everyone pitched in the week before to put our church labels on the tracts and Bibles. 










Thanks to design work donated by fellow SDB Ralph Hays, we had a beautiful banner displaying our church name with Mount Rainier in the background. 










Many from our church manned the booth, even though it was scary at first for some. We gave away Bibles, gospels of John and tracts (both English and Spanish). M. had a great conversation with two boys, brothers, who took Bibles and were excited to learn more about Jesus. M. and J. are a married couple in our church who are excited about sharing the gospel. They also passed out patriotic tracts with me on the 4^th of July at a park in Auburn.


 


 
The guitar lessons continue weekly with J., J. and M., plus a new middle school student starting soon. We start each lesson with prayer and most of the songs have Christian themes. Next up we’re learning Christmas carols! I don’t teach weekly Bible stories to D’s children any more since life got busy as she began taking classes this summer to complete her GED. She’s doing well but asked me to tutor her in math and I’m looking forward to that.

 







After five months of home Bible studies together, C. moved with her family to Oregon in July. Though we miss our study times, she and her husband have joined a couples Bible study and I pray for continued growth in their family. I still meet with M. weekly, and her friend B. is joining us to study the book of John. M. recently commented that she is learning so much about Jesus and the Bible through our studies. She is now sure of her salvation. Her faith is growing and she’s excited!

   

Me with my sister, JoAnne Kandel, new grandma!

August was a travel month. First I attended the SDB General Conference in Houghton, NY, getting to visit with many of you and share what God is doing among SDBs in the realm of church planting. I enjoyed worshipping on two Sabbaths with nearby churches and giving them a ministry update (Hebron PA and Little Genesee NY). While I was in New York, my niece (Emily Kandel Miller) had a baby and it was fun to meet my grandnephew.

 



Then I traveled to Wisconsin to audit the Summer Institute class on SDB Polity and Church Governance. This was important material as I have been helping new churches create their statements of faith, covenants, constitutions and by-laws. I have a lot more sympathy for pastors after experiencing some of the challenges of shepherding!  

Top of a ridge with Mount Rainier behind

At the end of August, my daughter, Ana, visited me in Washington and we saw the sights, including the zoo, aquarium, Pike’s Place Farmer’s Market and an eleven-mile hike in Mount Rainier National Park. That was a doozy but four days later we were in Montana at Glacier National Park and hiked 15 miles! I concluded I need to work up to those longer hikes but thankfully my knees have recovered and I can keep line dancing. :-)  Many thanks to Betty H. for hosting us in Montana. Vivian Allen and two of her children also joined us for the hike. (Covenant SDB Fellowship, Hungry Horse)

Glacier National Park, Garden Wall Trail

Our church loves to celebrate birthdays!

In September we started a new ministry at the Auburn Public Library. I’d noticed the Jehovah’s Witnesses had literature at a table in the entry area and I asked the Library staff if we could do the same. They said we’re free to do that as long as we’re not selling anything and we agree to let people come to us, not approach them.




 


 

So I go on Tuesdays, with M. and J. coming when they get off work, and we offer Bibles, tracts, church invitations and conversation to whomever God leads to our table. A Mormon woman stopped by a couple times and we talked about our different understanding of who Jesus is. Mormons use language similar to ours but with vastly different meaning, and I think most Mormons are not aware that they believe a different gospel than what the Bible teaches.

I’ve just wrapped up teaching the first seven chapters of Acts to our Sabbath adult class. We had lots of questions and good discussions on how we want to operate as a church body in light of how the early church functioned. One of those ideas is to form home groups that include neighbors and friends, to widen the circle of influence and help make new disciples.

Our church participated in the Northwest Association meeting on October 1^st in Portland, OR. Rob Appel, Executive Director, brought a report of recent activity in the SDB Conference.  While there I went for a short hike in the woods with Levi Bond, Vivian Allen and two of her children. Among the golden leaves on the ground I was astonished to find maple leaves 12 inches across! I looked them up online and learned they’re from “Big Leaf Maples”, of course.

 

 

Entrance of Doxa Church, downtown Bellevue

In early October I attended a two-day conference for church planters and revitalizers in Bellevue, WA, put on by the Verge Network. I learned about missional communities (church folks who invite their neighbors over to build friendships and look for opportunities to minister and share the gospel), and about having a vision for “gospel saturation” of our communities, based on Habakkuk 2:14. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”   

 

 

A key idea is that we are all on mission every day of the week, not just one day. Pastors are to “raise up ministers who minister everywhere they go.” “We all have the same Senior Pastor, Jesus Christ.” 

How many churches are in your town?  “Only one – Jesus’ church.”  


 

Coffee House Thursday evening, intro to the speakers

In mid-October I attended a similar conference, “Multiply” from Frontline Church Planting, in Colorado Springs, with 32 fellow SDBs! The Friday sessions were at Vanguard Church (SDBs and others), then Sabbath was just our group. The theme was “Engaging Hard Topics” which we surely did as we were challenged to think about our responses to racism and the LGBT community.  “Walk with diverse people as you develop your theology.” “We’re living in Rome.” “Your home is not a retreat but a place dedicated to the mission of God. Diversify the dinner table.”

Pastor John Pethtel leading the Sabbath afternoon session of Multiply.

Longs Peak viewed from Longmont, Colorado

  As a new year approaches, please consider how God might have you partner with me in ministry through prayer, monthly support, and one-time gifts. A few monthly financial partners are not able to continue and I’m looking forward to some new ones in 2017. It’s been so wonderful this year to have the income to buy two cases of Bibles to give out, as well as tracts and Bible study materials. Also, support for travel to General Conference and the church planting conferences. And I recently had to replace my printer. God provides!

 
 

Thank you for your faithful prayer support. Here are some prayer needs:

·       For our newer disciples to grow in trusting Jesus with every part of their lives.

·       For Pastor Ben and Marcela.

·       For the growth of leaders in our church as we add small groups.

·       For my continued growth in language skills.

·       Financial support in 2017. Praise the Lord for my free housing!

  

Holly trees in Auburn!

Donations can be mailed to the church here, “IBS Dia”, c/o Patty Petersen, 207 10th Ave N, Algona WA 98001. Please write my name on the memo line of the check and they will pass along 100% of the funds to me. We can also set up automatic fund transfers (EFTs), bank to bank. Many thanks.

 

God bless you in the holiday season and may you shower others with the light and love of Jesus.