Ministry Update
Steve and Kristen Wynn
Constantia Center Baptist Church, Bernhard’s Bay, NY
September 2023
Hello, Ministry Partners!
Some of you may be wondering, “What is going on with the Wynn family? I haven’t heard from them in a while.” Well, your wait is over! We are back to our normal, monthly communication.London and Calvin began homeschooling at the end of August and are loving it! This has enabled us to have a lot more intentional time with them as we balance life as missionaries. I (Steve) am blessed to have morning devotions with each and teach Physical Education, while Kristen teaches the remainder of the subjects. Our days are full of lots of laughs, learning new facts, connecting Biblical truth to the curriculum, and (on occasion) tears as they work through a difficult topic.We have so appreciated your prayers and encouragements over the summer as we were busy with ministry, travel, and more. Psalm 9:1 says, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.” We are taking the opportunity in the remainder of this newsletter to recount the Lord’s wonderful deeds over the summer. We desire to give all of the thanks and glory to Him!
- The church family unanimously extended our ministry for an additional six months (end in January 2024).
- We have four new church members, with two more on the way (and possibly more in the months ahead!).
- We had two baptisms – Steve’s first time baptizing someone.
- The demolition is complete and construction has begun!
- We had a number of fun summer events – game nights, Wednesday night campfire prayer services, a men’s hike, and more!
- The church had a time of prayer and fasting as we prepared for a pastoral applicant to visit us in August. The applicant preached on Sunday and met with the search committee, church leadership, and more. The search committee has invited the pastoral applicant to be our pastoral candidate. If he accepts, the next step in the process is a two week visit with him preaching two additional times. At the conclusion of that visit, the church would vote to extend the position of pastor to him.
- Renovations are almost complete for our new bathrooms. You can see pictures of the summer progress.
- Next, renovations will begin in the fellowship hall. We anticipate celebrating the completion of the project prior to Thanksgiving with a special service. We will be inviting Faith Baptist Tabernacle to join us as we thank the Lord for His work in the life of our church.
- Our children’s ministries are busy! We have more members signing up, getting background checks, and serving in our church.
- We just completed a summer discipleship series called “Foundations” for the adult Sunday School classes. Many members took the materials and are discipling family members and community members with them!
- Our head trustee, Jeff, experienced a stroke this summer. Praise the Lord, he is recovering well! Jeff and his wife, Vicky, are tremendous encouragers to us, so we rejoice with them!
- We held our final teen event before the summer – a massive nerf war! We partnered with Faith Bible Church’s (Oxford, NY) teen leaders for the event.
- We kicked off our fall teen ministries this past Sunday and held an overnight lake event in August. We have three new teen members in our youth group, including London! She is loving her time as a new teen.
- We held Wednesday night campfire prayer meetings. We focused each week on a name of God and adored Him together.
- We experienced the loss of a dear church member, Marcia. Grateful she is with our Lord now!
- J. and I completed the “Foundations” discipleship book with two men – Mark (who recently joined the church) and John (who is seeking church membership and baptism in the near future).
- On September 10, our church celebrated 75 years of God’s faithfulness. We had beloved missionaries, former pastors, and friends join us. We had a special Sunday School where we heard concerning the church’s history. This included special children’s songs from our past! Pastor J. preached a tremendous sermon on Lamentations 3:22-24. If you’d like to view more pictures and video from the celebrations, click here.
- We held a number of fun events leading up to the 75th anniversary, including a church picnic and kickball game, a singspiration, and a Bible quiz team events.
- We had a special panel join us for a teacher professional development event in August as we learned how to better disciple boys and girls in our classes.
- We had a family vacation in July and traveled to Maine. On the way back, we visited Legoland with Erik and Annie (my brother and his wife).
- We went to Enchanted Forest Water Safari with my parents and sister, Wendy.
- We had a yard sale where London and Calvin sold fresh lemonade.
- Dear friends from Ohio, the Johnsons, visited us. Comically, we realized that each of us owned the same t-shirt!
- I was able to visit Cornerstone Baptist Church in Ames, NY again in August. I met with their missions committee and deacons as they’re prayerfully considering partnering with us.
- Unfortunately, our cat of 16+ years, Charlie, passed away this summer. We are grateful that we were able to adopt a new cat, Muffin (female). Ted (our tuxedo cat) now has a friend when we’re gone on weekends at CCBC.
- London and Calvin began homeschooling. Kristen is doing a phenomenal job and the kids are loving it!
- Kristen’s parents visited us from Tennessee over Labor Day Weekend. We had a lot of fun spending time with them and were able to visit Niagara Falls, a first for London and Calvin!
Thank you again to all who have joined us in our ministry by supporting us financially and in prayer. We rejoice that we have reached 55% of our long-term goal! Additionally, with Steve’s role as missionary pastor at Constantia Center Baptist and associate pastor of Faith Baptist, we have received 69% short-term funding.If you are interested in partnering with us, or you know of a church or family who may desire to, you can check out our website for more information or reach out to schedule a meeting with us to learn more.
Praise & Prayer Request List
Praises
- Praise the Lord for an additional small group beginning at CCBC this fall.
- We have more adults and children joining our Sunday School classes and other discipleship ministries.
- We’ve had a number of new visitors become regular attenders at CCBC.
- This fall, Steve is preaching through the Psalms and we will have guest speakers from FBT joining us.
- Join us in praising God for our 39 partnering families.
- Praise God for our five partnering churches – Constantia Center Baptist Church, Faith Baptist Tabernacle, Faith Bible Church, Smyrna Baptist Church, and West Smyrna Baptist Church.
- Praise God for five churches considering partnering with us – Cornerstone Baptist Church in Ames, NY, Grace Baptist Church in Binghamton, NY, Fosterburg Baptist Church in Bethalto, IL, Walnut Street Baptist Church in Avis, PA, and Earlville Baptist Church in Earlville, NY.
Prayer Requests
- Wynn Family
- Pray for our family as we homeschool.
- Pray for us to have wisdom and strength as we seek the Lord’s leading in ministry at Constantia Center Baptist Church, Faith Baptist Tabernacle, and more.
- Pray for new families and churches to join our ministry team in partnership.
- Constantia Center Baptist Church
- Pray for wisdom for the church and our pastoral applicant as he considers moving forward in the search process.
- Pray for our special guest speakers from FBT and the Northeast Fellowship as they preach on Pastors, Deacons, and Church Members.
- Pray for the members to be bold in proclaiming Christ and for their faith in Christ to produce good works.
- Pray for our small groups and Sunday School classes to grow spiritually and numerically.
- Pray for wisdom as the church leaders consider potential pastoral transition plans and create action plans to meet needs in the church.
- Pray for Kristen as she serves in junior church and nursery.
- Faith Baptist Tabernacle
- Pray for Steve as he leads a men’s discipleship group on Mondays.
- Pray for the small groups, discipleship groups, and children’s ministries and that more families will participate in them.
- Pray for J. and Steve as they partner together to minister at FBT.
- Pray for the leadership and members of the church as they seek to boldly proclaim Christ and live out the one anothers.
Schedule
- September 27 – CCBC – Psalms Sermon Series
- October 1 – FBT – Romans Sermon Series
- Pastor J. will be preaching at CCBC
- October 8 – Presenting ministry at Walnut Street Baptist Church, Avis, PA
- FBT Deacon Mike Rodriguez will be preaching at CCBC
- October 15 – CCBC – Guest Speaker: Brian King, Northeast Fellowship
- October 22 – CCBC – FBT Member Neil Shupp will be preaching
- October 29 – CCBC – Psalms Sermon Series
Our mission statement: Through the grace of God and His word, the redemptive works of Christ, and the sanctifying efforts of the Holy Spirit, we encourage and equip the body of Christ in order to ensure its members, both near and far, are enduring in the lifelong work of glorifying God and discipling faithful men and women who will be entrusted to continue this work until our Lord and Savior returns.We are passionate for the local church. We desire to see churches disciple their members to grow in adoring Him, loving one another, sharing the hope of the gospel, and living transformed lives. You can learn more about partnering with us on our website: wynnmissions.com/partner
