Itineraries:
Jon Jenks – March 14-16 Director and Council meetings
March 24-25 Leadership Journey retreat hosted by Camden Baptist Church at Skyview Ranch
Chip Wood – March 4 TJT session at Faith Baptist in Dundee, NY
March 5 Constantia Center Baptist Church in Bernhard’s Bay, NY
Scott Owen – March 5, 12, 19 – First Baptist, Monroe, IA (speaking)
March 13-16 BCP Council meetings
March 22-26 Denver, Colorado for state meetings (speaking)
LJ studies: Austin, MN; St. Ansgar, IA; Charles City, IA; Chisago Lakes; Des Moines, IA; Leading LJ for Prairie Flower
Tim Weeks – March 5 Teaching Sunday school at Kossuth Street Baptist Church in Lafayette, IN
March 13-16 – Council Meetings at BCP and visit builders in OH
March 19 – visit to Pinecrest Baptist, Millbury, MA – Roy & Karen Kinney
Miguel and Ana Quintana – Hispanic church planting under Starkey Road Baptist Church in Seminole, FL
PRAISE AND PRAYER
- Debora Cornell, mission trip to Colombia.
- Veruska Milan, Robledo Family, Legal papers.
- Miguel & Veronica Serra, grandchildren.
- Hilda Rodríguez, Eduardo Viruega, Santiago Cruz, Rosa Henríquez & Denia Castillo, health.
- Pavel Carpio, travel from Nicaragua to Unites States.
- Jose David Peralta, spiritual growth, and new strength.
- Martin Reyes, job interview.
- Cindy Barrera, Santos Rodríguez, immigration procedures.
- Francisca Reyes, next visit to the embassy of the United States.
- For the new servants of the church, Miguel Serra, Jaime Sanclemente, Edurado Viruega, Alvaro Cubias & Jose Diaz.
- Varinia Martinez, Rene Sotolongo, praise the Lord, Health recovery.
- Leadership ladies, Ana Quintana.
- Pastor Quintana, new strength, and wisdom for the Hispanic congregation
Jim and Janice Mitchell – Church Planters serving Grace Fellowship Church in Preston, ID
Thank you for your ongoing prayers. We were in Creston IA three weekends ago presenting the ministry of Grace Fellowship to them. Like any army we need new recruits to support us in the battle. We live in the heart of the enemy here in Preston. We are constantly reminded that our neighbors believe a different gospel and it has eternal effects. The old hymn bears out the serious nature of ministry.
Sound the battle cry! See, the foe is nigh;
Raise the standard high for the Lord;
Gird your armor on, stand firm every one;
Rest your cause upon His holy Word.
O Thou God of all, hear us when we call,
Help us one and all by Thy grace;
When the battle’s done, and the vict’ry’s won,
May we wear the crown before Thy face.
Rouse, then, soldiers, rally round the banner,
Ready, steady, pass the word along;
Onward, forward, shout aloud, “Hosanna!”
Christ is Captain of the mighty throng.
Thank you for wielding the weapon of prayer on behalf of the Preston area where this false doctrine is entrenched. Please pray for our Wild Game Dinner coming up on March 4. It is an outreach event to purposely connect with unchurched and unsaved neighbors.
Feb. 14
It was great being back in our church this weekend, we are blessed to be part of what is going on here. We had a group of 14 gone for a youth event this weekend and we are thankful for the youth that we have here and their desire to go to a weekend designed to build them up spiritually.
A highlight of the weekend was the first session of a membership class. We had eight participants eager to join the church officially. Most of them have only been in attendance 6-12 months. One of them has been attending for 6 years but not until this past year was he able to get victory over his addictions. The first session is pretty much getting to know each other and sharing testimonies of salvation. It was a very emotional time as many had stories of heartache and great deliverance. It is very exciting to see the hand of God working in lives helping them grow and change at different levels.
Feb. 21
Two things have been on my mind this week – the great need for the gospel to be connected to the practical life of our people and the need for revival.
First, reading about the ongoing services at Asbury College has caused me to reflect on how easy it is for me to accept the status quo. Yes, I want souls to be saved and lives transformed, but how earnestly am I praying to that end. How we need our church and every church to be detoxed from this world and filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Also, as I hear of the struggles going on in the believer’s lives from our church, the fear of failure, the frustration and even hopelessness, I realize that many do not know how to connect the gospel to their daily struggles. They are still trying to make it in their own strength and failing, or disappointed that God hasn’t taken all the struggles out of their life.
What a blessing it is to have an all-sufficient Savior who is abundantly generous in meeting all our needs according to His plan.
Roy and Karen Kinney – Church Planters serving Pinecrest Baptist Church in Millbury, MA
PRAISE:
– In home hospitality opportunities with 3 of our newer families. Thank you to our grandkids for joining us and making it fun for the other kids!
– Official church welcome of Oliver Manley Kinney to church with his very own baby Bible, a rose for Mommy, and prayer for the family.
– Good Annual Business Meeting thanking God for His provision for us as a church.
– An excellent “Celebration of Love” Sunday and fellowship meal.
– Good attendance on Sunday with 50 people joining us.
– Mary Jane drove herself to church and is healing from her back surgery.
– Our Valentine’s Day kid’s party as we focused on God’s love for the little children and how we can be His child.
– Our Grandson, Logan, received Jesus as his Savior last week! Praise God for parents who make the Gospel central in their homes.
PRAYER:
– Discipleship meetings as we share God’s Word with others on a personal level.
– Wisdom as we are researching and need to purchase a new church sign, pew chairs, and a steeple!
– Church growth through Salvations and Membership.
– Jonathan R who found out his cancer has metastasized into his bones and is incurable and terminal. Praise God for the secure hope Jonathan has in Jesus. IF you are praying for him (Jonathan, Becky, Matt, Brenden, & Ethan) let us know and we will pass along. They are uplifted by the prayers of God’s people.
– Kayla who is in a wheelchair with back/leg pain and problems. She needs answers and prayer for God to do a special work in her life.
– Mary Jane and continued mobility and healing.
– The Memorial service that our church will host on 3/25 for Deb’s Mom, Gloria, who knew the Lord. This will be a big outreach into the community as we share the Gospel. Ed & Deb found our church a few months ago and we are so blessed to have them.
– Coralie had some difficulties with her hernia surgery and healing but is doing better now. They have been here in our home for recovery and our helping “hands” to lift the kids. We’ve enjoyed the opportunity to be together under one roof again.
– Alyssa is due 3/10 with baby #2.
– Strength & Good Health to continue to serve Him!
March 1
On Sunday we welcomed 3 visitors from Millbury who are here from the Philippines for nursing training. They said our church was a lot like their Baptist church back home. They found us online and will be back!
We hosted a time of pizza and games at the church on Saturday. We were overdue for a fun (well some had to be convinced to play games and still had fun:) time of fellowship!
Alyssa had her baby 3 weeks early on the 19th and we are still processing that he is here! Welcome Levi Marshall Rofe to our family!! We look forward to seeing them soon. Roy will be traveling to Ohio for ChurchCare Meetings the week of the 13th and will be stopping in NY to meet Levi. I will go next week for a longer stay.
Tim and Susan Heinrich – Church Planters serving Crossroads Baptist Church in Tracy, CA
The past several months have been filled with much James 1 prayer and asking for God’s wisdom. As we sat in our once-packed auditorium, what was left of our congregation was tempted to feel quite discouraged. But instead, we have begged God to draw us closer to Him and show us if the ministry in Tracy was still viable.
Here is what we have learned:
Wise counselors have encouraged us to continue replanting by preaching the gospel and discipling the saints, even if the numbers are small.
God is working in the hearts of Muslims in our community. Let us share a couple of stories.
Victoria is a young lady who was raised in Ukraine. She was trained at a Bible Institute there and is well grounded in the Word. She moved here with a group of Ukrainian friends who attend a Ukrainian-speaking church in the bay area. But she desires to worship in an English-speaking church where she can invite her English-speaking friends. She is quite the evangelist.
Marzi is Victoria’s housemate. She is Iranian Muslim, a researcher at UC Berkeley. Marzi is hungry for community, so she attends church with Victoria. We are her only friends, and she is soaking up the teaching of the Bible.
Nour is an Egyptian Muslim who has been in the US for four months. He scheduled a meeting with Tim to learn about the gospel. After the first meeting, he texted, asking permission to start attending services. After being assured that he was welcome to attend, even though he was not yet saved, he has been there almost every time the doors are open. God is working in his heart.
A Happy Tree can bring people to church. During COVID lockdowns, we placed Crossroads Yard signs in the yards of all Crossroads families. One family attached the sign to a tree in their front yard decorated with animal statues and bird feeders. Victoria and Marzi live in that neighborhood. When asked how they found out about Crossroads, they answered, “The Happy Tree.”
People who live in other states are still inviting their friends to Crossroads.
For example, a local family had been in a homeschool co-op with Crossroads families who had moved away. They became convicted that they needed to stop commuting to the bay area for church and get plugged into a local church. Their friends, who used to attend Crossroads, convinced them to visit. They commented that this was the first church they visited that immediately felt like home. They are already inviting other families to visit.
There are Deaf in our community looking for a place to belong. Tim recently had a man dart in front of him on a side street. The man signed, “sorry.” So Tim stopped and asked him if he was deaf. It turns out that DaMonte’s fourteen-year-old daughter Destiny is Deaf. Pray that this family will visit Crossroads soon.
Justen and Joyce have been connecting on social media with several Deaf in our area. They are passionate about reaching their community for Christ. They are also in the process of fostering a 14-year-old young man whose parents were Deaf. We are excited to see how God works through his testimony.
We have often shared about the diversity of our community. There is no majority culture here. And we have prayed that God would allow us to be a Great Commission Church that reaches the world by reaching our neighbors. Sometimes on Wednesday Nights in Bible Study, Tim is the only native English speaker in the room. Sometimes interpretation happens in multiple languages. It takes extra care to communicate the Word of God to this diverse crowd. Walking around the building, you will hear a plurality of languages. There are 13 distinct culture groups represented in our little group. This is so amazing because those groups of people would not gather together, even in this community, outside of the bond in Christ. God has brought together a group of people doing life together who would never have crossed paths if it weren’t for the power of the gospel.
Prayer Requests:
- Finances: Our smaller crowd has significantly reduced our income and the ability of the church to support us financially
- Salvation: Nour, Marzi, and others
- Deaf Community: Expanded outreach to the Deaf
- Easter Outreach and Services
- Visitors
Bob and Penny Toomer – Associate Church Planters at Mountain View Baptist Church in Grantsville, UT
“Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.” Colossians 4:6 This verse is becoming very applicable in our lives as we continue to work with individuals searching for Truth. The questions are many and on a very wide spectrum but it continues to confirm in our minds the stronghold that the “false” religion has on the people here in Utah.
Outreach: Our weekly study with “T” has a very wide range of questions. She has seen that the LDS church is definitely false but now is struggling to see that she is in need of a savior. Her world (marriage, grown children struggling with their identity , her hair business that will struggle if she officially leaves the church, etc.) is crumbling around her but she is “basically a good person”. Please pray with us that her eyes will be open to see that she is nothing outside of Christ.
“A” has had a set back as a close friend tried to commit suicide recently. Please pray that we can continue to show Christ’s love and that she will see the need for salvation. She has had the gospel put before her a couple of times now but her response is “I’m scared of what is on the other side of this decision.”
Our Saturday morning discipleship Bible study has wrapped up. We enjoyed getting to know the other couples better and we have seen them all interacting through a group text often… checking up on each other and asking how to pray for one another. What a blessing!
Bob continues with a couple other studies each week. One individual is texting him every morning to share what he has been learning in his morning devotional time. It keeps Bob busy, but he loves interacting with people on the one-on-one basis.
Mountainview: The church is experiencing some challenges. One of our newer families is having to move out of state in order to take a new job. We are saddened by this but know that God has a plan for them elsewhere.
We have two newly engaged couples that have joined our Body but they are experiencing difficulty in finding housing that is affordable for them to live. Our housing situation is still very high priced and booming as we have California people moving into the area.
We are still working towards getting our own building. We have been working on our building fund but with the price of materials, etc. it is still out of our reach. There is another piece of property here in town with a building on it, that with some remodeling, would possibly be suitable for us to meet in. If that comes available, it will probably be more affordable than building our own building and would get us into our own building quicker. Please pray with us on this.
Family: The Lord has opened up the opportunity for us to go to Ecuador to visit Melissa and Bobby Woodfin at the end of this month. They have now been over there for a year and are excited for us to come and see the work there. We are very thankful for technology that allows us to talk to our kids that are out of country. Ecuador doesn’t have any kind of mail service so internet is our only connection with them. Please pray for safety and that we will be able to get all the supplies they need for home schooling the kids there without any problem.
Many have been in contact with us about the earthquakes in Turkey. The quakes were not in the area where our kids live, which we are thankful for. Our kids are actually stateside right now so are safe. The needs of the people of Turkey and Syria are great so please pray with us for the immediate needs to be met and for wisdom to know how to share Christ with the people. We appreciate your prayers and faithful support greatly. Thank you for ministering with us here in Utah. God bless.
Tim and Marsha Weeks – Church Facilitation Director with a Missionary Care emphasis
Praises
1.Praising God for open doors to host a visiting scholar from Japan studying at Purdue, in our home, this month.
2.We praise God for the Ladies doing the Grove studies, they continue in their commitment to do the training each week.
3.We continue to adore Our Blessed God like David in Psalm 103:1-2 “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
4. Gratefully praising God for Evan and Becky serving the Lord in leading our Community Group at KSBC. They are preparing for a vacation getaway during Emersyn’s Spring break.
5. Praise God for the Leadership Journey retreats that seem to be coming together this year for CA & UT!
SALT – Senior Adults Living Triumphantly
Tom and Carol Phillips – What a gift to give Carol for Valentine’s Day, a trip to Hawaii. Well, it will only be for 17 hours as we are on our way to Chuuk taking a repaired transmitter and a new antenna. Our other transmitter will be costly to repair and at that the parts would not be available for 5 months. So, it looks like that transmitter is history. The radio station should be on the air by the middle of next week. After Chuuk we will spend a week in Guam attending the Missions Conference of Harvest Baptist Church. It has been several years since we have been to their conference, and we are looking forward to attending. Thank you for praying for us. We will return back to Fredericksburg on March 5th.
