September 2023 Update

A few public updates for everyone.  We're now officially in "Back to School" season as summer vacations are over for most of you.  I hope you were able to make the most of the time that you had together as a family and that lots of discipleship happened as you had some extra time together.  Be sure that children are being discipled one way or another by influences like the education they receive in school from a particular worldview, the worldview of the programs they stream and watch on TV, the videos they watch on YouTube and TikTok and Snapchat, and the influence of their peers and their families that they probably spend lots of time with (I remember spending as much or more time at my best friend's house than at my house growing up).  We need to be intentional about making time and space for discipleship to occur--both planned time and unplanned time as you can't always expect when the questions will come, but it's a good idea to schedule some time so that kids know they can bring their questions at that time and find biblical answers (note that I'm not talking about dropping the kids off at church for youth group or some other activity--the Church is not primarily responsible for discipling our children, or adults for that matter, though the mission of the Church is to go and make disciples, that responsibility belongs to the individual church members as they engage in their day-to-day activities).

With that said, I want to encourage all of you who belong to local churches near an elementary school, middle school or high school to "adopt a school."  Hold events for the teachers and staff and let them know that you are in the neighborhood and are there to support them.  Pack backpacks of school supplies for the children and invite the kids to things like Trunk or Treat and Easter Egg Hunts or other events that you are holding.  Pray for the teachers, the staff, and the students, and welcome them to Sunday School and church services.  Encourage the children in your church to invite their friends to church (maybe even make it easy for them by printing some "invitations" that they can give out to their friends that have the name of the church, the church's address and phone number, and the service times, and maybe the church website if you have one).  Don't forget to encourage your students to start and join student Bible studies, missions groups, and other Christian clubs at school (but check out these organizations that call themselves "Christian" and make sure their mission and values align with the Bible).  Don't forget that you can also start your own "Backyard Bible Clubs" and after-school programs at home or at church to have a safe environment for the kids that have working parents and need somewhere safe to go after school where they can get help with their homework, but also learn about the Word of God.  

Some of the same things can be said if you live near a college or university and have a college-aged ministry in your church.  You may not be inviting them to Trunk or Treat and Easter Egg Hunts, but you can plan retreats and conferences for them to hear about things like what the Bible has to say about marriage, sexuality, purity, integrity, work ethic, and living as a godly man or woman in a culture of ungodliness.  Hopefully the students have some background to the gospel already, but if not, you can take advantage of curriculum like The Gospel Foundations material that's here on this website.  Encourage the Christian college students from your church to be regular church attenders and to become members of their local churches and to use the gifts that God has given them to serve.  "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."

Now for a few things that we can thank the Lord for and pray for together.  First, I may have mentioned in another recent newsletter that we had some termite damage to our house.  The Lord has provided for all those needs.  There's still some work to be done, but the major issues with the foundation have been taken care of.

Please join me in praying for our Future Facilities Team at Harvest Christian Fellowship.  We know we are moving with the Lord's blessing in looking to build in local community, but the project has stalled a bit, and the team members are praying for wisdom in how to proceed.  They also have asked for prayer in God laying it on people's hearts (specifically our church members) to be cheerful givers during this time above and beyond their regular contributions so that we can establish a "building fund" and still meet our regular expenses.  We see this pattern in the Bible that when the LORD wanted the people to build the Tabernacle, Moses had to command the people to stop because they were being so generous that they had more than enough for everything that was required.

Lastly, please join me in praying for God to raise up men and women (but specifically men) to serve in our church.  There are all kinds of ministry opportunities.  We've set up a system in our bylaws where deacons and elders are required to work no more than six years before taking a year of "rest" (a biblical principle) and we are trusting the Lord that if we obey that principle that He will raise up other men to be leaders.  I see this not just for our church but for so many other churches as well, so prayerfully consider how you may come alongside your pastor, deacons, and elders and serve in your local church, even if you don't have a title or role to go with your duties.