Last Thursday, the Missionary Committee met to consider the election of two new full-time missionaries. I attempted to get around to personally thank each committeeman who made the effort to attend. If I failed to greet you, I apologize. There were men from every corner of the state.
After Bryan and Roberto were introduced, there was a motion and a second, followed by a unanimous vote in favor of moving forward in sending them onto the field. Their start date is set for March 1. I explained the reason we do not wait until the annual meeting to seat new men was because, between now and then, thousands will die lost. May God add His blessings to these decisions.
Causality of our Spiritual Warfare
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet” (Matt. 10:14).
Things like this remind us that we are in a spiritual battle with the forces of evil. Like any war, sometimes we suffer causalities, yet the battle goes on. I regret that Darrin Smith has resigned as our missionary in Fort Smith. Darrin was successful in planting Celebration in Haskell, but has found that it is time for him to cease the work at Life Journey. Please keep Darrin and Angela in your prayers as they seek God’s direction for their lives. His efforts were not in vain as he has recorded 144 precious souls having been saved during his time there.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Now there is a lot of activity on Friday night. There are people who come to the temple for music classes and then the band rehearses. Another group of people also come to clean the temple, and others arrive later for our Bible study meeting, which is now face-to-face and virtual. Two families who visited us on the vaccination day are participating in Friday Bible studies via Zoom.
“Please pray for Rosa. She made her profession of faith, and she is going through many family difficulties. Also, pray for Humberto and Laura that they continue to participate and that they will finally make their profession of faith and join the church.
“Early Sunday, I again went to preach at the Bethel church and, of course, the brothers from the discipleship group accompanied me. Pastor Velasquez is going through a slow recovery. Let’s continue praying for him.
“At our Sunday meeting, the children had an art day and were taught about friendship. The adults also talked about friendship and were encouraged to cultivate their friendship with Jesus and with the brothers and sisters of the church.
“This Sunday, we had the joy of being visited for the first time by a whole family that has been a beneficiary of our Community Assistance program. Uvaldo, Keydi and their three children were also accompanied by Keydi’s father, Mr. Olvin. Let us pray for them that they will continue to attend church and one day soon make their profession of faith.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “The Berean Groups move forward and we continue to teach the Word of God and grow in communion with each other. We have a group in transition. The SWLR group’s leader and hostess are in a time of moving. Pray that this transition will be for the further growth of the group.
“In the online workshop ‘Wake up AD,’ we are working with our biblical identity — ‘Who does God say I am?’ It has been a great blessing to be able to think about each of the topics the workshop touches on. Keep praying for further growth and dependence on God.
“This week I ask for your prayers for a friend of Ebenezer’s. Mario Tavares is in very poor health. Pray for healing and that Ebenezer can be a channel of blessing to Mario. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great time of worship Sunday! Our numbers were pretty good considering what they have been lately, though they are only about half of what we were having last year. We still have some out sick as the flu is rampant here now. I had it last week, and some are still not getting out. We are just praying that they will return soon, well and thankful.
“We know that most, if not all, of our churches are having the same issues during this time. We had two return visitors, and we met some new people this week who say they will come. Please pray that they will. We also spent some time talking to some that haven’t been coming — just letting them know that we love and miss them.
“We are trusting in Jesus to build His church and use us as He wills. Our job is simply to remain faithful and ‘be witnesses unto Him.’ And that is our intention.
“Thank you for your prayers. Please continue. God is answering them, and they hold us up.”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “This week was overwhelming with everything I tried to do. Because I had not had many meetings directly after Fox was born, I had placed all these meetings this last week, which was crazy. I am thankful that God gave me the energy to get through.
“Monday, I had three meetings. The first was with an out-of-town couple who is interested in what God is doing at The Table. The second was with a Mormon missions team with whom I am establishing a relationship. The third was a meeting with several unsaved individuals who are wanting community and are unsure of Christianity in general.
“Tuesday, I had four meetings. The first was a meeting with a couple who wants to run a board game event at their church and wanted to know if we could help. The second was a meeting with our E-giving platform and making sure things are integrated. The third was a meeting with one of our church folk who is wanting to do a large ministry project this year. The fourth was going to The Hedge, the BMA of the Ozark’s ministry at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
“Wednesday, I had three meetings — an E-giving platform meeting, a wet slushy park with the family and an evening Bible study.
“Thursday was two meetings with church folks and a meeting with our biweekly pastoral prayer team.
“Friday was supposed to be a day off but ended up being a day of ‘attempting’ to repair a leak in the bathroom, which ended up with four trips to Lowes and the problem persisting. I had to call it quits in the evening as we were hanging out with a couple from the church. We closed the day out at 2 a.m.
“Saturday, there was a birthday party for the children of the Monday Night Community, so we attended. I had several great conversations for some future meetings and relationships. The evening consisted of actually fixing the leak.
“Sunday was a great day. I had a five-hour meeting earlier in the day, finished Sunday night prep and then had our Sunday night service. We had a total of 17 people there, with three guests visiting us. So excited to see where this church is being effective!”
