It was my pleasure to attend the organizational service of the newest BMA of Arkansas church. The Table Church is in Fayetteville, and their pastor is Drew Whitton. It was good to see several area pastors, along with former and current missionaries in attendance.
Please pray for this new body in Christ as they attempt to minister to those in their area. Clinton Morris was the planting missionary for this work and Temple Baptist of Jonesboro served as the mother church. It was cool to have four generations of church planting represented — Temple extended an arm to Highland Hills, which extended an arm to The Bridge which has extended an arm to Faith Chapel. I encourage our churches to consider sending a man from their congregation to help us reach the people around us, as well as all over the world.
Sunday Morning
I was with Letona Baptist Church and pastor Jackie Manasco again on Sunday and it was great to see old friends. Letona is faithful to support State Missions.
Video
Please remember to share our department video with your church, if possible, and please put our web page address in your handout so people can share it with their friends: www.bmaarmissions.com.
I still have July 16 open. My cell is (501) 859-3329, and I would love to hear from you.
From Our Missionaries
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Many times, when a person makes his decision for Christ, difficulties come into his life — partly because the enemy does not want to lose someone in his kingdom, but also because it is part of spiritual growth and it is crucial to strengthen the faith of the newcomers. I ask for your prayerful support so the faith of the new ones will grow and mature. May the roots grow and be grounded in the Word of God.
“It has been difficult to meet in the small home groups this week. Monday we could not make it, and Wednesday we had to move the time to 8 p.m. God brought an extra blessing to the Wednesday group as Fabian, who is a 14-year-old boy, made his decision for Christ.
“At this time, I ask that you pray for two things. First, please pray that these new believers will make their decision to be baptized. Second, several couples are coming to Ebenezer who are not married, pray that as they grow in faith, there will also be a change in their minds and they will make the decision to get their married life in order.
“Once again, thank you for your prayers and support for the ministry we are doing in West Little Rock. I am very grateful for the support of our mother church, Chenal Valley Baptist Church. Our relationship is excellent, and that has made our work more blessing. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had another great week at Faith Chapel. The Lord is blessing us in so many ways, but especially in all the small ways that He shows His presence and blesses our efforts, and just shows us that He hears and answers our prayers.
“I was able to go to the organization service for The Table in Fayetteville Sunday, and it was wonderful. We are praying for this new church, that the Lord will bless their efforts there. I saw a lot of pastors and others I knew from the BMA that came to support them, and it is always encouraging when people ask me about our mission and how the building is coming and tell me that they read my report every week in the Trumpet. It tells me you all truly care, are a part of our mission and are there for us as well.
“The work on the new building is still progressing slowly, but surely. We are putting the finishing touches on the electrical, and putting up the ceilings on the porches, which will finish the outside except for the posts and the steeple, which we don’t have yet. The insulation is scheduled for next week, and we are starting the heating and cooling. Boy, it would be nice to have the cooling. We are starting early and quitting early right now because of the heat, but we will keep at it.
“Thank you again for all your prayers and support, please continue. “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers…” (I Peter 3:12) — and He is answering them mightily!”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “The Table Baptist Mission has changed to The Table Church. DeAnna and I have reached the finish line for our work here at The Table Church, and we are so amazed at what God has done over the last 30 months.
“The organization service was well attended by local Northwest Arkansas BMA churches and pastors. Pastor Andy Neal from Temple Baptist Church of Jonesboro (the mother church) handed off the baton to the new daughter church. Paul White came from BMA of Arkansas State Missions to lend support in the organization of this New Testament church. Pastor Drew Whitton will be leading The Table Church for the years to come. There is such an amazing feeling of celebration because the day that we have both prayed and worked hard to finally be here. Keep DeAnna and me in your prayers as we seek God’s direction for where we will plant more churches.
“Once again, thank you to the churches of the BMA of Arkansas, the churches of the BMA of the Ozarks, Paul White and the Missions Advisory Committee, Pastor Andy Neal and Temple Baptist Church for your support and your prayers. Keep up the work God has called you to!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “It’s been a blessed week at the mission. We’ve been able to get out in the community for another outreach during Third Thursday in downtown Benton last week. It gave us the opportunity to share Jesus with others, as well as get our name and meeting location out there for people to get to know us better.
“We were also able to help with our sending church’s VBS this past week. We gave the message a few nights. It is such an amazing time to see kids getting to learn about God and begin to develop a personal relationship with Him through VBS. The love and commitment the church workers have for making an event like this happen every year is inspiring. We should all strive to do what we can to share Christ with our children, whether it be our own or those in our communities. Have a great week and keep sharing the Word!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We had very good news from the woman I wrote to you about last week who is in the midst of evangelization. She is suffering from an aneurysm and was transferred from the emergency room via helicopter. She is out of danger, and we praise the Lord for this miracle. We continue to pray for her conversion.
“We had an extraordinary time in our grace group (our small group), and were happy to see the transforming grace of God act in each brother who faithfully accompanies us every week. It is a very varied group — children, adolescents and even the elderly — being transformed by the power of the gospel and growing in maturity.
“I beg you for your prayers in July as we will have our Bible evangelism workshop. It will be two intensive days with evangelism practices. Also pray that God will direct us to that place where we are going to evangelize in the city of Springdale.
“We need a portable sound system for our evangelism time, and a laptop for our Sunday School classes. Thank you for your prayers and support.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “I’m in awe. This past week I served as the camp pastor for a children’s camp at Cold Springs in Conway. We had hoped to get all our Epic Kids there, but that didn’t work out. It was just my kiddos, but God moved in such a powerful way.
“At Epic Life, we are trying more of an overseas approach. The thought is that unchurched people are more distant from Christianized culture than we realize, so let’s reach them like we would those in foreign lands who haven’t heard the gospel. We do this through our Discovery Bible Studies, which use chronological storytelling, discovery methods, multi-generational ministry and discipleship to conversion. In the glimpse of success we’ve had in Pea Ridge, we are seeing people ‘contextualize’ the gospel in their own way. This leads to greater ownership and retention. So we put the ‘Epic Life way’ to the test at the camp, and God worked through it.
“We used our Epic Life introductory Bible Study called The Epic Dare. It tells the big picture of the Bible. We were blown away by how children connected to the big story. More than that we were blown away by how the Holy Spirit worked as at least 25 made professions of faith and possibly up to 50 kids.They all expressed salvation in their own words, meaning they had contextualized the gospel to their lives, which ultimately should lead to more ‘ownership’ of their faith journey and long-term retention.”
