I am so grateful to God and His work through each of you. I was thinking about how good He is as we prepared to celebrate Thanksgiving, and there are so many things to praise Him for. I want to give you a quick update about what is going on.
First, it’s worth sharing that God has brought a co-laborer to us after a couple of years of prayer. The whole story is miraculous. God hears our prayers and cares. Even more miraculous is that He answers. A beloved brother, Andrew, will officially join us in mid-December. He is a professor at a local Baptist college and a man who loves God dearly. We have asked him to come on board and assist with spiritual formation. This will have him tasked with ensuring members are equipped to grow in the habits of grace (Bible study, prayer, fellowship and service/giving) and that all of our key volunteers have whatever they need to remain spiritually healthy.
Recently, we got hit by several inches of snow. I went over to the church to shovel it before services, but I found a welcome surprise. Andrew and Pedro had already taken care of it for us. That is the servant’s heart we hope to multiply. I have been praising God for this gift.
As a result of Andrew joining us, I will be working in a more focused way on leadership development. Number-wise, our church plant is not something that would stand out on a stat sheet. We have around 30 people, but we are training 14 people to be leaders. That is a gift from God. Several are being trained to preach and to pastor. Even more are growing in leadership gifts, in general, using a tool that takes roughly a year to complete. And several other men are being called to learn how to study the Word, write out a devotional or short sermon, and lead our group in worshipping God with it. I am truly excited about what God is doing in the faithful members we have here.
If you follow my personal Facebook page, you are likely seeing several people preaching. That is our goal. We guard the good deposit entrusted to us by giving it away to faithful men who will do the same with other faithful men. I have been praying since before we started for God to give us faithful men. It took a while —longer than I would have liked — but I know God’s timing is perfect. Mine, not so much. So now He has given us people to invest in. I see this as an opportunity to raise up godly leaders who will impact this city — and the world — in amazing ways. These brothers and sisters love the people in their lives, and their hearts are set on serving others. I want to serve them with all I have, equipping them to do the work of ministry. May God raise them up to serve in a way that glorifies Him in an unmatched degree.
I must be honest and admit that with all the good God has given, we have felt a reciprocal amount of spiritual warfare. Some of our people are under heavy attack. I have been back at BMA Seminary, getting trained to counsel and lead others more effectively. I want to be my best for them so they can be their best for others. All of this is only possible because of God’s faithfulness through our partners.
As many of you know, we lost a significant amount of our monthly giving. I never really raised a large amount before starting the work. We have worked with whatever God has given us. He has always given enough. I believe this will continue to be true. We are still waiting to learn whether we will be able to replace the $2,000 or so we rely on each month. One-time gifts have carried us. We did learn there was another significant loss. Regardless of the loss, God is still being glorified because Christ is still being lifted up. He said if we would lift Him up, He would draw all people to Himself. We want to lift Christ up before all who will listen so more and more of the people He came to save will be rescued. We want to see many sons and daughters added to the family. I believe He will do this.
Please continue to pray for us as we invest ourselves in the people God brings to us. Pray for new opportunities to evangelize the lost. Pray for our evangelism to be effective. Pray for Andrew as he begins to serve on our team. Pray for the leaders we are investing in, that God will reveal how He wants to use them for His glory. Pray for our protection as we face increased spiritual warfare. And praise God with us for His faithfulness in it all to this point and for His answers to our prayers today.
I am still working to raise the funds to replace our $2,000-per-month stipend. I did learn we are losing some other partners who are at the end of their commitment. I believe God has a way of providing for the work to be completed the correct way, so I want to ask you personally, your church, any Sunday School or small groups you might be a part of and your local and state association to prayerfully consider helping us continue this work to plant churches in Minnesota.
We couldn’t do what we’ve done without God’s provision. We are thankful for the way He has employed you to pray for us and support us financially. We look forward to seeing God move in even greater ways in the years to come, especially since we have many more relationships and provide more local help than when we first began our work at the end of November 2020. Because of your help, close to 40 souls who did not know Christ will now be forever saved and living as eternal worshippers of our good God!
If you are interested in having me share with your church, or would like to set up some time to talk on the phone or for a future visit, please feel free to contact me at mike@nnccmpls.com or (501) 838-9673. Thanks again for your prayers and support.
If you’re interested in partnering with us, please visit tiny.cc/michaelstrong to set up giving through BMA Global. They will continue to oversee our monthly contributions. However, the plan is to start sending those contributions directly to the church to administer on my behalf as a monthly salary and for any reimbursements related to my work. That would mean you could send funds to us directly as well. To make a donation, you can send checks or money orders to: Freedom Missionary Baptist Church, c/o Michael Strong, 1348 Sheridan Avenue N, Minneapolis, MN 55411. Please include a note with the check or money order: “Missionary Donation.” Our preferred method of giving is through BMA Global.
Thanks for your partnership. I look forward to sharing more with you soon!
