This year during the state meeting in Conway, the Missions office will be launching a new information ministry by sending out an email newsletter filled with up close and in-depth stories from your missionaries and those to whom they minister. The Trumpet is our main way of reaching the masses, and we are truly grateful to Executive Editor Jeff Herring for providing us with the needed space.
But our newsletter will be less reporting and more about what is taking place on a day-to-day basis. At first, it will be sent bi-monthly with the first edition set to go out in December. We are asking people to come by our table and give us your email address so we can send you one. When you sign up, you will also have an opportunity to win a new iPad. So please visit our table. If you are not attending the meeting, please send your email address to bmaofarkfrontdesk@gmail.com.
Local Association
Sunday, I attended the Union Association meeting at Riverside in Fulton. It was good to be able to meet again with our sister churches. May God continue to bless their efforts to spread the gospel.
Re:Charge
I want to thank those responsible for putting together the Re:Charge Leader’s Oasis conference that was held in Hot Springs last week. It is truly good sometimes to just get away, rest and visit with fellow laborers.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “On Wednesday and Thursday, the brothers and sisters continue to participate in discipleship groups and the new group, where no one has yet received Christ, continues to be just as motivated. This time, Norma and Juniet were added.
By now they are becoming familiar with the Bible and its message. Pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of each one of them.
“On Friday and Saturday, a group of ladies from the church set aside time to prepare pupusas and sell them on Saturday. The economic activity was a complete success! They were delicious, and we had many requests. At the end of the day, sales totaled $882. This money will be used to buy the necessary materials to paint the exterior of Sister Yolanda’s house and fix the roof of the mobile home of Doña Irma, who is a member of the community.
“On Sunday, we continued the study of I Peter, and talked about our responsibility before God and before the world, based on I Peter 2:11-25.
“Please continue to pray for the families of our congregation. God bless you all.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Although our attendance was down a little last Sunday, we had a good time of celebration. We participated in the Lord’s Supper. It is a good time to remember, give thanks for His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, the new covenant in His blood and remember that He will come for His church.
“The biblical basis of the sermon was in Acts 6, and our challenge was in serving. Based on the passage, we learned that if the early church chose only to serve the tables of people of good testimony, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, we cannot lower the standard. To serve in what we believe are simpler areas, for example cleaning the temple, we must meet those three requirements.
“From Tuesday to Thursday, my wife and I attended the Re:Charge conference and it was a great blessing for us.
“That the evening, I gave my Old Testament class. A thousand thanks for praying for us. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great week at Faith Chapel, even though our number was still a little down. Some are out sick, and some that were sick last week were back. There is a bug going around and we have a few out for COVID exposure. We pray that won’t come back strong. We did have three first-time visitors and several return visitors.
“Two of our longtime visitors, a very faithful couple, made a decision to be baptized and join us Sunday. Praise God! We will be going to Bull Shoals Lake after our morning service next week to do that. We thank the Lord for bringing them to us. We know they will be faithful, fruitful members. By the way, he is the man that got saved at our July 4th outreach along with his wife. I don’t think they have missed a service since that day. We just praise God for the way He works!
“We thank you for your prayers for us, Flippin and for all of those that we are trying to reach here. Please continue as God is hearing them and answering.”
The Table, Springdale: Clinton Morris writes, “Another whirlwind week is in the book. DeAnna, Fox and I were able to go to the Re:Charge conference. We had a great time connecting with other pastors and ministry leaders. The sermons on prayer and reliance on the Trinity were timely and uplifting. Do not quench the Holy Spirit.
“We went from there to Payneway to visit with DeAnna’s folks. Friday, I helped a friend who owns a store in Jonesboro. I love to encourage this guy whenever I am in town.
“On Saturday, I went to Walnut Ridge and had a game day with a few people that were influenced by my previous church plant. Some great conversations were had.
“Drew and Kaley’s house was invaded by two dangerous roving dogs on Tuesday. One of the dogs bit and broke their cat’s leg. The cat’s name is Scout. Drew was scratched up and also bit by the dog as he was trying to push them out of the house. Scary time. The dogs were rounded up. Scout had surgery on her leg this week and has a few weeks of recovery time. Pray for them as they continue to faithfully do God’s will in their lives at The Table, but also for protection over their home.
“Chris and Erin, our Children’s Ministry leaders, are going through medical situations that are debilitating. Pray for wisdom as they seek answers to what is happening.
“My family was at Temple Baptist Church in Jonesboro on Sunday sharing what God is doing with the church plant and what the future vision looks like. We are so pleased to have many people praying for us, and are grateful for the support that has been shown for this work.”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “Faith Journey continued our study of Joshua this week. We spoke about the way God required Joshua to destroy the kings and kingdoms until there was nothing that remained. We talked about the comparison of those kingdoms to our sin and that God wants us to completely remove sin from our lives so we may live a victorious Christian life.
“We are now beginning our sixth month of meeting for Faith Journey Mission. We are starting to see relationships form between families that are faithfully joining us every week. We are sharing our lives and burdens with one another and helping each other grow in our walk with Christ.
“Please continue to pray for us as we keep seeking God’s will for our mission.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “Hebrews 2:14 says “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” My dear brethren know it is something those of us who are believers need to remember since our success in ministry is nothing more than bringing the glory of God.
His presence is our goal. God is working to bring that glory to the whole world, and we are in charge of bringing that glory where we go. Our lives and ministries are based on knowing God and making Him known.
“The way of discipleship is God Himself, so we need to have a correct vision of who God is, what He has done and who we are. This knowledge will depend on how the disciple sees life — his goals, decisions, everything is affected by the image he has of God. Our duty is to show the disciple that nothing is better than God and His gospel.
“I was evangelizing in Springdale this week, and I was able to talk to 10 people and shared the gospel with 6 of them. Please pray for all of them.
“We continued to disciple the couple who live in Springdale on Monday. On Wednesday, a family came to our apartment and, for the first time, brought their daughter. We continued our study, which is part of the discipleship about salvation, and told them we all have a great debt to pay to God’s righteousness because we violate His law constantly.
“On Thursday and Friday, I am discipling a young man and talking about salvation. We begin with the question that is asked in Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his soul?” It is important for me to start with this topic since some claim to know Christianity or have attended a church, but they do not show fruit. I show them, through the Word, that if there is no fruit, possibly there is no Christ in their life, and they need to repent.”
Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Following our first collective worship gathering last Sunday, we announced we would host a preview night for our Connection Group this past Sunday (Oct. 2). We had two first-time visitors come and check out Connection Groups. We do things a bit differently by utilizing a Discovery Bible Study. Our leaders or ‘coaches’ don’t teach, but
rather facilitate the reading of the Wordand ask simple questions. It’s not easy for a first-time visitor to come into a group with that much interaction, but I’m amazed every time our first-time guests leave encouraged by connecting with others and the discovery they have in the Word.
“I actually missed our Wednesday night Connection Group meeting because I was at the Re:Charge Conference in Hot Springs, thanks to you. The conference on prayer was the exact thing I needed at that very moment. I’m so thankful that you — the BMA of Arkansas — invests in your missionaries. The encouragement and training directly impacted our work.
“By the way, though I was gone, another one of our coaches, Brian, led the group and we had another first-time guest!”
