During our recent Advisory Committee trip, we were approached by a candidate who wants to plant north of Little Rock in the Jacksonville/Cabot area. David Inzer, chairman of the State Missionary Committee has called for a special meeting to consider this candidate.
This meeting will take place on Sept. 14 at the El Faro Baptist Church, 7002 Baseline Rd., Little Rock, Ark. 72209. Be sure and make plans to attend to ensure we have a quorum and to be an encouragement to the candidate. God is still working through your State Missions, and I praise God for answered prayer in sending another planter. We are well able to take on this project.
Great Visits
Last week, the Advisory Committee and I traveled to all your mission works except for Juan Carlos in North Little Rock who had a medical procedure those two days. Please pray for him and his family. All the men were encouraged and gave excellent reports. It appears things are shaping up to be a good fall and winter for State Missions.
Update
It has taken longer than expected to get the necessary paperwork concerning the installation of our driveway and parking lot. It will be wonderful to have our own place to park as we must get permission from the school for our visitors and committees to park. Hopefully, this problem and others will be resolved soon.
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “Marco, a junior from North Little Rock High School, after hearing Oscar Gómez preach, came forward, knelt down and, with a contrite and humiliated heart, gave his life to Christ. When he was in elementary school, we used to pick him and his cousin, Ana from his house for meetings on Wednesday nights, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we stopped picking them up.
Ana and her mother moved to Virginia. Marco, his little brother, David, and his mother, Yajaira have been congregating with us since the beginning of the year. David made his profession of faith at VBS and Marco made his this Sunday. May the name of God be glorified! After five years of caring for Marco, he has finally turned his life over to Christ.
“Around 3 p.m. this Saturday, we were already tired, and the ambient temperature was 107° F. We were discussing that it was probably better to go to our houses to rest since we had been working under the sun since 9 a.m. Now it was time to place the wood and rods for the retaining walls, but we were exhausted. Suddenly, Oliver, a 12-year-old boy who has been coming with his father every Saturday to work on the construction of the playground, began to work hard, encouraging the rest of the group and we continued working until 6:30 p.m. What a blessing, what encouragement and what motivation the new air that God provided us through Oliver meant to us.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “We had an inspiring service last Sunday. Hearing testimonies of what God has done during the week is always a blessing. We had a reflection on the importance of our intimacy with God and our prayer life. Starting in September, our congregation will begin to write a Spiritual Diary. After analyzing the biblical passage, we will write in our diary the answer to the question, ‘What did God speak to my life?’
“We continue to teach the Gospel Movements workshop. We touched on the theme of sharing the gospel through a Bible story. The idea is to share Bible stories in our own words. We also introduced the theme for next week — forming disciples — and we will be sharing the Biblical Discovery Studies. Although we had a good attendance, I ask your prayers for those who do not have the discipline to gather, or who are inconsistent in doing so. Thank you for your prayers. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a great week at Faith Chapel! Our number was back up a little, with one first time visitor. It was our neighbor we invited over a year ago when we met him. He finally came and says that he is going to try and bring his wife next week. Praise God!
“Executive Director Paul White and the Missionary Advisory Committee came Monday for their annual visit, and we were able to show them the work that has been done on the new building. They were very complementary and encouraging to us, as they always are. I have never felt that I, or our work, was being evaluated. It is always like they just want to know how they can help our mission fulfill God’s purpose in Flippin. I am thankful that they give of their time from their busy schedules to come and encourage us, all your missionaries, in our own communities. It is not an easy trip to cover in two days, but they do it faithfully and cheerfully. I thank God for them!
“The building is still progressing, though last week seemed especially slow, between the extreme heat, doctor appointments and a trip to Little Rock. And there are more things like that scheduled for this week, but we are still making progress, and we know we will be in there soon. Praise God!
“Thank you again for your prayers and support. Please continue as we could not do this without them or without you!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “Faith Journey was able to spend time with the BMA Advisory Committee this week. We were able to share our vision for the mission over the next few years and show them all the ways this mission has been blessed since its start over a year ago. The committee is a great group of Christian men who have valuable insight into starting and growing missions. They have been a great source of inspiration for me personally and I am so thankful for each of them.
“Over the last few weeks, we have received several designated offerings toward the mission. We are so grateful to individuals, who may not even attend the mission, who support Faith Journey because they feel led to help further God’s kingdom by their contributions. Thank you for your faithfulness.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We finished a glorious week for us as a church. The Advisory Committee visited Monday, and we are continuing our discipleship in the three areas where we are meeting — Pea Ridge, Springdale and Rogers. Day by day, the brothers grow in maturity, and (we hope) also to the commitment to the Lord and the work He has called them to do in their circle of influence.
“We ended the week with our Sunday service and our first baptisms. Four brothers went down to the waters, and we were able to rejoice and celebrate with them their new life in Christ and their commitment to the local church. We were able to remember the sacrifice of Christ, who was buried and raised to new life, and remember that the same thing happens to us when we give our life to Christ — we die to the old life and rise to a new life united to Christ.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “Last night, we held our first Connection Group Preview Night in our new space, Room 161. The idea with the Preview Night is to give people an opportunity to check our Connection Groups in a ‘neutral’ location. For some, coming to a home is hard, so this allows a chance to preview what we do. They then have the option to come back to a follow-up preview night or join one of our home groups.
“We had two new families come check out the Preview Night. One of the families came from our social media engagement. We had no idea what to expect. We look forward to what is ahead. The creation of new connection groups like we did with the preview night grows us exponentially. Throughout our Connection Groups we average 24 total. With the addition of this third group, we had 38 this week!”
2023 State Missions Special Emphasis Receipts
Goal — $50,000
Antioch West, Waldo $355.00
Antioch, Nashville $1,000.00
Bodcaw, Rosston $1,000.00
Calvary, Marvell $430.00
Calvary, Morrilton $1,000.00
Church at Willow Beach, North Little Rock $1,000.00
College View, Magnolia $970.25
Crockett Bluff, DeWitt $500.00
Cross Roads, Warren $694.00
Eastside, Lonoke $600.00
Fellowship, Bella Vista $1,000.00
First, Caldwell $5,000.00
First, Magnolia $1,595.00
Friendship, Greenbrier $200.00
Gum Springs, Arkadelphia $201.00
Highland Hills, Highland $2,500.00
Immanuel, Greenbrier $586.00
Kellogg Valley, Sherwood $150.00
Kingsland, Kingsland $1,500.00
Macedonia, Jonesboro $500.00
Macedonia, Magnolia $1,000.00
Mt. Nebo, Hope $500.00
Pleasant Springs, McCaskill $500.00
Pleasant Valley, Greenbrier $875.00
Sand Springs, Damascus $406.00
Shady Grove, Piggott $1,000.00
Springhill, Greenbrier $1,000.00
Temperanceville, Nashville $1,850.00
Tenth Street, Paragould $50.00
The Bridge, Mountain Home $383.00
Unity, Dardanelle $100.00
BMA Central Ark Brotherhood $489.00
David & Judy Burns $100.00
Total Received through 8/23/2023 $29,034.25
