Camp Time This Week!

We had a good time at church this morning at Fellowship Community Church. The music was good and one particular song "Worthy Is The Lamb" touched my heart and just reminded me that Jesus truly is the "darling" of heaven and gave it all up to come down to "seek and to save that which was lost" and "that" was me....and you, if we will but trust Him as our Saviour. I have and trust that all who might read this blog message would too. As for this upcoming week, I am planning on going to Camp Ta-pa-win-go tomorrow on Monday, so please pray for me and Ginny as we minister to young people and pass out cups of "living water" to them. And as I have said before, you can't help but get wet yourself sometimes when you're giving water to others, so I pray God blesses Ginny's and my heart as we sing, speak, and love others all in the name that is above all names, that being JESUS.

Lessons From God

I still remember last week being such a blessing in several ways. Our Bible study group got to go and minister by serving dinner at the Salvation Army's Red Shield Lodge downtown Roanoke; then on Saturday we had our first outreach effort for Life Pointe Church by having a Car Show-Car Wash plus our first Monthly Movie Madness; so it was a very, very busy week but a blessful one. This week our Bible study was about the parable of the Good Smaritan, again reminding me of how we are suppose to be servants and take care of those who need to learn of the love of God. So this upcoming week, from Monday until Friday, I get to visit Camp Ta-pa-win-go, my favorite camp to go to in Tenn. where I get to speak about 9 times to junior highers. I want to ask you to pray and to ask the Lord to just use what I say so that others might be drawn to Him and become fellow servants, just as Jesus was, who was the ultimate example of what a servant is. I enjoy camp and speaking, and I look forward to next week, and just pray that God would work mightily on hearts, including my own.

Making History for God

Thanks for all of you who prayed for our Monthly Movie Madness Night that was tonight at Huff-Lane Elementary School! Although we have not officiallly started Life Pointe Church yet, this was our first outreach to the community and so it was sort of the first event for our future church! We had around 16 people at first, and then about 1/2 hour into the movie, the door opened and a couple of families totally about 14 people came in, so all in all we had 30 people for our first event, so that was good and God blessed us! We first arrived at the school this morning at about 10 o'clock for our Car Show/Car Wash and that lasted until 4 then we worked to get ready for the movie tonight at 7, so it was a very busy day. Bascially we left the house at about 10 this morning and got back at 10 tonight! But again, thanks for your prayers and all you who came and helped, I truly appreciate it! And thanks again to those who came to the Red Shield Lodge and helped us to serve food to the homeless folks this past Wednesday, it was a blessing to serve others! It was exciting today to see us finally have our very first event for the future Life Pointe Church of Roanoke! I thank God for blessing us as He did and prayfully it is the start of many more blessings to come in the future as God opens doors and hearts for us to glorify Him!

First Event for Life Pointe Church!

It's exciting! It's amazing! We are, after much work, but importantly, after GOD has SHOWED HIMSELF mighty, we are going to have our first Life Pointe Church event! This coming Saturday at 7:00 pm we are going to have Monthly Movie Madness. A time that family in our neighborhood and community can come and enjoy a free movie, along with free popcorn, and free drinks, all compliments of Life Pointe Church. We have banners up in the yard of the school that we hope will grab folks attention as they drive by these next few days. I just pray that God will bless our efforts and work as only He can to show folks that we are going to be there for them. I can't believe we're hours away from washing cars, (that's from 10:00 until 4:00) and showing cars, (we've asked some folks to come show their nice cars off) and showing a movie to show folks we care. May God get the Glory for all we do. Why He chooses us, I don't know. Why He chooses me, I don't know. But I am just so glad He did. So humbly we will continue to march, blaze new trails, and do things that bring joy to us, put a smile on His face, and hopefullly and prayerfully will make a difference for eternity. God Be Praised!

Blessings From God!

As I begin this new week, I cannot help but think again and thank God again at how richly He blessed us so much last week with so many answers to prayers. Some we didn't even have the chance to ask, He just took care of it before we could even think of it. And some of them are small details while others are big ones, but still God is moving and proving Himself to be in this adventure that He has called us to be a part of. To name just a few of the things He took care of last week, consider the following:
1. Andy designed a web page for the church on Sunday to go along with the blog page Ashley had already set up for us. The site looks great and I think will really tell folks about us in a good way!
2. We put our freshly designed website up and then on this past Friday even signed up to have our own personal domain name which is: http://www.lifepointeroanoke.com/
3. Andy also put me on FaceBook so to help spread the word about the church and what our future as well as current plans are.
4. A church stamp was designed and ordered so we could put our name on the tracts, booklets, etc. that we hand out to anyone.
5. Flyers, bulletins, and tickets were designed and then printed up for our very first event which is this Saturday, June 21st, 2008! We are going to have a Car Show/Car Wash from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and then show a movie at 7:00 p.m. It will be a busy day!
6. Folks are volunteering to bring their cars for the car show.
7. Andy designed a banner and I took the idea to the Fast Signs and we now await the banner being finished so we can hang it out at the school so folks will see what we are doing. Should be a great advertisement for us and hopefully will get the word out to our community and neighbors!
8. Final confirmation and approval was gained to use the site we have selected, Huff-Lane MicroVillage Elementary School.
9. Ginny, Ashley, and Andy continue to be a big blessing to me and a great help in getting all the work accomplished that needs to be done.
10. I was interviewed by the Pocket Testament League and I was able to share some of the ways I have used the great little books they make available. The booklets contain the Gospel in the front and the book of John following these pages. With the colorful covers, these books are great to witness with and I encourage everyone to try and get some and use them. In case you need the web addreses here it is: www.pocketpower.org
11. Finally God is a Great God and continues to show Himself Mighty!

Missions

I write this at about 10:00 pm after spending some time tonight meeting with friends who were hosting a man whose home is Ndhiwa which is a village of Kenya, East Africa. When I first met and spoke with Peter, he seemed like a pleasant man who spoke of things "back home" including a school for first through fourth graders of which he serves as sort of a "headmaster". Plus he has planted four churches of which he is still the pastor of the last one he planted. And then he spoke of the orphanage which has over 280 children as participants. During dinner, he spoke of these things, and quickly after dinner wanted to share the video of slides that showed the things he had been talking about. As I watched, I watched with keen interest and then as I heard Peter's heart and saw the young children who so deperately need clean, clear, drinking water to survive and classrooms to learn, and a dormitory to live, my heart began to break. I went into the other room just to think and pray and waited for a time to speak to Peter about what was going through my mind and also touching my heart. As I had the chance to speak to Peter again in a short time, my tears flowed, my heart broke, and I prayed with a brother who I had just met this evening, but who has a burden for souls and has a background that I so much can identify with in some ways. A headmaster of a school; a person who left education and wanted to plant a church; and a person who has a burden from Jesus to help others. Although I am much more blessed here in the U.S., I still felt a connection to a fellow brother in Christ. I want to help Peter and so I pray for him and give to him, and would indeed count it a privilege to actually go and help him with the school, church, and orphanage that he wants to build and grow. So pray. Pray for Peter and his family of not only a few, but hundreds of people who are blessed by this man's vision and the hand of our loving, gracious, God.

God's Goodness!

I am just reminded again today at how good God is to us and how He has really blessed us this week in getting more and more things ready for the church He wants us to plant. Andy's work on the church webpage is so valuable and makes it so much easier for folks to look us up and learn more about us. I am excited and very pleased at all the things he has been working on and making look so good to give the church a pleasant "look" for folks to see. Web pages take forever to work on sometimes and yet Andy's got it ready and we will soon have our domain name to put out there for folks to see. It's exciting! And Ashley continues to be a blessing to me too with her working out many of the details and planning things so they will be taking care of as our future events draw closer. And even designing this blog page to let me both chronicle things as they happen and to inform those who want to know what's going on and how God is richly blessing us so much is just great! And yesterday Ginny let me know that several things that need to happen for us to have our first event on June 21 are now in place. Obtaining permission and getting forms in, and just a host of details that need to happen, yet take so much time to do, are now in place and it's again just a reminder to me that "the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord". To me that means not only does God give the orders, which are great, but God places things in order, which is also great. I'm glad God gives us our orders and puts things in order, so everything is organized and works to the very best! I am so blessed to have the most supportive folks around to be the ones in my very own family. I am indeed blessed beyond measure.

Pocket Testament League

I don't recall right off if I have mentioned the Pocket Testament League or not but it's an organization that can help folks obtain a small booklet that gives the plan of salvation in the front few pages, then also gives the complete book of John for folks to read after they accept Christ as their Savior. The little booklets really are great and I find myself using them more and more as I try to share my faith with others. Tonight, after Bible Study, and after us talking about Jesus sending the 12 disciples out in the world to witness (Matthew chapter 10), our study group went over to Sonic to get a milkshake. There is this one particular young man who is always kind and courteous to us and after we got up and got ready to go, I gave him a booklet and then got the chance to share with him for about 2o mintues. Pray that God will touch his heart and he will consider some things I shared but more importantly, he will read the booklet that he now has and see his need to have Christ in his life. If you want to get some of these booklets, try the address: www.pocketpower.org and you can see how to get them. And if they ask you for a reference number you can use this one: 272039. I really think these are great, and I really encourage you to try to share your faith more with others. Remember, Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. We really need to take an active part in helping this to happen.

God Is Working!

God continues to show Himself mighty and open doors and just bless situations when we need His help! I went today to check on getting a banner made for the upcoming movie nights that Life Pointe wants to do this summer as an outreach to the community, so before I even got out of the car I just bowed my head and ask the Lord to bless as we do the work He's called us to do for the church, and whether it's small details, or big ones, just bless us and work things out so we can accomplish much for Him. I said "amen", then walked in to the office and ask to speak to someone I had worked with long ago. He came out after a few mintues, remembered me, offered me help, showed me the colors I wanted to use, gave me encouragment and by the time I left, had gave me a price that was probably half of what I was expecting to pay. Again, God provided more than I ask and gave me a "lift" just by showing me He is in what we are doing and will take care of all the things we need to get done. It's humbling to know the God who made the universe takes time to work out a price on a banner. He's good to us and if we all can just keep that in mind I know we will "worry" or "wonder" a whole lot less on how we are going to get things done.

Good Weekend!

This past weekend was a good one starting even with Friday night when Ginny and I got to go out and celebrate our 27th Wedding Anniversary! There is a resturant called the Liberty Station in Bedford that we like to go to for special occasions and this definitely qualified for that! With presents for me and roses for Ginny, the evening was very nice and I am indeed thankful for a pretty wife that is so supportive and faithful and thoughful, especially when I have often, over the years, led our family over some rough terrain, but to places that I knew God was leading. It seems I am continuing to do that as we seek to plant Life Pointe Church here in Roanoke. But God has been faithful to us over the years and I am confident that He will continue to show Himeself mighty in all that we are attempting to do for His Glory and pleasure. And Andy and Ashley continue to be a blessing to me also. Andy worked very hard this weekend to produce a web page for the Church with lots of good info and details and it looks great, so be on the lookout for that soon as it will help us get the word out about the church in a better and probably much faster way! It is really exciting to see things taking place and I know that so much work goes in to something like a web page or making banners, etc. even though it may not appear like that at times. I certainly know better! So a big thanks to Andy for working hard on the web page and just for he and Ashley for all the work and encouragement they do and give to me as we pioneer the start of the church. God has given me much to be thankful for and I do praise Him for it!

God Is Good All The Time!

I know God is good all the time but on some days He really outdoes Himself and shows Himself mighty in ways that can only be Him! Today is one of those days! When I arose this morning I soon was talking to Andy and Ashley and found that they had stayed up till about 2 a.m. working on things for the church. That alone blessed my heart knowing they share the same vision I do and are willilng to sacrifice sleep and are excited to keep right on working even though it's late. They shared with me what they were working on and ways to make our summer outreach ideas even better! And I was excited just hearing about their ideas and how we could implement them. Andy had designed a flyer with Ashley's ideas in mind and I thought they were great. After talking for awhile I had to get on to school, but I was blessed to see how much effort and time Andy and Ashley both had put in to helping make our summer outreach and thus the church to be as effective and encouraging as it can be! Then after arriving at school I emailed a person who is vital to granting us permission to do certain things this summer and after praying and giving the matter to the Lord, He just seemed to say, "I'll take care of it!" And then he gave me the verse as I was praying, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" and I just felt peaceful after that and knew that He would indeed take care of it and take care of us. I just thought, what could be more His will than this, when we are trying so hard to reach the people of the community and to provide hope and a connection to the church that I believe He will use to reach so many people. So I had peace and as it turned out, a few hours later, I learned that the person had indeed said "ok" to our requests and God had helped us take not a big step, but a giant leap in the direction we need to go! So praise His name for His answer to prayer and His confirmation that we are right smack dab in the center of His will! The blessings didn't stop there though, for when I got home from school, I found that Andy had established a spot on FACE BOOK for me and Ashley had found out some news about showing our movies this summer. Again, I thought God is so good and I am grateful, thankful, and surprised and excited at just how much our Good God can accomplish through us and others all in the span of one day! I'm grateful for Andy and Ashley's invaluable help and for a God that just has blessed me over and over today! God is good all the time but today He was, as Tony the tiger would say................... GRRRRRRRRREAT! Makes you wonder, what is our Great God going to do next??!!

Plant, Plow, Harvest!

I had the opportunity to attend the Evangelism Conference held at Green Ridge Baptist Church back in March, sponsored by the SBCV which had the theme PUSHING BACK THE DARKNESS. One of the session speakers there was the evangelism professor from Liberty U., David Wheeler. I recall he made the point that if we plant and plow, then God will bring the harvest. This is so good to remember because we often feel that we have failed if we don't win someone to the Lord instantly or everytime we share our faith. It's God who brings the harvest, so that should help us to know that if we are just faithful "plowers" and "planters" then God will do the rest. With that said, I felt I had a good night of plowing and planting last night even right on the very street where I live. It seems God is allowing me to talk more to my neighbors and get to know some of them better and even last night let me meet a couple that I had never spoke to in my life. So with new folks moving in or just with those that I haven't had the opportunity, (or taken the time or opportunity) to meet, it seems God is honoring my heart's desire to allow me to get more acquainted with folks, build bridges, establish relationships, and (prayerfully) plant and plow where I never have before. It's just amazing how for so long I would just come home, go in my house, and not really been concerned about those around me. Sure I might say hello, but not much more than that. Now though, since doing my prayer walk, and catching more of what God's vision is, I see "needs" not just neighbors; and souls not just people. And God has just really encouraged me that if I don't grow weary and if I continue to plant with tears of joy that one day, maybe even sooner than I think, He will being harvesting, and what a day that will be!

Summer Events

I must admit I get a little anxious or "antsy" sometimes for things to hurry and start and then again on other days, (like the past couple) instead of feeling like "yeah, let's get going!" I feel a little low or wonder "can we really do all this?" But then again, after not staying low or fretful for very long, (Praise the Lord!), Jesus helps me to think through things and again focus on Him, His power, and the things that lie ahead. He gets me excited about them and reminds me that they will take place soon enough, so just stay faithful and keep preparing for the things He has placed on my heart to do. Like today, I was encouraged and got excited just by talking to Ginny, Andy, and Ashley about some things we are planning and want to do for this summer. One of these ideas is to have a family movie night every month this summer and thus introduce the church to the neighborhood plus give the folks a fun, family time together in a Christian atmosphere. What better way to build the church than to have evangelistic outreaches? And I started picturing big banners, and then Andy designed a "poster", which is what the big banner will look like, and I just started getting excited again about all the possibilities that await us and the church God wants to build. Does that mean all the details have been worked out?? Of course not, so please pray that they will be worked out and that these dreams and visions will soon take root and become reality, not just ideas. But please do pray because I believe God is with us, and as the Bible says..."If God be for us, who can be against us?" but we need everybody's prayers to do all that God wants us to do.