Month: November 2021

November 24, 2021 Shofar Missions Cebu

Read what has been going on at Shofar Mission as we continue the mission God has given us.

Street Level Ministries

Street Level has been meeting weekly for discussions about big questions in the Christian faith: “Why Did Jesus Have to Die?” “How Can I Have Faith?” and “Why and How Do I Pray?” We have one new member who got connected by seeing a Facebook ad. We’re still meeting online, but making plans for when universities start meeting face-to-face again. The WOTS writers have been working on Issue 89 and distributing Issue 88. One of the SLR DJ’s has been hosting a weekly radio show from the office. At the end of October, we hosted a phygital Halloween party. A couple members joined us at the office! In December, Pastor Jonah will lead one of our Friday discussions, and we’ll finish out the semester with a Christmas murder mystery party.

Exploring Creation Science

Students and staff continue to tune in and engage each week with online lessons. One addition has been adding experiments with basic materials that schools can do as a whole group and observe over the course of the week. We have been able to see a few students in person. Those 12-18 are allowed out and those under 12 can be out if accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult. At the end of October, the school and church staffs that we work with were fully vaccinated. This has allowed for a conversation about more interactions with teachers and school administration. Since everyone is fully vaccinated opportunities to teach a lesson from a school with the teacher and share a meal with school administration are in the works. Exploring Creation Science also continues to provide Daily Bible Readings and staff reading plans for students.

Shofar Youth Network

We have continued to communicate with various churches and ask how their youth ministries are going. In some cases, school administration and pastors are also the ones that lead church youth groups. Since the youth had been unable to go out of the house, we were able to recommend a few ideas to a couple of youth groups in the city. As we start the new year, we are planning to continue providing resources and sponsorships to youth groups.

Prayer Requests

  1. Please pray for students to remain firm in their faith over the holiday season and in their conversations with family.
  2. Pray that those eligible for boosters would see the importance of getting them.
  3. Please continue to pray that people would follow minimum public health standards (wearing of facemask and social distancing) and get vaccinated.
  4. Pray that we would continue to get creative with ways to see people and minister in person as the new year begins.

November 22, 2021 The Children's Ministry

What do news broadcasters, camels, and the Christmas story have in common? They will all play a part in this year’s Christmas Program!

Christmas Program Progress

The Children’s Ministry and Homeschool Group are joining forces this year to present a Christmas Program called “The Nazareth Evening News.” Since the beginning of November, we have been using the Homeschool Group time on Thursday afternoons to practice the program.  The kids have been diligently rehearsing their lines, practicing music, all while having fun with each other. Praise God that we are able to work in close proximity to each other again and present a Christmas Program this year! The kids are all excited to share the program with their church family and friends on Wednesday evening, December 22.

Foundations Update

In other news, when the Foundations Room meets every other Sunday, we are continuing our journey through the Old Testament. After teaching about Gideon recently, I was reflecting on what a privilege it is to get to share lessons from the Bible and truths about God with the children here. And I was also marveling at how God orchestrates life situations in the lives of these kids (just as he does in ours!) that help move this information from head to heart.

This quarter the memory verse we’ve been learning is Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” I have been amazed to watch God bring up opportunities in the everyday lives of these kids, challenging them to make this verse a reality in their own lives. God is so faithful! Whether getting a shot, jumping off a diving board, or spending some time apart from parents, God wants them to know that He is always with them and can help them be brave. Obeying God and trusting Him in these small things will help the kids trust God in bigger things to come. It is such an honor to help point them to Jesus!

Foundations Class

Prayer Requests

  • That all the pieces of the Christmas Program would come together, the kids would be brave in presenting it, and that the program would be a blessing to all those who attend.
  • That God would bring some new families to church if it is in His time and His will.
November 19, 2021 River Falls Ministry

Over the past month we have been involved in the missions season which consisted of two trips to Louisiana. Because of our involvement several people have stepped up to support the ministry and fill the gaps for those travelling. Many thanks go out to those people and we are very thankful for those who have made our involvement in missions season possible.

Campus Church and Street Level

One Wednesday we met at the coffeehouse with the students to watch the Free Burma Rangers video. There was discussion and a lot of thoughtful questions. The material was difficult to process and it was a good challenge for all involved.

Matt came down from Duluth on a Wednesday evening to teach in church on Campus. We continue to have new students come to both the Monday study as well as church. As we draw closer to the end of the semester, it can often be easy to coast into the Holidays. Please pray for consistency in attendance and desire to for fellowship in the church community.

Campus Church in the Trimbelle River Room
Street Level, Monday Night

Word on the Street

Several students are showing interest in service opportunities and getting more involved in the community. This month there was a writing event for WOTS at the coffeehouse in River Falls on a Thursday night where we hosted the Menomonie crew. The WOTS team from Menomonie will continue to engage collaboratively with the students in River Falls. This is a great discipleship and fellowship opportunity for those involved.

Word on the Street Collaboration Meeting

Prayer Requests

Future planning in River Falls for the winter and spring months to come.

For students who are travelling home for the holidays that there is focus on desire to engage God and other Christians in their community.

Students as they are completing end of semester projects and exams.

Pray for a desire in the students and the rest of the church community to step up their service and commitment to things that God has planned for them.

November 13, 2021 Believers Church Duluth

Happy November from your friends in Duluth! In the spirit of the season, we have so very much to be thankful for. Our plates have been full of good teaching, outreach, fellowship, missions work, and service. Thinking back one year ago when the world was still mostly shut down, it’s been our joy to now be hard at work, taking advantage of all that God has put in our path. Here’s what we’ve been up to the past month.

FELLOWSHIP

Earlier in October, the couples were invited to join Menomonie for a camping trip at the JFB campground in Connorsville. As usual, there were lots of snacks, jokes, stories, long hikes with falling leaves, and weird noises from behind the fence.

We ended October in the spirit of Halloween with a good old-fashioned costume party. Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, so we got to hand out candy to the neighborhood kids in addition to playing games, feasting on chili, and eating (too many) tootsie rolls.

OUTREACH

Last year was the first time our Community Group brought the coffee trailer to “Boo at the Zoo” right down the road from the church. They invited us back again, and with COVID restrictions lifted, people were flooding in. We served coffee at the entrance, while another group of us gave out candy to literally thousands of people as they walked through the grounds. We spent three weekends in October at this event, and it was exciting to see so many people getting the church’s information into their hands.

Not only did we get our name out there, but there were several promising conversations and connections made with individuals who crossed our path. We’ve had billboards and bus ads for the church posted around town for a few months now with our “Live Like You Mean It” slogan, and some people were able to recognize us because of this. Please pray for fruit to come from our outreach efforts as well as for continued direction for our Community Group as we seek God’s direction for the winter months ahead.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Our pastors had a new outreach opportunity of their own that came about recently. Justin and Jesse were invited to host a mid-week Bible study at the assisted living home right across the street from the church. We’ve had a couple members of that community join us on for services on Sundays, and several more of them have been attending the study each week. Please pray for these individuals, that God would use his Word to reach them at a heart level.

Street Level has been continuing their series called Alpha. They’ve been partnering with Street Level Menomonie and River Falls over video for some of these studies. Recently, before dinner at the Garage, they have been meeting on campus to read a short excerpt from a book called, “What if Jesus was Serious?” and talk about it, devotional style. Street Level also co-hosted a pumpkin carving contest on campus at the end of October. Please pray for God to move through our campus and bless our efforts at reaching students for Him.

TEACHING

We’re continuing our study through the book of Romans on Sundays, and on Wednesday evenings, we are working thorough 1 Peter. In both books, two themes keep coming up: suffering and love. We are learning about the inevitability of suffering in our lives, how to handle it in a godly way, and how to continue loving our Church and our neighbors. Romans eight brought a refreshing and timely reminder of God’s love for us as the fuel for our love for others.

Later in October, we took a short break from Romans, and Pastor Jesse took us through a mini-series in Luke 12. It was all about setting our hearts on Christ’s mission and priorities and preparing ourselves for Jesus’ return. Jesus says that where our treasure is, there will our heart be as well. We looked at how to identify what we truly treasure in our heart and how we can direct our attention and affection to the Kingdom of God, so we don’t end up being fools in the end. We were challenged to answer the question, “Are you ready and eager for Jesus’ return? Or do you need more time?”

We hope you can thank God with us as we take time to praise Him for all He is doing and will continue to do. Thank you for praying for us; we hope to see you soon!

-Annie

November 10, 2021 Pastor Justin Thomson - Duluth

“Pressure makes diamonds…dragons make heroes”. Fact & fiction both agree that adversity has the potential to bring out the best in those who endure it. Folks who want to be great are a dime-a-dozen, but those who will do what it takes to get there are one-in-a-million. If you want to be remembered in the future, you’d better be ready to embrace pain in the present. History reveals that some of this world’s most notable characters were forged in some of life’s least comfortable climates.

For Joseph it was a prison. With Moses it was the desert. For David it was the wild. Jonah went through a great fish, Shadrach went through a fiery furnace, and Job went through a figurative hell. Each of them enduring their own private agony & bewilderment before finally emerging as Kings, Prophets, & Patriarchs.  

Greatness & glory have their prerequisites. Always have…Still do.

GOOD AS GOLD

People like these are scarce, but every generation has them. They are, what the Scriptures would call “GOLD” (Zech. 3:9)…a small minority of men & women who’s faith in God doesn’t turn to ash when they’re put through the fires of adversity. A ‘remnant’ who stays loyal to the Lord in spite of the cost involved. Those who stand out among their contemporaries for choosing pain over pleasure when God’s will involves pain. They serve Jesus in good times and in bad, for better or for worse, and are memorialized for doing so.

Remarkable men & women don’t just come out of nowhere…

But where is this remnant today? Gold in the hills has always been hard to find, but faith among men, even more so. Jesus Himself wondered, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” (Lk.18:8). It’s alarming to realize that the closer we come to Christ’s return, the softer the Christian community is getting. Buried beneath 21 centuries of cultural sediment, it’ll be a wonder if Jesus finds us at all.

PRICELESS GEMS

How many modern Christians are missing their chance to become the next Joseph simply because they won’t “let themselves be cheated” (I Cor.6:7)? How many believers are still living in worldly bondage just so they can avoid a trek through the desert? Or how many of us are bowing at the feet of man-made idols because we’re too scared of being thrown into the proverbial furnace?  

We fail to see hardship & privation for what it really is: A gift from God that keeps us from becoming the kind of person we all know is wrong. And if you’re not careful, you too could turn into the very person you’ve long despised. It all begins when your attention shifts from pleasing God, to protecting self.

Greatness & glory have their prerequisites

How many have suffered a stunting of their spiritual growth as soon as they found a spouse and secured a decent “nine-to-five”? They’ve grown more and more comfortable, while becoming less and less commendable. Their schedule is full, but their life is empty. Instead of turning into gemstones & dragon-slayers, they’ve become feeble & forgettable. It happens all the time.  

IN THE CRUCIBLE

The Christian faith is God’s invitation to an “abundant life”, but that abundant life includes pain and distress. Genuine Christianity is meant to bring a person to their melting point because it’s designed to produce great men and women, not people marked by mediocrity. If you want your life to count, you’ll have to carry your cross.  

Every golden ring is born in a crucible. Apart from a little heat, even the most precious of metals remain hard, unattractive lumps. Without any spiritual fortitude, a life gets ugly. Tomorrow’s church will be void of prophets & patriarchs if today’s Christians are void of patient endurance. 

PRECIOUS FAITH

I was recently asked, “Is there more to life than this?” The answer is “yes”, permanently yes. God always has more for you than what you currently enjoy of Him. The question isn’t whether God has more in store, but whether you’ll continue forward in the right direction despite the pain that awaits.

David did it, Joseph did it, and with a little faith of your own, you can do it too (as long as you’re willing to face the heat). Remarkable men & women don’t just come out of nowhere…they come out of adversity.

The only way into the Kingdom of God is “through much tribulation” (Acts 14:22), so don’t pawn off what could have been a 24-karat faith for a handful of fool’s gold.

“Trials show that your faith is genuine. It gets tested as fire tests & purifies gold (though your faith is far more precious than mere gold). So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world”

–I Peter 1:7