Month: June 2023

June 28, 2023 The Homeschool Ministry

The official school year may be done, but that doesn’t mean that the learning & fellowship need to stop! One of the ways that Believers Homeschool Group is unique is that we meet all year long, even throughout the summer. I am so thankful that I am not alone in this journey of home educating. Having this community of families to explore with (field trips!), learn with and from, and to encourage each other is an invaluable part of homeschooling for our family.

Weekly Meetings

As we finished up the school year, we alternated between drawing lessons and “book clubs” (reading aloud in pairs) during our Thursday afternoon meetings. We’ve switched gears for the summer, and Laura is teaching us the basics of sewing in what we’ve dubbed Sewing School. So far, we’ve learned how to sew on a button and how to do basic hand stitching. After the lesson time, we transition to fitness time where we learn various sports such as baseball and soccer.

Special Events & Field Trips

We have also had a handful of field trips and special events over the past few months. In March, we were able to have an in-person Creation Science lesson with Laura while she was back from the Philippines. We also got to learn about Street Level’s Mission trip when Nathan & Pastor Ben stopped in to share some pictures and videos from their time in New Orleans. In April we toured the Chippewa Valley Regional Airport. In May, we had a yard games day to celebrate the arrival of warm weather! Additionally, many of us (including the teens) were able to attend the MACHE Homeschool Convention in Rochester, MN. And in June, it was like stepping back in time when we had the opportunity to tour Pioneer Village in Cameron, WI.

If you’d like more information on our group, you can find us on Facebook (only local Homeschool families please) or email homeschool@jfbelievers.com.

~Sara

June 25, 2023 Shofar Missions Cebu

Keep reading to see what is happening in the Philippines through Shofar Missions.

Team Prep

We’re excited for another team to arrive next month! To get ready for them to come, we’ve started announcing the Ministry Training Institute classes, Youth Leader Summits, and Street Level Summit to churches, friends, and anyone else who finds the information online. We’re thankful to have Erik and Tiffany here, too. Not only for the time we get to spend with them, but they’ve also been helping hang up banners and promote the events at regional pastors meetings. Please be in prayer for the team as they prepare to depart, and for us as we reach out to invite long-standing contacts and hopefully new ones.

Street Level Ministries

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been going through Francis Chan’s BASIC series. The teachings have led to interesting discussions, many of which keep going back to COMMITMENT to CHRIST and a LOCAL CHURCH. Street Level Radio welcomed a new volunteer this month. She joined the full group mixdown and is training with Pete to learn how to produce files for the air. Earlier this month, a few of us went on a morning hike to get some fresh air and good views of the city.

We’ve been pushing online advertising in hopes of reaching young people through what they look at most: their phones. Quite a few have reached out, and a couple have attended a meeting. One young lady said she heard about SLM in her first year of college when she noticed an open Wi-Fi network on campus. Lo and behold, it was the Street Level Radio network at the University of the Visayas. She also got a WOTS magazine on campus, but didn’t decide to come until now, three years later. It’s a good reminder to be faithful in the small things and trust God’s timing with the outcome.

Exploring Creation Science

The school year is coming to an end for many of the students here. Recently, we were able to attend the grade 6 graduation at Banawa Nazarene. The pre-graduation family dinners, practices, and events mean families have spent many hours preparing. During a recent graduation, the Nazarene District Superintendent challenged parents and students in attendance (only 3 students graduating were not part of the church) to consider if they would have spent the same amount of time actively involved in their children’s spiritual life. Next month, grade 6 graduates will gather for a special chapel service “To Finish Well, Keep Close to God” as they get ready to attend new schools. Many grade 6 students also attend church at Inayawan or Banawa Nazarene, so we have gotten to know some pretty well.

As the school year comes to a close, we had an opportunity to teach a couple of lessons on fossils and corals for students at the Wesleyan School while finishing up talking about “How We Got Here” with students at Southern Bethany. Students in grade 6 at Inayawan Nazarene learned about the different kinds of rocks that have been specially created. Lessons also continue on Shofar TV – some students that have Cebu Cable have said they will see us on TV this summer.

Prayer Requests

Please join us in praying for:

  • The word to get out about the upcoming team events and for people to register
  • College students and young adults to get connected to Street Level and to make following Jesus a priority in their lives
  • Pray for grades 6 & 12 students and staff as the school year ends. Grade 6 students transition to different schools and grade 12 to get a job or attend university. Pray for the teachers and staff they see as role models in their lives.
June 21, 2023 Kindred Adults Ministry

We had 37 join us for a weekend of camping at the Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary. We had guests from Menomonie, Duluth, Elmwood, Moose Lake, Hudson, and St. Paul. God gave us some great weather, good friends, deep discussions, and plenty of fun activities to enjoy!

Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend
Regional Christian Singles Camping Weekend

Thanks to all who signed up… We had a great weekend with you all… We look forward to doing this again!

June 19, 2023 Believers Church Duluth

Can you believe how fast spring flew by? We sure can’t!

For us in Duluth, it was a whirlwind of making memories, working hard and planning for the summer. We wanted to take a moment to catch you up on everything we’ve been up to and share our excitement for the future.

March: St. Patty’s Day Shenanigans and Group Hiking Fun
In March, we came together for a memorable game night on St. Patrick’s Day for a little friendly competition. To honor the occasion, everyone wore green, adding a touch of festive spirit to the event.

Later in the month, strapped on our boots and hit the local trails for a group hike. The beautiful scenery and great company made it an unforgettable afternoon.

April: Easter Blessings and Coffee Trailer TLC
For Easter, many of us took a road trip down to enjoy church in Menomonie. It was great to see our extended church family and share a special Easter meal together (which was delicious, by the way!). Some of our friends who are international students even got to tag along.

We also celebrated a significant milestone together as we witnessed Jesse’s ordination. It was a momentous occasion and we couldn’t be more proud of him and Chelsey.

As if that wasn’t enough, we decided to take our coffee-trailer game to the next level. We snagged a brand new trailer and spent some quality time working on it together to get it ready for service. Let’s just say we’re really brewing up something special. We also got to take it for its maiden voyage at a local homeschool conference.

May: Serving and Connecting with the Community
May was action-packed to say the least! We were excited to collate a brand-new issue of Word on the Street Magazine. After that, we distributed it to the community.

We also dove headfirst into a work day. It was filled with cleaning, crafting new signs for our spring rummage sale and giving the coffeehouse trailer some finishing touches.

Speaking of the rummage sale, it was a smashing success! We met so many lovely folks from the community, raised money for missions endeavors and had an absolute blast.

Looking Ahead: Sending Off Our Missionaries and Embracing Summer
On top of everything we’ve gotten to do this season, we’ve also been working hard to support Jesse and Chelsey as they get ready to embark on their full-time missionary journey to the Philippines.

One of the ways we’ve ben able to help them out is by lending a hand in building a cabin for them. That way, they will have a place of their own to stay during their visits back home. We’ll miss them like crazy, but we are so excited to see how God uses them in this next chapter!

With summer fast approaching, we are filled with anticipation. We are eagerly preparing to serve coffee at the upcoming Park Point Rummage Sales, where we hope to extend warm hospitality to the wider community.

As we embrace the season ahead, please pray that God will continue to use us as vessels of love, light and service in our community and beyond. We’re looking forward to updating you again soon!

June 10, 2023 Pastor Jesse Moss

The following is a fiction story to illustrate the futility of a life lived in the pursuit of what our culture says will satisfy.


The journey started pleasant enough. It was a beautiful cool day. The sun was shining, birds were chirping and there was a light breeze. It really was a perfect day to set out on an adventure. Although distant, when I lifted my gaze straight up I could see the destination. Sure, it was far off but nothing that I couldn’t manage. Squinting, I could see the splendor that awaited me. The ladder was tall and at times I lost sight of it among the clouds. It was a shiny green metal and I couldn’t help but think of Jack and the Beanstalk, but this was no fairy tale, it was the real thing. This was my life and I was determined to succeed. 

With great confidence, I began my climb, quick and energetic, With every rung I could see the prize getting closer. Success would be mine before I knew it. I just had to keep going one foot in front of the other.

As time went on I began to notice just how far I had yet to go. But I was undeterred, after all nothing good ever came easy. It was colder now. My hands had begun to fall asleep from my fingers tightly grasping each and every rung ensuring that I didn’t slip and fall. One misstep and all of the exerted effort would have been in vain. My pace slowed. When I looked down I could see that others had begun the accent. All of us knowing with unwavering certainty that the great prize awaiting us would be worth any temporary discomfort. Great things never come in comfort zones. 

I began to count the rungs as I passed them. It seemed like a good way to pass the time. 1,2,3,4,6, no that can’t be right now I have to start over. 1,2,3,… on and on it went. Only the knowledge that everything I had ever hoped for and dreamed about would soon be attained kept me going. I simply needed to keep pushing ahead. Hand over hand and foot over foot I continued to climb. 

After starting my count over for what seemed to be the three thousandth time, I realized I was no longer wearing shoes. Having long ago lost all feeling to any of my limbs I wondered how long since they had fallen. I’m certain they were on my feet when I started the venture. Oh well, shoes were a small price to pay for what awaited me. So I trudged on. What had started as a joyful journey could now only be described as drudgery.

My eyes were firmly locked on the ladder, no longer wanting to brave the look below. The ladder had long ago become encrusted in corrosion. My hands filled with flakes of rust. The grandeur had given way to ruin. Yet I kept going. 

My arms ached in pain. My legs felt as though they were lead. It took every last ounce of energy that I had to pick my foot up and place it on the rung above. It seemed as though the ladder never ran out of rungs. It was like trying to go the wrong way on an escalator. No matter what I did, the destination didn’t get any closer. But not being one to give up, I pushed on, fighting the pain, cramps, and fatigue. I had spent myself to get here. I remembered the years of training and preparation, I though of the mentors promising that the pain would be worth it in the end. 

I couldn’t believe that I had traveled so far. Blood was dripping from my limbs but I could finally see the prize. The top was nearly within grasp. What felt like a lifetime passed. Perhaps it did. Eventually, I reached the last few rungs, nearly losing my footing in my excitement.to behold the prize. The last few steps felt like an eternity. My eyes crested the long awaited edge and when my eyes beheld what lay before me my mouth opened in shock. It was nothing like I had ever imagined. Simply put it was… nothing, I had climbed the ladder to nowhere. There was nothing special about this place. It was no different than anything else. Expecting the elation of final fulfillment I instead experienced empty disappointment. 

Looking down again I saw others scrambling after me. I tried to warn the upcoming climbers, but they refused to listen, “It’s not what you think. It’s not worth it. Don’t waste your life!” I called down, but few would listen. They were determined and had to see it for themselves.

I’d gotten to the very top, I chased what everyone told me to chase, and it was empty. What a waste. I had spent myself and for what? I slowly and methodically headed back down with a heart full of disappointment and despair.


Another way

Countless people spend their lives striving for what can only lead to disappointment, climbing ladders that reach nowhere. God warns us that what we think satisfies never will. (Proverbs 14:12). Jesus offers another way. He says to seek first the kingdom of God and that then everything else will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).