July is for Jubilation

Greetings in the name of the Lord,

Jubilation means uninhibited rejoicing in the celebration of a victory or success and July has been a very good month. Of course, every month is a good month when you put your complete trust in the Lord. Some months are awesome, and other months require more faith to be able to rejoice uninhibited. But, we know that all things work for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.

So here are some examples of what we have to rejoice about:
1) We are still moving forward with Evangelism Explosion, although we have not had the joy of leading someone to Christ yet.
2) Sister Johnson has finally been released to attend church on Sunday mornings. She is such a blessing and a joy to have with us.
3) We had an outdoor concert with a small group called New Fire. Jonathan Firey is a member of a more famous group called FFH (Far From Home), who are taking a sabbatical right now. The weather was quite warm, but many people jumped in to help, the attendance at the concert was good, and the ministry was anointed.
4) We officially welcomed Pastor Edward Crite in as our part time Associate Pastor. He is finding His way for greater ministry to our congregation.
5) We finally found and purchased a newer bus. We are attempting to repair the old one enough to be able to sell it. Pray we find a buyer.
6) The attitude and atmosphere of the church is rising to a glorious high again. Sometimes it is easy to get focused on the negative things that go on around us. But, God is bring us through, as usual. God is faithful and there is a great deal to rejoice about. God and the life He gives us are GOOD!
7) We have had the pleasure of a higher than usual number guests in our services. Most churches don't see a lot of visitors during the summer. Our prayer is that they will feel the love of Jesus and be touched by the Holy Spirit so that they will return and choose us as their church family. Already God has blessed us by adding to our number some wonderful people.
8) The new building is still moving forward. We have had a few good work days and many volunteers came out and did what they could. Presently, we are finishing our work on the garage, which is quite nice. The floor in the sanctuary has been poured and the walls for the sanctuary are being erected. The electrician has done as much as he can do for the moment. Dan Steele is putting in the plumbing so our builder can pour the rest of the floor. Dan plans on hooking up the water and septic as soon as the ground dries up later this week.
9) Our new website; www.lwcedw.org, is still growing and developing, thanks to Johan Bester. For example, our online store is up and running, as well as our prayer center. If you purchase your Christian music or books by going through our store button, you will be taken to Christian Book Distributors, and we will receive 10% of your purchase. And, if you need prayer, you can go to our prayer center and make your need known. Your request will be forwarded to Pastor Crite and he will be sure that your needs are bathed in prayer by our prayer warriors.

On the other hand, we are still trying to get the county to approve our use of the MAPS RVers ministry. Time is ticking away and our window of good weather is slowly closing. RVers don't like the winter months. Please being praying about this. We desperately need their help and ministry. There have also been several people who have had, or are going to have, surgery this month. Thank God none of it has been life threatening, and everyone has been recovering well so far. Finally, Pastor Josh and Charity have had some disruptions in their living situation and are in need of a place to live sooner than they expected. With the baby on the way, and them just getting started as our youth and children's pastor, pray that this situation is resolved so that they can prepare for the arrival of their son and they can move forward without such worries.

So, here is the latest update. Kim, Kassi and I are doing great. We hope, pray, and trust that things are going wonderfully for you as well. Always remember, Matthew 6:33 "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things (your needs) will be given to you as well." Seeking after God, His love and His daily presence in your life, as well as being in a right relation to Him, is the prerequisite to receiving from God all your needs in life. And it is nothing but pure joy to know God and live according to His will and His Word.

God Bless!

Building the Kingdom

We are moving right along. In addition to building our new church facility, we started our Evangelism Explosion ministry. Last Sunday we went out to share the Gospel.

We have been having some awesome services on Sunday nights and we have been experiencing the presence of God in powerful ways. We have been just soaking in the presence of the Lord and waiting to see what He is going to do or say. It has been very refreshing and encouraging. The worship team is doing in outstanding job playing and ministering in the Spirit.

We brought Pastor Crite on staff as our part-time Associate Pastor. His primary focus of ministry is going to be in the area of prayer. He will also help with visitation, pulpit ministry, and ministry around the altars. We are very glad that God has led Brother Crite and Sister Opal to us. They have been a wonderful blessing, and we will officially receive them on staff on July 20th.

Pastor Josh and Charity have also been hard at work. They have taken over Children's Church, done a Family outreach in Cottonwood Park, and sponsored several activities with the youth group. They are also looking for a different place to live, so please pray that they find a house soon.

We are doing an outdoor concert in our parking lot on Sunday, July 13th. Liberty Worship Band will be opening (our P&W band) and New Fire will be the feature group. We will also have a bounce house for the kids and free food. It all starts at 6:00pm.

Our website is coming together and we are about to take possession of it so that we can add content and work the site ourselves. There have been some website building issues, but it is a great website!

Our building project is coming along. We are 70% finished with the garage. All the footings have been built in the new church and the last of foundation walls are being poured today. We are working hard to install the RV hook ups so that we can have RVers come and help us. Hopefully we will have them up and running in 2 weeks, weather permitting.

Kim and Kassi are doing well. Kim is enjoying her summer off, and is already preparing for next school year. Kassi is hard at work and she is anxious to start school in the fall.