INTO THE FUTURE…
These first few months of 2023 have been very eventful. The Lord has been working in ways that only he can.
FAMILY WORKSHOP
The Lord used our family workshops at the end of January to encourage our parents as they seek to raise children to follow God in a world that tells them they should do the opposite. The topics ranged from dealing with purity and media in the home, to being an example for our children, to being a unified team in our parenting.
YOUNGTIMERS
On March 11, we began a new ministry for the 45 and over crowd. We called it Youngtimers, because this word in Germany is used to refer to a classic automobile that is well maintained. This event, on a Saturday, included fellowship over coffee and cake (a German tradition), a Bible lesson, a game, and singing.This event, led by our deacon, Michael Landgrebe, was attended by 14 people and included unsaved guests.
EASTER
Easter week is always a special time for us. On Thursday, we remembered the death of Christ with the Lord’s Table. On Friday, Caleb preached on the burial of Christ and the redemption that Jesus offers.
On Resurrection Sunday, our building was filled with over 120 people as we celebrated and proclaimed the risen Saviour. We were glad to see many returning guests as well as new guests on this day. Please pray for the lost to be saved.
A CHANGE OF DIRECTION
In our last letter, we spoke of the possibility that Caleb would be placed into the position of assistant pastor here.As we moved into February, God began working in our hearts that he may have something else for us. After much praying, fasting, and counseling, we have gotten clarity from the Lord that He is calling us to plant a new church in Germany. At first, this was hard for us to comprehend, because it means that we will have to leave people we have grown to love here in Bassenehim. It meant that we had to stop the process of being on the pastoral staff here.
Outside of God giving clarity and peace about it, there would be no other reason to leave. We not only must follow His lead, but we are excited as well about what the future holds. We are now in the process of finalizing a decision on where this new church plant will be, and hope to share more in our next letter as well as in our social media pages. For the last five years, it has been a pleasure to serve at Bibel Baptisten Gemeinde. We are hoping that we will be planting a church no too far away to collaborate with Bibel Baptisten on future events.
FURLOUGH FOR THE FUTURE
As of now, we have purchased our plane tickets to fly back to America on August 21st. This will begin a very important furlough, because we will need to raise additional monthly support to operate a ministry as well as some one-time funds for start-up costs. We are already deep into doing our homework to ensure that we are able to not being under leveraged. We are looking to schedule meetings in the far western states this fall. The rest of the country we will be looking to schedule starting January of 2024. Please pray that the calendar fills up quickly with churches who can help us in these ways.
COUPLES SEMINAR
On April 28-29, we will host our annual couples’ event at the church. Friday night is designated as a bowling event in which the couples will compete to win free registration for the next Couples’ Event.
On Saturday, we will have two Sessions as well as a Q&A roundtable on a biblical marriage. Please pray that God will use this meeting to strengthen the first institution that He created.
FAMILY CAMP IS COMING
It’s April, and that means one thing. It’s time to start planning and organizing our annual Family Camp. This is our single largest off campus event of the year. The week will involve preaching and teaching for our couples, singles, teens, and children.
The week always includes some fun team competitions surrounding our theme. This year our theme is “IM PARADIES’ or “In Paradise”, and will be a tropical island theme. Obviously, this means that the spiritual theme would be a focus on the eternal. Please pray that the Lord will bring all of the elements of this week together, so that families can be strengthened through the preaching of God’s Word.
PREGNANCY UPDATE
As of now, our precious Lydiah Rose is looking very healthy on the ultrasounds. On May 3rd, we will have an appointment that will determine if Alicia can have a VBAC birth or if a C-section is necessary. Please pray that a VBAC would be cleared in order to lessen the recovery time between the due date in early June and our flight to the US. Pray for Alicia’s body to gain the energy and strength it needs for the birth.
Overall, we are all doing well. The outpouring of prayer and support that we have received from our people here since the announcement has been extremely encouraging. We are always humbled that God would even think to use former school teachers to plant a church to the German-speaking world. We hope to be able to visit some of you as we make our journey through America in the coming year.
In the meantime, please continue in your prayers for us and remain steadfast in your witness for the Lord in your corner of the world.
God Bless!
PRAYER & PRAISE
- For those who need salvation
- For those who need Baptism
- A van for our family/ministry
- Our VISA cards to come in
- Alicia & baby – for healthy pregnancy
- For new servant leaders to be developed in the church
- For provision for the new church plant in Germany!
