September Newsletter 2016
Anderson Family Update
The Anderson family has been up to all sorts of “fun”. Noah started his first job, at Chick-Fil-A, this past spring and just started 9th grade. Isaiah had been having some issues with his teeth and upon consultation with an orthodontist we discovered he has some other issues going on. He is “joyfully” embracing the metal mouth era! Isaiah is in 8th grade this year. Nehemiah and Moriah enjoyed summer swim lessons and soaked up the great outdoors as much as possible! Nehemiah is in 3rd grade and Moriah is starting her grand adventure of Kindergarten. Judah is busy trying to keep up with all of his older siblings and, honestly, does a pretty good job. After over a decade of medications to control his heart arrhythmia, Matthew had a cardiac ablation last month. He shot an elk last week, so I would say he is recovering well. Chandra has been working a couple days a week over the summer and is geared up and ready for our 11th year of homeschooling! We were blessed to have Chandra’s parents here for over a month. It was great spending quality time with them and hearing of their vision for Liberia and sharing our vision for Utah! We also got to spend 10 days with our great friends Jerome and Diana Freihaut.
Utah Valley Church (UVC)
Our first church plant in Spanish Fork, UT is taking off. In July, UVC, hosted a cowboy church for the local rodeo. We had 63 people attend that service with three decisions to trust Christ and be baptized! We also started meeting Sunday mornings in downtown Spanish Fork at Boothe Brothers Performing Arts Center. We have had several visitors over the summer and 3 new families that have been attending regularly. Our Sunday morning gathering is a combined service with The Well, another new church we’re helping start up in the area. UVC will also be hosting a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class starting this month. Your prayers for God to move in Utah are being answered! Thank you for partnering with us!
Our First Intern
We had an amazing opportunity to have Christian Stewart here as our intern for 10 weeks this summer. We learned a lot from him and look forward to having more interns in the coming years and even opportunities for church planting residencies! Christian helped with preaching and worship while he was here. He also got to learn a lot about a new culture and different ways of doing ministry! Look for an article from Christian in next month’s newsletter!
Worship Leader Wanted
Do you have a desire to be intentional in the lives God has placed on your path? Are you gifted in leading and engaging people in worship? Are you experienced in leading a worship band? Have you always wanted to be a missionary? If you answered “yes” to these questions we have a ministry for you. Contact us ASAP!
The Workers Are Few
We have an abundant harvest in Utah. We need more workers! Will you prayerfully consider whether God may be calling you to move to a new culture, engage your neighbors and coworkers, and share the Good News? Come be co-laborers in Utah!
What Will You Do When They Come To Your Door?
Chances are many of you have had a Mormon missionary knock on your door. Going on a two year mission is a high honor in the LDS religion. One of our neighbors just returned from his “mission”. I prayed for him and for those whom he would encounter while he was serving his mission. I have been thinking a lot over the past couple months about how we are given so many opportunities to share the Gospel with people. I can’t tell you how many times I dismissed the Mormon missionaries that came knocking. I don’t remember when, but at some point in time that changed. We began to engage these Mormon missionaries. We took the time to learn about who they are and what they believe and we were able to share who we are and what we believe.
I know I felt unequipped and unknowledgeable to share what I believed. I didn’t really know what they believed. Honestly, I didn’t really care. I was always kind to the missionaries but I was not interested in engaging in conversation with them. I remember praying for God to put people in my path with whom I could share His Gospel. It took a while to realize He was putting people in my path but I had discounted them. You may feel as I did in the beginning, but you don’t have to. You have an opportunity to engage with those young men and women. Pray with them, share with them, love them. What will you do the next time there’s a knock on your door? Will you please open the door?
We would love for you to check out Truth in Love Ministries and engage with your mormon neighbors, friends, or the missionaries that come knocking. Here are some highlights from Truth in Love Ministries:
- See Mormons as victims not enemies.
- Treat Mormons with genuine love and respect.
- Focus on Mormon stress points rather than our own.
- Speak their language.
- Witness Christ rather than debate Mormonism.
We are currently 43% funded! If you would like to financially support the ministry of planting churches in cities that are less than 1% evangelical you can give here. If you would commit to praying for our ministry you can sign up here.
Prayer Request
- For the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of those here in Spanish Fork and West Jordan
- Strength for the Anderson and Clark families to combat the spiritual warfare that is so real out here
- Guidance to know best how to reach and love people here in the valley
- To be 100% funded
- Worship Pastor
- Co-laborers, church planters/missionaries
Praises
- For the growth of Utah Valley Church over the summer
- For the those who have recently been baptized
- For all the blessing from Christian Stewart, Jerome & Diana Freihaut, and Ken and Carolyn Vogel who served here this summer
- For so many opportunities to share the gospel with those who have never heard
- For providing an ideal meeting location for our morning service
- For clearing the pathway for those who have been called to move to Utah for ministry
