In last month’s letter, we mentioned a Gospel of John that had found its way onto a cafe table in town, through which several people contacted us. During this month, one of the men suggested getting our church sign outside that cafe as the Sunday visibility is much greater there than at our meeting place. We also wanted to offer more copies of John for the cafes in town to display. Later that week, God brought that cafe owner by the prayer stand where she was thrilled to allow our signage on Sundays and books of John for every table in her shop. Sometimes all God needs to see from us is the willingness to dream for Him!
One young man, Josh, was saved at his home early in August (door to door witnessing), and has faithfully attended all services since. Another man was saved last week after hearing the gospel regularly since February! The past few weeks, God has brought two brothers to church, both full of zeal for God, but missing a church family and guidance in the scriptures. Recently at the prayer stand, one teenager stopped to hear how to escape the “gates of Hell” (according to him). He was wearing a cross, but no one in his family is religious. He is the “only one searching” in his family. Almost unanimously, those interested in hearing the gospel over the past few months are under forty. Teenagers and young adults are particularly so. Another example from yesterday comes from a young lady whom Eathan witnessed to at the prayer stand. After hearing the gospel she said, “You don’t know if we have tomorrow,” and she requested if she could accept Christ. Praise God for the open hearts of the younger generations!
Please pray first of all for those young people who accept Christ to follow through in attending church and growing. Secondly, pray that God would lead us in opportunities to speak to the youth at a larger scale. These individual encounters could be His way, as in the past we have been turned away from the local college (high school) because they have enough spiritual counselors. But if there are this many young people searching (and not receiving the Bible answers they are looking for), and if God wants these young people saved more than we do, no doubt there is a greater opportunity ahead of us through prayer.
Also this month we had one baptized, and this was our first baptism in our church facility. (It was the first time someone requested a “water feature” for use during their facility rental.) This enabled many to see scriptural baptism for the first time, as previously the distance to the baptism location was too far for most to drive.
We enjoyed a short trip to Napier, three and a half hours from us, with Pastor Dan and Vicki Fraser. We met up with several families who have accepted Christ and are currently being discipled by Pastor Dan. Their excitement for God is prayerfully contagious to their city. Pray for the city of Napier and these families.
One more blessing this month was an answer to prayer for a man in our church. I have mentioned him before, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given just a few months to live. His faith continues to grow since his salvation in January and this month the doctors labeled him “lucky” as just one of ten who are expected now to survive this cancer. His response? “God.”
In September, please pray for HBC’s first Missions Month, where we will plan to support our first missionary! This is a new concept for many in the church. Also pray for Alyse as she will be speaking at a Ladies’ Retreat attended by many of the independent Baptist churches of New Zealand (Sept 18-20).
Thank you for praying and sacrificing for the gospel’s sake,
Josh, Alyse, Bentlee and Raelynn Szwarga