Thank you for your prayers regarding the revival service with Bro. Micah McCurry! It was a highlight of the month to have him preaching for us in back-to-back services that Sunday. We were blessed to have ten visitors attend. One of the first-time guests is a sister of a church member, who prayed 37 years for her salvation. Several weeks ago they had the privilege to lead their sister to Christ! The Sunday following the revival, there were twelve additional guests in the service. Some of those being return guests, others who were followed-up on, and then one family from soul winning last month.
The opportunities to witness while going door-to-door have gone up considerably since the start of the new year. Several who we are working with right now that you can be praying for: Luke, Kris, David, Scott, Francis. Most of the people we meet are classified as atheist/agnostic or previous churchgoers (family was Anglican or charismatic). A small percentage of those we talk to are active churchgoers, and a good number of those are willing to engage.
Also this month, we met with those involved in the church launch scheduled for November. The church will be located in the city of Matamata, NZ, which is 45 minutes from our church in Tauranga and 45 minutes from our sister church in Hamilton. This will be a joint effort between the two churches. A young man from this church, Limuel, has recently surrendered to God’s call in the ministry and will be assisting in the church from the beginning. We have started the process of securing the rental facility which is in the center of town and has plenty of room to grow. Please pray that we would receive confirmation of its availability. Several outreach projects are already progressing and we would appreciate your prayers for the city of Matamata in the next ten months especially.
The first week of February brings our church’s first year of Bible Institute. It is scheduled for two hours on Tuesday evenings, allowing training in the Bible, public speaking, and homiletics to be available for any of the men in our church. The expectation was that as long as there is one man willing to join it would be a worthwhile endeavor. God has burdened eight men in our church to be a part of the Institute! Please pray for their growth in the Word and in their ability to proclaim the Word.
Now that schools are back in session, youth group will restart. Many of the young people are excited to meet new friends, expressly for the purpose of bringing them to youth group to hear the gospel. One teen girl, Alicia, brought a friend to church this month, and she trusted Christ after the service. Praise the Lord for a youth group who is concerned for the souls of their friends!
Thank you for praying and for giving,
Josh, Alyse, Bentlee and Raelynn Szwarga
