If you recall from our previous letter, Grace Independent Baptist Church was undergoing due diligence for a church property and it has now been secured! Pastor Fraser extends his gratitude to all those who have been following our ministry and have prayed for this. It’s a beautiful property, but more important is the strategic location. It is positioned on a state highway only minutes from town, with the surrounding farmland projected to be developed within the next two decades as Tauranga continues to see record expansion. God’s hand has been clearly seen through the purchasing process.
One other point mentioned in our previous letter was the improvements made to our children’s ministries in May. On the heels of that, just like in February, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of kids attending the services. We will continue forward adding more depth to the ministry this month with our first Sunday School activity for the kids and adding several new teachers to the roster.
One man who accepted Christ in January has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a dire prognosis: survive for several weeks or attempt a major operation to lengthen your life by a few years. He opted for the surgery, which occurred last week successfully. Three weeks ago, his desire to draw close to God increased exponentially. One of the men in the church has begun discipling and mentoring him. A bit of the opposite of Hezekiah’s decision when given extra time! Incredibly, this cancer has been present, but contained for two years, and he testifies that “God waited for me to be saved before allowing it to cause problems.”
Outreach opportunities this month were mixed with a bit of training as several young men traveled from Auckland one weekend to study our soulwinning methods. As usual, there were a number of good gospel witnesses through our door to door outreach this month. Most of the interest though occurred through the prayer stand on the main street. One particular day, the four individual conversations we held were all with men in their twenties, all tender towards the gospel. It is typical to have those under forty receptive, and the rest, not so much unfortunately. On another day, one couple had moved from Canada the day before, and since they attended an independent Baptist church there, it was natural for them to visit ours! It was encouraging to see them in church this past Sunday. With the exception of that one couple, all of June’s visitors were young families. Three young men, teenagers, accepted Christ this month as well: two through the prayer stand and one by walking up to a member’s home to find out how to be saved. (No I didn’t leave out needed context. That is actually what happened.) Notice the pattern! God is not hindered from working in the younger generations!
A reminder to pray for the Gospel Films. Editing is wrapping up and we are planning to begin distribution nationwide in August through social media and also advertisement on streaming platforms. We have much appreciation to Bible Tracts Inc for investing time into our country. The other project, nationwide John and Romans, is scheduled to have its second distribution at the end of July. Prayer is requested for those mail-pieces as well.
On a lighter note, Alyse and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary this month and Bentlee had his fourth birthday! Many of you contacted us for those events, thank you for thinking of us!
Thank you for praying and sacrificing for the gospel’s sake,
Josh, Alyse, Bentlee and Raelynn Szwarga
