Several answers to prayer from last month’s letter would include the salvation of the young man we requested prayer for and more fruit from the Bible Stand! While sharing the gospel from several different angles one afternoon with him, we narrowed in on God’s perspective of sin. It was identified that this was drastically different from what had been previously portrayed to him by churches and we agreed that he should take the verses he was shown (Isaiah 53:5-6; Matthew 22:36-40; Hebrews 2:3; John 3:18) and think on them until he was convinced of his need for Christ. In parting, we calculated the estimated amount of sin committed over a lifetime. That next Sunday he arrived excited to tell us that he had trusted Christ as his Saviour a few days after our conversation! As was his case, people are often drawn into modern Christianity to “better themselves” instead of recognizing our desperate condition without Christ and the absolute necessity of putting our faith in him as we are “condemned already.”
The other answer to prayer was the continued fruit from the Bible Stand. We have had ten visitors to church. There are a steady four to five Bibles given and gospel witnesses each hour we are set up. The most common conversation we have is with twenty to forty year old men who have never been religious but are searching. One man said, “I asked for a Bible yesterday in here.” (While pointing to his heart) Perhaps equally exciting is the fifteen workers who are faithful in this ministry so far. One man, Jing, has shared the gospel for the first time through this ministry, and several others get weekly opportunities to invite and witness as well. One neat blessing is how Bentlee and Raelynn have been able to be involved. Several times while they are with us, five year old kids have asked their parents to stop so they can get a Bible. Our kids are given the blessing of seeing answers to prayer for people to stop and receive Bibles, visitors to church, and talk to the kids who stop. We do request more prayer for this ministry which is run every Saturday and Sunday (and the occasional Friday).
We also had mentioned that the June preaching at HBC was focused on the local church (joining, serving, etc). We praise the Lord that six were baptised and 3 families joined the church on the final Sunday of the month. Those three families are currently being discipled by church members. There are seven other individuals on the fence about joining. Please pray they commit if it be God’s will!
Two materials we developed and released this month for our church were the Member’s Guide and the Servant’s Guide. The first resource was to bridge the gap in relaying information on the Biblical (and practical) reasons for church membership, as it is rarely practiced in churches here. It seems no one is familiar with it unless you come from an independent Baptist church. The second resource is a 28-page guide on the Biblical foundation for serving within a local church and presents all of the opportunities available within the church. This creates a pathway for everyone to get involved as soon as a few weeks into attending (and of course grow into other roles over time). After finding a role that might suit them, they are able to read up on how the task is accomplished, what is expected, how to get involved, etc. We pray that many more will take up the mantle of serving within the church! And we praise God that many already have volunteered in setup, children’s ministries, ushering, and hospitality, weekly lunch and morning tea, since releasing this booklet.
HBC was saddened to hold our first funeral, as one of the first individuals saved through this church passed away. Murray was saved last January, baptised and joined this January, and had grown so much in his prayer life and giving to others before his passing. He requested our services at the funeral, although he was the only “religious” person in his family. The gospel was preached clearly to 120 individuals. Praise the Lord for Murray’s testimony!
One more note on HBC ministries; we have had 25-30 children attending weekly as many young families are settling into this small, rural town. Pray for the preaching in July which will focus on the family. Pray for an August 1 Bible Revival, as I’ll be preaching that day to a gathering of churches.
Thank you to all those who extended their wishes for our anniversary and Bentlee’s birthday. We feel so very loved by our supporters. Shout out to Alyse for being the engine that makes our family and ministry go as “her price is far above rubies.”
Josh, Alyse, Bentlee, Raelynn and Ellie Szwarga
