MENORAH Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptist Publication

Transcription

1 MENORAH Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptist Publication HAVE YOU BEEN SET FREE? March 2017 I first met Kurt during the 1980 s while working in the tool room for Chrysler Corporation at the Outer Drive Manufacturing Technical Center. We both had served tool making apprenticeships at different learning institutions and Kurt was several years older than me. I later became a tool room supervisor at the plant and Kurt retired a few years later in I remember he was short in stature, full of energy, and moved quickly. The other thing I remember is a number that was tattooed on his left forearm; It was a prisoner identification number applied by fellow Jews, who was forced to do this act by the German guards. I don t recall Kurt talking a lot about his awful experience as a prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps but I do remember a incident he shared after being asked to do so. Suffice it to say it was terrible and something no one should have been subjected to. I was reminded about this acquaintance just a couple days ago when a friend and I were conversing at McDonalds on several different topics. He began telling me about someone he had just met and the story this son had shared with him about his Jewish father. As my friend began to relate the story as told by the son about his father, I immediately made the statement that I once worked with a gentleman who had a similar experience and his name was Kurt. Amazingly, it ended up being the toolmaker I worked with at Chrysler! My friend offered to forward me an that his recent acquaintance had sent him containing a short biography of his father. I was amazed and saddened to read this true story that chronicled the life of Kurt from childhood until present. Kurt was one of the fortunate few who survived and lived to reluctantly tell the story. He was liberated in April, 1945 and in late 1947 came to America via New York Harbor. What an amazing story and it would be impossible for you and I to imagine what it must have felt like to experience the new-found freedom Kurt enjoyed! But I can share with you an even more amazing story; the possibility of new-found freedom in Christ! Sin has imprisoned us but Christ has come to liberate us! If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36). Jesus said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). How about you? Have You Been Set Free? If so, like Kurt, you need to be thankful for the freedom you enjoy; spiritual freedom. If you haven t experienced this freedom in Christ, won t you do so today! 1. Admit you are a sinner 2. Believe Jesus died for you and was resurrected 3. Confess Him as your Savior What a land awaits those who answer yes to the question: Have You Been Set Free? Pastor Ron, Faith FWB Church pastorronmeadows@comcast.net P.S. This information was simply the highlight notes taken from and by the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, from a video biography they did on Kurt in If you are interested in reading the notes from which I extracted this information, please contact me at the address provided above. 1

2 Ministries Around The World Good News From Spain Dear Michigan friends, The BAD NEWS is that time flies. The GOOD NEWS is that you re the pilot! While we are certainly aware of how fast our years in Spain have flown by, we are thankful that God has allowed us to be a part of piloting the way Free Will Baptists are ministering in Spain. We have had the privilege of working in the town of Alpedrete for around thirteen years now. We remember when we first moved here how burdened we felt to minister in a place where there had never been a Gospelpreaching church in the town s 500-year history. Then we watched how God, in His amazing flight plan, built a church here where believers could grow and reach out to the people around them. It s been an amazing journey and we are so thankful for your prayers, encouragement, and support so that this long-haul flight" could take-off and God s name can be declared among the people of Alpedrete. Some things on our agenda in the coming months: March 5 - Planning meeting with men who preach in the Alpedrete Church March 11 - Executive committee meeting of the Federation of Free Will Baptist Churches in Spain March Hosting a French student in our home March 26 - Session with Alpedrete Church to discuss vision for the future April 16 - Joint Easter service with the Villalba and Alpedrete Churches April 30 - Youth Sunday in Alpedrete May 6 - Evangelical Olympics in Madrid June 3 - Outreach event in Collado Mediano June 24 - "Festival in the Park" outreach event in Alpedrete Thanks, Tim, Kristi, Alejandro, Ana The Andersons Witnessing in Africa Verlin and an Ivorian pastor travel to central Cote d'ivoire on Sunday, February 20. They will spend most of the week reviewing and completing the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) training for a group of churches which will gather in the village of Bougou. (Click here to see or register for CHE trainings). The first half of the TOT1 (Training of Trainers 1) for these believers was provided in mid-november It was a follow-up to 2011 and 2012 visits and subsequently fulfilled commitments in what became the fastest growing region of churches among Free Will Baptist communities here. As each lesson is orally translated into Lobi, and the initial training sessions started late due to travel concerns, the inviting churches chose to review and complete the training during a second week. Since this location does not have utility service electricity, a few challenges at added to the teaching situation. Verlin will be without his CPAP machine, too! : ) Otherwise, the CHE trainings we model can be done in any environment by design. This is a big reason the approach is now taught annually at the University. Teaching outside and under the trees will be a great way to deal with the heat, using God's natural HVAC system as we are in the dry season. Women, such as these dear ladies from the church during the November session, will prepare all meals. No fast food restaurants or grocery stores for them! In this picture, they pound yams to have foutou and sauce, a preferred dish of the region. While in most rural settings like this participants bring their own mats for the floor and buckets for their baths, all but a few in this case are local and able to travel home every evening to sleep. We expect 18 students will return along with some others to learn. Prayer and Praise Pray for safe travels as the trip to central Cote d'ivoire will be over remote roads that are very hard on vehicles. As for the Spirit's leading to be evident in fruitful teaching sessions. Pray that participants will grasp the concepts profoundly and apply them in their particular church settings to spread the Gospel more effectively. Pray that those not meeting with Verlin for DMM study development this week will lead their own studies during his absence for other ministries. For one trainee, it would be his first attempt to lead a study. Praise the Lord that Koffi's son has recovered from his bouts with malaria. Your partners in the Gospel, Verlin and Debbie 2

3 Just for YOUth Joe Dumars Fieldhouse Friday, March 10 th, 2017 The cost is $25.00 per person. The night will begin at Riverside Fellowship, Hayes Rd., Clinton Twp. Registration begins at 9 pm & dinner will be served after service. The fun begins at Joe Dumars around midnite until 5 am. For more info call Bro Gordie (810) or Bro. Jonathan (734) Youth Camp Planning Meeting Greetings Friends of Camp!! Michigan Free Will Baptist Youth Camp is only a few months away. We are busy planning what is sure to be the highlight of the summer, so we hope you plan on taking part this year. Our theme is based on God s Word Truth, Treats, and Treasures. Our design the theme contest winners from last year are Johannah Debruhl and Olivia Lawson, from the Community, Westland Church. They collaborated on our design for this year and did a fantastic job. Our first camp meeting will be on April 11, 2017 at 7 PM at the Faith FWB Church, Romeo Plank Road, Ray, MI. We are planning to have dinner first so if you can make it, please text or call Bro. Gordie (810) or Sis. Kim (810) to RSVP. We look forward to seeing all our dear friends of camp. Remember, think summer!! Hope to see you there!!!!! Gordie Rohroff (810) Kim Rohroff (810) Lawson at State Youth Competition Saturday, April 22 nd 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Competition will be held at the Community Church in Westland. Please check with the children in your church to see if they are interested in participating. Entry forms must be submitted by April 1st. This will help ensure that we have the appropriate judges. You can mail the forms to Pastor Jimmy Lawson at Avondale, Westland, MI or them to mistatecompetition@gmail.com. If you have any questions, please call Pastor 3

4 Welch College Announces Dates for Spring 2017 Welcome Days The Spring 2017 semester at Welch College is going to be historic. The semester will see the college leaving its West End campus and occupying the brand new Gallatin, Tennessee, campus. The timeline of the construction process and unforeseen circumstances of relocation are going to cause Welch College to cancel the March 2017 Senior Days event. However, we are excited to announce that plans have been made to combine the 2017 Spring Senior Days and the 2017 Spring Welcome Days into ONE event. This will be the first event for prospective students to experience all that Welch has to offer at the new location. This event will take place May 4-5, "What an exciting time it is in the history of Welch College," stated Enrollment Services Director, Derek Altom. "We are eager with anticipation to show prospective students, sponsors, and parents what God is doing at Welch College, and to show them how they will have the opportunity, in the near future, to experience Welch College in a whole new way." Both Senior Days and Welcome Days have always focused on students experiencing college life, making new friends, and getting acquainted with all that Welch College has to offer. It is a great opportunity for prospective students to meet professors, attend classes, stay in the dorms with current Welch students, and explore if Welch is the right place to continue their education. We are expecting a large crowd for this event, therefore, registration is going to be limited with graduating seniors and/or recent graduates receiving first priority. There will be special activities throughout the event that will be designed specifically for graduating seniors and/or recent graduates. For example, there will be a college planning seminar which will prepare future students with all the information that he or she needs to make the transition to Welch College as smooth as possible. If you have any questions about this combined event, please send an to events@welch.edu. Once again, this combined event will take place May 4-5, Early registration for seniors will be Thursday, March 16-29, Registration for all others will open March 30, 2017 and close on Thursday, April 27, THERE WILL BE NO ONSITE REGISTRATIONS TAKEN. Make your plans today. ~ Rouge Free Will Baptist Church: Marriage Conference was held in February with Pastor Jimmy Evans and his wife Karen with the DVD Series Marriage On The Rock! Session One was entitled The Most Important Issue in Marriage. Pastor Evans is the host of the radio and television program Marriage Today, as well as contributor to the annual simulcast Marriage Conference XO which is broadcast nationally each Valentine s Day weekend. There are 10 sessions total in the DVD series and we discussed plans for watching and sharing these sessions at the end of our evening together. All-Night Prayer Meeting on the 14th of February at 11:30 pm until 6:00 am, We will make our Stand! The Great Chili Cook-Off is scheduled for Saturday, March 4th, 2017 at 3:00 5:30 pm. This is their first official fundraiser of the year. ~Friendship Free Will Baptist Church: Interim pastor Gene Norris baptized five at the on Sunday, February 19. The congregation has been challenged to invite Friends, Relatives, Associates, and Neighbors to attend church services with them during the month of March for F.R.A.N.tastic Days. ~Anchor Community Church had a movie night, February 26. The movie God s Not Dead 2 was shown. To report happenings at your church, please send them to Gene Norris at gnorris4166@gmail.com. 4

5 BETHESDA POOL Recently our Pastor, Reverend Greg Floars and our 3 deacons were reviewing our membership roll. In our by-laws, we have sections outlining an active member and an inactive member. If a member does not attend for 3 months, they are to be sent a letter informing them of their status of being placed on an inactive list. That member can be restored by a written request to be placed back on the active membership list and begin attending again. If that member does not respond and having been absent for a total of 6 months, they are dropped from the membership. There is a clause that states the Pastor can waive that ruling if there are special circumstances. Usually it is waived for those in college or in the military. But we have a group of elderly members unable to attend at this point in their life. We have named a new category for those in that situation. It is called the Bethesda Pool in reference to the story in John 5 of the man that could not get into the healing waters without help. Like that man, these seniors cannot get to church without help. One dear lady, Dorothy Myers, will soon be 94. She lost her husband last May and now resides in an assisted living home. She would love to be in the church that she has been a member of for nearly 60 years. It would be a great shame for her and the other precious people that have served and supported their church for many years to be dropped from the membership. Every church has this type of member. This is working for us and it may work for you at your church. Katy Taylor New Hope District Meeting - March 11 th, 9:30 a.m. Wolverine District Meeting - March 11 th, 9:30 a.m. - First Free Will Baptist Church of Pontiac Youth Lock-In - March 10 th, 9:00 p.m. 5:00 a.m. - Joe Dumars Fieldhouse State Youth Competition - April 22 nd, 9:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. - Community Free Will Baptist Church, Westland Michigan Women Active for Christ - April 29, 9:30 a.m. - North Warren Free Will Baptist Church Michigan State Association of Free Will Baptists - May Zehnder s of Frankenmuth Michigan Junior Youth Camp, June Simpson Park Camp, Romeo, MI National Association of Free Will Baptists, July Louisville, KY 5

6 The Michigan Free Will Baptist Menorah 4166 Maplewood Meadows Avenue Grand Blanc, MI Speakers Available for Pulpit Supply Rev. Don Viers: ; Rev. Mike Bader: ; Rev. Louis Tolbert: or Rev. Gary Ward: or Bro. Brian Newton: (Ordained deacon at First FWB Church of Pontiac) ; Bro. Robert Esler: (Lay speaker from the Rouge Free Will Baptist Church) 6