OUTREACH Prayer Update
August 2015

Our church planters depend on the prayers and encouragement of God's people. OUTREACH NORTH AMERICA provides this monthly prayer letter to inform you of some of their specific needs and praises so you will know better how to pray for them. Thank you for your prayers and the interest you show by your phone and e-mail responses. Your prayers truly encourage your church planters. (See the bottom of this e-mail for a summary of all the mission churches included in this update.)

In general

• Please pray for our Korean Pastors retreat in September. Pray for good attendance, safe travels and a blessed time of fellowship, camaraderie and renewal. 
• Pray for our 4 new church planting residents as they go on the field:  Jay Crout and Matt Awtrey in South Carolina, Nathan Scholl in Virginia and Glenn Wilkins in Tennessee. 
• Also pray for our church planters and their families with school starting in mid August for most. Pray for smooth transition and that the Lord will use relationships forged at school to grow our new churches! 

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Canadian Presbytery

Catawba Presbytery

First Presbytery

Florida Presbytery

Mississippi Valley Presbytery

Northeast Presbytery

Second Presbytery

Virginia Presbytery

Canadian Presbytery

Hope Presbyterian Church, Kingston, Ontario

Kevin and Joanne Carter kdcarter63@outlook.com

Praise

• The Lord for all the safety in relocating to Kingston, and for the wonderful providence we have been able to see at work as we meet people in our resettling here.

Pray

• For a military family interested in our church. The husband/father does not appear to be a believer. He has Christian roots, and we hope to be a gospel witness to him. Pray for the Jehovah Witness couple, who are returning after they study the Bible texts and questions I asked concerning their understanding of God.
• Pray for a meeting location as I search options in Kingston. Leasing is quite a bit more expensive than first appeared [hidden costs are not revealed until you inquire]. I have a few inquiries and am waiting on responses.
• Pray for the Lord to release us from the burden of our home in New Minas, NS. We patiently wait for its sale, but it is taxing us - literally and metaphorically.
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to bring his mighty convicting power of sin, righteousness and justice upon the people here. Pray for hearts to be prepared for the Word to be planted and watered that our God may bring forth an increase in his gracious time and ways.

Catawba Presbytery

Hill City Church, Rock Hill, SC

Daniel and Ashlee Wells danielfwells@gmail.com

Praise

• For a relaxing beach vacation for Daniel, Ashlee, and their family.
• For a safe journey for Andy, Ellie, and their family as they arrived in Seoul, South Korea at the end of July.
• For our potential new members.

Petition

• Our dialogue with a seminary student to come on staff as a Church Planting Apprentice.
• That details would come together for a women's retreat for our elder candidate's wives.
• For peace and unity as our church recovers from some attacks from Satan to cause division.

King’s Parish, Dallas, Texas

Rev. David and Margaret Winburne david@kingsparish.com
Praise

• We were overjoyed to have a recent covenant child baptized in our service of worship. The extended family of the covenant child turned out in droves!  MANY of these family members were not professing believers. Their comments after the service were noteworthy. The grandfather of this covenant child said, "that was the most moving religious experience I have ever had."  In short, the gospel was preached, the Lord was worshiped and hearts were stirred. For me (David Winburne) this was a radical, moving, evangelistic event that was wonderful! We had at least 25 "extra" folk that witnessed the love of our community of faith, the moving worship of God, the searching call of the gospel and a sincere push to come to faith in participation at the Lord's table. It was a wonderful Lord's Day! I have been preaching through I Samuel and to think that I Sam. 8 could bring such conviction and gospel awareness was wonderful! I love expository preaching! Choose a book (of the Bible), lay out the truth with clarity, with accuracy and with Christ centered relevance and trust the Lord. It was a GOOD Lord's day!  
• For a new committed family. Recently we have added to our presbytery membership a new family. They love the Lord, love the ARP, they want to serve and are committed to building the church with us in Dallas!

Pray

• I am sad to report that the failed church plant from the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has left us. It was a blow to realize that this group never truly wanted to become part of our wonderful ARP. They visited for five months. This group brought with them their own past pastors and "congregation" (and many strange expectations). In short, they did not need us (or me) to minister to them. They have left to find a possible Anglican church that can possibly meet their needs (they are still searching for a church at this point). We embraced them, we included them, we loved them, and we taught them; but in the end, they only wanted to "hang" with their small group that had been through tremendous turmoil. Ouch! Just when we had a regular 60-75 attenders they voted to leave.
• Keep praying for our timing and finances concerning organization. A church planter's deep desire is to establish a self-sufficient, organized congregation. King's Parish has wonderful leadership in place (these men are already doing the hard, caring work of shepherding our congregation). I have no idea when this organization into a "normal" church will occur and need much wisdom and prayer for such things. Our goal cannot be organization. We cannot control such matters. But we can control our attitudes and obedience. God does not want winners (that is a Dallas term), he just wants disciples. We will set our hearts on the later and pray that our plant will be organized soon. This is our desire, but not our goal. Desires we work hard for, our goals we commit to God in earnest prayer. Our finances are good. We have continued to raise outside support for the ARP's work in Dallas. Yet our fifth year is coming and we are not yet quite able to be self-supporting. Pray for this dear people. Plead with the Lord (not just for KP) for your church plants to be relevant and faithful. We need perseverance!  
• Pray for the "church planting" summer doldrums. Summer is easier yet very difficult. We have taken a short break from our normally scheduled "programs" (discipleship activities, evangelistic events, and community gatherings). It is hard to have a "congregation" of 50 when four families take a (necessary vacation for two - three weeks). Good times, but tough as far as attendance (and visitors) goes. 
• Pray for my family. My first child has graduated from college and is dong well in his chosen field. My middle son, is searching and is growing discouraged about his future. Our daughter, (a special needs child of 18) is wonderful, but will always live with us. Church planting brings (as does all pastoring) certain stresses to the family. I need your prayer as we all live together this summer. I need to shepherd my family well in this time.
• Grace and appreciation to my ARP family. I truly covet your prayers!

River Crossing ARP, York County, SC

Rev. David and Emily Stover  Stoverdavid@hotmail.com

• Pray for several outreach events coming up:
  • First Friday Fort Mill - we've built several relationships with people as we serve the community each month.
  • Winthrop Freshmen move in day, Friday, August 21. We're going to hand out bottles of water to welcome new students to Winthrop and Rock Hill. 
  • Winthrop Convocation - Monday, August 24 at 4:00 p.m.
• Pray as we reach out and love our neighbors as Jesus told us. We had a movie night in our front yard last month. We met 4 new families we had never met!  Pray that we will love our neighbors into the kingdom!
• Pray for John Adams. He is such a great encouragement as one of our provisional session elders. Every Thursday he goes to the Palmetto Pregnancy Center investing time in sharing his faith and talking to young men who are soon to be fathers! May his tribe increase!
• We've been very encouraged as we have lifted up 2 of our core values over the summer.
  • Prayer- we've had encouraging prayer times every other Wednesday night investing time praying for one another, other church plants, people we are trying to reach, and the persecuted church around the world.
  • Community -we're growing in our love for one another and in unity. We've had 2 of our best community group meetings in the past month. People are sharing their lives, what God is doing, their burdens, and their yummy desserts!

Praise 

• God for more consistent attendance over these 2 summer months! Our attendance has been better this summer than last summer.
• Pray for our finances. Our support from presbytery ends at the end of July. Our support from synod ends at the end of the year. We still have a ways to go before we are a self-sustaining church. If the Lord puts it on your heart to partner with us please contact me at stoverdavid@hotmail.com or by phone at (484) 678-4923.
• Ask the Lord to help us find a more permanent place to meet.
• Ask the Lord to help me (David) find a part or full-time job to be in the community more and to make our finances stretch further.

Shem Creek Presbyterian Church, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Charlie and DJ Phillips and Ben Carver charliephillips6@yahoo.com & btcarver10@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/shemcreekpres

Praise

• Ben Carver was ordained to the Gospel ministry on July 5.  
• Our next church milestone to celebrate will be our first morning worship service, which will take place on August 16 at our new location -The Darby Building.

Pray

• We are praying that God would help us get the word out about our first Sunday morning worship service.
• We are praying that God would use our new location to bring in the lost.
• We are praying that God would provide funding for our new ministry endeavors.

First Presbytery

Brookside Presbyterian Church, ARP, Boone, NC
Rev. Larry and Joyce Young drlarryyoung@msn.com
www.BooneBrooksideChurch.org
Praise

• For God's continued blessing and provision.

Prayer

• For recent visitors to return.

Christ Coastal Church, Southport, NC

Rev. Walt and Val Shepard waltshepard@gmail.com

Praise

• We thank the Lord for all the help from many people with the Memorial Service for Val's Mama. Joni Eareckson Tada and her husband Ken were so much fun with our family after it all was over.
• Join us in thanksgiving for the way Christ was honored in that service--an epic service for an epic lady!
• We continue to thank the Lord for the transition for Christ Coastal in the new venue on the ocean. Six leaders have stepped up to be a tremendous help to me.
• I continue to need prayer for healing from my surgery.

City Church of Asheville, Asheville, NC

Duff and Kristi James duff@citychurchavl.org

www.citychurchavl.org

Pray

• Please pray for us as a church – as we aspire to be more of that which Jesus says his disciples already are, salt and light – that we don’t fall into the pitfall of speaking truth without showing love, or showing love without speaking truth. Pray that we would speak the truth in love. 
• Please pray with City Church as we often do when we gather in our small groups and pray through our church motto - "Love God. Love People. Love Asheville."
  • Love God. We spend the first part of our prayer time praising God for his attributes and characteristics. Not for what he's done for us, or what we'd like for him to do, but simply for who he is.
  • Love People. We pray for those in the church, those who are hurting, and those who don't know God. 
  • Love Asheville. We end our time praying for our city. We know and love this city, and we want to see God move among the communities within the city. 
• Please pray, too, for our continued fundraising. City Church exists because of the generosity of those in the broader family of God. We are not yet financially self-supportive as a church and continue to rely largely on the gifts of God’s people in other places. Pray as we undergo another round of fundraising and for the Lord to raise up the funds we’ll need to continue until those in our church are able to support the ministry. If you’re interested in financially supporting City Church, I’d love to speak to you about how you can give to God’s work through your financial gifts. 

Faith Chapel ARP, Pleasant Garden, NC

Rev. Terry and Mary Crahen reformedalive@earthlink.net

http://faithchapelarpc.com

Pray

• Please pray for us, Terry and Mary Crahen, as we seek to cultivate and deepen our spiritual disciplines, and also seek to be improve in our disciple making endeavors.
• Please pray for us as we aim to grow in our confidence with and skill and knowledge in evangelism as we study with a new evangelistic training program.

Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church, Clayton, NC
Rev. Ken and Laura Kunkel ken@gracereformed.church
www.gracereformed.church
Pray for

• Effective outreach events.
• Beginning of youth ministry.
• Finances.
• A new Pianist.
• Sermon series in Ruth.
• Upcoming new members class.
• Continued unity within the Body.

Praise for

• New visitors.
• Increase in volunteers.
• Building that has met all of our needs.
• Outpouring of love from the members to each other.
• Support of First Presbytery and ONA.
• Outside supporters.

Florida Presbytery

Renew Church, Fort Myers, FL

Rev. Steve and Rachel Reynolds sc_reynolds@centurylink.net

Praise

• Our attendance has been steady through the summer.
• We have 10 people identified to be part of our X-cell-erate discipleship process. This process is the heart of our approach to fulfilling our mission by making disciples.
• We are seeing new guests and re-connecting with some who had previously attended.

Requests

• We have lost two families. One is a medical resident who completed her residency and has moved with her family to Oklahoma to begin practice. The other was a former leader who decided that he and his family were best suited in another church venue. We see God’s hand in these losses, but are looking for solid families to replace them.
• We are moving our worship space back to the cafeteria of Cypress Lake Middle School beginning September 1. There are several logistical matters that I ask you to pray for to make the transition go smoothly.
• Pray for our growth as a church. We had hit a plateau in the spring/summer and want to see God bring healthy growth this fall. Pray that we might have the wisdom to reach out where and how we need to in order to see that growth.
• Pray for our friends at RaceTrac (gas station) and in our neighborhood – that we may have an open door to share Christ and that they might be open to respond.

Northeast Presbytery

Good News Presbyterian Church, Gilbert, AZ
Rev. Clyde and Ann Reed clydeannreed@gmail.com
www.goodnewspres.com

Praise

• Rev. Charles Roberts has been appointed by Northeast Presbytery as stated supply for Good News for 1 year. Hopefully he will be here by the end of September/early October. The Lord blessed our search committee who did an excellent job. Both the congregation and the Roberts are excited about this assignment. 
• Clyde officially retired Sunday, July 26. During the 3 prior weeks (after the Supreme Court announcement came out) we have had 15 visitors, 2 of which are preschoolers so we once again have a Sunday School..

Pray

• Most of these visitors were here the week that Charles preached and reacted favorably. Pray that they will continue to come and that the Lord will lead them to join.
• Pray that some of our members will step up to teach in Sunday School on a rotational basis because it is held during the worship service.
• Pray that the Lord will lead our congregation in holding things together during the 2 months interim before Charles comes. 

Holy Trinitly Presbyterian Church, Grand Rapids, MI

www.holytrinitypc.org

Praise

• Give thanks for an excellent provisional session and local treasurers, who are providing great leadership for the work of Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church. Our pastoral interns (Confex Makhalira and Isaac Gajendran) are also proving a great asset to the work.
• The core group of member families and singles is committed, growing in grace, enjoying Sunday worship and Wednesday evening prayer and fellowship together, and dedicated to gospel outreach. Recently we rejoiced to have our first baptismal service at HTPC, welcoming new adult and child members the Lord has added to our body, and celebrating the Lord's Supper together. Pray that we would continue to grow in love and gospel partnership in Christ, in all knowledge and discernment. (Phil. 1:3-11)
• We engaged in several community outreach opportunities, including the annual "Westside Cleanup" in late May, sponsored by local businesses, to do cleanup work in the streets and neighborhoods. Through this outreach we've developed new opportunities for gospel service, including with two local public school communities. The end of the summer will also see the return of many college/university students to the area. Pray that the Lord would give us wisdom is best utilizing the many opportunities there are available for gospel witness. 
• Pray that God would use us not only for the salvation and growth in grace of the numerous unchurched in this area, but also continue to direct more dedicated, mature Christian families to join us in this mission, multiplying our abilities to both evangelize, disciple, and grow further towards being "self-supporting." We are continuing to see a steady trickle of both non-Christians and Christians coming through the doors of the church to visit-- from a wide and diverse array of backgrounds.
• Give thanks to God with us that the search process for a full-time minister to serve at HTPC, begun this winter, has now concluded--with His gift to us of a minister of the gospel. We rejoice that the Lord has called Rev. Andrew Savill to serve as mission developer with us here in the city of Grand Rapids. Andrew is a Florida native, a graduate of Florida State University, and RTS Orlando. He has served congregations in the PCA, in Charleston, SC, and the ARP, in Moncton, NB. He is married to Kate, and they have five children. Andrew and Kate anticipate moving to join us in mid-August, with his ministry here beginning the first weekend in September, God willing.

Second Presbytery

Travelers ARP Mission, Travelers Rest, SC
Rev. Billy and Sissy Barron TravelersARP@gmail.com
www.travelersarpchurch.com

Praise for

• God’s unfailing love.
• God’s faithful promise that his Word will not return void.
• God has opened many doors for evangelism.

Pray

• Pray for our provisional session as we will have some men coming off and some new men coming on.
• Pray for God to provide faithful men to serve on our provisional session.
• Pray for our church’s move to the YMCA starting September 13.
• Pray for Walker and Heather Suits as Walker prepares to be the new Mission Developer.
• Pray for Billy and Sissy Barron as they move away from Travelers and look for their next place of ministry.
• Pray for open doors for evangelism in the community and for boldness for the church members to testify to the gospel of God’s grace.
• Pray for unity as the Mission goes through transitions of Mission Developer and location.

Canadian Presbytery

Faith Church, Tilsonburg, Ontario Rev. Steve Richardson

Hope Presbyterian Church Kingston, Ontario Rev. Kevin Carter

Catawba Presbytery

Hill City Church, Rock Hill, SC Rev. Daniel Wells

Iglesia Biblica Latinoamericana, Columbia, SC

King’s Parish, Dallas, Texas Rev. David Winburne

River Crossing ARP, York County, SC Rev. David Stover  

Shem Creek Presbyterian Church, SC Ben Carver & Charlie Phillips

First Presbytery

Bethesda Presbyterian Church, ARP, Johnson City, TN

Brookside Presbyterian Church, ARP, Boone, NC Rev. Larry Young

Christ Coastal Church, Southport, NC Rev. Walt Shepard

City Church of Asheville, Asheville, NC Rev. Duff James

Faith Chapel ARP, Pleasant Garden, NC Rev. Terry Crahen

Grace Community Church, Black Creek, NC Rev. Randy Jenkins

Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church, Clayton, NC Rev. Ken Kunkel

Hyo Shin Korean, Greensboro, NC – exploratory work Rev. Byong Han Son

New Beginnings, Smithfield, NC Rev. Percy Coleman

Northside Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC Rev. Paul Traub

Peace Korean ARP, Charlotte, NC – exploratory work Rev. Eung Chu Lee

Pinecrest Hispanic Mission, Hendersonville, NC Rev. Juan Carlos Unda

Rodam Korean ARP Church, Pineville, NC Rev. Eun Joo Kim

Wilkes-Covenant, Millers Creek, NC – exploratory work Student Josh Feimster

Florida Presbytery

Christ Community, Apollo Beach, FL Rev. Charlie Lewis

Renew Church, Fort Myers, FL Rev. Steve Reynolds

SonLife Church, Jacksonville, FL Rev. Bob Hovey

Tampa Chinese Presbyterian Church, Tampa, FL Rev. Jeff Liu

Mississippi Valley Presbytery

Havana ARP Church, Havana, AR Rev. Moises Chan

Redeemer Community Church, Murray, KY

Northeast Presbytery

All Nations Mission Church of NY, New York City, NY Rev. Bongkyun (Andrew) Bang

Christ Presbyterian Church, Glenside, PA Rev. Iain Duguid

Global Vision ARP Church, Flushing, NY Dr. Peter Tae Mun Lee

Good News Presbyterian Church, Gilbert, AZ Rev. Clyde Reed

Holy Covenant, Lancaster, PA Rev. Jong Chul Kim

Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church, Grand Rapids, MI

Iranian Christian Church of Washington, D.C. Rev. Javad Pishghadamian

Jesuwon Community, Horsham, PA Rev. Seong Jong Yoon

New Covenant, Chantilly, VA Rev. Hae Gaph Lee

Tri-State Community Church, WV Rev. Rick Anderson

Second Presbytery

Clemson Korean Presbyterian Church Rev. Jae Park

Travelers ARP, Travelers Rest, SC Walker Suits

Tennessee/Alabama Presbytery

Hanmaum ARP, Madison, AL Rev. Soo Young Kim

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