June Partner Letter

Once a month we send out a letter to our prayer and ministry partners to keep them updated on the progress of  ministry. Here is the letter fro the month of June:

Greetings from God’s North Country!

We wanted to give our friends, ministry partners, and prayer partners a regular update on this new adventure that God has brought us to in Bellaire, MI. As many of you already know, Keelie and I have accepted a call to minister with the First Baptist Church of Bellaire and the Northwest Baptist Association. As a part of our efforts, we are eager to have your support through prayer and encouragement. I hope that you can use these regular updates to pray for our ministry up here in this beautiful part of God’s creation.

Officially, June 1st was our first day, and while there are already some very exciting things happening in the ministry, we still have yet to move into the area. This delay is caused mostly by the fact that we have been unable to sell our house in Fruitport. So, I have been spending 4 days a week in Bellaire, while my family has remained downstate. As you can surely guess, this separation is difficult and we are eager to find a better arrangement.

Feel free to check out our temporary home on the web: http://bellairebaptist.wordpress.com

Here are a few requests for you to consider in prayer:

Requests for First Baptist

• We have a busy Summer schedule planned. Please pray that we meet many of our neighbors and bless them!
• We are hoping to generate depth and excitement for the new ministry. Pray for God’s Holy Spirit power and presence.
• Our theme this Summer is reBegin. We’re restarting a ministry and giving hurting people a chance to reBegin as well. Pray for those who need a new start here.
  
• We will be trying to minister to single moms and people who have been affected by divorce. Pray for collective hands that heal.
• Please pray that we find many more prayer partners, financial partners, and churches to join our ministry.
• Pray for our sponsor church, the Orchard, as they transition to a new pastor.
  
• Pray for our Association’s Director of Missions, Dr. Ken Wilson as he guides Corey in the ministry.
• Pray for Bro. Joe Norris as he continues to mentor Corey
  

Requests for Corey, Keelie & Caedmon

• Pray that old hurts and ministry battle wounds are healed
• Pray that our hearts become open to our new community
  
• Pray that our new community’s heart is open to our ministry
  
• Pray for the LeCureux’s house to sell
• Pray that God leads us to a quality, affordable house in the Bellaire area
• Pray that our new, tighter budget is loose enough to minister effectively

May God bless you for your help as we partner together in this ministry! If you have any questions, please call (231) 533.6407

reBegin

reBegin

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Cor. 5:17

Ever look at your life and wish that you could start over? When I was a kid, we had a thing called “take backs.” Remember take-backs? Take backs were opportunities that you were graciously given by another kid after you had said something mean or stupid to them.

For instance, one boy would say something insulting about another boy’s mother and immeadiatly realize he had went too far. For some reason mothers always got dragged into immature arguments. The insulted and infuriated boy would control his fury long enough to say, “I’ll give you one chance to take that back.” Of course, if the boy didn’t, somebody was going have to go home and explain their black eye to Mom.

Most of us are older now, and we no longer live in a world where take-backs are possible. The things we have said and done are said and done. Yet, we live everyday with the knowledge of all the things we wish we could take back.

You can’t go back, but you can rebegin. The Bible says that if any person is in Jesus Christ, he is a new creation. God is in the business of renewing and reforming lives that are hurting, broken, and full of regret.

Have you ever thought about beginning again? Have you thought about starting over?

Do you need a reBegining?