April has been a very exciting month, as we have witnessed growth in Lighthouse Baptist Church of Acacia in many ways! Our family began the month by taking a trip to Mombasa for a few days to practice and sharpen our Swahili speaking! It was a much-needed trip, and our family has grown through the experience!
After returning from Mombasa, we were able to recharge and refocus on the process and future of starting Lighthouse Baptist Church of Acacia. We now have four different services going on each Sunday. During the Sunday school hour, I am teaching our main Sunday school class, while Daniel has started a new beginners’ class in our twelve-lesson discipleship series. He has five faithful adults attending every week. During the main service time, everyone is together until the preaching time. At that time, Ali takes the little kids to a class, and I (English) and Daniel (Swahili) preach through the doctrines of the Bible. We are just focusing on one doctrine every one to two weeks. Lord willing, we will finish up our study by October! The goal is that by October, we will have gone through the doctrines of the Bible and have put together our Doctrinal Statement, along with our Church Covenant and Policies. After completing all of this, we should be ready in November to have our Charter Service to come together officially as Lighthouse Baptist Church of Acacia! Please be in prayer, as it is a long, but very exciting process!
Our teens have committed to meeting for about an hour and a half after church every Sunday to study through our twelve-lesson series on discipleship! It has been a blessing to see their growth and desire to live for Christ. From Daniel’s class, we have been blessed to see some of the adults come to put their trust in Christ alone. We also have been overjoyed to see several new teenagers come to salvation in Jesus Christ! God is saving, and I believe He is adding to the future of LBC of Acacia! We are excited to see what God will do over the next several months. Please continue to pray that God will continue to grow the body of Christ here in Kitengela, Kenya.
Lastly, we just want to give an update and a thank you to all those who gave toward the church van. We have purchased the van. It is now being painted, and new seats are being installed. We are hoping to have it ready to use for the church by mid-May Please be on the lookout in our May prayer letter, as we will be sure to share a photo of the van and a thank you from all of us here!
Thank you again for your faithfulness, and may you have a blessed month.
Your co-laborers for lost souls across East Africa,
The HESELSCHWERDT Family
Brandon, Ali, Jeffrey, Hannah, and Esther
Romans 10:14
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Before I came to understand baptism, salvation and the purpose of works, I used to believe that works would take me to Heaven, only to realize that I was wrong. First in baptism, we were taught that baptism is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is not for infants. It takes you one step, which is believing in Jesus Christ only in order to be baptized. Jesus was our example of being baptized, and God was the One Who commanded us to be baptized. A person should be baptized immediately after he or she gets saved, not before. We should be baptized in a large body of water. We are not saved by works, and baptism is a work.
In understanding salvation, we were taught that when you have sins and trespasses, you are spiritually dead. I was guilty and worthy of punishment, and I was headed to the lake of everlasting fire. But the Scriptures overwhelmingly teach that people must believe to be saved and repent, but first we must hear. To repent is to have a change of mind. If you didn’t believe in Jesus, then you do, trusting in Jesus Christ as your only way of salvation. Jesus proved me innocent, and God gave me everlasting life and sealed me with the Holy Spirit of promise. In short, He gave proof of me. God even gave me a new life as a new human being. God washed and sanctified me.
Last but not least is the purpose of works. Faith justified man in the eyes of God, while works justifies man in the eyes of other men. We are saved by grace through faith and not of works. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us . . . .” Like Abraham—he was justified in the eyes of the Lord by faith. We love God, and that is why we do good works, also to bring glory to God. Our works are a demonstration of our faith. God chose certain good works for us to do. When we do good works, we are fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives. For those who do works that God told them to do, they will be rewarded.
In all of these lessons we have been learning, I myself came to realize that it is not works and not baptism that get us to Heaven, but it is by believing in Jesus Christ ONLY as our way to Heaven.
Benta
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Pastor Samson (Labur Area)
Hello, I thank God that my daughter gave birth to a girl this month. It is a blessing from God. Our church is Lighthouse Baptist Church. Up to now, I have 5 members faithfully attending the church, and more than 10 children. I don’t have a helper because the believers are still young in the faith. We have a church farm donated by one man (approximately 0.3 of an acre), and we have constructed a church with timber and covered the roof with iron sheets. We have not completed the building yet, but I am looking forward to seeing how we can finish the building.
From my home where I live, it is 12 kilometers to the church. Finally, I am looking to see how to get finances so that I can support Pastor John Kirui to come almost twice a week and help me in soul winning from door to door.
Thank you and God bless,
Pastor Samson
Pastor John (Trans Mara South, Lolgorian)
Good day, our church is going well. Currently, we have 15 adults and 13 children. For Sunday school, we have around 12. On the 24th of the April, we baptized 3. Every Thursday, I go out soul winning in our area. Currently, we have covered the sides of the church with corrugated iron. We still have one door and a floor, and we have built a toilet for the church.
Thank you,
John Kirui
Pastor William (Moringa, Bomet Area)
We are doing well here at home, and the church as well. There has been heavy rain affecting the number in attendance, both during Bible study and Sunday fellowship. Joseph, one of the men from our Bible study, has been having a great challenge from when the river swells and floods heavily. Sometimes he fails to attend because bridges were carried away by the flooding. We give glory to God for his daughter and his younger son, who have both been attending as well now. My wife and I have been having a challenge as well in reaching on time due to heavy rain and bad roads. I have never been able to attend with my family due to lack of means for transport. Thank you to your church for donating the tent. It has been of great benefit to the Bible study and Sunday service.
Pastor William
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- Our main service—we are outgrowing our space already! Praise the Lord!
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- Ali teaching discipleship to one of our teens after church
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- Jeffrey is trying to hold a cannonball from the Fort Jesus Museum in Mombasa!
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- A group of kids heading home from church
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- The teenagers studying during their discipleship class after church on Sunday
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- Daniel teaching his class in their discipleship series