“He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 62:6)
God has been very good to us as we finished 2018 and launched into a new year. We were busy in December with two performances of a Christmas play called “The Lamb of Bethlehem.” A good number of visitors came. The Gospel was clearly preached, and we saw people saved and baptized.
For New Year’s Eve, our church family met at the church for supper and stayed until after midnight. We played games, sang, had special music, listened to preaching during the evening, and saw the New Year in with prayer.
The year 2018 was a good year for our ministries, with over 7,781 saved and 279 baptisms. Thank you for your prayers and support that enabled us to see this number of people reached with the Gospel and given an opportunity to become followers of Jesus Christ.
In January the year got off to a great start, as we took on the theme of “So Much the More – Hebrews 10:25.” We have divided our church family up into four “leagues” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Each league is made up of two-person teams, which can earn points for their league by being faithful to services, Bible reading, prayer, soul winning, discipleship, and encouragement. Each week the winning league gets a special snack after the afternoon service. So far the excitement level is high, and we are already seeing good results as people grow in their faithfulness and service.
Our college was busy with classes, and I taught courses on “Dealing With Suffering” and “Biblical Character Traits I.” Our students are working very hard at their studies and weekend ministry. Jeo, one of our sophomores, had a difficult but blessed month. First, he traveled several hours to attend the funeral of an elderly relative. He was able to hold several evening services as the family gathered for the funeral and saw about 30 relatives saved! A week later, a 52-year-old father of one of our teens died suddenly of a heart attack. At a memorial service held for him, Jeo preached and saw 16 saved. Many times our people have been called upon to take sad situations and ask the Lord to cause good to come from grief.
Recently I went with one of the men from our church family to follow up on a lady he had led to the Lord the previous Saturday. When we found the house, she was not there, but her husband was. I led him to the Lord, and then his wife arrived to find out her husband had just gotten saved. The next day the family came to church, and the wife was baptized. Pray for us as we strive to have fruit that remains.
On January 27, we celebrated our church’s 8th anniversary with an all-day event called “Funday”! This year we had 588 attend our morning service and had our largest afternoon service attendance ever. Many visitors and new converts came for the first time, and we had 38 baptized. The year 2019 is off to a good start!
May the Lord bless you for your faithful support of our ministry. In the midst of a confused and changing world, we can be thankful that we are set on the Rock that does not move!
Yours for the Great Commission,
Scott Christiansen
