Participation in the Gospel

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

I am overcome with joy and thanksgiving tonight for all that I have witnessed and experienced this week. We have surely participated in the gospel. Like Paul, I am confident that God has begun this good work and will now perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Our responsibility is to follow God and cooperate with Him to perfect what has been begun. We must be changed by this week and look forward to what He will accomplish in the future. Here are a few things that have been begun:

*9 children have received Christ through our Day Camp.
*Many families were touched by our Block Party today and thanked us for the event. (Everything went smoothly and the kids and their families had a great time!)
*Many new relationships were formed in our own fellowship.
*Around 30 unchurched C3 families were visited.
*Relationships were begun with the families of our Day Camp children.
*Our community has been touched by all of our various "Taking it to the Streets" ministries - goodies to community servants, local businesses and restaurants; free car washes, laundry-mat services, nursing home visits, and more.
*People were comforted by our prayer shawl ministry.
*Many were encouraged by our senior adult/cleaning ministry.
*We shared our love in action with the 30 homes that received construction work.

My prayer is that some of these ministries will become ongoing plans for our church fellowship. I pray that people in our area will see us as the loving, giving, and caring people that we have been this week. We must be careful to love as Jesus loved and give Him all of the glory. He has prepared good works for us, we just need to be on the lookout for them and have the courage to begin! He will supply all that is needed to bring them to completion.

Our biggest prayer concern for tomorrow is for our Fourth of July celebration. Please pray that John and Sandra Smith will have God's wisdom and guidance as they set up and prepare for this event. We could use more people to help. Please contact John and Sandra Smith if you are available (770-439-5761). Everyone is invited to come and enjoy the evening in Powder Springs. It is always a lot of fun. It almost has a "Norman Rockwell" feel; the whole town is gathered to eat and watch fireworks! We will have a band of "local renown" and our church choir will sing at 7:00. Our folks will be giving out water and goodies. Please join us!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for the Father's hand to be on this entire week. We have been blessed beyond measure. I am so thankful for what we have begun and what we have accomplished. Please check back here over the next week for a more complete "wrap-up" of the details of the week. Once again, to God be the glory, great things HE hath done!!

Hope Delivered

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they many see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

I have just returned from Branson Homes where the choir sang and our people visited with the residents. We enjoyed the sweetest fellowship. The people there were overwhelmed with our ministry for them. They all want to know when we are coming back! I believe that the work we have done there this week cleaning homes, making crafts, studying the Bible and just loving the people, has truly brought glory to our Father who is in heaven. The lady who is the director for Branson and Johnny Walker homes was amazed by the number of people who attended tonight. My prayer is that they have seen Jesus in us and that they will continue to build a sense of community in their neighborhood. Honestly, they have blessed me this week more than they know. Many of them have had very difficult lives and circumstances but they live with dignity. They just need a little time and love. It was a blessing to share with them this week.

Here are some updates from today:

*Four children were saved in Day Camp this morning!!!
*More cars were washed
*Prayer shawls, music, and even a canine friend were shared with residents of Bethel Gardens in Powder Springs
*Visits were made to over 30 unchurched families form C3 camp
*Breakfast and lunch were served to Day Camp children
*More construction sites were completed
*Our childcare kids visited Branson Homes residents today
*We had a great time of fellowship with the Branson Homes folks, complete with watermelon!

A few prayer needs for tomorrow:

*Pray that all preparations go smoothly for the Block Party tomorrow afternoon (12-3 in the Powder Springs Park) (Stephanie Still and Kelly Davis are planning this event)
*Please pray that our people will have the strength and endurance to complete what we have begun
*Pray for wisdom and direction for all of us to know how best to spend the last days of Mission Trip 2009
*Pray for our people who are planning the Fourth of July celebration (John and Sandra Smith) and join us if you can!
*Pray that the families that we meet tomorrow during the Block Party will see the love of Jesus in us and be drawn to Him
*Continue to pray that our hearts will be changed to see the needs around us in a different way and look for ways for God to use us to demonstrate His love

We continue to be abundantly blessed this week. I am still sometimes overcome by the size and scope of this endeavor and I am so thankful for the leadership of our pastor, staff, and mission team that makes this all possible. To God be the glory!

Day Three!

Can you believe that we are half way through with Mission Trip 2009? We had another great day of ministry today. Here are some highlights:

*Popsicles were delivered to area swimming pools
*30-35 cars were washed
*Goodies were taken to workers at five area restaurants
*6 prayer shawls were given at Powder Springs nursing home
*Goodies were taken to local businesses
*Several new construction sites were begun
*Our childcare visited the Yellow River Game Ranch
*We had 75 children at Day Camp today
*The clown ministry visited Branson Homes, the nursing home, and our childcare
*We made tremendous progress at some construction and cleaning sites
*The number of construction projects has increased from 23 to 30 sites
*All 350 of us posed for a picture in front of the church this afternoon

We continue to enjoy a sweet fellowship and a great spirit of cooperation. Bonnie Moreland remarked tonight that she sent out a call for help and had a great response of people offering to help. An entire week set aside for ministry seems to intensify our willingness and ability to minister to people. I pray that our hearts will be permanently changed to look for opportunities to show the love of Christ to the people we meet.

Please continue to pray that we will bear fruit for the glory of God this week. The last few days of the week could be the most difficult. There is nothing quite like what I call "mission trip" tired! It is a tremendous blessing, but it is also a physically demanding week. Please pray that we will all "run with endurance the race that is set before us". (Hebrews 12:1)

The temperature was rather warm today! Please pray that our people would continue to be safe as they work and travel.

The mission trip choir sang at Doss Memorial Baptist Church tonight and will sing at Branson Homes tomorrow night at 7:00. Please pray that the residents will join us and enjoy our fellowship together.

The gospel will be presented to the older children at Day Camp tomorrow. Please pray that God would speak through our people and draw the hearts of these children to Him.

We have realized that many of the children coming for Day Camp are hungry when they arrive. Tommy Farr is responding by bringing both breakfast and lunch to the children tomorrow. What a blessing! Please pray for the food ministry as they increase their workload!

Thank you for your participation through prayer. Please pray fervently that God would go before us in all that we do. We will be careful to give Him the glory!

Day Two

"Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing." Psalm 100

We read this verse at our prayer time this morning. That's what I have seen all day: our people serving the Lord with gladness. It is a joy to see. The week is not without it's challenges, but I still see people serving Him with gladness. Please pray that everyone would continue to be joyful in all that we do. It's what sets us apart from the world.

Some of today's victories:

*Pleasant, cool breezes, lower humidity
*15-20 platters of "goodies"delivered
*71 kids in Day Camp
*2 or 3 construction sites completed
*Everyone in attendance touched by a Branson Homes resident named Helena who hungers to know the Word of God
*Red shirts recognized all over town
*A special needs child blessed by Ian Roemer
*A recipient of our construction ministry crying as she thanked us for her new patio
*A new "laundry-mat" ministry begun - clothes washed, dried, folded, and paid for by our people at 3 locations
*A 99 year old woman blessed by our childcare kids on her birthday
*350+ people well-fed by our food ministry
*Day Camp and Branson Homes blessed by our puppet ministry
*25 cars washed
*Once again, pleasant, cool breezes, lower humidity!

Some prayer concerns for tomorrow:
*Guidance and direction in how to meet the needs of the people to whom we minister
*Continued pleasant, cool breezes, lower humidity!
*Physical strength and endurance for all of our people to make it through the week
*Protection from discouragement from ANY source
*Our clown ministry as they perform in several sites
*Increased participation in our afternoon sessions at Branson Homes
*Continued safety of all of our people as they work and travel

Our number one prayer this week is that the Son of Man would be lifted up so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. (John 3:14,15) Please pray fervently that people will continue to see God all over us so that they will find true Hope.

"Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!" Rev. 19:3

Red Shirts Everywhere!

An army of "red shirts" was spreading Hope all over our community today! It was thrilling to see all of the red shirts at breakfast this morning, eager to get to work! The Lord blessed us with clear blue skies, lower temperatures and even a cool breeze on the first day of Mission Trip 2009! I believe that the weather was a direct answer to our prayers for the week!

Here are some more answers to prayers from today:

*40 children in Day Camp
*12 more apartments to clean for senior adult ministry
*great relationships begun at Branson Homes and Johnny Walker Homes
*25 cars washed
*no major injuries!
*92 year old patient at Cobb Hospital blessed by our prayer shawl ministry
*miraculously, enough t-shirts for 350 + people!!
*miraculously, cloths for "Taking it to the Streets" completed
*new relationships formed in our own fellowship

Just to name a few! Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with a great first day!

Requests for tomorrow:

*MORE children in Day Camp
*MORE senior adults to receive us
*Physical strength and patience for the food ministry
*Continued blessing and guidance over each ministry tomorrow
*Continued strengthening of the bonds of our fellowship

One of the ladies at Branson Homes remarked today that she could just "see God all over" our people. My prayer tonight is that everyone who even sees one of our red shirts will "see God all over us" the remainder of the week. Thank you for your continued prayer support.

To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

What a Day!

It has been a great day at Powder Springs First Baptist! We had a wonderful patriotic celebration and then Mission Trip 2009 started with a bang! It was so exciting to see 300+ people signing forms, receiving t-shirts and schedules, and meeting with their ministry groups. The CLC was buzzing with activity! Thank you, Lord, once again, for allowing us the opportunity to participate in this ministry. I am looking forward to seeing what will be accomplished for our Lord both in our community and in our fellowship. We are so blessed.

NOW, is the time to bring this mission trip before our Lord. There are many needs and concerns. Here are a few:

*Please pray that our people will be protected from the heat this week. Most of our ministries take place outside. The weather forecast looks good for a little cooler temperatures! I am still praying that our people will take necessary precautions in the heat.
*The Day Camp folks need children! We are praying that the word has spread and that Powder Springs Park will be flooded with children tomorrow morning!
*The senior adult ministry also needs people to meet and help! Please pray that God would work in the hearts of the residents of these two communities and that they would be drawn to our people. Pray that any barriers to ministry would be removed for us this week.
*Our childcare numbers increased today. Pray that they would have plenty of workers and activities for our children and that our children would always remember the blessing of Mission Trip 2009.
*Actually, all of our numbers increased today! Please pray that all of the logistic details of the week would just fall into place. (T-shirts, food, transportation,etc...)
*Jackie Harmon is still planning details for Wed. and Th. afternoon. Please ask that she would be able to clearly see God's direction for these days.
*Please pray for safety for all of our people, especially our construction workers. We don't want any trips to the emergency room!
*The Block Party team has requested that we especially pray for their set up on Friday morning. The city's preparation for the Fourth of July event will be happening at the same time.

"Reflections" in the evening has always been a special part of our mission trips. Announcements are made and the blessings of the day are shared. Even if you are not "officially" involved in the mission trip, please join us for this sweet time of fellowship. Reflections will take place Monday night at 6:15 in the sanctuary, and Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 6:15 in the CLC. On Friday night, we will have a "No Talent" show at 7:00. You won't want to miss that!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16

This is what we believe, this is our motivation and our message. Now, let's get started!

On Your Mark, Get Set, GO!

It's here! All of the months of anticipation and planning are coming to a close and Mission Trip 2009 now begins. I know that today is full of activity for many of you who are preparing for the week. We will be praying that you will be led by the Holy Spirit in everything that you do and say today. I heard recently that the best way to avoid anxiety is to adopt the "P and P" plan: prayer and planning. Often in times of preparation for major events anxiety leads to fear and discouragement. In John chapters 14 and 15 Jesus teaches these truths:

*"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." (14:1)
*"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (14:6)
*"If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."(14:23)
*"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (15:5)

Essentially, I believe that Jesus is teaching me not to be anxious, but to have faith in Him because He is Life. He loves me and abides in me. My strength to bear fruit comes only from Him - I can do nothing in my own strength. It's really that simple. I place my faith in Him and He supplies all that I need for the task ahead. Lord, please help us all to remember these truths in the next days.

Please join me in praying especially for our Patriotic worship service, our fellowship lunch, and the opening meetings for the mission trip tomorrow. What a day! Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of this opportunity to serve you this week. Help us to share our Hope with the people of our community. We give You all the praise and glory! Amen!