Heartbeat: January/february 2009

Volume 21 • Issue 1 • January & February 2009 1 Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Wichita, KS Permit #1657

3474 S. Meridian • Wichita, KS 67217 316-943-3446 • www.hoksba.org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

A note from your Director of Missions • Glenn Davis

Associational

Missions

Associational Missions is about what we can do together to further the work of our King and to advance His kingdom. Since joining the staff of Heart of Kansas Southern Baptist Association, I have given thought to the value of our churches working together. Could it be that God intends that His churches work together for some of the same reasons that He intends that His people work together?

If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please contact the association office.

Homeless Ministry The Baptist Homeless ministry is looking for a treasurer. If you would be interested in ministering in that capacity, please call Deborah Long at 316-204-2975. Also, they are selling 2009 calendars to raise funds for the ministry for $6.00 a piece.

Youth Pastor Wanted Position: Children and Youth Minister Purpose: To develop and oversee the programs, events, people, and facilities that relate to the evangelism and discipleship of regional children and youth from ages birth to 12th grade. Annual Compensation Package: Low to mid 30s Send Resumes to: High View Baptist Church, P.O. Box 4387, Woodland Park, CO 80866 or e-mail [email protected] Contact: Feel free to call (719) 687-8585 for more information. Ask for Doug

We know that it is God who sets the members in the body as it pleases Him. We know that in setting the members in the body, He also gifts each member. We know that in God’s perfect design, no believer is left without any gift, and no believer is given all the gifts. The “one gift” believer has that gift that the body needs in order to function in full health. The church cannot be fully healthy without the giftedness of the “one gift” believer. The “multi-gifted” believer does not have all the gifts so they can never think that they don’t need others. Could it be that God has given us in HOK many churches with different abilities and resources to bring to bear on the building of His kingdom? Because we all are unique, we all have something to bring to the effort. Because none of us are perfect, none of us can do it alone. We need each other, as individuals and as churches. Our strategy as an association is to plant churches and to develop healthy churches. This involves us working together. The strongest church cannot reach this whole association, but needs the help of the others. And the weakest among us has something of value to bring to the corporate efforts. My vision for HOK is to see our churches working together in trust and cooperation for the glory of our King. One effort we are considering for 2009 is an associational mission trip. trip We do not want to make plans and then try to convince you to put it on your calendar. But if you or people from your church would like to be involved in a mission trip to Arkansas during 2009, please let us know at the associational office. Such a trip would be a great way to say “thank you” to our good partners from Arkansas who have been helping us in our work. An associational mission trip will be a good way for us to build relationships with one another. We would learn to work together and to depend on each other. And such a trip would meet a need among the churches of Arkansas. None of us can do this alone. To think that we can is to neglect the partnerships among people and churches shown throughout the New Testament. The New Testament church sent groups of people to represent them to another location in order to minister. That would be the purpose of an associational mission trip. 1

Keys to Sunday School Growth

OUTREACH & INREACH Terry Beasley, Sunday School Team Leader

In the last newsletter article, we challenged teachers to consider the organization of their class to encourage the members of the group to perform various functions. A couple of areas in which we must focus are those of outreach and in-reach. It should be our goal that every visitor to a worship service or small group would be listed as a prospective member of a Sunday School class. As part of the organizational structuring of your Sunday School class, your prayer is to enlist an Outreach Leader. However, as you recruit an individual for this position, emphasize to your class and to this leader that it is not THEIR job to do outreach for us. It is their task to lead the class in reaching out to prospective members. How can the class help? Here are a few suggestions: -Ask class members to give at least one night a month to going on visitation. Everyone is busy. Requesting that members go on visitation every week may be unrealistic for some and thereby give the feeling that if that is the expectation—there is no way they can participate. Develop a class calendar and recruit from your class so that every week you have someone (preferably at least two) available to go on visitation. Hopefully, you will have a prospective member for your class that can be visited most every week. In addition to face-to-face visits, you can use this time to make phone calls from church or to write postcards. - Plan a class fellowship and invite every member and every prospective member of your class. People enjoy the fellowship of small groups. Give them opportunities outside of the Sunday School hour. Promote the class fellowship in advance and include associate members too. (Associate members are those who would be in your Sunday School class but they are teaching in another class instead.) If childcare will be a problem for your class fellowship, ask an older class or department if they would be willing to provide childcare for your class at the church while your group is involved in the fellowship.

While outreach is focused on touching those outside of your group, in-reach is staying in contact with and ministering to the needs of those who are members of your class. With anywhere from a dozen to several hundred members on your Sunday School roll, it will take a real effort on your part to keep up with those individuals. How do you do it? Again, there is no one way and no one answer. It usually is a combination of things. For example, maintaining contact with those on your role whom you haven’t seen in a few weeks. Do you call or send a card after two or three consecutive weeks of absence? Do you have regular fellowships so that you can invite these members back into the group with a less-threatening activity? Perhaps you could utilize a weekly “outreach” night as an opportunity for “in-reach” in classes where there may not be a visitor to contact. You certainly have many names on your Sunday School roll that you could spend this hour making quick visits and/or phone calls. Bottom line—in-reach takes TIME and EFFORT. As a teacher or director, you CAN NOT and SHOULD NOT be expected to do it alone. As you make regular contact with Sunday School members and prospective members, you will discover opportunities for ministry. Share these with your class and your church staff so that they can prayerfully respond to these needs. You may also want to set-up a phone tree with all your members to relay prayer requests or special events. This involves everyone in the ministry process.

January S 4 11 18 25

5 12 19 26

W

6 13 20 27

TH 1 8 15 22 29

7 14 21 28

F 2 9 16 23 30

S 3 10 17 24 31

New Years Day, Day HOKSBA Office closed

8

Youth Pastors Meeting, Meeting HOKSBA at 10am

10

WMU Planning Meeting, HOKSBA at 10am

13

HOK Executive Board Meeting Westview B.C. at 10:30am

21

Sunday School Team Meeting Ryan’s at 12:30pm

27

Leadership Training Seminar for Pastors

February S 1 8 15 22 7

M 2 9 16 23

T 3 10 17 24

W 4 11 18 25

TH 5 12 19 26

F 6 13 20 27

S 7 14 21 28

Special Ed. Valentine Party Midway B.C. from 1-4pm

10

Pastors “Wives” Coffee, TBA Sunday School Team Meeting Ryan’s at 12:30pm

24

Leadership Training Seminar for Pastors Westview B.C. at 10am

Mark Jackson, Church Planting Strategist

The simple gospel still works to draw people to the Savior. I attended a church service at Aviator, located in Derby, Kansas, recently and the gospel was presented in a simple, powerful way. Pastor Joe Boyd is doing a series titled “For the God who has Everything”. What can we give to God? Ourselves! The next Sunday Joe presented a message on baptism. The message was again simple and from the Scripture. That Sunday evening twelve participated in believer’s baptism. In four months Aviator has witnessed many salvation decisions and twenty baptisms. Aviator has worked very hard to be in the community and build healthy relationships and this is producing a great harvest when coupled with the preaching of God’s Word. Most of these baptisms have been with folks in their twenties and younger. Please keep Aviator in your prayers.

T

1

18

Aviator Church Reaching Many

M

Gifts to our Association

March 7

VBS Jumpstart Clinic First Southern Baptist Church, Salina

Weekly Prayer Emphasis for

January Jan. 5 Jan. 12 Jan. 19 Jan. 26

South Broadway • Pastor Wayne Trimmell Calvary • Pastor Michael Scott Cambodian • Pastor Sorn Im Cedar Pointe • Pastor Dennis Burns

February Feb. 2 Feb. 9 Feb. 16 Feb. 23

Harmony • Pastor Phil Landis Getsemani • Pastor Donald Chance Nueva Vida • Pastor Abraham Arevalo Immanuel • Pastor Charles Boswell

CHURCH BELIEVERS CALVARY CAMBODIAN CEDAR POINTE CELEBRATION COUNTRY ACRES CRUSADERS FAITH, ANDOVER FIRST, HAYSVILLE FIRST, MAIZE FIRST, MULVANE FIRST, SEDGWICK FSBC, HUTCHINSON GETSEMANI GRACE HARBOR HARMONY IGLESIA LA REDENCION IMMANUEL, NEWTON IMMANUEL, WICHITA IMMANUEL, VIETNAMESE INDIAN SOUTHERN LAO BAPTIST METRO EAST METROPOLITAN MIDWAY NEW BIRTH CHRISTIAN NEW LIFE COMMUNITY NINNESCAH VALLEY NUEVA VIDA OLD TIME GOSPEL OLIVET PARKVIEW PLANEVIEW PLANEVIEW ASIAN PLEASANTVIEW RANDALL ROAD RIVER COMMUNITY RIVERVIEW ROLLING HILLS SHALOM ADONAI SHARON SOUTH BROADWAY SOUTH CITY SOUTHSIDE SOUTHWEST SOUTHWIND FELLOWSHIP THE MISSION TRINITY TYLER ROAD VICTORY BAPTIST WESTVIEW WICHITA KOREAN WOODLAND TOTAL CHURCH GIFTS

Nov 08 1.54.62 1,127.65 0.00 418.03 0.00 1,383.89 0.00 400.00 909.03 0.00 2,730.50 30.12 1,043.59 85.75 0.00 69.68 50.00 585.25 1,845.42 0.00 141.00 80.00 2,001.50 644.92 819.53 0.00 281.55 63.44 54.00 0.00 789.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,017.72 0.00 1,424.38 386.52 0.00 0.00 1,388.92 0.00 0.00 192.00 300.00 266.70 141.00 251.33 415.70 0.00 0.00 0.00 110.00

Jan - Nov 08 11,434.94 15,755.64 0.00 3,932.38 483.11 12,958.32 300.00 4,900.00 8,047.55 1,479.00 16,318.73 455.46 5,338.77 182.83 270.00 1,071.27 150.00 7,388.84 23,232.85 0.00 1,614.12 800.00 24,975.47 6,574.94 8,922.79 0.00 1,634.26 787.12 638.00 0.00 8,958.84 3,745.71 117.17 1,659.00 19,575.94 0.00 18,114.25 4,112.91 625.68 120.00 7,876.14 119.22 2,969.00 963.00 1,937.63 2,487.29 533.86 3,122.91 5,556.68 200.00 1,125.00 300.00 1,475.00

22,502.86

245,341.62

*Contributions received after the last day of the month will be recorded into the following month.

2008 Christmas Party 3rd Annual HOKSBA Two-Person Scramble Golf Tournament The 3rd Annual HOKSBA Two-Person Scramble Golf Tournament was held at Hesston Golf Park on Saturday, October 11th. The weather was GREAT although a little breezy! We had 20 two-person teams for this, now annual, event. The fellowship, like our spring Fellowship Golf Tournament, was absolutely GREAT! After the golf, we gathered for lunch while the scores were tallied up. This year we had 5 teams finish under par. Here are the winners: First Place – First Flight (Score of 68 –3 under par) Dennis Burns (Cedar Pointe) Matt Breaker (Cedar Pointe)

Closest to the Pin Winners Kent LaFever (Country Acres guest) – par 3 David New (Immanuel) – 2nd shot on par 4 Ed Tennison (Believers) – par 3

First Place – Second Flight Craig Kinkaid (Immanuel) Charley Powell (Cedar Pointe)

Longest Drive Winner Bob Holmes (1st Baptist Mulvane)

First Place – Third Flight Allan Harms (1st Baptist Mulvane) Scott Walker (1st Baptist Mulvane)

Straightest Drive Winner Ken Cicchetti (Believers) Longest Putt Winner Vance Garwood (Metro East)

Other Results: First Flight: Flight 2nd Place – John Ashworth & Scott Rouch (Immanuel) 3rd Place – Mark Alfred & David New (Immanuel) Second Flight: Flight nd 2 Place – John Robinson & Ross Searl (Immanuel) 3rd Place – Paul Howe & Steve Klepacki (1st Baptist Mulvane) Third Flight: Flight 2nd Place – Bob Bumgarner & Don Payne (Pleasantview)3 3rd Place – Dennis Carrier & Carl Norton (Country Acres) Two “Just For Fun Prizes” were: Best Dressed: Glenn Davis (HOKSBA Director of Missions) Worst Dressed: Jered Randolph (Country Acres) Everyone seemed to have great time. Consensus was that we will make this an annual event. Golf Tournaments scheduled for 2009 include: 9th Annual HOKSBA Fellowship Golf Tournament – Saturday, April 25th 4th Annual HOKSBA TwoTwo-Person Scramble Golf Tournament –Saturday, October 10th If you are interested in serving on the committee for the 9th Annual HOKSBA Fellowship Golf Tournament, please contact Charley Powell at (316) 650-1959 (cell) or by e-mail at [email protected]. The committee will start work in late January to mid February 2009. We do need more workers.

The 2008 HOKSBA Christmas Party was held at Corporate Caterer’s. There were approximately 125 people in attendance representing 26 of our local churches. Sharon Baptist Church provided the entertainment. The quartet sang a few specials and led us in some Christmas Carols. We were then given examples of what a good gift really is by our DOM, Glenn Davis. Glenn told us that a good gift is a gift that is Needed. A good gift needs to last, maybe even have an Extended warranty. ranty A good gift must be Costly. Costly This does not mean it has to be expensive, but it must cost us something significant. And finally, a good gift must be given in Love. Love The perfect example of such a gift is Jesus. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.” We look forward to seeing you at next year’s Christmas Party!

The Gift of English By Abraham Arevalo, Hispanic Church Planting Strategist

“English is a hard language to learn”. Many people all over the world would agree with that statement, including myself. As I write these lines I need to think and carefully evaluate every word I am using. I need to be aware of sentence structure and word meanings. Also, my writing needs to be culturally sound and clear to achieve its intention. I was born in Mexico and learning English is one of the most valuable tools God has given me to accomplish my ministry in Kansas. Even though I have a lot of work to do on my English Skills, I thank the Lord for all I have learned and I treasure it greatly. We live in a nation so blessed by God that many others from all over the world want to enjoy these blessings and immigrate to our country. As a result of that, more than 50 million people in America speak other languages than English. Eightyfive percent of the elementary schools in the United States have provided some type of translation for the parents of their students. There are many in our community eager to improve their English proficiency to be successful at work, to be a more involved parent, or to seek a better education. Teaching another person to read and write English is a wonderful way to show the love of Christ. ESL (English as a Second Language) training is being offered to anyone who has an interest in this ministry. The training is being promoted by HOKSBA. It is offered as a tool to all of the churches in our Association to reach the people of many nations that live in our area. What are the benefits of this ministry? You will give other people a gift that potentially can impact their lives in many different ways: • You will give them the opportunity to be more integrated in our community. • You will give them the gift of communicating with doctors about their health issues in a private manner and without an interpreter. • You will give them the possibility of helping their kids with school work, the ability to talk to teachers and to be more involved on every aspect of their children’s education. • You will give them the tools to pursue their dreams of better employment, to develop a business idea, or to go back to school to complete a degree. • You will help people to protect themselves from frauds and scams targeting immigrants with little knowledge of the English language. More importantly, you will be used by God to open that person’s heart to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When they see Jesus through your actions, they will be compelled to invite Jesus into their own lives. Would you consider coming to our ESL training? It will be held from January 15th through the 17th at Pleasantview 371--4312 or [email protected]. Baptist Church in Derby. For more information you can reach me at (316) 371 [email protected]. It will be our privilege to see you there!

Summer Intern Program By Brad Simmons

In 2009, the HOKSBA Summer Intern Program will be divided into four parts: Church Planting Team, Vacation Bible School Team, Evangelism Team and Construction Team. While each team will have its own specific areas of service, there will be a lot of interaction and overlapping between each team. Check out the descriptions below to see which team sounds best for you!

GODdard’s Place At our annual meeting this year, a plan was presented to use the old Grace Baptist Church building in Goddard to start a ministry to the students of Goddard High School. The purpose of this ministry is to serve as a resource to the students of Goddard High School and the surrounding area by demonstrating the love of Christ and offering to host local activities. These activities may be, but are not limited to, the Goddard High School Bible club, After-Game Fellowships and to host various clubs and organizations. Tutoring is also an option. John Stockstill (619-0833) and Larry McCrary (204-6092) feel led by our Lord to start this ministry. The building will need some renovations and updates. Your physical and financial help is needed and would be very beneficial in getting this exciting ministry off the ground. For more information please contact John or Larry.

Church Planting Does being a part of a church from the very beginning excite you? Have you ever wondered how a church gets started? Then this team is for you. You will work side by side with one, or more, church planters whose churches are either just getting started, or are only a year old. Some of your time will be spent with Aviator Church, a new church plant in Derby for 20 somethings. We also have church plants in Oaklawn, a multicultural low income area, and in downtown Wichita that is specifically reaching out to those trapped in addictions. This team will do block parties, personal evangelism, creative outreach events, service projects, and more.

Discovery Day Church Planting

May 9, 2009 9 am till 1 pm Heart of Kansas Office • Could God be calling you into church planting? • How has God equipped you to be a church planter? • When should you get involved? • Where should you plant a church? Come begin the process of discovery. Please RSVP to 943943-3446

Vacation Bible School Do you love kids? Can you just not get enough of silly songs, kool-aid, cookies, and funny games? Then you're going to love this! You will spend the majority of your time planning, decorating, publicizing, teaching, playing, and leading as many Vacation Bible Schools in as many different churches as we can find for you to help!

Evangelism Do you have a heart for those who are hurting? Are you excited about telling them about the One who can offer them hope? Look no further. There are three Good Neighbor Centers in the Heart of Kansas, and hundreds of people a week go to them looking for food and clothing. While working in the Good Neighbor Centers, you will meet these people, and be able to offer them much more than what will meet their physical needs. You will also spend time with our staff Evangelism Director, and church members, going door-to-door sharing the Gospel with people in the neighborhoods surrounding our churches. You'll also participate in block parties designed to foster opportunities to share the Gospel.

Construction Are you handy? Do you like to serve others with your hands and hard work? We have a place for you to serve. You will have the opportunity to go into the homes of those who need help the most, and make small repairs and improvements that will make a big difference. You don't need to be an expert, but some experience would be good.

Check it out Does any of this interest you? Head over to www.hoksba.org/missionary to find out more, and let us know you are interested.

Operation School Supplies There are students in Wichita that will start school without the supplies they need. Seven of our churches have targeted twelve schools where there are over 4,000 kids in need of supplies. We would like to help meet this need and show God’s love in a real way. This will give us opportunities to share the Gospel with the children and their families. Mark is working with a WMU group in Arkansas that is interested in helping with some supplies, but we also need your help. Our idea is for someone at each of our churches to organize an Operation School Supplies similar to Operation Christmas Child. We have a volunteer from one of our churches that has already made contact with all of the schools and she will help us to organize the distribution. Please contact Loren at the association and he will provide you with a list of needed supplies.

Juvenile Detention Ministry Loren Phippen

We are continuing to minister in some of the area’s youth detention facilities. There is a real need for this ministry at the juvenile facilities. Many of these youth are from broken and dysfunctional families. They need to hear about our Lord and see His love in a real way. Let me know if you have an interest in getting involved.

Ministries & Evangelism By Loren Phippen

Celebrate Recovery

Disaster Relief

Midway Baptist Church has recently started a Celebrate Recovery Ministry. They are having a great response and are seeing fruit from this ministry. This is a great outreach ministry tool to our community. Tom and Marilynn Melton are leading the ministry and God is using them in a mighty way. Many participants are now members and/or regular attendees at Midway Baptist Church. If you know someone that would benefit from this ministry, or you would like more information on starting this ministry at your church, please contact Tom Melton or Loren Phippen for more information.

On the first Saturday of November we had over 40 volunteers for our first chain saw trailer training. We are continuing to outfit the trailer with shelving and equipment. The chain saw trailer should be ready to deploy within the next few months. If you are interested in training for the chain saw team or any other disaster relief training please let us know. You can contact Bill Riley, Elmo Brawley or Loren Phippen if you have any questions about this ministry.

Good Neighbor Centers Our Good Neighbor Centers continue to minister to the needy providing food, clothing, and most of all, the Gospel. They can always use food and clothing for the 250 plus people ministered to each week. The dollars you give to the centers are stretched greatly due to the ability to purchase food for 16 cents per pound. As the economy worsens we see more and more needs for volunteers at our centers, to help with distribution and to share the Gospel. If you are a handy man, we have many work projects to be done. Youth groups are extremely valuable in reaching the youth and canvassing the neighborhoods. Please pray as to how you can be used in this important and exciting ministry. The West Side Good Neighbor Center is in desperate need for volunteers from 9am till noon on Wednesdays and Fridays. Please contact me or any of the centers if you would like to get involved. Evangelism Missions Trips We will be returning from the Rose Bowl Parade mission trip to Pasadena, California on January 2nd. Last year, three of us from our association went to share the Gospel. This year there were 17 people that went to share the love of Christ with the lost. Please pray for the lives that we had the opportunity to touch. There is still room for you to go on the evangelistic trip to New Orleans. We will be leaving on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 8 am from the Associational office and we are planning to return late in the afternoon on February 22nd. In past years, we have had groups of seven or so. This year, we are praying for at least 12 people that will fill two vans. This evangelistic mission trip is not like any other that I have been a part of. The drunkenness and decadence that takes place at Mardis Gras is rapidly spreading across our country and we need to be at New Orleans to share the light of Jesus in this dark place. Please pray about joining with us. River Fest The River Festival runs from May 8th-16th. Our events will be from Thursday, May 14th to Saturday, May 16th. We will have a Team Impact type of event on Saturday. Street evangelists from around the country will be helping us all weekend during the River Festival. The mandate we have this year is to have one of our church members along side the evangelists every day. What an opportunity to get evangelism training by these seasoned street evangelists. So start praying about when you would be available to work the streets and learn a very productive way to share the Gospel. We need at least 10 people on Thursday and Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and all day Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thousands of lost people are at the River Festival every year and we need to reach out to them. We will need volunteers to help with music, the snack food station, and also to supervise the inflatables. Let’s make this the most productive festival for reaching the lost and dying in Wichita..

WMU News By Ellen M Noeller, WMU Director

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the First and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love you neighbor as your self.” (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV, Adapted) Our WMU Focus is “Called to Love.” WMU will challenge individuals to live out the unconditional love of Christ by loving God with heart, soul, and mind. As we reflect over the past year, help us to explore how we can show love with what God has called us to do. As we start this New Year, we think of where all the years have gone and what we have learned from them. In our WMU Women meetings over the past year it has encouraged us and given us the will to do more for God. Has God called us to be a leader in the WMU organizations? Has he shown us how we can reach out in the community where we live to tell about Christ and what he has done for us? Remember to pray for our missionaries as they go out on the mission field. We learned in our International Mission Study what our missionaries go thru and what they have to do without. Coming events for WMU January 10, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (weather permitting) is our planning meeting at the HOKSBA. This meeting is for the WMU Council, all WMU Directors, and Women’s Ministry Directors. If you do not have a director, send a lady from your church. If you have any ideas please come to our planning meeting. If you can not attend please call me 215-0135.

Need help with VBS? If you are planning a VBS for 2009, and think you might need a little extra help, we need to know! As a part of our Summer Intern Program (www.hoksba.org/missionary) we will have a VBS team, which will travel around the association helping churches with their VBS’s. These college students and high school seniors, will be available to help the weeks leading up to, during, and following your VBS. They can only help you if you tell us you need them! Go to www.hoksba.org/vbs and complete the survey, so we can get your church on the VBS Team’s schedule.

Handyman and Service Projects Needed We are actively recruiting college students, and high school seniors, to serve on a construction team for the summer of 2009. We hope for these students to be able to serve our churches by completing service projects around their church buildings, and in the homes of those the churches are seeking to reach. If you know of a student who might be interested, send them to www.hoksba.org/missionary for more information. Besides students, we need two things: a knowledgeable leader to oversee the students, and projects for the students to complete. If you, or someone you know, would have the time, and the knowledge to serve alongside these students during the summer of 2009, please give the HOKSBA office a call and we will share more about what is needed. If you have projects around your church, or in your church community, that this team could help with please let us know about those as well.

Set Free Ministry Please continue praying for the Set Free house and for the ministry. Many of our local churches have “work days” at the house. In fact, we had a mission team from Arkansas work there. The work is coming along but there is still a lot left to do. Please contact Bart Buresh at 316-619-8648 if you are interested in taking a work group to Set Free. We will soon be starting on the drywall and finish work. Also, as we get closer to completion on the house we will need to have property outside of Wichita for a “ranch”. The Set Free ministry takes people out of the downtown area and disciples them at a “ranch” away from the detractors that were in their life. They usually stay for 60 days or more until then are ready to go back into society. If you know someone who has some property we might be able to use please contact Loren Phippen or Mark Jackson.

Samaritan’s Road By Chaplain Marvin Daniels

As this year 2008 comes to a close and the entering of a New Year 2009 is before us, I wish everyone a happy and blessed New Year from all of us at SAMARITAN’S ROAD. Thank your for your prayers and support over these past few months. Thanks go out to all of our truckers for the job these men and women do and the sacrifice they make on behalf of this country and its citizens. Thanks to all our Christian brothers and sisters, who are trucking across the country and have stopped by to share with us. As I look back over the past few months, I am reminded of the many blessings the Lord has bestowed on us as a ministry and individually as well. I am reminded why we serve where we do. I see people who have needs and someone must be there for them. As I look at the names in our guest book, I see first time truckers far from home that need a place to come and worship. I see the names of those who are in dire need of a friend or just need prayer. I see people with faith in God from all parts of the USA and other countries, come together to worship in unity and spirit at the Trucker’s Chapel. I see the names of those who come and are hurting, but are left comforted. Those who find encouragement, who are in a time of despair or just seeking the Lord’s will for their life. I see the names of those who have come and were once lost, but left with “new life.” I am reminded of the employees who have called upon us in their time of need and we responded. I am reminded how during those fellowship times, that we were encouraged by the stories and experiences we had to share with each other. We learned how through one’s difficulties, that it was faith that brought them through. We shared the hardships and victories. We shared in their sorrow and their joy. Through it all we became friends. Jesus calls us His friends too. Jesus alone knows our sorrows, our cares, our needs, and He brings us comfort, peace, joy and provision for those moments we face in life. Then I look at those who faithfully serve the Lord through SAMARITAN’S ROAD and have answered “the call.” I see others who have a heart for the trucker. I see those who have grown in their spiritual walk by being obedient and staying committed to serving the Lord so others might be won for Christ. I see those who are new to the ministry start to grow as the Lord leads them and they experience, what a “servant’s life” is all about. I have seen the love of Christ, as it is shared among the truckers and employees of Newell’s alike. I have seen the “servant’s heart” pray with all sincerity for the needs of others and for the salvation of the lost. I have seen some give “their all” for the sake of others. I have seen their joy become full, as they witness and experience God moving in the lives of others and their own. It goes without saying, that we all have been blessed, as we have witnessed God moving through this ministry. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for SAMARITAN’S ROAD and for each team member this New Year. I look forward to seeing more lives touched and changed as we continue to honor God. I know as we stay committed to serving faithfully, obediently and persistently, that the Lord will continue blessing this ministry. I invite you to become a volunteer with this ministry, so you too can share in these wonderful experiences and blessings. If you have been looking for a place to serve, this ministry to America’s truckers might just be the place for you. If you have time to give, love sharing the Gospel with others and would like to help staff our Trucker’s Chapel, then give me a call at 316-519-5602 (cell), at home after 6pm at 316-322-7133, or by e-mail at [email protected]. I look forward to sharing with you further about this wonderful one of kind ministry. Till next time God bless. Please keep us in your prayers.