Discovery Baptist News

NEW MINISTRIES STARTING

2010-03-02T21:52:00.001-08:00

Two ministries began at Discovery this spring.

The new Young Adults ministry has begun meeting every two months at various homes to encourage fellowship among the 20ish folk at DBC. If you would like to be involved you can contact Willie Clark for more information. The Clarks will host the next meeting on Fri. Mar. 5 at 7 pm. Call 253 514-6238 for details.

The new Silver Servants is starting a ministry to those 50ish and above. They will be meeting every few months under the leadership of seniors pastor Jerry Gary to serve each other and the body of Christ. Read more by clicking on their new blogspot here.

7 REASONS TO BELIEVE THE BIBLE 2/7 6 pm

2010-01-12T20:54:00.000-08:00

Is the Bible inspired? Can it be trusted? Does it conflict with science? Find out in the presentation Seven Reasons to Believe the Bible! It is a unique live digital program that is interesting, trustworthy, and politely entertaining . Dr. Tom Hoyle of Bible and Science Ministries takes a careful and inspirational look at the fascinating evidences for the Bible. There will be Q & A at the end and some materials available. Join us Feb. 7th at 6 p.m.. Dr. Hoyle has a PhD in Christian Apologetics and is a colonel who serves as chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserves. Dr. Hoyle has been actively involved in creation science missions for over 20 years.

LOST OR REDEEMED MOMENTS

2009-12-30T10:26:00.001-08:00

Dear Flock & Friends,

With the start of a new year we are forced to reflect on our use of time. Isaiah 55:6 reminds us to "Seek the LORD while He may be found." How will you use this time? For starters it is a good time to begin a systematic reading of the Bible. We have a schedule in the bulletin or you can find one on line.

Someone said, "In our tranquility how many golden hours we throw down the stream that we are never to see again. The time may come when we would give rivers of oil, the wealth of both Indies, and the mountains of precious stones, if they were ours, to recover one lost moment! Who is there among us that knows how to value time and prize the day at a due rate?"

Thomas Case wrote, "Most men study rather how to pass away their time than to redeem it. They waste precious hours as if they had more than they could tell what to do with. Our season is short, and we make it shorter. How sad a thing it is to hear men complain, 'O, what shall we do to pass the time?' Alas, even the Lord's day, the purest and most refined part of time, how cheap and common it is in most men's eyes! But O, when trouble comes; when the sword is at the body, the pistol at the breast, the knife at the throat, death at the door, how precious would one of those despised hours be! Evil days cry with a loud voice in our ears: 'Redeem the time!' (Eph 5:16). In life threatening dangers, when God threatens, as it were, then we can think of redeeming the time for prayer, reading, meditation, and study. We then gather up the very fragments of time, that nothing may be lost. Then God teaches the soul the wisdom of redeeming the time." (TBC 11/17/09)

Someone compared life to an average day. Birth is 6 in the morning and the end of a full life is 10 at night for an average span of 70 years. If you are 25 then it is already 11:40 a.m.…almost noon in other words. If you are 40 it is past 3 in the afternoon. If you are 55, it is almost 7 p.m.. If you are 65 it is just 15 minutes until bed time. Sobering isn’t it. Let us redeem the time and put our heart into the work God has called us too.

Twice alive,

Pastor Mark

SPECIAL CHRISTMAS EVENTS

2009-11-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas comes to life as you visit Bethlehem at our free LIVING NATIVITY drive or walk-thru Dec. 11-13 from 6-8 pm.

Over 200 cast members pluss live animals
All outside scenes
Drive or walk through free
Free refreshments
Bring family and friends
Park at Harbor Covenant
See Ministries page for details
Request free posters here w/your address
See our Living Nativity video from our scenes by clicking here. See current pics here. See a short documentary on it done by our local newspaper by clicking here.

Hear our choir at our OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS CONCERT at Jerisch Dock in Gig Harbor Monday Dec. 14 from 7-9 p.m. They will be repeating a 20 minute program several times.

Join us for our CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT SERVICE Thur. Dec. 24, 6 p.m. A candlelight evening of choir and congregational carols about Christ's birth and a special meditation in chalk art from our pastor as he concludes his December sermon series on the Unwrapping Christmas. Come early to get a good seat.

WHAT'S NEW AT DISCOVERY THIS FALL?

2009-10-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

Sundays - 6pm STRENGTHENING FAMILY LIFE A fall sermon series dealing with key questions about how to help families grow in Christ.

Fri. 11/6 - 7pm YOUNG ADULT FELLOWSHIP starting Meet at Clark 15414 41st Ave NW. Ph. 253 514-6238. Go north on Peacock Hill Ave. and turn left on 154th St. to get to 41st Ave NW. Food will be provided. Come prepared to play games and enjoy fellowship.

Tue. 11/17 - 7pm TITUS 2:4 MOMS-WIVES GROUP starting Titus 2:4 says the older women shall teach the younger how to love their husbands and children. This group will encourage women in their rolls. Nancy Suko will lead the group. Meeting the 3rd Tue. of each month starting at the Rogers home at 8358 Van DeCarr Rd. SE, Port Orchard.

Sun. 11/1 6pm JUAN CARLOS TO SPEAK Juan is a native pastor from Paraguay working with ABWE to reach his country for Christ. Here Juan's story and progress in ministry as he gives us an update.

Sun. 11/22 - 6pm THANKSGIVING DESSERT FELLOWSHIP Bring your favorite "fancy" Thanksgiving dinner dessert and we will share around the table as we give the Lord thanks for another year.

See us also on facebook under Discovery Baptist. See our calendar section for regular events

BILL BROWN'S MEMORIAL 10/22/09

2009-10-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Bill Brown passed into the presence of his Savior, Jesus Christ, on Oct. 15 after a long struggle with heart and lung disease. The Browns served as missionaries with Baptist Mid-Missions in the Central African Republic for many years and since retirement he has faithfully served as secretary at Discovery until recently. Bill also worked tirelessly in translation of Sunday School materials from English to Sango for use in Africa. The Browns have 6 boys and numerous grandchildren.

MOLDOVA BUILDING PROJECT VIDEO

2009-09-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

Discovery is helping Vasiliy Kaletnik, our local church planter in Moldova, reach people for Christ. Moldova is the poorest country in Eastern Europe and has many villages where the Gospel has never been preached. This summer we worked in the village of Sarata where a new church is in need of building. Currently they are meeting in an old Communist Cultural Hall. Sarata is a reaching out point to other villages. Our team worked on the foundation which was made of rubble from an old house. Help is needed to complete this project. Take a look at the short video about this project from our trip there this summer. Click here to see the Moldova Building Probject.

WILSON'S SENDING SERVICE Aug. 23, 6p

2009-08-07T16:55:00.001-07:00

Daron and Yunae Wilson were sent by DBC as missionaries with ABWE to Thailand in a formal service. Daron's father, Myron Wilson, Dr. Jack Wilsey and Pastor Suko spoke. Following the service the Wilson's footprints were cast in a concrete stepping stone as a reminder to pray for the feet of those who bring good news (Rom. 10). The Wilsons will be teaching and training in Ching Mai. It was one of the highlights of the year to send or seventh set of missionaries out into God's harvest field.

MISSION UKRAINE: DEPARTING KIEV

2009-06-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

Our final days in Ukraine were spent in Kiev with our kids Mike, Rachel and Ellie. We walked through the ornate but empty Orthodox churches and toured the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (WWII) where the great Motherland statue was erected just before the fall of communism. It is equivalent to our Statue of Liberty. A hammer and sickle are on the shield. It struck us how many memorials are in this land to the battles of the past. The reason there are more there than in the US is that the battles were fought on their soil. We are fortunate to not have so many.

We saw Mike & Rachel's ministry with young adults up close as they gathered for a special all day party at a church member's home. Mike and Rachel work with training the core group of these young people as leaders. Many others attended on this day including some non-believers. In Ukraine young people are part of this group until married. The youth played games, went to the beach, had a Bible study time and ate. These youth will be the future of Ukraine. We should pray for them as they grow and reach the next generation.

Monday we said goodbye to our children to return home to the US. We were blessed to see, be a part of and support these ministries. We returned Gig Harbor with a greater sense of knowing we have been blessed so much here both materially and spiritually. As Jesus said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." (Lu. 12:48) As individuals and a church we have a great responsibility and privilege to share with the world the life changing Gospel.

MISSION UKRAINE: & MOLDOVA TOO

2009-06-18T07:04:00.000-07:00

We made it to the dark and cavernous Kiev station to catch our 2 a.m. train coming from Moscow to Moldova. We got on and slept well in our coupe (compartment). It was cooler for a change. The windows were open as the curtains flapped in the breeze. The train was very old and dirty by U.S. standards. No comment on rest rooms.

At a long stop in Moldova the next day we got out. Dozens of vendors plied the platform selling tomatoes, cherries, candy, magazines, pictures, vodka, water, beer, piroshkies (meat in fried bread), sausages, trinkets etc. Several old ladies with shawls on their heads showed us a photo of the local orthodox church in hopes we would buy it. Another on the platform sat in a wheelchair with her hand out. Their plight brought tears to my eyes as I thought of the desperate nature of a society bankrupted by communism's government sanctioned atheism. I was glad the Lord had opened the door for us to bring hope and share the Gospel of Christ in this part of the world.

We were met in Falesti (Northern Moldova) by our native missionaries, the Kaletniks as well as our team members Steve, Kathleen and Greg Hicks along with Jordan Hayes who all arrived earlier from Romania. It was nice to talk to Americans. We had dinner with them before they went out with Nehemiah and others to pass out invitations to one of our services.

Sunday our team did ministry in three locations. In Vasiliy Kaletnik's church in Falesti all went well with the Hicks doing music along with local church music and a couple of guest singers from Belti. I spoke on Christ on the road to Emmaus. The church here in this city of five thousand or more is the center of ministry that reaches out to smaller farm villages.

We went to the village of Sarata after lunch. A small church has been established here for several years. We used a rented cultural hall that was in bad shape and had major electrical problems. The men worked for a half hour to get the lights working. They do have some property which our team worked at clearing last fall. A few dozen folks showed up for the service and all were encouraged.

Without delay we headed to the village of Cholaku. Our team had handed out invitations here where the Gospel has never been preached before. We were late arriving but were amazed at about 130+ people filling the cultural hall. Children sat on benches waiting with adults and teens interspersed. Our musical program took an hour and then I got up to speak with my translator. I was encouraged to keep it very simple for these people knew nothing about the Gospel. So I preached directly from John 3 and Christ's meeting with Nicodemus. Many children were moving about and there was much noise which is common in the culture here. Following the message nearly half the room responded to Vasiliy's invitation to stand. Our workers were overwhelmed as they came forward to pray about repentance and salvation. Bibles and literature were given until we ran out. Vasiliy is organizing follow-up here in a week.

Monday our team returned to Sarata to help with the construction of the new church building which will be a central location for reaching other villages. Last fall one of our teams helped start the project here. Local believers have worked on it since. Unemployment is nearly 90% so men often have to spend most of the year in Moscow to get work to support their families. Steve was helpful with his ability to speak Romanian. We moved rocks, wired together steel reinforcement for the foundation, leveled dirt and made wood forms from lumber saved from an old house.

Funds of about $25,000 are in need to purchase materials to finish this building. When funds come in teams can come to help the Moldovans. Funds can be sent to ABWE for "Vasiliy Kaletnik Sarata building project."

In the evening we planned to rest but believers in the village of Bokani called three times begging us to come and do a service. So we headed there in the afternoon. Here Vasiliy had established a small church early in his ministry. The church met in a room they had purchased in a larger building which also housed the post office and a drug store. The church room was clean and orderly. A bucket of water and a cup on the stove served as the drinking fountain.

Tuesday our teams headed to catch trains back our respective places. Before we left we visited several older people and the sick. It was heart wrenching to see these poor folks. We were able to pray with them and in some case help them buy bread. We caught the train back at midnight.

MISSION UKRAINE: CHILLING IN CHERKASSY

2009-06-11T23:07:00.000-07:00

Caleb took our luggage from the apartment down to the car so we could get to our train on time. But the elevator jammed between floors causing the kids to panic (and me too). Perhaps it was the weight of the bags. He managed to press some buttons by the light of his cell phone and after about fifteen minutes the elevator worked again. We said goodbyes, took pictures with our grand kids here and Nehemiah s new friends and boarded our night train to Cherkassy (see pic). It was hot out but hotter in the train (100 degrees) since rarely does the air conditioning work here. We sweated through the night in our compartment (coopay) but arrived on time at 5 a.m.. Our car attendant spoke some English and was fun to visit with.

Vladimir and Maria Sagadeyev (Our son Caleb's in-laws) met us with a good breakfast and a tour of the town. We were surprised that the large and prominent statue of Lenin in the city square was missing. That is a good sign. Recently city officials pulled it down at night (because some still might oppose it (see pic). We had our picture with Serj taken on the site and in front of the government building.

Their church body has grown and has many parallels to ours. Both are about the same age, both are about the same size and both have purchased used buildings that we have remodeled. Nancy and I spoke to the group that evening and enjoyed the interchange of ideas and renewing of friendships. On Thursday we attended a village small group meeting at the village Doctor's home near the Dnieper River (see pic). Here we sang to guitar, intensely studied I John 2 for almost two hours and had a full dinner afterwards in our honor. One of the men also did a beautiful tenor saxophone worship concert outdoors for us. The whole village could hear. He is known in Ukraine for his music and recently came to Christ.

Part of my purpose here is to encourage the believers in ministry, model expositional preaching and always learn from them. It has been a blessing to learn how Christ has built His church (Mat. 16:18) here in spite of severe persecution, current economic difficulties and little availability of formal theological training. It was inspiring to be in their prayer meetings and to visit with Pastor Vadim who is faithfully leading them to growth and greater maturity. Thanks for praying for us. We travel to Moldova through Kiev next.

MISSION UKRAINE: TEA IN TARUTINO & DINNER IN ODESSA

2009-06-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

What an amazing week we have that was highlighted by two main events. Thursday we went to Tarutino to see the village our Suko ancestors came from before the 1917 Revolution. It was a 125 miles from Odessa on bumpy roads. We found the central market humming, ordered some shashlik at a Bessarabian cafe and then went for a walk while they cooked it over an open fire outside.

A few phone calls later we found where the pastor lived in a humble house with no indoor plumbing. Nicoli and his wife Nadia begged all nine of us to stay for tea, dinner and overnight. We have a lot to learn about hospitality from these people who have very little.

Over tea outside we discussed village and family history. Amazingly, in this village of 7,000, he knew an elderly white haired lady named Zelia (village historian) I had met here fifteen years ago. I thought surely she had died by now. As soon as I mentioned her he darted off to get her. She was alive and well, a member of his church and remembered us. She had become a believer and was full of German history about the village. What an amazing meeting about family history and God's working here over tea and cookies and an ancient map of the village from Stalin's era. It had the locations of half a dozen Suko relatives.

Later he took us on a tour of the village springs and a hidden grave yard where our ancestors are buried. We would have never found it on our own. We felt like Indiana Jones as we crept through the brush to find the ancient head stones. He also took us to the site of the large and beautiful old church my grandparents attended. It had been destroyed by the communists and the bricks used to build a government building. But, Christ is still building His church here (cf. Matt. 16:18). Nicoli also showed us the location of several new churches. Finally, he pointed out several old German houses that are likely the homes where ancestors once lived.

Sunday we attended the services of a new church here in Odessa. Both Caleb and I preached to the congregation of around 100. Most are young people. They are meeting in an old day care that they have fixed up very nicely. Three sermons in just two hours took care of the morning service in which about seven people came forward to openly repent. Then there was tea and cookies followed by a two hour members meeting where church discipline was routinely dealt with and I was asked to give PowerPoint presentation of Discovery's ministries.

Later we went to Pastor's house for dinner. Pastor Peter Rodoslavov and his wife Tamara are old friends from 1994. He has spent a short time in prison during the persecution years under the KGB before the fall. But now there is freedom and his ministry is fruitful. In his early 50's he is a busy man with a large family. He is also the president of a national association of baptists in Ukraine. We had a rich afternoon today discussing ministry, God's grace and the growth of our families and churches while Nehemiah went with a translator and a group of young people to play soccer in another part of the city. We took a nice group picture of our two families in a field near their house with Odessa in the back ground. God is so good. Thanks for praying for us as we travel. -Pastor Mark

MISSION UKRAINE: HORASHA

2009-06-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

My son-in-law Mike asked our Nehemiah to listen for the number of time he heard the Russian word "horasha" as Rachel spoke to a neighbor. You are likely to hear it several times a minute. It is one of the first words you learn over here. It means essentially "It is fine." We said "Horasha" as we saw improvements in the road system as traveled. However, this is limited to the main highways. There were also many nice and new gas stations and stores that we never saw fifteen years ago.

"We are fine" after traveling south and meeting our Caleb who took us to Makarovo. We had a "horasha" time with the believers in our sister church there and in Sahanskoi. The fields are green with young wheat and sunflowers. See more pics on my Facebook. The believers were eager to hear how things are going and to share their burdens and blessings. We were able to encourage them them with testimonies and message on opening our eyes to follow Christ. The past fifteen years have lead us to a deep relationship with these people that we really appreciate. We made plans to send monthly letters to encourage the leaders in evangelism and discipleship. I promised to paint a church sign for them while here. Villages in Ukraine are shrinking as people move to the city but a witness is still needed there.

This past week we traveled to Odessa to be with all our adult kids and five grandkids here for family time...horasha. Caleb serves as director of the Church Ministries Institute here. Mike and Rachel came in on the train from Kiev where they work with youth ministries and teaching in seminary. We all met together for a number of meals and family events. We walked in the park (Believer me..it is not like American parks) took the kids to the Black Sea, saw a really fun water show using amazing trained seals and dolphins and had a very nice dinner out.

As a child I feared the threats of the USSR. As an adult I know God has blessed us to allow our family to have such an impact in this very needy place. I never would have imagined we would have the privilege of helping bring the Gospel of Christ here where the reformation is just starting. Horasha! Numbers of opportunities to help, teach, testify etc. have come our way this week. We'll tell you more when we return. Keep us in prayer as we minister this weekend. Horasha! -Pastor Mark

MISSION UKRAINE: ARRIVED IN KIEV

2009-05-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Nancy, Nehemiah and I spent Memorial Day flying and arrived safe in Kiev, Ukraine on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. Some of the passengers applauded when the plane landed but not as many as usual. That's a good sign :-). There are building improvements at the Kiev airport and many more cars are on the roads. That is good.

Mike (our son-in-law), Rachel (our daughter) and Ellie (our granddaughter) whisked us home for dinner. Then we went for an evening walk and played with our little Ellie at a playground near their apartment where thousands live. It was so good to see our kids again after a year. We all took "cold" showers (no hot water for 2 weeks here) and then retired. Welcome to Ukraine.

Wednesday Mike, Nehemiah and I headed downtown on the subway to see some of the historic sights such as the ancient gates of Kiev and the some of the ornate gold-domed orthodox churches. The ladies stayed in the apartment to prepare for the evening youth meeting. Today (Thursday) we visited an outdoor historical museum covering several hundred acres featuring the ancient buildings and churches from the rural areas of Ukraine. It was fascinating.

Many are in spiritual darkness here and that is why our missionaries are here. Keep them in prayer as they work to help proclaim the Gospel of Christ. We will be involved in aspects of that too this month. Friday Nancy will be speaking at a special women's meeting dealing with spiritual issues in the home.

Saturday Nancy, Nehemiah and I will head south by bus. Our son Caleb will meet us and we will spend the weekend with our sister church in Makarovo. Pray for us as we have worship with them there and in neighboring Sahanskoi. Then we will continue south to Odessa on the Black Sea to be with Caleb's family and and prepare to visit Moldova and Vasiliy Kaletnik.

-Pastor Mark

JESSE WITH THE LORD

2009-05-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

Jesse Armstrong, missionary to Russia, passed into the Lord's presence on May 7th at age 39 from ALS. Condolences may be sent to the family via secretary@discoverybaptist.org or to Discovery Baptist Church at 4902 Gustafson, Dr. NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335. Services were held 5/16/09. See details here.

DISCIPLESHIP INSTITUTE 4/19-6/14

2009-04-14T18:36:00.000-07:00

Grow in your relationship with the Lord and with others during our Discipleship Institute Sunday evenings April 19th through June 14 at 5:30p (Except for selected evenings). Each class is free and runs four weeks so you have time to take two.

-Successful Christian Parenting Taught by Pastor Mark (1st cycle) & Graham Marshall (2nd cycle)

"It should be obvious to anyone who has any commitment to the truth of Scripture that our culture as a whole is rapidly disintegrating morally,..." -John MacArthur There are many influences in our culture that affect our children even though we don’t realize it. Like the frog in the kettle, we may not realize it unless we have absolute truth as a reference point. What is your parenting view informed by? Pastor and Nancy will share the top truths from Scripture that have helped guide their family during the first 4 weeks followed by a separate study by Graham Marshall.

-Teaching Parables of Jesus Taught by Dr. Harold Hayes

Jesus gave forty parables to teach truth. In some cases parables were actually meant to be cryptic. Why? Each leaves something, even with the careless, which may be interpreted and understood afterward. They reveal, on the other hand, to the seekers after truth. These ask the meaning of the parable, and will not rest until the teacher has explained it. Do you know the parables and their valuable lessons from the Master?

-Witnessing Without Fear Taught by Bob Doremus

The Great Commission to share the Gospel (Mat. 28:19-20) is for all believers but many fear or feel inadequate to share this life saving truth. This class equips you to communicate your faith in Jesus with confidence and without fear through materials by Bill Fay. Our teacher, is a trained Evangelism Explosion teacher with good experience in this field.

-Discovery Land for kids 3-12 yrs. Kids will learn historic missionary stories and do special crafts for the lesson. Later they will write and illustrate a book telling the way of salvation.

-Nursery for children up to 36 months in the Nursery.

EASTER: EMPTY HOLE OR ETERNAL HOPE?

2009-03-13T18:07:00.001-07:00

Easter the truth came out in music, drama and preaching of the Word! The tomb was empty but at the same time full of hope. What did that mean? Easter is not about coming to church but about coming to life. If you missed Easter you can listen in to one of our services in the sermon section and find out what this hope is really about. See also our Sheep Ministries Easter art exhibit THE SECOND COMING on display in the Youth Center plus a special Easter children’s art display all viewable during May. For more Sheep Ministries art information click here. You can see pictures of Easter 2009 by clicking here. See below for when the services were.

*PALM SUNDAY - 10:30a Apr. 5 Beginning your Easter as Jesus came into Jerusalem for the last time.

*GOOD FRIDAY - 7:00p Apr. 10 A special candlelight Piano Concert & communion service.

*EASTER MORNING BREAKFAST. - 9:15a Apr. 12 Bring your favorite fancy bread or fruit tray for our Sea of Galilee breakfast on the patio.

*EASTER WORSHIP – 10:30 Apr. 12 A special musical “He Is Jesus” highlighted with dramatic presentations & message from Scripture. Watch our choir practice here.

Join us at Discovery “Where Easter comes to life!”

KALETNIK TO SPEAK

2009-02-20T19:26:00.001-08:00

Vasiliy Kaletnik will be updating our church on his ministry in Moldova on Sunday Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. We have been supporting this ministry with gifts and mission teams for the past few year. Moldova is the poorest country in Eastern Europe. Vasiliy is making much progress in reaching the small villages in northern Moldova with the Gospel of Christ. Currently another church building project in planned later this year in one of those villages.

Final Update on Nancy Suko

2009-02-13T20:49:00.001-08:00

Many continue to ask about Nancy’s health. She continues to improve. This week the sarcoidosis doctor saw her and reported that she is doing great and the sarcoid condition seems to have disappeared. She will be off all meds by May. Then she will only need a yearly check. Back pain is much better and continues to gradually improve. This is the final update unless more develops. Thanks for praying.

SPECIAL EVENING SERIES

2009-01-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

January 11, 25 and Feb. 1 join us at 6 p.m. for a special series on Sunday nights at 6 p.m. with Christian Bastke entitled Come and Go. Mr. Bastke will focus on the real meaning of discipleship. Christian has taught widely on the subject in Europe, Ukraine, Africa, and SE Asia.

Starting February 8th join us also Sunday nights at 6 p.m. for a twelve week series by guest Rev. Brian Marshall entitled Really Knowing God. It will focus on God's redeeming nature, wrath, sufficiency, creating nature, holiness and love. Brian is an associate pastor at the Honeyridge Baptist Church in Johannesburg South Africa.

Vasiliy Kaletnik, our Moldovan missionary in Moldova, will be with us Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. to report on his ministry in Moldova. We are considering sending another team there to help construct a new church in this area.

LIVING NATIVITY Dec. 12-14 6-8 p.m.

2008-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Experience the real meaning of Christmas as you drive or walk through Bethlehem at our free Living Nativity. See 200 live characters and animals depicting the night Christ was born. To take a short video tour of the Nativity story click here or if you want to see still photos click here. Or you can click on the Ministries menu above or see our December 2007 Achieves for a recap of last year. Also join us for our Christmas Music Night 6 Dec. 21 at 6 p.m. as our musicians and choir present a speacial night of worshipful Christmas music. Or join us Christmas Eve (Dec. 24 at 6:00 p.m.) for a special Candlelight Service as we sing favorite carols and are challenged by a special message in chalk on Christ's birth. During December Pastor is also starting a new morning worship series in Isaiah entitled Hear O Heaven & Earth which highlights the prophecies of Christ's first and second coming.

Ukraine Team returns after Zhatva

2008-10-10T08:11:00.000-07:00

Even though the roads were rough, Caleb was able to get us safely there (Makarovo) and to the other villages. Caleb and I left Wednesday night, after a small service, for Odessa. I was able help with printing problems and was able to download and run a antivirus program on some of the workstations there at Church Ministries Institute. I was also able to backup the server and clean up the temporary files. The next day I visited with Doug's family and worked with there computers. The Lord was with us as we worked through the issue's those two days.

Meanwhile the team was able to do the children's programs in the surrounding villages of Makarovo. They said they went well and had a good outreach to the children there. Praise God!

The men were able to help Velodia (The church leader) with the grain before the next rains. They used pails with about 20 pounds in them and handed them to the next guy in line. The pails were then tossed down to the middle guy and then the process started over. Several tons were processed. Everyone was grateful for the work and the help. The men also helped Paul with a project at his home. The lights upstairs in the church work well. Thank you to Josh, Norm, Chris, and Paul. Thanks to Katie and the other women who cleaned up after.

Caleb was able to go back into the villages and pick up a van full of people for Zhatva (Ukrainian Thanksgiving). Zhatva went well with about 92 people or more to help celebrate with lots of music and praise to God. The meal was excellent. Katie was the brave one the team to eat the local delicacy.

We arrived safely in America with our bags. We are so grateful. We did not sleep much for 36 hours but the Lord sustained even still.
Thank you for your prayers

Your 2008 Ukraine team

Ukraine Team in Makarovo

2008-10-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

In Kiev Josh Reid really enjoyed the food at Mike and Rachel's. He wanted to stay there. He is having a hard time finding Pepsi here. They have Coca-Cola but he likes Pepsi better. He loves America. He said that he was going to kiss the ground when the team arrived in New York.

The team traveled to Cherkassy and lunched with Christina Suko’s parents. Then they went on to our sister church in the remote village of Makarovo. The team was able to get a lot done there at the church. Most of the electrical upstairs is done and some of the ceiling is put up in the one porch in the church. Jacques started painting the fence yesterday but returned with Caleb to Odessa on Wednesday to work on the institute’s computer systems. The server is running well now at CMI and so he was able to clean up the desktops there. Praise the Lord.

The team will do several children’s programs in the afternoons, have a service in the village of Sahanskoi on Friday and then be in Makarovo for Zhatva (A major thanksgiving celebration) on Sunday.

Chris still has his cold/allergies, last night he and Josh only had an hour's worth of sleep. Pray for them, Norm has a bad cough. Katie is doing fine and is very strong. She is helping me with Motrin and Tylenol. I am staying with Caleb and Christina and am really enjoying the time spent here in Odessa. The kids are wonderful! Thank you all for praying for us! We are all having to rely on the Lord more for everything. He is our Rock and our Redeemer. He is always there. Praise Him. The small group in Markarovo church last night saw the greetings that Discovery sent and were grateful to hear from you. They are praying for you also. Pray for Zhatva this weekend. We should have many visitors here.
May God bless you all

In His Name, Jacques, Norm, Katie, Josh and Chris

Ukraine Team visits Kiev

2008-10-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Mike took us on a wonderful tour of downtown Kiev today. We rode the subway! Cool! It was Monday so it wasn't too bad at around 11:00 a.m. but it was busier around 5:00 p.m. when we returned to Mike and Rachel's. We went through independence square. Saw the statue of Gabriel watching over the city. Went to St. Michael's, St. Andrew's, and St. Sophia's church. Very interesting! So many frescos to see in the churches. I wondered if the people were praying for their souls or someone else's soul. Sometimes they would cross themselves and then kiss the picture in front of them. Ritualistic I imagine. It was a beautiful day, just perfect to walk in. We took some pictures and bought some gifts there. The vendors spoke English and took American dollars.

Norm spoke tonight at the institute and the students welcomed us by clapping when we arrived there. They also had food! That was special. Pray for these students and for the faculty there.

We need to get some sleep tonight so that we can travel again tomorrow and to be prepared for Markova. Thank you all for praying for us. This trip has been a blessing to all of us and we really appreciate the sacrifices you all have made on our behalf. Thank you to the families and friends as well. We could not have done this without all of you. Thank you for you financial support as well as your prayers.

There are so many people here that need the Lord! Pray for more missionaries to come. Just be willing to come, the Lord will provide just as he promised. Sunday, Josh played the guitar on the song “All in Al”l as we sang. That should be our prayer and commitment to the Lord.

Note: The team arrived in our sister church village of Makarovo on Tuesday. A major part of their ministry and will be there through the weekend before they return to the U.S. on 10/6.

Update on Nancy Suko

2008-09-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Nancy continues to improve although still on pain meds. This week the numbness in her arms and hands receded to almost normal. This was the last area to get bad so logically would be the first to get better. We think healing is in reverse order. Back pain has slightly improved and she is moving about much more and generally feels better. She has also begun to gain some weight back. Thanks for praying.