Prayer Warrior

May 2008

Bridge of Hope, Waterloo, IA. Rev. Kevin and Stephanie Van Wyk. Celebrating: Mick got a job! 90 at Easter service! $3,400 came in from the Heartland Synod Sunday School Mission Program!!! Concerns: Pray that God helps us connect guests through discipleship or service, increases income for Armond and a weekday ministry building, and increases the number of guests through the spring and summer.

Don DeKok, Church Planting Missionary.

· Please Pray for the final details for a “Skillet” concert to be held in the Iowa Great Lakes on July 5.  It is being sponsored by Marketplace Ministry and Good News Community Church in Okoboji.

· Please Pray for churches to be creative in starting new ministries that bring Jesus to the people who live in each of our communities.

· Please Pray for The Lighthouse, a second campus ministry in Rock Valley, Iowa, to continue to reach out to the unchurched population in  their area

The Connection, Harrisburg, SD. Rev. Travis and Julie Else. On May 4 we celebrated POF made by 16 of our young people. Two more kids in our POF/Baptism prep class (called The Walk) were baptized. New members class begins in June. Anticipating a good group to take part in this. Please pray for wisdom/discernment regarding worship facility exploration and the drafting of bylaws. Please pray for new leaders to step forth as current leaders step back. Please pray for Harrisburg...that The Connection would truly be a beacon of light beckoning the people here to life in Christ and that these people would respond in faith

Peace Reformed Church, Sioux City, IA. Rev. Bob and Holli Rook. Pray for our Facilities Steering Team who will give direction through the process of vision for ministry and establishing then our needs for facilities.

Crossroads Community Church Estherville, Iowa. Rev. Jason and Kristen Olson. We are excited at Crossroads for the great things God is doing here.  We recently finished a great series on John 3:16.  Towards the end of the series pastor Jason invited anyone who had never received the love of the Father to do that.  After the benediction a young lady from Forest Ridge School came forward.  With body trembling and in her own words she confessed to God that she needed His love and that she was tired of trying to do everything on her own.  That day the angels rejoiced as the Spirit moved in Jade's life.  Following the last service in this series people were invited to give feedback.  We had fifteen people indicate that during the series they made a new commitment or a re-commitment to Christ.  Praise the Lord for that.  Please continue to pray for us that we will continue to preach God's word and watch it along with the Spirit change lives forever.

New Life Community Church, Coralville, IA. Rev. John and Marue White. We would really appreciate your prayers as we wrap up Visioning Time and put our focus more on disciple-making and reproducible relationships; for our outdoor Cinco De Mayo Festival to attract the Hispanics around our neighbor and community.  And for us to  build more friendships with Hispanics and to introduce them to our ESL classes and Hispanic Bible study; for my son Stephen who has a bad case of mono and is trying to finish up his semester exams at Iowa State University.

Papio Creek Church, Papillion, NE. Rev. Darrin and Pam Kimpson. Praise God with us as we have a couple of adults who have requested baptism to express their new life in Christ. We plan on having this celebration in early June and once again, have it in the Papio Creek. Ask God to help us see how we are to “Be The Church” for our community as we will be challenged for several months from Reggie McNeal’s book “The Present Future.” With 80% of our society not having much interest in having a growing relationship with Christ by how we’ve been “doing” church, we need to find another way to “Be the Church” so God can use us to reach His people. We continue to ask God and have you all ask God to show us clearly what the right decision is and when the decision needs to be made in regards to our facility situation. Stand in the Gap for us and have God show us if we need to “wait” in faith or take a “step” of faith.

Crossroads Church, Norwalk, IA. Rev. Glen and Sally Blumer. We continue to employ the "Simple Church" model at Crossroads Church.  We are excited about focusing on doing a few things well.  Please pray that we stay focused on this plan. We are excited about focusing behind one outreach ministry idea.  It is called Angel Food Ministries (angelfoodministries.com).  We will be a distribution center for Angel Food Ministries starting in July. Angel Food Ministries has the goal of offering quality food (including perishable foods) once a month for half the price of stores.  Pray for us as we start this ministry.  You may want to look into this ministry.  It is an incredible concept that makes the church relevant especially in these difficult economic times.

Ministerio El Buen Samaritano en Estherville (The Good Samaritan Ministry in Estherville), Rev. Arturo Gomez. Pray for the 12 Bible studies that we have in different homes (30 people involve); For decision for Christ as a personal savior; Many of them want to be free of alcohol adiction. For Jesus Rodriguez, he has depression and heart problems. For more contacts and that we can share the gospel of Jesus with them. For the time on the road (traveling from Hull to Estherville: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday). For my spiritual life, my family (I sleep outside the home two nights), my chidren (3) and our marriage. I want to say thank you for all your support in many ways.  Thanks: Crossroads RCA (brothers and sisters)-Pastor Jason Olson, Hub team; Don de kok, classis, Synod Heartland, churches, people that know us.  God continue blessing to you.

Celebrate Community Church, Knoxville, IA. Rev. Gary and Georgana Roozeboom. Celebrate in is the midst of our second capital campaign and our goal is to raise $475,350 over the next 3 years.  Considering the economy, this is an ambitious goal for our congregation.  Please pray for 150 families to step forward and support this campaign.  We would appreciate prayer for our VBS program.  Pray that it can be a tool for outreach in our community.  Pray for Rise on the Road.  This is an event is sponsored by Rise Ministries, which our son Rob is the founder.  It is coming to Knoxville and has an opportunity to make an impact in this community.  Through this event youth pay to come and serve.  While they are doing acts of service, they are also going to get the chance to experience a music festival.  Super Chick will be the headliner band.  Elizabeth Honeycutt will also be on stage.  She leads worship and shares her testimony every morning.  The event runs from June 5 – 7.  Pray for more youth to want to get involved.  The goal is to have 50 youth participate!

Be Happy Ministry, Belmond, IA. Rev. Felix and Juana Valdez. Over the weekend, Felix and Juana had a guest, a lady pastor friend from Connecticut.  She came with them to the service and there were 23 people attending!  In Felix' words, 'in truth, we have a God who is real and who shows Himself to us.'  One of the people who came has offered to play piano / keyboard for the services, so Felix is hoping someone will be willing to donate a keyboard for the ministry.  They are also praying for health, reconciliation, conversions, and restorations. I think Felix is doing better and is not so discouraged.  He said in his e-mail that they have taken part in planting 15 different congregations in different places, especially in the Dominican Republic; they were directly responsible for planting eight churches.  He is not giving up on this area.  'God always gives us the victory.  When the day comes that we leave here, it will be in victory, leaving behind a well-established congregation.' (Translated note from Felix to Sandy Ritsema)

New Hope Community Church, Sioux City, IA. Rev. Tim and Penny Squiers. If you could continue praying for our Pastor Tim and his family for discernment and wisdom to bring New Hope to the place God wants it.  For the congregation to become prayer warriors and the Holy Spirit to intervene and there be an awakening in our family.  Also pray for one of our families who have been going through some very difficult times through the loss of loved ones.  Pray that Gods hand will be on Tim each and every Sunday and his messages will touch the congregation through the Holy Spirit. Pray for new spiritual people to come to New Hope with Ideas and a heart for God, that will fit in with the family here.

Harvest Community Church, Wichita, KS. Rev. Dave and Sandy Henion. Pray for our VBS in June, our planning and staffing all the programs for the fall and a good harvest of souls during the summer, and our moving the Sat evening service to Wednesday for the summer.

Serve Our Youth, Des Moines, IA. Bernie Van Roekel, Director. SOY’s annual fundraising banquet is scheduled for May 8.  Please pray that coordination and planning for this event will come together and that many SOY supporters will be led to attend the banquet.  Please continue to pray for the youth we work with in our ministry.  Many of these young people are struggling with a multitude of issues.  Also pray for our mentors, that they will remain persistent and that they will positively impact the lives of the children they are matched with.  Funding for a program that provides SOY the opportunity to partner with and provide mentors to children in three Central Iowa school districts ends this month.  Please pray that resources will be provided which will allow us to continue to impact the lives of these children.

The Bridge, Ottumwa, IA. Marty and Jen Schmidt. Please pray for our family as different members have been sick for the past month. Please pray for more volunteers in nursery for us this summer. Please pray for our next steps in handling current homeless people.

Harbor Church, Prior Lake, MN. Josh and Nikki Johnson. Please pray for the young adults who are attending our congregation for strength in their fight against addiction.  It is not an easy fight, and many of them have had recent struggles.  May God blanket Harbor with His protection

New Life Celebration Church, Luverne, MN. Rev. J.R. Henderson. Continue to keep the family of NLCC in your prayers.  Intentional steps are being taken toward congregational restoration and a renewed sense of vision.  To use an analogy I would say that the train is back on the track, but we have a lot of work to do reconnect the cars and get the train up to speed. Trusting always in His goodness and faithfulness.

LaSenda de Pittsburg, Pittsburg, TX. Dr. Jesus and Mabel Serrano. We are thankful for people who are getting involved to serve each week and be involved and build relationships with the unchurched. Pray for our small groups that are being formed. We have programs for needy children, concerts and events, children’s programs, BVS and radio. We are starting to train and raise Hispanic leaders, offering GED programs to help receive a H.S. diploma. We are working with different agencies to help with school counseling and in any way we can. On May 1 we participated in National Day of Prayer at the Prayer Tower in Pittsburg. People from all churches, races, and languages read through the entire Bible aloud for 92 hrs. in 15 minute increments. There are serious immigration issues in our area with Pilgrims Pride. Many families are very worried in regard to the children and youth and the school. Pray for a music leader for our ministry.