Coronavirus Playlists

Are you frustrated, fearful or even unsure of what the days ahead will bring?

Here are some song playlists to remind us about God’s goodness and care for us even during uncertain times:

Songs for Troubled Times by Bethany Community Church

Songs of Comfort for Anxious Souls - The Gospel Coalition

25 Hymns to Sing in Troubled Times by Matt Merker

--

Mike Chambers

Please Pray for the Custers

PRAISES

Several days spent at Montana Bible College went great according to Dougg and Tim. Three students will be attending the Discover WorldVenture Weekend listed below. In addition, a Memo of Understanding was signed with the school for their students to do internships with WorldVenture in one of our restricted-access countries.
All of the candidates, who were interviewed on Febr. 24th and 25th did a great job and are now appointees with WorldVenture, planning to serve in Japan, Uganda, Taiwan, and places we can’t print! They gave rave reviews about the Pre-Field Training facilitated by Dougg and his team.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Thursday, March 4th, we leave for a ministry trip in Oregon.
• March 7 Dougg will be doing two workshops on leadership at Pine Baptist Church in Halfway, Oregon. LeAnn will be speaking at a women’s event on "Playing Games with God". The preparation is done so please pray for the talks to be a help, challenge and encouragement to those who attend. And pray that many will accept the invitation to be a part of these events. Sunday Dougg will be preaching at the church.
• March 9-11 will find us at the CB Northwest Enrichment Conference in Seaside where we hope to touch base with a number of pastors. Pray for good conversations, that they might know of people interested in missions in their churches, whom we could contact.
• March 12 will be catching up with a few individual supporters.
• March 13-15 Stanfield Baptist Church has also been a ministry partner with us since 1979 and we are looking forward to reconnecting with them this weekend!
• March 17-19 Doug's team is hosting a Mobilization Pastor Gathering at our WorldVenture headquarters for the purpose of introducing pastors from TX, PA, NJ, and CO to the mission and our vision for making disciples around the globe. Pray they will connect with WorldVenture in such a way that they would want to partner with us in sending their members (who are a fit) to the lost around the world. 
• March 20-22 Please pray for the Discover WorldVenture Weekend with 15 interested people from six states planning to attend. Pray that God gives them direction as to the next steps to pursue and that some would be desirous of serving with WorldVenture.
• Dougg is involved with Jim Bull in organizing a golf fundraiser in AZ for WorldVenture. We need sponsors; please pray for them and if you are interested in giving, here is the link: 2020 WorldVenture Challenge. Pray that many golfers in the Phoenix area will sign up to be part of the fundraiser and that it will be a success.
• WorldVenture leadership needs wisdom when it comes to COVID-19, the Coronavirus. With workers in 65 countries and staff coming and going, they are keeping close tabs on where the outbreaks are if our people would have adequate medical care in the event of contracting the virus, and whether they should be evacuated from their country of service or not. Short-term trips have been halted as we don’t want people getting stuck overseas, not being allowed back into the USA or having to be quarantined upon arrival.

Katrina was in charge of the props for the Black Forest Academy play.


Elli was recently baptized by her happy and proud dad.


Our Hawaii granddaughters at International Church of Oahu’s family camp.

Thank you for standing with us before the throne of grace!


Gratefully with Love,
Dougg and LeAnn

Please Pray for Pablo and Judi Perez

Dear Prayer Team, 

   I (Judi) wish we could meet personally via Skype or Messenger etc. but this will have to do for now. Life has been almost a blur since we got back to Ecuador and keep on walking in the works that God prepared for is beforehand (Eph 2:10). The last several weeks have been especially humming with events that are not a part of the usual schedule. I'd like to share just a few of those with you.

   Luis and Fernanda Alba were married on February 2. They are committed to serving the Lord together. Luis and Fer are part of the church that meets in Ivonne's home. That church family went together to provide most of the wedding and reception. Unbelievers who attended were visibly impacted, and doors were opened for Luis and Fer to continue sharing their faith with people who had been very resistant.

   February 9, Nelson and Lolita Narvaez were commissioned as missionaries to Spain. When they understood the house church concept, they committed to sharing the gospel with as many people as they could, and have been instrumental in starting several churches. Their daughters, who are both doctors, live in Spain and they have decided to move there and keep on ministering. 

   One of the discipleship groups they started is in La Maná, a small town about 5 hours southwest of Quito. February 12 they took Pablo and two of his disciples, Gen and Galo, to meet the group and organize follow-ups. Gen and Galo will return to La Maná every other Wednesday and Pablo will teach via the internet video conferencing on Sunday evenings.

   La Maná has long had a reputation for being a center for witchcraft. Praise the Lord with us for this group of new believers and pray for their protection and continued growth.

Thank you for praying!

Pablo and Judi Perez

What is Reformed Theology?

I was a believer in reformed theology before I even knew what the term reformed theology meant. I believe it is so evident in the Bible that it is impossible to miss! In this two minute video, Kevin DeYoung gives a very simple definition of what reformed theology is and how it informs our daily lives. View it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3rUUgF4VqY&feature=share
Pastor Ben Davidson

Please pray for the Peltons

Here are some ways that you can be praying for the Peltons as they serve the Lord in Chicago:

1.  We are considering where to move to the city when our lease is up this summer.  We need wisdom in this decision as we take proactive steps now to be ready to move this summer if indeed that is what we ought to do.

2.  We are reaching out to friends in Chicago over the next two months to consider partnering with us financially in our ministry with Cru.  Please pray for the Lord's provision for us.

3.  Pray for fruitfulness in our ministry as we disciple men and women.  Also, pray for opportunities to grow in our frequency and skill in communicating the good news of Jesus to Chicagoans.

A Love Letter (The Gospel & Its Implications)

I recently had the chance to write a letter to one of our youth students. As I wrote it, I found myself being reminded of such great truths I thought it would even be worth sharing more broadly…

Dear Believer,

God’s love has been such a challenge for me and I hope it is for you. Here are a few verses with some of my thoughts around them…

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,

“For Your sake, we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Rom 8:31-39

God’s love toward us is perfect and complete being fully proved in His willingness to kill Jesus on our behalf. There is nothing that can take His love away from us… nothing includes us. That is oftentimes the hardest truth to believe. God’s love is not conditional. It is not based on our actions. It is based solely on His kind grace toward undeserving sinners like us.

“We love because He first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19

Our only hope and any ability of ourselves to love can only occur because of God’s great love shown toward us. Because, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), we have the ability to fulfill the first and second great commandments, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (Luk 10:27).

Because of this, we have hope & motivation to live the Christian life…

“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor 5:14-15).

Christ’s love compels and motivates us to live, not out of duty trying to pay God back an insurmountable debt, nor out of sheer will power as the law would require of us. It drives and calls us to reciprocate and do actions that would please the One Who gave up all for us. We live for Him.

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Gal 2:20).

Paul never got over Christ’s love for him. It drove how he lived his life. May that be true for you and me as well!

Here is my prayer for you:

For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. – Eph 3:14-19

In His Love,

Phil

Please pray for Jill Hostetler

Please pray for Jill Hostetler as she serves the LORD through CEF. Here are some ways that you can pray for her this week.

1. Please pray for a new club that is starting at Lindbergh middle school in Peoria on Feb 4. Pray that many 5-8th graders will come and hear the gospel and place their faith in Christ for salvation and/or that they will be strengthened in the faith.

2. Please pray for me as I travel to Southern IL Feb. 7-8 and conduct a Good News Club Start-up training.

3. Pray for a GNC mobilization meeting in Washington re: starting a Good News Club at Lincoln Grade School on Feb. 9. Pray that we would find 6 additional volunteers join the team.

4. Pray for a GNC to begin in Jacksonville, IL as we have plans for a training on Feb 28-29.

5. Pray for a 30 hour course that we are holding in March and April. It's called, "Teaching Children Effectively Level 1". We are asking the Lord for 10 students.

6. Pray for us as we look for summer missionaries to teach 5-Day Clubs this summer. We are looking to the Lord for 4-6 young people that have 4 weeks to give of their summer to teach 5-Day Clubs.

7. Pray for strength for me as I have a busy couple of months of ministry. May I grow in my relationship with the Lord and my love for Him and others.