Slipped discs

Last Sunday after church, the men went out and tried their hand at disc golf. These aren't the frisbees you chucked at the beach. No, these babies are made for distance. The accuracy, well, that depends on the tosser. As you'll see below, accuracy was sometimes lacking.

For some of our men, disc golf was better than pneumonia.

The muster at the first tee

Tyler, ready to pull a muscle.
Kidding aside, he won closest to the pin!

Pastor and Jerry figuring out how their going
to get through the trees...or their discussing eschatology,
I don't remember which.

Austin, out from under the tree, had the longest, most accurate drive.
Not bad, the thirteen year old beating all the men.

Jerry from amidst the blue spruce

Drew from the red spruce

Josh looks a ways away, but he took the low overall score. Semper Fi!

Is that pastor?!?

Finally, a wide open fairway!

The grill master, Jeremiah Smith

Are those BRATS???

We had a great time even beyond the disc golf and grilling. Pastor challenged the men to "man up" in the church and fulfill their God-given duties. Each one has been uniquely gifted, and the Body of Christ depends upon the men to exercise their gifts within the church.

We at MBC are blessed to have men who will stand up for the truth of God's word and for Christ, and who are willing to shoulder their God-ordained load.

Paintball, anyone?

Election 2008: How do we respond?

Tonight, Pastor Counterman poured out his soul to the saints regarding our nation's election.

Take the time to invest 25 minutes and 7 seconds to hear what God's word says and how a man of God feels about what went down on November 4th, 2008.

You can listen here.

"Come and see"

As our missionary, Segundo Rodriguez, challenged us a few months back, the simplest and often best witness we can be follows the example of the earliest disciples in John's gospel. No in depth theology. No bridges, roads, or EE to memorize. No tracts required.

"Come and see!"

Three simple words to encourage folks to meet the Man, to meet the God, who changed our lives.

Pastor Lukus inflated his sails into the wind of that simplicity and rode it into MBC's first "Come and See" Sunday. The purpose was simple. It focused on Christ and what He had done in the lives of our church's membership (like Mark DeBoe at right).

We had nine new visitors who clearly heard the gospel presentation. There were no professions of faith yesterday, but ground was tilled, seed was sown, and water was applied.

In an amazing way, too, the church was encouraged. Our souls were stirred and God was glorified as believers shared what Jesus had done in their lives through a simple cardboard testimony. On one side of the piece of cardboard, they had written what they were before Jesus' work, and on the other side, they had written what they have become because of His work (you can see most of them in the picture above). What an awesome testimony!

If you didn't get a chance to hear Pastor Lukus' simple and powerful gospel message, you can listen here.

"And such we once were"...ah, but no longer! Praise God!

Photos: Top right - Mark DeBoe tells of Christ's transforming power; center - cardboard testimonies (from l-r, Mark Deboe, Jerry Stevens, Susan Stevens, Caleb Stevens, Keith Pond, Mary Taylor (hidden behind Keith), Scott Eidson, Hannah Paul, Brian Moix, Jeremiah Smith, Randy York, Jay Brunt, Tracy Pond, and Sue Wagner going away); bottom left - A simple sermon: "God calls us to change: It's needed, it's available, and it must be His way!"

To Wichita Falls, the U.S, and the uttermost parts of the Earth.

Sunday we had our beloved missionary from Peru, Segundo Rodriguez, in for a visit. It has been almost 2 years since we started supporting Segundo, after he first visited our church at the request of Pastor Counterman. Pastor knew Segundo from a previous mission trip to Peru and through their mutual friend Tim Chapman.

Segundo spoke during our Sunday School hour, our morning service, and our evening service on Sunday. During Sunday School Segundo gave the church a report on his activities in Peru. It was a blessing to see God working through him, from the institute he is a part of to the remote mountains and forests he travels to.

During Sunday worship, Segundo encouraged us on toward evangelism in a unique way. He called it the "Basic Approach." He walked us through examples of people coming to Jesus in the early chapters of John's gospel. These people that came were all the result of other people saying, "Come and see." Segundo said that this is the most persuasive method we can use in presenting the message of Christ. We are changed people. If we live that change and when people see it, all we have to do is share that change with them. "They can't ignore that, " Pastor Rodriguez shared.

Sunday evening, he came with the Great Commission and its relevance to us. Segundo related Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth to Wichita Falls, United States, Canada/Mexico etc, and, well, the uttermost parts of the earth. He spent time on each region, expressing the need and offering methods for reaching each. It was a time well spent.

Segundo is a man blessed with the gift of handling God's word. His attitude of submission and servanthood is visible to all. We just say, "Praise God for such men!" Our prayers and thanks go with him and his work.

Also a big thanks to Arnoldo Matamoros for translating Segundo's message. He did an awesome job!

(Photos: Top - Segundo (right) and Arnoldo Matamoros, Middle - Pastor Lukus with Segundo, Bottom - MBC hears the word preached and translated).

To seek and save the lost

Since coming to know the Lord, Mark Deboe has ached for those who do not know Christ. That ache has translated to time spent going out to where the people are to be a witness to what Christ has done in his life.

Mark and Josh in a role play

Mark doesn't stop there. To pass on his passion for Great Commission work, he began a class out of his home to teach the folks in our church the basics of sharing one's faith. Hoping to have a few disciples to teach, Mark was overwhelmed by the response. Soon his livingroom would no longer accommodate the hungry saints, and the moved the study time over to the church.

Iron sharpening iron

Recently the masses went out to meet the masses during our town's 4th of July parade. Hundreds of tracts were passed out, but more than that, brothers and sisters in Christ went into the world to share the message of God's judgment and God's love to those who have likely never heard the truth before.

The 4th of July Team: Longoria's, Stevens', Smith's, Deboe's and a few Pond's

Please pray that through this ministry at Messiah Baptist Church, hundreds would come to know the grace of God.

Happy Campers

Front row: Cameron Longoria, Caleb Kettula
Back Row: Josh Longoria, Austin Pond, Tyler Pond

Several weeks ago our teens made their 4th annual trip to Southland Christian Camp. In the heart of Louisiana, Southland sits near the tiny town of Ringold, roughly 45 minutes south of Shreveport. As an attendee of the camp myself for 3 years I know that camp is always a treat. The ability to get away from everything else for a week and just chill, you and God--well, plus a couple hundred other people doing the same thing. The week incorporates, good food, crazy games, devotions, Bible memory, hot, humid weather, and powerful preaching.

The speaker this year was Will Galkin, a big hit with our young men. It's been neat to see the influence his speaking has had on the youth who attended camp. Our campers were, Caleb, Tyler, Austin, and Cameron. Josh Longoria, our youth leader, took the teens solo this year. When responding to the teens' gratitude, he said, "I know y'all view it like me taking you, but the time is just as blessed for me as it is for you."

Find one of our crew in the Camper Choir (hint: It's not Josh)

Galkin spent his morning services talking about the life of Joseph and living a life a purity and forgiveness. The nighttime services were centered around salvation and living for God.

Melee!

Look hard to find Cameron, Tyler, and Austin in this free-for-all photo!

The atmosphere of isolation from the rest of the world, and being surrounded by things of God for a whole week, makes you far more sensitive to the areas of your own life where you are failing; you really feel conviction. That and the godly fellowship are superb reasons for camp attendance. Any camper who has gone with us will tell you how worth it camp is.

From big ball and water games, to chicken sandwiches and pizza, to Bible memory and life lessons from Joseph, this year's camp was once again a blessed a time for our teens (both young and old).

A taste for Chile

Sometimes when family rolls into town, you batten down the hatches and make the most of it. When you have to finagle to figure out how you're related, that bodes doubly ill.

Such was NOT the case when David and Kristi Flink tumbled into town from the great green north. David and Pastor Counterman, while not blood, are related in that their siblings, sister and brother respectively, married up a few years back. Since that time, God has burdened David's heart to serve Him as a missionary to Antofogasta, Chile. He's blessed him with a wondrous wife who grew up as an "MK" (missionary's kid) in Chile, and now three young children, Jordan, Ben, and Kaylee.

Our church family met them during meals on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, and we grew in our knowledge of God's work in South America as David wonderfully handled God's word during Sunday school, Sunday worship and during our Sunday evening service. You can access his messages on our Church's web-site here.

Please pray for them as they are now resituated in Edinburg, Texas (about as far south as you can get and still stay north of the Rio Grande) as David finishes up his foreign language training. They have almost attained to the total need for their support to head down to Chile next January. Please pray for God's provision to that end, too.

We sure had a GREAT time with them as God's family should. Please check out the latest with the Flinck's on their blog here. You'll even see our church.

Vaya con Dios!