THEME, COMMENTS AND THOUGHTS

In these days of the Covid-19 Virus, I have visited with and listened to numerous people of faith. In listening, a common theme is being expressed, “Get Ready”, “Get Prepared” or “We are in a Season of Preparation”.  If, Preparation, is something God is saying then we must ask, “What are we supposed to get ready for?  “What is God alerting us to, for which preparation is required? Well, by listening to conversations, this is what I have heard.  We are living in the beginning of the great tribulation so we need to get ready.  The next is get ready for the function and structure of how to do church.  Then get ready for the return of a multitude of people to church and know how to feed them spiritually.  Prepare for only a remnant to return.  Finally, prepare people spiritually to return to corporate gatherings of the church.

Let’s give a little thought to each of these expressed reasons to “Get Prepared”.

We are living in the beginning of the Great Tribulation.

                The only answer to this preparation is to surrender your sin filled life to Jesus by confessing Him as Lord and believing God raised Him from the dead!  What we are experiencing is NOTHING LIKE what will transpire during the great tribulation, read The Revelation to John. 

The next is get ready for the function and structure of how to do church. 

                Things will look different!  Wise safety measures need to be in place and clearly communicated with the local Body of Christ.  This new structure must be shared well in advance, through an abundance of formats and on a daily basis.  Communication of the new “functioning” of corporate gatherings is crucial!  The more people know about the plan the better the plan can be exercised. 

Then get ready for the return of a multitude of people to church and know how to feed them spiritually.

                Following 911, the church experienced a swell in attendance for a short season.  With 911, the church had no forewarning, no time to prepare.  In our present situation with Covid-19, we the church know it will be weeks before we gather corporately.  So with this in mind, now is the time to prepare leaders to lead new Sunday School Groups in person and/or online.  Enlisting, training, providing resources and gathering information for follow up are key elements.  New small group discipleship leaders should be enlisted with securing of resources to help answer spiritual questions, fuel new excitement to grow personally in faith and to help new believers begin a journey of personal discipleship.  In education today the conversation is alignment.  Now would be a great time to make adjustments in alignment of what is being taught in Sunday School, Small Groups, Discipleship Groups and Corporate Worship. There is a great opportunity to get people rowing in a singular direction in spiritual education. Unity in mind, spirit and mission can happen with a clear focused alignment of age group study through the teaching, discipleship and preaching ministries of the Word.

Prepare for only a remnant to return. 

                In the Bible, there are more than enough times that only a remnant returned after defeat, after excile, etc.  So, until the doors are open we will not know what will happen, but we need to be cognizant of the possibility that a smaller group may return.  What if this is a time in keeping with the words of Jesus in John 15:2? We must be prepared to receive all who come together even if it is a smaller group than anticipated. With those who return, God will build the church and do amazingly more than we can ask, think or imagine!  We must not be discouraged because numbers don’t bounce back. We must be faithful to feed the flock that returns to the corporate table to eat.  Jesus started with a few and His investment is still paying spiritual dividends today!

Finally, prepare people spiritually to return to corporate gatherings of the church.

                As a mission leader who leads groups to the nations, I am asking myself, “What new and unfamiliar culture will those who return to corporate worship encounter?”  So, looking at it from my perspective, do we prepare them spiritually to enter a new culture or do we prepare them to return from a place of culture shock?  I think the answer is both!  The church culture we return to will be different, so we must prepare!  The culture we have been experiencing during this season has caused plenty of opportunities to experience culture shock. Leading up to our group trips there are numerous times of training, discussion and processing.  The 30 days leading up to the trip and through the trip, we all work through a field manual that places all of us in the same scripture on the same day.  We do this because, I believe God the Father wants to answer the prayer of His Son in John 17. In this chapter, Jesus prays that the disciples will be one with Him as He(Jesus) is one with the Father.  The teams that consistently work through the manual are more unified and have a God focus well above and beyond the teams that are lax in the daily scriptural preparations.  So, get a plan ahead of time to spiritually prepare and lead the body back into the new corporate worship and meeting culture. Those who return will have seen, smelled, tasted and touched new and different and they will bring a new world view back with them!  They will have questions, they will have experiences, they very well may have a deeper desire for God than when they left.  As a church/ministry leader we must prepare ourselves to listen to, walk with, encourage and disciple them in their spiritual growth of faith!

THOUGHTS ON OPENING CHURCH DOORS

Many churches are considering when to gather once again for corporate worship.  I have heard numerous conversations and followed many Facebook Threads on this subject.  I have seen posts and heard local business owners express their concerns and their plans concerning how they are going about opening back up.  My thought is this, every local expression of the Body of Christ must seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness i.e. “they must submit to the rule and reign of God over their local context”.  A county in West Texas may have a different covid-19 context than in East Texas.  A church of 40 in any county will have a different context than a church of 120, 250, 400 or more.  Each local expression of the Body of Christ is different depending on their context.  As good citizens of the Kingdom of God and representing Him in our local context, we must take a close look at what we know i.e. “number of cases, are cases continuing to rise, at what rate are they rising, how local businesses are responding, the age makeup and those considered compromised within our local expression”.  With this basic list for prayerful consideration and guided by the truth of God’s Word, I believe we need to ask ourselves, “How can we, the local expression of Christ’s Body, best fulfill, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself’?” Blessings to the Church, as we sit before God the Father for His answer!

NEW WORK IN NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

God has a unique and interesting way of weaving together relationships for His glory. In August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey arrived as an unwelcome guest on the shores of Texas. Following the aftermath, God assembled a group of workers to work out of New Shores Baptist Church in Sweeny, Texas. The workers arrived from East Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, North Texas and Rhode Island. As we labored together, God was busy weaving together relationships to join Him in His work in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 2020. The Rhode Island relationship was/is a member of Grace Harbor Church in Providence, Rhode Island. Through this relationship a conversation occurred concerning help with a new church plant. Over the past several years the church plant has gained momentum. By the end of 2019, a building had been donated to those planting the church and financial resources had been raised to remodel said building. The clarion call was issued for labors to help with the remodel. Hearing this clarion call, a call was made from East Texas to the North Carolina relationship from Hurricane Harvey. The North Carolina relationship and their church responded to the clarion call and has been faithfully providing remodel leadership since the second week in January 2020. Recently, February 15-22, 2020, I made a trip to join in the work of God in New Bedford. Below are pictures of the remodel process.

Please be in prayer as the remodel has a deadline of March 21, 2020. A time is scheduled on Sunday evening March 22, 2020 for the charter members to sign the church covenant and to install the Elders leading the new work known as Grace Harbor Church New Bedford, Massachusetts. The first full worship service by this body of believers, in this newly renovated church building, will take place Easter Sunday April 12, 2020.

Praise God for His Amazing Work and the opportunity to join Him!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

We are excited to share the great news concerning our ten year celebration campaign known as THE YEAR TO REMEMBER! The first item of business is to PRAISE GOD for His calling to this ministry, His faithful revelation of His will and provision through the past ten years! It has been said, “God’s work, Done God’s way will never lack God’s resources.” We have seen this through the ten years and especially through 2019. The Year to Remember Campaign goal was to raise $110,000.00 to add a preschool to the existing six room school in Haiti. Through 2019 a puzzle graph has been utilized to reveal progress. Each time a certain amount of money was received a piece was added representing the portion of the school that was funded. Today in celebration of God and the work He is doing through the school in Haiti we are EXCITED TO POST A COMPLETED PUZZLE! Through the gifts of many and GREAT SACRIFICIAL GIVING OF SOME the goal was surpassed. As of today here is how God has provided to build the preschool in Haiti. We have in the bank $100,779.60 and a pledge of $20,000.00 to arrive in March 2020. This brings us to the Grand Total of

$120,799.60.

We thank God and His people who graciously gave to help us reach this goal! God, thank You is such a small gesture of all of who You are and all that You have done and will do through the school in Haiti. Our thank You will be expressed over and over through faithful service in building the school and leading groups to work alongside our Haitian Brothers in building the preschool. To those who sacrificially contributed to the goal, prayed and encouraged us through this journey a thank you also seems to fall short. Please know we are grateful for your participation in sharing the gospel and declaring the EXCELLENCIES OF GOD! Now, the work is not complete, but just beginning. Please offer up with us a prayer of thanksgiving, a prayer for teams to go, safety in going and wisdom to move forward in faith to all that God will invite us to do alongside HIM!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!

November 1, 2019 YEAR TO REMEMBER UPDATE UPDATED NOVEMBER 19, 2019

As of November 19, 2019, we are in need of $3949.60 to complete the next piece of the puzzle. Will you help with a contribution to achieve this goal? There is a donor who has committed to match this $10,000.00 piece. This is an amazing opportunity to double your contribution. Please join us in praying for this goal and the completion of the over all goal of $110,000.00 by the end of the year !

God is amazing and we are looking forward to celebrating ten years of ministry with this YEAR TO REMEMBER Campaign that is scheduled to end December 31, 2019 The celebration goal is $110,000.00 and donations are consistently arriving. The following graph, of the developing puzzle picture, represents what has arrived and what we continue to ask God to provide. We are presently praying for $6,744.60 to complete the next puzzle piece. If, you scroll down and read the Exciting News Article you will see that we have a matching pool of donors who have committed to match up to $30,000.00 in contributions. When we receive the remaining $6,744.60 for this piece, the first piece on the bottom row will be added to the picture as well. Would you consider an End of the Year contribution to help us meet this goal. The resources gathered during this campaign will be used to build a preschool in Drouin, Haiti. You can see the proposed drawings in an article below. Thank you for joining us in praying and giving!

EXCITING NEWS !!!!!!

EXCITING NEWS!

THERE IS NOW A $30,000.00 MATCHING POOL!

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN YOU MAY ASK?

What this means is, a group of people have given pledges to match future donations dollar for dollar to help Stepstones meet the YEAR TO REMEMBER Goal of raising $110,000.00 to celebrate ten years of ministry.  The money raised will be utilized to build a preschool addition to the school in Drouin, Haiti.

NOW WHAT?

Now we need people to participate in this celebration by making tax deductible contributions.  Every dollar given will now be matched by another dollar from the Matching Pool up to $30,000.00. This means every dollar given is doubled.  We have already received $6,000.00 that will be matched. 

We only need $24,000.00 more and the

YEAR TO REMEMBER GOAL will be reached.

WILL YOU?

Will you pray, will you share this opportunity with others, will you give to help us celebrate by changing lives in Haiti?

As you consider any end of year giving, please help us change a nation by the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and through education.

 FINALLY AND FOREMOST:

 PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

YEAR TO REMEMBER SELL STUFF MOVEMENT

The Sell Stuff Movement is a Capital Fund Initiative to celebrate Stepstones Ministry International’s ten years of ministry.  The initiative is based on Acts 4:32-35,  “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything  belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.  And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.  For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. “

The challenge is to look around your home, storage building, church or business and identify one quality item that you rarely use or could live without.  Make this an offering to the Lord and place it up for sale on social media, newspaper, front yard, church bulletin, etc., etc.  Once that item sells take the money and donate it to help Stepstones celebrate!  All donations are tax-deductible.  The donated offering will be used to add a preschool building to the school in Drouin, Haiti. 

Will you join us in this celebration and help change lives in Haiti?

Items for Consideration

TV's, musical equipment, game consoles, iPod, clothing, stocks, bonds, automobiles, trailers, furniture, electronics, hunting/fishing gear, boats, RV’s, motorcycles, atvs, tools, appliances, jewelry, arts and crafts, BBQ Grills,  patio furniture, knives, lawn equipment, toys, animals, baked goods, sports equipment, baby items, live stock, luggage, books,  etc.

For further information contact Mike Brister

Email:  stepstones.info@yahoo.com

DRAWINGS OF PROPOSED PRESCHOOL ADDITION

NEWS FLASH! GREAT ETERNAL OPPORTUNITY!

NEWS FLASH!  GREAT ETERNAL OPPORTUNITY AHEAD!

            We are rapidly approaching the final quarter of 2019.  As we head into these final months, we would like to give an update on the YEAR TO REMEMBER CAMPAIGN.  This financial campaign is designed to be a celebration of ten years of ministry.  There were many options discussed by the Stepstones Board of Directors of how to celebrate, but they felt led to focus time and energy on a specific goal.  The end goal is of eternal proportion represented by a physical structure.  This structure will facilitate an education in a loving and safe environment where students can hear and have opportunity to respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The physical structure is a preschool addition to the school in Drouin, Haiti.  The six room school has a present enrollment of 305 students with nine teachers employed to provide the instruction.   The preschool addition will provide a unique place for educating preschoolers and provide relief of overcrowding in the present facility.  The financial goal for this preschool addition is $110,000.00.  At the present time $50,662.60 has been donated leaving a balance of $59,337.40.  The last quarter of this year is important as we pray and work to complete the campaign and celebrate with the beginning of construction in January 2020.

            Please join us in praying for, sharing this opportunity with others and giving!  We have been challenged to raise a matching pool of donors to help meet this goal.  The challenge is to gather a pool of investors that would commit resources to match funds up to $30,000.00.  If this pool of investors can be gathered it would represent half the funds needed to exceed the outstanding balance of $59,337.40.  The $30,000.00 pool of matching funds commitments need to be gathered by October 11, 2019 so the roll out of the final push toward the finish line can begin October 14th.  Will you pray, will you share, will you commit an amount to the matching pool?  A donor has committed to match donations to the Matching Pool at 50 cents on the dollar.  With this commitment we only need to raise $20,000.00 for the matching pool of donors. Will you give so your donation can be matched thus increasing your contribution? Anyone desiring to commit to participate in the matching pool is asked to email their contact information and the amount to stepstones.info@yahoo.com.  Anyone desiring more information can contact Mike Brister by email at mike.stepstones@yahoo.com or by cell phone at 254-718-5040.

SERVING IN DAMON, TEXAS

Sunday October 7, 2018 started early with a 4:30 a.m. alarm.  The goal, traveling from Center, Texas to Damon, Texas to worship with New Shores Baptist Church in Sweeney, Texas as they launched a northern campus in Damon.  Driving down Highway 288 God broke my heart in preparation for arriving in Damon to participate in this new adventure with New Shores.  He broke my heart with a song I had never heard before, but was on a Spotify created list.  The song, “It’s About the Cross”, by the Ball Brothers.  It is highly advised to set aside about 15 minutes and listen to the song several times in succession while intently listening to the words. Arriving in Damon, worshiping with the church and driving through the community praying following the service it became apparent God was doing more than I understood that day.

            Returning from Damon that Sunday afternoon, I kept praying and listening to what God was saying.  This conversation with God continued into the new year.  In January, a call was made to BJ McCurdy the pastor of New Shores Baptist Church.  I shared what God had been speaking to me concerning Stepstones future involvement in Damon with the possibility of teams coming in the Summer of 2019.  Teams would work on the church facilities, lead a Backyard Bible Club and host outreach events.  BJ listened and said, “We as a staff have been praying Matthew 9:35-38 asking God to send workers into the field to harvest in Damon!”  The answer to the offer is YES, YES, YES!  How can we say no to God’s answer to prayer?

            Making a major leap forward in time, prayer, preparation, phone calls, gathering churches to labor in the field of Damon, training events, sight based visits and gathering of materials, Summer finally arrives.             There were two weeks scheduled for service in Damon, one in June and the other in July.  There were five churches that God brought together to serve in unity as a larger expression of His Church.  The first and most vital part of this task was provided through FBC Broaddus as they committed early in the year to provide Cook Teams and a Shower Trailer for both weeks. This group performed tirelessly planning a menu and serving amazing meals.  They kept teams fueled and hydrated so laborers could continue serving with strength and energy.  The second part of the equation was provided by the Youth Ministry of Summit Heights Church in Hawkins.  This group of students and their leaders served in June to perform much needed preliminary work and lay a great foundation for the July team.  The third part of the equation was provided by Believers Baptist Church in Emory, Texas and FBC Haslam, Texas.  These teams arrived with adults with the exact skills needed to lead groups to replace fascia boards on the church, caulk, paint, mow, weed eat, power spray, share Bible Stories, lead songs, etc., etc.  As the teams pulled out of Damon in July more was accomplished by the unified efforts of the four churches who traveled to Damon to serve with New Shores than had been initially scheduled.

            On Wednesday afternoon of the July trip we were given the permission to walk across the street and serve Damon ISD.  We offered to power spray a portion of their building and it opened the avenue to greater service and impact than we anticipated.  Thursday morning a small portion of the team remained at the church to finish up final details, but the large portion went to work at the school mowing, weed eating, cleaning and reworking flower beds, trimming bushes, moving furniture and hauling off major amounts of grass by the truck load.  By the end of the day most of the property had been mowed, a large portion weed eated and the whole front of the school had been power washed.  The School Board met that evening and following the meeting they walked across the street and joined the teams for a great Fish Fry!  The Superintendent of Damon ISD thanked the group for the amazing amount of work performed.  He shared that he had been praying asking God how they would ever get caught up with all the maintenance needed before school started.  Holding back tears, he said, “Each of you are literally an answer to pray!”  An applause of worship erupted and we knew God had done something only He could do!

            One take away from the experience was revealed as Pastor BJ and I stood under a tree observing the transformation of the church facility and the school.  What transpired from October 7, 2018 until July 19, 2019 was a clear picture of what a church can accomplish by being obedient to make disciples, praying and responding to God’s voice, working with a clear vision and humbly serving together in the Field White Unto Harvest!  There are a multitude of God events that can be shared of answered prayers, team members changed, amazing contacts in the community, provisions, new people joining the church in Damon, etc., etc., etc.  Lastly, PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!  THANK YOU FATHER FOR CALLING AND SENDING!