Emmanuel Faith . . . In Words & Deeds
May/June 2010, Volume 5
Welcome to the latest edition of Emmanuel Faith's online newsletter! In Words & Deeds exists to report on results and "life-change" stories from EFCC ministry events and activities. Look here as your source for ministry updates and stories about Emmanuel Faith, our people, and their stories as they reach out and serve the Lord and His greater purposes.
Our latest edition below features the following stories. Click on a link below to read the article, or just scroll down:
+ ServeDay Update: Thanks EFCC!
+ Senegal Partnership Update
+ LifeDesign Class 101 Update (May 2010)
+ EFCC 2020 Vision in Practice
+ Personal Testimony: A Muslim's Journey to Faith
ServeDay: Thank You Emmanuel Faith!
:: Shared by Terri Winkle ::
I attend EFCC and I am also a kindergarten teacher at L.R. Green School. On behalf of all of the kindergarten teachers, I really want to thank you for all the work your volunteers did to make our kindergarten playground look so beautiful (back on Saturday, April 17)! The sod that you put in looks amazing! The kids just love sitting on the new grass area every day to eat their lunch and play at recess. We sat around that area to let our classroom butterflies fly free; to take our chicks outside for time on the grass; we'll do P.E. on it; etc., etc. It will receive years and years of use by happy kindergartners and we thank you so much for all your volunteers' time and hard work to make that happen!
We also thank you all for repainting the shapes on our kindergarten sidewalk area, cleaning our classrooms, repainting our lunch tables, stairs, the USA map, the landscape maintenance and all the other incredible work on our campus! Everything they did looks fabulous!
Recently, at our school district board meeting, there was an acknowledgment/thank you presentation showing all the work that EFCC volunteers did at all three campuses. There was much appreciation for all you did.
Thank you so much again for everything! Please pass on our thanks to all of the other wonderful church staff members and volunteers involved in making our kindergarten playground and rooms look so awesome!
Click here to see more pictures from ServeDay 2010 (April 17).
Global Outreach: Senegal Partnership Update
“Almost the Whole City Gathered . . .”
:: Shared by Phil Howard, The Senegal Partnership ::
Acts 13 tells the story of one of Paul’s first missionary experiences. Having been commissioned by the church in Antioch to pursue the Holy Spirit’s leading, Paul and Barnabas journeyed to the region of Galatia, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in each town they entered. In the town of Pisidian-Antioch, they preached their message of hope in the synagogue and created quite a stir. “[T]he people invited them to speak further about [the Gospel] on the next Sabbath,” and many Jews and God-fearing Gentiles were open to the Gospel. Imagine the scene the following Sabbath when, as Scripture tells us, “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” (v. 44)
If you can picture that scene in your mind’s eye, you can visualize some of the experience our Senegal Team witnessed in the village of Doudam on our most recent visit (April 2010).
Eleven men and women from EFCC and MHC traveled to Senegal just after Easter to participate in an evangelism program designed and run by members of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Thies, our partner in this new global outreach ministry. For several days, the team camped outside the church building in Doudam, each day serving alongside believers from Thies, Doudam and other rural parts of Senegal. They shared meals; they shared stories; they shared laughter; they shared life. They also shared the task of proclaiming a message of hope in three separate villages over three consecutive days and nights.
By day, they visited with village residents and held special programs for children of all ages. Through translators, they listened and shared with villagers in both group and individual conversations. Some were blessed with opportunities to share testimonies and lead others toward faith in Christ. By night, the team watched as members of the national church led whole villages in celebrations of music, drama and preaching.
Each night, hundreds of Serer people heard the word of the Lord -- a message of hope -- proclaimed in their own language by their own people. And just as happened in that Galatian synagogue when Paul and Barnabas spoke, many of the Serer expressed a desire to hear more and to better understand how one follows Christ into a life of peace, hope and forgiveness of sin.
But the picture was not complete until Sunday. That morning, the team attended worship in the village of Doudam. Normally, a group of 40 to 50 would gather in the one-room church to worship. On this day, however, it seemed as though “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.” The room was packed with three or four times the normal crowd. People who could not find room inside huddled around windows straining to see and hear all that transpired inside. There was much singing and worshipping. The Gospel was preached. The church was strengthened and encouraged. So too were the team members -- some of whom learned a new dance move or two.
Thank you for your partnership in this ministry endeavor.
Update from LifeDesign Class 101 (May 2010)
:: Shared by Assad Saif, Pastor of Welcome & Membership Ministries ::
I pray you’re having a great day. We had a great time at Class 101 on Sunday night, May 2. It’s always amazing to see what the Lord does in the lives of people as they surrender their lives to Him. Please take a moment to see the different decisions people made. I also ask you to join with me in praying for the people who have made decisions. We had a total of 27 people in attendance.
Decisions:
+ 27 people attended Class 101.
+ 2 people made a first time decision to trust Christ!
+ 4 people signed up to be baptized.
+ 12 people committed to share their testimony.
+ 19 people applied for Membership.
+ 11 people signed up for Class 201.
+ 8 people signed up to join a small group.
+ 7 people signed up to serve at EFCC.
Comments from Attendees:
“Having gone to your church now for about a year, I’ve truly began to enjoy the church. The Resonate music is very inspiring and the messages are always very enlightening. I love waking up on Sundays and going to church.”
“I enjoyed Class 101 because I learned more about my church that I grew up in and learned how to strengthen my faith.”
“I got a lot of answers I was looking for, thank you very much.”
Prayer Requests:
+ Pray that we are able to get the new believers connected well at EFCC.
+ Please pray that people will follow through with their commitments.
EFCC 2020 Vision: Adult Fellowship Partners With InterFaith
:: Shared by Bill Pinkerton ::
Editor's note: As we continue to incorporate our new EFCC 2020 Vision, here is a great example of how one Adult Fellowship is starting to live out the vision (especially see "endeavor #3"). (Click here to here Pastor Dennis' April 24/25 vision message.)
In September of 2009, Pastor Tom Thies came and shared with our Adult Fellowship about the Adopt a Family Program through Interfaith Community Services.
Carol Needham was led to ask if she could take the lead in our fellowship adopting a family. This would be for a one year period and involve preparing an apartment with needed furniture and the things needed to make it a home. It would also require a commitment of one year of supporting the family in many ways. We presented this to our class and had 18-20 people sign up to prepare the apartment by cleaning and moving in furniture and need items. We also had a sign up to obtain the needed items for the apartment and then two work days to get it ready. It was a real blessing to see the finished product of our labor. Our adopted family, Pam and her family, had been living in a tent near Lake Dixon.
Well, this was just the beginning of the process. There were varied needs coming down the road. Pam had appointments and Wesley had to get into school, etc. Carrie, her niece, has started community college. There was a need for a computer and Wesley needed some help with school. Two of our class members jumped in to help. Sam got a computer put together and hooked up, and George has become Wesley's big brother. This past April, Pam came to church at EFCC and then shared with our class her appreciation.
Through this process we are building a relationship with Pam, Wesley and Carrie. We have had the opportunity to start sharing our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ with Pam and her family.
Personal Testimony: A Muslim’s Journey to Salvation
:: Shared by Nancy Kurrack ::
Editor’s note: In some limited readings that I have done on Muslims and their journeys to faith in Christ, it is interesting to note how many of them have talked of having dreams or visions leading up to their conversions. EFCC member, Mariam Tripp, has just such a story to share.
Growing up in Iran in the 1950’s, Mariam Tripp was a very stylish, but not very observant Muslim. Her father was a doctor and she wore clothes from Paris and enjoyed the luxuries of the upper class. Living in Tehran, she called herself a Persian. She definitely believed there was a God and one night when she was 12 she had a strange dream:
She was walking through a beautiful grove of trees where there was a grand house. As the leaves fell, she heard the voice of God calling her. Then the wind came up and a crazy man was punching thin air near a swimming pool. She would never forget the dream, but what did it mean?
Mariam was 17 when she married a Muslim, and two years later, in 1976, her aunt sent the couple to the U.S. to earn their degrees. They eventually lived in San Diego where her husband earned his Ph.D. and Mariam continued her schooling and raised their son. She never imagined her husband would get involved with radical Muslims in the U.S., but in 1979 he became cruel and wanted to take her and their son back to Iran. He had become passionate about embracing Ayatollah Khomeini, Allah and making Mariam a submissive wife.
Mariam knew her life would turn for the worst with the new regime in Iran. So, with undeterred determination she managed to stay in San Diego to finish her degree while her husband left for Iran with her son. Her decision cost her access to her son, to family money and she divorced, but she took on many jobs to try to stay her course despite her new poverty. Five years passed.
One evening she went to a restaurant in La Jolla, California with a girlfriend. As she danced with an admirer, another man was asking her friend about her. Carver Tripp II “fell for her” instantly and wanted to meet her. A few days he later he showed her his father’s house in San Diego. Astounded, she said, “I’ve seen this house before! And there’s the grove of trees!” Yes, it was the same house she had seen in her dreams as a young girl. Just as the dream had progressed, they walked to the pool where his father was boxing in thin air! Soon Carver and Mariam were married.
Carver was a jeweler and had left his job in New York to marry her. Even though they were living in his father’s home, they were quickly running out of money. In desperation, Mariam began praying to Mohammed for help (for her at the time, prayers to any “god” would have seemingly helped). As she prayed, there in her doorway stood Jesus! She had always thought of Him as a prophet, but at the moment she saw Him she knew He was God! Now she would pray to Him, and she couldn’t wait to start reading the Bible!
One morning in 1991, Mariam was flipping through television channels. She stopped when she saw Pat Robertson talking about Jesus. She couldn’t get enough of his teaching, and at the end of the program she called The 700 Club and invited Jesus Christ into her heart as her Savior. Once again she saw Jesus standing there for her! She immediately became a CBN partner and soon found a church. Since that day, Miriam has never stopped learning more about the one true God of the universe and His son, Jesus Christ. Her prayers are now for her family in Iran to know the truth. (Miriam currently attends and serves at EFCC.)
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