Greetings from the sold-out disciples in Moscow, Santiago and Sao Paulo! Indeed February has been a historic and very busy month in God’s SoldOut Movement! On February 1st was the Inaugural Service of the Moscow International Christian Church! 17 Russian-speaking disciples were on the mission team that spent their own money to fly and train in Los Angeles! They were joined by 33 disciples in the Moscow Remnant Group, giving us exactly 50 workers for the Lord! On the day of the Moscow Inaugural Service, there was snow, freezing rain and sustained winds of 30 mph (50 km per hour)! Yet, the Spirit moved powerfully and 50 sold-out disciples had 227 in attendance!
Our Almighty God answers the prayers of SoldOut
Movement Disciples around the world by filling
up the Swissotel Conference Center with
227 for the Moscow ICC
Inaugural Service!
The noble Moscow Church Leaders – Oleg & Elena
Sirotkin and Zhenya & Julia Sobolev!
Our beloved Russian Disciples put so much time and energy into making every detail about the service amazing – from decorations to Kids Kingdom!
Masha and Nikita (who was restored that day) give
a warm welcome to all the visitors!
Kids Kingdom is the same in every language!
Lena Kapskaya – a talented actress and artist –
paints the faces of the workers and the
children of Kids Kingdom!
Kids Kingdom wins the hearts of the children!
At the service were scores of remnant disciples and non-Christians! Oleg preached a moving sermon entitled, The Purposes Of God!
Oleg enthusiastically preaching
the Word of God!
As well that day, God added to their number two baptisms and four restorations!
Yuriy (second from the left), Vasily (third from the
left), Nikita (sixth from the left) and Anjelica
(seventh from the left) are restored
to the Lord!
Franc from Cameroon is baptized!
Valenitna (Nikita’s mother) is baptized!
Many of those who visited began to study the Scriptures that afternoon!
Almost all the visitors stayed around for coffee, tea,
delicious cookies and the warm fellowship!
The Moscow Inaugural Service was such a
historic event that even the media
was impressed!
Remarkably, in the first 28 days of the Moscow Church planting, there have been 17 additions – six baptisms and 11 restorations!
On February 12-15th was the 2015 Central & South American Missions Conference – Por Mi Espiritu (By My Spirit)! Highlights included the Leadership Workshop, the opening sermon by Carlos Mejia – Walk By The Spirit, Raul Moreno’s lesson on Saturday morning – My Spirit Will Bring Justice To The Nations, the Campus Workshop, the Kingdom Banquet and Sunday’s keynote speech by the new leader of the Santiago Church – Alfredo Anuch – entitled, Not By Might, Nor By Power But By My Spirit!
The Santiago Disciples welcomed at the airport
almost all of the 85 disciples from outside of
Chile that participated in the CSA
Conference!
The CSA Conference was held at the beautiful Gran
Palace Hotel Convention Center!
Carlos & Lucy Mejia, the Directors of the CSA
Conference, give a firey welcome to the
Leadership Workshop!
The worship of God through prayer and singing in
three languages – Spanish, Portuguese and
English – was incredibly inspirational!
Raul Moreno inspires all to
evangelize the world!
The Campus Workshop was simply outstanding!
Elena enjoys a moment of fellowship with the Sao
Paulo Sisters after the Campus Workshop!
Another very special highlight on Saturday afternoon was the presentation, Who Wants To Be A Missionary? A moving slide show began this session and then different missionaries answered questions from the attendees!
The Presentation: Who Wants To Be A Missionary
moved many to decide to go to the mission
field to serve the Lord!
At the glorious Sunday Service attended by 322, there were two restorations and three baptisms!
To begin Sunday’s Worship Service, Guillermo
of Santiago (second from the left) and
Isaac of Mexico City were restored!
Hector Gomez shared “good news” from
Bogata! He will become the Librarian and
Publisher for the new SoldOut
Movement’s Berean Online
Library!
Ryan and Helen Sullivan of Orlando presided
over the contribution!
Alfredo Anuch delivers the keynote address!
Alfredo & Alejandra Anuch will lead the
Santiago Church when the Mejias
depart in June to strengthen
Mexico City!
Doris (Alfredo’s mom on the left) and Sonia
(Alejandra’s mom) are both
sold-out disciples!
Marcelo, Silvana and Carlos were baptized
immediately after service!
Then Elena & I traveled to Sao Paulo, Brazil for four days! On Wednesday evening, the 116 Sao Paulo disciples had 171 at service! So many remnant disciples attended!
The Sao Paulo International Christian Church!
On Thursday evening, we shared with the 12 student leaders of the dynamic Sao Paulo Campus Ministry, which is the pacesetter for our Campus Ministries around the world!
The remarkable Sao Paulo Campus
Ministry Student Leaders!
Raul & Lynda Moreno – the Sao Paulo Church
Leaders and the World Sector Leaders for
Central & South America!
Upon Elena’s and my arrival home in LA, decisions had to be prayerfully made on which couple could step-up to replace Argo & Anu Arneson as the leaders of the IE Region, as the Arnesons needed to return to Stockholm to begin preparations for the Stockholm planting in August. After counsel and prayer, Adam Zepeda & Rebecca Rico were selected by the Spirit! At the Send-Off Service, the East, Palm Springs and IE Regions of the City of Angels Church gathered!
Adam & Rebecca – the new IE Region Leaders –
preside over communion at the combined
East, Palm Springs and IE Regions
Worship Service!
Argo preached a marvelous sermon – When The Stocks Are Falling It’s Time To Buy!
The beloved Argo Arneson preaching his
farewell sermon!
Then to close the service, Jamel Tucker (Shepherd of the IE Region) and Juan Vasquez (Shepherd of the Palm Springs Region) prayed over the six disciples heading to Stockholm early for the planting.
Jamel praying over Argo, Anu and the four other
disciples going early to prepare for
the Stockholm Planting!
To close out the service five were baptized from the IE Region! An incredible end to the Arnesons’ ministry and a extraordinary start to Adam’s & Rebecca’s!
Then it was off to the Southland Region for the afternoon wedding of RD Baker & April Diaz! Truly a Kingdom wedding!
RD appears to be a bit nervous…
Chris Chloupek and Cory Blackwell masterfully
oversaw RD & April’s wedding!
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. RD & April Baker!
So for the first 59 days of 2015, God has blessed the City of Angels Church with 91 additions – 75 baptisms, nine restorations and seven place memberships! And to God be all the glory!
And now more detailed reports from each of our World Sectors…
HEADLINE NEWS – LOS ANGELES
Lance Underhill: “When she and the members of her household were baptized… immediately he and all his household were baptized!” (Acts 16:15, 33) “Impossible prayers” are being answered in the South Region! My wife Connie & I flew to see my ailing mom Barbara Underhill in New Port Richey, Florida. In just one week, with Connie doing an amazing job leading the studies, my mom was baptized!
Connie helps Lance to realize years of
prayer when he baptizes his mom!
Lance’s Dad & Mom… Lance baptized his
father last year just before he went
on to glory!
The next Sunday back in the South Region, the Lord put on my heart to preached, “If my 82 year old mom with health challenges could get baptized in one week, what’s your excuse?” Then Jordan Ybarra – the last of the Ybarra Familia – responded after the message, “I have no excuses” and was baptized in less than one week! The whole Ybarra Familia is now united in Christ!
The whole Ybarra Familia baptizes Jordan so
that the entire family is united in Christ!
Bryan Santamaria also was added through baptism, and Tacara Bryant and Yunhee Choi were restored! Also, we have a new dating couple Johnny Cortez & Tori Wallace!
Johnny & Tori are ecstatic about dating
in the Kingdom!
We are extremely excited that Tim & Lianne Kernan will be coming back to lead the South Region with their two joyful boys – Junior & David! Anthony & Cassidy Olmos, who have done a phenomenal job leading the South, have been called by the Spirit to London to lead the campuses, and prayerfully after that back to Paris, France where they were on the original mission team! As well, we are so proud of Oleg & Elena Sirotkin, who spent two years in the South, and the Moscow disciples for having an incredible
Inaugural Service as well as continuing to grow!
Blaise Feumba: “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10) Indeed, the Lord has been rejoicing these past six weeks with the baptism of eight more souls in the North Region! The most amazing miracles are the baptism of the remaining three members of the Bedoya Family starting with Lucas, then his mom and his dad: Frank & Mirna Bedoya!
Lucas is baptized…
Then his father and mother – Frank & Mirna! Also
pictured is Adam who was baptized
the same day!
In addition to that we are also thankful to God for the baptisms of Adam, Hilse, Malick, Nathanael and Kia! To God be all the glory!
The North Brothers embrace Malick as he
enters the Kingdom!
The North Sisters warmly welcome
Kia into God’s Family!
Andrew Smellie of the West Region: On Sunday, February 15th, Dom-nique Willis was baptized into Christ! “Dom,” as we affectionately call him, is a Pastry Chef for Sweet E’s Bake Shop in Los Angeles! Sweet-E’s is owned by Erica Tucker, a past winner of Cupcake Wars! Originally from Denver, Colorado, Dom rejoiced at the opportunity to overcome the shame and regret of past sins to enjoy the “new life” of salvation! To God be the glory!
Dom rejoices after becoming a
new creation in Christ!
Chris Adams: The Word of God has been boldly preached over the past few weeks in the Ventura Region! Dave & Jill Swann, our creative, fiery Shepherding Couple and owners of the Hollywood Fitness Gym, planned an Oscar-themed service two weeks ago, replete with red-velvet ropes, a special communion song performed by our amazing band, and an “After-service Oscar Party” with movie ticket door prizes! But what impacted so many was the sermon Dave preached with three Oscar Award Winning Movie titles as his main points. Thrillingly, a Ventura College student, Bree took the simple, yet challenging message of grace and repentance to heart, and she pushed the “do-over button” and was baptized!
Bree signals “Victory” in Jesus!
Today, at our Singles’ Ministry-led service, Dennis Sloan preached his first full-length sermon and laid out the truth that repentance is really a change in mind-set, perception or purpose and not the deeds themselves! (Seems the Holy Spirit has that theme picked out for us up here in Ventura!) He preached about three men who lived their lives all about God’s radical love: Moses, Paul and Jesus! It was impossible to deny the miracle of God that has turned Dennis from being a U.S. Army veteran and fighting man to the death, to now saving men from Satan and certain spiritual death!
He & Corinna are revitalizing the Campus and Teen Ministries here in Ventura County, as there are many new friends who have come out to Bible Talk, Devo and an Open Mic! Dennis cited news reports about “Christian militia units” streaming from all over the world to the Middle East to eradicate the terrorist group ISIS with guns, not love – which is NOT JESUS! Therefore, every Ventura disciple was challenged to repent and love with a fierce light that will overcome the darkness of this world. Pray for “times of refreshing” to flow-in with the tide of repentance here in Ventura County! (Acts 3:19)
Dennis & Corinna have a gift for making
even the “Trash-a-thon” a lot of fun!
Cesar Limon: Grace and peace in abundance from the East Region! It was amazing to worship with the incredible Inland Empire and Palm Springs Regions this past week as we had the honor of witnessing the Holy Spirit blow Argo & Anu back to their homeland of Sweden! My wife & I are deeply appreciative for all they have done for us these past three years! God continues to show us His goodness here as we have seen seven souls be baptized in the past three weeks! God has provided amazing workers to take care of His sheep as we appointed six new Bible Talk Leaders this past Sunday which means that Cal Poly Pomona, Mt. SAC, and Citrus College have all doubled Bible Talks!
The East Region inspirationally multiplies their
Campus Ministry Bible Talk Leaders!
Wonderfully, we had the blessing of sending five disciples to the Central and South American Missions Conference who all came back inspired and with a greater global vision!! It truly is worth it to “make every effort” to send your disciples to any of the conferences as it will not only change their life but in turn impact your entire congregation!
The East Region Disciples gain a vision for Latin
America by attending the CSA
Missions Conference!
At our last week’s Campus Devotional, we witnessed Srbuhi from Cal Poly Pomona make Jesus Lord! Srbuhi was traveling every weekend to be with her family and boyfriend but she took a radical stand and broke-off the relationship and is now committed to staying on the weekends to be with the body of Christ! Very excitingly, she shared that her new dream is to go back to her birthplace of Armenia to save her people!
Srbuhi (second from the left) is the seed
of the gospel for Armenia!
Lastly, this week we were able to witness the Holy Spirit send-off Sara Oros to serve in the Central Region and also we are thankful for the Glorious Palm Springs Region for sending us PJ & Monique to train here in the East as they will be coming with us to Portland in May! Sal & Patricia Velasco and their Palm Springs Region truly understands that the goal of a church is not simply to grow, but to send out leaders! It is great to be in the Movement of God!!
Krystal Legarda: God has been moving powerfully in Orange County! In the month of February, God has added 10 to our number – seven baptisms, one restoration, and two placed memberships! Excitingly, we actually had an “eleventh” special addition with the birth of Amanda Arizmendi!
Guldana’s baptism gives joy to all the OC Sisters!
In February, the CSUF Ministry had four baptisms –
Diana (red towel), Guldana (dark green jacket),
Yomairi (back row second from the left),
and Kevin (back row tallest)!
Gabriel and Abby with their new sister Amanda!
Sunday service was electric as Luke preached a fiery sermon about going Back To The Basics! With many family members of disciples in attendance, the entire congregation was inspired to go after consistent:1) Quiet Times, 2) Evangelism, 3) Contribution, and 4) Discipling.Two of our interns, Javier & Jessica Ochoa, shared powerfully for communion and contribution about the Central and South American Missions Conference in Santiago de Chile! We are so grateful to be a part of a worldwide movement, witnessing so many modern day miracles around the globe! Please keep us in your prayers!
Ighodaro Odighizuwa of the Inland Empire: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) Greetings of love from the “Windy” Desert! During the month of February in the IE Region, the Spirit “blew” 16 souls into His Kingdom through the waters of baptism!
Ashely of the RCC Ministry joins the IE Sisters in
their charge, “You will be next!”
Not to be outdone, the UCR Ministry and their newest
sister Astrid issue the same challenge,
“You will be next!”
This past week, we witnessed seven souls baptized into Christ, giving us daily additions! From our Riverside Sector we saw April and Benjamin saved through the waters of baptism, and from our San Bernardino Sector, Christian, Mario, Cheyenne, Ingrid and Bre’ana all made Jesus Lord of their lives!
The IE Region celebrates seven baptisms
in seven days!
Sunday’s service was a “bitter sweet service” as the Inland Empire, the Palm Springs and the East Regions of our City of Angels Church gathered together for an incredible Worship Service to send-off of our valiant leaders – Argo & Anu Arneson! The Spirit is
“blowing” them to Stockholm Sweden to prepare for the official planting of the Stockholm International Christian Church being sent out at the
2015 Global Leadership Conference coming up in August. Jesus says in Luke 12:49,
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Argo & Anu have done nothing short of a fantastic job, building a solid foundation of faith, unity and total commitment to God here in our
“Windy” Desert Region!
Three years ago, when they came to our little region of 28 “somewhat” faithful disciples, they “kindled a fire” of faith that has transformed “the IE” into what we know it to be today! It was only fitting that we sent them off giving them our customary “IE Torch Trophies” in remembrance of the “fire” that has been “kindled” here in the Inland Empire while symbolizing the “fire” that will be “kindled” in Stockholm!
Martynas and Argo are getting ready to return and
conquer for the Lord the land of the
Vikings – Scandinavia!
We were privileged to watch the “torch” passed on to our awesome new Region Leaders – Adam Zepeda & Rebecca Rico! Please continue to pray for us and to God be all the glory!
HEADLINE NEWS – USA SW QUADRANT & THE MIDDLE EAST
Elizabeth McDonnell: Greetings from Santa Barbara! It has been an incredible month here in our beautiful city! First off, the whole church has been working hard at bearing fruit and we’ve had five baptisms in five weeks – three SB City College students, one UCSB student, and one single professional!
Mario (fourth from the left) and Michelle (third
from the right) are spiritual twins!
Dominic & Nikki, a dating couple, repent from
their sins, commit to a pure dating
relationship, and are baptized
on the same day!
Even with all that hard work, there’s definitely love in the air as we had two couples get engaged and one couple start dating! Excitingly, one of the marriage proposals happened at the Central and South American Missions Conference down in Santiago!
Alex Flurry (our first convert in Santa Barbara) &
Bria Henderson (a mission team member) get
engaged in Santiago at the CSA
Missions Conference!
We’ve also collected a significant amount of our Special Missions Goal – 91%!!! Family members of the converts here are also getting baptized: one brother baptized his whole family (two brothers and his parents) out in the North Region of LA, and another baptized his uncle in the newly planted San Bernardino Sector of the City of Angels Church today!
Dale Bryant & Karyn Bowman celebrate their
engagement with SBICC!
One baptism that we want to highlight happened today, and that was Noé Garcia! A disciple here in Santa Barbara, Brian Lin (who will Lord willing join the Hong King Mission Team), was so fired-up to have five solid commitments to our
International Sunday Service. But the day before service, all five of them cancelled on him.
Sad and discouraged Brian called Richie to ask what he should do. So Richie told Brian to not get discouraged and pray that God will give you someone to bring. So Brian prayed, and then texted his lab partner, Noé, from over a year ago to invite him. Little did he know that that night Noé prayed to God asking, “What is my purpose? Please show me why I’m here; there must be more to life than this.” After praying, he immediately received Brian’s text and knew immediately God was calling him! And today, he was baptized into Christ finding the true purpose for his life!
Noé (left) is baptized by his former
lab partner Brian (middle)!
Lastly, Richie & I are expecting another baby at the end of August! Love you all!!
Sawyer (the McDonnells’ son) announces
that he will be a big brother!
David Green of Las Vegas: The month of February was truly “the month of love” for the Las Vegas Church! God gave us three baptisms, one restoration and two engagements! One of the blessed couples was Jonathan Pedraza & Bree Rangel! As well, Joel Serna & Erin Fruithof had the opportunity to attend the incredible CSA Missions Conferencein Chile, where they were engaged!
Congratulations to Jonathan & Bree!
Congratulations to Joel & Erin!
Princeton George’s dad, Mark George, was restored to the Lord and the Las Vegas Church on February 14th (Valentine’s Day)! Then followed the baptisms of Anthony, Isaac and Raven that same day!
Princeton is so fired-up to have his father –
George – back with their Father in Heaven!
Perhaps the story that touched me the most was the conversion of Isaac & his wife Raven! As many of you know our evangelist, Victor Sr. & his wife Sonia Gonzalez were baptized when they had nine children, their youngest being two months old! Similarly, Isaac & Raven have nine children, their youngest daughter only being two months old! Isaac & Raven started studying the Bible with Victor & Sonia a few weeks ago, but the Friday before the Sunday of what we hoped would be their baptism, Isaac backed down from studying.
Despite Isaac’s pride, God was obviously working in his heart. He downloaded The First Principles App and went through all the studies with his wife Raven. Saturday morning February 14th at 6:00AM, Victor received a call from Isaac saying, “We get it! We’re ready to be baptized!” Their eagerness was so evident that Victor cancelled all his plans for Valentine’s Day! Instead Victor & Sonia spent their Valentine’s Day studying the Bible with Isaac & Raven and baptized them that night at 11:00PM!
There’s no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, than showing our love to God! Please pray for Isaac’s oldest daughter, Tianna, who may be baptized this coming Sunday! To end off this “month of love,” Jonathan Pedraza proposed to Bree Rangel and she said yes! It’s truly amazing to see the miracles in the Kingdom of God!
Jeremy Ciaramella of Phoenix: Greetings from the Valley of “The Son!” In 1 John 2:14, the Word of God says, “I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” How powerful it was to see a young man “overcome the evil one,” “become strong” and have “the Word of God [living in him]!”
This Sunday, we saw this Scripture fulfilled as Jarod Piercey was baptized into Christ and joins our newly formed “Young & Faithful” Teen Ministry! His “big” sister, Destiny, was baptized in November of last year.
Sharil shared very vulnerably about how her son got so depressed that he was struggling with suicidal thoughts, and how God worked through our Campus/Teen Intern, Marvell Holder, to save his life spiritually and maybe even physically! Rod, Jarod’s father, shared his joy and vision for his son, and how today Jarod was “honoring his true Father… and me as well!” Jarod shared honestly, and with a sincere gratitude for all those who loved him and helped him come to this point – he was especially grateful to God! Tears streamed down many faces today, and even mine now as I write remembering this miracle!
Destiny hugs her little brother Jarod
after his baptism!
Jarod’s family and spiritual family
gather to celebrate!
God continues to answer our prayers, as we prayed for a record-breaking
Bring Your Neighbor Day. God blessed us as we beat out our old record with a new one of 201! Our God moved hearts during our Pledge Drive and the church is now giving over $4,300 a week! The church has also given almost 20% for early Special Missions! How amazing it is to be in the Kingdom of God to see and share in His purposes and miracles! To God be the glory!
HEADLINE NEWS – USA NW QUADRANT & CANADA
Jeremiah Clark: The last three weeks have been truly amazing in the Denver ICC! Last week, we were able to have our First Annual Marrieds Retreat entitled, All Of Me. It was one of the most impactful and refreshing Marrieds Retreats that I have ever participated in! When we came to Denver about a year and-a-half ago, we only had five married couples, and so to have nearly 20 couples at our first retreat was simply inspiring!
Denver’s Marrieds Ministry is on fire for the Lord!
Secondly, we were able to see an amazing single brother Ryan Sturgis restored to the Lord! The changes that he has made have been so evident and impactful that his parents decided to come to our Marrieds Retreat! His father has even started studying the Bible!
Lastly, some good news that absolutely fills my heart with joy to share with each of you is that I was able to fly to Oregon and visit the Mighty Eugene Church! There I was privileged to baptize my brother Brent Clark into the Kingdom of God! I remember the words of Jesus, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27) Baptizing my brother was truly a 17 year “impossible prayer” answered! To God be all the glory!
Jeremiah has his “impossible prayer” answered
when he baptizes his brother Brent!
Tim Kernan of Toronto: Dear Brothers and Sisters! I’m getting so excited about the
2015 Global Leadership Conference, which will be held at the Anaheim Hilton (777 W Convention Way in Anaheim) in sunny and beautiful Southern California! The Pre-Conference activities such as the
World Sector and Crown of Thorns Councils start on Tuesday, July 28th;
The Church Builders Workshop is Thursday, July 30th; and the Main Conference begins Friday, July 31st! We will close out on Sunday, August 2nd with an incredible worship service as Lord willing, the Spirit will send-out the Stockholm and Sacramento Mission Teams!
Of all the encouraging news in Toronto, I am most encouraged by the recent send-off of our brand new Calgary Remnant Group to be led by our very own Narciso Family! Jun & Michelle became so close to all the disciples while they were here for six months of training and encouragement. There was not a dry eye in the house as the church sent them off to break new ground for God’s modern day movement!
After training in Toronto, Jun & Michelle have
initiated the Calgary (Canada)
Remnant Group!
Also I want to commend Kevin Smellie, who recently preached an incredible Sunday sermon, for his work in our Teen Ministry! Every month we have been having great activities for our two baptized and six unbaptized teens! This weekend the teens went paintballing!
The crankin’ Toronto Teen Ministry!Last but not least, thank you to all the amazing brothers and sisters in the Eugene Church for your love and hospitality! Jason Dimitry and I are very grateful to have been able to spend a week with you!
Jason Dimitry: Good news from your family in San Francisco – 2015 has started off with a bang!! God has given us 14 additions since January 1st! Especially encouraging were the baptisms of two incredible opinion leaders Niquis and Omar at our SF State Campus!
Jason has a huge vision for Niquis as
he enters the Kingdom!
Omar as well is held in high esteem
by the SF Brothers!Also we’d like to extend a warm thanks to Chicago for sending to San Francisco Dustin & Amanda Miller, who will be taking over our East Region!
The San Francisco Church Family welcomes
the Millers to the Bay Area!
Lastly, we are so grateful for Jason, our newest Teen Disciple and the
fourth member of his family to surrender his life to Christ! It’s been a faith-building month and to God be the glory!
Ricky Challinor of Portland: Good news from the City of Bridges!!! The month of February has been outstanding as we have been able to maintain weekly additions in the church since October! God is working as the church has been able to expand not only numerically but geographically as we started a new Bible Talk in the Northeast led by Richard & Khanni Caoile, long time veterans in the church! Encouragingly they already had their first addition this last Sunday!
Of our four additions in this month, of special note is Sharon Crilly! Sharon has been coming out to church ever since Coleen & I moved to Portland almost three years ago. Her sharing was powerful as she quoted Mark 9:23, “‘If you can?’ said Jesus. ‘Everything is possible for him who believes!’” There have been many pains of the past that she has had to overcome, but Sharon’s life truly shows us that Jesus can fix anything! She was so excited for her baptism that she started laying herself back into the waters, anxious to have her sins wiped away and receive God’s Spirit!
Sharon before and after her incredible baptism!
Please continue to pray for Portland as this month as we have
Woman’s Day! We have many close to baptism and we aim as a church to raise 45% of our Missions Contribution by the end of the month!
HEADLINE NEWS – USA SOUTH QUADRANT
Mike Patterson of Gainesville: “He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents…” (Malachi 4:6) In the first nine weeks of 2015, God has allowed us to see 10 baptized into Christ! One of the highlights for me was seeing the baptism of Paul Wessels! God brings families together to be united in Christ! Paul is the father of our newly paid intern Jacob Wessels, who was our first University of Florida baptism last year! Jacob’s family is from the Catholic faith… his mom even teaches at a Catholic school! For months, Jacob earnestly shared his faith about the truth of the Bible and brought his family to church. His mom Gloria was baptized last year in November, and excitingly Paul was baptized at the beginning of February! Paul & Gloria have become “parents” to the GICC and are extraordinary servants!
The Wessel Family rejoices as they
are now united in Christ!
With the growing rate of new Christians, we decided to seek out more interns who could train with us to become effective workers for God! (Matthew 9:37-38) We had an informational meeting last Sunday for those that might be interested. We then requested those that were interested to become “unpaid interns” to participate in a “leadership campaign” where they shared their faith as much as they could with the goal being 50 a day! I was so moved by the passion and desire of so many newer disciples who want to lead in the Kingdom.
Future leaders in the Kingdom of God!
Today we announced officially our 16 unpaid interns and our three full-time paid interns: Jacob Wessels, Yinet Montesino and Amelia Gomez! Now as unpaid interns, these courageous disciples will have daily goals of sharing their faith with 20, while the paid interns have around 50 depending on the tasks given each week during our training night on Sundays. Everyone is so fired-up to do this! Our vision is to raise up an “army of interns” that in the future can go into the full-time ministry and help God’s movement evangelize the world.
Two of our unpaid interns, Ben & Christina – who lead one of the LIFE Groups/Bible Talks at UF recently had 16 visitors out – just started dating at our Campus/Singles Valentine’s Party!
Congratulations to Ben & Christina!
Also, pray for us as we get ready for the First Annual South Quadrant Campus Conference: The Awakening on March 20-22nd, as disciples come from Dallas, Houston, DC and Orlando here to Gainesville for a revival in campus ministry! Glory to God!
The First Annual South Quadrant
Campus Conference!
Tyler Sears: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19) Greetings and “Howdy Y’all” from Dallas-Fort Worth! 2015 has certainly been a “new” year for the church as we are transitioning disciples from Dallas to Arlington. During this time, the sisters in Dallas reached out to a young, talented woman who studies at Southern Methodist University – Janay. Thanks be to God that after some time she “perceived” God’s will for her life and she was baptized last Friday! We believe God is going to use her to help many students at SMU become true disciples and to see a “new” beginning take place!
Janay is the first SMU student baptized!
Lastly, we would like to thank everyone for their continued prayers for the church and ask you to keep praying for us as we have our
First Annual Women’s Day this coming Saturday! All of the women have been working so hard and are very excited to have Helen Sullivan come speak! We are so grateful to be in this battle together and to be able to see all the great
“new” things God is doing around the entire world through His movement!
Matt Sullivan: “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” (Psalm 5:11-12) Greetings from the fired up Orlando Church!
Although the last three weeks have been challenging due to the pruning yet loving hand of God, He has surrounded the Orlando disciples with His protection and guarded us as with a shield! Even through this pruning time, the Lord gave us weekly additions again in February! Amazingly, Lance Underhill was able to study with and baptize his mother, Barbara down in Tampa; Kacie (Comisford) Fligor was blown by the Spirit to be with us; and others were baptized!
One very special account is of Ashley Bryan who was met over a year ago by our fired-up Gainesville sister, June “the Baptist” as we call her… and then for a year Kiki Dudley of Orlando followed up with her. Once Ashley finally came on out, she was blown away by the love of the disciples and the hardline call to follow the Bible and not the “teachings of men!” She is now your fired-up sister in the Lord and already has her friends coming out to church and Bible Talk!
Ashley was met by June and then Keke followed up
with her for a year… Perseverence pays off as
Ashley is now your fired-up sister!
Lastly, our dear friends and amazing leaders of the UCF (60,000 students) Ministry, Marcel Turner & Tia Taylor are now dating! Miracles never cease to amaze!!! What a joy they are in the Lord!
Congratulations to Marcel & Tia!
Anthony Eckels: Houston continues to grow in number on Sundays, with almost 80 in attendance for several Sundays in a row! The AMS Bible Talk of five is averaging 25 in attendance and had their first AMS baptism, Rayshaurn Davis, a very talented artist! Ray Cholard prayed the day he met him that he would meet someone that was sincerely seeking God. After Ray prayed, he got out of his car to walk to Midweek Service. The first person he saw as he looked up was Rayshaurn, so he invited him to Midweek. He came to Midweek and immediately began studying the Bible! Rayshaurn was baptized the following Sunday!
Ray Cholard and Marc Pierre make Rayshaurn
(center) into a sold-out disciple!
Megan McMurrey, who works at the front desk of the hotel where we have church, was also baptized! William Davenport along with many others met her and when Chantelle Anderson asked her if she wanted to study the Bible, she said she would love to study every day! She had been praying to know God better and eagerly studied daily and was fired-up to get baptized last week! She is married and has a beautiful daughter!
Megan is a great addition to the Houston ICC!
Last, but certainly not least, on Saturday, we had our Women’s Day,Confidence Within! The sisters had three to one visitors to disciples who were very inspired by our guest speaker, Shay Sears from Dallas ICC! Shay shared how true confidence comes from God alone! With many prominent professionals and college students in attendance, people were blown away by the program! Elizabeth Eckels, Heather Schmidt and Chantelle Anderson shared their very different testimonies, which were phenomenal!
Heather, Chantelle, Shay and Elizabeth work together
to have a fabulous Women’s Day!
It was especially powerful to hear Chantelle share about the changes God has made in her life, as she just released her first e-book on
amazon.com entitled,
Visible Confidence. The women have many Bible studies and know that the harvest is coming soon!
Check-out Chantelle’s new e-book
on Amazon.com!
HEADLINE NEWS – EUROPE
Michael Williamson: Greetings from London, England! Paul writes,“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16) The power of God moved at the end of 2014 as Jalissa a former “Kingdom Kid,” was met on the streets of London and was baptized into Christ! Despite many satanic attacks on her faith, she invited her sister Lauren, who was actively living a lesbian lifestyle, to witness her baptism. Miraculously Lauren began studying the Bible, breaks up with her girlfriend, and is baptized into Christ! Truly the Gospel has the power to break the satanic chains gripping His people!
Lauren defies the strongholds of Satan by
the power of the Spirit!
The next week, love was definitely in the air as the church erupted in excitement at the announcement that Rebecca Martinez & Simon Oxton were engaged on Valentine’s Day!
A match made in Heaven – Simon & Rebecca!
A week later, single professional Teddy was baptized! Teddy lives in West London and has been dubbed the “Eritrean Eunuch” given his willingness and urgency to be baptized! He also recognizes that his spiritual father Laurie Vaher (an original mission team member of the London Church planting, and now on the new Stockholm Mission Team) will leave him next week, but that has not stopped him from rejoicing! (Acts 8:39)
Meet Teddy – the Eritrean Eunuch!
We also are excited about the remnant! Anita & Rene from Amsterdam have secured a flat here in London and are three weeks from landing! Also top scientist Arni Sicam also from Amsterdam, has been offered a job at University College London currently ranked fourth in the World University Rankings! God’s Spirit is moving powerfully!
And finally, this past Sunday, we baptized Lithuanian campus student Richard! Richard has received heavy persecution given his atheistic background, but emphatically declared “Jesus is Lord” after an electric Campus House Church Service!
Richard, a former atheist from Lithuania, was
baptized this Sunday!
Please say a prayer for Westminster University, as we now have a Bible Talk here! This is of course where “Jihad John” went to school. God has made it clear that campus ministry is where we must focus as a movement! Sadly, it has emerged that the University’s Islamic Society ran a Facebook page up until 2012 on which students posted violent Jihadi videos. In 2007, the former president of this violent group was convicted of terrorist offense after being caught with a blueprint for a rocket! We of course will be on this campus this week sharing our faith knowing that the Gospel has the power to save the most violent enemies of the cross! God is with us! And we have no fear!
Additionally, for a limited time offer we have “Pre-sale 2015 EMC” registration ticket prices available! The title of this years conference isGLORY! Here is the registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2015-european-missions-conference-glory-tickets-15957481256
HEADLINE NEWS – AFRICA & THE CARIBBEAN
Nick Winn of Gordon’s Bay: Greetings from South Africa! I would like to share about a restoration. Shon Sansom was baptized in 2004 and moved cities. She went through a tough divorce and really questioned God. In 2012, we met at school where Shon is the financial manager. We studied for over a year and-a-half where Shon was always eager to help reach out to many of her friends! After counting the cost this past week, Shon was restored on Thursday and overjoyed by God’s patience and forgiveness and mostly His undying love! We now are praying for Shon’s son and daughter to prayerfully become disciples soon!
Nick Winn, the Gordon’s Bay Church Leader,
will be helping the Smellies “spy out”
J’burg at the end of March!
Amadou Sountoura of Abidjan: “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest?’ I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35) The fields are indeed ripe in Abidjan with the baptism of six new disciples in the past five weeks! God added to our number Chantal, Eliane (a police officer), Eva, Denise, Fofana and Roland!
Chantal joins the Abidjan and IE Sisters in issuing
the challenge, “You will be next!”
Elaine, a police officer, has been forgiven
by Jesus and is now ready “to serve
and protect” the flock!
We are all excited to host the
First Annual African Missions Conference on the last weekend of June this year! Won’t you come join us?
Blaise Feumba – the Overseeing Evangelist of Haiti: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2) Just 18 months ago, Alexis Turgeau – a former Church of Christ Preacher – was baptized during the 2013 Global Leadership Conference! We were far to know that through him the Lord was bringing a “great light” on the entire Haitian nation! From one man, the Lord has multiplied the number of disciples to 135 and four churches in Haiti in only 18 months! Of note with the baptism of our new sister Rose Milka in Jacmel in February, the Haitian Churches have had 40 baptisms and two restorations in the six months since the 2014 Global Leadership Conference!
In the Jacmel Church, there is a
thriving Teen Ministry!
Lola Lof of Kinshasa: “‘My food,’ said Jesus, ‘is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His Work.’” (John 4:34) Greetings from the Democratic Republic of Congo! In spite of a severe political unrest where we witnessed over a hundred people killed in Kinshasa last month, the Kingdom of God kept growing with four more additions! Thomas – a police officer – and Pamela were restored in their walk with Christ!
After counting the cost, Thomas is ready to
give up everything and follow Christ!
Rachelle and Parfaite were baptized! Pray for peace in the Congo! (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Rachelle is overjoyed to be in the
light after her baptism!
HEADLINE NEWS – CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA
Jared McGee: Saludos desde la Ciudad de México! (Mexico City!) February was an incredibly inspiring month! We had two baptisms just hours before heading-off to Chile! We were so humbled and inspired to arrive in Santiago and participate in the 2015 Central and South American Missions Conference! Our gratitude goes out to the Mejias and the Mighty Santiago Church for hosting this Spirit-led and Spirit-filled event, which served greatly to further propel the missions efforts all over Latin America! Upon our return to Mexico, we went to work straightaway and today a blow was struck to the walls of Hell as Stalin Machiavelli Velasco was baptized through the efforts of the Campus Ministry! He has an interesting name, but a heart of gold for God and wants to make many more disciples at UNAM! To God be the glory!
Stalin being “raised to a new life” in Christ!
Raul Moreno of São Paulo: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1) Dearest Brothers and Sisters around the world:
The CSA Missions Conference in Santiago de Chile was amazing! Carlos & Lucy Mejia did a magnificent job leading this celebration which focused on evangelizing all of Central and South America! We had over 30 disciples from São Paulo that attended this amazing event!
Equally as exciting, was the visit of the McKeans to São Paulo after the Conference to give us great inspiration and direction!
Of note, our last two baptisms were Tuler and Marcos! Tuler works for the Air Force and Marcus is an Engineering student at USP University! We love you with the love of the Lord!
Tuler is fire-up to become an “Ambassador
for Christ!”
Marcos celebrates his salvation with his
new best friends – the USP Brothers!
Carlos Mejia: “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5) Saludos de Santiago de Chile! Our
Third Annual Central and South American Missions Conference was “utterly amazing!” God surpassed our dreams and expectations for this historic event with a total of 331 in attendance including 85 brothers and sisters from Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia and the USA! We want to thank all of the disciples for sacrificing so much to be a part of and witness what God, through His Sprit, is doing in Latin America!
Our theme, No Es Por El Poder, Ni Por La Fuerza, Sino POR MI ESPIRITU (Zechariah 4:6) was certainly the tenor of our conference! The Spirit could be felt in the fellowship and in every lesson, song and prayer that was uttered throughout the conference! I would like to share some of the highlights with you!
The 2015 CSA Missions Conference was
the best… yet!
Our opening night was simply fantastic as we were all inspired by the Audio/Visual/Live Performance presentation of “The Story of The Kingdom” which took us through the Old Testament all the way to 2015! This section culminated with a Parade of Nations as each country was represented by a disciple wearing a sash bearing the name of each country in Latin America. This brought tears to our eyes as we dreamed and visualized Jesus’ dream for all the world!
The breath-taking Parade of Nations!
Immediately following, our awesome leaders Kip & Elena shared powerfully, as only they can, about the
Good News of the Kingdom All Around the World!
We had amazing preachers and teachers from many of our churches who inspired us with their convictions and their lives. Our Kingdom Banquet was one never to forget! We shared in a traditional Chilean “Parillada” which included some mouth-watering steaks and a “tres leches” cake for dessert!
After dinner and an amazing speech by Renato Tria, we continued the sweet fellowship in a fun-filled evening at our Valentine’s Day Dance!
Renato preaches in Portuguese and Raul
translates into Spanish!
The fun PURE Dance!
At our Sunday service it was awesome to hear from our future leader of the Santiago Church and Chilean national – Alfredo Anuch – as he powerfully preached the keynote sermon, By My Spirit!
Alfredo Anuch preaches on Sunday
morning to 331 souls!
The conference ended with two restorations, three baptisms, and Jose & Daniela Otero being appointed Evangelist & Women’s Ministry Leader!
Jose, Dany and little Lorenzo Otero!
I share the sentiment that many disciples had in that I simply did not want the conference to come to an end! Because of this, we are happy to announce that in 2016, the
CSA Missions Conference will be held on February 11-14, 2016 in Santiago! The title is simply:
Para Dios Nada Es Impossible (Nothing Is Impossible For God). (Luke 1:37) I want to encourage every SoldOut Movement Church to send delegates to the conference… it will be life changing!
Finally, I would like to share that in the first nine weeks of the year, God has given us 12 additions! This week, Mabel – a beloved and recently restored sister – baptized her teen daughter, Sofia! Also our dear campus sister and “Kingdom Kid” Tatiana Gonzalez was engaged to an amazing brother and awesome intern from the San Francisco Church – Emilio Bonilla!
Emilio & Tatty are now engaged!
We are honored and grateful to be a part of God’s modern day movement and to work tirelessly to see His dream for mankind accomplished through the Spirit!
HEADLINE NEWS – PACIFIC RIM & AUSTRAL-CHINA
Joe Willis: Greetings from Sydney, Australia! It is great to have Jolisa with us for four months from the dynamic New York City Church! Jolisa is studying here and amazingly God arranged for her to be staying in halls just 20 yards from where our church meets! She is now leading the University of Technology Bible Talk with me! Also, we are grateful to the Mighty Eugene Church for sending us Jenna, who has made an immediate impact with her zeal!
Mason, Nathalie and Kerry welcome Jenna
to the “Land Down Under!”
Additionally, we have seen the launch of our “Extreme Sports Ministry” starting with “jet-boating” around Sydney Harbor… one way to soften hearts!
The X-treme Sports Ministry!
Their Bible Talk!
Congratulations to Sean & Teigan, who started dating on Valentine’s Day! Teigan was our very first baptism in the Sydney Church, and Sean – who came with us on the mission team – was one of the disciples who invited her along to Bible Talk on Macquarie University. Now they lead the Macquarie Campus Ministry together!
Congratulations to Sean & Teigan!
Of course, we continue to be excited about the Chinese Mission Team, set to go to Hong Kong in 2017! To celebrate Chinese New Year (2.19.15), we had our first Chinese Church Service as Dean “The Machine” Lam preached his first full sermon! Astoundingly, Dean did not even believe there was a God this time last year!
Dean “The Machine” Lam!
The day was made complete by watching the Chinese New Year celebrations in City Centre, showing just how many Chinese nationals that God has brought to Sydney for us to harvest!
We are so privileged also to have Jeremy & Ros Beck of Honolulu join us in Sydney! They have moved with their three young children to specifically go on the Hong Kong Mission Team! Jeremy gave up a very good job; they sold everything; and came on faith, as they only had a student visa for Ros! Yet in three weeks, God has blessed their faith and sacrifice, as they now have a house, furniture and Jeremy starts a new job on Monday! This takes the HK Mission Team to nine… and counting!
The Beck Family gave up everything to go to Sydney
and train with the Hong Kong Mission Team!
Scott Utter of Hilo: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13) Aloha from the Big Island of Hawaii! Our God is an amazing God as there have been great things happening as we focus this year on our maturity. God allowed us to restore Jody Lally and Robert Kealoha, bringing them back to our “Hilo Ohana” and watching them flourish in their relationships with God!
The Hilo Church rejoices that Robert has
returned to his “first love!”
And since our last entry in the Good News Email, our sister Cheyanne Keliihoomalu – the reigning Miss Rodeo Hawaii – competed in the Miss Rodeo USA Pageant in Las Vegas and won Miss Congeniality by showing her “faith, hope and love” and not only representing Hawaii but also God’s Kingdom!
Cheyanne wins Miss Congeniality in the
Miss Rodeo USA Pageant!
HEADLINE NEWS – USA NORTH QUADRANT & INDIA
NEWS FLASH – Ron Harding of Washington DC: Greetings from the Capital of the United States where the Holy Spirit continues to move powerfully! Since the beginning of the year we have added six precious souls, the last being Lacoya – who was joyfully baptized this last week!
Lacoya joyfully confesses, “Jesus is Lord!”
16 months ago, my son was sexually abused by his teacher, which made worldwide news. “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me [and my son] has really served to advance the gospel.” (Philippians 1:12) Through our responses to other abuses in the community, our House of Representative Delegate, Eric Luedtke, asked me to help him develop new legislature which will prevent abuse, protect victims, and have more appropriate consequences for abusers and those who don’t report abuse as required by law.
Ron with Representative Eric Luedtke!
Through this effort the Lord provided an opportunity to speak on the news and for me to give my testimony to the House of Representatives on the first of three new bills that are being developed.
Ron testifying before the House of Representatives!
Ron and his son Devon are
interviewed on TV!
Proverbs 22:6 – “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” The Lord provided a technological miracle on Sunday! Last month, I decided to have Eric Chapman preach on March 1st. To our surprise, Eric Chapman got to “PREACH THE WORD” on Honoring The Lord, the same day that his son Terrence was restored in our New York City Church! We interrupted Eric Chapman’s sermon to allow him, Jacklin and the entire congregation watch literally thousands of prayers from hundreds of people come true through our partnership with the NYC Church. We watched his restoration through Skype by projecting this event on a 250″ screen! The Lord and the technology that He allows us to have in the 21st Century are awesome!
Eric Chapman preaching on Honoring The Lord!
We are so grateful to be a part of a worldwide movement where our churches work together to encourage and strengthen one another!
Joel Parlour: Greetings from snow covered Syracuse, New York! The record cold temperatures and the over 100 inches of snow this year have not stopped the Holy Spirit from His powerful work through these awesome disciples! Since the last Good News Email on January 28th, the Lord has kept us extremely busy! We had an amazing Bring Your Neighbor Day!
Then we combined with Boston, NYC and DC for the Northeast Quadrant Marrieds Retreat! God also added to our number four very powerful baptisms! Recently, by the grace of God, many who had fallen away in the last several years are now coming back to be restored! Our Teen Ministry of three disciples had their second Teen Devotional of the year hosting 27 – of that 19 were their friends! Please pray for the harvest of baptisms and restorations that will be added very soon!
I want to share faith-building story of love and perseverance! In the year 2000, George Mak moved to Syracuse to be close to a family member. It was here that he studied the Bible and was baptized! In 2001, he reached out to a long time “girlfriend” of his, Kathy Hanam. After many months of studying the Bible, she too was baptized! George & Kathy started dating and soon after were engaged to be married. Through a rare sequence of events, the wedding was postponed several times and truly tested the faith and patience of the couple. But they stayed faithful to God’s plan and continued to give their whole hearts to God and His Kingdom!
George & Kathy when they first
started dating!
George & Kathy hold many roles in the church and have for years including being our MERCY Coordinators, George as acting President of the Board, and Kathy has served as the church administrator for many years – doing an excellent job! Since meeting in California they have always dreamed of a “wedding at the beach!” So just two days ago on a cold snowy Saturday, we decorated the hall with a “beach theme,” and so God gave them the wedding of their dreams! And after 13 long years they became one in Christ – George & Kathy Mak!
Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. George & Kathy Mak!
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers as my wife Courtney was in and out of the hospital several times two weeks ago with a dangerously severe allergic reaction. It wasn’t until this week that the hives subsided and she was feeling a little better under several medications. Unfortunately the doctors still do not know what happened. Life is so precious, and we must treat it so!
Chris Broom of New York City: Some of the highlights of February included the 2015 Northeast Marriage Retreat weekend with Jay & Barb Shelbrack of the Chicago Church as our guest speakers! Back home in NYC, the “non-marrieds” had a crankin’ Valentine’s Party of their own!
The NYC Marrieds Retreat!
The following weekend, we had our first New Member Orientation of the year, and with 10 new additions so far in 2015, we had a lot to celebrate! Seven of our 10 additions were in February, so with our goal of 100 additions for this year, we have 90 more to go! Pray for us to“bear much fruit, showing ourselves to be His disciples!” (John 15:8)
The NYC New Member Orientation was hosted
by Roger & Kama Parlour!
The NYC Staff and the 10 additions of 2015!
Jhoally Vallejo: Greetings from Boston! What a historical time to be in this great city! It has been a record setting winter with some of the most snow this city has ever seen! On many occasions the city has even been shut down due to all the storms, but that hasn’t stopped the disciples from being the light of the world!
Our first piece of good news is that God has given us an outstanding new place to meet on Sundays! God brought us right into the heart of the city at the Omni Parker House. This is such a nice and historical hotel and all the major public transportation lines are within a five minute walk. It is even where John F. Kennedy proposed to his future wife!
The new “home” of the Boston ICC – the
Omni Parker House!
Speaking of proposals… On Saturday February 21st, the Lord granted me a very special “request” as many disciples gathered together to witness my engagement to an incredible godly man, Brian Carr!
Congratulations to Brian & Jhoally!
God has also blessed us with two incredible couples to serve as Shepherds over the church here in Boston! One of the shepherds, Sal DiFusco, has served as an Associate Professor at the distinguished Berklee College of Music for the last 17 years! As he has been totally devoted to the Kingdom, God has been moving powerfully in his life and he was recently promoted to a full Professor! As you can imagine, we are very blessed to have Sal oversee our Music Ministry!
We’re also fired-up to raise our Special Missions coming up in May! Already, God has allowed us to raise close to 15% of what we plan to give! Please pray for us as many are close to the waters of baptism! Much love from Boston!
Maria Franklin from Chicago: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit; says the Lord Almighty.“ (Zechariah 4:6). We have had an inspiring month as God added four to our number by baptism! Mike was baptized from Morton College; Meaghan from University of Chicago; as well as Ahkeem and Victor in the Teen Ministry!
Ahkeem (fourth from the right) joins the dynamic
ChicagoTeen Ministry!
Of special note, our dear brother Steve Droblas, a disciple in the DC Church, prayed for his sister Ginger Droblas for 16 years. She was a single mom of three amazing children. In 2007, Ginger was baptized! Then, in 2010, her oldest, Amana was baptized at the age of 14, who was personally fruitful with four women in the last two months! A couple of weeks ago, we all rejoiced as we witnessed Victor, the youngest of the three, also added to God’s Family through the blood of Christ! What an amazing privilege to witness the perseverance of Ginger as a single mom, and all she sacrifices for God and His Kingdom! We can all be so encouraged to see the power of perseverant prayer for our families to come to Christ no matter how long it takes!
Victor joins his mom – Ginger – and his
sister – Amana – in the Lord!
We have had so much fun in the last month with our Annual Church Banquet/Talent Show, our assorted Valentine’s Parties, and finally today, to kick-off the month of March, we had our International Bring Your Neighbor Day and an international meal afterwards! It was so inspiring for the 178 Chicago disciples to have 431 people in attendance today! There were so many visitors and so much incredible food!
The Chicago Church has an incredible
431 at their BYND!
Pray for us as we follow-up and gather the harvest from this incredible day, as well as to prepare for our
Campus Sunday this upcoming weekend! We love you all!
Debs Rajan: Chennai is the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in India! So we have a huge harvest to collect! And truly, God has blessed us in a tremendous manner as we are very focused on the campus after the Winter Workshop in LA!
Loyola is one of the best colleges in Chennai. Raja, Christopher, Prathap, Maria and Sylvester are a few to mention from this prestigious college! Amazingly, in the month of February alone, we had Joel, Sagar, Stalin, Ashok and Jason become disciples from this same college!
Simon and Parthiban rejoice shortly after Sagar
makes Jesus his Lord!
Ashok is thrilled knowing his sins have
been washed away!
Also Rohit, Sylvester’s nephew, was added to the Kingdom! Under much persecution and threats from her family, Dhanalakshmi (means goddess of wealth) made Jesus the Lord of her life!
Sylvester now has his nephew Rohit
in God’s Kingdom!
As well, Lavanya, from Vels University, was inspired by her brother Samuel to enter the waters of baptism!
The Chennai Sisters welcome Lavanya (center)
into the fellowship!
Finally, we have Monisha, who had given up going to church after seeing the hypocrisy in members’ lives. Betrayed by many, she was depressed and had secluded herself from society. She started to write a book, hoping this would set her free. After publishing her book, she still felt empty and worthless. At this point, Ujen and Shefali invited her to our congregation. She was hesitant to commit herself to God, but the love of the sisters compelled her to trust God one last time. Seeing the transformation in her life, her mom came to meet the sisters and shared her gratitude at the baptism! To God be all the glory!
The Chennai Brothers and Sisters alike delight in the
Lord after Monisha’s (center) baptism!
Dear Brothers and Sisters: As we consider the call of Jesus to evangelize the world in our generation, it is inspirational to consider that Starbucks – began in Seattle in 1971 (44 years ago) – now has more than 21,000 stores in over 65 countries! Of note for this Good News Email, there are 34 Starbucks in Santiago, 20 in Sao Paulo, and 44 in Moscow! Starbucks is evangelizing the world!
Starbucks in Santiago!
Starbucks in Sao Paulo!
Starbucks in Moscow!
If Starbucks is evangelizing the world, then God’s
people with His Spirit surely can accomplish
Jesus’ dream in THIS generation!
If Starbucks – without the Spirit – can have this vision and impact, how much more can God’s people accomplish by faith because they all have His Spirit? The SoldOut Movement is in 27 nations in less than eight years… So let’s all continue to pray that God will use us to take His message in THIS generation to the
“ends of the earth!” (Acts 1:8) And to God be all the glory!
“We are family… to the end,”
Kip
