Continued Christmas Blessings (Dec 21, 2009)
We are still feeling ripples from our annual Christmas at Grace rallies. Yesterday, three precious people, who were saved during Christmas at Grace, came forward to follow the Lord in believer's baptism. We are delighted to tell their stories.
The first is Latifah Foy. Latifah came to our teen rally last Friday at Hollywood Connection. She fell under conviction through the preaching of Evangelist Adrian Burden and was among the 43 teenagers who prayed to receive Christ that night. Yesterday, it was my privilege to plunge Latifah beneath baptismal waters as she took her stand publicly for Christ. Amen!
Our second baptism yesterday was the public identification of Johnny Wiggins. Johnny was one of the many men who attended our Sunday service from the Valley Rescue Mission. Johnny fell under conviction last week and walked the aisle to receive Christ as Savior. What a privilege to baptize him yesterday! There were many excited people at Grace to see these two precious souls return and take their stand publicly for Christ.
In addition to these two baptisms, we also witnessed last night the baptism of Trevor Lutsch. Trevor accepted Christ at the conclusion of the Sunday morning service last week, and it was a privilege to baptize this young man yesterday.
Though most of the soldiers have left post, we were able to have one Bible study on base Monday night. It was attended by 81 soldiers, fifteen of whom stood to receive Christ as Savior at the invitation. Amen! At a seperate service, another seven men prayed to receive Christ Monday night at the mission. Amen again!
Derick Tyson visited Grace for the first time yesterday. He was moved by the Holy Spirit to come forward and give his heart to Christ. Praise the Lord! Several others raised their hands indicating their need to receive Christ but did not pull the trigger. Pray for us as we follow up with these contacts this week.
Last night, the sanctuary choir of Grace Baptist Church presented their annual Christmas cantata. This thirty-five minute presentation was filled with God-glorifying music. A special thanks to Pastor Powell and our gifted musicians who worked so hard to make it a special night.
In addition to the cantata, Mark Liedtke, our Spanish Pastor, presented the field of Belize. He and his wife Brenda were recently approved by BIMI, and it is our privilege to be their sending church. We officially added them to the missionary budget last night, making them the 159th missionary of Grace Baptist Church. Praise the Lord!
As you know, God promises to bless financially the local church that is committed to missionary outreach. As we continue to add missionaries, God continues to bring water from the rock. Our Christian school, as is true of many Christian schools, is struggling financially in this turbulent economy. Last week, God intervened and sent us over $12,000 of designated funds for the school from outside sources. Amen!
Prayer has certainly made a difference this week, and we request that you continue to send God some knee-mail on our behalf.