"And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd."
John 10:16
Friends of Good Shepherd,
Greetings in the name of our beloved Savior Jesus Christ. We are eager to share with you the Lord's continued faithfulness to Good Shepherd as we have entered into another year of ministry. As always, we thank our God for you and your prayers on our behalf.
Reminder and Clarification
First, we want to remind those of you who have been financially supporting us for the past three years that we do NOT require your continued financial support. The Lord has abundantly provided for us, and we believe we have enough saved to cover our expenses until we are able to meet our budget through tithing. We feel like Moses telling the Israelites to stop bringing contributions for the tabernacle because they had more than enough. THANK YOU for your gracious and generous support, but please use those funds to serve God's kingdom elsewhere.
General Praises and Prayer Requests
We are thankful for a season of numerical growth in our church. In March we will have another New Members Class, since we have at least four new families looking to join Good Shepherd. We also have had several recent visitors who have returned and seem interested in our ministry. This is encouraging, but we are also learning how to function as a larger body. As you can imagine, there are growing pains. Please pray for us to shepherd the flock well and maintain the sense of unity and community we have enjoyed.
We are starting a blog on our website, so Devon will send periodic emails from this email account to let you know when there are new posts.
Our first Equipping Course will soon be wrapping up. The class has actually grown over the weeks and included people from outside the church. This has been a refreshing and strengthening time. Participants in the class have repeatedly mentioned how they are using what they have learned in their everyday lives. It is a joy to see God's people grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. In May, when the class is over, we will move to having a prayer service every other Sunday night. Then, in September, we will begin having weekly evening services in addition to our morning services. Please pray for these transitions.
Ryan Potter, who is leading our ministry efforts at Western Michigan University, has begun meeting one-on-one to read the Bible with a couple of students. We are so excited to see the beginnings of what we pray will be a fruitful campus ministry. Please pray for him and the students, and please pray for more students to be receptive to his invitations.
Please continue to pray for Devon Rossman and his family as Devon attends seminary, learns pastoral ministry, and serves in various ways. They are running hard but well, so please pray for endurance.
Many in our congregation have been hit with seasons of painful providence recently, including losing jobs and receiving frightening medical diagnoses. Please pray for the Lord's provision and comfort, and that this suffering would be sanctified to them and not wasted. Pray for our church to love one another as Christ has loved us.
Leandra has continued to faithfully lead our women in various book and Bible studies. This year she is seeking to more intentionally raise up and train other women to lead. She has also been faithfully discipling various women in the church. Please continue to pray for her. I will never cease to be amazed at the grace of God which is so powerfully evident in her life.
Please also pray for some people in our lives who we are sharing the gospel with. A couple of weeks ago, the husband of the family who lives next door to us texted me and asked to get together. We have had the family over for dinner and invited them to church (they have never attended). They are going through a very difficult time, and the husband said he didn't know who else to turn to. I was able to meet with him for an hour, share the gospel, and offer to meet more regularly. Please pray for this relationship and the salvation of our neighbors. Leandra has also been sharing the gospel with one of her co-workers at the Animal Clinic. Please pray for more opportunities and receptiveness to the gospel.
As a general family update, Brielle just turned 7, and Corin is about to turn 5. Talitha is a two-year-old teenager who keeps us on our toes. Leandra has been homeschooling the kids, which is going quite well. We are so thankful to see the growth of our children and how well they are doing in this church planting context. Please pray that we would continue to raise them as disciples of Jesus Christ and shepherd their tender hearts. They are immense gifts from the Lord, and we desire to be faithful stew