Nelson Newsletter - September 2023

 

 “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free… I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Jesus from John 8:32 & 14:6  

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ, 

UGA Outreach A few weeks ago, I met my good friend, Rich Suplita, to share the truth of the gospel with University of Georgia students. We had several quality conversations with them about how to know Christ personally. Some students were too busy to stop, while others showed genuine interest and interacted with us.

I gave Sarah (above) a copy of my book, Secure In An Insecure World, to give to her non-Christian roommate, Brittany. She was excited about having that tool to help her roommate come to Jesus! Pray for the truth in my book to speak to her heart!

I engaged in a debate with a few students with the socialist organization. They insisted that capitalism promoted greed and unfair treatment of the poor. I challenged them, “Are there not greedy socialists?” Then I spoke God’s truth to them, “Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements.”” I explained, “The problem is not our form of government as much as it is our hearts. We need our hearts to be changed! We are all greedy and only Jesus can set us free.” My words seemed to resonate with them. God was speaking truth to their hearts!

During lunch I gave a young Hispanic woman a copy of the same book, in Spanish. Yesenia is a server at a local restaurant. Rich has been building a friendship with her and sharing the gospel with her using his limited knowledge of Spanish. So, when she received my book in her language, she was elated and wanted me to sign her copy.  Please pray for these women and the students who heard the truth to repent and come to Christ. Ask God to continue   using Rich!

Illinois Update The Bible teaches us not to make light of small beginnings, “For who has despised the day of small things?”  Everything starts small. Oak trees, businesses, families, and churches all start off small. House churches start small, grow, and then multiply to stay small. It takes a different mindset and a certain amount of security for someone to start house churches. David and Stephanie are just those kinds of people! They love the Lord and have a passion to help others. The house church setting is a conducive environment for building intimate friendships and making disciples. That is exactly what they have been doing recently with a young couple they met. These new friends have not placed their trust in Jesus yet, but they are interested in spiritual things and attracted by the life they see in the Shirleys! They have been coming over to the Shirley’s home for fellowship, and discussions about current social issues where they heard God’s truth and the gospel.

Mother’s Health Mother is back home after breaking her hip, having hip replacement surgery, and several weeks in a rehab facility. We thank God for answering prayers for her recovery and keeping her encouraged through this difficult time. Her desire to trust God has been evident to all!  

                                                     Prayer & Praise

1. Rich & UGA Students Pray for Sarah, Britany, Yesenia, and all the students who heard the truth to embrace The Truth – Jesus! Pray for Rich and his wife, Mary, as they minster to students.

2. Atlanta Church Pray for us to stay active in the gospel – building friendships and sharing truth with neighbors and co-workers. Pray for solid, loving marriages and families where Christ in seen.

3. Shirleys In Illinois Pray the new couple David and Stephanie are spending time with to become Christians. Ask God to work miracles in people’s lives who are open to hearing the truth.

4. Mother Please pray for mother (she’s 97) to be safe and to stay encouraged in the Lord as she adjusts to the challenges of aging. She is a tremendous blessing to our family and her friends!

 We are thankful for you,

Steve & Danelle                                                                                                              

               

 

                                                                                                                                                                                        

wwww.reliant.org 11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32832    www.gcmnelson.com

Nelson Newsletter - August 2023

 

“But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, as the secrets of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” 1 Corinthians14:24-25

Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ,  

NYC Granddaughters Jasper (16), and Emilia Dewey (11), both came to stay with us for 3 weeks in July. Their mother, Julie, was here part of the time, but needed to return for work. It was special! Jasper is visiting colleges since she will be a senior this year. Yikes! Do we really have a grandchild that old? She visited Vanderbilt with her mother and Danelle while she was here. And she is learning to drive - braving the Atlanta traffic numerous times! She did volunteer work for both of our son’s businesses, a local church, and even shadowed an epidemiologist friend in the hospital one day. Her sister and Granddad had several deep spiritual conversations that were super encouraging to us! Please pray for all three of them to experience God’s grace and wisdom for college, new school for Emilia, and Julie’s parenting in the months ahead.

Illinois Update David met Paul playing basketball (one of David’s passions!). He invited him for dinner where they enjoyed getting to know one another. They had a good discussion about how to know Christ. Pray for Paul to get saved! Stephanie has also been visiting new (they are all new to her!) coffee shops to start friendships and share the gospel - if they don’t know the Lord. If they are believers, she invites them to visit their home for fellowship. David loves his new job at the university and Stephanie started a new year of home schooling their four children.

Virginia Church The saints in Virginia continue to take responsibility for their growth in Christ! The Shirleys remain in touch to show love, encourage their faith, and to pray for them.

Atlanta Church Last Sunday we had a couple visit us for the first time. The husband is the son of our old friends. Danelle remembers spending time with him and his mother when he was a toddler! He contacted me on Messenger to ask for help in his relationship with God. After I shared some verses related to his struggles, I invited him to join our church gathering. They came and he felt safe enough to pour out his heart during the meeting. He was not sure of his salvation. We all listened, asked him questions, and several shared how they came to know Christ to help him understand grace. He confessed his sin and asked Jesus to be his Savior right there! It was amazing and beautiful to see the Holy Spirit at work in his heart using all the saints! Read the verse again at the top of this letter.  “God is really among you!” 

                                        Prayer & Praise

1. Atlanta Church Praise God for His body working together to share the gospel with compassion! Pray for the new couple to make progress in living by faith in God, and for us to love them well.

2. Virginia Church Pray for these believers to develop their own convictions, support one another, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead them, use them, and encourage them. Ask God to give the Shirleys grace and insight on how to minister to them from a distance.

3. Shirleys In Illinois Praise God for David and Stephanie’s heart for others! Pray for Paul to be saved, more new friendships, and people to come to the Lord Jesus through this family.

4. Jasper Please pray for Jasper to be led by God to wisely choose which university to attend.

 

Yours in Christ’s unchanging love,

Steve & Danelle

                                                                                                                             

 

       

                                                                                                                                                           

wwww.reliant.org 

11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32832

 www.gcmnelson.com

Nelson Newsletter - July 2023

 

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of His body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:14-16

 

Dear Members of Christ’s Body,

Shirleys In Illinois David and Stephanie’s family now live in Illinois! Danelle and I drove out to help them settle in their new house. We even took Stephanie 3 beehives! That was an adventure! Ask us about it next time you see us. While we were there, we hung many paintings, cleaned, made repairs, played with the grandchildren, spent time with their neighbors, and encouraged their faith with the new opportunities. By God’s grace, and with your prayers, they will be fruitful in the gospel!

Virginia Church The church in Virginia, that the Shirleys started several years ago and recently left, is trying to get find their rhythm (get established) after their departure. This is a normal problem when you have one family that led strongly. Now God wants others to step up and fill the void. They need to seek God in prayer and claim His promises to move ahead by faith.

Atlanta Church We strongly encourage each member to participate in our gatherings, as the verses above from Ephesians describe. This is done for discipleship, to promote ownership of our faith, and to practice the “One Anothers” – “pray for one another,” “encourage one another,” “serve one another,” “forgive one another,” etc. On a typical Sunday we will gather for fellowship and to remember Jesus’ sacrifice with the Lord’s Supper. We worship with songs. We spend time praying for each other and for our lost friends. We pursue the “building up one another” by sharing what God has taught us in His Word that week. We read (out loud) and discuss a passage of Scripture and share personal applications. We read the same Scripture during the week on our own. We often read a book during the week and discuss a chapter on Sundays. We are currently reading A Third Of Us, What It Takes To Reach The Unreached. by Marvin Newell. We highly recommend it! Thank you for praying for us!

Prayer & Praise

1. Atlanta Church Please ask God to enlarge our hearts to love the unbelievers in our lives and to use us to bring the gospel to them. Ask God to lead us to open hears that are ready and to help us speak with confidence. Ask Him to give us deeper love for the Lord Jesus and His word.

2. Virginia Church Pray for the believers there to not give up or give in to discouragement, but to find strength and motivation in the Lord Jesus and His promises!

3. Shirleys In Illinois Praise God for David’s new job, a safe move, and new opportunities to reach out to people in Carbondale! Ask God to lead them to those who are broken and need the Savior’s healing and love. Pray for a new missional church to start gathering in their home.

Yours in Christ’s love,

Steve & Danelle

                                                                               Esther, Malachi, & Granddad                                                                   

                                                                                         Illinois Sunset

 

PS.  Please visit our blog to find our past newsletters and for more encouraging information: www.gcmnelson.com

                

                                                                                                                                         

wwww.reliant.org 11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32832    www.gcmnelson.com

Nelson Newsletter - June 2023

 

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13

Dear brothers and sisters,  

LINC in Tallahassee Danelle and I were encouraged by the faith and love we saw in the students in Tallahassee who participated in the training known as LINC (Laborers Impacting Nations for Christ). We joined them in evangelism on the campus, prayer, and fellowship. Josh, one of the students, and myself had several deep conversations with FSU students about knowing Christ. He will have numerous follow-up opportunities. Monday evening, I taught about how we are permanently sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) and the impact that can have on our security, our  confidence, and our relationship with God and others.          

  

                                                             Steve & Josh sharing Christ  

                                                                               Students with LINC                                                          

Virginia Church The church is not a building or a place to meet, it is the body of Christ. Every believer is placed into the body of Christ (spiritual baptism), the church, when they repent and choose to trust what Jesus did for them on the cross to pay for their sin. The moment they believe they are made completely new in Christ. They are forgiven, loved, and given the Holy Spirit to empower them to do all God asks them to do. Water baptism is symbolic step of obedience and a time of celebration for the new believer and the local church family. The church in Virginia recently celebrated with five new believers being baptized! How exciting for these saints!

Shirleys In Illinois As we wrote last month, David, Stephanie, and their four children are leaving Portsmouth, VA and moving to Carbondale, Illinois in a few days. Danelle and I will be driving out to help them get unpacked and settled in their new home. David’s passion is to be an excellent example of Christ at the University and they both want to see faculty, students, professors, and community people turn to Christ. They are asking God to begin a new house church with whom they can make disciples and start other churches. The need the grace of God.

Prayer & Praise

1. LINC Praise God for the students who heard the gospel! Pray for the follow up to be fruitful with more students turning to Jesus. Pray they would learn how to be His disciples and connect with the church there.

2. Virginie Church Please pray for the leadership and for everyone to continue to love people and share the gospel, disciple one another, and to be protected from evil. Pray for God to give the Shirleys grace to continue shepherding their friends from a distance and be devoted to praying for them.

3. Shirleys Move To Illinois Please pray for David, Stephanie, and their four children to have safe trip to Carbondale, IL. Ask God to help them adjust and begin loving people there. Pray for people to respond to Good News of Jesus and for a new church to start. David has started his new job which will provide more opportunities for influence for the gospel. Thank you!!

  Yours in Christ’s love,

Steve & Danelle   

                                                                                                                                                                   wwww.reliant.org 11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32832    www.gcmnelson.com

 “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 7:35

Dear friends of the ministry, 

Virginia Church We have some exciting news! Our son-in-law, David Shirley, got a new job at Southern Illinois University working in the administration. Praise God! He is thrilled about this career opportunity! David, Stephanie, and the four children, will be leaving Portsmouth and moving to Carbondale, Illinois. It is never easy to leave friends you have loved and been close with., but the church they started will continue their undistracted devotion to Lord and to function as His family. Several members have already voiced their commitment to carry on. The Shirley’s want to maintain these precious relationships and to encourage these saints from a distance. They also want God to use them to start churches in their new location.

Anniversary Celebration Danelle and I got married on May 10, 1975, in Clemson, South Carolina. Herschel Martindale presided over the service that was attended by members of our new church and family. God has transformed many lives in the past 48 years, including ours! He has been our constant companion, enabling us to secure undistracted devotion to Him. We certainly have had our ups and downs, doubts and fears, failure, and success. Through it all, He has been faithful to forgive, refresh, and renew us! He has given us 7 beautiful children and 21 awesome grandchildren to love and enjoy! We are excited about working with the Lord!

Danelle and I took a few days to celebrate 48 years together as husband and wife. We visited Providence Canyon near Columbus, Georgia. We took time to look back at how God answered some of our prayers. We also discussed what He wants to do through us in the future and then committed our plans to Him. We want to finish well the race Christ has for us!

Prayer & Praise

1. Virginia Church Please pray for the entire church to continue to love people and share the gospel, disciple one another, and to be protected from evil. Pray for the Shirley’s to receive God’s grace to continue to shepherd their friends from a distance and to pray for them.

2. Family News Please pray for David and Stephanie to sell their house in Virginia soon and for their big move to Illinois next month. It is a 13-hour drive with Stephanie’s bees and chickens joining the journey - of course! David starts his new job June 1^st.

Please join Danelle and I in praising God for His unfailing love and grace in our marriage and family! With the Holy Spirit’s power, and your love, support, and prayers, we will continue to fight the good fight of faith!

  Yours in Christ’s love,

Steve & Danelle  

 Danelle and I (back row, right) attended my 50^th high school reunion –  a few years later, thanks to Covid! North Springs High School Class of 1970. It was fantastic to meet so many Christians!

Nelson Newsletter - April 2023

 

“Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful.” Titus 3:14

 

Dear People of God, 

Danelle and I are learning to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs. That means being flexible, noticing pressing needs, and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us - even if that means changing our plans. “In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns.” 1 Corinthians 14:31-32

Virginia Church (April 4-7) Danelle and I saw God working in many ways during our visit with David and Stephanie’s family ( first photo) and their church in Portsmouth, Virginia. We met Wednesday evening for dinner with some of the church members. As many of you have experienced, sickness kept some families with children from attending. We still enjoyed fantastic fellowship and a 3-hour discussion about salvation! Sarah (second photo, she is in the middle with her hair up) became a Christian a few weeks ago. Her husband, Josh, asked sincere question after question trying to understand the gospel. Everyone was a part of the discussion about salvation by works vs. grace! Danelle and others shared their testimonies as well, which were relevant to the theme of grace. It was beautiful to see the entire body at work meeting pressing needs! Thank you for praying! God hijacked the time, as I had planned to teach but sensed His Spirit leading to meet pressing needs! I’m so glad I listened to Him and did not insist on my plans!

Atlanta Church. Our 12-week Bible study of faithfulness was fantastic! Each member took a week to share verses they chose, either about God’s faithfulness or our faithfulness, and then they led the discussion on Sunday. Pressing needs were met each week as the saints shared their struggles, cried together, and prayed for one another! It was powerful!

 

Prayer and Praise

1. Atlanta House Church Pray that we would all walk with God during the week, praying for one another, loving our family, and reaching out to unbelievers with the truth of Christ, so that when we assemble, we will come to encourage, to edify, and to meet pressing needs.

2. Family News We celebrated the Risen Christ with a family dinner at our house. Including Grandmother, we had 24 assembled. Small for us. 😉 Praise God for His love for mankind! He loved sinners and sent His Son to die for us and offer us new life! Jesus engaged in the ultimate good deed to meet pressing needs when He died on the cross for our sin and rose triumphant!

3. Virginia Church Please pray for Josh to understand his inability to save himself and repent and turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation. Pray for Sarah to continue growing in her love for God’s word and desire to follow Him.  Pray for the entire church to keep reaching out to unbelievers, as well as building one another’s faith. We can help meet these pressing needs through our prayers!  

  Yours to meet pressing needs,

Steve & Danelle                     

                                                   

                                                                                                                           wwww.reliant.org  

11002 Lake Hart Dr, Suite 100, Orlando, FL 32832                    www.gcmnelson.com