Worship Services or Worshippers?

Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. John 4:20

I receive much of my inspiration while praying and worshipping God when I am running with my daughter Grace. Early one Saturday morning while running along the river, we discussed how we sometimes equate worship to a limited period of time, a specific place, or an event that must be led by a specific person. Do you ever wonder why these are conspicuously absent in the New Testament?

The Samaritan woman embraced this view of worship: "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." But Jesus gently corrected her: "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father" (John 4:20-21).

You are a worshipper-always, everywhere you go. Don't be fooled into thinking that your relationship with God must be limited to a few hours a week at a certain place, led by a special group of people. It is who you are!

Nelson Newsletter August 2014

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out!
    Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. Psalm 107:2

Greetings Dear Saints! We pray that you are telling others Christ has redeemed you! Danelle and I have had many opportunities to “speak out” to believers and unbelievers alike this summer. Thank you for making this possible through your support and prayers. Some of the highlights…

LINC Danelle and I taught the students in the Atlanta LINC program, our third LINC this year. Their enthusiasm for our Lord, and their desire to bring others to Him was contagious. Steve enjoyed teaching the Orlando staff and interns (photo above)) about the church, one of his passions. Not sure what Mark Groff was smiling/laughing about in the photo below. –

Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

1. Praise God with us for Kevin’s spiritual growth! We meet weekly to read the word and pray. He told me last week while we studied Paul the apostle, that he was so thankful for God sending me as an apostle to him. I am too! Thanks to you all for making this possible. Please continue to pray for Kevin to develop a heart for others.

2. Danelle and I had a delightful time this summer with our daughter Julie, and granddaughters, Jasper and Dewey from New York (photo right). Danelle was able to help Julie continue her sewing business, while we all had times to go for walks, swimming, and even a trip to the beach with Scott and Maria’s family. We miss them already.

 

3. Our daughter, Meredith, has a new job starting next month! It is only a temporary job with her current employer Habitat for Humanity, she will have more income, and it could lead to permanent employment. Merry thanks God for His provision!

4. Danelle and I have been able to Skype weekly with Katia in Spain and Rocio in Mexico! As many of you know, we lost touch with Rocio (photo below) for months after she returned home to her daughters. Both of these women are young believers and need your prayers for growth and to lead their families to Christ. Please pray for God to give us wisdom to build into them, and for local fellowship.

Yours on mission,

Steve and Danelle

Nelson Newsletter–July 2014

Orlando LINC Danelle and I had a delightful time with the students in Orlando last week. It refreshes our hearts to see young people who are serious about following Jesus and sharing their faith with others. We joined them several times to meet UCF students, and tell them how to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God gave us many quality conversations with students open to the gospel. I also taught several seminars. Please pray for those we met, and others they will contact this summer, to experience God’s love from a new birth.

Kevin. Danelle and I left Orlando left Orlando on Saturday morning in time to join our house church for a special evening event. Our new brother in Christ, Kevin Ware, was baptized June 14^th in the Chattahoochee! He obeyed the Lord while our house church, and his girlfriend Victoria, gathered to support and celebrate. We praised & thanked our risen Savior, who continues to forgive sinners and give them new life - eternal life! Then we enjoyed sweet fellowship during a cookout at Grace and Ward’s place on the river.

   

GCC Pastors Conference I joined several hundred pastors in Kansas City for our annual pastor’s conference. Josh McDowell (on left) came to speak to us about communication. Josh was instrumental in my becoming a Christian in Clemson 41 years ago. Danelle and I heard him speak about the family in Ukraine (right) about 6 years ago when we served there as missionaries.

                             

Prayer Requests

1. Please continue to pray for Kevin’s spiritual growth, and for his desire to share Christ with his friends and family.  Pray for Kevin and Victoria to serve God and others together.        

2. Pray for our time with our daughter, Julie, and granddaughters, Jasper and Dewey. They will be visiting in Georgia for 6 weeks.                                                            

3. Pray for our house church to grow deeper in our devotion to Christ, one another, and the lost.

Yours on mission,

Steve and Danelle

Timmy’s Testimony

The Good News I Have Discovered On My Journey Through Life

If you have this piece of paper in your hands, it is because somehow our paths crossed. If time allowed, there is some good news that I would like to sit down and talk about with you, and with everyone I meet.

This good news was announced by an angel over two thousand years ago- “Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David's town your Savior was born—Christ the Lord!”

Like many people, I heard about Jesus Christ from the time I was a child. I understood that he was a very significant person of history because even our calendar is based on the time of his birth. However, it was not until later in life that I understood clearly that Jesus is much more than a historical figure. When he walked the earth, Jesus said that He was God become man. He said that by watching him, you were actually seeing what God is like. It was a monumental and eye-opening discovery for me to realize that in reading the words of Jesus and seeing the actions of his life, I could understand the character of God and the purpose for which he made me.

Let me share with you just a few of the important observations I made. Jesus was loved by and considered a friend of “the sinners”, but was despised by many of the religious people. Why? The religious people wanted to make sure they would be in heaven one day, and they thought that by their own moral behavior and good works they could guarantee themselves a spot.

Jesus explained that it was impossible for any man to earn eternal life, and that in reality God was proposing much more than just everlasting life in a beautiful place. Jesus said that eternal life is a relationship with him that can begin now and will last forever and that will satisfy the deepest longings of your soul, because it is the purpose for which you were made. Jesus said that anyone can have this real life if they would simply turn from their sin (living life independent from God and contrary to his desires) and come to him in humility and dependence. Jesus life and message was good news for even the worst of sinners because they realized no matter how bad they had lived, they could come to Jesus and he would forgive them of their sins and transform their lives.

The Bible is full of stories of how needy and broken people turned to Jesus and how he transformed their lives. He is alive today and he is still transforming lives. He changed my life when I discovered more than thirty years ago the good news that Jesus came to this earth and became the Savior and friend of all who would truly trust in him- by his perfect life, by his death on the cross to pay for our sins, and by his resurrection from the dead.

I wish I could sit down and tell you more about the good news that Jesus loves you and he wants to give you real life. Please feel free to write or call me if you have an interest in hearing more.

Timmy Powers

(614)619-3507

timmy.powers@gcmweb.org

Nelson Newsletter–June 2014

Spain Mission Danelle and I had an excellent mission trip to Pamplona, Spain. Thank you for interceding on our behalf! Please pray now for the dozens of college students and others who heard the gospel to respond to God’s voice. A personal relationship with God was foreign to most of them. Steve taught on The Word, The Church, and Conflict Resolution to the LINC team. The “Finding the Love of Your Life” weekend seminar impacted lives. The three discussion sessions after each part proved to be beneficial for practical application of the truths. We also had numerous informal counseling sessions that God initiated and led.

                                                                                     

Dom Baptizing Iris, a Chinese student.

One such miraculous God-ordained meeting was through AJ Ozanich, one of the college students on our team. AJ met Oksana, a Ukrainian woman, near our apartment one Sunday morning. With his limited Spanish, he told her that there were some Russian speaking people on our team. She came to the Spanish church service where we met her briefly. We arranged a meeting with her the next day, and she brought her good friend, Katarina. Danelle and I were amazed at their hunger for God and His word! God gave us grace to speak with them in Russian. J We met with them four times, each time having deep discussions about how to grow in Christ, their marriages, and getting to know them.

Kevin Here is a photo of our friend Kevin, who recently trusted Christ. This picture was taken after dinner and Bible study at our house. He will be baptized June 14^th in the river! Then our house church will celebrate with a party at Grace and Ward’s place.

                                                                                                                    

Kevin and Steve after Bible study

Orlando LINC Next week we will be in Orlando to help Mark Groff and the students with the LINC program from June 10-14. This will be similar to the training and outreach in Spain. We will teach several seminars and share the gospel at the university and do outreach through sports. We covet your prayers.

Timmy’s Testimony Read how the good news of Jesus Christ transformed Timmy Powers’ life. This month’s featured testimony tells Timmy’s journey through life where he discovered that Jesus was much more than a historical figure. I for one am very thankful that he did, and because of his relationship with Jesus Christ, we have been close friends and coworkers for 25 years! Enjoy Timmy’s story and share it with others!

                                                            Prayer Requests

Spain Follow Up   

1. Pray for Iris (pictured) when she returns to China in July, because she does not know any Christians in her city. Pray for fellowship, continued growth, and courage. Her parents aren’t happy about her new faith.

2. Pray for Oksana and Katarina as they both have difficult family situations. Pray that we would be able to Skype regularly with them to study the Bible together. Pray they would find Ukrainian speaking Christians in Pamplona.

3. Pray specifically for Tomas, Eduardo, Echum, Filipe, Isabelle & Andor to become followers of Christ.

4. Pray for Serg, Martin, Maria and Julio, Filipe (a different one) to continue to mature in Christ.

5. Pray for Dom & Domaris Marrone and their three children to rest in God’s grace as they serve as missionaries in Pamplona. Pray that they would see breakthroughs with Spaniards coming to faith in Christ.

Orlando           

Pray for the team of students who are already there to be good testimonies at their workplace. Ask God to save students and others, and to unite them with the church. Finally, pray for us to be effective communicators and loving servants while we are there.

Yours on mission,

Steve and Danelle

Nelson Newsletter–May 2014

David’s Testimony This month we feature David Shirley’s story of how he came to faith in Christ. We all have questions about the meaning of life and God always answers us if we ask with sincerity. Enjoy reading how God spoke to David, our son-in-law, and answered his questions, even those he was not asking initially, but those that we must all come to grips with.

Spain Mission Danelle and I leave on Wednesday, May 14^th for our mission trip to Pamplona, Spain. God provided our expenses through you. Thank you! Please pray for us as we will be sharing the good news with college students at a local university, as well as teaching our team, and having an outreach seminar, “Finding the Love of Your Life” with Steve’s book (now in Spanish). We return June 2^nd. (We don’t plan to run with the bulls this year!)

Kevin It has been a pleasure to help this young man grow as a new Christian. Today, as I write this letter, he is one month old in the Lord. Please pray for him to continue to see his need for reading the Bible, seeking God, fellowship, and following Christ in baptism. Danelle and I had a fantastic Bible study with him and his girlfriend last night and he wants to get baptized!

Orlando LINC Shortly after our return from Spain, we will travel to Orlando to help Mark Groff and the students with the LINC program from June 10-14. This will be similar to the training and outreach in Spain. We will teach several seminars and share the gospel at the university and do outreach through sports.

                                                                        Prayer Requests

1. Spain Pray for God to love through us and bring many into a personal relationship with Him. Ask God to use us to build the local church & our team. Pray for strength, health, & safe travels.

2. House Church Pray for our growth and compassionate outreach to unbelievers.

3. Orlando Pray for the team to be prepared to serve others and love unbelievers. Pray for Danelle and I, for stamina, and that our teachings would be life transforming and helpful.

Yours on Christ’s mission,

Steve and Danelle

Nelson Newsletter–May 2014

David Shirley’s Story

At an early age I began questioning some simple things. For example, why did I need to wear anything but pajamas, why couldn’t I play in the room with the nice furniture, and why couldn't I eat candy for every meal? As I got older, things started to make sense through explanations like culture (why no pajamas), finance (nice furniture was expensive), and science (candy diet..yikes). But, as I got into college I still could not answer questions that were beyond any human explanation: What would really happen after death? Is God real? Many times, these questions would even keep me awake at night.

I was raised attending church, listening to church music, and believing there was a God. But  as I got older, did it still not make sense. I started a full investigation of the things I believed. After about a year of reading the Bible, great philosophers, and historical books, I began to see things differently. The Bible (John 1:3) claims that all things were created by God, and without God nothing exists. An engine alone isn’t enough to describe a car. If God is the greatest and biggest of all things, then I can’t expect science or even my own intellect to be enough to explain or prove God. Instead of dismissing the idea of God, or questioning who God was, I began to ask what He wanted. The crazy part was, I found God only wanted me to love Him. Because God was perfect, I realized that I wasn’t. I had a tendency to make a mess of my life. I lied, got jealous, and the list went on.

But, God said there is a way for me to be free of my wrongs and be worthy to have a relationship with Him! God wants all people to experience forgiveness of their wrongs (sins) and believe that through Jesus’ we can be free from God’s judgment and our guilt, and can truly love God! (see 1Timothy 2:4 & John 10:9) Now, I know this could sound strange, but this free gift from Jesus changed my life and truly answered my questions about God!

Even questions like, if God is really good, then why is there: evil in the world, natural disasters, or people doing horrible things? Maybe you have faced these questions too. Here is a favorite quote I remember when I contemplate these questions.

“When we begin an argument with ‘Well, I wouldn’t believe in a God who would…’ Who would what? Do something that you wouldn’t do? Or think in a way that’s different from the way you think? Do you ever even consider the possibility that God’s sense of justice is actually more developed than yours, and that His love and mercy are perfect, and that you could be the one that is flawed?” Does it even enter your mind that maybe He knows something that you don’t? Or, is it always ‘I have this ability to reason and I have this level of morality, so something in Him must be off here and I won’t believe in Him.’”

I hope that my short story can give you some hope as you investigate your own questions. The good news is that there is a way to live without guilt, with purpose, and not trust in things that disappoint and will only disappear when we die. We must place our hope in Jesus and follow Him!

If you would like to chat more, please send me a text or an email! Thanks for reading!

- David Shirley

Davidgarfieldshirley@gmail.com