Author: Believers Church

June 13, 2022 Believers Church

Our little fellowship has officially made it to June. You know what that means: no snow for at least three months (probably)! This is a big deal for us up here in the North. So, we’ve packed up our parkas, pulled out our Chacos and set our sights on getting out in the community. 

Here’s what we’ve been up to.   

One heck of a rummage sale

Almost every year, we look at each other and say: I don’t know if we have enough stuff for another rummage sale. Then we all go home, rifle through our closets, purge our basements and, sure enough, we were wrong. We have enough! After a few donations from friends outside the church, our pews were packed with many well-loved items just waiting for a new home and we were able to have our annual spring rummage sale. 

It was a rainy day, and we were concerned that the weather would keep people from coming. But it actually had the opposite effect. We were steady all day and able to meet folks from all over the city. In the end, God let us raise a bunch of money for missions, and we even made it on the evening news (no joke). As always, it was a really great opportunity to spend time together, make memories and work hard to further the Kingdom in a way that’s pretty unique. 

Matthew on Sundays, mixing it up on Wednesdays 

On Sundays, we’re continuing to move through Matthew. We’ve covered Jesus being tempted, choosing His disciples and now we’re moving into His sermon on the mount. It’s been both challenging and encouraging to focus on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as we look for ways to apply what we’re learning about Him to our daily lives. 

For Wednesday nights, we’ve been talking about the previous Sunday’s message. This is a great way to continue thinking through what we learned. For the summer, we’re going to change things up a bit, which is always fun. We’ll rotate between a traditional church service, small group discussions and men’s/women’s groups. 

Prepping for Park Point

Setting our sights towards the near future, we’ve been getting ready to serve coffee and other treats at the Park Point Rummage Sale. This is a huge event for Duluth, and we’re pretty excited to get to participate another year. Basically, it’s a 4-mile long rummage sale starting from the Lift Bridge going all the way down Park Point. We’re looking forward to the chance to meet more people, spend time together and see what God will do!

If you’ve been praying for us, thanks very much. If you haven’t, you’re always welcome to start. Here are some things we’d love prayer for: 

  • A heart for the people of the Twin Ports
  • Ideas for and opportunities to meet people 
  • Continued fellowship and unity in our group
  • Wisdom for our leaders 
  • Staying close to Jesus individually 

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading our update. God’s been really good to us and I’m already looking forward to all the things we’ll have to tell you about next month.

June 10, 2022 Believers Church

Henry was born into a world beneath the Earth’s surface void of any light. He stumbles around in pitch blackness navigating the underground tunnels entirely by touch, accustomed to collisions and falls from a lack of sight. Having grown up in this subsurface underworld, having no knowledge of surface-dwelling this individual is entirely unaware that they are missing out. Light is a foreign concept because the darkness is all he has ever known. Any rumors of light allowing something called “sight” that drift down to this subterrestrial existence that they may have heard about are entirely not understood. Henry is blind and he doesn’t even know it. 

Scripture indicates that this is not too far from reality for much of this world. Apart from Christ, our only option is to dwell in the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13). God says that not only are unbelievers living in darkness but that they actually are darkness (Ephesians 5:8). And like this fictional child, they don’t even know it. They are blind without even realizing it. They stumble through life unaware of what they are missing out on. Unbelievers are left in this condition until the light of Christ crashes into their existence and brings sight to the blind in a very real way.

Light breaking in

Eventually, a sliver of light breaks through the ceiling and shines down into the underworld and unknown sight is gained. It is foggy, blurry, and dim, but finally, a ladder leading up to the surface can be spotted. Henry doesn’t understand what is happening, but he now knows there is so much more to this world than he has ever known. So he climbs the ladder and with every step, the world gets brighter and brighter. After much squinting and pausing to allow his unaccustomed eyes to adjust to the sight he pushes his way up to the Earth’s surface.

When the light of Jesus breaks through the darkness of this world it can’t be ignored. For the first time sin is seen for what it really is. For the first time truth is seen, believed, and understood. The reality of God and the reality of our own condition can no longer be ignored because it is sitting right in front of us. The truth is not always pleasant, but we can no longer close our eyes to its presence.

A whole new world

Henry can’t believe his eyes the world is so much more than he had ever experienced before. It was beautiful. It was terrible. He never knew that this was reality. He had thought the tunnels he had spent years traversing were all there was, but it turns out there is so much more. It seemed as though everywhere he looked there was evidence that things were not right. His years in the tunnels had never shown him anything like this before. 

Before the light of Christ, we are living in ignorance. We are totally unaware that this world is broken. We have no idea of the existence of our perfect God nor the reality of our sinful condition. We are living blind to the real beauty of this world and also painfully unaware of our own condition. Living in real light changes all of that.

Is it worth it?

At times as Henry traverses this new world of light, he wishes he was still in darkness. It seems like it would have been easier to stay below the surface. He sees things he would rather not see. The reality that he can no longer avoid, is so unpleasant that he would like to close his eyes to it. He sees his reflection and he is not as attractive as he might have wished. At times he is even tempted to go through this sunny surface world with blinders in front of him. He desires to run from the light back to hide in the shadows. But he can’t. His eyes have been opened and no matter how hard he might try to close his eyes to this reality he cannot. He now has the light of the world. And the truth is, although his life is now more complicated than ever, and he can see all sorts of scary things, he wouldn’t trade it for the world, because closing his eyes to those things doesn’t make them go away. Now Henry can see real life.

Sometimes Christians don’t want to live in the light as they should. Instead, we try to slink back into darkness. The light of Jesus is too bright and we want to remove ourselves from it. It shines on us and shows all of our imperfections and we don’t like that. It would be ridiculous to close our eyes to the light once it has come into our life. If you are a Christian you are to live in the light. You cannot go back into darkness. And that light will show you just how broken this world really is. It will even show you just how broken you are. Be glad you can see it. Don’t close your eyes to it. Seeing it means you can see real life.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) Jesus is the light of the world. You don’t have to live in a world without light.

June 1, 2022 Believers Church

This last month we have been discussing the practice and purpose of personal and community “Spiritual Check-Up”. We’ve looked at common ways Satan blinds us, the doors we leave open to the enemy, and how we can keep those doors shut. Through these teachings, along with reading “The Christian in Complete Armour”, my attention has been keenly focused on our spiritual well-being, our enemy, and our need to fight.

Our Spiritual Well-Being…

We’ve looked at the following common ways Satan blinds us, hampering our spiritual well-being:

  • Spiritual Delusional Disorder (i.e., we can’t tell what’s real from what’s imagined)
  • Spiritual Switzerland (i.e., we look for a middle ground, a compromise, safety)
  • Comfort and Lethargy (i.e., we have too much to lose)
  • Isolation (i.e., we take our church community foregranted)
  • No Joy, Peace (i.e., we look for happiness in worldly things, rather than Joy and Peace in Christ)
  • Lack of Discipline (i.e., we are tired, don’t want to hold the hard line anymore)

Our Enemy…

We also looked at the doors we leave open, that our enemy exploits:

  • An uncontrolled tongue (Proverbs 18:21, Proverbs 13:3, James 1:26, James 3:5-6)
  • An uncontrolled imagination (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)
  • Fears (Philippians 4:6-7, 1 John 4:18, 2 Timothy 1:7)
  • Sinful Habits (Ephesians 4:26-27, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Mark 7:20-23)
  • Stubbornness (Proverbs 29:1, Psalms 81:11-12)
  • Emotional Hurt (Proverbs 15:13, Hebrews 12:3)
  • Anger (Psalms 37:8, Proverbs 14:29)
  • Rebellion (1st Samuel 15:23, Psalms 68:6)
  • Unforgiveness (Hebrews 12:15)

Our Need to Fight…

We can’t avoid the fight if we are Christian (2nd Timothy 3:12, Acts 14:22). The enemy is coming, whether we ask for it or not (Genesis 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8). Paul puts it this way,

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)

First, this fight is addressed to a community: “my brethren… For we”. There is an aspect of fighting in which we are all in this together. None of us is exempt. We fight with and for our brothers and sisters.

Second, this is personal: “we wrestle”. As William Gurnall puts it,

“Wrestling is primarily a ‘one-on-one’ contest where one opponent singles out another and enters into an arena with him… Each wrestler exerts his whole force and strength against the other… Each contestant is the sole object of his challenger’s fury.”

“Wrestling is close combat… wrestlers grapple hand-to-hand… When Satan comes after you, he moves in close, takes hold of your very flesh and corrupt nature, and by this shakes you.”

Third, God gives us the tools to win: “be strong in the Lord… and the power of His Might”. But it’s on us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand...“

Are We Ready…?

If we are going to be any good at this, preparation is required. Let’s examine ourselves in light of the above:

  • Am I strong in the Lord… and the power of His might? (i.e., Does He come through victoriously for me in the battle… Or do I give in to my flesh?)
  • Do I put on the whole armor of God? (i.e., Do I read, study, and meditate on His word… Do I pray and seek to remember his directions, so I can quickly maneuver and react?)
  • Do I take up the whole armor of God? (i.e., Do I recall his truth when needed, to win arguments against Satan… to fend off the enemy’s temptations?)
  • Do I fight for and with “the brethren”? (i.e., Am I surrounding myself with able men and women who can train me… Am I leaning on them for advice and feedback… to be a better wrestler?)

If we are going to make it, we can’t be ignorant of our spiritual well-being, our enemy, and our need to fight.

The Christian in Complete Armour – William GurnallDownload

May 25, 2022 Believers Church
  • Making new tags for the station
  • Remote Broadcast @ UWS
  • Remote broadcast at Roadside Cafe
  • Group mixdown meeting

Recent Changes

Recently, Burning Dog Radio underwent a merger and name change. Street Level Radio merged with our sister station in the Philippines – and it’s been awesome. Brittany and Jael have joined the ranks and we’ve been able to meet as a whole group, have training sessions between our locations, and do remote broadcasts. Though some of these things were already happening, the goal here will be to be more of a unified front as Street Level Radio gets out there. Now Street Level Radio exists in Menomonie, River Falls, Duluth, and Cebu City! Please pray as one of our goals is to reach students and to continually point to and support Street Level Ministries.

Listener Data

An example of our listener data.

Now that we are one station and streaming online, we can get a view into who is listening. Since March, we have had listeners in the US, Philippines, Ireland, China, Russia, India, Japan, Korea, Ghana, Germany, Finland, UK, Ecuador, and Portugal. This data is available because we use a service called Radiomast that tells us based on location who and how many listeners we’ve had using the stream.

Tech-side

As you may have noticed, we have a new website. There are two players – with a Philippines-specific stream to facilitate the time difference. On the Philippines stream, you will also hear sponsor promos for each location hosting a station location, as well as some Original Philipino Music throughout the day.

Many thanks to the tech people helping out to update the technology used at all these locations. (which also includes River Falls and Duluth)

Getting Out There – and Prayer Requests

Please pray for the station at all of our locations, that we are able to successfully get out there and engage people on our campuses and cities. Along these lines, we could use prayer for our choices in merch! Thanks for all the prayer and support of the station, in general, it is greatly appreciated!

May 25, 2022 Believers Church

Read about what’s been going on at Shofar Mission in the Philippines.

Street Level Ministries

For the past five weeks, Street Level Ministries has been meeting simultaneously in two different locations on Friday nights. We have been watching short biblical teachings ranging in topics by various pastors, then coming together for dinner and a discussion. There has been a steady group of students attending in Toledo City, with fewer students in Cebu City. Britt joined the Toledo group twice so far and plans to attend once a month. Both cities have been blanketed with posters and banners. Some upper classmen are in Cebu City for limited face-to-face classes, so Britt has been hitting the streets to distribute fliers and WOTS.

We recently hosted a remote radio broadcast at Roadside Café and gave away free coffee to students. The merging of stations with the USA has been a move in the right direction. Jael has been learning production from Pete and gaining experience going live at remote broadcasts. Recently, Althea, a new member in Toledo, has stepped up to volunteer for Street Level Radio. We’re also on the verge of installing the station at two local business who would like to be sponsors. One of them is near our office, and the other is across the street from a local college.

The WOTS volunteers have been meeting weekly, finalizing drafts for Issue 90, and practicing writing. We distribute at many businesses throughout Cebu City, which allows us to reach a variety of people. The owners of one of the businesses that wants to sponsor the radio station got a copy of WOTS before the station was pitched to them. Because of that, they were familiar with Street Level, which made them even more open to sponsoring the station.

Summer starts at a different time for each university, so we’re continuing on with our weekly dinners and discussions. Everyone is hoping that next school year will bring students back to universities for face-to-face classes.

Exploring Creation Science

Since returning to Cebu, Exploring Creation Science lessons have been in-person with a school staff teaching digitally to the students. During lessons, Laura has been teaching the topic and learning objectives that are to be covered in that day’s lesson…so she is the science teacher for that class period. This means she preps or adapts a previous lesson to fit the grade level and learning objectives. Many schools in Cebu City remain online, however, school staff have all been able to report since April 1 (previously the government limited the number of employees allowed on-site).

Banawa Nazarene School was approved by the Department of Education for limited face-to-face classes during summer school (they are hoping for school year approval, but that is another application). The School Administrator offered Laura a weekly two-hour schedule and has begun advertising summer Exploring Creation Science Lessons. Both Inayawan Nazarene and Southern Bethany plan to offer summer classes and have extended invitations for us to join. Classes at Southern Bethany have a few weeks left to go, otherwise, everyone else is switching gears and getting ready for summer school! We are in communication with a couple of local shelters for children that also have schools. One has requested lesson information and topics, and the other one we will meet with this week. One school we proposed lessons to last January in Toledo recently received approval for limited face-to-face classes this August. We will be visiting them at the end of this month, as well as connecting with the pastor from the Universal Church of Christ Church & School.

We will be sharing this video more as we start teaching more lessons face-to-face!

Local Churches

A few weeks ago, we joined a Sunday morning gathering of all the Nazarene churches in our region. They were celebrating their 75th anniversary as a denomination in the Philippines. We stayed for lunch and fellowship with church/school staff from both the Nazarene locations we work closely with. Laura taught Sunday school at the Banawa Church of the Nazarene (teaching some of the students she has in class), and this past Sunday we worshiped with Capstone Generation church. They are sending a team of 60 people on a mission trip to another island (Leyte) this week. Please be in prayer for them!

Prayer Requests

  • Growth in biblical understanding and discipleship among the Street Level students
  • Continued guidance with the potential Street Level Radio sponsors and smooth installation
  • Pray for all the local churches and schools we work with. Specifically, a prayer of thanks for those schools approved for face-to-face summer school classes!
  • Pray for team preparations, especially for our upcoming trip to attend the Toledo Ministerial Fellowship Meeting. Pray that God would stretch time that day when we present August missions team events and talk to the pastor of the Universal Church of Christ School.
  • Pray for the meeting with school staff at St. Bernard School in Toledo the same day we are there. We plan to discuss teaching in-person lessons since they are approved for face-to-face classes.
May 19, 2022 Believers Church

Keep reading for the latest news from Believers Church ministry in River Falls.

It was undoubtedly bittersweet to see the end of the school year. It’s been a year to be thankful for: the first year of the on-campus church, consistency in first-year students, and many new visitors. We are grateful to be a part of what God is working on in River Falls and trust he will continue show us the way forward.

Campus Church

We had our last church service on campus and have now shifted Wednesday nights to the Blind Munchies Coffeehouse. We were able to finish up our year-long verse by verse study of the book of John, which was a challenging feat but worth it. Being on campus has been an excellent opportunity to connect with people: some from Street Level and others who saw posters, social media, and yard signs. We will be live-streaming Believers City Church Rewind discussions during the summer and meeting in the coffeehouse and parks around town.

Street Level at UWRF

Over the last month, we have been working toward closing out the semester well and preparing for summer. We had our end-of-year Street Level party last week, which involved grilling out at the coffeehouse and playing various games. Some students will be around the River Falls area through the summer. We look forward to seeing them continue to get plugged on Mondays. We’ll be meeting outside as much as possible and hope to continue to build relationships with those who stick around as well as any new people God brings into our lives.

Blind Munchies Coffeehouse

We recently joined the community at another “Taste of River Falls” event at a local winery. It was a chilly day but a few Street Level students braved the cold to help serve in the coffeehouse trailer, which we were able to borrow from the Duluth fellowship. Thanks, Duluth! We are still meeting people in the community who haven’t been into the coffeehouse, so it’s been an excellent opportunity to spread the word. We are always looking to open the door to more interactions.

Prayer Requests

  • Outreach and fellowship plans for the summer and planning for fall.
  • Students home for the summer.
  • Continued growth and maturity in the group.

Further Information