Author: Believers Church

July 16, 2021 Believers Church

Community Outreach

The Kindred Adult Singles at Believers City Church are activated for the summer. We kicked things off with community outreach, joining with the One Life couples and Duluth, to clean up the parks and trails around Menomonie…

This year we added Believers Church vests, the Blind Munchies Coffeehouse Kiosk giving away free cold press and coffee to weary travelers, and flyers with information about Believers Church, Burning Dog Radio, and the Blind Munchies Coffeehouse…

After several hours and 45 full 50-gallon garbage bags later… we called it a day… Thanks to Duluth and the One Life couples for joining us!

Camping

The Kindred Adult Singles also went camping with our Duluthian compadres at the Believers Church Campground… We started a book on the Misconceptions of Singleness (including misconceptions about marriage). The introduction and first chapter generated plenty of intimate and honest discussion (both in large-group and in men’s and women’s groups).

We capped the camping trip off with a 2+ hour river adventure in tubes in the wind and rain… It was unforgettable. Good thing we found Noah’s Ark! Wait… is that Nate and Seth at the helm? And is Claire steering? Uh oh…

Coming Up

This summer we are staying activated… We have another community cleanup scheduled for next Saturday. Then in August, we plan to hike on the Chippewa Morain Segment of the Ice Age Trail near the New Auburn, WI… Our Duluth friends are welcome as always.

This Fall we are hoping to go camping one more time and cover a few more chapters in our book. We’d also like to sneak in one more hike on the Hemlock River Segment of the Ice Age Trail near Bruce, WI…

For community outreach, as the weather gets colder, we are thinking of promoting Friday Night Binge TV nights with “The Chosen” in the Blind Munchies and all-you-can-eat pop-corn… Is anyone interested?

More on that next time!

July 14, 2021 Believers Church

New hours for the Central Desk!

We are now open at 10 to 10:30 before church

and 12:00 to 1:00 after church on Sundays.

Any questions? Contact: bookstore@jfbelievers.com

July 13, 2021 Believers Church

Every summer seems to be flying by faster than the prior. It’s hard to believe but it’s nearly half way through summer 2021! Regardless of how this summer pace has been going, we are thankful to be mask less, socialize outside our immediate household and see one another within 6 feet: what a change a year can bring. Believer’s Church Duluth has been aiming to make the most of it through our fellowship, service and Bible study opportunities.

Book Study

In June we kicked off our book study on Disciplines of a Godly Man and Disciplines of a Godly Woman. We were able to get off site and enjoy the Street Level Garage where we meet for dinner and then break off into men and women’s groups with discussion regarding the chapters we cover. Topics have included the gospel, discipline, marriage, and submission.

This past month we tried a new style of small group discussion following our viewing of the Saturate series by Jeff Vanderstelt. These evenings consist of teaching and video’s based on Vanderstelt’s book with the subtitle: “Being Disciples of Jesus in the Everyday Stuff of Life”. The new style of discussion entailed breaking off into even smaller groups with a list of questions that each participant was given the opportunity to discuss and then coming together with our groups for a large group discussion. This unique discussion style afforded a more robust discussion in smaller settings while allowing for each group to share their insights corporately.

Bible Study

We continue to march through the book of Jeremiah on Wednesday’s when we aren’t covering either Saturate or Disciplines of a Godly Man or Woman series. This past Wednesday we covered Jeremiah 33 looking particularly at God’s mercy and desire to love His people; this was particularly timely on the heels of our Romans 3 study the Sunday prior as we were reminded of God’s love and forgiveness as something we are never deserving of or able to earn but only by grace!

Additionally, we had a two week mini-series on prayer by Pastor Jesse as a break from our study through the book of Romans. We looked at both the why and how as it pertains to prayer and it’s vital importance to both our survival and joy. It was helpful to be reminded that Jesus Himself didn’t try to do life without prayer and the difference between saying prayers and praying to God.

Fellowship

Lunch and dinner are back in full swing with some wonderful tasting meals where we are able to come together enjoying our basement café space without the construction zone. The plumbing project during May and June was finally completed and our kitchen is back in order without any dust, pits, or piles of dirt to impede our space! Most recently, however, we were able to come together for 4th of July at the Street Level garage with a game of Fishbowl, Slip ‘N Slide, and fireworks.

Service

Street Level participants have been busy during the past month doing projects at the Street Level Garage and adjacent house. Projects have consisted of painting, flooring and landscaping. Additionally, WOTS participants have been working on getting more distribution at local businesses and locations throughout the Twin Ports.

Media Ministry and Community Group are continuing to meet on a regular basis on Sunday’s. Community Group has been taking advantage of the good weather on Sunday afternoon’s and getting out to local parks to give away drinks as a means of reaching out to whomever God brings along our path that day.

Thank you for your prayers for us both as a church and individually. Please keep our upcoming rummage sale in prayer for later this month. This event is often ranked among a highlight of our year where we come together for some great fellowship, service and outreach both to our community and beyond. Please pray we’d have right hearts, good weather, and the event would draw people to the love of God.

4th of July fellowship at the Street Level house.
Work on the Street Level house.
Work at the Street Level house.
Outreach at the park.

-Matt

July 10, 2021 Believers Church

Would you feel safer in a city where the penitentiaries are overflowing with crooks & criminals of every sort, or in a city where the prisons are half-empty because the judge liberally pardons them?

A FRIGHTFUL SCENARIO

Imagine coming home to find your entire family slain in cold blood (a quick Google search revealed that this scenario has been the grim reality for some, but I’ll spare you the sorrow by sharing no links). Shocked, you somehow manage to alert the authorities, and in short order, a man is brought into custody. His clothes are covered with the blood of your loved ones, and they, likewise, have traces of his. There is no doubt that the murderer has been caught.

Time passes, and at his arraignment, the suspect pleads ‘not guilty’. You’re insulted to say the least.

Time passes. At his trial, heaps of incriminating evidence is presented, along with multiple witnesses, all testifying against him. You are one of those witnesses, and you gladly honor your family by showing no mercy.

More time passes. You’re informed that an unexpected guilty plea was submitted. A glimmer of optimism washes over your soul. You’re thankful & relieved. You & your family have gotten the justice they deserve. Or so you think.

AN UNEXPECTED VERDICT

Again, time passes. At his sentencing, the defendant is asked to affirm his guilt before the court, which he readily does. The judge then declares his verdict: “I have seen the evidence, and I have heard the witnesses. Let the record show that I am a gracious & compassionate man. A judge who abounds in mercy and in love. I have decided to blot the crimes of the defendant from the record entirely. He is exonerated in full”.

The courtroom is stunned, the prosecution is outraged, and you feel like life has been taken from your family a second time.

The judge continues, now addressing the killer directly: “I declare you not guilty. You are innocent of all charges. Your crimes have been fully expunged from your record, and you are free from every penalty of the law. In addition, any future crimes you might commit are hereby forgiven as well. This court will always, only, consider you to be innocent. Further, I, personally, will lavish my love, care, and protection upon you for the rest of your life. I have decided to treat you as if you were my very own son, and I will bring to justice anyone else who fails to honor my decision. This case is closed”.

A MORAL DILEMMA

Is that the kind of judicial system you would prefer? Or would you feel better if criminals were brought to justice every time? Be careful answering that question.   

It’s hard to imagine such a scenario. Even if a judge or magistrate like that were somewhere to be found, it’s likely that he’d be removed from the bench in the blink of an eye. Few people would tolerate a judge who not only dismissed criminal offenses, but unduly honored the lawbreakers of that community. If you’re like most people, you’d rather take the risk of living among crooks who attack the innocent than with a judge who acquits the crooks.   

Unless, of course, you were the crook.

A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE

When we’re sinned against, we instinctively want justice. But when we commit the sin, its mercy we look for. Culpability changes everything. A person’s appreciation for God’s mercy depends on which side of the law they believe themselves to be on. Are you the law-keeper, or the law-breaker? Do you most often see yourself as the victim, or the culprit?

The hypothetical murderer of your family would have a different reaction to the judge’s verdict than you would, simply because he’s the one who committed the crime. He’s the one on trial. He’s the one facing punishment. You might not value leniency for your family’s assassin, but you’d want some for yourself if you were the one in court.  

A BIBLICAL REALITY

This explains why the Apostle Paul labors in Scripture to prove our guilt like he does (see Romans 1-3 in particular). Only guilty people can appreciate the clemency of a Judge like ours. It’s for this reason that “God has consigned everyone to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (Ro.11:32).

When we fail to see ourselves as criminal, we fail to see our need for mercy, and God’s free gift of salvation offends us. But when our sins are ever before us, we recognize our own personal need for God’s pardon, and the free gift of salvation becomes so much more attractive.

We’re all guilty. And until we submit that plea, innocence is out of the question.  

Case closed.

June 28, 2021 Believers Church

The Homeschool Group has been active over the past few months. We’ve done various sports, lessons and even some team building challenges to help develop skills in a group setting. For instance, many of the activities are geared towards learning to work together to accomplish or create something.

In April, we were able to take our first field trip of 2021. We spent the day at Irvine Park and Zoo, hanging out with the animals and hiking on the trails.

In May, we had the opportunity to get two different lessons in! Justin taught us some drumming skills, which turned out to be the ultimate challenge in teamwork! In addition, we are also able to connect with Laura for a Creation Science lesson.

Now that summer has arrived, we’ve taken a break from our weekly “Schoolwork Time” and have taken on Team Building Challenges. The kids work together to construct various towers and other such things out of spaghetti and mini marshmallows, paperclips and straws, plasticware and Post-it Notes. Sometimes, it gets a little challenging, but the kids all seem to be having fun. In the future, we will be working on parachutes, bridges, catapults, and boats!

As for our fitness time every week, we’ve worked on endurance jogging, track and field events and, most recently, soccer over the past months.

And lastly, it’s always fun to prank your kids on hot days by having them smile nicely for a group picture and then sneak up from behind with cold water!

June 25, 2021 Believers Church

Read the latest updates from the mission field in Cebu, Philippines.

Domestic Mission Trip

At the end of May, we took a 3-day trip across the island to Toledo and Balamban. KC, one of the SLM members, came and assisted. We updated programming at both Shofar TV stations hung banners to promote the channels. We also caught up with a few pastors and distributed the latest Shofar newsletter. On the second day of the trip, we held a coffee giveaway for college students at Knockbucks Café. A few of the SLM members were able to help at the booth, and we met quite a few students. We also hit the streets with WOTS magazines and posters. At the end of the day, we regrouped at Yummio and caught up with the owner there. He has been a main contact with a couple of schools in the area, so we left Exploring Creation Science proposals with him to pass along to the administration. On the way back to the city, we journeyed through Cantabaco, visited Spring Park, and stopped at Southern Bethany. The trips out of the city are always a breath of fresh air (literally) and good for maintaining relationships and forming new ones.  

Street Level Ministries

At the beginning of June, we started a new series called “FOCUS.” The summer can be a time that students “check out” so we thought it best to give it all we’ve got and encourage students to focus on what matters. Every week, we define key terms that every disciple needs to know. Check out the video promo to see all the terms we’ll cover this summer:

In addition to weekly bible discussions, SLM members continue to serve in WOTS and SLR. Final drafts have been submitted for Issue 87, so now we’re moving on to layout. Check out the video below to hear Fred read his Bisaya poem for the next issue. Last Saturday, we had a brainstorming meeting with Ruby, our only SLR DJ, to pray for the station and discuss ways we can keep serving remotely. On July 3, we are planning an in-person member meeting in Cantabaco. Since we’re still meeting virtually, we’re really looking forward to meeting in-person for a few hours on a Saturday.

Exploring Creation Science

In June, students in grades 4-6 and 7-12 got to learn all about forensic science and DNA during a 4-week series special. Students were able to look at fingerprints and learn how to do the experiments at home. How can one deny the existence of a creator when you look at how unique every person’s fingerprint is? Lessons will continue as schools keep teaching throughout the summer. Since lessons are online, it makes it easily accessible for students to keep learning. Schools will resume at different times (either July or August), so new Explore booklets will be developed and ready to go for the new semester next month.

Life & Other Things

We thank God for the opportunities to fellowship with people in-person. Although things are still pretty restricted, we’ve been able to attend Sunday services at local churches that we have relationships with. We’ve also been invited to attend one church’s young adults fellowship and are starting to form new friendships. We’ve also grilled out with neighbors and had a few visitors to the office. Zoom and Google Meet calls are still the bulk of our communication with people, so we snatch up any chance we can to be in-person!

Prayer Requests

  • Vision and wisdom for ministry as things continue online
  • True discipleship and gospel clarity among the SLM students
  • Continued relationships with schools and development of lessons for the upcoming year
  • For Filipinos to get vaccinated and for the country to open up to foreign tourists
  • Our upcoming trip to Cantabaco on July 3 – safety, for all the SLM members to attend, and for good fellowship