Author: Believers Church

March 7, 2021 Believers Church

Weakness is the Way

For Christians, weakness should be a way of life. Yet most of us try desperately to be sufficient on our own, and we resent our limitations and our needs.

Renowned theologian and Bible teacher J. I. Packer reflects on his experience of weakness—having been hit by a bread truck at a young age and now facing the realities of aging—in order to teach us the importance of embracing our own frailty, and also to help us look to Christ for strength, affirmation, and contentment. Find here a path from discouragement to freedom in light of our all-sufficient God.

Review

“If you, like me, struggle with discouragement over your weaknesses, you need to read this book. We all long to be admired for our strengths, yet we all find ourselves, ‘beset with weakness’ (Heb. 5:2). Does this mean we’re stuck living with discouragement? No! There is an escape to joyful freedom. Dr. Packer knows the way. Walking us through 2 Corinthians, he shows it to us so that we, like Paul, can ‘boast all the more gladly of [our] weaknesses.’”
—Jon Bloom, Board Chair and Cofounder, Desiring God; author, Not by Sight and Don’t Follow Your Heart

Copies available in the lobby at Believers church.

The Believers Bookstore is available to the public 9:00 am to 4:30 pm Tuesday through Friday. Also, look for the sign near the front door. Feel free to browse the shelves during the week.

Any questions? Contact: bookstore@jfbelievers.com

March 1, 2021 Believers Church

We’ve recently received these encouraging words in the mail from those viewing our Sunday Service and Living as Free TV broadcasts.

Dear Pastor Tim,

… I am currently incarcerated in New Lisbon, Wisconsin. I’m actually from Menomonie, though. In 2008, I actually visited Jesus Fellowship of Believers a couple of times… I’d called myself a Christian for years, but really wasn’t living it. I liked the idea of Jesus but was clinging tightly to my secret sins. I was very convicted by your preaching, but I wasn’t ready to give up myself for the truth. I found a church that delivered a feel-good message and I continued to live my life trying to be a Christian and chase after strange flesh and indulge in an addiction to pornography. Your words on the days I visited JFB stuck with me for years. You said, “Going to church makes you as much a Christian as going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.” I was really good at going to church, but I was a terrible Christian if one at all…

…Recently, our institution upgraded our TV antennae and I found your service on the CW on Sunday morning. I have thoroughly enjoyed hearing you preach again, be “fed” by the JFB service, and get a little taste of home. I just wanted to give you my brief testimony and thank you for making the service available on TV. It’s a joy to be a part of the JFB congregation, even if it’s just through the TV. If Menomonie winds up being my home again after my release, I intend to make JFB my permanent church home. Until then, I’ll continue to enjoy the service on TV; at least for the next 3 years while I’m still in Wisconsin.

Thanks again and God bless! New Lisbon Correctional Institution

My little Bible study group and I watch your service every Sunday morning at 10:00 A.M. on “the CW”—we love it!

Thanks and God bless! Stanley Correctional Inst.

I was intrigued by your sermons while I was battling a horrendous addiction to drugs back in 2009 or so. I am intrigued by them 8 years into a prison sentence. Strange thing is, I’m not a Christian. Maybe it’s your killer style, or beard, or amazing skullet. Maybe it’s ‘cause your commercial says you don’t care who I was yesterday, only who I am today.

Sincerely, Prairie du Chien Correctional

To Whom it May Concern,

 I am a man on a mission to change my life for the better….Most of my troubles in life stem from a 25-year addiction to drugs. While I was in Dunn County waiting for court I happened to come across Issue 73 Feb-April 2018 of Word on the Street. The stories and art inside helped me a lot as reading and art are a big part of my life.

I am going through a difficult time in life but I know that with diligence and strength thru prayer and my personal relationship with the Lord I will achieve the goals I have set for myself.

Thanks…Chippewa County Jail

Dear Pastor Tim,

… I am an inmate of Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution. This morning I watched your TV service JF Believers on channel 19.2 the CW. Normally I do not watch “church on TV.” I have been a sorry excuse for a believer for most of my life. I watched your sermon and it resonated with me. You talked about escaping the traps of spiritual childhood. And I was convicted when you stated that many people accept the free gift of salvation but they didn’t want to accept the work and responsibility of their sanctification, their growth as a Christian. I have been that person. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died and rose again to atone for my sin but I’ve never gone much beyond that, and because of that my life has been kind of a train wreck. I’m tired of that. Recently I have been taking a more active role in my relationship with God. Setting aside time for prayer and time to read my Bible. I believe I am seeing more depth and more of a sense of God’s presence. I’m trying to be more obedient, to be a “doer of the word not just a hearer”…

…I don’t know what the point of this letter was but I wanted to say thank you for encouraging me to be more than a “Peter-Pan” Christian and to take an active role in my sanctification as a grateful loving response to God’s gift of salvation. I would ask that you pray for me and I think that I will continue to watch your Sunday program. Thank you again for your program. I wanted you to know it impacted me. Thank you for your time and prayers.

Yours In Christ, Prairie du Chien Correctional

Pastor Tim and JF Believers Church,

…I am an inmate and have been incarcerated for, well, it will be five years February 18th and I happened across your service one Sunday morning and the services have become a bright spot in this dark place. And to my surprise, I am not the only one who looks forward to your services. The unapologetic way you preach the word is so refreshing. The hard-hitting truths of the Bible are what I need in my life and what all followers of Christ need. For far too long I have been lulled to a place of complacency. Well really I have been lulled to sleep and have been sleepwalking for 36 years of my life and it wasn’t till October 4th, 2020 which beautifully is my mother’s birthday she is a woman who loves God with all her heart and has been praying for me my whole life. But that Sunday morning you were preaching about Peter being called out of the boat and onto the water and you said, “Sadly, Christian, this is where most Christians will bow out” and those words cut me deep and I said to God, “Please don’t ever let that be me” and to give me the courage to step out of the safety of my boat and onto the raging waves. And I can’t explain what happened next and I know I don’t need to but shook me to my core and I knew what I had to do. …And just so you know, the light of Christ you are shining is reaching into this dark place and is reaching the dark and cold hearts of this prison so thank you for your obedience to our father and I pray God blesses you, your family, and your church.

With love, Stanley Correctional Institution.

Dear Living as Free Chaplaincy,

I’ve been watching your ministry on television for a few months now (it’s moved me spiritually I must say). I’m not sure what the minister’s name is (light brown hair and beard and slightly bald) but his message is so good and powerful. I just want to thank him and Chaplain Ryan’s message to explain further. Awesome. I’m from Minnesota, 59 years old. In my twenties, I tried to be a good Christian. Circumstances were bad. …Sunday’s message February 8, 2021, moved me enough to write you. Because I am not only for myself in Christ-like you say it’s we go and give of ourselves…I just want you to know I’ve been watching church on T.V. a lot since the pandemic. And for many, many years. And your message is the most powerful and able for young to learn as old that I’ve ever known. Thank you, thank you…

 I love your ministry. Utica, Minnesota

February 28, 2021 Believers Church

Over the past months, the Homeschool Group has continued to meet weekly for a time of shared work and fitness. We’ve also been able to interact with several covenant members, as well as the whole Kindred Group.

In November, we bundled up at the church campground to look at the stars and planets through Cory’s telescope. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with a showing of The Lion, The Witch and Wardrobe with Kindred, complete with movie trivia. January brought a virtual Creation Science lesson with Laura, ice skating with Kelsey and a parenting discussion. Several weeks ago, the kids learned the different positions in ballet as Carrie gave a lesson in dance. We love that we are part of a church that has people with so many interests and talents!

Our weekly meeting is a time where the kids can share about different topics they are learning about. In this way, they are working on public speaking skills. Right now most of them are working on being loud enough for the people across the room to hear them as they speak with masks on. After a time of shared reading, workbooks are opened and practice spelling tests are given to each other. It’s nice to interact with friends during this time.

February 25, 2021 Believers Church

Read the latest update from Shofar Mission and see what God has been doing in Cebu, Philippines.

This month started with major updates to the two cable TV stations God has blessed us with. Shofar TV is currently broadcasting on Cebu Cable in Metro Cebu and ATD Cable in Balamban/Asturias.

Street Level Ministries

Since our last update, we had a chance to meet with two students that attend UV-Toledo and explain what SLM is all about to them. Issue 85 of Word on the Street is hot off the press. 1,000 copies will be distributed with modular learning packets to students at the University of the Visayas. We are hoping we can deliver the magazines during the first week of March. Street Level Radio continues to stream (with some minor tech upgrades here and there) and students are still volunteering for the station. We are pleased to announce our sister station Burning Dog Radio recently started streaming online worldwide!

Word on the Street Magazine Philippines
Seeing the Hand of God Up Close in Toledo
Street Level Radio Upgrades


Exploring Creation Science

Even though the “new normal” has classes in all levels from Pre-K to university online, the mission for Exploring Creation Science remains the same. Know why you believe what you believe. Again, since classes are online we are able to do things that would normally be more challenging. During the month of March, Explore booklets for students in grades 4-6 and 7-12 will be printed and distributed, a special four-week series using Facebook Live class for students in grades 7-12 will take place, and Zoom lessons will continue.

Science Experiment Up Close
Seeing God Up Close Through Science

Prayer Requests:

  1. Pray that God would continue working in the hearts and minds of all those we have met.
  2. We ask that God would bring people into the ministries.
  3. Pray for all the churches that are unable to meet in person due to Sunday barangay lockdowns.
  4. Pray for viewers to tune in to Shofar TV and that we could expand our broadcasting reach throughout Cebu Island.
February 19, 2021 Believers Church

Get the latest news from Believers Church plant and College Ministry in River Falls, WI.

Community Outreach

We are excited to be starting back up our Sunday evening Bible Study. It will be at 5 pm in the River Falls coffeehouse. In order to help invite the community members, we are planning some increased advertising. Already, there is a new billboard up on highway 35 between River Falls and Ellsworth. Also, we created new posters to distribute and are working on sending out an EDDM within the community. We were previously meeting Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm and will continue to do so.

College Bible Study

The students have been back on campus for a few weeks. This semester UW River Falls has lessened some of the regulations, so we are able to be on campus a little more. We were able to do a table on campus this month and are investigating the possibility of having a Street Level meeting on campus.

Since it is the beginning of the semester we are being creative in our ways to meet other students. One way we are doing this is by hosting a plant sale in the coffeehouse with advertising directed at the college students. Also, the coffeehouse is running a $1 off student discount for the month of February.

We have had a couple of new students attend the College Bible Study this semester, and we hope to continue to build relationships with them.

  • Note “bucket of wipes”

Prayer Requests…

  • That the new students we are meeting will desire a deeper relationship with God.
  • For the advertising to be reaching the right people in the community.
  • That we will be led by God in our conversations with people in the coffeehouse and in the community.

Further Information

February 13, 2021 Believers Church

Bible Studies/Teaching/Preaching:

The core of our time together as a church is teaching and preaching and Bible studies. It’s a huge part of what makes us tick. And lately, there’s been a wide variety. While Pastor Justin was guest-teaching in Menomonie early in January, Pastor Jesse taught on a Wednesday and Sunday about worship and persuasion, asking us to consider: who or what do we worship and are we compelled to share the desperately-needed truth of the gospel with those around us? A few weeks later, Pastor Tim visited from Menomonie and toured through the challenges to Christians found in Colossians 3. Routinely on Sundays, after finishing the ever-intense yet hopeful book of Revelation, Pastor Justin is turning our attention to a series of lectures on the basics of Christianity in the format of “Anatomy of a Christian.” So far, we’ve covered the Head, Mind, Ears, and Eyes and learned of our need for transplants, proper alignment, and barriers to and results of bona fide spiritual seeing and hearing. On Wednesdays, we alternate between the book of Jeremiah, men’s and women’s studies, video discussions around the Horizontal Jesus series, and shorter teachings with small group discussions.

Fellowship:

Bingo night.  After so much relative separation, we got pretty desperate and Bingo was the perfect solution!  The game itself is actually quite dry, but throw in a crowd full of twenty-to-forty-somethings dressed like elderly folk, add a nice meal of fish sticks, potato wedges and peas, and you’ve got yourself a party!  But the real party didn’t start until we decided to live stream the whole thing and invite friends.  Having people join from literally around the world was a special treat and it was a night to remember!

Sunday lunches started.  After a long break, we brought back Sunday lunches – meals that are fast to make and a snap to eat.  This allows us to linger long after the sermon, having communion, discuss with our neighbors what the sermon prompted in us, what’s going on in our lives and what God is doing through it all.

Super Bowl Party. A small group was able to gather the afternoon of the Super Bowl for a sweet time of enjoying one another’s company.  It was bring-your-own-snacks and overall a simple event, but it was a great opportunity to be together and catch up on the goings-on in each others lives.

Service:

Kitchen training.  After some at-home required reading, Matt led kitchen volunteers through the ins and outs of the “Church Lady Law” in a brief in-person meeting.  The training provided very practical help in keeping food and people safe – allowing us to serve one another and guests with the care required to make meals an enjoyable aspect of church life.

Community group and Media Ministry started.  Through posters, online presence, neighborhood events, and more, two new Duluth ministries seek to make sure the community knows we exist. Collectively, we’ve already had several meetings, including crossover between the two groups as these are intended to work hand-in-hand with each other, doing whatever we can to give the Twin Ports area the clear option to say “Yes, I’ll come to that church,” or, “No, I won’t,” rather than the recurring, “Never heard of it.”

Street Level.  A meeting with some SL Menomonie folks just before the start of the new semester rolled into in-person weekly dinners and Bible Studies at the Garage. The Garage, Street Level’s next-to-campus meeting space, was recently re-insulated. It is reportedly toasty warm now, making the space even more welcoming to guests and regulars alike. In a key aspect of both online and local ministry and advertising, the Word on the Street magazine crew has been continuing the development process and recently submitted ideas for the next issue.

Prayer Requests:

It’s exciting to move forward, but each step certainly comes with challenges. Pray for our spiritual integrity, that we wouldn’t be intimidated by what the world or the devil or our Lord sends our way.  That we’d be ready for what’s next, faithful in the not-in-public-sight elements of our lives, open to be helpful and helped by one another, and able to minister to the people around us.

-Karla