Author: Believers Church

May 2, 2020 Believers Church

Back in March…

…COVID-19 became a new term in our vocabulary globally… and personally, my daily devotions had me deep in Daniel and Revelation. Adding to the unsettling concern inside, my social media news-feed followed all the major news networks exposing my eyes to compounding news reports on the current circumstances. It was a rough patch to say the least. I began to feel insecure about what was happening in the world and my devotions only seemed to amplify the awful feeling ramping up. As Becky and I were talking one evening about all this, I came to a clarity that I needed to disconnect some of my news intake and bump the record player in my devotions and go someplace fresh for at least part of my reading. I pressed the eject button on Revelation and turned my New Testament reading to Matthew.

Red Letters

A lot of the Bibles I own are what are known as “red-letter” bibles. On one of these troubling days I was listening to the radio and a David Crowder song came on called “Red Letters”. I’ve heard this song a hundred times but, like many of the songs on this station, I paid little attention to the words or the meanings of the songs… until this day. This song got me thinking about the red letters in the scriptures. They are words that were actually spoken by Jesus. It seemed to really hit me just how significant that is. Jesus opened his mouth, moved his lips, air passed his vocal cords to form the very words written in red letters in the bible.

Now, theology and bible literacy both confirm God spoke through the writers of the bible and His voice is behind the written text of scripture to a level unparalleled anywhere else in the world. But the red letters made me think about all the times people in biblical history heard the very voice of God. Moses always comes to mind for me first… glowing face. Then I think about Peter when he suggested the construction of three tabernacles; one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus… I remember what it was like when I first heard God speak… “Who was with you when you were dying?” Most of those who found themselves before the unmistakable Voice, fell immediately to their knees.

Consider the red letters. As I jumped in my devotions to Matthew, I found the red letters extremely significant. Jesus is speaking… the Voice is presenting truth, comfort, peace…

Matthew 6:25-34

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

The quelling of anxiety comes with instruction on how to not be troubled. Spoiler alert, it’s not in your power to obtain… it’s “added unto you” by the One we seek.

-=Pastor Tom

“Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.” – Elisabeth Elliot

April 28, 2020 Believers Church

It seems a little ironic that our blog post published a mere two months ago was all about community.  At that time, we were ramping up for spring by looking forward to playing in parks, as well as a few field trips.  When the restrictions went into place due to COVID-19, to be honest, our day-to-day home life has been unaffected. 

Math still had to be computed, grammar still had to be learned and science was still something to be experimented.  But at the end of the school day, we found ourselves at home, not in a park, not at the library, nor eating supper with our friends in The Blind Munchies Coffeehouse.  We found ourselves home, together just us as a family. 

It was daunting when I realized that we, as parents, had 100% influence and authority over our children.  I mean, I know we have always held that authority to a certain degree. Never has there been a time when we control every single detail of our children’s lives.  Now, if my daughter talks to her friends, its because I put a computer in front of her and connected her virtually to them.  Any conversation she has with the outside world, it’s because we allow it.  That goes for anything she watches, anything she listens to, anything she plays with.   

To be honest, that realization made me a little uneasy because that means she is only watching us her parents.  We are her only influence in her life right now.  I know we have always been an influence on our daughter, and it has always been something that we need to be very serious about. But now, like many other things, it has become even more clear how much that is true.

It’s time to evaluate

During this time, it very important to be aware of what we are teaching our kids, and what they are seeing and learning from us each day. Now is also a great time to make use of resources available to improve your parenting.  Then, at some point, we will be back in community. We will need to remember that they are still watching. The changes you make now can have a lasting effect on all family members!

Here is an article from the Gospel Coalition that is related to this topic for further reading.

Please pray for all the families would use this time to evaluate their discipleship practices. Then we can make Holy Spirit led changes. 

April 25, 2020 Believers Church

Read the latest news update from the Shofar Mission in Cebu, Philippines.

On March 28, Cebu City was placed under Enhanced Community Quarantine. This means we have been unable to leave our house except for essentials like grocery shopping. The entire city is under strict guidelines and citizens must present a government-issued pass to be out on the streets. It has been an interesting and challenging adjustment, but we have still found creative ways to minister.

Street Level Ministries

Classes in all universities have been suspended since March 16, which means all of the Street Level members have been at home with their families or in their boarding houses. Our last dinner and Bible study was on March 13, but we have still been keeping in touch with all the students digitally. We’ve video chatted with a few of them individually and plan to continue doing this throughout the rest of the quarantine. Members also receive discipleship curriculum on a weekly basis and are able to share what God is teaching them in a group chat.

  • Some of the students at our last Street Level meeting
  • Friday night digital fellowship!

SLR + WOTS

Through Street Level Radio, students and community members are able to broadcast music, biblical teachings, and live radio shows on any device with an internet connection. We recently started a weekly radio show where we discuss the intersection of faith and science. A few of the topics covered were “How Did We Get Here?” “Is the Bible Reliable?” and “Age of Earth.” All of our antenna arrays in the city are still up and running, so people living in the vicinity are able to connect and listen for free. We’ve also been broadcasting Pastor Tim’s “Life and Times of Jesus Christ” teachings on Sunday nights and are planning for some exciting collaboration with Burning Dog Radio in the near future…

Word on the Street Magazine Issue 82 has undergone a major overhaul. This is thanks to fast turnaround from writers across all locations. The new issue was released as a digital-only version this past week. You can read the Philippines version, with contributions from three SLM Cebu members, here.

  • WOTS Staff (pre-quarantine)

Exploring Creation Science

Primary and secondary schools have also been suspended for the indefinite future. This has caused parents and teachers to get creative with ways to teach their students. One of the ways we’ve been trying to help and keep ministering to students is through weekly “Explore” posts online. Every Thursday, students and teachers can look for an online “worksheet” where they can discuss various creation science-related topics. Some of the topics have been laminin, plants, the human body, and animals. Every other week, we share creation science videos with notes for students to watch and discuss. We are also discussing what the future school year will hold and exploring new avenues online to continue teaching students.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

  • Online distribution of Word on the Street Magazine and ideas for the next issue.
  • Listeners to connect to and engage with Street Level Radio, as well as for the equipment to continue running well.
  • Street Level members to use their time at home wisely – to grow in their relationship with God and each other.
  • The “Explore” posts to reach students, teachers, and parents and for wisdom in planning for the upcoming school year.
April 22, 2020 Believers Church

Several upgrades

Hello and greetings from the Nehemiah ministry. What do back doors, bookshelves, and bathroom windows have in common? Other than they all start with the letter “B” the true answer is Nehemiah’s latest projects. Last Autumn Nehemiah installed a new northwest exterior door just off the stage area. We have now recently completed the installation of a new northeast exterior door. The new doors are definitely more aesthetically pleasing. On top of that they are much more secure and weatherproof too. Nehemiah has also created two new sets of wall-mounted bookshelves in the church entryway. Boy don’t they look sharp! We also added a lexan barrier to the exterior side of both bathroom windows. This barrier will protect the windows from the elements, keep the bathrooms warmer in the winter, and add more security to our church as well. I’ll just say the lexan material we used is a really strong grade of plastic. Lastly, we installed a new electric heater in the dungeon, and we ran some electricity into the back shed for lights and outlets.

Future projects

In the coming months Nehemiah will be getting the church ready for summer. That means reviving our sprinkler system, installing the window air conditioner units, and window screens, etc. We are also going to be doing some landscaping, tuck pointing, Street Level house bathroom renovations, and carpeting just to name a few projects. There is always much to do around our church and our desire is to accomplish as much as possible. The truth is that we can plan our steps but God will direct our paths. Through that process we each have learned so much along the way.

Closing thoughts

Thank you for allowing us to work on our buildings and grounds. The Nehemiah ministry is grateful for the privilege of working on God’s house. To Him be all the glory!

April 19, 2020 Believers Church

Find the latest news from Believers Church plant and Street Level college ministry in River Falls, WI.

Street Level Online

The UW-River Falls campus is completely shut down for the rest of the year. Thankfully, Street Level (our student org), was able to transition to meeting online a month ago. Instead of eating a weekly dinner together, we connect before the study to catch up on home-life and the ups-and-downs of online schooling. Our Bible studies have continued to focus on the topic of practical discipleship. The web chat format has worked surprisingly well for our discussions thus far. This fact has us thinking about continuing Street Level into the summer for the first time, using the online format.

Word on the Street Online

The latest WOTS (Word on the Street) magazine would typically already be distributed throughout River Falls right about now. However, due to current circumstances, the entire magazine has been rethought and retooled in order to reflect on our current social situation. Writers from all campus locations helped with a quick turnaround to produce what will be distributed in a digital-only format.

Blind Munchies River Falls

While following some strict guidelines, the coffeehouse has been able to remain open for the most part. The dining area is closed, and we are open for to-go orders only. This hasn’t stopped us from coming up with some new drinks for spring. We also recently purchased a mobile coffee kiosk for use in outdoor gigs – we’re looking forward to the day we can use it!

Please Pray For…

  1. Word on the Street digital promotion and distribution.
  2. Students who are home, that they will have a desire to stay connected and grow in God.
  3. Us, that we would learn and discern what God is seeking to teach us about ourselves and the ministry during this time.
  • Street Level online
  • New hibiscus Tea
  • WOTS edits at home
  • Front of new coffee kiosk

For Further Information

April 16, 2020 Believers Church

It sure looks empty and dismal out there, doesn’t it? No people… no cars… in fact, it looks like 1920 out there even though I just took this photo today. Glad to say, there are some bright sunny memories to look at from the OneLife recent past. Scroll on to see!

February Stuff

Tubing the Badlands then BBQ with Street Level

Back in February, OneLife took a Saturday to hit the hills with Street Level. Skidding down the hill with 17 tubes tied together was quite the picture. We really enjoyed our time on the hill with those guys! Thanks for making winter bearable.

March Stuff

Frozen Chicken Curling… It’s a thing!

Then in March, we gathered on the ice of Lake Menomin for a challenging competition of Frozen Chicken Curling. It was actually really nice out that day. There was a large table of snacks and hot cocoa. Passers-by didn’t know what to make of it. I am sure we looked crazy but we had a lot of fun.

The winning team took home all 12 frozen chickens as their prize. That’s 2 per team member. Nice!

Pizza and Talk

Our last official gathering was in mid-March. We all drove to Hudson and gathered in Green Mill’s back meeting space to talk through one of the last sessions from our fall retreat. By the way, Green Mill pizza is beyond delicious. But we had a great time of fellowship and discussion. Making Space (by Jeff Vanderstelt) has been a challenging series to travel through.

What’s ahead?

Thanks to a global pandemic, meeting together has been suspended. There may be a possible online opportunity to meet together. We are discussing ins and outs of that. Beyond that, we continue to pray for each other and connect over the phone or by email now and again.

We’re all fantasizing about that day when we can all come back together… bonfire… hog roast… singing… dancing… but whether here or there or in the air, we will see you again sometime.

Peace… Out!