West Texas Missioner

Monday, August 22, 2016

In the News ... "Group prays for students’ well-being"

OA Photo by Jacob Ford

• More than 100 churches participate in One Accord

By Silvio Panta, Reporter
• Odessa American

ODESSA, TEXAS - A group of about 30 people gathered around Saturday outside the steps of the Ector County Independent School District’s administration building to pray for the well-being of students and teachers as they begin the new school year.

Singing religious songs and reading scripture, the event was meant to show spiritual support and encouragement for schools, Tammy Stallcup, an event coordinator, explained ...

• read the rest of this OA report ...

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

BUILDING A CHURCH WITHOUT OWNING A BUILDING - What could your congregation do if it didn’t have to worry about keeping up a building?

That’s the question Eneyas Freitas asked when he started a new worshiping community called Urban Connect in Phoenix. His congregation meets at a new event venue called the Vintage 45 in Phoenix’s warehouse district every Sunday morning ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Photo Op

With the return of faculty on campus tomorrow, and starting a busy week of in-service at Midland College, I will be unable to attend a mid-day luncheon and presentation by Carl Medearis. So, I attended early worship service at 1st Prez-Midland today for a chance to hear Medearis speak, get a copy of his book, visit with him one-on-one, and even get a photo ...

Photo by Steve Schorr

• Carl Medearis works to bring better understanding to Islamic culture

Rich Lopez, Reporter
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Both “Islam” and “Muslim” are hot-button terms in the country right now and have been since 9/11. And with the shootings in Orlando, Florida, in June and San Bernadino, California, last year that some have tied to radical Islam, the issue can be a toxic one. But Carl Medearis is working to change all that.

The speaker comes to First Presbyterian Church on Monday with his session “Encountering Islam/Shattering Stereotypes” to bring a bit of enlightenment to the culture and how to embrace Muslims with an open mind and Christian heart.

Before his appearance, he spoke from his Colorado home about the session, his following of Jesus and how humor is a big help to his work ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 21, 2016

MINUTE FOR MISSION: YOUTH IN THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD - Vikita Sihali was a “young” young adult at the 2013 Presbyterian Youth Triennium. She serves her home presbytery, Amatola, in the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa and her home congregation as a youth leader. She shared the following words with the presbyteries of Northern New England and Boston after the Triennium ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

In the News ... “Carl Medearis works to bring better understanding to Islamic culture"

Courtesy Photo

• August 24 and 25 at 1st Presbyterian-Midland

Rich Lopez, Reporter
• Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Both “Islam” and “Muslim” are hot-button terms in the country right now and have been since 9/11. And with the shootings in Orlando, Florida, in June and San Bernadino, California, last year that some have tied to radical Islam, the issue can be a toxic one. But Carl Medearis is working to change all that.

The speaker comes to First Presbyterian Church on Monday with his session “Encountering Islam/Shattering Stereotypes” to bring a bit of enlightenment to the culture and how to embrace Muslims with an open mind and Christian heart.

Before his appearance, he spoke from his Colorado home about the session, his following of Jesus and how humor is a big help to his work ...

• read the rest of this MRT report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

The Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study is a daily devotional with 365 inspiring mission stories that come from next door and all across the globe. It inspires thousands of Presbyterians daily as they uphold the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in intercessory prayer.

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 20, 2016

LESOTHO - Nelson Mandela famously said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” John Matlosa, and all those who know him, would be among the first to agree.

Born into a poor family in the mountains of Lesotho, a country encircled by South Africa, Matlosa and his siblings were raised by a single mother. In order to feed and clothe the children, their mother contracted with a man in the village for Matlosa and his brother to herd cattle. In this largely rural and agrarian country, it is not an unusual occupation for boys, ages 7-12. The opportunity to attend school full-time was a distant dream ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Friday, August 19, 2016

From ServLife International ... "Speaking and Acting"

ServLife International is a movement defined by values of God’s kingdom, not programs built around human efforts and activities. The reign and rule of God should be made apparent to every person on the planet, despite their religion, race or socioeconomic status. We believe that issues of justice are inseparable from the good news that Jesus Christ came to proclaim. ServLife exists to take the gospel of Christ and the hope of a better, more just, world to the lives of people we touch. This happens through individual contributions of time, creativity, resources and dreams.

Speaking and Acting

Colossians 3:17 is one of my favorite verses, “Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.” Some people speak but don’t act. Some act but don’t speak. Some speak and act but not in the name of Jesus ...

• CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post from ServLife ...

From Adam Nevins
Executive Director
ServLife International Inc.

Join Our Mission

ServLife International propels reconciliation and justice by building global community to plant churches, care for children and fight poverty. Compelled by the message, life and love of Jesus Christ, we seek to care for the spiritual, physical, social, and economic areas of life in northern India and Nepal. Learn more about our latest news, featured stories, and how to get involved at servlife.org


Support a Pastor Our church planters spread the love of Christ in some of the most difficult environments in the world. • Support Them ...	Sponsor a Child For only $30 per month you can help give a child food, education, care and, most importantly, hope. • Sponsor Now ...	Fight Poverty The HOPE Fund, our micro-finance program, provides start-up funds for a small business, paving a way out of poverty for families in need. • Learn More ...

ServLife International, Inc.
P.O. Box 20596
Indianapolis, IN 46220
USA

RockHounds Night of Worship to benefit West Texas Food Bank

Courtesy Photo

• David Dunn to perform on August 24

MIDLAND, TEXAS - Unspoken and David Dunn will be performing at the Cimarex Energy Pavilion on Wednesday, August 24 as part of the RockHounds Night of Worship, presented by CrownQuest Operating and Henry Resources. Individual tickets are now on sale. VIP tables and sponsorships are also available. Proceeds from ticket sales go to benefit the West Texas Food Bank.

• CLICK HERE for more information

From @FWMission ...Friday Story: "Mobility in Many Ways"

Founded in 2001, Free Wheelchair Mission is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing wheelchairs for the impoverished disabled in developing nations. Headquartered in Irvine, California, FWM works around the world in partnership with a vast network of humanitarian, faith-based and government organizations, sending wheelchairs to hundreds of thousands of disabled people, providing not only the gift of mobility, but of dignity, independence, and hope.

FWM Photo

Friday Story: "Mobility in Many Ways"

Greetings, and Happy Friday!

At Free Wheelchair Mission, our mission is to provide the transforming gift of mobility to people with disabilities in developing nations as motivated by Jesus Christ. As our name suggests, the transforming gift most often comes in the shape of a wheelchair, but did you know we also provide mobility through other means?

Every year FWM ships a few containers filled with medical supplies. This is a critical part of our mission because some people need mobility assistance other than a wheelchair ...

• read the rest of this story ...

In the News ... "Churches Embracing Pokémon GO, Using it to Their Advantage"

KMID Photo

• To plant seeds in people's hearts

Tyler Woessner, Reporter
• KMID-TV

MIDLAND, TEXAS - The Pokémon GO craze is still sweeping the basin and local churches are using this opportunity to expand their reach. These churches are inviting Pokémon hunters to catch the holy spirit ...

• read/watch the rest of this KMID report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF SAN FERNANDO, CALIFORNIA - Seven years ago, I started using the local Starbucks as a workspace to foster community through the café and arts culture in northeastern Los Angeles. This ministry, called the Coop, recently received a seed grant for 1001 New Worshiping Communities. I’m grateful for that and for what God has done to connect people to each other and to God. Over time, purposely making myself interruptible, I’ve built friendships with regulars of every age, wage and life stage ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

In the News ... "Church Housed Inside Mall; Pastor Embraces How It's 'Outside the Box'"

KMID Photo

• Saw a 'for sale' sign at the mall, and the rest is history

Tyler Woessner, Reporter
• KMID-TV

BIG SPRING, TEXAS - The mall is usually a place to shop, but in Big Spring, a church worships there.

Spring Creek Fellowship owns what used to be known as the Big Spring Mall. Now called Spring Town Plaza, it houses the church and your usual mall shopping places ...

• read/watch the rest of this KMID report

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

PRESBYTERY OF NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY - The way Nathan Stucky sees it, our journey to God begins and ends with the dirt under our feet.

Stucky, a former farmer from Kansas, is director of Princeton Theological Seminary’s 21-acre Farminary Project in Princeton, New Jersey, a place where seminarians dig deep to cultivate lessons of faith ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

WAW Wednesday ... We are Bonafide!!!

"The Word at Work is a ministry that mobilizes churches and individuals to answer God's call to minister to those in need," writes Rev. Tim Tam, Director of the Amarillo, Texas-based ministry. "Through our relationships, God reveals needs and opportunities for service. As we come along side the poor, new friendships develop and doors for ministry open. As we serve, God provides the resources to supply for the needs he reveals."

We are Bonafide!!!

Hello Friends,

I'm headed back to Belize today for a unique opportunity - for the next several days I'll be at Banana Bank with pastors from all over Belize for a restorative conference presented by Westwood Ministries of Kerrville, Texas - please keep all of us covered in prayer.

Speaking of Prayer ...

We received word this morning that Kenny's nephew, Ryan, has been hospitalized after an automobile accident over the weekend - please pray for the cranial swelling to subside and for all of Kenny's family as they wait for more news.

Dallan is in Belize for a quick visit -- he will be back in Lubbock in time for his birthday later this month. We understand that Dallan's next surgery will be scheduled soon. We continue to raise funds for this second surgery which will include implanting a prosthetic jawbone -- if any of you have a connection to TMJ Concepts out of Ventura, California, please email me -- maybe we can work together to get the appliance donated. Your donations to our medical fund to cover hospital expenses are appreciated also!

WAW Photo

Kenny received a call early this morning from our friend and brother, Pastor Robert Ruiz of Shawville. Robbie's brother was killed in an automobile accident in Mexico yesterday - please pray that the connections and resources will be established to allow Robbie to bring his brother back to Belize for burial; also please pray for Robbie and his extended family during this time of loss. (Many of you will recognize Pastor Robbie, pictured here with Rebekah C from FPC Ocean Springs.)

Right now in Belize ...

Hurricane Earl may have delayed Discovery Church (above) from arriving in Belize - but the storm didn't stop this group from sharing their gifts with their friends at First Stone and Exodus churches! Nine of the original 22 team members arrived on the 12th and they've been working with Kenny and Pastor Phillipa at the First Stone location at 8 Mile installing partitions for classrooms as more children and families are joining this community ...

WAW Photo

The group is also offering swimming lessons for the leadership team from Exodus ...

WAW Photo

We are looking forward to having the rest of the Discovery Team join us in Belize in December!

The Word at Work is BONAFIDE

According to Stewart, Martin, Dudley, Webb, Certified Public Accounting Firm, the Word at Work's financial statements and position for 12.31.2015 are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Why is that important? We want our donors to have confidence that we are running a tight ship and that we strive to be excellent stewards of the gifts provided by God through you! Our "overhead ratio" was less than 10% in 2015. We are doing more with less - but what could we do with a bit more???

The Word at Work has more projects, donations and mission teams each year. It’s time to provide additional resources to help the Amarillo staff keep up.

We are looking for a part-time bookkeeper with nonprofit or church experience. General ledger accounting experience, donor management data management and familiarity with QuickBooks Online will be important.

Because of the travel-intensive season for our staff, stability and reliability will be very important. Please help us spread the word to find someone who may fit the qualifications and who is interested in a mission organization with a successful history of work in Belize.

With additional help, comes additional expense for payroll and taxes and technology. Please consider making a donation to the operating budget of The Word at Work to change this from a need to a reality.

Thank you for growing the Word at Work!!

tt (Tim Tam)
The Word at Work

ps: Our Ministry Associate team gathers school supplies, toys, and stuffed animals through out the year ... we've discovered blankets are an ongoing need as well, so please be saving them, too. Click here to learn more about becoming a TW@W Ministry Associate, or get in touch with Tim Hagen for more information!

EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!

Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TODAY

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Invitation to Prayer, TODAY

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday - TODAY - at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

Dear Intercessors,

Have you been watching the Olympics? A couple of stories have caught my attention and highlight particular areas that I think we, as intercessors for children, can lift up to the Father.

Getty Images Photo by David Ramos

There is a refugee team made up entirely of refugees representing no nation. While they may not be winning gold medals, the team has received a lot of support and has succeeded in bringing global attention to the plight of the world's refugees. But in his New York Times op-ed, Roger Cohen bluntly pointed out "the world is moved by Team Refugees. Yet, it is unmoved by refugees. They die at sea. They die sealed in the back of a truck. They die anonymous deaths. Fences are erected, walls mooted. Posters decry them. They represent danger and threaten disruption. They are freeloaders. They are left in festering limbo on remote Pacific islands... The glorification of Team Refugees and the vilification of refugees coexist. How can they? It's the old principle: Not in my backyard."

Father, convict us as we watch these Olympians and remember the millions they represent. Help us examine our hearts and allow you to reveal any biases we may have, and then empower us with courage to stand against the tide of anti-refugee sentiment and ask our leaders to not turn their backs on the world's vulnerable. For those children and adults currently living as displaced people or in refugee camps, we pray over them Your protection, sustenance, and hope.

Washington Post Photo by Jonathan Newton

Simone Biles is dazzling the gymnastics world with her impeccable skills and brilliant smiles. And you may have heard, she was adopted as a young girl. "They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents," tweeted Al Trautwig, NBC's gymnastics announcer for the Rio games, Sunday. For thousands of adoptees, they hear language like this every day and it touches a primal wound. As an adoptive mom, I cannot tell you the number of times I've heard people refer to my oldest (biological) daughter as my "own" child, while adding the adjective "adopted" in front of my youngest's name -- as if clarification about the way they came into my life is needed when discussing their place in my heart now.

In an OpEd piece in the Washington Post this week entitled 'As seen at the Olympics, there is still a lot of ignorance about adoption/u>,' Jenn Morson said it well:

"So to Mr. Trautwig and all of those who see my family, or more widely, see Simone Biles's family, and instead of seeing love see only technicalities, look again. Ask yourself, what tethers you to your own parents or to your own children? Is it a shared recessive gene that caused you to both have green eyes? Do you immediately think of the fact that you are both blood type B negative?

Rather, isn't it the time your heart was shattered and your father hugged you tightly and let you cry on his shoulder? Isn't it the moment you let go of the back of the bicycle and your daughter soared away from you, squealing with delight because you gave her the confidence she needed? That is what makes us parents. What makes us sons and daughters. That is what makes us real."

Father, for every adopted child who ever endures questions about their legitimacy in their family, please give them deep and strong roots. Help them to know they belong both to their family and also to you. And for those of us who interact with adopted children, please give us wisdom in our words -- help us use language that uplifts and strengthens their identities and does not unnecessarily undermine it to satisfy our curiosity about their biology. Thank you for putting Simone Biles on the world's stage and raising attention for adoption... may it result in many more families looking at adoption as one way they might grow their families.

Praying with you,

Carrie

Carrie J. McKean
Faces of Children Director
First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas
(432) 684-7821 x153

If you have prayer requests about children, those who care for them, those who have authority over them, or those who harm them (the really hard prayers to say sometimes), please send them to info@facesofchildren.net

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 17, 2016

MISSION PARTNERSHIPS - At the recent World Mission Café, an event at the 222nd General Assembly (2016), mission co-workers and staff, ecumenical partners, mid council leaders and congregational representatives gathered to share stories of the joys and struggles of day-to-day mission partnership around the world ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... TOMORROW

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Invitation to Prayer, TODAY

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

Getty Images Photo by David Ramos

Washington Post Photo by Jonathan Newton

Today in the PC-USA Mission Yearbook

Today in the Mission Yearbook: August 16, 2016

ETHIOPIA - A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) global partner, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, is using Community Health Evangelism (CHE) to help transform communities in two of its 17 synods ...

• CLICK HERE to read more.

Monday, August 15, 2016

From @chinaaid : "Officials bar Christian minors from taking college exam, entering military"

The China Aid Association is a non-profit Christian organization - based in Midland, Texas - with a mission to uncover and reveal the truth about religious persecution in China, focusing especially on the unofficial church. They do this, they explain in their website, by exposing the abuses, encouraging the abused and equipping the saints to advance the kingdom of God throughout China.

Officials bar Christian minors from taking college exam, entering military
Distributed by ChinaAid, July, 2016 ...

HUAQIU, GUIZHOU, CHINA – On June 23, a local government office in China’s central Guizhou province delivered an ultimatum to parents who attend a house church: if children do not stop attending church, they will be barred from attending college or entering the military. Additionally, violators of the new regulation will be sued ...

• more on this story from China Aid

Invitation to Prayer from Faces of Children ... WEDNESDAY

Faces of Children is an ecumenical prayer ministry under the auspices of First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas. Our mission is to initiate ministries of prayer for children in churches, communities, and neighborhoods. In doing so, we seek to provide an opportunity for people of God to join together, learn about children and their needs throughout the world, and celebrate Christ's love (especially as it relates to children).

Invitation to Prayer, TODAY

Hi Friends,

Thank you for joining me in prayer for the children of the world. If you can, we'd love to have you pray together with us this Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., in the gym conference room at First Presbyterian Church of Midland, Texas, followed by lunch together.

Also, Faces of Children is now on Facebook ! I invite you to like our page so that you can see regular stories, prayer needs, and updates from partner ministries.

All the best,

Carrie

Getty Images Photo by David Ramos

Washington Post Photo by Jonathan Newton