BIG God uses people: Church Plant Update

Dear Friends, Family, and Ministry Partners:

I am so excited to write to you and update you as to the great move of God that we are seeing take place at Bridges of Hope Fellowship!  Please allow me to bring you up to date as a church plant.

Since January 1^st of this year, we have been blessed to see over 60 professions of faith for our Lord Jesus Christ.  Praise God!  We have been able to baptize just over half of those already, with more on the way.  If the weather holds out, I’ll be baptizing 10 in the creek this Wednesday night.  Since Easter, we started an 8:30 a.m. service on Sundays and it’s growing.  During this time, we’ve seen our attendance rise to just over 100, most weeks.  We are experiencing more and more people stepping up to serve in ministry roles, as well as leadership roles.  Our children’s and youth ministries are growing rapidly and reaching lots of fatherless children.  We’ve had lots of singles come into the church and find their mates, therefore, preparing us for lots of weddings this Summer and Fall. We are very engaged in missions through our Acts 1:8 Global Plan of Serving strategy that helps us to take the gospel to the ends of the world. 

As you can see, God is moving mightily at Bridges of Hope Fellowship.  We are pressing forward in faith and believing God to move even greater in the days and months to come.  We are believing God for over 100 salvations by the end of 2011, and two thirds of those being baptized.

In order for us to reach our goal for this year, we need you and others like you to partner with us in this ministry of church planting.  There are lots of ways that you could partner with us.  Below is just a few.

·         PRAY.  We always need people to stand in prayer with us as we seek to win the lost at any cost.

·         GIVE.  Consider giving a one-time gift or a monthly partnership gift to help us make an impact in McMinnville and around the world.

·         GO.  Bring a group to serve with us in community outreach through servant evangelism, putting out door-hangers, event evangelism, feeding project, etc

Many have also asked for me to share the current needs of our church for you to help pray about and ask God to meet them.

·         BAPTISTRY  -  We had to return the baptistry that we have borrowed for over a year.  Now, we need one.  We are needing a baptistry that doubles as a communion table and it has an inline heater system.  It’s portable and costs $2800.  Not having one for us is like having a car with no tires.  We really need this!

·         NKJV Bibles  -  We need 25 New King James Version Bibles for our student ministry.  Preferably the hard back type of pew Bible.

·         CD/DVD Duplicator  -  We put out over 50 Cds & DVDs every week of our services and are currently burning them one at a time on a laptop, which is very time consuming.

·         REFRIGERATOR/FREEZER  -  We’re needing a good refrigerator with a freezer to keep drinks, food, etc. cool for the nursery, youth, etc.

·         LAPTOP  -  We are in need of a good laptop to use in the sound booth for our service PowerPoint/videos/ect. 

Also, I will be in the East Tennessee area (Morristown/Knoxville areas) on the weekend of July 9^th & 10^th and August 14^th.  I will be available for preaching during any of these weekends.  If you’d be open to me worshipping with you and preaching for you, please feel free to call me at 931-815-8870 or email me at pastor@gethope.info.

Thank you for all of your prayer and financial support to help us impact a world through planting new churches!  May God bless you as you have blessed us.

Building Bridges of Hope,

DeWayne Howard, Pastor
Bridges of Hope Fellowship
4023 Smithville Hwy.
McMinnville, TN 37110

The Attack

Today has been an odd day.  I woke up extremely tired and exhausted.  However, I pushed myself to make visits and then head to the office to work.

This afternoon, my blood pressure increased greatly.  It left me feeling dizzy, confused, vision blurred, and a bad headache.  I did good to make it home for dinner.  I knew that it was getting time for prayer meeting at Bridges of Hope Fellowship and I really didn't even want to go.  I went anyway, even though I had no intentions on staying for the service.

When the service began, I sat on a stool and laid my Bible on a music stand beside me.  I felt horrible and couldn't get my words to come out right.  I wanted to just leave.  That's when one of our men, Tim Mears, spoke up and stated that they needed to pray over me first before we started.  So, everyone gathered around me at the altar and anointed me with oil.  Afterwards, I sat back down on the stool and noticed that my strength was increasing rapidly and I immediately began to feel much better.

The service continued with me reading Philipians 4 and leading the people to think on praise worthy things in our lives.  We shared lots of praise reports and the fact that there have been 60 professions of faith since January 1st of this year.  It was truly a celebration!  Afterwards, we began different seasons of prayer led by different lay people in the church.  After a moment of silence, the Holy Spirit instructed me to begin praying for and asking God for the nations, so I did.

As I began praying for the nations, I begin to speak to the strong man and the strongholds to be broken and come down when, immediately, it was as if someone grabbed me by the throat and cut my prayer off.  I couldn't speak at all.  I knew immediately that I was under a strong demonic attack.  I then felt pain all over my upper body and knew that I had to get to my Bible and I laid my hand upon it.  Natalie, Dewayne Summers, and David Clayton rushed to my aid and immediately began praying over me and for me.  Others in our body said they literally saw a handlike figure around my throat and said that my face was blood red and that I was struggling.  Finally, I was able to break through the attack and pull down those strongholds and cast out the powers of darkness.  Following the breakthrough, came a holy boldness to speak the Word to our people.  Then, to close out the service, we all gathered in a circle, held hands, and we all prayed together in one accord.  It was both, beautiful and powerful.  The Holy Spirit of God fell upon us during that prayertime in a most powerful way.  Praise God!

Church, get ready for God to do some amazing things in our midst as we're about to see the Spirit of God move like we've never experienced Him before.  God has BIG plans for Bridges of Hope Fellowship and the people of Warren County.  It's time to rejoice and blow the trumpets as we march into the thick of battle!

Rev. David Wilkerson's last blog post

WHEN ALL MEANS FAIL
by David Wilkerson April 27, 2011

To believe when all means fail is exceedingly pleasing to God and is most acceptable. Jesus said to Thomas, "You have believed because you have seen, but blessed are those that do believe and have not seen" (John 20:29).

Blessed are those who believe when there is no evidence of an answer to prayer-who trust beyond hope when all means have failed.

Someone has come to the place of hopelessness-the end of hope-the end of all means. A loved one is facing death and doctors give no hope. Death seems inevitable. Hope is gone. The miracle prayed for is not happening.

That is when Satan's hordes come to attack your mind with fear, anger, overwhelming questions: "Where is your God now? You prayed until you had no tears left. You fasted. You stood on promises. You trusted."

Blasphemous thoughts will be injected into your mind: "Prayer failed. Faith failed. Don't quit on God-just do not trust him anymore. It doesn't pay!"

Even questioning God's existence will be injected into your mind. These have been the devices of Satan for centuries. Some of the godliest men and women who ever lived were under such demonic attacks.

To those going through the valley and shadow of death, hear this word: Weeping will last through some dark, awful nights-and in that darkness you will soon hear the Father whisper, "I am with you. I cannot tell you why right now, but one day it will all make sense. You will see it was all part of my plan. It was no accident. It was no failure on your part. Hold fast. Let me embrace you in your hour of pain."

Beloved, God has never failed to act but in goodness and love. When all means fail-his love prevails. Hold fast to your faith. Stand fast in his Word. There is no other hope in this world.

(This was David Wilkerson's last blog entry before he passed into eternity - Thank you, David...)

12 Ways to Make Sure Your Easter Guests Don't Come Back

12 Ways to Make Sure Your Easter Guests Don't Come Back

This Sunday is Easter and when you look around your church you’re going to get that uncomfortable feeling that comes from being around all kinds of people you haven’t seen in a while or perhaps never before. You know, the slackers who only show up at church twice a year, the backsliders who haven’t been to church in 5 years, and the heathens who wouldn’t know the Pentateuch from a pentagram.

They’re going to take your favorite pew, sit and stand at the wrong times during the service, and double your wait in the coffee line after the service. You don’t want to have to put up with those distractions and inconveniences week in and week out, so here are 12 ways to ensure those people don’t come back the week after Easter.

1. Keep to yourself. Avoid eye contact. And by all means don’t welcome anyone you don’t know.

2. Walk up to someone you haven’t seen for a while and say, “Hey, hey… Look who it is… You don’t think just showing up for Easter is going to get you out of the Big Guy’s doghouse, do you?”

3. Make sure all the greeters, ushers, singers, speakers, and everyone involved in leading the service are all of the same ethnic background so that if anyone of a different ethnicity shows up they know they are considered second-class citizens.

4. Take down all your signs so only the regulars know if a door leads to the pastor’s office, the ladies room, or a broom closet.

5. During the service have the pastor pray, “Lord, please forgive all those sinners who have failed to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.”

6. Invite the worst singer in the choir to do a solo.

7. Find a way to tie the Easter message into a soliloquy on the Iraq War and make it clear that everyone who disagrees with the pastor’s position is on the devil’s side.

8. During the service ask all the visitors to stand and then introduce themselves to the entire congregation.

9. Announce that next week the pastor will begin a 12-week series on hell.

10. Put a sign up in the children’s ministry area that indicates you have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to volunteers with criminal records.

11. Just assume that everyone understands what communion is all about. Then when people start coming forward to receive communion have the ushers quietly walk up to the “really big sinners” and ask them to return to their seats.

12. Announce that visitors must fill out a form with their contact information and should expect an elder-evangelist tag team waiting in their driveway when they get home.

Of course, if you actually care about guests and irregular church attenders because you believe they matter to God, you might consider doing just the opposite.

(Shared from a blog post from Paul Steinbrueck.)

BIG questions, REAL answers

Starts this Sunday at 8:30 & 10:30 a.m. at Bridges of Hope Fellowship!

Have you ever had questions that you wish you could ask, but were afraid to? Well, at Bridges of Hope Fellowship, our people have been submitting questions to me that they would like for to answer in a sermon on Sundays. So, I've chosen six questions out of many that have been submitted to answer in a new series, "BIG questions, REAL answers" over the next six weeks. I'll be starting this special series on EASTER Sunday (This Sunday) at Bridges of Hope.

Here's the questions we'll be answering:

April 24th - Why Would a Good God Send Anyone to Hell?

May 1st - Does God Approve of Alternative Lifestyles?

May 8th - Can I Be a Christian and Still...?

May 15th - Self Centered vs. Christ Centered? (By Elder David Cook)

May 22nd - Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

May 29th - Why Is Jesus Christ the Only Way to God?

This is a series that you don't want to miss! So, share this blog post with your friends and invite them to hear the answers to some of the most asked questions by people today. Who knows? It just might be that God would speak to us through these times together.

Please be much in pray for us this Easter Sunday at Bridges of Hope Fellowship. We are believing God to use US to reach an attendance goal of 115 people! I have challenged each family to bring at least 1 person/family with them that doesn't goto church anywhere. What an exciting time it would be to reach our goal and see some lives changed in the process. After all, we are all about bring HOPE to the people of Warren County and around the world. Join me and let's make it happen for the glory of God! See you there!

New Service Added: 8:30 a.m. (No van service or Hope Kids during this service)

6 Reasons Not to Reach the Lost

Reaching those far from Christ requires an attitude and a commitment. And it will cost you. Here’s six reasons not to pay the price:

1. You don’t want to experience miracles- God has surprised me over and over again at what He is doing in peoples lives. From home wreckers to homosexuals, from atheists to alcoholics, it has been more than I had ever hoped to observe. When we made it about loving people where they are and letting God change them in His time to where He wants them to be we began to see some serious miracles.

2. You like having lots of Pharisees around- Religious people have no tolerance for these environments and will naturally gravitate to churches where people talk about reaching the lost but never take big risks to do it. When there isn’t a large enough vision to capture the hearts of the people usually DI-VISION will be the result.

3. You enjoy preaching to theologians- I love theology but soon realized my style of communication had to shift a bit to create the opportunity for those far from God to connect with Him in a significant way. It has been well said that communicators take the complex and make it simple, while educators take the simple and make it complex.

4. You are convinced they will eventually filter in over time- It’s simple. They won’t.

5. You don’t ever want to be challenged personally to change- This is my eighteenth year of ministry and I’ve never been challenged like I am right now. God has dealt with me about things that I never could have imagined and it feels good. It feels right. I want Him to do in me what’s right to Him not what’s comfortable to me.

6. You believe the Great Commission was the great suggestion- This isn’t about style or flavor or how you dress. It’s about letting the things that break His heart break ours. It really is an attitude that believes people without Him will be lost forever. This stirs my spirit and I pray it stirs yours as well.

This guest post is from JMark Johns, the founding pastor of Christ Central Alachua.

Today is day 3 of the 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting at Bridges of Hope Fellowship. This will end the regular fast of only water and juices. Tomorrow will begin the Daniel portion of the fast. Already, we are seeing God do great things in the lives of people at BOHF. It's not too late to join us, if you haven't already. Just jump in and start where we are!

When we give, pray, and fast (Matthew 6), we are creating a 3 fold cord that is not easily broken, according to Ecclesiastes. So, when we are doing these 3 things, we are releasing the 30, 60, and 100 fold blessings into our lives.

During this time, we are to be reading the Word, praying, fasting, and meditating. However, I've found that lot's of people don't really know how to properly meditate on the Word. So, I've decided to share some practical advice on meditating on Scripture.

How To Meditate On God's Word
The "2proapt" Method

PRAY - Ask God to speak to you.

PREVIEW - Read through the passage quickly for an overview.

READ - Read the passage a second time slowly and contemplatively.

OBSERVE - Go back and underline key words, circle words/phrases that are repeated, highlight the most meaningful verse to you from the passage.

APPLY - Choose one specific way to put into practice the truth you have discovered from the passage.

PRAY - Ask God for power and wisdom to follow through with your application that you've decided upon.

TELL - Share with at least one person what new insight, truth, or application you have made in response to God's Word to you.

I hope this is helpful for you in receiving a fresh word from God each time you read His Word and meditate on the scriptures. May God's Truths come alive in your daily walk with Him!