October 2017
(Editors Note: Pastor Me has been an important member of White Fields Ministry. At the end of October 2017, Pastor Me will transition from White Fields to working a new job at a local Christian Seminary. His church will be pastored by one of our new church planters Pastor O. We are thankful for Pastor Me and his service to the Lord. Join us in continuing to pray for his ministry.)
I thank God because I am not worthy of being your servant, yet because of His limitless and majestic love, God has used me this month in serving my Egyptian brothers. This work includes home visitations, giving lectures, and Bible studies.
We made many quick visits to homes in our neighborhood inviting people to attend the church service or the meetings on Tuesday. Atl, Nas, Naj, Hen, Wa, and El helped me with these visits. We had longer visits in some homes where I sat down with the men. We discussed questions and drank tea. For example, El and I went for a house visit that lasted an hour and a half where we answered questions about violence and anger towards the enemy. There was another question about how do I apply the teachings that they learned at the church in life. It was through those questions that I presented the idea of how sinful man can be, and what Jesus did for us. We had a good time!
We also visited the sick. There is an Egyptian worker who fell off a building and broke his leg. I visited, prayed, and encouraged him. There is also another man whose brother lives in Egypt that lost both his legs in an accident. I visited him and encouraged and prayed with him. I also continuously ask about his brother’s health.
In our theology class, we have finished studying about the angels, and we have started an exciting new journey studying the Bible chapter by chapter. Every Wednesday we memorize the main idea of every book. For example, we figure out the main topics and the primary people in Genesis and then we memorized the events chronologically in that book.
From chapters (1-5): there was the creation, the downfall and the line of Adam. From chapters (6-20): the story of the flood, Noah, and his descendants. From chapter (11): the tower of Babel. Chapters (12-25): Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael. From chapters (25-36): Jacob and Esau. From chapters (37-50): Events from Joseph’s life until he came down to Egypt. This way we can go through the Bible chapter by chapter; watching the events unfold until everything is glorious revealed. The purpose of this study is to memorize the significant facts of each section of the Bible.
May God bless your lives and use you for the glory of His name! I do not deserve to be a servant of the Lord, but he has blessed me nonetheless to carry this honor and a great privilege. I love the Lord with all my heart!
July 2017
Dear Prayer Partners,
It was a blessing to see the fruit of my efforts training my ten theology students. They have been very faithful over the last few months and are growing tremendously. To encourage them to share what they are learning, I challenged them to speak in the church service. We first spent time together studying John chapter one in detail. Then I had them each share during the teaching time on Sunday. They each taught for about five minutes. All together, they gave the full picture of John chapter one.
The shared sermon was a fun experiment and revealed that some of them are very gifted teachers. Ash, Re, and Ata did an exceptional job, and I will begin preparing them to teach a full sermon in the future. I am very proud of the whole group and told them that my desire is to work to the point that I can sit in the back row on Sunday and enjoy watching them lead the service.
We continue to do home visitations every Monday. We go in teams of two and try to visit members of our church as well as new people in our area. These visits are very unpredictable. Sometimes it is a brief offering of an invitation to come to church. Often there is a need for counseling and prayer. I had an opportunity to help two brothers who were experiencing conflict. They had gotten to the point that they refused to speak to one another. I was able to visit both independently and then bring them together for reconciliation. It is a blessing to facilitate the unity that God desires for His people.
On a personal note, after an intensive summer of Greek classes, I finally have completed my Master’s degree in divinity. It has been a long road, and I am relieved to be finished. This will eliminate my two-hour bus commute between school and church giving me the freedom I need to serve the church to the fullest. Thanks be to God!
Please Pray:
- For the continued faithfulness and growth of the theology class students.
- For Ash, Re, and Ata to have courage as I prepare them to preach a full sermon.
- For many to come to Christ and join the church as a result of our home visitations.
Your brother in Christ, Pastor Me
April 2017
Dear Prayer Partners,
The core group of our church plant was organized under the ministry of Pastor M. I was given oversight to develop it into an independent church plant. Transitions in leadership can be tricky, but I am pleased to report that relationships are growing stronger. The established members of the group Participated in my selection process and have embraced me fully as their leader. Up until this point, many people were serving, but the organizational leadership of the group was very unclear. I am planning to teach on the Biblical roles of Deacons and Elders with hopes of bringing healthy biblical structure to the group.
I am working hard to begin developing those who are serving into mature leaders. Fifteen members are part of a new weekly training. We are trying to lay a strong foundation by studying Bible interpretation, theology, and Bible survey. All fifteen are committed to this course that will include lessons, homework, and exams at the end of each section. Now that we have a committed core group of students for the class, we plan to open enrollment for anyone else in the church.
We have also started a monthly leadership meeting to focus on our vision for ministry. Ten leaders and potential leaders attended the first meeting. The idea was to report and give feedback on the previous month of ministry, to become more strategic as a group, and to clarify responsibilities and delegate who will serve in these ministries.
Our primary means of evangelism continues to be home visitations. Two days each week, Nas, Mo, and I visit new families. During our visits, we spend time sharing a Bible lesson, answering questions about the faith, sharing the Gospel, and praying for people. Nas enjoyed both learning how to respond to difficult questions as well a how to listen. One family had many problems and, instead of giving many answers, we simply prayed for their needs. This is exactly what they needed. Nas was encouraged that he does not need to have all the answers but simply to care for the people he visits.
Please Pray:
- That our training class would impact the students and lay a foundation for their life of ministry.
- That the leadership team will continue to serve diligently and become more organized in their effort.
- That we would be able to identify and deploy qualified Deacons and Elders.
- That many people would come to faith in Christ through our visitation efforts.
Your friend in the ministry, Pastor Me
February 2017
Dear Prayer Partners,
The core group of our church plant was organized under the ministry of Pastor Ma, and I was given oversight to develop it into an independent church plant. Transitions in leadership can be a tricky thing, but I am pleased to report that relationships are growing stronger. The established members of the group were part of my selection process and have embraced me fully as their leader. Up until this point, many people were serving, but the organization of the group had very unclear. I am planning to teach on the Biblical roles of Deacons and Elders with hopes of bringing healthy biblical structure to the group.
I am working hard to begin developing those who are serving. Fifteen members are part of a new weekly training. We are trying to lay a strong foundation by studying Bible interpretation, theology, and Bible survey. All fifteen are committed to this course that will include lessons, homework, and exams at the end of each section. Now that we have a committed core for the class, we plan to open the class for anyone in the group.
We also started a monthly leadership meeting to focus on our vision for ministry. Ten leaders and potential leaders attended the first meeting. The idea was to report and give feedback on the previous month of ministry, to become more strategic as a group and to clarify and delegate responsibilities.
Our primary means of evangelism continues to be home visitations. Two days each week, Nas, Mo and I visit new families. During our visits, we spend time sharing a Bible lesson, answering questions about the faith, sharing the Gospel, and praying for people. Nas enjoyed both learning how to respond to difficult questions as well a how to listen. One family had many problems and, instead of giving many answers, we simply prayed for their needs. This is exactly what they needed. Nas was encouraged that he does not need to have all the answers but simply to care for the people he visits.
Please Pray:
- That our training class would impact the students and lay a foundation for their life of ministry.
- That the leadership team will continue to serve diligently and become more organized in their effort.
- That we would be able to identify and deploy qualified Deacons and Elders.
- That many people would come to faith in Christ through our visitation efforts.
Your friend in the ministry, Pastor Me