Pastor N’s Story
I was born into a Christian home and in fifth grade, my older brother, in high school, passed away. This loss was hard and hurt us a lot, but at the same time, the Lord opened my parent’s hearts, and they became believers. I was far from the Lord, but I went to a church meeting and at that time I came to Christ. My faith began in that church, then I started going to Sunday school and I learned more.
When the Lord called me to ministry, it was clear that He desired me to leave my job and devote full time to studying at the Seminary. My wife and I prayed together, and we saw the Lord’s hand in this decision. I also consulted with my family; two of my brothers and strong believers and they supported me. The Lord granted me grace and success in my studies.
My target area has a high percentage of cultural Christians. I started my ministry in this target area seventeen years ago and we have sent out many servants of the Lord. Just four years ago, I began working with the refugees as well. Many of them have been sent out to serve the Lord; the majority of these are young men whose families are still in their home country. They have come here for work with a large percentage of these being from the same village as myself.
Recent Ministry:
We love him because he first loved us 1 John 4:9. We thank God for taking the initiative to love and save us. We love God in return, and He is the one who loved us first and announced to us His wondrous salvation. Therefore, we express our love for Him by sharing the love of Christ with people. We have the privilege of serving a wonderful, loving God who has shown us His love. I thank God for you, servants of White Fields, and I pray that God will invest everything you do for the glory of His name and the extension of His kingdom.
Writing competition
In our church meeting, the Lord placed on my heart that we hold a Bible copying competition to write parts and books of the Holy Bible. This idea came to me when I visited a local family who are believers, and the head of the house is an evangelical pastor who serves outside of our city. Their daughter has physical ailments and trouble walking and always needs help, but she is a wonderful sister who has copied large parts of the Bible in her handwriting. This is encouraging to me. At our church meeting, I announced a competition to copy parts and books of the Bible. The first part was to hand-write Psalms 1 to 10. One sister has significant challenges due to illness and difficult circumstances, but she wrote these parts and said, “Pastor, I want to thank you for encouraging me to write the word of God. I wrote initially because I promised to write, but I soon found that God answered many of my questions and became certain that God hears me.” In the second part of the competition, I asked them to copy the Epistle to the Ephesians, and I am eager to see many people copying the Word of God.
Prayer meeting
The Lord placed in my heart that during June, we would have a weekly prayer meeting every Thursday evening. We felt that as ministers, we needed to have a time of prayer to spend with each other. We long for the Lord to do great things through and with us.
Spiritual Days
By the grace of the Lord, we are praying and arranging four spiritual days: Thursday, August 22, to Sunday, August 25. We plan to bring in a preacher and worship leader from our home country. The goal of these days is to be evangelistic and encouraging. Please join us in prayer for these days. We pray that the Lord will attract many people to Himself because of God’s desire for humanity: “He desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” 1 Timothy 2:4.
Migrant Workers Conference
By the grace of the Lord, from August 12 to 14, we will have a conference called “Workers of the Kingdom.” This conference targets workers from our home country who live in our city and the capital city. We will have speakers from our home country who are servants with a wonderful heart for this forgotten group in our society, the “workers.” Why I came to this country: my calling is to serve the workers from my home country. The main goal is for migrant workers to realize they are “workers in the Kingdom of God” and become evangelistic workers who desire to serve the Lord. This matter is fundamental, and we ask you to join us in praying for it.
Pray for us as a family to be fruitful in our service. Pray for the ministry here in our local city to expand in and through us. Pray for a van to serve the Lord and transport people to church. Pray for our upcoming spiritual days and the worker’s conference.
Morning ministry team visits
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, when he appointed me for service” (1 Timothy 1:12). Thank you to the Lord for this call and also for the help and strength that the Holy Spirit sends us to serve the Lord.
One of the most challenging visits was to a refugee family. The wife had adopted unbiblical teaching, and we had a long discussion with her. Unfortunately, it was a sad visit because what she learned was from inside a church, but it was a different teaching. It causes us sadness and pain and makes us think about many people led astray by strange teachings. We need the Lord to help us be faithful to Biblical Christian teachings.
We visited a sister of Orthodox origins. She began attending church meetings with us, and we felt the work of God’s Spirit in her life. During the visit, she was sick but showed thankfulness and praise to the Lord. We see a distinctive spiritual maturity in her.
Another sister, a widow with three children, joined us in the church and the ministry, and we thank God for her and her children. We see their spiritual growth and God’s dealings with their lives.
We had a wonderful visit with another of the refugee families. This sister told us that she was waiting for us to pray for her sick sister in a nearby country.” She trusts the prayers of believers. “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:15).
During this period, we and some elders visited local church families. These visits aim to pray for and encourage these families, and we thank God that we saw this make a difference in the homes visited.
Evening visits to migrant workers
In the evening, my wife and I visit migrant worker families, encouraging and praying with them. These visits aim to encourage and nurture them. We also visit the homes of young migrant workers in our city, pray with and for them, and encourage them to attend church.
As an Evangelical Baptist church, we face challenges from our city’s liturgical churches and the traditional church. There is a migrant worker traditional priest who met another migrant worker young man who was praying with us and asked him why he went to the Evangelical Church when he is traditional. This young man shared with us what happened to him. Unfortunately, this happens often and in different forms. We need your prayers for the Lord to work and assure souls.
Church meetings
We thank God for Sunday and youth school services as we see growth and multiplication in them, and we thank God for the leaders whom God has appointed for this work as they serve the Lord with all their energy, effort, and love. The Lord honors us in the ministry of worship and praise in the church, with the team and outside, and in the ministry of education. I believe that education is an essential part of the life of believers for them to mature (1 Timothy 4:16). “Give attention to yourself and to the teaching and continue therein, for if you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you also.” The Lord helps us to be consistent in the Word and always to make the Word of God have the highest authority over life.
A prayer of thanks to the Lord for the local driving license I obtained; the grace of the Lord accomplished this matter. Pray for my family; we are in constant need of your prayers. We need your prayers for us as a family, and we want the Lord to use us for the glory of His name and the extension of His kingdom. Pray for a car to help us travel for the ministry. Currently, we travel by foot or by taxi. Pray for the ministry here in our city; we constantly need your prayers.
“You crowned the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with fatness” Psalms 65:11. I thank God for you always at White Fields Ministry; you are in our prayers. I thank God for this year; we have felt the Lord’s hand in everything, as Jacob said in Genesis 32:10: “I am unworthy of all your kindness and for all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.” The Lord did great things for us, in us, and through us this past year.
The Lord has honored us with service to local and foreign families. My wife and I visited families and young people in their residences; we also saw the sick and suffering, sharing the love of Christ and preaching to them the good news of salvation.
We held an evangelistic conference and provided training for families to raise children; it was very fruitful. The Lord doubled the youth service; we see and feel what God is doing among this generation. The Lord opened a new door for service among the university youth, and we have longings from the Lord for this generation to become the Lord’s and to be servants of the Most High. We thank God for the Sunday School service, which is growing. We provided training and written educational matters for the morning team service. We also served the widows and ladies.
Christmas Celebrations
The month of December was full of celebrations of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; the goal of each celebration was to convey to people the message of salvation and to accept God’s gift to us. We had a celebration for the Sunday school children with the Sunday school teachers.
We celebrated with the widows and ladies. I shared with them about the birth of Christ and one of the most important blessings, which is the solution to the problem of sin, and that we have a Savior and an opportunity for salvation. “She will give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. Because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21.
We celebrated with the youth and the congregation. In both celebrations, I shared with them about our Redeemer and Savior, who came from above to give us salvation.
New Year’s celebration
We ended last year in the Lord’s presence with a time of worship and education, a unique opportunity to be in the presence of the Lord with the pleasure of seeing the fruit of our labor. It was a wonderful time. The Lord blessed us with gifts given to children and young people and some items for foreign families. We were able to help them with their needs and provided a practical lesson about God’s love. We feel God’s mercy and benevolence toward us every day.
Prayer requests
Please pray for us as a family; we constantly need your prayers.
Please pray that many people encounter the Lord personally this upcoming year. We long to see the younger generation be devoted to the Lord.
About twenty to twenty-five families are committed to the church, but all do not attend every week. We have a big ministry to the kids with Sunday schools for two different age groups during our services.
Our goal is for people to come to know the Lord. Many people do not come to the church and so we visit them. Many do not attend because they are Orthodox or Coptic. We try to begin discipleship studies in their houses with them. About five families from an Orthodox background were added to the church this year. This is a huge blessing.
We have begun teaching classes on family life from the Bible including marriage and parenting. Twice a month we have courses for the family. We do prayer meetings and Bible study once a week. We know that many of these people will return to their home country and so our goal is for them to come to know the Lord here and begin serving Him here before they return home. My wife serves in the Sunday school and goes on visits with me. We see that the world is messy, and we want our kids to know the Lord while they are young.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
Ephesians 1:3
Peace be upon you, beloved servants of White Fields. I pray that you are full of blessing and strength and that the Lord will use you and fill you. I want to share with you some of the wonderful things the Lord did with us recently.
We have continued teaching the “Generation in the Truth” course, which aims to raise a generation according to God’s heart. This course is very important and wonderful, and my prayer is that the Lord will use this course for the glory of His name and the extension of His kingdom.
The Lord blessed us by allowing us to baptize a large group of approximately 18 young men and women of different nationalities. We baptized them in obedience to the commandment of the Lord to us and them. The Bible teaches us “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19).
The Lord honored us with a very wonderful conference recently, and the presence of God filled the place. On the evening of the first day, the gospel message was presented. The focus was on repentance and returning to the Lord. On the second day, an important topic named “Internet addiction” was presented. The day was very useful and wonderful, and it was an answer to prayer. There were 49 people, both adults and youth, present. My prayer is that the Lord will glorify His name and extend His kingdom. All the attendees enjoyed the time and it was useful for everyone.
The Lord honored us with a wonderful time of praise on a preaching day to a large group of nearby refugees. The message was of salvation and the atmosphere was very open and wonderful.
We have the wonderful privilege during the morning service to visit local families and share with them the love of Christ. In the evening, we visit youth and families from our home country. Our main goal is to share the work of God’s grace and His love revealed to us in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Prayer requests
- A prayer of thanksgiving for God’s providence. We felt the presence of God and His response to prayer. Please pray for those who attended the conference so that they continue in the faith.
- Also, pray for all the loved ones who were baptized. Pray they continue in the faith, be discipled, and are a reason for blessing for many.
- We, as a family, are in constant need of you, my beloved. Please pray for us so that the Lord will use us in His kingdom with all blessing and grace amid the responsibility that God has entrusted to us.
“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.”
Deuteronomy 33:26
At the end of our year, I agree with the statement of truth that God has no equal. He continually rushes to our aid. I wish you all a happy new year and I thank God for you. I pray that God will give you strength, grace, and blessing in all the work of your hands. It is an honor and privilege to serve the Lord in every opportunity and field that God gives us. I am excited to share with you some of the things God is doing with us in His ministry.
The Visitation Ministry:
We thank God for the visits among our countrymen. We provided household aid relief packs including rice, lentils, beans, and clothes. We also shared with them from the Bible and encouraged them in their Christian walk. We connect with the youth regularly and teach them from the Word of God and encourage them to attend the weekly church meeting. During the daily morning hours, we visit our beloved Christian refugee friends and local traditional Christians.
A story from a visit:
We visited a non-evangelical Christian local family. They welcomed us but also had questions about the intercessory role of St. Mary. We presented them with the Biblical truth clearly and with love, as we want to know the truth, and the truth will set us free.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1 John 2:1
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
1 Timothy 2:5
The Bible Study Ministry:
We thank God for this continuous and encouraging ministry. We are studying God’s attributes and their application. I pray that the Lord will use this time of the week for our growth as believers and for the extension of God’s kingdom in and through us.
Youth Service and Sunday School:
We thank God for His work among this generation. We pray and believe that this generation will belong to the Lord. We have been encouraged by God’s work among this group of teens. We had a preacher who visited us and presented the message of salvation. At the end of the meeting, the youth were praying and seeking the Lord. We had a great time of fellowship.
An Impressive Phone Call:
I was contacted by a young man from my country who was working here and previously serving with us. He has returned to settle with his family and he talked to me about what God was doing in his life through what he learned during the Bible studies. He told me about what he had learned here concerning the church in his country. He also asked me to share what we were teaching in our Bible study lessons with him so he could teach others. This phone call was encouraging for me. I pray that the Lord will give us growth in His knowledge and that we will be a channel of blessings.
“and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
2 Timothy 2:2
- I thank God for His work in His church everywhere and I pray that the Lord preserves His work and extends His kingdom within our city and beyond.
- We, as a family, constantly need your prayers in all aspects of our lives. Especially for schools and exams for our children. We still request your prayers for a new home for us, and for the annual residency permit.
- For the church service, we need a van or bus to help transport people to attend the church as my countrymen here do not have cars.
