Brethren,
Greetings.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I should probably begin by assuring everyone that Norwalk is still here and has not been swallowed up by flood waters. You might have heard on the news regarding extensive flooding that occurred here in Norwalk in the middle of June, and while there was flooding in many parts of the city and the surrounding countryside, it was not nearly as apocalyptic as much of the media made it seem. Some of the brethren did have some water in their basements, and many brethren had much water in their lawns, but everyone is safe and the building was not disturbed in any way. We do appreciate, however, the concern and prayers that many of you have shown.
Working with the Brethren
As I will relate later in my report, June was a rather hectic month with many events that took me away from the Norwalk area, and therefore I was not able to do as much with the brethren as I would have particularly liked. I fully intend to have many brethren over in the month of July and to get back on track with being involved with the brethren in their lives.
Lessons and Classes
I have continued preaching series on the fundamentals of the faith; June has been spent speaking on various societal matters, and after we handle societal matters we will speak regarding the nature of the Bible and how to study it. The lessons, as always, are available in outline and mp3 form on the website.
The Sunday morning young people's class has continued with the new converts also present. We are working in Harkrider's First Principles of Christianity: Basic Bible Doctrines 2, and we will soon begin speaking of matters of morality highly relevant to their lives. I have also incorporated a Bible reading program into the class; the class members are to read six chapters in the book of Luke during the week and then be prepared to ask any questions they may have, to provide things they learned from the reading, and to present applications of the readings to their lives. So far this program has been met with positive reviews.
The divided men's and women's classes concluded the material on becoming better husbands and wives, and we spent one class speaking about the difficulties that are present in bringing men to faith and attempting to determine solutions to that challenge. We will begin the parenting classes in July.
Evangelism
We are mostly continuing the same strategies, maintaining the website, distributing business cards, and sending out the bulletin. We will soon be challenging the brethren to get us enough addresses to make the bulk permit concept viable.
This month we will work in developing evangelistic strategies to complement the gospel meeting we have planned for the middle of September.
Visitors
We continue to have plenty of visitors, and we continue to maintain the visitor cards, visitor listings, and the sending of cards. We expect to continue to see visitors as the summer, with Cedar Point and the Norwalk raceway, approaches.
Current Studies
Cindy. We have begun studying using Irven Lee's Good Families in a Wicked World, and I am pleased to report that the matter with her former friends has settled down. Her husband has gone through a couple of surgeries on his shoulders, and he is recovering well from them.
Ben and Katie. Ben and Katie have been having many challenges with their extended family and therefore have not been participating much in spiritual matters. It is my hope that July will be a far better month for them.
June Travels
June saw two events in which Sarah and I participated, Higher Ground and the Truth lectures. The first event is Higher Ground, which is a vacation to the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, area wherein Christians get together, have Bible studies, spend time with one another, and engage in many other activities including go-karting and whitewater rafting. It was incredibly encouraging; I had the opportunity to speak with more experienced preachers regarding effective ways to do the work of the evangelist, and learned much from the studies.
At the end of the month we headed down to Bowling Green, Kentucky, and I attended many of the lectures held at the Truth lectureship. I again had the opportunity to learn many things and to speak with other preachers and gain insights in the work.
As wonderful as these travels have been I am glad to be home and glad to get back to work in July!
Support
I would like to thank all of you for your participation in the work here in Norwalk, either through your prayers or through encouraging me or through financial support. I would like to solicit your continual prayers so that the work here may prosper.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits.
Thank you!
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