Brethren,
Greetings.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's been a long and trying month in many ways, and we continually appreciate the support of our brethren, both in Norwalk and throughout the world.
Working with the Brethren
We enjoyed good times with brethren during the gospel meeting; otherwise, unfortunately, we did not have many opportunities to get together with people, as will be made clear below.
We hope that the end of summer will lead to stronger assembly attendance and more involvement of brethren in each other's lives. We continually strive to encourage and promote these principles as we are able.
Lessons and Classes
Lessons this month focused on our spiritual conditions, whether strong, weak, or in error in the morning, and in the evening we have continued a series on the churches of the New Testament and what we can learn from their trials, successes, and failures. The lessons, as always, are available in outline and mp3 form at norwalkchurch.org.
The class on denominations continues; while our numbers have been low on account of the summer months, class participation is high.
Evangelism
Much of our evangelism this month focused on the gospel meeting. We were able to hand out 200 packets in our doorknocking effort at the beginning of the month.
As we progress into the fall and winter we will focus on getting the Bible correspondence course promoted within the community while continuing our already existing programs. Exhortation to personal evangelism also continues.
Gospel Meeting
We had our fall gospel meeting on September 2-7 with Garreth Clair of Hilliard, Ohio. We were pleased to have a couple of visitors from the community, and the lessons were encouraging for those who attended. Unfortunately, almost all of our numbers-- members, visitors from other congregations, and community members-- were lower than seen in previous meetings. We will be meeting and strategizing over the fall and winter to see if we can make gospel meetings more effective for the Kingdom.
Current Studies
Unfortunately, various circumstances this month have hindered us from properly continuing studies, and we are going to strive to correct this in October.
I am pleased to announce that it would seem that our monthly study concept has been revived, for a study has been scheduled for October, and such should continue for at least the rest of the year.
Birth of Nathaniel John
On 19 September 2007, at 1011, our son Nathaniel John was born. While he weighed eight pounds and was twenty inches long, he was born with fluid in his lungs that led him to breathe harder and faster than was profitable (officially tachypnea). Since the x-rays in Norwalk indicated that it could have been pneumonia, it was decided to transfer Nathaniel to Akron Children's Hospital. Nathaniel remained there for about four days and recovered well. Brethren from around the world were notified, and we were greatly touched by the outpouring of support, both locally from the Akron area and from the prayers of brethren around the world.
We want to let everyone know how much their support has been appreciated, and we are glad to let everyone know that Nathaniel is healthy and growing well.
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.
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