Brethren,
Greetings.
Peace, mercy, and grace be with you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The winter seemed interminable, but we finally are getting good indications that spring is here. We hope and pray for a fruitful spring for all.
Working with the Brethren
Despite the cold and snowy conditions that plagued us for the majority of March, the brethren found opportunities to spend time together. We had a good movie night, and one of the members hosted an event that involved skeet shooting and other activities. We look forward to good interaction preparing for and enjoying our spring lectureship in April.
Lessons and Classes
This month's morning lessons in Norwalk addressed various topics, including commitment to God, Luke 6, and 1 Peter 1. In the evening we concluded our examination into the characteristics that mark the spiritual life and began an examination into sin and the need to avoid it. The lessons, as always, are available in outline and mp3 form at norwalkchurch.org.
The class on Minor Bible Characters is concluding next Wednesday, and the adult class will begin a study on personal evangelism in April. I will be working with the secondary class (4th-6th grades) next quarter on learning and teaching the Gospel.
Our monthly study involved Genesis 1 and 2 and the creation of the universe, and attendance and participation were high.
The evening ladies' Bible class was postponed until April; the morning class did meet in March and will meet again in April.
Evangelism
Weather conditions again hindered our ability to have a door knocking in March, but we are fully prepared to knock doors in preparation for our spring lectureship.
We finally have posters advertising the free Bible Correspondence Course on community boards in many of the local cities. Members have signed up to take care of one or two posters in their community; it is our hope that this system will lead to greater member involvement in the work and its perpetuation over time.
Most of our evangelistic energies are being devoted to our preparation for the spring lectureship from April 20-25, 2008. We have elected to consider it a "lectureship" since the concept is much more understandable to citizens of our communities than the idea of the "gospel meeting." We fully intend to have the Gospel preached; we also want people to understand what it is that we are promoting. We have invited Mark Hatfield from Chillicothe, Ohio, to preach the lectureship, and the weekday evening lectures are focusing on applying God's wisdom from the Scriptures to many societal issues of our day. We hope that the topics will pique the interest of members of the community, and they will visit and hear the Gospel message. We solicit your prayers for the success of this lectureship.
Rebirth
We are also pleased to announce that on March 23, 2008, Nina Johnson put on Christ in baptism. Nina, along with her daughter Amanda, had been visiting with us for a few weeks. Nina had assembled with a church of Christ when she was younger and was even immersed at age 9. Based upon her memories of that experience, however, she was convinced that she had not been truly baptized for the remission of her sins, and thus she was on March 23. We are happy to have her and her daughter as part of us in Norwalk. She has indicated a desire to engage in some Bible studies, and we hope to follow up with that intention.
Briarfield of Milan
As I have mentioned in previous reports, we take advantage of the opportunity to meet with some of the residents of a local care facility, Briarfield of Milan, for a monthly Sunday service and also Bible studies on Thursdays. When I began working with the church here in Norwalk, we were meeting for Bible study on a weekly basis. Last year we were asked to come only twice a month for Bible studies, a move that deeply disappointed us. We are thankful to report that based upon the desire of the residents themselves, we will again be meeting with them every Thursday for Bible study. Many of the residents find the study quite helpful, and we hope and pray that fruit will come from our continued efforts there.
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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