Hays Community Church

Dear First Euless,

There are not enough words to say thank you to you guys. You guys have faithfully supported our church plant financially these last several months, and recently the church sent a team down to help us canvas the area. The team that came down worked really hard. Because of their hard work, about 850 homes received invitations for our easter egg hunt.
Because of their diligence and perseverance, we were able to get contact info on about 40 prospects. We have followed up with them once and are following up with them again. Wow!!! Praise be to the Lord Most High.
First Euless has been a tremendous blessing to us. Since starting the church in our home in mid-november, many things have happened. We have named the church Hays Community Church. You can check us out on the web at www.hayscommunitychurch.org. We now have six families coming in addition to our family. Four of the six families coming were unchurched prior to coming to our church. Right before Christmas, one couple prayed to receive Christ and were baptized in January. We have a baptism planned in May where we will baptize one couple and two of their children. We have done multiple outreach events, and on April 2nd, we started a Kids' Beach Club at Kyle Elementary School. We have had about 30 to 35 kids come the last two weeks, and 15 to 20 of those kids are unchurched. God is doing great things here in Kyle, TX. Please know that we are partners in the work of building Christ's Church for the expansion of His kingdom.
Also, know that our labor is not in vain, and that in the proper time we will reap a harvest for His Kingdom. We thank God for you guys.

-Josh and Kelly Proctor and Family

Easter Weekend Reflections

Ray Strauss, Pastor of the Church at Sun Valley, sent us this update:

Joe, one of our greeters at church, said to me on Easter morning, "You look like a kid on Christmas." Well, I felt like a kid on Christmas! First of all, our mission team from Grace Place Baptist Church in Oklahoma did a great job with our children's sports camp all week. Then they canvassed nearly our entire neighborhood with door-hangers to invite as many people as they could to church on Easter. It reminded me of Jesus' parable about the Wedding Feast, "Go to the highways and byways and invite everyone...for there is still room!"
As if that was not impressive enough, the second course of the best week was our Saturday morning Easter Egg Hunt. Our wonderful friends at Grand Community Baptist Church filled 2000 eggs with Candy! When over 200 people showed up for the hunt, the WOW factor was in full effect. With four fields marked for each age group, every child had a basket full of eggs! Parents and Grand parents could not take enough pictures as the little ones scampered and raced toward the ripe harvest awaiting. We cannot thank GCBC enough for all they did to collect, organize and fill the 2000 eggs!
Some other note worthy moments were visiting with new families and hearing their stories. One family from Minnesota was stuck in our perfect weather until the snow could be cleared from the airport back home. Thanks God for the sunny and 78!
Now for the dessert. Easter has been the day set long ago as our church plant's official launch. It was our 10th week to meet in our school and up until this day, we have been more focused on discipling our small group to prepare for what we expected the Lord to do.
Then it happened. 9:30am, they started showing up. A few at first, but then they kept coming. Up until Easter, our highest attendance was 75. To be honest, I expected God to do something cool, amazing, HUGE. That is His style. To break 100 would be acceptable for our launch. Somehow, with the previous week’s activities, one would have to be blind to not see His fingerprints all over our church and community. He was up to something and it was going to be big!
I knew this for another reason. The spiritual warfare I was enduring that weekend was intense! God prevailed and that morning revealed why. At 10am, we had to add row upon row of chairs. I mean, the people kept coming! When we ran out of available seating, we needed inside the storage room to get more chairs, but it was locked! Pastor Daniel ran down the hall to get a teacher to unlock the room. When Daniel showed up with her, she could not have uttered more apt words as they walked into the gym. "Oh my!" Needless to say, she stayed for the service.
Alan, our incredible Worship Leader, and his buddy lead us in a great lineup. As people kept coming, a sense of spiritual community was building. The atmosphere was alluring. Usually, it is easy to spot the Easter only church goers. They are the fidgety ones. While they were still present, I could see them relax and become engaged as the service progressed.
Soon after the welcome and into the second song, it happened. The singing crowd softened and heads began to turn. First to the right, then down, and finally back. Junior had arrived! No, he’s not the rebel rouser finally coming to Jesus. Junior is a neighbor's Dachshund. Apparently The Church at Sun Valley is so "happening" that even our canine friends are showing up! The only thing more humorous than a weenie-dog sneaking in the door and running around the Easter service is the Senior Pastor chasing him down during the Easter service!
After Junior was excommunicated, the worship service continued with amazement. It was inspiring to watch the Lord bring 175 people to church that day. The gospel message was clearly shared and many hearts were committed to Jesus that day. To God be the glory! Easter was a great day!

If My People Pray

Paula Odom, Director of the MidCities Pregnancy Center, sent us this update:

Recently we had a 24 hour Prayer Vigil at the pregnancy center. The following week we saw God do many great things, especially confirming how He is going before us into Irving.

Two pastors from Irving churches came to tour the center. One of pastors asked us to come to his church to do a ministry presentation in April. He grew up in Irving and was excited that we were going to start a satellite office there. He said that he wanted to connect us with other churches in Irving as well. I asked him if there was a ministerial alliance there for pastors, and he said, “Funny you would ask that, I am putting one together right now.” He invited me to come and do a presentation about the new Irving center when they began meeting.

The other pastor brought in his wife to tour the center, and he brought baby bottles with donations from his church! He encouraged us in our plans for Irving because he noticed there was no center there and the need is great.

God did something else wonderful, through one of our staff members, Paulette Huff. Here is her story:

I went to see my doctor for my annual exam, and while I was there I made small talk with the medical technician, telling her about the work I did at the pregnancy center. While talking, I learned that the young lady had made one appointment to an abortion clinic and cancelled it, only to make another appointment. She saw abortion as her only solution. She and her boyfriend already had a year-old baby boy and he didn’t particularly want another baby. Money was very tight. As the conversation went on, I shared what I might have shared with her in a counseling room. The Lord was very present. A heart was softened and tears flowed easily. Two total strangers hugged.
A life was saved.

My last words to her were, "God sure does love you a lot to answer your prayers. You asked Him to tell you what to do and He sent me to you."

This story is not complete without mentioning a few more details. First, there was a nurse in the same practice who told this young lady that God had a purpose for her and her baby, and that she and her friends would be praying for her. Second, this young lady cancelled her second abortion appointment and never made another one. Finally, this doctor’s office is in Irving! God is confirming our move there, little by little. We may not have a pregnancy center in Irving yet, but we’ve got our first client—and she’s chosen life!

Needless to say, we have all been reminded of the importance of prayer as we serve the Lord, and we are planning to have a prayer vigil one day each month. We are so grateful to be part of the “Miracle” and for the first tiny life saved!

The Harvest is Coming

Ray Strauss, pastor of The Church at Sun Valley in Arizona, sent this update:

It was just several weeks ago when we began meeting in a home.

Then, on January 13th, 2008 the Lord blessed us with a school for our meeting place.

The next week, the Lord gathered more people together.

And He continued to add weekly those who were coming and being saved.

They brought their children.

And their friends.

And their friends brought their own children.

God was up to something!

We pray for people and do our best to be faithful.

We know that God is doing His part.

God has grown His family in an amazing way, in just eight weeks!

AMG International: Hope for India Conventions

Here is an update from AMG International, a missions organization supported by the Miracle:

Dear Brother in Christ,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Once again we thank God for the opportunity He has given to us to conduct Hope For India Conventions- 2008 at Bheemili, Bommuru and Chilakaluripet. God used servants of God mightily for the extension of His kingdom. Men of God delivered heart touching and soul stirring sermons. Many non-believers accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior, believers strengthened in the Word of God, and national workers took a decision to reach the un-reached people with new vision and motivation.

Hope For India Conventions Numbers:

Hope For India Conventions at Chilakaluripet :

• 900 salvations
• 6,000 trained and equipped
• 10,000 attendees

Hope For India Conventions at Bhimili :

• 600 salvations
• 2,500 trained and equipped
• 6,000 attendees

Hope For India Conventions at Bommuru :

• 500 salvations
• 2,000 trained and equipped
• 5,000 attendees

Please pray for these people so that they can be a witness for many perishing souls and they may shine for Jesus in the society. Thank you for all your support and prayers for the spreading of Good News and giving Hope to India.

Thanking you,
Yours in His Glorious Service

ARUN KUMAR KANTI MOHANTY

Seminary Ministry

Here are some encouraging words from those that were blessed by the Seminary Shopping Spree:

"It really means a lot to everyone that you guys care so much. When I watched the DVD It was very moving emotionally to hear your pastor's message. You see we have made many sacrifices to follow God's path for our lives, and to see that someone else cared so deeply about that really means a lot. I was very encouraged by the event and cannot thank you enough for having it."
In Christ's Service,
Jonathan Sharp

"I am ecstatic! What a wonderful and sacrificial investment of the caring congregation at FBC Euless! What vision and commitment to meeting needs! Words just don’t say thank you enough from me!"
-Dorothy Patterson

"I wanted to say thank you for all the time y'all put into making Saturday such a blessing. I am thankful for the coffee table I was able to bring home to my apartment! I hope that this event was a blessing to everyone who gave time and items to make it successful! Thank you again!"
-Kelly Jones

"I wanted to take a few minutes and just thank you for the way you brought God's glory Saturday morning. We have witnessed first hand accounts of God working in so many ways that we would have otherwise missed. And I'm telling you, brother, one of those accounts took place Saturday. When we decided to attend the event at Euless, we really didn't know what to expect. God revealed Himself to her in a huge way!! I talked to Ralph, the guy who won the basket of goodies. When we first met him, He had just moved here from Germany, didn't have a car at the time, and seemed to really be having a hard time. When I talked him on the way out Saturday, he was just beaming with excitement over having won something. And finally, talking to a guy in my class who told me about a student whose washing machine just went on the blink last week... the student was there and he now has a washing machine! I can tell you personally that we all came away with a heightened awareness of the importance of showing love."
In Christ alone,
Steve Lasiter

"I wanted to thank the church for all of the donations given at the Seminary giveaway this past Saturday and everyone who was involved with it. We are very appreciative of your thoughts, prayers, and support as we study here at Southwestern. The donations were a large blessing to us! Thank you!"
Love in Christ,
Mandy Alexander

"We are in our first term at Southwestern and are seeing day by day God's faithfulness to provide for our family. We have two children in college and a high schooler at home and are trying to go to school fulltime. So it was a great gift to us to receive a much-needed bookcase and get some of our books off the floor and out of boxes! We are so grateful that your church has a heart to encourage seminary students. Some of our friends were able to take home a bedframe, mattress and boxsprings so they now can have their parents visit! We were so impressed that First Euliss had thought of so many of the extra details to be helpful: the beds came with new sheets, pillows, even mattress pads, the new minivan had had the taxes prepaid on them, laundry and cleaning supplies were provided--all the stuff of everyday life that can be quite burdensome to families on a small income. Please thank your members for surrendering their time, their possessions, their hearts for God to use them to build up families like ours. We thank God for you and ask His blessing on your church and the community in which you minister."
In His love,
Hubert and Shawndee Edenfield

Church Plants- Arizona

Ray Strauss, pastor of The Church at Sun Valley in Arizona, sent this update:

We certainly have an exciting report to share this week! As for the attendance, here is what the Lord has done:
January 13... 35
January 20... 40
January 27... 52
February 3... 48
February 10... 56
February 17... 61
February 24... 75
What these numbers do not show are the people who have been saved, called into ministry, redeemed out of troubled marriages, healed from a variety of problems, and a dozen lined up for baptism.

Again, we are so grateful for our FBCE family! Your prayers and support make all the difference! We simply could not do this without you all!

Prayer requests are:
1. We need the Lord to raise up some more teachers for children’s classes. These last two weeks have shown we are at capacity and need to start 1-2 more children’s classes to maintain momentum and a healthy ministry.

2. We are having a movie night this Friday night at 6:00 pm at the Festival Foothills park. Free hotdogs, popcorn and drinks will be offered as we reach out to more in our community. We hope to generate more awareness of the Church at Sun Valley and get to know many of the new families moving in.

3. Pray for the staff to have wisdom as we lead and make decisions. We are looking to have a ministry fair where we share areas of service and opportunities within our church that will help us grow, maintain health, share the ministry, and give our folks a place to serve.

4. Most of all, thanks to God who inspires and leads us in the wonderful work of His!

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory! -Psalm 115:1

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ray and the Church at Sun Valley