August Newsletter

I hope that this August Discipleship Inc newsletter finds you well. The past couple months brought forth new opportunities for our ministry.  

Heading into June and July it was apparent to me that I would need to be thinking differently about the summer. PFW students would be gone, creating time for me to reconnect with former tennis players. 

My goal was to start a new apologetic study as well as engage other students over lunch. Christ blessed both of these efforts. This summer I was able to have around a dozen lunches with individual students as well as host ten separate apologetic studies.

There were many ways in which I saw the Holy Spirit working through these meetings. Here are a couple examples. 

We held our apologetic studies in a public restaurant. One Wednesday afternoon a man was hovering around our table. When I looked up at him he said, ‘I am very excited to see you studying the Bible here. I also do so over in that corner.’ Then a girl beside us entered the conversation saying, ‘I do too!’

As he parted he reminded us, ‘Christianity is not a religion but a relationship.’ What an encouragement he was to my soul … as well as to the 7 students present that afternoon. 

Yet the Lord was not finished. That Friday I had lunch with one of those apologetic students. After praying over our food, a woman stopped by our table. She said, ‘I am so glad to see you praying and talking about God here!’ Two different people in three days supported our efforts. What an awesome God we serve!

These people were good reminders that Christ is working in far greater ways than we will ever know. They were also an encouragement to the students to not, “light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand”. (Matthew 5:15)

These past tennis players will now be heading college in the next couple weeks, many to secular campuses. My plan is to pray fervently for them during the school year. I will also stay in contact with them this winter, reinforcing the Biblical truths we talked about this summer.

I will be transitioning back to the winter schedule with PFW students in the coming weeks. There will once again be two separate apologetic studies, along with one on one mentoring. May Christ continue to draw these students closer to Himself.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

May Christ bless you and your family in the month ahead.

Steve     

I hope that this July Discipleship Inc newsletter finds you well. This month I would like to share one of the key ways that the Holy Spirit uses His Word in our ministry. This is by sharing His Word with those He brings across my path.  

One such opportunity occurred with a PFW student before our Wednesday apologetics study. A couple months ago I gave him one of the ESV Study Bibles that our ministry purchased. 

That afternoon we started to talk about what he was reading in the Bible. ‘Mark chapter 5’ was his response. He then proceeded to show me something that he had highlighted, “And Jesus said, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’” (Mark 5:34)

He had no idea that I had just read a sermon on this miracle a few days prior. We talked about the Faith of this woman to just TOUCH Jesus garments … “And immediately the flow of blood dried up and she felt in her body she was healed”.

We discussed the Power of God in Christ Jesus so that by simply TOUCHING His garment she would be healed. Who is this that simply touching His clothing heals those with faith? We discussed that Jesus KNEW that someone touched Him, “And Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power had gone out from Him …”

The more Christ was exalted in our discussion, the more interested he became. The Word of God “is living and active” and His Word was used mightily by the Holy Spirit in our conversation.

Something else happened in the apologetics study that afternoon. One of the students texted me that she would not be able to attend. She noted, ‘My mom is having surgery …’ She asked us to pray for her in our study … we did and talked about what it means to be a family in Christ … praying for each other. 

She would later respond, ‘They just finished the surgery and the doctor told my dad that everything went super smoothly! Praise God!’

Finally, I have been sending our board prayer requests for the upcoming week. This has been a blessing in many ways—most importantly through the many people Christ is bringing into my life. James tells us, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16(b))

I am now sending out a weekly Monday prayer email to those willing to pray for our ministry. If you would like to be added to this list, just respond back to this newsletter. Thank you for your willingness to consider being a prayer partner.

May the Lord bless you and your family in the days ahead. 

Steve