As our “short-term missions season” comes to an end, I want to both update and encourage you with some information about missions here at LifePoint. First, Wanda Pear, a long-time member of LifePoint, just returned from the nation of Haiti. As you are probably aware, that nation just experienced a devastating hurricane that left many dead and many more homeless. Here is an update from Wanda and from Pastor Daquin Pierre, with whom Wanda and her team worked during part of their time in Haiti:
Dear Church Family: I want to express my sincere appreciation for the support for Pastor Daquin. His family and church have had many needs met through your generosity. We were able to provide money for chairs and Bibles to them on this past trip. Also, funds were provided in order to have his motorcycle (his means of transportation) fixed. We took with us four suitcases of clothing and toiletries for his congregation. I’m happy to report his ministry is thriving. Many are being saved and following through with baptism. His load was lightened greatly by your love and monetary support. -Wanda Pear
To LifePoint Church in America: Beloved of the Lord, greetings to you in the blessed name of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. We are excited to send you this email for the purpose of letting you know how we appreciate the offering you sent for our church family via sister Wanda Pear. She is our old friend in the ministry from many years ago. Thank you so much for the chairs. As more people come to know the Lord, we find ourselves constantly in need of them. I want to encourage you with these passages of Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:58 and Psalm 92:13-16. Most sincerely, Pastor Daquin Pierre
Our short-term mission team to Germany will be returning this week, after completing a “tack-on” trip to the Holy Land. You read last week Pastor Chris’ report on his team’s mission trip to the Middle East. We also need to continue to be in prayer for Kara Schmidt as she finishes out a six-month mission term in China. Last week she endured a Typhoon that hit the small island community where she is located. As always, we have some folks taking mission trips not directly related to LifePoint missions, but nevertheless important. In the next month, a father/daughter team will be heading to India, and a team is being mobilized for the Caribbean that may include some of our folks here at LifePoint as well. On the home front, you all collected over 5,000 pounds of food goods for Servant’s Heart, their largest one-time collection ever, and soon our mission dollars will support that ministry’s Thanksgiving outreach to the neediest in our community as well. Even our children are getting in on the action. Over the next few weeks our Children’s Ministry will be collecting warm socks to pass on to Wheeler Mission as that excellent ministry in downtown Indy prepares to care for the homeless this winter season. I pass this information on not to say “look at how great we are,” but to say “look at what God is doing through our church family.” Our collective efforts in missions are having an impact on the kingdom of God.
I will announce on Sunday that, as of this writing, 299 people/families/units have promised over $357,000 to missions through LifePoint in 2017. That is an incredible number! The Missions Planning Team will meet in November to set the budget for missions in 2017, and it will include support for our current missionaries, plus any additional ministries/missionaries that the team feels led to add to our support. As you know, Hannah and Ethan Drent are making final preparations to head to Mexico full-time as missionaries. A young couple from LifePoint being sent out by LifePoint. That is the definition of a missions-sending church.
I hope you are as encouraged by this information as I am. We are not a perfect church - far from it, to be sure. But we are, at least collectively as a church family, demonstrating a faithfulness to the Great Commission, and I believe that God is pleased with our efforts and willingness to sacrifice our own material comfort so that others might know not only some comforts that would normally be out of their reach, but more importantly, might have access to the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym