February and March Updates
Conferences for Spiritual Encouragement and Growth
Greetings! In February and March some important events took place in my spiritual life. At this time, I had a break in my ministry. I dipped myself into the Word and I tested my heart before God. I attended two conferences that were held in America at Word of Grace Church in Vancouver and Grace Community Church in Los Angeles. This time three more brothers from our pastoral council came with me to be at those conferences. The Lord greatly blessed the time. We had fellowship with different brothers, which enabled us to learn about the needs of other ministers, and to receive timely edification. Joint prayers and creative fellowships gave me the heart of joy and greater confidence in future ministry. I am grateful to God for the opportunity to attend these conferences.
Family and Church Matters
I am thankful to God for giving my wife the strength to bear the loss of her parents. She has peace in her heart concerning the state of her parents in which they left this earth. She wholeheartedly entrusted this matter to God and was comforted by Him. It is still difficult for her to get used to the lack of parents in her life, because her mother usually called her three times a week. In general, God continues to work in our family, and we see it very clearly.
I am grateful to God that more and more people in our church want to serve Him not only inside the church, but also outside. There are brothers who actively preach the gospel and inspire others for the gospel. We have brothers and sisters who aspire to develop a music ministry in our church. I am so happy that the members of our church are open to people. I hear testimonies from people who have not yet become members of our church, as they have been influenced by some people from our church. These are real signs of life. This is very valuable when people cease to be focused only on pastors or ministers, but can help each other with good advice and deeds. This is evident among the youth and the elderly, in young families and those not married yet.
I see great value for small groups. At the small group that happens in the middle of a week I hear a reaction to Sunday's sermon, where I see my shortcomings in preaching, and there I have an opportunity to devote more time to practice, and if it is necessary to repeat some truths that I touched on Sunday.
In March, I finished reading the books, The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne and Dangerous Calling by Paul David Tripp, that influenced my understanding of the pastoral ministry. I understood a danger of kinks in the pastoral ministry, and I saw a danger that lies under the mask of the visible ministry of a pastor. I pray to God not to go to these dangerous zones.
Prayer Requests
- Continue to pray for my wife so she can fully recover and continue to live happily and serve the Lord.
- Pray that we will complete formulation of the “What We Believe” of our church and do all that is necessary to make a formal registration of our church. We need God’s wisdom in this.