Update on Spanish Service

It has been a while since I have updated everyone on where we are on the Spanish service at Rockport. We have been going by the name of "Iglesia Bautista Rockport" for quite some time now. (For those who don't know...this means "Rockport Baptist Church." We are often asked the question "what does 'Rockport' mean?" Well...it doesn't really translate all that well, so..we have decided to look at changing the name to something that would hopefully reflect our mission as well as would help native Spanish speakers identify with this theme. So, it looks like we are headed for changing the name to "Iglesia Bautista Gracia Soberana" or "Sovereign Grace Baptist Church." I hope to share more information with you about this very soon!

Another exciting thing that has been going on is with the Pastor that has been helping us out. Pastor Marco Sanchez has been assisting by preaching, teaching, and visiting regular attenders. In addition, we have been able to have great discussions over people such as the great missionary William Carey and men such as C.H. Spurgeon, Martin Luther, etc. This is exciting.

I would like to thank all of those who have put together time in copying/labeling Cds, DVDs and other items. Brother Sanchez was commenting last Wednesday on the fact that he was challenged by a message by Paul Washer. This message was preached in Texas and in Spanish is called "Christ Died for Us" or "Cristo Murio por Nosotros."

Please pray as we make transitions and seek the Lord on how to continue.

Prayer Requests

First, I would like to start by saying that I obviously haven't updated this page in a long time. I have been trying to be more disciplined in spending more time with my family and dedicating awake time to being with them after work in the evenings. This has lead me to slow off a little bit on posting here as well as the "Rockport Views" blog. I do intend on coming back to this very soon, but I would like to like to take the time to pass along some prayer requests to those who do read this blog.

There is going to be a meeting very soon with the missions team at Rockport Baptist Church. We are going to be talking about taking a very strong turn toward a greater commitment to missions both local and global. This is very exciting but also very scary!

Second, pray for the upcoming weekend on Biblical manhood and womanhood. This event is hopefully going to be the first of many events to come on a much needed subject. Pray for the young people in and near Jefferson County, Missouri that their hearts my be changed and we might see congregations transformed by the work of Christ in their lives!

I write this post as I am preparing to leave to speak at a Youth Retreat. The basic theme of this retreat is "missions on campus" focusing on areas that these young men and women have grown over the summer and now will be returning to their schools this fall. This theme excites me because it is all about missions.

Though missions is not our ultimate aim, it is incredible to be a part of what does bring about the ultimate aim of the church which is, the Worship of God. Missions is only temporary...we will only have missions as long as this world lasts, but Worship of the living God will last forever. We will never stop doing that! Missions exists because Worship does not exist among every nation, tribe, and tongue. (Thank you John Piper for that great thought!) You can read more about this in his book Let the Nations Be Glad.

It is my prayer that as students are returning to their campuses this fall that they might be consumed with a passion to see the Lord glorified and magnified in the hallways, football teams, school bus, and wherever else they might find themselves!

I hope to add some testimony about the event in the next few days!

Praise Reports from Mexico and Arnold, Missouri

First, I just got off the phone with a man named "Jorge" who came to Rockport before we started our services in Spanish. He was here on a work visa for 6 months and lived in South County. He was referred to me by Kurt McClure and his family who had a connection with the apartments where he was working. He attended Rockport for a few weeks before he returned to Mexico. This man was visited by Ruben Moreno from Corpus Christi, Texas while he was here to share with us. Jorge called me to let me know that almost 2 years later he still is following Christ, and his family has not been so supportive of him. He is back on a temporary work visa in Louisiana. He wanted to call to tell me that he truly believes that the Lord saved him while he was here with us and remembers having great fellowship, especially the meal at the Webers home! He also asked if there is any way that we might consider coming the state of Michoacan, Mexico to encourage the saints and work among the people there. Praise the Lord!

Second. Some of you all might Eneida. She attended our Spanish service for a while, went with her kids and others to go camping with many others from Rockport, and has since returned to Mexico. I want you all to know that Eneida keeps in contact with us, letting us know that she too came to know the Lord while she was here among us, and is now faithfully serving Christ in a congregation in Mexico!

I received a phone call today as soon as I got to the picnic. It was a call from someone returning from a mission trip to Oaxaca, Mexico. They received a lot of persecution from the people of the village, but they found sweet fellowship with some brothers who are pastors of evangelical churches outside of this particular village in La Barra de la cruz. The pastors asked this particular missionary if it would be possible to return with some sort of teaching and instruction for them as Pastors. The phone call today was a request for such an event.

Finally, we had a new visitor at the Spanish service this morning. He even came back for our picnic this afternoon and brought his five year-old son. I don't know much about this man yet except that he tells me that he is born again, was able to have a good conversation about the Scriptures this afternoon and is excited about going to a church that is closer to his home. He previously attended a Hispanic Southern Baptist Congregation in the north St. Louis County area, which is a long hall from where he lives.

We also saw David back at the Spanish service this morning and that was a real blessing.

Thank you Rockport for praying, giving, and going. I pray that this testimony might encourage the saints and stir us up unto further good works!