November 17 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week. 

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: - The men's Kairos outreach at Maghaberry Prison went extremely well, bearing much fruit. Two or three made commitments to follow the Lord and all who attended were strengthened in faith.

- Praise the Lord: The table quiz, a fund raiser to help towards our visa costs, was a great success!  We raised £655 ($1015)! Thank you Jesus for the support we're receiving from so many here.

- Praise the Lord - Everyone in the church has received the baptism of the Holy Spirit!!

- Praise the Lord -  The women in the study group is showing amazing growth in their faith and trust in Jesus - truly applying what we're all learning about letting go of the fears that hold us.

Praise the Lord - The whole church helped with the audio recording for the Youth's puppet show...it was great for the adults to support and spend time with youth group.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please lift up a couple, Gary & Carli Betts from Colorado, who are coming for a week (Nov 23-28) to Ireland to catch the Lord direction them regarding mission work here.  They'll be visiting the Republic of Ireland and then coming up to us in Northern Ireland. Pray that during their time here the Lord speaks to them, clarifying the call and plan He has for them and their three young daughters.

- Pray for the youth that 1) practice the next 2 weeks for the puppet show will go smoothly as they follow the recorded vocal track and 2) that they and the youth at Crocus will get spiritual fruit from it.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study. (Lynsey is close!)

- Please pray that the ladies of the Bible study continue to take to heart what they are learning.

- We pray for Pat who must retire on Nov 27, from managing Mooreland Close due to MS: 1) that her financial and emotional needs will be met and 2) that the next manager at Mooreland Close to be another godly person so that the people there will continue to be well taken care of and we will keep our good relationship with the Close.

- Three week furlough/Missions Conference in California, December through January

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

November 10 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: The coffee morning was a great success in many ways!

- Praise the Lord - Pat, even though she will be leaving, made sure that our ministry to Mooreland Close will continue

- Praise the Lord - the Faith Mission outreach Tim was part of went very well, encouraging him greatly

- Praise the Lord: For the support of the church members for Ruth at the coffee morning with so many of them showing up to help 

Thank you for praying for the following with us:

- Please lift up Rick and the Kairos prison ministry while they're in Maghaberry Prison Tuesday through Friday of this week. (Nov 10 - 13)

- Pray that the table quiz Saturday night will generate a good amount of funds to go toward Rick and Cindy's expenses for the visa

- Pray for the youth that 1) the preparation and practice this week for the puppet show will go smoothly as we will be recording the vocal track and 2) that they and the youth at Crocus will all get spiritual fruit from it.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study.

- Pray: for our personal financial position, especially that the Lord will raise up some folks who will be able to commit to contributing monthly to our missionary support.

- Please be praying for our three week furlough/Missions Conference in California, December through January

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

November 3 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: We have been granted another visa!

- Praise the Lord - Our ministry to Mooreland Close will continue

- Praise the Lord - After teaching on the works of the Holy Spirit as we have been going through Acts, everyone present asked to be prayed for to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then another one asked for it later in the week!

- Praise the Lord: Val Hoile's arm is out of the sling and she will begin physio therapy on it next week. Just like we were praying for, her recovery from shoulder surgery has been quicker than expected.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please lift up Rick in his preparation for Kairos prison ministry (week of November 10-13)

- Pray that the coffee morning fund raiser for the Christian radio station this Saturday will be a great success. Ruth has been growing in confidence!.

- Pray for the youth that 1) the preparation and practice for the puppet show at the end of the month will occur for all of us and 2) that they will each get spiritual fruit from it.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study.

- Pray for  Kairos, the prison ministry Rick's involved with, especially that prison staff will be made available to allow us to be able to host the Kairos events in the prison and for the Lord's blessing on this year's outreach November 10-13.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

October 27 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: We submitted our application for visa today.

- Praise the Lord - the details for the coffee morning are all sorted!

- Praise the Lord - The baking day last Saturday was a great success! 12 folks attended and Lynsey experienced first hand the love of Jesus!

- Praise the Lord: Everyone was blessed Sunday evening when Rick shared his testimony at Culleybacky Methodist church,

- Praise the Lord - Leo's parents relocation to Calif went smoothly, and they are both settling in their new homes.  

 

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray that our visa application which was submitted today will be processed smoothly and quickly.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study. Lynsey came to hear Rick's testimony and was really moved hearing about the Lord's faithfulness in our life over the years and what Rick had been delivered from.

- Pray that the coffee morning fund raiser for the Christian radio station will be a great success and Ruth grows in confidence in the abilities the Lord has gifted her with.

- Please lift up Rick in his preparation for Kairos prison ministry (week of November 10-13)

- Please continue to pray for more spiritual hunger in our youth group. 

- The youth could also use prayer for the puppet show they'll be doing for Crocus, a special needs youth group, on 30 November.

- Pray that church members keep growing in confidence in the Lord, but we're praising the Lord for the growth that we are seeing!

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

Busy Busy Busy, So Rest in the Lord

It’s become a very busy time since summer ended. As soon as we returned from the Missions Conference, we needed to set things in motion to have our wee church become a licensed sponsor for the UK Visas and Immigration department. That was accomplished at the end of September.

 

Meanwhile, the work of the ministry has accelerated and expanded, praise the Lord. Exciting things are happening as we get more and more involved in the lives of people around here.  Oh, and we can’t forget that we now have to be getting another visa for ourselves. Busy, busy, busy.

It could be very easy to get tired out or even burn out. But the Lord who carries us is faithful. In Psalm 37, verse 7, God gives His people a place of refreshing when He says, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.” Ah, what a place to be – that is, in the Lord. He gives us strength and direction as we wait on him to guide and he gives us peace as He gives the strength to carry on. I recall the words we read as we studied the book of Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

That is the secret: to not rely on feeble human strength, but rest in the Lord and receive His strength. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.” See? He gives us rest!

So instead of carrying the burden of worry for the people, we “cast our cares on Him, for He cares for us.” We are seeing the Lord doing what He promised to do as He spoke to my heart last year. He is bringing more people to our fellowship and it is growing by word of mouth, just as He said it would.  So, we appreciate your prayers for us and our church family as the Lord keeps us busy with the work of the kingdom.

Pastor Rick 

October 20 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: We are moving ahead with the coffee morning fundraiser for November 7.

- Praise the Lord - The ladies are taking to heart what they are studying and overcoming fears.

- Praise the Lord: We had a full house Sunday morning, literally, as a family and 6 of their kids that we hadn't seen for a while visited us. They're planning to return Saturday for the baking day outreach.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Rick will be giving his testimony at a Methodist church in a town nearby. Pray that a message from the Lord will encourage and touch people through him.

-  Pray that the Lord will bless the baking day outreach with good fellowship and an openness to Him.

- Please keep praying for Jenny that God will give her understanding of her personal salvation and assurance of her place in His kingdom.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study.

- Pray that Cindy and I will be successful in getting our next visa. It is only one more week before we can apply!

- We pray for Pat who must retire from managing Mooreland Close due to MS: 1) that her financial needs will be met and 2) for the next manager at Mooreland Close to be another godly person so that the people there will continue to be well taken care of and we will keep our good relationship with the Close. 

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

Busy Busy Busy, So Rest in the Lord!

It’s become a very busy time since summer ended. As soon as we returned from the Missions Conference, we needed to set things in motion to have our wee church become a licensed sponsor for the UK Visas and Immigration department. That was accomplished at the end of September.

 

Meanwhile, the work of the ministry has accelerated and expanded, praise the Lord. Exciting things are happening as we get more and more involved in the lives of people around here.  Oh, and we can’t forget that we now have to be getting another visa for ourselves. Busy, busy, busy.

It could be very easy to get tired out or even burn out. But the Lord who carries us is faithful. In Psalm 37, verse 7, God gives His people a place of refreshing when He says, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.” Ah, what a place to be – that is, in the Lord. He gives us strength and direction as we wait on him to guide and he gives us peace as He gives the strength to carry on. I recall the words we read as we studied the book of Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

That is the secret: to not rely on feeble human strength, but rest in the Lord and receive His strength. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.” See? He gives us rest!

So instead of carrying the burden of worry for the people, we “cast our cares on Him, for He cares for us.” We are seeing the Lord doing what He promised to do as He spoke to my heart last year. He is bringing more people to our fellowship and it is growing by word of mouth, just as He said it would.  So, we appreciate your prayers for us and our church family as the Lord keeps us busy with the work of the kingdom.

Pastor Rick