Merry Christmas! We hope you and your family have a great week and a Happy New Year! As we wrap up 2022, we thought we would briefly share with you what God has been doing in our lives in this year, along with our usual ministry update.
During the first few months of 2022, Eternal Truth Ministries was in a period of continuous change. The Lord called one of our team members to a full time position as a pastor of a local church, Colin was beginning the transition from president to retirement, and a new president - Valentin Tent - was preparing to move his family to Robbinsville and lead ETM. In the middle of all the change, Sarah and I continued to learn what responsibilities we had at ETM (an ever growing list given the turnover!). Through it all the Father was gracious.
In March, I became the youth pastor at Robbinsville First Baptist Church. Sarah and I have loved the opportunity to serve the teens at our home church in this way, and we have seen teens step up and want to grow as disciples of Jesus.
Over the spring, we moved three different households, including our own, into different homes on ETM's campus. The move was hard and required a lot of extra maintainance that we were not expecting. It proved to be a steep learning curve, but we have learned much (thanks to our friends who have come and helped with different projects!).
In the summer, our new president Vali moved in with his family. We have gotten to know and love his family, and are thankful the Lord called them to ETM. Their ministry has already seen Vali travel to Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and across the world to Romania.
Also over this summer, Sarah and I found out we were pregnant! Just this past month, we discovered we were having a little girl. Both baby and mother are healthy, and we are anxiously awaiting our baby girl's arrival in April.
Lastly, since August we have been working with The Rock Community Church in Ducktown, Tennessee. They requested ETM's help in July, and starting in August I have been responsible for the Sunday morning sermons. In addition to pulpit supply, we have been able to train elders at The Rock and attend life groups.
On December 4th, Colin, Vali, and I had the privilege of ordaining two elders at The Rock and of restoring their former pastor as an elder of the church. This past Sunday, December 18th, I preached my last sermon at The Rock as ETM concluded our time at the Rock. We are confident of the progress the leaders of The Rock have made during our time working with them, and we are hopeful The Rock will be a Kingdom asset for disciple-making in the Ducktown region. While our time preaching and weekly attending The Rock have finished, ETM will continue to provide training and counsel to the leaders of The Rock in what we hope to be a partnership that continues to train and equip strong leaders in the church.
Having finished this five month assignment, our focus has now shifted to updating ETM's website. We have already added a way to give online - through Tithely. To do so, simply click this link. It has options to give to each member of the team or ETM's general fund, as well as to give one time or recurring gifts. You don't need an account, just simply enter your payment information and you're all set. If you choose to support us through Tithely, we would love your feedback about your experience!
We would be remiss if we did not take a moment and thank you, our ministry partners, for choosing to join us in ministry. Your prayers, encouragement, and financial support are vital to our ministry, and - more importantly - an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God (Phil. 4:18). If you would like to receive our ministry updates straight in your inbox, just type your email below and hit "Subscribe." Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
