Merry Christmas! We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year together. This December, I was was given the opportunity to preach two Christmas messages, one at Robbinsville First Baptist Church on how the Patriarchs point to Christ (which you can watch here), and another at a church in Cherokee County, NC.
November was a busy start to our holiday season. Sarah and I put our Christmas tree up on November 1st (yes, we're those people!). In addition to visiting family for Thanksgiving and celebrating the holidays, this month was packed with work. At RFBC, as the Youth Pastor, we hosted a fundraising Spaghetti Dinner to raise funds for our LIfe Center. The teens showed up early, helped us cook and prepare the meal, and then served the rest of the church body who came out to eat. It was a successful night of service and giving, and we were grateful to be a part of it.
At Eternal Truth Ministries, November held a nasty surprise - one of our guest apartments had a hot water line bust and flood the entire apartment. The damage was extensive, and has created a huge task of tearing out the damaged portions - including all the cabinetry, carpets, tiles, etc. - and coordinating with our insurance, ServPro, and contractors to rebuild the apartment. It will take many months to put the apartment back together, but we are thankful the damage did not extend to our second guest apartment or the office above the apartment.
While it is easy to be distracted by setbacks to property, we must keep our eyes on the mission Christ has given us: to make disciples. After returning from our trip to Romania in the fall, the Lord has made it clear a return trip is needed. This one will be ETM's largest trip yet, and with God's will, we hope to send 10 men in 3 teams to meet with and train church leaders.
The first team will go to Spain, Italy and France. The second, to Macedonia and Albania. I will be going to Albania for a week in February as part of this team, meeting with church leaders and beginning discipleship training with the goal that the Lord would reveal a point man for ETM to have in Albania as we seek to make disciples of church leaders in the country.
Finally, the third team plans to travel to Romania and Hungary. Please pray that the Lord would guide us to find/equip spiritual leaders to serve as our point of contact for these nations, and to encourage those already serving in that capacity.
Of course, all these travels come at a price, and ETM does not charge for our services, so we are reliant on partners who will support the ministry financially. If you would like to contribute to the mission trip specifically, or start supporting ETM, you can do so by clicking here. Be sure to designate your financial gift to where you want it to go.
Thank you for your prayers, your support, and your faithfulness. We are thankful for you! Have a Merry Christmas!
