Show Low Mission Trip Report

There were 24 people on the team for this year’s mission trip to Arizona. The leader of the trip was Bruce Zimmerman, although JW Tabor took over as camp director during the week. Bruce taught the first night, and then former WBC Youth Pastor, Scott Cunningham, taught the evening sessions from the parables of Jesus. Dr. Tom Rhodes taught the morning Bible studies on characters of faith from Hebrews 11 and the Old Testament. Josh Beckwith and Abigail Prescott led in worship. The Cunninghams joined in the worship team once they arrived on Monday. The Pre-Training started in April with Bruce going over the logistics of the trip and providing some cultural understanding of the life of the White Mountain Apaches, going over the schedule, having evangelism training, making assignments, learning the worship music and calming fears.

We had several who came in to assist in the training. Patti McGinnes shared about how to deal with the bullying and cutting (which was an issue last year but not this year). Cody Cook came to share how to share the gospel with teenagers and Sheila shared about how to use the evangecube. Many on the team were on their first mission trip ever. Each day we had one person share a testimony with the campers. We also had a team member give an object lesson each day that went along with the evening message. There were six training sessions before we left for camp. The American Indian Christian Mission sent a Ministry Team Packet that is very comprehensive and states the guidelines for ministry teams.

Part of our group formed a blue bus team and throughout the week this team worked in the kitchen preparing, serving and cleaning up after each meal. Between breakfast and lunch, the team did work projects including cleaning out bathroom fans, scraping and painting the chapel and cleaning up and restocking the bus each day. The team also cleaned the chapel and the recreation room during the week.

Each of the members of the camp team at some time joined the blue bus team for ministry to children on the reservations. The Bus team went out each afternoon Monday through Thursday, leaving immediately after lunch and usually not returning back to the camp until 5-7pm. The blue bus would pick up children and take them to a set location for singing songs, taking their prayer requests and sharing the gospel through flannel graph story. Following the lesson time, the kids would pull all kinds of things off the bus to play with including sidewalk chalk, crayons, fingernail polish, basketballs, footballs, Frisbees, rollerblades, bubbles, toys, tonka trucks, dinosaurs, waffle balls, etc. The kids were then taken home and given a piece of candy, a brochure about the AICM school as well as churches in the area for them to attend. We ministered to over 135 children over the four days with the blue bus.

The finale of the camp was baptisms done in the camp swimming pool on Thursday morning. Four of the campers were baptized who had gotten parental approval to do so. There were several teenagers who said they had accepted Christ during the week as a result of the Spirit working through the teachers and/or the counselors.

Thanks for your support and prayers for this trip. We were invited to come back next year and do both the blue bus ministry and the camp ministry again. We are looking at a date in July as opposed to June that will not conflict with Texas school schedules or VBS allowing more to come and participate on this trip. A later date will also allow the camp to get the word out better through the summer blue bus ministry teams to prospective campers of the dates of the camp.

You can view a video of the trip at: waxahachiebible.org and click on Show-Low Mission Trip Video.

Question: What is Christian Discipleship?

Answer: By definition, a disciple is a follower, one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. A Christian disciple is a person who accepts and assists in the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ. Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the Holy Spirit, who resides in our hearts, to overcome the pressures and trials of this present life and become more and more Christlike. This process requires believers to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to examine their thoughts, words and actions and compare them with the Word of God. This requires that we be in the Word daily - studying it, praying over it, and obeying it. In addition, we should always be ready to give testimony of the reason for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15) and to disciple others to walk in His way. According to Scripture, being a Christian disciple involves personal growth characterized by the following:

1. Putting Jesus first in all things (Mark 8:34-38)
The disciple of Christ needs to be set apart from the world. Our focus should be on our Lord and pleasing Him in every area of our lives. We must put off self- centeredness and put on Christ-centeredness.

2. Following Jesus’ teachings (John 8:31-32)
We must be obedient children and doers of the Word. Obedience is the supreme test of faith in God (1 Samuel 28:18), and Jesus is the perfect example of obedience as He lived in obedience to the point of death (Philippians 3:6-8).

3. Fruitfulness (John 15:5-8)
Our job is not producing fruit. Our job is to abide in Christ, and if we do, the Holy Spirit will produce the fruit, and this fruit is the result of our obedience. As we become more obedient to the Lord and learn to walk in His ways, our lives will change. The biggest change will take place in our hearts, and the overflow of this will be new conduct (thoughts, words and actions) representative of that change. The change we seek is done from the inside out, through the power of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t something we can conjure up on our own.

4. Love for other disciples (John 13:34-35)
We are told that love of other believers is the evidence of our being a member of God’s family (1 John 3:10). Love is defined and elaborated on in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. These verses show us that love is not an emotion; it is action. We must be doing something and involved in the process. Furthermore, we are told to think more highly of others than of ourselves and to look out for their interests (Philippians 2:3-4). The next verse in Philippians (verse 5) really sums up what we are to do when it comes to everything in life: “our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” What a perfect example He is to us for everything we are to do in our Christian walk.

5. Evangelism - Making disciples of others (Matthew 28:18-20)
We are to share our faith and tell nonbelievers about the wonderful changes Jesus Christ has made in our lives. No matter what our maturity level in the Christian life, we have something to offer. Too often, we believe the lie from Satan that we don’t really know enough or haven’t been a Christian long enough to make a difference. Not true! Some of the most enthusiastic representatives of the Christian life are new believers who have just discovered the awesome love of God. They may not know a lot of Bible verses or the “accepted” way of saying things, but they have experienced the love of the living God, and that is exactly what we are to share.

Recommended Resources: Logos Bible Software and Making Disciples - One Conversation at a Time by D. Mike Henderson.

Worship is a Huge Thing

This past Father’s Day (June 16, 2013) WBC Worship Arts Pastor Jay Trull spoke on the topic of Christ-Centered Worship with hopes of casting a vision of what it means to Worship God, Become Mature Disciples, and Carry Christ’s love to the world. The following words were taken from a video that was played at the beginning of that sermon.

Worship is a huge thing.

We look forward to worship every week.

When the music includes one of our favorites, we say, “The worship was great!”

When the music stinks, we yawn and wonder why the worship wasn’t very good.

We leave churches because of the “worship style.”

Worship is a huge thing.

Have you ever wondered if we’re more concerned with what worship does FOR us and less concerned with the Object of our worship?

It seems like it’s more about what we GET not what we GIVE.

It would be like taking a gift to a friend’s birthday party, but keeping it for ourselves.

Worship is all about GIVING our lives (again) to God.

Worship is not about the feelings we receive when we sing.

Worship is not about convincing God to bless us.

Worship is not about whether or not the guitar is too loud.

Worship is not about what’s happening on the stage.

Worship is not about entertainment, lighting, or sound.

Worship is not about us at all.

IT’S NOT ABOUT US.

It’s about Him.

And we enter through the gateway of the cross.

At the cross, we surrender, love, cry, dream, give up, shut up, kneel, confess.

We look at God, and place Him above all else because He is worth it!

Life gets crazy and painful. No one can deny that.

Job stress.

Divorce.

Death.

Addictions.

Parenting.

Loneliness.

No one is asking you to pretend that those things aren’t affecting you.

DON’T PRETEND.

You’re just being invited to bring that stuff to the cross, and to simply gaze at Jesus.

And as you look at Him, allow your response to be worship.


Click here to watch this video and the whole sermon on “Christ-Centered Worship."

Ministry Partners of the Month: Jesse and Joyce Northcutt

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for the GEM Ireland team of missionaries and that more people world join them in praying intentionally for Ireland this year.   

2. There are plans for a huge Mosque and Islamic cultural center to be constructed on the north side of Dublin. Please pray that many of the 32,000 Muslims living in Ireland will hear and respond to the Gospel. 

3. Please pray that God would raise up more Irish men to lead the church forward in Ireland. 

4. Please pray for many in Ireland who suffer with various addictions, depression and suicidal tendencies. Pray that many would find Christians who are sensitive to their plight and will bring them words of life, hope and healing. 

5. Pray for our eldest son, Jess, who has been unemployed for some time and needs a job.

6. Please pray for Ross, Rita, Rosalene and several friends we’ve been witnessing to who have yet to embrace Jesus as Savior. 

7. Please pray for Phil, Anna, Peter, Maya, Mary and many more that they would begin their walk with Jesus.  

8. Please pray that the ministry of Mom’s in Touch would expand in Ireland. Pray particularly for Sharon and Natalie as they partner with Joyce in developing the ministry. 

9. Pray for our eldest daughter, Nancy, that she would continue to bless the lives of the children she teaches in Ireland and for a continued safe pregnancy as she expects her first child in October. 

10. Pray for us while we are on a six month Home Assignment - that we would have safe travels and would be a blessing to those we meet with during the second half of 2013. 

11. Pray for the Kids Club Outreach Ministry taking place in two locations in Swords the second week of July. Pray that those children and their families will have open hearts and ears to hear and respond to the gospel. Pray for the team of workers, that God’s love in them would be evident to those who attend the clubs. Nathan and Joyce will both be involved in this ministry.

12. Please pray for our granddaughters, Amy and Katie, while we are away on Home Assignment.   They normally attend church and Sunday school with us and are used to seeing us weekly.  

13. Please pray for new believers, Oran, Lisa, Jackie, Cahill and Conor that they will continue to grow in their relationship with the Lord and for God’s work in the hearts of their extended families.

14. Please pray for Youth Workers in Ireland as they seek to minister the youth in this culture. Pray specifically for Tim who operates a drop-in center weekly for local young men in our Riasc Centre.