"After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands."
Revelation 7:9
Can you see it?! Can you envision what it will look like around the throne?! Brothers and sisters from all nations, worshiping the KING? That same king that humbled himself and came to earth - he is the reason we celebrate this time of year.
This month is special because we give thanks for Jesus coming to dwell among us. He came on a rescue mission to redeem mankind! As he prepared to leave earth he gave us our mission, which is to make disciples of all nations. December is also special at DeepWater because of our heightened focus on GLOBAL MISSIONS. As a Southern Baptist Church we take time each December to focus on global missions, along with the majority of other churches in our denomination. All month we will be receiving an offering that will fund global mission efforts through the International Mission Board (IMB) and Food for the Hungry. Many of our prayer requests below will reflect this focus on missions - thank you for praying.
Prayer Requests:
- Time sensitive-D.R. VISION TRIP: Monday, Dec. 9-Thursday, Dec. 12 we have a team of 3 on a vision trip to the Dominican Republic with Food for the Hungry. The team consists of 3 staff members: Jo Giles (Next Gen Minister), Angelica Annichino (Children's Minister) & myself. Pray for the Holy Spirit to go before us as we visit our partner city, Los Botados, and meet with local leaders. The purpose for this vision trip is to better understand how DeepWater can partner with this small city to help meet physical needs and bring more of Jesus to the community. Ask the Lord to watch over us and our families while we are gone. Pray also for Carlos, our F.H. leader. .(It was important for us as a young church to engage in global missions early, because of our mission to 'love the islands and beyond' by sharing the Good News. Our first mission trip will be April 4-9, 2020.)
- Global Missions Christmas Offering: pray that we will be filled with gratitude to the Lord for his goodness and that generosity would flow from us as a church. Pray for the Spirit to move folks to give sacrificially to missions.
- Connecting in Community: praise and thank God for the opportunity this past Saturday to connect with the islands community, as we served over 500 cups of free hot chocolate at the IOP Holiday Street Festival. Pray that the Lord would use those connections to point people to Him.
- Reaching the Next Generation: pray that the Dec. 19th 'DW Kids Pajama Jam' would allow us to connect with our DW kids and some of their friends. Pray for fun, encouragement, and a focus on Jesus. Ask the Lord to send us more teenagers! Our Wednesday night student ministry is growing and we had our biggest group of 13 students a couple weeks ago.
- Faith Family: pray that as a church we would care for our members and regular attenders with love and support. Ask the Lord to inspire our faith family to connect more deeply in relationships, especially in D-Groups. Pray that we would be a church that not only loves inward, but loves outward and seeks to bring people to Jesus where we live, work and play. Pray that our leadership team would grow in their love for Jesus and that we would serve him faithfully.
- Prayer: pray that we would be a church that is prayerful. Ask the Lord to show us more ways to minister to our community through prayer.
- Life On Mission Conference: on January 24/25 (2020) we will have guest writer/speaker Dustin Willis with us for a conference that will focus on living on mission with Jesus every day. We have invited some other churches, pray that they will join us.
- December 22 Christmas Service: this will be our main Christmas service (we do not have an eve service) and so pray that Jesus would be lifted up and that he would draw people to himself. The service will joyfully celebrate the coming of Jesus and also reverently honor him as the King- it will be a wonderful night passionate worship.
Thank you for praying, I am so thankful for your ministry to DeepWater Church. May God bless you during this Christmas season. As always, I welcome your reply and prayer requests. It is a pleasure to pray for you.
Merry Christmas - Jesus has come!
Paul
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