This April included some of the very best evening concerts the ministry has seen to date!
Answered Prayer - New Lexington & Logan
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It is a truly amazing experience when God allows you to be a part of answered prayer. Joel and Ryan were able to experience that recently at the New Lexington and Logan outreaches. We teamed up with a long-time partnering church - Ebenezer Baptist in Logan, OH to hold the assemblies and concerts. Long before the concerts we were aware of numerous church members devoting many hours of prayer to the event. The first concert, held at New Lexington High School made it apparent that the Lord had answered those prayers, in at least 1 way... 450 students showed up, setting a new attendance record for our ministry! But it did not end there. The students were majorly disruptive throughout the concert (imagine a concert with 450 students and only a handful of adults) but when Joel began to share the Gospel, they actually quieted down and listened intently! Wow! Often times, the opposite happens as non-Christians get uncomfortable when Jesus is mentioned. Joel was shocked. The excitement continued the next evening at Logan High School when our attendance record was broken for the second night in a row, this time with 550 people. The best part we found out about later. Our Ebenezer Baptist friends inputted the data from 'feedback cards' we have the students fill out at the concerts. We were so shocked and blown away to see that over 290 students indicated that they put their faith in Jesus for the first time! Wow, thank you Jesus for answered prayer!
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| The Logan concert made history for us as our #1 attendance to date at a concert - 550 people! |
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| Students get involved during the Logan Concert |
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| Students taking pics during the concert |
Joel's Ministry in his Inbox
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Sometimes it makes me sad that these students feel like they need to pour out their souls to Joel, someone they don't really know at all, about emotional and spiritual things... via email! However, we are grateful for the opportunity that presents for the gospel. We do recognize though, the need for these students to find godly people in their own lives. So, we ask that you join us in prayer. We pray for the students to find a local pastor or Christian parent that they can talk to on an ongoing basis to grow in their relationship with Jesus.
We are so thankful to be a part of the Lord's work here!
A huge amount of ministry is going on in a weird place right now - Joel's email inbox. As you may know Joel directs the students at school assemblies to a website where they have the option to sign up and receive emails with videos of Joel. These videos contain the gospel, solid Biblical truths, and Joel's testimony. Sometimes these students reply to the email and ask some deep, personal questions. Joel quickly takes the opportunity to share the gospel again with the student via email. One particular high school senior emailed Joel in mid April with a question:
"Ive been having suicidal thoughts lately...my school councilor knows as well as my parents. But the question that keeps crossing my mind is, Does everyone have a purpose for living?
I dont like hurting people. I put everyone else first. But I need something for me. And I thought maybe, if i could figure out, or at least know, I have purpose in life...I'm worth staying alive, then maybe i'll finally be ok..."
Wow. talk about a perfect set-up to share Jesus. Joel responded with this message:
He then went on to challenge this particular student to turn to Jesus as her Savior."I’m not going to pretend that I know exactly what you’re going through but I am sure that everyone has a purpose.
Our purpose is to know God. Do you believe in God?
Here’s the thing – we were all created to know God but we all rebelled against him. We were made to live for him but we turned things backwards and began living for ourselves instead. Now the whole world is backwards because our relationship with God is backwards. That’s why we feel so alone and empty and without purpose…. Because me messed up our purpose. Not only that but we all deserve to be punished forever because of the way we betrayed God.But here is the good part – Jesus came to Earth to set things right. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for what we have done wrong. Then he rose from the dead, proving that he is the true King."
Sometimes it makes me sad that these students feel like they need to pour out their souls to Joel, someone they don't really know at all, about emotional and spiritual things... via email! However, we are grateful for the opportunity that presents for the gospel. We do recognize though, the need for these students to find godly people in their own lives. So, we ask that you join us in prayer. We pray for the students to find a local pastor or Christian parent that they can talk to on an ongoing basis to grow in their relationship with Jesus.
We are so thankful to be a part of the Lord's work here!
Until Next Month,
Bethany Penton
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| Who says ministry life isn't fun? Joel takes a break during set-up to 'skate board' |
Message From Joel
__________________________________________________________________Teammates,
As the school year begins to wind down, I am finally getting to catch up on some much needed time with my family. Being a father is a great joy but it is also a huge responsibility. This reality became exceedingly clear a while back when I read Matthew 7:11. In that verse Jesus says, "If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him." Jesus makes an important point that God is a loving father whom we can trust to answer our prayers. What struck me most about this concept was something kind of subtle: people should learn things about relating to God by considering how children relate to their parents, particularly their fathers. This means that as a father, I need to serve as a picture of God, our Heavenly Father, for my children. My kids will spend their childhoods learning from and obeying me so that when they mature to independence, they will be better equipped to spend their entire lives learning from and obeying God, their True Father. What an exciting (and scary) opportunity! I along with all parents must humbly pray for God's grace to accomplish this great task through such a feeble instrument as me.
As the school year begins to wind down, I am finally getting to catch up on some much needed time with my family. Being a father is a great joy but it is also a huge responsibility. This reality became exceedingly clear a while back when I read Matthew 7:11. In that verse Jesus says, "If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in Heaven give good things to those who ask him." Jesus makes an important point that God is a loving father whom we can trust to answer our prayers. What struck me most about this concept was something kind of subtle: people should learn things about relating to God by considering how children relate to their parents, particularly their fathers. This means that as a father, I need to serve as a picture of God, our Heavenly Father, for my children. My kids will spend their childhoods learning from and obeying me so that when they mature to independence, they will be better equipped to spend their entire lives learning from and obeying God, their True Father. What an exciting (and scary) opportunity! I along with all parents must humbly pray for God's grace to accomplish this great task through such a feeble instrument as me.
God Bless,
