Blessed Hope Baptist Church Frenchtown, MT

Earnestly Contending

2012-02-12T08:28:00.003-07:00

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3)

Our theme for Blessed Hope Baptist Church in 2012 is “Earnestly Contending for the Faith”. For the days in which we are living, we truly need to be fit for the battle and ready to wage war “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12) In 2012, may we be good soldiers of Jesus Christ and please Him who has chosen us to be soldiers.

Double that Day: BHBC 2nd Anniversary

2011-09-27T12:57:00.006-06:00

Please join us this Sunday as we celebrate 2 years of God's faithfulness and blessings upon our young church! We will celebrate with a huge carry-in dinner immediately following the morning service!

Everyone in attendance will also receive a special commemorative gift!

Sunday, October 2, 2011
Sunday School ~ 9:30 am
Morning Celebration Service ~ 10:30 am
Evening Service ~ 5:00 pm

Firefighter Appreciation Sunday

2011-09-06T08:07:00.003-06:00

Please join us this Sunday, September 11, 2011 as we give thanks for those in faithful service to our community.

We will present a special gift to all members of our hard-working Frenchtown Fire Department, the children will have an opportunity to learn about the tools of their trade, and there will be ice cream for everyone!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

10:30 am

Let's Go for Overcoming!

2011-07-05T09:31:00.005-06:00

Living in an imperfect world and with the pressures of depression, insecurity, disillusionment, and discouragement taking over?

Please join us for this practical series that will take you from being overwhelmed to being the overcomer God wants you to be!

Join us Sunday mornings in July - 10:30 am

Golden State Baptist College presents the Blessed Hope Quartet

2011-05-11T09:58:00.012-06:00

Friday, May 27 @ 7 pm

TACO FEAST for EVERYONE
immediately following service!

Resurrection Sunday

2011-04-05T13:43:00.011-06:00

Please join us on Sunday, April 24, 2011 as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Sunday School 9:30 am

Morning Service 10:30 am

Balloon release following morning service!

Evening Service 5:00 pm

Let's Go for Reaching the World!

2011-02-28T09:27:00.002-07:00

Please join us during the month of March for our first annual "Missions Emphasis Month - Let's Go for Reaching the World!"

On Sunday, March 13, we will host Missionary Jeff Gross who is preparing to go to Thailand to share the Gospel. He will be working with a veteran missionary as he becomes proficient in the language and adapts to the Thai culture. Thailand has a population of about 64 million people, with an estimated 10 million people living in the capital city of Bangkok. So many souls...so little time.

Following the Sunday morning service, we will have a "Flavors of the World" dinner! It will be very exciting to taste foods from different cultures and people groups around the world. It will also help us to be reminded of the urgent need to share God's Word and God's love with so many who have never heard of His amazing work on the cross and His triumph over the grave!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2010-12-25T07:00:00.003-07:00

God gave us the greatest gift ever given when He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

What can and will you give HIM?

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.
Yet what can I give Him? Give my heart.
(Words by Christina Rosetti)

Christmas Candlelight Service

2010-12-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Please join us...

Thursday, December 23 - 7 pm

Deaf Choir

2010-11-05T18:39:00.002-06:00

We were so blessed to have Pastor Fred Adams and the Hands of Praise Choir join us on Thursday, October 28 for our mid-week service.

The Sword Deaf Baptist College in August 1999 by Dr. Fred Adams, President. It is a ministry of Crossroads Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Their goal is Teaching the Deaf to Reach the Deaf. There are 30 million deaf people in America. Of the 30 million deaf in America, most are unreached with the Gospel. They are accomplishing their goal by establishing deaf churches around the world.

They were such a blessing to our church and the Lord really pricked our hearts about finding and reaching the deaf population in our area.

Operation: Thank a Vet Sunday

2010-10-28T06:00:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, November 14, we will pay special tribute to all those currently serving in the Armed Forces for the U.S.A.

We are gathering items for 2 of our own young men who are enlisted in the Army and Air Force. We will be sending off care packages with a few of their favorite things and notes telling them "Thank you!"

Michael Drexler - Army

Derek Rutter - Air Force

If you are a veteran or know a veteran that you can bring with you, please plan to attend these special services in honor of those who serve in our military. You will enjoy patriotic music and message from God's Word.

Maybe you would like to contribute items to send to these young men who are currently serving. If so, please contact the church at the phone # on the sidebar for information on how you can participate in Operation: Thank-a-Vet.

Charter Service

2010-10-27T14:16:00.000-06:00

BHBC Charter Members

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and on profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of our Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of God, angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ, on this tenth day of October in the year of our Lord two-thousand and ten.

10.10.10 is a day that will remain as a sweet memory in the minds of all those who assembled together as thirteen people signed the official charter of the Blessed Hope Baptist Church of Frenchtown, Montana.

Pastor Jerry Ross, pastor of Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Jasonville, Indiana, preached the morning message and moderated the meeting up until the time that all those present unanimously voted in Pastor Derek Loewen as their pastor.

Following the morning service, we feasted on a delicious dinner provided by the ladies of the church! Everyone pitched in and our stomachs were full long before the dishes were empty.

BHBC 1st Year Anniversary

2010-10-27T14:15:00.000-06:00

What a celebration we had on October 3 as we celebrated the 1st anniversary of Blessed Hope Baptist Church! We had lots of cake, ice cream, and root beer floats at the party.

During the morning service we showed a 10 minute video with footage from the 2 weeks prior to the Grand Opening until present. It was a sweet time for everyone who viewed it...many for the first time realizing where we have come from. The Lord has blessed us with such beautiful facilities and furnishings. We don't ever want to forget to count our blessings and remember they are from His hand!!

Our 2nd Baptism Service

2010-10-27T14:00:00.002-06:00

Mrs. Young

Mr. Young

Miss Valerie

Our 2nd baptism service was quite different from our first baptism service. The biggest difference was the warmth of the water--probably a 20-30 degree difference between the Frenchtown Pond and the mineral pool at the Hawthorn Suites! No one complained about the water temperature for sure!

After the 3 baptisms, we all sang the chorus "Isn't He Wonderful?" It sounded so awesome resonating through the pool area.

Isn't He wonderful, wonderful, wonderful

Isn't Jesus my Lord wonderful?!

Eyes have seen, ears have heard,

It's recorded in God's Word

Isn't Jesus my Lord wonderful?!

It was a memorable time and we celebrated afterwards with ice cream and coffee! How sweet it is to watch these folks follow the Lord in believer's baptism!!

Frenchtown Homecoming Parade Float

2010-10-17T06:03:00.000-06:00

This was an awesome experience for our church! We decorated our float in Frenchtown school colors (hence the orange and black) but still had a distinctive Blessed Hope presence with the logo on the front and back of all of our t-shirts, on the arch, and on the magnets on the side of the truck. There was outstanding involvement by so many people that made it all happen...from donating the candy to assembling the treat bags to decorating the float! Blessed Hope Baptist Church caused some talk in Frenchtown on September 17!! Praise the Lord!

In just about 30 minutes we distributed 500 bags filled with a Gospel tract, candy, an invitation to our 1st anniversary, and a small toy. All the glory belongs to Jesus...He has truly blessed us with willing hearts and hands that want to make a difference in this community for the Lord Jesus Christ!!

2010 Fall Campaign

2010-09-07T12:45:00.002-06:00

A Piece of My Heart - Ladies Meeting

2010-07-22T15:39:00.004-06:00

We had a great time learning how to be an encouragement to others by sharing a piece of your heart with them. We made homemade encouragement cards and made an encouragement quilt block for each other to take home. Some other ways to encourage others or yourself that we learned were:

You can't give away a piece of your heart unless it is intact.
"Can" your joy! Preserve happy moments and memories for the days that aren't so bright!
"Learn the sweet magic of a cheerful face."
Every day of your life, live at the feet of Jesus!
Talk to Jesus about everything...He already knows anyway.
Make a smile file!
Write a note, make a phone call.

Growing in Fellowship

2010-07-22T15:35:00.002-06:00

We're starting to really get into this "fellowship" thing!

Pastor's Birthday

2010-07-22T15:28:00.002-06:00

The church surprised Pastor Derek recently after our mid-week service with a cake fellowship! What a sweet blessing it was to us!

God Bless America Sunday

2010-07-22T15:18:00.005-06:00

We were honored to have the Frenchtown Color Guard present colors for our Independence Day Services. There is nothing quite like seeing Old Glory marched in by veterans, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star Spangled Banner to get your heart thumping and the goosebumps forming as we celebrate the freedom we have in America and in Christ!

Our First Backyard Bible Club

2010-07-22T14:09:00.006-06:00

This summer we wanted to make a special effort to reach the kids in our neighborhood and our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our backyard seemed to be the ideal spot and environment for something like this. Some dear friends provided the curriculum, we made yard signs, prepared snacks, and took off running!

The lessons were "The Wordless Book - Visualized". Many of these children had never heard Jesus' name, except as a curse word. Sin, Bible, God, Heaven, and Hell are foreign words and concepts to them. It was a joy to have their undivided attention for one hour each morning for one week as we taught them from God's Word.

We taught them that everyone is born with heart that is black with sin. Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood (red) as a payment for our sins. His blood can wash away our sins and make our hearts as white as snow. This gives us the assurance that after death, we can have a home in Heaven and walk on a street of gold. Then we can grow (green) every day to be more like Jesus!

We also learned a story about a Missionary named John Paton who told boys and girls, mommies and daddies in the New Hebrides Islands about Jesus Christ! He lived among cannibals!!!

This was our favorite Bible Memory verse for the week! This is the Gospel...the "Good News". Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again so we can have salvation!

Sin is yucky!!!

God blessed our hearts so much through this week. We began with 6 children on Monday and Tuesday and then doubled to 12 on Wednesday and Thursday and finished with 14 children on Friday!!! It was a thrill to see the metaphorical "light bulbs" come on as they realized how much this friend Jesus loves them!

On Sunday we presented a special program so everyone could see how much fun we had and all that we had learned. The best part of that was that two of our neighbor boys were able to bring their parents to church...all of them for the very first time! What a joy!!

Please enjoy these videos of our favorite songs: "The Wordless Book Song" & "Happy All the Time"!

Blessings of Baptisms and BBQ!

2010-06-07T18:12:00.008-06:00

Due to technical difficulties, these pictures do not appear in chronological order, but you can probably figure it out based on whether or not the people in the photos are wet or dry. We truly received a double portion on Sunday, June 6 as we had our first baptisms at the Frenchtown Pond. We made a day of it, heading over there immediately following the morning service. We had planned on 3 being baptized (Derek, Miss Andi and Michelle) but 6 ended up following the Lord in believer's baptism. It was an incredible day!

Following the baptisms we had a cook-out, played volleyball and frisbee, with some sidewalk chalk and bubbles on the side. We ended the day with a service at the pond! What an awesome day!!!

Bro. Les: "Mr. BBQ"

Michelle also wanted to be Biblically baptized and become a member of BHBC Frenchtown!

All smiles!

Pastor Derek baptizing Derek. Derek was saved at our church last month!!!

Webb had never been scripturally baptized until Sunday!

Miss Andi had never been scripturally baptized and wanted to do so and become a part of BHBC!

Miss Julie realized she had never followed in believer's baptism--she was also a first time visitor this Sunday!!

The first brave one--Sibahn!

Shall we gather at the...pond?!

Sweet Rhoswen

The temperature yesterday hit a high of 60, but our hearts were so warm, we didn't care!

6 years!

2010-06-07T18:10:00.000-06:00

We just celebrated 6 years of wonderful married life!

Waking up to the Good Stuff!

2010-06-07T18:02:00.005-06:00

Ladies Meeting March 20, 2010

My quiet time with God in the morning gives me...

Cleansing (Water)

Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalm 119:9

Energy (Coffee)
My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word. Psalm 119:28

Comfort (Cider)
This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. (52) I remembered thy judgments of old, O LORD; and have comforted myself. (143) Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights. Psalm 119:50, 52, 143

Sweetness (Hot Chocolate)
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103

Calmness (Tea)
Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. Psalm 119:165
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:4

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-27T17:08:00.000-06:00

It was a joy to honor all eight mothers present with a book written by Mrs. Donna Ross entitled "Ladies Heart to Heart"! What a treasure is found in a Godly mother!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-05-25T17:43:00.001-06:00

Ladies Meeting ~ May 18, 2010

Our snacks were: Dirt & Garden Salad!

Left to Right:
Miss Rebecca, Miss Arlyn, Summer, Miss Andi, Miss Kathie

Resurrection Sunday and Balloon Release

2010-04-06T16:36:00.000-06:00

National Atheist's Day - April 1

2010-04-06T16:30:00.000-06:00

The Biggest Blessing a Church Planter Can Receive!

2010-03-22T15:21:00.004-06:00

On Sunday, March 21, 2010, God gave us fruit! A 17 year old young lady who is in Frenchtown as an exchange student, came to the realization of her lost condition and need of a Saviour. She trusted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour during the invitation on Sunday morning! The circumstances surrounding her experience are so special and we will treasure this day and this moment years to come. There will be more details in our monthly letter. (If you are not on our monthly prayer letter mailing list, you can subscribe by posting a comment with your email address to this blog.)

As you pray for us, please remember this young lady in your prayers. Yesterday was only the 3rd time she has ever been in any church. The first was at our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. This summer she will go back to her homeland, and we would love for her to be equipped at that time to share the Gospel with her family and friends there, most of whom have never heard of the victory that can be found through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

"Neither is he that planteth any thing, nor he that watereth; but God gave the increase...For we are labourers together with God...2 Corinthians 3:7, 9a

Resurrection Sunday ~ April 4, 2010

2010-03-22T15:19:00.002-06:00

Back after a long absence...

2010-03-22T15:12:00.002-06:00

Wow! The realization that it has been over a month since the previous post is simply affirmation of the crazy schedule we have maintained! The weather has been very spring-like for the most part (except there were snow flurries today!) and we have been spending any spare time we have trying to take advantage of opportunities to meet people and invite them to BHBC!

We have a very special blessing to share with you soon, so please check back soon!

Another helping of Church Planter's Blessings - #2

2010-02-16T17:19:00.001-07:00

When we got dumped with snow on Sunday morning, Bro. Les cleared a path through the snow from the front door to our car and all the way around it. Amazingly enough, he didn't even clear a path to his own vehicle!

One Huge Helping of a Church Planter's Blessings - #1

2010-02-01T15:19:00.006-07:00

You know you are a blessed church planter when...

As you are teaching Basic Bible Principles concerning baptism, one asks, "Pastor, how are we going to baptize without a baptistry?" Your response..."I don't know. We'll probably use a horse trough." To this the inquirer responds, "Well Pastor, we have one you can use!!!"

I AM BLESSED BEYOND ALL MEASURE!

--
True story from Sunday, January 24, 2010

Launching Men's Prayer and Fellowship Meetings

2010-01-21T15:23:00.004-07:00

Launch Meeting: Saturday, January 30, 8 AM!

Check out recent updates!

2010-01-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

Just a simple reminder to read past updates. They are back-dated through Christmas! Thanks for checking in!

Introducing...

2010-01-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

If you are a lady, you are invited!!!

Our first meeting will be held on Saturday, January 23 at 2 pm. This “Extreme Makeover Edition” of Ladies Fellowship will be a fun adventure in discovering the “inner beauty” that God intends for each of His daughters to possess! Hope to see you there!

2010-01-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

BRAND NEW IN 2010!

2010-01-02T16:15:00.001-07:00

Coming Soon in 2010!!!

2010-01-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

God has given us an incredible vision for what we believe He would like us to pursue in 2010. We hope that you will join us in this incredible journey, whether by prayer or participation!

Christmas Blessings!!!

2009-12-28T16:24:00.002-07:00

Candlelight Christmas Eve Service: We broke our record attendance for the church on this night. We had 30 people, with 6 first-time visitors. It was wonderful to see the auditorium 60% full for the first time!

Christmas Drive: We took a drive in the mountains for Christmas and thought we would share some of the beauty we beheld!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T15:07:00.002-07:00

From Frenchtown, Montana, we want to wish you, our friends, family, and faithful readers a very blessed Christmas!

Cocoa, Cookies and Christmas Caroling

2009-12-11T09:25:00.013-07:00

Tuesday, December 15, 6 - 7 pm

Bundle up and exercise your vocal chords...we’re going caroling! Please bring 2-4 dozen cookies per family and we’ll have time for refreshments too!

November 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-11-30T14:57:00.002-07:00

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

The Need Is Great! This month has been a month of learning for both of us. We are still trying to “adjust” to different congregations for every service. One of the things that struck us this month is the great need for truth to be given in this country. It seems like there is a darkness that looms over Frenchtown, as well as much of the United States at this time. A darkness that has captured many in this little town is alcohol. Growing up in the state of Montana, I knew that people liked to drink, but the people of Frenchtown seem to like it a bit more than the rest of the state. Every night, the bars are full in this town. Please understand that Frenchtown proper only has a population of 1,ooo people and there are 3 bars within a block of each other that are packed out every night. These people aren’t going in just to watch football. They have been captured by alcohol and it is destroying lives. If these people would only listen to the truth of God’s Word, they could be set free from this bondage. We knew there was a great need here in Frenchtown, but God has used specific situations and opportunities this month to create in us a deeper burden than we already had.

Visitors! Visitors! Visitors! We have seen 16 more first-time visitors this month! Since the start of the church, we have seen 59 first-time visitors. God continues to bring people in as we are faithful to knock doors and speak to people about Christ. We set a record of 21 on Nov. 15 and then tied it on Nov. 29. It is thrilling to see people returning to the services. If those that have returned 2 or more times would all come on the same day, we would be over the 30 mark.

Thanksgiving Blessings! Many of you were praying for our Pre-Thanksgiving meal and we appreciate your prayers. We had 9 for that day and we praise the Lord for them. Honestly, we expected more to show up for this day because it involved food. Obviously, they didn’t get the memo that tells them a true Baptist must come to church and eat large amounts of food. We will try to work on this Baptist distinctive in the future.

Our God hears and answers prayer. Please pray with us concerning:

Upcoming in December:
Cocoa, Cookies, and Christmas Caroling (12/15)
Candlelight Christmas Eve Service (12/24)
Watch-night Service (12/31)

Spiritual wisdom and protection for our family.

People to have a tender heart to the Word of God.

Fruit that will remain in Frenchtown and the surrounding communities.

Pre-Thanksgiving Blessings!

2009-11-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

Isn't it wonderful that we don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to be around the corner to rejoice in the goodness of our God?!

The Lord blessed our services last Sunday with 7 first time visitors and a total of 21 in attendance. This is our high day since the group from Indiana left post-Grand Opening. It has been so exciting to see God give the increase as we are faithful to His command to GO!

We are gearing up for our Pre-Thanksgiving meal that will be on Sunday, November 22, following the morning service. We are having a chili cook-off, so if you're in the area, bring some friends, a crock-pot of chili and some bread or crackers! We would love to have you!!!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. As we have encouraged our people to do, we hope you will spend the next few days reflecting on God's goodness...then verbalize it to Him and those around you!

We have used this website as a sort of soundboard for God's faithfulness in our lives. However, we are confident that we have not been the sole recipients of His blessings this year! We would love to hear from you how God has proven Himself to you this year!

Thanks for stopping by!

Announcing...

2009-10-30T14:51:00.004-06:00

Thank-A-Vet Sunday—Sunday, November 8

For over 70 years, November 11 has been set aside to honor with gratitude the heroism displayed by those who have served and given their lives in our US Military. Please join us as we honor veterans and active duty service men and women. There will be a special gift for each veteran in attendance.

Pre-Thanksgiving Meal—Sunday, November 22

After the Morning Service we will have a Chili Cook-Off! This will be followed by an early afternoon service this Sunday only. The competition is on because Pastor Derek thinks he can beat Miss Rebecca's chili. You will want to perfect your favorite recipe and invite some friends to join you for a warm meal and double dose of preaching and singing! (If you can sing after Chili!)

Special Thanksgiving Service—Tuesday, November 24—7 PM
GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME! We all have so much for which to be thankful and we will dedicate this time to celebrating the great faithfulness of our God. This special Thanksgiving service will be in place of a our regularly scheduled Thursday Bible Study and Prayer Meeting.

I was glad when they said unto me...

2009-10-19T15:15:00.000-06:00

...Let us go into the house of the Lord! We had an awesome Sunday! We had 5 first time visitors and many that returned for the 2nd time! One precious lady is 3 for 3! It is hard to believe we have already had our 3rd full Sunday. God has been so good to us.

One thing is for sure: Blessed Hope Baptist Church is a friendly church. We have such a great time together singing and making melody to the Lord, fellowshipping before and after the services, as well as listening to Pastor Derek as he preaches from God's Word. This Sunday, we even broke out the coffee pot between Sunday School and Morning Service.

We hope to make the services available on-line in audio format in the near future, so stay tuned for that addition.

Meanwhile, please continue to pray that God will use us to impact and influence Frenchtown and the surrounding communities for Him!!!

Abundant Blessings on our 2nd Sunday!

2009-10-12T15:08:00.001-06:00

The Lord blessed this Sunday in spite of blustery teen temperatures! We had 10 first time visitors from the community and several that returned from last week as well. Following our first mid-week service on Thursday evening we got our first snow--about 4 inches of it! The temps have remained quite cool and there is still some snow on the ground.

Sunday School began this Sunday and was received well. If you weren't there, you truly missed out! It is a special time of training for the entire family...not just for the kids! A cross-section of ages was represented on Sunday and we all enjoyed it.

We appreciate your continued prayers for us! God is so good!

September 2009 Prayer Letter and Grand Opening Details

2009-10-07T21:25:00.000-06:00

September 2009

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

Crazy busy! September has been a whirlwind of activity leading up to the Grand Opening Service on October 4th. We finalized paperwork for the building and were given the keys so that we could start the remodeling process. We spent time pricing materials so that we could save as much money as possible. Of course, there are always unforeseen items, but we were able to get all the materials for great prices. The last two weeks were especially busy as everything seemed to come in at the same time. We had no sooner built and finished the walls for the nursery, when the carpet came in for the auditorium. Our chairs came a day or two after the carpet, so we had a lot of materials and no where to put them. My wife’s parents flew in on Monday, Sept. 28th into Spokane, WA. We went to pick them up as well as our piano for the church. The last week of September seemed as though there was more work than there were hours in a day to get it all accomplished, but it was a tremendous help to have extra hands on deck to get it all finished.

The final week! We finished painting on Tuesday and began cleaning the floors in preparation for the carpet installation. As many of you already know, I install flooring for a living, so this was supposed to be the fast part of the construction. We went to Lighthouse Baptist Church for services that night and then returned to keep working. We glued the middle section of the carpet first because there is a seam in the middle. The seam was being persnickety so it took a lot longer than I expected, which is the story of my life when it comes to construction (Ha! Ha! Ha!). A man from Solid Rock Baptist Church came that night and helped put together the ganging brackets for our chairs. We finished the carpet on Thursday, as well as the floor in the nursery which is a vinyl planking, and most of the trim. Friday, the group from Indiana arrived and helped us with the finishing touches to the church building. On Saturday we spent the day passing out John & Romans packets. We estimate that around 700-800 packets were distributed throughout the community. We gathered in the church building that night to pray for the first services of Blessed Hope Baptist Church. We had a sweet time of prayer and then went to bed utterly exhausted.

Grand Opening! Sunday came with great anticipation. The Lord blessed for the first day of services. We had 33 in attendance on Sunday Morning and 34 for the Sunday evening. Of those numbers, 22 were from Frenchtown or surrounding communities. Everyone seemed to enjoy the services and many said that they would be back. We praise the Lord for His bountiful blessings upon us. There was no one saved on Sunday, but two young girls were led to the Lord on Saturday while we were distributing the packets. We desire to have a church that honors Christ and I believe that on our Grand Opening this was accomplished.

Please be faithful in praying with us about these needs:

1. Spiritual wisdom and protection for our family.

2. A core group of people that will help us in this ministry.

3. Fruit that will remain in Frenchtown and the surrounding communities.

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen

Isaiah 6:8

GRAND OPENING SUNDAY!

2009-10-06T14:05:00.000-06:00

Loading up the piano

The auditorium on Monday afternoon

The platform was built, and most of the trim was painted

Let the painting begin!

We stuffed approximately 1,000 John & Romans doorhanger bags. There were 700-800 distributed on Saturday!

Big Bear Sign Company hanging the sign above the church building!

The beautiful piano God gave us!

Sunday morning crowd!!!

God answered our prayers in bringing Pastor Derek's parents to church on Sunday AM!

Our great friends from Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Jasonville, IN! We don't want to ever forget that Blessed Hope Baptist Church of Frenchtown is directly a result of the dedication, prayers, and sacrifice of a special church nearly 2,000 miles away!

View from the pulpit

Pastor putting the final touches on his Sunday AM message..."Experience New Beginnings"--in the nursery!

The Lord has blessed us with a beautiful place to meet

We will be posting more pictures in the future, but wanted to give you a glimpse of God's blessings this weekend!

Mountain View Baptist Church - Colbert, WA

2009-09-14T18:47:00.011-06:00

Mountain View Baptist Church is located in Colbert, Washington just minutes from Spokane. We travelled over on Saturday afternoon and arrived about 8 pm PST. Upon our arrival, we were met by Pastor Lehman and two of their coon-skin capped boys! They gave us a warm welcome and helped us set up our display for the morning services.

Derek preached for Sunday school, and both preaching services. Especially helpful was the Sunday evening service "Faith: The Weapon Every Christian Must Have". Personally, I needed to be reminded that all of the counseling we have received and books we have read will be for nought if we do not have faith! The Bible instructs us in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God, with an emphasis on the shield of faith "above all".

Mrs. Lehman fixed a wonderful Sunday dinner and we enjoyed the time of fellowship with their family. The Lord blessed in each of the services and gave us safe travelling mercies as we headed home following the evening service. We arrived home around midnight and prepared ourselves for a busy day of door-to-door soul-winning and church promotion.

Thanks for checking in!

Our first Frenchtown Broncs game!

2009-09-14T18:38:00.003-06:00

Hurray for Friday night lights and varsity football! Frenchtown beat Belgrade 59-21! Go Broncs!!!

Blessings!

2009-09-14T16:49:00.006-06:00

As our Grand Opening Service draws nearer, each new day holds its own set of blessings and challenging tasks to complete.

We'll begin with Friday...the day we got our tracts! After a long ordeal and many challenges, we finally received the shipment on Friday morning. Even though we wanted to get a much earlier start at our canvassing efforts, even in this "delay" we see God's hand. Throughout the ordering and payments process, we kept hitting roadblocks from either the computer system not processing correctly or the technicians not getting it right. The day it was finally approved, we learned from the landlord that the suite that we were to have printed on the tracts was not going to be available! God delayed the process so we would have accurate information on our tracts.

On Friday when we received our tracts, I invited our neighbor over, who had expressed interest in the church. I gave her one of our tracts and reminded her about the Grand Opening. She left and a few minutes later she and her mother came walking across our lawn. Her mom walked right up to Derek and said, "I didn't get a flyer, but I want to come too!" We soon learned that this couple had moved from a church in ID. Previously, their pastor had called us to let us know that he had a couple from his church moving to Frenchtown and to contact him once we got settled and he would get us the information. Communication lines got crossed, and we never got the information. However, God brought them to us! They live literally a stone's throw away from us!

As seen on the previous post, we also got our keys for the building on Friday! What a blessing and answer to prayer! We are so thrilled with our location and for all of the kindness the folks at GoSi Development and The Corner Hub have shown us!

We were counseled to start door knocking on a Monday, regardless of what day we got our tracts. There is something very helpful about a new week and a fresh start. This morning was our first day out door-to-door and we met several people who are interested in this new church. Please continue to pray that God will send to us exactly who He wants!

Please pray for continued health and strength as we spend the days knocking doors and the nights working on the building! In and of our ownselves, the task is too great, but GOD IS ABLE!!!

The day we got the keys!

2009-09-11T17:42:00.001-06:00

Pastor Derek Loewen unlocking the door with our very own key!

Facing the pulpit area from the entrance

Facing the bathroom and nursery

This is standing at the windows looking at where the pulpit will be!

Suite C as viewed from the parking lot

Front of Suites C and D

The lighted sign visible from the interstate--soon BHBC will be up there too!

The nursery

August 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-09-02T13:33:00.002-06:00

August 2009

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

August has been spent preparing for September. We have our tract designed and it looks incredible. This will enable us to get to the needed task of door knocking. We also received the draft for our mailer that is going to 3,600 homes. In order to get rid of our storage unit, I also built a shed at our home this month. We were paying almost $100 a month to rent the unit. We figured that it would be more efficient to build storage instead and it will pay for itself shortly. We also had to run some gas line for the house and have it pressure tested. I found some leaks in the line. Please pray that I can get them fixed soon so that we can have gas for our furnace before winter hits.

Operation Reservation Update: We had our last service at Starr Baptist Church in Browning, MT. My wife and I had a great time ministering to the people in this church. They planned a special meal for us on this final service—our first Indian tacos! They were absolutely delicious. My wife got the recipe so we can have them at home now. During this month we preached a series on the family for the morning services and a series on the church for the evening services. The people responded well to the messages with decisions made every week. Please pray with us concerning this ministry. The people are open to the Word of God and desperately need a pastor to guide them. They will always have a special place in our hearts.

Building Update: Many of you have asked about a meeting place. We planned to meet in a store front just off the interstate in Frenchtown. The building is only a year old and looks great. When we first went in to price this building it was way out of our price range. They want about a dollar a square foot to lease the property. This comes to about $1,200 per month. They also wanted first and last months rent plus a deposit and would not budge on the pricing. This came to $3,600 to pay up front. It seemed as though the door was closing on this place, but we believed that the Lord wanted us to have this particular location. I visited with the owners at the end of the month with an offer to lease it for a year at $700 a month for the first four months and then full price after that. They talked it over and called me back the very next day. They said that they had made some changes to the offer, which in my mind translated “closed door”. They offered $800 for the first months with an $800 deposit and full price starting in February. I thought maybe we could swing this and get into this great location. What I didn’t understand at the beginning was that they meant $800 for all four months. This comes to just $200 per month. I almost wrecked my truck when I realized what the Lord had done. Honestly, I had been fretting a little about the finances to start the church. I really don’t know why I worry when there is an Almighty God on the throne opening the windows of Heaven and pouring out blessings. Praise the Lord!!!

Please be faithful in praying with us about these needs.

1. Spiritual wisdom and protection for our family.
2. Continued financial provision for the church start-up.
3. Fruit that will remain in Frenchtown and the surrounding communities.

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen
Isaiah 6:8

Starr Baptist Church - Browning, MT

2009-08-30T21:38:00.001-06:00

Today was our last Sunday with these dear people who have become our friends. We will miss each one of them and always hold special memories in our hearts. Please continue to pray that God will send a pastor to Starr Baptist Church!!!

The following pictures are a glimpse of the Blackfeet Reservation.

FAITH

2009-08-27T14:42:00.003-06:00

Faith is not the absence of fear and doubts, but trusting God despite those fears and doubts.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:1, 6)

Lord, increase our faith!

Please pray!

2009-08-20T14:06:00.002-06:00

Lord willing, tomorrow we should be getting an answer from the owner of the building we wish to lease for church services about whether or not they are willing to make a deal for the monthly payment. We are praying that they will write off part of the amount as a charitable contribution and make our payment lower.

We will update you when we know something!

We have a deck!

2009-08-14T18:46:00.000-06:00

The hymnals have arrived!

2009-08-14T18:43:00.003-06:00

What a great surprise to have the FedEx guy knock on our door today delivering 50 beautiful maroon hymnals, compliments of Dr. Shelton Smith and the Sword of the Lord!!! We are very thankful for this generous gift to this ministry!

According to His riches in Glory...

2009-08-13T12:33:00.012-06:00

How amazing that God would see fit to share His riches in Glory with us!!! This is such a precious reminder of God's care for His children. Often over the course of the past year we have been reminded of His protection, His mercy, and His provision. Although we have published this once before on the blog, we wanted to again show you how God has provided for specific needs for the church.

Promotional/Grand Opening

10,000 Gospel tracts ($200)

Grand Opening Sign ($60)

Auditorium:

Offering Baskets ($20)

Chairs - 17 ($510)

Songbooks - 50 Donated by Sword of the Lord

Digital Piano/Clavinova ($1,850)

Materials for pulpit ($50)

Curtains ($30)

Nursery:

Disinfectant wipes ($3)

Hand sanitizer ($3)

Toys ($30)

Swing ($55)

Rocking Chair/Glider ($90)

Changing Table ($100)

Crib - DONATED!

Bathroom:

Handsoap ($2)

Paper towel ($5)

Toilet paper ($5)

Cleaning Supplies:

Dusting spray ($1)

Toilet bowl cleaner ($3)

Disinfectant ($5)

Trash Bags ($5)

Swiffer/mop ($12)

Vacuum - DONATED!

Office/Accounting

P.O. Box fee-6 month ($19)

Copy paper ($20)

Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax ($150)

Quick Books Software ($200)

Lord's Supper Set - DONATED!

ISN'T THIS EXCITING??!!! God's people have given so generously and most often sacrificially. Some have given out of their abundance and some out of their poverty. We can never say thank you enough...both to God and to His servants scattered across this land.

There are still some more things that we are praying for before our first service October 4. Some of things were unforeseen, some were overlooked. We are shopping as frugally as possible while still making God's house a pleasant and first-class place to meet together. All we ask is that you take a moment to rejoice with us in God’s blessings over the past year, then ask God if He wants you to get involved. Then, just be obedient to Him...we have found that obedience equals blessings.

Still Needed:

Grand Opening Handouts (5000) - $260

Doorhanger bags (5000) - $40

Postage Stamps (100) - $44

Direct Mailing - $1,500 (Includes printing, addressing, and postage)

Chairs (33) - $990

Paint - $125

Carpet - $1,200

Platform - $100

Contacts: Also, if any of you know of folks in the Frenchtown area that we could make a special effort to contact, please let us know! We are about to embark upon a very aggressive soul-winning and informational campaign prior to our Grand Opening Service. At the beginning of September, we will have our tracts and we will begin to systematically go door to door in the greater Frenchtown area. During the 3rd week of September we will be doing a mass mailing to every household within a 12 mile radius of Frenchtown. During the 4th week, a group from our home church in Indiana will be here to help us distribute 5,000 John & Romans door-hanger bags.

Thanks for checking in and for your patience in the long time between posts lately. Please continue to pray diligently for us that we will be led by the Holy Spirit at all times throughout this process! God bless!

July 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-08-13T12:30:00.001-06:00

July 2009

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

Home Sweet Home! God is so good...all the time! Many of you have been praying for us to get into a permanent place to live and God has answered those prayers. In our last prayer letter, we had been approved to buy a 2006 mobile home. All of the details were worked out and we have officially moved in. Of course, this does not mean that the work stopped or even slowed down. When they set our home, they hooked up everything but the electricity because it had to be done by someone licensed. Estimates from a professional were around $1,200. This seemed a little extreme so we priced all the material and did it ourselves for under $400. Anyway, we finished hooking it up and it passed inspection with flying colors. Due to some stipulations in our lot rent agreement, we also had to build a deck for the home. We drew up some plans, had them approved, then went shopping for materials. The Lord guided us to a home resource center, where materials were a much lower price. We went to work building our first deck. I have never done this before, so it was somewhat of a learning process, but at least you can walk on it without it falling over. Needless to say, things have been a little busy on the home front. By the way, we needed a truck to haul supplies in and the Lord gave us one (for free). It has engine troubles, but it’s free. You can’t beat free!

Operation Reservation: In the state of Montana there are 7 Indian reservations. We were contacted by a preacher about a church on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. The church is currently without a pastor and needed someone to fill the pulpit until they can find a permanent pastor. We counseled with our pastor about the situation and he said that it would be a good opportunity for us and a help to a struggling church. We have given them a date when we will no longer be available to come on Sundays so we can stay focused on starting the church. We will be filling the pulpit through the end of August. This will help give us experience in reaching the Native Americans in our area. There is an Indian Reservation only 30 minutes north that we would love to minister to.

Ministry Update: We are mostly settled in our home, so we can focus more on the things of the church. It is hard to talk to people about the starting of a new church if you do not live in the community. I also want to remind everyone that our Grand Opening service is October 4th. Our printed materials should be finished shortly and as soon as we receive them, we will begin a systematic canvassing of the area. September will have a tremendous push with two mailings and 3 “Get Acquainted Meetings” We also have 5,000 John & Romans that we will be distributing at the end of the month. A group from our sending church is coming out to help us with this and be there for our first service. After we spoke with them, our new neighbors seem interested in visiting the church. We also have contacts from other churches that have relatives in the area. Thank you for your prayers concerning this great undertaking for the Lord Jesus.

Please continue to make these items a matter of prayer:
1. Spiritual wisdom and protection.
2. Continued financial provision.
3. Fruit that will remain!

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen
Isaiah 6:8

Liberty Baptist Church - Spokane, WA

2009-08-04T15:09:00.004-06:00

After church services on Sunday morning, we headed to Spokane for a meeting at Liberty Baptist Church. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet the pastor due to family illness, but the people warmly received us and seemed excited about what God has called us to do. The Lord has blessed them with nice facilities near a "happening" part of town, but still somewhat tucked away in a quiet alcove.

Especially encouraging was a man in the church who formerly lived and worked in the Missoula/Frenchtown area and he commented during a Q&A time that he had prayed often that God would send a light to pierce the spiritual darkness that he felt in this area. Have you ever thought that you could be the answer to someone's prayer? How important it is that we stay sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we may walk each day in the path that He has led.

After the service, the Missions director and his wife took us to Golden Corral where we stuffed ourselves and then they rolled us out to the car for our drive home. The Lord provided safety once again and we arrived back in Frenchtown around 1 am. On this trip, our car topped 142,000 miles and we again took a few moments to thank the Lord for the travelling mercies He has bestowed upon us.

On Saturday morning while out soul-winning, Derek and his soul-winning partner from Lighthouse Baptist Church, Robert, met a young mother who expressed interest in attending church and bringing her children. She did come on Sunday morning and during invitation trusted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour! Aren't you glad that God is still in the miracle-working, soul-saving business??!!!

An update at last!

2009-07-22T11:04:00.005-06:00

The front of the trailer and deck in progress

The back side of the trailer

The end of our trailer and Derek's new truck! (Notice the beautiful view!)

Please forgive the tardiness of this update. The last two weeks have been full of activity and excitement for the Loewen’s! Now, I will attempt to give you an exhaustive summary without boring you.

The Lord has recently opened a short-term ministry opportunity for us on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation near the Montana/Canadian Border. After prayer and counseling with our pastor, we decided to make the 500 mile round trip each weekend through the end of August to try to help a struggling church that is currently without a pastor. This gives us an excellent occasion to learn about their culture and develop outreach plans for the ministry in Frenchtown. The Flathead Indian Reservation begins about ½ hour from Frenchtown, and we want to capitalize on this door of opportunity. Strangely enough, there are many similarities to the ministry we were involved with in East Knoxville while we were college. Truly, God directs our steps and each experience builds upon another. We don’t ever want to stop learning!

An added bonus to this trip is the compulsory excursion that we have made through Glacier National Park! =) The route to Browning with the least mileage is to go through the park taking Going to the Sun Road over Logan Pass. The breath-taking views coupled with the scents and serenity of the wilderness are quite good for the spirit! I have been so immersed in these that I have only grabbed the camera a couple of times…though I couldn’t have captured the beauty even if I had tried. Guess you’ll just have to come and visit us so you can see it in person!

Our mobile home was set on Thursday, July 9 and the water was hooked up on Friday, July 10. . Sunday night, 7/12, was the first night we spent in our new home. Pastor Nathan Saunders and his family as well as another man from Solid Rock Baptist Church in Corvallis, MT helped us get moved in on Monday, July 13. Bro. Nathan also helped Derek with the trenching while they were in town. They have been such an encouragement and help to us. As a church planter, at times it can feel as though you are very alone, especially when you have lived near family or always had an established church family to call upon. Even in this, God has provided and showed us ways in which we can try to help others in the future.

We opted to try to do most extra things ourselves in order to save $$. We had two electricians give us estimates for running power to the house and the estimates were $900-$1200. A very kind elderly man that works at Home Depot helped me price all of the supplies and explain the principle of what needed to be done and we discovered that we could do it ourselves for about $300. We got an electrical permit, bought the supplies and then Derek got to work digging a trench that was 42 feet long and 24” deep…in the Rocky Mountains, mind you. We finally finished running the conduit on Thursday morning and the inspector approved it on Thursday evening. (In fact, the inspector was so impressed with Derek’s work he thought that he had used a ditch-witch when he had dug it all by hand. The inspector also said that even an electrician would not have done a better job. Guess that is what happens when a finish carpenter does the job of an electrician!) The electric company turned our power on late Monday afternoon (7/20) and we had hot water and lights at last!

Derek began building a deck on Monday afternoon (7/20). The mobile home park where we live has rigid requirements for many things and a deck is one of them. Again, we can save a lot of money if we build it ourselves. We were told of a resource center where building supplies can be bought for reduced prices for various reasons. We were able to save over $100 here. The lumber is brand new, but it is a couple of inches shy of 8’, so it cannot be sold as 8’ pieces. However, it works great for a 7’10” deck!

Derek has also been hopping between two different flooring contractors and working 15-25 hours per week. (Which reminds me of another blessing...he was given a truck by the pastor whom we served under in Florence, MT! Thank the Lord!) I have been unpacking and trying to make our new house a home. We absolutely love it and we are thrilled with what God has given us. I am reminded of this verse: “And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed." (Deut. 31:8) The “delay” in finding housing has shown us God’s punctuality once again. He knows best!

On Tuesday (7/21) we flew to Indiana for my brother’s wedding. We will fly back into Helena, MT on 7/28. At that time, we will finish unpacking, replace the flooring, and try to find a used push-mower, and used washer/dryer. The flooring in the house needed replaced and since I have connections with an excellent flooring installer (and a handsome one, too!) they gave us a credit to cover the cost of the goods and the installation. This will allow us to get a better grade of flooring than is usually put in trailers and it will be professionally installed! =)

The pressures of all that needs to be done are weighing heavily upon us. Please pray for physical strength, mental concentration and organization, financial provision and most of all, spiritual power. Our God is bigger than any and all of the challenges we are facing!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fellowship Baptist Church - Blackfoot, ID

2009-07-06T18:40:00.006-06:00

Independence Day found us heading east and then south into Blackfoot, Idaho. Blackfoot is sandwiched between Idaho Falls and Pocatello, Idaho. Blackfoot is designated the "Potato Capital of the World", because it has the largest potato industry in the world. It is also home to the world's largest baked potato and potato chip. (Derek wouldn't let me go, though, for fear I would devour them!)

With its close proximity to Utah, there is an extremely heavy Mormon influence in this area. There is a temple in Idaho Falls, as well as several "wards" and "stakes". For example, Blackfoot has 5 stakes, 8 wards and one branch. This is in a town where there are two Baptist churches. Pastor Day has a real heart to love people to Christ, even the Mormons. According to the Bible, they preach a false doctrine, but they are in need of true salvation. Pastor Day said that the other churches in the area bash the Mormons, but he said that what they really need is the Jesus Christ of the Bible. This made us think hard about how we view these people. Honestly, they are in darkness, just like we were before salvation. What they need is to be freed from a vain religion that is holding them captive in their trespasses and sins. May we earnestly contend for the faith, but do it with compassion in our hearts. (Don't worry...that was the preacher preaching, not his wife, but I "amen"!)

Pastor Chep Day and his family came to Blackfoot four years ago and started Fellowship Baptist Church. The Lord has blessed them with a building and they are preparing to build on an addition. They love kids and want to maximize every opportunity to reach them. Recently, they had a Vacation Bible School with 87 in attendance!

We were able to view fireworks from our motel room on Saturday night which was fun! After a nice meal with the Day's on Sunday afternoon, we traveled to Dillon for the evening service with Pastor Rick Hammond. It was a good day and once again we were glad to say that we had been in the house of the Lord.

Thanks for stopping by! Coming soon...pictures of the home God has given us!

June 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-07-06T18:37:00.001-06:00

June 2009

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

The first month of being back in Montana has seemed somewhat like a whirlwind of activity including house hunting, setting up a bank account at the local bank, designing our printed material, and meeting folks at the Post Office. God has opened and shut doors and proven Himself over and over again. Thank you for praying for us!

Project Vision: Many of you know that we were praying about a building with 20 acres of property where we could live upstairs and hold services on the main floor. We had the opportunity to walk through the interior of the building and it needs a lot more work than I expected. The price was high to begin with and with the work that needs to be done it would not be worth it. Also we spoke to the realtor about the thought of leasing for 3 years with the option to buy after with the 3 years of payments being a down for the building, but he spoke with the owner and the owner does not want to work with us. The Lord shut the door clearly and as we walked out of the building we had complete peace that this was not the place for us right now. Thank for praying with us about Project Vision! We now have a new “vision” which is a storefront right in the middle of town. These new buildings are for lease and located just off the interstate. The price is much more reasonable and they look great. At this time, we believe that this is the direction that the Lord is leading us.

Home Sweet Home! Since Project Vision included an apartment where we would live, we now faced a new challenge since the Lord closed that door. We have found out quickly that the economy has not affected the housing market prices too much in the Frenchtown area. One of the cheapest houses here on the market is $199,000. This is a little out of our price range! We looked at the option of renting in the area, but the average rate is $800.00 a month for a trailer that is 25 years old and that wouldn’t be fit to put a dog in, let alone my wife. We knew that the Lord would work out a place that is more affordable and comfortable for us to live. We had searched every option and sought it with much prayer, when the Lord opened a door at the end of the month. We found a 2006 mobile home for sale in the Frenchtown area and it is in wonderful condition. We worked some figures and if we buy this home and put it on a rented lot in Frenchtown, then our monthly payments would be less than $700.00. This is a special blessing and we have already been approved for this. Please pray that all the details can be worked out and that we can move in soon so we can truly get settled.

In the meantime… We are helping a young church in Corvallis, MT until we can get settled. Solid Rock Baptist Church is only 2 years old and is doing very well. This gives us an opportunity to serve as well as see a young church in action before we start Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Frenchtown.

Please continue to pray with us about these things:
1. Wisdom concerning housing situation and spiritual protection.
2. Continued financial provision.
3. Fruit that will remain!

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen
Isaiah 6:8

Chinook Baptist Church - Pasco, WA

2009-07-01T06:34:00.003-06:00

Nestled amongst thousands of acres of well-irrigated pasture, farmland, and orchards is Chinook Baptist Church. The church’s rural location is quite surprising, but downright breathtaking in its surroundings. Located “in” Pasco, Washington, it is far from city life. The church consists primarily of farmers which probably contributed to our feeling quite at home while there. Pastor Bill Miller and his family have been at Chinook Baptist Church for about 1 ½ years. They were called here after the former pastor (who was Pastor Miller’s pastor as a young person) went to Heaven.

We made the nearly 6 hour drive over on Saturday afternoon after soul-winning (and a little yard-saling) during the morning hours. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the Miller’s and their great family! They were a real blessing to us and the sweet fellowship was refreshing.

Pasco is one of the cities that makes up the Tri Cities Region of southeastern Washington. Pasco has been literally bursting in population over the last 5 years. There are large housing developments popping up everywhere! The population was 32,066 at the 2000 census. Since that time the city has experienced rapid growth, and the official April 1, 2008 estimate from the Washington State Office of Financial Management puts the city's population at 52,290.

We had a great service Sunday morning. The theme for the church this month is “Encourage”. Pastor Miller finished up a series on how to encourage yourself and encourage others. It was very practical, and Biblical. The music in this church was phenomenal! Some very talented people have dedicated those talents to the Lord and are definitely using them for His glory!

Pastor Miller and his people indicated in several different ways that they had been praying and looking forward to this meeting for several weeks. This was obvious as we saw God move in the services throughout the day.

Sunday evening we showed our DVD and Derek preached. Following the invitation at the conclusion of that service, Pastor Miller told the people that he felt led of the Lord to help purchase the chairs that we need for the new church. In a matter of minutes, several individuals and families had pledged the funds to purchase 17 of the 50 chairs (over $500) that we would like to purchase prior to our Grand Opening Service. This was in addition to the generous love offering they gave us to help with our personal expenses.

We left with our hearts full and running over as we once again felt God use His people to meet our needs and encourage our hearts.

Last week, Derek was able to acquire some temporary work to help sustain us financially. We knew that this would be necessary eventually, and have been praying for God’s will in it. The Lord provided work with a Christian boss, good pay, and the trade he already knows – flooring installation. This job necessitated us driving back to the Missoula area on Sunday night following the service.

On Friday, my grandma went to be with her Lord after squeezing every ounce out of almost 96 years of life. That morning we had just booked airline tickets to fly back for my brother’s wedding at the end of July. Because we had done that, we didn’t think it would be possible to get back for the funeral too. We had spent much time with Grandma before we left for Montana, but still wished we could be there to help our family during this time.

On Sunday afternoon, we received a phone call from our pastor, who indicated that several folks from the church wanted to make sure that I got home for the funeral. This was such an unexpected blessing and reflected their love and care for us once again. I spent the afternoon trying to find a last minute airline ticket. The prices were outrageous, mostly ranging from $800-1000, even with the bereavement rate. The Lord provided—AGAIN!—and finally just minutes before we needed to leave for church, I was able to finally secure a ticket for about 40% of the average price. I got a flight out of Spokane for Monday at 1 pm. We drove to Spokane after the pm service, got a discounted motel and we both caught a few zzz’s before Derek left at 4 am to drive back to Missoula for work.

The flights went well (I even sat in first class on one leg because there were no other seats!). Yesterday was the funeral which was a precious time for our family. My grandma had lived with my parents for the last 6 years of her life. I have had the privilege to watch my family lovingly care for her and personify Biblically honoring your parents. No doubt we will miss Mamaw/Grandma/Granny/Mom, but we would never bring her back here!!!

Please continue to pray with us about housing. We have applied for a home loan, and we are praying for it to go through quickly. “’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me HOME!” =)

Have a great day!!!

Mountain Monograms - The Infamous "F"

2009-06-25T11:13:00.002-06:00

Since our days lately have consisted of hardly anything but checking our P.O. Box and house-hunting, blogging has not been necessary. I miss it though and I have heard that some of you miss it also, so here is a quickie for the fun of it!

Giant capital letters embellish hillsides near many cities and towns in the American West. These letters, typically constructed of whitewashed or painted stones or of concrete, are cultural signatures. They serve as prominent symbols of community and identity and can be easily spotted in most communities. Since we were here in July of last year, the Frenchtown “F” has been painted in the school colors.

Thanks for checking in and for your continued prayers!

Support Increase!

2009-06-17T13:17:00.004-06:00

Praise the Lord for Lifeway Baptist Church in Ellettsville, IN, Grace Community Baptist Church in Monticello, IN, and Calvary Baptist Church in Gays, IL for recently beginning to support us financially!

God continues to provide daily encouragement for us as we seek to follow Him day by day. Please continue to pray for His perfect will regarding housing for us. We are pretty confident that we have located a meeting-place for the church, for which we are very thankful.

Thanks for checking in!

5th Anniversary in Yellowstone National Park

2009-06-08T17:21:00.004-06:00

At Old Faithful

Bison were quite common!

For our 5th wedding anniversary, we went to Yellowstone National Park for 3 days. It is about 4 hours away from us, and what a treat it was! These are just a few of many, many pictures we took! We saw bull and cow moose and elk, grizzly bears, cinnamon (black) bear, mountain goats, deer, and a great gray owl. This was a very special time for us and was quite refreshing. We pitched a tent right next to the Yellowstone River and heard it rushing by all night long. It was wonderful and we hope you enjoy the pictures!

Please continue to pray for God's will concerning housing for us. We will try to keep you updated as much as we are able, but please be understanding if the blog posts are few and far between as we are in this transition/limbo mode.

Thank you so much for all of your love and prayers!!!

May 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-06-08T16:39:00.005-06:00

May 2009

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

May has been full of activity for us as we were preparing to move to Montana. We started the month with meetings in North Carolina and in Georgia. We stopped in Knoxville, TN to see some of our friends while en route to Illinois for our last meeting before the move. We had a great time in all of these churches. The people were open to the needs of America and especially the need for church planting. Traveling for the past 9 months has opened our eyes even more to the work that must be done in our country. We do not want to make things sound grim for our nation, but the truth is that we need help. Our help comes from God and that is what gives us hope. We trust that God will do an amazing work during this time in our nation’s history.

After getting back to Indiana and getting some last minute packing done, we went to Kings Mills, OH to pick up our John and Romans. Kings Mills Baptist Church has a Seedline Ministry. They put together about 5,ooo of these pieces of the Word of God at no cost to us. The John and Romans will be used in our door-hanger packets the week before our Grand Opening Service. We are praying that people’s hearts will be opened to the Gospel before they receive these gifts.

We got the moving truck on Saturday the 23rd. Again the Lord provided in miraculous ways. The truck was much cheaper to rent this time. We got a 17’ U-haul truck with an auto transport unit (or car dolly). It turns out that 17’ includes the mom’s attic and is really only 14’. The Lord blessed and somehow we fit most everything into the truck.

May 24th was our last service at Blessed Hope Baptist Church. This was a happy/sad time for us. Moving is the easy part of this process. It is leaving family and friends that is difficult. Honestly, there were some doubts and fears coming into this last service. Some people think that if it is God’s will then there should not be any doubts. That is great for the fairy tales that people like to tell in order to make others think they are handling the situation spiritually. The fact is that there is a tearing away process and it hurts. One man said that faith is not the absence of doubt, but trusting and following God despite your doubts. By the way, if doing God’s will was so easy, then why doesn’t everyone do it? Anyway, enough preaching… we know that God wants us in Montana. We also know that God wants us to start a church in Frenchtown. We cannot wait to see what the Lord is going to do now! Thank you for having a part in this adventure through your love, prayers, and support.

Please continue to pray with us about these things:
1. A place for us to live and a building to come available for the start of the church.
2. Continued financial provision.
3. Fruit that will remain!

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen
Isaiah 6:8

Support increase!

2009-05-30T16:49:00.001-06:00

Praise the Lord for Truth Baptist Church in Machesney Park, IL and Independent Baptist Church in Montezuma, IN for beginning to partner with us financially via monthly support!

Home Sweet Together!

2009-05-30T16:34:00.002-06:00

Although we unloaded all of our things into a storage unit yesterday, in our minds, we are HOME! While trying to be tough about being "homeless", the Lord reminded me of this song yesterday as I was driving. I sang this to Derek at our wedding, knowing then that my home with him would probably be in Montana --hundreds of miles from what I had always known as home. I'm so thankful to know that we have found our home in God's will and in each other.

Home Sweet Together
I promise God and promise you now,
before Him as our hearts we bow
All my love for all my days
Together giving Christ the praise
Home here, or far away
If God calls us to go or stay
Wherever we go, whatever we do
I'll be at home if I'm with you.

Home sweet together
Home sweet forever
Home is where the heart is
and my heart is with you
No matter where we ever roam
Together we'll be home sweet home
For this life and forever
Now we're home sweet together.

-Words and Music by Mrs. Cathy Corle

So you see, we are not really homeless...don't worry! God has provided a very comfortable "boarding" type situation for us temporarily while we are looking for a place of our own. He has also provided so many extra blessings and a few I would like to share with you quickly.

Firstly, how can you not be thankful for the beauty in the above pictures. This is what our drive consisted of for most of the last 300 miles! Absolutely breathtaking!

Secondly, the Lord provided us a very nice storage unit in a very secure location. He gave us some bonuses with that which I would like to share as well. The unit we got is a corner spot which gave us a lot of extra height that the other units in that size don't have. It also had a covered electrical outlet right outside of it. I forgot to specify that we would need that to plug in our freezer, but there it was. As we drove around the storage facility, we couldn't find another one like it! God did that just for us!

Today, we washed and returned the U-haul, drove to Frenchtown and looked around, specifically at the building about which we are praying. It seemed even better in person than we imagined from the pictures. Please continue to pray for God's will in this. We plan to meet with the realtor and if possible the owner next week.

Lastly, there was no snow or ice on the pass this time and I kept my eyes opened the entire time! Thank you, Lord!!!

1444 miles down...358 to go!

2009-05-28T20:59:00.009-06:00

Well, as you can see, we made it to Montana!!!! This post is not going to be chronologically accurate, because I just couldn't wait until the end to tell you that we were almost home!

On our way to Billings today, we stopped at Devil's Tower National Monument. According to stats I have found, Devils Tower is 867 feet from its base to the summit. It stands 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River and is 5,112 feet above sea level. We decided not to attempt rock climbing today, though. Maybe another time. Devils Tower was the first national monument and was declared as such in 1906.

The beautiful Grand Tetons of Wyoming, as taken through our windshield. I don't believe any photographer could really give these beauties justice. What a Mighty Creator who formed all of this into existence!

On Wednesday morning, we played putt-putt with our Rapid City, SD hosts - Pastor and Mrs. Ken Schultz. Derek is smiling because he was only 8 over par. =)

Derek preached for Pastor Schultz on Wednesday night at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Box Elder, SD. Emmanuel Baptist is one of our faithful supporting churches and it was so good to meet so many folks who regularly read our updates and are actively praying for us!

Tomorrow, destination: Frenchtown. Our order of business for tomorrow after we arrive is to find a storage unit, unload our truck, say howdy to Derek's folks, return the truck, then hopefully look around Frenchtown for a place to live. That may not all necessarily occur in that order, but we are at least going to try to accomplish these things tomorrow. We are very excited and very anxious! Please continue praying!!!

For those of you who are interested and will need a mailing address, we do have a P.O. Box already established in Frenchtown. Just let us know if you need it.

Thanks for staying in touch and for the many prayers that have been offered on our behalf!

1071 miles down...731 to go!!!

2009-05-26T20:55:00.006-06:00

Excitement is building! We took a couple self-photos this morning and are including them so you can see that we are still alive and well!

We had a great trip today...encountered cooler weather, which was fine with us! We arrived in Rapid City, SD around 6:30 PM MDT. We will be here through Thursday morning. Next post will be Thursday PM from Billings, MONTANA!

Thank you for your continued prayers and loving comments! God bless!

Day One Pictures

2009-05-26T08:19:00.004-06:00

At my parent's house just before we said "Good-bye!"

The long-awaited pulpit!

Oh Deer!

564 miles down...1238 to go!!!

2009-05-25T20:59:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to briefly update you all and let you know that we made it even further than we had planned for the first day. We were able to pick up the pulpit and still felt like traveling on, so we headed to Albert Lea, MN where we parked for the night.

We have had a wonderful time together--laughing, crying, planning, praying, then laughing and crying some more! We are overwhelmed by God's goodness and mercy to us. He is so good!

Moving day is not exactly the day to show your blonde roots, but I most certainly did! (For example, leaving behind all of your hanging garments is not recommended when you are moving cross-country--don't worry, I remembered before we were too far away.) Speaking of which, I intended to post pictures with this post, but the camera is not accessible at the moment, so you'll have to check back again later for photos!

We were so encouraged to find lots of emails and blog comments from many of you who are praying for us! Thank you for having a part in this special time in our lives.

A BIG Day!

2009-05-25T05:09:00.001-06:00

The long-awaited moving day is here! We plan to pull out with our 17' U-haul towing our car around 8 AM EDT. Needless to say, we are thrilled!!! The Lord used a special service at our home/sending church (Blessed Hope Baptist Church in Jasonville, IN) to get us very pumped and the tears flowing! It was truly a celebration of what God has done thus far in our lives and a time of thanksgiving and prayer toward what lies ahead.

We appreciate your prayers for God's mercy as we travel in the next few days. If you happen to be heading west and see a deer head peering at you from the passenger seat of a silver Hyundai Elantra in tow, honk and wave at us!

Stay tuned for pictures!

ONE WEEK!!!

2009-05-18T11:25:00.006-06:00

“The time of my departure is now at hand”!!! We are so thrilled to make this post and just talk about the goodness of our Lord for a few minutes.

*Within the last week, our support has jumped an additional $335.

*We went to Ohio and picked up nearly 5,000 John & Romans booklets that we will distribute prior to the Grand Opening Service. Special thanks to all the fine folks that work on the Seedline Project at Kings Mills Baptist Church in Kings Mills, OH for providing these for us.

*A pastor in Northern Illinois is shipping us a Lord’s Supper set, as they had duplicates.

*Our home church, BHBC, just got new crib units for the constantly growing nursery! They are going to send the "old" cribs with us, which will work wonderfully for our new church nursery!

*On our way out to Montana, we are picking up a pulpit that another former pastor/present missionary has offered to us.

*This week, we were finally able to secure a place to stay temporarily while we are looking for something else.

*What we thought was a serious problem with our car was diagnosed as something minor and treatable!

*A family that we met on soul-winning about a month ago allowed their children to ride the church bus yesterday.

*One week from today, we are headed for Montana!!!

Fun Times on Depucation!

2009-05-18T11:19:00.004-06:00

No, this title is not a typo! We have really had a lot of fun times while on deputation...so much so that we often refer to it as "depucation" - a combination of deputation and vacation! Hope you enjoy these Kodak moments!

Gypsum Hills in Kansas

On our way to the Statue of Liberty - NYC

Driving in NYC

Um...playing with Legos?

Derek reading "to Maggie"

At the Chattanooga Aquarium

Demo for...??

"Look at Daddy and say watermelon!"

Our Montana friends that we met in Oklahoma

New York City!

All 5 shirts for $20 at the outlets in PA!

And I got these really expensive socks FREE!!!

Derek's up close and personal experience of Niagra Falls!

More Niagra!

We hope you enjoyed this mini tour! We have had so much fun on this ride of life and we are glad you have joined us in the journey. Please stay tuned for pictures of the "BIG MOVE"!

Truth Baptist Church - Machesney Park, IL

2009-05-18T10:56:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, May 9, around noon, we loaded up the car again and made the 12 hour trip from Knoxville to Machesney Park, IL. (Machesney Park is a suburb of Rockford.) We made good time and arrived around 10:30 pm. Pastor and Mrs. Doug Noyes graciously opened their home to us and had dessert waiting on us when we arrived. We spent a few minutes in fellowship and then headed for bed…we were ready!

Sunday was Mother’s Day and what a beautiful day it was! (We interrupt this blog post to say a BIG “THANK YOU” to our moms for their constant love and care for us! We love you!!!)

Pastor Noyes started Truth Baptist Church about 8 years ago, but they have just acquired a church building within the past year. They merged with another Baptist church that needed a pastor and Truth Baptist needed a building. They seem to be adjusting well and we enjoyed meeting all the people that came out on this special day.

Have you ever seen or heard of the Baptist Flag? After seeing it on the flagpole here and also displayed inside the building and on several lapels, I did a little bit of research and also found this pledge to the Baptist flag. "I pledge allegiance to the Baptist Flag, And to the Faith once delivered unto the Saints. I will ever remain faithful to the tie that binds us together, The Book, the Blood, and the Blessed Hope of our Lord's soon coming."

Truth Baptist has a different schedule of services that made the day interesting for us. We began with Sunday School at 9:30, then the morning preaching service at 10:30. During the morning service, Pastor Noyes brought a message from Proverbs 31 on the Virtuous Woman which was a blessed reminder of what God expects from His daughters. Following the AM service, everyone headed downstairs to the fellowship hall for a pitch-in meal that they have each week. After they eat and have some time for fellowship, they have an afternoon service at 1:45 that lasts for about 2 hours. This afternoon service is instead of the evening service, so when it concludes the rest of the evening is family time. The afternoon service included an extended time of singing Scripture songs. It is so enjoyable to sing God’s Word and it is a powerful way to hide it in your heart when it is put to music. Derek preached the message for the afternoon service and we showed our DVD as well.

We spent the rest of the evening eating and playing games with the Noyes family and had a great time, although it was rather strange not to be in church on Sunday night!!!

This Sunday wrapped up this phase of our deputation. We do have a few meetings scheduled out west once we move, but there are a lot fewer churches within a reasonable driving proximity once we get out there. We know that God will continue to provide exactly what we need and in His perfect time! He has been SO GOOD to us!!!

Tabernacle Baptist Church – Mebane, NC

2009-05-13T19:37:00.011-06:00

Pastor & Mrs. Chip Sellew

No, these are not our church clothes!

Saturday, May 2 was spent traveling to Mebane, North Carolina to be with Pastor & Mrs. Chip Sellew and Tabernacle Baptist Church. The Sellew’s middle child, Micah, was a groomsman in our wedding and they are all good friends of ours. It was a blessing to be a part of their church on Sunday morning, as well as enjoy great fellowship with the family.

When Derek was in college, Mrs. Sellew “adopted” him and would almost always send Micah with an extra loaf of homemade bread just for Derek. Of course, this endeared her to Derek’s heart, as he really enjoys most every type of homemade baking! While we were visiting there this weekend, I was able to get her recipe for this yummy bread. When we get settled in Montana, you can guess what I will be trying!

Derek was given the privilege of teaching Sunday School as well as preaching the Sunday morning message. The folks responded well and we rejoice with Pastor and Mrs. Sellew in what God is doing and the growth that they are seeing.

On Sunday night, we back-tracked somewhat so we could visit Gospel Light Baptist Church in Walkertown, NC. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit there and always receive a blessing when we hear Bro. Bobby Roberson preach.

Gospel Light Baptist Church, Walkertown, NC

On Monday morning, we visited Alamance Christian School where Derek taught a quick Bible object lesson to Mrs. Sellew’s 2nd grade class. We had a good time there with the kids…2nd graders are quite excitable!

We then headed down the road a few miles to enjoy breakfast at Cracker Barrel with more friends from college—Kirk & Kathy Shull and their quickly growing family! It is always fun to relive old memories and make new ones with friends!

Oops!

2009-05-08T06:39:00.002-06:00

Sorry about the mistake concerning our support level. I swapped a couple of the numbers and it made a big difference. It should be $1,24o not $2,140. Thanks for your prayers.

Linwood Baptist Church - LaFayette, GA

2009-05-07T21:12:00.004-06:00

We got back on the road around noon on Monday and headed for LaFayette, Georgia. LaFayette is just about 30 minutes directly south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. This is where another one of our groomsmen, Mitchell Killian, lives. His father is the pastor of Linwood Baptist Church in LaFayette. We stayed with Mitchell on his farm for the entire week and had enjoyable and often amusing fellowship there!

Pastor Eddie Killian has been the pastor of Linwood Baptist Church for about six years. The Lord has blessed them with a beautiful building and they have recently been remodeling the auditorium. We rejoiced to hear about entire families that have been reached through their bus ministry and are now attending the church faithfully as a family! If God can do it in LaFayette, Georgia, surely He will do it in Frenchtown, Montana!!!

It was a pleasure for me to meet Pastor and Mrs. Killian and to watch their interaction with and love for one another. Mrs. Killian has a very serious medical condition, and it was precious to watch Bro. Eddie’s loving care for her. The Lord used this to teach me much about His own compassion and intercession for me when I cannot make it on my own. “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
(Psa 34:6-8)

On Tuesday evening, Micah & Sarah Sellew drove down for a mini-reunion. Then on Friday, we headed up to Knoxville to see Bro. Roger & Mrs. Heather Hilliard. When we were all at Crown College, we all served on the same bus routes under Bro. Roger’s leadership and we became great friends while serving the Lord together. In fact, becoming a part of this particular bus ministry was part of God’s direction in allowing Derek and me to meet. One of our goals in this trip “down south” was to be able to catch up with these friends for the first time in 2+ years and probably the last time for quite a while because of the distance that will separate us once we get to Montana. The Lord allowed this to happen and we are so grateful to Him and to our friends who took time out of their busy lives to accommodate us! Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” We are so thankful for countenance-sharpening friends!

It went up again!

2009-05-07T19:55:00.002-06:00

Praise the Lord! Our promised support has now risen to $2,140/month. This is an additional $150 just this week. Thank you for praying...we have a God Who hears and answers our prayers!

Support Increase!

2009-05-05T21:59:00.002-06:00

After a short-term plateau that seemed rather long, we are so thankful to see the support thermometer raise once again today! Open Bible Baptist Church of Brooklyn, Connecticut is the newest member of the team, and we are grateful to have them on board!

April 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-05-05T21:19:00.002-06:00

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

April has been a very full month, including participation in six different Missions Conferences as well as presenting our ministry in three other churches. We traveled in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois with over 2,500 miles. Our hearts are full and running over with blessings that we received by our time with each church. We have been so encouraged by the people we have met that understand the importance of church planting both at home and abroad. During the month we had the opportunity to see 3 people saved and 1 young man believes that God has called him into the ministry. It is exciting to see the hand of God in people’s lives. We are so thrilled to be a part of what God is doing and see His handiwork in the churches that we are privileged to visit.

This past month, we have not only seen the Lord’s goodness, we have tasted it. (I am not referring to all the good food we have had, although we have had a lot of it!) He has assured us time and time again by His provisions, His protection, and the promises in His Word that He has everything under control!

We are excited to announce that our departure for Montana is just around the corner! We will be leaving Indiana on Monday, May 25 and arriving in Frenchtown on Friday, May 29. There is much to be done and a lot of excitement as well as apprehension. We will spend the summer finding a place to meet, making contacts, soul-winning, and holding “Get-Acquainted Meetings”. The Grand Opening Service for Blessed Hope Baptist Church of Frenchtown, Montana is scheduled for Sunday, October 4.

In a previous letter, we asked you to pray for a young man named Logan to be saved. This month, Logan finally agreed to come to church with us when we were home for one service. He seemed to be receptive during the service. Our assistant pastor, Bro. Jonathan Ryser, preached the message that Wednesday night. He preached a message concerning the last days. Logan has been curious about this topic so he paid attention to what was said. After the service, I was able to speak to him more about Christ’s gift of salvation and ask him a few more questions. There is a lot of baggage from his past that he is wading through, but he is opening up more every time I have the opportunity to spend some time with him. It seems that God is piercing the spiritual darkness in his heart. Please continue to pray for his salvation.

Thank you for all of your love, prayers, and support. We could not do what we are doing without them.

Please continue to pray with us about these things:
1. A place for us to live when we move to Montana on May 25.
2. A building to come available for the start of the church.
3. Continued financial provision.
4. Fruit that will remain!

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen
Isaiah 6:8

But my God shall supply all your need...

2009-05-01T13:12:00.005-06:00

We just wanted to share with our readers the abundance of blessings that God has used His people to provide. At the beginning of deputation, we compiled a list of many specific items that we would need for a new church. At each church, we would place the list and a money box on the table for folks to give to help meet these specific needs. Following are the items that have already been funded:

Promotional/Grand Opening
10,000 Gospel tracts ($200)
Grand Opening Sign ($60)

Auditorium:
Digital Piano/Clavinova ($1,850)
Materials for pulpit ($50)
Curtains ($30)

Nursery:
Disinfectant wipes ($3)
Hand sanitizer ($3)
Toys ($30)
Swing ($55)

Bathroom:
Handsoap ($2)
Paper towel ($5)
Toilet paper ($5)

Cleaning Supplies:
Dusting spray ($1)
Toilet bowl cleaner ($3)
Disinfectant ($5)
Trash Bags ($5)
Swiffer/mop ($12)
Vacuum ($40)

Office/Accounting
P.O. Box fee-6 month ($19)
Copy paper ($20)

Lord's Supper Set
Juice cup tray ($42)
Juice cup tray ($42)

Are you shouting yet?!! You should be!!!!

First Baptist Church - Grafton, IL

2009-05-01T12:49:00.005-06:00

What a treat we received on Wednesday night as we traveled to the greater St. Louis area for a blessed meeting at First Baptist Church in Grafton, Illinois. Those of you who know us well know that we are not “city folk” so the idea of St. Louis is at first not very appealing. I will say though, that the drive into Grafton was worth the trip in beauty. For the last 12 miles of the trip, we were sandwiched between the Mississippi River and beautiful towering rock bluffs. The night drive was even more beautiful because of the lighting they have situated to created shadows and cast the effect of the rock bluffs into the water. What an awesome creation surrounds us! What an awesome Creator we serve and know!!!

Grafton, Illinois is a small town with a hometown feel, in spite of its close proximity to St. Louis. We really enjoyed our time at First Baptist Church and the fellowship with Pastor Bill Hendricks. Unfortunately, the camera batteries gave up when I tried to take a photo of the church/sign, so I took this one from their website!

There was a special connection to us in Pastor Hendricks heart because it was in Babb, Montana that he was called to preach as a 17 year old boy on a short-term missions trip. By the way, Babb, Montana just got 48 inches of snow this week! Thankfully, Babb is about 250 miles from Frenchtown and about 1,000 feet higher elevation than Frenchtown.

God has provided for us in such amazing ways throughout the past few months of deputation. The generosity of God’s people towards us is continually overwhelming as well as humbling. To each one of you that may be reading this post who have had a part in the ministry God has given us, we pray that God will give us much fruit to abound to your account. Thank you for being a channel of God’s blessings!!!

Bible Baptist Church - Hazard, KY

2009-05-01T12:45:00.006-06:00

In the hills of southeastern Kentucky, and literally built into the side of one of them is Bible Baptist Church in Hazard, Kentucky. My husband was a little disappointed to find out that the “Dukes” weren’t in Hazard though…they’re in Georgia. He was hoping they would give him their car. The church was founded by Pastor Sam Fugate, the father of Dr. Jeff Fugate, pastor of Clays Mill Road Baptist Church and president of Commonwealth Baptist College.

The motto for Bible Baptist Church is “Serving the KING, in the Queen City of the Mountains”. They have 5 bus routes that they run in the area and are continually seeing folks reached in “them thar hills”. In fact, Mrs. DeMaris, the pastor’s wife, was reached as a teen through the bus ministry of this church.

The theme for their Missions Conference was “That the world may know”. This theme is based on John 17:23 “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou has sent me, and hast loved them, as thou has loved me.” Bro. DeMaris told us that God had really used this verse to grip his heart in the matter of missions. Think of it…will you give your life that the world may know that God sent Jesus?

We were able to present and preach on Monday night and then each of the missionaries also preached on Tuesday morning in the Hazard Christian Academy chapel. Derek affectionately named one of the boys “Bubba” while he was using him in an illustration and it seemed to stick! Imagine that…someone named Bubba in Hazard, Kentucky! =)

While in Hazard, they gave us a “goodie basket” that was really a crate full of everything from A to Z! I took a picture once we got home and I sorted through it all. When I said God was blessing us, maybe I should have said that He is enlarging our coasts and expanding our ministry by expanding our waistlines! This is just the food we have acquired over the past 7 days…not any of the other things, like personal care items, batteries, household items, etc…there are a lot of those too! What a blessing!!!

After chapel on Tuesday in Hazard, we headed up the road to Lexington to spend some time with Chad & Rachel, my brother and sister who are attending Commonwealth Baptist College in Lexington. It was good to drop in and bug them for a few minutes, but we got an added blessing that night too. Bro. John Bishop (God is so Good Ministries) was speaking at Clays Mill Rd. that night. It was a session entitled “Laughing and Learning with Bro. John” and was such a sweet time. If you or someone you know is hurting, the testimony of Bro. John Bishop will be such a strength to you. After all, even in the hardest, darkest hours of our life, God is always good and God is always right.

While in Lexington, God protected us from what could have been a serious accident and reminded us once again of the traveling mercies He has given us over the past 40,000 miles we have traveled in the past 9 months. Each one of your prayers are important!

Grace Community Baptist Church - Monticello, IN

2009-05-01T12:34:00.003-06:00

Monticello, Indiana is about 250 miles north of our home in Indiana. We arrived safely Friday afternoon and settled into the room the church provided for us. We then headed for the church to set up our display and share a meal prior to the service. We were warmly greeted at the door by Pastor and Mrs. Gary Roberts. They introduced us to Kevin & Nikki Griffin and their children who are on deputation as church planters to Arizona and Bob & Becky Ingram who are missionaries to the military at Fort Benning, GA.

After introductions and as soon as the food was ready, we ate our evening meal. I’m really not sure exactly what it was…because I’m not from Dixie land. To the best of my understanding it was called “Frog More Stew” or “Low Bowl Stew”. Of course, translated that may mean Little Boy Stew, Little Boil Stew, Little Bowl of Stew, Little boy named Stu…just not sure which. It was a bowl full of potatoes, carrots, shrimp, sausage, scallops or scallions, corn on the cob, and Old Bay seasoning. If you’re from the south and know what the proper terminology for this “stew” is, please feel free to comment. Anyway…it was good, but the best part of the meal was a fresh peach & blackberry pie topped with real Breyer’s ice cream…Mmmm good!

Now to more important matters. The theme for this conference was “A Heart for the Homeland” as all three missionaries are working in the U.S. It was a real joy to meet the other missionaries and we had a great time throughout the weekend.

This conference and Grace Community Baptist Church are unparalleled to any we have yet participated in or visited. God used these people in such a sweet way to encourage and strengthen our hearts. The preparation they put into this conference and the manner in which they treated us was so special! They treated us like kings and queens and loved on us like we were family.

A couple of highlights: On Saturday morning they had a “Laborer’s Report”. It was an opportunity for the church people as a whole to get to know the missionaries. One couple at a time was brought onto the platform and questioned about their salvation testimonies, call to the ministry, how they met each other, specific challenges of their field, and even some silly questions. At first I dreaded it, but it was not intimidating at all and was a neat opportunity to be a bit more personal/personable with the church.

We presented our burden for Montana on Saturday night and then Derek preached. The Holy Spirit worked in many hearts during the service. After the service a young boy told Derek that God had called him to preach! Praise-a-lujah!

Let me interject here that the folks of this church had obviously been praying and preparing for this conference for many weeks. The children had made posters promoting the missionaries that would be in the conference as well as the theme of reaching America. They had used our pictures to make a prayer sheet and had been praying for us and learning our names before we arrived. Each person that greeted us (which was practically everyone in the church) on the first night of the conference greeted us by name! This is incredible, because many times, even in a week long conference the church folks don’t seem to attempt to learn your name. This speaks very highly of the emphasis that has been made and their desire to make us feel welcome.

On Sunday afternoon they had a Missions Conference Hog Roast. That pig could melt in your mouth. Good BBQ!

On Sunday night, they had a surprise birthday party for all the missionaries. The idea being that most don’t get to celebrate their birthdays with family due to being on the road, so they wanted to have a special time for us with our new-found Grace Community Baptist Church family. This was a special time…they sang to us and had a party complete with cake, ice cream, cupcakes, nachos, and presents (see photos)!!! This was such a great idea and one that we definitely would like to implement at Blessed Hope Baptist Church of Frenchtown, Montana.

As you will read in the next posts, it seems that our meetings keep getting better the closer we get to our departure for Montana. God seems to be heaping the blessings upon us and saying, “Go ahead. I’m with you. I’m taking care of you. I AM.” We are so thankful for His continued guidance and provision.

Church on the fly...

2009-04-27T06:06:00.002-06:00

While in Monticello this weekend, this drive-in church caught our eyes. We did not attend because it isn't open until June. =(

In all seriousness, why would we ever want to go here when we could go to a church as fabulous as Grace Community Baptist Church in Monticello, IN. We'll have much more to say about the Missions Conference there soon, so stay tuned!!!

Olive Branch Baptist Church - Linton, IN

2009-04-26T21:20:00.006-06:00

It is true..."You'll Like Linton!" (Big green arches greet you with these words upon entering the town!) Of course, Linton is just down the road from our home & sending church in Jasonville. We had a great time participating in the Missions Conference for one of our sister churches, Olive Branch Baptist Church. Pastor Dan Kemp has done an outstanding job in the past couple years since he has taken this church. This church has a long heritage in the community and has had its fair share of victories and trials. They are now watching God put together a strong core of people that are ready to advance the cause of Christ.

This week the emphasis was on the introduction of Faith Promise Missions Giving versus giving to missions out of the General Fund. We watched God bless through the week as the people's eyes were opened, hearts were softened and they moved to action.

During the conference, we were able to meet Kirk & Kathy Hickok who have been serving as missionaries in Brazil, South America since 1975. The main speaker for the conference was Dr. Ray Thompson (whom we had met formerly in Southington, CT at the Missions Conference at Central Baptist Church) Dr. and Mrs. Thompson have been missionaries for 108 years (54 each)...and what a blessing they were to us throughout the week. His teaching and preaching on Grace Giving was exceptionally clear and direct.

On Wednesday night, we were joined by a group of 4 men that are taking Bibles to the Arctic Circle this June. They are from Lifeway Baptist Church in Ellettsville, IN (see previous post on our visit to their church here.) They each brought their families and we enjoyed their presentation and their excitement was contagious!

Each night the church ladies served us a delicious homecooked meal and even sent home leftovers. I didn't cook all week! We enjoyed this time each evening to fellowship more with the Kemp's and the other missionaries. Since we were the "young ones", we were again able to sit back and listen a lot, just soaking it all up and learning soooo much! We were invited to Jiffy Treet for ice cream at the conclusion of the conference for some more fellowship with the families and of course, ice cream! Yummy!

Countdown continues...

2009-04-17T13:38:00.005-06:00

5 weeks from tomorrow (Saturday) we will pick up our U-haul, load it up and prepare to pull out for Montana! Please continue to pray for us in these important days of preparation!

Rickman Road Baptist Church - West Paducah, KY

2009-04-17T13:29:00.003-06:00

The Lord orchestrated our steps in an incredible way to be able to participate in back-to-back Missions Conferences just minutes down the road from each other. Pastor Stan Durrett extended an invitation to participate in Rickman Road Baptist Church's Missions Conference on Thursday evening. We were literally less than 30 minutes from one to the next. We explored Paducah, Kentucky during the day on Thursday, then headed over to the church house for the 2nd night of their Missions Conference.

One thing the speaker said regarding the Missions Conference that implanted in my mind was this: "The purpose of a Missions Conference is not to fill your head with facts, but rather your heart with love." What a great truth to realize! The love of Christ truly constrains us...more than any startling fact or statistic we can proclaim.

The folks here received us warmly and we received a blessing--just by showing up. They have been blessed with a beautiful building, both inside and out. So picturesque! We traveled back home following the service, arriving about 2:45 Friday morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Calvary Baptist Church - Benton, KY

2009-04-17T13:12:00.008-06:00

Resurrection Sunday was the kick-off for a wonderful Missions Conference hosted by Pastor Jon Goodman and Calvary Baptist Church of Benton, Kentucky. Calvary Baptist has recently been forced to have 2 services to accommodate their growing congregation. They have land on which they are preparing to build a new building. On this special Sunday celebrating our Saviour’s triumph over the grave they hit 200 in attendance! In May, the church will celebrate its 8th anniversary. God has truly blessed them during these years and we are glad we had the opportunity to meet these kind people and see what great things God has done.

This church fed us and fed us and then fed us some more! We joked that we were going to have to get a new vehicle so we could fit in it to get home! Each evening, one of the three adult Bible classes was responsible for the meal and they really put on a spread. Each meal had two important elements -- a lot of food and a lot of laughs!!!

We presented our DVD on Tuesday night and Derek preached the "appetizer" message. We also were able to help with special music throughout the week.

The church family was so kind and loving towards us, and we also had a great time meeting the other missionaries and special speaker. Evangelist Brent Gellos was the main speaker for the week, accompanied by his wife Kaity. Bro. Adam Crabtree is a missionary church planter to the Greek communities of New York City. He and his family served in Greece for 4 years and 10 months until they were forced to leave the country. His heartbeat is to reach Greeks for Christ and we enjoyed hearing many accounts of life in Greece. We were also able to meet Bro. Mark Thren and family, who are seeking the Lord’s direction about a ministry in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Located in Marshall County, Kentucky, this is a popular recreation area due to its proximity to Kentucky Lake and the Land between the Lakes National Rec. area. Kentucky Lake forms the entire eastern border of Marshall and Calloway counties and extends within the Illinois state line. The lake is 184 miles long, 1.25 – 2.5 miles wide and has 2,380 miles of shoreline…that’s a lot of water! We planned to go to the lake on Thursday, but it was a little too cold and blustery.

On Wednesday, the church secretary, Mrs. Jan, took Mrs. Gellos and I to Patti's 1880's Settlement. There is a restaurant and numerous gift shops to browse. I took a picture of their desserts and of the pies that were showcased. Wow! What a treat this was!

Is your mouth watering yet? Good! Glad y'all stopped by! (We tried very hard to learn the language of these folks from Western Kentucky. It is definitely a different dialect!)

March 2009 Prayer Letter

2009-04-06T14:56:00.005-06:00

For those of you who think this kind of thing is cool...this is our 100th post!

March 2009

Dear Pastors, Churches, and Friends,

We started the month in Farmington, MO. We then traveled to Lincoln, IL for an incredible Missions Conference at Park Meadows Baptist Church. We also had meetings in Greenwood and Ellettsville, IN, and Gays, IL, all of which were a blessing to us. Let me give some highlights of the things God allowed us to be part of this month.

The Jasonville and Bloomfield 500: For those of you that are NASCAR fans, this is not a race that you missed. It is, however, goals set by our church to get the work of the Lord accomplished during the month of March. About a year ago, Blessed Hope Baptist Church acquired a church building in the Bloomfield, IN area. We are trying to restart the church. For Blessed Hope, the goal was to have 500 combined hours of soul-winning and visitation for the month. For the ministry in Bloomfield, the goal was to knock at least 500 doors in the community for the month. The number of doors knocked was completely blown out of the water. There were a little over 1,000 doors knocked for the month of March and the 500 hour goal was reached as well. Because we did not have as many meetings this month, the Lord allowed us to take part in this incredible outreach push and see the blessings of God upon our efforts with souls saved and new visitors in attendance.

I would like to encourage all those who read our prayer letter in understanding the power in the assembly. God designed the church as an assembly. It is also likened to a body, which has many members, all of which are an important part of the whole body’s function. It is said that 10% of the members of a church do 90% of the work. This is why many preachers get discouraged and the few that are laboring end up fainting in the work of the Lord. The fact is that if more would get involved, then the load would lighten for everyone and more could be accomplished. There were 25 of us that went out to knock doors on Saturday morning and 3 hours later 595 doors were knocked and 4 people saved. The work of the Lord can be done and God will bless. We just have to stop making excuses and stay after it.

Missions Conference in Lincoln, IL: This was a very special conference with a great spirit amongst the missionaries. Bro. Bryan Stensaas, missionary to Uganda, preached all the services and the power of God was quite evident. In fact, we believe that one of the messages was the best that we have ever heard on the subject of missions. It was entitled, “I’ve Sat Where They’ve Sat”. If you can ever get the opportunity to meet this man and his wife, you will be sure to receive a blessing.

Prayer Requests:
A place for us to live when we move to Montana at the end of May.
A building to come available for the start of the church.
For our support to be raised quickly.

Serving the King,

Derek and Rebecca Loewen
Isaiah 6:8

New Life Baptist Church - Mooresville, IN

2009-04-06T14:07:00.005-06:00

Sunday evening found us at New Life Baptist Church in Mooresville, Indiana. The Lord protected us through some very rainy conditions and got us there safely. Pastor Mark Wooley greeted us at the door and traded our little travel umbrella for a big one that allowed us to stay dry while carrying our equipment into the church building.

We had a great service and enjoyed our time with these folks. The hearty amens and intelligent questions indicated that this church has also been well-educated regarding the necessity of church planting and that makes our job so much easier! Unfortunately, not every place we visit realizes how important it is that we have solid, independent, fundamental Baptist churches in AMERICA!

New Life Baptist Church has personally been involved in starting a Spanish ministry, which is soon to become an autonomous church. Their financial backing of the Spanish church is substantial and they have just purchased land and are starting a building for the Spanish church right in the heart of "Hispanic-ville" in Indianapolis. The pastor and his wife are both from Mexico and are seeing steady growth both spiritually and numerically. Praise the Lord!

During the announcement time, they have a tract count - the folks keep a tally of how many they pass out through the week. What an encouragement to hear that they are using this method to reach out to their community and their places of employment. Especially neat was the count of the tracts that the Jr. Church kids alone passed out - 255! How important it is that even young children understand that they are missionaries!

We enjoyed a meal at Bob Evans with some folks from the church, along with Pastor and Mrs. Wooley. We headed out about 9:30 pm and arrived home around 11. Praise the Lord for a terrific day in His house!

Crossroads Baptist Church - Sellersburg, IN

2009-04-06T13:57:00.007-06:00

Following soul-winning at Blessed Hope on Saturday morning and follow-ups for the chapel ministry in Bloomfield on Saturday afternoon, we headed down to Sellersburg, IN which is just a few miles north of Louisville, KY. We arrived around 5 pm, set up our presentation equipment, and got settled into the motor home they provided for us in which to spend the night.

We enjoyed such a great service on Sunday morning. We showed our presentation to everyone (including the children) before the individual classes were dismissed. (Quick funny: After the presentation was finished, a small child on the front row - probably 4 or 5 yr. old - piped up with "But I don't want to see it again!" I was thinking, "Don't worry kiddo, I feel the same way sometimes! Ha!) We had a few minutes of questions and answers regarding our ministry during the adult S.S. class. This church has been well-taught regarding the matter of church planting and we really sensed that they have a heart for it.

The banners hanging at the front of the auditorium indicate a theme that was a great truth of which we all need to be reminded. It read "If your challenge is too great, then your God is too small." Satan has a way of plaguing us with doubts regarding what God has called us to do. For every doubt that satan puts into our mind, however, there is a much greater promise that God has given. Let's put some "Philippians 4:13 YES, WE CAN!" in our backpack and get the job done.

In some point of discussion, Derek bragged about having lived his entire life in Montana and never having worn a cowboy hat, big belt buckle, or cowboy boots. He said our part of Montana would be more aptly depicted by Volkswagens with rainbows. Before Pastor Jerry Harris called Derek up to preach Sun. AM, he said that there was one thing that would have to change and pulled out a black cowboy hat! He then suggested that he had a church member that did auto body work and could see to it that we could get a rainbow on our car! In case you haven't figured it out yet...we like to have fun in church services. Pastor Jerry Harris said yesterday that there are two things that he refuses to do: 1. I refuse to become a charismatic. 2. I refuse to let the charismatics steal my joy. Amen!

God moved in the service yesterday morning and there were 2 saved in the invitation! God gets all the glory, and we get all the joy!

We enjoyed a very nice home-cooked meal with the Harris family and other folks from the church and then headed up the road to our next meeting...about 2.5 hours away.

Countdown is on!

2009-04-03T07:20:00.004-06:00

Well folks, the countdown is on! In case you hadn't noticed our itinerary lately, there are just 53 days left before we load up that U-haul and pull out for Big Sky Country! Some times those 53 days seem like an eternity because our desire to get there is so great. At other times, those 53 days seem like just a few minutes when we look at our "to do" list and think about the limited time we have left with our family and church.

The Lord has been so good to us and blessed in so many ways. As we think of it, we're going to try to show you some of the puzzle pieces He is putting together for us. Today, we'll show you our beautiful Grand Opening flower arrangement. My sister is very talented in this area and gets all the credit for the end result. Still to come...offering plates, John & Romans cover, and much, much more!

Calvary Baptist Church - Gays, IL

2009-03-31T14:18:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I wish we had some type of "car cam" so you could just listen in on our conversation after we leave a church after any given service. It sure would save me a lot of time writing posts for our blog. When we left Calvary Baptist Church in Gays, Illinois, our hearts were refreshed and we had a smile on our face. Pastor Layne Lashley and his family have been at this church since August of 2008. They are an outstanding family doing a great job in this area.

I forgot to bring my camera, and there were several things that I wish I would have had it for, including the sign when you enter Gays that says "Gays, IL -- 300". I would also like to have snapped a photo of the double decker outhouse that Gays is infamous for. (I guess it would have been nice to have a picture of the church too, right?!)

Gays is about 7 miles outside of Mattoon, IL which is believed to have a population of 20,000+. The rural setting of the church is so ideal and they have such an opportunity to reach into several communities in their "backyard" - small to large.

Some of their outreach endeavors include a chapel ministry they recently began in Charleston, IL, a bus ministry, Christian school, as well as through giving to Faith Promise Missions, which they started back in October. On Sunday morning, they had 20 in attendance at their chapel ministry and were thrilled about that.

Pastor Lashley and his wife Ericka have a wonderful young family and we really enjoyed their fellowship after the service at the original Burger King (not the chain) in downtown Mattoon.

Thanks for stopping by and for praying us through another month!