Building Kingdom Relationships
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 1:3-6
As I am writing this letter, I am in Orange County California following up on some of the relationships Brother Ebey and I established last month during our time here.
One of my life verses is Phil 1:3-6. It flows well with the vision statement for Erwin Family Ministries it is to: "Helping to Reach Millions of People with the Gospel by Building Kingdom Relationships" Paul built ministry relationships as he shared the Gospel.
Building relationships is absolutely key to the ministry that the Erwin Family is called to do. God is very big on relationships, paticularly our relationship with Him! From ancient times, man has establish relationships through blood covenants that formed great alliances and partnerships that changed the world and established history.
Today is no different as I go about the United States sharing the vision of Serve India Ministries with like minded Christians who have a heart to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our generation and the relationships that we have established around God’s purpose will change the history of the world by God’s grace. Thousands of villages in India are being changed forever as God’s message of reconciliation and grace is going into unreached villages in India.
Janey and Benj
amin:
As I write this letter, it is Memorial Day and I am in California for the week. Janey and Benjamin are driving to our hometown in Harrison Arkansas to visit our family. Janey is still doing very well as Costco and has favor with the management and customers. I pray for her every day that God would bless her and give here great joy in her work and she would prosper the company she works for to the Glory of God. She still enjoys working with the children at church in the AWANA program. They have completed AWANA for the season and will begin a new term in August.
Benjam in is finishing up his 5 grade work and will begin 6th grade home school in September. I am amazed at how easily he picks up the complex math problems and once you show him once how to do a problem, he buzzes right through the rest of the homework. He needs very little help with science and history/geogrphy because he loves these subjects and is constantly researching science and history. The pool is open for the summer so he will be excited to go swimming as often as possible. He had taken up a great love for the game of chess so is any of you would like to challenge him to a game, please let us know; he would love to share a game. With the end of May came the end of the semester for violin his orchastra had a great concert on May 19th and Benjamins skill has greatly improved since he began last fall. We hope to continue some private lessons during the summer so he will be sharp when the fall semester comes along.
Former Bootlegger Finds Christ, Amends His Ways
In the fall of 2011, Ebenezer Samuel, Serve India’s director, visited with a new believer in Kerala named Gilbert—a man whose life took a 180-degree turn when he received Christ after conversing with a Serve India pastor.
When Gilbert moved deep into a forest with his wife and children, squatting illegally on several acres of land, his plan was to get rich quickly by making and selling illicit liquor—a lucrative industry across India.
He dug a moat around his house to keep the elephants and other wild animals at bay.
In that secluded spot, alcohol began to consume Gilbert’s life. He brewed it, drank it—almost a gallon a day—and sold it at a good profit. Worst of all, he strong-armed his wife and children into selling the moonshine in nearby towns.
When his wife objected to their dangerous lifestyle, he beat her and sent her away with the children. He would carry on with business by himself.
Troubled over their broken home, Gilbert’s wife began attending worship gatherings led by a Serve India national pastor. The Lord heard her cry and began to work in the hearts of her loved ones. First Gilbert’s wife surrendered her life to Christ, and then her mother-in-law was also saved.
It wasn’t long before Gilbert himself was introduced to the pastor, who spoke boldly to him about his need for Christ. He repented of his sin and gave his life to the Lord.
From the day he received Christ, Gilbert abandoned bootlegging and did not feel the need for even one more drink. After bringing his wife and children home, he purchased a few acres of land close by and moved there—a new beginning for the whole family.
Intent on making an honest living, Gilbert began to cultivate ginger as a cash crop.
"In the worldly sense," said Ebey Samuel, who had the privilege of baptizing Gilbert, "this family looks anything but rich, living in a little shack in the forest. But their joyful faces tell you they are rich in another sense. Gilbert is clean now, and an ardent follower of Jesus.
God has Done Great Things! – Support Update
We have very good news concerning our support needs. Thank you for praying and thank you for giving. As we shared with you last month, we have 2 primary goals concerning our support needs:
#1 Monthly Partners. Goal: $300 per month of additional monthly support. Update, we have a commitment for $100 per month of new support.
#2 Building a Ministry Reserve.
Goal: To raise about $3000 for our ministry reserve. Update, we have raised the $3000 and met o our funding Goal!
We give God the glory for His great provision and I pray that God may richly bless each one of you who have been so kind and generous toward our ministry support.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
God bless you, Michael, Jane and Benjamin Erwin
****You can see some of our photos from India:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102642539464370347618/April12012
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 1:3-6
As I am writing this letter, I am in Orange County California following up on some of the relationships Brother Ebey and I established last month during our time here.
One of my life verses is Phil 1:3-6. It flows well with the vision statement for Erwin Family Ministries it is to: "Helping to Reach Millions of People with the Gospel by Building Kingdom Relationships" Paul built ministry relationships as he shared the Gospel.
Building relationships is absolutely key to the ministry that the Erwin Family is called to do. God is very big on relationships, paticularly our relationship with Him! From ancient times, man has establish relationships through blood covenants that formed great alliances and partnerships that changed the world and established history.
Today is no different as I go about the United States sharing the vision of Serve India Ministries with like minded Christians who have a heart to see the Great Commission fulfilled in our generation and the relationships that we have established around God’s purpose will change the history of the world by God’s grace. Thousands of villages in India are being changed forever as God’s message of reconciliation and grace is going into unreached villages in India.
Janey and Benj
amin:As I write this letter, it is Memorial Day and I am in California for the week. Janey and Benjamin are driving to our hometown in Harrison Arkansas to visit our family. Janey is still doing very well as Costco and has favor with the management and customers. I pray for her every day that God would bless her and give here great joy in her work and she would prosper the company she works for to the Glory of God. She still enjoys working with the children at church in the AWANA program. They have completed AWANA for the season and will begin a new term in August.
Benjam in is finishing up his 5 grade work and will begin 6th grade home school in September. I am amazed at how easily he picks up the complex math problems and once you show him once how to do a problem, he buzzes right through the rest of the homework. He needs very little help with science and history/geogrphy because he loves these subjects and is constantly researching science and history. The pool is open for the summer so he will be excited to go swimming as often as possible. He had taken up a great love for the game of chess so is any of you would like to challenge him to a game, please let us know; he would love to share a game. With the end of May came the end of the semester for violin his orchastra had a great concert on May 19th and Benjamins skill has greatly improved since he began last fall. We hope to continue some private lessons during the summer so he will be sharp when the fall semester comes along.
Former Bootlegger Finds Christ, Amends His Ways In the fall of 2011, Ebenezer Samuel, Serve India’s director, visited with a new believer in Kerala named Gilbert—a man whose life took a 180-degree turn when he received Christ after conversing with a Serve India pastor.
When Gilbert moved deep into a forest with his wife and children, squatting illegally on several acres of land, his plan was to get rich quickly by making and selling illicit liquor—a lucrative industry across India.
He dug a moat around his house to keep the elephants and other wild animals at bay.
In that secluded spot, alcohol began to consume Gilbert’s life. He brewed it, drank it—almost a gallon a day—and sold it at a good profit. Worst of all, he strong-armed his wife and children into selling the moonshine in nearby towns.
When his wife objected to their dangerous lifestyle, he beat her and sent her away with the children. He would carry on with business by himself.
Troubled over their broken home, Gilbert’s wife began attending worship gatherings led by a Serve India national pastor. The Lord heard her cry and began to work in the hearts of her loved ones. First Gilbert’s wife surrendered her life to Christ, and then her mother-in-law was also saved.
It wasn’t long before Gilbert himself was introduced to the pastor, who spoke boldly to him about his need for Christ. He repented of his sin and gave his life to the Lord.
From the day he received Christ, Gilbert abandoned bootlegging and did not feel the need for even one more drink. After bringing his wife and children home, he purchased a few acres of land close by and moved there—a new beginning for the whole family.
Intent on making an honest living, Gilbert began to cultivate ginger as a cash crop.
"In the worldly sense," said Ebey Samuel, who had the privilege of baptizing Gilbert, "this family looks anything but rich, living in a little shack in the forest. But their joyful faces tell you they are rich in another sense. Gilbert is clean now, and an ardent follower of Jesus.
God has Done Great Things! – Support Update
We have very good news concerning our support needs. Thank you for praying and thank you for giving. As we shared with you last month, we have 2 primary goals concerning our support needs:#1 Monthly Partners. Goal: $300 per month of additional monthly support. Update, we have a commitment for $100 per month of new support.
#2 Building a Ministry Reserve.
Goal: To raise about $3000 for our ministry reserve. Update, we have raised the $3000 and met o our funding Goal!
We give God the glory for His great provision and I pray that God may richly bless each one of you who have been so kind and generous toward our ministry support.
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
God bless you, Michael, Jane and Benjamin Erwin
****You can see some of our photos from India:
https://picasaweb.google.com/102642539464370347618/April12012
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