Lindsay Mattison has led a group of quilters to help our city. I very much enjoy her reports of experiences at our mission. Recently she described a visit to Mission Joplin with her 10 year old granddaughter, Precious. She wrote, “Our ride home was different than when we came to Joplin. Precious talked a lot about the devastation, and how blessed we were to have been spared that night of storms.  She has seen the destruction of storms, yet the love and provision of God. She seems to have grasped that “her stuff” really isn’t the important stuff ... what GOD does is the important stuff, and she saw AWESOME examples of how we can serve HIM! I am thankful…

On Saturday I put out a request for clothes hangers. We got a response from a family that Mission Joplin has helped saying that they were going through their closet and bringing over the hangers they don’t need. It warmed my heart. A lot of families that we serve are not “chronic takers.” They are givers who just need a little help because the tornado (or other life events) set them back.

I bring this up because it is easy to get cynical in the helping business. Some ask, “Aren’t you just feeding the cycle of dependency?” In reality, we have policies that discourage dependency such as only helping tornado victims once a month and those with needs not…

A few weeks ago I preached a message on partnership based on Philippians 1:3-6 NIV, which reads, “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…” I described our 3 part partnership. There’s God’s part, our part (the church staff and pastors) and your part (the church).

I ended with an action step or call to action. Since it was Palm Sunday and Easter was the following week, I encouraged all present to invite someone to church on Easter Sunday. I want to be clear in my intent. We don’t just invite people to church on big Sundays (like…

Day 1
Travel went well and smoothly. All flights were smooth, and we arrived in Port-Au-Prince on time with smooth sailing through customs. The ride to HCM was uneventful and, amazingly enough, only took an hour as opposed to the standard 3-4 hour commute. A wonderful dinner of spaghetti with salad and fresh mango was provided and delicious!

Day 2
Church came early to the weary team, but it was full of the Holy Spirit. This year Pastor Jonas Dorlas translated the sermon into English. The topic was God’s love for us! After church we organized the meds and met the patients for the next day’s surgeries. After all work was done, we were able to visit HCM’s…

Wow! After a fantastic warm winter (at least for those of you who don’t like the snow), we are marching through spring on into summer. We continue to pray for Joplin as we approach the one year anniversary of last May’s tragic tornado that hit our city. It is exciting, though, to see God working through His church (which is each one of us) and the many ways we have ministered to the people of Joplin and the surrounding area over the past year. God is using Forest Park in a mighty way. It was especially exciting to see over 2,800 people on all three campuses on Easter Sunday. That is an all-time record attendance!

It is also hard to…

As we approach the anniversary of the terrible tornado that tore through Joplin, I am thanking God for what HE is doing through Forest Park:

• All three campuses are growing in worship attendance.
• Mission Joplin is providing help, hope and healing to more than 110 families a week.
• Giving to missions last year reached an all-time high (more than $947,000).
• Our exciting One Church initiatives are moving forward.
• People are coming to know Christ and being baptized, including 14 who were baptized on Easter Sunday.
• Forest Park was recently recognized for ranking high in our state for missions giving, baptisms and attendance.

I am so thankful for your faithfulness and generosity. God is using Forest Park to touch…