IFCA Regional

Our bi-annual Pastors/Leaders Conference of the Pacific Northwest Regional took place this past Monday-Wednesday at Keizer Community Church just outside of Salem, Oregon. Our keynote speaker was Dr. Art Azurdia, from Western Seminary. His topic may sound a bit unusual, especially when addressing a room full of preachers; "A Clarion Call to a Worldly Christianity." Sounds like a oxymoron doesn't it? Actually, Dr. Azurdia did a great exposition of John 17:17-19 and reminding us of engaging the culture around us without compromising our biblical standards. As Jesus was sent into the world by His Father, so we too have been commissioned with the same assignment. His second, third and fourth messages, along with a Question and Answer time, can be downloaded from the website, www.eternaltruthworldwide.com.

We always have a great time of fellowship and renewing acquaintances. The folks of Keizer Community Church fed us well and provided for our needs. The ladies had some separate meetings concentrating on the theme, "Ministering with Compassion" while the men had their business and prayer sessions.

Bob had the opportunity of doing a workshop seminar with the Oregon Church Planter on "Getting Involved In Vision America." Bob started the session off by addressing the Purpose and Goal of Vision America. Eric shared about the need for pastors and churches to be involved in Vision America and Church Planting in Washington and Oregon. We had some good questions and discussion with those who attended. We were all challenged with the need to pray for God's moving in the Northwest.

We also had the privilege of attending a special prayer time, led by Pastor Tim Atkins (he took the picture of Dr. Azurdia above) for Vision America and Church Planting. The goal of IFCA International is to have 100 sponsoring churches involved in planting churches across our country. We have a long way to go yet but God is moving in hearts.
Our next Regional is scheduled for October 5,6,7 at Faith Community Bible Church in Bremerton, Washington with four of our own men sharing from Philippians on the theme, "Preaching the Word."

BLCC Leader's Retreat

Skeet shooting, rain, & fellowship helped get us prepared for our first annual Leaders Retreat with the new Board of Bonney Lake Community Church. Jeff and I didn't do too bad considering years of not shooting. About 2pm last Friday afternoon the two Pastors; Jeff and Anthony and two Elders; Tim and myself, headed out for Packwood, Washington and the McCoy family six-acre property with a nice big field, creek and plenty of woods. We had some encouraging and uplifting chats in Jeff's VW as we meandered through the back route to Eatonville, Morton and Packwood.

Friday night began with unpacking, getting a fire going and casual fellowship entailing a trip across the creek ending up at the river. Eventually the rain moved us back indoors where we had a wonderful "Tritip & Baked Potato" dinner fixed by Tim. As we sat around the fire, Jeff proposed a question for us to consider, "If we could write some history related to the four of us meeting this weekend, what would it look like in 10 years?" He shared his thought and challenged us to consider our thoughts for the next day. We then spent time seeking God for His direction for the weekend and lifted up a number of folks in prayer.

Saturday morning consisted of a great waffle breakfast, recipe from Anna McCoy's grandmother, then a hatchet throwing contest (Anthony won) and a hike to a waterfall with encouraging chats along the way. After lunch we concentrated on Jeff's question with the men sharing ideas. One of the main thought that flowed from our discussion is the need for Prayer and God's Word to be a priority in our lives and the folks of Bonney Lake Community Church. We set down some goals and steps for accomplishing this. Bob eventually shared some thoughts on Core Values and Vital Signs/Distinctives for us to consider. We are planning to spend more time on this in the future. Just before leaving we celebrated a short time of communion.

Women's Conference

Katherine was one of three speakers recently involving a number of gals from Hillside Community Church in Enumclaw. They met Friday night through Saturday late afternoon. Katherine began the conference as the opening speaker addressing the subject of "Christ: Our Enduring Hope." She started by defining what hope is, some history from the key verse: Jeremiah 29:11 and then talked about "Where Does Our Hope Come From?", "Who Do We Place Our Hope & Trust In?", "False Hopes", "Hope Stealers" and "Ways to Restore Our Hope." There was plenty of singing, small group discussions and fellowship around tables with goodies. It was a beneficial time of encouragement for all the ladies.

Shepherd's Conference

This past week Bob had the opportunity to attend the Shepherd's Conference in Los Angeles, California. It was a good time of being challenged in the Word through main speakers and seminars. Bob stayed with his former intern from the Sun Valley , Idaho and his family. The Basolo's were great hosts even amidst a hectic schedule of a mid-week Memorial Service, attending the Conference and preparations for Sunday services. Scott is the pastor of Santa Clarita Baptist Church, not far from The Master's College. Pastor Ron Brown and Dr. David Verst from Calvary Bible Church in Hailey stayed and attended the Conference also. As tradition, the Shepherd's Conference gave the men a number of free books along with a gift card for the bookstore. It is always fun transporting them back home.

Pastor Tim Atkins and four of his men came to the Conference also. Bob and Tim interviewed a couple for the position of Church Planter for DuPont. It was a two and a half hour meeting that went well and all parties seemed encouraged. The couple may be coming up for a week during Easter to participate in some events and see the area. Bob split his time between the Faith Bible men and the Sun Valley men. What a wonderful time of fellowship with both. The theme of the Conference concentrated mainly on the need for solid, expository preaching; one highlight being a question and answer time with Dr. John MacArthur.

All the Keynote Speakers gave exhorting messages. Perhaps the one that continues to stir in my mind was from Dr. Al Mohler on the Authority of Preaching. The other highlight in preaching was the challenge by Dr. Steve Lawson from Galatians 1:6-10 and his hard hitting directive on the preaching of another gospel heralded across our country today as noted by Paul's Amazement, Paul's Adversaries, Paul's Anathema, and Paul's Aim. Wow! Heads are still spinning from the impact of this message.

Katherine flew down to Burbank on Saturday using some frequent flier miles. We spent the weekend with the Basolo's celebrating our 28th Anniversary on Saturday and then attended Santa Clarita Baptist Church. This was a wonderful time of fellowship and teaching in the Word. What an excitement for us to see Scott, Karyn, and their two boys ministering in the church. Scott is a gifted teacher and preacher. Karyn has a wonderful gift of hospitality and her warm personality sheds light everywhere. What a delight to see God's work in their lives. Pastor Scott shared from Colossians 1:14-15 on "Your 4-Fold Life; Four Divine Decrees that Finalize Your Life." They are "You Were Forgiven, Your Debt Was Canceled, Your Sin Was Nailed to the Cross and Your Accuser Is Disposed." What an amazing amount of depth to the text and application to life. All in all it was a wonderful week and weekend being stimulated in obedience to the Word and delight in fellowshipping with God's people.

EBC Mission's Conference Highlights

Edgewood Bible Church held their annual Mission's Conference this past week. It is always a delight to be involved in the Conference. We always bring a display in which to share with the folks the ministry of our Field and N.I.C.E. The Conference began on Wednesday night with Pastor Tim Atkins, one of our Missionary Pastors, sharing the Word from 2 Timothy 1:8-10 on "Suffering for the Gospel According to the Power of God." The Conference began with an introduction of all the Missionaries that were present for the meetings. On Thursday we were in home with a number of different families for a dessert and sharing of our ministry. Friday night began with an all Church/Missionary dinner and the main session with Rev. Vincent Price; International Director for European Christian Mission. Saturday was the Men's Breakfast and Ladies Lunch followed in the evening with a meal in different home and sharing our ministry with another few families, then another main session at the church. We were the Featured Missionaries for the evening so we shared about our ministry via a DVD and some reporting. Then Rev. Vincent Price challenged us with the Word once again. On Sunday each Missionary had the opportunity to be in Sunday School classes; we attended the 5th & 6th grade class and shared a few aspect of ministry along with information about Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The Worship service followed with our main speaker. We then ate another meal in a different home which was another opportunity to visit and fellowship with two couples. In the Evening Service all the missionaries shared prayer requests and then the "famous" Missionary Choir sang "I Love To Tell the Story." It was then our privilege to join the Children's Conference where we showed slides of our ministry time in Alaska (the kids were anxious to hear an update and see pictures). After heading back to the main session to hear the final words of Rev. Price, we finished the Conference with communion and time at our display. What a privilege to be a part of Edgewood Bible Church's Missionary Conference; a time we look forward to each year. It is always exciting to hear how God is working in the hearts of people both at home and abroad.