We know and pray that God continues to work in our community, city and around the world. We love to hear stories of what God has done and is doing.
Our annual Teacher Appreciation Breakfast was a great success in showing OKC Public School teachers how much we appreciate them. More than 385 teachers came to enjoy a hot breakfast and to get to take some goodies out with them to help equip their classroom. Thanks to the faithfulness of the members of NWBC each teacher received one ream of paper and 11 schools received an additional box! There were also tons of door prizes to give out including a Kitchen Aid mixer and two grills!
The people who came to stuff the gift bags, decorate, register guests, set up tables, and to serve made this event possible. It's continuing evidence that Northwest is willing and able to show the love of Christ to our community.
Sunday, we celebrated all the things that God has been doing in and through Northwest this summer. We had 12, baptisms on Sunday! We also had a chance to hear stories about what God has specifically been doing.
Allen Marks, Director of Community Outreach
“Our open gym ministry on Tuesday evenings is averaging 60 to 65. We’ve seen more than 500 come through our door. Everyone from the community that comes through our doors is registering and getting a Gospel tract about trusting Christ as their savior. Many of you are praying for those who are coming on Tuesday and that is paying off in dividends as they are beginning to share their prayer requests and we are looking forward to when some of them will come to know Christ as their savior.
Not only that, our tutoring ministries and mentoring ministries (NW Tutoring and the Club) carried over to the summer. Many students remained engaged in our youth and children’s programs and many of them are going to be baptized today and that’s a wonderful testimony of what God is doing.”
Chris Gulley, Student Pastor
“To tie into what Allen said, it is awesome to see what God did in 212 Student Ministry this summer. But one story, is a young man who came to the tutoring ministry and came to the youth, really enjoyed what God was doing, but he had a really difficult circumstance when he was stabbed seven times in a gang-related incident and almost died because one hit an artery. He came to Falls Creek, saw the love of Christ through the students and he will be baptized this morning, because he asked Christ to become his Lord and Savior at Falls Creek.
God used our students to reach into Chicago, in an inner-city area and they got to share with four students who accepted Christ. So a lot of things took place, a lot of love and fellowship in our student ministry and we are so excited about what God is going to do this fall as well.”
Danielle Hill, Director of Children’s Ministry
“You know, I think back to what God has done, there’s not enough time to share everything. But, last year when we started the Club ministry and began to flood them into our Wednesday nights, I had no idea what to expect. Honestly, the first Wednesday night, I came home and wanted to quit. The clashes of cultures and personalities: I didn’t see how God could make it work. I had kids telling me that they didn’t need God and they were just here because it was a place to be. Two kids in particular, the workers and I began to pray for specifically. All year long we prayed for them and their relationships, and we began to see them love each other despite skin color, despite background, despite church lingo, and these kids kept coming after the Club was over.
This summer one girl in particular, Antasia, told me, ‘I don’t want God because I don’t want to change.’ And she came to know Christ at CrossTimbers last week and we’re baptizing her and her brother and another girl in our ministry. It’s not us, it’s what God is doing, and to God be all the glory because there was nothing I could have done.”
Pastor Kirk, Missions Pastor
“I’m glad to be a part of a global church this summer. We’ve sent about 60 volunteers to three major cities in the USA and eight countries. It’s been exciting to see what the youth did in Chicago and what the other teams did as well.
Also, there are two teachers that are preparing to go to New City Asia to live there for at least a year, to invest in lives there and to make a difference in the city we’ve adopted several years ago. We’re seeing the beginnings of some real breakthroughs there in New City.
I’m also glad to be in a local church and a church-planting church. This summer two new ministries have emerged. One is a new Second Generation Asian Ministry led by Henry Chan; he is developing relationships and laying the groundwork for reaching an unreached pocket of second generation Asians living among us. A Mandarin fellowship is starting today in the International House. They are praying, reading God’s Word and worshipping in Chinese right now.
Locally, some neat things are happening in our apartment ministry. There is ministry going on in about four different complexes. One of them is a refugee ministry with kids and adults from Eritrea, Myanmar, Iraq, Sudan-some hard places in the world. I’m so grateful for what God has done and to be a part of a church that is concerned about making disciples of all nations globally and locally.”
Bob Chavez has been involved in Oklahoma City Prison Ministry. He goes twice a week on Thursday and Friday evenings, spending eight hours a week with prisoners.
Bob got connected with this ministry in 2008 at Global Impact (our annual missions conference). In these two and a half years he has had the opportunity to lead 571 people to the Lord!
When he arrives at the prison, they bring in 16 prisoners. Each waits their turn to talk one-on-one and to read the Bible with volunteers.
“We start in the book of John and go through the questions, then go through Experiencing God, then go through 11 books after that,” Bob said. “We get to visit them in their cells and talk to them and see how they are doing. They ask to be seen, they want us to visit them.”
“It’s amazing how all of us, when we are at the bottom of the well, look up and see the grace of God shining brighter than the brightest moon,” Pastor Ben said. “This is what these inmates do and this is what Bob is a part of.”
“Pray that I will say the right thing, do the right thing and show the love of Jesus and give them hope for a new life,” Bob said.
Many times we complain about the crime but don’t do anything about it. With more than 500 people having come to know the Lord through this ministry, it is a testimony to what God can do when we are obedient in serving. We believe that the Gospel transforms hearts and in turn, the culture.
This ministry is another way that members of our church body are “Reaching People for Christ and Walking With Them to Maturity.”
July 18 we joined with our Spanish-speaking network congregation, Iglesia Bautista Peniel, for a worship service together.
We sang praises to the Lord in both English and Spanish and were able to share in celebrating the baptism of one of our sisters from Iglesia Bautista Peniel.
Jose de Leon, his wife Clara and their daughter Michelle shared a testimony of what God has done during their time at Iglesia Bautista Peniel.
“Iglesia Peniel has been a blessing in the life of our family. It has been a great blessing to know Pastor Vicente and his family”, Jose said.
“The great blessing to have Jesus in our hearts. We are happy because we are growing in the love of God together.
“Peniel has been a blessing for us and for many other families.
“I know God is great and good. God has healed my disease and my sickness. Praise God. I am happy, what God has done in me, He can do the same for anyone who believes in Him. The greatest gift from the Lord is eternal life. When we are healed by God we will still die, but when we receive the greatest gift of all we have eternal life.”
Praise God for how He has been at work in Jose’s life and that of his family. We continue to rejoice in what God is doing in and through Northwest and the Northwest
Hello from Chicago,
Everything is going very well on the mission field! God is working in and through the lives on each NW student!
Our youth have worked very hard in the media camp and in their bible studies. We've been serving each day at our local food pantry on campus and at the distribution center on the south side of Chicago.
You would be very proud of the students willingness to serve and share Jesus with lost kids. Our students hearts are broken for the kids in their groups who don't know Jesus.
Please pray for the kids in the media camp who do not know Jesus as our youth share their personal testimonies with the kids. And please pray for salvation!
Blessings, Chris Gulley, Student Pastor, NWBC
The Hise Life Group has been praying for some time about a long term service project we could tackle and “own”. One of our Life Group members suggested that we serve the “Open Gym Night” participants a meal once a month, so that’s exactly what we have decided to take on as our “own” and that project started this last Tuesday! We realize this is a pretty big undertaking so we are “dividing and conquering” by dividing our Life Group into four service teams of 4 couples each. Each team will be in charge of a meal once a quarter. We arrived at 5:30 Tuesday and began to serve piping hot pasta, salad and garlic bread. Sweaty basketball players immediately began lining up to enjoy the meal. We are asking that as many as can of our Life Group show up to just visit and fellowship with all the community and that’s just what happened! We are doing our meal the first Tuesday of every month, come join the fun and share in the joy of touching our community for Christ’s sake!
Ken Harris and his Lifegroup recently served the Lord through our local apartment ministry alongside Jerry and Judy Thomas.
Jerry was called to this ministry because he really felt the need to reach out to those around him for Jesus Christ. Jerry works in three different apartment communities in Oklahoma City.
The Harris Lifegroup went on a day where Jerry had arranged for a ministry trailer to be at one of these complexes for a block party.
There were a lot of games for kids. Once the kids got into the games, they interacted with the hosts and performed admirably. The kids were having a great time. The adults watched carefully, and after warming up really began to participate and interact with the Harris Lifegroup members as well.
“It was a wonderful experience for our class,” said Ken Harris. “We could see the need around us, and we could see the people being touched.”
Jerry is trying to begin Bible studies in each of the three communities. There is a great need for help. In the community where the block party was hosted, he began a Bible study. There were 12 kids in attendance. The hope and prayer is that they can reach the kids and through them also reach the parents.
He needs help with people to give an hour a week after school to help with the Bible studies with the kids. If you would be interested, you can call 942.5557 or E-mail .
This is simply another glimpse of God at work in and through Northwest, where people are active in “Reaching People for Christ and Walking With Them to Maturity.”
Northwest and Gateway took more than 150 students to Falls Creek this year. God moved in powerful ways and several came to know Christ for the first time. Check out this video to get a glimpse of the week!
New City was the scene of new relationships and business opportunities that are hoped to be good soil for the seeds of the Gospel.
Northwest Baptist Church adopted New City, East Asia in 2007. Since then we have sent many as teachers and workers and seen God at work transforming lives and opening doors. We have been trying to reach all segments of the city: students, workers, farmers and influencers.
The New City Golf and Business team has just returned from New City with some stories of God laying the foundation for future work among various segments of the City. This particular trip was an attempt to reach influencers.
They were able to share the Gospel over dinner with a particular business man who owns a medical equipment company, as well as several others along the way. Some of the greatest encouragement is in the good connections that were formed.
One connection was formed during some time spent on the driving range. The team was approached by a student and his father who were just learning to play, asking for a few tips. The team gave him some pointers and was invited to lunch. They were able to go, only to find out his father is the general manager (equivalent of president) of the largest company in New City. We have been trying to place an English teacher in there among the 10,000 employees, so this could be a great connection for future work in New City.
A business man from Tulsa was on our team and got connected with a man who had started an "English Fan Club" that our teachers have been involved with. It turns out, he has many business connections and would be able to export 20 ton tanks of apple juice from New City. This could be a way to stimulate some business and to build some relationships to share the Gospel. The same connection may also open up a door to business training center in the city where we could place somebody full-time on a work visa to continue to build relationships.
There were also 150 school kids that came to watch golf. They had never seen the game before, and came with English teachers, a principal and an important administrator. This enabled even more education and business connections.
Thank you for praying for the team and for the work going on in New City. This is something that is powered not only by the people who go, but by the people who pray and the people who give.
God was at work this week through Egypt! Vacation Bible School ran from June 13-17 and over 145 children came to experience the story of Joseph's Journey from Prison to Palace.
From Pre-K through 5th grade, the children were gathered into smaller groups or families, given an Egyptian name and went on an adventure with their Egyptian-dressed leaders and their fellow travelers.
One of the stops along the way is the Pyramid Playground where they practiced wrapping mummies using toilet paper or playing classic Egyptian games like "heart, heart, brain." The marketplace offered all the conveniences of ancient Egyptian lifestyle including the barbershop, jewelry making, and sampling dates at the food booth.
Most importantly, the kids got to visit Joseph- in the prison and as he journeyed through the week to the palace and was eventually reunited with his brothers. As the kids experienced Egypt and got to visit with Joseph, they were able to continue the study of the Bible story and discuss it with their family groups before finishing the evening in an upbeat worship celebration.
This is just another example of how the people of Northwest are "Reaching People for Christ and Walking With Them to Maturity."
