Discipleship...being missional...they go hand in hand!

One of my favorite parts of being a Christian is experiencing the different ways God uses people, situations and things around us to talk to us! It’s so awesome! I want to share with you something that God laid on my heart, that followers of Christ need to begin to put a real focus on discipleship!

One beautiful day in August I had decided to take a short trip to one of the many Metro Parks here in Akron, Ohio and just spend some time talking to God. I like to just walk through the trails and just literally talk out loud to God. And just praise Him for His wonderful creation…and be in awe of it all and just talk…like you chat with a friend on a walk.

So as I am walking through the park I start to notice some things…the very tall older trees that have big roots, tall older trees that are withering away, baby trees and then dead ones. And as I’m walking and talking with God I thought, WOW, this is a great picture of discipleship, huh Lord?! I mean think about it…every forest starts with one person planting a seed. Then that person needs to water the tree and make sure no weeds are growing up around it that could cause problems with the roots getting well grounded, or dead trees causing it to not get enough light or stopping the water from getting to it. And as that tree grows and becomes strong and well grounded, it begins to sprout its own seeds that it, in a sense, cares for. And as I’m thinking about all of this, I was like…that is how it is being a follower of Christ and bringing people to Jesus!

When we introduce someone to the concept of having a personal and real relationship with Jesus…we can’t just say, well…here it is and walk away and wish them luck! We need to help these people…water them and protect them from not getting their roots well grounded. Keep them accountable, study the Bible with them and just build an authentic relationship with them. And as we do this they begin to mature in the Lord and then they begin to grow big and strong in Jesus…and will eventually one day begin to plant seeds of their own and care for them. And the process continues!

Jesus tells us, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

These were some of the last words Jesus spoke in person to the disciples. And I believe it is called ‘The Great Commission’ for a reason…because it's of great importantance. It is important that we lead people to Jesus and help them grow in Jesus. So, I encourage you to take a moment today and ask yourself, who can I help today in their walk with Jesus?

PuErTo RiCo

Well, we have decided to take a new route to getting connected with our missionaries and missions locally and around the world. People on the missions ministry team have been assigned, or chose rather, a missionary or mission that they want to really focus on and offer a lot of time and attention to. I chose Puerto Rico! And I hope to blog often about the different things going on in Puerto Rico and the different things that Northwest and people in general are doing to help spread the love of Jesus to the people in Puerto Rico.

I'm looking forward to seeing what God has planned for Puerto Rico, and for me in this new adventure! I'm excited to learn more about the Puerto Rican culture, the people and our missionary there, John Gidley.

I went to Chilca, Lima, Peru in August 2009 for my first mission trip, and I came back a changed person. God used that trip to show me so many things- to show me the broken hearted, to show me the joy that can only come from Him and not material possessions, to show me the need around the world and most of all...that there are people in the world who need love and they need Jesus. I came back to America with a renewed fire for God and a sense of urgency to serve people...anywhere and at anytime!

I know now that God is leading me to Puerto Rico. I don't know all that He has in store, but I place my trust in Him...because He knows the plans for this mission.

Please pray for me as I'm praying about going to Puerto Rico at the end of year to spend time with John and learn more about the mission there and learn what the future holds for Puerto Rico. Please pray for wisdom and discernment. Please pray for John and his family there in Puerto Rico. Pray for the people he has come in contact with and the people he will come in contact with.

Thank you!
Janelle

Engaging the World for Jesus

It's the beginning of a new year and I must say, we have some pretty exciting and awesome things coming up! 2010 promises to be a great year for Northwest! We are very excited to see where the Lord leads Northwest this year.

Northwest is currently supporting 10 different ministry/missionaries from around the world! We have missionaries here in the states such as ChildReach Ministries, Round Lake, Canton Christian Home, Transport for Christ and a Campus Ministry in West Virginia and then we have missionaries overseas in places such as Puerto Rico, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Zimbabwe, Africa that we support. We ask that you continually pray for these missions and the missionaries we support. We also ask that you find ways to get involved with these missionaries and missions.

In 2010, we have some very exciting and potential trips we are hoping to take! There are no real details set up just yet, but we want to see them happen! If any of them listed below sound like something you would be interested in, please e-mail us at northwestmissions737@gmail.com

Akron Week- We would head to different locations in downtown Akron and serve the people there. Whether we post up on a street with food, or hand out items to people who are in need. Also, ask other missions in Akron if they need any help. I would love to see us get involved with cleaning up some areas in Akron, or help the Akron schools out with some Summer projects to get school ready for Fall. (clean up flower beds, paint equipment, etc.)

Short Term Mission trips- This is just something we are currently in the process of praying about. We would like to start taking some regular trips to Puerto Rico to help out our missionary there and to help spread the love of Jesus to the people in Puerto Rico. We would like to set up trips to go see all of our missionaries at some point, this may not all happen this year, but you get the idea. We've sent teams to Peru and Romania and we've had members go to India and other places all over the world as well. If you are interested in leading a trip or wanting to go on a trip send us an e-mail.

Peanut Butter Drive for Haiti through Lifeline Christian Mission- During the month of March and into the first two week of April we will be collecting jars of Peanut Butter (any size, brand or type) to send to Haiti for malnourished, pregnant and anemic women as well as toddlers. If you would like more information on this, please contact us or check out Lifelines webpage- http://www.lifeline.org/

Community Wide Thanksgiving day dinner- We talked in our last meeting about having a community wide dinner for Thanksgiving for anyone who wants to attend. We were thinking of having it at a hall somewhere, a place other than the church building.

Community around us- We would like to help out those around us. Whether it's help mowing grass, or painting a room in a house, we feel like we need to serve the people of the church as well as other people.
For me, my vision is this- that when someone in the Akron, Tallmadge, Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Kent and really anywhere around here needs help, that they call Northwest for some hands on help. That we can make a presence in our community...letting people know we love them where they are...and show the example that Jesus was and is to this very day!

There are so many other things we talked about in our last meeting and we have very high hopes for this year...help make this the start of many great years...Engaging the World for Jesus!

Please pray for this ministry, for Northwest and all of our missionaries and the missions that we support locally and worldwide!


"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

-This is a serious job given to us to accomplish by Jesus. But in the work he requires us to do, he tells us this:

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Doesn't get better than that!