Gospel Ministries to Children of Georgia
Archie Pennington * Area Director * Phone: (770) 474-0979
Email: pennin53@charter.net * 125 Cowan Drive, Stockbridge, GA 30281
Support Address: P. O. Box 3613, San Angelo, TX 76902
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God’s Grace,
Even in the Tough Times…
What a crazy time it has been since my last newsletter!
I apologize for not having written you all sooner but I think this
letter will explain why… First of all I have had 3 lock-ins since the last
letter. I hate doing these
because it is hard for me to stay up all night and keep a right mind!
There are so many kids who come to one of these who would never
darken the doors of a church any other time.
The lock-ins range from 40 to 80 kids and each time there are at
least 5 or more kids that make decisions for Christ each time.
It is hard for me to quit when God is working in this way.
As long as I am physically able and God continues to move, I will
continue these dreaded events!
If you know of any churches that are willing to hold one of these, let me
know.
I spent a pleasant few days doing fair ministry with GMTC Missionary
Bill Whitener, at the Georgia State Fair in Perry, Georgia.
If you have been to the state fair you realize just how big it is and
how many thousands of people go through it!
The fair is eleven days long and has 12 hour days.
It takes a lot of work to do it.
I assisted Bill and his fellow missionary Al Bauch, for several of
those days. We had a booth set
up that has 5 telephones that allow for children to hear the gospel just by
pushing a button. We then ask
them questions to see if they understood what they had heard and lead them
to faith in Jesus and/or sign them up for weekly Bible lessons sent directly
to their house. Each lesson has
a test and they mail that to Bill and he grades it and sends them the next
lesson. At the completion of
the course they get a certificate of graduation.
We presented the Gospel to several hundred children and even a few
adults! I could not stay for
the whole fair as I had to get back to Atlanta to have my second ear
operation done; this is where the fun began…
I could not have my operation because I had developed a deadly super
bug (MRSA infection) and they would not let me in the operation room because
they were afraid the hospital would be contaminated.
There are only a few very strong antibiotics that will work on this
infection and many times make you feel bad just taking them.
After 3 weeks of several antibiotics, the MRSA was under control but
by then I had developed a super infection due to the flora of good bacteria
being wiped out of my body. I
now had extreme gastrointestinal issues and had to be treated for that for 2
weeks. It was a rough go!
After all that I finally got to have my ear operated on. Thank Jesus
that went a lot better than the last one.
Of course my ear is still in the healing stage and I can’t hear as
well as I like, but I do hear better than before the operation.
The doctor feels that my hearing will improve some more over time.
All this time I have missed very little of my ministry at my weekly
Bible Club. This club is
exciting, because so far 8 of these kids have started going to church on a
regular basis. They are growing
in the Lord and have a heart for Him.
New kids are coming to the club and many are getting saved!
I am also searching for new areas to start a Bible Club.
I recently had a chance to get to know a man who works with a boy’s
home in Carrolton, Georgia. He
spoke about the possibility working with his boys (about 23 of them, ages
ranging from 8 to 16) for a period of time.
I offered to pick the boys up and bring them to one of my Bible Clubs
to see how they like it. If
this works out, I will set up a Bible Club in Carrolton for the boys.
Please pray that God will work in these boys hearts (and the
gentleman’s, which is the key to letting me have access to them).
They are not juvenile delinquents but just boys who have fallen
through the cracks. They have
not been adopted and have no individual foster parents.
I have also invited the boys to Camp Eunice this summer where they
can be ministered to 24 hours a day for 6 days.
I am in the process of raising the fees for the camp for these boys,
so that money will not hinder them from coming to know the Lord.
One of the responsibilities of working with kids and youth is that
they are not just a number.
They are individuals that live in the same hard fallen world that everyone
else does, but often without a loving umbrella to fall back on in the form
of a loving functional family.
I have to be their “pastor” too when life’s trials come their way.
In the short amount of time since my last newsletter, I have had to
help kids deal with several problems. One person’s father died on
Thanksgiving day and I was asked if I could do the funeral.
One 10 year old girl lived in fear because DFACS had visited her home
and threatened to take her away from her family, because they found her at
home alone while her mother worked (I comforted her and we prayed, she is a
very mature young lady who is doing great with her memory verses in the
Club). One youth is dealing with an alcoholic father, a mother who left them
because of this, and suicidal thoughts (I have counseled him and we prayed
for his Dad, who praise the Lord has started going to church and been dry
for 4 weeks now). Another two
brothers have been praying for their dad to be saved and the healing of an
uncle with cancer (I explained how they were to be witnesses not only with
their mouths but by their actions of love; praise God their dad got saved
and their uncle is in remission).
One of my young boys has an anger problem and had been kicked off the
bus at school and started a fight at the Bible Club (I spoke with the boy
and his mother and told them that this is behavior that saddens our Lord,
that he can live a victorious life by allowing Jesus to grow the fruit of
the Spirit within him Gal. 5:22&23. He has memorized the two verses dealing
with that and is doing much better in school and in the club).
As you can see there is much more to evangelizing than just
presenting the Gospel. One of the problems with most forms of evangelism is
that sometimes all they do is bring the folks to Jesus (which is a wonderful
and noble idea commanded by our Lord) but do nothing about making disciples
of these converts. At Gospel
Ministries to Children we do our best to not only lead kids to Christ but to
nurture them in the Word also.
Where ever we go, we try to partner with local churches so we can have a
place to plug these kids into for growth.
It has been a rough few months, but God’s grace continues to shine
through lives He is working in.
I wish to thank all of you, my
partners with me in this ministry for your prayers (I truly believe I would
have gone home to heaven without them) and your financial support, without
which it would be impossible for me to bring the love and comfort of our
sweet Savior into these children’s lives.
I know that times are tough right now for everyone and giving is down
everywhere, but I pray that God might bless you and give you peace during
these hard times. Remember, if you can do nothing else, your prayers are a
precious item to me. I thank you for
all you do for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Would you please be in prayer for these requests?
1.
God’s moving in the Boys Home
2.
The
raising of money for fees so the boys can go to a Christian summer camp.
3.
The
continued healing of my ear and body.
4.
The
choosing of important festivals to work, in March (right now it looks like I
will be going to the Azalea Festival March 14 & 15 in Valdosta which had
30,000 people attend last year).
5.
For
new neighborhood Bible Clubs and new churches to desire to do lock-ins for
Christ.
6.
That God would give me wisdom in being a good steward of the limited funds
that the ministry has.
7.
That my 1999 van will keep running, it has an intake leak and 155,000 miles
on it.