Kingdom Planning

Planning

Genesis 1:14 - And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky...for signs and for seasons and for days and for years...

Psalm 90: - ...teach us to count our days, that we may gain a wise heart.

Two weeks ago, Kirtland Hope Evangelical Church had a planning meeting. One of the people who had been going to church at the Free Methodist Mission recalled that 4 days after our strategic planning meeting there, we were informed that the mission had been sold and the ministry was being shut down. I don’t think we have to worry about that this time. Right now our average attendance is 20 with about 1/3 of those Native American . We have about 10 kids but they are not all there every week. Easter Sunday we had 33 people, two were visitors from another state, and 2 were visitors who are very active in another church. With the combined congregations, I’d say we have about 25 regular attendees.

We are not a mission, although we are currently worshiping on the Evangelical Church’s mission site. Our focus is the Native American, in particular the Navajo, people, although many of us are white or mixed race/Hispanic. Our worship style is a mix of contemporary and traditional Christian and contextual /Native American - our worship focus is Yahweh – Creator God, Father Son Holy Spirit. Our teaching (Pastor Art is much more a teacher than a preacher) is Bible Based (Diyin God Bizaad). Our goal is to grow, by bringing people into a vital saving relationship with Jesus and providing the unchurched with a healthy church family.

We’ve planned a few outreach events and are trusting the LORD to provide the needed funds to pull them off. We have the “Horse Whisperer” coming in July. I’ll post more details on that when I get them. Right now all we really know are the dates, July 13, 14, 15. We are hoping to follow that up with a western/horsey themed VBS July 19,20,21,22. We will have a Back-to-School carnival either August 8 or 15th. We will host a Pastor’s Seminar for some of our neighboring churches on the reservation in September and we will be doing some sort of outreach during Shiprock Fair.

Some of the men that Pastor Art is counseling through the Brethren in Christ (BIC) overcomers program are expressing interest in coming to our church at the end of their session. A few of the people who we bonded with thru the Passion Play of the Navajo Nation have also said they would pay us a visit. We are also hoping to bring home some of the “family” who had been attending the Free Methodist Church on the mission before it closed or Kirtland Hope before it moved. Some relationships need to be mended and trust needs to be rebuilt.

Since we are small, and many of our people are on limited incomes, our weekly income is sparse. Our model for giving is 2 Corinthians 9: 7-8. I’d ask you to consider those verses as well, as we could use some saints willing to contribute to our ministry. And as always we can use prayers – for wisdom, provision, and healthy growth. Prayer is the key, the first step in anything we do, the glue that holds any ministry together. The Evangelical Church can arrange mission trips out here. We even have a place for teams to stay. It’s a good way to visit a third world country without needing a passport or shots. It’s a great service experience, rich in culture, eye opening, life changing. Pastor Art and I love showing people life on the Rez.

Art (Brokop) is on face book and I use his page/wall to keep in touch with our “friends”. Our e-mail has been the same for the past 12 years – artandme@juno.com. Our snail mail address is 301 E. Hopi, Farmington NM 87401. You can leave a message on this blog, if you don’t have a google account - just check anonymous. We’d love to hear from you. May God bless us all and we go about Kingdom Building. Soon and very soon (?) we are going to see the King. Sincerely in His service...Maryellen