The Open Door

  

                                           

The Open Door

Rarely in ministry do we see a door open quite like this one. Several weeks ago we had three new exchange students from China visit our church. As is our practice, we asked our visitors to stand up during the announcement time before the service and give us their names so we could welcome them. Although we never ask why the person has visited us at this point, one of the girls decided to tell us anyway with this simple but powerful statement: “I’ve come here to find a faith to live by.” After I finished picking my jaw off the floor I began explaining to her and the rest of the congregation from the pulpit just what our faith is all about. I’m happy to report that after a few weeks of careful investigation Jade made the decision to follow Christ and is now growing in him. Please pray for her faith and love for Jesus to increase.

Fruit from the Woods

Last month our church celebrated the Labor Day weekend at a retreat center nestled in a beautiful canyon. While we ate, played, and worshipped together as an entire church, our Chinese and English congregations separated for the teaching sessions into their respective language groups. Several people rededicated their lives to Christ, and we also saw many new believers added to the Kingdom. Please pray for good growth and follow-up for those who made decisions. To see some pictures from the retreat and learn more about what we’re up to on a more frequent basis please go to our new Facebook ministry page at www.facebook.com/okcmetroministries.

Other Prayer Requests

We have recently received some substantial gifts toward our 2012 Support Deficit. Although we are still not where we need to be financially, these contributions have greatly encouraged us. Please praise the Lord with us for the gifts and these faithful givers. 

Our daughter Katie and family will soon be moving back to Arizona after having lived with us for the past few years. Our son-in-law Brad has already moved there for his new job, they are in escrow on a house, and are hoping to be reunited soon. Obviously we will miss all four of them, but we are excited about this new stage in their lives. Please pray for a smooth transition.

Yours by His Grace,

John for the rest of the Ropers

A Chance To Respond

A Chance To Respond

On May 19th the towns of Carney, Edmond, and Shawnee were hit by tornadoes that damaged or destroyed homes and killed two people. Tragically, this was just the warm-up act for this week of storms. On Monday, May 20th, a massive tornado plowed through Moore, a southern suburb of Oklahoma City, staying on the ground for 45 horrifying minutes. 24 people were killed, including 10 children. The majority of the kids were in an elementary school that was leveled by the F5 twister. Early estimates indicate that between 13,000-15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the 17-mile long path of this tornado.

Our mission, WorldVenture, along with a sister organization, Missions Door, have established a fund to help the survivors of these disasters. They have also appointed me to take the lead in this ministry since we are based here in the metro area. In the next several days and weeks I will be networking with various churches and organizations to see how best to distribute these resources so that they do the most good. It is a daunting task and we would greatly appreciate your prayers.

As I write this the news in the background is talking about the flash flooding we are receiving today in the metro. More storms are forecast for the days ahead. So, once again, please be praying for us, for the relief efforts, and especially for all the many people affected by these natural disasters.

Expanding the Harvest

The RJ Worship team in action

Usually a person’s sphere of ministry increases gradually, but sometimes the Lord of the Harvest decides to double or triple it overnight. When He does so all we can do as his followers is smile, chuckle a little, and hold on for the wild ride that is to come.

I wrote to you awhile back mentioning that because of our low support I had been forced to take on a part time job. Although the work wasn’t that stressful, the time it took up limited the amount of ministry opportunities I could explore. As a missionary I struggled with this situation but was grateful that the Lord had provided us with some badly needed income. Suddenly one day a new management company took over and soon replaced my close friend (who had hired me) and his wife with a team of their own. Joyce and I sensed my days there were probably limited, as well.

Then one night at our Asian Fellowship some of our members approached me and asked me to apply for a new position opening in their church. Now, a little over a month later, I find myself the new pastor of a vibrant, young international congregation. Rejuvenate Worship is the English service of Edmond Chinese International, and despite the church being affiliated with the United Methodist the pastoral search team unanimously approved a Baptist boy like me to shepherd their group. For those of you I was able to connect with for prayer and counsel over this opportunity while it was developing, thank you for your overwhelming love and support of this move.

Sure enough, my other job let me go, but God has replaced that part-time position with another one that is infinitely more soul-satisfying. Please pray God will bring in much fruit through this new expansion of our ministry.

Other Prayer Requests

Continue to pray for our finances. The new position at RJ Worship is still just part-time, and while it does make up for some of our mission support shortfall we still are a long way from being financially where we need to be. 

Adding to our financial needs is a situation of urgent prayer. This last year some of our supporters died or for various reasons had to reduce or drop our support. These changes have not always been communicated effectively to the home office, and as the mission’s policy in the past has been to pay their missionaries based on the commitment level rather than funds received, we were accidentally overpaid last year. Currently, we owe the mission over $11,000.  Please pray that the Lord will provide for this loss through one-time gifts and/or additional support.