Presbytery

Presbytery meetings are happening this week.  It's been a very productive and life-giving time and we are blessed with a Spirit-led Presbytery.  Pastor Joany of Burkino Faso brought the devotion this morning and we had a powerful time of prayer.

Call to Prayer from Pastor Gary Morton

Lovers of the Harvest,

I’m sure that you have also been deeply moved by the prayer request from our Missionary to Kenya, Jeff Nelson. What an opportunity! To “reach” an “unreached” people group! To remove them from the list of the “unreached”!

Jesus said, in Matthew 24:14, “14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

I encourage an urgent, Network-wide intercessory mobilization. Our local fellowship at Anchorage First Assembly will begin this weekend to focus our prayer ministries fully on this great opportunity. Let’s all join the intercessory cries for 1500 Decisions for Christ - during the days of November 14-22, 2010!

The Joshua Project’s latest figures updates the population of the Rendille people to be around 60,000.

The Rendille occupy an area in Northeastern Province of Kenya from the Merille River and Serolivi in the South to Loyangalani in the North from Marsabit and Merti in the East to Lontolio in the West. The primary towns include Marsabet, Laisamis, Merille, Logologo, Loyangalani, Korr, Kamboi, Ngurunit, and Kargi.

Brother Nelson reports great advancement among the Rendille in recent evangelistic efforts. Jeff said. “I never expected that our largest church planting effort would be among an unreached people group.” Check out more about the ongoing victories among the Rendille.

What can we do?

1. Take time to dialogue with our Network family about your intercessory efforts on behalf of this great opportunity.

2. Post a comment here on our blog.

3. Make this request on your Facebook status. (Jeff Nelson’s current status is: Pray for a historic mission: the "unreached" Rendille People of Kenya becoming "reached". EAST Rendille Mission November 14-21, 2010. Goal at least 1500 decisions for Christ.)

4. Let’s start an “Alaska-sized” encouraging effort, sending notes and prayers to Jeff and Janelle Nelson.

The Harvest is ripe! The laborers are being mobilized, come on Intercessors! Let’s partner to bring this one in!

For the Harvest,

Gary Morton

Prayer Request from Jeff Nelson

I am requesting that Alaska Ministry Network and churches come along side East Africa School of Theology (EAST), Nairobi, Kenya, by providing special prayer for the Rendille of Kenya November 14-22, 2010. We are having a Rendille wide mission during this week. We are working with all churches and missions among the Rendille that are willing to cooperate with us for this event. The event will take place in six of the largest Rendille communities: Marsabit, Laisamis, Korr, Kargi, Loglogo, and Merille.

It is our desire that this mission will enable the Rendille people group to be moved from the "unreached" 1.2, to the "reached" (Significant/Established Church) 3.1 category (Joshua Project). We are praying for at least 1500 decisions for Christ during this week and many to be added to the church.

Over the past 18 months teams from Evangel University and EAST have seen 973 Rendille make decisions for Christ and have planted two churches. A third church will be planted in November. An EAST alumni planted two churches within the past three years which now have 350 members.

Thank you for assisting us with prayer and publicity for this event.
Jeff Nelson,
Alaska District Missionary and Vice Chancellor, East Africa School of Theology

Ask Dr. Wood!

Today at 11:00am Alaska time, you can watch Supt. George Wood field questions on how to handle criticism.  You will be able to use Twitter or email to send in questions.  You can watch this live at www.ministrydirect.com/live.  If you miss it or don't have time today, I'm sure it will be available to watch on demand at http://www.agtv.ag.org/.  In fact, you can watch the most recent Q & A time with Dr. Wood in August at http://www.agtv.ag.org/ask-the-superintendent-8-10-10.

Northern Region Advance

Had a very fruitful and blessed time at the Northern Region Minister's Advance.  Pastor JR and the Northern Region Committee did a fantastic job planning this event, and Pastor Paul and the team at Fairbanks First AG were top notch hosts.  We deeply appreciate everything they did to make this an excellent event.

Pastor Kent Redfearn and Pastor Rick Benjamin taught on Integrity and Excellence in Ministry.  I wish that every minister could have been there to hear this teaching, it was so good and practical. Nathan Lopez came up from Wasilla to lead in worship, and he did a great job.   I was impressed by the turnout, as nearly everyone from the Region was in attendance.  It was so good to see everyone.

We spent some time collaborrating on the strategic plan yesterday afternoon.  We received very good suggestions and input, and appreciate everyone's feedback.  We will be bringing that feedback to the attention of the Presbytery next week.  Thanks Northern Region for such a life-giving event!  Here are some pictures.

New Pastors in Petersburg!

Tony and Amy Long-Drew were recently elected as the new Pastors of Lighthouse Assembly of God in Petersburg.  They arrived on the ferry this past week.  They are pictured here with their daughter, Evelyne.  Welcome to the Alaska Ministry Network!

In Seward with Pastor Dana

We were in Seward this weekend with Pastor Dana and Debbie Goodwater.  They hosted an event that featured David Ravenhill.  Several Seward Pastors attended, along with people from other Peninsula churches.  Rev. Ravenhill brought a depth of ministry that was very good.  It was great to spend time with Pastor Dana and hear his heart for ministry in Seward.  He is doing a great job there and we are excited to see what God has planned for that church and community.  Terry Hull was there shooting video and streaming this event.

Finance Committee Meeting

Yesterday we held our October finance committee meeting.  Pastor Jack Aiken, who is the Network Treasurer, leads this committee.  We appreciate  his leadership and keen stewardship of the Network \finances, along with the rest of the finance committee.

Peninsula Region Minister's Institute

The Peninsula Region Minister's Institute this past Monday was a great time of fellowship, blessing, and inspiration.  Pastor Steve Brown did a super job of hosting this event, and Daren Lindley shared his heart of God's love and grace for us, along with teaching about how God works through change in our lives.  You can't help but feel blessed after listening to Daren.  We appreciate his ministry in Alaska.

The fellowship was rich, and it was so good to see everyone.  We had a time of collaboration over the Network Strategic Plan draft.  The Peninsula Region ministers provided great ideas and feedback, and we deeply appreciate their input.  Here are some pictures.

Testimony from Jane Cowart on Conversations 2010

The Conversations 2010 was a new experience for me, I was not familiar with the format but it was a pleasant surprise. The speakers were passionate about their subjects and presented them very well. The time of discussion around the table was priceless, hearing from other women about their experiences was eye opening for me. We prayed together as a table and also one on one which was wonderful. I asked a younger lady at my table to pray for me, her prayer was exactly what I need to hear. It confirmed things in my life and calling as a Preacher and Co-pastor with my husband, that I need to walk out in my life.


The day sessions we were able to choose from, were filled with wonderful and life changing information. I took many notes so I can look back and keep fresh what they imparted to me.

I hope I will be able to attend the next Conversation!!!

Sincerely,

Jane Cowart
Haines, Alaska

General Secretary's Conference

Pastor Bill, Pastor JD, Melanya, and I (Brad) are in Springfield for the General Secretary's Seminar today and tomorrow.  It's been an intense day of meetings today, as we were picked up at 7:45am at the hotel and dropped off at about 8:30pm.  It's been fun to meet new people.  We are learning about credential issues, legal issues, lots of upcoming technology enhancements, and much more.  My personal favorite was the two hours with Dr. Richard Hammar on church law, risk management, and tax issues.  I think I could have listened to him for a couple more hours.  We will be working on communicating pertinent information related to all these issues within the Alaska Ministry Network soon.

Conversations 2010

Pastors Renee Duncan, Fay Niemann, Jane Cowart, and Doris Peck represented Alaska at the Conversations 2010 Women's Conference.  It was an encouraging and life changing experience.  Sister Peck was also honored at the conference, and she is pictured below with General Superintendent George Wood and also with Stephanie Nance, an Alaskan minister who was one of the Conference speakers.

New Pastors in Kotzebue!

Pastor Randy and Sandy Wren arrive in Kotzebue today!  They are US Missionaries who were previously ministering in Arizona.  They are called to Alaska and very excited to serve the Lord as Pastors in Kotzebue.  We met with them at the Network office on Wednesday and had a wonderful time getting to know them.  They have servant's hearts and a desire to see people saved and equipped for ministry.