The following is a report & ministry update that I sent out by email to supporters and prayer partners of RGM. However, I know there those who subscribe to the RGM website and are not on that email list; so I wanted to relay the report and update to the RGM website subscribers. Thank you also for your support and prayer during this very difficult time in my life – many blessings to you all:
This year has been a huge struggle for me with the loss of my beloved wife, Heidi, in January; not to mention, the 2 strokes Matthew, my son-in-law, had shortly afterwards that have resulted in a very lengthy and very life changing consequences for him and his family, which by the grace of God, I and especially, his parents, have sought to give them some relief through various means as the Lord provided to each of us (not to mention, the donations they have received as neither of them is able to work). Ana, my daughter, has relied totally on the grace of God to strengthen her as she cares not only for her husband (many hours on the road traveling for his care; not to mention, her personal care of him); but also for their daughter, Scotlynn; and all the household business needed, including the selling of their home (still on the market) and moving to a house in Calumet that would be more suitable for Matthew, with some modifications done to it by his mom and dad. All of these trials have been worked for all of our good by our loving and faithful heavenly Father Through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, as we have all grown in our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, relying more and more on His grace, His strength to bring us through these very heavy trials; drawing our hearts closer to Him.
In the midst of my grief in the loss of my dear wife, I desired greatly not to become fixed upon myself; but sought the Lord to guide me and strengthen me to do His will and not my will that would cater to any form of self-pity. Though at times I did fall into a state of self-pity, the Lord would graciously pull me out of it, bringing the needs of others before me; and gave me a repentant heart and the strength to help others in need. As part of that gracious work in me by the Holy Spirit, He gave me a desire to continue on in my labors in the Lord to minister to others in their spiritual needs. This was done by beginning to hold worship services again in my home for the couple that had been faithfully attending for about 2 years. We began gathering for worship a few weeks after Heidi went to be with the Lord. The Lord also provided opportunities for me to fill pulpits at 2 different churches: conducting 4 services on 2 successive Lord’s Days at the Rock Valley United Reformed Church, Rock Valley, IA; and the other in Garner, IA, at the Zion Evangelical Reformed Church, where I preached a message from God’s word. What a blessing it has been to be able to serve the Lord in this way – truly, it is was all done by the grace of God – all glory to Him alone!
In addition, the Lord gave me the desire to begin slowly to continue in my labors in spreading the Gospel message of Jesus Christ through RGM. It was resolved that I would at least organize and arrange for a few evangelistic activities: the Lord led me to purpose in my heart to participate in 2 vendor fairs: one in Hartley, which was done on August 1st; the other, Lord willing, was to have a booth at the Sheldon vendor fair that will be held on Labor Day, September 7th. Bibles, books and other materials to help encourage believers in their personal evangelism efforts are made available to anyone who desire to take them, free of charge (nor, is a donation required). We also took opportunity to witness the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers, as the Lord brought them to us.
The other activity that the Lord laid on my heart to do this year was to hold a Gospel in the Park in Hartley, IA, where I reside. That evangelism event was held last Saturday, August 22nd. (to be honest, I began to doubt doing this; but God gave me the grace to step out in faith to go ahead with it; and the Lord blessed that step of faith). At first, no one showed up except those who were a part of that effort (Jay; Virginia; and Elijah, who led the singing; and of course, yours truly). However, after about 5- or 10-minutes waiting for someone to show up, the Lord brought a young man to us, a new believer struggling in the faith, walking down the street. We invited him to join us and he sat down. After we began the singing of a hymn (or should I say, making a joyful noise), a young lady came by, and we invited her to join us. She also came and sat with us. What a blessing and answer to prayer to have these two people join us; who also sat through the entire event. Truly, it was an act of God’s grace. The young lady was a believer new to the community and attending a church in a nearby town. The young man was also new to the community (both only moved here a few months ago). The young man said he needed to hear the message from John 14:1-6, concerning “Troubling Times, Troubled Hearts.” He, consequently, was led by the Lord to come to the worship service in my home next day. Again, what a blessing to have this newcomer join us in the worship service (BTW, he doesn’t drive; so, he walked across town to get there). Please keep him (Devin) in your prayers, praying the Lord will bring Him back and become a part of the ministry of RGM and Resurrection Hope Congregation.
Below is the link to the message; “Troubling Times, Troubled Hearts” that I preached at the Gospel of the Park:
“Troubling Times, Troubled Hearts”
Please continue to keep this ministry in your prayers – they are much needed – and God has been answering our prayers faithfully, according to His abounding grace. Please also keep us in prayer as we participate in the vendor fair in Sheldon, IA on Labor Day.
One more prayer request, actually two: first, please keep me in prayer – I miss my dear beloved wife, Heidi, greatly; but don’t want my grief to overcome me so that I become a worthless servant of God: it’s one thing to be an unworthy servant; it’s something entirely far worse to be a worthless servant of the Lord. Second, please keep RGM in prayer as we plan for the 2027 events and activities. If you have a suggestion, please don’t be afraid to communicate it to me. I believe the Lord is laying it on my heart to reach out to the communities along the Spirit Lake to Spencer corridor, while pursuing efforts in other areas, as the Lord provides, in His grace, the opportunities to do so.
Again, thank you for your prayers and support – it is greatly appreciated – more importantly, a blessing from the Lord Jesus Christ to a most unworthy servant of His.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Reformation Gospel Ministries 
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