Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Another Step In Ministry...

At the beginning of this month Elsa and I were finally able to get married. I say "finally" because it is much more of a process here then what I believe it to be in the US. (Although I don't really know since I have never been married in the US.) We signed our papers before a judge on May 7th. This will allow us to continue to make plays for the church wedding the 1st of August. We are now in the process of soliciting a visa for Elsa so she can travel with me in August back to the States to meet all of you! Please be praying for the visa as this appears to be a long process as well...
Blessings,
Matt J.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

It's About Time...

Yes, I know, it has been a while. It seems that this blog hasn't been as big as a priority as I would have liked. Well, here is what is happening as of late in our church plant...

  • We are finally completing the remodeling project in the space we currently rent. When completed, we will have expanded the Sunday School classroom space, reorganized the office, and opened up a larger part of the sanctuary. It has been quite the project but we are excited with the new space and new growth of the church!
  • This past Sunday I was officially named the senior pastor of our church plant. Yes, that name makes me sound a little older. Basically it means I am the lead missionary on the church plant here in Cúa and I am in charge of making sure we move forward with the church.
  • I am trying to finalize the details for my civil marriage here in Venezuela. It has been quite the process and we continue to acquire more and more paperwork. The documentation process is quite strenuous and I hope to be married civilly soon so we can begin to solicit a visa for Elsa. The official church wedding date is August 1st. Please be in prayer for that.
  • This past Wednesday I began to lead a study on the book of Acts during our midweek bible study/ leadership training group. I hope that we can implement the Apostle's method for church growth and expansion and that this study will be a catalyst to continue to reach the lost for Christ!! We have seen a jump in the attendance as of late and have been averaging 120+ on Sunday mornings! Praise God for the harvest! We have a few baptisms coming up this Sunday!
  • We are also currently putting the finishing touches on curriculum and plans for the Bible Institute we hope to open in September. Please also pray for the details of the logistics that are required to open it. This is a huge step in our ability to plant 120 churches by the year 2020. We will be using this to raise up the future generation of leaders we hope to see planting here in Venezuela as well as abroad!
God Bless,
Matthew Johnson

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Long Time Coming...

So, I realize it has been a while since my last post. Interestingly enough I think this is how most of my posts start... Let me start out with some exciting news. I realize this may be me exciting for me than the rest of you. For starters, my roommate Sam, who had considered leaving the field to pursue a Masters Degree, has changed his mind and will be staying on with us here in Cúa! It brings me great joy in knowing he will continue his ministry with us here. He has really done a great job raising up the music ministry and leading it here at the church, but we recognize the job is not done yet. This past Monday I was also able to solicit my drivers license. Again, this may not sound like much, but when you have spent over a year driving illegally without one, it is quite a big deal. I no longer feel stressed out when I pass by the random police check points. It is wonderful to have all my car papers in order.

The church has also celebrated a few victories recently. We hope to finally be able to expand the space we rent here in the next month. The contract had been held up by the owner of the new space we are going to rent, but we finally reached an agreement this past month. We also celebrated 3 baptisms in the month of September. I am thinking now that I only wrote about 2 in the newsletter, but there were actually three! Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the third. We just baptized another lady yesterday as well! It is amazing to see how God works and how he continues to touch and change peoples hearts and minds.

One more thing, this Sunday I preach for the second time. I am in the monthly rotation of preaching now and am really enjoying the chance to preach God's word. This Sunday we will be talking about the Power of The Tongue!
I leave you all with some food for thought...

Matthew 12:36 "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken."