HIS GRACE…OUR HOPE was the theme for our !st Annual Missions Conference. Every service was awesome in it’s own way. I must give credit where credit is due to Teresa Sarria for putting together such a great conference. Teresa you are incredible!
Friday Night started with the children bringing in flags of different countries while the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children” was being played. Then as they got to the front they sang the song and then posted their flags into the holder that had been made for this purpose. After they exited then 2 United States Marines came in carrying the American Flag and the Marine Corps flag. When they got to the front and the Marine Corps flag was being lowered Kyle Valenti played the National Anthem on the guitar and then Nathan led us in “The Pledge of Allegiance”. After the Pledge of Allegiance we all sang, “God Bless America” and then Nathan prayed for our country and it’s leaders. It was a very touching moment. Of course, I am always touched by patriotic things and this was no exception. We then turned our focus to Foreign Missions. Bro. Bruce Howell (director of Foreign Missions U.P.C.I.) had a personal message for us via DVD. He thanked us for what our church had done in the past for missions and for what we were going to do in this conference and the coming year. It was very special. Then, Luis began the song, “Amazing Grace” on his saxophone. No other instruments accompanied. It was beautiful. Gary Hurst then began to tell of the the great things God is doing in the foreign field. At different intervals of him reading the statistics of how many have received the Holy Ghost, been baptized in Jesus Name, churches started, etc. different ones sang the song “Amazing Grace” in a foreign language. Faith Nova sang in Japanese, Amanda Silveira in French, Dominic Ingram in Portuguese and Matthew Silveira in Spanish. It was beautiful. Then the whole congregation sang at the conclusion of the report and I don’t think I’ve ever heard Amazing Grace sung with such passion. Missionary John Beek and his wife were with us and he preached and shared his burden for Scotland. It was great!
Saturday Night was our Home Missions service. The Sign Co. began the service with the song, “Father, Can you Hear Me?” They did a superb job as usual. Then Danelle Silveira sang, “Marvelous Grace” and that was incredible. Then Vessels of Honor sang, “Until We Care”, and Scott Sarria sang the song “Every Man” with a power point presentation. Bro. Stuart Young and his family were with us from Livermore and he preached on “Who Are You”. We so enjoyed having them and Sis. Young’s parents, The Johnson’s with us in service tonight.
Sunday was another great service with Faith Promise being the theme for today. We just had church! The chorale sang, “Until We Care” again and then we sang, “Say So”! Bro. and Sis. Randy Keyes was with us today and what an incredible message he preached!!! Bro. Keyes is one of the most faith building preachers I know. He preaches with such faith that you can’t help but grasp hold of some of it while the word is going forth. AWESOME! INCREDIBLE! I am so excited about what our church did for missions and in their sacrificial giving that I could almost burst. It is amazing how God really turns His focus on a people when they turn their focus on the harvest. My oh My! Enjoy the pictures! His Grace….Our Hope!
Sounded like a wonderful conference. If this was your first, I can’t even imagine what is in store for next year. It was so touching to hear/see the children’s flag presentation, the singing in different languages, the signing, etc. – and then to have Bro Randy Keyes preach – You had it all. So happy for you and Bro Hurst and your church.
Sounds awesome. If you or your church are looking to connect more with your denominations missionaries or are hoping to send some of your own people out to the mission field, you might want to check out my book. It’s a great resource for North Americans who really don’t know what it’s like to be a cross-cultural missionary in the 21st century.
http://allthatyoucant.blogspot.com/
Here’s the link.
Blessings,
Ryan
My family and I enjoyed, was blessed, and heard from God during this Missions Conference.
It was AWESOME!
Thank you, Bro. & Sis. Hurst, and thank you, Teresa for all your hard work.
Can hardly wait until the next one!
I always enjoy having missionaries come to our church and tell their stories. I have a very large place in my heart for missionaries. My grandpa Clark was one to Hawaii. My Uncle Glenn Clark was one to the Philippines. My cousin, Angela Clark is now in China. It’s in my blood and in my heart.
I appreciate all missionaries so much and pray for them always. I admire their dedication to the work of God and the unselfish sacrifice they give of their lives.
Tena, I feel the same way. I appreciate all of our missionaries both home and abroad and admire them.
Thank you for taking all the good pictures too. I couldn’t have a slide show if it wasn’t for your good hand with a camera.
Sounds like you had a great conference. I always enjoy hearing missionaries, both home and foreign.
Thanks for sharing your conference with us. I love international services. Our city slogan is “The international community working together.” My dad made our church slogan, “The international church for the international community.” From the young to the old, you created a wonderful conference.
Looks like you had an awesome time! It is always good to remember that there are people around the world that need to hear the Truth!
Hi Sis Hurst,
Thank you for sharing the details of an awesome conference. You are such a vivid writer, I could just see it all.
Also, thank you for the birthday wishes. We did have a wicked time!
-V
Rhonda-
I loved hearing about this missions conference. Nothing moves me quite like evangelism does, and when the need is presented as excellently as you did in your church, it is no wonder it was effective. Randy Keyes? None better.
Love you
Just did a little catch up here, and it sounds like God really blessed your conference! What a wonderful time. I enjoyed looking at the pics!
WOW! It must have been AWESOME!