In a few weeks the Stonebridge Newsletter will be five years old. It is a tool God has given me to be a blessing to thousands of people every week. It has opened doors of ministry that never would have been possible before. That’s what happened this week.
Pastor Nathaniel Bronner of Atlanta, Georgia read the Stonebridge Newsletter and followed my link to Camp Barakel’s web site. He felt God leading him to send his son to Barakel. Earlier this summer Pastor Bronner flew with his son from Atlanta to Michigan and spent the week working for Camp Barakel while his boy attended camp.
He preached two messages about the experience when he returned he contacted me. This weekend Lois and I flew to Atlanta to minister at this church, “The Ark of Salvation.” It was a delightful experience. Nathaniel pastors the church with the help of two of his brothers. They call themselves “Brothers of the Word.” They have an incredible outreach on the Internet. I preached three times this weekend. You can listen to the messages on their site: www.airjesus.com.
Autumn officially arrived this week and there is no better time to be in Michigan. At the Inn we have a good Eternal Vision Ministry Team for fall term and I enjoy discipling them. Kim Cahill is training a nice group of Heart for Hospitality girls. The Verity Program is thriving. We have an enthusiastic, joyful group of young people and families who make up the Riverfront Character Inn staff.
About once a week I preach in chapel to all the people in the building. We also invite others to minister to the students. Pastor Shoemaker, Marcus Schrader, Kevin McKray, and Arlen Mills, are all on Verity or RCI staff and regularly speak in chapel. We also have Tom Harmon, Pastor Dan Cummings, and Mike Thomas preach. We are always delighted to have Mr. Gothard visit and when he does he usually does a “mini-seminar” for us. Last week he spoke on how to know the will of God and how to be a successful person. I have never heard anyone who has such helpful things to say to encourage young people and strengthen families.