Thursday, July 28, 2011

Malawi Mission Team Update ~ July 28

Yesterday the team visited a potential site for a 2nd Lighthouse orphan ministry and pastor’s training school. This site looks to have great potential due to the fact that it already has running water, which is rare in Malawi. The hope is to begin a 2nd site of orphan feeding and care there. During the evening, the team showed the Jesus Film at two separate locations and 5,700 people made professions of faith after viewing the film.

Today was the team’s last day of evangelism and so far there have been a total of 19,324 people who have made professions of faith during this trip. It is certainly a harvest field right now in Malawi! People are hungry for the gospel and very open to hearing truth. In addition to evangelism, the team was able to purchase 7 bicycles for needy pastors.

Tomorrow the team will be traveling and would covet your prayers. Thanks for your faithfulness!
Doss Estep & the Malawi team

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Malawi Mission Team Update ~ July 26

It is now Tuesday evening and our day is drawing to a close. Joe and Clint are still at a village showing the Jesus Film and we expect hundreds to be saved there. The last two days have been very productive and a blessing to us. Clint and I taught 150 pastors and wives in Leadership and Major Bible Doctrines while Jeri Cook taught the children. She must have been a hit because the number of children grew from 60 to over 100 and maybe more when the M&M story was told!

Today has been a tremendous day of evangelism. Joe, Randy, and Howie have already seen over 2000 souls respond to the gospel. That brings the team total to over 9,000.

Pray for us as we travel a bit tomorrow to look at property for another Lighthouse Training Center and also evangelize in that area. We have had some illness, but everyone seems to be getting better.

Thank you for your faithful prayers!
Doss Estep & the Malawi Team

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Malawi Mission Team Update ~ July 24

We traveled Saturday to an area about an hour away from Lilongwe where Lighthouse is planting a church. Our team walked from village to village evangelizing and ministering to the people. In the evening, we showed the Jesus Film to nearly 1000 people. Over 2000 responded to the invitation of Christ by the end of the day.

On Sunday, Joe, Randy, and Howie returned there. Joe preached the message and there was a baptismal service for 17 new believers. Doss, Clint, and Jeri returned to Twanga to the Lighthouse. Clint and Jeri gave their testimony and Doss preached.

God has truly been blessing the team. Over 4,300 souls have come to Christ. Please pray for the week that is ahead of us. On Monday and Tuesday, Doss and Clint will lead a leadership conference for pastors. The whole team will be evangelizing all week.

The country now seems to be calm and we look forward to a fruitful ministry as we continue to work and you continue to pray!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Malawi Mission Team Update ~ July 22

We were able to move around today and the rioting seems to have ended. Once the roads re-opened we traveled about 30 minutes away to the You-Turn Lighthouse Project. Clint, Joe, and I were able to teach approximately 70 tribal chiefs and their wives. So far we have made it through four lessons on leadership. I have never seen a group of people more hungry for the material we are sharing! The principles in the leadership study are Biblically-based, practical, and universal. When we presented the gospel, the whole room prayed. Nearly all were saved and left the conference with a brand new eternal destination! The gratitude they expressed for the training was humbling to us.
 
Randy Youst, Jeri Cook, and our friend Howie from South Lebanon went to the villages to share the gospel with those they encountered. From their effort today, 468 souls came into the Kingdom. Therefore, we believe that approximately 640 souls accepted Christ today in Lilongwe, Malawi, and many were trained and discipled. Praise the Lord!
 
Please continue to pray for the team:
  • Pray for our ability to travel and that the country would remain calm.
  • Pray for divine appointments and receptive hearts to the gospel.
  • Pray for health. I have not felt well today, but was able to teach and share what I needed to.
  • Pray for Joe Veal and Ross & Sherry Collier as they care for us and a team from Allen, Texas.
  • Pray for our families that remain back home and the many issues they are dealing with in our absence.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Malawi Mission Team Update

Greetings from Malawi! Our team has had a great trip so far. We arrived on schedule with all our luggage and I am told that this is a miracle! There is currently violence in Malawi because of the fuel shortages. Our missionaries, Ross & Sherry Collier, have served here for 30 years and are keeping us safe.

Today our team focused on evangelism, and Jeri Cook ministered to the women at a conference. Please be in prayer for me tomorrow as I will be teaching leadership curriculum to 150 tribal chiefs.

Malawi is 6 hours ahead of Ohio; therefore, if you pray for us as you get ready to go to bed, you will help us begin our day. Thanks for your continued prayers!

Doss Estep & the Malawi Mission Team

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Bellefontaine – Impact Ohio IS THIS SATURDAY!!!

Plans are to meet at UBC between 8 and 8:15 with departure promptly at 8:30. The truck and block party trailer may leave earlier. Block Party starts at 11 am until 2 pm at Blue Jacket Park. We will need to set up and be ready to serve by 11 am. At 2 pm everything will shut down and we will pack up and return home. I believe Joe Veal will be preaching around 1 pm. 

  Directions: 42 North to 68 North to Bellefontaine. Once you reach Bellefontaine there is construction on 68. To avoid some construction turn right at the Walmart on Guntown Rd. This is the first stop light in Bellefontaine. Go the first stop sign and turn Left on Ludlow. Blue Jacket Park will be on the left. Address: for GPS users 900 Ludlow, Bellefontaine 43311

Teams – we need people to face paint, run concessions, set up and tear down, prayer walk and whatever.

 If you are planning on driving please let me know. Also, if you NEED A RIDE please let me know. We are trying to determine if we need one or both church vans and will need to arrange for drivers. 

 Feel free to call or text my cell phone 513-403-7424 and/or email me.               destep@urbancrest.org

Word from Bellefontaine is that they are seeing God do amazing things as they prepare for Saturday. We have the opportunity to JOIN GOD in his plan to tell others about His amazing love. Beautiful Feet sharing the Love of Jesus and making an IMPACT in Ohio for the Glory of God! Don’t miss this opportunity. Thanks to each one of you.

 Linda Estep

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Argentina Mission Team Update

This is our last day of ministry. We just got finished with lunch after having given out 6,000 papers in downtown Cordoba. Yesterday, Tuesday, we worked around the local church of QUEVEDO, covering about 25 city blocks of houses. We had the opportunity to give a paper to every player of the Ecuador national team. Monday evening we went to the soccer stadium at 5:30 (4 hours before the Argentina-Costa Rica game) and gave out 5,000 papers as the cars were pulling into the parking lots. We did it this way because we did not want the fans to shred the papers and use them as confetti when the team entered the field. This afternoon we are going back to the downtown area to give out another 5,000 papers between 5-8pm. After dinner we will go to the stadium (at 10pm) to hand out 12,000 papers as the fans exit the game at 11:30pm. We will be finishing up with the activity around 2am!

Thank you for your prayers and your partnership in this endeavor!
Leah Busick, Argentina Mission Team Leader

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Argentina Mission Team Update

Day one of ministry is coming to an end. Today we started off by handing out 2,000 papers of EL DESAFIO in the Independence day parade in downtown Cordoba. We were finished in only 1 hour! We also went to the hotel where the Paraguay national soccer team was staying and we were able to hand out papers to fans, family members, and players of the team (the testimony of one of the Paraguayan players is on the front page). In the afternoon, we split up into 3 teams around the soccer stadium and handed out 7,500 papers to a mass of 55,000 fans. Had we had more hands on deck, who knows how many we could have given out! We just couldn’t cover all the people exiting the stadium quick enough. The evening ended with a youth group meeting and dinner at midnight.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we will have Sunday School in the morning and an evening worship service.

Please continue to keep our team in your prayers!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Urbancrest Mission Intern Graduates


It has been a long, hard year and a half for several of our Urbancrest members, but also a year of great learning and adventure. For this group it all ended June 12, 2011...or did it? Maybe it is just the beginning! A celebration for the Urbancrest mission interns who have completed their course of study was held on June 12th. Many are now working on their deployments to the different places the Lord has called them.

It is interesting how this all happened. I wish I could say that is was part of a great vision the Lord gave to me for the mission outreach of Urbancrest. But it really was a God-directed, Holy Spirit born ministry. In 2009, the economic crisis affected the value of the dollar which caused mission organizations to reduce and reverse the number of missionaries they supported. Even our own International Mission Board anticipated having to reduce their numbers from 5,500 to less than 5,000 missionaries worldwide. It was against this backdrop that our church was confronted with church members who were called to missions and desired to take the next step. Aaron and Dana Bogan were looking for a sending agency, and though they were willing to do almost anything to be able to fulfill their calling, there were no takers.

Realizing that the divine mandate of our church is to send those who God has called, we sought out a course of study that would help fulfill the church’s responsibility to prepare those that it sends to the mission field. I found it through the Global Connection Partnership Network, a group based in Arlington, Texas that had written 42 essential lessons that prepare missionaries for cross-cultural mission service. After a trip to Arlington to learn how to prepare myself, we developed a mission intern process for Urbancrest members that would help them explore God’s call to mission service.

To my surprise, we had 19 interns begin the three-phase process. The first 12 weeks were spent exploring God’s call and learning the Biblical mandate to go. Next, we moved into the essentials of preparation and going, which included connecting and serving on a mission project. In the summer of 2010, Urbancrest had 8 interns on the international mission field for 6-12 weeks. The rest of the interns were involved either in local or regional mission service. In total, this group of interns served 104 weeks on the international mission field and witnessed over 500 souls come to Christ.

A couple of our interns (Emily Clem, Kelly Kemp) moved on to attend college full-time, and several couples saw such growth in their own ministries that they needed to give it their full attention (John & Brocklyn Steiner, Larry & Elizabeth Bergeron). Twelve of the interns completely finished the course and received the certificate of completion. The weekly lessons were facilitated by Linda Estep, Diane Lynch, and me.

This group is ready to lay down their lives and go where God has called them! Ron & Darlene Whitmer moved to Uganda, Africa on June 21 to work on Bavuma Island with IMB missionaries George & Geraldine Smith. They sold their house and all their belongings and will serve the Lord there for at least one year. What an example to all of us of how to re-fire, instead of retire!

On August 31st, Aaron & Dana Bogan and their four children will also move to Uganda where Aaron will teach in the Uganda Baptist Seminary, influencing the lives of over 300 pastors each year to reach all of east Africa for Christ.

Matt Prichard is preparing to leave for Haiti as soon as he has raised a team of supporters. He will work with orphans through the Hands and Feet Project of Audio Adrenaline.

All of the others are in the process of seeking the place and time that God will use them in His purpose to glorify His name to the ends of the earth. Please continue to support them in prayer and consider helping them on a regular basis as they become the heart and hands of Urbancrest around the world.

We are now accepting applications for our next group of interns. Applications are available in the church office and must be turned in very soon in order to begin the interview/entry process. Space is limited! The program is set to begin September 7th. Contact destep@urbancrest.org.

Urbancrest Missions Calendar Updates ~ July 2011

Argentina Mission Project
July 7–14, 2011
Please remember to keep this team in your prayers!

Block Party at Pleasant Square Park (Across from Lebanon Post Office)
July 13, 2011

IMPACT Ohio Mission Project
July 16, 2011 from 8am-4:30pm
Bellefontaine, OH ~ Block Party, Prayer Walking & Evangelist Joe Veal
Volunteers still needed! Sign up @ the UBC Welcome Center or contact Linda Estep at destep@zoomtown.com

Appalachia Mission Team Meeting
July 17, 2011 @ 12:30pm in Room 201

Warren County Fair Ministry
July 18-23, 2011

Malawi Mission Project
July 19-August 1, 2011
Please contact Doss Estep at destep@urbancrest.org to receive prayer updates for the Malawi team while they are on mission.

Block Party at Lebanon City Schools District Admin. Building (700 Holbrook Ave.)
July 20, 2011

Block Party at La Luz Apartments
July 27, 2011

Disaster Relief Feeding at New Life Mission in Hamilton, OH
July 30, 2011

Looking Ahead:
Block Party at East Ridge Drive & Deas Drive Community
August 3, 2011

Challenge the Neighborhood
August 10, 17 & 24, 2011

Unreached People Group Summit @ Urbancrest
September 31-October 1, 2011