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October Blessings From the Bartons
Dear loved ones in Christ,
 I returned this weekend from a forest fire assignment on the
south rim of the Grand Canyon. I was stationed a few hundred
yards from the rim itself. What a wonderful, creative God we
know and serve! What beauty, what splendor, what majesty! And
all of this is just a reflection of His character and love
for us! Wow!
Ministry update:
Our 6:30am Thursday morning group of college students
who feel called to areas of ministry leadership continues
to
grow. We are now averaging 10+ each week. We are working
through issues such as the call to the ministry, the personal
life of godliness, sharing your testimony, leading someone
to Christ, and basic doctrines. In addition, we have guest
ministers who pour their life into the students.- Our work
with the college Fellowship of Christian Athletes continues
strong with the group still averaging 50+ students
each week.
- In the past month, Melva and I have had the privilege
of preaching in Pitkin, CO and here in Gunnison, conducting
a
wedding on the top of the world (Silverton, CO), celebrating
Melva's birthday, fighting fires and distributing Bibles
in Oregon and the Grand Canyon, as well as finishing the
2nd chapter
of my rewrite of Charles Spurgeon's "Lectures to My
Students".
Coming up:
Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. On October 17th we will
hold our annual Board of Directors and ministry update
dinner
in Oklahoma City. This meeting is open to all of you
who are interested in our ministry. Please call Jerry
Bugg
@ 405-751-5867 to help us get a head count. We'll meet
in the
conference room at Johnny's Hamburgers in Edmond, 33,
33rd Street just east of Broadway Extension at 5:30 pm.
On the
19th we will share in the services of Covenant Community
Church in Yukon, OK (a suburb of OKC) in the morning
and at Abell Community Church north of Guthrie, OK that
evening.
Then we'll have dinner with those of you in the Dallas
area on the 20th. After that, we hope to make a quick
stop in
Ft. Smith, Arkansas to visit with all of you in that
neck of the woods. On the way back we will share at Chapel
Hill
Methodist in Oklahoma City on October 26th, and then
hope to stop in Colorado Springs, CO and have a meal
and share
with those of you there. Please contact us (970-641-3583
or 970-209-8006-cell) for updated times and locations.
I apologize for the late notice but things have fallen
into
place in a hurry. Please put these meetings on your prayer
schedule as well.- College outreach to Kansas. On Nov.
15 we are taking a group of college students to minister
to youth in Protection,
KS.
Please pray as we encourage the youth in this small community
to follow Jesus.
- Preaching in Gunnison November 23. Please
pray for the Spirit's anointing.
- So far, we have invitations
to hold services next spring in Kansas and Oklahoma.
Please pray as we prepare
for these
meetings as well as others that may open up.
Other Prayer Requests: For the healing from cancer of our
good friend Tom Freeman, a missionary to cowboys and American
Indians in Nevada. Tom and Lorraine are wonderful examples
of love and faithfulness to the Lord. Also, please pray for
our college ministry of training leaders and outreach. Please
pray for the right church location for New Song, the church
we started in 1969. We're meeting in a temporary place too
small for Sunday school and are seeing lots of new families
and children. And, please pray for the anointing of the Holy
Spirit to continue to fall upon us as we share around the country.
Thank You!! Finances: As you faithfully pray, the Lord is replenishing
our deficit. We were running six weeks behind and now only
two. We've received some wonderful unexpected gifts from many
of you. THANK YOU soooooo much! All in all, the Lord is graciously moving and blessing. Thank
you for being such a wonderful part of our team. You are loved and appreciated; we hope to see you soon, Rick and Melva Barton
Here’s a picture of our ministry training group. Thanks
for your prayers and support!
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