The Church is a body of many members. Each has unique functions and differing gifts according to the manifold grace of God but we belong to each other for the work of the ministry. From Romans 12:5-7
I desire to lovingly acknowledge those with whom we labor together. Share in our Joy! Get equipped and connected!
Our dear friend Passmore Makoni. I don’t know where Nancy and I would be without our dear Passie. I call him my Eppassieditus from Philippians 2:25.
He is an artist and jack of all trades. We cannot number his benefits. He helps us with many ministry tasks and takes care of our home when we travel but most of all, Passie warms our hearts, brightens our home, and enriches our lives. I am so proud that he has applied himself to the study of Biblical Discipleship to become an approved ambassador of Jesus Christ. I love his hunger to broaden his influence. Note his third and final ACTS 2:7 certificate that he received from First Rock Fellowship in Aubrey TX. Way to go Pastor Walden for equipping the saints.
Jimmie leads Midway Church Recovery group with a Christ-centered approach to the Twelve Steps and teaches the Taking Anger Seriously course to a group of men at Denton Bible Church.
Jean Kinney earned a B.B.A. in Accounting and Business management and successfully owned her own accounting/bookkeeping firm.
Jean has been involved in Women Discipleship for 17 years in Denton County Jail and served ten years as an advocate for the unborn at the Crisis Pregnancy Center, (now the Woman to Woman Pregnancy Resource Center). It is noteworthy that she has been on 17 evangelistic foreign mission trips to Africa, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Philippines, Nicaragua, and Israel. She also serves in her local Church (Midway) as a member of the Heart to Heart Women’s Ministry and currently leads the Adult Women’s Sunday School Class. Additionally, she is a contributing member of the Midway Benevolence Team, helping women in crisis.
Jean gives her life for her Lord. With love for Jesus, she serves relentlessly and enthusiastically. She is a true soul winner and is particularly helpful to those women who suffer from a cycle of emotional abuse. Her strong will and grit are naturally reproduced in those she disciples. Women feed on her determination to take hold of all that God has designed for them.
Nancy and I could not be more proud to be partnered with her in ministry.
George and Carol Stowe are an amazing couple that serve in the Bridges to Life program within prisons. This curriculum prepares inmates to return to civil life. But on the outside, the Stowes come alongside to help them assimilate into our church and community.
George has retired from Corporate Business and now mentors men within our church and the Denton Freedom House. He also volunteers at the Gainesville State School.
Carol, a retired educator, spends much of her time in the Denton County Jail and traveling to the Women’s Units in Gatesville where she mentors women in the faith.
They are wise and capable counselors that allow our church to help broken lives heal.
John and Helen Troutman are precious. John is a graduate of Baptist Bible College in Springfield Missouri with a degree in Music. They met during their studies at Western Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary.
Helen began writing prisoners in 2014 to introduce them to Jesus and encourage their faith. She keeps up with about 15 men and women whom she writes every month, she sends them an e-com on their birthday and seeks to visit them once a year.
Note the volumes of letters she has received from her friends.
Because many of the men do not have families to help them, John and Helen have established an RV Park for parolees on their farm. They have endured great tests and are among the most patient people on earth.
William Stanley helps to manage the Troutman Farm and leads Bible studies. Together, they have the ability to help people with very challenging circumstances.
Please keep William and the Troutmans in your prayers.
Cindy Dillon retired in 2019 seeking how she might start a new chapter in her service to the Lord. The Lord led her to join the Survivors Advocacy Team for “Friends of the Family” where she compassionately helps traumatized victims of abuse.
Cindy is also a member of Jean Kinney’s Ladies Discipleship class. She has the gift of hospitality and has taken the reigns as the Events and Media Coordinator for the Midway Community Care Team.
The Inspring Co-Worker
Our Church culture is as different from the world as night and day. Newcomers need help becoming acclimated to their new faith and their new Church family. Discipleship is the Biblical answer designed to help individuals move from their old life onto God’s agenda. Yet, discipleship can be an immense challenge.
Imagine what is faced by those coming out of the gang and drug culture, an abusive relationship, or a long-term addiction to drugs and alcohol. Compound those problems with strict probationary demands, a need for work, housing, and transportation all the while, looking over their shoulder, haunted by past temptations lurking in the shadows. For some, forging a new identity seems impossible. Learning to trust and be trusted, to love, and be loved is tenuous. They may need counseling they cannot afford and the Church cannot just turn them away.
Due to such complex challenges, many shy away from discipleship ministry or they look for people with fewer and easier problems. Yet our world is growing worse. We need to pray for more equipped workers, not easier tasks. More hands make light work. When Jesus said, whosoever will, He was casting a net across all humanity and that includes people with all manner of human conditions. None of which are “above our pay grade.”
In my world, discipleship ministry is a broad spectrum. It requires a lot of work and no one has it all figured out. I am not always mentoring the eager go-getter but most often, the weak and impulsive with a closet full of idols. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus compels us to go to the bad and the good, the rich, and the poor. His idea of discipleship covers the gamut. When he saw the multitudes, He viewed them as sheep without a shepherd and was moved with compassion. He focused His disciples on the possibilities (Matthew 19:26), not the difficulties. He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Pray, the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” His answer is more trained workers, not easier work.
I am so grateful for those who are willing to labor together for Jesus. To take on risks and learn on the job. It’s exciting to see the diverse gifts at work complimenting and helping one another. Boy, do we learn! But with God, we grow wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Those who are willing to roll up their sleeves and heartily work eventually grow rich in great reward and experience the joy of resurrected lives. Jesus envisioned a harvest with sufficient laborers for the tasks. He said the fields are white (ready) for harvest. Thank you, Lord, for the many valuable and inspiring co-workers that You have sent into the harvest field. Please send more!
