God's Timing

Post by Ashley Fierros

God has been so faithful to provide just what I need! That seems to be the resounding theme for me these days! For the last 3 years I have been blessed to be the curriculum coordinator for Pura Vida Missions in Costa Rica. It is seasonal job and a helpful source of income. So I will be wrapping it up this coming week as it will be the last curriculum I put together for this year which means that income will subside. But God is sooooooo faithful and good!

I felt that The Lord was moving me towards getting a part time job. So, two months I applied online for Carrabbas Italian Grill. I was a previous employee years ago and felt that I could make some extra money by working just a few days per week. However, I hadn’t heard anything from them after applying I assumed the Lord wasn’t opening up that door.

Then one day while I was taking a break in Philly I received a phone call from the proprietor of Carrabbas, Cheryll. She wanted to know if I was still interested in the position for the job! So, I went in and signed the paperwork.

The beautiful thing was when I had applied I still had 2 months of curriculum to do and being heavily involved in church plant I would have been overwhelmed. God knew though and took care of it! So now that curriculum is over for this season God has now provided another source of income!

Again, like Isaiah 55:8 says, His thoughts are not my thoughts and neither are His ways my ways! He has the way for me and all I need to do is just rest in His plan! He provides just enough for this day!! So please be praying that God opens up opportunities to shine His light in Carrabas as He reveals to me the need that is there! I am His servant on mission everyday as I go about my day and I want to use my time to do His will!

Our First Year In Jersey

Posted by Cissy McNickle

It is official. We have lived in New Jersey for 1 year. A WHOLE year. It has gone so incredibly fast!!!

Looking back I am overwhelmed at everything that has happened in the first year. I have to say, ministry speaking, this has been one of my favorite years! (And I have A LOT of great ministry memories!) It has been incredibly challenging but so refreshing to be “incredibly challenged” again. I needed to be pushed from complacent and comfortable to being challenged.

I can remember a little over a year ago, sitting on Scott and Melinda Moreland’s couch with our amazing Marriage Builders Group (hey y’all!!!) and talking about our plans to move to NJ. I was sharing with them how complacent and comfortable I had allowed myself to become. I always thought that’s what I wanted, but I started to realize how boring life had become when I wasn’t allowing God to really push me. Well push me He has, I got what I asked for, life is no longer boring!

Yes, I miss the comforts of Exciting Idlewild Baptist Church with it’s awesome ministries. We had financial security, the ability to “just show up” without having to set-up and clean-up. A huge thank you to those of you who do that at IBC!!!

As much as I miss those luxuries I prefer the joy, excitement, and suspense of waiting to see what God does next. Who’s path will we cross next? How will he provide for a need? What experience will we have next?

Just this week:

I got my first text/invite from one of the girls we have met in the clubs!

I heard from one of the people that I have come to love so much that he was an active gang member and all that gang life entails, I have gotten to see how God is completely transforming his life

I attended our first funeral in NJ and watched our amazing Grace Falls family love and ministry to a hurting family

I have seen 2 “seasoned” Christian women from Grace Falls go to a music venue to watch 2 of our “less seasoned” Grace Falls members perform their hip-hop music, and instead of politely listening, they choose to really support by cheering and clapping and singing along!

I got to watch and encourage one of the girls in our Grace Falls family recovering from drug addiction, have one of her children back with her for a few days as she learns to be the mother she wants to be (And she did a GREAT job!)

I LOVE that stuff! I love being a part of all that God is doing here. I so much miss my friends and church in Tampa, Florida, but at moments like this when I get to really take a moment to sit down and evaluate things, I want more for all of you to be here with me, than for me to be back in Tampa as the comfortable, complacent girl that I was.

I want you all to know that your love and support (whether you are in FL, AL, AR, or our new family in NJ) means the world to me, my family, and our team! Because of the support, prayers, and love you all have provided, I have been able to really enjoy this first year. It allows us to really get out there and do ministry up here that is meaningful and effective.

Thank you all so much! We could not do this without each of you and I look forward to the day you get to come and serve alongside of us here in NJ.

Privileged to Plant

By Tami Webb

This past Thursday was anything but “Throwback Thursday” for the Grace Falls family as a small group of our caring supporters came to visit and to learn of the progress of our ministry in Atlantic County.

Members from the North American Mission Board’s Send North America staff from Pennsylvania, including our ministry mentor Rev. Barry Whitworth of the Baptist Resource Network, as well as Senior Pastor Ken Whitten and Missions Pastor Ray Sanabria from our “sending church,” Idlewild Baptist, in Lutz Florida.

We wanted them to learn of all of the amazing experiences we have had since we arrived last July, but their time was limited, so Pastor Buff invited four people from the Grace Falls fellowship to share with our guests about their personal experiences and impression of the ministry of Grace Falls.

Each person shared the background of their personal, and sometimes challenging, experiences, yet the common theme to their stories was that they are now experiencing a growing, personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

As I listened the story of each one, I realized how privileged I am to be a part of this group of believers who are eager to grow spiritually and boldly share of their experiences with others! This is the true example of discipleship – Disciples who make disciples!

Nomads In Training

Post By Tami Webb

Recently I shared several prayer concerns, but I realized that I merely shared facts without any personal background. Some people were overly concerned about us after I shared those burdens.

While I am so thankful that you care enough to be concerned for us, the truth is that I see these opportunities, moving and Jim’s job search, as opportunities to grow stronger in my faith as I learn to adjust my life so that I can be available to work where God is.

Let me explain. Each day I get to learn from the giftedness of each of our team members, but it is the willingness to adjust that I witness in the lives of Pastor Buff McNickle and his sister-in-law Ashley Fierros which challenge me the most.

They are both self-described “nomads,” who are eager to change, relocate, or start something new because they enjoy the challenge and want to be involved where God is working.

This is not my natural tendency. I can be described as “dependable,” but I am not know for making radical change. You see, I held the same job for 33 year, lived in the same house for 28 years, and moving to New Jersey is the first time I have moved from Tampa since the day I was born!

So, ask I ask you to pray for me as we move, it is not with regret or unwillingness, but it is because I am so inexperienced with change. We have loved and appreciated every place God has provided for us since moving to New Jersey.

Our family loves to camp, so Jim and I were very content in the travel trailer. Yes, there were some challenges, but we will treasure the memories of the times we shared in that space. We thought we could spend our first year in the trailer, until this Florida native discovered how cold a New Jersey winter can be and that the trailer door can be frozen shut! (Thank goodness for a fast thinking husband who can wield a mean hair dryer to insure freedom!)

What I considered to be our biggest challenge was the time we spent in the McNickle’s guest room. While they provided comfortable accommodations, the warmth of electric heat, and the access to indoor plumbing, I did not want the presence of Jim, myself, and especially our dog, to impose on the hospitality of our Pastor, his wife and their children. Yet, my concerns were not their concerns and they were the most generous host who always put our needs above their own.

Recently, we are also so thankful for the leaders of NAMB who allowed us to stay in the house adjacent to the Grace Falls campus, which they purchased. This house allowed us some privacy, the sense of not imposing on others, and yet it kept us in close proximity to our team.

NAMB purchased that house with the specific goal, which is to penetrate the lostness of North America and they want to do this by planting churches. We know that the house will be used as a training/transition house for church planters, specifically in the South Jersey/Greater Philadelphia area. Which is why we are here and we are excited about welcoming future planters to join us as we seek to EXPAND THE KINGDOM one life at a time. Realizing that this house was only a temporary solution for us, we can only be thankful for the time that we have been allowed to spend there.

As we look forward to moving to a new location, my prayer requests are not filled with fear or regret, but with great anticipation.

We are learning to reach out to our community, so as we move a couple of miles away from the Grace Falls facilities, please pray that Jim and I will learn to:

Build new relationships as our circle expands. Personally develop ministry skills that can be carried wherever God calls us. Be flexible and willing to adjust to whatever God has in store for us!

Thanks for following along with us as we learn to follow God better each day.

Unthinkable Ministry Opportunities

Heartbreaking, humbling, encouraged, challenged, moved. Those are just a few of the words that my wife Cissy and I would use to describe our experience at the Exxxotica Convention, April 11-13. We have never been in an environment like before and we are so thankful that many of you were praying for us.

I realized that it was definitely another way that God has answered our simple prayer, which led us to plant a church in New Jersey… “Lord make us UNCOMFORTABLE.”

It is funny, when I think about the fact that Cissy and I had both prayed that simple prayer at different times and different seasons, without either of us knowing it. Later in God’s timing he revealed to us that we both had that same desire.

We knew that we had become satisfied and comfortable in our own ways when we were in Tampa. God started putting a tension that made us aware of where things are and where they should be. We both knew that God wanted more from us individually, as well as a family. It was our desire to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Who knew that praying that desire would lead to leaving an amazing church, incredible network of friends and family, our home, and much more, to move to a state that I had never visited in my life, to a city that I had only heard of, to plant a church, which was something I had never dreamed of. And then to think that I would be attending a porn convention with my wife, which was something I would have said is unthinkable.

This past weekend, we were fortunate to cheerfully submit to the leadership of XXX Church to learn more about what this amazing ministry has been doing for the past 12 years. They are on the front lines of breaching the darkness of the beast, which feeds a nasty addiction that is destroying men and women, both inside and outside of the church.

In fact, a couple attending the convention stopped by the booth and were engaged in a conversation with a few of the volunteers from XXX Church. They were asked to pose for a picture and be willing to tag themselves with the hash tag #XXXchurch on social media. The couple declined because they served at their church and didn’t want anyone to see where they were.

I also witnessed another conversation with two girls who were curious as to what this booth was all about and what the free t-shirts were all about. A pastor from New Jersey named Mike engaged in a great discussion with the young ladies. Mike found out that the girls were in the industry and they were from Las Vegas. One of the girls held her head down in shame when she revealed who she was and what she did. Mike explained to her, out of a heart full of grace, that “the slogan on the t-shirt, which read – ‘JESUS LOVES PORN STARS’ – wasn’t just a slogan – it was truth and it was true for her.”

That moment was POWERFUL. The young girl looked at Mike and the tension was obvious – had to be similar to the tension Cissy and I felt – and it was in that moment that she looked at Mike and said with a sense of brokenness that she wanted to believe that it was true. Mike explained that he knew it was true, because God loved him and he told his story. I pray that she would come to know that it is true and that she would receive that love for herself.

We learned a lot from XXX Church and their ministry. The favor that God has given them is nothing short of the work of the Holy Spirit. I asked Carl, who is on staff, what it was they did and his answer was simple and direct, “approach.” After spending a weekend with them and witnessing it first hand, I can see why he said that, approach is what they do. They approach people in kindness and love just like Jesus did.

The Lord Jesus’ offer of friendship to the bad characters around him gives us reason to admire Him but it also gives us reason to ask ourselves a question. How many bad characters do I talk to? We must be willing to be the good news and share it with absolutely anyone. We can’t expect to win others to faith in Christ unless we offer them genuine friendship.

We have been given some neat opportunities to come alongside and work more with XXX church. XXX Church was praying about working in Atlantic City and when they found out that we were already doing what they had been asking God for, they were excited to meet us. It was reassuring to know that God was allowing us to be an answer to that prayer. We have been asked to help them with the Exxxotica Convention Atlantic City show next year.

We have also been asked to help XXX Church go to Sydney, Australia and work with them there. This is a major and bold step for XXX Church and there is a strong possibility that it may not happen. Carl expressed that this was a huge burden and prayer of theirs and asked if we might be willing to help them put this show on. The need is there. We feel like it would be amazing to learn more from them. We also believe that it would be a great on-ramp to helping us to widen our ministry here in Atlantic City by giving us a strong partner like XXX Church. They bring experience, wisdom and accountability, as we seek to be salt and light in difficult places.

There is a major cost to helping them… and it is 20,000 dollars. For a church plant like us and for a ministry like XXX Church it is impossible. But to God, if it is what He wants, then we know it is possible. Carl and I agreed that if God provided, then we would know it was His will. If He didn’t, then it wasn’t. I told Him that we would pray and if we didn’t receive the funds by May 7th then we would pass. SO, will you join me in praying for God’s will to be revealed? If God wants you to help in any way, please let us know ASAP. PRAY with us and PRAY for this amazing ministry.

Willing To Go

Now the Lord said to Abram, “GO from your country, and your kindred, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

You know I have read this passage many times and so many times I marveled at the magnitude of God’s request. He asks Abram to follow him to a land that He will show Him. In fact, the writer of Hebrews remembers this moment when He talks about the essence of biblical faith. He states that it was by FAITH that Abraham obeyed and went out not knowing where he was going.

It makes me pause and ask myself about my faith. I run through all the “what if scenarios” I can come up with. But something changed today as I came to the passage. In fact, this is the great wonder and joy of studying God’s word. It never gets old or stale. Its fresh bread everyday that we can feast on and be satisfied. He can take a passage that you and I have read a thousand times and the Holy Spirit of God can reveal something that has been there all along but today He wants you to see it new! Today was one of those days.

In Genesis 12 Abram was asked by God to GO. Now I have always marveled at His willingness to GO with no idea of where. I love adventure and love when I get the chance to experience something new but here is what I noticed today that for whatever reason has eluded me for years.

I knew God was specific in asking Abram to GO TO a place He would eventually show Him but God was also specific in asking Abram to GO FROM in order to follow Him. God asked Abraham specifically to GO FROM his friends, his family and all the comforts that he had learned to count on. This was just as big a step if not bigger than going to a land that He would one day show Him.

I realized today why for so long I have sensed a void in my relationship with God. It hasn’t been that He hasn’t REVEALED the UNKNOWN to me but rather my unwillingness to RECOGNIZE what I do know. A friend recently shared with me a great truth he had learned from someone concerning times of transition.

There are 4 stages that you must go through when starting something new:

Unconsciously incompetence – which is you’re unaware that you think you know but you don’t really know. Consciously incompetent – which is to now move to understanding that you know that you don’t know . Consciously Competent – which is the stage in which you know but you have to think through every aspect of it Unconsciously competent – which is the final stage in which you don’t even think about it because you know it. An example of this would be my 3 year old son Judah who always wants to get behind the wheel of the car. He thinks he wants to drive but he is totally unaware of any aspect of what it takes to drive a vehicle. Things like ignition, gas, brakes, drive, reverse mean nothing to him. All he knows is this is dads car and he wants to drive. He is unconsciously incompetent.

One day as he gets older he will slowly pick up things and get older and he might even take the keys behind dads back and start the car in an attempt to drive. But just like his dad did when he took his brothers keys when he was 10 he quickly realized he doesn’t know squat about driving.

Then there will be the day that his dad makes the decision to let his mother teach him to drive and she will share all the in’s and outs of driving and begin to let him drive with her in the car. As they do this for 3 months or so Judah will transition into a great place of knowing how to drive but he will have to think about every aspect of it from parking to stopping. All of this will lead to one day after several years of driving numerous miles and cars he will jump behind the wheel and not even have to think about it. He will just do it. This is where you and I want to be.

Today as I read this account of Abraham I couldn’t help but think of those different stages as it related to what God revealed to me in this passage. Rather than beat myself up for not doing this or doing that – I don’t get mad at Judah when he gets behind the wheel asking daddy to drive. I just laugh and tell him to go and he thinks he is driving but all the time I know he has no clue. Today I just recognized that I didn’t know certain things and that was okay.

You see, I am in a relationship with my Father and He is revealing to me what He wants me to see and know when He wants. I obeyed when He asked me to go. Even when I didn’t know it would be Atlantic City, NJ. But as I went, He has been showing me more about what I was GOING FROM than what I was going to. Reminding me of the cost of being obedient. Knowing that the void I felt in my life wasn’t God’s issue but mine. It came from my addiction. My addiction to my comfort and my unwillingness to change or transition. It would have rather stayed in that stage of not knowing anything than now knowing that was my issue. You see, I haven’t reached that final stage of simply be UNCONSCIOUSLY COMPETENT when it comes to counting the cost but I do know that I must.

And just like one day Judah will know how to drive but think about everything, I too need to do that when it comes to following God. I need to focus not just on the WHERE TO but the WHAT FROM so that I can follow Him wherever He leads. Holy Spirit – keep revealing to me what I don’t know and grant me the wisdom, faith, and courage to act when I do see and know. This is my prayer today.