Dear Friends,
THE CLOCK IS TICKING…
Right now we are the middle of preparing for our move to Sanford, FL. It has been a challenge to go through all our belongings to figure out what to take, what to sell, and what to give away. Memories of so many good times through our stay here are flooding our minds as we go through the stuff we have accumulated for the past 33 years.
God has been so good to us providing a place of service where we were able to invest time and energy into the lives of future missionaries. We have so many good friends here in Michigan. It will be hard to leave here, maybe easier, now that it is getting close to winter since we are heading to a warm climate.J Regardless, we are hoping some of our friends will head south as time goes by.
NEW PLACE OF SERVICE…
Some folks asked us if we are retiring. We are not retiring, we are just doing ministry from a different location. So, I thought it might be good for me to mention again our new ministry opportunities in Sanford.
I will be involved in three different, but related ministries. I will be doing adjunct teaching at our campus in Waukesha, WI as needed. I look forward to teaching God’s word to young college age students who are really hungry to grow spiritually. Another area will be working with a team on our online Bible program. I will be involved in the development of a mentor and discipleship program. This will be in some respects similar to what I did in Jackson as the Dean of Students. Only difference it will be online and maybe person to person at appointed times. Also, I along with others, will be researching and writing papers related to doctrinal issues on behalf of the Ethnos360 Executive Leadership Team.
PRAYER REQUESTS…
- Date of Departure—we plan on leaving Jackson on December 6th and arriving in Sanford on December 8th. We have a guest room reserved for us. Friends of ours will be driving the moving truck down to meet us there. We are asking God for a good safe trip.
- Moving and Packing—we are asking God for strength and wisdom to do this job well.
- Health—we have found that we will have to postpone some of our doctor appointments until we get to Florida. We will be looking for a whole new set of doctors through whatever health plans are the best. Right now Pat is seeing a chiropractor three times a week to deal with a back injury that happened while packing and moving some stuff for sale. Beyond that, there isn’t enough time to see doctors, especially with all the slow down due to COVID issues.
- COVID—just yesterday it appears that Michigan will be enacting further restrictions on gatherings, and the like. It is hard to tell at times. We don’t think any of this will affect our ability to do interstate travel. But, we will keep you posted.
THANK YOU…
We can never thank you all enough for your love and concern, your prayers and financial support. Some of you have been with us since we began our missionary training back in August of 1978. Thank you so much for your faithfulness to the us and the Lord. We are trusting the Lord that we will be able to continue to serve Him well. I will sending out a few more updates before we head to Florida
Gordon and Pat Bennett
I have been reading some articles about the Gospel. I found this one to be very encouraging. So, I thought I would pass it along.
[When Christ said, “It is finished,” He meant that He had, then and there, paid the debt for the whole human race. “He gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:6).
Now Paul in his wonderful revelation declares that God has reconciled the world to Himself; that God was in Christ (at the Cross) reconciling the world to Himself; (2Cor.5:19)
Men do not know this, but they conceive that something stands between them and God, before God will accept or forgive them. If you tell a man that God is demanding no good works of him whatsoever, no religious observances or church ordinances, that God is not asking him to undertake any duties at all, but that God invites him to believe a glad message that his sins have already been dealt with at the Cross, and that God expects him to believe this good news and be exceedingly happy about it—if you tell an unsaved man such a story as this, he is astonished and overwhelmed—yet this is the Gospel!
Would that we had grace just as vigorously to defend his great message today, whether from its enemies or its real friends who do not see it clearly as yet; or who, like Peter (Gal. 2), through fear of others, are ready to compromise and tone down the Gospel of God.] William Newell