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>> Thank you for joining us 

today. 

We want to let you know about a 

few items of interest.  f

First, go to our website, 

firstcolonychurch.org, and go 

there often.  

You'll find links to our worship 

services, Bible study options, 

online giving, and our podcast 

"Anchor Point." 

You can also download our church 

app.  

Just search for First Colony 

Church of Christ in the App 

Store or on Google Play.  

The app is a great resource 

where you can stay connected to 

First Colony Church.  

Thank you for joining us today.  

we are glad you're here.  

>> Shane: Well, good morning, 

everybody.  Welcome to mission 

Sunday.  What a great day.  

Welcome to everyone online.  

Today we get to celebrate what 

God is doing through us to get 

the word of Jesus out into the 

world and to bless the nations 

through the gospel.  Let's stand 

and sing and give praise to our 

great God to sends us on 

mission.  

>> Richard: Amen! 

\M "Your Love Awakens Me" \M 

>> Richard: Yes.  The love of 

God changes everything in our 

lives, protects us, makes us 

whole. 

\M "Stand In Your Love" \M

>> Shane: Amen, amen.  Thank 

you, guys.  So you can have a 

seat now.  As we move into our 

time of communion and 

remembering what Jesus has done 

for us, the reason we have been 

saved by Jesus so we can go out 

on mission and be involved in 

His mission.  Matt Davis is 

going to lead us.  

>> Matt: I'm so glad you can 

join us in celebrating the 

Lord's supper.  This morning 

we're going to partake the bread 

which represents Christ's body 

on the cross and also His blood 

that was poured out for our 

sins.  Please join me as we 

pray.  Holy 40, we're so 

grateful for everything you do, 

for everything you've given us 

in life.  The greatest gift was 

your son, laying down his life 

so we can have life with you 

forever.  God, thank you for 

that sacrifice.  Thank you for 

Jesus being willing to lay down 

His life, to shed His blood and 

have His body beaten so we could 

have hope.  We thank you for all 

you and and in his name amen.  

This morning's reading will be 

taken from

Philippians 2: 8-11

And being found in human form, 

he [Jesus] humbled himself by 

becoming obedient to the point 

of death, even death on a cross.  

Therefore God has highly exalted 

him and bestowed on him the name 

that is above every name, so 

that at the name of Jesus every 

knee should bow, in heaven and 

on earth and under the earth, 

and every tongue confess that 

Jesus Christ is Lord, to the 

glory of God the Father.” 

Join me as we partake. 

\M "My Jesus" \M

[Applause] 

>> Shane: All right.  Where I 

used to live in Uganda, when we 

say hallelujah, we mean it.  

Hallelujah.  You can do better!  

Hallelujah.  That Jesus will 

change your life, amen.  We're 

going to take our offering now.  

We're going to have two 

offerings.  We're going to have 

a regular offering prayer now, 

but at the end of service we 

will have our regular missions 

Sunday offering.  You can text 

to give or put it in the back in 

the receptacles.  If you put 

your check and write on the memo 

line general fund, it will go to 

your regular offering.  If you 

put missions Sunday, it will go 

to missions Sunday.  If you put 

nothing in, it will go to 

missions Sunday.  If you mail in 

a check, missions Sunday.  As a 

former missionary that was 

supported by this church, the 

most important thing I want you 

to remember is write missions 

Sunday.  On the drop-down menu 

for online giving, choose 

missions Sunday.  Let's pray 

over our regular offering.  God, 

we are so thankful that we get 

to give these offerings, not 

only here in this county, but 

people all around the world can 

be saved.  We want to tell the 

nations.  May these funds be 

used to multiply your glory to 

expand your kingdom.  We ask 

this in your name.  

>> Joel: Amen.  Today in our 

kids spot specialized training 

we have a broken wall, kind of 

sad and we have one block.  And 

you say how can one block fix a 

broken wall, that big of a gap.  

You could go here or here.  You 

can't do it.  That's why we 

start with scripture.  We have 

Ephesians 2:10.  It reminds us:  

For we are his workmanship 

created in him for good works 

that God prepared for him that 

we should walk in them.  We as 

young people, old people, 

wherever you are in between, we 

are made to do good works and a 

difference in this world.  But 

you say, where can I fit in and 

do anything.  The cool thing is 

you can fit in.  As you see my 

wall here is complete with you.  

You're probably sitting there 

saying, yeah, Mr. Joel, that's 

cool, you flip some blocks and 

it gets together.  But here is 

where it's cool.  Now we have it 

closed with a block on the side.  

That reminds us that we are to 

do good works and God gets the 

glory.  Today you're going to 

hear a message about how you can 

be involved, your time, your 

talents, and your resources to 

make a difference in the kingdom 

of God.  Thank you very much.  

>> Shane: So we would love to 

connect with you, especially if 

you're new here if you haven't 

found your group or church 

within the church.  If you 

haven't found your team, fill 

out the Q.R. digital connection 

card.  Fill it out and it will 

take you to where you want to 

connect.  Here's what questions 

you have.  We're in the new here 

start room right across the 

lobby.  We would love to visit 

with you and answer any 

questions.  If you're in grades 

one through five, we want you to 

walk very calmly and slowly to 

the chapel for Main Street Live 

with Ms. Danel.  Parents, you 

can check your kids at the kiosk 

across the lobby and you can 

check them in.  Everyone else, 

let's stand and have a 

fellowship greeting time.  

[Indistinct chatter] 

\M "Glorious Day" \M

>> Richard: Thank you, church 

February for worshiping with us 

today.  You may be seated.  

>> Grant: Well, amen.  Welcome 

to missions Sunday at the First 

Colony Church of Christ.  I am 

grant and today is a day of 

celebration.  Today we get to 

celebrate what the Lord has done 

in and through the First Colony 

Church of Christ and our 

international mission work.  

Let's have fun today enjoying 

what the Lord has done.  We have 

five international mission 

points with the flags, Honduras, 

Uganda, Haiti, Colombia, and 

Nepal.  These are all places 

that the Lord has called us to 

in a he's given us a heart for.  

Specifically on this missions 

Sunday we will be focusing on 

Haiti.  We have a good friend 

and brother Roolite Religeaux 

who has traveled down to be with 

us.  Super excited about that.  

He's going to join me in a 

minute and we're going to talk 

all things Haiti.  With these 

five mission points, we have 

either a people group or a city 

or a mission where we target our 

efforts.  In Haiti we target a 

city in and around the town of 

Thomazeau.  This is about a town 

that is 52,000 people in a 

poorer part of Haiti, in which 

Haiti is the poorest country in 

the western hemisphere.  To 

paint you a picture.  If you're 

standing this way if you look 

back at the mountains, you're 

going to see a mountain range 

covered with dirt, rocks, and 

dust.  This is the farmland that 

these folks have to try to grow 

their crops to feed their 

families.  It is a very tough 

and difficult place because 

there is a lack of water, 

topsoil, and you're farming in 

rock.  It is hard work and the 

yields are small.  To give you a 

little more picture of it, as 

far as Thomazeau goes, the 

unemployment rate is about 40% 

and an average income of about 

$1 per day.  Church, this is the 

place that God has given us a 

heart for.  This is the place 

where God said, all right, First 

Colony Church of Christ, I want 

you to go and take care of the 

physically and the spiritual 

needs of these folks in and 

around Thomazeau.  I'm excited 

to tell you about our 

partnership with Roolite because 

he is a huge role in that.  We 

have been supporting Roolite 

since 2018.  We have nine 

missionaries around the globe 

that we support and fund and 

Roolite is one of those guys who 

heads everything up we do in 

Haiti.  The Lord has 

commissioned him to go to this 

place, to share the gospel, to 

make disciples, to rise up 

church leaders and to plant 

churches in this place as well 

as taking care of the orphans 

and the widows in this location.  

With that, why don't you come 

and join me on stage, Roolite.  

Let's give Roolite a warm First 

Colony Church of Christ welcome 

this morning.  Thank you so 

much.  

[Applause] 

>> Grant: Roolite loves studying 

the Word of God and loves Jesus.  

He had the opportunity to go to 

a good theology school in Haiti 

and was mentored by a well-known 

minister there, Jeantyrard in 

Haiti.  He is one of five 

children, number four in the 

line-up.  His mom was a 

Christian, God-fearing woman 

without the father around.  She 

is a very strong and courageous 

woman.  One of her strong 

beliefs was making sure these 

kids had a Christian education.  

She was always very intentional 

in telling Bible stories, 

teaching them about God and 

Jesus growing up in their home.  

A part of that is she wanted to 

see them have great 

opportunities and she felt like 

a Christian education could open 

up opportunity.  Roolite takes 

advantage of every opportunity, 

every open door the Lord has 

given him and just such a 

hard-working young man who loves 

the Lord passionately.  Roolite, 

let's talk a little bit about 

the situation in Haiti.  This 

year things have gotten harder.  

Since the assassination of the 

president, things have gotten 

harder with gangs.  The ports 

and the truck distribution and 

it's difficult to travel because 

people are getting robbed and 

they're controlling the gas 

distribution and people are 

struggling.  Tell us about the 

situation and how people are 

doing in Haiti. 

>> Roolite: Thank you, Grant, 

for having me.  It is such a 

pleasure to be here with you all 

and be part of this family which 

is God's family.  Unfortunately, 

Haiti is facing a lot of crises 

right now.  The president was 

assassinated, as you mentioned, 

and one of the biggest problems 

now is the fuel shortage.  We 

run out of gas.  I mean, people 

are not able to go to hospitals 

because of that, hospitals are 

closing.  They use to work on a 

daily basis and now they just 

work two or three days a week 

which is something which is not 

good.  I mean, many people are 

sick and need care and now it is 

bad.  And kidnappings and gang 

activities are taking over.  

We've stayed strong in our faith 

knowing God is in control.  

>> Grant: Amen to that.  God is 

definitely in control.  It's 

been incredibly hard for people 

to get the gas to go to the 

hospitals and sometimes when 

they're there, the hospitals 

don't have the gas to run the 

facilities.  Roolite knows we 

pray for him on a daily basis, 

but if you guys are not on the 

church e-mail that is for 

prayers, make sure you're on 

there.  We pray for Roolite.  

Updates are on there and a great 

way to stay connected to our 

hours.  Roolite works with Hope 

for Haiti's Children.  We 

partnered with them and they 

have many different is 

initiatives around Haiti, but 

they all fall under one common 

goal and that is to grow God's 

kingdom through living lives of 

great Christian compassion.  

That is where Roolite comes in.  

He is the heart beat that puts 

the central purpose into 

everything the organization 

does.  His formal title is the 

spiritual director at the 

Thomazeau campus and he wears 

many hats that the impact many 

lives in Thomazeau.  He is the 

spiritual caretaker of 300 

members, for the Christian 

school of 600 students, as well 

as the 12 orphans and the five 

widows that live there on the 

Thomazeau campus.  One of the 

biggest, most impactful events 

that our church partners with 

Hope for Haiti's Children on 

every year is the youth 

leadership program, now called 

Camp Hope.  We've done this over 

a decade.  A hundred -- a couple 

hundred teens come in and gather 

around the scriptures and have a 

ton of fun during COVID, we have 

not been able to lead the camp.  

In the absence, there was 

Roolite and his good buddy 

Johnny Lane.  This camp is now 

100% Haitian led these last two 

years and the impact in the 

fruit has been greater than ever 

seen.  Roolite, tell us a little 

bit about what the Lord has been 

doing in the youth camp. 

>> Roolite: Youth leadership 

camp is a life-changing event.  

I've been witnessing how God's 

word transforms lives over the 

past two years.  We had like 203 

children that gave their lives 

to Christ and something amazing 

to see those children. 

>> Grant: 203 baptisms.  Praise 

the Lord. 

>> Roolite: This is not just a 

place to learn the Lord, but 

they can meet.  From many places 

they get together as one and get 

connected.  This is a great joy 

for them to get together every 

year and have a good time.  When 

we have camp, it's three meals a 

day which is something that many 

parents can't afford.  The camp 

is amazing.  I thank each one of 

you that makes it possible. 

>> Grant: One of the great 

things that happens for those 

baptized, Roolite and Johnny go 

to the cities and follow up with 

the local pastors and make sure 

they're connected.  These aren't 

just camp baptisms, but walks in 

spirit life.  Roolite, let's 

talk about Joy Boxes because 

this is a great opportunity that 

our church has to partner with 

Hope for Haiti's Children every 

year.  What a Joy Box is a 

Christmas gift for the kids in 

Thomazeau.  So where they see 

these gifts in December, we see 

empty boxes out in our lobby 

that Doug and Vicky Freede are 

passing out every August.  You 

go and pick up these boxes, buy 

gifts, wrap them up.  We send 

them to Haiti.  Guess where they 

go?  They go to Roolite and his 

team to pass those out to the 

children there in Thomazeau.  

Roolite, tell us a little bit 

what that's like to pass these 

Christmas gifts out and what it 

means to the kids in Thomazeau?  

>> Roolite: First off, I know 

from experience what it feels 

like not to have Christmas 

presents.  Joy Boxes is one of 

the biggest moments of the year.  

One of the things I love about 

the Joy Boxes is when the child 

gets the box and they take a 

little glimpse and see and 

smile.  I wish that each one of 

you could see the big smile on 

those children's faces and the 

joy they have.  All of them, 

that's the only gift they're 

going to have for the whole 

year.  From December, from the 

beginning of the year, they're 

waiting for that moment to be 

happy and to get something. 

>> Grant: That's huge.  Possibly 

the only gift they get all year.  

Thank you, church, for 

participating in that every 

year.  Those gifts go 

specifically to the school we 

support down there and the 

students at that school.  We've 

been supporting that school for 

about four years now and one of 

the big initiatives is the lunch 

program or we call it sometimes 

the nutrition program.  Our goal 

has been to make sure every 

student gets a warm meal every 

day when they show up.  As we 

know, the situations for those 

families, money, resources, food 

is scarce.  What does that lunch 

program mean for those 600 

students and their families?  

>> Roolite: Lunch program, 

that's a really big impact on 

the children in our schools and 

in the families.  Many families 

cannot feed their children on a 

daily basis and in our program, 

the lunch program, every child 

when they come to school, they 

have an opportunity to have a 

meal.  That's important for the 

way they learn.  Now they have 

better ways in school.  It helps 

them to stay focused in class 

and helps them to learn better.  

I remember one lady came to us.  

School was already in session 

and she came and she was begging 

us to let her children come to 

our school.  Why?  It's because 

she knew that we had a lunch 

program that when the child 

comes, he will not only learn, 

but be able to get something 

during the day.  It was 

heart-breaking.  We took her 

child to our school and now they 

can have a meal when they come 

to learn. 

>> Grant: That's fantastic.  It 

makes a huge difference.  The 

school has grown over 200 

students and the number one 

reason for that growth is those 

parents knowing they're going to 

get a meal every day.  That's 

tremendous support.  All right.  

So on Sundays, that same 

building, same facility, is also 

used for the church.  So Roolite 

has been leading the church for 

four years now.  He oversees 

children, youth, adults, church 

planning, the outreach in the 

local communities, and that 

church has grown by 100 members 

during these last four years, 

which has been incredible.  

Roolite, maybe you can tell us 

of a youth who started at the 

church and makes a difference. 

>> Roolite: Many of you may know 

him.  Julio is one of our youth 

group weapon with his serving 

heart, he always is willing to 

do God's work.  He's such a nice 

man and he always wants to help.  

We have a soccer program.  Julio 

is one of the teams that invites 

other teams to come to our 

soccer program.  What it means 

is when they come, it's keep 

them out of trouble, I mean when 

they come to our soccer program.  

It's a safe place they can have 

fun and learn about God.  The 

good thing is the next day which 

is Monday, Sunday they come and 

be part of our church service.  

I think that's something huge 

and amazing.  We also have a 

readers house where they bring 

food and water and clothes, 

everything they can, everything 

specific.  We have a Haitian 

proverb that says "anpil men 

chay pa lou," which means "many 

hands make the burden light."  

>> Grant: I like that.  

>> Roolite: We get together to 

have a bigger impact.  

>> Grant: Amen.  The youth group 

does so many initiatives to help 

out the local community, like 

you said, the widows there which 

is awesome.  The soccer ministry 

is a huge, great outreach which 

through the week we have people 

in schools learning great 

opportunities, Saturday with the 

program church and on Sundays.  

Again with the gang violence 

growing as it is, these are 

things going on to keep these 

kids focused and out of trouble.  

Roolite, I know the Lord gave 

you a vision to go over the 

mountain.  We talked about that 

vision of the mountain that you 

see from Thomazeau.  Not many 

people have gone up into those 

mountains.  Roolite took the 

youth group and hiked up there.  

Not even vehicles can go there.  

They hiked four hours because 

had a passion to share Jesus 

with the people up there.  There 

is a small village called Tudo.  

Tell us about that experience 

and how things progressed. 

>> Roolite: Tudo is a very 

remote location.  They don't 

even have a telephone signal.  

It is very remote.  It's been a 

great experience that we went 

there.  It was a painful 

experience but great since the 

joy we had from it was something 

great.  It's for our walk just 

to get there.  When we went 

there in the afternoon, we went 

to see the people.  We had 

door-to-door invitation.  We 

invited the people to come to 

our gathering.  We had a movie 

with the children with a little 

projector.  For some of the 

children that's the first movie 

they've seen. 

>> Grant: That's new in the 

mountains. 

>> Roolite: We had bread and 

juice.  The next day we invited 

everyone to come together.  We 

started a service and it was 

amazing that people in the 

community get together as one 

and worship.  One of the things 

is there was a man there with a 

big garden.  He said, I want to 

give you a spot in my garden to 

worship.  One of our church 

members that came with us, he's 

from there.  This mangos back 

and forth every Friday 

afternoon, he left Thomazeau 

area to go to Tudo to worship 

with the church that we started 

there.  It's an amazing joy to 

see that God is working with 

those people there. 

>> Grant: That is.  You mad a 

man who donated his garden land 

to have a church and you have 

Wilbert who hikes to go disciple 

these people and raise up 

leaders.  100 of those folks 

hiked out of the mountains to 

come spend a weekend with 

Roolite.  About 100 of them came 

down, which was just awesome.  

They taught them about servant 

leadership was the focus of the 

time.  Just a great work that is 

being started with the church 

plan in the mountains.  Roolite, 

I know from our side how much we 

value and love our partnership, 

maybe from your side, what does 

the partnership with First 

Colony Church mean to you?  

>> Roolite: I wish I could put 

into words how thankful I am for 

First Colony Church of Christ.  

Our partnership with First 

Colony Church helps us to go 

beyond, I mean, Thomazeau.  I 

remember that we had a team that 

came from First Colony Church.  

We had Sandy Besso and other 

ladies.  It was a group of 

ladies.  We went to the area 

because we had some widows that 

were living in dirt on the 

ground.  When it's raining, it's 

really bad.  And we went there 

with the ladies.  And I think 

Nancy was there and there were a 

bunch of ladies.  We got there 

and they visited.  Later on the 

widows have a house built.  It's 

so amazing to see that now they 

have a big house where they can 

stay.  The house keeps them safe 

now.  I remember that we got a 

group of men in a came, helping 

with construction, it was Tom 

and the team and many others.  I 

might not remember all the 

names, but they got there and 

did some tough work, helping to 

build schools and classrooms.  

That's such an amazing work when 

we get together we can do it.  

I'm so thankful for you.  I know 

some of you might not go there, 

but your heart is in Haiti.  

Thank you so much.  

>> Grant: Yeah.  

[Applause] 

>> Grant: And I love the 

description there because this 

partnership is so unique.  This 

is not just a place we send 

dollars to.  We have members 

that know them and pray for them 

daily, have skin in the game and 

pray for Haiti.  It is a unique 

thing as we invest in the lives 

of our brothers and sisters in 

Haiti.  In fact, if you've been 

on a short-term mission trip to 

Haiti, stand up.  I know there 

are a bunch of you in here.  

Thank you, guys.  

[Applause] 

>> Grant: Thank you y'all so 

much.  All right.  Well, 

Roolite, last question for the 

morning.  If there was one big 

initiative, one big opportunity 

that was in front of us for 

First Colony Church to partner 

with you, what would that be?  

If there was something that 

would help the spread of the 

gospel, create opportunities to 

share Jesus or just to help the 

physical needs of the people, 

what would that opportunity be?  

>> Roolite: The biggest 

opportunity for us would be to 

start a medical clinic since we 

have so many church members that 

are in need of medical care.  

Sometimes they just come up to 

you and say they've got obtains, 

blood pressure.  You just pray 

but there is nothing more you 

can do.  If we had a medical 

clinic that would help with 

that -- because sometimes people 

just pass away because they 

don't have a pill for blood 

pressure.  It gets too high and 

they get paralyzed and that 

takes them to death -- 

>> Grant: Recently how dangerous 

it is, the local doctor that 

lived this in Thomazeau has 

left.  This would be a huge help 

for the city. 

>> Roolite: And it is not safe 

for them to go out of Thomazeau 

to Port-au-Prince it is not 

safe.  It would be a good and 

safe option for them to stay 

there since we don't have anyone 

that can -- I mean, there is no 

way.  The doctor is not there, 

they left.  They don't have 

nothing.  It would be a great 

opportunity for us to have a 

medical clinic that would take 

care of those people. 

>> Grant: Absolutely.  I've 

talked a little bit to Roolite 

and the staff about this.  The 

idea is to have a Saturday 

medical clinic there on campus 

that would serve the orphans, 

the church, as well as the 

community as a whole and the 

opportunity is a tremendous 

impact.  What they need for the 

medical supplies is only about 

$5,000 for the year to be able 

to provide the medical supplies 

that they need.  Sometimes it's 

basic, just a cut and an 

incision and no way to treat 

that or high blood pressure, 

like you're saying.  To bring in 

a doctor or a nurse every 

Saturday is only $7,500 to 

provide the staffing that they 

need.  This is a huge 

opportunity that we have in 

front of us.  Church, what do 

you say, how does it sound to go 

start a medical clinic in 

Thomazeau alongside Roolite and 

the church there?  

[Applause] 

>> Grant: I think so, church.  I 

think it looks like we're 

starting a medical clinic.  

Let's get ready.  Roolite, I 

hope you feel the love and the 

support from this family.  I 

mean, we are just honored to be 

in relationship of what we do 

with the gospel there.  I know 

you have a heart for the people 

and you do so much and we've 

seen tremendous growth as the 

church has grown from 200 to 300 

over the last several years.  As 

we've seen over 200 baptisms in 

this place and now a church in 

the mountains because of your 

passion and your zeal.  We're 

excited to see what the lord is 

doing in and through our 

partnership.  We have a small 

gift and something to say thank 

you.  Doug, if you bring this up 

for us.  This is a little 

something to sit on your desk 

there in Thomazeau, a little 

name plate for Roolite.  Feel 

free, we can -- we also heart 

that you didn't have an office 

space there in Thomazeau that 

right now it's a bedroom, 

kitchen area.  This is a man 

that's writing curriculum for 

the 10 schools, that's teaching, 

preaching, that is overseeing 

the benevolence.  Our church is 

going to come behind you and 

build an office space for you 

there on campus.  2022 you're 

going to have your own office 

space.  

[Applause] 

>> Grant: So this plaque will 

sit on your new desk in your new 

office. 

>> Roolite: I want to thank you, 

Grant, for your help.  You're 

always in touch with me on what 

needs to be done.  It's 

something that is a great 

friendship and means a lot to 

me.  Thank you so much.  

>> Grant: Let's show our 

appreciation one more time for 

Roolite.  

[Applause] 

>> Grant: He is a true gift.  

Let's continue our missions 

Sunday as we turn to the screen 

and watch this video about what 

the Lord is going elsewhere in 

our other mission points.  

[\M\M\M]

>> First Colony Church of Christ 

is committed to sharing the 

gospel of Jesus Christ.  In our 

35-year history, we have started 

25 churches.  During this time, 

our missionaries and mission 

teams have shared the gospel 

with thousands around the world.  

they've reached the unreached 

and baptized in the name of 

Jesus.  Indigenous leaders have 

taken ownership of the Lord's 

call to seek and save the lost.  

houses have become places of 

worship where seekers and 

believers can deepen their 

faith.  God is on the move and 

First Colony Church is fuelling 

the fire.  Over the last five 

years, we have seen 2,673 

baptisms.  134 new groups 

started.  Three new churches 

planted.  And 161 girls rescued 

from human trafficking.  And we 

have served 1,043,000 meals.  

this crisis relief includes 

Colombia, Honduras, Uganda, 

Nepal, and the children of 

Haiti.  

[\M\M\M] 

>> In 2022, we will build three 

churches.  It is our goal to 

have local ministry needs 

sustained entirely by local 

resources.  For each of these 

churches, it will be a different 

step in the process.  In Nepal, 

it will a be a move from a house 

church to a community church.  

in Cucata, it will be providing 

the church with land and a 

building.  In Uganda, it will be 

additional floors to their 

church for leadership training 

and to generate income.  In San 

Marcos, Honduras, mission 

Lazarus has focused on 

discipleship over the last 18 

months.   The ministry staff led 

by Santos Espinoza and the 

medical team led by Dr. Nelsie 

Elvarado have stayed busy during 

this time.  As they went into 

the most remote places, they 

faced various challenges, but 

God used Santos to break 

barriers and open doors in 

communities of the unreached.  

for the ministry schools in 

Mbarara, Uganda, to reopen after 

COVID, upgrades were required in 

water supply, sanitation, 

latrines, and signage.  Church 

leaders focused on strengthening 

leadership, practising healthy 

family communication, marriage 

counseling, seminars for women 

and youth, and in-home 

discipleship Bible studies.  

recognizing the potential for 

centralizing this fellowship and 

training, church leaders have 

taken initial steps to add 

floors to the Mbarara church 

building.  They're working 

diligently to 100% local 

Sustainability.  In 2020 when

Nadej was 14, she attended Camp 

hope, gave her life to Christ 

and was baptized.  Afterwards, 

she looked for ways to show 

Christ in her community of Cité 

Soleil, a dangerous area.  Her 

friend, Patricia, whose family 

could not afford the tuition to 

send her to school, gave Nadej 

this very opportunity.  She 

began saving a little of her 

allowance and encouraged her 

friends to do the same.  In four 

to six weeks, they saved enough 

To pay Patricia's tuition, 

books, and supplies for the 

entire year. 

with your continued partnership 

and support of our 2022 

international mission work, we 

expect to start new churches, 

baptize the unreached, and train 

the Indigenous leaders.  Soon we 

will see our five targeted 

mission points with biblically 

healthy, multiplying churches, 

redeeming lives and transforming 

communities.

>> Ronnie: Hey, I think that's 

really encouraging, don't you?  

[Applause] 

>> Ronnie: And let me put here 

on the screen again just a 

little slide that reminds you of 

our five primary mission points, 

international global mission 

points.  Now, that's not to say 

that some funds aren't given to 

other places on sort of a 

one-time basis.  But these five 

have ongoing support.  Can we 

put the slide back up there.  

Nepal, Colombia, Haiti, 

Honduras, and Uganda.  Really, 

let me just say again how much 

we value our partnership with 

you.  We're thankful for a 

theology of partnership, a 

ministry of partnership, and it 

is our joy.  Thank you for being 

here today.  We love you, we 

respect you, we honor you, and 

we salute your great work.  My 

friends, you're making it 

possible through your ties and 

offerings and generosity.  The 

church is not ideal because it's 

made up of people like you and 

me.  It's not ideal, but it's 

real, it's real.  And Jesus 

Christ, the church is His idea.  

And Jesus Christ, the church is 

His passion.  We're called the 

bride of Christ.  We loves us.  

Even though we're not ideal, 

even though we need ongoing 

grace, but not only that, the 

church is Jesus' strategy to get 

things done because we're not 

wispy.  We're not ideal, but we 

sacrifice real dollars and cents 

and we encourage and go with 

real energy.  Thank you for 

doing that.  I mean, really, 

thank you for doing that.  And 

today and really to this year if 

you want to donate specifically 

to our missions fund today, just 

give one of these offering 

receptacles around the worship 

center or online.  And thank you 

in advance.  Just know that as a 

church family we care about our 

neighbors and the people right 

around us here.  We also care 

about the nations.  We have the 

greatest mission on earth given 

to us by Jesus himself.  Go make 

disciples of all nations.  Not 

just humanitarian work and I'm 

not trying to rain on 

humanitarian work.  We do 

humanitarian work with a message 

of salvation in Jesus Christ.  

We have the greatest hope to 

offer, the hope of eternal life 

through the grace of our great 

God.  Thank you again.  All 

right.  I want to lead us in 

prayer here for a moment.  And I 

want to ask you, if you would, 

please, just stand during this 

prayer over our mission efforts 

and Roolite is right down in 

front here.  Why don't you reach 

out your hand, your arm towards 

Roolite.  Yes, we'll be praying 

for him, but let him represent 

all that we are doing under the 

tutelage of the Holy Spirit on a 

global basis.  Everyone, let's 

pray together.  Almighty God, 

you sent your son, Jesus Christ, 

to reconcile yourself to the 

world itself.  And we praise and 

you bless you for those sent out 

and the power of the spirit to 

teach and preach and live the 

gospel.  Lord, I praise you and 

I thank you for those who do the 

sending.  Thank you.  Lord God, 

hear our prayer today for our 

missionaries.  For missionaries 

the globe over for martyrs, for 

men and women of faith for their 

examples of love and mercy.  

Lord, we're mindful of Jessica 

Espinoza, one of our 

missionaries, dealing with 

cancer now and we pray for her 

full and complete healing.  We 

pray over our brother Roolite 

and his ministry in Haiti.  

Lord, hear our prayer for faith 

communities in the farthest 

front years and corners, 

especially those working in 

Haiti, Honduras, Colombia, 

Nepal, and Uganda.  Lord, hear 

our prayer that your spirit will 

continue to work through us, 

nurture our faith and nurture 

our own.  Give us eyes to see 

souls that need the gospel.  

Give us eyes to see souls that 

need nurturing and a word of 

encouragement.  So, Lord our 

God, hear our prayer for this 

local church, this community of 

faith here as we send and we 

support.  We love you and we 

thank you for the privilege of 

partnering with you and these 

great works.  May you be honored 

in all things, for your name is 

to be praised among all nations.  

This we pray in Christ's name, 

amen.  All right, everybody, you 

can go ahead and have a seat 

there just for a moment.  You're 

going to be standing back up 

here in just a second.  Let me 

again thank you for being with 

us today.  We invite you to come 

back and be with us again next 

Sunday.  I know it's hard to 

believe that next Sunday is the 

Sunday before Thanksgiving week.  

It is always such a rich and 

encouraging time towards the end 

of the year.  We have an online 

class that will be starting up 

here about 12:30 and Grant 

Wright will be leading it, 

stories from the field.  Today 

he will be talking about our 

ministry in Honduras.  We have a 

new member info session coming 

up on December 5.  You can sign 

up on our website.  Also, we're 

taking nominations for new 

elders, additional elders.  Let 

me see, we've got a screen here 

and you can submit those to the 

e-mail below at 

elders@firstcolonychurch.org.  

You might want to read in Tim 

Timothy for the descriptions of 

an elder.  You are sent, you are 

sent on purpose, in your office, 

at home, in your work, to love 

the Lord your God with all your 

mind and strength.  You're sent 

to love your neighbors and sent 

to reflect his grace that you've 

received.  All right, everybody, 

let's be standing and let's sing 

together this last great song 

"the Lord reigns." 

\M "He Reigns" \M

>> Richard: Yes, our God reigns, 

amen, church.  Thank you for 

your worship today.  You are 

dismissed. 

>> Thank you for joining us 

today. 

We want to let you know about a 

few items of interest.  

First, go to our website, 

firstcolonychurch.org, and go 

there often.  

You'll find links to our worship 

services, Bible study options, 

online giving, and our podcast 

"Anchor Point." 

You can also download our church 

app.  

Just search for First Colony 

Church of Christ in the App 

Store or on Google Play.  

The app is a great resource 

where you can stay connected to 

First Colony Church.  

Thank you for joining us today.  

we are glad you're here.