September - October Prayer Letter

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,

 

So much has happened since our last prayer letter.  We are proud to introduce to you the newest member of our family, Raymond DeSean Beckles.  He was born in Labor Day, September 2, 3013 at 6:32 p.m.  I am happy to report that both my wife and son are doing very well.

And I , if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. - John 12: 32

 

The church is doing well also.  We continue to pray for numerical and spiritual growth and we are happy to report that we are seeing both.  Every  week for almost two months we have had visitors!  Three of them have continued to visit regularly, four souls were saved just this past weekend - two on Saturday and two on Sunday; and our people are taking tracts to pass out and asking how they can effectively witness to their loved ones.  What a blessing!  God continues to amaze us as we see Him keep His promises.

Sumday Morning Service

Please continue to pray with us about the following things:

1.  A tractor for the church.  We have five acres of land that the has to be maintained regularly and a tractor would be a great blessing.

2.  Provisions for our nursery.  Four women in our church have had children this year.  We think that is wonderful, but we would like to have provisions for them when they come to our services.

3.  Prayer for wisdom concerning our children's ministry.

 

In His Service,

Pastor Raymond Beckles

Lighthouse Baptist Church

Newport, Arkansas

Dear Pastor and Praying friends,

“We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of everyone of you all toward each other aboundeth;” – 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  As usual, our numbers have dipped for the summer.  We are still praising God.  This is an opportunity for us to get to know the “faithful few” a little better and for them to get to know us.

We have had two workdays since our last letter in which, among other things, the men have repaired our church sign which was damaged by termites and a severe storm; and the ladies finished some much needed cleaning in the church.

We also enjoyed our Mother’s and Father’s Day services.  I took that opportunity to teach and remind our folks about their roles as Christian parents.  Both holiday services brought visitors which we are always delighted to have.

I am excited about witnessing some spiritual growth in our church. One family who recently moved back to Newport has been visiting our services and even came and helped on our workday.  They display a teachable spirit, and have expressed that they enjoy our services.  Another blessing - a young lady (who has been with us for a while) recently gave a testimony about how the Word of God helped her overcome an obstacle in her life. A young man who was saved here at Lighthouse Baptist Church last summer has recently decided to trust the Lord with a tithe!

On a Personal Note - My wife is expecting our third child in about nine weeks!  Everything thus far looks good.  Also, the girls celebrated their fourth and second birthdays on the 17^th and 18^th of June.  Aaliyah is really taking the fact that she is four and is now a “big girl” to heart. Thank you all for your prayers and much needed financial support!  God Bless!!!

 

In His Service,

 

Pastor Raymond Beckles

Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,                                                         May 1, 2013

We continue to praise God for his goodness to us here in Newport, Arkansas and thank Him that Spring is finally here. Along with the beauty and growth we see around us outside, we are seeing growth in our church numerically and spiritually.  Our members have increased their giving and have begun to enthusiastically invite friends and family to church. 

This past Sunday we celebrated our church’s sixth anniversary.  For months we have been praying and preparing for this event and the Lord truly did bless.  We were praying for fifty souls to attend and forty-seven showed up. One of the forty-seven walked the aisle and trusted Christ as his Savior!  This gentleman is a mechanic and is the man responsible for keeping this preacher’s vehicle on the road.  I had invited him several times and am glad that he chose to attend our anniversary service. 

After the service we enjoyed a time of food, fellowship, and a slide presentation to remind us of what God has done over the years.  Everyone must have been enjoying themselves because about two hours later I had to usher some people out the door- in Christian love of course!

On Resurrection Sunday we truly had a blessed time!  I would like to say it was due to the power of God being manifested during my wonderful message; but I am afraid that would not be the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  The youth of our church sang and put on a little skit about the resurrection of Jesus.  I am proud to say they did a wonderful job; I am also proud to tell you that many friends and family members came to see their performance. These visitors were present to see the children perform, to hear the whole and true Gospel message, and to experience the blessing of being at Lighthouse Baptist Church on Sunday morning.  Several of them have returned since and others promise to do so soon.

On a personal note :  Our family is doing well.  My two girls continue to grow like sunflowers and we continue to anticipate the coming of a new little one in September.  Last week my wife had an ultrasound and the doctor said everything looks great, when she ask if we wanted to know the sex of the baby I said no; but my wife said yes!  She found out; but  promised to keep it a secret until the baby comes.  Two of us (myself and Cassidy) are hoping for a boy; but two of us (my wife and Aaliyah) are hoping for a girl. Half of us will be disappointed; but I trust the disappointed half will get over it quickly.

I would now like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued prayers and financial support.  Without which we would not be able to carry out the Great Commission in Newport, Arkansas.  

                                                                                    In Christ,

Pastor Raymond Beckles

 

January-February Prayer Letter

Dear Pastors and Praying Friends,

 
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
 – Psalm 107:8

We once again feel compelled to praise God for His goodness to us!  We have experienced several ice and snow storms here in Newport; but have not had any trees down or any power outages.  We also continue to see growth (numerically  and spiritually) here at Lighthouse Baptist Church.  As I type this statement, two families come to mind.

One is a single father and his two daughters.  My daughter, Aaliyah and I went visiting one Friday afternoon and we knocked on this young man's door.  We both are in our thirties and have two daughters, one three years old and the other one year old.  He thought that was pretty neat and said they were looking for a church and would check us out.  ( If I had  nickle for every time I heard that statement!)
The following Sunday he was the first person to show up! Two weeks later he was saved and the next week he followed the Lord in believer's baptism.  We are always encouraged when we see this young man and his family walk through the church doors.

The other family I have mentioned in previous letters.  Their story began with one young lady, a single mom, who trusted the Lord and became a faithful member in our church.  She brings others to church with her often.  Last summer the father of her two children came to church and was saved.  He later was baptised and began bringing his family and his friend to church with him.  Now this family fills (literally) two whole pews every Sunday!   God is doing a work in these young people's lives. 

Prayer requests:

1.)  Our family is expecting to hear the pitter patter of little feet again sometime in August.  We would like to ask you to pray for the health of my wife and this little one and his/her safe delivery.

2.) This year our church's campaign is Fifty by Fall.  We are asking God to give us fifty people in our Sunday morning services by this Fall.  We are diligently praying and inviting others to our services, including those in neighboring towns.  Please pray with us about this.

3.)  Our church is responsible for the care and upkeep of about five acres of land.  A tractor would REALLY be a blessing and a huge time saver for us this Spring and Summer.  We are asking God if He would be so gracious to provide one that would meet this need.

4.)  Several families in our church really need to learn to trust God in every aspect of their lives.  We see them struggling with different things that would resolve themselves if they would just trust God. We have been praying for them; but we would like to ask you to join us in prayer.

Christmas Morning

Thank you for your prayers and financial support,


In His Service,

Pastor Raymond Beckles