Dear Church of the Open Door Family,

What happens when we trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and do not lean on our own understanding?

We’ve caught a glimpse of what happens these past few months . . .

Tecate. In July almost 40 kids and leaders went to Tecate, Mexico to proclaim the love of Jesus to children and to continue to encourage our sister church, Casa De Dios. Not only did 15 children trust in Christ, but a great unity descended on our high school group. In fact, the group leaders have shared that they had never experienced such powerful manifestations of God’s love and movement. One of the students wrote the following about the week:

This week was one of the best weeks of my life! Fifteen kids came to Christ in four days! I got to share my heart and on top of all that I got to meet the brothers in Christ and connect with them without speaking a lick of Spanish. I’m so grateful for this experience and for meeting all these wonderful kids who changed my heart for good and who made my relationship with the Lord stronger. I couldn’t have asked for a better week. Blessed to be a Christian and blessed to have the Lord bless me and my brothers and sisters in Christ. –Zion

Missions Night. In mid-August over 200 of us gathered to hear about the power of God’s grace through our missionaries, including a family who serve in France. Part of the generous offering that was received that night was directed to help support some potential teammates of theirs. (This family has been without teammates for years, and has been faithfully asking the Lord to provide partners for them in their expanding refugee ministry.) Shortly after this evening, we learned that these new teammates are well on their way to being fully supported and are planning on moving to France to join our missionary family in this ministry! (Note: for security purposes we are not able to mention the family by name.)

Baptisms. On a Sunday evening near the end of August, the pool area was overflowing with people as we baptized 12 followers of Jesus — children and adults. Here’s just one of the stories from those who were baptized:

I wanted to get baptized because COD has been like a family to me ever since I stepped onto campus. I wanted my baptism to be the last thing I did with my church family before heading off to college. I felt so loved that day by everyone who showed up and was a part of my baptism and it was just a great moment to share with my church. I’m praying that I’ll be able to find a church by my school that I can jump into just like COD, a place to be myself and feel loved by the people of the church as well as God. –Mc Kayla

Proverbs 3:5-6 states: Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

As Proverbs declares, these stories are demonstrations of what happens when our community trusts in the Lord with all of our hearts. This is what happens when we do not lean on our own understanding. In all our ways, we want to acknowledge His loving faithfulness and trust Him to direct our paths.

As you reflect on this, is there a story of God’s faithfulness and direction that comes to mind that we can celebrate with you? We would love to hear what God has been doing in your life so that we, with you, can be good historians of His faithfulness. Thank you for trusting us with your story.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

In awe of His faithfulness,

David Anderson

P.S. Our Trunk or Treat (Saturday, October 27) and Living Nativity (December 14, 15, 16) outreaches will soon be here — would you join me in praying now for who God would want you to invite? Maybe God already has placed someone on your heart . . . the neighbor you’ve waved at occasionally, the new co-worker or maybe a family member. Both of these seasonal outreaches are great opportunities to invite someone to get a glimpse of what the Church of the Open Door family is all about — God’s grace and offer of eternal life in the Lord Jesus.