September, 2008

How God Used You:
Read more about most in the sections below

- Each attendee changed in profound ways by Collegiate Week.
-Bryan raises awareness and encourages involvement in stopping sex trafficking.

-Amazed by God at ASU Move-In! Helped and met dozens of ASU freshman

-Seven Bible studies this semester: six of which are on campus. Several newcomers

-Last Sanctuary service of the summer and first Sanctuary service of the semester were a HUGE success!
-Lots of unchurched/ unsaved visitors
-Kick off service is coming up
-VBS students continue to attend Sanctuary

-2nd Annual Christian Challenge Dodge-ball coming up as well as parties, etc. to meet freshman & other students

Made possible by God’s mighty power and your prayers & giving: thank you!

Glorieta 2008

God moved mightily through National Collegiate Week this year in Glorieta, NM. The theme was “His World, Our Response” and the speaker, David Platt, is a favorite to all that went with us. He speaks Truth, without apology. He is passionate about Christ and His gift and mission and Dr. Platt speaks from experience, having done all that he convicts us to do: he has been to dangerous Sudan, risked his life to teach in China and has memorized ¾ of the New Testament.; however he still preaches with humility.

Our co-pastor’s wife, Kim Robinson (also our soon-to-be surrogate, Lord willing) felt a call to become a North American Mission Board missionary, raising her support to go into full-time ministry helping the Sanctuary church plant! Praise the Lord!!! How exciting! Please pray for her as she begins this step. One of our students got a call to a semester-long mission to possibly Asia. One student got a call to help end sex trafficking, something Bryan has a strong passion for. Two of the people who went with us had life changing experiences that can’t be shared publicly by us, but is a huge blessing from God and shows His love and provision. Each of us left New Mexico profoundly changed by Christ and His convicting Spirit. Our faith was strengthened and we all left ready to make a Kingdom difference.

Bryan Teaches at Glorieta

Bryan was excited to have the honor to teach three sessions at Collegiate Week. He taught on sex trafficking, which is epidemic around the world (27 million) and even in the United States, where there are currently 200,000 slaves.

Many students were not aware of all the thousands of children who are currently help captive as sex slaves: some as young as eight years old, forced to do unthinkable things to men, up to 30 times a day. Before Bryan even shared the action points students could take, they were begging: “what can we do?!” God definitely used these sessions to help His children across the world. For more information on the sex trade, check out: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org or www.freetheslaves.net .

Praise the Lord! ASU Poly Move In ‘08

We were very encouraged that fourteen of our students/church members went with us out in the 110° heat to help students move in. Most were wearing our Christian Challenge or Sanctuary shirts! It was such a blessing to think about last year, our first year on Poly, when we did not know one student on campus. We had two Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) students with us, Dallas, a tent and a Christian Challenge banner. We did not even know where the freshman dorms were since we’d been to the campus for the first time just the day before (looking for a gym for the dodge-ball event for CGCC!) Bryan knew we had to have Christian Challenge at ASU-Poly too, so we showed up for move in the next day.)

What an amazing change from one year ago. We have three Community Assistants (like R.A.’s), two Poly Events Team members, and a tutor. We know several ASU Poly staff members, and dozens, if not more, students. God has truly used Christian Challenge. The stark changes from last year to this year brought tears of joy & thankfulness to my eyes.

We came to ASU Poly to serve the students, lead them to Christ, disciple them and start a church. And we got to do all of this, but when we lost our Madison Grace, the students served us, prayed for us, brought us meals in the hospital, in our home, made memorial gifts for us to remember Baby Madison and they carried our burden with us. We came last year as strangers to this campus. This year, we return to our family.

Powers Family Update

We were so excited to get to go to Kentucky for Bryan’s sister, Mary Audrey’s wedding. Bryan was their minister and Dallas (who Uncle Michael used in the proposal) was the ring bearer. It was so good to be with family.

Our amazing Granny Dee (Bryan’s mom) flew home with us for the beginning of Fall semester kick-off (our busiest time), so that Dallas wouldn’t have to be out in the heat all day and we could focus on the students. THANK YOU, Granny Dee!

Thank You for Your Prayers!

Please pray…

-PRAISE –Collegiate Week and all the things God did
-Kim as she starts MSC

-PRAISE - Fall semester is off to a great start reaching new freshman.
-2nd week is coming up and it’s huge, too. Pray that God continues to bless the efforts.
-That students, especially unchurched/unsaved will continue to be drawn to CC & Sanctuary
-Our healing with losing Madison Grace

-Prayer and PRAISE: In-vitro and surrogacy

-PRAISE: New church plant
-16 have accepted Christ

-C., G., DJ, S.M. & M. to accept Christ

-Sharing the Gospel on campus

-For our support needs to reach 100%.

How can we pray for you?

August, 2008

How God Used You:
Read more about most in the sections below

-God provides a surrogate mother!

-Day mission trip to Migrant Workers was great! People in Sanctuary are showing love to hurting people.

-Kid’s Camp was amazing, and we know better how to reach this part of our campus.

-Two of the Kids Camp students accepted Christ!

-Two other Sanctuary attendees accepted Christ!

- Sanctuary is a huge success
- Our numbers are coming up even without the fall semester starting yet.
- 4 salvations this month!!!!

- Glorieta (College Camp) was amazing. More to come next month.

-Kid’s Camp kids are still coming to church.


Made possible by your prayers and giving: thank you!



Dallas’ insights about the church

Dallas was riding in the car with us as we passed by the ASU Poly campus to go to dinner with Jason and Kim, and he noticed his surroundings and said “church.”

As you know, we have a very non-traditional church with no building or plan for one, no steeple, and very few people over 30. That’s not for every church, but that’s who we are.

What was so astounding was that Dallas recognized the secular ASU campus and identified it as church. He knew that was where people loved him and where he learned about Jonah and Moses. That is his church.

It almost made us cry and was very exciting to see that our little one may not be hindered by tradition as much when God uses him in whatever He calls him to.



SALVATIONS!!!

We’ve been reaching out to a community around ASU called the House of Refuge East. This is an area with about 80 homes that are used to house people who were once homeless. Fifty percent of the people in the housing are women who have come from domestic abuse. It’s a government run program and is within walking distance from where we have our services. Needless to say, it’s a great place to do ministry.

We reached out to them by doing a VBS, which we called Kid’s Camp… which we should have called a Sports Camp. We had a bunch of junior high students come, and a couple of younger kids. We had so much fun with the kids, and all of them had a lot of one on one attention since we had Sanctuary folks and eight summer missionaries, thanks to Chris Baker and Apache Junction Baptist Church (our sponsor church).

We had two goals for the kids we were reaching out to: for them to have fun and to share Christ with them. We played football, pool, foosball, everything that we could do, and we did Bible stories, which they were actually asking for at the end of the week. We shared the Gospel and it seemed like it just didn’t click with them until the next Sunday when they came and Jason gave an amazing sermon, and two of the boys accepted Christ! Praise the Lord!



MORE SALVATIONS!!!

We had our second person come to Sanctuary that has been on a Mormon mission. He actually may be open to the Gospel, but will have some huge road blocks with the differences in the Mormon religion. Still it’s exciting to know that we have people in our area of influence that are seeking (slowly) to maybe come into a relationship with Christ.

The good news is God brings some people quickly and we actually had two college students accept Christ this month. And when you add the House of Refuge kids, that makes four this month! God is working through Sanctuary! THANK YOU for being a huge part of that!

Powers Family Update

Praise God! He has provided the perfect surrogate mother, Kim Robinson, the wife of Sanctuary’s other co-pastor. We had a meeting with the in-vitro doctor with both couples. The doctor/geneticist said that this was going to be a perfect combination. We need to fill out some legal papers and do a couple of months of testing and we will hopefully be expecting! Kim told us that she longs to be our surrogate and even has dreams about it because God laid it on her heart after Madison died.

Her example of faith has brought new meaning to Romans 12:1: “offer your body as a living sacrifice.” This is an offering she is making to God and that God is giving to us. It’s amazing how the Body of Christ works and how He motivates His followers. We feel so amazingly loved by Jehovah Jireh, our Provider and Jehovah Rapha, Who is using this in our healing process. As we told you, we had a very strong desire to have more biological children before we begin the adoption process, but no way to do that on our own. Please keep praying for all to go well.

Co-wives and Co-moms!

Dallas got to sit on a fire truck

Thank You for Your Prayers!

Please pray…

- Fall semester is going to be a huge opportunity this year, and we are hoping we can reach some new freshman. Pray that God blesses the efforts.
- That students, especially unchurched/unsaved will be drawn to Christian Challenge and Sanctuary
- Our healing with losing Madison Grace
- Prayer and PRAISE: In-vitro and surrogacy
- PRAISE: New church plant
-16 have accepted Christ
- C., G., DJ, S.M. & M. to accept Christ
- Sharing the Gospel on campus
- For our support needs to reach 100%.

How can we pray for you?