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September Women On Mission

This is a sampling of prayer requests from the U.S. and around the world.  Please be in prayer for all our missionaries. 

PRAYER FOCUS - SUB SAHARAN AFRICIA:
The Anuak people live in South Sudan where they herd sheep and goats and grow small gardens.  They live in clans within the villages that are self-sufficient and isolated from other villages.  The Anuak people have a belief in animism.  They practice divination and magic, putting curses on one another.  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.  For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1John 4:18).  Pray for this unengaged, unreached people group, now living in fear, to live in the perfect love of Jesus.

PRAYER FOCUS - SUB SAHARAN AFRICIA:
Warring with or running from their neighbors, the Hema (HEM-ah) of Uganda are a wary people.  Reportedly 10,000 Hema fled from fighting and massacre west into the Democratic Republic of the Congo several years ago.  The Hema need hope.  They need to hear about a Savior.  Ask God to make a way for more than 35,000 Hema people living in Uganda to hear the John 3:16 story - that God loves them so much that He made a way for them to live with Him eternally through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.

PRAYER FOCUS - BELGIUM:
A small group of believing North African women in Belgium recently talked about their journey from Islam to Jesus.  Over and over, each person talked about how she was stunned by the love of God when the truth was revealed to her.  Ask God to reveal Himself to many more.

PRAYER FOCUS - ALABAMA:
Diane Smith serves as missionary through Mission Service Corps (MSC) funding.  Pray for her and the church plant she partners with as they minister to and mentor six homeless people.  This church has stepped out on faith, renting a home in which they can live.  People are partnering financially and have donated all the things needed for the house, called
Pro-Ject Life.

PRAYER FOCUS - TENNESSEE:
Margaret Cole is an evangelism catalyst in Tennessee.  Pray for those in her community who are considering abortion.  Pray they would be led to the center, Margaret’s team would be able to effectively share truth in love, and hearts would be changed.

PRAYER FOCUS - NEW YORK:
James Roberson is a church planter, serving as lead pastor of The Bridge Church in Brooklyn.  Pray the eight recently baptized individuals would be obedient to Christ.  Pray for people to commit to the church’s vision and be held accountable to exercise their gifting, thus accomplishing that vision.  Pray for a young woman to be raised up from within or sent to New York City to serve Long Island University-Brooklyn as a collegiate minister.  Also pray for developing
partnerships.

Stocking caps for the International Seafarer’s Center are due September 16th.  We plan to ship them in late September.

Women on Mission will meet for their annual Potluck at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, September 14th in the Fellowship Hall.  Please bring a favorite dish.  All our ladies are invited to be with us for this time of food and fellowship.

August Pastors Points

Dear Church Family,

This month I want to give you a quick update on a few very important items in the life of our church.

New Worship Pastor

The search process has been under way since May.  There have been many resumes reviewed and some interviews as well, but at this time, we do not have a candidate to the point of meeting with our elder team or personnel team.  Please continue to pray for our search process for this very key position on our church’s ministry team.  We are seeking God’s direction in this search and I have all confidence that He will lead us to the person He has prepared for our church family.  In the meantime, please keep praying for Jeff Thornton and Troy Rhinefort as they faithfully serve us in leading in our worship ministry.  There are exciting days right around the corner!!

Sunday Nights @ Oakhill!!

Very soon we will be able to share all of the details about Sunday Evenings here at Oakhill.  Beginning August 30^th we will be offering a full slate of ministry opportunities for every age.  Kids, students, and adults will all have something offered for them.  For twelve weeks we will be offering ministry opportunities for our children and youth, as well as, our adults.  Classes will be offered in six week sections which will allow our adults to experience two different classes in this 12 week time slot.  These classes are going to be impactful.  I plan on personally offering classes that are going to tackle some of the harder issues of our day.  We will consider the leading arguments that
culture makes on certain topics and then we are going to answer them biblically to help us be ready to give an answer to a world that is so lost and confused.  This will also help to strengthen our faith as we see clearly that God’s Word is relevant to any and every topic of our day!    I am very excited about Sunday Nights @ Oakhill!!!

Be “One Another” Christians

Now would be a great time for every person who is a member or regular attender of Oakhill to look up the “one another”passages in the New Testament and make it your goal to live these passages out in your relationships with each other.  I challenge all of us to take these passages seriously and apply them and live them out in our lives.  We need our love to grow for each other like never before!!!  Be a “one another” brother or sister.  Take God’s Word seriously and live it out in your life! 

Pray

Would you please pray?!  Pray for your elders, pastors, staff, and leaders like never before.  Satan will do all that he can to attack and undermine what God desires to do in our church and we must refuse to let Satan get a foothold.  So pray!!  Pray for
direction, wisdom, protection and a resolve for us to follow God’s direction and glorify Him above everything else.  Also, pray for your fellow brothers and sister in Christ.  Many people have so much pressing in on them that the prayers of others would mean so much.  Pray for them in your private prayer time, but also be sensitive to God’s leading and pray specifically with those that God lays on your heart.  There is power in prayer!!!  Let’s demonstrate that we believe that!!!

I love you and I love being your pastor!