Levi’s Banquet, Winter Baptisms, and a Ladies Fellowship

Levi’s Banquet is an annual event at Faith Baptist Church. We usually have it in March, but this year we had it in July. Special invitations were made and passed out, the church rallied around this special event to invite people to meet Jesus with a clear and thorough presentation of the Gospel. We had several visitors at the service. Please be praying for more people to be saved through the evangelistic outreach of Faith Baptist Church. We also had three new converts baptized in July, it was cold, but each was eager to take this first step as a new believer. The ladies of the church had a ladies fellowship and baby shower. Ayelen, one of the young ladies from the church, taught a Bible lesson. It was a great blessing! Ayelen and her husband Brian have been helping the Stephen Underwood family with the new church they recently planted in Ezeiza. Pray for the Underwood family as they advance the Gospel!

Our furlough continues, and we have meetings to present the work in Texas, Mississippi, Delaware, West Virginia, and Ohio. We miss Argentina, but we are grateful for each opportunity to share all that God is doing in the ministry He has given us!

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, Ivy, and Isla Henry

Prayer Requests

• Pray for our furlough meetings this month.
• Pray for Matías as he pastors Faith Baptist Church.
• Pray for the special couples fellowship this month at Faith. 
• Pray for the evangelistic outreach of Faith. 

We are in a marriage retreat this week. My pastor is the keynote speaker. We haven’t been in a marriage retreat since 2015, and we are grateful for this opportunity. I am so thankful for Leslie, we have been married for 18 years now, and it gets better everyday! Leslie is my best friend, my co-laborer in ministry, the mother of our daughters, and really the best person I know! This marriage retreat is an opportunity for us to grow closer together. My pastor has taught in marriage retreats for years and we know that each session is going to be a blessing!

Serving Together, 

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, Ivy, and Isla Henry

This post is the next installment on the topic of an effective missionary. An effective missionary has specific characteristics, characteristics that I want to have in my life. We have learned about a few, and today we continue with perhaps the most obvious characteristic of an effective missionary. Pleasing Jesus is his number one goal.

Becoming a missionary takes time and there are several stages before the missionary family ever plants a church. A family serves in their local church. God works in them and in time they share with the pastor their desire to go to the mission field. As the pastor and the family share this news with the church, the church family recognizes what God has done and they rejoice! From there, the family starts deputation. This time can last anywhere from 2 – 3 years, some may be on deputation for even longer. After traveling to different churches around the country (or at least around their region), God raises their support and they leave everything to go to the mission field, but that is not the end. The missionary family then sets up a house, and begins language school and cultural acquisition. This “parenthesis stage” should take around 2 years. The missionary family then may take a 3 month furlough before beginning their first term (this is recommended). Finally, the missionary family starts a church (which begins a whole new set of stages). Through all of this, an effective missionary must keep his priorities in line, and number one should be to please Jesus no matter the stage.

We started Faith Baptist Church in Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina. We have a theme for the church, “Todo se trata de Jesús”, it means “Everything is about Jesus” or “It is all about Jesus”. Everything we do should be to glorify Jesus. If that is our motive, everything else will fall in line. I want to see the church grow, I want to plant other churches, I want to see people saved. The important question is “Why?” If the answer is to be well known among my Baptist friends, or to please the churches that support us, or even to make my home church proud, then I have failed. I want to be an effective missionary and to to do so, I must make pleasing Jesus as my number one goal!

God spoke to Israel through many prophets. Some saw “great success” from the human perspective. Jonah went to Nineveh, and saw the whole city turn to God! Others did not see such results. Isaiah volunteered to be sent by God in Isaiah 6, and when he asked God how long he would prophesy, God told Him until they are judged (Isaiah 6:11-12). In other words, they were not going to repent. Jeremiah faithfully prophesied God’s message of judgement to a rebellious people while other “false prophets” preached a message of peace, Jeremiah prophesied that message until the city was burned! These men had one priority, to please God, and they did so!

I want to do everything I can to please Jesus, I want it to be my top priority, and I think you do too. Let’s make pleasing Jesus our number one goal! This is perhaps the most important characteristic of an effective missionary!

Friend Day is actually a day celebrated in Argentina. This Sunday Pastor Matías will be using this day to talk about the best friend anyone could ever have, Jesus! We are praying for the friends that have been invited to come to the service. Pray with us for God to work in the services of this special Sunday!

Lord willing, we will be in Louisiana sharing what the Lord is doing in the ministry with churches that have supported us since we were on deputation. We want to be a blessing to these churches, pray that God uses us!

Family Spotlight

We are blessed to be the parents of four amazing daughters! Our two oldest daughters were a part of “The World’s Cheapest Missions Trip”. At the end of the week long missions trip, both of our daughters each surrendered to be missionaries, if the Lord leads them that way. Each did so on her own. Both have a burden for India. They may have an opportunity to go on a missions trip to India in November! While we don’t know what the Lord has for them, as their parents we are so encouraged to see them respond to God’s working in their lives!