An open letter to the saints at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship

To the saints of Bluegrass Bible Fellowship, 12/02/09

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. What a blessing your
prayer and encouragement has been as we have been privileged to serve the Lord this past
year. Though we have family in the Lord across the world, we have such a special place
in our hearts for you all. Our time in Richmond was a major milestone in our lives as a
family. We aren't leaving just yet(December 26 should be our departure date), but wanted
you to know that we were blessed to labor with you all and see how the Lord is working in
Richmond through the saints at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship.

This past year on the road has brought many blessings, along with trials and
struggles. Surely, when we left Maine we had no idea the depths of what the Lord would
show us of His heart. As a couple, Sara and I have grown much in the Lord together,
spending time studying God's Word, praying, and seeing God provide Christians in our
path to demonstate the character traits that the Lord desires us to have. Many believers
throughout our journeys have modeled Christ-like behavior for us. This one- anothering
spirit of the universal body of Christ has encouraged us and challenged us to continue to
strive for our lives to be "holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service"

The hard times during the last pregnancy, and the loss of our beloved son Joshua,
are not the only trials we have endured, but surely stand out in our mind when we look
back to see what the Lord's strength, provision, and comfort have meant to us. The Lord
has blessed us from His Word, with comforting words from Job, Psalms, and many other
passages that have become dear to us as the Lord reveals Himself in His Word day by day.

There are many times when we can look back at this past year and see that His mighty
hand is always holding us. We know that if we seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, we have no need to worry, no need for anxiety, but in all things must rely
on His hand to guide and comfort us. Jesus truly is the Great Shepherd, caring for His
sheep.

The good times have included seeing folks receive the Gospel message, sinners that
were dead in their trespasses brought to life in the Spirit. Christians have taken up the
cause to reach the lost they meet at work, school, and on the streets, along with many
other venues. We pray that the local body here has been blessed in the Lord as you reach
out with the love of the Lord through Jesus Christ. What a blessing to see the Gospel
proclaimed, and Christian testimonies that prove the desire to serve the Lord in all areas of
our lives.

We have seen miraculous providence in our lives more often than we could count.
God has made Himself so perfectly clear in leading our family to serve in these local
assemblies, opening door after door for us to serve in the Gospel, helping equip the saints
in multiple areas, and blessing our hearts with families and individuals to serve alongside.

We have been blessed to make new friends, and see local churches grow both numerically
and spiritually. What a privilege to share the wonderful words of life and have even a
small part in building up the body of Christ.

Of course, one of the most wonderful blessings to us personally in the last year was
when we found out that the Lord had blessed us with another child. With Baby
Cowperthwaite due to arrive around mid February, 2010, it is our desire, in the will of the
Lord, to be gathering with the saints in Union, Maine(our home assembly) in the next few
months.

On a related note, please pray for the Scarbrough family; Gerald, Pamela, and their
3 young children. This is the family we are working with in McDonough, Georgia. They
are passionate about reaching the lost in that area and starting a meeting where Christians
gather unto the Lord Jesus. The GNOM team plans to return for a second trip this year to
McDonough for 2 weeks directly after we leave. The Gospel has been proclaimed at many
doors, sharing the message of reconciliation to God and eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.

Because of His mercy and grace,
Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite

updates from our trip to Georgia November 2009

Greetings from Richmond, Kentucky (presently)

We are taking the day to recover a bit. It has been a busy week, but a wonderfully blessed week. Monday of last week(was it only a week ago?) we drove to McDonough, Georgia, arriving late in the afternoon. We were warmly welcomed by the entire GNOM team, the Humes family, and our hosts, the Scarborough family. It was such a thrill to see so many come together to reach the community with the Gospel.

Gerald and Pamela Scarborough, along with their 3 children,and some other Christians from the area, desire to start a local church, looking to the New Testament pattern of meeting. Though many of us think we have it all figured out, we continue to take a fresh look at how the church in the first century gathered, worshiped, and lived their daily lives as Christians. I believe this is a very important thing for all of us to do. When we take our prejudices, traditions, and preferences out of the mix, simply relying on God's Word and the examples of the early believers in places like Corinth, Ephesus, and Philippi, we see something a bit different than what we might be used to. It was refreshing to just step back and dig into the pattern that God gives. God's Word is truly the best source for our patterns for living.

The GNOM team was gracious to allow us to sit in as visitors on their instruction time. Andy Hylton was teaching through 1 Samuel, chronicling the life of David from simple shepherd to giant killer, and on through his life as king of Israel. The young men on the team are receiving very good instruction not only in the historical aspects of Bible characters, but also practical application for their lives in the 21st century. Friday, we talked about methods and approaches to reaching out with the Gospel message. I learned a lot this week, from the teaching and discussion times, along with the time spent laboring in the Gospel. The young men on the team are dedicated to God's Word, and are a good example to me. It blessed my heart to see men so young giving their lives to the Lord's work. What a great week we had!

The Scarborough family were such great hosts, and we are happy to have new friends that are so excited about the Lord's work, and passionate about reaching their community both with the Gospel, and to minister to Christians and "one anothering" in a local setting. Brother Don and his son met with us, along with Pamela's mom and dad. We met many Christians in the community, but also many that we talked to at their homes were unaware of God's love for them. It is always a blessing to see believers in Christ go out motivated by love and passion for lost souls being saved. We are excited as we look forward to laboring alongside these folks in the future as the Lord leads.

We were so sad to leave both our "old" friends, and our new friends, but were also excited to be "home" in Richmond. We arrived home on Friday evening. Saturday we had visits to make, kids clubs, and of course, shopping, laundry, etc. Sunday it was great to see the saints at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship, where we had a meal and spent the afternoon preparing the float for the upcoming parade. Much was accomplished, but much is left to be done. The parade is December 4, and we are excited to use this means to proclaim the Gospel.

Lord willing, Wednesday AM we will head to Bluffton, Ohio for Sara's midwife appointment, then spend the Thanksgiving celebratory meal with Sara's Grandma and Grandpa. We plan to arrive back in Richmond Thursday evening.

There are many things we are praying about, looking ahead to another trip to Georgia, then Maine for birth of the baby, and then whatever the Lord leads from there. Thank you for all the cards, emails, and encouragement that we receive so often. We are blessed to have so many friends and family around the world. To God be the glory in all things, He has rescued us from sin and judgement and given us life in His Son Jesus.

For more information about the week of outreach,and the continued work of the Good News on the Move team, visit www.uplook.org and look at "reports" and "Gospel efforts" as they post prayer requests and summations of the week.

Serving our King,
Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite

Updates from Richmond Nov. 7

Greetings,

We thank the Lord for your continued prayer and interest in the work since the GNOM surge in Richmond. The saints at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship have been hard at work seeking to reach the lost in continued Gospel outreach through witnessing door to door, follow up visits, and Bible studies. We also have a holiday parade coming up December 4th in Richmond. I am sorry that we have not been more faithful in writing to keep folks updated. While there is much work to be done, we do value your prayer and we will continue to strive to gets news out so that folks know how best to pray for the work here.

Praise reports-

Rafael, a man reached during the initial Gospel effort, was baptized in the Kentucky River, along with 3 others. Rafael is involved in a weekly study with Jim Harmon and his daughter Rachel, our local Spanish/English translator. There are many more involved in weekly personal Bible studies both in homes and at the chapel.

Kids club is now held on Saturday at 1pm. We pick up kids from around the city and have had as many as 23 come on any single week. The numbers are not always this high, but we are so blessed to have these children come in so we can share the love of God for them, to teach them stories from God's Word, and to start at a young age, to introduce them to their need for a Savior. Pray that we are able to make more and more contact with these children and their families through the means of this weekly outreach.

Oliver and Tisha Leigh John-Baptiste, along with daughter Ariel, have joined us the last few weeks, and Lord willing, will continue in the outreach effort here for a while longer. They have been such a blessing to us, and Oliver and I have spent many wonderful days proclaiming the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. This family has recently sold their home, bought a fifth wheel camper, and are following as the Lord leads in opportunities to share the Gospel and help local assemblies equip the saints to continue reaching the lost. This is especially encouraging to us, as this is the same ministry our family does. Both families are prayerfully considering how long we will be in Richmond, and where the Lord will lead from here. We would appreciate your prayers.

Justin and Jocelin Humes, along with their 5 little girls, are praising the Lord today(and every day)! Their family is traveling with the GNOM 5 team week by week this coming year. Justin and family were here for all 3 weeks of the GNOM surge in May/June and were very helpful in door to door witnessing and follow up efforts.

The Humes have had many troubles with their old travel trailer home over the last year on the road. The Lord has provided just recently for the Humes to have a brand new travel trailer. It is such a blessing to see the Lord provide for their needs, and so much more. Ephesians 3:20 and Matthew 6:33 proclaim such wonderful promises that the Lord will provide for all those who seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The Humes are committed servants of the Lord, and we rejoice with them to see God's continuing provision in all things for their family.

Prayer requests-

Pam- young woman we met with for the 3rd or 4th time. She was in tears, knowing that God desires her to repent and be saved. We implored her to not be distracted from the serious nature of her sin and need for salvation. This was a contact with the husband initially, but Pam seems to be on the verge of truly submitting to the Lord Jesus. Please pray for Pam, that she would not rest until she knows that she is born again. She is from a holiness church background and struggles with serious depression. Pray that her friend and husband who were there for the 3 hour visit, and were confusing Pam with bad doctrine related to the holiness background.

Steven- Steven has always admitted to his need to be saved, though at times he has waffled about whether he was saved as a child. He really struggles with a family that does not want him to change, and is holding on to "being good" to get him to heaven when he dies. We spoke with Steven for nearly 2 hours, and are praying that he have no peace, no rest until he submits to God's call to repent and be saved. Pray also that Steven will not allow his unbelieving family to dissuade him from what he knows God desires of him.

Justin- Justin is confused about science, prophecy, and lots of other things that he allows to distract him from knowing that he is not right with God. 2 hours or more shared God's Word in regards to sin, repentance, the authority or Christ to pay the penalty of sin for us, and many other things related to salvation. We are praying that Justin will see the urgency of making a decision to repent and trust Christ before it is too late, before his heart is hardened.

Hosea- confused about salvation. Hosea was raised in a church that has some strange practices and does not preach God's Word, rather relies on a modern day "prophet". Hosea said he would go to heaven based on his good works outweighing the bad. We discussed many things, but the main issue is that he does not see sin as being against God, but rather making provision for the flesh and making excuses for sin. Hosea is very willing for us to come back, and we are praying about how to continue with this contact.

There are many more, but these are the ones most on our hearts today. Please keep them all in prayer, but especially Pam and Steven as we feel the Holy Spirit is working in their hearts bringing conviction. They simply must surrender, repent and be saved. Others that have heard the truth of their need this week: Brittney, Jim, Ralph, Vicki, Danielle, Kenny, Andy, and Johnny. These all need salvation.

The holiday parade this year, on December 4, will include a float created by the saints here at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship. We will have a large wrapped gift on a trailer, with Scriptures proclaiming the birth of Christ, and the message of salvation. We thank John Nicholson and others at Uplook for their help in creating a souvenir-type Gospel tract that will be handed out with "The greatest gift" Gospel CD that is available through Uplook. The resources provided by Uplook, and all the help with design are greatly appreciated. Pray that we are able to point parade goers to the true reason for celebration, life through Jesus Christ. This is just one way to share the Gospel, and one of the times when the public is gathered and just waiting for someone to give them things. It is a blessing to know that the CDs, tracts, and Gospel calendars we hand out will help get God's Word into so many homes. Truly, our Savior is the greatest gift, one we hope that all will receive.

Please keep in prayer my wife, Sara. She is due to deliver our next baby around February 21. The John-Baptiste family is expecting their baby in May. What a blessing children are! We appreciate your prayer as our families get ready for new babies, and for strength and health for the ladies.

Our family(Cowperthwaites) are enjoying laboring together with the saints here in Richmond. Lord willing, we will go back to Maine in January(COLD!) as the time grows closer to expecting baby. We plan to stay in Maine until mid March, close to family and our home assembly. While in Richmond, we have been blessed to have a place to park our trailer that is close to the chapel. An added blessing is that our neighbors are saints in fellowship at BBF. Continue to pray for us as we consider where the Lord has us headed next, and as we travel. Both the Cowperthwaites and John-Baptistes will be headed to McDonough, Georgia to labor with the GNOM team and the local saints in reaching their community with the Gospel. We will not be taking our homes with us, as we will only be there a few weeks.

We so appreciate your prayer. Feel free to write and ask about the continuing work here at BBF or anything else. We look forward to hearing also about how the Lord is working in all your lives to bring glory to Himself, to rescue lost souls from death to eternal life. We will try to keep you up to date more often in the future.

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com

Work in Richmond, family updates.

Greetings all,

I felt that the time I have been forced to spend out of commission due to illness has given me much time to reflect on the work here in Richmond, Kentucky. The entire family, to varying degrees, has been ill this past week. Nathaniel started the whole thing with a headache, fever, and a terrible cough. He then passed it on to me. I ended up with the worst of it, but am healing more and more each day. I am still battling a sinus infection resulting from 4 days battling the flu. Sara is doing better, but still needs to rest, as she has herself and a baby to be healthy for. The girls did catch the bug, but seem to have pretty decent immune systems and are now playing and running around.

Looking out the window, I wonder how it is possible that it was 29 degrees last night! The sun is shining, and temperatures are expected to be in the 60's and 70's in the next 3 days. We are very glad to see that forecast, as we were not planning on having to heat the camper this much already. We do have a great propane furnace and a backup electric heater, and surely can endure much harsher climate than this. Still, it is nice to be outside and able to knock on doors with the Gospel message without the cold being the reason folks won't open the doors.

On that note, I wanted to give a bit of an update of sorts of the work so far with Bluegrass Bible Fellowship.
The first few weeks, we worked on reaching the contacts that were hard to find, either due to scheduling problems, folks changing jobs, or some that moved or no longer have a phone or other ways to contact them. This has been a major challenge, and sadly some have not been able to be reached with a follow up visit. To me, this underscores the great importance of giving a solid Gospel message when the opportunity first arrives, not expecting another chance. None of us are promised tomorrow, the urgency of the message grows with each passing day.

As for the 314 contacts that were made during the surge of Gospel proclamation here in May/June, some folks lose interest quickly, some move away and simply forget about what they heard, so many times we see the truth in the parable of the sower. These lessons are hard to learn, and we know God is in control, yet it is not the Lord's desire that we be flippant in our role as ambassadors for Christ. We strive to make each conversation all it can be, seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit rather than any contrived speech or popular program.

Even knowing that not all will heed God's warning of judgement to come, there is still much to thank God for. Men and women, and also children have received eternal life! Many of the folks here at BBF have stayed the course, and are doing in home and group Bible studies with many of these people. Last count, I believe there are 16 involved in personal or group Bible studies. Some have been in fellowship for some time now and have been baptized. Another area of continued outreach and fruit from previous labor is kids clubs. Club has been going well, and last week we had 23 children under 14 that came to learn more about God, the Bible, and most of all, salvation through Jesus Christ. We help the folks here shuttle children to the clubs and home again. Sara teaches the Bible lessons, and helps with keeping the kids in line, too. That can be quite a challenge, believe me!

I have been asked to share on two Wednesday evenings. This is such a privilege to share what God is doing in our hearts, and what He has shown us about Himself through His Word. I have also been taking time to continue to work on "one anothering" projects, coordinate ongoing door to door Gospel efforts here, and taking a few Bible studies a week myself. I recently took a rainy day and worked through a "Christianity Explored" video series, assessing it and working on how to implement the course in continued outreach here.

The door to door effort is taking back off this week, now that we are headed back to health. We are using the mapping and documenting process that Justin Humes put together. I believe that this intensive, detail oriented approach to reaching a neighborhood is the most effective means of reaching every person with the Gospel that I have seen. If you are interested in learning more about the method (which is simple) please email me. I would be happy to share with you the paper Justin wrote about how we do what we do.

On the home front, we continue in school during the week. The children are learning Bible verses, each one usually targeted toward a certain attribute of Christ that we are trying to work on in the children. We have noticed that most of the time, all the kids can recite each other's verses. I think Naomi can recite upwards of 30 verses including references. They are little sponges at this age, and it is great to see them soaking up the right kind of information. We have some great examples in raising children in our lives, and we are so blessed to have folks from multiple generations as examples and encouragers as we seek to serve the Lord in the stewardship of His children in the time they are given to us.

Of course, an update just wouldn't be an update without a baby update. Well, Sara is 22 weeks along now, and we are due to have an ultrasound in Ohio on our monthly trip there October 26, which is a week from today. Baby is kicking often, and with increasing strength that can be felt outside the belly. Naomi often comes and "gives the baby hugs" before saying good night. I often wonder what she is thinking, as she never really understood the loss of Joshua. Naomi is really bright, and understanding more concepts by the hour it seems, yet maybe the Lord was again gracious in sparing her the sorrow of losing a sibling.

A divine wiping of the memory or some such thing would explain why women have more than one baby, as I was told, they seem to forget the pain and trials in light of the wonderful gift of life. We should see our lives on this earth in this way. It is painful for a time, but in the end (for those who repent and are saved) it will be worth it all just to see our Savior's face. Babies certainly make me think about my mortality, and remind me that life itself is such a blessing from God.

Back to the baby, we have had names picked out for months and are excited to find out whether this baby will be Rachel Joanna Cowperthwaite "she is the grace of the Lord" or Samuel David "well beloved one, asked of God" Cowperthwaite. Both these names were picked quite on purpose due to the Biblical definitions. After the death of our son Joshua, we prayed that the Lord would give us peace about whether or not we would be blessed with more children. We asked for patience and peace to accept what God would show to be His will. God's grace shown to us in the loss of Joshua, and the granting of our request for another baby are so much the theme of our lives this past 6 months, even our whole lives.

I am sorry, to some extent, for going on so long, but I am just so excited to see God at work. We see Christ's commands and love shown in the lives of children, parents, grandparents, fellow believers, and many more. We have seen the true sacrificial love of Jesus lived out in the lives of those who are hurt and weak, as Christians give selflessly of those things they have been blessed with. So often we see true Christianity, reaching the lost, praying through trials, and leaning on the Word of God for our comfort. I know this is not the picture we tend to see when we watch the news, or listen about town, yet this is what I see. God is changing us day by day, molding us more into the image of His Son Jesus. Often, this has had to start with breaking the old pot. Pottery is messy business, you know. Yet, with the skilled hands of the Master Creator, we will see and live His way. It is nothing of ourselves that will accomplish this transformation, but just life through God's spirit. I pray that we continue to be shaped more into His image until what is left of the old man is totally done away with. There will be a day, and it is coming soon.

Even so, come Lord Jesus,
Mark for the Cowperthwaites

PS, for those wanting to see our children in video (mostly Naomi uploaded right now) go to http://www.youtube.com/user/cowperthwaitefamily

The work of the Holy Spirit-

I posted this earlier with all the verse text, but it seemed to long, if you would prefer to have it in that format, click here
It would be profitable to read the passages below and consider how they
bring out the point more clearly as to how the Holy Spirit works in our
lives. Also be considering how our lives and our actions should declare the
glory of God and not boast in the flesh.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31-
The flesh and its limited understanding is nothing but foolishness when compared with the wisdom of God. As believers, we still use our natural talents and abilities, to be sure. God has granted them to us for a purpose. Having said that, it is not the talents or natural gifts that we use to bring about the miraculous works of God. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts for the edification, or building up, of the body of Christ, the church. I have not yet fully understood why God would use the weak, base, foolish things in human comprehension to accomplish His goals, but it seems self evident that when God provides, beyond the natural realm, supernatural spiritual gifts, we are forced to rely only on God for the accomplishments that come in the Christian walk.

We can give ourselves no credit, for we deserve none. A faithful servant does not claim ownership of his Master's crops or goods. In the same way, what God does through His servants, by the power of His Holy Spirit, is not to be credited to us, but as in all things to give glory to God. That is why we were created, to give glory to God, for His pleasure. Let us live each moment of every day in view of this truth.

Matthew 5:38-48
The next portion deals more with how we ought to act. Surely, as physically strong and healthy Americans, we ought to demand our rights and fight for what we believe in. Well, we are told to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and that we are soldiers for Christ(2 Timothy 2:3-4). In reading the context of the previous passages, we see that this idea is often either misrepresented or just taken to extremes. That is a whole different topic, sorry to get off on a rabbit trail.

We are to not resist evil people, we are to give to those who ask, submit to even harsh treatment in order to proclaim the love of God, to be a peculiar people by living these commands. Verses 46-48 remind us that we are not just to love those who love us, this is not accomplished through the flesh, but only by asking the Lord to give us His heart. After all, is Jesus not the ultimate example of loving those who persecute you? Stephen took this teaching literally it would seem. While being stoned to death, Stephen asked God not to hold his death to their charge. May we all see the power of a Spirit filled life through this example.

Romans 12:3-5
Our call in this passage,giving all credit to the Holy Spirit of God, is to be humble, as we know all our accomplishments only point to God. We are one body, not to be tearing one another down or being in competition, but rather spurring one another to love and to do good deeds. We have different jobs, different gifts, all from God and for His purposes, none of which will be accomplished by our own strength or will. When we give up ourselves, submitting to making Jesus the Lord of our lives, we will see the fruit of our labor that only He can supply. We cannot save anyone, grow anyone, or build up the body of Christ in our own strength. All human attempts will fail, but even the weakest and most humble servant relying on the Holy Spirit will accomplish great things, and therefore glorify the Father. (Matt 5:16)

1 Peter 4:10-11
This passage reminds us again that we are to use gifts to serve one another, to build up the body. We are only stewards, chosen servants, who are to do as God commands, not just decide what we think is best. I challenge every one, including myself, to rely on God's strength when things are tough. When we are persecuted for living a godly life, know that it is the price we pay for following Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:12-18 reminds us that Paul was a persecutor of the church, and then became persecuted for his life of service to Jesus Christ. What a miraculous example for us. We were dead in the flesh, and now alive in Christ. It is all the work of God, through the blood of Jesus the Son, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:4-10
Do you see the pattern? (4)God's mercy, God's love, (5)our death, life in Christ, grace, (6)raised up with Jesus, seated in Christ Jesus,(7)He, riches of His grace, in Christ Jesus, (8) grace, not of ourselves, God's gift,(9) not works, not boasting, (10) His work, created in Christ, God prepared.

I don't see much of our work here. I see the earlier part of the chapter where we are dead in our trespasses and sins. I see even earlier that the whole point of this letter is to point them to the character of Jesus Christ, that our life and hope and everything is in Him. The examples later on of family, marriage, children, all point to Christ as the example. If we were to delve deeply into the character of Christ, we would see the shame and base nature of the human flesh. Yet in all this, God chooses to work all things to gain the glory, and allows us to take part. Note here that our part never gives us glory. God will not share His glory, a point that was brought out to me in a time when I was being prideful. This hard lesson reminds me of the glory of our King, Creator, God and Father of life and eternity. What a blessing this passage is.

Acts 1:7-8
It all comes back to this passage. Jesus had died, risen from the dead, and was giving His final marching orders for His followers. Immediately after this speech, Jesus was caught up in the clouds and promised to return when the time was right. We still await His second coming, when all the earth will bow, even those who will be judged and sent to eternal punishment in Hell. Those who anxiously await the return of our King, our Savior, Jesus Christ know that the power of the Holy Spirit that was promised is a reality in our lives. We know that the radical transformation of a man passing from death to life in Christ is evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

We have been looking at the power of God's Holy Spirit, but we must not forget the other side of the coin. Eternal life was accomplished for man through Jesus' death on a cross. We talked in the beginning about the foolishness of preaching, the shame of the cross. We now look back to what Jesus did for us, and what He is still doing through the Holy Spirit. This power, this life is available to all, but not all have laid hold of it. To gain the power of God, one must repent of their sin and submit to the Lord, believing on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This is offensive to someone trying to live their own life, their own desires. What a waste of a life that was created for God's glory. Speaking of the foolishness of preaching and the offense of the cross, Charles Spurgeon said:
"The most terrible thing to impenitent man in all the world is the death of Christ. For if God spared not His only Son, on whom was only laid imputed sin, will He spare sinners whose sins are their own?"

Those who die in their sin, who have not been washed by the blood of Christ, will stand in judgement with no defense. The offer of salvation is only valid during our time on earth, in which there are no guarantees of even another day. How much the sinner who shuns God's grace and His beloved Son grieves the heart of God. My heart is broken as day after day, I am blessed to tell the love of God, of eternal life through Christ, and yet how many spit in the face of Almighty God as they reject His Son, desiring to do it their own way. How saddened is the heart of our Lord and Master when we try to rely on our power, our talents, and ourselves to accomplish His work. He has given us the source of power, the Holy Spirit. Ours is but to surrender ourselves and obey His command to preach the Gospel through the power of His Spirit which dwells in us.

Updates- more info on the work, family, baby...

Greetings all,

I know when we are parked for a longer period of time, I tend not to send updates as often. There is still much going on, but the bigger picture often takes time to develop. We are just getting done sorting through old contacts from the surge of Gospel work here in May-June. Mark took the hard-to-find contacts and worked on those to attempt to lighten the load for the saints here that have been working so hard to reach each contact personally. This is a pretty big task to show up at the door of 300+ people. Finding them home is even harder. Schedules differ from family to family, and often folks if home are busy when we arrive. Thankfully, the list of those who seriously desire to hear more is working itself out and the task is now much more manageable.

Truly, the saints here have put many hours into the work. We hope we are helping lighten the load and allow local believers to concentrate on other areas, such as continue Gospel work, follow up, teaching, discipleship, kids clubs, raising their families, work, and a list of other things that are vitally important to the local church work. We are reminded that every believer has a great responsibility to the local church, and how much work the elders must put in to keep a local body functioning properly. Truly a task only accomplished by the Spirit of God, and with spiritual gifts. The flesh could never accomplish what is done each day through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The follow up work will continue but on a smaller scale as initial contact has now been established. On the kids club front, Mark will be helping pick up kids across the city for kids club, Sara is teaching the Bible lesson, and helping in whatever ways are needed. The family recently had a kids meeting during Kentucky Fellowship Day. This was a great day getting to meet Christians from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinios, and West Virginia, if I recall properly.

We are now beginning to shift from a majority of time in follow up, to continued door to door witnessing. There are still some areas of the city that were not reached with a personal conversation about salvation through Jesus Christ, and Mark is working on getting that ready to start Sat, Oct. 3. We will be changing approaches in the door to door effort. In the past, Justin and Mark have taken time to not just sweep a neighborhood to see who is home, but to make note of each house. Our desire is not only to get through a series of streets, but rather to talk to someone at each house if possible. Justin Humes devised a system that makes this more effective, organized, and is much more manageable for follow up in future efforts also.

Mark will continue working on "one anothering" (if you don't know, just ask) and other teaching. There is discussion with the elders here at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship of a men's study group. Still working on the details, but I am excited to get together and study God's Word with faithful men here at the chapel. I know I have much to learn, and I am excited to have this opportunity to glean wisdom and knowledge from the brothers at BBF.

Sara has been hard at work, too. While schooling the children, hosting visitors for meals, preparing lessons for kids clubs, helping Mark with mapping, and all her other duties, she is also growing a little baby human inside. Quite a feat when one thinks about it. Sara is enjoying here time getting to know the ladies here, who have been a great encouragement to her. We are blessed to have the fellowship of such godly families. We miss the folks at our home church, and family that is not near, but the burden is much lighter knowing that folks are praying for us, keeping busy in the work here. God gives us the strength and encouragement we need each day as we keep Him priority #1. What a blessing to know that no matter where we are, He is with us and we have family through Christ everywhere we go.

Sara had an appointment with her doctor in Lima, Ohio this week. Everything is going well, and we will be having an ultrasound October 26, she will be 23 weeks along at that point. It was a great trip, spending time with friends and family. Along with the Bluffton crowd of Grandma and Grandpa, Seth and Carol, Alaina, and Norm and Mary Lou, we also had Sara's mom, Kay with us for our time in Bluffton. It was great to see Grandma(Kay) as we will not see her again most likely until December or January. We had a great time and look forward to our scheduled visits to see folks there each month.

Nathaniel has been busy with school, riding his bike around the farm with the boys next door, and other such activities. He did get a new experience while we were in Ohio, though. Seth took Mark and Nathaniel for a ride in the combine while he was harvesting soybeans. Our next trip to Bluffton, we should be able to ride along with corn harvesting. Nathaniel loves to hang out with Seth and I think Seth is happy to have a young man that will work(or ride) alongside. Again, we have been blessed with such exciting educational experiences as we travel.

Virginia and Naomi have been busy memorizing Bible verses and doing their school work, along with helping Mommy, and playing with their friends next door. They are getting pretty good with memorizing and I think catching up with Daddy on verses. Mommy and Daddy have been blessed to not only teach all the children parts of Scripture, but learn the verses along with the children. At BBF, they allow the children to go up front and recite their memory verses. The girls all look forward to this part of the service.

We have posted many videos and pictures lately. I will post all the links to our blog, "one anothering" video, pictures, and other web based items for the family. The internet (thanks to Jesse Everling) is available to us at home, and helps immensely with the work. The church has an online database for helping organize all contacts. This is a huge help, a tool that I use every day to plan. We are truly blessed with many conveniences, and the Lord has continued to provide for all our needs. I find it important to remember often that all we have and all we do is because of God and His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. What a joy it is to serve Him!

There is so much more to tell, and those of FaceBook get more info, I suppose as it is so easy to just shoot off a note on there, so if you are not on FaceBook, you might consider it. Truly a great tool (when used properly) for communication and sharing daily prayer requests.

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite

http://oneanother-ing.blogspot.com/- one anothering

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/cowperthwaitefamily?ref=name- facebook

http://www.youtube.com/user/cowperthwaitefamily- video

http://picasaweb.google.com/cowperthwaitefamily- pictures
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com- email
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com- family blog

Updates, Maine-Ohio-Kentucky, lots more

Greetings,

It is hard to imagine that we left Maine a week ago today. We drove all day Tuesday, staying overnight in Angola, NY. The van and camper departed from Angola about 7am and arrived in Bluffton, Ohio at 12:45PM. Mark and Nathaniel got the camper set up at Seth and Carol Bixel's home. The Bixel's are relatives of Sara's and have been gracious hosts often for our family. We always look forward to trips to Bluffton for many reasons, including visiting with the Bixels, seeing Sara's maternal grandparents, and just enjoying small town, farming life. Bluffton is a beautiful little town that is midwest America at its finest.

We spent some time each day with Grandma and Grampa Niswander, sharing meals, music, and time with these dear folks. The kids love going to the Bixel home for the fellowship, food, and fun. The family left Bluffton after what seemed like a week of fun, but was truly just about 72 hours. We drove to Richmond, Kentucky (our current home) Saturday afternoon and settled in mid afternoon.

The Harmon family is hosting us near one of their rental properties, settled near a beautiful field, a rustic barn, and with a beautiful view of both sunrise and sunset. The Everling family are our nearest neighbors, and helped us set up Saturday. Jesse(the dad) helped us navigate the narrow roadway, which our camper was able to pass through with limited clearance on all sides. Jesse and Brit, along with their 4 children, invited us to a birthday party that evening in their home across the farm road. We stayed for Bible time with the family, enjoying songs, reading from Acts, discussion, and prayer. A wonderful family, and one we appreciate in the Lord. We look forward to time in fellowship with so many folks here, and we are just getting started.

Sunday brought many folks to worship and teaching at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship. There was a wedding the day before, and the bride and groom were also at the meeting. Congratulations to Rex and Irina(hope I spelled that right) on their recent marriage. We also caught up with so many "old friends" from our time in the Gospel surge here with Good News on the Move(GNOM) this May/June. We all shared in a fellowship dinner, complete with guests from Wisconsin, the Morrell family, who are headed to deliver their son to Mountaintop Youth Camp in North Carolina as he is on this years Good News team. Brother Morrell shared from God's Word about speading the Gospel seed and investing in God's economy rather than in this world. Great message, very encouraging, and we enjoyed fellowship around the dinner table with this family.

There is so much more to share, but no time to write it all down. I just wanted to catch you all up as to where we have been, where we are, and what we are up to. We have so much to learn from the folks here, as there are such great examples in this local church. We will be teaching at times also, and pray that our lives are the example that they should be. We see God at work in so many lives here, and Godly leadership in homes, giving us encouragement as we labor together with the brothers and sisters here.

Please keep Grace Fellowship in Union, Maine in prayer. This is our home church, and we miss the saints there dearly. We are planning to be back in Maine in January, staying until after the baby is born and continuing to pray about God's leading for our family's future as we serve Him. Also be in prayer for the wonderfully dedicated saints here in Richmond. The GNOM surge has borne many contacts, some involved in personal Bible studies throughout the week with local folks here, along with those who have yet to be revisited.

There is much to do, and we would all appreciate prayer in the work. We know that prayer and obedience to the Lord work hand in hand, and that our efforts in and of themselves are futile. We want this work to be annointed by the Holy Spirit, working in the hearts of those who have heard the Gospel and guiding the hands of all His children as we reach out with the message of grace of God in salvation from sin through Jesus Christ.

What a privilege to serve our King, our Savior, Him who sacrificed His own life to save sinners from the rightful penalty of Hell. A great message from a great God, our Father and King whom we serve not out of necessity,but with love and devotion for He is worthy! Thank you all for your prayer and kind cards and emails, calls and visits. We love you all and would love to hear from everyone soon.

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com -family email
http://oneanother-ing.blogspot.com - Mark's other blog

Pics for those who like them

Just thought some parting pictures would be nice. Some friends, family, nature, and odd men hanging from large metal structures. Enjoy

PICS HERE

Maine wrapup 9/1/09

Greetings,

This past few weeks has been quite busy. As a family, we have done quite a bit of visiting with family, friends, and believers in all parts of Maine. We worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship, manning the story wagon at the Union Fair a couple days this past week. We had the honor of sharing the Gospel with children, parents, and some adults with special needs along with their caregivers. It is great to be able to share the love of Christ in public, a freedom not everyone has, and something taken for granted often. It is our duty and privilege to tell the Good News of Jesus and how to be reconciled to God to those who do not know.

On the home front, Sara has started the school year with the kids. Virginia is 6 and does her reading, writing, and 'rithmetic. She enjoys learning new words and practicing math skills.

Naomi is getting better with her words and finding new words all the time as she copies what seems like every word out of my mouth. Be careful little mouth what you say! Cute little girl whose hair is finally long enough to braid well.

Nathaniel is enjoying his last week in Maine. We will visit with some of his friends throughout the week. During the days, he is working on history, math, computer, map reading, social studies, and Bible study. We are going through "Living by the book" by Howard Hendricks. Great book, I hope it helps him and also me. We all need to dig deeper in God's Word and this book helps a lot to see all that is available when we thoroughly study and seek God's direction in all things.

Sara is now 15 week along in pregnancy. It is amazing to see what progress the baby is making. There are really cool charts and detailed weekly progress reports on many web sites. If you want to be wowed by God's creation, check it out sometime. Sara is still dealing with "morning(all day) sickness" but is in great spirit and happy to have a protruding bit of belly to show for all the work.

Mark is busy preparing many things for our trip to Kentucky, writing for "one anothering" and a dozen other projects that seem to be gaining momentum but still in need of much work. Mark has had the privilege of working with many brothers in Christ in evangelism, discipleship, and building up the body of Christ. What a privilege to serve our Lord and King!

We plan to leave Maine Sept. 8th, arrive in Bluffton, Ohio on the evening of the 9th, and head from there to Kentucky on the afternoon of the 12th. The saints of Bluegrass Bible Fellowship have told us that they are excited to greet us and will be having a welcome fellowship dinner for us. They truly are wonderful folks and we are blessed to be serving God in their midst. We have much to learn from them and hope to be fruitful for the Lord in many ways while in Kentucky.

I guess that is all for now, except a bit of news semi-related to us. The Humes family that we have been traveling with is headed a different direction. We still consider ourselves a team, but know that the Lord has led us to work separately for the time being. Justin and family have recently accepted the commission of team leaders for the GNOM 5 team. GNOM 5 will be traveling across the USA, bringing the Gospel to many homes and helping equip the church to share the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

It is a great responsibility and privilege for Justin to work alongside these young men. I think Justin is a great choice as he has a desire to see the Lord glorified though faithful servants. Justin is a good organizer, easy to talk to, and one that will prayerfully seek to help develop these young men as they grow closer to the Lord and serve God in this way(also my best friend). You can follow the GNOM 5 team by checking at www.uplook.org and click on "Gospel efforts"

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com
http://oneanother-ing.blogspot.com

Destination: Kentucky, one anothering, etc.

First off, I would like to say "I'm sorry" for not writing recently. Life has been pretty busy lately. We have been working on something that I think is going to take off very quickly. If you are interested in the "one another" teachings of the Bible and looking for a challenge, I think you will enjoy this experiment I have begun. You can see a recent post at http://oneanother-ing.blogspot.com/2009/08/washing-one-anothers-feet.html that may give you a good idea of what we are talking about. I have been rather engulfed in writing, visiting, study, prayer, and a host of other things that have prevented me from getting the sleep I need.

For those that didn't hear yet, surgery went well, I am almost all healed up, and the tumor was benign. NO cancer or anything else that we were worried about. We have all kinds of news, so I will try to be brief and just bullet point it from here.

• This fall, we are headed to Kentucky. Bluegrass Bible Fellowship in Richmond, KY has invited us for the fall.
• We will leave Maine September 8, Lord willing. Maine, Ohio, Kentucky
• Sara is 13 weeks along, everything is fine. We heard the heartbeat the other day at the midwife office.
• Virginia's dental "procedure" went well, she is all healed and back to her normal routine.
• Naomi is enjoying time helping Gramma do things outside and is getting awfully tall.
• Nathaniel spent his lawn mowing money to buy an electronic Bible(had to buy the ipod touch to get it) and is enjoying learning Bible study techniques with Daddy.
• Mark is reading Living Water and Heavenly Man again, also started Howard Hendricks" Living by the book"
• One Anothering is taking off at http://oneanother-ing.blogspot.com and wants more participants.
• Meals with many families, fellowship with friends, and impromptu Bible studies galore.

through the love of Christ,

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com

NH and Maine, Follow Me conference

What a fun filled, exciting few weeks it has been for the Cowperthwaite clan! We went to Walpole, NH for the Follow Me Conference from July 16-19. The Steve and Mandy Pena family were gracious hosts for our family, and their home provided a beautiful venue for the conference. The Pena home is the current meeting place for Berean Gospel Assembly, a young church in the area. This body of believers were quite accomodating of all who attended the conference, with about a dozen staying in the Pena home and many more being housed and hosted by others in the local body.

What a blessing it is to know that wherever you go, family is there! God's family working together for such a gathering, helping, housing, and fellowship is one of the great hallmarks of the New Testament church. Our family parked our camper Thursday evening and met with BGA that evening. Brother Bob Gentile shared from the Word that evening and all were blessed and challenged.

Friday AM began the teaching times by Jesse Gentile, Roy Wahab, and Jeremiah Morrison. All the sessions were recorded and are available online to listen or download. Jesse dealt with spiritual gifts and Bible study methods. Roy Wahab dealt with the balance of truth and love in our outreach messages. Jeremiah Morrison led a discussion/teaching time regarding some Biblical principles of everyday life and pattern of worship. What a rich time of learning and challenge in God's Word!

I was asked to speak on Friday evening, specifically sharing about how God provides strength, encouragement, and in all things. I shared about the death of our son Joshua, and how the Lord kept us and brought us closer to Himself through that situation. I also shared from Nehemiah about the wonderful example of fervent prayer in Nehemiah 1:3-6. Elijah was also a great example of fervent prayer.

The group then spent a period praying specifically for the church at large, for men, women, and young people to be raised up to follow the Lord. We prayed that we would all leave the conference radically changed, more like the Lord Jesus when we left than when we arrived. I believe that prayer was answered in many hearts. The teaching was great and reminded us that we belong to God. We are His and not our own. It was a time of challenge and encouragement, of fun and fellowship, and a weekend in which God was glorified and His name lifted up.

Monday AM we left Walpole and headed to Westbrook, Maine. We are working this week with Spring Hill Gospel Hall and are parked at the meeting hall. We have gone out with local brothers to the doors with the Gospel. The saints here are having a vacation Bible school (DVBS) next week, so we are also inviting folks to that as we go out. We met with the saints here in Westbrook on Wednesday evening for prayer and Bible study and were blessed in this time in the word and before the Lord in prayer. The Cowperthwaites will leave Saturday evening and worship with the saints in Union this Sunday, Lord willing.

The work here in Westbrook has reminded us both of the great need for the Gospel to go out, and that God does work through His saints faithfully sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Matt was one of our contacts that heard the Gospel, asked lots of questions, and realized that God put someone in his path Tuesday to share with him the truth of God's Word and the love that the Father has for His creation. It was another of hundreds of encounters where a person was just going about their daily life with no thought of eternity or the God that holds their life in His hands. Matt was awakened that day to the urgency of being reconciled to God. Matt wants someone to visit again and John Stultz will be following up next week.

Others in need of prayer are Linda, Doris, Leo, and another Linda. There are too many contacts to list, and some have heard the truth presented while others have refused to talk at all. Still others have other religious affiliation that does not teach the truth from God's Word. Many have never just sat down and read the Bible, though they acknowledge that it is God's Word. We rely on the Lord to show us what to say and how to handle each situation. It is our desire that we get out of the way and just let Him speak through us. Please continue to pray with us that souls will come to salvation through repentance and trust in Jesus as the only way to eternal life. He is worthy to be praised and served with all our hearts and we consider it a privilege to be able to continue to preach the word of reconciliation toward God.

While we are here,we have also had opportunity to meet with other believers. Our friends, Gary and Marilyn Watson have hosted us for meals and fellowship a few times. We also went to their mid week service at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Scarborough on Tuesday evening. Thursday evening, we went for supper at the Morrison home in South Portland. We also met with Sara's college friend, Kerry Ellen, on Tuesday. Tonight, we have Erin Niland, a high school friend of Sara's, along with her fiancee for dinner. What a full week of fellowship, labor, and encouragement!

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com

Updates/ recalling the past

Welcome sunshine!

Here in Maine, we have experienced the longest bout of rain in my memorable past. It seems like all we have seen is rain, but the sun is shining today. We are finally getting back to Maine summer as I remember it. Funny though, how our memories are not always accurate. I am sure that every single day when school was out as a child, that we ran and played, went to the frog pond, or went swimming.

I don't recall specifically any rainy days, yet I am sure there were plenty. Without them, we would not have had the wonderful harvest seasons that I also recall. Barbara and J.Aubrey Davis used to have quite a garden and gave produce to many families such as ours in need. It is such a blessing to think back on how the Lord has used His people reaching out in love to others to show the love of Christ in our lives. Many acts of love from our fellow believers are burned in my memory to this day. I thank God for all the people He has put in my life. My childhood surely was full of acts of love and kindness, and an attempt to recall them all fills me with joy and sadness as I think of all that

I got an email this morning from one of my school teachers. She just wanted to catch up and I was reminded that many who I grew up with are serving the Lord in many ways, but maybe even more are living their own lives without God's guiding hand at the wheel. She said (and I am convinced I should follow) that she prays for all those whose lives she had some influence on.

Many people from my past are not walking with the Lord, and we all have ties with people that need to come to the Savior. We all have friends, neighbors, coworkers and relatives that don't know the Lord. We need to be in fervent prayer that God will draw all those to Himself. Also, it is important that we realize it is the privilege of each blood bought believer to share the Gospel with those who have not heard, and encourage those who have strayed to come back into fellowship with the God that loves them so much that He sent His Son to die in their place.

Many families and friends have come and gone from our lives, some without warning through death, some have moved away, and others just seem to lose touch. I know there are many in my life that left without my ever sharing the Gospel with them. Some went to church or Christian school, but I remember that I did not come to know the Lord until I was 25, even after being in church every time the doors were open. Life is so short, so precious, and it is the only one we get. Let's make sure we don't let another person leave our lives without hearing of God's love for them that necessitated such a sacrifice as the spotless Lamb of God gave for us.

As for updates, I am feeling a bit better, but continue to pray that my health will improve so that the surgery will be able to be done as scheduled. Next week, the 16th, we leave Thomaston for Walpole, New Hampshire. We will be attending the Follow Me Conference for 3 days and I will be speaking Saturday evening about how God has used trials to draw us closer to Him. We will be there until Monday morning, when we head to Westbrook, Maine to work with Spring Hill Gospel Hall in preparing for their vacation Bible school. This brings us back to Thomaston the last week of July, with appointments to be done before surgery, then in the area for the most part until early September when we head to North Carolina.

Sara had her first appointment with the midwife, and we had an ultrasound done. Baby and mommy are both doing well, while a "due date" has been forecasted for Feb 21. Sara is still battling morning sickness, but is happy to have that constant reminder of the wonderful blessing of a new baby that God has given us. Nausea is not, for most, considered a blessing, yet for Sara it is considered assurance that "everything is OK" and we thank the Lord each day for all the blessings He has given us.

Nathaniel has been busy mowing lawns and helping Grandpa out in many ways around the house. That included much work in the recent Independence Day celebrations here in Thomaston. We were also blessed to have the Watson and Adams families and Mark's mom join us for the 4th. We had a great time of fellowship and of course food. Nathaniel has also been reading a lot, and will be going out door to door with us this afternoon in Rockland.

Virginia and Naomi have enjoyed this time visiting with friends and family. They are excited to have the sun out today, as that means they can ride bikes and play in the grass, two of their favorite activities. They are also anxiously awaiting the "grand opening" of the pool. We have had it up for a while, but are installing a new filter system and some other things need to be done before we can jump in. Besides that, it has not exactly been swimming weather so far this summer. Sara is continuing some school with the kids a few days a week and they are enjoying their studies.

The work in the local church has been such a blessing to us. We went out with 4 brothers in Belfast to share the Gospel on Tuesday, and will be out today with one of those young men that went with us Tuesday. Nathaniel will also join us today. We had a great prayer meeting in Union last night, and are excited to see another mid week meeting starting soon. It is so important for believers to get together, not just for Sunday worship, but regularly to encourage one another and pray together. This time of prayer and studying God's Word, coupled with laboring together in the Gospel, is a recipe for unity and growth in the local church. I am excited to see such growth in the lives of brothers and sisters in Christ. God is at work, knitting our hearts together, and

uniting us in love for His glory and honor. What a blessing to see lives forever changed by the Gospel and to see God's people serve Him!

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com

Updates and prayer request 7/1/09

Greetings all,

It has been a few weeks since our last news update, and we wanted to share what has been going on with the Cowperthwaite family recently. We arrived in Maine 2 weeks ago, and have had rain pretty much every day since. Even with the poor weather, we have had high spirits as we have been able to enjoy such rich blessings. Maine is still consider our home, and this place so beautifully portrays God's handiwork, even in the wettest weather.

The children are enjoying Maine, riding bicycles and looking forward to swimming in Grandma's pool. We have plans for friends to come over on the 4th of July, and many other times of fellowship. Justin and Mark also have times scheduled and plans for door to door witnessing in this area, along with a few other areas of the state. We are excited to continue to share the Gospel here, desiring to see God reveal Himself to many who will come to Him for eternal life. We are blessed to have so many opportunities upcoming to share the Gospel and encourage God's people.

With the loss of Joshua, we have spent much time considering God's plan for our lives, our ministry, and our family. We were so blessed, then, to find out that the Lord has blessed us with another baby, due to arrive around February. This is an answer to our prayers, as complications from an infection seemed to indicate that we may have a difficult time having more children. We know that God can overcome any difficulty and that our faith, when place in Him, is able to bring us through any trial.

Our desire is to come back to Maine for the delivery of the baby. Pray for Sara as she deals with morning sickness and all that goes with growing a baby inside. She is in great spirits and we are enjoying each day with this child, knowing that whatever the outcome, we are blessed. We can see God at work in each life, no matter how short it is on this earth, with everything bringing glory and honor to Him, for He is worthy.

Mark is scheduled for surgery on August 4th. I know I have mentioned it before, but I wanted to explain and ask for prayer in this matter. I have a tumor about 1" in size in my left sub-mandibular lymph node(whatever that means). After a FNA biopsy, the doctor has decided we need to remove the tumor. This requires surgery, which will be done August 4th. This surgery will leave me out of commission for a week, then recovering hopefully before the open air preaching at the Union Fair starting August 16. I would greatly appreciate prayer for recovery and healing, also the results of the tests. Whatever the results, we will praise the Lord. He has given all things, and will give us strength through whatever comes.

Complicating my recent health issues has been the recent diagnosis of Giardiasis, or giardia. Some will recall that this intestinal parasite caused 3-4 weeks of pain and ill health when we first arrived in California. The doctors thought that it had been taken care of, but recent tests have revealed that it is back, and thriving. I will be on meds for a week of so, and should be feeling better within 2 weeks.

Our first few weeks here were taken up with catching up with friends, family, and church family, along with many appointments. The blessing of loved ones surrounding us in prayer has been such a comfort. We have seen the Lord at work in so many lives, and through our experiences, have been able to help others deal with grief and trials through pointing them to the Lord. God is the master healer, the comforter, and we rest in His great love and mercy poured out to us in Christ Jesus. We know that nothing can come our way, no trial or persecution, that can ever shake the foundation we have in Christ.

We have also been blessed to have the opportunity to share with a few local churches. Mark will be sharing in the upcoming weeks with groups from a few local churches. The purpose of these meetings is to share with others about how God is shaping our lives day by day, giving us strength, and to encourage others to be faithful witnesses for Christ is whatever arena is open to them. Not all will preach on the street, or witness door to door, but all believers have a part.

We desire to express what joy the Lord has shown us in just the short time since we left home. We also strive to accurately present Jesus as the precious Savior, the sinless Lamb who sacrificed Himself for all mankind. The heart filled with the love of Christ will have no difficulty expressing it. It is not about methods or compulsion, but about sharing the good news. This news is that God who loved us when we were dead in our sins, and paid the debt He did not owe to save us from the wrath we deserved. What a blessed thought! What a glorious privilege!

Evangelism should not be seen as a program or an event, but a blessed privilege and a way of life to those who desire to see souls saved from the grasp of sin and the penalty of Hell. When we share of the ministry the Lord has given us, it is our desire to paint a realistic picture, including the hard times and easier and blessed times. All this is worth whatever it may cost for the sake of being able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost soul, showing them the way to true and eternal life that can only be gained through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior.

We thank you for continued prayer on our behalf. It is such a blessing to know that our family, both physical and spiritual, are there for us. We can never say "thank you" enough for all the love poured out to us. We are truly blessed. Please let us know how we can be praying for you, too! We take seriously the requests shared with us, so don't hesitate to email or call.

Praising the Lord,

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com

Ministry description

    Our families were commended to the work of full-time traveling evangelism by our home assembly in Union, Maine, in 2008.  
    The focus of our ministry is two-fold.  The Lord, first and foremost, has burdened our hearts with the urgency of preaching the gospel in this country.  In this land of religious freedom and churches in abundance, there exists an increasing number of people who are completely unfamiliar with the Gospel, and an even greater number who have only experienced some watered-down version of Christianity from the multitude of ‘churches’ where the Word of God is not taught in truth.  We labor in the harvest field through: door-to-door visitation; open-air preaching; traditional gospel meetings; organizing outreaches to prisons, nursing homes, colleges, etc.; literature booths and/or tract distribution at public events; and any other ways the Lord leads to bring salvation to the lost.
    The second focus of our ministry is, from the full sense of the gift of the evangelist in Ephesians 4:11-12, to build up the body of Christ by equipping the saints for the work of evangelism.  It should be obvious that a few gifted men are not sufficient for the task of preaching the gospel to every creature in this country; nor did the Lord intend for that to be the case.  It is clear from 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 that the ministry of reconciliation has been entrusted to every believer, as each has been made an ambassador for Christ.  It has been our experience in visiting assemblies, and from meeting with saints from assemblies around the country, that many may be strong in doctrine and faithful in worship, but lack zeal for and commitment to personally taking part in fulfilling the Great Commission.  Through teaching and training, exhortation and example, it is our desire to work with assemblies to energize and equip them for proclaiming the gospel to a lost and perishing world.
    

Evangelist and witness explained

*The great need around us for Christians to be faithful in the Gospel

Most Christians would readily acknowledge that the world is not how God desires it to be. We say that we want to change things for the Lord.  We talk about reaching the lost through all sorts of programs, but what is the best way to reach them? How can each believer in the Lord Jesus be used in the work of reaching the lost and giving them the message they need so desperately to hear?

The answer comes from God’s own Word. “The Lord’s prayer” so called, reminds us to seek God’s will to be done on earth. It takes a dedication to the desire of God Himself, to have our hearts changed into His heart, to make His will our own. We are to be shaped by the Potter, made into  what He wants us to be.

We know that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So, I ask you, Christian, are you seeking to fulfill the desire of God’s heart? Do you pray that His will be done each day and then put yourself in a position to be used by God to accomplish that will? If we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,  then all these things (necessities of life) will be added to you” We often desire God’s material and tangible blessings, but don’t strive to see what He desires of us. I am confident that He will not bless an attitude that seeks to do the least possible service for our Lord, but rather a heart that overflows with the love of Christ and then shares it with others.  

Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. (John 4:35)
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.  (Matt. 9:36-37)

Surely there are many who are able to do more than they do. We have a tendency to put our priorities out of order.  God’s commands should be first, and not our own. We cannot live for our own selfish desires. God has given us life for a reason, and that is to glorify Him. We live only because He allows it and we have a responsibility to Him to live His way.


* personal responsibility vs. the work of a gifted few

If only specially called ‘evangelists’ are to be out preaching the gospel, then God didn’t supply sufficient to meet the need.  I don’t believe the Lord will ever leave His church lacking. We know that this work can not be accomplished through just a select few.

We see that there are a small percentage of believers that are called as evangelists, and the reason is that we are all called to witness, and the evangelist is called to that also. But the job doesn’t end there, it is also a call to equip the body as seen in the following passage.

Eph 4:11-12 evangelists are gifted for the equipping of the saints for evangelism, not for doing it all themselves. So, if you have assumed that door to door calling, or preaching in the open air is just for a select few, you need to see the true work of the evangelist, which is to equip the saints.

Are all called to preach the gospel the same way?  No.  Are all called to preach the gospel some way?  YES.  We all see people each day that are unsaved. We all have friends, relatives,  and coworkers that the evangelist can never meet. The evangelist is to be involved in the work and making sure the work is effective, but he should never be the only one preaching the Gospel to the lost.

You’re either a missionary or a mission field.  One or the other. So, will you  step out in faith and reach out to some lost soul? If not, what is keeping you? Maybe you don’t feel  comfortable speaking. Paul  said in 1 Cor. 2 that even this educated apostle was fearful, and I am sure he was not comfortable being placed in prison, yet he obeyed despite the cost to him personally.

Paul knew what he had to look forward to, and his priority was to please his Master and Savior. It was his love for the Lord that brought him to tell the wonderful story of the Christ who died for him and his sin. His faith was personal, and because of the relationship with Christ that Paul had, he could not keep such a wondrous thing to himself. Truly, the epitome of a selfish Christian is one who keeps his Savior to himself.

Mark- evangelist calling

    My name is Mark Cowperthwaite. My wife, Sara, and I have been married for 7 years.  The Lord has given us 3 children, ranging in age from 13 years down to 2 years. Our home assembly is Grace Fellowship Bible Chapel, in Union, Maine.  I pray it will be an encouragement to you to learn a little about the work the Lord has called our family to, and how it all got started.
    In 2006, I started to see that there was an area in my life, and in our home church, that was not in line with what I saw in Scripture.  That area was evangelism.  I spoke with my friend Justin, a brother who struggled with the same issues. God knit out hearts together and brought us as a team, brothers to hold each other accountable and to encourage and pray for each other as we strive to walk according to the Lord’s will for our lives. By God’s providence, We now travel with Justin’s family throughout  the country. We spoke of what God was calling us to do as Christians, to be witnesses. This was not the calling of the evangelist, but just what every believer should do. Our conversations usually ended with neither of us having any solid ideas or clear direction on how to begin preaching the gospel as church body.
    Eventually, we decided to just step out and do something, even though we both felt inadequate and unprepared!  We started by simply picking a street and going up to knock on each door.  I thank God that He honored our motives, in spite of our lack of ability!  I am quite sure we put our foot in our mouth at almost every door, but the Lord did give us a few good conversations and opportunities to share the gospel.  Most of all, He showed us that our fears could be overcome, and the people we met revealed how great the need really was.
    I spent much time in prayer, seeking other ways to preach the gospel.  It was my desire for others in our local body to also get involved in the work in a cooperative way, laboring together in the gospel.  Outwardly, I began to exhort the saints to both personal and corporate evangelism, but inwardly I still battled intensely with fear.  
    It was not until 2007, that the Lord used the biography of a contemporary evangelist serving his Savior under the persecution of Communist China, to really break my heart.  I finally saw my fear and hesitance to share the gospel for what it really was: being ashamed of my Savior, an unwillingness to bear reproach for His name’s sake, and simple disobedience to the clear commands of our Lord.  I repented before the Lord for my disobedience.
    I then sought in earnest to take opportunities for preaching the gospel.  I wrote letters to distant family members and former clients.  I started handing out tracts when I was out in public.  And I prayed. I prayed for boldness… I prayed for opportunities… I prayed for guidance.  Please do not get the wrong impression.  I still often failed to speak when I knew I should have, and all that prayer was needed to keep me going from one encounter to the next.  But I was determined, with God’s help, that I would no longer be a slave to my fear and disobedience.  
    By the beginning of 2008, I was seeking out opportunities to gain experience from others in preaching the gospel.  That summer also saw my partner Justin and  I planning several evangelism outreaches with Grace Fellowship, including our first VBS in many years; distributing thousands of tracts at two local parades; and paint-board preaching from a literature booth at a local fair.
    A two-fold burden was laid on my heart: for the lost, not just in Maine but throughout the United States; and for other local churches where the saints are struggling to do more in obeying the Great Commission, and are seeking help and guidance as I myself had been not so many years ago.  With much prayer, and consultation with our elders, we saw this burden as God’s calling us to this work, and began making preparations.  So, in the fall of 2008, the Lord provided us with a camper for our family to live in, and we put our house in Maine up for sale.  With that, we were commended by our assembly and entered into a full-time traveling ministry, both preaching the gospel and helping assemblies to get established in the work of evangelism.

A song to share- In Christ alone

I just wanted to share this, as I was thinking about it. Christ is the only source of hope, peace, and comfort. We have enjoyed the lyrics and it reminds us of how God's strength got us through losing our son. I am preparing to speak a few times this next month and could use prayer as I prepare to share God's strength and love through the dark times as well as His providence in all things. Enjoy.

"In Christ Alone"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.


CCLI No:3350395.

Richmond, Kentucky surge updates

Greetings from Richmond, Kentucky:

It has been quite a long time and much has happened since our last update. We arrived in Kentucky May 23, actually the wee hours of the morning of the 24th. We had a few troubles along the way on the trip here, but are very happy to be able to see the Lord at work in all things. Small trials and inconveniences have a way of distracting us, but we rejoice in knowing that God is in control and continues to protect, lead, and guide us as we listen to His leading and walk according to His will.

Our new camper and van (2002 E350 12 passenger) have worked out fine and we continue to thank the Lord for all the blessings He has given our family.

The last month has been full of changes. Selling the old camper and truck, then buying our new camper and van was not without its ups and downs, but we waited on the Lord to bring all things together for us, and for His glory. We didn't actually get our van until Friday at 5pm, knowing that we needed to leave by Saturday at 2pm. We are still learning the lessons about patience and God's perfect timing.

Our driving trip to Kentucky, we thought, would be rather uneventful. We planned to arrive about dinner time and meet folks Saturday, then return Sunday for services at Bluegrass Bible Fellowship here in Richmond, Kentucky. Along the way here, in Dayton, Ohio, we lost a tire on the camper. Upon opening the jack storage compartment, we found a jack, but the wrong sized tire iron. I was able to jack it up and get the spare tire ready while Sara flagged down a very nice fellow who let us borrow his properly sized tire wrench(we since bought the right sized one). We changed the tire, thanked our rescuer for his help, and thanked the Lord for keeping us safe while performing this work on the interstate highway(gladly, it was the passenger side tire).

We got back on our way and about 10-20 minutes later, the spare tire also went flat. This time we were in a construction zone and had to move the large hazard cones to get the vehicles out of the way of traffic.Traffic zoomed by at 55mph, nobody slowing down or changing lanes to avoid our vehicle while we scurried to move things and get off the road. Again, we were kept safe as we worked on things there. Looking at our clock, we realized it was about 530 pm, Saturday evening, Memorial day weekend, and that finding a tire, let alone the right tires for our trailer, was going to be difficult. We called for hours, and finally found one place that had the tires, and also could come and replace them on site, mounting them and replacing them on the trailer.

This time was not wasted however, as God put a musician(the man with the tire iron), a police officer, and a tire repairman all in our path that night. I called Justin and expressed my frustration at the delay. He reminded me of the providence of God in all things when he asked me what I was upset about. I told Justin that I wanted to get to Richmond to be able to reach people with the Gospel message. Justin, my ever-faithful accountability partner reminded me that I could do that wherever I was. I was reminded (echoing the dozens of times I had told other this) that I can be a witness wherever I find myself. God put people in our path that night that needed to hear the Gospel and we were faithful and obedient to that calling. You just never know when a door will open to share of the Savior. Praise the Lord for that reminder!

Whether we were stuck on the side of the road or going door to door to share the truth about eternal life through Jesus Christ, it was the same message, and everyone needs to hear it. It was no accident that we got to meet Eric, Mike, and the police officer, and share with them about our Savior. I was reminded again today of that principle when Eric Smith (GNOM team member) and I went to visit a young man to invite him to lunch and speak with him about the Gospel. We arrived at his house and spoke with his step-father for 1/2 hour or more. While that conversation was wrapping up, the young man's brother showed up. We spoke with him for about an hour.

The man we thought we were there to talk to was asleep the whole time we were there, yet God had sent us to this open door. We were reminded that even though we think we are headed one way to do something, often God opens doors for us even when we are not looking. The Lord, in His providence, had set up these appointments for us, knowing that there were hearts open to the Gospel in that home. Eric and I prayed and spoke on the way back to the chapel (some 2 1/2 hours later) about how we need to be sensitive to God's leading. We need to be making opportunities to share the truth of eternal life through the grace of Jesus Christ. We would have missed these Divine appointments had we not been listening to the Spirit's leading, yet God opened the doors into many lives today as His people around the Richmond area (and through obedient believers in many places I will never know about) went our faithfully to share.

Pray with us that God's people will continue to be unified around the cross of Christ, that we will continue to faithfully reach the lost with the good news of eternal life and a personal relationship with the Creator of all things. Also remember in prayer those who we will speak to this week. We pray that God will use us for His glory and to bring others to forgiveness and salvation. There are many laboring here this week, and some will go home soon. Others will be coming for the next few weeks, but all will go home eventually. Pray that the work done here in Richmond continues throughout the world, that the fervency and obedience in preaching the truth will not stop when we disperse, but rather that the fire of revival will spread until Jesus comes. Pray that God gets all the glory and that many new souls will be brought to the Savior.

I am overjoyed at the times we have been able to spend in worship, in study of God's Word, and in meeting other believers. We have been so blessed to spend time with so many that share our love for the Savior, and have enjoyed meeting folks from all over. There are believers here this week from Ireland, Canada, and probably a dozen states in the USA. We have had such a great time being challenged from God's Word and laboring together for the sake of our Lord Jesus. What a privilege it is, as weak and incapable as we are, that God allows us to take part in this reconciliatory work! We surely do not deserve it, but are joyful to be part of God's family. We are truly blessed. Praise God!

Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
cowperthwaitefamily@gmail.com
http://cowperthwaitefamily.blogspot.com