Celebrating Generosity: Guilford Family Partnerships
Celebrating Generosity: Banyala Luke Translation Complete
Imagine Zero is an initiative by The Seed Company to end Bible poverty around the world. There are over 2,000 people groups that do not have a single verse of Scripture in a language they can understand.
In October of 2019, Reston Bible Church partnered with The Seed Company, which currently works with 120 partner organizations and 1,555 local ministries and churches to help bring God’s Word to the Bibleless. As a church, we adopted the translation of the book of Luke into the heart language of the Banyala people in Kenya. When we introduced the project last year, within a few short weeks, all 1,151 verses of the book of Luke were “adopted” by RBCers at $35 per verse.
Now, one year later, the Banyala people now have the book of Luke completely translated into their heart language. By the grace of God at work through your generosity, copies of Luke’s gospel are now being printed and distributed to the Banyalan people. Please continue to pray for the Banyala people, that as the Word of God goes forth, it will not return void (Isaiah 55:11).
Other specific prayer requests from the field include:
- May God continue uplifting those involved in bringing the Bible closer to the people.
- Thank God for a good translation team that will eventually see the New Testament fully drafted.
- Pray for God to give sobriety and self-control to the young people. Since people now spend much of their time at home because of COVID-19, there is a great deal of strain upon families. Many relationships have been impacted negatively, and with the schoolchildren all at home, there have been a lot of teenage pregnancies. The team prays that their translation of the Bible into the local language will help alleviate problems caused by the stress of the pandemic.
- Praise God that although the impact of COVID-19 varies from project to project, all translation teams have been able to continue their work. Travel restrictions have redirected responsibility for staying on schedule more directly to translation teams and communities, who have accepted even greater ownership of the work.
- Praise God that the closing of churches due to COVID has encouraged family worship, and many believers are now reading and studying the Bible for themselves.
- Pray for the pastors and ministers. Many churches have experienced a decrease in offerings and tithes, and some churches are unable to pay their pastors. Please pray for them as they continue to minister to the people in their care.
The video above is the update given in services last Sunday and includes a word of thanks from Nyanjugu Githui, the field project manager. In the video below, Banyalan translator and pastor Fred Egessa shares how translating the book of Luke impacted him personally.
Celebrating Generosity: Nepalese Church Plant
Celebrating Generosity: Youth Summer Camp 2020
Celebrating Generosity: Brazil Outreach
Celebrating Generosity: Community Blood Drive
Celebrating Generosity: Face Mask Donation to INOVA
Celebrating Generosity: Youth Ministry During COVID-19
Pastor Aaron Osborne takes a couple minutes to share about the importance of staying connected and what youth ministry at RBC looks like during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Celebrating Generosity: Guilford Update
To learn more about our partnership with Guilford Elementary and how you can get involved, email Leigh Ann Kiendl.
Celebrating Generosity: Haiti Mission Trip 2019
Celebrating Generosity: Justice & Mercy International
Celebrating Generosity: Marleny’s Story
Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. – 2 Corinthians 9:13
Jesus was kind to use your gifts of time, talent and treasure you invest in our International Connection ESL program, Food Pantry and Guilford Partnership to impact Marleny’s life forever. RBC, thank you for being a generous church.
Celebrating Generosity: The RBC Garden Project
A volunteer-lead imitative that began in the Spring of 2018, the RBC Community Garden Project grows and provides several hundred pounds of food a year to guests of our weekly Food Pantry.
If you’re interested in volunteering, we are always looking for help with planting, weeding, watering, harvesting and produce delivery. We also can use help with special projects like mulching, garden box construction and grounds maintenance. If you want to volunteer or would like more information, please contact Rob Schulman. You can download a Garden Volunteer application form here.
Celebrating Generosity: Limão Verde Mission Trip
CELEBRATING GENEROSITY: Annual Report & Succession Update
RBC ANNUAL REPORT 2018: From Sunday, December 9, here’s Executive Pastor Bruce Campbell giving an end-of-year financial update. You can find this information and much, much more by reading through the 2018 Annual Report. It is a joy to look back and remember the great things God has done, and the Annual Report allows us an opportunity to do that in the context of our church. May this year-in-review be an encouragement to deeper worship and more profound trust as we look back and are reminded of the good God has done among us for the glory of His name.
SUCCESSION UPDATE: The video above also includes a brief update from the chairman of the RBC elders, Eric Smith, regarding where we are as we trust the Lord to raise up Pastor Mike’s successor. The text of Eric’s announcement is also included below.
Since it has been some time since we have addressed the subject concerning the status of Mike Minter’s succession, the elders wanted to provide you with an update: To be clear up front, we are not announcing Mike’s imminent departure or replacement.
It has been said that every pastor is an interim pastor. God provides a pastor so that he might teach & shepherd the flock until the time that he hands off the baton to the next pastor, also provided by God. National statistics tell us that the average tenure of a senior pastor is less than 8 years. We are glad that Mike never got the memo, as he has persevered more than 40 years the senior teaching pastor of RBC. We are tremendously blessed to have Mike stand in this pulpit for all these years and although he remains youthful, we are all aware that Mike is not eternal (at least not in his present flesh).
You might not be aware of this, but as a result of Mike’s humility, he began engaging in dialog with the elders almost 15 years ago, about what a healthy succession plan might look like. Mike has demonstrated great faith in the Lord and willingness to “step out of the way” at anytime, should it be deemed best for RBC. I want it to be clear that no one in leadership is looking forward to his departure and there is no imminent concern for his replacement. At the same time, we desire to be diligent and thoughtful about the future. Our hope is that the Lord would grant us the opportunity to identify Mike’s eventual replacement, perhaps even years prior to Mike’s departure. We are also excited as we look to the Lord to see who He will provide as Mike’s successor. Understand, Mike is in excellent health and enjoying the opportunity to serve RBC with his preaching and teaching gifts.
The elders have for many years been prayerfully considering what a healthy transition looks like. We have been revisiting the position description and continue dialog regarding a succession plan. At some point in the near future, we will, Lord willing, invite the pastors, staff and all of you to consider your network of relationships in order to harvest potential names for consideration as we conduct a soft search. We will not be advertising or retaining a search firm at this time.
Although the future is not certain, we are confident that He who has begun a good work in the Saints at RBC will be faithful to complete it. He who has raised up Pastor Mike so profoundly, will He not care for His church?
We invite you to continue joining us as we earnestly pray and seek both His timing and His choice. It is our sincere purpose and hope that this transition will honor the LORD, honor you, and honor Mike & Kay, servants through whom much fruit has been born.
Thanks for co-laboring with us.