Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2006, Andrea & I felt the call to move from our comfort zone of Kings Mountain, North Carolina to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to share the name of Jesus with those who have never heard the name. During this time, we have worked with a new church plant, Southwinds Church. We witnessed many visitors cross the doorsteps of a church of any kind for the first time. We have seen some come to accept Jesus and then be baptized either in the cold lake water or a portable pool. The long winter months were filled with many, many days of clearing snow from the drives and sidewalks as a “snow angel” as well as outdoor winter events when the temperatures were well below zero (F). The short summers saw us partner with many churches from the States that sent short term mission teams to help with our block parties, kids sports camps and other community events. During our time here, hundreds of donated copies of God’s Word were given away – free to many children and adults.
Now, we feel God calling to us to move again from our comfort zone to Portland, Oregon. Why leave and why move to Portland? Andrea & I woke up one day and we both felt that it was time to leave. It’s really that simple. God placed Portland in front of us in several ways. The North American Mission Board has listed Portland in the top 5 of their 25 target cities to reach. After looking a little deeper, we found out that 69% of those in the Portland area claim no religious affiliation. 91% of the Portland people do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Since feeling God’s call, we have connected with Trinity Church, (www.trinitychurchlive.com). Andrea & I sold our home in Calgary and have now relocated to Oregon to become a part of this new church plant assisting them as they share the Good News in the suburbs of Portland. Our intentional ministry is to lead a home Bible study group and coordinate outreach community events such as what was done in Calgary.
We have been serving as Mission Service Corps missionaries with the North American Mission Board (NAMB) since February, 2007. Mission Service Corps is a team of long-term, self-funded missionaries. By securing our own support for our ministry, we enable the North American Mission Board to extend its evangelism and church planting efforts to the 259 million lost people in North America.While the Cooperative Program, Annie Armstrong and Lottie Moon special mission offerings support many Southern Baptist Missionaries; these do not provide financial support for all of them, or for the expanding need for more missionaries. Like the other 1,600 MSC missionaries in the mission field, we depend on consistent monthly financial commitments and prayer support of ministry partners to continue our ministry in Oregon. We are 100% partner-supported and receive zero funding from the Southern Baptist Convention. If you would like to make a secure, tax-deductible donation to our ministry, please click on the link at the top of our home page, that says “Donate Now.” Since we have relocated back to the States, Andrea is looking for work in this high unemployment area. Tim will devote 100% of his time to ministry development. As with most new church plants, there will not be much, if any, funding for Tim’s position. So you can see that it is imperative for us to receive financial gifts in order for us to remain as church planting missionaries.
We hope that you will pray about your opportunity to be a part of our ministry to share the name of Jesus Christ in the Portland area. We are asking you to help make a difference. Thank you for your prayers.
God’s Servants Wherever He Calls,
Tim & Andrea