For the past month we have been serving as the Summer Program Hosts at the FOCUS Study Center on Martha’s Vineyard, MA. Two of the college-aged staff members we are mentoring have given their lives to Christ and were baptized. Matt baptized Kitchy within the first week and Hawley baptized Juliette more recently.
new england - change is difficult
Prayer Request/Update: Andrew from Northampton & My Father’s House
A year ago I (Matt) sent out a prayer request and told the story of a man named Andrew I met who was sleeping in his car in Northampton, MA. My friend Seth and I were at Pulaski Park in downtown Northampton doing street evangelism, and Andrew was there. I offered to take him to a recovery home several towns over called My Father’s House. Andrew stayed there several weeks, and during that time I discipled him, led him to repentance, and baptized him.
However, in spite if this progress, Andrew was a difficult person to work with for both me and My Farther’s House, and we both eventually cut off our relationships with him in the end.
Andrew recently resurfaced, and the second state appears worse than the first. He needs much prayer and fasting. I invite some of you to join me in prayer, maybe even fasting, for him and My Father’s House. He needs to be delivered completely from darkness, gain mental health, and learn to maintain relationships so he can sustain employment and reconcile with his family, including a young son. Pray for the team at My Father’s House as he has recently been unkind to them.
Bibles to New England
Over 1000 Bibles [English and Spanish] have been shipped to the New England Area. Praying God's Word will be a lamp to someone's feet and a light unto their path.
new england - umass
New Follower of Jesus from Laboring at UMASS
We just received exciting news from Tommy, Matt’s main contact at UMASS, Amherst. Your prayers have been answered!
A couple of months ago I (Matt) spent half a day training Tommy and a few students at UMASS before spending some time witnessing on campus. A week later we had plans to do the same thing, but I got sick. I felt I heard from God that morning to rest and postpone my meeting with them.
Tommy and a few guys met up and practiced without me before going out in pairs to try to share the gospel (they didn’t need me!). Tommy was with a guy named Gideon. The two of them received several rejections and ended up back in the place where they started in the student center. Gideon then pointed out a guy he saw when they started and explained he had a strong impression they should talk to him.
The young man they talked to was a Hindu-background atheist named Mrinal. After briefly trying to get out of the conversation, he opened up and agreed to read the Bible with Tommy. Since then they’ve met several times, and Mrinal repented in prayer just before Thanksgiving! Tommy is going to start talking to Mrinal about the cost of discipleship and baptism soon.
new england - sidewalk chalk
Please Pray for Northampton, Mass.
Just north of where we live, about a 30-min. drive, is Northampton, Mass. This is a strategic city that we very much want to see God reach in new and publicly noticeable ways.
Northampton was where Jonathan Edwards was the pastor in the 1700s when revival broke out, leading to the First Great Awakening. Our personal connection is that Hawley and our children are related to the Edwards family. And now 300 years later, Northampton is a very, very different place—quite the opposite. The people on the streets there are clearly confused by contemporary ideologies, pagan/Satanic spiritualities, and drug use. There is a lot of visible depression. The people are burdened. And there is a large and boisterous homeless community that dominates the downtown, which is also home to Smith College.
Please pray in compassion for the people of Northampton! Matt usually goes there one day each week to pray with a small group of believers, prayer walk, and witness on the streets. We sense a need to do something bigger than what we’ve attempted so far in order to shake things up considerably and repossess the territory for Jesus. Northampton is the “Goliath” in our area that taunts us, but we’re trusting in God to conquer this giant. Please pray for this, and pray for Matt’s protection especially as he increasingly goes to Northampton and takes others with him. Pray also for Nathaniel and Stefan, two men who were recently receptive to the gospel on the streets in Northampton.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.“ (Matthew 9:36)
new england - car living
Pray for Andrew/Northampton Update
Thanks for those of you who prayed for Northampton It’s working!
My friend Seth and I (Matt) have gone a few times in recent weeks to a park in downtown Northampton to pray and witness to people. Last week we met a guy named Andrew who was receptive to the gospel but living on the streets in his broken down car in the photo. I asked him if he truly wanted to get off the streets and offered to take him to a Christian recovery mission I trust a few towns over. He said yes.
Long story short, I took him there, and he’s been there for a week now. We were able to get his car started and moved to where he’s now staying. And this week I started discipling him and training him to make disciples. He’s very excited to be growing spiritually and sharing his faith with others, including his family.
Please pray for Andrew. He believes in Jesus but is just now learning to follow him. Pray that being in the recovery mission will help him not only get off the streets but to get right with God. Pray that his family, among whom there is much dysfunction, will begin to receive the gospel when he starts sharing. Pray also for my friend Seth who is witnessing with me in Northampton. Pray for our attempt to start a regular Bible study in the park on Friday mornings.
new england - cafe fire
Our Friends’ Cafe & Site of Church-Start Burned Down
Early Tuesday morning, the historic building in New Hartford, CT where our friends Glenn and Maja’s cafe was burned down and was destroyed. They met at the cafe, Farm River Cafe, where Glenn was the owner-operator, and they were later married there. They are also people we have been investing in spiritually, and they have been gathering friends on Saturdays with the goal of starting a church at the cafe. For them, this feels like a spiritual attack against what was happening there and their hopes to reach the small town.
There is still no known cause, and the building has been demolished for safety reasons.
Please pray for Glenn and Maja. Pray also for the other business owners, apartment residents, and the owner of the building. Pray for the firemen injured battling the fire. Pray for the town of New Hartford. Pray for the group that has been gathering in the cafe.
new england - three baptisms
Three Baptisms & an Evangelism Training
Three children submitted to Jesus in baptism at the Deerfield River today. This was at a gathering we had with our network in the Upper Pioneer Valley area of Western Mass.
Earlier in the afternoon Matt trained everyone at the gathering in evangelism. The training was timely since we had a heckler at the baptism, and one of our folks was able to share the gospel with her. He used the 3 Circles gospel presentation with her that he had learned earlier (fourth photo).
Please pray for Kizzi, Phinnie, and Charlotte. Pray for those who witnessed the baptisms, especially the woman who heard the gospel. And pray for the large group of people who are now trained to share their faith. Pray for more of this.
new england - mass unreached
So far we’ve been able to train people in 12 counties throughout New England to multiply disciples. The levels of training vary from initial disciple-making to church planting. One of our goals is to train people (or see folks we train train others) in every county across all six states. We want to see pioneering leaders come out of this work who will take ownership over their areas. We want to work ourselves out of a job! We’ve currently identified such pioneering leaders in Hillsboro County, NH.
new england - history tour western mass
Western Mass. Revival & Missions History Tour
Despite being one of the least Christian regions in the country, Western Massachusetts once played an important role in revivals and foreign missions in the past. This rich history was part of our family’s call to come here and help recover what has been lost. Over the course of two days this summer, we helped lead a tour of key historical sites with our friend Jonathan Friz.
At Solomon Stoddard’s grave in Northampton. Stoddard was Jonathan Edwards’ grandfather. Edwards was a key leader in the First Great Awakening. Hawley is a direct descendant of Stoddard and therefore related to Edwards.
Many places are now dark shadows of their former selves, quite the opposite of what once happened here. Please pray for Northampton, Northfield, Stockbridge, Williams College, and Mount Holyoke College and the people there.
