August 2012

Dear Pastors and praying friends,

We would like to share with you the latest development in our deputation process.  In May, we had a conversation through email with a German pastor.  In that conversation he told us that the church has been praying about the possibility of asking us to consider joining one of two teams from their church.  Each team would be made up of two German couples and an American missionary couple.  The goal for these teams is to plant churches within a two hour radius of their home church, and they would like to launch these teams within three years.

After considering this possibility and praying about the opportunity, we are interested to see if God opens this door as we anticipate ministering in Germany for a number of reasons.  First, this opportunity lines up with our ministry objective of forming church planting teams with Germans.  We believe that Germans need to take the driver’s seat in church planting in order to reach their country for Christ.  Forming teams with missionaries and Germans affords that opportunity for Germans to be in leadership from the groundwork of church planting.  Second, the timing of a desired launch in three years will work perfectly with us, if we are able to get to Germany by the end of the year.  We would be enrolled in language school at the beginning of next year, and Lord willing, be finished with language training in time to launch with one of these teams.

The timing of us leaving for Germany is crucial for a number of reasons.  The first, mentioned above, is getting through language training in time for the launch of these church planting teams.  The second, being just as crucial, is a deadline set by our sending church.  We are currently at 53.7% of the support we need to live and minister in Germany.  We need to have 100% of our support committed by October 1, 2012.  This means we need an additional $2,714.00 in monthly support by October 1.  From a human perspective this could seem like a mountainous need, but our God is in the business of moving mountains when his people pray in faith.  

Would you join us in praying that God would provide the remaining support we need by October 1, 2012?

Would you seriously consider whether you are able to assist us in meeting this needed support.

Sincerely,

Jim and Sarah Engle

Baptist Mid-Missions

Appointees to Germany

June 20, 2012

Dear Praying Friends,

We are eagerly anticipating our upcoming summer ministry opportunities. The month of July will be very busy as we'll be at three different weeks of camp in Iowa and Minnesota, and a week of VBS in Wisconsin.  Please pray that God will be honored, missions will be bolstered, and souls will be saved.

We are relying on God to provide the necessary funds for us to minister in Germany.  We need to raise approximately another $2700/month by this October 1.  We are excited to see how the Lord will bring this support in, and from whom it will come.  There are several exciting things happening in Germany related to church planting right now, and we hope to be involved and learning the language as early as the end of this year.  Please pray that God will provide our funding.

If you would like us to return to your church to give an update or to get reacquainted with our ministry I have some Sundays available in September.  Please contact me:  515-371-1902 or jdengle01@gmail.com.

If you would like to join our financial support team here is a link to the Declaration of Intent to Support form.  Just simply fill it out, put our name for the missionary, and hit submit (or print it out and mail it in.) http://www.bmm.org/NR/rdonlyres/ACAEB3EF-EC1D-4DE7-96CD-602C269F8895/0/IDISform.pdf

If you would like to give a one time gift to help with our support account or our outfit and passage account, BMM offers the convenience of Paypal through their website: http://www.bmm.org/BMM/Giving/GiveNow/missionary+support.htm
Simply designate to which account you would like to contribute.

May the Lord bless you this week as you seek to serve Him,

Jim and Sarah

Baptist Mid-Missions
Appointees to Germany

May 23, 2012

Dear praying friends,

Thank you for actively being involved in our ministry through prayer.  We know that your prayers will be a vital part of ministering in Germany in the future and your present prayers are invaluable as we travel to churches and camps while on deputation.  Please pray that God would use us to challenge believers to serve Him.

As some of you know last month Creston, IA was hit by a tornado which did much damage to the hospital and the community college there.  One of our supporting churches, First Baptist of Creston, had minor damage to the building, but everybody was safe.  Praise God for His protection during this violent storm.  We were able to go down two weeks ago and spend two days helping with some of the clean up.  There are still many buildings that have much damage and some that have to be demolished.  Pray for the members of First Baptist as they reach out to their community.

On June 3, Fellowship Baptist Church in Des Moines, IA is having a send off service for Mark and Leslie Boyd. They are fellow BMM missionary appointees headed to Germany as church planters.  Praise the Lord that this couple is ready to leave and begin their ministry in Germany.  The Germany Field is also excited about their arrival and transition into ministry there.  The Boyds completion of deputation leaves two on deputation for the field of Germany: Crystal Buegel and ourselves.  Please pray that both of us would soon be departing for Germany also.

Here is our up-coming itinerary:
5/27 - Ithaca Baptist, Ithaca, MI (new meeting)
6/3 - Boyd send off service - Fellowship Baptist, Des Moines, IA
6/4-8 - VBS @ Faith Baptist, Cambridge, IA
6/9-10 - First Baptist, Arlington Heights, IL - (new meeting) missions conference
7/8-13 - Raccoon River Bible Camp - Junior Camp missionary speaker
7/14-20 - IRBC Family Camp 3 as campers - Clear Lake, IA
7/23-28 - Bass Lake Baptist Camp -Senior High Camp missionary speaker
7/29 - Woodruff Baptist, Woodruff, WI (new meeting)
7/30 - 8/3 - VBS @ Woodruff Baptist, Woodruff, WI
8/12 - Grace Community, Rochester, MN (new meeting)
8/19 - Faith Baptist, Albert Lea, MN (update meeting)
9/11-14 - Launch Seminar at BMM Home Office, Cleveland, OH
9/17-19 - Pennsylvania ARBC Annual Conference or Minnesota ARBC Annual Conference (not sure which one yet)
9/24-25 - Crossroads Fellowship Annual Conference - Indiana
10/1-2 - IL/MO Fall Conference - Illinois
10/15-16 - Empire State Fall Conference - Watertown, NY
10/19-20 - Wisconsin ARBC Fall Conference
10/28 - Bethel Baptist, Oskaloosa, IA (update meeting)
10/29-30 - Michigan ARBC Fall Conference

Please pray that our support would increase to over 60% quickly.  We are currently at 55% of our needed support to live and minister in Germany.  We are very grateful to be over the half way point.   Along the way many people have told us that once we reach 50% things will go more quickly.  Only the Lord knows whether that will be true or not, but we certainly hope that He will bring together the right team of prayer and financial supporters in His timing.  We certainly are very thankful for the 13 churches and 14 families that make up our current team of supporters.

If you feel called to join our team of supporters here is a link to an online form you may fill out and submit to Baptist Mid Missions.  Our account/project# is 702037.
http://www.bmm.org/NR/rdonlyres/ACAEB3EF-EC1D-4DE7-96CD-602C269F8895/0/IDISform.pdf

Jim and Sarah Engle
Baptist Mid-Missions
Appointees to Germany

April 13, 2012

Dear praying friends,

We are very thankful for another new supporting church, Calvary Baptist Church in Union, IA.  We look forward to developing a closer relationship with them over the years, as we minister together for the Gospel.  Our current support is now 55%.  Please pray that, in God's timing, more will come in.

We were involved with Forever Be Sure Ladies Quartet in their Arizona Tour last month with nine concerts in six days.  They received many comments about how the music was a blessing.  If you are interested in their story look at their website:  www.foreverbesure.com.  While there, we made several good contacts for our own future meetings and attended the state fellowship meetings.  I have begun the process of contacting those pastors to schedule our own trip possibly this Fall.

Our original plans were to go from Arizona and drive up to Washington for a visit with family and give an update report to a church we visited in 2010, First Baptist in Soap Lake, WA.  But unfortunately our car's transmission gave us some problems on the way down to Arizona, and we had to make the tough decision not to go up to Washington.  We hope to some time in the near future to be able to visit them again.

This past Wednesday I spoke at the AWANA closing service at a supporting church, Bible Baptist Church in Rantoul, IL.  Please pray that the Gospel message from 1 John 1 will penetrate the hearts of clubbers and parents.

Pray also for our sending church, Evangel Baptist Church in Taylor, MI as they are faced with some tough financial decisions concerning their missions budget.  Their next business meeting is Sunday night, April 15. We love Evangel and are excited about what God is doing in their midst. "Evangel" means "Good News" and they have shared with us their goal to live out the name "Evangel" as a church and be bearers of the good news of the Gospel. Pray for their hearts to be burdened for souls and that evangelism would become second nature to them and that their lives would shine forth the Good News!

Here is our itinerary so you can pray for our upcoming meetings:
4/15 - First Baptist, Austin, MN (new meeting)
4/16-18 - IARBC annual conference - Grimes, IA
4/22 - Hamilton Baptist, Hamilton, MI (new meeting)
4/29 - North Royalton Baptist, North Royalton, OH (new meeting)
5/27 - Ithaca Baptist, Ithaca, MI (new meeting)
6/9-10 - First Baptist, Arlington Heights, IL - (new meeting) missions conference
7/1 - Woodruff Baptist, Woodruff, WI (new meeting)
7/23-28 - Bass Lake Baptist Camp -Senior High Camp missionary speaker
8/12 - Grace Community, Rochester, MN (new meeting)
8/19 - Faith Baptist, Albert Lea, MN (update meeting)
9/11-14 - Launch Seminar at BMM Home Office, Cleveland, OH
10/28 - Bethel Baptist, Oskaloosa, IA (update meeting)
Thank you for praying,

Jim and Sarah

March 22, 2012

Dear praying friends,

The first two concerts down here in Phoenix, AZ have been a blessing.  We are very thankful to be involved in this ministry, and to have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people in several churches.  We are praying for the opportunity to come back to some of these churches to present our ministry in Germany.

We are very thankful for another new supporter.  Our new support percentage is 54.1%.  Please continue praying about the 60% mark.

Thank you,

Jim and Sarah Engle

March 15, 2012

Dear praying friends,

I just wanted to write real quick and share the news before we leave tomorrow for our trip to Arizona/Washington.  This evening we learned of another new supporting family, which brings our support percentage to 53.7%.

Please keep praying that we would reach 60% by the end of March.

Rejoicing in Him,

Jim and Sarah Engle
Baptist Mid-Missions
Appointees to Germany

March 2012 Update

Dear praying friends,

Once again we want to thank you for your prayers over the last several weeks and months.  It truly has been wonderful to see the Lord work in so many ways. 

New support level - I found out yesterday about another individual supporter that has begun supporting us.  There are also three new supporting families in the process of filling out the paperwork.  Also, one of our supporting churches has been putting half of their support into a savings account for our outfit and passage when we are ready to leave for Germany.  We previously have not included this other half in our tally of support percentage.  But we recently have been advised to do so because it is committed support. So our new support level is:  51.2%. 

Prayer Request for our Van dilemma - We are leaving for our trip to Phoenix and Washington Thursday, March 15.  I took our van in today to have it checked out in preparation for the trip.  We've had a transmission code setting the check engine light and our cruise control stopped working about two weeks ago.  The diagnosis is inconclusive. It will require "digging" deeper to know for sure what the problem is.  The mechanic said even if we threw in a refurbished trans he would not recommend going on such a trip for at least a month later to make sure everything was working properly.  We are praying about wisdom and options.  We have thought of several, but not with peace about either of those options:  1. Take our car, 2. Rent a mini-van, 3. Take our mini-van anyway.  Let me explain the dilemma in these choices: 1. Our car has over 235,000 miles and much less cargo space.  2. Renting a mini-van will cost around $2000 for the time we will be gone (money which should be put into a new transmission when we get home).  3.  We don't believe it is wise to drive over 5600 miles, through desert and mountains, over a three and a half week trip, when our vehicle is in questionable condition. Please pray with us about this decision! We know God already has the answer in mind, and now is the time to wait and see Him work! Please, let us know if you come across any other suggestions, as well! God can use a myriad of situations, people, etc. to direct us to His will!

Sweetheart Banquet participation - We had the privilege of participating in the Sweetheart banquet this past Saturday at Faith Baptist Church in Cambridge, IA.  Sarah and I wore rented Victorian outfits (look us up on Facebook to see pictures).  We "attempted" to sing/act out Daisy Bell  (On a Bicycle Built for Two).  I also sang I love you truly in a barbershop trio.  Over all it was a great time to focus on uplifting fellow believers to cherish our marriages.

Support Goal - Please continue to pray about our support goal of reaching 60% by the end of this month.  The remaining 8.8% equates to $516/month in needed support.

If you know of a church interested in the ministry in Germany please let me know about them.  If you are interested as a family/individual in joining our support team or if you have a business and are interested in making a donation here is a link to the Online Interactive Declaration of Intention to Support Form.  Our project number is 702037.
http://bmm.org/NR/rdonlyres/ACAEB3EF-EC1D-4DE7-96CD-602C269F8895/0/IDISform.pdf

Please pray about our upcoming meetings:

March 19-27:  Forever Be Sure Concert Tour, Phoenix, AZ
March 23-24:  Arizona ARBC annual conference
April 4:  First Baptist Church, Soap Lake, WA
April 11:  Bible Baptist Church, Rantoul, IL  Awana closing service
April 15:  First Baptist Church, Austin, MN
April 22:  Hamilton Baptist Church, Hamilton, MI
April 29:  North Royalton Baptist Church, North Royalton, OH
May 27:  Ithaca Baptist Church, Ithaca, MI
June 9-10:  First Baptist Church, Arlington Heights, IL missions conference
July 1:  Woodruff Baptist Church, Woodruff, WI
July 9-12:  BMM annual conference, Cleveland, OH
Aug 19 or 26:  Faith Baptist Church, Albert Lea, MN
Sept 11-14:  Launch Seminar, BMM Home office, Cleveland, OH

Thank you again for your prayers
Jim and Sarah Engle
Baptist Mid-Missions
Appointees to Germany