New Testament enjoyed their first anniversary with over 35 in attendance and several saved.  Praise the Lord.

 

February 28, 2010
The months of December and January were very hard as the recurring severe winter weather in the northeast kept many people away from church.  In spite of this, new visitors attended the services and people were saved.  Continue praying for this work as it strives to grow in the new year.

 
November 25, 2010
New Testament had a great day on November 7 with 37 attending Sunday services.  Also, four people received Jesus Christ as their Saviour.  Praise the Lord!  Please continue in prayer for Lydia Miller, who was diagnosed with epilepsy.

November 5, 2010
Please pray for Lydia Miller, who has recently suffered from seizures.  Also, pray for New Testament as they prepare for their very first "big day" on Sunday, November 7.

Pastor Miller's church launch on August 29 was a success with 25 in attendance.  The crowd included six first-time visitors.  The church also had 15 in attendance on Sunday evening.  On the weekend before Labor Day, Bro. Miller had the privilege of going soul winning with his 93 year old grandmother.  They were able to see two saved.  Please continue to pray for visitors and souls saved in Northfield.

 

Bro. Miller has felt the burden to pastor a church for the past several months, and he began formally searching for a church in March.  His early efforts to locate a church to pastor led him to many prospects but no firm commitments to make a follow-up visit. 

 

In late May, the opportunity to start a new church presented itself to Bro. Miller.  Pastor Robert York, a close personal friend of Bro. Miller, had recently vacated his old church property as the result of a merger between his church and another church in the Cleveland, OH, area. 

 

Pastor York's church gained a much larger church plant and room to grow, but they now had an extra church property that was no longer needed. 

 

The two men connected with each other and the idea of starting a new church from the old property grew on each of them.  An on-site visit to Ohio was made in late June to further evaluate the possibility. 

 

The visit made a favorable impression on Bro. Miller as well as on Pastor York.  From this meeting, plans were laid for the Miller family to establish a church from the former location of Pastor York's ministry.  A date was set for the Millers to depart Gateway and begin this important new work:  August 8.  A start-up plan to obtain financial support was also initiated.  The sponsors would financially contribute to Bro. Miller's work for one year, allowing him time to build a core of church members who would then be able to financially support the church and pastor.  Many friends and churches, including Gateway, joined in this home missions effort.

 

August 8 was a day full of tears and heartfelt good-byes as members poured out their thanks and appreciation for the Miller's ministry here.  Bro. Miller also overflowed with tears and heartfelt thanks to the people of Gateway during his final sermon at our church, which was preached on Sunday night.  A fellowship at the St. Louis Bread Company in Shiloh followed the evening services.  The mood was distinctly joyous as our thoughts turned from the void he and his family were leaving to the greater good the Millers will be accomplishing as the pastor and family of a new church.

 

Final preparations and last-minute cleaning filled the morning of August 9.  The younger children spent the morning playing while the older kids and Miller parents thoroughly cleaned their parsonage and finished loading the moving van.  The final call came a little after 2 p.m., when Bro. Miller summoned his children from the Ye's parsonage where Daniel and the younger Millers were playing with Hannah and the Carpenter kids for the last time.  Pastor Carpenter, David, Sara, and Will Carpenter, the Ye family, and the Millers gathered around and exchanged tears, hugs, and handshakes in a manner resembling the departure of a beloved family member rather than an employee. 

 

Pastor Carpenter then led in prayer, asking for God's special blessing on the continuing work of Gateway and the new work in Ohio. 

 

Then, the mighty engines of the moving van and the Miller's white 15-passenger came to life and the nine of them rumbled down the gravel path from their former home, through the bowling alley parking lot, onto Camp Jackson Road, and then onto the interstate, honking all the way as they drove around the bend and into the hot August sun.

 

****

 

The Millers will be taking it easy as they travel toward the Cleveland area, dividing the trip into a two-day journey.  They will attend Pastor York's church for the first few weeks, and then kick off their new ministry on Sunday, August 29. 

 

The Lord has provided them with a spacious home to rent during their first year.  In addition, the church property is already furnished, which will save the Millers thousands of dollars in start-up expenses.  Gateway is financially contributing in several ways, including a substantial monthly sponsorship as well as six months of continued cellular phone service. 

 

Please pray for God's best on the Millers as they take off on this vital venture of service in the Cleveland area. 

 

 

New Testament Baptist Church

Pastor Brian Miller

39 Birch Avenue

Northfield, OH  44067

(618) 210-1225