Dear brothers and sisters, peace to you in the Lord!
The Youth Disciple Training Camp just ended last week. We have been very busy since the May training camps for both disciples and lay-minister disciples, so the June prayer letter has been delayed until now. July is around the corner, so we apologize for combining the June and July prayer letters together. The next CWC meetings will be the August Bible Camp (August 1-7) and the August Disciple Training Camp (August 8-14). Therefore, you can anticipate that August will be a busy month. Please continue to pray for us.
(The ministry report below was written by Sister Cindy Chiang)
May and June Meeting Report
Although Missouri and nearby states have cancelled the requirements for wearing masks and social distancing, we were still extremely careful and followed many safety protocols in the past three trainings. We noticed that only a handful of people still wore masks. We hope that in August this year, because more people have been vaccinated, our meetings will be able to fully return to normal. Please pray for this.
- Disciple and co-worker training, Memorial Day Weekend Lay-Minister Training Camp (May 23 – 31)
The Discipleship Training in May saw 57 participants, including the co-workers. God used Pastors Edwin Su and David Wu to bring out His wonderful messages, and the brothers and sisters were deeply edified. Then, over the Memorial Day Weekend, another 74 brothers, sisters and co-workers brought their 24 children to participate in the Lay-Minister Discipleship Training Camp. The brothers and sisters who usually go to work could finally put aside their busy work life and gather at the Lord’s feet for His teaching. Through the two speakers, God reminded us that we are facing an extremely challenging era. We must stand for the Lord and fight a good battle. What is amazing was that both speakers happened to talk about Christian families without any coordination beforehand. A lot of the participants in this camp were church and fellowship leaders. After almost a year of churches being locked up for online gatherings, everyone can finally come together. These messages encouraged them to dedicate themselves to the Lord in this age of uncertainty, and lead the whole family to love the Lord and serve the Lord faithfully in the church. - June Youth Disciple Training Camp (June 13 – 19)
Last year, due to the pandemic, we cancelled youth camp (because youth camp is very unique due to the sheer amount of different activates, such as evangelism in the community, rafting, campfires, skits, body worship, etc., it could not be held online). In the past year, many youths and their parents often asked us: “Will there be a youth camp this year”? It turned out that 62 youths, plus 11 counselors and co-workers, attended the youth camp this year. The main speaker of this year’s camp, Pastor Albert Yip, is a missionary. So, no matter in his messages, our community’s evangelism, or the “mission night” held in the camp, he encouraged the youths to think about the Great Commission. God also spoke through our other speakers, Pastor Steve Tan and Berry Edwards, and the CWC coworkers to share a lot of messages about taking the path of discipleship. We ask the Lord to plant these words in the hearts of these young people so that they will not deviate from the way of the Lord.
August Bible Camp (August 1-7)
This time we are going to study the “Books of the Major Prophets.” Thank the Lord that more than 80 brothers and sisters had signed up by the deadline for registration (June 15). Starting from June 1st, many brothers and sisters have started the final stage of preparation for the camp: writing assigned reports. Pray for the brothers and sisters that they will have the wisdom from God. Pray for the co-workers that they have the wisdom to give the brothers and sisters instructions and guidance about report writing. And pray for Pastor Samuel Ho as he will prepare many messages for the camp. If you have missed this Bible camp, you can be prepared to participate in next January’s Bible camp to study the “Books of the Minor Prophets.”
August Disciple Training Camp (August 8-14)
In the past year, due to the impact of the pandemic, many churches gathered online. As a result, many nonbelievers stopped coming. Brothers and sisters were also short of fellowship. And more importantly, they had fewer opportunities to serve the Lord. Even worse, in the past year, the United States also suspended student visas. But this year, due to the vaccine, the United States has begun to issue student visas, and many universities have also announced that the classes will be fully in person this fall. This is a good opportunity! Brothers and sisters, are you ready to take over the ministry of this restoration? The August Discipleship Training is a good opportunity for spiritual equipping before the start of the fall semester. Please start praying and be prepared to participate. Thanks to our Lord, for He prepared Elder Daniel Luan and Rev. William Sun to teach in the August disciple training camp. Some of the course content includes: the History Books in the Old Testament, the Biblical Characters, Christians’ Church Life, and the Book of Malachi (the Hope of God’s People). If you missed the August Bible camp, the next Discipleship Training camp will be held in December 2021. We encourage you to apply for it. We often heard brothers and sisters said, as long as you are willing to set aside a week for the camp and quietly receive the teaching in front of the Lord, you will definitely be spiritually edified, have better understanding of God’s Words, and gain new insights and strength in serving the Lord. The registration forms have been posted on CWC’s website. Please download and register for the upcoming camps.
August and September Short-term Mission Teams
Even during the pandemic last year when we were facing many difficulties, we still sent short-term mission teams in August and September. Once again, new students are coming this fall. We should share the Lord’s gospel to them more eagerly. We will have short-term mission teams this year too. The August mission teams will be in the timeframe of August 20-30 (i.e., one week after the August Discipleship Training camp and around the beginning of the fall semester). The September mission teams will be in the timeframe of September 10-19 (i.e., five days after the Labor Day holiday). In August, the mission teams will go to “nearer” states such as Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, etc. In September, they will go to “further” states, such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, South Dakota, North Dakota and other places. If your church or fellowship is willing to minister with the short-term mission teams to share the gospel, please contact us as soon as possible. So far, we have three short-term mission teams from California and one from Texas. They are now actively getting themselves trained and prepared for this mission. Please keep their physical, mental, and spiritual needs in your prayers.
Pastor Ko’s Update and Online Sunday Bible Study and Prayer Meeting
Thank the Lord for His grace! According to the doctor’s original schedule, all the tubes Pastor Ko had would not be removed until the beginning of June. But God has sufficient grace, and in mid-May, the doctor removed all the tubes. Pastor Ko is very grateful to our Lord for this. He felt back to his usual self after the tubes had been removed and he immediately arranged to attend the CWC training camps in May. Mrs. Ko also accompanied Pastor Ko to the camps to take care of him. It had been an entire year before Pastor Ko was able to return to CWC. Everyone was extremely joyful and grateful to the Lord for His amazing grace and living testimony. There was no pianist in the discipleship training camp so Pastor Ko played the piano again although the nerve endings of his hands and feet were damaged due to the side effects of chemotherapy and the sensation of his hands and feet has not yet recovered. His hands and feet do not respond well currently. The doctor said it would take about half a year to one year or even longer time to restore the normal sensation; or maybe the sensation can never be restored. However, by God’s power, Pastor Ko was able to accomplish this ministry. In the future, Pastor Ko needs to go to the hospital in St. Louis once a month for different examinations and follow-ups. May the Lord continue to lead Pastor Ko’s recovery and bless Mrs. Ko’s health. Pray that their cancers will not recur, and they can be used by the Lord continuously.
Please feel free to attend the online Bible reading and prayer meeting at 6:30 pm (Central Time) every Sunday. We will use Zoom. The login ID is 8110999917 and the passcode is 737903. Join us in reading the Bible and praying together.
Prayer Requests
- For Meetings
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- Thank God that He blessed and led the May Disciple Training Camp, the May Lay-Minister Disciple Training Camp, and the Youth Disciple Training Camp so that brothers and sisters were spiritually well-equipped and fulfilled in front of Him at the camps.
- August Bible Camp: Pray that those who have registered for the camp will read the Bible diligently and finish the assigned reports in the next two months. Pray for the CWC coworkers because they will not only prepare the messages, but also give guidance to brothers and sisters on their report writing. Also pray for Pastor Samuel Ho, who will teach at the Bible camp for the first time, that God will use his teaching to help brothers and sisters clearly understand the content of the five books of the Major Prophets.
- For CWC Coworkers
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- Pastor Ko and Mrs. Ko: Thank God that Pastor Ko is recovering day by day; pray that God will continue healing him. Pray for Mrs. Ko’s health because her hyper-thyroid condition often makes her feel fatigue.
- Sister Cindy Chiang: Pray for her administrative work, planning and arrangement of various camps during the weekdays, and ministry in different churches and/or Bible study groups over the weekends. May the Lord not only give her Words from above, but also keep her safe on the road. Pray that the Lord will give her wisdom to be a good steward of time.
- Brother Qing-Long Liang: Pray for his ministry in Columbia and Kirksville, MO. May the Lord use him to preach the Truth faithfully and lead people to follow His Words. May the Lord use his family as a good witness for Him.
- Rev. Charles Huang: Pray for his ministry in Champaign, IL and collaboration with the Chinese churches at Champaign. May the Lord lead his ministry on campus in the new semester, and help his children with their English learning and adaptation to the new environment at school.
- American coworker Scott Jerome: Pray for the maintenance coworker and his family. May the Lord bless his work.
- For the expansion project
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- Pray for the construction of the children’s activity center. May the Lord watch over Pastor Harold Shull’s safety at work, the progress of the project, and his health. Now we need to install sheetrock and need more hands to help. Pray for the Lord to provide us with faithful and right workers.
- For financial need:
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- Pray for the monthly financial need for CWC. May the Lord show His abundant provision and let more people experience the blessing of giving.
- For CWC
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- May the Lord touch and lead more new coworkers to join CWC’s ministry so that various ministries in the Midwest may thrive.
- For churches in the Midwest during the pandemic
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- More and more brothers and sisters have been vaccinated and we see more and more churches have started in-person meetings. May the Lord strengthen His flocks during the pandemic. Let them be brave and serve Him diligently in church, resume the evangelical fellowship, and share the Gospel with non-believers. May the Lord use the vaccines to effectively control the pandemic all over the world. May the Lord heal those who are infected, not only physically, but also set free their heavy hearts. By the name of Jesus, let us walk the path of victory.
Emmanuel!
In Him,
Billy Ko (Director)