To our friends and ministry partners:
We are excited to share some exciting updates with you from the last few months. We trust you are well and we are so grateful to God for your love and support.
Sincerely,
Josh & Ruth Pauley
We're thrilled to announce that we are expecting another child and God has blessed us with a baby boy due December 26th. We welcome your prayers for strength and peace for Ruth and baby, and for wisdom and grace for all of us as we transition into another season of caring for the newest member of our family.
Over the summer we have been working to train and mobilize prophetic singers, musicians, and intercessors for corporate prayer meetings. We are watching the Holy Spirit inspiring people to attend these training classes and seeing people of all ages enjoying passionate prayer and worship in the presence of the Lord.
Over the last few months we have organized weekly music lessons for worship leaders and two training classes for prophetic singers, intercessors, and prayer leaders. The training has been designed to provide Biblical teachings on intercessory prayer and prophetic worship, as well as providing practical instruction on how to most effectively participate in and lead corporate prayer meetings. These training classes are serving as an on-ramp for people to engage in the house of prayer and also preparing leaders to step in as the Lord grows the ministry.
Based on the early success and feedback from these training classes, we're making plans to organize monthly community training classes through the remainder of the year.
Born Again in a Prayer Meeting
During one recent prayer meeting a young man came for the first time, who we'll call Jeremy. Toward the end of the meeting we gave everyone an opportunity to pray together for personal prayer needs. I noticed Jeremy wasn't praying with anyone so I went over and asked how I might be able to pray with him. He shared some personal prayer requests and yet, after we prayed together for those, I could tell there was something else that he wanted to share so I waited quietly with him for a couple of more moments. After some hesitation he finally asked, "Can we pray for me to be born again?." Seeking clarification, I asked him if he wanted to give his life in love and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive God's forgiveness for his sins and he confirmed that he did. So we prayed together and our Heavenly Father welcomed one more son into His family that night!
When Brunch Turns into a Bible Study
Ruth and I were recently enjoying a Saturday brunch at a new restaurant in the area while our children were with some friends. During brunch I sensed the Holy Spirit prompt me to engage in a conversation with our waiter, who we'll call Lazaro. So after Lazaro took our orders, I said to him, "When you get a few minutes I'd like to tell you a story." Lazaro came back a moment or two later ready to hear my story and I invited him to sit with us.
As Lazaro sat down at our table I began to tell him a story from the Bible that shows God's love for us and his desire to connect with each of us on a personal level. After I finished the story, I asked Lazaro what he learned and how he could apply these lessons to his life. Lazaro opened up to us and shared that he felt like he should trust God more with the desires of his heart and spend more time focusing on things that God wants him to focus on. We encouraged him to do those things, thanked him for listening to the story, and eventually left him a nice tip - not only for listening to our story but for excellent service as well.