Hello prayer partners!

Things have been busy as we transitioned into the new year both at the church and with my other job. Even so, God has continued to be gracious to us and we are looking forward with anticipation to 2026.

Praises / Prayer:

• Please pray for the 6 folks in our new members class that they will continue to be encouraged in taking the next steps in their walk with Christ.

• Praise God that we were able to baptize a young lady named Myra in January. Please pray for her continued growth and for the Lord's protection upon her.

• As the Lord has seen fit to continue to grow this congregation, we have been praying for another shepherd to be raised up. Over the past few months we have been evaluating a former pastor that attends named Carlos. This past Saturday, we finished the culmination of that examination with an ordination council. In addition to our elders, we invited two outside pastors as well. I want to thank brothers Steve and Ken for their participation. I am pleased to share that on Sunday our elder team was able to tell the congregation that we unanimously recommend Carlos as an elder candidate. Please pray for Carlos and for us, as between now and March 1st, the congregation will be interacting with him in preparation for a vote to confirm God's calling upon Carlos to serve as another pastor/elder here. Please pray for wisdom and for God's protection and guidance.

• I am asking that you pray for our prayer gatherings. We have a 1 hour prayer meeting each Sunday at 6pm and a 1/2 hour prayer conference call every Monday at 7:30am. As the church has grown, the attendance at the prayer meetings has not grown in proportion. I really believe much of the fruit we have seen is due to the commitment of the congregation (and all of you) to prayer and I want to be sure we continue to shepherd people as to the importance of that for their own walk and for the congregation as a whole.

• Pray for pastor Chris as he begins teaching the next section of the Bible Institute, working through the Old Testament.

• Please continue to pray for our newly formed Safety team and for David who is leading it. 

• As always, please pray for the children's program. Our desire is for every age to have appropriate gospel content and fellowship with the desire to integrate them into the regular worship and rhythm of the congregation. Please pray for wisdom for us all, especially the directors and teachers. Also pray for the parents that they would be engaged at home, recognizing our program as supplemental and supporting what God has called them to do.

• Please continue to pray for Bobby who is planning a mission trip to Japan in the summertime. He is now beginning to raise funds for the trip. Our congregation will help with this, but cannot cover the entire cost. Please pray that his needs are met.

• Please keep praying for the marriages in our church. There are several couples working through some challenges, including two members that are in the midst of a divorce. 

• Please continue to pray for me as I preach through the Gospel of Matthew. Please pray the Lord will bless that series and use it to His glory in the life of our people.

• Please pray for several of our members who will be driving down to Muscle Shoals for the True Church Conference. It is a sweet time of fellowship for our folks that gets magnified by being able to see so many brothers and sisters for whom we pray and who pray for us. I am looking forward to seeing several of you there!

• As always, please pray that we do all things in God's power and His timing. That we would have unshakeable confidence in His promise that His word is sufficient and that we would be patient and obedient so that He will receive all the glory, which He alone deserves.

Other Updates:

• Please join me in praising God for the partnership of AIT, who have been incredibly generous and continue to surprise us with love and grace beyond what anyone could reasonably expect. In the coming months, with their help, we expect to complete some of the most pressing of the facility needs.

• Our media/outreach team would like me to remind you that you can connect with us on Facebook (http://facebook.com/RGCSouthgate

Thank you for your prayers.

"Finally, brothers [and sisters], pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you..." (2 Thessalonians 3:1 ESV)

In Christ,

Pastor Kevin