Lakeside Missions
Christian Student Fellowship Update
CSF exists to help students find their way back to God on the UIS campus. You can help by praying for the staff and the students they hope to reach this fall. Check out this Facebook (www.facebook.com/uiscsf) to keep up to date and direct your prayers. Below are some ways you might help this important ministry in the coming days and weeks.
1) Furniture. As students move in this fall (especially international students) they need to furnish their living spaces. Desks, tables, bookshelves, lamps, etc. would be helpful. Contact Renee Nassiff at renee@uiscsf.org for more information.
2) Snacks. A group of 20-25 students will be gathering each Mondy in the Fall/Spring semesters. Chips, popcorn, or a sweet snack will be much appreciated.
3) Funds. Consider a special financial gift.
4) Prayer. Pray for the students to remain committed to Jesus Christ and connect over the summer with small groups. Pray for the recovery of Todd Macgruder from a recent stroke. Pray for the upcoming school year and increased opportunities.
Pioneer Bible Translators Update
Pioneer Bible’s worldwide translation progress was greater in the first half of 2020 than ever before, as over 180,000 verses of the Bible we processed in our 99 translation projects. Also for the first time, our members around the world were able to participate in our weekly chapels, board meeting, and annual meeting, as Executive Vice President Jeff Wilhoit and others organized them remotely. PBT is now a team of 573 working among 100.3 million people speaking 106 languages in 27 countries! Visit the PBT website at: pioneerbible.org
Your prayers for the progress of the Toma Bible have resulted in several translation consultants now working to help complete the consultant check of the New Testament by the end of 2021 and of the Old Testament by the end of 2022. PBT is also working on publishing 20+ books of the Toma Bible electronically by the end of this year, bringing the total number of published books to over 40.
Lake Springfield Christian Assembly Update
Lake Springfield Christian Assembly is in the middle of a busy summer camping season. Thank you for contributing to our monthly financial support of LSCA and for generously meeting and exceeding our Pantry Project goal of 5,400 containers at a total cost of $540. We collected $1,159! The extra will help the camp with other summer related needs.
This summer's theme is "UNSHAKEN" and comes from Psalm 16:8. Currently, camp sessions will feature overnights. Children will have a wonderful time attending age appropriate sessions of camp. Volunteers will be needed for 2-hour commitments to help package meals and snacks for campers. Also, on the morning as each session of camp opens, volunteers are needed for the Red Carpet Welcoming Crews. For more information about these volunteer opportunities contact Kennedy Brown at LSCA 217-529-2625 or "Sunny" Boatman at cesunshine2@gmail.com.
Pray:
- Please pray for healthy campers, staff and volunteers this summer and for patience as they operated under Covid-19 guidelines for camps.
- Pray for the good news of Jesus to be heard and responded to by campers.
- Pray for all to grow in their faith and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and will have opportunity to share the good news with others.
Visit lscacamp.org for more information about this ministry and lscacamp.org/serve for information about serving opportunities. Many Lakesiders have been involved as deans, leaders, worship leaders, and volunteers at LSCA this summer. Some of these include: Seth Webster, Brad Owen, Samuel Nassiff, Camden Radecki, Hank Wuethrich, Anna Brooks, Lexie Stevenson, Lola Garrison, George Ware, Norm Smith, Dave Laird, Amanda Sharpe, and many others.
Missions Events & Opportunities
Anytime: Pick a Sunday and worship at 10:30 am with our Restore Christian Church Plant at Weinheimer Community Center, 1100 Main St., Highland IL.
June & July: Check out Lake Springfield Christian Assembly summer camps with opportunities for children and youth to attend and for adults to serve.
November 13: Taking Christ to the Millions International Prayer FAST. https://www.tcmi.org/pray
November 18-21: International Conference on Missions in Richmond, VA. https://theicom.org/
Lewis Memorial Christian Village
Lewis Memorial Christian Village seeks to provide exceptional senior living and health care in a loving, Christian environment. LMCV strives to be a place where residents are honored and nurtured because every person is equally valued by God. (Genesis 1:27)
Would you be interested in joining a team of Lakesiders in serving the residents? From rolling silverware and wrapping food trays, to passing out drinks and interacting with the residents there are many ways to show the love of Christ.
LMCV is at 3400 W Washington Street in Springfield. You can visit their website at [christianhorizonsliving.org/locations/lewis-memorial-christian-village] To find out about serving at LMCV with other Lakesiders, fill out the form at https://www.lakesidechristian.com/TeamsConnect?OpportunityId=21
Restore Church Plant Offering
Restore Christian Church is a church planted by Ignite Church Planting. It is located about an hour and a half south of Springfield in Highland, Illinois. With your help, Lakeside has been supporting this church plant as they meet every Sunday in person and online at 10:30 AM. Please pray for this young family of believers and their lead minister Aaron Kelso. Check out their website to see what is going on: restorechristianchurch.org or visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/restorechurchhighland.
June 6 Offering: On Sunday, June 6, Lakeside will be featuring Restore Christian Church during our services and will be collecting a special gift to help Restore with its Kingdom efforts. On June 6, you may drop off an offering in the 5-gallon green buckets as you exit the worship center. Alternatively, you may designate part of your electronic giving to "Special Offering". If you give with a check for this special offering, make it out to Restore Christian Church or make it out to Lakeside Christian Church with Restore Christian Church in the memo line.
Myanmar Hope Update
Please visit Myanmar Hope Christian Mission on their Facebook page and their website at myanmarhope.org to view pictures and hear all the ways our brothers and sisters in Christ were blessed with your generosity in their time of need. Thanks to you a gift of $3,000 was sent in early spring to help with food and necessities during the political upheaval faced by this ministry and many churches in the region. Pray for Palal and Kikim and all the national ministers who are serving in difficult times and for God's blessings on the many ministry iniatives they are establishing. May their faith increase and may God's Kingdom expand!
Political Situation Update: View the My Hope website for the newsletter with a brief history of government/military interactions and how the recent changes are affecting the Myanmar people.
Pray:
- for godly wisdom for Palal and Kikim as they navigate mission priorities in unsettled circumstances
- for the Christian leaders facing difficult challenges in various churches and programs
- for how to operate schools safely and faithfully in the coming school year
- for continued resourcing of rice for those without work and hungry
Taking Christ to the Millions International
Would you like to know how to pray for TCM's efforts to equip men and women from 45+ nations for ministry? Visit www.tcmi.org/pray.
- There are 1,500 students registered and working toward Masters of Arts or Masters of Divinity degreees as they work to become effective kingdom leaders in their churches, cultures and countries.
- Also pray for the international student, Erion of Albania, who's schooling is supported by Lakeside. Erion has recently completed another course. Pray that his example and testimony will touch many in his ministry location.
- Visit vimeo.com/showcase/tcm to view some short videos detailing the ministry of TCM. Tentative plans are being made for sessions to take place at Haus Edelwiess and a graduation ceremony in late summer, the first since Covid-19 shut things down on the physical campus.
- Session 4 is planned to be in person in July this summer at Haus Edelweiss. Pray that the workers, instructors, and students are healthy and keeping priorities so that the task of teaching, learning, serving will be faithfully completed in due time.
- Pray for Jozef as he shares Christian love between Romanians and Hungarians.
- Pray for Sergei who began a YouTube channel called Voice of the Church as he shares about morality, ustice and truth with the Belarusian people.
James Project Update
The James Project is a not-for-profit Christian ministry in Springfield, Illinois which provides homes and support for fostering families in Sangamon County. You can find out more about The James Project and how you can help and pray at thejamesproject127.com. If you are interested in fostering or helping foster families, please check out the website for first steps.
Current Happenings at The James Project:
- Interested in being a foster parent? Want to know how you can help? Please contact TJP and let them know!
- A new resident couple has been selected for one of the TJP houses. An additional house is being purchased to provide a home for another set of foster parents.
- A couple in Australia, provided a $15,000 gift to TJP and are working to start a similar ministry down under. Please pray for both efforts to care for the orphans.
- Pickleball Tournament fundrasier in September.
- Many foster parents need help with diapers. Considering donating a pack of diapers size 3-6 and dropping them off at 907 Clocktower Drive, Suite C in Springfield.
- If your child recieved a grocery card from district 186, consider donating the card to TJP for one of the foster families.
- Pray for children suffering mental health issues and other disruptions to life that can make them feel unloved and unwanted.
- Pray for foster parents to remain encouraged and motivated to express Jesus' love through hardships and difficult cirucmstances.
Love Packages Ministry
Thank you all for your contributions of Bibles and Christian Literature in the month of February. Two vehicle loads of materials were delivered to Love Packages in Butler, IL. Thanks to your offerings, Lakeside also included a check to help pay for transport over seas. Love Packages is a local ministry fueling international missions work and sending the gospel to the ends of the earth by putting donated bibles and other Christian literature into the hands of people around the world.
Visit lovepackages.org or call 217-532-6701 to find out more about the ministry and how you can donate or help process donations. Be sure to view the "Nickle Tour" video on the website. The ministry is located at 220 Union St, Butler, IL 62015.
Below is a list of items you may drop off at Love Packages:
- Bibles (New or used, any translation, New Testaments or other portions, individual gospel booklets)
- Reference Material (Dictionaries, Bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, etc.)
- Books (All Christian books – adult or children, non-fiction)
- Magazines and Daily Devotionals (Any devotionals or magazine from a Christian publisher}
- Sunday School Materials (Adult quarterlies and teacher manuals from all publishers; children’s quarterlies with the teacher’s manual and full student manuals.)
- CDs, DVDs, BluRay (Music, movies, teaching from well known speakers [Billy Graham, Swindoll, etc.])
- Tracts (All tracts)
- Puppets, Nativity Sets, etc.
- Bible games, biblical puzzles (anything that helps teach the gospel, especially to children)
Prayer Walk
Thank you to all who spent some time in early May praying for our Muslim neighbors. Using a prayer guide people parked or drove or walked around the neighborhood of the mosque in Chatham. Thank you also to those who particpated in a prayer walk for our Hindu neighbors in the Chatham area. If you missed the prayer walks, you can still gather the materials and pray on your own. Prayer points, a prayer booklet, and prayer walk instructions are available at Lakeside in Room 109. You may pick up two booklet prayer guides. One is 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World and one is 15 days of Prayer for the Hindu World. Please feel free to take what you will use and encourage others as well!
Lincoln Christian University
Lincoln Christian University recently completed a trying and challenging academic year. In-person education was offered safely for the fall and spring semesters and 181 students recieved their diplomas from LCU. Now they are off to apply what they have learned on campus and in classrooms to their respective ministries, workplaces, additional academic endeavors, and homes. Please pray for these students and their kingdom impact in the coming years.
Pray:
- Pray for the financial resources and student recruitment for the fall semester.
- Pray for the professors and staff that they will be prepared to offer godly instruction and develop mentoring relationships with students.
- Pray for the following LCU graduates with connections to Lakeside. Seth Webster (our Student Ministry Intern), Camden Radecki (our Worship Associate), Hank Wuethrich (our Worship Associate), Makala Greeen, Luke Nash, and Dalton Byrne (who served on our worship teams). Lakesiders currently attending LCU include Ericka Knoll and Carter Walker.