Lakeside Missions
Prayer Walk, May 6
Could you spend some time this week praying for our Muslim neighbors? A prayer guide and prayer walk details are avialable in Room 109 at Lakeside. Prayer points for walking in the neighborhood of the mosque in Chatham are included. Additionally, there are 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 too! The Prayer Walk is set for Thursday, May 6 at noon and again at 5 p.m. -- but can be anytime and really, any day! May 6 happens to be the National Day of Prayer.
Pioneer Bible Translators
Dear friends, your faithful support throughout the past months has caused us to thank the Lord in humble gratitude. We feel more than ever our dependence on Him, which in fact has always been the case.
Jeff has spent vast amounts of time over the past months leading Pioneer Bible Translators’ Covid response, working with our teams on safety and maintaining ministry. Many plans have been disrupted and adjustments required. Yet we are praising the Lord that Pioneer Bible’s worldwide translation progress was greater in the first half of 2020 than ever before, as we processed over 180,000 verses of the Bible 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 Jeff and others organized them remotely.
Your prayers for the progress of the Toma Bible have resulted in several translation consultants now working to help us complete the consultant check of the New Testament by the end of 2021 and of the Old Testament by the end of 2022. We are 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.
Our Toma revision committee was unable to meet this past spring but they plan to meet in November to go over Jeremiah and Lamentations, since there have been no known coronavirus cases in their area in the past couple of months. They will meet one more time next spring to go over Ezekiel and Daniel, and then their part in the Toma translation process will be complete! They are thankful that their churches were able to reopen recently.
Kayla returned to Texas A&M in August and is adjusting well to the many changes in college life. Eric continues to homeschool and is a junior this year. We are thankful that he is able to participate in the missionary kid youth group remotely.
Thank you for your sacrificial partnership with Pioneer Bible Translators. We know this is a challenging time for everyone; please let us know what we can be praying for you about.
In Christ,
Jeff and Laura Wilhoit
Partner with Christian Student Fellowship
Interested in helping Christian Student Fellowship in their ministry to college students? If you or your group would like to help, email: info@uiscsf.org and let CSF know how you would like to partner. The following link will provide you with some needs for this month: uiscsf.org/church-partnership-opportunities. You can also visit www.uiscsf.org to see what CSF is up to and to help you as you pray for the ministry. The 27th Annual Fundraising Banquet was held on April 11 and featured a night of hearing and celebrating the stories of how God is working through CSF staff and students. The fundraising goal of $25,000 was met! A couple of student baptisms are in the plans! CSF will soon be finishing out the school year and begin preparing for Fall 2021. Thanks for being a part of the mission of helping students find their way back to God!
Restore Church Plant
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.
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.
LSCA Pantry Project, April 18 -May 16
We are excited to know that Lake Springfield Christian Assembly is ready to reopen this summer with overnight camping for our youth. In addition to monthly support, one of the ways we support this ministry is through their LSCA Pantry Project. Thank you all 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.
Good News! Registration for summer camp is now open at lscacamp.org! 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.
Visit lscacamp.org for more information about this ministry and lscacamp.org/serve for information about serving opportunities including work mornings on May 15.
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. The James Project will be at Lakeside with a display in our lobby on Sunday, May 4th. If you are interested in fostering or helping foster families, please stop by.
Current Happenings at The James Project:
- Our Beyond Enough Campaign: This month we have been focusing on recruiting individuals and couples who are interested in being foster parents. As shared previously, there is a state of emergency within the foster care system in Sangamon County due to the pandemic. With an increase in kids in care and a decrease of families willing to accept children, we are desperate for willing foster families. If there is anyone in your congregation who is interested in being a foster parent, please let us know! We welcome an opportunity to meet with them.
- This week we are interviewing a couple as an applicant for a James Project House. Please pray for us and with us as we discern whether or not they would be a good fit in our ministry.
- We are applying for and receiving many grants in this season, so that is a blessing!
- We are planning for a few events right now: a Candle Fundraiser in April, a Volunteer Day in April, and a Pickleball Tournament in September.
- We celebrate Foster Awareness month in May!
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.
Honduran Food Relief Arrives
In November 2020, Lakeside sent $1,500 to Mercy International in Honduras to provide food for people suffering from Covid-19 and restrictions along with recovery from two recent Hurricanes. We have reports that food ration boxes were taken up the mountains through challenging and rainy weather...some of the distance involved carrying the heavy loads by foot. The Honduran people expressed their appreciation for these much needed relief supplies. Thank you for your generosity. Pray for the churches.
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)
Missions Events & Opportunities
May - June: Pick a Sunday and worship at 10:30 am with our Restore Church Plant at Weinheimer Community Center, 1100 Main St., Highland IL.
May 12: Particpate in the Lincoln Christian University Women's Conference.
May 15: Help with the Lake Springfield Christian Assembly work morning beginning at 8:30 am.
June: Check out Lake Springfield Christian Assembly summer camps with opportunities for children and youth to attend and for adults to serve.
See missions articles for more information on any of the above opportunities.
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.