Living Proof Mission Tour - Boston

Boston Final Update - July 8 & 9

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:39:22 -0600

This will have to be our final update as we have a late night tonight, and we leave early in the morning to head to the airport and make our way home on July 10. Wednesday, July 8, we had better weather in the morning, so we took the VBS kids outside early in the day to play outside. That was a big improvement from the day before when we had stay inside from 8-5! We are up to 69 kids at VBS, and we expect to have more today. We spent all day long wondering if we would have good enough weather to present our last concert outdoors at Revere Beach. We sent the advance team out around 4:30 pm, and learned that not only was it beginning to rain, a 20+ mile per hour wind was blowing off the Atlantic, and, more importantly, no one was outside to hear us. Thus, we had to cancel the concert. That was a disappointment, as we have really enjoyed witnessing through our music this week. This makes us anticipate our Home Concert on Sunday even more! Last night was also the senior led worship service. We were able to start early, which was an advantage. It was a blessing to see the seniors “pass the torch” of leadership to the junior class. This is always a significant time for the whole group as we have opportunity to express our appreciation for our departing seniors, as well as offer a challenge to the incoming juniors. As adults, we really see the spiritual maturity of our students emerge in these events. Our students are doing a great job teaching the children from the Roxbury neighborhood at VBS. In addition, we have evangelism teams prayer walking and witnessing in the neighborhoods. Pastor Larry Green from Timothy Baptist Church has urged us to “bathe the neighborhood in prayer!” These small churches have reminded us this week that ultimately, our dependence is always upon the Lord. They are able to achieve so much with so little as they rely upon the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, and God’s faithful provision. We will finish our assignments late this afternoon. Three of our adults are going to be assisting Michael Dean at M.I.T. with an English as a Second Language Class that they offer as an outreach to ultimately reach students for Christ. Tonight, we will have an evening of free time in downtown Boston, as well as pack up to get ready to leave on Friday morning. Please make plans to join us this Sunday, July 12, as we sing and share. We will lead worship Sunday morning and present our Home Concert and Mission Report on Sunday Evening at 6:00 pm. I hope we see you there. Our students need the encouragement and support of our home church. We look forward to a great day on Sunday!

Sing, Sing, Sing Clip

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:53:52 -0600

Day 5 Highlights

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:49:35 -0600

We have passed the halfway mark for this Mission Tour! It's hard to believe. Today we were in our regular VBS schedule - which lasts from 8-5 pm. It was a challenging day because we had a lot of rain and storms, so we had to keep the children indoors all day, and they get very restless and we have to improvise a lot! We added a lot of kids today - we're up to 64 - and we expect more the next two days. In addition to our VBS work, there are work crews working on painting and cleaning projects at Timothy Baptist Church. It is rewarding to see our kids form bonds with these inner-city children and seek to show them the love of Christ.   Our concert was in a suburban mall - Square One Mall in Saugus, MA. This location was strategically chosen to assist a brand new church - only 4 months old - that is just down the road from the mall. The church is Celebration Church, led by Pastor Joe Souza, who serves as a strategic church planter for the North American Mission Board. His small membership gathered at the mall and passed out cards advertising theier new church as we sang. We were also blessed as we turned over the concert to their worship leaders for a couple of songs as a way of further introducing Celebration Church to this community. Once again, our kids did a great job of singing their faith tonight. Not as many people stayed around for long periods of time - which is typical for a mall concert. But, Pastor Souza believed it was a significant moment for his young congregation, and, for us, it was another opportunity to "go public" with our faith.   Please pray that we have GOOD weather the rest of the way. Our final concert in Boston is scheduled for tomorrow night at Revere Beach - but good weather is required to proceed with those plans - so pray with us it clear up by early afternoon!   We look forward to sharing with you this Sunday, July 12 at 9:30 am in our morning service, and for our concert at 6:00 pm as well.

Update from the Pastor

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:22:50 -0600

Day 4 Highlights

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:32:05 -0600

  It's 9:33 pm (EST) and we are in a little earlier tonight - on purpose - as we have early mornings the next three days with our Mission Work which has expanded to 2 churches - Timothy Baptist and St. John Missionary Baptist, both in Roxbury, MA.   Today was another busy and outstanding day for all of us. We began by organizing an outdoor party on the parking lot of St. John Missionary Baptist Church. We used the "Block Party Trailer" provided by the Greater Boston Baptist Association - one of our excellent partners in this mission. We set up two bounces houses for the VBS children, played games, had a cookout, and also performed about 45 minutes of music for the crowd. This was "registration day," so Pastor Larry Green of Timothy Baptist wanted us to spend the day playing with the kids, getting to know their names, background, and personalities before beginning our formal teaching times tomorrow. Timothy Baptist will operate this VBS for 3 full weeks, so there is a lot of time ahead for these kids. We had almost 50 enrolled today from ages 3 to 14! We expect that number to grow each day. We ended the day playing with the children at a local park.   Around 4:30 pm, we headed by city bus and subway to the Quincy Market for an outdoor concert in this busy dining and shopping area. A large crowd gathered as began with with Patriotic songs, then moved into our worship songs. They were all enthusiastically received! I wish I could express all of the emotion and the real sense of risk you sometimes feel in singing, "Lift high the name of Jesus!" in an open air, public setting like that in today's culture - but it also feels so right to declare that He is Lord. It is exciting watching the students confidence build day by day in this expression. Our motto scripture - 2 Corinthians 3:12 says - "Therefore, because we have such a hope, we are very bold". More and more, we are seeing that come alive and ring true as a group, and as individuals -our boldness and our faith is growing as a result of this experience.   We have had the typical minor set-backs, technical issues, and mistakes that plague us as humans . . . yet - we have seen God answer so many prayers. We have been blessed by God with beautiful weather, a smooth and efficient tour, excellent concert attendance . . . the list is growing. Tomorrow - we set out for VBS from 8-5, as well as work projects - painting, construction, street evangelism, as well as another concert tomorrow night. There's a song in our heart at the end of this day . . .   I will yet praise Him, my great Redeemer.  I will yet stand up and give Him glory with my life.  He takes my darkness and He turns it into light,  I will yet praise Him, my Lord, my God.

Special Musical Guest

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:19:50 -0600

I Have a Hope

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:30:10 -0600

I have a hope, I have a future. I have a destiny that is still awaiting me. My life's not over, a new beginning's just begun, I have a hope, I have this hope. What is "this hope?" The scriptures teach that "this hope" is the certainty that God keeps His promises, and we can commit our lives into His hands because He is faithful! Our destiny and our eternity in Christ is secure. Let's take "this hope" to the children we will minister to today at Timothy Baptist Church.

Sunday, July 5

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:35:44 -0600

We worshiped with Timothy Baptist Church today. It was a vibrant, dynamic service, lasting from 11:00 am until 1:45 pm! Click here to listen to a portion of the service. The students loved the music, the passionate prayers and preaching. LifeSong and Living Proof sang in the service, and the congregation was very warm and responsive. After lunch, we had to do some organizational work for the VBS and mission project that begins tomorrow. We are moving our work to a larger facility - the St. John Missionary Baptist Church - also in Roxbury. After a short afternoon break, we were blessed by a beautiful evening and great crowd for our Boston Common Concert. We sang and gave testimony for Christ (Zak Longcrier), from 7:00 - 8:30 pm, and then had time to talk with lots of audience members and encourage them and share our faith. It was a tremendous evening - we felt the Lord's presence as we sang and shared. The audience was large and many stayed to the end - even as we moved into the "serious" part of our presentation. Tomorrow we begin our week of mission projects with a "block party," including an added concert during the day, registering VBS kids, and seeking to reach as many neighborhood kids and families as we can. Please pray for our logistics, as we are "flexing" with a new location, schedule surprises and new assignments. This is the normal pattern for a summer mission project - we love curve balls - but we need lots of prayer to be effective and make wise choices. Our students are doing a WONDERFUL job - you should be so proud of them! I know they will rise and meet the challenge the next few days hold!

I Cling to the Cross

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:22:50 -0600

I cling to the cross, and everything it means. I know it's the only hope there is of saving me. For without Your great mercy, I would be forever lost. With a thankful heart I come, and cling to the cross. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, Paul's words to the church at Corinth are a good reminder to us today as we worship with the believers at Timothy Baptist Church in Roxbury. Here are two ideas we are keeping in our hearts and minds this week:

Be grateful for the cross of Christ and the gift of grace and salvation He has given to you.
The message of the Cross is the message that we are sharing - not promoting ourselves, our music, or the wisdom of the current age - but the timeless message of God's love as expressed through His Son, Jesus Christ. HE is the focus of our message.

Saturday, July 4

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:54:52 -0600

We began the day walking the "Freedom Trail" - a 2.5 mile trek that takes you through downtown Boston to see the locations - meeting houses, homes, churches - where the cause of America's independence was formed. Incidents like the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party and Paul Revere's midnight ride to warn of British troop movement all come to life here. It was a great way to begin the 4th of July! Following lunch at Quincy Market, we took a subway to visit Harvard University. Around 4:00 pm, we headed from Harvard to the campus of M.I.T. We met Michael Dean there. He is a missionary with the North American Mission Board, seeking to reach international students in the Boston area. He serves as a chaplain at M.I.T., and organized a 4th of July event and concert where we served around 100 students and their families hot dogs and hamburgers, played games, and presented an hour of patriotic and worship music, celebrating freedom as Americans, and freedom in Christ. It was a great beginning to our concert ministry. After we packed up and cleaned up, we headed to the Charles River to watch the Fireworks. Click here to listen. We waited for two hours, along with a million or more other folks. It was really crowded and we were really tired! We walked back to our hotel at 11:00, which took almost an hour. We were all EXHAUSTED after the 16 hour day - but we made a lifetime of memories! We have enjoyed absolutely beautiful weather - clear skies and high temperatures in the 70s! God has been gracious to us in keeping the rain away - it has rained here for the last several weeks and the locals say this is the first break they have had. On Sunday, we begin our partnership with Timothy Baptist Church - and African-American congregation in Roxbury, MA. We will worship with them and get familiar with the community we'll be serving in this week. Our next concert is Sunday evening at the bandstand on the Boston Common.

God Bless the USA

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:47:40 -0600

Today, as we celebrate America's Independence, we give thanks to God for the incredible sacrifice of so many to make and keep us free. And we, pray, as believers, that America will experience true revival as we seek to take the Gospel with us everywhere we go. What an incredible opportunity we have today to celebrate the 4th of July in Boston - where it all began! Thank God for allowing us to live free and worship freely in our blessed nation!

Say it

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:15:35 -0600

Living Proof Goes to Harvard

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:56:07 -0600

Living Proof Youth Choir at Harvard

Friday, July 3 Recap

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:43:51 -0600

We are happy to report that we all made it to Boston safely and smoothly! By 6 pm (EST), we were checked into our rooms, and off to dinner at the Prudential Center - a very nice shopping and dining mall, comparable to the Galleria in Dallas. At 9 pm, we had a short group meeting and some devotional time to prepare us for the project ahead. Boston, because of its outstanding universities, is often called "the Athens of America." We looked at Paul's witness to the philosophers and intellectuals of Athens in Acts 17 as an example in order to prepare us to be effective witnesses for the days ahead. Please pray for us tomorrow, July 4, as we have a 16 hour day, beginning with the Freedom Walk in Boston, and culminating with an outdoor festival and our first concert on the campus of M.I.T., sponsored by the Greater Boston Baptist Association and various churches. Following the concert, we will see the famous Boston Pops Fireworks over the Charles River - along with a couple million other folks! We'll be coming in late Saturday night, so we probably will not be able to post a new web update until Sunday night or Monday morning. We have an awesome opportunity to celebrate our freedom as Americans, as well as give testimony of our freedom in Christ tomorrow. Again, we covet your prayers. Sunday, we begin our mission project with Timothy Baptist Church in Roxbury, followed by a concert and ministry to the homeless on Sunday evening at Boston Common. We're all excited about what God will do this week! Keith Ferguson & Jonathan Teague

Giving It All To Jesus

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:17:35 -0600

All to the Father, All to the Savior, All to the Spirit, now and forever. Here is my life, I'm giving it all to You. All to Your Kingdom, all to Your honor, All to Your wisdom, glory and power, Jesus, my life I'm giving it all to You! Whatever happens over the week, our goal is to bring honor and glory to Jesus Christ, and GIVE OURSELVES in service to Him and to others FOR HIS GLORY!

Today we're:
- Giving thanks to God for this opportunity for ministry and fun.
- Asking God to use this time in your life personally to grow spiritually.
- Praying for the unity of our mission team and our consistent witness as a group - beginning at DFW airport