Shepherd's Rest International
FEBRUARY 2016 NEWSLETTER
A ministry of Howard & Martha Beam to pastors and missionaries and their families.
"The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want!" He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul!" Psalm 23:1-3
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A lot has happened since our last update.
The Lord has truly blessed us and we are excited about the opportunities that we have to minister to the pastors in our area. Here are a few highlights.
I attend a 6AM prayer meeting at McDonalds every Wednesday morning where 25-30 men gather to pray and share what God is doing in their lives. There are about 6-7 pastors that attend and the rest are laymen. It's a great group and I have made several strong friendships with these men. Out of this has spun several ministry opportunities with pastors and churches. I thank God for these men!
On Thursday mornings at 7:30 AM we have helped to organize a pastors’ revival prayer meeting which I lead. We meet at First Baptist Church in Winona and have 9-11 or so pastors that attend at present. This meeting, like all the activities that we sponsor or promote, is interdenominational and interracial. It is so good to see these men of God coming together praying for and loving one another.
We divide into small groups of 3-4 and pray one by one for each other's personal and family needs. Then we pray for each other's churches and for revival in our churches, our communities, our state, and our nation.
We pray for the Supreme Court nominees and for the upcoming presidential election. Already we are seeing brothers open up and share their hearts and hurts and needs with each other. Real, solid friendships are being developed. Praise the Lord!
Spinning out from this meeting we plan to host a pastors and wives fellowship dinner and from that some pastors’ wives fellowships. We are seeing that the wives have a great need to get together and develop meaningful relationships as much or more than their husbands.
Down the road we plan to hosts pastors and wives retreats. We are humbled by the favor that the Lord has given us and we are honored to be allowed to serve these men and women of God.
On Friday mornings we host a pastors’ fellowship breakfast. This is a group that has been meeting for years before we arrived in Winona and they have met in numerous locations. About a month ago, the group agreed to move to the North Carrollton Baptist Church, where I serve as Transitional Pastor. Martha and I cook for from 11-20 pastors each week. It is a great group of guys, and strong friendships have been built.
I am also a part of the Winona Ministerial Association which meets monthly. I recently spoke at a Lenten luncheon at the Methodist church and will be the speaker at the community sunrise service coming up soon.
Martha and I are still believing the Lord for "our place" to house the ministry of Shepherd's Rest. We are asking the Lord for something like a hundred acres with several houses, lake, walking trails, and a prayer garden. This will be a quiet, peaceful place where ministry families can experience the restful presence of the Lord and afterwards return to their respective places of service restored, refreshed, and renewed!
This will be such a blessing to these dear servants of the Lord and to the Body of Christ. Please join with us in prayer for the Lord to fulfill this part of the Shepherd's Rest vision.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support of our ministry. We appreciate it so much and couldn't do it without you!
May God abundantly bless you and yours,
Howard & Martha Beam