I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matt 16:18b

We are so blessed to have a part in the work of the ministry. Thank you so much for partnering with us in so many ways. Your sacrificial love toward us is clearly seen by us and the Lord. Christ builds His church, and we thank Him for doing that where you are and here in Dearborn.

His Church and His Work

“I want to get baptized!” My friend excitedly told me. My friend, that was once a Muslim, but now a follower of Christ wants to continue pressing on in the faith. We move through our studies as I want to make sure he has a strong foundation. I have him reteach me the lessons and pass out tracts while he witnesses to his Muslim family and friends. Pray as he stays faithful and has many questions that I answer from God’s word.

“Thank you for your hard work with us.” Noel, my Chaldean friend honestly told me. God is letting me meet with this Iraqi family as they still can’t get out of their home due to their age and Covid-19. It blesses me to be able to teach Biblical lessons to them.

We had our Fall festival back in October and a woman that came wants to come with her children. She saw the love of Christ and now wants to learn about the Christ. She plans to visit us this week for her first time. Thanks for your prayers as we desire to see more and more come to know Him. One Muslim family also came through Silvery Lane Baptist our friends next door to ask us to pray for her husband and daughter that have extreme migraines. These also came to the festival.

“We believe that Jesus is a prophet and not God.” Hael from Yemen wrote me. Our evangelistic website touches people from our area and the Middle East. We have articles, videos, and Arabic radio that addresses bible questions. They can also leave info and contact me on WhatsApp. Many contact me from all over the world wanting their questions answered about Jesus. I have been able to answer questions from Iraqis, Yemenis, Syrians, and other countries as well. I’ve had some from Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, Sudan, and other Muslim majority countries visit the site. Pray that we can see lives changed from places we cannot visit right now.

“You can visit me anytime.” I met twice with Mohammed, a Muslim man from Lebanon through our website contacts. He listens and agrees with me about Jesus, but at the same time, he acknowledges the Quran and Mohammed. You may wonder how this can be. Many Muslims believe we have so much in common they do not need to change. Pray as I continue to boldly, yet gracefully show Him the clear differences in the God of the Bible and the Quran. The visits in the area have been a blessing as we plant seeds of truth and share the gospel.

“Be faithful to finish the course for Christ.” The Lord let me teach to a young couple’s ministry at a one-day meeting called Resort to truth. It included skiing and 3 ministry sessions. It was a blessing ministering with Pastor Dan Robelen and college/career students from his church and another local ministry. I only fell 5 or 10 times for my first-time skiing! LOL! We had a great time together for a day of fun and ministry.

Several have volunteered to help us as we see the ministry of Christ moving forward. Friends in nearby churches told us they would love to come. We also have a supporting church that plans to come for a mission trip in the summer. It’s a blessing seeing believers team up for the sake of the gospel.

“We need to have multiple services!” Pastor Gergis in Egypt told me. It’s wonderful to see God multiplying the ministry in Egypt in their new place of worship. They are starting to see new families visit along with some of the faithful to the church for years.

Think On These Things…

We still adjust to the cold weather here, but it has been fun snowboarding and sledding as a family. It’s good to minister together and to have fun together as it would be easy to stay inside. Pray also the cold hearts would be on fire for the Lord here in the needy city of Dearborn.

David, Beth,
Joshua, Sandy, Emma, and Noah Gates