march prayer update

On My Heart

Recently, I was reminded once again of the importance of taking our issues to the Lord and obeying him when he speaks. My dear friend Lynn Koehn suddenly passed away on Good Friday. He had told me how his assistant pastor role evolved into a community pastor role. His church was going through a down period. The elders were asked to spend time in prayer and listen to what God would say. Every elder independently came to the same conclusion: that the church needed an outward focus. They appointed Lynn as a community pastor, and this significantly benefited the city and church for decades. He would ask employees of the city or the school district what they needed and then he would see that the church provided that. It typically involved getting a workforce together. This kind of service opened up positive relationships between the church and the community that we enjoy today.

            Lynn's love for God led him to love people in a way that exceeded anything I’ve ever seen. When we went to lunch, he would know so many people that it was hard to get seated and he cared about each of them. His compassionate listening was a blessing to hundreds of church people through the years. He also had a heart for helping the needy and invested a great deal of energy into helping ministries. When I think of him, I think of 1 John 3:18: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” May I learn from his example. As I heard recently from Oregon Conference Free Methodist Superintendent Robroy Ranger, “Ministry moves at the speed of relationships.”

Praise Report

 I spoke on confessing sin at Logsden Neighborhood Church this past Sunday. I shared the details about my own recent public confessions and renewal then I opened it up for people to make their own confessions. Six people responded with heartfelt honest confessions and the congregation supported each of them in prayer. It was a beautiful experience as we saw James 5:16 play out: “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so you may be healed…”
GENERAL PRAYER

Pastor Ed covets your prayers. You can use the acronym OAR to pray for his speaking ministry. 

O—Open doors of ministry

A—Anointing

R—Responsive audiences

Pray also for wisdom as he mentors Adult and Teen Challenge students, open doors and open hearts for sharing the gospel on the street and fruitful ministry as he connects with pastors and ministry leaders in Lebanon and throughout the region.