Does it Really Matter?

     I was talking to someone recently about the Adult Soccer outreach that I have been involved with on Thurs nights at our church. His comment was, "It doesn't really matter. None of those guys will ever come to the church anyway!" That comment has made me think, "does it really matter?"

     I think it does matter. Ruth and I have dedicated our lives to telling others about Jesus. But we don't always see the results right away. We live in an age of instant everything. So if we don't see something happen quick, we think that it isn't working, we are not being effective, or we are doing something wrong. But ministry is not really about numbers or programs or outreaches. It's about people. We do outreaches like adult soccer as a means of creating relationships.

     I feel like I was able to begin a relationship with some of these young men who came to the church gymnasium every week. Did any of them "accept Jesus"? No... but I didn't expect them to either. Relationships take time to build and cultivate. They are like plants in a garden. They need lots of care and lots of time... Eventually you see a little green shoot poke its head out of the dirt.

     We have finished up the games for this fall. But the growing process has not stopped. Growth is still taking place underground. Please pray that the seeds of the Gospel that we have planted in the lives of these young men will continue to grow until we meet again in January. Pray too that some of the men will attend some the special activities that the church has planned for the holidays.

Doug & Ruth

Trunk Or Treat Report

David Is in Charge of the Candy Stash!

     Trunk or Treat was a great success last weekend. The church was expecting about 500 children to come to the event and had prepared that many bags for the kids to use for collecting candy. Well we ran out of those bags about half way through the event. Estimates I have heard is that perhaps 1,000 kids, plus their parents came to the church.

     Trunk or Treat is a fun way to attract new families to the church grounds and get them introduced to the church in a non-threatening way. It is also a very safe way to trick or treat with the family. We had invited many of the people from the ODSL soccer league, the Adult Soccer league (Futsol) and the Tuesday night basketball outreach. Many of the church people invited their friends and neighbors as well.

Doug Awaits our First Trunk or Treaters

     This was the first time that we have been able to participate in a Trunk or Treat. We decorated our trunk with Ecuador colors, wore our Ecuador National Soccer Team jerseys, and had a soccer goal set up. The kids had to kick a soccer ball into the net before they could get a candy. The kids loved it. Even the littlest of children kicked the ball into the goal. Many youngsters returned to kick the ball into the net again. We even had a couple of boys come up and tell us that their grandpa is Ecuadorian. They recognized the Ecuadorian team jerseys right off.

     It was great to be a part of this outreach into Glendora, Azusa and the surrounding communities. The church seems to be growing again. We have seen several of our old friends return to the church in recent weeks. They tell us that this is a different church from the one they left 10 years ago. We praise God that He is once again working through Church of the Open Door and for the privilege He has given us to help with this ministry during our Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) with HCJB Global. Reconnecting with the church is one of our main goals for this HMA...

Doug & Ruth