Nourished in the Word Ministries
The Teaching and Writing Ministry of Ray Rhodes, Jr.


September 10, 2009


Dear Friends,

I am writing to thank you for your prayers and support of our ministry. I also want to give you an update and share some prayer requests with you.

Thank you for praying for us. In 2 Corinthians 1:11, Paul teaches that prayer is one way that we help one another. A sovereign God uses prayer to assist His people. Thank you for interceding on our behalf and helping us in this way. Thank you also for your financial support.

Ministry Update

Teaching

August 1st: Nourished in the Word (NITW) and Grace Community Church (GCC) hosted a student conference Are You for Real? This conference was designed to help young people to examine themselves in regards to salvation. The conference was well attended.

August 14th-15th: Mount Zion Baptist Church, Canton, GA men’s retreat. I taught on the subject, Our Identity in Christ. The Lord seemed to encourage the men in attendance. The Lord has given us an almost 20 year relationship with Mount Zion which has included multiple preaching/teaching opportunities. Pastor Doug Mulkey recently celebrated his 20th anniversary there.

August 23rd: NITW was instrumental in the planting of GCC, and now is a ministry of GCC. We celebrated the fourth anniversary of GCC with a special service that included a pre-service dinner, special guests and a worship service. We are encouraged to see the relationship between GCC and NITW continue to be strong and the mutual help that both ministries bring to one another.

August 29th: We took a group of students to the Do Hard Things youth conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Great conference!

August 30th-September 2nd: I was on the road these days to Arcadia, Louisiana and Alabama Baptist Church (ABC). While at ABC I had the opportunity to speak five times on the topics, The Holiness of God, The Blessedness of Forgiveness, The Comfort of God, The Remedy for Foolishness, and Biblical Revival. We saw the Lord answer very specific prayers for ABC.

September 6th: I spoke at Grace Bible Church (GBC) in Canton, GA on the subject, Worship Matters from Malachi. GBC is a growing church in our area.

September 11-13th: Emmanuel Baptist Church in Woodstock, GA hosted a marriage retreat. I had opportunity for about eight hours of teaching. We considered the topics, The Visionary Marriage, How a Godly Wife Can Encourage Her Husband, The Loving Husband, The Remedy for a Faithless Heart and Family Worship.

September 13th PM: I have just begun a series from Malachi at GCC. When I am not traveling I am engaged in a regular teaching ministry at GCC. We are excited about a number of ministries at GCC. The Lord is adding to our number. Our college ministry is strong. It is exciting to see a number of college students from North Georgia College attending our services, college Bible study and monthly home fellowship.

September 20th: This Sunday we will celebrate Homecoming Services with Broad River Baptist Church in Baldwin, GA. Pastor Steve Loeffler will be formally ordained to ministry.

Writing

We are pleased to announce that my new book, Family Worship For The Thanksgiving Season is scheduled for a late September release.

Prayer Requests

I would very much appreciate your prayers. Would you consider praying for our family and ministry regularly? Here are a few prayer requests:

1. That God will be honored through NITW.
2. That we will be committed to true instruction and godly living and will be a blessing to the people of God (Malachi 2:6). Therefore, pray that I will have ample time for study, will make the most of that time and that I will be faithful in the application of that study.
3. Pray for the churches that I mentioned in my update.
4. Pray that I will be a godly husband and father. Lori and I have been given a weeklong minister’s retreat in North West, GA. Pray that time will be used to strengthen our marriage and refresh our hearts and minds. Pray that our children will love the Lord.
5. Pray for open doors of preaching opportunity. One of the great joys of our ministry is being able to minister in churches. We presently have numerous openings in our schedule.
6. Pray for our finances. We are in need of monthly donations to our ministry as well as occasional and one-time gifts. This need is immediate and significant.
7. For a volunteer to put together and manage our web-sites both www.nourishedintheword.org and www.booksthatnourish.com
8. For a godly board of directors who can give administrative leadership and support the vision of NITW.
9. For churches and families to host a Discover Nourished in the Word gathering.


When you invest your prayers and financial support to Nourished in the Word Ministries you are supporting a work that is seeking to preserve the integrity of the faith to “the generations to come.” We are increasingly concerned about the next generation (Psalm 78). At NITW we are working hard to remember the faithfulness of God in the past, entrust His truth to the present generation and through them seek to reach future generations.

Nourished in the Word Ministries exists to promote the glory of God through teaching, writing, and God-centered resources.

One of the ways that we do that is through itinerant teaching on a variety of themes and subjects. I am available to teach for retreats, conferences, and any other setting. See my recent activities above for some of the topics on which I have been preaching.

I would be happy to share the details of our vision with you. Please feel free to contact me with your questions.

Testimony

"What a complete joy it is to offer my blessing and recommendation of Ray Rhodes', newest book, Family Worship for the Thanksgiving Season. Ray has given us a doxological feast of 31 creative lessons, which offer the fruit of both an informed mind and enflamed heart. The beauty of Ray's writing may only be surpassed by the beauty of his family--the precious community in which our brother has invested so much of his heart and cultivated his tremendous love for the gospel and God's people. Not only your Thanksgiving season, but your entire year will be enriched by highly accessible and Biblically faithful reflections."
Scotty Smith, Pastor for Preaching, Teaching and Worship Christ Community Church, Franklin TN, Author of Unveiled Hope, with Michael Card; Speechless, with Steven Curtis Chapman; Objects of His Affection; The Reign of Grace; and Restoring Broken Things, with Steven Curtis Chapman

Thank you for your love and support of our work. Our mailing address is: Nourished in the Word Ministries, P.O. Box 6736, Gainesville, GA 30504. Visit Lori on the web at www.nitw4ladies.blogspot.com and from there check out my daughter’s blogs. Contact me at ray@nourishedintheword.org or 678-697-4495

Ray Rhodes


Recent Anniversaries

June marked 20 years in the ministry for Ray.
Ray and Lori celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary in August.
Grace Community Church, 4th anniversary in August.
Nourished in the Word Ministries, 7th anniversary in October.