Pray Fist // The Blessings of Partnership

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” ~ Philippians 1:3-6 

As stated on our website, Maranatha’s events are designed to inspire life changing encounters with Jesus. We believe that when people experience life transformation through the gospel, they can engage the world around them with the light of Jesus…And that’s how the gospel spreads!

We have much to be thankful for at Camp. We have seen God at work through campus improvements and meaningful events that brought people together for praise, worship, the sharing of the Word, and one-on-one conversations. In these moments, lives have been changed and the gospel has been lived out and shared among guests, staff, and volunteers. We are grateful to see God’s plan unfold through his people, imperfect as we are!

We are blessed and especially thankful for those who have partnered with us this year, those who have faithfully prayed, those who have served, and those who have supported financially with their gifts. It is a partnership grounded in the gospel as we strive side by side to create God honoring experiences not only for our guests but for those who partner with us.

From Acts 20:35 we know that ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ We see that in God’s economy the blessing goes to the giver. The following are some of the blessings in the lives of the giver:

• Confidence in the knowledge that we are following the example of Christ who gave himself sacrificially.

• Growth in the virtues of compassion, kindness and joy as giving shapes our character.

• Contentment that demonstrates our trust with what God has provided; and

• Confidence that we are obeying Jesus’ command in Matthew 6:19-20 to “not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, but to instead lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.

We pray that those who partner with us sense God’s promised blessings. In Philippians 1:6, Paul expresses confidence in the work of God in the lives of those who have partnered with him in the gospel. It is a comforting to know that God is the one who begins and completes the good work and that we can be used by him for his glory!

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

PRAISES:

• Our recent Refresh Women’s retreat, the second largest attended on record!

• Wonderful teaching and connection times during Resilient!

• New families volunteering to tackle weekly housekeeping tasks.

• God has blessed us with wonderful events with first time professions of faith and strengthened and renewed commitments to the Lord.

• The blessings of partnership in the gospel though shared prayers, gifts of time serving guests or behind the scenes and financial gifts to support the ministry in this season of growth.

PRAY FOR:

• Our upcoming Family Fair Day on October 12, that relationships will be formed or strengthened and families will be blessed.

• Blessings for our upcoming Men’s Retreat.

• That those who partner with Maranatha sense God’s promised blessing.

• For more volunteers to help serve our growing number of guest groups in the kitchen and other areas including general maintenance, programming, and guest services.

• For resources, supplies, and giving to support building maintenance projects and repair/replace aging water heaters and boilers.

Life change is happening at Maranatha! We thank God for each one of you; your prayers and support are truly partnerships in the gospel and a tremendous blessing to the ministry, demonstrating how He works through the prayers and diligent hands and feet of His people!