The Wilkes Team

(Be sure to read all the way to the end for a special report)

What a thrilling three days! Each day the momentum built with Saturday being the climax. Special guests, The Staddon family, joined us and so enhanced the climax to even greater levels.

Beginning with prayer requests and prayer Joshua introduced Saturday’s club. Next came a powerful demonstration on the importance of obeying even when it’s difficult. Esther, Daniel Staddon, and Mark performed a skit to help illustrate this important truth.

  Daniel and Sarah shared the importance of Loving God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength and how this is the means to true obedience towards all authorities.

Through the fascinating avenue of a chalk talk, Jonathan Staddon shared on the importance of gravity and how it is a law which cannot be changed and will be obeyed. In telling the story of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments, Jonathan went on further to explain that there are other laws God created which we have a choice to obey. He shared powerful testimonies of the rewards that come through obeying our authorities and the consequences of disobeying.

Michael Staddon and Joshua gave some motivating stretches:

The Teaching time concluded with the missionary story by Adam. The children were listening eagerly to a truly fascinating story of a translator – Yoseb who translated the English Bible into the Tibetan language.

After a final prayer we all headed out for an exhilarating 7 part obstacle course: 

The Lord truly blessed the entire day. But there was one particular highlight which truly inspired all of us teachers.

It reminded us of the need to continue in the paths of righteousness and furthermore impressed upon us how great a God we serve.

Click Here for this encouraging & uplifting highlight!

8 Comments » | posted in Family News, Ministry Reports

At one point or another, standing between every human being and their Creator God is a wall. A wall that stands firm and fixed, allowing not a soul the opportunity for fellowship with God.  But God loved mankind. He desired a personal relationship with man, his most precious creation. And so out of His great love, He sent His perfect and only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) to earth to die upon a wooden cross as payment for the sins of mankind.

Without the shedding of blood, says the Scripture, there is no remission (forgiveness) of sins (Heb. 9:22). But Jesus did not stay dead – 3 days later He arose showing that He can conquer death. Every human is on their way to eternity in hell unless Jesus Christ saves them from the penalty of their sin. The invitation has been given. It is now up to each individual to receive what Jesus did, repent of their sins, and ask Jesus  to save them. The Bible says, "For Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13)."

This was one of the powerful messages given at Bible Club today. As Matthew went through the gospel, the presentation climaxed when Matthew knocked down a large wall representing sin thus showing what Jesus will do for any who will heed the call to repentance.  

We continued with our exciting theme of obedience. 5 keys of obedience were reviewed: Instantly, Cheerfully, Completely, Without Complaining, & Going the Extra Mile. And then, we heard an amazing story about an elephant who saved the circus because of his instant, complete, and cheerful obedience.

Anticipation is building for the final day of club. We look forward to bringing you tomorrow’s report. Stay tuned for more!

4 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports

After a wonderful Backyard Bible Club last year, we were thrilled to have the ability to host another one.

WOW!! What a great first day!! God truly was honored today, lives were touched, and we received an incredible blessing.

Our theme this week is on Obedience and the importance of staying under the authority of our God given authorities. The verse Daniel and Sarah taught today was Colossians 3:20 which encouraged us to obey in ALL things because this is well pleasing unto the Lord. We heard the story of Jonah today, and walked away realizing the importance of obeying RIGHT AWAY!

Chef May visited us and was making a very special brownie dessert when she put a bad egg in the bowl and ruined the whole batch of brownies!! O, everyone was so sad! She then shared with us how one bad egg will ruin a whole batch of brownies just how one little sin separates us from God and Heaven.

The game time outside built team work and carefulness in us all! From carrying cups of pop corn on top of our feet and dumping them into a bucket to handing cups of water over our heads to the person behind us!

Keep us in prayer as seek to be testimonies of Christ as we work with these children!

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

Godly Fatherhood is a responsibility for every young man to aspire towards. A role for every wife and daughter to cherish and honor. A position for every culture to protect and promote.

And yet, though we find ourselves living in a culture actively engaged in the demeaning, devaluing, & discouraging of Godly Fatherhood, it is incumbent that we as children never take for granted this noble role. That we never overlook the great sacrifice faithful fathers have made: the sacrifice of forsaking all for Christ. Of relinquishing worldly gain for Godly Character. Of ignoring the jeers of culture and mainstream unto the preservation of Godliness, Purity, & Virtue. Of setting aside personal ambitions in order to raise a Godly seed.

Fathers, like the ones described above, are by no means perfect but they follow a perfect Savior. They are men who fully recognize their depravity outside their all sufficient Lord. They are men who readily admit failure while clinging to the promises of God’s Word. They are men who draw nigh to their Heavenly Father.

It is with great joy and admiration that I say that my father is such a man. One who has decided to follow Jesus – no turning back – no turning back. We thank you Dad for your love for Christ. We appreciate your passion for His will and for your dedication to seeing each one of us become Godly Men and Women.

This past Fathers Day the families at church had the joy of showing a portion of the appreciation they hold for their faithful fathers. This was done through the creation of meaningful banners, loving letters, and memorable ice cream desserts.

The letters were read during testimony time following dessert. Each family pointed out with joy some of the specific ways their father blesses the home. 

Praise the Lord for Godly Fathers – Men whom God has raised for such a time as this to ‘Stand in the Gap.’

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

The joys of birthdays have been abounding in our household as we have celebrated quite a few over the recent days. The creativity of each one helped to make the celebrations extra memorable. Creativity for the purpose of blessing others takes time, takes joy, and takes love….and what a worthwhile investment!

Such was the case of each individual birthday morning….

From a Birthday Safari to Treasure Hunts, memorable hunting events, and sudden surprises , much effort was put in to make each birthday extra special.

One night last week, Grandpa, Grandma, and our cousins came over to celebrate Fathers Day and the birthdays of Grandma, Joshua, Sarah, & Kenan.

The evening was a memorable one. A highlight of the  celebrations, was the Birthday Character Fair. Mom initiated the idea, Kenan & Adam spearheaded it, and just about everyone else contributed. Blankets were hung, paper animals cut out, and furniture rearranged as the basement was transformed into a room full of adventure, contests, & challenges. There was a Clothes Pin Drop, an Animal Safari Seek & Find, a Rabbit Hunting Contest,  Marshmallow Target  Shooting, Boat Racing, & more. Part of the challenge of the Character Fair, was figuring out which character quality went with each activity (Resourcefulness, Wisdom, Determination, Diligence, Sensitivity, Cautiousness, Orderliness, Attentiveness, & Creativity). Endurance for the Boat Race, Resourcefulness for the ‘Paper Throw,’ Creativity for the Tallest Tower Challenge, and much more! Great job to all our participants!

Happy Birthday Grandma, Joshua, Sarah, & Kenan! May the Lord be your focus as you seek to grown in Character this year!

4 Comments » | posted in Family News

Here was my situation:

1.) 2000 sq. ft of garden space needing weeding, edging, and prep. for mulching,

2.) 10 cubic yards of mulch carried around in wheel barrows to allocated positions in aforesaid garden space.

3.) Wondering how to get it done efficiently and effectively.

You might call it more of a problem then just a situation but nevertheless it was a looming future event quickly approaching the present. When the job was scheduled, I thought my incredible side-kick Daniel would be helping with his productive hands. The day before the situation arrived Daniel, I was told, would not be available. How was I to get the job done in the time frame allowed? At this point I began to understand the wonderfulness of a wonderful family allowing God to work through each member. Unfortunately because of the lack of personal photographic propensities the situation has no pictorial records. Nevertheless, though this post is bound by this sever handicap, the handicap will not be the means of stopping the proclamation  of God’s workings.

Monday evening, Kenan gave up his afternoon to help me. Tuesday morning I thought I was going over by myself but then ended up with a whole car load of the following individuals: Daniel, Sarah, Kenan, and Adam. It was amazing how things went and how true the saying is ” Many hands make light work”. Wednesday morning I again thought I was to be solitary but Joshua showed availability and helped me finish off the situation also called a landscape project.

I am inspired by my family. There was a situation and they pulled together to help reach the end. There was a need and they set aside their busy schedules of school, work, and fun activities to make sure the need was met. The Bible would call this sacrificial service and by their doing of this I have been deeply blessed. From pondering this whole ordeal I realize, even more so, the value of families working together. A posing situation turning into a problem transformed into a blessing by their help. Furthermore it became a tool by God to encourage and strengthen relationships.

Having completed the situation, I rejoice in God for each one of my family members and I am looking forward to many other looming future events to go through, with them, together.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News

How precious indeed are little children: their joy, their innocence, their trust, and their openness. And how imperative indeed it is that the Truth be imparted to them at an early age. It is of no wonder, that Christ had such a heart for children (Matt. 19:14; Luke 18:16).

It is with great joy that I report of the Lord’s goodness in allowing our family the opportunity to work with the Children’s Institute in Nashville during this year’s ATI conference. Close to 170 children (ages 3-7) attended 2 1/2 days of powerful stories, object lessons, crafts, activities, Scripture memory, and songs. The foundational goal of the Children’s Institute is to “…turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers… (Ma. 4:6).”

We were privileged to work along side thirty-two other young people (ages of 14 and 21). Before the CI began, the opportunity was given for each of us to make a decision to be holy committed (clear conscience) and wholly committed to pleasing Christ. During teacher training, precious time was allotted for the searching of our hearts and to fully dedicate ourselves to the Lord’s work.

Wednesday morning at 8:30am, the children began to pour in. Full of energy and joy, both the children and teachers embarked on an exciting journey.

Over the course of the week, the children memorized 1John 4:4-8 (our theme passage for the week). During large group time, they learned the importance of building their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ by making the decision to things “God’s Way” vs. “My Way.”

We were reminded of the importance of complete obedience, telling the whole truth, and maintaining a clean conscience through the powerful story of the ‘Farmer’s Son.’ We were also encouraged to be grateful for the unique ways God has made each one of us as we saw in the lesson of the camel. And no large group was complete without singing one of the memorable CI songs.

During small group time, the teachers taught the children, among many things,  the importance of taking every though captive, of forsaking all to follow Christ, of putting on the armor of God, recognizing their need for prayer, and discovering ways to be grateful.

While the children received much info over the 2 1/2 days we were together, it is our prayer that the children were awakened even more to just how much Jesus loves them and the joy that comes through having a close relationship with both Jesus and their parents. How wonderful it was to hear that during the CI, a little boy saw his need for a Savior and wanted Jesus to save him. We had the joy of explaining this to his Mother so she would be able to lead him to Christ.

It was an inspiration for us to work with such a dynamic team of teachers: those with a vision of impacting young people: the next generation. The thought came to mind, that these 170 children may very well be the ones whom God will use  to stand in t
he gap. We know not the future impact a word spoken in due season may have upon the life of a child. May God embolden us to speak Truth and vision into the lives of our siblings & the other precious little ones He brings across our paths.

8 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports