Cottageville, South Carolina Report

Summer is winding down in South Carolina. Hurricane Idalia came through but left everyone unscathed, minus puddles of water the sun quickly dried up.

Carter began driving long distance again, so please keep him in prayer. All that time on the roads means he crosses paths with many people, taking the anointing of the Lord with him.

Phil and his family are settled in their new home and have welcomed multiple visits from those living in the lowcountry, while also having new opportunities for ministry as they explore their new area.

Steve went up to New England to visit with those in the fellowship there. He spent time with Scott & Gail, Chris & his family in Maine, and those in Vermont. All are meeting up for Labor Day weekend to spend some time together.

Robin made a trip to visit with family on the east coast and is spending time with James & his family. They’re all joining the rest of the SC fellowship for a Labor Day cookout. 



The young people are continuing to grow: leaving home, entering the work force, and taking on college courses. Please keep them in prayer as they enter the world and get to put into practice the things they’ve heard in their homes.

Ongoing events:

• Children’s PE takes place at 10:00 a.m. on a Friday morning. If you'd like to know more about it, please contact Angie (843) 860-8824 or Email Angie
• Children’s Bible study follows PE every Friday morning at 11:10 a.m. Contact Maggie for more information at: (915) 246-6136 or Email Maggie
• Sunday evening Bible studies are at 6 p.m. and any who are inclined to join together for a meal beforehand are welcome at 5 p.m.

People to contact: if you have questions about the ministry in South Carolina, how you can participate, here’s the list of who to get in touch with.

The South Carolina fellowship:

• Contact Philip (Spartanburg): (843) 217-2644 or Email Phillip
• Contact Carter (Cottageville): (303) 257-5470 or Email Carter 
• Contact James (Lynchburg): (706) 283-2688 or Email James 

The music team and how you can be a part:

• Megan (802) 485-8624 or Email Megan

Photo courtesy of Karen Hocker

Grace Ranch Report

Life at Grace Ranch continues to move forward on many fronts. The family cabin cleanup and refit are about concluded and Sue, Naomi, and I hope to be able to occupy it in the next couple of weeks. It will allow us to get our camper in for much needed repairs before the extended warranty expires. Bob has done a great job and it will be a blessing for anyone who gets to use it in the future. We still need to replace the roof as soon as practical and will need help financially, and with physical manpower, to get that done. Please keep that final repair project in your prayers. On another front, we’ve been working with a land surveyor to get a complete “big picture” view of the ranch with all the parcels. It’s not quite done yet, but once completed, we’ll be able to plan our next course of action for the ranch. It’s been a long process, but we are getting close. 

On other fronts, things have been pretty quiet. It’s been a blessing to see folks making up the differences for one another across ranch operations. I’m personally looking forward to the upcoming conference and Steve’s visit. With that in mind, I would like to suggest that folks here and throughout the fellowship, go back and listen to last year’s conference materials. 2022 Ministers Conference Audio, Video and Facebook.

We were provided a vision for our fellowship and it’s easy to be excited about a vision and then very quickly lose sight in the midst of everything going on around us. As we look to the next conference, I would ask folks to first try and recall the core points of the vision Steve laid out for us last year and to consider how well they received, embraced, and executed the vision we were given. In preparation for this next conference, I encourage everyone to prepare their hearts ahead of time to hear, receive, and embrace the Lord’s call. And, set their hearts to obey and submit to the execution of whatever the Lord would have for us. May the Lord’s grace continue to cover us as we learn to walk by faith in love. 

For questions regarding the Grace Ranch, Texas fellowship:

Contact Rick: 

(928) 302-9078 or Email Rick 

Contact Robin:

(915) 307-0514 or Email Robin

August - The Festive and Harvest Month

Since my childhood I had always looked forward to the month of August in Ghana. The month had always fallen within the long vacation of schools academic calendar. It had also been traditionally the harvest month and the time that fishermen also hauled in a lot of fish. To crown it all the weather had always been cool without much rainfall (its different now but still cool). August is also the time of the year that many traditional areas observe/celebrates their festivals. For this August I chose to attend one such traditional event – “The Asafotufiami” at Ada in the south eastern edge of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Historically, the Asafotufiami is a remembrance of ancient wars with neighboring tribes where their warriors fired musketry to commemorate and celebrate their victories. The festival is also used to usher in the harvest season and to thank the Almighty God for bountiful harvest. There’s a lot of fanfare during the weeklong celebration climaxed with a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of which I was in attendance. The president of Ghana was also in attendance as the guest of honor. There was plenty opportunity for ministry and making new friends.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park & Mausoleum

A trip was also undertaken to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, Mausoleum and Museum to acquaint myself with the life and works of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana, his relentless pursuit of independence, and his unwavering belief in pan-African unity. The Mausoleum is a magnificent Marble Monument and the last resting place of the first President of Ghana and his wife, Fathia Nkrumah. The memorial park was built on a former British Polo field where Ghana's independence was declared in 1957

Message Theme - Encountering The Lord

No particular theme was chosen for the month in retrospect but as ministrations in varying ways were rendered one theme rhymed through regardless of whatever message was shared i.e. “Encountering God Personally”. This is where Christianity is differentiated from religiosity. We have come to realize that many who parade themselves as Christians have not really encountered the Lord and are just practicing religion just like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. We have to encourage church goers to desire to have an encounter with Jesus so that 2 Corinthians 5:17 would manifest in their lives – the internal experience first. Encounters with the Lord are unique to every individual. The Apostle Paul’s encounter with the Lord is different from how Apostles Peter, James and John encountered the Lord. The important thing here is that they all had a divine encounter and bore fruits even as they allowed the Holy Ghost to continue to work in their lives in an ongoing basis. In summary I’d say that God wants you to experience Him personally. Not just to know about Him but rather to KNOW HIM. Psalms 103:7

Discipleship

On the Discipleship front, Pastor Emmanuel Otim was the most active for the month under review. He has progressed so much and with each appointment honoured he just couldn’t wait for the next session. Lets keep him in prayer as his wife was recently delivered of a baby girl that he wants to name after my daughter Valentina (no special reason, he says he just loves the name). Pastor Korsah after a short absence has resumed studies with vigor. Let’s keep him also in prayer as he has health challenges and is battling with Asthmatic attacks. Pastor Wilson is still struggling with Fever and is still very weak. He was at the hospital again for further tests to be run on him. Please cease not to pray for him that the Lord Jesus would perfect His healing in him. He needs our prayers urgently.