Summer Camps - 2023 was the first time for me to preach at summer camps since COVID 2020. What a joy to be a camp pastor again. The first week of camp was with approximately 80 teens from Columbia Basin Baptist Association. We had a great week! There were 6 students who repented and professed faith in Jesus Christ. In addition, God worked in the hearts of Christian students to repent of following the influences of this world and to return to a simple and pure devotion to Jesus Christ. Every single session there were students who responded publicly during the altar call to repent. On Thursday night, it was powerful, with nearly every student on his/her knees before God. We praise Jesus for the way He worked and for the life changing decisions that were made.

The second camp was at Ochoco Christian Conference Center. We had about 44 high school students at camp. I again preached the Influence message series explaining how Israel had been influenced to sin against God by the nations around them. Students learned how influence works and heard God's call to stop regarding and esteeming men (Isaiah 2:22) because in the last days God will be exalted and man will be humbled. Throughout the morning sessions of both camps, my preaching focused on helping students recognize how Satan, through this world, seeks to influence, deceive, and entice them to sin against God. I addressed key issues related to technology and addiction, pornography, homosexuality, and transgenderism, as well as other sins of sexual immorality, challenging students to realize that as a Christian they are the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19). Much like Israel in the days of Isaiah, there are Christians today that defile God’s temple (their own bodies) with sins of immorality. Students today are struggling deeply with these issues. More than once, students and adults expressed appreciation to me for addressing these topics with clear biblical instruction and call to repentance. At Ochoco Christian Conference center there was at least 1 salvation decision, 1-2 teens needing assurance of salvation, and 12 other public decisions of recommitment to Christ. 

Other Ministry - September 22-23, I had the opportunity to do Simple Evangelism Training (SET) with 40 Christians from Iglesia Vida Nueva. Pastor Agustín Contreras shared with me, “Our church members are still talking about what a blessing it was to have you train us on evangelism.” We are completing the translation work on the SET materials into Spanish. Pastor Agustín will be using this to go back through the training with those who only speak Spanish. I also preached at Corbett Community Church on July 2^nd for their morning service. This church is still searching for a pastor.

Men of Simplicity Launches 15th Year

Wow!! Such an awesome start to MOS this fall. We have had an average attendance of 94 men over the first 5 weeks. We have churches joining our Gresham, OR group via Zoom from: Spokane, WA / Parkland, WA / Meridian, ID / Terrebonne, OR / Glendale, OR and Molalla, OR. We also have about 15 men joining individually from: Waco, TX / Abilene, TX / Lubbock, TX / Vancouver, WA / Wenatchee, WA / Kalama, WA / Castle Rock, WA / Kalama, WA / Ridgefield, WA / Douglas, WY / Springfield, OR / Troutdale, OR / Dallas, OR and Alaska. God is at work revealing Himself and His ways through the word of God and men are responding. They are adjusting their lives under the Lordship of Christ and being transformed. I would like to share with you the first three teaching sessions of MOS this fall. These are not professional recordings, but you can see what all our groups experience as we use Zoom for these meetings. I hope this will be an encouragement to you and give you look into what I am teaching the men in MOS. Here are the links:  

Session 1 - Ambition

Session 2 - Motivation

Session 3 - Purpose

Church Plant - Go Church East County

We are excited to announce that Debbie, Zach and I will be partnering with Mark and Kristy Ford to plant a church on the easternmost edge of the Portland metro area, 20 minutes from where we live. Mark has been a church planter for over a decade and a half. This will be the third church Mark has planted, and he has facilitated six other church plants through raising up and sending out others. I will continue to do Simplicity Ministries® full-time, but my board and I see the value of my investment in this church plant. My family will be sent out from our home church of Open Door Baptist in Troutdale, OR with their blessing and continued support. So grateful. We will be a part of the core team weekly meetings on Sunday nights beginning Jan. 21, 2024. During this core team phase, my family will be leading worship at our meetings. We look forward to the opportunity of singing praises to our Savior with those who will be laboring together for the next nine months to launch Go Church sometime next fall. I will also be utilized in Go Church to disciple the men of the church through Men of Simplicity. Debbie looks forward to discipling women in the church plant as well. As you can see in the pic above, there is already a good group of people considering joining this church plant. Please pray with us for this new work!

2023

• Weekly Monday MOS Discipleship
• Oct 14 - Twin Rivers Community Church, Crooked River Ranch, OR - Men’s Breakfast - MOS Vision & Intro
• Oct 15 - Twin Rivers Community Church - Preaching AM Services
• Oct 16 - Smith Rock Community Church, Terrebonne, OR - MOS
• Oct 29 - Glendale Baptist Church, Glendale, OR - AM Service - Preaching
• Oct 30 - Glendale Baptist Church - MOS
• Nov 3 & 17 - Open Door Christian Academy Chapel - Preaching
• Dec 1 & 8 - Open Door Christian Academy Chapel - Preaching

Booking for 2023 & 2024

Mike Thibodeaux, Speaker, Evangelist, Disciple Maker

Calling generations of all nations to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ!

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