Even though, I was ready to get back on the road for ministry after Christmas, the Lord knew that the work my family and I would be doing in the first three months of the Go Church East County plant would need our time and attention (more on this on page two). By April, the church plant core team was in rhythm and the Lord opened up doors for me to go back on the road to minister with other churches again.

Our first event of the year was a Parenting Conference put on by Hope in the Grove Church in Cottage Grove, OR on April 13th. This is a young church plant and one of the churches that participated in Men of Simplicity this winter and early spring. I was invited to speak to 20 adults on the topic of The Influence of Technology in the Home as well as lead a breakout session on Parenting Teens.  What a joy it was to invest in these parents for an impact to future generations!

The following weekend, on April 19-21, I preached at a Youth Worship Weekend at Richland Baptist in Richland, WA. There were 55-65 students at each of the four sessions. More than a dozen teens responded during the altar call Saturday morning and 27 responded on Saturday night. These were mostly Christian teens who made decisions of repentance and renewal of their relationship with Christ. On Sunday morning of that weekend, I preached the morning message at Richland Baptist Church. About half a dozen or more Christians adults responded during the invitation time along with one man for salvation. It was a privilege to be in the midst of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ in the lives of His people.

The next weekend, April 27, I led the evangelism training for seven NW Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers. Evangelism During Crisis and Disaster is a 3 1/2 hour class adapted from my Simple Evangelism course that focuses on: the empowering role of the Holy Spirit for evangelism, having the compassion Christ demonstrated when He proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom of God, being prepared to answer the crisis question (if God exists and is good, loving, and all powerful, why do evil and suffering continue in the world?) with the metanarrative of the Gospel story, learning three types of questions that are the pathway to spiritual conversations, and how to share one’s salvation story using a John 16:8 outline. I am thankful for how the Lord worked in each of these events.

Our first Men of Simplicity Retreat on May 25-May26 went great. We had 20 men who participated for a focused time in the word, worship, prayer and fellowship at Aldersgate Camp & Retreat center in Turner, OR.

The following weekend, May 31-June 1, we held a MOS conference in Spokane, WA and had 27 men in attendance. Both events had the same teaching on “Influence.” 

Our weekly MOS discipleship for the 2023-2024 term wrapped up on June 3. We had an average weekly attendance during our winter term of 89 men for 10 weeks and an average weekly attendance of 78 during the spring term. These men have grown spiritually. That gives me joy!

We will resume weekly discipleship of men in partnership with local churches on Sept. 9th. Thank you for investing in the lives of those we serve in the NW.  

The past six months have been an amazing adventure as we stepped out by faith in partnership with Pastor Mark Ford and his wife, Kristy, to add to our ministry work by helping them plant a church in an area roughly 20 miles east of Portland, OR. In addition to assisting Mark with the gathering of a core team, leading four meetings in January and February, Zach (my son), Debbie, and I have led the worship at our core team meetings. Pastor Mark has handled all the logistics and led the core team through the book of Acts with an emphasis on church planting.

Now, we are moving into a new phase! This summer we will have monthly preview parties to introduce ourselves to the community around us. We have 26 adults and 9 children involved in the core team, and we are excited to see who God draws to join that number through the summer. We anticipate the official launch of Go Church East County will take place in October of this year! 

2024

• June 5 & 12 - Open Door Baptist midweek service - Preaching 
• July 8-12 - Columbia Basin Baptist Youth Camp - Evangelism Training Breakouts
• July 13 - Iglesias Bautista Vida Nueva, Sandy, OR - Evangelistic Youth Event.
• Aug 5-8 - Ochoco Christian High School Camp - Preaching. Message focus: “The Prodigal”
• Aug 26 - MOS Vision and Intro Meeting

Are you looking for a speaker for your

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Booking for 2025

Mike Thibodeaux, Speaker, Evangelist, Disciple Maker

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