Terrill Road Freewill Baptist / Praying Pelican retreat.

I work with a Freewill Baptist church near my school. I was raised Pentecostal, took membership with the Free Methodist church, and am currently ministering in a Freewill Baptist church while attending a Restoration Movement school. So clearly I am all over the board denomination-wise. I closely associate my beliefs with the Free Methodist church, along with the Christian church's dedication to Biblical authority and Christian Unity.
My current ministry at Terrill road Freewill Baptist church is two fold. I have been serving as the worship minister on Sunday mornings and evenings, leading in songs and praises. On Sunday evenings I have been helping lead prayer meetings. Jerrod Tune also serves at the church on Sunday evenings, and preaching occasionally. I have been given the opportunity to preach a couple times as well. Our church is small. Small but growing. When I began attending in September there was on average about 10 people in our Sunday morning assembly. Since that time, Pastor James Wilson has inspired the congregation with Biblical preaching and we've grown to nearly 20 on Sunday mornings. We now have an average of 6 college students coming consistently. Our Sunday night group usual consists of 6 or 7, and we've grown into more of a tight knit small group. There is a school at the church, a Christian Academy, existing of 30 students. We usually have kids on Sunday morning, with the Kid's church minister changing by the week.
The church is growing. Pray for our congregation as summer nears. I will be traveling to Belize in early June for a summer ministry internship. Jerrod will be staying around for summer school and then going home for the summer as well, and the rest of our college students will be going home. Pray that the congregation stays encouraged and continues to grow over the summer.
Next weekend, the first weekend in May, I will be traveling to Duluth, MN. Praying Pelican Missions (PPM) headquarters is located there. We're having an all-staff weekend retreat. We will be preparing for our summer ministry through training and fellowship. Pray that God prepares our hearts and minds, fully equipping us for our service.

My summer in Belize is nearing...

Most of you already know that this summer i'll be traveling to Belize, Central America, with Praying Pelican Missions. I began working with PPM in 2004, when I was a team member on a trip to Bermudian Landing with my brother Josh's youth group from Minneapolis. Last summer (2006) I worked as a summer intern for three weeks. This summer i'll be doing an official internship with Praying Pelican. I'll be in Belize for ten weeks; working with a variety of teams from various denominations, and numerous church bodies in Belize. Our leadership staff is very excited about the things that are going on in Belize. Many churches and teams have had impactful trips and are continuing to work in ministry with churches in Belize.
As a staff member with Praying Pelican, I am a servant. As Paul himself declared in Romans 1:1 "a bond-servant of Christ, set apart for the gospel of God." Our staff exists to set up successful short term mission trips for Unites States churches, who team with a local church ( in Belize). The teams we lead soak in the culture, develop new relationships, perform short term ministry programs, dive into service projects, and most importantly share the gospel message- often becoming a catalyst for something greater.
This web log will give me a better way to communicate to all of you- my family, friends, and brethren in Christ. I will keep you informed on what's going on throughout the summer. I am going to try to post a new blog at least once a week. That way I can inform you on what the team is like that I have been working with during that week, what kind of ministry they're doing, where they are, and how their ministry is going. I'll be able to share any prayer requests with you, and share any other thoughts I have.
Thank you for your support of my ministry. God has blessed me in so many ways, and He is so good! I will be posting another entry soon on my current ministry in Missouri with Terrill Road Freewill Baptist Church, and on my preparation for our summer ministry in Belize.

You better Belize it!

In Christ,
Jon Nelson