Foust Tom Debbie 1993 England

8/13/2019 Foust Tom Debbie 1993 England

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T3M DEBBIEF0USTa jO Kidderminster RoadB I JU WORCS

Tom, Debbie, Angela, Samuel, David, AutumiMISSION RIES TO GRE T RIT INHRISTI N MISSION RY FELLOmm? PrayerNewsletter

May 1993

BromsgroveEngland

My Dear Friend Tom,I am g iven to much thought over the las t few weeks that you have been back in Bromsgrovewith us, regarding th e Bromsgrove Christian Church. I wish to ask you to pass my appreciationon to those in the U.S. to whom we owe so much by enabling you and Debbie to work here.If I were able, I would write to every one involved or at least to every congregation; however, Ido not know them. I only know of them and their work through Christ. If you would be so kindas to let those who are responsible to the congregation have a copy of this letter I would begrateful.

Dear Friends in Christ,I am of no particular importance and hold no office in this new Church which you have seeded in Bromsgrove.My only distinction is that for some reason, best known to Christ, I attended th e very first service held inBromsgrove, when Orrell Battersby first started whatwas to be a new church .I have seen this Church, from the beginning, rise from nothing and grow to quite a large Christ ian family. Ihave seen it without a building to call home; I have seen itwither on the vine; and I have seen it burst into life once again,as a new spring brings forth new growth.We now have a substantial building, but our home is, and alwayswill be , in and with Christ. The building is ofgreat importance tous , but, like al l assets, there are liabilities to meet on the otherside of th e balance sheet .Having both a spiritual home and a home as a roofover our headis a move in the right direction, and we much appreciate it . ThisChurch and congregation is now becoming known in this quitediverse community; people are more able to identify a Churchwith a building rather than a gathering in Christ s name, everwas it so. The physical is so much easier to understand than thespiritual. God blessed Bromsgrove Chr is t ian Church withthese lovely facilities.The progress is substantial since that first service, bu t it is taking quite a period of t ime. I know things happenmore slowly in the U.K. (United Kingdom) than in your home towns. God dictates these things, and impatienceis merely a human weakness.I see th e family grow in numbers and conviction, people who are becoming th e rock of something ye t to be seenin its fullness, with each person finding his own ministry under the leadership of our friend, Tom Foust, andhis family. His ability in identifying people s talents and interests, encouraging them, and building a properChristian family in th e community is more important than speed.


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The Word of God is preached from the Scriptures without deviation for convenience or for liberal popularity. Ofthis I wish you to know and I am sure that you will be pleased.1 am totally convinced that together in Christ we will succeed th e thought and prayers will be rewarded byGod s grace upon your generosity. A new Church is planted. It must now be a ll ow ed to g row t o first bring theblossom and, then, the fruits of success which will follow a s sure a s night will follow day. That will be to God sGlory.Distances ofmany thousands ofmiles separate us from you our brothers and sisters in Christ in the UnitedStates; however, a peculiar nearness is here to you. A strange tenuous thread binds us close together and distanceloses its meaning. I personally often look at the night sky and remember t ha t i t is the very same God-made skythat you also look at.We k no w that your problems of today s difficult life are no t so different from our own. Problems with familyjobs, certain economics theories gone wrong, and personal difficulties of health, and loved ones to care aboutare all just the same. For this reason, we k no w that th e help and support that you gi ve to us is not withoutsacrifice and we also know that it would be far easier for you to just not bother. We know you do care, we alsoknow that Christ bothers. We thank you and pray for you and thank God for you and for His blessings uponu

I want to end th is letterwith a benediction, which we can al l share ifmy letter reaches you in your churches.Blessed Lord, Who has caused all holy Scriptures to be written for ou r learning,Grant that we may be wise to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them.That by patience and the comfort of your holyWord, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessedhope of everlasting life which you havegiven us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. i _ i^ Tom and Debbie Foust

Yours ever in Christ,

Howard Banner and family,And, I am sure al l your Christ ian friends inBromsgrove.

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TDM DEBBEFOUST50 KidderminsterRoad BromsgroveB61 7JU WORCS England

Tom,Debbie, Angela, Samuel, David, AutumnMISSION RIES T O GRE T RIT IN

CHRISTI N MISSION RY FELLOWSHIP PrayerNewsletterOctober 1993Dear Friends,Our family thanks God fo r youi n our family's devotion time.Thank you for supporting usthrough your prayers and yourfinancial gifts.We a re often asked wha t life islike in England. So, I willattempt to give you an idea ofwhat a t3T)ical (i f there issuch a thing ) month ofact ivi t ies is l ike for us.The month s ta r t s ou t with themen meet ing on the firstSaturday morning of eachmonth a t 7:30 a.m. forbreakfas t and a devotion t ime.This has been a very good wayof reaching the men. Theyenjoy the fellowship, a goodmeal, and are given a smallpiece of the gospel to take homeand digest. Pray that the men'sbreakfast will be th eopportunity fo r men who do notknow Jesus t o r ec ei ve H im .Every Wednesday afternoon at1:15 p.m., several women meetfor a Bible study. I (Debbie)l ea d t hi s w i th lots of discussionfrom th e l ad ie s. We a restudying ChristianDisciplines right now. Ourtime is followed by fellowshipa nd r ef re shment s o f tea andbiscuits (cookies).On Thursday nights, we haveabout twelve 14- to18-year-olds in our home fo r a

The youngpeople come to ourhome on Thursday nights for Biblestudy.

Bible study. They are alsostudying ChristianDisciplines and enjoy afellowship time afterwardswith something to eat. Mychocolate chip cookies havebecome a favori te wi th t h isg r oup .

Th er e a re acouple of young people whom I ~would like fo r youto keep in yourprayers. MarkIngram is a ^ 3I|w s ptized in uBf=February of thisyear. Pray for himto have strength as he goes to iLi t*Jschool; t he re a re ^ ^very few otherChristians to gain strengthfrom. Richard Crane is also 17years old and considering goingto Springdaie College next yearto prepare for the ministry.Pray for him as he makes thesedecisions.Some ofthe other young peoplewho are near to makingdecisions for Chr i s t are: Joanneand Katie Allardicey RebeccaCrane, and Joanne Godwin.On Sundays, Tom and I bothteach Sunday School. Tom hasbeen teaching (but concludedon September 5) the adults,and I t each t he b ir th tofive-year-olds. On Sunday

evenings, Tom andGraham Richards leadthe two youth groups,f The 10- to 13-year-oldsiat 6:00 p m and the 14o 18-year-olds at 7:00p.m. Graham, a British' student studying for the^ ministry throughSpringdaie College, hasA been working with and, learning from Tom.On the third Tuesday of

each month, the women meetfor th e Women's Chr is t i an

Fellowship. This is led by JoanLeach, one of our CMFteammates . Each evening has aspecial feature, short lesson,and light refreshment time.There were seventeen a t ourlast meeting. This is a good

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T h e s e a r e t h e c h i ld r e n i n D e b b i e sSunday School class a n d the 6- to8-year-olds.Marshall, was fromBromsgrove Christian Church.Please pray for him as he facesthe challenge of serving Christmore faithfully.We continue to grow innumbers at BromsgroveChristian Church. On August8, 1993, we had 98 inattendance for the worshipservice (compared to anaverage of 44 when we arrived).We h av e n ew v i s i t o r s e a c hweek. Please keep us(especially Tom) in yourprayers as we visit and teachthe new people in thecongregation.From July 30 through August11, we had a Team Missiongroup of 11 young people anda d u l t s from t h e U .S . come toBromsgrove to redecorate thec h u r c h s h a l l a n d t o c o n d u c t athree-day Holiday Bible Club(VBS) for us. Richard Clarkfrom Central Christian Church,Carmel, Indiana, led the group.They worked very hard andw i tn e ss ed t o s ev e ra l o f t h eyouth from th e community whodid n o t know t h e Lord.T h e h a l l looks wonderfu l a n d i tseems to have sparked theinterest of the people here toget busy and keep th e buildingin good repair. Before TeenMission s arrival, we were veryl imited i n o u r u s e o f t h e

I church s hall completew aa g e a s wasn such disrepair. Nowi we have a massive hallI that can be used inreaching this communityI for Christ.

L Our family is all wellI and happy. We arei keeping busy with pianoI lessons, BoyScouts, and buying school uniforms.(Yes, the kids are going toattend public school after fiveyears of home schooling, andt hey a re not sur e that they liket h e idea o f uniforms.) WithSeptember here, things havegotten busier. We enjoyed th es u m m e r break b u t n ot t heweather. It was sti ll blue jeansa n d s w e at sh ir t w e a th e r i n t h emiddle of August; I keptwaiting for it to get warmenough to put my shorts on. Wedid have a couple of warmweeks in June when it got up to72-74 degrees Fahrenheit... Id i d n t realize t h i s would be o u rwho le s u m m e r I h a d b e e nw a r n e d t h a t i t c ou ld b e o u rsummer, I just didn t want tobel ieve it.P r a i s e s

The significant increase inattendance for worships e r v i c e s The three youth whocommitted to live t h e i rl ives more devoted toC h r i s t Our family is adjustingwell so far. T h e K i n e m a n s s a f e iarrival (our t eammatesat Bromsgrove). jBPrayer Needs Angela, Autmnn, and ^David are going to ^attend oneofthe public Ischools here. This will bea major adjustment as we havehome schooled for five years.

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Undergird th e childrenfervently with prayer. Pray for the wholeCMF-England team as we arejust beginning to buildrelationships. Before oura rr iva l in October, there wereonly two CMF families on theEngland Team. We are now sixfamilies strong, three familiesin th e Bromsgrove area andthree families in Northampton. F o r o u r t ea m m a te s i nBromsgrove Donn and JoanLeach and Larry and DebbieKineman as we grow andwork together as a team. That Tom and LarryK i n e m a n c a n f i n d a n d t ra inleaders for a group of churchplanters in our area. That Tom and Larry willdiscern an appropriate strategyfor the Bromsgrove ChristianC h u r c h a s w e v i s i t a n d l e a mfrom th e growing congregationswe will soon begin to visit al la c r o s s G r e a t B r i t a i n F o r o u r t ea m m a t e s i nNorthampton - Stephen andBeth Ann Carpenter , Davidand Teresa Fi t tro, and Aaronand Diane Lincoln. They beginworship services a t the end ofSeptember.Faithfully,

D e b b i e F o u s t

r W

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Tom,Debbie, Angela, Samuel, David, Autumn

TOM Debbie FousT50 Kidderminster Road Bromsgrove

W o r c e st e r sh i r e B 6 1 JU neland

MISSION RIES TO GRE T RIT INCHRISTIAN MISSIONARY FELLOWSHIP Prayer Newsletter

December 1993

Dear Friends,

MerryChristmas I hope that this findsyouenjoying thecelebration o f Christ s birth.The celebration ofChristmas in England ismuch thesameas it is the USA.Father Christmas (Santa) appearsinth e stores th e en d of November stores an d towns decoratemid-November and commercialism is abundant. Wedon't get manyChristmas specials on television inDecember, but the week of December 25 to January I isfull ofmovies that havebeen on recentlyat the cinemas.So,whileyou are out bright and earlyon December 26 tocatch all the good sales, wewillbe sitting at home,relaxing, and watchingmovies because December 26 isalso a legal holiday called Boxing Day ; everything isclosed. The sales in Englandstart about January2-3 andlast t h e wh o le m o n t h .

The English schoolsremember the Christmas seasonasmany FirstSchools willput on nativityplays, and theMiddleandHigh Schools study advent. But very few ofthe children are learningabout Christ's birth at school,and few of their friends go to churchor believe that JesusisGod's Son. Christmas is only a holidaywithoutunderstanding of the real reason for celebrating Christ'sbirth.

Nevertheless, we enjoy the Christmas season because itcelebrates the birth of ou r Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.We have another reason to be celebrating this season. OnOctober 31, 1993, Bromsgrove Christian Church had abaptismal service for ten people with over onehundredpeople attending. Mostof those immersed came to theirdecisions through studying in twohome Bible studies. Letme tellyou about some of those folks.

and Pauline Colley are twoof those immersed duringthe baptismal service. Paulinewas reared in a Catholichome and attended Catholic schools. Steve grew up in afamily whohad affiliation with theAnglican Church(Church of England), and he attended state (public)schools. Even though Steve and Pauline were taughtreligion in their respective schools and congregations, theynever developed a relationship with Jesus as their LordandSavior.

About four years agoPauline began attendingWO W(Women of the Word), a women's Bible study of theBromsgrove Church that met each week. Carol Daily andI led the Bible studies. Th e Larry and Carol Daily familyand the Steve and Pauline Colleybecame friends as theboys of the two families had become good friends atschool. Eventually, at the request of Larry, Steve beganattending Bromsgrove Church'smonthlyMen'sBreakfastmeetings.

After a few months, Steve and Pauline began worshipingwith the Bromsgrove Christian Church and, overthe lastfew years, several folks within thecongregation discipledthem. Larryand Carol Daily, Orrell and ChristineBattersby, Gordon and Barbara Cline, Donn and JoanLeach, Larry and Debbie Kineman, and Jon and SueMarshall are someof thosewho helpedSteve and Paulinemove into further obedience with Jesus throughimmersion and in discoveringa relationship with theLordJesusChrist.We are honored to havebeen a part ofSteve and Pauline'stestimonies by baptizingthem intoChrist. Please pray for Steve and Pauline.Another family in whose lives you haveparticipatedthrough us is the John and GillAllardice hmiXy. Just twodays after arriving in Bromsgrove, England, Tom wasasked by a family to participate (withGordon Cline inconductingthe funeral ofa localman, Sid Byng ~ GillAllardice s father. .

IThepeoplewhowerebaptized: Lucy Matthews, Rebecca Crane,KatieAllardice,Joann Allardice (jront), JoelMarshall, RichardCrane, Jerry Cline, Pauline Steve Colley, andJohnAllardice(back).

It is traditional in Bromsgrove for the entire familyof thedeceased person to attend together the congregation oft h e m i n is t er w h o c on du cte d th e funeral service o n th eSundaymorningfollowing the fiineral. AfterattendingBromsgrove Christian Church on that Sunday, JuneByng, Sid's wife, and the Allardicefamilycontinued toworship there. The Allardice family hadattended theEbenezer Methodist Church in the past, the congregationwhoinvited theBromsgrove Christian Church to usetheir building if they could worship with us.John's and Gill's two daughters ~ Joanne and Katiehaveattended the older youth Biblestudy in our homeeachweeksince last year. John has attended the Men'sBreakfasts. Gill has participated in the monthly meetingsof the Christian Women's Fellowship and the Biblestudythat I led during the springand summer of this year.


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John, Joanne, and Katie were three of those immersed attheOctober31 baptismal service. Gill whohad beenimmersed a few years before, has alsoplaced hermembership with the Bromsgrove congregation. Pleaseprayfor this family aswell.

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Our birthdayparty after the baptisms. These are someofthepeoplewhowereat the service.

right now),mom, wife and taxi. Although, I cannotprovide taxi service forawhile since I have to pass theBritish driving license forone year in GreatBritain. It isadifficult test andmost people have to take the testtwoorthree timesbeforepassingWe want to thank you for your continued prayers, yourcards and letters, and your financial support. Have aHappy ChristmasMuch love,

Debbie Foust

Praises

Continued growth at BromsgroveChristian Church. New faces i n church and Bible studies. The peoplewho were immersed October 31, 1993.Needs

HowardBannerwhois still recovering from twomassive heart attacks. Wisdom and discernment asLarry and Tom are stillvisiting other congregations, readingmany books andstudyingtheBritishculture to determinea strategy forplanting new congregations in the West Midlands aswellasfor Bromsgrove ChristianChurch.P.S.Tom met with a young man lastweek and anothercouple last night whom all desire to be immersed. Sowewill be organizinganother baptismal service in early tomid-January for thesepeople. Please pray to the Lordofthe harvest that still others will obey our Lord inimmgrsion. Wc arc working with

others who do not yet know the LordJesus Christ and with some who know5 m obeyed Him in^ a baptism. leasekeep praying raise the Lord for yet more reasons to

The otherswho immersedduring the baptismal servicewere: Richard Crane, Rebecca Crane, Joel Marshall, JerryCline, and LucyMatthews.Please pray for each of thesefolks.

A third celebration for us during the Christmas season isour participation in many activities of the season with theBromsgrove Christian Church: a Christmas EveserviceChristmas parties, and carolsinging. So, even though it isdifficult beingaway from family and friends wehave thechurch family at Bromsgrove withwhomwecan celebrateChristmas.

We havebeen in Bromsgrove a litde overone year nowand have setded into th ecommunity. Angela KAutumn, and David are K Aadjusting to school, and o.-theyhavegotten used touniforms and don t m ind

-- counseling, planning,and visiting for the Ourbam dance at church... Tomcongregation and forchurch planting. And I keepbusy playingSunday Schoolteacher, nursemaid(the flu isgoingaround our family

Our bam danceat church... Tomis thebackendof the cow

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Foust Tom Debbie 1993 England