Dear Praying and Caring Friends,

God has been so gracious to each and every team member of BCPM.  As the Scripture tells us in Psalm 127:1, “Except the Lord, build the house, they labour in vain that build it.”  With the extreme weather all across this great nation, each one has had safety for which we are so thankful.  Minnesota usually bears much of the brunt of the weather systems, but that has not proven the case this year.  Ours was mostly in the form of cold temperatures.

Twenty thousand John/Romans were delivered to Catalina, AZ, for the beginning of Open Door Baptist Church.  Bro. Kurt Kramer will pastor this church reproduced by Sun and Shield Baptist Church of Marana, AZ.  Often, there was very poor weather as folks came together to assist in the distribution.  In spite of the wet, cold, rainy weather, Bro. Kramer received an email from a family that has been praying for a strong church to be started for many months.  They have committed to attend the opening services.

I ask you to pray for the Jessups as they begin the treatment program for Dr. Jessup’s cancer.  Treatment began on Monday, February 8, 2010.  We know that it is only God that can heal.  Continue to pray for spiritual, physical, and emotional strength.

Please continue to pray for Bro. Clarence Moore and Bro. Jeremy Roland as they endeavor to raise their support.  The Rolands have sold their home, bought a travel trailer and truck and are on the road with their three young sons.  The Moores, with their family, are hard at work in Canada.  God has provided the folks that will prove that the “labor was not in vain” in raising up BCPM.

Bev and I are both doing well this winter.  We have had light colds, but nothing serious.  Thanks to you and your prayers!  We have not traveled extensively, but have worked on the John/Romans projects mostly by computer.  Scriptures for Parma, OH, are at the printers, as well as ones for Bellfountaine, OH.  We are praying to hear on the confirmation of a building for the city of Harrision, ME, so that information can be put on the booklets and those can be be printed.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayer and support.

Because He lives, we serve,

Loren & Bev Steven

Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe that after seven-and-a-half years of writing prayer letters, we are writing our last one. On January 24, Troy Baptist Temple in Troy, Ohio, voted to call me as the assistant pastor. We praise the Lord for His working in our lives and for His perfect timing. We thank the Lord that we will be able to transition from one ministry to another without a lapse in our financial situation. We would ask that you pray for our house to sell here in Michigan. As you may know, Michigan’s housing market is terrible and selling our house will be of the Lord’s doing.

It is with mixed feelings that we write this final note. We rejoice over what God has done while we were with the ministry. Churches were planted, souls were saved, some were called into the ministry. We are also somewhat sad to leave this fruitful ministry. I personally will miss fellowshipping on a weekly basis with God’s people around the country. What a blessing it has been to meet so many godly people.

We are also somewhat concerned about leaving the ministry at such a critical time. The doctors in Canada recently found an inoperable, incurable form of cancer in Dr. Jessup’s lung. This is very serious, and I would ask you to pray for the Jessups at this time. God can work a miracle as He has done so many times in the past. With Dr. Jessup “out of commission” for a few months, it is important that the ministry of planting churches continues. Pray for Brother Jeremy Rowland, Brother Clarence Moore, and Brother Loren Steven as they carry the load of the ministry, while Brother Rowland and Brother Moore are still raising support.

Thanks again for all that have prayed for us and supported us through BCPM over the years. We will not forget many of you and would welcome any correspondence. You can reach us at 989-551-7378 or by email at mbbjfoster@gmail.com. God bless you and may we all continue on for the cause of revival, evangelism, and church planting around the world until Jesus comes.

In Christ,

Mike, Bonnie, Grace, Lauryn, Nathan, and ? Foster

I Thessalonians 5:19

PS We are expecting our fourth child in August. Thanks for your prayers.

Dear Praying Friends,

On January 18th, Beth and I went to the hospital to begin chemo to try and stop the spread of metastatic bladder cancer.  I had a CT scan on the 14th and the doctor already had the results.  They found another tumor the size of a small grape in the middle lobe of the right lung. This changed the chemo from preventative to palliative, which means that this cancer is incurable and inoperable. With chemo I may live 12-16 months and less without the chemo. This finding has changed everything for us.  I took the first chemo treatment, and we began reading everything we could on this.

We have decided to discontinue the chemo and seek natural alternatives that will allow me a much better quality of life for the time God is going to give me. I want to make it clear we are NOT trusting these alternatives to take care of us. We are trusting the Lord and Him alone. He will not let me die one day earlier or one day later than He chooses.  However, we are doing what we can that may extend life if the Lord chooses to use it.

On February 6, we flew to San Diego to have treatment in Mexico using  some natural alternatives that may help. We want you to pray and pray earnestly for us as we do this. More than anything we want the Lord to be glorified in our lives during this period.  As I mentioned in a previous letter, a church sent in $5,000 to set up a Medical Fund for us.  They did this before any of us knew this would be needed.  They want other churches to give to this fund to where it will be matched.  Some have already helped.  The treatments in Mexico will cost $18,000 plus our flights there. There will also be some expenses for home care while we are home.  We will be In Mexico two weeks, back home for four weeks and return for one more week of treatments.  If you would like to help you may designate it to the Medical Fund through the ministry.

Our ministry continues!!!! Please pray for the church plant in Catalina, AZ. The John/Romans were distributed and the Get-Acquainted Meeting began the week of February 7th.  Brother Jeremy Rowland conducted the meetings and Brother Mark Irmler preached the meetings.  Please pray for pastor Steven Morris and the people of Sun and Shield Baptist as they reproduced this church, and also pray for pastor Kurt Kramer as he pastors this new church.  Updates are available through the web site.  We have four more church plants for this spring and all are going well.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND, you are not investing in me, but in this ministry.  If the Lord takes me home to be with Him, this ministry will continue to operate just as we set it up. God has given us a great staff and they have been carrying and will continue to carry the ministry to greater heights.  Please do not consider dropping the ministry because of what God is doing in my life. We need this ministry and your continued investment as we help churches reproduce churches.

Please, please pray for us!

Co-laborers Together in the Great Commission,

Earl D. Jessup

The first Sunday of Open Door Baptist Church in Catalina, Arizona, was truly blessed of the Lord. We have been praying and asking God to give us a great day and a great day He gave us! We had 58 in attendance with 37 first-time visitors. The visitor total for the week was 57! Pastor Kramer preached on the greatest love gift from John 3:16. The people from the community responded well. As the visitors left, they received a free gift bag in honor of Valentine’s Day. Please continue to pray for this church plant, that God would protect and provide and be honored in the weeks and months to come.

You can view the actual photo gallery in Flickr by clicking here.

The following is a report about the Open Door Baptist Church planted in Catalina, Arizona, during their Get-Acquainted Meetings from February 10-12, 2010. The first Sunday services will take place on Sunday, February 14, 2010.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 (A Pre-Church-Plant John/Romans Distribution Report)
Please pray for the Catalina church plant’s Get-Acquainted Meetings starting tomorrow and going through Friday. The distribution has gone very well with every home getting a John & Romans and a separate mail-out invitation. We have also canvassed more than 2,500 homes in the last two days. Pastor Kramer has successfully saturated this community and has had positive responses with many contacts.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The opening meeting for Open Door Baptist Church in Catalina, AZ went very well with 80 in attendance including 12 first-time visitors from the area. One visiting family said that they had been praying for a good church to come to in the area. The sending church, Sun and Shield Baptist, did a great job with special music and helping in areas like ushering and nursery. The spirit was great! Please pray for the remaining two nights and their first Sunday.

Thursday, February 11, 2010
We had 45 people in attendance tonight with one more visitor tonight from the area. This totals 13 visitors. We had a visiting pastor, Pastor Armstrong, from Tucson Baptist Temple. God moved in the service and the invitation saw many people coming forward and praying for this new church. Please pray for the last night and for Pastor Kramer to preach with the spirit of God upon him.

Friday, February 12, 2010
The third and final Get-Acquainted Meeting of the Open Door Baptist Church in Catalina, Arizona was greatly attended and blessed of the Lord. There were 108 in attendance with 9 more first-time visitors. The total first-time visitors for the week is at 22. The special singing and preaching of Kurt Kramer glorified the Lord in a unique way. Pastor Kramer preached with compassion and conviction and laid out the vision for the new church. Please pray for their first Sunday, Valentine’s Day, that they will have many visitors and souls will be saved for the glory of God.

The new church website is located at www.odbccatalina.org.

Click here to view the pictures of this church plant.

Updates were provided by Rev. Jeremy Rowland, Assistant Director

Dear Friends,

Psalm 103:10-11 says, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” We serve a wonderful God that has given us comfort and rest in Him over these past few weeks. We are thankful for the way He has led in our lives and for His peace in the midst of the storm. We have taken Isaiah 26:3 as a verse we hold to each day, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace who mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Each morning as I am praying, I quote this verse and try to keep my focus on the Lord throughout the day. It has helped, but there are still difficult times.

We are humbled by so many praying for us. There are those even fasting one day a week for us. We are so thankful. We are thankful for all the email notes, written notes, and calls from so many pastors and friends. They have been such an encouragement.

We are leaving for Mexico. We are flying to San Diego, spending the night there, attending church at Coastline Baptist and then checking in to Oasis of Hope in the afternoon for treatments to begin on Monday. There are several treatments including mega doses of B17 and vitamin C. Nothing should harm me since all these are natural substances. They will do a CT scan while there, and we should know if the tumor has grown or if there are more tumors.

We praise the Lord for those who are helping financially. A church in West Virginia sent in $5000 last November, before we even knew we would need it, to the ministry to set up a medical fund for us. Other churches have already contributed to help.  Again we are so thankful for this and it is something we certainly didn’t expect.

PLEASE PRAY! Please pray that these treatments will be effective and help stabilize or reverse this tumor or others that may have started. We are not trusting these treatments but the Lord. We know He is the only One that can take care of this and no one else. We will give Him the praise for what He does. We have already had an opportunity to witness to several doctors and let them know our trust is in the Lord for all this. He will not take me one day sooner or leave me one day longer than He wants me here on this earth. In that, we are certain.

Pray that the Lord will give us opportunities to minister while at Oasis of Hope. There will be others there in similar situations like me, and we want to help them if we can. May the Lord give us opportunities to share the gospel with them, and if they are not certain of Heaven, we can show them how they can be.

Thank you again for your love, sacrifice, and care for us. Thank you for praying as well.

We love you all; may the Lord Jesus come quickly!

Dr. Earl Jessup

A ministry has generously donated $5000 toward Dr. Jessup’s medical fund to cover his cancer treatments. Their challenge as a ministry is to have these funds matched by other individuals or ministries. If you are interested and would like to contribute, feel free to use PayPal for your contributions or send a check to Baptist Church Planting Ministry at the following address:

Baptist Church Planting Ministry
ATTN: Dr. Jessup Medical Fund
PO Box 240904
Apple Valley, MN  55124

The PayPal link is shown below.

Click below to view the Volume 17, Issue 3 Cultivator.

2009 Cultivator – Issue 3

Brother Jeremy Rowland recently joined the staff of Baptist Church Planting Ministry. Prior to his coming, many would not realize that he handed over the pastorate of Bethel Baptist Church of North Port, Florida. This transition took place officially on Sunday, January 24, 2010. He started Bethel Baptist Church seven years ago with the help of BCPM.

The service went well with the “Passing of the Baton” to Pastor Marc Knoedler. The men of the church also prayed over Brother Rowland as he was sent out into the ministry of Baptist Church Planting Ministry where he now serves as the Assistant Director.

Bro. Rowland states, “I love the people of Bethel Baptist Church and have enjoyed the privilege to serve as pastor. However, I know the Lord is moving me into a demanding ministry of Baptist Church Planting Ministry. I am determined to fullfill this calling with passion and focus, and I am excited and honored to help churches plant churches.”

Please pray for the Rowland family as they travel in a fifth wheel trailer raising support and serving with BCPM. Brother Rowland’s itinerary is available via the calendar page (http://bcpm.org/calendar/) at www.bcpm.org.

Listen to Dr. Earl Jessup preach on the topic of “Go Up and Possess It.” This is part of the Reviving North America Conference.