Oct. 11, 2022

This past week we held Board of Faith and Life, National Strategy Team and Leadership Council meetings in Denver. It was a full week, and much was accomplished. Jesus is King!

Prayer requests/news:
1. On a personal level, my wife, Janna, had the first round of knee revision surgery last Monday. She is now recovering at home and receiving daily IV antibiotics and also in-home rehab. This surgery was needed due to an infection that set in around the artificial knee she had inserted three years ago. Please pray that the infection can be resolved so that a new knee can then be implanted in three months or so. This is all about a six-month process.

2. Today was the first segment of our USMB webinar Fatigue to Flourish presented by Bill Clem of Western Seminary. The second segment will be next Tuesday. You can still sign up! We have many pastors who are battling fatigue and some even burn-out. My prayer is that USMB can continue to provide valuable resources for our pastors and their churches so that pastors can genuinely flourish. Remember that October is Pastor Appreciation month!

3. A sub-group of our National Strategy Team (NST), the Congolese Task Force, has been working over the past few years to bring unity and direction to the increasing need of connecting new Congolese immigrant churches and leaders with our USMB family. This exciting work is building! The Task Force realizes that this will be an ongoing ministry, not only with the Congolese churches, but with other immigrant groups who also are pursuing a place to belong. Pray for us as we develop these relationships and provide pathways for membership and also direct involvement with our existing MB churches. This involves all of us!

4. Other leaders and I are currently dealing with a couple of really tough situations. Without going into specifics (sorry), I ask you to pray for wisdom and discernment for me and others as we navigate these issues. (This is a repeat request from last time – the issues are still present).

5. Another resource for encouraging pastors is the Bless Your Pastor program which is provided in partnership between USMB and MB Foundation to encourage the local church to show and share God’s love with their pastors and church staff. A $1,000 grant is available from MB Foundation for a licensed pastor if you take part in this initiative. Learn more here: https://mbfoundation.com/financialhealth/. Every church should use this!

6. I am responsible for raising a significant portion of our USMB budget. I’ll be honest, sometimes that task gets burdensome and difficult. Pray with me for the resources needed for USMB to continue to be able to provide crucial ministries and programs for our pastors and churches.

7. I have previously expressed that I feel one of my main responsibilities for the time I have left as national director is to encourage our local MB churches to connect in long-term relationship/partnership with another church, whether that be an immigrant church in our MB family (there are many), churches in other MB national conferences around the world through ICOMB or even with another MB church in your same city. We need to get outside of our “four walls” and build bridges and connections that are long-lasting and life-giving. We have developed the CORD program (https://usmb.org/cord-program/), which is a platform where churches can partner with a Congolese church (MB). Let’s build partnerships here and around the world! Let me know how I can help.

8. I’m recommending a book that I feel is a great, timely, practical resource for us as we navigate our current culture as Bible-believing Christians: Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture by Natasha Crain. It’s one of those books where I use a yellow highlighter and most of the book’s pages are then covered in yellow highlight. We must understand what’s happening around us and what the enemy is trying to do to us. But, let’s remember, as was mentioned at the top – Jesus is King!

9. Please pray for me that the Lord might grant discernment, direction, wisdom, compassion, understanding, gentleness and grace.

Thanks for your prayers!

Don Morris
USMB National Director

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.