​More than forty years ago, a Hispanic church in the Minnesota Wisconsin Baptist Convention started 5 more churches in the area. Those churches missed Pastor Ramon Osorio’s leadership as he moved away to continue his Theological Education. The churches suffered without that leadership as recalled by pastor Napoleon expressed in a new gathering of Hispanic churches. He said that for 27 years he waited and prayed, and God answered that prayer when in 2014 pastor Gerardo Antiveros came to the Twin Cities as a NAMB Church Planting Catalyst. Hispanic pastors struggle with isolation in the upper Midwest. God is inaugurating a new movement for Hispanic churches in the two-state convention. A recent meeting may be the first time NAMB has enabled all these pastors to gather and discuss working together for support, education, and strategy. Pastor Osorio currently serves as the International director for NAMB in Latin America. 
Our own Eric Hernandez is instrumental in the Wisconsin pastors relating together for fellowship and enrichment. He has an opportunity to travel to Atlanta in a few weeks to further discuss that work. He expressed the value of having the support of his church, Church at Wazeecha in Wisconsin Rapids, and his pastor, Trey Turner. 

FPU was helpful to a number of our families last spring. We wanted to start another one with a series of messages in January. Jeff Davidson will lead it on Sunday Nights at 5:00 p.m.  To sign up for the class or to look into the cost, go to the Wisconsin Rapids FPU registration site here. 

Before many of us knew there was a state mission organization for Southern Baptist churches, it was working with Trey and Lea Ann Turner to help them find their footing in Wisconsin Rapids. They have been a vital partner all along the way. Since then, Trey has been able to serve on the organizations Executive Board and some of you have been able to go to various parts of the state to do priority work. 
This month is our state mission offering. We will collect money especially for works like are mentioned in the video below and that which is listed on the poster. 

First Baptist, Provo, Utah will be helping us explore our next steps as a congregation. It will be August 8, 9, 10. We want to develop to meet the challenges of Reaching new people, Discipling the people  we have, Equipping growing believes to serve, and Sending-- or turning people loose with encouragement to minister in areas of strengths.

Let me show you some of our schedule. 
Tuesday - Thursday evenings at 6:00 p.m. we will eat together and then have sessions exploring our context, needs, and future. We want people to be able to participate, so meals will be provided for those who may be getting off work.

Saturday - 10:00 to Noon, Canvassing and Visiting for Church at Wazeecha

Sunday
Lunch at the Church with the Mission Team

• Adults 2 Bible Study Groups

1. Gospel Presentation Method
2. Gospel in Our Context-- Challenges of Mormon culture and what it can teach us about our own context. 

Most of you know that Eric S. is teaching English through an organization in Vietnam. Eric has a ministry heart and wants to be used to multiply believers. He has some prayer requests for men and women he gets to serve. Pray for him to continue to develop partners for his ministry there. 

Eric, thank you for your service in this last year to Church at Wazeecha. You did a great work and were a part of so much advancement as a new and young congregation. 

You can look up Bible, Bible verses, questions about words, and not get what you want. Someone is always glad to control the flow of information. You can follow some steps to stay away from bad sites:
1. Follow a few links to find out something about who owns the page and what perspective they hold. Is it a cult (Mormon or Jehovah's Witness)? Is it from a particular denomination?
2. Is the material from a trusted source? This is similar to number 1, but a little different. If a quote about a Greek or Hebrew word is from an established Bible Dictionary or Commentary set. I have an example of those here and here.  
3. Evaluate a Commentary, ask a trusted religious leader about what theological position the writer or series comes from. What is their view of the Bible (is it trustworthy)? Inspiration? Miracles? Ask if there better or more accurate resources available to them or to you.
4. If you struggle with the meaning of a Bible passage, sometimes you can gain real insight by reading what various translations say. Instead of running first to see what someone else says in a text, look it up in ESV, CEV, MSG, HCSB, NKJV, Amplified, and others. Stay away from the New World Translation. It is the version the Jehovah's Witness use and they have slanted what the text says to conform with their doctrine.  Christian Bible sites like the one posted here do not offer that version to readers because it is not a trusted resource.
5. Be aware that not everyone who can speak in complete sentences knows what they are talking about. Be skeptical-- it is biblical (see Acts 17:11). They listened to Paul and then went back to see if what he said lined up with scripture. You, do the same.