Getting Ready for the NMC

This coming week Elsa and I will be attending the National Missionary Convention in Lexington, KY. If you are interseted in our minstry or just want to say hi I would encourage you to swing by the Team Expansion booth during the convention. We will be spending most of our free time there. I know it has been a while since I have blogged (perhaps that is an understatement). I hope to be a little more frequent with these entries. We still don't have internet in our house so it makes updating a little more difficult. This Saturday we are celebrating 2 baptisms! We praise God for the continued fruit. It has been a difficult year but God is faithful, God is good, God provides, God protects, and God produces growth! I don't think we are going to achieve many of our goals but at the same time we have move forward as a church! Thank you all for you continued prayers and support. Please pray for safe travel and a wonderful trip to Ohio with our forwarding agents this coming week!
Blessings,
Matt and Elsa Johnson

Another Step In Ministry...

At the beginning of this month Elsa and I were finally able to get married. I say "finally" because it is much more of a process here then what I believe it to be in the US. (Although I don't really know since I have never been married in the US.) We signed our papers before a judge on May 7th. This will allow us to continue to make plays for the church wedding the 1st of August. We are now in the process of soliciting a visa for Elsa so she can travel with me in August back to the States to meet all of you! Please be praying for the visa as this appears to be a long process as well...
Blessings,
Matt J.

It's About Time...

Yes, I know, it has been a while. It seems that this blog hasn't been as big as a priority as I would have liked. Well, here is what is happening as of late in our church plant...

• We are finally completing the remodeling project in the space we currently rent. When completed, we will have expanded the Sunday School classroom space, reorganized the office, and opened up a larger part of the sanctuary. It has been quite the project but we are excited with the new space and new growth of the church!
• This past Sunday I was officially named the senior pastor of our church plant. Yes, that name makes me sound a little older. Basically it means I am the lead missionary on the church plant here in Cúa and I am in charge of making sure we move forward with the church.
• I am trying to finalize the details for my civil marriage here in Venezuela. It has been quite the process and we continue to acquire more and more paperwork. The documentation process is quite strenuous and I hope to be married civilly soon so we can begin to solicit a visa for Elsa. The official church wedding date is August 1st. Please be in prayer for that.
• This past Wednesday I began to lead a study on the book of Acts during our midweek bible study/ leadership training group. I hope that we can implement the Apostle's method for church growth and expansion and that this study will be a catalyst to continue to reach the lost for Christ!! We have seen a jump in the attendance as of late and have been averaging 120+ on Sunday mornings! Praise God for the harvest! We have a few baptisms coming up this Sunday!
• We are also currently putting the finishing touches on curriculum and plans for the Bible Institute we hope to open in September. Please also pray for the details of the logistics that are required to open it. This is a huge step in our ability to plant 120 churches by the year 2020. We will be using this to raise up the future generation of leaders we hope to see planting here in Venezuela as well as abroad!

God Bless,
Matthew Johnson