Skip to main content

Collins Family Update Fall 2022

Always the Same

One of my favorite attributes of God is his immutability—that he never changes. It is a great comfort to know that though our life circumstances change, and we ourselves change, yet God remains the same as he has been and will be for all eternity. Our new place of ministry and kind of ministry may seem less glamorous or exciting in some ways, but it is the same God that are continuing to serve, and he is the same God who continues to work in and through us for the glory of his name and the good of his people. He is the constant throughout all the changes. He is always the same.

New Ministry Opportunity

By God’s grace I (Chris) was called by a unanimous vote of the members of Antioch Bible Church of Mesick, MI to be their pastor on July 3, 2022. I am humbled and honored by the privilege of serving God in this new ministry. To be entrusted with the pastoral care of the souls of others is a weighty responsibility, and God has used this to draw me deeper into communion with him and dependence on him.





I have been preaching through the Gospel of John for our Sunday morning services, and on Wednesday nights I’m doing a Bible Overview study to help people get the overall flow of Scripture. I also recently started a study on the attributes of God for our Sunday afternoon services. Sarah has been working with the other young moms and doing a Bible study with them to encourage them in their parenting.


This last Saturday, November 5, the church held a special installation service to officially dedicate me as their new pastor. Several other area pastors as well as some friends and family came to celebrate God’s working in our lives.


Serving in Mexico ... from Mesick

In addition to this new pastoral ministry, I am also continuing to teach online for Puebla Bible Seminary. For the last several weeks I’ve been teaching Pentateuch and Historical Books with the seminary’s online program, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to keep using my Spanish and continue to serve the seminary even from a distance.

Still with Mission Quest

At the direction of Mission Quest’s president, we are continuing to serve as missionaries with Mission Quest, since Antioch Bible Church is not yet able to fully support us. Our ministries have changed, but our commitment to serve the Lord in full-time ministry has not. Our hope is that God will bring the church to a place where they can fully support us in the not-too-distant future, but in the meantime we’re thankful for the ongoing support of our family, friends, and churches that wish to continue supporting our ministry through Mission Quest.


Thank you!

We’re thankful for your prayers for our family and our ministry, and thank you to all who have helped us and are continuing to help us as we serve in our new ministries. Please pray especially for Sarah in the next couple of months as we are awaiting the birth of our third child.

                                                                                                                        
Your fellow servants,
Chris and Sarah Collins

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Collins Family Update: March 2022

Changing Ministry Location Many of you already know that we are planning to move back to the States in the near future. We have shared with many of you the reasons for this change, but if anyone has questions or concerns about this decision, please feel free to reach out to us. We are planning to arrive back in the States in mid-April, and we hope to see many of you then. We are currently pursuing an opportunity to serve in pastoral ministry in the northern Michigan area, and we are waiting for an answer from the church. While we patiently wait for God’s leading in our ministry change, we are continuing to serve in our ministries in Mexico, and we will continue serving via online ministry once we are back in the States. We expect to need missions support at least through the end of May, and perhaps longer depending on how God leads us in the next two months. We will do our best to keep in touch with our supporters as we learn how God is leading our family and ministry. We would ask ...

Same Mission, New Agency

A NEW AGENCY After months of prayer and consideration, along with counsel from pastors and other friends and family, we want to inform you of a big and exciting change for us! In an effort to be the best stewards of the resources God has provided through our supporters, we are resigning from our current mission board, Avant, and we are transitioning to a new agency, Mission Quest ( https://missionquest.org ). WHAT IS CHANGING? This change does not affect our ministries here in Mexico. We plan to continue in the same ministry as before: Making disciples of Jesus Christ in Puebla, Mexico through orphan care, theological education, and church ministries . This is also not a change in doctrine . Our beliefs have not changed! You can check out Mission Quest’s doctrinal statement here: https://missionquest.org/about/Missionary-Statement-of-Faith/ WHY CHANGE? For us, this change is about stewardship . For our family to continue with Avant would not be good stewardship of th...

Collins Family Update May 2020

ANSWER TO PRAYER: LIZ BECAME A BELIEVER! If you’ve seen our recent newsletters, you may remember that we have been discipling a younger couple who live at the seminary and go to our church. Alfredo grew up in Niños de México (the organization we work with at the children’s homes). He has a hunger for God’s Word and is really enjoying his studies at the seminary. His wife Liz , however, was not a believer, but she agreed to move with him to Puebla so he could study at the seminary. Soon after they arrived, we invited them to come to church with us, and we began discipling them. We knew from the beginning that Liz was not a believer, and so we have been praying for her and consistently presenting the truths of the gospel to her. The Bible study we are doing with them about marriage is extremely gospel-focused, and Liz has been receptive to the teaching now for a few months. And so we knew she was close to trusting Christ. And then on Tuesday, April 28, Alfredo shared with us...