The Crucible's Fire June Ministry Update

Good afternoon faithful ministry supporters!

We thought it high time to do an update on what’s been happening in the ministry over the past several months. Let me just say there has been a whirlwind of activity and the Lord has been blessing with connections and good work building His Kingdom.

Cross Brand Cowboy Church, Lindale, TX

Tim and I were blessed to be allowed to spend four Wednesday nights with the >100 people who showed up for Or-tho-om-eo, our How to Study the Bible Workshop at Cross Brand. We’ve never taught a class this large nor have we broken it up over multiple days, so this was truly a formative and wonderful experience. Breaking it up like this was actually very helpful in breaking down the material for use in the app discussed below.

We were also blessed this past summer to serve as a product vendor at Cross Brand’s annual pastor’s conference, Horse Gate. It was a great time of fellowship where many new friends were made.

Additionally, Cross Brand has several small groups using our FOUNDATIONS small group curriculum to teach the FOUNDATIONS of the faith. We have been super blessed by Pastor Mike Morrow and Cross Brand this year.

Ecclesia Community Church, Brownsville, TX

In May, we were blessed to travel to Ecclesia Community Church with Pastor James Martinez, an SBTC / IMB Church planter, and trained their leadership team in our Bible Study method. It is super exciting to see the Lord build relationships and make connections, especially in the Rio Grande Valley corridor.

Kingdom Vision Men’s Conference

In May, we were privileged to spend a Saturday at the Bridge Fellowship Church sharing with the men the Lord’s idea of having Kingdom Vision. We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship and study in the Word, growing closer together as brothers and closer to the Father. If you missed it you can catch the recordings on our YouTube channel under the Kingdom Vision playlist.

Spanish Resources

As we continue to pursue serving pastors and leaders in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, we have realized there is a terrible shortage of viable Greek-Spanish Interlinear resources. Even the materials we’ve purchased for Olive Tree Bible Study Software lack the verb Tense, Voice, and Mood we rely on heavily. This truth started us on a QUEST!

Thankfully, and by the Lord’s hand, we ran across a seminary professor in Buenos Aires, Argentina who has developed an online Greek-Spanish Interlinear study tool over at logosKlogos.com. It was then we discovered his source materials were in the public domain. Well, you know me, that started my wheels turning!

We contacted the development teams at Blue Letter Bible and Olive Tree. As of this writing, the Blue Letter Bible team is pursuing a formal partnership with Dr. Lee (the professor with the tools) to incorporate the Greek-Spanish Interlinear data into their already free Blue Letter Bible website and mobile App. This is some of the best news we’ve had in a while! We will keep you posted on the progress of this invaluable resource for our Spanish-speaking brothers and sisters.

The Crucible’s Fire Training App

Another strategic partnership taking place is one we’ve forged with the Pattern Platform App Developers. They have developed an app for all platforms, including a secure app for Android, where we can host and deliver our training material directly to those we serve.

We are developing an English and Spanish version of the app. Initially, it will carry our Bible Study Workshop material in text, audio, and video format. The nifty thing about the app is it can be shared from phone to phone without internet access for those who live in areas where connectivity is a real problem.

This is a work in progress, but we hope to have a deliverable application by the end of the summer. One key feature for the “secure” app is it can be instantly deleted from the device in the event it is deployed in regions where Bible Study can be dangerous. More on this developing story as we get closer to launch!

Friday LIVE Podcast

We continue to broadcast every Friday LIVE at noon, sharing timely discussion and Bible Study. Currently, we are walking through 2 Peter, looking at what it looks like in everyday life living with Kingdom Vision.

Future Events

Church Planter Training

Coming this Fall, we are planning to travel back to Brownsville to visit Pastor James Martinez as he hosts 15 Mexican church planters and share the Bible Study Training with them. Many of them have congregations in the Valley on both sides of the border.

Kingdom Vision Men’s Conference Part 2

The Kingdom Vision Men’s Conference is actually a 3-part event. Session 2 will commence towards the end of the Summer at the Bridge Fellowship Church in Martin’s Mill as we delve even deeper into the nitty-gritty of living with Kingdom Vision!

Or-thot-om-eo Bible Study Workshop

This summer we will be hosting a local Bible Study Training. The location and dates are TBD. Keep on the lookout for more info!

Please Pray About Partnering With Us!

As always, we ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with us financially to further the ministry of training men and women of God to Learn. Teach. Repeat! 100% of donated funds to our 501(c)(3) ministry go towards ministry events and infrastructure. Thank you in advance for considering us in your Kingdom generosity.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your love, support, and prayer during this very busy and wonderful year!

In His Service,

Matt Parker, Director

Tim Gandy, Vice President