UBC Mission Update - 2022, Issue 2
Prayer Focus:
The Hart Family, Athletes in Action Missionaries
The heartbeat of our ministry is to engage in the Great Commission by making disciples who make disciples. To this end, our specific focus is primarily on ministering to student-athletes and coaches at Wilmington College and Central State University, but our team ministers to athletes at colleges and universities throughout the 937 area code. We are also part of the core leadership team for AIA's Ultimate Training Camps (UTC), which take place each summer throughout the nation and around the world. We are thankful to the Lord as He faithfully sustains us and gives us all that we need to pursue the mission He has called us to!
Prayer Requests:
Wilmington College: Please pray that the athletes we are discipling on the football and basketball teams, and the men's soccer coaches, will continue to love their teammates well, boldly share their faith, and grow as multiplying disciples of Jesus. This is a newer campus for us, and we're excited about the work God is doing there.
Central State: Please pray for our staff team at Central State as we seek to understand, bridge gaps, and continue sharing the gospel in the context of trusting relationships. Please pray over Dave's relationships with athletes on the track team and their coach, who has become a friend and has had open hands with his team, allowing us to pursue and minister to them through weekly discipleship groups.
Ultimate Training Camp: Dave is excited to be transitioning into a director role at the UTC Twin Cities location in Minnesota this summer. Please pray for that transition, to lead with humility and grace, and that God would continue using the camps to proclaim the gospel and advance His Kingdom.
Virtual Equipped to Multiply Training: Due to challenges over the last two years of not being able to have large, in- person meetings with students, a new ministry method was born, Virtual Equipped to Multiply Training. This is an eight-week training time that focuses on equipping our student-athletes to share the gospel, walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, share their testimonies, and understand how to disciple someone else. Each teaching week is followed by a "live it" week that encourages the athletes to apply what they've just learned to their lives. The athletes have been faithful to show up, retain the training, and apply it to their lives. Please pray for continued fruitfulness!
Family: Please pray that we continue to grow closer to and fall deeper in love with Jesus. Pray that our love for God would be the source and motivation for ministering to all the people He's called us to. Additionally, pray for grace, unity, and faithfulness in our marriage and parenting relationships. Pray that these relationships will remain strong and continue to grow.
Recent Highlight:
Usborne Book Party for Missionary Families
The Perry family recently held an Usborne Book party to benefit the children of our missionaries. Each child, with the help of their parents, created a wish list. UBC members were able to purchase books off of the wish lists. All hostess and Usborne consultant rewards earned through the party were used to purchase books for the children. The books were boxed up and delivered near (Beavercreek and Fairborn, Ohio) and far (Puebla, Mexico and Togo and Namibia, Africa) with some of the packages arriving just in time for Christmas! What a fun and creative way to show our missionaries love and support!
Spotlight:
The Nattiers, Medical Missionaries in Togo
Bryce and Natasha Nattier were sent from UBC into the mission field and have been in Togo, Africa since 2017. Currently, they work at the Hospital of Hope in Mango, Togo where Bryce is a general surgeon treating a wide variety of surgical patients in the hospital and clinic. He recently became the hospital’s medical director. Natasha, a nurse practitioner, works part-time at the hospital caring for various women’s health needs. They have six children who serve alongside them in the local community as ambassadors for Christ. In addition to working in the hospital, the Nattiers are engaged in two other outreach activities: (1) partnering with the local church in starting a Christian school in the area; and (2) adopting a nearby village where they go to share meals, life, and Jesus. The school is entering its second year and includes many Muslim children who will hear about Jesus through the classes taught there. The Nattiers spent Christmas at the local village where they shared both a meal and Christmas through the eyes of the shepherds (the village has many shepherds) using Luke 2.
Two ways UBC can serve the Nattiers this month:
Prayer: (1) for their family to remain healthy and open to the Lord’s guidance as Bryce moves into his new role with the hospital; (2) for wisdom in working with the local village as they share more about Jesus with them; (3) for the Lord to provide doctors willing to come and work at the hospital. (They will have a shortage starting in March and may need to start limiting services for the community, which is mainly Muslim.); and (4) wisdom as Bryce and the surgical team work to start a surgery training and discipleship program. This will involve working with African doctors, training and discipling them in being Christian surgeons. This is still in the planning phase but could potentially start in January 2023.
Financial Support: Many UBC attenders have faithfully supported the Nattiers through UBC giving (using designated funds). The Nattiers are very appreciative, but at the same time are asking those donating to transition any support through their organization (ABWE). This will provide them with better coverage of their ongoing support. If you need help making this change, please contact Jim Corbin (jim@corbins4him.com or 937-623-9434) who will guide you through the process.
Opportunity:
Donate Resources to the Miami Valley Women’s Center
The Miami Valley Women’s Center has been operating crisis pregnancy centers in the Dayton area for 40 years and they now have four locations! You can support this life-saving ministry by donating items to help meet the material needs of their clients. Find the Center nearest you (listed below) and purchase one or more items from their wish list. Work on your own or get others involved! Contact the Center to arrange for drop-off.
Xenia Center - (937) 374-0023
New Items: Similac ProAdvance Formula, Alimentum Formula, Baby Wash & Lotion, Gerber Gentle and Sooth Formula
New or Gently Used Items: XL-3X Maternity Clothes
Huber Heights Center - (937)424-2386
New Items: Fleece Blankets
New or Gently Used Items: Large and XL Maternity Clothing, Toddler Boys Shoes (size 7-12), 5T Boys Winter Clothing, Winter Coats for Boys and Girls (especially toddler sizes)
Kettering Center - (937) 298-9998
New Items: Baby wash, Baby Shampoo, Baby Lotion, Newborn Diapers
New or Gently Used Items: Winter Coats size 24m - 5T, Hooded Towels
Gently Used Items: Girls and Boys 24m - 5T Winter Clothes
North Dayton Center - (937) 262-7420
New Items: Diapers (size 4 and 6)
New or Gently Used Items: Baby Monitors, Winter Boys Shirts 3T-5T, Winter Coats for Boys and Girls (size 2T-5T), Gloves and Hats of All Sizes
To read past Mission Updates or to get more information about UBC on Mission, visit www.ubcbeavercreek.com/mission.