January 2012

(James 1:5) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

Thank you so much so all the prayer and support that we have received. It is good to be a part of a partnership to reach the Irish for Christ. It has been a busy twelve months with lots of highs and lows. It is a thrill and a high Privilege to be a Missionary family to my own people. It sure has been a busy twelve months and I am excited with joyful anticipation of what the Lord is going to do in the future. We have just started a New Year and I am looking forward to seeing many doors opened, and Souls saved in the New Year.

Christmas Update:

We have seen a lot of people that have come out to the Bible Study and some people are faithfully coming out each week. Christmas time was a great blessing. We tried to use this special time of the year to reach out to our neighbours and friends. We had a Special Christmas Bible Study and that went great. It was a time of singing Christmas Carols, as well as, a short devotion on the reason for this blessed time of year. And, afterward we had finger food, as well as, lots of sweet fellowship. It took a lot of work and organisation but it was so worth it. We had sent out many invitations to the surrounding area, so it was so good to see a full house for our labour.

We also have given out gift bags to virtually everyone we know, and this has been a great way to get to know our neighbours and to present them with a gospel tract; “born to die” within the gift bag. We handed them out to everyone we could possibly think of, including our girl’s school teachers, our refuge collectors, shopkeepers, doctors, and mail lady etc. It was a good reminder of how many people we see in a weekly and daily basis. Each one with an eternal Soul that is heading to an uncertain destination; without the realisation of who that baby was in the manger, they have no hope.

Deputation Progress: I am still working my way through bookings in the UK and in Europe. In January I will be in Scotland and in Northern Ireland. So, I am busy preparing for this, as well as some more bookings in England that I need to schedule in. I hope to focus this year in Building up the Bible Study as well as getting discipleships ongoing, and also, a continual scheduling of Churches for deputation purposes.

Please Pray…

My heart’s desire is to see the establishment of a Bible Believing Church in 2012. For this to happen there needs to be a continual faithfulness in the Wednesday Night Bible Study, as well as, more families to be reached and brought into the study. There is a building that is available for rent and it would be well suited for a Church setting. Please pray that God would give me wisdom and direction that this would be His perfect will for us at this time and juncture. I have prayed about this place, and I just need the Lord to say, in that still small voice, nay or yea, or possibly, wait for a time in the future.

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

I am so thankful for the privilege of being a Missionary church planter, to my own people. I am so grateful for the opportunity to try to be a Servant for Christ in the midst of my own people. It is good to realise that I am not alone. I realise with gratitude, that there is many of the Saints of God, praying for me and my family, day in and day out.

Soul Winning Weekly:

We have had a blessed time Soul Winning in the Carrigaline area. I am most thankful for my Sending church faithfully helping me out, week in and week out. There has been many contacts made from going door to door. I have found that it takes a lot of organisation and planning to cover every street and every house. We have developed several good contacts so far. I have gone back several times to some of the potential open doors. It has been a slow process in nurturing a relationship with some of these people. I truly believe, that people need to know that you genuinely care for them before they will listen to you. Irish people in particular, have never known a Real, Calvary, kind of love. They have been hurt by a Religion that has failed them; by a system of Roman Catholism that has crippled their ability to trust in a Personal Saviour that loves them, with no strings attached. You get a real burden for lost Souls when you see the Spiritual Blindness that keeps them in bondage, and prevents them from ever coming to the knowledge of Christ. How needful it is to a Burden for Souls that are just one heartbeat away from Hell. I believe, with all my heart, that if you don’t Plough the land today, you will not be able to put seed in the ground tomorrow. It took me several occasions to hear the gospel before I could begin to understand its meaning and significance. I believe a lot of doors that we have knocked on are just like that; it will take time before God’s WORD will begin to penetrate their Hearts.

Deputation Progress:

It is an uphill climb to raise financial support in times of a global recession. I am so thankful for some of those churches that have become co labours with me in the Work. The latest church that has taken us on for support is Grace Baptist Church of Enfield. They had their Missionary Conference in late September and it was very exciting to be a part it. I have many bookings during the New Year and am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in these meetings.

Some Upcoming Events:

We have a special Christmas Bible Study on the 7th of December. This is mainly for the people attending the Bible Study, but also, we are trying to use it as an outreach to get more people coming to the regular Study. There will be some finger foods as well as a short devotion, with plenty of fellowship for those attending. We are also putting together gift bags with a gospel tract inside it, for our neighbours and for some other people in the area. Christmas is one of the only times of the year that we can give the gospel to people, without it causing an offense that it normally does. So, we are going to use this opportunity for precisely that reason in mind; so that people all around us, would see the real meaning of Christmas.

(Jer. 32:27) Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

It has been a busy summer with a lot accomplished, both in my own Sending Church and also, with ongoing work

in Church Planting in the Carrigaline area of Cork. We are continuing to door knock every Saturday, and then during the week I try to follow up with any new contacts. It takes time to develop contacts in the area. We have also advertised on the local papers to attract people to the Bible Study. The thing that I am praying for most is that, God would send People into the Study that have a real hunger for God. We are still in Proverbs, going verse by verse, through each chapter. The biggest obstacle in a study like this is a lack of faithfulness; sometimes we have a good turnout, other times, we would just have a few. It however, is always exciting to see who the Lord is going to bring through our doors.

We have also been helping out in our Sending Church. There has been lots of activity with Youth Camp, and Bible Club for kids. I have learned a lot from this. I am planning next year to have a Bible Club in my area, so that, we can bring the gospel to kids that probably have never heard.

Discipleship:

I have a discipleship every Monday evening with a man named Michael. He is an unsaved man that I believe understands the gospel but is just not quite ready to get saved. He has even gone door knocking with me as the silent partner, and has helped me in various ways; so the burden of my heart is to see him gloriously and wonderfully saved. I am also hoping, in the next few weeks to be able to start another discipleship in another home. I believe this is the key in getting people grounded in the Scriptures.

Soul Winning Progress:

We are continuing to promote the Bible Study by door to door evangelism. We have made some very good contacts in recent weeks and I am hopeful that these would be very good potentials for the bible study. The hardest thing about follow up so far, is that, when we have called back to that door, there hasn’t been anyone at home.

Deputation Update:

My main focus in the recent while has been the United Kingdom. I have several bookings over the next few months, mostly in England and in Wales. I am Thankful to Bethany Baptist Church for recently taking us on for support. I pray the Lord would abundantly bless them for this step of faith. It is a great encouragement to me when I hear such news. I will be in Grace Baptist Church in Enfield at the end of the month for a Missions Conference, so I am busy preparing for that.

Please Pray…

I believe with all my heart that prayer is the key. Please pray for those that I have in the Bible Study, and in discipleship. Especially for Michael, that the Lord would open up his heart, and I would see some fruit from this discipleship. Also, please pray that the people that are coming to the Bible Study would be consistent and faithful every week.

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

It has been an interesting couple of months. At the end of June I started having vision problems in my right eye. It was like a curtain of blackness that started impairing my vision. At first, I thought it was a cold in my eye that would soon go away of its own accord. But in a matter of a few days, I was almost blind in my right eye. So I quickly went to the doctor and he was able to tell me that my retina was quite badly torn and that I needed an operation to repair it. Since then I have been in recovery and have had limitations on what I can do. My vision in my right eye is improving all the time but, in the mean time, I have to be careful and rest more than before. I have learned a great amount through this trial; God will not tell you the answer to why certain things happen to us in our lives, but, He will always give you the GRACE sufficient to go through each valley. I am so thankful for praying Christians who took the time on their knees to pray for us. It has thought me once again the importance of unfeigned prayer of the brethren; that is where the real fight is.

Developing Discipleship:

I am most excited about the development of discipleship that has taken place recently. I started discipling a young man named Mark awhile back, and for a number of doctrinal areas that didn’t continue. I have now two discipleship that seem to be going strong. One is on a Monday evening and his name is Michael. He admits that he is not born again, but has a desire and hunger to know more. The other is with two ladies from a nearby town. We meet in their house most Tuesdays and they also have a desire to know more, but as of yet are not born again. I am very excited about these two discipleship’s and greatly desire some fruit from these endeavors.

Soul Winning Progress:

I have done mostly visitations in the last month of those people that have come to the Bible study. As regards to knocking on doors, there has been very little activity that has gone on. The biggest problem with my eyes is that the sunlight makes my eyes watery, so I have been trying to stay in as much as possible. I am hoping that in the next few weeks to get back to normal activity.

Deputation Update:

I am also restricted from flying because they had to put a gas bubble in my eye. It will take up to six weeks for it to dissolve fully. That will probably be about mid August. So until then, I will not be in a position to visit churches and to continue my deputation trail.

Please Pray…

Please remember to pray for the two discipleships to continue and for the Wednesday night Bible Study to grow. We are going through the Book of Proverbs and it has been a great blessing so far. Please also, pray that things would soon return to normal, and that we would soon get back to door knocking every Saturday.

Some Good News…

My wife Eileen is expecting again. She is now ten weeks pregnant and we are very excited about that. Whatever the Lord gives us is fine, but it would be sure nice if it was a baby boy.

Psalm 57:7 My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

Thanks for all the prayers and support that I have received. It has been a busy year to date and has gone by veryquickly. A lot of ground has been covered since the beginning of the year. It has been both challenging and exciting to see what God is doing in our lives.

The Bible Study is beginning to grow as we head into the summer months. We have had our ups and downs as I am sure many of you would know. What I have prayed above all else, is that, God would bring people in that have a hunger for the truth of God’s Word. The outreach continues in the Carrigaline area mostly every Saturday and I am very excited about that. We have developed several good contacts and lots of ploughing has been done.

Discipleship:

There are two ongoing discipleships taking place every week. On a Monday, I have a discipleship with Mark. He is a young man that has a hunger for the truth, but, unfortunately, his mind is all confused having been taught from a charismatic point of view. This has led to a lot of confusion where he finds himself not knowing what to believe. I am praying that he will continue with the discipleship so that he can understand just the simplicity that is in Christ. The other discipleship is in a nearby town, is on a Tuesday, and has been ongoing for the past few weeks.

There are three people that attend this discipleship, and I am very excited just to see what the Lord is going to do here. I also want to thank Tony, from Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig, for accompanying me every week going to this Study. And I am thankful for the support of the many brothers and sisters that have helped me from my Sending Church.

I believe discipleship is so important especially in this day and age. The essential one on one discipleship allows for many questions to be ironed out, and many problematic areas to be resolved.

Deputation in the United Kingdom: So far, I have been to a few Churches in Wales and Scotland and have enjoyed every minute of it. It is a thrill to my soul to be an ambassador for the cause of Christ; raising awareness for the need of church planting in Ireland. I have several bookings coming up over the summer and I am praying for the Lord to really bless these meetings. Deputation overall has been slow, but God, as all ways, has been so good to me and my family to meet every need and has continually encouraged me from His Word just to stay focused and faithful to Him.

Please Pray….

Please pray that discipleships would continue to grow and that the Lord would bring in people to the Bible study that would have a hunger to learn the truth of God’s Word. It is easy to teach people when they have that appetite for His Word.

Sending Church:

Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig, Pastor Craig Ledbetter, Unit B, Enterprise Park, Inishmore, Ballincollig, Cork. Tel: 021-4871234
Web:www.biblebc.com

Any support should be made payable to the Bible Baptist Church Mission’s Account, with Kevin O’Keeffe noted as the recipient, at the above Church Address. Receipts are available upon request.

Contact

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

It amazes me how quickly the year has gone by to date. It seems hard to believe that it is March already. Thank you so much for your prayers and concern about the work that has been accomplished thus so far.

The focus at this point of the ministry is to develop lots of potential contacts for the future endeavour of seeing a church planted in the Carrigaline area. I am well aware of the many obstacles by now; it is never easy to accomplish what the Lord calls you to do, But, through it all, I am learning that HE is Able. I am thankful for a little verse in, 1 Thes.4:24, Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. What I have learned above all else, is that it is only God than can give the increase.

Evangelising The Community:

Our goal for 2011 is to reach out to the Carrigaline area, of approximate population of twenty five thousand souls. Our whole focus is to give people the gospel and promote the Bible study in our house so that we could see that study built up. We have the area mapped up, and we meet every Saturday to knock on

people’s doors. The goal is to develop many contacts and follow up on those be that would be future perspectives, which would have a hunger to want to learn more. I believe tyhe believe the greatest need today is door to door evangelism. The call, from the Book of Acts Acts, is to Acts, is to Open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light. (Acts 26:18)

We are so thankful to our Sending Church for their continual support in helping us with this outreach. It is comforting to know that we are not alone and there are many brothers and and sisters from our Sending Church that are ready to spend time and effort in outreach in the Carrigaline area. We also advertise the Bible Study on the local paper and I have received several enquiries by phone from different people of various backgrounds.

So far, we have just see There has been a handful of people that have come out to the study. Some people come out to check us out, but then, we never hear from them again. Those that are coming to the Bible Study are very faithful and I am so thankful for that.

Looking to the Future:

We have some exciting events planned for the future. On the 11th of March, my wife Eileen, is holding her very first Ladies fellowship meeting for the ladies attending the Bible Study. We are using the activity to promote the Study, and to invite as many ladies that we possibly can.

We are also planning to have a Bible Club for the kids in this area during the summer months, with the same goal of reaching out and evangelising the local area. Once again, our Sending Church will be helping us in this endeavor, and I am very excited about what God is going to do through this.

Deputation Progress:

As regards to ongoing deputation, we have many meetings booked in the United Kingdom.

We have been to three churches in Wales, and there are a number of churches in Scotland that have booked us as well. It is very exciting for me to have the privilege of being a Missionary to my own people.

Dear Praying Churches, Pastors, and Friends,

Thank you for your continual prayers and unfeigned love towards my family and me. As I continue in deputation and in pursuit of what the Lord has called me to do, it is a real blessing to realise that I am not alone.

I am expecting great things in 2011, as we begin a whole New Year. We have had a busy year. I have been doing a fair bit of travel from church to church, but I have felt so privileged and so blessed just to be doing what the Lord has called me to do. It is such a blessing to be able to present my burden and vision on behalf of my own people.

Ongoing Bible Study: The highlight of my week is our weekly Bible Study every Wednesday night. We are going verse by verse through the book of John and it is always very exciting. We advertise our Bible Study on the paper, as well as, a challenge leaflet that we have handed out each week going from door to door. The aim of the leaflet is to challenge people to see how much do people really know their Bible, and thereby, show them their need for a Bible Study. Some have faithfully come and some have come and moved on. What I like about a verse by verse study through the Word, is that the Holy Spirit always makes it personal to those attending. It has been amazing to observe the steady change that takes place in those that have an appetite for the WORD. The devil has done a good job in blinding the minds of them that believe not (2 Cor. 4:4).

It is only Holy Spirit, through the Word, that can patiently open their eyes to the truth of God’s Word. This is where a weekly Bible Study is so important, even if it is only a handful of people. My great desire and vision is to see this study grow where every chair in our house is full, and where we reach maximum capacity, that we would have to start meeting in a rental building.

Soul Winning Strategy:

I am so grateful that I have abundant help from my Sending Church in reaching out to the Carrigaline area. It is nice to know that I have faithful brothers and sisters who are only too willing to help me. It would be easy to become discouraged if I had to door knock all by myself. It is refreshing to know that I am not alone in my desire and burden to see souls saved, and the establishment of a Bible Believing Church in this area. I have a building that I can rent out that would be perfect for a church gathering. So in the meantime I am going to commit this area to prayer until I get clear direction from the Lord.

Deputation Progress:

I am thankful for the churches that have taken me on for support. I am hoping to really target the U.K and Europe this year as the main area of focus. I have several meeting booked already and I am looking forward to contacting as many churches in the future to present my Burden and Vision on behalf of my own people.

Please Pray… Please pray for the Bible study to grow and more people start attending. Pray that I would quickly raise my support, so that, I could give all my focus in seeing the establishment of a Bible Believing church in the Carrigaline area.

Sending Church:

Contact Information:

All support should be made payable to the Bible Baptist Church Mission’s Account, with Kevin O’Keeffe noted as the recipient, at the above Church Address. Receipts are available upon request.

Titus 3:5 Not by righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Kevin O’Keeffe. I am a Pastor, with a desire to start a Church in the Carrigaline area of Cork. My wife’s name is Eileen and we have three wonderful girls so far. I am so glad that I trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour way back in 1992. Let me tell you what happened.

I always believed there was a God, but never understood God’s simple plan of salvation that the Bible speaks of. I left Ireland in my twenties for New York, and it was there that I first heard the good news of the gospel, that I feel so passionately about today. I came to realise that all my sins have been paid in full, because of what Jesus did for me on the cross of Calvary. There is no greater love story than that! Scripture puts it this way in the Gospel of John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” That kind of love is only found in a loving God who gave his Son for sinners like you and I.

This has been Gods plan from the beginning: to send his only begotten Son into a sin cursed world to save them that would put their faith and trust only in Him. It says in this way in Romans 10:3, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But the tragedy is that most people will trust in their religion, trust in their good works, trust in anything, except the powerful message of God’s Word. The burden of my heart is to establish a simple Bible preaching church in this area, because I believe that is what people need.

If you would like to know more about the saving message of the Gospel, and how to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, I would be only so glad to show you from the scriptures. If you are a born again Christian, but don’t know how to grow in your Christian walk, I would love the privilege of teaching you from the Bible.

We currently have an ongoing Bible study in our house every Wednesday evening at 7pm, and everyone is welcome.

Please read my January preyer letter – kevin-okeeffe-prayer-Jan11

[sermons preacher=12]

If you have any more questions or would like to have any further information, please complete the form below as a first contact, and I will try to respond to you as soon as possible.

The day of the year when we celebrate our love and affection, with our loved ones.

We exchange cards, gifts and go out for intimate meals. Some may not be able to be together, but will contact each other in different ways. Even those that may have lost a loved one can look back on the joys they have brought in their lives.

It is the time of year when we try that little bit harder to please those that we love. The sacrifices we make are often very small but the feelings and emotions can be immense.

True love is probably one of the most powerful emotions that we can experience in our lives, from a simple friendship beginning it just keeps on growing. Love is both a feeling, and action, the photo shown is the action of a gentleman that is showing his love for his wife in a personal way. His wedding ring, child’s bible and selected verses. (see his flickr post)

This year,  also think on who first loved us; and still does.. And the actions and sacrifice that He has made for us. Not that we loved Him, but ‘He Loves Us’

Malachi 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1 John 4:19a  ,he first loved us.

1 John 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

The challenge is can we show our love for the Lord as we show our love to our loved ones?

Listen to some previous sermons tagged with ‘Love’

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Bethany Baptist Church Pwllgwaun is holding a creation weekend commencing Friday 4th Feb. Topics to be covered in the ‘Answers in Genesis’ series;

Friday 4th Feb – 6:30 (youth meeting, but all invited) – Dragons and Dinosaurs

Saturday 5th Feb – 11-3:30pm Creation vs Evolution; Age of the Earth; Noah and the Flood.

Sunday 6th Feb – 10:45am – Bible Chronology

www.bethanybaptistchurch.org.uk