June 2017

  June 2017

We have just wrapped up another year at Virginia Wesleyan . . . now University!  The changes happening at VWU are at a fast pace!  We in Marlin Ministries continue to lift up Jesus and the Kingdom of GOD to the students, staff and faculty.  We are seeing a deepening of many students as they pursue Christ.

The world seems to be more divided and more complex all the time.  Sharing the Gospel amidst competing truth claims is a regular thing on the college campus.  It is crucial for us to be equipped to communicate our faith in word and action as well as being able to point out the shortcomings and errors in worldviews that reject Christ.  I listen to Ravi Zacharias online frequently and know of no other person who articulates the good news of Jesus while comparing and contrasting it to other faiths and secular worldviews.  I encourage you to pull up some of his videos on youtube or online.

Last year on the Wesleyan Revival and Scottish Reformation trip I was with a group of our students in a pub in Oxford.  As we talked, one of our students, Nic Snyder, was pondering his future with us.  Numerous times in the conversation he shared that he was reluctantly heading to Law School, though his real passion was to study the Scriptures.  When we pointed out that this could be God calling him with that deeper desire, he seemed to have his eyes opened!  This past year Nic helped me launch a new “Life Group” reaching out to the fraternity and sorority population on campus.  Nic begins his formal studies of the Scriptures this Fall at Duke Divinity!

Virginia Wesleyan Students in England -
Nic Snyder in the flowered shirt, also left
to right: Taylor McIntosh, Britt & Nic Hipple

The Board of LIHN voted to send two $2,000 gifts to help vital ministries, one overseas and one local.

The first is House of Hope in Nicaragua which has expanded into San Pedro Sula, Honduras.  This city is one of the most dangerous cities on the planet, as gangs and chaos have largely taken over.  However, the House of Hope is reaching women and children with the good news of Jesus and helping them find healing, job skills, safety and salvation in Christ.  They are working towards the purchase of a 3 story building where House of Hope already meets.

I met April and Mike Havelin, the founders of HoH a decade ago on a mission trip to Nicaragua.  I have taken teams from the USA to work at and learn from ministry at HoH.  I have heard some beautiful stories of redemption from the ladies and believe strongly in this ministry.

If you are interested in finding out more about the House of Hope, check out: www.houseofhopenicaragua.com/

We also gave NEIGHBORHOOD, a Christian community development organization a $2,000 donation.  Mike Senecal, who is on the Board of LIHN, and his wife are a part of NEIGHBORHOOD.  Their ministry model aligns with Jesus’ parable of the yeast working it’s way through the dough.

“He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.’”  Mt. 13:33

NEIGHBORHOOD is community development organization for families committed to making South Norfolk a thriving place to live, work, and play. The majority of families in this community are caught in a cycle of economic distress, institutional neglect and relational brokenness. The mission is to cultivate a vibrant community by connecting families with the skills, services, and neighbors they need to make a living and a life; unleashing families as “makers” of a thriving neighborhood.  NEIGHBORHOOD has the goal of providing a 2 year program for 7 families at time that addresses the following:

-     HOUSING -              Goal: Provide clean, safe, affordable housing for families to begin building wealth and planting meaningful roots in South Norfolk.

-  CREDENTIALS -    Goal: Provide ground level assistance to overcome barriers to employment and housing and credit.

-       EMPLOYMENT -           Goal: Provide skilled job training in partnership with local businesses that  leads to sustained income and opportunities for career growth.

-       CREDIT -                      Goal: Provide capital through non-predatory, simple loans for families to  buy homes or start businesses.

-        FAMILY -                      Goal: Provide families with meaningful connections with the Family of God in South Norfolk to flourish as full humans, created in the image of God.

When we consider partnerships or supporting other ministries we filter it through the mission statement of Life in His Name, Inc.:

Partnering with the church to equip God’s people to share their faith and make disciples of Jesus especially through small group ministry; And connecting the church in the States with the church in Latin America.

I did not travel to Nicaragua this year as I felt a leading from God and yes, from my wife to take a year off.  I later realized that I had gone 6 years in a row with Virginia Wesleyan and so the 7^th became a year of rest!  I have been in touch with other friends in Nicaragua and they are already making plans for next year.

Emily Testroet received the Servant Leader Award at
VWC for her Christ-like service to others.  This included
a check from LIHN for $200!

Bob Boyd Sr., gave Marlin Ministries a financial gift so that I could hire an intern.  Emily Testroet is a rising junior from Richmond, VA who has a great love for Christ and an eagerness to lead others into saving faith!  It is a blessing to have her help as we organize for awakening and a faithful following of Jesus!

I have I continue to teach and preach at local churches on “The Method of Jesus” focusing on evangelism and discipleship through small groups.  I’ll be preaching a number of times over the summer at Virginia Beach Christian Church as they are in between pastors.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers for me and this ministry.  Our Lord tells us to store up treasures in heaven by giving to ministry and we do not take that lightly!

Greg West