A Celebration of Manhood

Today marked a very important day in our family and the life of our oldest son, Peter.  Peter is turning 13 years old.  This day has been being planned since the day of Peter's birth.  The ceremony today was a culmination of a two year process that Peter has been going through with his father as he begins his journey into manhood.  He has been learning not just what it means to be a man, but what it means to be a godly man of strong integrity and character.  Peter met with four other men of his choosing who spoke the Word of God into his life and encouraged him to love the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength.

1 Corinthians 13:11 says "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child;  but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Today, Peter began his journey into manhood.  He will continue to learn from the loving guidance of his father what it means to be a man and to put away childish things.  We are so proud of the young man he already is, and we know that God is going to use this man in mighty, mighty ways!

Thank you to everyone who came to encourage Peter and celebrate with us as he embarks on this new stage of life!

The service began with a blessing from mama.  I publicly took a step back from the coddling/nurturing stage of my life as mom.  As Peter grows into the man God wants him to be, it will be dad who coaches him through.  The hardest thing for a mom to do is to allow her son to be independent from her, but it is necessary for him to be a man of character, strength, and independence.  His future wife will thank me ;)

Peter chose these four men to pour God's truth into his life.  John Sowers spoke on loving God with your heart.  Daniel Goepfrich spoke on the mind.  Van Gurley spoke about loving God with your strength including resources and purity.  Rhett Keiser spoke to him about the soul and sharing his faith.  We could not ask for better mentors for our son.  The respect he has for each of these men will cause him to remember their words as he grows up in the Lord.

Peter's best friend, Eli Smith stood up with him committing to be his "Jonathan".  He agreed to call out sin in Peter's life, challenge him to grow in his walk with the Lord, and do whatever necessary to keep him on the right path.  Peter agree'd to accept this kind of accountability in his life.

Peter was up and down throughout the entire service.  He chose a passage from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and a life verse.  He was to share the passages and explain why he chose them and what they mean to him.  His Old Testament choice was 1 Samuel 24 because he wants to be as strong as David when he could have killed Saul but respected him instead.  He chose Luke 4:1-14 because he wants to know God's word so much that he can withstand temptation.  His life verse is Job 2:3 because, like Job, he wants to be a blameless man who fears God and shuns evil.  He wants to have integrity even when he doesn't know what God is doing in his life.  He shared several other reasons for each of these as well as sharing one nugget that he learned from each of the four men that he met with.  He did a fantastic job.  He has a great gift at public speaking!

The ceremony ended with a charge from Grandpa Goepfrich to love God and to represent the name of Jesus with great care and obedience.  

From us, Peter received a Ryrie study Bible in the NASB version.  He also received his own framed copy of our family crest and creed.  The items of our creed, as taken from scripture, are Honor, Respect, Courage, Loyalty, Humility, Patience, and Self-Control.  

Praise God for the strong Christian heritage and legacy in the Goepfrich family!

We Have a Church!!

We want to thank everyone who has been praying about our journey to find a church.  It has only been just one year since Josh was formally ordained as a pastor in March of 2013.  Since then, we have been on a roller coaster of seeking the right church that God would have Josh to lead.  Earlier this year, several churches began to actively pursue Josh at the same time from all over the country.  One of those churches was Warsaw Baptist Church in Warsaw, IN.  Josh met with a couple leaders from the church and when he came home I knew that he had been given a burden for this church already.  So, after several meetings and a whole lot of prayer, we all went to Warsaw Baptist on March 2 where Josh preached and formally candidated. We are very happy to report, that on March 9, the church voted unanimously for Josh to be their pastor!  Praise God for the work He is doing in the church and in us!

This is a unique opportunity for our family.  Warsaw Baptist is a small church, with just about 14 members who are ready to bring the gospel to their community. After meeting with the church family last Sunday, it is evident that they love Jesus with their whole hearts and love others more than themselves.  We are all so very excited to grow with this church! Our goal has always been to evangelize the lost and lead the saints to a deeper walk with the Lord.  Even though this church has been around since the 80's, we are coming into a church re-plant situation.  A huge blessing God has given us in this plant, is that we are starting with a physical building and a core of amazing individuals who are committed to making Jesus their life center and, as stated earlier, spreading the gospel in their community!  This is very exciting to us!!

Because of the nature of this call, we are going to need partners in ministry to stand with us. For all of our prayer warriors out there, we have a few immediate needs.  We know that God has called us and He will equip us and provide every need!  Please partner with us as we pray for a house in Warsaw.  We would like to be moved to Warsaw no later than August 1, 2014 so that we have time to settle before the kids start school in the fall.  It's important to us to move there, so that we can begin to build relationships with those in the church and the community.  The second thing we are praying for is a family vehicle for Josh to drive. Currently, he has a single passenger truck that has been a huge blessing from God, but is very difficult when he drives with all three kids in one seat.  Also, as he commutes to Warsaw for now, something with better gas mileage will help tremendously.  Last, but overarching everything, is that God would provide the finances necessary to pay for said house and vehicle as well as living expenses.    He has been faithful to provide for every single one of our needs throughout our lives and we continue to expect Him to meet our needs because He has promised to do so in His way and His timing.  We have seen Him work in miraculous ways, in part because of the prayers of friends and family and in part because His children act upon prompting from the Spirit.  Praying for others allows us to have a part in the work God does in their lives, and we appreciate all of those who partner with us in this way! Every soul we reach with the gospel of Christ can be traced back to your prayers!  Thank you for being a part of what God is doing in Warsaw!

In His Service,
Josh and Melissa
Peter, Bethany, and Chloe