Category Archives: Prayer Request

Marriage Retreat

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Our home church hosted a marriage retreat this past week in Atlanta, GA.  They booked a hotel and conference center for the retreat only about 30 minutes away from the church.  After all our traveling it was nice to have the retreat so close.

I’m glad to know we have a Pastor and church staff that cares enough about about the our lay and missionaries families enough to invest in our marriages. You can check my blog for divorce attorneys.  I was really challenged to care for and be more tender toward my wife.  Coincidently, I have been listening to two audio books on marriage that went along very well with this conference.  If Only He Knew and From this Day Forward were really helpful.  Needless to say, I have a lot of changes I need to make in order to be a better husband.  I encourage you, take time to learn how to be a better spouse. I thing I do know despite my many mistakes, I’m married to the most amazing person I have ever known.

Please continue to pray for my meetings.  I fly out to Ohio today to present my ministry in a new church and report back to a faithful supporter.  When I get back on Monday, I’ll be driving to the Wilds Camp from Atlanta to check out their ministry for a couple of days in preparation for starting Camp Rhino.

Sunday & Monday

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Wow!  What an exciting couple of days.

On Sunday, I was privilege to preach the mission’s emphasis day for a good friend of mine, Pastor Tom Hatley, as Fellowship Baptist Church in Maryville, TN.  What an honor it was to be there.  The folks at Fellowship gave over $1000 to help with Camp Rhino.  This great church has been a great partner in the ministry for several years now.

Now for Monday.  Pastor Brian Haney of Anchor of Hope Baptist Church in Rossville, GA had me in to preach the Monday night of his missions conference.  This church has been supporting our ministry for almost three years now.  Unexpectedly, Pastor Haney took up a special offering at the end of the service for Camp Rhino, and the people gave $2195.  I was blown away.  He was hoping to get $1000, and over $2000 came in.  Amazing.

Over $3200 in two days!  Praise the Lord.

I don’t have the words necessary to show the appreciation I have for everyone who has given to help purchase property for the camp.  I’m humbled, and honored.

So far $29,188 has been given or promised.  We do hope to raise $4144 more during these last few days of April to put us at $33,332 to stay on pace to raise $100,000 by the end of the year.  I believe it will come in, but please continue to pray.

Camp Rhino will impact young people like these for years to come.

Coffey Family April 2017 Prayer Letter

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Prayer Request

  • Camp Rhino- Currently, we have raised $29, 188 to purchase property for Camp Rhino.  Praise the Lord!  That’s almost 30% of our goal.  We do hope to raise $4144 more during these last few days of April to put us at $33,332 to stay on pace to raise $100,000 by the end of the year.  I believe it will come in.
  • Churches in Port Elizabeth-  Pray the Lord does a great work in all the 6 churches we are associated with in South  Africa.
  • 102,000 Gospel Tracts-  These tracts donated to our ministry arrived at the end of March.  Pray for souls to be saved through them.
  • More Laborers- As I travel I’m praying the Lord would lead many others to work with us in Southern Africa.  The need for workers is real.
  • Our Family-  We’re having a great time on furlough and are looking forward to the next 8 months, but we are a little sad about having to leave Tyler, our oldest, behind when we leave.

Someone asked this past month if we planned to change our focus from church planting to camp ministry when we return to South Africa.  My answer to that is, “Absolutely not.” 

I want to make sure it’s clear that our purpose with Camp Rhino is to accelerate our church planting efforts, not do away with them.  Camp Rhino will offer traditional summer camp opportunities, but our main focus in what we are doing is to  train young people for the work of local church ministry. 

Camp Rhino will enable us to be in continual contact with young people through the several weeks of camp during the year, and also on the weekends with our mentoring programs.    This won’t be the kind of camp where we see the teen once a summer and then look for them to come back next year.  This is a year round camp that will assist all our churches at keeping their young people plugged into the things of God. 

I’m looking forward to getting back to South Africa to start Camp Rhino, but I’m just as excited to getting back so we can start more churches.

I want to send a special thanks to Chick Publications for providing 102,000 Gospel tracts for our ministries in South Africa.  We are excited that each of the churches will have plenty of literature to distribute over the next several months.

$1250 added for Camp Rhino

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This past Sunday evening I presented the ministry of Camp Rhino in the church Amy and I grew up in, Whitfield Baptist Church in Dalton, GA.  The folks at Whitfield generously gave $1250 toward the purchase of the property.   We want to thank them for their sacrificial gift and for being a great help and encouragement in the ministry over the years.

The total we now need to raise for the month of April is $7691.  Getting this amount in before the end of April will put us back on track to raise the $100,000 by the end of the year.  Please pray.

On another note.  Here is a recent picture taken from some of our church folks back in South Africa.  Pastor Sipho took this picture after the Easter morning service.  Pray for these sweet people.  We really miss being able to see and minister to them on a regular basis.

102,000 Gospel Tracts Arrived to Port Elizabeth

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Through the help of Chick Publications and Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church, we received 102,000 Gospel booklets, aka Chick Tracts, this week in Port Elizabeth.  Chick Publications donated the tracts to our ministry and Buffalo Ridge Baptist Church in Gray, TN helped cover the customs cost.  These high quality tracts should supply the six churches we work with until the end of the year.

Pray that many come to Christ through our witness and through the Gospel message presented in these booklets.

 

Coffey Family March 2017 Prayer Letter

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Prayer Request

  • New Life Baptist Church in Kwadwesi & Pastor Sipho Bonga and his wife Zukhanya.  Pray that God will continue to bless them and the church while our family is traveling here in the States. 
  • Bible Institutes- Missionary Kevin Hall is leading the Bible institutes in 3 of the churches in PE.  Pray for him and the students as they are trained in the word of God.
  • Children Books- We are currently in the planing stages for a children book series  that will promote Biblical principles dealing with world missions with an African safari theme.
  • More Laborers- As I travel I’m praying the Lord would lead many others to work with us in Southern Africa.  The need is great and the need for workers is real. 

CAMP RHINO

I remember growing up and attending summer camp almost every year from the time I was 12 years old.  Even after getting out of high school, I still attended camp as a worker. 

The thoughts of starting our own camp next year brings a lot of those great memories back.  I remember the fun times I had, the friends I met, and the powerful preaching that pointed me closer to Christ. 

Summer camp plays a big part in the life of the average church youth group in America.  It’s a time to unplug from the things of the world, and hopefully be more connected to the things of God.  Many decisions for Christ have been made around a camp alter or camp fire. 

With Camp Rhino, our hopes are that young people in South Africa will have those same opportunities and even more.  Camp Rhino will be a refuge to South African youth who have little spiritual encouragement by their surroundings and community. 

Currently, we are on pace to raise the $100,000  we need to purchase property for the camp.  Please continue to pray the funds to come in.  Soon we’ll be back in South Africa reaching more with the Gospel of Christ.

Would you like to invest in the future of Camp Rhino?

Possible Breakdown of Church Sponsors for a one-time donation between now & December.

  • $8333- 9 Sponsors
  • $4,166- 18 Sponsors
  • $2083- 36 Sponsors
  • $1041- 72 Sponsors

Maybe the Lord would have you commit to raising one of these amounts before the end of 2017.  Let me know if you want to sign up to be one of our camp sponsors.   

Coffey Family February 2017 Prayer Letter

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Wow, already in February.  I believe this year is going to fly by.  We’ve experienced great services and meetings from the moment we landed in the states.  The feedback we’ve received from Camp Rhino has been amazing.  Our goals for January were met and even exceeded. 

So far over $10,000 was sent in or committed to purchase the needed land.

A few thing to pray about this month:

  • Churches- Pray for New Life Baptist of Kwadwesi & the other 5 churches we work with in South Africa.
  • Sponsors-  Pray we continue to meet our monthly goals so we can stay on tract to raise $100,000 to purchase property for Camp Rhino.
  • Property-  Pray we find the right piece of property to start our camp.  Possibilities will be emailed out from time to time so you will be able to look & pray over them.
  • Architect/ Engineer- Pray we will find someone who will help us design and layout  the architectural plans for Camp Rhino.

In January, I had t-shirts printed up to give to everyone who donates to Camp Rhino.  I’ve mainly given these shirts out at church services and pastor’s conferences, but am now making them available on-line as well.  If you would like to make a donation please let me know.  I’ll get a t-shirt to you ASAP.

Would you like to invest in the future of Camp Rhino?

Possible Breakdown of Church Sponsors for a one-time donation in 2017:

  • $8333- 12 Sponsors
  • $4,166- 24 Sponsors
  • $2083- 48 Sponsors
  • $1041- 96 Sponsors

Maybe the Lord would have you commit to raising one of these amount during 2017.  Let me know if you want to sign up to be one of our camp sponsors.   

Coffey Family December 2016 Prayer Letter Part 2

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Would you like to invest in the future of Camp Rhino?

We start our big push to raise the funds for Camp Rhino in January.   We are looking to raise $100,000 in the next year.  This money will be used to purchase approx. 20 acres of land in the Port Elizabeth area that we will begin developing into the Christian Camp and Training Center.

Please pray we will be able to reach our first months goal of $8333.00. That’s the amount it will take to raise each month in order to purchase property when we land back in South Africa.

Possible Breakdown of Church Sponsors for a one-time donation in 2017:

  • $8333- 12 Sponsors
  • $4,166- 24 Sponsors
  • $2083- 48 Sponsors
  • $1041- 96 Sponsors

Maybe the Lord would have you commit to raising one of these amount during 2017.

Maybe this would be a project that would fit well for a Sunday school department or VBS week.

Let me know if you want to sign up to be one of our camp sponsors.

 

Coffey Family December 2016 Prayer Letter Part 1

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I hope all had a great Christmas and pray that you have an even better New Year.

We have now been back in the states a few weeks and are getting ready to end the New Year at the Our Generation Summit at Lake Lanier Island in Buford, GA.  What a privilege to end the new year challenging people from several churches to reach the world with the Gospel.

It is strange being away from South Africa, but we are fired up about the opportunities to promote missions in Africa and present our burden for Camp Rhino.

Our two oldest boys Tyler and Chase stayed back in South Africa to help with our 2nd annual Teen Camp two extra weeks, but are now back in the states with us.

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There was quite an increase in campers this year and four young people made professions of faith. Because of space and time we aren’t able to bring in a lot of outside kids.  We are hopeful in the years to come, with the new camp property, we not only will be able to minister to our church kids during camp, but we will be able to bring in an unlimited number of lost kids from all our communities.

2016-camp

We start our big push to raise the funds for Camp Rhino in January.   We are looking to raise $100,000 in the next year.  This money will be used to purchase approx. 20 acres of land in the Port Elizabeth area that we will begin developing into the Christian Camp and Training Center.

Please pray we will be able to reach our first months goal of $8333.00. That’s the amount it will take to raise each month in order to purchase property when we land back in South Africa.

Announcing Camp Rhino- Christian Camp and Training Center

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November 2016 Coffey Family Prayer Letter

We are now in our last days before we head back to the States.  Our first term was fantastic.  I want to thank all of you  who have supported us these past few years. 

Although we are sad about leaving, we are excited about a new ministry we are now ready to announce and begin presenting during our time on furlough that will benefit our church planting efforts.  When we return to South Africa we will be starting Camp Rhino – Christian Camp and Training Center. 

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Have you had your life touched by attending Christian summer camp?  Have you sent teenagers to camp and had them come back with their lives changed?  Have you had kids get saved at camp?

In America, Christian camps are doing a lot of good.  Kids can get away from the world, from the internet, and the pressures of day to day life, have an incredibly fun week, and listen to powerful preaching.  It’s a recipe God has been using for well over a hundred years.

Children and Teens in South Africa need a Bible preaching Christian camp!  Not only do they live in abject poverty, most of them experience a level of immorality, drunkenness, and demonic activity that few American kids ever experience.  Imagine the impact a week of Christian camp could have on their life.  If Christian camp helps American churches, imagine how much it could do to help missionaries and  South African churches.

I will be giving more details about our plan for the camp and training center in the coming days, but I want to let you know that our camp will also facilitate much training for all of our people and will be used year round for our church planting purposes.   

This will also provide an amazing short-term missions trip opportunity for American students. Bible College Students and other ministry minded young people will have the opportunity to travel to Africa for a season, work in South African churches with veteran missionaries, and help in the camp as counselors and camp staff. 

We are looking to raise $100,000 in the next year.  This money will be used to purchase 20 acres of land in the Port Elizabeth area that we will begin developing into a Christian camp.

We want to ask you to begin praying now that we would be able to raise  $8,333 a month during our year back in the states in order to reach our $100,00 goal.  I know that’s a big goal, but we believe in this ministry, and know if it’s God’s will,  money won’t be an issue.     

Imagine being able to invest in Apple Computer, Coco-cola, or IBM when they were just starting out.  With eternity in view, we believe investing in Camp Rhino will be an even better investment.

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