Bob and Maureen Hoffman 1Q 2017 Newsletter - Missionaries to Cyberspace

"When you go on the internet, please pray for the Hoffman Family – your missionaries to Cyberspace."

Volume 30 Issue 1 (February 2017)

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

The Latest News:

It's hard to believe, but we have been in this ministry for 30 years now! We appreciate your support and your prayers for our ministry!
Please keep us in prayer as we prepare to attend the "Global Impact Celebration" at our home church (Lavon Drive Baptist Church in Garland Texas) this coming week. This is a missions conference. The conference will allow us to reach out and help missionaries that may not have a web presence, and it will enable us to help church members better understand our ministry.

Church Website Ministry:

I received a call from a Pastor in West Virginia that we provided several websites for in the past. He wanted to put up a new website to support ongoing evangelistic efforts.We registered the domain extrememissionevangelism.com for him and set up WordPress.
I was contacted by Pastor Carlos Nabata of Bible Believers Baptist Church in the (Tangle Mexico Pampanga) Philippines over the weekend. We have been hosting their website (bbbckjv.com) for many years, and the gentleman that had built their website was no longer able to update it. Pastor Nabata wanted to know if I could update the website for him. The website was written in php code, and I cannot program in code. I told Pastor Nabata I could convert his content over to WordPress and then make updates to the website for him. He agreed. A couple of their pages had no content, I found a template today that I love, with a slider that is awesome. The Bible Believers Baptist Church website is now converted over to WordPress.
I was contacted by a lady in Florida asking if I could help her find a church. She came to us by way of our resource website “online-churches.us.” This website is a resource center for people trying to get a ministry online. It is not set up to help somebody find a church. After some talking with her via email, I got her zip code and went to the Baptist Ministries database (baptist-ministries.org). I did an advanced search using the search item “Baptist” (you have to put a search term in there or the database will not return any results). I entered in her zip code, and chose a 10 mile radius. The database returned 9 churches (and a publishing ministry) within 10 miles of her home. I copied the link for the search results and sent it off to her. We have many Missionaries and Pastors using the database to find a church, or list of churches. Using the advanced search feature you can also search for churches with a particular ministry (bus ministry for example). There are over 1000 categories available, including geographical. So – if you or someone you know is trying to find a church (or churches – say for a missionary on deputation), the database can be very helpful.There are about 6800 ministries in the database at this time, with more being added all the time. The links are being checked and updated, and if you find an error, you can easily submit an error report to correct a ministry. You can add a link yourself if your ministry is not listed. Check the database out if you have not already seen it, again it is at Baptist-ministries.org.
Back in July of 2016, when we were attending the East Texas Baptist Camp Meeting, we had the pleasure of meeting Mark Jones and his family, missionaries to Hawaii.I had added their ministry to the Baptist-Ministries Database (baptist-ministries.org). Part of the reason this database is one of the best resources to use in order to find Independent Baptist Ministries is that unlike many of the other lists out there, the listings are checked for broken links and incorrect information on a regular basis. New ministries are being added daily. While checking for broken links, I noticed that Mark Jones website’s domain (jonestobigisland.com) had expired. I was able to contact Brother Mark, and after some discussion I registered his domain and set up a basic WordPress website for him to get him back online (the domain is shown on his Mission Cards, so it was advantageous to get the website back online quickly).

Bible Correspondence Courses: We want to thank Katherine Feguer, Lydia Henrici, J.L. & Florence Smith for helping on the Bible Correspondence courses over the last quarter.

4TH Quarter Stats: 4 salvation decisions (2 Nigeria, 1 India, 1 USA). We mailed out 786 lessons and issued 30 certificates to 232 students (of which 3 are prisoners and 190 are international. Countries Australia, France, Ghana, India, Nigeria and USA)
2016 Stats: 105 salvation decisions. We mailed out 3653 lessons, issued 98 certificates to 232 students (of which 9 are prisoners). We had students in Australia, Cameroon, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa Tanzania and The USAHere are some comments we received from people that are taking the correspondence courses:

From a student in Arkansas: I have learned to put my faith in God's facts instead of my feelings.I have learned that wise thinking produces right actions.I have learned so much more about being thankful. I am thankful now for things I never thought about before doing this course.As long as we walk in obedience to God, we can have a clear conscience.Chastening is proof that God loves us. He really loves me a lot! God forgives us of our sins, but we must still face the consequences of our sins. I am still facing consequences of sins long forgiven.God and what God provides for me is all I need. Resentment and bitterness can make prisoners of us. Only forgiveness can set us free. I found this out the hard way. I can love others because God has put His wonderful love in me. I am learning to see God in all my circumstances: good & bad. These lessons have been a real blessing to me. Some were more fun than others. Some hit me pretty hard because of my imperfections. I think this course has made me love my dear Saviour even more.
From a student in WV:Thanks so much for sending me lessons. I enjoy learning about God & His Word. 🙂
From a student in MD: It is vital to now pray more, study the Word of God more and stay unpolluted from the world. Appears as if the entire world has become like Sodom and Gomorrah. Today, even the churches are struggling as spiritual warfare has become more intense. I sense the pressure of the warfare….I hope to be able to send some prints of my artwork & a donation of love to you all next semester. I always look forward to receiving the lesson books in the mail. I pray in Jesus name that we as be4lievers intensify our devotion, commitment and obedience toward God almighty. As we continue to navigate within the confines of our individual journeys, we need to truly help and support one another fully. Much love in Christ Jesus to all,
From a student in GA: I know it's been a while but as usual I have not forgotten about my FamilyNet International Family. I am still enjoying my studies and I always appreciate them for they teach me so much. I hope you and your family enjoy your holidays and I really hope you like this card. (She enclosed a small stocking with a candy cane and bookmark with the candy cane story):-)
From a student in VA: This lesson was very good about the Tabernacle. Very well done. I have learned a lot about this. All of these lessons have really helped me with my walk with my Savior and friend. God bless all of you for these wonderful lessons. Thank you and may God bless each one.
We received a letter from Nigeria: I AM THE YOUNG WOMAN WHOM SOME LOCAL MISSIONARIES RESCUED IN LATE 2016 FROM A LOCAL CHIEF PRIEST IN A LOCAL FOREST IN MY VILLAGE AND LATER I WAS FILMED WITH THIS FALSE GOD THAT DID HAVE A NAME CALLED ATIWA – I WAS MISINFORMED THAT THIS GOD SAVED AND THAT I WOULD BE ACCEPTED IN HEAVEN WHEN I DIE IN THIS WORLD. THE MISSIONARIES SET ME FREE AND BOUGHT ME BACK TO GOD OF THE BIBLE AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST WHO CAME TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR MY SINS SO THAT I CAN BE SAVED.
PLEASE I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A BIBLE SENT TO ME OR BIBLE TEACHING LITERATURE FOR MY USE NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM THE HANDS OF SATAN BACK TO THE HAND OF THE ONE (GOD) WHO CREATED THEN PLEASE CONTACT ME, AT THE ADDRESS BELOW: HAVE BEEN SET FREE (Bible lessons were mailed to her and we e-mailed her the name and e-mail address of an organization that sends Bibles out internationally.)
From a 21 year old Bible student in Nigeria: Dear Brother, May the grace and peace of God be upon you, in Jesus name. Amen! I am exceedingly grateful for the tracts you offered me. Thank you for caring for the perishing souls by printing and releasing tracts written form the Word of God which brings salvation to them. The LORD will bless and reward you richly for your contribution towards the salvation of the lost souls. Jesus said, "I am coming very soon with my reward to give to everyone according to what they have done (Rev. 22:12) Jesus will reward you for your labour and suffering in making available tracts and correspondence courses for us. My prayer for you is that God should help you to live up to His expectation so that on the last day, you will be among His inheritance, reigning with Jesus Christ in the kingdom of heaven. Please brother, I need more tracts, as many as the LORD provides. My generation is thirsty and hungry for the Word of God (the word of life)> Please let their crying touch you in your heart. Help the sinners through what the LORD gave to you, for they are helpless. They are scattered like sheep without a shepherd. The enemy (Satan) prowls around like a roaring lion seeking for a way to devour them and destroy their lives as well as their destiny (future). They are in need of the word of Godto sruvive. Please try your best for the salvation of these lost sheep. The LORD will reward you as they read your tracts and repent from their sins. I will be grateful, God will bless you, only if it pleases you to grant my request.Thank you, Your brother in Christ…(Additional tracts were mailed to him)
From a 72 year old student in North Carolina: At the end of one of our courses it asks the student what were the most important things you have learned in this course? Her answer… We may possess things but God owns them. If we have God and what He provides, we have all we really need. As God's stewards, we are accountable to Him for the way we manage what He entrusts to us." We may not see now all things are working together for our eternal good, but we can know it because God says so. Faith is the choice of my will to believe what God says in His Word.

Tract Ministry: We have "given out" over 81,000 Bible Tracts online, in three languages..

Social Networking Outreach: I get new requests on my evangelistic Facebook account regularly. I now have 2651 "friends" in my evangelistic Facebook account. This is a valuable tool to reach the unsaved masses.

Support: We are currently at 67% of support for our ministry expenses.We have lost one supporting church due to financial issues.There are several churches that were going to start sending us support that have not stepped up yet.

Prayer Needs:

Would you consider praying for us when special needs arise? If so, please subscribe to our prayer warrior's mailing list. : http://eepurl.com/SYbI9.
Maureen and I have continued to be plagued with physical issues over the last year. Maureen is now considering injections to ease the pain in her shoulder and neck. Your continued prayer for our health is appreciated.
Our personal finances are very tight. We have two older vehicles (my truck classifies as a "Classic" now at 23 years old). The vehicles are in need of constant repair. Please pray for our finances.

Specific Financial Needs:

Server Costs $565 Dollars
Security Costs $250
Postage to Nigeria $925 (90 salvation decisions)
Postage to Kenya (increasing) $250 (15 Salvation)
Postage to India $40
Misc Office Expense $2000
Server Costs $565 Dollars
Bible Lessons $1000 – Our sending church (Harvester Baptist Church in Columbia Maryland) has graciously provided a love offering that will cover the cost of Bible Lessons for the year!)

Please consider a donation. FamilyNet is a 501 (C)(3) charity. Donations are tax deductible in the US – You can donate via PayPal (Donate button is on http://www.cyber-missions.com) or mail a check (note: we are looking at other donation options now since PayPal has decided to boycott North Carolina because of their stand on gender based rest rooms).
FamilyNet International Inc
P.O. Box 451951
Garland, TX 75045
(214) 257-0229

In Jesus' Service,

Bob and Maureen

Phil 2:4

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