SO much has happened since we last sent an update!  Looking back on all that God has done and has allowed us to do, both as a family and in ministry, we have to pause and thank you for praying for our family and for your generous support that allows us to be a part of the TBM family!  We wanted to walk through the last few months with you and share a few of the highlights.

Has that much time really gone by?  In May, we celebrated Dylan’s graduation from Southeast High School.  We are so proud of all that he accomplished!  We are also happy to see Dylan complete his first semester at Frontier School of the Bible.  He is having a great time and, from what we hear from his professors, he is growing a lot!  By the time you read this, we will have another recent graduate in the family.  Sarah will have completed her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction.  I know she is thrilled beyond words to be finished, but we are all so proud of her for all she has accomplished.  We are excited both for Dylan and Sarah to see how He will continue to use them for His Kingdom.

In July Sarah and I were able to walk the downtown streets of Mitchell, NE (the town where our church is) and help hand out hundreds of water bottles to people who were attending the parade.  Each bottle had a sticker with an invitation to come to church, so this was a great opportunity to reach out to our community.  In June, our Pastor moved to Colorado, so I have had many opportunities to preach.  We currently have someone from the Bible College filling pulpit, but please pray that God would bring the right man along to shepherd our church body.

The end of October Ben traveled with the Mathias family, who are also Home Office missionaries, to Southern Utah and Northern Nevada.  In Utah we enjoyed spending some time with our TBM church planters in Ivins and attending Sunday services there.  The next day we went to Mesquite, Nevada and held our Southern TBM Field Conference.  We were encouraged to hear ministry updates from TBM’s Las Vegas, Southern Utah, and Western Colorado church planters.  It is these times that are so encouraging, knowing that God is allowing us to serve each of these missionaries from the Home Office.

A few weeks ago Travis and I went with the men from our church to a Pumpkin Shoot.  We scattered two pickup-loads of left over pumpkins on the side of a hill and used them for target practice.  Travis had never shot a gun before, so a couple of the men showed him the basics and he did really well!  I shared a devotional about the importance of following Jesus and becoming fishers of men.  This was not just a great experience and a fun time, but an important time in the Word of God with the men in our lives.  We are so thankful to God for our church!

Before our TBM Board meetings, we normally share a meal together with the Home Office families, the Board members and their families, and the missionary families who are in LaGrange.  This year we realized at this meal that the missionary kids probably outnumbered the rest of us!  It was a great time of fellowship leading in to our meetings.  We are so thankful to be at the ground level of this wonderful mission where we get to see the growth that God is causing and the way He is changing lives!

What’s Coming Next?

There are a couple of things coming up that we would love for you to pray about.  In September of 2020 we are going to travel to Spain for TBM’s All-Europe Conference in Barcelona.  We are excited for this opportunity to see many of our missionaries that we don’t get to see often, but to also meet some that we’ve never met.  In addition, this Summer we are planning a trip to visit some new churches and share our ministry at TBM.  If there’s an opportunity to share in your Sunday School, small group, or congregation, we would love to come and minister any way we can.  Please drop us a note at benandsarahcline@gmail.com if we could spend some time with you this summer, and let us know how we can be praying for you!

By His Grace!  

Ben and Sarah               

The Joy of Getting Missionaries to the Field

I don’t get a chance to say this to you enough…Thank You for your prayers and support, helping us to serve in the TBM Home Office!  I sometimes have a hard time communicating the true joy that we have in doing the work God has given us.  We are thankful to partner with a group of people who are dedicated to holding us up in this ministry.
Much of the joy we have in our ministry is working with our field missionaries , both getting them to the mission field and helping them stay there.

Sometimes it feels like my desk looks like this picture, but even if it does, it means that God is at work.  Recently we have had several new missionaries join TBM.  Since our ministry involves investing a lot of time and energy into the process of helping them get to their place of ministry, I want to take our next few newsletters to introduce you to some of TBM’s newest missionaries!

Victor and Maddy Ramirez are church planting missionaries who have just arrived on the field in Spain with their boys Donovan and Nathan.  They met during their time in college and the Lord grew in them a heart for church planting ministry.  God’s direction has led them to Spain to plant churches in small towns and they are currently seeking a location for their first ministry.  We are so excited to have the Ramirez family as part of the TBM family!

Upcoming for the Clines:  In April, Ben will travel to Albuquerque for the annual Leadership Forum with the Association of North American Missions.  Ben will help with the A/V needs at the Forum.  May will bring Dylan’s graduation, TBM’s board meetings and candidate school, and travel to Minnesota for the memorial service for Sarah’s Grandpa.  Please pray for us as each of these events will mean a lot of time and planning.

Click here for a printable version:  March 2019 Cline Update

Love to you all,
Ben and Sarah

Where did the Summer go?  I think I ask myself this question every year when the kids return to school, Sarah starts teaching, and the daylight ends earlier each day.  But looking over the last few months it’s easy to see why it all went by in a blur.

April (even though it was before Summer) was a great time of ministry in Kansas City serving at the Leadership Forum for the Association of North American Missions.

I had the privilege this year of teaching 2 sessions for what is called The Elisha Initiative.  For 1 day before the Leadership Forum, a group of men gather for sessions meant to sharpen our roles in our organizations and churches.  I was able to speak on The Dynamics of Technology in Public Speaking and Balancing Policy and People.  You can listen to the audio recordings if you would like to by clicking on this link:  2018 Elisha Initiative  

This is my view for the majority of the Leadership Forum!  I have had the opportunity for a few years to help with the audio/video aspects of the conference.

In May we held TBM’s Board meeting where many changes took place.  We saw changes on our Board as 2 are making their way off the Board and 3 new members were added.  The Board also appointed a new Assistant Director who will transition into the Executive Director’s role over the next 3 years.  We also were blessed to have 3 families join TBM to begin or continue church planting ministries.   Please pray as all of these changes take place for God’s guidance and direction as we see the Mission move forward.

This June we realized that our front porch needed some repairs…and so the DIY construction began!

At first we planned for this project to take a week, but it turned out to be far worse than we had thought so it was about a month before everything was finished.  Hopefully we don’t have to do that again!

July was a month where we were able to do ministry and have a little fun!  We were able to help in the 3rd Annual Tour de LaGrange, a charity bike ride that our local church organizes to benefit TBM.  A little later in the month, Sarah, Dylan, and Megan went on a missions trip to McAllen, TX to help with one of our TBM missionaries and Travis and I were able to spend a little time fishing and camping.  A few weeks later we went camping with Sarah’s family in Iowa and we were able to take a day to travel and see Sarah’s grandparents.

At the end of July I was able to spend a couple of days with the men from our church for a Men’s Retreat.  It was a great time of refreshment and motorcycle riding!

So, yes, the Summer is gone, but that’s okay!  God was good to allow us so many opportunities to serve Him and serve others!

What’s Next?

In October I will travel to Utah for our Northern Utah field conference.  Please pray for TBM staff missionaries and TBM field missionaries as we join together for this time of sharpening and encouragement.

In November we will hold TBM’s Fall Board meeting.  Please pray for us as we discuss ministry and how we can be most effective as a church planting organization.

We are so blessed by each one of you.  Your prayer and gifts of support mean so much to us as we serve in this ministry where God constantly blows us away with His loving kindness.

By His Grace,

Ben and Sarah Cline

 

Ministry News

God has given us such a wonderful place to serve as missionaries!  We are able to be involved in a lot of different kinds of ministry.  One of the great joys we have in this ministry is being able to host and encourage TBM missionaries while they are in the US.  In the last few months we were able to spend time with a few of TBM’s missionaries who serve in different parts of the world.  Delwin and Techy Fowler stayed in LaGrange for a few weeks as they visited supporters in the area.  It was wonderful to spend time with them and learn more about how God has been using them in their church plant in Peru.  LeAnn Harris, who is preparing to minister in Kenya, has been to LaGrange a few times in the last few months as she raises support for her ministry.  We also had TBM missionaries, Mirco and Paola Franzini visit from Italy.  It is always a great joy to hear about the many preaching and evangelistic ministries that God has given them in Italy.  JD and Sara Bennett were in the US on furlough.  We had some time to hear about the new church planting ministry that God has called them to in Southern Spain, stepping out in faith to start a new work to spread the Gospel near Gibraltar.  We love the ministry of supporting these, and all TBM missionaries as they serve on their respective fields.  We are so thankful as God uses each of you to help us serve in this vital ministry.

On the Agenda…

February:  Ben will be a representative for TBM at the upcoming Missions Conference at Frontier School of the Bible.  He will also be attending a training conference with the Wyoming Association of Municipalities.  This training will be useful for serving on the Town Council, but will also spill over into areas that he can apply to the ministry at the Home Office.

April:  Ben will join other Home Office Staff at the ANAM Leadership Forum in Kansas City.  He will be helping with the audio/visual aspects of the Forum and speaking at two of the Elijah Initiative sessions.

August:  We will be travelling to Utah for TBM’s Utah / Nevada Field Conference.  Please pray that we can all be an encouragement to one another and that we can be a support to our missionaries on a very difficult field.

Family News

Ben–  In June I began serving on the LaGrange Town Council in order to give some time to the community where we live.  I also have enjoyed the last year, serving on our church’s Elder Board and teaching Sunday School.  In November, my Grandad Lyle went to be with the Lord.  Please pray for my Grandma, Glenna Dene and the rest of the family.

Sarah–  Teaching 5th graders is a great joy and a great challenge!  Sarah is in her 2nd year of teaching and has been able to make an impact not only in her classroom, but in her district.  She has especially enjoyed being able to minister as the Lord allows!

Dylan–  Dylan started his first “real” job a few months ago working at McDonald’s.  This has been a great way for him to learn skills for the workplace and to learn new ways to be a leader!  He is doing great in school and loving the challenging addition of a couple college courses to his regular Junior year studies.

Megan– played volleyball again this year.  She and her team did well!  She is also working on getting her learner’s permit and will probably be attending driver’s ed in a few months.  Megan’s favorite classes in school are choir and band where she plays the bass clarinet.  She recently participated in the county-wide Christmas band concert.

Travis– is enjoying his last year in elementary school!  He has done well in 6th grade!  He, along with Dylan have been learning how to run the sound and video equipment at church.  They enjoy this hands-on ministry!  Travis also has started writing a few chapters of different books that he has been thinking about for a long time.

Please Pray for us>>>

URGENT REQUEST:  Pray for God’s provision for our ministry…we have seen a recent decrease in financial support to 45% of the suggested level for our ministry.

Pray for Ben as he attends and helps with the audio/visual needs and prepares to teach at two of the Elisha Initiative sessions at the upcoming Leadership Forum for the Association of North American Missions in April.

Pray for our kids as they are growing so fast…it is hard to keep up with them!

Pray for Sarah and Ben in our work and ministry roles, that God will use us to glorify His Name.

Pray for the TBM Utah Field Conference in August, that we can be an encouragement to our area missionaries.