Our time at Northland Camp has come to an end, and we are about to hit the road again in just a few short weeks. We will be heading to New England, Canada, and Pennsylvania for most of the Fall; but before we start our travels we will be recording a vocal album in Indiana set to be released next year. To view our Fall 2010 itinerary, click here .

 

We have quite a few new faces joining the team this year; Sarah Roe, who will be serving in music and secretarial work; Matt Reid, who will be serving in music and our children's program; and Jonathan Jarrett, who will be serving in music and technology. To view all of our team bios, click here .

  The month of May was a busy one for various members of the team! After finishing a half week of meetings in Illinois, most of the team drove down to Greenville, South Carolina for Josh and Caroline's wedding. We had a wonderful weekend of fellowship and fun. Ella Coffey, Eliana Galkin, and Lilly Galkin were adorable flower girls, David was a very sober ring bearer, Anna Grace made a beautiful junior bridesmaid, and William looked very mature standing up with the other groomsmen. Caroline and Josh were so grateful for a ceremony that was God-centered and glorifying to Him!

  After the wedding, Will and Christy were able to go to Hawaii for a tenth anniversary trip and to celebrate the marriage of Kevin and Misty Inafuku. They enjoyed catching up with old friends and the fellowship God provided. Josh and Caroline also traveled to Hawaii and had a reception in Denver with Josh's family and friends before driving up to Northland for the summer.

  During the break, Laura was able to visit a close friend in California and spend some restful time at home. Jared was in several weddings of friends and worked for a few days in the Roland's lawn business. After finishing up the next Stevie's Trek in Israel, Stephen also joined the crew at the Roland home, where he will be working for the summer. Reba was a beautiful bridesmaid in Caroline and Josh's wedding, and then spent time at home with her family and friends. Elise headed home to finish up wedding planning, and she and Kristopher were married this past Friday! The Coffeys enjoyed a beach vacation with their family before heading up to camp.

  Most of the team is now here at Northland, ministering for the summer. We are thankful for the impact the I John 4 study has been making in our lives and the lives of the staff so far! We look forward to seeing many of you all here this summer!

  Our last week in Pennsylvania was spent at Bethel Baptist Church in Sellersville. We had an awesome time hanging out with the teens and singles from the church throughout the week! We played volleyball with the singles, and as I recall, Jared, Reba, and Laura’s team won!

  We saw God’s awesome work during our Cola War. Over 100 teens came out for the event, and about eight teens accepted Christ! We want to thank the teens of Bethel Student Ministries for their help inviting and going out canvassing for the event.

  We praise God for the work He did in the children’s ministry and adult Irish Concert. Many visiting children and adults heard the gospel, and we know that God will give the increase.

-Laura Kennedy

  We said “Goodbye” to the South, crossed the Mason Dixon line, and headed into Mechanicsburg, PA for a week of meetings.

  Easter Sunday was a blessed time for us to join with Emmanuel Baptist Church in celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was refreshing and uplifting to be reminded as a Christian that we are saved from God’s wrath, and are made righteous because of the blood of Jesus.

  The Lord was at work throughout the week saving children, teens, and adults! I was reminded this week that the power of the Word is alive and that the Gospel really can pierce any heart and bring individuals to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

-Laura Kennedy

  Colonial Baptist Church was an encouragement to our team because of their faithfulness in reviving their hearts prior to our meetings.

  We saw God do an amazing work in Blue Ridge, VA. For years, the church body had been praying for a man in the community to come to Christ. On Friday night, after the Irish Concert, he walked down the aisle of the church and professed of his newfound belief in Jesus Christ! Tears of joy flowed throughout the whole church body.

  The gospel still works today for adults, children, and teens. Click here to watch a Galkin Digital Short about the Colonial Baptist Church Cola War, and how the gospel went out to over 50 teenagers.

-Laura Kennedy

  It’s always a blessing to reconnect with old friends. Oak Ridge Baptist Church is a special place for our team because of the friendship and camaraderie. While Will was working on his master’s degree at Bob Jones, he worked alongside pastor Tom Craig (senior pastor of Oak Ridge Baptist) with the youth group of Calvary Baptist in Simpsonville, SC. Jon Kopp, the youth pastor of Oak Ridge Baptist, is also a long time friend of Will, and a great asset to our team with web and design.

  We saw the Lord answer specific prayers for our week of meetings at Oak Ridge. Pastor Craig had a burden for adults to be saved that week at our Lady’s and Men’s fellowship, and by God’s grace some were!

  Pastor Kopp worked hard putting together all sorts of advertisement for our Teen Cola War, and we praise the Lord that 50 teens came out! The gospel was preached and about 10 teens responded to their need of salvation! We praise God for the work that He does each week through the church’s ministry to the community.

 -Laura Kennedy

  Last week we were excited to arrive in the deep south of Franklin, Tennessee at Trinity Baptist Church. It was so encouraging to be around Pastor Schindel. He is very passionate about God and the gospel, and has a fun personality. We had no clue what great things God was going to do that week and right from the start we were burdened about some impossible things.

  The Friday before arriving at Trinity Baptist Church, Will had surgery to get his gallbladder removed. We were not sure how much Will would be able to preach that week due to the surgery. Aaron Coffey was ready to preach if Will couldn't, but we were praying that the Lord would give Will extra strength and a quick recovery. When Sunday came around, we were excited to see that God had given Will great strength to preach on Sunday and the rest of the week.

  Another burden we had was the geographical area of Trinity Baptist Church. It is located in Franklin, TN right next to Nashville. Franklin is a well-to-do religious area. Many are caught up in their religious routine and have all their comforts provided, so why look to Jesus?

   God was beginning to do a great work at Trinity. On Thursday night we had the teen Cola War. We were praying for many unsaved teens to come. There were about 8 unsaved guests at the Cola War and 5 teens got saved. One teen guy was in tears over his sin as I had a chance to lead him to the Lord. Another teen girl told Reba that she had been wanting to get saved for a long time.

  Friday night was the Irish Concert and we were praying for the Lord to do a great work. The Lord answered in a great way that night. Many unsaved guests came out to the concert and heard the gospel. That night the Lord broke a person over sin that they had been fighting all week and they surrendered to the Lord.

  Trinity Baptist Church was a place that we truly saw God do great things and we knew it was nothing that we had done!

-Jared Mitchell

   We were back on the road from a two-week break, but the Lord gave us great grace last week at Calvary in Simpsonville. Our team was able to connect with friends in the area that attended Calvary, and with the Pettit Team as they were recording in Greenville. We also had a great time with Pastor Taylor and his family. The Taylors treated us to deserts and fellowship at their home, although the highlight for the kids was to see Luke Taylor’s pet snake.

   The Lord gave us grace last week with notable conversions. The first day of meetings, a lady in the church accepted Christ. Throughout the week many children either made assurance or accepted Christ as their Savior. Our Irish Concert had a great turn out from the community. Many church members went out and invited neighbors and friends and we praise God many guest were able to hear a clear presentation of the gospel!

   Right at this moment, Reba Snyder, Christy Galkin, and Gary Emory are in the process of editing and mixing our new Galkin Team instrumental. Our team spent last week recording at Brightwater Digital Studios in Greenville, SC. We are excited about this recording because it has such a unique aspect of mediation. The CD will feature about fifteen meditative songs, and some possibly mixed with scripture readings. Please continue to pray for us as we are still in the mixing process of this CD. Mark your calendars for the release of this new recording coming out Summer of 2010.

 

-Laura Kennedy