Light to the City

Bethesda Christian Fellowship

Newsletter/ Praise Reports & Prayer Requests

All Praise and Glory be to the Lord for what He has done!

  • January 10, 2007. Pastor Roland secures lease on new building and begins remodeling and construction on interior to prepare building for Bethesda Church and offices for Light to the City

  • February 24, 2007. Building work finished and building ready for move-in

  • February 25, 2007. Bethesda Community Church opens with first church service in new building at 11616 McBean Dr. Google map

  • February 27, 2007. http://lighttothecity.org website comes online after approximately two weeks under construction .

  • March 2, 2007. LTC set up as a chapter 501c(3) non-profit organization, to perform as an outreach ministry of Bethesda Church

  • March 4, 2007. Official opening of Bethesda and Light to the City. Pastor Dr. Virgo Handojo, Senior Pastor of JKIA in Sierra Madre, delivers message at the service.

  • March 5, 2007. S.J. Victory (clothing manufacturer) formed as first LTC business partner , manufacturing "junior miss" party dresses

  • March 6, 2007. In a name change only, Bethesda Community Church becomes Bethesda Christian Fellowship.

  • April 1, 2007. Tom Courtney "comes onboard" as treasurer for Bethesda Church and Light to the City

  • April 1, 2007. S.J. Victory exceeds projections and finishes first month with excellent sales and orders which exceed our capacity to process. We need more workers for sewing ! (See Employment.)

  • April 9, 2007. Forklift1 joins LTC as an "LTC  business partner".

  • April 15, 2007. Exclusive Investment is set up as an LLC within Light to the City to perform transactions in real estate, as required under California law.

  • April 15, 2007. R.K. Home Repair set-up within Light to the City for residential and commercial remodeling and construction

  • May 1, 2007. Pastors Roland and wife Pastor Lea travel to Indonesia for a planned three weeks and will visit Bali Google map and numerous other locations.

  • June 1, 2007. Praise the Lord! Pastors Roland and Lea returned safely from Indonesia, after spending an extra week, with a very heavy schedule. Not much of a vacation! Lot's of meetings with old friends and family, lots of ministry - worship services and prayer - and meetings for church business and potential future activities coordinated through Light to the City. Lea had not been back in 12 years, and it was a blessed, fruitful (and emotional) trip. Pastor Roland loved it so much at times he joked that he didn't want to come back. But we're so glad to have them back!

  • Pastor Roland announces that Bethesda Fellowship will accept a special offering on an ongoing basis to support the building of free schools for the kids in Bali.

  • June 5, 2007. S.J. Victory reorganized and fully incorporated into LTC and name changed to LTC Fashion

  • June 10, 2007.Three business enterprises consolidated within Light to the City: LTC Fashion, LTC Cleaning and LTC Construction. See enterprises

  • July 3, 2007. We purchased a 2001 GMC heavy-duty dual cab truck for LTC Clean-up and LTC Construction, and has also purchased a heavy-duty trailer, with approximately 10,000 lbs. capacity. The trailer is new and custom-designed and will require two weeks to be built. See Trailer Video.

  • July 8, 2007. We are excited about the start-up of LTC Clean-up and LTC Construction! These two enterprises will employ initially a crew of two to four or more people, will provide jobs, service and new opportunities of Light to the City to serve in the community. We have completed the promotional flyers and are  printing 10,000. They are printed on both sides, one company to a side.

     

  • June 28, 2007. Pastor Roland has been making contacts with many area ministries and organizations and government agencies to search for potential cooperation with Light to the City. One of these is Homeboy Industries, which has been operating for over 20 years, is similar to Light to the City in this working with the youth and have their own businesses in which the youth can work.

     

  • July 18, 2007. The 10,000 pound capacity custom-built trailer be had built for LTC Cleaning and LTC Construction has been completed, and with a few small modifications, is ready for pick-up. We will put it into use right away, as we have several job orders queued-up and waiting. See Trailer Video.

  • July 22, 2007. We got started after Sunday service, with instruction in Quick Books and setting up accounts, entering and verifying data, creating reports, etc. for Treasurer's Department personnel with good results.

  • July 22, 2007. Praise the Lord! We have been asking your prayers that it might be God's will that Pastor Tony York will join us at Bethesda and also possibly participate in Light to the City. Well, the it's now official that Pastor Tony is "on board"! Today he delivered a beautiful, inspired and inspiring message at our regular 10:30 Sunday service.

  • July 23, 2007. We are blessed! The 10,000 pound capacity custom-built trailer we had built for LTC Cleaning and LTC Construction is complete, we took delivery. We are preparing Light to the City logos and information signs for the truck and trailer and will post the finished photos here when we're done. See Trailer Video. We will put it into use right away, as we have several job orders queued-up and waiting. 

  • We are working with a new graphic to be a recognizable symbol or logo for the Cleaning and Construction businesses, and also debating other use for it, as it presents an image we feel expresses the enterprise spirit of Light to the City.

  • August 8, 2007. Pastor Handojo has hired LTC Construction, as a state licensed contractor, to provide renovation and remodeling, in accordance with city licensing requirements, to his and his father-in-law's motel in Santa Paula Google map. We thank Pastor Handojo for the confidence that he places in us. The business will benefit Light to the City and provide us further ability to pursue the ministry. Pastor Roland is personally working on the job site coordinating with the city inspectors.

  • August 8, 2007. During the week, Pastor Lea is busy with many things, including supervising LTC Fashion. Tom updates the website, including this newsletter and is working on a Light to the City brochure and other informational and promotional materials that will present the mission and organization of the ministry to individuals and to agencies of the government, who might be able to work with us and provide support. 

  • August 8, 2007. Pastor Roland has been gracious to share his office for Tom to use for organizing the records, doing the bookkeeping and accounting, and providing working space for the computer. Tom and Marieta are working together on entering all the accounting data for Bethesda and for Light to the City and the LTC businesses into the computer.

  •  August 20, 2007. We asked your prayers (August 5, 2007) that the Lord would open the way for Pastor Simon, who is an expert in the cleaning business, to join us in pastoring at Bethesda and in Light to the City as manager of LTC Cleaning . Our prayers were answered, and Pastor Simon has started with us full-time.

  • August 23, 2007. The Lord has given us a car! It is a 1990's Honda sedan and runs great, but we don't think it had ever been cleaned (inside), and it had been sitting outside for several years. So we took it to an auto detailer, and for $160, we have what looks like a brand new car! Pastor Simon will use it in the Cleaning business in in his ministry. (See below - another CarMax online approximate. Where's our camera??)

  • August 26, 2007. We praised the Lord and celebrated the second anniversary of Bethesda Christian Fellowship!. (Remember, Bethesda was started in another building, before we moved into our present facility on March 1, 2007.)

Prayers & Prayer Requests:

  • Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there if hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy.  O Divine Master, grant that. I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console, to be understood, as to understand, to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned. It is in dying that we are born to eternal life. St. Francis of Assisi.

  • We ask your prayers to accomplish God's vision for Light to the City and Bethesda Christian Fellowship.

  • We ask your prayers for the mission of LTC, that God will use Light to the City to bless many.

  • We ask your prayers for financial donations to enable LTC to respond to the needs of many people.

  • Light to the City is growing very fast. We are literally running to keep up with it. The ministry and the business enterprises are very busy and growing, and we are praying that God will send us people with a heart to serve the Lord here in many different capacities. See employment. At this time, we are particularly praying God will send us people with skills and gifts to supervise and direct in the LTC businesses and also mentor others in the management functions. We ask your prayers.

  • May 1, 2007. We ask your prayers that Dr. Chan will join LTC to provide free medical examinations for church members with traveling service that will come once a month to 11616 McBean Dr.