"I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife — and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband."1 Corinthians 7:32-34
Lincoln and Tina Drake are the leaders of the singles ministry in the Wichita Church of Christ. Tina was baptized in the Wichita singles ministry in May of 1999, and Lincoln, baptized in March of 1994, was involved with the singles ministries of the St. Louis and Dallas/Fort Worth Churches of Christ before moving to Wichita. Lincoln and Tina met at a singles jubilee in St. Louis, Missouri in February of 2002 and began dating the following November. As their relationship continued to grow, Lincoln moved to Wichita in June of 2003 and the two were married in August of 2004. Both are strong Christians and have great hearts for the Wichita singles.
As they strive to unify the Wichita singles with other singles ministries throughout the Heartland region, Lincoln and Tina are working with the leaders of those ministries to plan coordinated regional events throughout the year. These events will provide opportunities for singles from across the Heartland to build and strengthen relationships with one another and with God, which will in turn build their faith in our Lord.
In addition, a small group (about five in number) of our singles meet approximately once a month to share time in God's Word and to spend time with one another. If you would like to learn more about the Wichita Church of Christ singles ministry, please send an email to wccsinglesministry@yahoo.com.
In preparation for the International Singles Conference to be held later this summer in Dallas, TX, the Omaha church will be hosting a singles fellowship weekend for the singles in the Kansas and Nebraska churches. The event will take place over the weekend of May 17-18, 2008. Plans include a day at the Henry Doorly Zoo on Saturday, and a worship service led by singles on Sunday morning. This promises to be a great weekend of fellowship and fun! For information on the zoo, including admission prices, exhibits, the IMAX theatre, and more, please visit www.omahazoo.com.
For more information on who to contact regarding the weekend, please contact Lincoln or Tina Drake.
2008 International Singles Conference
This summer, the Dallas/Ft. Worth Church of Christ is honored to host the 2008 International Singles Conference! Single disciples from around the world will come together in Grapevine, TX for this incredible event, which will take place the weekend of August 29-31, 2008. The theme of the conference this year is "Visions and Dreams", and the lessons will come from the book of Daniel.
This promises to be a tremendous opportunity for fellowship and communion with our God and with single disciples of all nations. What a great way to truly live out God's Word! For more information on registration, location, and a schedule of events and excursions, please visit www.isc-2008.com.
Update from the ISC:
The 2008 International Singles Conference is now about six months away and the excitement is continuing to grow. It is only February and we now have brothers and sisters who have paid and registered from 24 different countries including United Arab Emirates, Bolivia, Bahamas, Canada, Cote D'Ivoire Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Jamaica, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Myanmar, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Russian Federation, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Kingdom, US Virgin Islands, and South Africa. Singles from many other countries have sent registrations without payment and emails expressing their intent to attend. With so many countries in attendance, this will truly be one of the most significant international conferences in our church history.
Remember: We are giving FREE ISC T-shirts to the first five hundred people who register and pay for the conference. We currently have about 200 people registered. Internet tools such as Evite and Facebook have been very helpful in generating hundreds of commitments to attending the conference and many churches have gone to the www.isc-2008.com website and downloaded our conference link to add to their own church website. It is encouraging to see disciples having fund raisers and donating money to help other singles come to the conference. For example, one group is organizing a concert with money from ticket sales going to help Singles come to the conference while another group is selling a CD of original songs donated by various disciples. We would like to encourage every church that helps churches in other countries with special contribution, to also help sponsor a Single from that same country to attend the conference.
Heartland Singles
In an effort to unify the singles ministries in our churches across the Heartland region, Charlie Sawyer, evangelist of the Kansas City church, officially appointed James Callahan and Lisa Daugherty as Heartland Singles Coordinators at the "Pillars" singles fellowship weekend last October. James and Lisa are very excited about this opportunity to serve. In January, the singles leaders from the churches across the Heartland participated in the first of several conference calls that will take place during 2008. These conference calls will help to provide coordinated planning of singles events throughout the year. Congratulations to James and Lisa on this appointment, and thank you for your willingness to serve. We look forward to working with you this year!
