BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

HOW TO USE THEIR FAITH. JOIN US IN TEACHING BELIEVERS 2 2 : B V O V Partner with KCM. were right where we were supposed to be. It pays to have the Word of God built up on the inside. That's how we made it through. We fed on God's Word and kept going. Once I got through that challenging time, I learned that winter in Alaska is also beautiful. When you wrap your mind around God's Word and His goodness, you see the beauty." Planting Deep Roots Now knowing God had called them to start a church, in 1994 Ken and Deborah launched the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship out of the basement of their home. Deciding they needed to move the church o base, Ken started contacting other churches and requested to use their buildings. Every request ended the same way: "No, you can't." Finally, one pastor agreed to allow them to use his church. Later, Ken heard about a church that was closing its doors, so he went to see about buying chairs and supplies. While there, he asked if they would rent the building. The owner informed him that the building wasn't for rent, but for sale. "Thanks," Ken told him, "I can't buy it." Back home, the Lord told Ken to write the church a letter describing what God was going to do in that area. "I think I'm going to buy this building. This is what God will do," Ken wrote. Not long after the owner called Ken. "We have other people wanting to buy this building, but we think you should have it. Do you have any money?" he said. "No." "Can you get the money?" "No, we haven't been going long enough." "Okay, we'll fi nance it for you, and we won't charge interest. But we'll need a down payment of $25,000." Despite not having the $25,000 down payment, Ken agreed to accept the o er. Over the next few months, the money came into the church through tithes and o erings. Faith for the Journey Once they got the building, Ken and Deborah began to see miraculous results as people started coming. However, people outside the church were not as supportive, says Ken. Critics looked at them and declared things like, "You guys will fail," and that the church would not last long. Instead of becoming upset, Ken and Deborah cast the care of the naysayers over on the Lord, chose to walk in love and stayed in faith. "There was a little strip mall across the parking lot from us," Ken says. "We needed more space and were renting part of it. One day the owner came by and asked, 'Pastor, do you need this building over here?' "I just wanted to bless him and asked if I could pray for him. He said, 'No, I don't believe in that. I just want to give you the building.' "We're still using it almost 30 years later. The people who said that we wouldn't last, didn't last. The Lord has been so faithful. "God introduced us to partnership with KCM soon after we were born again. Years later, we heard Gloria preach a sermon on being faithful to God. That message was a catalyst. That's when we dug our claws into the ministry. I memorized that message. It was the fi rst message I preached in public. I preached it almost word for word. "There's no part of our lives or ministry that KCM hasn't touched. They taught us how much God loves us. They taught us about prayer. They taught us about faith. And when an earthquake hit Alaska, they were the fi rst people who called to o er help. Today, even though we live in Alaska, we still go to the Believers' Conventions— getting more faith each time. "The journey from Germany to connecting with KCM and to Alaska has been a long one. But when you're in the will of God, you're home." I learned that winter in Alaska is also beautiful. When you wrap your mind around God's Word and His goodness, you see the beauty." " KCM.ORG/PARTNERNOW

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