Dear Friends,
Here at Kingdom Dog we are advocates for the Gospel being preached over the entire globe. So I have been overjoyed to witness the Gospel being preached by my son, Pastor Brian Hough. He’s been an assistant pastor in Kansas City for the last seven years and this past August stepped out in faith to plant a Gospel-preaching church in this mid-western college town.
I’ve asked him to share a little about what is going on in the hope that God would lead some of you to support this work by prayer, giving or sharing.
–Hank Hough
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Brother & Sisters in Christ,
I love the Gospel and believe that it is the greatest need of every single soul. We are presently laboring in the rapidly expanding college town of Manhattan, Kansas. Manhattan is home to Kansas State University (K-State) and neighbors Ft. Riley Army base. While the area is politically conservative there is great need for the Gospel here. Students are searching for truth, broken families need healing, and many are simply wasting away in the pursuit of the American dream. We are here to pour out our lives as we work to see God build a church built upon the truth of His Word being proclaimed. My desire is that Christians mature and the lost come to believe.
Let me tell you how we got here.
I grew up in Texas, attended Texas A&M and then seminary in Dallas. After graduation I served as a youth pastor in Kansas City for seven years. My wife and I loved the body of believers we worked along side, we loved the students, loved the ministry. However, a large number of the students we ministered to enrolled at K-State after high school. They struggled to find a church where the Word of God was faithfully preached. We encouraged them to keep looking. But we were witnessing what statistics have been showing for years: that student leave the church they grew up in and after college walk away from the faith and never return to the Church. As we watched these students struggle in their faith we prayed for them.
We began praying that God would provide someone who would plant a Gospel-proclaiming, Bible-preaching church. It wasn’t until many years later I realized I had been praying for my own family. We undoubtedly felt God calling our family and we sought counsel on whether it would be wise for us to move to Manhattan to plant a church.
The response was overwhelmingly encouraging and as we researched the town more we realized even more that this was a worthy way to spend the little time God has given us on this earth. According to the US Census, the number of people in Manhattan claiming any religion at all is significantly lower than the national average. The church to population ratio (1:1,600) is also surprisingly low. This is even more concerning considering it is the 10th fastest growing metro-area in the United States.
We knew we were leaving a fantastic community; our children had free tuition at a great Christian school, we had a large house, our paycheck was certain every week, the church we were in was very established. But the need in Manhattan is so evident, and life is so short, and God’s call so clear that we knew this was the right decision. So last summer, with our church’s blessing and the support of generous donors, we sold our home and we moved two hours west of Kansas City to Manhattan, KS.
Our family (and two others who felt God’s call to partner with us) arrived in August 2013. We had our first Bible Study on September 15th and our first worship service on October 6th. We have had a number of fellowship/outreach events and begun men’s and women’s book studies.
We’ve met so many people in a very short time. God has brought into our lives Christians who are seeking to mature in their faith and also unbelievers who are experiencing the love God through the people of God. We’ve seen slow and steady growth over these first four months and could not be more encouraged by the work God is doing.
We view this like missions: we are going into a “foreign” land to bring the Gospel. Except we already speak the language and we already understand the culture so we have been able to jump right in.
Like all church plants, there is an incubation period during which we need outside support. Our goal from the beginning has been for the church plant to be supported by our congregation 100% as soon as possible. Being mindful of the economic climate we have been diligent to keep our budget as slim as we are able. At this point we are over 50% towards our goal for 2014. With your help we can reach 100% funding for the coming year and focus fully on the work of the church and the community of Manhattan, Kansas instead of raising funds.
Will you prayerfully consider joining us?
How You Can Help
-GIVE-
Please consider a 100% tax deductible donation to our general operating budget. Giving on every level can make a difference. Some examples of what your money can do are:
$120 is the cost of one month of bulletins
$140 provides the fee for our website and sermon hosting for the year
$500 covers music supplies or Lord’s Supper supplies for the year
$1,200 will help fund the church outreach and fellowship events
$1,545 can send us to Church Plant Training in the summer
How to Give
-By Check (preferred method due to fees)
-Mail check payable to Reformed University Fellowship (they are handling our finances as a service at this stage) to the following address:
RUF
1700 North Brown Road, Suite 104
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
*Please write “Brian Hough” on the memo line to ensure proper designation
Online at www.GiveToRUF.org. Type “Brian Hough” into the search box.
-PRAY-
Please partner with us not only financially, but also in prayer. We send out an update every month that shares what God is doing and how you can specifically be praying for the church plant. If you have not already signed up please do by filling out the form here.
For now, please pray:
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for God to be a supreme joy to Laura and me
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that we would disciple our children well
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that the church would continue to grow close to God and close to each other
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for new people looking to mature in their faith and those who need to hear the hope of the Gospel
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that God would provide the support needed and that He would continue to bless this Gospel work.
-SHARE-
The last way you can be a huge help to us is to share. Share this email with anyone you think might desire to support financially or by prayer. Share about the church plant to anyone you know in or near Manhattan, Kansas looking for a church to be a part of.
The words of Paul at the beginning of his letter to the Church in Philippi really expresses our feelings towards all who have prayed, encouraged, given and shared in this ministry:
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
We invite you to walk alongside us through 2014. Stay connected by following us at our church website and the Hough Family Blog.
For the Glory of God,
–Pastor Brian Hough
