An old hymn written by William Cowper very well expresses what we have witnessed in the last two months regarding our church plant in Rome. The hymn says that “God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.” Oh, how this is true! In the month of August, as we were enjoying a few days of vacation in Switzerland (and really did not expect much!), the Lord worked powerfully and mysteriously in order to form a core group of our new church “Vita nella Grazia” (GraceLife Rome), in northern Rome. 

After much prayer, several people—including two entire families—communicated to us they wanted to join our church. As you can imagine, we have been extremely encouraged by it! This means that more than 30 people will likely be attending our first church service on Sunday, October 15. Let me share with you a few of these stories. 

David and Loredana. As you remember from our previous update, the Lord recently called David to help me in the leadership of the church. It is so very encouraging to have him partner with me after many years of friendship and knowing his experience and like-mindedness. Loredana is a huge blessing for us, and especially for Cristina. They will be a wonderful help to many ladies the Lord is bringing into our lives. 

Erkki. One of the most urgent prayer requests in the last year has been for the music ministry in the church. Knowing the importance of the content of what we sing, and the skills needed to perform the music, we needed the Lord to perform one of his mysterious wonders. And the wonder has now a name: Erkki Sillampää. He is a Finnish believer, living in Italy since he was sixteen. Pianist, music writer, graphic designer, and much more! And, last but not least, he is my best friend and was best man at my wedding!  After many long conversations, sharing my vision with him, he recently went to talk to his elders convinced by the Lord He had called him to join our ministry. The elders of the Berea church, my former elders, have responded in a very gracious way, recognizing the guidance of the Lord in Erkki’s decision and giving him their hand of blessing upon his decision and our collaboration. Last Sunday the elders made a moving announcement, expressing their joy and anticipation. We are so grateful! Erkki, Davide, and I have had a close friendship for many years and now, by the grace of God, we can glorify Him together! 

Ciro, Elise, and their four children. Ciro is an airplane pilot from Naples. Elise is a wonderful Christian lady from New Orleans who sings like a true Gospel singer. Their three daughters are beautiful and have a sincere desire to please the Lord despite their young age. They also have a very active boy who enjoys playing soccer with Davide and Mattia. After a very difficult experience with another church in the last few years, they decided to join our church. They live 45 minutes from Rome and have a deep desire to grow in their relationship to Christ! In their own town they have been very active sharing Christ, and also started weekly evangelistic meetings in their home. David and I are looking forward to shepherding them and helping them reach their community. 

Eunice. She is a believer who a few months ago came to one of our meetings on the Gospel of Mark. She shared with us a very difficult trial she has been going through. Her husband, Francesco, an unbeliever, had just been diagnosed with a very serious brain tumor. She was broken. We encouraged her and prayed with her, and then we lost track of her for a few months, despite our many attempts to reach her. Last July she showed up again. She had grown through this trial and showed a sincere desire to glorify Christ through her life. In August I got a message from her saying she wants to be part of our church and that the Lord was softening Francesco’s heart and helping him physically in his trial. She is now praying for our church and is looking forward to having fellowship with us.

Lucia. In July I received a phone call from a woman I had never met before. Someone had given her my phone number. She told me she was going through a very difficult time and said she needed to talk with a pastor. It turned out to be a very difficult situation; she cried throughout our conversation. She claimed to be a believer (but with very little hope in the Gospel), having attended Pentecostal churches. Unfortunately, these churches helped her very little in facing the very serious challenges she is going through and helping apply the Gospel she believed. Since then, Cristina and I have been ministering to her, witnessing a gradual work of the Spirit in her. Today she is working hard at putting things in order, finding a job in Rome, and re-establishing a good relationship with her two grown children. Please pray for her. 

Stefano and his family. Very recently I was contacted by Stefano, a married man who told me: “I am a half-warm Christian and I need a sound church! Ciro gave me your phone number. My wife is not a believer, and we have two children. When do you have your meetings?” I was very glad to let him know that in two weeks we are going to have our first service. They live not far from where we hold our meetings. 

I could share many other stories of how the Lord guided people and situations. These are just some of these wonders! 

Also, recently, we have been doing an outreach to children in the park close to where we meet and we met many parents. We have had many good conversations and have been able to share the Gospel with them and invite them to our church. As you can see, we do not know yet what our future holds, but we are confident that God is working and moving things in a way that it will give glory to Him, even in Rome. 

We treasure your prayers on our behalf! We are still working on many details, including the website, to prepare for our first church gathering. It is a joy to realize that October is also the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation; what a wonderful way to celebrate it, by starting a new church in Rome. After the first three meetings in October, we will be launching the church on Sunday, November 5. On that occasion, my home church in Rome, the church in Perugia we were part of for three and half years, and other churches of Rome and its surroundings will be part of this celebration! Praise be to God!

We want thank you for your participation in our ministry, for your faithful prayers and financial support. Please be in prayer with us for all that I shared. And, if you happen to be in Rome, join us as we celebrate “the God who moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.”

In Him,

Lucio & Cristina Stanisci 

Our summer is almost over here in Albania. The public schools start back on Monday. Our summer project comes to an end tomorrow. We had around 40 youth volunteering at the church all summer long. Helping out at camps, festivals, VBS programs, and any other things that needed to be done. We were blessed to have several groups from America come help run English camps. It was a very fruitful summer, and we are getting geared up for fall and winter. We will be focusing on reaching the new youth that came to church through the summer camps. We want to strengthen our relationships with them and continue to evangelize and disciple them. 

Our church is coming up on its second anniversary of starting the Sunday service in October. It is amazing to look back through the years and see how God has worked in our city. A highlight of this year was baptizing twelve new believers, one of which was the first adult man to be baptized in our church. It is beautiful to see these new believers grow in their faith and to witness their public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. 

Our next big goal for our church is to buy a permanent building to worship in. It is our desire to have a place to worship together for many, many generations to come. 

Please pray for us in the next few months as we focus on what God has for us. 

Love, 

the Dielli family 

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

(Ecclesiastes 3:1, 3 ESV)

August 24

1456

In Mainz, Germany, volume two of the famed Gutenberg Bible was bound, completing a two-year publishing project, and making it the first full-length book to be printed using movable type.

1572

The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre took place all across France, where thousands of French Protestants (Huguenots) were slaughtered.

August 25

325

The General Council of Nicea ended. This first ecumenical conclave in the history of the Church was attended by 300 bishops, who together established the Nicene Creed and set down the lunar formula for celebrating Easter.

1560

Protestantism was formally adopted at the First General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Scottish Parliament had earlier voted to accept a Calvinist confession of faith, declaring that the pope no longer had jurisdiction over Scotland.

August 26

1901

The New Testament of the ASV (American Standard Version) Bible was first published. This U.S. edition of the 1881 English Revised Version (ERV) comprised the first major American Bible translation since the King James Version of 1611.

August 27

1876

At age 13, future English clergyman G. Campbell Morgan preached his first sermon. He later grew to become one of the most famous expository preachers and writers of late 19th century England and America.

August 28

430

Death of St. Augustine of Hippo, 76, the great early Latin Church Father and one of the outstanding theological figures of the ages. It was St. Augustine who wrote: 'Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in thee.’

1840

Birth of Ira D. Sankey, Dwight Moody's song evangelist. During their revival crusades (from 1870), Sankey penned many hymn tunes; among the most enduring today are HIDING IN THEE ("O Safe to the Rock That is Higher Than I") and SANKEY ("Faith is the Victory”).

1953

Campus Crusade for Christ was incorporated in Los Angeles by founder Bill Bright. Today, CCC is an evangelical organization training Christian leaders in over 90 countries around the world.

August 29

1852

The Latter Day Saints first published their doctrine of "celestial marriage," popularly known as polygamy. The Mormon Church maintained this teaching until the Manifest of 1890 (and later Congressional legislation) outlawed the practice.

August 30

1894

Independent Christian evangelist and educator Bob Jones, Sr. was converted at age 11 to a vital Christian faith. Licensed to preach by the Methodists at 15, Jones maintained a lifelong fundamentalist view of the Bible. In 1926, at age 32, he founded Bob Jones University.

Information gathered from http://www.studylight.org/his/tich/

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)

July 6

1415

Martyrdom of Jan Hus, Czech reformer, who was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake because of his outspoken appeals for church reform and for political and religious rights for the common people.

1535

English Catholic theologian Thomas More was beheaded for refusing to recognize Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church of England, which had just broken with the Roman Catholic Church.

July 8

1741

Influencing the start of New England's 'Great Awakening,' colonial American theologian Jonathan Edwards preached his classic sermon, 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,' at Enfield, CT.

1792

Birth of Lowell Mason, Presbyterian pioneer of congregational singing. He composed over 1,000 hymn tunes, including BETHANY ('Nearer, My God, To Thee'), DENNIS ('Blest Be the Tie That Binds'), and HAMBURG ('When I Survey the Wondrous Cross').

July 9

1228

Death of Stephen Langton (b.ca.1155), Archbishop of Canterbury. It was Langtonwho formulated the original division of the Bible into chapters in the late 1100s.

1896

Birth of William Cameron Townsend, American missionary and linguist. In 1942 heestablished what has become the largest evangelical missionary agency in the world --Wycliffe Bible Translators (WBT).

July 10

1509

Birth of John Calvin, French religious reformer. His 'Institutes of the ChristianReligion' became the most popular doctrinal statement of the Protestant Reformation.

1925

The famous 'Scopes Monkey Trial' began in Dayton, TN, after high school biologyteacher John T. Scopes, 24, was charged with teaching evolution to his students.

July 11

1967

The Vatican reported that Albania had closed its last Roman Catholic church.(Albania is a tiny Balkan country with an area only the size of Maryland.)

Information gathered from http://www.studylight.org/his/tich/

For good or ill, the past has changed our present. Whether we know it or not, the past has brought us to where we are today. And through it all, God has been in Heaven, doing whatever He pleases.

June 22

1559

In England, Queen Elizabeth's Prayer Book was issued. During her 45-year reign, Elizabeth I rejected the Catholic faith, adopting instead the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Anglican Church.

1750

Clergyman Jonathan Edwards was dismissed from his Congregational pulpit in Northampton, MA, after serving there 23 years.

June 23

1683

English Quaker William Penn signed his famous treaty with the Indians of Pennsylvania. Voltaire once remarked that it was the only treaty never sworn to, and never broken.

June 24

1519

Birth of Theodore Beza, French-born Swiss theological reformer. Beza became the acknowledged leader of the Swiss Calvinists, following John Calvin's death in 1564.

June 25

1865

English pioneer missionary J. Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission. Its headquarters moved to the US in 1901, and in 1965 its name became Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) International.

June 27

1844

Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, and his brother Hyrum were lynched by a mob in Carthage, Illinois, resulting in part from the community's moral outrage at Smith's recent authorization of polygamous Mormon marriages

Information gathered from http://www.studylight.org/his/tich/

Kidsfest begins when the adults gather for worship and then preaching. We would love to have another fantastic Kidsfest as we serve our parents and children through careful teaching and loads of fun. Our Kidsfest lessons will focus on God himself, mirroring the topics of the Summerfest speakers. While we are not doing a vacation Bible school, we would like to pour our efforts and energies into Kidsfest. And that’s where you come in.

1. We are looking for two craft leaders, so that one can serve for the first three weeks of Summerfest and then the second serve for the second three weeks. The craft leaders will help brainstorm for craft ideas, make purchasing lists, and then help the kids during the evening.

2. We are also looking for two game leaders who will split the six weeks. These leaders will come up with games, gather any needed supplies, and run the games that night.

3. We also need a snack leader. This person will decide on the snacks for each evening and then gather them from our church family.

4. The largest number of people we need will be class helpers. We’ll have three age divisions (3-4, 5-7, and 8-10), and we need two helpers for each group who will also serve for three weeks.

5. Finally, we need six helpers in our nursery for our 0-2 year olds. Babies and air conditioning await you!

Summerfest is a fantastic chance for us to enjoy fellowship and relax. But it’s also a chance to serve, and we need you for Kidsfest. If you are interested in serving, please contact Pastor David (david@graceofthevalley.org) or mark your interest on the bulletin tear off. Looking forward to a great summer!

by Pastor David

For good or ill, the past has changed our present. Whether we know it or not, the past has brought us to where we are today. And through it all, God has been in Heaven, doing whatever He pleases.

May 5

1925

High school biology teacher John T. Scopes, 24, was arrested for teaching the theory of evolution in his Dayton, Tennessee classroom.

May 6

1527

Forty thousand mercenaries, hired by Cardinal Pompeo Colonna, sacked the city of Rome, destroying two-thirds of the houses. They butchered clergy and laity alike, and forced Clement VII to flee, disguised as a gardener. It was the end of the golden age of the Renaissance.

May 7

1839

Birth of Elisha A. Hoffman, American clergyman and a prolific writer of Gospel songs. His musical legacy has left the Church such favorites as: "What a Wonderful Savior," "I Must Tell Jesus," "Are You Washed in the Blood?" "Glory to His Name" and "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”

1899

Amer Presbyterian missionary James Burton Rodgers, 34, preached his first sermon in the Philippines. Rodgers spent the next 35 years in evangelistic and educational ministries, and is regarded as the first Protestant missionary to the Philippines.

May 8

1845

At a three-day convention in Augusta, GA, the Southern Baptist Convention was formed by 300 representatives from Baptist churches in Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina.

May 9

1619

In Holland, the six month long Synod of Dort ended. Confirming the authority of the "Heidelberg Catechism," the decisions of the Synod led to some 200 Arminian clergy being afterward deprived of their offices.

1983

John Paul II announced the reversal of the Catholic Church's 1633 condemnation of Galileo Galilei, the scientist who first espoused the Copernican (i.e., heliocentric) view of our solar system.

Information gathered from http://www.studylight.org/his/tich/

I’m so thankful for many of you who have already responded to the need and opportunity for serving at Kidsfest! One of the reasons we need so many people is that we would like to make it so no one has to miss all of the adult teaching time. The other is that this year’s Kidsfest needs an army of workers since it will work more like a VBS. Specifically, here are our major areas of need still.

1. Craft leaders. These craft leaders will help us come up with good craft ideas. On the night of Kidsfest, this leader would show the kids how to do the craft and then provide hands on help, along with the class leaders, as they kids make it.

2. Class helpers. These helpers will join one of our three classes (3-4, 5-7, or 8-10 year olds), who will all have a leader, and help the kids through the evening schedule of lesson, games, and craft time.

3. Nursery. Our nursery, for ages 0-2, has several nights that still need more workers. We’d love to have you in with our sweet babies!

If you’re interested in serving, please mark the tear-off section of the bulletin or else give me a call. We’re excited about the potential impact Kidsfest can have, and are eager to see who the Lord will provide to serve our kids. Serve in joy!

ALL-SEARCHING GOD,

Thou readest the heart,

viewest principles and motives of actions,

seest more defilement in my duties

than I ever saw in any of my sins.

The heavens are not clean in thy sight,

and thou chargest the angels with folly;

I am ready to flee from myself because of

my abominations;

Yet thou dost not abhor me

but hast devised means for my return to thee,

and that, by thy Son who died to give me life.

Thine honour is secured and displayed even in

my escape from thy threats,

and that, by means of Jesus

in whom mercy and truth meet together,

and righteousness and peace kiss each other.

In him the enslaved find redemption,

the guilty pardon,

the unholy renovation;

In him are everlasting strength for the weak,

unsearchable riches for the needy,

treasures of wisdom and knowledge for

the ignorant,

fullness for the empty.

At thy gracious call I hear, take, come, apply,

receive his grace,

not only submit to his mercy but acquiesce in it,

not only glory in the cross but in him crucified

and slain,

not only joy in forgiveness but in the one

through whom atonement comes.

Thy blessings are as secure as they are glorious;

Thou hast provided for my safety and my prosperity,

and hast promised that I shall stand firm and

grow stronger.

O Lord God, without the pardon of my sin I cannot

rest satisfied

without the renovation of my nature by grace

I can never rest easy,

without the hopes of heaven I can never be

at peace.

All this I have in thy Son Jesus; blessed be

his name.