Sunday August 17th we were at Cottage Grove Baptist Church for the morning services. Mike Brill is the pastor of this local church. Carole provided keyboard assistance and special music for the morning service. I presented and update on our ministry by power point and preached for the service as well.

Mike and Nancy Brill had a full weekend as on Saturday their son Jordon was married to Rebecca Kobosh, pastor's daughter to Vince and Beth Kobosh from Rock Lake Baptist Church in Lake Mills. It was a beautiful celebration of two young people committed to Christ and upholding the biblical principles of marriage.

Cottage Grove Baptist Church was begun October 2000 while I was pastoring in Lake Mills. Rock Lake Baptist Church was the reproducing church and we worked with the Brills to see that work established. In a couple of months CGBC will celebrate their 9th anniversary. They are still in need of growth to be fully self supported and they are meeting in rented quarters. However, we praise the Lord for the lives that have been affected by this greater-Madison church and trust the Lord for continued effective ministry in the future.

Twelve pastoral families amounting to over 50 people gathered at Camp Riverside in Amherst, Wisconsin on Monday through Wednesday August 10-12 for the fifth annual Pastors' Family Camp. Messages by myself, Pastor Dan Stertz, Dr. Lance Ketchum and Pastor Jim Stevens provided Bible challenges on the theme "Be strong in grace." Dave and Char Fiedler did another great job of organizing and cooking delicious meals for all who were present. The new lodge building and existing cabins were excellent accommodations for the families' housing. Key features of the camp where a singspiration and bonfire, volleyball, Frisbee golf tournament, late night table games and lots of great fellowship.

At this time we are working on dates for next year's Pastors' Family Camp at Camp Riverside. June 14-16, 2010 are the tentative dates and we will be confirming those dates soon. If you missed this year but want to attend, put those dates on your calendar and plan to come next year. We still have room for more pastoral families to participate in this wonderful annual break from pastoral ministry.

Our Sunday ministry to open the month of August was at Bethel Baptist Church in Camp Douglas on August 2nd. Thomas Baker is the pastor of this local church ministry. He and his family were taking some time off, and we were able to minister in the morning services in his place. I taught a Bible lesson for Sunday School. In the morning service I presented our ministry via power point and preached the morning message. There was a good crowd present for this largely rural ministry.

Following the service we enjoyed a delicious dinner with a church family along with a number of other families from the church. It was a delightful time of fellowship.