Dear Friends,

 

We have had several big events during the past month, and I would like to take moment to bring you up to date.

 

Marriage Retreat:

We ended up with a total of 12 couples attending our couples retreat March 20-22. The Lord gave us wonderful weather and a good spirit. Our theme this year was on childrearing. I think we were able to give some good, practical, Bible-based advise on this vital subject. We had five couples attend who don’t yet have children, so I had Charin do one separate session for them on how to prepare for your first child. We knew two couples were expecting, but since then two more couples have announced the good news. So it was a practical and well-needed addition to the other sessions!

 

Genesis Choir:

We had a homeschool choir of about 30 young people from New Jersey sing for us on the weekend of March 27-28. We were very blessed by the quality of the singing and their good spirit. Charin teaches English three days a week at two nearby elementary schools, so she was able to arrange for the choir to perform for several hundred of the students and teachers. The school was very impressed. Although the choir did primarily American folk songs in the school, they also worked in a couple of Gospel songs and a powerful pantomime presentation on the crucifiction. One teacher was so impressed, she brought her entire family to our church to hear the choir again in the evening. We are praying for lasting fruit. 

 

Mark Drama: Thank you for praying for our special Easter Outreach. It was awesome! We did two presentations of the Mark Drama. The first was at our church in Esztergom on Easter Sunday evening. We had a full house without a single empty seat. I counted 50-60 visitors in attendance. The presentation itself went very well. The drama is a powerful presentation of the Gospel of Mark which ends with the crucifiction and resurrection of Christ. It was obvious that many were moved by the presentation, and we got a lot of positive feedback from the visitors.

 

On Monday evening we did a second presentation at the Community Center in the nearby town of Tat. This is the town where we live. We had another good turnout with about 90 in attendance and another 30 visitors. We were very pleased that a couple of our neighbors came. Charin also had four teachers from her school in attendance. The drama not only had a powerful effect on those who attended, but also on the 16 church members who performed. It was very enlightening to step back in time and try to bring the Gospel story to life. Most of the performers enjoyed it so much they want to do it again! We invited all the visitors back to our church. We had five visitors in church the following Sunday. We are encouraging our people to follow up on those who attended and are praying again for fruit that remains.

 

A Prayer for Unity:

The situation I mentioned last month has not yet been resolved. Although it is not really in the forefront, it sometimes cast a shadow over what we are doing. Please continue to pray for a resolution, so that we can move forward with full unity in our church. 

 

Tata Update:

We are still waiting on our building permit in Tata. Progress is being made, but the permit has to work its way through the system. Please pray for the permit to be approved so that we can begin the building project during the month of May. Please continue to pray for the needed funds. We had a supporting church contact us after our last letter to say that they would be taking up a special offering toward this need. We are thankful for each gift and believe that it is an investment in eternity.

 

Family news:

Our older kids, Nancy and Ben are finishing up their first year of college with just three more weeks to go.  They will be staying for another month to work a bit before coming home the end of June. We are really looking forward to seeing them again.  Ben has had some health issues that landed him in the hospital for a couple of days last month.  The doctors are still not sure what is causing his muscle pain, swelling  and rashes. We would appreciate prayers for his complete return to health.

Marc 

                                                                   Marriage Retreat

                                                               Genesis Choir in Dorog

                                                             Mark Drama in Esztergom

                                           Mark Drama in Tat

March 2015

Dear Friends,

Temperatures are rising and signs of Spring are all around us. Spring is always a busy time in the ministry, and I would like to share several important prayer requests.

Marriage Retreat:

We have 11 couples planning to attend our couples retreat which will be held this weekend – March 20-22. This is a smaller group than usual, but we are praying for a good spirit and a good time. I will be speaking on childrearing this year. We are praying that it will be helpful for these young couples who attend.

Genesis Choir:

We have a homeschool choir of about 30 young people from New Jersey coming to sing for us on the weekend of March 27-28. This was arranged by our intern Marci Csiha. They will be singing in the public school where Charin teaches on Friday afternoon, at a special youth meeting at our church in Esztergom on Friday evening, and in Nagysap on Saturday. Please pray that the Lord would use them in a special way.

Mark Drama:

Our church will be putting on a 90 minute play on Easter Sunday and Monday called the Mark Drama. It is basically the Gospel of Mark acted out in drama form. Sixteen of our church members will be the actors. We will perform on Sunday evening at our church in Esztergom and then on Easter Monday evening at the Community Center in Tat. We have been preparing and praying for this since the beginning of the year. God has blessed the Mark Drama in many churches in Hungary, and we are praying that He will use it in our church as well. We are praying for scores of unbelievers to be in attendance, so that they can both see and hear the Gospel presented in a powerful way. Please pray for the Lord’s blessing on this outreach.

A Prayer for Unity:

We have been dealing with a difficult situation in Esztergom since the end of January. It has taken many hours of time, and added a great deal of pressure to our lives. Nevertheless it seems that we may have crossed a turning point this past weekend. That is all I can share at this time, but I would ask you to pray for unity in our church – especially as we head into a time of outreach and evangelism.

Tata Update:

The church in Tata has been doing well. I am also happy to be able to share a couple of architectual drawings of the plans for our new auditorium. These plans should be turned in this week to begin the approval process. Please pray for a quick approval and no major hurdles to be overcome. Please pray also for the needed funds to come in. We have had a significant amount promised by a major donor here in Hungary – about $10,000, which would be a huge help. We still need about $20,000 to complete the project.

Thanks again for your prayers. You will find the drawings below.

God bless,

Marc

Building Project – Tata

2015 should be an exciting year at our church in Tata. As I have mentioned in previous letters, we have plans to build a new auditorium, and our goal is to complete the auditorium this year. I would like to use this month’s prayer letter to give you a bit more information about our plans.

Why do we need a new auditorium?

This year our church in Tata will celebrate its 15^th anniversary. We have experienced many  blessings over the past 15 years. Our church was started with just two families, but now has more than 40 members. When we add in both the children of our members and also those who are not yet members, the number of regular attendees doubles to about 80. It has been 10 years now since our church took ownership of our current property. It was an old house donated by an elderly church member, who has since passed away. With the removal of a dividing wall, we were able to make a small auditorium of about 400 square feet. We currently crowd about 65 chairs into this auditorium. During the early years of the church, this auditorium was adequate, but we are now filled to overflowing on a weekly basis. On special days, it is often impossible to get everyone into the auditorium and seated unless we send the children out for their classes. A new auditorium is needed, not only to make room for our current attendance, but also to make room for further growth.

So what is the plan?

Our plan is to build a brand new 900 square foot auditorium on the back part of our current property. The new auditorium would be more than double the size of our current auditorium, with a seating capacity of at least 100. This auditorium would not only meet our current needs, but also provide some room for growth.

How much will it cost?

The estimated cost of the new auditorium is $50,000-$60,000. This budget would cover not only the construction itself but also the chairs and PA system as well. We plan to do most of the finishing work ourselves which should help to keep the expenses down.

How much is the church able to cover?

Our church members have committed about $20,000 to the project. We have about $10,000 on hand, and the rest is promised to be donated by the end of May. In other words, the church in Tata would be covering 30-40% of total expenditures.

Where will the rest of the money come from?

We are seeking support from churches and individuals both in Hungary and the US. We need to raise an additional $30,000-$40,000 to cover the remaining expenses. Perhaps the Lord would lead you or your church to make a special donation toward this project.

How about timing? When will the funds be needed?

We are hoping to have all the building permits in order by May of this year. It is our goal to have the building done and ready for use before next winter. We have asked our people to fufill their commitments by May 31st, so we can then begin to build.

How can I make a donation?

For US donors it would be best to make donations through our mission board: Global Faith Mission Agency. All donations should be designated: „Marc Patton – building project.” Donations can be made by sending a check to Global Faith Mission Agency, P.O. Box 3326, Chattanooga, TN 37404. You can also make credit card donations on line through www.globalfaithmission.org.

How can I get more information?

You can feel free to contact me by email. You can also call me on my cell phone number which is 36-20-886-3261. When calling, please remember that we are 6 hours ahead of the US Eastern time zone.

Thanks again for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry!

                                                                        Serving for His Glory,

                                                                       

                                                                        Marc, Charin, Nancy, Ben, Esther and Hannah Patton

January 2015 – The Year in Review

Furlough and Support:

2014 was an amazing year in regards to our support. In October, 2013 we began our transition to a new sending church and mission board. We were soon faced with the need to replace about 50% of our support. It was quite remarkable to see how the Lord met this need. Several supporters increased our support significantly. We also had a number of new churches join our support team. We are very grateful for the help of Pastor Messer and others at Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville for their help in connecting us with new supporters. We are also thankful that we did not need to take an extended furlough to meet this need. Thanks to all of you for your prayers and support during this transition time.

Family news:

This past year was a time of transition for our family as well, as Nancy and Ben began Bible College in the US. It has been a major adjustment to have them gone, and we are still trying to get used to having just 4 chairs occupied at the dinner table. We were very grateful that they were able to return to Hungary for three weeks during the Christmas break. It was great to have our family together once again. Both Nancy and Ben have adjusted remarkably well to life in the US. Their grades were excellent, and they both are doing well with their jobs. It is exciting to see them grow and mature.

Esther and Hannah continue to do well. They are both very involved in the youth ministry at church. Esther also plays the piano and helps in Sunday School. Charin is busy teaching at school three mornings each week. She also is very involved in the music program, Sunday School program and Ladies ministry at the church. I am very grateful for Charin. She is a great wife, mother and helper in the ministry.

Esztergom Baptist Church:

2014 was an interesting year in Esztergom. We baptized two adults and two teens. We also added another family of four to the membership. Nevertheless we lost more people than we gained. Most of the core of our youth group graduated and headed off to college. We also had several adults leave the church, some who had even been with us almost from the beginning. Both attendance and offerings were down about 15%. I believe we have made some positive adjustments and that we are moving in the right direction, but we have still not see a real turn around in regards to growth. Please pray with us that 2015 will be a year of growth – both spiritually and numerically at our church in Esztergom.

Tata Baptist Church:

At the same time Esztergom was struggling, Tata has been flourishing. 2014 was another year of amazing growth. God continues to bring us new families who are saved and looking for a good church. He also continues to bring us lost people who are seeking the Lord. Our average attendance is around 70, and we have even hit 80 on some Sundays. We have outgrown our current auditorium and are making plans to build a new one. Even our offerings almost doubled over the past year. Our focus in 2015 will be on our building project and also integrating the new converts into our church family.

Nagysáp Baptist Church:

Our church in Nagysáp is going through a time of rebuilding. Two of the most faithful families moved away, and several others dropped out. Nevertheless there have been some positive signs as well. Some of the children we have been working with for years are now teenagers and have made professions of faith. The soccer ministry is also going well. We are very grateful for the faithfulness of our team in Nagysap despite the hardships and setbacks.

Teaching Ministry:

Our Bible Institute in Esztergom continues to do well. We usually have 16-18 students from 5 different area churches. I also continue to teach one week each school year at Word of Life Hungary’s Bible Institute. This past year I was asked to join the teaching staff of the Sunergosz Bible Institute which is operated by the Baptist Union. I will be teaching both hermeneutics and homiletics during the spring semester. Sometimes I feel like I have taken on a bit too much in this area, but I hate to turn down opportunities to influence the future leaders of Hungary.

Mentoring Ministry:

I continue to mentor Gergo Szimon and Marci Csiha on a weekly basis. Both are involved in our church plant in Nagysap as well as our main church in Esztergom. I also had another young pastor from the town of Toalmas, Hungary ask if I would mentor him. He has been driving to Esztergom one day a month to spend a few hours in mentoring. It is a privilege to invest in these young men, and I believe it will pay dividends in the future.

A Look Ahead at 2015:

1. Esztergom – We are planning a big evangelistic outreach for Easter. We are also planning a big event to celebrate our 20^th anniversary of the church in September.

2. Tata – We hope to have the building plans completed and turned in by the end of February. We would really like to begin construction of our new auditorium in May and would love to have it finished before winter sets in…

3. Nagysap – We are focusing on reaching new people – especially adults.

Thanks again for your faithful prayers and support of our ministry!

The Marc Patton Family

Family picture - Christmas 2014